Console Wars VI

[Asher]

Simply put - 360/PS3 gamers have it pretty good, and unlike you I don't see that changing in the near future.

http://www.apolyton.net/forums/showthread.php?t=185152

The sea of 360 dross

I mean, what's going on? 4 months in, and not a good game in sight. It's always slower this time of year but the 360 review scores are starting to resemble Wii shovelware.

Looks like I just won the thread. You have recently been bemoaning the lack of quality 360 games, and now you're pretending like there's no issue. What is it?

[DrSpike]

Yeah there was a lull in the middle of the year (worse than normal), between SF4 and Forza3. But since then we've had MW2, AC2, L4D2 & Bayonetta, with ME2 and Bioshock 2 over the next few weeks.

Just to be clear, your position is now (unlike in that thread, oddly) that the quantity of good 360 games is dropping? You seem to switch positions depending on wind direction.

[Asher]

Yeah there was a lull in the middle of the year (worse than normal), between SF4 and Forza3. But since then we've had MW2, AC2, L4D2 & Bayonetta, with ME2 and Bioshock 2 over the next few weeks.

Just to be clear, your position is now (unlike in that thread, oddly) that the quantity of good 360 games is dropping? You seem to switch positions depending on wind direction.

My position is that development resources are being siphoned from traditional gaming into the new "casual" frontier. This may or may not result in more ****ty games or fewer good games. But the resource shortfall is a fact, and I am convinced ultimately it will reduce quantity and quality of games that we COULD have had on the platform. Whether this is more or less than historical averages is inconsequential, but a point you seemingly fixate on.

FWIW you may recall that in late 2008 I spent a month working on a Wii game. That was going to be my company's first console game, it was targetting XBLA. The execs at the company demanded the team produce a Wii game instead to target the market. So that's what they're releasing, and it's an example of the exact **** I'm talking about.

[DrSpike]

So you've backed away from your earlier statements that the impact is being felt now on quality.

Over the longer term the outcomes you describe may occur - but I think you overestimate the chances.

[Asher]

So you've backed away from your earlier statements that the impact is being felt now on quality.

I'll give you a chance to apologize for this strawman before I lash out at you again. This is getting ridiculous.

[Felch]

We're sharing the same development resources as the people who buy Wii Fit, it's a zero-sum situation. And don't tell me they just hire more people to do Wii-like games, it's not true. Tons of companies have been closing shop and issuing massive layoffs this year as it is, they're not growing.

Are there any good game developers out there making casual games now? I don't give a **** if some crappy development team is making ****ty Wii games instead of ****ty movie licensed games or whatever. As long as the AAAs and the good indie developers are keeping us knee deep if fun **** there's no reason to complain.

[Asher]

Are there any good game developers out there making casual games now? I don't give a **** if some crappy development team is making ****ty Wii games instead of ****ty movie licensed games or whatever. As long as the AAAs and the good indie developers are keeping us knee deep if fun **** there's no reason to complain.

The reason Wii games and other shovelware suck is not a factor of the talent behind it (usually). They happen because publishers (who pay for the development) want the game out yesterday and they know that the Wii market is not very discerning about quality (after all, they did buy Wiis and statistics show they buy mass quantities of terrible games). A lot of studios adapt to the Wii's mantra of develop quickly, develop often, release it and someone will buy it. The development cycle for those games are like 2-3 months rather than 2-3 years like proper games.

FWIW, that is what MS is trying to change with Natal. They're executing quality control to ensure the brand doesn't get devalued like 99% of Wii 3rd party games have done. They have Rare making Natal games exclusively, and they're going to be casual games. Rare is a good studio.

[Felch]

I agree completely on the shovelware. It's strange because Nintendo's golden age was based on strict quality control, and restricting developers to a handful of titles per year. I guess they figure third party developers are just a side thought these days.

[self biased]

Rare is a good studio.

i'm wondering if we'll see a killer instinct revival. i've always enjoyed that franchise.

[Asher]

That'd be nice. Capcom is being said to be resurrecting an "oldschool" Capcom franchise with a Natal game...they're insisting it'll appeal to the 'Core' gaming audience, not casuals. Which is interesting. Not going to be available at launch, though.

Most people seem to think it'll be a Ghosts 'n Goblins game: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghosts_%27n_Goblins

[DrSpike]

Ghosts and Goblins owned - I spent many a 10p on that.

That series was one of the meanest in history though - the NES and SNES games in the series were legendarily tough.

[KaiserIsak]

Ghosts 'n Goblins was always overrated in my opinion. The fact that you had to complete it twice to properly complete it killed an already impossible game. A reinvention/rebirth could however be interesting if done right.

[DrSpike]

There's a solid rumour going around that Rare is making a 360 version of WiiFit. Asher will no doubt be ecstatic.

[KaiserIsak]

There's a solid rumour going around that Rare is making a 360 version of WiiFit. Asher will no doubt be ecstatic.

Now this is hilarious

Where did you find the rumor?

[DrSpike]

I saw it at TeamXbox but it's all over the net. Just google rare 360 WiiFit.