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Gaming's Biggest Blunders of 2006
Ground Glass writes "After all of the self-awarding that goes on in the games industry this year, it's nice to be reminded that there were actually some pretty big industry disasters in 2006. Who can forget that timeless Gizmondo car crash story, for example? Or the onset of microtransactions for cheat codes? One of the Curmudgeon Gamers, Matt Matthews, lays out the worst the industry had to offer this year, from game hype to journalistic screwups, and everything in between." From the article: "3. Bill of Rights -- Void Where Prohibited by Law. We should also sit back and enjoy a steaming hot cup of schadenfreude at the expense of those tireless defenders of morality and the souls of our children: the state governments of Michigan, Minnesota, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and of course Illinois. Each has passed a law restricting the sales of videogames, and each has been stopped by the courts. Apparently there are things called 'constitutions; which grant 'rights' like 'free speech' which 'activist judges' are using to strike down the very laws which will protect our children from rock and r...videogames." He also offers up some of the cut content that didn't make it into the final article.
Nah, because it'll sell like hotcakes no matter when it's released. Sad, but true.
"If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; But if you really make them think, they'll hate you." - DM
How exactly would not releasing a product that isn't ready for release be a blunder? If only more companies would spend time fixing their software instead of throwing it at the market for the holiday rush. Releasing unfinished games is a blunder, not the other way around.
Neverwinter Nights 2
Frag 'em all...
Yes, as I was about to say :
From TFA:
"7. Nintendo Says 'when hand gets sweaty, simply wipe 'em'
The Nintendo Wii, current darling of the videogame press, has a dark side...
It's really inexcusable. If your commercials show beautiful people thrashing about in the throes of videogame ecstasy, you have to expect that consumers are going to want to do the same. But those models in your commercials are trained professionals working in a controlled environment. As soon as you take that lethal Wii remote out into the Real World, accidents are possible, even likely. "
Yes, Nintendo made a huge blunder by showing professionals using their console. We all made the same mistake: we assumed these were professional models and/or actors. In reality, they were professional "hold'er-on'er"s, who had abundant professional experience which allowed them to maintain a grasp, however tenuous, on the wiimote, instead of letting go like blithering retar... I mean, your average user.
No disclaimer Nintendo? For shame.
Let's not forget how Sony Slammed Microsoft for botching a World wide launch (despite MS shipping greater numbers and actually making it world wide), and how they also Slammed the Wii for being 'just a gimmick' before adding tilt functions into their controller. I wonder how Sony's investors, (and executives) keep being "overly optimistic".
I speak for the general public when I say that it's probably a good thing you aren't an engineer or manager. From the consumer's perspective (the only one that counts), the strap IS part of the controller because it came with the controller.
Again, if you're developing for consumers, you need to assume that a significant portion of your buyers will be dummies. Smart companies spend time testing their products in "dummy" sitations precisely for this reason: to figure out what bad things can happen when consumers use their products in a way other than was originally intended around a theoretical white board.
Kudos to Nintendo for trying to fix their fuck-up, but it was a fuck-up, and one that could have been avoided with a better "beta" program.
Last year's #5? Nintendo's Revolution's big thing was being a Gamecube with a motion-sensing controller. In 2005, derided for being underpowered and gimmicky. ... yeah, looks like that -really- screwed up Nintendo there. They made a terrible mistake, making a system that out-sold the PS3 (Yeah, yeah, they had more available... still counts!).
Makes me wonder, at the end of 2007, which item from this list will we look back on and say, "Y'know, that really wasn't a bad thing..."
"Let me list a few things:"
Putting aside your entire message sounds like a Sony astroturf plant, I notice you didn't list anything having to do with the most important criteria for a video game system -- fun and games. At least the Wii can genuinely claim to deliver a new and more immersive video-gaming experience; to the layman, the PS3 is just Sony's rebranding of an XBox.
Paying $500-$600 to play the same games you can already get with an XBox 360 or a PS2 doesn't seem smart to me. But then, since you got yours for free, I guess that's moot...
--R.J.
Electric-Escape.net
I was under the impression that that's exactly what they'd done...
Sigs are for the weak.