411 Games Fact or Fiction 04.19.11 Nintendo, Pokémon, Portal 2 and More
Posted by Adam Larck on 04.19.2011
Do we need a Dead Rising 2 remake? Should the Guitar Hero series die out instead of going on hiatus? Will Nintendo really release a new console this year? Is it surprising that Pokémon can still top sales charts? 411's Dan Watson and Justin Weinblatt debate these questions and more in this week’s 411 Fact or Fiction: Games!
Welcome back to another week of 411 Games Fact or Fiction. I'm Adam Larck, and you'll see me in Portal 2 later today. Other than that, just playing some more co-op games.
This week, we have Dan Watson going up against Justin Weinblatt. Let's see how these two do. Time for banner!
1.) Nintendo really will reveal a new console this year.
Dan Watson - Fact: With NPD numbers showing that Xbox is leading the way nowadays, Nintendo's fun idea of motion gaming was really perfected and stolen by Microsoft Kinect. I would say Nintendo needs to reach out to the hardcore gamers that will purchase a dark Zelda game or will honestly just purchase during tough economic times. On top of all this, how about a system that can be a DVD or Blu-Ray player, having a system that does nothing but play games really brings down the concept of home entertainment.
Justin Weinblatt - Fact: At this point there is so much smoke that there absolutely has to be a fire. So many outlets are reporting on this with so much confidence that it's hard to believe they're all full of crap.
Based on the way the information has been distributed, I'd wager that Nintendo itself is behind this. Major media outlets are reporting with 100% confidence, the news comes after some pretty big hints have been dropped, and several major industry figures have already commented on the story. Nintendo hasn't even given their typical "don't com-ment on rumors" statement. The whole thing reeks of viral marketing.
The big question now is what the controller for the new console will be like. Rumors point to a touch enabled screen for the next system. This does make sense, since touch screens are instantly familiar to anyone under 50. However, the controller described doesn't seem useful for motion controlled gaming. It's hard to imagine that Nintendo would abandon the very thing that brought them so much success.
Score: 1 for 1 - Considering all the information being leaked about it, look for an official announcement around E3 time.
2.) It doesn't surprise you that Pokémon can still top the NPD list.
Dan Watson - Fiction: I am just surprised a non-shooter is number one, let alone top one and two. Pokémon I thought would have been long gone at this point as most people who were into the series have grown up and maybe moved on...obviously not.
Justin Weinblatt - Fiction: Remember when people thought this was a fad? Pokémon is simply one of the best game designs ever made. The greatest asset of Pokémon is its ability to draw in new gamers. For every gamer that gets tired of catching them all, there are two new kids eager to start on their journey. This series still has an incredibly long lifespan. I wouldn't be surprised if Pokémon is still topping the charts ten years from now.
Score: 2 for 2 - Even after all these years, Pokémon can still turn a great profit.
3.) The Guitar Hero series just needs to die, not stay "on hiatus."
Dan Watson - Fiction: Yesterday I was playing games and realized how much I miss a new Guitar Hero. I wish that there could be a GH game that brings in a different type of music or incorporates rock with different types based on how far you are into the story. I'd love to play a bass in a jazz band then switch to metal, then bounce around a bit more. I hope they come up with a new idea.
Justin Weinblatt - Fiction: I love Guitar Hero. It's a great series with a really fun core. Every single person secretly wants to pretend they're a rock star. As such, there will always be a market for Guitar Hero games. Hopefully, Activision will have learned a little bit about moderation once the series returns from its hiatus.
Score: 3 for 3 - The music genre for plastic instruments is pretty much finished. This series just needs to be left alone I think.
4.) Dead Rising 2 doesn't need a remake with Frank West in the same city.
Justin Weinblatt - Fact: I love Dead Rising as much as the next guy. Probably even more. I also love Frank West (he's covered wars you know). Still, I can't see myself paying for the same game again, Frank or no Frank. The only way I'll be buying this one is if Capcom adds a lot of content at a budget price.
Dan Watson - Fact: Dead Rising 2 does not need to be re-made at all. I didn't even realize that there was a different guy. The game isn't played for the story, it is for the fun ways to kill tons of zombies and not have to worry about running out of ammo. I love the general idea of killing everything with a sword, then combining nails with a propane tank to blow up everything around it. I don't care if they have Chris Redfield as the main character, do not need to remake this game.
Score: 4 for 4 - How about we just move on to the third entry, not a spin-off.
5.) It's nice to see a developer (Bethesda) release Brink early, instead of getting an-other delay.
Justin Weinblatt - Fiction: I don't mind game delays. I'm patient enough to wait. A delayed game will eventually be good, but a bad game will be bad forever.
Dan Watson - Fact: It is more refreshing to see a developer say they got something done early. In any other industry it is looked down upon when you are late with a project. If I told my boss, "Hey. Sorry, there were some minor setbacks this month, I am gonna just push it back this month's numbers into next month." It just doesn't work. Good job Bethesda for doing what the rest of the country does on a day to day basis, finishing before schedule.
Score: 4 for 5 - Sure, it saw a delay too, but at least they're trying to let fans get their hands on it a bit sooner.
6.) You think George Hotz got off easy in the Sony lawsuit settlement.
Justin Weinblatt - No Comment: I have no idea what the terms of the settlement were. Therefore, I can't really comment.
Dan Watson - Fact: It is surprising that Sony didn't push this harder to get this into a bigger punishment. If I download a song or movie that Sony has touched I am going to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars, this guy got off lucky. He jailbreaks a PS3, then publishes how to do so on his own site, and only has his PayPal account turned over to Sony, then gets every IP address of people who visited his site turned over to Sony. Seems fair, he basically just got everyone who visited his site investigated by Sony, thanks a ton for that. He should have been fined heavily for publishing the information.
Score: 4 for 6 - I'm honestly surprised he didn't end up paying some.
Bonus Question.) You'll be picking up Portal 2 this week.
Justin Weinblatt - Fiction: I played the original Portal as part of the Orange Box. It was a really clever puzzle game with a ton of personality, but I can't see myself paying 60 dollars for that type of game. I'll probably buy it after a price drop.
Dan Watson - Fact: Already pre-ordered thanks to Best Buy's new deal of $45 on launch plus $10 in Best Buy rewards certificates. Thanks to Adam for pointing that out on Friday.
Adam Larck - Fact: You know, I was going to be strong, originally. I was going to hold off on getting this game, at least for a while. Then, Best Buy put it on sale for $45 before it was even released. I couldn't resist pre-ordering after that. Look for me on the 360 version at some point today. Yes, I know the PS3 was a better deal with the PC copy, but I prefer to play with friends on co-op.
The pair comes close, but stumbles on the last two, going 4-for-6. What do you think? Agree or disagree with their answers? Let us know. See you in seven!
Wow, someone actually said "No Comment" on something he wasn't informed on, I wish more writers would do this instead of trying to force an answer.
Posted By: Guest#5392 (Guest) on April 19, 2011 at 02:41 AM
Anyone who is surprised at Pokemon leading the NPD list shouldn't be writing a video game column. It's Pokemon for christ's sakes. Not to mention the only thing really competing against it was THQ's Call of Duty: Stereotypical Threat #5 (again, another genre, like music sim that is starting to all look and play the same)
Posted By: Cactus (Guest) on April 19, 2011 at 05:38 AM
For number 6, Justin couldn't do literally 10 seconds work to type George Hotz into google and look at the first link that came up?
It honestly would have taken the same amount of time to type his reponse as to look it up and then he could have answered the question. Why bother doing fact or fiction if you can't put even the minimum effort in?
Posted By: Rasher (Guest) on April 19, 2011 at 06:01 AM
Until they release Guitar Hero Iron Maiden, the franchise needs to die
Posted By: Guest#1319 (Guest) on April 19, 2011 at 07:21 AM
As a 30 year old gamer I'd love to see the next gen wii cater to the hardcore crowd once again for my own selfishness.
From a business standpoint though, I believe Nintendo is in its best interest to focus on the Wii's casual gamer market. Why alienate the group you just spent years to establish? Xbox and PS3 and PC are all heavily focused on the hardcore gamers with only splashes of casual on the side.
Posted By: babinro (Guest) on April 19, 2011 at 08:33 AM
Dan: Yeah, the Wii's sales were really hurt by not being able to play DVDs or Blu-Ray. *snicker*
Justin: Google the damn lawsuit settlement. This isn't a doctoral dissertation, you don't need to be well-versed on the issue. This is an entertainment column. Pick a side and write a paragraph. Honestly.
Posted By: first-grade math (Guest) on April 19, 2011 at 09:23 AM
honestly im surprised george hotz settled at all, he should of been able to win that case. Fact is sony removed features, then hotz jailbroke the ps3 to bring them back.
Posted By: Guest#1508 (Guest) on April 19, 2011 at 01:03 PM
#1. Why alienate the group you just spent years to establish? Xbox and PS3 and PC are all heavily focused on the hardcore gamers with only splashes of casual on the side../quote
Yeah what he said. But the wii having more power than the ps3 and 360? Not that it would be needed for casual games.
#2. I'm surprised pokemon has lasted at all to be honest. Perhaps I loathe all rpg based games because when I was younger I remember 2 buddies and I would sit and watch one friend play Final Fantasy for 4 5 6 hours straight. Possibly the most boring thing I've ever had to sit through and I've sat through Greek, Catholic, and Christian sermons.
#3. YES, Guitar Hero needs to be cremated and spread over oceans. It was creative, the first game anyway. Btw, why have they not updated the character models?? They seem on par w their sister gen systems.
#4. The only thing that tells me is the first attempt at Dead Rising 2 was a failure? Never played it, so I wouldn't know.
#5. That tells me the single player campaign and the multiplayer portion are 100% bug and glitch free? Seeing as though that is most likely not true, I am intrigued to see how this will play out in the reviews.
#6. I would like to get into detail on this one but I'd sit here all day explaining. Hotz distributed intellectual property, that undoubtedly set into motion what will eventually result in the PS4 coming out early or not at all. Some say this would be a good thing, but a rushed product never is. You wouldn't want someone to rush cutting your hair would you?
Posted By: Josh@Work (Guest) on April 19, 2011 at 02:24 PM
Anyone who is surprised at Pokemon leading the NPD list shouldn't be writing a video game column. It's Pokemon for christ's sakes.
To be fair, no one on this site is really a writer.
Posted By: Guest#5653 (Guest) on April 19, 2011 at 02:28 PM
To be fair, no one on this site is really a writer.
Posted By: Guest#5653 (Guest) on April 19, 2011 at 02:28 PM
And yet you're reading things that have been written for the site. How does that work?
Or are you not really reading because we aren't really writers so there's actually nothing here because nobody has written anything, including this comment, your comment or the column those comment were based on?
Posted By: Lee Price (Guest) on April 19, 2011 at 03:10 PM
No one should really be surprised Pokemon would still do well. Especially since this is the "American region" version of the game (well, New York, anyway) that asks if Pokemon is really slavery. Its' the grown up version of Pokemon!
Well, I'm 24, and I've grown up with the game, playing Red & Blue back in the 6th grade. But now, I have no interest to play Black & White version. I mean, I REALLY wish I did, cause it looks fun, but the desire just is not there. It sucks to know you're growing up. Instead, I've just decided to break out Mass Effect 2 again.
A Dead Rising 2 remake with Frank West is just a stupid attempt to make more money. I mean, the two DLC games and the real game itself were all good enough. Despite with many internet dweebs think, Frank West is just NOT that cool. (But he's covered wars... yeah, yeah, I know.) Plus, isn't he kinda too fat to be doing all that wrestling crap? Frankly, I thought they kinda missed the boat by taking FIVE FRIGGIN' YEARS to release the sequel. The game almost feels dated (and it would be if it wasn't fun and actually an improvement over the original). But this... this just feels weak. Especially since they've already nailed themselves in the foot by making the original Dead Rising 2 have SO much replay value to begin with. It's kinda ironic that they made a game good enough to be replayed over and over again and now, watch you to play the same game over again!
Posted By: M.P. (Guest) on April 19, 2011 at 05:58 PM
Justin: Google the damn lawsuit settlement. This isn't a doctoral dissertation, you don't need to be well-versed on the issue. This is an entertainment column. Pick a side and write a paragraph. Honestly.
Posted By: first-grade math (Guest) on April 19, 2011 at 09:23 AM
Well, I had been actually following the case closely. According to the initial press release following the settlement, they said the terms of the settlement would not be disclosed publicly. I actually believed them, which was pretty silly of me. After all, since when did anything stay secret on the internet?
So... basically what I'm trying to say is, my bad. I guess I should have tried a little harder to find the settlement info, and I won't make a mistake like that again.
If you guys need an answer...
Fiction: This was a SLAPP lawsuit. The main point of a SLAPP lawsuit (imposing a ridiculously high penalty on an individual) is to get them to shut up, and to make an example. The odds of George paying anything was very slim. He's lucky that there was a community willing to pay the legal bills for him. Donating the remainder of the funds to EFF was a pretty cool move.
"Honestly im surprised george hotz settled at all, he should of been able to win that case. Fact is sony removed features, then hotz jailbroke the ps3 to bring them back.
Posted By: Guest#1508 (Guest) on April 19, 2011 at 01:03 PM"
The Other OS removal is a separate issue and lawsuit. Even if Sony broke the law in removing Linux support, that doesn't make the altering and redistribution of Sony's software legal. Two wrongs=/= a right.
"To be fair, no one on this site is really a writer.
Posted By: Guest#5653 (Guest) on April 19, 2011 at 02:28 PM"
Well, we tried to get Toni Morrison to do a weekly column, but she can be hard to get a hold of.
Seriously though, the writers at this website dedicate a large amount of their free time to put out something that you'll hopefully enjoy. If you don't enjoy it, nobody is forcing you to click.
But, if you don't enjoy the articles, and you don't have any constructive criticism to help improve them, why are you here? Life is short man. Its far better to spend your time indulging in the things that you enjoy rather than bashing things that you don't.
Posted By: Justin (Guest) on April 19, 2011 at 07:51 PM
I know plenty of 20 and 30 year olds playing pokemon. Not really a suprise that it's still popular. Plus, they've put a lot of changes into these newer two, making it somewhat newer than any of the previous new ones.
Posted By: G-Walla (Guest) on April 20, 2011 at 01:14 AM
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