411 Games Fact or Fiction 09.27.11: GameFly, Battlefield 3, Dota 2 and More

Posted by Adam Larck on 09.27.2011

Will Battlefield 3 outsell Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3? Did Sony do the right thing by making the Vita compatible with the PSP? Does Homefront need a sequel? 411’s Armando Rodriguez and Mathew Sforcina debate these topics 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 finally picked up Dead Island. I made some progress in Gears of War 3, but need to beat the last Act and a half still.

Also, as a quick side note, make sure to check out 411Mania on Mondays for the next few weeks to see our Top 50 heroes special. You can check out the latest one here.

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





1.) GameFly has nothing to worry about from Qwikster.

Armando Rodriguez - Fiction: I think in the end Netflix made the right move because streaming is the future, while DVD-by-Mail is going to go down in a couple of years. Once internet connections with fast speeds become mainstream (they are almost there) DVD-by-Mail will die because it is better to stream a movie instantly whenever you want than it is to wait for it to arrive by mail. I guess video games-by-mail will last longer than movies, but in the end streaming will catch up with it too. Just ask OnLive.

Mathew Sforcina - Fact: Qwikster is nothing more than a rebranding of Netflix's old business, and a badly launched and organized one at that. The fact that they've added video games is not going to cause vast numbers to sign up. They'll just get a few people who are already a part of the group to get games too, but I just don't see a massive upswing in patronage or anything.

Score: 0 for 1 - I think gamers will stay with GameFly, but parents with kids wanting to check out games once in a while may add the Qwikster option.



2.) The code found in the Dota 2 client really is teasing Half-Life 2: Episode 3.

Armando Rodriguez - Fiction: I want to believe it is, but I have lost all hope. I think in the end Valve will just skip Episode 3 and work on a Half-Life 3 proper, maybe with Episode 3 as a prelude of sorts to the main HL3 story and bundled on the same disc.

Mathew Sforcina - Fact: However, that should be quantified in that just because it's a tease, that means nothing. I suspect that the code was shoved in there deliberately since Valve knew damn well that the code would be run over with a fine tooth comb. And/or someone's named that stuff as a joke and they've tossed it in. Either way, it was put in deliberately (in my mind) and is a tease, but that does not mean that there will be an Ep3, or that it's coming soon, or anything. It's just there for controversy/hype. So mission accomplished.

Score: 0 for 2 - It sounds promising, but until Valve finally says anything I won't believe it.



3.) It's a good move by Sony to make the Vita compatible with the PSP.

Armando Rodriguez - Fact: I like that about Sony, how all their devices play nice together. I don't think this feature will be vastly used by anyone since you would need to buy the downloadable version of whatever PSP game you want to play with friends, but it is nice to have the option. Who knows? Maybe this is indeed important to some people.

Mathew Sforcina - Fact: You always want to make your entire fanbase happy. Yes, you move on and stop supporting old games and such eventually, but you never want to piss off sections of your community needlessly. And allowing those with PSPs and Vitas to play cross platform on the same game is a good move. It's not like the titles will be different, so if two players couldn't play... OK, I got no idea about any PSP Digital games, so let's call it "3DSuck". It's the exact same game on the two consoles, so if Sony didn't allow the Vita and PSP to play against each other in a race to produce their crappy gimmick handheld ports of old games, that would annoy people. But they have, so it's all good. Well done Sony.
...
I feel so dirty.

Score: 1 for 3 - At least Sony is still acknowledging the PSP and working with it, instead of ignoring the handheld altogether when the next one comes out.

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4.) You're surprised that GTA IV is the best-selling game in the series.

Mathew Sforcina - Fiction: Newest game in hot franchise = Highest Seller. It's just common sense. I could go on about improvements and such, but it's basically that. GTA is a hot video game franchise. Video games are bigger than ever. Ergo, the newest installment in a hot franchise will of course be the best seller. It's just logic.

Armando Rodriguez - Fiction: I personally don't like it as much as earlier games, but I have ran into enough people that love the game and consider it the best in the series to accept this bit of info as a fact. Now they just need to make GTA: Vice City 2 or GTA: San Andreas 2.

Score: 2 for 4 - Considering the popularity that San Andreas had, I figured it would be close to the top of the list, possibly even surpassing GTA IV.



5.) Homefront doesn't need a sequel.

Mathew Sforcina - Fact: You can say that about a lot of games, really. But the game wasn't that superb, sold fairly poorly and led to problems in various markets in terms of the story and promotional models. None of that screams 'sequel worthy' to me, even if the storyline does lend itself to "Homefront 2: European Rescue" or something. But just because the option is there, doesn't mean it should be made. And really, how many first person shooter games about wars are really needed in this world? Do we REALLY need another one?

Armando Rodriguez - Fiction: Yes, they need one. The world of Homefront and the cool storyline deserve better than the average-at-best original. I really believe that with the right developers and with enough time to let those developers complete their vision this series has potential. Can it reach CoD/Battlefield levels? Only time will tell. But I really want to see a sequel.

Score: 2 for 5 - I'm surprised that the game is getting a sequel. Then again, it did lead the NPDs for a month and was marketed great.



6.) EA and Sony will work out a long-term deal for Battlefield 3 content like what Microsoft and Activision has.

Mathew Sforcina - Fact: Sony needs to work out stuff like this, even more so after the Anon issues. While Sony fanboys have always ragged about paying for XBL, the fact is that XBL WORKS, and gives you tangible benefits with DLC. Sony needs to get as many long term deals in place as possible, to produce a service as flawless and as beneficial as XBL, and then the fact that it's free becomes a huge plus, rather than the alternative.

Armando Rodriguez - Fiction: It would be really awesome if they did and I am sure PS3 owners like myself will agree, but it won't happen. The 360 has a larger base of owners and Battlefield hopes to one day beat CoD at its own game, so they need to appease that larger owner base. Doing something to screw with them might push them into CoD's arms. One thing is "wait a week" and a whole other thing is "wait a month".

Score: 2 for 6 - EA wants to compete with Call of Duty, and Sony wants to compete with Microsoft. This would be a great partnership for both.



Bonus Question) Since we're talking about Battlefield, Battlefield 3 will do better than Modern Warfare 3.

Mathew Sforcina - Fiction: I just don't see anything beating out MW at this point in time. It'll be close, but I see MW3 edging it out. But then, what do I know, I don't play any first person games unless there's Bottlecaps or the ability to put nails in bats in it.

Armando Rodriguez - Fiction: I hope it does, Battlefield is my favorite series by far. But it won't. CoD is just too hot right now. I do believe Battlefield will surpass it eventually and become the No. 1 series, but it won't happen for a couple of years. As of right now, I do expect Battlefield 3 to take a chunk of CoD's players, but not enough to be No. 1.

Adam Larck - Fiction: I'd love to see this happen. I'm not a fan of Infinity Ward's games in the series and their support after release. I think EA does a better job and that Bad Company 2 was better. However, the CoD name is known better, and I just don't see it being toppled this year. Hopefully, I'll get proven wrong, I just don't think so.

The pair finish this week going 2-for-6. What do you think? Agree or disagree with their answers? Let us know. See you in seven!