Console Wars IV

[El_Cid]

Wii, most consoles in USA:

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=19477

[DrSpike]

Originally posted by Asher

Well, arguably it is a collection of minigames.

There's not a whole lot of game to it, it's more mindless than a game.

And you own it and have clearly spent some time playing it. Interesting.

[DrSpike]

Originally posted by lord of the mark


Wii has now passed the 360 in installed base in the US

Well done Wii.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by DrSpike


I missed this until Lotm quoted it.

Spore clearly is a casual gamer's game. The reason is will have wide appeal is the same reason the Wii is doing so well.

Spikey, since I guess you dont read the Spore fiorum, Im mentioning this here. you should look at this interview with Soren Johnson:

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3722/interview_soren_johnson__spores_.php?page=2

its clear that the Tribe (ie RTS) and Civ (ie TBS) phases have definitely been made with traditional strat features and gameplay in mind. Its also very clear that Soren insisted on varying difficulty levels - the easy mode will be pure Will Wright sandbox, the difficult mode will present some real challenge, though apparently they insisted on gimping the AI even at the hard modes (but I wonder if that will be moddable?) It probably WONT ever be your favorite game, but it really does sound like it could open up a new market for traditional strategy games, by introducing the essentials of such gameplay to folks who would never have tried them.

Obligatory on topic:

The firesale on the 20 gig Xboxes should make next months NPD look quite different.

[DrSpike]

I looked at the various E3 vids earlier. I agree Spore is shaping up to have more game than say the Sims, though this isn't hard of course.

[Asher]

Originally posted by DrSpike


And you own it and have clearly spent some time playing it. Interesting.

It is quite enjoyable to play with the SO and goof off with.

[lord of the mark]

NPD via Neogaf

GTA4 for the 360 was number 11

12,13, 14 were for the Wii - Rock Band, Brawl, and GH:Aerosmith

GH:Aerosmith for the 360 was 16

GTA4 for the PS3 was 19

Lego Indiana Jones for the 360 was 20 (the others were games for NDS or PS2)

[El_Cid]

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=19612

Wii cleans up in uk chart.

[Asher]

"Sports Party", "Carnival Funfair Games", and "Big Beach Sports" are in the top? Really?

There is no hope at all for the UK. Does anyone there at all have any concept of what a game is?

[Nikolai]

I understand your frustration Asher. After all, the only real gamers are those who play like you, and seeing other gamers decending into such a low point must be real hard on you.

[Nostromo]

Its not about the real or hardcore gamers anymore, its about the "mainstream" gamers or the casual gamers. That's where the money is. Even Microsoft said, when they launched the 360, that they wanted to reach a lot more people this time around, that they wanted to expand to the very lucrative casual gamer's market. Well, it seems that Nintendo is beating them on that front.

[DrSpike]

Originally posted by Nikolai
I understand your frustration Asher. After all, the only real gamers are those who play like you, and seeing other gamers decending into such a low point must be real hard on you.

[DrSpike]

Originally posted by Nostromo
Its not about the real or hardcore gamers anymore, its about the "mainstream" gamers or the casual gamers. That's where the money is. Even Microsoft said, when they launched the 360, that they wanted to reach a lot more people this time around, that they wanted to expand to the very lucrative casual gamer's market. Well, it seems that Nintendo is beating them on that front.

Yes, Nintendo have shown just what is possible with this group, and now the 360 frantically wants a piece of the action.

I'm sticking to my 360 though.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Nikolai
I understand your frustration Asher. After all, the only real gamers are those who play like you, and seeing other gamers decending into such a low point must be real hard on you.

It's a bit like calling Britney Spears' 'music' as "art"...it is shallow, hollow, and disrespectful to real musicians.

Those 3 games I singled out are atrocious. They're cash cows bought by stupid people who will only play them for 10-20 minutes before they reach the "depth" of the game and get bored.

This could be devastating to the industry, not unlike the video game crash of the 80s brought on by cash cow, "mainstream" games like ET. In fact, it is alarmingly similar.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Asher
"Sports Party", "Carnival Funfair Games", and "Big Beach Sports" are in the top? Really?

Here are reviews:

Big Beach Sports: 4.5/10

http://www.gamespot.com/wii/sports/bigbeachsports/review.html

Looks like the reason these titles are so far up the chart is they cost a tiny fraction of real games...

Sports Party: Can't find a single review, but the "sister" games range from 3 to 5 out of 10...can't imagine this will be any different.

Carnival Funfair Games: Can't find any record of this game being reviewed by anyone. Actually, no gaming sites even know it exists. I'm sure it's stunning.