Slashdot Mirror

Really?

I'd be interested to know what games the Wii has that you really like to play. Most people would agree that the Wii has 2 good exclusives: Paper Mario and Zelda. Maybe RE4, but that's only exclusive if you count the controls; the content is exactly the same. In any case, the latter two are painful to play on an HDTV (or even an SDTV if you've played any 360 or PS3 titles). If a game is multiplatform, like Marvel Ultimate Alliance, there's no question that I'm going to avoid the Wii version. Wii Sports has all the entertainment value of Rock Paper Scissors. The Wii only has two games rated 9+. Compare that to the 360 with 6 games making the 9.0 cut (only 3 exclusive, though none available on the Wii), and the entire rest of the page consisting of 8.0+ titles. While that's proportional to the consoles' respective times on market (~2 9.0+ titles per 6 months time on market per console), it makes sense to consider both the present and future value of a system. If I get 3x as many (mutually) exclusive quality games on Console A today, and have no reason not to expect at least an equal quantity of exclusive titles in the future, AND have other value-added features, such as networked play, a large library of downloadable titles (both old and new), HD resolution (which is "future proofing," even if you don't have an HDTV today), and HD-DVD add-on (although the utility of that is debatable at best, especially if you don't own an HDTV, since better and cheaper stand-alone players will probably exist in the very near future), then it would make sense to choose it over Console B with fewer quality titles available today, an equal number of future titles, and fewer/inferior value added features.

The Wii is clearly the right choice for budget-limited and/or extremely casual gamers (as even semi-casual gamers can find plenty to like about the 360), and those who are turned off by the slightly more complex interface of the 360. If one enjoys either single-player or networked gaming in the least, then the 360 is the way to go. Personally, I would perfer the PS3, but I cannot justify its purchase to myself or anyone else, given its anemic selection of titles. Believe me, I would love to recommend anything other than Microsoft (and I personally avoided the original X-Box completely, and avoided the 360 until just recently), but they clearly have the most to offer this time around.

I have a PSP...there's tons of new games for it every month. There was a big lack at launch, but that was resolved over a year ago. Currently, the new and exciting game on the PSP is "Crush". A couple months ago it was "Puzzle Quest". I wouldn't mind having a DS myself, but honestly I have more PSP games than I have time to play, so I don't bother.

For a game producer to make money, they need to mostly worry about the raw number of devices there are that can run their games. The PSP may be outsold by the DS, but it outsells the XBox, so from a game producer's standpoint, the PSP is a better bet than the XBox. I know you'll say "that's not the same market", but that doesn't matter. What matters is that the labor involved in making a PSP game is roughly equivalent to the labor involved in making an XBox game. This "market leader" crap is only something people say on slashdot. A game producer thinks more like "X units * percentage take-up - cost to develop". Who the market leader is only makes a difference for game producers who don't have resources to develop for more than one. (This is why a game like "Puzzle Quest", for example, was developed for both.)

E3 became decadent. I was there working at the NCsoft booth and it really was ridiculous. Our stage act was The Mutaytor and they might as well have shut off their amps for how quiet they had to be on stage. There really were people at the edge of our booth space weilding decibel meters like tricorders, just waiting for any excuse to lower the boom. We really did work hard to keep everything within the new limits for noise.

But the whole Police State mentality of the thing just brought the scent of doom with it. How can you expect an entertainment industry trade show to survive if everyone is expected to be quiet? Well, welcome to the New E3, which might as well be a medical or insurance trade show with everyone all monkey-suited up carrying on in hushed tones around their tame, standardized booths.

But am I the only one that finds the 360s selection of games really dull? It seems like there are a lot of FPS and sports games, and not a heck of a lot else.

When someone says this, I can't help but ask, "What are you looking for?" Sure, there are a fair number of FPS and sports games on the 360, just like on nearly every platform (even the Wii). There are plenty of other games as well. A sibling poster mentioned Oblivion, which was excellent (while many people prefer it on the PC due to modability, it plays perfectly on the 360 without forcing me to upgrade my PC). If you're looking for role-playing games, you're not going to find Final Fantasy, but there are several upcoming games that you might really like, such as Blue Dragon and Eternal Sonata (both JRPG-style games), Mass Effect, Fable 2, Fallout 3, Two Worlds and more either out now or coming soon. If you want racing, Forza 2 out-does Gran Turismo and DiRT is great as the latest in the Colin McRae series. There are RTS games (C&C3, BFME2, the upcoming Halo Wars, etc), action/adventure games (I'm currently enjoying Overlord), rhythm games (GH2 is arguably better on 360 rather than PS2), and more. And that's before you really get into the XBLA games, where you can find puzzlers, board games, and card games alongside classic arcade games and original platformers and shooters.

Well, I guess the Live! Arcade games are. But all of those games could be done on the Wii, easily. Never mind the emulated games, which I refuse to pay for because I've been playing them for free for almost a decade now via PC emulators.

"Could be done" and "have been done" are two different things. Geometry Wars is coming to Wii (and DS), but I question whether or not it'll control as well without two analog sticks. I never thought that would happen, so maybe Catan, Carcassone, Boom Boom Rocket, Pac-Man CE, and others will eventually make their way over to the Wii with the new WiiWare program. I'm not holding my breath, and instead will enjoy the games available on XBLA right now.

As for emulating some of the games on XBLA, that's true. I'm not a big fan of many of the classic titles on XBLA, as I much prefer original titles or full-on remakes (the new Prince of Persia, or Pac-Man CE). I did enjoy Symphony of the Night on XBLA, as I never had a chance to play it on PS1. XBLA's strength going forward will be in original games or re-imagined classics, not the "old game with a splash of new sprites" we've seen so far. And with XNA picking up steam, the whole community will be able t

But am I the only one that finds the 360s selection of games really dull? It seems like there are a lot of FPS and sports games, and not a heck of a lot else.

When someone says this, I can't help but ask, "What are you looking for?" Sure, there are a fair number of FPS and sports games on the 360, just like on nearly every platform (even the Wii). There are plenty of other games as well. A sibling poster mentioned Oblivion, which was excellent (while many people prefer it on the PC due to modability, it plays perfectly on the 360 without forcing me to upgrade my PC). If you're looking for role-playing games, you're not going to find Final Fantasy, but there are several upcoming games that you might really like, such as Blue Dragon and Eternal Sonata (both JRPG-style games), Mass Effect, Fable 2, Fallout 3, Two Worlds and more either out now or coming soon. If you want racing, Forza 2 out-does Gran Turismo and DiRT is great as the latest in the Colin McRae series. There are RTS games (C&C3, BFME2, the upcoming Halo Wars, etc), action/adventure games (I'm currently enjoying Overlord), rhythm games (GH2 is arguably better on 360 rather than PS2), and more. And that's before you really get into the XBLA games, where you can find puzzlers, board games, and card games alongside classic arcade games and original platformers and shooters.

Well, I guess the Live! Arcade games are. But all of those games could be done on the Wii, easily. Never mind the emulated games, which I refuse to pay for because I've been playing them for free for almost a decade now via PC emulators.

"Could be done" and "have been done" are two different things. Geometry Wars is coming to Wii (and DS), but I question whether or not it'll control as well without two analog sticks. I never thought that would happen, so maybe Catan, Carcassone, Boom Boom Rocket, Pac-Man CE, and others will eventually make their way over to the Wii with the new WiiWare program. I'm not holding my breath, and instead will enjoy the games available on XBLA right now.

As for emulating some of the games on XBLA, that's true. I'm not a big fan of many of the classic titles on XBLA, as I much prefer original titles or full-on remakes (the new Prince of Persia, or Pac-Man CE). I did enjoy Symphony of the Night on XBLA, as I never had a chance to play it on PS1. XBLA's strength going forward will be in original games or re-imagined classics, not the "old game with a splash of new sprites" we've seen so far. And with XNA picking up steam, the whole community will be able t

But am I the only one that finds the 360s selection of games really dull? It seems like there are a lot of FPS and sports games, and not a heck of a lot else.

When someone says this, I can't help but ask, "What are you looking for?" Sure, there are a fair number of FPS and sports games on the 360, just like on nearly every platform (even the Wii). There are plenty of other games as well. A sibling poster mentioned Oblivion, which was excellent (while many people prefer it on the PC due to modability, it plays perfectly on the 360 without forcing me to upgrade my PC). If you're looking for role-playing games, you're not going to find Final Fantasy, but there are several upcoming games that you might really like, such as Blue Dragon and Eternal Sonata (both JRPG-style games), Mass Effect, Fable 2, Fallout 3, Two Worlds and more either out now or coming soon. If you want racing, Forza 2 out-does Gran Turismo and DiRT is great as the latest in the Colin McRae series. There are RTS games (C&C3, BFME2, the upcoming Halo Wars, etc), action/adventure games (I'm currently enjoying Overlord), rhythm games (GH2 is arguably better on 360 rather than PS2), and more. And that's before you really get into the XBLA games, where you can find puzzlers, board games, and card games alongside classic arcade games and original platformers and shooters.

Well, I guess the Live! Arcade games are. But all of those games could be done on the Wii, easily. Never mind the emulated games, which I refuse to pay for because I've been playing them for free for almost a decade now via PC emulators.

"Could be done" and "have been done" are two different things. Geometry Wars is coming to Wii (and DS), but I question whether or not it'll control as well without two analog sticks. I never thought that would happen, so maybe Catan, Carcassone, Boom Boom Rocket, Pac-Man CE, and others will eventually make their way over to the Wii with the new WiiWare program. I'm not holding my breath, and instead will enjoy the games available on XBLA right now.

As for emulating some of the games on XBLA, that's true. I'm not a big fan of many of the classic titles on XBLA, as I much prefer original titles or full-on remakes (the new Prince of Persia, or Pac-Man CE). I did enjoy Symphony of the Night on XBLA, as I never had a chance to play it on PS1. XBLA's strength going forward will be in original games or re-imagined classics, not the "old game with a splash of new sprites" we've seen so far. And with XNA picking up steam, the whole community will be able t

But am I the only one that finds the 360s selection of games really dull? It seems like there are a lot of FPS and sports games, and not a heck of a lot else.

When someone says this, I can't help but ask, "What are you looking for?" Sure, there are a fair number of FPS and sports games on the 360, just like on nearly every platform (even the Wii). There are plenty of other games as well. A sibling poster mentioned Oblivion, which was excellent (while many people prefer it on the PC due to modability, it plays perfectly on the 360 without forcing me to upgrade my PC). If you're looking for role-playing games, you're not going to find Final Fantasy, but there are several upcoming games that you might really like, such as Blue Dragon and Eternal Sonata (both JRPG-style games), Mass Effect, Fable 2, Fallout 3, Two Worlds and more either out now or coming soon. If you want racing, Forza 2 out-does Gran Turismo and DiRT is great as the latest in the Colin McRae series. There are RTS games (C&C3, BFME2, the upcoming Halo Wars, etc), action/adventure games (I'm currently enjoying Overlord), rhythm games (GH2 is arguably better on 360 rather than PS2), and more. And that's before you really get into the XBLA games, where you can find puzzlers, board games, and card games alongside classic arcade games and original platformers and shooters.

Well, I guess the Live! Arcade games are. But all of those games could be done on the Wii, easily. Never mind the emulated games, which I refuse to pay for because I've been playing them for free for almost a decade now via PC emulators.

"Could be done" and "have been done" are two different things. Geometry Wars is coming to Wii (and DS), but I question whether or not it'll control as well without two analog sticks. I never thought that would happen, so maybe Catan, Carcassone, Boom Boom Rocket, Pac-Man CE, and others will eventually make their way over to the Wii with the new WiiWare program. I'm not holding my breath, and instead will enjoy the games available on XBLA right now.

As for emulating some of the games on XBLA, that's true. I'm not a big fan of many of the classic titles on XBLA, as I much prefer original titles or full-on remakes (the new Prince of Persia, or Pac-Man CE). I did enjoy Symphony of the Night on XBLA, as I never had a chance to play it on PS1. XBLA's strength going forward will be in original games or re-imagined classics, not the "old game with a splash of new sprites" we've seen so far. And with XNA picking up steam, the whole community will be able t

But am I the only one that finds the 360s selection of games really dull? It seems like there are a lot of FPS and sports games, and not a heck of a lot else.

When someone says this, I can't help but ask, "What are you looking for?" Sure, there are a fair number of FPS and sports games on the 360, just like on nearly every platform (even the Wii). There are plenty of other games as well. A sibling poster mentioned Oblivion, which was excellent (while many people prefer it on the PC due to modability, it plays perfectly on the 360 without forcing me to upgrade my PC). If you're looking for role-playing games, you're not going to find Final Fantasy, but there are several upcoming games that you might really like, such as Blue Dragon and Eternal Sonata (both JRPG-style games), Mass Effect, Fable 2, Fallout 3, Two Worlds and more either out now or coming soon. If you want racing, Forza 2 out-does Gran Turismo and DiRT is great as the latest in the Colin McRae series. There are RTS games (C&C3, BFME2, the upcoming Halo Wars, etc), action/adventure games (I'm currently enjoying Overlord), rhythm games (GH2 is arguably better on 360 rather than PS2), and more. And that's before you really get into the XBLA games, where you can find puzzlers, board games, and card games alongside classic arcade games and original platformers and shooters.

Well, I guess the Live! Arcade games are. But all of those games could be done on the Wii, easily. Never mind the emulated games, which I refuse to pay for because I've been playing them for free for almost a decade now via PC emulators.

"Could be done" and "have been done" are two different things. Geometry Wars is coming to Wii (and DS), but I question whether or not it'll control as well without two analog sticks. I never thought that would happen, so maybe Catan, Carcassone, Boom Boom Rocket, Pac-Man CE, and others will eventually make their way over to the Wii with the new WiiWare program. I'm not holding my breath, and instead will enjoy the games available on XBLA right now.

As for emulating some of the games on XBLA, that's true. I'm not a big fan of many of the classic titles on XBLA, as I much prefer original titles or full-on remakes (the new Prince of Persia, or Pac-Man CE). I did enjoy Symphony of the Night on XBLA, as I never had a chance to play it on PS1. XBLA's strength going forward will be in original games or re-imagined classics, not the "old game with a splash of new sprites" we've seen so far. And with XNA picking up steam, the whole community will be able t

But am I the only one that finds the 360s selection of games really dull? It seems like there are a lot of FPS and sports games, and not a heck of a lot else.

When someone says this, I can't help but ask, "What are you looking for?" Sure, there are a fair number of FPS and sports games on the 360, just like on nearly every platform (even the Wii). There are plenty of other games as well. A sibling poster mentioned Oblivion, which was excellent (while many people prefer it on the PC due to modability, it plays perfectly on the 360 without forcing me to upgrade my PC). If you're looking for role-playing games, you're not going to find Final Fantasy, but there are several upcoming games that you might really like, such as Blue Dragon and Eternal Sonata (both JRPG-style games), Mass Effect, Fable 2, Fallout 3, Two Worlds and more either out now or coming soon. If you want racing, Forza 2 out-does Gran Turismo and DiRT is great as the latest in the Colin McRae series. There are RTS games (C&C3, BFME2, the upcoming Halo Wars, etc), action/adventure games (I'm currently enjoying Overlord), rhythm games (GH2 is arguably better on 360 rather than PS2), and more. And that's before you really get into the XBLA games, where you can find puzzlers, board games, and card games alongside classic arcade games and original platformers and shooters.

Well, I guess the Live! Arcade games are. But all of those games could be done on the Wii, easily. Never mind the emulated games, which I refuse to pay for because I've been playing them for free for almost a decade now via PC emulators.

"Could be done" and "have been done" are two different things. Geometry Wars is coming to Wii (and DS), but I question whether or not it'll control as well without two analog sticks. I never thought that would happen, so maybe Catan, Carcassone, Boom Boom Rocket, Pac-Man CE, and others will eventually make their way over to the Wii with the new WiiWare program. I'm not holding my breath, and instead will enjoy the games available on XBLA right now.

As for emulating some of the games on XBLA, that's true. I'm not a big fan of many of the classic titles on XBLA, as I much prefer original titles or full-on remakes (the new Prince of Persia, or Pac-Man CE). I did enjoy Symphony of the Night on XBLA, as I never had a chance to play it on PS1. XBLA's strength going forward will be in original games or re-imagined classics, not the "old game with a splash of new sprites" we've seen so far. And with XNA picking up steam, the whole community will be able t

But am I the only one that finds the 360s selection of games really dull? It seems like there are a lot of FPS and sports games, and not a heck of a lot else.

When someone says this, I can't help but ask, "What are you looking for?" Sure, there are a fair number of FPS and sports games on the 360, just like on nearly every platform (even the Wii). There are plenty of other games as well. A sibling poster mentioned Oblivion, which was excellent (while many people prefer it on the PC due to modability, it plays perfectly on the 360 without forcing me to upgrade my PC). If you're looking for role-playing games, you're not going to find Final Fantasy, but there are several upcoming games that you might really like, such as Blue Dragon and Eternal Sonata (both JRPG-style games), Mass Effect, Fable 2, Fallout 3, Two Worlds and more either out now or coming soon. If you want racing, Forza 2 out-does Gran Turismo and DiRT is great as the latest in the Colin McRae series. There are RTS games (C&C3, BFME2, the upcoming Halo Wars, etc), action/adventure games (I'm currently enjoying Overlord), rhythm games (GH2 is arguably better on 360 rather than PS2), and more. And that's before you really get into the XBLA games, where you can find puzzlers, board games, and card games alongside classic arcade games and original platformers and shooters.

Well, I guess the Live! Arcade games are. But all of those games could be done on the Wii, easily. Never mind the emulated games, which I refuse to pay for because I've been playing them for free for almost a decade now via PC emulators.

"Could be done" and "have been done" are two different things. Geometry Wars is coming to Wii (and DS), but I question whether or not it'll control as well without two analog sticks. I never thought that would happen, so maybe Catan, Carcassone, Boom Boom Rocket, Pac-Man CE, and others will eventually make their way over to the Wii with the new WiiWare program. I'm not holding my breath, and instead will enjoy the games available on XBLA right now.

As for emulating some of the games on XBLA, that's true. I'm not a big fan of many of the classic titles on XBLA, as I much prefer original titles or full-on remakes (the new Prince of Persia, or Pac-Man CE). I did enjoy Symphony of the Night on XBLA, as I never had a chance to play it on PS1. XBLA's strength going forward will be in original games or re-imagined classics, not the "old game with a splash of new sprites" we've seen so far. And with XNA picking up steam, the whole community will be able t

But am I the only one that finds the 360s selection of games really dull? It seems like there are a lot of FPS and sports games, and not a heck of a lot else.

When someone says this, I can't help but ask, "What are you looking for?" Sure, there are a fair number of FPS and sports games on the 360, just like on nearly every platform (even the Wii). There are plenty of other games as well. A sibling poster mentioned Oblivion, which was excellent (while many people prefer it on the PC due to modability, it plays perfectly on the 360 without forcing me to upgrade my PC). If you're looking for role-playing games, you're not going to find Final Fantasy, but there are several upcoming games that you might really like, such as Blue Dragon and Eternal Sonata (both JRPG-style games), Mass Effect, Fable 2, Fallout 3, Two Worlds and more either out now or coming soon. If you want racing, Forza 2 out-does Gran Turismo and DiRT is great as the latest in the Colin McRae series. There are RTS games (C&C3, BFME2, the upcoming Halo Wars, etc), action/adventure games (I'm currently enjoying Overlord), rhythm games (GH2 is arguably better on 360 rather than PS2), and more. And that's before you really get into the XBLA games, where you can find puzzlers, board games, and card games alongside classic arcade games and original platformers and shooters.

Well, I guess the Live! Arcade games are. But all of those games could be done on the Wii, easily. Never mind the emulated games, which I refuse to pay for because I've been playing them for free for almost a decade now via PC emulators.

"Could be done" and "have been done" are two different things. Geometry Wars is coming to Wii (and DS), but I question whether or not it'll control as well without two analog sticks. I never thought that would happen, so maybe Catan, Carcassone, Boom Boom Rocket, Pac-Man CE, and others will eventually make their way over to the Wii with the new WiiWare program. I'm not holding my breath, and instead will enjoy the games available on XBLA right now.

As for emulating some of the games on XBLA, that's true. I'm not a big fan of many of the classic titles on XBLA, as I much prefer original titles or full-on remakes (the new Prince of Persia, or Pac-Man CE). I did enjoy Symphony of the Night on XBLA, as I never had a chance to play it on PS1. XBLA's strength going forward will be in original games or re-imagined classics, not the "old game with a splash of new sprites" we've seen so far. And with XNA picking up steam, the whole community will be able t

But am I the only one that finds the 360s selection of games really dull? It seems like there are a lot of FPS and sports games, and not a heck of a lot else.

When someone says this, I can't help but ask, "What are you looking for?" Sure, there are a fair number of FPS and sports games on the 360, just like on nearly every platform (even the Wii). There are plenty of other games as well. A sibling poster mentioned Oblivion, which was excellent (while many people prefer it on the PC due to modability, it plays perfectly on the 360 without forcing me to upgrade my PC). If you're looking for role-playing games, you're not going to find Final Fantasy, but there are several upcoming games that you might really like, such as Blue Dragon and Eternal Sonata (both JRPG-style games), Mass Effect, Fable 2, Fallout 3, Two Worlds and more either out now or coming soon. If you want racing, Forza 2 out-does Gran Turismo and DiRT is great as the latest in the Colin McRae series. There are RTS games (C&C3, BFME2, the upcoming Halo Wars, etc), action/adventure games (I'm currently enjoying Overlord), rhythm games (GH2 is arguably better on 360 rather than PS2), and more. And that's before you really get into the XBLA games, where you can find puzzlers, board games, and card games alongside classic arcade games and original platformers and shooters.

Well, I guess the Live! Arcade games are. But all of those games could be done on the Wii, easily. Never mind the emulated games, which I refuse to pay for because I've been playing them for free for almost a decade now via PC emulators.

"Could be done" and "have been done" are two different things. Geometry Wars is coming to Wii (and DS), but I question whether or not it'll control as well without two analog sticks. I never thought that would happen, so maybe Catan, Carcassone, Boom Boom Rocket, Pac-Man CE, and others will eventually make their way over to the Wii with the new WiiWare program. I'm not holding my breath, and instead will enjoy the games available on XBLA right now.

As for emulating some of the games on XBLA, that's true. I'm not a big fan of many of the classic titles on XBLA, as I much prefer original titles or full-on remakes (the new Prince of Persia, or Pac-Man CE). I did enjoy Symphony of the Night on XBLA, as I never had a chance to play it on PS1. XBLA's strength going forward will be in original games or re-imagined classics, not the "old game with a splash of new sprites" we've seen so far. And with XNA picking up steam, the whole community will be able t

But am I the only one that finds the 360s selection of games really dull? It seems like there are a lot of FPS and sports games, and not a heck of a lot else.

When someone says this, I can't help but ask, "What are you looking for?" Sure, there are a fair number of FPS and sports games on the 360, just like on nearly every platform (even the Wii). There are plenty of other games as well. A sibling poster mentioned Oblivion, which was excellent (while many people prefer it on the PC due to modability, it plays perfectly on the 360 without forcing me to upgrade my PC). If you're looking for role-playing games, you're not going to find Final Fantasy, but there are several upcoming games that you might really like, such as Blue Dragon and Eternal Sonata (both JRPG-style games), Mass Effect, Fable 2, Fallout 3, Two Worlds and more either out now or coming soon. If you want racing, Forza 2 out-does Gran Turismo and DiRT is great as the latest in the Colin McRae series. There are RTS games (C&C3, BFME2, the upcoming Halo Wars, etc), action/adventure games (I'm currently enjoying Overlord), rhythm games (GH2 is arguably better on 360 rather than PS2), and more. And that's before you really get into the XBLA games, where you can find puzzlers, board games, and card games alongside classic arcade games and original platformers and shooters.

Well, I guess the Live! Arcade games are. But all of those games could be done on the Wii, easily. Never mind the emulated games, which I refuse to pay for because I've been playing them for free for almost a decade now via PC emulators.

"Could be done" and "have been done" are two different things. Geometry Wars is coming to Wii (and DS), but I question whether or not it'll control as well without two analog sticks. I never thought that would happen, so maybe Catan, Carcassone, Boom Boom Rocket, Pac-Man CE, and others will eventually make their way over to the Wii with the new WiiWare program. I'm not holding my breath, and instead will enjoy the games available on XBLA right now.

As for emulating some of the games on XBLA, that's true. I'm not a big fan of many of the classic titles on XBLA, as I much prefer original titles or full-on remakes (the new Prince of Persia, or Pac-Man CE). I did enjoy Symphony of the Night on XBLA, as I never had a chance to play it on PS1. XBLA's strength going forward will be in original games or re-imagined classics, not the "old game with a splash of new sprites" we've seen so far. And with XNA picking up steam, the whole community will be able t

But am I the only one that finds the 360s selection of games really dull? It seems like there are a lot of FPS and sports games, and not a heck of a lot else.

When someone says this, I can't help but ask, "What are you looking for?" Sure, there are a fair number of FPS and sports games on the 360, just like on nearly every platform (even the Wii). There are plenty of other games as well. A sibling poster mentioned Oblivion, which was excellent (while many people prefer it on the PC due to modability, it plays perfectly on the 360 without forcing me to upgrade my PC). If you're looking for role-playing games, you're not going to find Final Fantasy, but there are several upcoming games that you might really like, such as Blue Dragon and Eternal Sonata (both JRPG-style games), Mass Effect, Fable 2, Fallout 3, Two Worlds and more either out now or coming soon. If you want racing, Forza 2 out-does Gran Turismo and DiRT is great as the latest in the Colin McRae series. There are RTS games (C&C3, BFME2, the upcoming Halo Wars, etc), action/adventure games (I'm currently enjoying Overlord), rhythm games (GH2 is arguably better on 360 rather than PS2), and more. And that's before you really get into the XBLA games, where you can find puzzlers, board games, and card games alongside classic arcade games and original platformers and shooters.

Well, I guess the Live! Arcade games are. But all of those games could be done on the Wii, easily. Never mind the emulated games, which I refuse to pay for because I've been playing them for free for almost a decade now via PC emulators.

"Could be done" and "have been done" are two different things. Geometry Wars is coming to Wii (and DS), but I question whether or not it'll control as well without two analog sticks. I never thought that would happen, so maybe Catan, Carcassone, Boom Boom Rocket, Pac-Man CE, and others will eventually make their way over to the Wii with the new WiiWare program. I'm not holding my breath, and instead will enjoy the games available on XBLA right now.

As for emulating some of the games on XBLA, that's true. I'm not a big fan of many of the classic titles on XBLA, as I much prefer original titles or full-on remakes (the new Prince of Persia, or Pac-Man CE). I did enjoy Symphony of the Night on XBLA, as I never had a chance to play it on PS1. XBLA's strength going forward will be in original games or re-imagined classics, not the "old game with a splash of new sprites" we've seen so far. And with XNA picking up steam, the whole community will be able t

But am I the only one that finds the 360s selection of games really dull? It seems like there are a lot of FPS and sports games, and not a heck of a lot else.

When someone says this, I can't help but ask, "What are you looking for?" Sure, there are a fair number of FPS and sports games on the 360, just like on nearly every platform (even the Wii). There are plenty of other games as well. A sibling poster mentioned Oblivion, which was excellent (while many people prefer it on the PC due to modability, it plays perfectly on the 360 without forcing me to upgrade my PC). If you're looking for role-playing games, you're not going to find Final Fantasy, but there are several upcoming games that you might really like, such as Blue Dragon and Eternal Sonata (both JRPG-style games), Mass Effect, Fable 2, Fallout 3, Two Worlds and more either out now or coming soon. If you want racing, Forza 2 out-does Gran Turismo and DiRT is great as the latest in the Colin McRae series. There are RTS games (C&C3, BFME2, the upcoming Halo Wars, etc), action/adventure games (I'm currently enjoying Overlord), rhythm games (GH2 is arguably better on 360 rather than PS2), and more. And that's before you really get into the XBLA games, where you can find puzzlers, board games, and card games alongside classic arcade games and original platformers and shooters.

Well, I guess the Live! Arcade games are. But all of those games could be done on the Wii, easily. Never mind the emulated games, which I refuse to pay for because I've been playing them for free for almost a decade now via PC emulators.

"Could be done" and "have been done" are two different things. Geometry Wars is coming to Wii (and DS), but I question whether or not it'll control as well without two analog sticks. I never thought that would happen, so maybe Catan, Carcassone, Boom Boom Rocket, Pac-Man CE, and others will eventually make their way over to the Wii with the new WiiWare program. I'm not holding my breath, and instead will enjoy the games available on XBLA right now.

As for emulating some of the games on XBLA, that's true. I'm not a big fan of many of the classic titles on XBLA, as I much prefer original titles or full-on remakes (the new Prince of Persia, or Pac-Man CE). I did enjoy Symphony of the Night on XBLA, as I never had a chance to play it on PS1. XBLA's strength going forward will be in original games or re-imagined classics, not the "old game with a splash of new sprites" we've seen so far. And with XNA picking up steam, the whole community will be able t

But am I the only one that finds the 360s selection of games really dull? It seems like there are a lot of FPS and sports games, and not a heck of a lot else.

When someone says this, I can't help but ask, "What are you looking for?" Sure, there are a fair number of FPS and sports games on the 360, just like on nearly every platform (even the Wii). There are plenty of other games as well. A sibling poster mentioned Oblivion, which was excellent (while many people prefer it on the PC due to modability, it plays perfectly on the 360 without forcing me to upgrade my PC). If you're looking for role-playing games, you're not going to find Final Fantasy, but there are several upcoming games that you might really like, such as Blue Dragon and Eternal Sonata (both JRPG-style games), Mass Effect, Fable 2, Fallout 3, Two Worlds and more either out now or coming soon. If you want racing, Forza 2 out-does Gran Turismo and DiRT is great as the latest in the Colin McRae series. There are RTS games (C&C3, BFME2, the upcoming Halo Wars, etc), action/adventure games (I'm currently enjoying Overlord), rhythm games (GH2 is arguably better on 360 rather than PS2), and more. And that's before you really get into the XBLA games, where you can find puzzlers, board games, and card games alongside classic arcade games and original platformers and shooters.

Well, I guess the Live! Arcade games are. But all of those games could be done on the Wii, easily. Never mind the emulated games, which I refuse to pay for because I've been playing them for free for almost a decade now via PC emulators.

"Could be done" and "have been done" are two different things. Geometry Wars is coming to Wii (and DS), but I question whether or not it'll control as well without two analog sticks. I never thought that would happen, so maybe Catan, Carcassone, Boom Boom Rocket, Pac-Man CE, and others will eventually make their way over to the Wii with the new WiiWare program. I'm not holding my breath, and instead will enjoy the games available on XBLA right now.

As for emulating some of the games on XBLA, that's true. I'm not a big fan of many of the classic titles on XBLA, as I much prefer original titles or full-on remakes (the new Prince of Persia, or Pac-Man CE). I did enjoy Symphony of the Night on XBLA, as I never had a chance to play it on PS1. XBLA's strength going forward will be in original games or re-imagined classics, not the "old game with a splash of new sprites" we've seen so far. And with XNA picking up steam, the whole community will be able t

Look at who it's compiled by.

ALWAYS look at the source of any 'list', 'survey', or stats.

This is Edge, it's by far a console heavy magazine, they only really have PC there to try and make 'everyone' buy it.

No, they're not an unbiased source for this sort of list.

I far more trust the opinions of sites like http://gamespot.com/ or the like, as they have true PC sections.

Sony has built up their first party exclusives to a point where they are now this gen larger and more powerful than both Nintendo and Microsoft's own first party efforts combined.

... forgot... never get caught cheating at LAN parties. http://www.gamespot.com/users/xd3usx/video_player? id=KiZhkTWv5bsPuDM

I don't know how long ago the incident you're referring to occurred, but a Lemmings game was released in May 2006 for the PSP (and then released on the PS3 in December 2006).

Yeah, because that worked SO well for them with the Hot Coffee scandal, when:

- their board of directors got sacked (http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3158369)
- their CEO was listed as worst of 2005 (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6140903.html)
- they cut earnings forecast by $50 million after the GTA:San Andreas recall (http://money.cnn.com/2005/07/20/technology/person altech/gta/)
- their stock price fell through the later half of 2005 (even before the SEC investigations began) (http://finance.google.com/finance?q=TTWO)

Truly "masterful".

D.

The Bible should be banned because it is a book of murder and cruelty,

but Manhunt should be allowed to be played because its murder and cruelty is entertainment.

Earth really has a prosperous future...

Perhaps, but suggesting that's anywhere near Alpha standard is exaggerating*. They released an early mock-up version as a game. Gamespot's video review shows that about the only thing that works is object/ground collision and graphics rendering.

*Okay, the GP probably just underestimates the quality of Alpha. Generally Alpha standard implies that we have a fully working playable game with fairly noticable defects but no showstoppers.

So, 'as far as you can tell' doesn't even include reading the summary?

Anyway, they said it would be coming out for PC about 10 months ago.

The PSP actually outsold the DS until the DS Lite came out. The DS Lite took off and sold like hot cakes

They announced that there would be a DVD version released this year even before the platform launched last fall.
http://www.gamespot.com/news/6161611.html

He's just talking about QuakeWars:

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/enemyterritoryqu akewars/news.html?sid=6171827&om_act=convert&om_cl k=newlyadded&tag=newlyadded;title;1

Microsoft's gaming division lost $485 million in 2005, $1.26 billion in 2006, will lose money this year, but they 'expect' to be profitable in 2008: http://uk.gamespot.com/news/6154809.html

The problem as I see it with the jRPGs is that their stories are very specific to a certain adolescent coming-of-age arc. The mindset in them does not vary much, as the mindset in most anime does not. Worse, I think that even there you see less and less investment in Writers.

What was great about Fallout? About Planescape:Torment? About Deus Ex? Eternal Darkness? KOTOR? All of these games had a huge focus on the writing. Rarely did you find yourself 'leveling up' or in meaningless fights. But meaningless fights is practically the staple of RPGs these days. I go to the store and pick up a "Lord of the Rings: The Third Age", supposedly a "nice little role-playing jaunt into the world of Tolkien." Yet the game is a long (and I mean LONG) series of fights using the exact same mechanism over and over, with a little filler glue. Many games are like this, and many, many jRPGs are like this. That filler glue can be elaborate or simple but the focus of the game is largely on the number-based or twitch-based fights.

I don't know that it's an 'American' quality, but I like the sort of RPG that has a narrative - but by 'narrative' I do not mean a story that is happening in FMV while I watch. HL1 and 2 did a good job, but were very linear. Deus Ex did a far better job; the choices you made mattered. How you went about things dictated your experience; your experience was not pre-dictated, to only be altered in the specifics of the fights you fought. Fallout had whole different endings depending on all sorts of actions you took. This sort of thing is not achieved by hiring the latest code monkeys, it's achieved by hiring people with some writing skills, who have a sense of the real world and what a narrative is.

But such games generally require an attention span. The longer an attention span you need, the less you can utilize tricks to keep the user engaged and the more you require quality writing. This is just expense for the business - nevermind the complexity it adds to coding. The jRPGs do well because there is a formula, and it's sufficiently easy to follow. Most of the attraction seems to fall on the cool graphical advancements. 'The Story' may be good, but it's just that, a monolithic story. The only 'role' you play is the monkey pushing the button to make it go forward.

The Wii has three games which have sold a million copies or more: Twlight Princess, Wii Play and Wii Sports. All Nintendo games. The Wii is still early in its product life, so it can be expected that not many games will have passed the million mark yet. The problem is that too much focus is on the first party Nintendo games. If third party publishers lack the hype necessary to sell their games, they will not bring exclusive games to the Wii. The Wii will merely get awful ports like Far Cry http://www.gamespot.com/wii/action/farcry/index.ht ml?q=farcry&tag=result;title;0/ and Spiderman 3http://www.gamespot.com/wii/action/spiderman3/ind ex.html?q=spiderman&tag=result;title;4#. Spiderman 3 apparently sucks on every console, but it sucks extra hard on the Wii. Far Cry was a great game for the PC, but has lost a lot of its lustre on the Wii.

Nintendo has to be willing to share the spotlight with it's third party developers.

The Wii has three games which have sold a million copies or more: Twlight Princess, Wii Play and Wii Sports. All Nintendo games. The Wii is still early in its product life, so it can be expected that not many games will have passed the million mark yet. The problem is that too much focus is on the first party Nintendo games. If third party publishers lack the hype necessary to sell their games, they will not bring exclusive games to the Wii. The Wii will merely get awful ports like Far Cry http://www.gamespot.com/wii/action/farcry/index.ht ml?q=farcry&tag=result;title;0/ and Spiderman 3http://www.gamespot.com/wii/action/spiderman3/ind ex.html?q=spiderman&tag=result;title;4#. Spiderman 3 apparently sucks on every console, but it sucks extra hard on the Wii. Far Cry was a great game for the PC, but has lost a lot of its lustre on the Wii.

Nintendo has to be willing to share the spotlight with it's third party developers.

How about this one? I know it's not photorealistic, but it might be better than wii sports golf.. did he try it out?

"i just wish they would release a version/update to give it DVD playback. i mean it has a DVD drive.. it has a remote.. let it play movies.. then i can chunk the dvd player and not have a manual input switch.."

DVD version on it's way.

When the Nintendo Gamecube settled into third place during the previous console generation, many publishers shifted their efforts to the vastly more popular -- and profitable -- PlayStation 2 and Xbox. But the surprise success of the Wii, which just crossed the five million sales mark (faster than any other console in video game history), has publishers scrambling to get their games back on Nintendo's mass-market machine.
(...)
After Ubisoft, Electronic Arts is the next major third-party developer to redirect resources to the Wii. Not only has the gaming giant set up Wii-dedicated development teams, but within the last month, EA has released no fewer than three Wii titles

Bloomberg reports companies like Electronic Arts, who has been ironically praised as one of the foremost Wii innovators, and Take-Two Interactive have been playing catch-up since Nintendo's E3 showing. EA tells Bloomberg they will have a dozen games on Wii this year, whereas Take-Two has three in the pipeline (likely comprised of The Bigs, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer and Manhunt 2).

Given what's currently happening in the wake of the VT shooting, this might be more +1, Prophetic.

6. Costs more than a DS

30$. For which you get a considerably more powerful CPU & 3D accelerator. Look at screenshots from DS and PSP games.

Origianally the PSP was 250 where the DS was 150. When both units had lowered their prices, it was $130 to $200, but to make the price drop on the PSP, several items had been removed from the packaging. With the PSP's latest price drop, it's still $130 for a DS, and 170 for a PSP, plus the cost of a memory card. The original DS pricing is still cheaper than than the current PSP.

Frankly, there's no way you can win an argument on cost. The DS is much more bang for your buck (unless you're only looking at playing UMD movies, in which case, go with a portable dvd player).

FYI, there will be a Warhammer 40K MMO. There is a story http://www.gamespot.com/news/6166560.html?sid=6166 560 here about it.

A lot of this info has been known for a while, GameSpot posted in its rumor about a site that nabbed the info back in November. There's more info about it at GameSpot: http://www.gamespot.com/news/show_blog_entry.php?t opic_id=25139680&print=1

I started off absolutely drooling for the Wii, then it came out and the basic consensus on the majority of games for it was that they were kinda average...

Now there is a game coming out that has me salivating all over again, Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition. Finally what I always thought would just be sensational on the Wii, an excellent FPS (sorta, fine... it's 3rd person). Red Steel was apparently a horrendous game, so it looks like the Wii is now finally starting to get into games that use its hardware properly.

I can't wait for more FPSs on it, the ability to move around with an analogue control while using a proper gun like pointing device... heaven for immersion.

Nintendo is a game maker. They develop software and hardware, and contrary to Microsoft or Sony, all their main assesses are related to games. They are also a Japanese company, which apparently makes them conservative to a great extent. Nintendo raises its forecasts several times through the year because they started with very conservative figures. Two years after the introduction of the Nintendo DS, already a year since the introduction of the Nintendo DS Lite handheld, and they are still struggling to to produce them. During March 2007, they sold 508,000 DS and 259,000 Wiis in US, and 504,000 DS and 263,000 Wiis in Japan. That is, a million DSs and half a million Wiis in just two countries.

I tend to think it is a production issue. They gambled by designing and developing the Nintendo DS and the Wii. I hope they gamble again and pump production up.

The problem is that none of the game design studios thought Wii would take off. Now they're playing catchup. Give it a few months. And in the meantime, take up golf. I mean, what's the use of owning a groundbreaking, innovative game console if you're just going to use it to play the same old couch-potato crap?

FFT: Lion War for psp

FFT: advance 2 for DS

FFT: Lion War for psp

FFT: advance 2 for DS

I believe its been stated that FF XIII isn't going to be PS3 exclusive. The issue is at least open to debate, as mentioned here http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/rpg/finalfantasy13/new s.html?sid=6167864&om_act=convert&om_clk=mostpop&t ag=mostpop;title;1/

There's no confirmation from other sources, but we know this much:

Sony: FFXIII PS3 exclusivity under discussion

You kinda fail at google. http://www.gamespot.com/news/6167864.html?sid=6167 864&action=convert Its all over the web if you look for it.

Wow. How much more can your life suck? First you buy a PS3 and now your little dream world is shattered by cold, hard data:
http://www.gamespot.com/news/6169379.html?om_act=c onvert&om_clk=newstop&tag=newstop;title;1
A 360 port out for four days, outsold by 50% a month's worth of the PS3's "killer app". Let's see, the 360 has a ten million unit head start and the PS3 sells less than the 360 every month. That means the PS3 sales will catch up to the 360 around... NEVER.
When will people learn that Amazon's sales rank is meaningless at best and disnhonest at worst? Ever wonder if Amazon would put some poor selling crap in their top 10 just to create some false buzz (or give Sony some head) and move a few units collecting dust?

I could swear the big fuss about this was three years ago. I think you guys are a little behind.