411 Games Fact or Fiction 12.28.09: Bioshock 2, Holiday Sales, Subscription Based PSN, More

Posted by Marcos Aranda on 12.28.2009

Will holiday sales end up better than expected? Is Bioshock 2 your most anticipated title of the first quarter in 2010? Will we see any groundbreaking announcements at this year's E3? Alexandra Pusateri and Jordan Williams break down these questions and more on this week's Fact or Fiction.



What's up, what's up people! We hope you enjoyed your Christmas vacation and are looking forward to the New Year but 411mania never takes a break. So here we are with another edition of Games Fact or Fiction. Enjoy!

1. This year's E3 will see some BIG time announcements from all three console makers.

Alexandra Pusateri: FICTION - Nintendo doesn't really come out with any big announcements every year. I think Sony and Microsoft might announce some big titles, but with Natal under its belt, I think Sony might be the contender at E3.

Jordan Williams: FACT - I'm going to side with the positive only because I think this year is the even playing feild year for E3, last year Microsoft was going in with all of the momentum with Nintendo trying to convince everything they weren't casual and Sony sort of slipping under the radar. When it was over we got motion control from everyone, Microsoft showing off some big announcements and Sony showing that they do have a plan in place. Now that everyone is on the same level playing field I think that Microsoft and Sony (and hopefully Nintendo) are going to try some big announcements to outdo everyone else to put a gap between themselves.

Score: 0 for 1

2. Sony's potential decision to start offering subscription based services is a good idea.

Alexandra Pusateri: FICTION - If Sony starts charging for services, PS3 fans will be losing a bulletpoint on their PowerPoint presentation to convert 360 fans. Sony is going to have a harder time trying to get people to play on their system if they start charging like Microsoft.

Jordan Williams: FICTION - Sony has gone almost five years without charging for the service, turning around out of the blue and starting to charge for it NOW would just make no sense. If they want to have some sort of service that allows for XBL Gold like perks (early Demos, exclusive content, etc etc) MAYBE that can work, but they have gone too long for free to start charging for multiplayer support

Score: 1 for 2

3. Project Natal will prove to be a flop.

Alexandra Pusateri: FICTION - but only because of the casual market. I think -- like the Wii -- the casual market will eat up Natal, but it won't be such a big hit with hardcore gamers. It'll probably be gimmicky at first, like the Wii, but it might push technology (and computers, since it is Microsoft) in the right direction.

Jordan Williams: FACTION - Because I honestly do not see NATAL doing great as a GAMING device because I think it will get stuck in the 'gimmick' phase that Nintendo goes through. Nintendo eventually gets out of the phase because since touch screen/motion support is the only way to control most of the games, they HAVE to fine tune it and get it right or else it will fail. If NATAL flops, Microsoft can just go back to normal games and no one would care. With that being said, though. I think the tech behind NATAL can really do a lot of good outside of the scope of gaming. Computer systems, airplane menus, security camera systems. There is a lot of stuff NATAL looks like it can do outside of the scope of being a game component that would make a bigger splash. So I think NATAL could flop as a gaming device, but as a peice of techology it could go pretty far.

Score: 1 for 3



4. Holiday sales will show to have been quite strong and better than expected.

Jordan Williams: FACT - The one plus side of this economic downturn and what not is the fact that everyone have become a smarter shopper for the most part. Meaning that while the industry might be down as a whole because people are renting more than buying or simple not buying every crappy game that comes down the line. People are sticking to buying one or two games...and it's usually the hot holiday hyped titles like Modern Warfare 2 and AC2.

Alexandra Pusateri: FACT - I think with titles like Assassin's Creed II, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and Left 4 Dead 2, holiday sales may exceed expectations a bit, but I don't think excessively so.

Score: 2 for 4

5. You purchased one or more titles this month and have been enjoying them.

Jordan Williams: FACT - I bought Dragon Age and Borderlands and I am enjoying the everloving fuck out of them. I am not a huge fan of competitive multiplayer gaming (unless it's L4D2, I'll wreck you.) but I really REALLY love Co-Op gaming. Just something about working together for a common goal instead of trying to fuck everyone over with the cheapest tactics works better for me. And DA:O? It's fucking crack.

Alexandra Pusateri: FACT - I got two older games -- Audiosurf and Indigo Prophecy -- on Steam, because they were having crazy sales all month. I'm a bit addicted to Audiosurf, since I have a lot of music, and Indigo Prophecy is a mindfuck in all sense of the word.

Score: 3 for 5

6. Bioshock 2 is your most anticipated title of Q1 2010.

Jordan Williams: FICTION - Mass Effect 2. Period. All other Q1 games can lick the sweatiest part of my body.

Alexandra Pusateri: FICTION - Q1 is the quarter of the sequels. Mass Effect 2,Starcraft 2, and Splinter Cell: Conviction are all coming out in Q1. There is no way the Bioshock franchise will be able to compete with such bomb franchises like God of War III and Final Fantasy XIII, which people have been anticipating way longer than Bioshock.

Final Score: 4 for 6
So what's the deal with you guys? Agree or disagree? Fact or Fiction? Give us your thoughts!