In these uncertain economic times, even the formerly recession proof gaming industry has to adapt to protect itself. After the success of Mario and Sonic at the Olympics, many other publishers are attempting to get in on the act, cross pollinating genres and characters into new concepts. Below we have an example of three of the sort of games you’ll be playing in 2009.
Cooking Mama has been a big hit for minor publisher Majesco and now they are teaming up with Microsoft, fresh of taking Halo into the TRS genre with Halo Wars. One of MS’s stated aims is to broaden the 360′s audience so their first attempt should be looked at in much the same way we look at Web TV, Zune and Windows Vista.
Cooking Masterchief offers plays to not only coop cooking lessons, but enables you to compete in 16 player Multiplayer cook-offs on Xbox Live. Create your own recipes in the Forge and share them with other players.
Sony, not to be outdone has taken two of their iconic characters and put them together in a brand new title.
Snake and Kratos in the Modern Pentathlon sees some beloved characters compete in fencing, shooting, sneaking, loving wenches and codec quicktime events. With over 30 hours of cutscenes directed by Hideo Kojima, this is one game that could only be made on a Blu Ray disc.
and lastly, Madden NFL 09 may not be on PC but there is at last one new Madden title on PC. Madden Flight Simulator
Despite his mortal fear of flying, John Madden has put his full weight behind this project. Your job is to get John to the game by hook or by crook. In order to prepare himself for the possibility of flying, John attempted to board a flight to Las Vegas but his phobias got the better of him, causing an ‘incident’ onboard. Luckily the moment was captured and has become the cover image for this innovative title.
Activision have started the PR for what looks to be Infinity Ward’s next Call of Duty game. Whilst other companies seem to have learnt their lesson about yearly updates, Activision obviously haven’t. EA seemed to have stopped the annual release of Medal of Honor games, id aren’t churning out yearly updates to Quake and Doom. Halo, Gears, Resistance and Killzones aren’t being squeezed out every year. But Activision seem content to have a Call of Duty every year, as well as multiple versions of Guitar Hero annually. But curiously enough WoW is still the original with only two expansions in nearly four and a half years.
Iterating till doomsday has seen a lot of game series being ruined, but you can predict when this going happen very easily- People start referring to it as a franchise as if its a frozen yogurt stand in a mall. The more often you make the same game with only minor upgrades, the more likely you are to suffer from boredom and deja vu. With games like Madden, there’s evidence to suggest that many football fans buy the game every couple of years, rather than every installment. With Madden, there’s also no other choice if you want an NFL game.
With shooters, its perhaps more perilous because there is so much more choice. Call of Duty has to compete with Resistance and Killzone on PS3; Gears and Halo on 360; Tom Clancy shooters on all systems; Left 4 Dead and Team Fortress on PC as well as the ancient juggernauts of Counterstrike, Battlefield and Unreal games. Valve didn’t release TF3 a year after TF2, they added new content (free or not) but Activision took the success of Call of Duty 4 and threw it away by release the almost as successful Call of Duty World at War a year after. If there’s a new CoD game every year, how long before people get sick of it? You can argue that they sold a large number of CoD4 boxes and then a year later sold a large number of CoD WaW boxes. But they also had to devote two of their best teams to making a new title in two years, rather than smaller teams making expansions or DLC.
You can tell the tide of the Guitar Hero Rock Band style games has turned a little bit. People seem a little less enthusiastic about those games these days. Perhaps the lure of being a Rock Star fades after a while? Or the sight of fat geeks rocking out gets old after a while? You know how everyone groans about “another WWII game?” That’s because there was a time when you had Medal of Honor, Commandos, Brothers in Arms Wolfenstein, DoD, CoD, plus dozens of strategy titles and smaller PC games set in the same settings. There are dozens of SF or fantasy based games but the difference is they have freedom to make up new worlds whereas games based on actual events or settings (such as WWII or Modern Combat games) have to adhere to a certain aesthetic and conform to real world experience and expectations. You couldn’t have Gaz pull out a BFG and keep a straight face.
Look at Battlefield. First there was a WWII game and some expansions. Then there was Battlefield Vietnam a few years later, the Battlefield 2 with its mini expansions and console versions and then Battlefield 2142. The SF sequel fizzled pretty much and now the series is drifting backwards in time like some kind of ass-backwards Buck Rogers. Bad Company is back in current times and Battlefield Heroes and the new downloadable games are in WWII (ish) times. EA tried to iterate by innovating but really what they needed was space in between releases.
We’ve already mentioned Blizzard and WoW. But look at Starcraft. It was a huge hit in the late 90′ s but here we are, a decade and change later and we’re still waiting for the sequel (Just suppose EA had bought Blizzard in the past. We’ve have had Starcraft 2-5, Diablo 3, 4 and Origins and Warcraft 4-6 before EA shut them down). Of course, they are releasing SCII in three different versions. Kotick, you magnificent bastard! The clamouring for new SC is such that people will buy the three versions and not bitch too much about triple charged. WHy? Because Blizzard let the demand for a sequel build organically over time. Maybe 11-12 years is overkill, but its worked.
Personally, I am happy to have a new CoD game each year. But I know the series probably won’t be what it is if it starts fatiguing gamers to the point Activision mandate harmful changes in order to fix the malaise. “Have you guys considered adding giant robots?”
Nintendo has announced the pricing of the DSi for western markets. US$169 for the States. CA$199 up north. 149 pounds for the UK, AU$300 for Australia. Its a tale of woe and exchange rates up ending themselves because although many currencies have lost value against the US dollar, they’ve also lost ground again Asian currencies so new product launches are being used to “fix” up the exchange rate. Hence I now have the option of paying $300 to replace my dead and dusty PSP or $300 to replace my still working and still no less dusty DSPhat.
What do you get for the extra money of a DSLite, which still sells for $190 around here? Bigger screens. Two cameras, not Panavision widescreen but welcome nonetheless. An SD card slot in lieu of the GBA cart slot so its even easier to mod, media player anilities out of the box, firmware updates so its even harder to keep modded and DSWare. DSware is obviously limited to the DSi but if you don’t use it, the lite may still be a better investment. Or an iPhone, which adds a flexible mini computer and a telephone into the mix.
A couple of weeks ago, EA shut down the Brisbane office of Pandemic. They had so much fun doing that, they shut them down again this week. Here’s the CEO of Electronic Arts and if you look into his eyes you will see a window into what’s left of his soul.
We’re read the news. EA’s had a bad financial time of it. They’ve gone from saying they will cut costs by closing 9 locations and shedding 600 jobs to closing 12 locations and 1100 jobs. So far they’ve only closed the offices of Black Box and Pandemic Brisbane. Pandemic Brisbane were given what sounded like a second chance to many. Their new Wii IP was handed to them so long as they could find a new publisher, the remaining staff given the lease, some money and their equipment. Now EA’s decided to take back the IP, sell the physical assets and turf out the remaining Pandemic staff (from a building they moved into only a few short months ago that sports a giant Pandemic sign on the exterior). Stay classy, EA.
2009 has only just begun and is a blank slate in terms of how well games will sell world wide. Last year, the Wii sold more consoles than Sony and MS did. In 2009, we predict that this trend will continue. The top games for 2009 are also predicted. NOTE: Predictions are made based on serious scientific analysis and stuff and crap and everything like that and stuff.
The Wii’s sales trajectory is projected to upswing at a rate higher than the combined downswing of its co-belligerent parties. In layperson’s terms, the Wii will be hotter than dogshit on a pre-heated stove. The Wii audience will also be expanded past its traditional base of soccer moms, pensioners and disappointed Nintendo fans. In 2009, we expect the Wii to start selling more units to the following socio- economic groups: Pawn-brokers, scroungers in WWII PoW camps, chimpanzees and actors. Seriously, even that Dooce.com chick has a Wii. You can see by the graph that Nintendo will soon have more money than God (especially since the Bernie Madoff affair).
When reached for comment, Nintendo of America’s president, Reggie Fils-Aime, merely screamed down the phone line deafening our correspondent. Nintendo have a large number of terrific products heading to retail in 2009. Yes, they are just reprints of Wii Sport, Wiifit, WiiPlay as well as some new games like Gamecube Mario Tennis and Pikmin with motion controls. Nintendo also released the statement speaking to hardcore gamers: ” We haven’t forgotten core gamers. We often openly mock them around the office.”
So looking to the Xbox 360. We are expecting double digit growth in people buying a more reliable ‘Jasper’ model now that the launch units with its ‘DepressedLemmingOnCliffTop’ are now beyond their extended three year RROD warranty. We also believe the second-hand value of those launch units to spiral into a downward falling-type deal trajectory concurrent with their perceived chance of being fixed for free.
Sony’s fortunes, failing faster than a 360 wrapped in a towel, seem to have a more complicated prognosticatory prediction template. PS2, in its 9th year, has seen sales starting to tail off but PSP sales are rising, despite the supposed fact the last PSP game to turn a profit was the PS2 port of GTA Liberty City Stories (Gamestop’s recent trial of not printing out receipts has paid off).
PS3 is not having an easy run in the market place. Here’s a graph of PS3 sales expectations launch-to-date.
Of course you can prove all sorts of things with statistics, but you can prove even more unbelievable shit with graphs and charts.
Sony Computer Entertainment head honcho Kaz Hirai recently made gaming headlines for some interesting claims made to a Playstation magazine. Despite the fact that worldwide there are over 45 millions Wiis and around 20 million PS3′s and 27 million Xbox 360′s (5 of which are in Japan- gaijin and/or homosexuals obviously). Hirai made the claim “I’d like to think that we continue official leadership in this industry.”
Today was a weird day. Some friends of mine worked at a games company up the road at a now closed Pandemic office. Its a shitty time to lose your job and I’ll always grateful mine is still (touch wood) around. So I’m going to raise a glass of Diet Coke to my friends at that now deserted place. Join me if you will.
It’s interesting. Last week, Ziff Davis Media closed long-running magazine EGM one month shy of its 20th anniversary issue (obsessive compulsive completists- you may now start pulling out your hair- though wash your hands first. And again afterwards. And again) along with laying off around 40 EGM and 1up.com staff. The Fanboys have reacted with sorrow, sadness, poetry, rap and donations to keep these guys in podcasting equipment. The 100+ Neogaf thread is testament to the impact these guys and gals had on videogame geekdom. Hey, I loved 1upyours, even though the music was just Electric Rodeo in Soundtrack Pro.
In the last month, Crystal Dynamics shed some staff (30), Free Radical nearly went broke and made most of its staff redundant (140), Pandemic closing brisbane (as part of EA’s cutting of 1000 positions, Factor 5 shedding half of its staff, Midway issuing pink slips like its going out of fashion, THQ, Turbine, Aspyr, Brash. Even Sony and MS are getting in on the act “Hey guys if they’re firing 10 000, we can’t be seen to not fire more.” The last two may not actually be cutting games jobs yet but this is on top of most major industries. We’re in a recession. We get the message. This is after a year where Silicon Knights cut staff, Lucasarts cut numbers, Activision dropped a number of projects after its merger with Vivendi (with some redundancies I believe) and EA already closed studios earlier when they acquired Bioware/Pandemic from Bono and, oh, John Ricitello. You could imagine the bloodbath now if EA had managed to take over Take 2?
Losing your job sucks if you didn’t want to lose it. Ron Livingstone tried to get fired in Office Space and he merely got a promotion. But something of a double standard has emerged. Internet assholes, being the assholes they are are quick to add their comments (try moderating the comments- for spam- of even a small website like this and you know its a decent sized job each day). On the Kotaku comments underneath the Pandemic Brisbane closure story, the general sentiment is “oh, they only made Destroy All Humans 1 and 2 and that cancelled Dark Knight game (allegedly)? Not Mercenaries or Saboteur- the games I want to play? Then I’m all right. Their games weren’t good anyway and they deserve to be fired and shot and bulldozed into a mass grave.”
I’m exaggerating slightly but the point is, they don’t deserve this. No one does. No one in games sets out to make shitty or less than great games. The guys who are making Imagine Babies would probably rather make games like WoW, TF2 or Gears but that’s the job they got. The guys making Nickelodeon games do so since that’s the work on offer. They’ll try their best with the budget (manpower),time, publisher and licensing constraints (the number one reason many licensed games suck is not because of the devs are incompetent, its because the license holders can be incredibly protective of their moneymakers).
So we have the love for 1up’s very talented guys and gals, and we have hatred for the 1500 or so videogame developers who’ve lost their job. There’s sometimes satisfaction expressed that people who are laid of from a developer of anything less than AAA titles lose their jobs. Wow- that’s pretty fucked up.
I can barely see the screen I’m that giddy with excitement. This is probably the greatest thing to happen to the human race since sliced bread, penicillin and Alyson Hannigan. In June 2009, The Great Giana Sisters DS will be released.
I KNOW! HOW AWESOME IS THAT! HOLY FRENCH BREADSTICKS IN A PORN FILM, PEOPLE!
Now as you all know, The Great Giana Sisters is one of the best video games of all time. It’s one failing – if it can be considered a failing, because to me it’s its greatest asset – is that it’s best played on a Commodore 64.
The Nintendo DS is one of the greatest game systems of all time. It’s one major failing is that, unless you’re one of the cool kids with a homebrew cart, is that there is no way to play Great Giana Sisters on it.
WELL NOW THAT PROBLEM IS OVER. One of the greatest games ever made is coming to one of the greatest gaming systems ever made so therefore it will be THE GREATEST THING EVER DONE BY HUMANKIND.
Seriously, everyone out there who are still making video games: Just stop. There is no point any more. You’ve been bested. It’s like making music after The Beatles did Rubber Soul. You’re kidding yourselves. Video games have now reached their zenith and we can wrap it all up and go home.
CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO I MEAN DAMN
Dear people who are making this: I love you. I love you so, so much, with a love that is as pure as it is somewhat creepy. Send us beta releases so we may fawn over every pixel, sound effect and gaming bliss contained therein.
Today it’s been revealed that Square Enix have thrown their hat into the ring to take over Eidos. This has serious implications for many people including the cottage industry of UK models who portray Lara Croft in photoshoots and at trade shows. If Square Enix controlled Tomb Raider, would she look like this?
Over the years we’ve had Sega and Sammy, Namco and Bandai, Bioware and Pandemic. So far this year, EA has tried to buy Take Two interactive and failed. Activision and Vivendi merged and unleashed Kotickor The Barbarian. Warner Interactive seems to have a solid grip on Eidos and now other suitors have expressed interest in the publisher recently. Squre Enix also recently tried to merge with Tecmo, who said “we’re flattered but no thanks, we’re not that kind of publisher,” and who then subsequently started merger talks with Koei. Midway’s merger with the concept of bankruptcy has taken another step closer to fruition and Atari’s merger with success seems to be ever elusive.
Who’s next? THQ and EA make THEAQ? Would Crave and Capcom make Crap? Would Codemasters and Gamecock be Cockmasters?
