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Gaming Gaffes of 2004
jvm writes "It's about time for the "Best Games of 2004" articles to flood the web, and in preparation Curmudgeon Gamer has assembled Gaming Gaffes of 2004 (alternate link), a followup to our 2003 edition. This year we point to the the EA_spouse blog, the Driv3r review scandal, Sony's hardware missteps, and seven other less than impressive moments from the past year."
Manhunt playing kids getting murdered!
Strangely, only the American retail price for Katamari Damacy was $20. The Japanese original retailed for about 4000 yen (about $38), a discount from the normal 6980 yen price (about $66) (really) for new games. It's now available in a best sellers edition for about 2400 yen, bringing it closer to the American retail price.
In fact, Katamari Damacy now costs less in Japan than the Katamari Damacy Soundtrack CD, which amazon.co.jp will sell you for about 2900 yen or $28 American.
For more information, click here.
Yeah, the only reason I bought a PS2 was so I could play DDR. No joke.
I haven't played Donkey Konga yet. I don't think any rental store bothers with special controller games.
"When the atomic bomb goes off there's devastation...but when the atomic bong goes off there's celebraaaaation!"
Sony promised customers and Square that they would support the HDD with a "Virtual Jukebox" at the very least. You know... so people wouldn't spend the extra $50 for the PS2 version for nothing. Sony didn't make any games for it, didn't keep any of their promises for it, and decided it wasn't worth supporting.
Square stepped up to the plate for the HDD. Sony kicked them in the nuts and ran away. That's enough to make a "gaffe of 2004" without even considering the consumer.
If you ever wonder why Square can't seem to complete Final Fantasy XII and are buddies with Nintendo again, this may be the reason, at least in part.
Absolutely Deus Ex Invisible War was a HUGE fuckup. They had what could've been a hugely profitable franchise with more sequels. They showed off some screenshots that were stunningly pretty. Fans (myself included) were rabid for this game.
And then... the demo released. It ran so incredibly poorly and with settings geared towards the Xbox version (which seems to have been the project lead) that entire forums were filled with tips on getting just the DEMO to run properly. Instead of gamers clamouring for more (ala Battlefield 1942), they had die-hard fans of the original swearing to never go near the game and new players wondering what the fuss was about in the first place. Xbox owners never cared in the first place and it showed in the sales figures. Harvey Smith (lead designer) eventually quit Ion Storm Austin, and so did Warren Spector. Ion Storm Austin is now just a hollow shell. Most of this can be attributed to the decision to design the game around the limitations of the Xbox. One decision may have cost millions of dollars from future games and gutted an entire dev studio, as well as tarnishing the names of 2 respected game designers (Smith and Spector). That definitely deserves to be on the list.
"But I trust in the people's capacity for reflection, rage and rebellion." -Oscar Olivera