Slashdot Mirror
360 Launch Lineup And New Games
More information continues to become available from the X05 event. Spitfire15 writes "id Software has announced a new Wolfenstein game coming onto the Xbox 360. During Peter Moore's section of X05's keynote speech he introduced id Software's Todd Hollenshead to the stage. As soon as he got on he unexpectedly announced that id Software and Raven Software were already underway with the next installment of the Wolfenstein series." Additionally, Bioware groupie writes "Today Bioware announced a new science fiction action-rpg that is already in development, Mass Effect. It will only be released for the Xbox 360 with no PC port planned and it's promising photo-realistic graphics, squad based gameplay, and continuous character development." Both titles won't make the launch window. The launch titles themselves are still up in the air, a little more than a month before the console launches. Gamespot reports: "In an effort to clear up the confusion, GameSpot asked David Reid, director of platform marketing for the Xbox, what the exact 360 launch lineup is. He said that 'there will be 15 to 20 Xbox 360 titles available on launch day' with around another half-dozen making it to market by the end of the year."
If Morrowind had been the only game that I purchased for the original Xbox, I still would have considered it worth the money. I can't even guess at how many hours I've put into that game.
Even systems that failed in the marketplace like the Dreamcast and Saturn seem to have vastly more interest from consumers than they have for the 360.
It seems like the 360 has three pilars of support:
1) Pc games that will be better on people's home computers
2) Meh exclusives
3) Watered down ports of PS3 games
Even on cultish Xbox sites like teamxbox there seem to be huge numbers of hardcore Xbox fans saying they are going to pass on the 360 - or the more emotionally easy to accept 'wait to see what the PS3 shows in Spring'. Of course that is before those posts get deleted...
Microsoft is really going to have a hard time keeping up the marketing 'selling out everywhere' and 'selling out at faster rate than any system' press releases over the next few months.
I have to wonder if this is going to be the end of the road for the Xbox as we know it. If Microsoft doesn't sell massive amounts of online subscriptions and games per console, the 360 is going to be just another huge money pit. And there is every indication that the top management at Microsoft have lost their patience and the 360 is the Xbox team's 'one more chance'
I honestly feel that when Nintendo unveiled the new controller, home video games changed as we know it. Pretty much everyone, even the most die hard fan boys on all sides had to take a step back. Saying to themselves, "what the hell have we be doing these last few years?" Even your average joe consumer can't really think of a reason to buy the new XBox or PS2 aside from hi-def.
I think right now, both Sony and Microsoft are seriously watching Nintendo. There are tons of meetings going on right now analyzing what people *may* want. This is diametrically opposed to the way we've been doing it, which is "give them what sold last time, but prettier and with some minor new features."
I own all consoles currently out, and they each have their own advantages. However, I'm grinning ear to ear at what Nintendo has done to the industry. It's much like when photography was first invented. Painters were suddenly unecessary, as photos were quicker an more realistic. It took Picasso and other outstanding artists to show what painting could bring to the world that photos could not. I've used this analogy before, but never has it seemed more appropriate.
As for MS and Sony (to a lesser extent), they have already entrenched themselves in their battlegrounds, there is little that can be done to go back. Only time will tell if they are in the right war.
-- I have fans? Wow.