411 Games Fact or Fiction 08.02.11: 3DS, THQ, Microsoft and More

Posted by Adam Larck on 08.02.2011

Is it a surprise that Rockstar is still making Red Dead Redemption DLC instead of focusing on L.A. Noire? Is THQ really done with Red Faction? Is the Nintendo 3DS price drop a shock? 411's Mathew Sforcina 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 I'm still killing bugs in Earth Defense Force. I also randomly went back to Black Ops, and am actually playing the single player.

This week, we have Justin Weinblatt and Mathew Sforcina going head-to-head. Let's see how these two do. Time for banner!





1.) You're surprised the 3DS has already gotten a price drop.

Mathew Sforcina - Fact: Only on the timing, not the drop itself. I fully expected a drop, just right about a month before Vita launched. I had assumed, going on, that with Nintendo's Dominance (see below) and the whole 3D thing being a gimmick that I dislike and yet remains very over, that the 3DS would be another big fat cash cow for Nintendo. Turns out to not be the case, what with stock dropping and execs taking paycuts, which leads into the next point....

Justin Weinblatt - Fact: I'm not that surprised that there was a price drop. Sales weren't doing too well, and they weren't going to get any better when Vita was released. I am surprised the drop is so steep and so soon. I would have expected a drop to 200 around September.

Score: 1 for 1 - Even if it's selling at a loss, Nintendo is just trying to sell systems at this point.



2.) The 3DS price drop is due to Nintendo's oversaturation of the handheld market.

Mathew Sforcina - Fiction: It's not due to 'oversaturation' of the handheld market, this is because Nintendo went after the casual gamers for far too long, and now it's bit them in the butt when that market has now shifted. The DS was somewhat gimmicky when it came out, but the device was strong enough to survive the gimmicks running out. The 3DS is all gimmicks, and those casual gamers who are all about the gimmicks now demand bite sized games. They don't want to buy a full length Zelda remake in 3D, they want to buy a $1 downloadable puzzle game involving brightly colored cubes that they can play for 15 minutes every week while on a bus and then forget about. If it has 3D, then that's a bonus. But Nintendo haven't kept up with the casuals, they have made a rare mistake and assumed that they had the casuals hooked. Nope, sorry, historical precedent has shown that if you bring in a cool new gimmick you'll get interest from the casuals, some will be converted but most will leave you once some new fad comes along.

Right Sega?

It's not oversaturation, it's just that the market moved and Nintendo didn't keep up.

Justin Weinblatt - Fiction: Initially I was going to go with fact. Oversaturation is a big problem, and I think many consumers, particularly uninformed parents, think of the 3DS as an incremental upgrade like the DSi. But the bigger issue here is software. I bought my 3DS on day one, but I'm an admitted Nintendo fanboy. If I wasn't, I probably wouldn't have. The software just isn't there. The best two games on the 3DS are Super Street Fighter 4 and Ocarina of Time 3D. While these are both great games, neither could be considered a system seller. If the 3DS launched with a Pokémon game and Mario Kart, things would be different.

Score: 2 for 2 - There are now five versions of the DS, including the 3DS. Just some food for thought.



3.) THQ really won't make another Red Faction game.

Mathew Sforcina - Fact: It's hardly been a pop-culture phenomenon, has it? And news of the game series coming to an end has not exactly been met with wails of despair and gnashing of teeth. However, although THQ will never make a new game... It wouldn't totally surprise me if they ended up selling the series on the cheap to some other developer and they made a new one. Without Ultor, of course.

Justin Weinblatt - Fiction: I don't think they'll make another Red Faction game for a long time, but they will eventually. At some point within the next ten years, THQ will think to themselves, "Hmmmmmmmmm we're out of ideas. What old IPs can we dust off?" Very few franchises stay dead forever. Final Fight got a sequel years after the franchise was dead, as did Bionic Commando, Splatterhouse, Duke Nukem, Punch Out, Kid Icarus, Shantae, and NBA Jam. In gaming, nothing stays dead forever. Except Mega Man Legends apparently.

Score: 2 for 3 - I like the Red Faction series, personally. I guess I'm just one of the niche fans.

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4.) Microsoft should just get rid of the 360 media remote.

Justin Weinblatt - Fiction: Microsoft is hoping to make a huge push to position the X-Box 360 as a multimedia center with things like Netflix, ESPN, and IPTV. A lot of newer X-Box users (the ones who bought it for Kinect) aren't comfortable navigating through menus with a controller. So, the 360 Media Remote should be a very important peripheral for Microsoft.

Mathew Sforcina - Fiction: Why? It's a cheap niche product that allows them to sell the console as a mass media item. Yes, most everyone has a DVD player in their toasters now, but it's still a hook that can be used to tip the balance, if someone can convince Granny that they'll be able to use it for DVDs as well... It's not essential, it's for people willing to pay a little more for convenience. And that's their online strategy and that's worked...

Score: 3 for 4 - Between the controller and voice commands, I don't know if the remote is really needed.

Tags: GameTrailers.com, Mortal Kombat - SDCC 11: Freddy Krueger DLC Trailer, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

5.) It's surprising that Freddy Kruger is coming to Mortal Kombat.

Justin Weinblatt - Fiction: Fighting games have had a long tradition of shoving random characters into their games. Soul Calibur had Spawn, Link, Yoda, and Darth Vader. Street Fighter x Tekken will have Cole, and Smash Brothers Brawl had Snake. Moving beyond fighting games, NBA Jam had Bill Clinton, and Fight Night had the Burger King. Seriously, the freaking Burger King. After seeing that guy in a video game, nothing surprises me.

Mathew Sforcina - Fact: Sure, he fits... Kinda, but it's still a bit of a shock. I guess... But it does mean that WB treats the games division as an equal of their movies, if they are willing to lend out major names like this. Or they see it as a total joke, and this is just them advertising their new movie coming out. Either/or. But it's the wrong version. Where's my Robert Englund Alternate Appearance?

Score: 3 for 5 - I'm surprised by it considering other characters that could have been used as content in the game, but it makes sense for the series.



6.) It's interesting that Rockstar is still making Red Dead Redemption DLC instead of focusing on L.A. Noire.

Justin Weinblatt - Fiction: The two games are made by different teams. Red Dead Redemption is Rockstar's baby and L.A. Noire was a result of a partnership with Team Bondi that apparently went sour. We already know that Rock Star and Team Bondi's relationship has deteriorated, so Rockstar isn't likely to pump money into a franchise that is likely going nowhere.

Mathew Sforcina - Fact: In that the question's stupidly worded. No offense Adam. But yes, it is interesting, on the basis that it proves how badly the relationship between Rockstar and Bondi is, if they are being so cut and dried with Noire, despite it being much more open and able to stick in DLC with. But hey, RDR is still, you know, bloody awesome, so whatever. It is interesting, but then anything they would be doing with these two games is technically interesting. Full steam ahead on both, interesting that they are being so even handed. One over the other, interesting since it proves one is more well liked. Neither getting any, now that would be VERY interesting...

Score: 3 for 6 - I figured the focus would be on Noire DLC with a different company, not going back to RDR.



Bonus Question) Nintendo will be able to make up ground next year with the Wii U.

Justin Weinblatt - Fiction: I'm sorry, but 1 Mega Controller just screams "Casual Gamer Freak Out" to me, and I don't know if Nintendo can win back the Hardcores in one half generation. Hardcore gamers have a long
memory...

Mathew Sforcina - Fiction: Are we talking about Nintendo's financials here? I don't think the Wii U will fly out of the gate like the Wii did, unless Nintendo has a brilliant marketing strategy. Launching a console is a costly endeavor, and even if the console is successful, it could take a while to recover the manufacturing costs and R&D costs. If anything, the 3DS will be more beneficial to Nintendo this year. With the attractive new price, and heavy hitters like Mario Kart coming out, the 3DS should be a hot item this holiday season.

Adam Larck - Fiction: I just don't think that the Wii U has wowed the crowd it needed to. The hardcore crowd already has two other systems that can play the same multi-platform games. Plus, Wii owners already have a Wii and haven't been given a ton of reasons to upgrade besides some new games and the touchscreen controller. Even if it is Nintendo, I think they won't be making up any ground the 3DS has lost them.

The pair finish this week going 3-for-6. What do you think? Agree or disagree with their answers? Let us know. See you in seven!