411 Games Fact or Fiction 01.24.12: Max Payne 3, SOPA, THQ and More!

Posted by Stewart Lange on 01.24.2012

Will Max Payne 3's delay to the summer help sales in the long run? Will we see a summer release for the Simpsons Arcade on XBLA? Would an Ong Bak: Thai Warrior game sell well? 411's Sean Garmer and Mark Salmela debate these topics and more in this week's 411 Fact or Fiction: Games!

Hi everyone and welcome to another 411 Games Fact or Fiction! Today, I have two of my favourite gaming colleagues going head to head, with Sean Garmer taking on Mark Salmela! Let's get down to it!

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1- Max Payne 3 will do much better with an early Summer launch.



Sean Garmer: FACT- I think it will because people are always looking for new games to play during the summer months. I cannot think of  a better way to start off a summer of gaming then with a May release of Max Payne 3. Take-Two seems to have the spring months taken care of with Bioshock 2, Darkness 2, Major League Baseball 2K12, X-COM, and more. May 13 is a good time frame for another big release from them and I think this also helps give Max Payne 3 some freedom as well. The summer usually has a few big releases but it does not get over crowded like the Spring and holiday season does. Unless Take-Two wants Max Payne 3 to trade release dates with some of its other games, I think this is the best thing for them to do. Max Payne 3 has a lot of expectations coming with it and they should not rush its release. Work out all the bugs and issues, and bring it out in the summer where it might do the best sales for you as well. 

Mark Salmela: FACT- I'm in complete agreement.  Max Payne 3 should be a big deal for Take-Two, and the summer is usually pretty devoid of big releases.  And as Sean said, this gives the development team more time to work out all the kinks.  I'll take an awesome game that got delayed over an alright game that's full of bugs any day.  Mid-summer seems like a good time to release Max Payne 3.

1 for 1: It's hard not to see the potential benefit in a delayed release. Hell, I might even pick it up now.

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2- The Simpsons Arcade reboot will headline the XBL "Summer of Arcade"



Sean Garmer: FACT- I mentioned in my NFL Blitz (2012) review that I really love this game. This game has so many great arcade memories for me when I was younger. If they do release this game during the "Summer of Arcade" it will be a day one buy for me. Konami and Backbone Entertainment should try to get this game out during the summer months because more people will be around to play it. Anyone going to school that remembers playing this game as a young child will have more time to play this. I do not see why not really? The "Summer of Arcade" gets a lot of hype from Microsoft already as it is. All they have to do is show a couple of commercials for this during "Simpson's" episodes and people will think this is some new awesome game that just came out yesterday. Last year they stared off the "Summer of Arade" with Bastion, which was a wonderful original game. If they start off this year with another big title like this people will be expecting another great summer of XBLA stuff. 

Mark Salmela: FICTION- The Simpsons Arcade doesn't need to come out during the Summer of Arcade.  Microsoft should be using the Summer of Arcade to promote previously unknown games like Bastion.  The Simpsons Arcade is an amazing game that probably did gangbusters in arcades.  The IP is something everyone and their mother knows.  Whenever Simpsons Arcade hits it'll be a big deal.  It doesn't need the backing of Summer of Arcade to be a huge success.

1 for 2: I don't want it to come out during the Summer of Arcade, mainly because I don't want to wait that long!

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3- The increase in XBL video viewing is due to the number of consoles sold, rather than the new layout.



Sean Garmer: FACT- If they had introduced youtube and dailymotion with the old layout, people would still be watching the videos. The layout really has nothing to do with why the video viewing is up on the console.  If more people are buying the console and discovering that it has all these apps, people are bound to use them because they want to watch the videos on their televisions. Microsoft makes new deals these television stations and other forms of media a lot. So, the more apps they have, the more people will watch video stuff on Xbox Live. I like the new layout, but it did not make me want to do anything different than I already did with my Xbox 360.

Mark Salmela: FACT- The new layout of 360 sucks in my opinion.  While I haven't been using my 360 very much lately since there hasn't been any good 360 exclusives lately I still have no idea where stuff is on the new layout.  When a hardcore gamer such as myself is confused where stuff is on the Xbox 360 that's a problem.  Besides, why would a new user interface increase video viewing activity on 360?  It's not like Netflix is suddenly easier to find or anything.

2 for 3: I like the new layout, plus the Kinect options. I'd say it has helped in the UK, with the introduction of Netflix and LoveFilm over here.

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4- An "Ong-Bak" game will sell well in Europe and America .



Mark Salmela: FICTION- I don't even know what Ong-Bak is.  No seriously, I just had to Google it and do some research.  I didn't even know they were turning it into a game.  I don't want to come off as a hater, but it's a new game, by a new studio, using an IP I've never heard of.  None of this sounds very promising to me.  With that said I'll wait until; I see actual gameplay videos before I make a final judgment.

Sean Garmer: FICTION- Ong-Bak stars Tony Jaa and is a semi-successful martial arts movie franchise. I do not think it is going to sell well because these movies appeal to a nitch audience that may not even be gamers. These are probably the same people that salivated over Jet Li, Jackie Chan, and Bruce Lee because they hit people really hard and did stunts. Even if this game does have a storyline that continues the films and becomes the next great action game; it will not sell well because most people do not know what Ong-Bak is. I want to see this do well because it helps the gaming world, but I do not see everyone going crazy because this franchise is getting a video game. 

3 for 4: Salms, watch Ong Bak now. The story sucks, but boy is it a cool film. Meh to the game, though.

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5- There will still be some further drama over the future of THQ in the next few weeks.



Mark Salmela: FICTION- I have no reason to believe THQ is about to go under.  Yes, their stock prices are dangerously low, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're about to go out of business.  With their recent restructuring and closing of certain studios I imagine THQ has some sort of a plan to turn things around.  What I do believe however is that this is make or break time for THQ.  THQ has to have a plan to turn things around, but if whatever plan they have doesn't work, then I do believe it'll be curtains for them.  I don't want them to go out of business, as we're getting closer and closer to having EA, Activision, and Ubisoft as the only big third party publishers left (I'm more worried about Square Enix rather than THQ), but this may be make or break time for THQ.  Thankfully I believe WWE 12 and Saints Row The Third did well for the company, so hopefully that's a sign of good things to come.

Sean Garmer: FICTION- I agree with Mark that I think THQ has to have a plan to get out of this mess. THQ is doing the right thing by cutting costs in any way they can at the moment. Just because THQ has closed some studios and has taken off their 2014 schedule, does not mean this is the end of THQ. Apparently, having the WWE and UFC license is also costing them money, but I think they have to know they may crumble faster by eliminating these gaming staples from their stable of third party titles. Ubisoft and EA have had to close studios before as well because of this bad economy, so this is not the end of the world here. I also agree with Mark that it will be a sad day for the gaming world if THQ does go down. THQ might have to take less chances (I'm looking at you U-Draw) and start delivering on their big games to make a slow upswing into being profitable again. I just hope we hear good news about THQ again soon. 

4 for 5: With a bit of luck, the WWE and UFC licenses will be enough to keep THQ active.

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6- Majesco's Zumba Fitness games were the sleeper hit of 2011.



Mark Salmela: FICTION- Even though Just Dance has been a huge seller for Ubisoft for a couple years now, I'm still shocked when I see the sales numbers for Just Dance 3.  One of the bestselling games of the year?  Jesus.  I didn't see that coming.  I guess people really love their dancing.  Considering I don't keep up with dancing or fitness games seeing both as a success shocks me, but seeing how well Just Dance 3 sold completely baffles me.

Sean Garmer: FACT- I too am baffled at what Just Dance 3 has done, but they have basically gone the "Guitar Hero" route and oversaturated the market with the their dance games over the past few years. One of their marketing guys Tony Key, actually said he expected to see Just Dance 3 hit these type of numbers this year. Zumba Fitness literally came out of nowhere to hit the three million sales mark in August and it was announced a few days ago that the whole series has now hit six million with two games. Zumba is a different type of dance game in that it actually tries to teach you how to dance a lot of these latin dances and get you into shape as well. Just Dance is basically out there for people to just do whatever and call those moves "dancing." I think it is easier for a game like Just Dance 3 to sell because of that. 

The hardest "New Year's resolution" for people to keep, is usually one that involves fitness and it is great to have a game such as Zumba fitness to help with that. I think considering that Zumba Fitness came from a smaller publisher in Majesco and not a big one like Ubisoft, also makes it a big feat for the game to sell this well. Both Zumba games are still in the top ten in sales in the UK. If Ubisoft was expecting to reach the lofty goals they achieved in 2011, I do not think we can call Just Dance 3 a sleeper hit. Zumba fitness has a weird name, a smaller publisher, and is not about dancing to today's big hits either. To me, for what Zumba fitness tries to do, it is a big accomplishment to hit the sales mark it did in 2011. 

4 for 6: Just Dance was always going to sell big, Zumba has really come out of nowhere.

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BONUS- Had the SOPA bill been passed, what would you have missed most about the Internet as we know it?



Stewart Lange- Honestly, I'd have missed the Social sites and YouTube. It would have been an absolute killer and I'm glad it's been shelved.

Mark Salmela- 4Chan.  In all seriousness, it probably would have been YouTube, since there's no way YouTube would have survived under the SOPA bill.

Sean Garmer- I would have missed youtube the most and then google images too. For one, my gaming 5 & 1 would be really boring without those two things. Secondly, I love youtube because I can listen to any album I want on there and then make a decision to buy it. I can watch cool videos and trailers too. I don't know what I would do if youtube died because of SOPA being enacted. I'm just glad it got shelved so we don't have to worry about it now.

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Thanks for reading this week as the guys agree more often than not. But what about you? Play along in the comments box and I'll see you next week for another Fact or Fiction!