jay

Weekly News We care About Wrap Up – 3.17.06

OMG itz a remote control!11111

Miyamoto confirms the new Zelda will use the Revolution controller.
Though in what regard, we are still not sure. If it’s simply for mini games or something silly like that, many fans may pissed off. I think Nintendo painted themselves into a corner with this new Zelda game. They wanted to release it as a GC game but then there are no other big games coming out on that system… possibly ever. So instead of supporting their own dead system they decided to launch it with the Revolution. Making it a Rev launch title makes sense, but then Nintendo would just alienate more fans because the game was originally promised for the GC. So now they’re trying to dress it up like a Revolution title to sell the system. I predict the added controller functionality will suck, but I hope I’m wrong.

PS3 to launch worldwide in November. Games will be developed as if all users have a hard drive, which may or may not cost extra money for the consumer.
Sony will ship 17 systems over in November and an extra 34 in December for the holiday season. That way they can pretend they released it this year and stupid people can buy $1600 PS3 boxes on eBay. With it being reportedly very difficult to program for and the final design tools just being shipped out, expect a launch line up similar to the 360s. As for the hard drive, how can it be mandatory but not come with the system? Will the PS4 be just a main processor with graphics and sound chips costing extra? “Oh, you want to be able to see your game? Then you need to buy the $4,000 Super Duper Bundle.”

“Sony makes games now?”

Microsoft Game Studios general manager and bullshit extraordinaire Shane Kim says, “Leaders don’t react,” when questioned about Sony’s new plans.
MS didn’t become larger than most countries by having bad business sense. They obviously are monitoring their main competitor very closely and are tailoring their strategy based on Sony’s moves. PR people force presumably talented people like Mr. Kim to become lying puppets. Nintendo didn’t take Sega seriously until the Genesis kicked Nintendo in the nuts, and Nintendo and Sega didn’t take Sony seriously until it destroyed them both. Leaders who refuse to react quickly become followers.

DS sells 138,737 units last week in Japan between the new DSLite and the original model. PSP sells 40,091. PSP generated US$1.6 billion in 2005, more than both Xbox 360 and Nintendo DS combined.
The DS is taking over Japan. It sold nearly 100,000 more units this past week than the PSP, but the PSP continues to dominate on the global scale. Sometimes the taste of the Japanese people seems stupidly shallow, for example the GBA Micro is doing well there. Other times it seems spot on – most of the strange niche games I like have Japanese followings. In a case like the DS versus the PSP, it seems that if image were the primary factor the PSP would be winning in Japan. But why then is the PSP winning in other markets? It could come down to the conventional wisdom that the Japanese like single devices that do one thing well, whereas Americans like Jigsaws that are also belt sander, nail drivers and tooth brushes.

Does anyone else remember The Horde?

Famitsu gives Ys Strategy a 25/40.
The PSP gets a port of Ys 6 and the DS gets a bad strategy game? Thanks, Falcom.

PSP price to drop to $200.
Good. I’ll probably still buy a DSLite before a PSP, but now it’s in my price range. If a Revolution costs $200 though, guess which one I’m buying.

Sony losses appeal over Dual Shock controller copyright infringement. They owe Immersion Corp. nearly $91 million.
Bad news for Sony. They could have saved face by settling before the lawsuits since now they look like they stole someone else’s patented ideas and refuse to admit it. Or they should’ve just used Microsoft’s strategy and bought Immersion Corp.

Civilization 4 expansion pack to be focused on war.
That’s a shame. Fighting is the most tedious part of the game. I really enjoy the early exploration and development phases but that may be harder to elaborate on with an add on. Looks like I’ll continue restarting the game after my culture is done expanding.

Final Fantasy 7 remake on PS3 happening.
FF7 is the most overhyped game in the universe. I loved it when I was 16, and it remains a classic, but I am tired of hearing about it. Edgar was cooler than Cloud and Kefka puts the androgynous Sephiroth to shame. Anyone who hasn’t replayed the game after reading real books should do so. The plot is convoluted beyond comprehension. Also, I’ll buy this remake.

Pinata of doom
There’s no chance Viva Pinata will be as cool as Pinata: Survival Island.

Rare making 360 game tie in to cartoon series Viva Pinata.
Awesome, maybe Rare can get a cereal based on the game, too. Time to contact General Mills, Joanna.

Playstation Network Platform to offer similar services to Xbox Live.
This makes sense and if they implement it well, it could spell trouble for MS. If Sony gives consumers access to their back catalog and/or smaller games through the online platform, Nintendo may also be screwed. Not like they weren’t already.

Majesco announces more losses.
Psychonauts publisher continues to suck economically. That’s what they deserve for taking a chance on original games. Their plans to become a serious publisher have changed and they’ve accepted their fate as a value bin publisher so don’t expect Psychonauts 2 from them. Or probably anyone.

Software sales down 13%, hardware sales up 22% in February.
The market is slowing down because we are in between generations. The 360 has one game worth owning thus far so it isn’t helping to push software sales to their full potential. Industry experts like to be worried, but the increase in console sales seems to indicate people still want to play games, they’re just waiting for good games to purchase.

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Cyril @ Defunct Games
18 years ago

Jay, the reason the PSP is doing better worldwide is because the games on it (Liberty City Stories, Pursuit Force, Burnout Legends, etc.) appeal to the Western gamers more than the Japanese gamers. The system has, unfortunately, failed to deliver the games the Japanese like, such as high-quality RPGs and strategy games. As a PSP owner I find this disappointing, I’m a huge fan of RPGs and would love to have more (on any system, DS, Xbox 360, PSP, you name it). But that just hasn’t happened yet. I honestly think it’s that simple, it has nothing to do with “style” or anything else. It’s about the games. They just appeal to a different audience, a Western audience that is eating the system up. The DS, on the other hand, has a LOT of games that have been proven sellers in Japan. The DS deserves to sell more systems in Japan. But the PSP is still very competitive, as you mentioned.