411 Games Fact or Fiction 07.21.06: EA and Wii, Gears of War, Driver, PSP, and More!
Posted by Tommy Coloma on 07.21.2006
Joshua Richey and Vincent Chiucchi head up the first ever edition of Fact or Fiction for the Games section!
We kick off Fact or Fiction with 411 Games writers Joshua Richey and Vincent Chiucchi. Do brilliant minds think alike? Lets find out!
1. Atari's decision to sell the Driver franchise off to Ubisoft in order to focus on its Test Drive franchise was a brilliant move on their part.
Joshua Richey: FACT. I'm not sure if it was 'brilliant' as much as it was a move out of desperation. Atari's financial problems have been well documented throughout the years. Their once promising Driver series has turned into the butt of jokes for everyone within the industry. The franchise has been mishandled to say the least. The original Driver, for the Playstation, was embraced by gamers in every key demographic. But since then, it's been a game without an identity. Money woes continuing, Atari was able to sell Ubisoft the Driver license for 24 million. Now if they can dedicate more time to making Test Drive a great game, rather than half assing it. Then yes, this would have been a good move for Atari.
Vincent Chiucchi: FACT. Between really bad money woes and how Atari has pretty much ruined the Driver franchise, this was a good move for them to do. Now I'm waiting to see just how exactly Ubisoft does in helping this series.
Score: 1 for 1
2. Third-party publishers made the right financial decision by focusing most of their resources on creating content for the PS3 and Xbox 360 while virtually ignoring the Wii.
Joshua Richey: FACT. It's not like Nintendo has done anything to have people doubt the success of their console, have they? Oh wait, they jumped the gun on killing off the Nintendo 64; and they never properly supported the Gamecube. So, of course third-party publishers are going to be hesitant on supporting the Wii. It's a unique console based off of it's technology. But, it is also unique in that the console will either boom or bust. No in between. Sony and Microsoft have built great foundations with the Playstation 2 and the Xbox; so you cannot fault these publishers for playing it safe.
Vincent Chiucchi: FACT. As much as I like the Wii, Nintendo still doesn't have the kind of third-party support that Sony and Microsoft enjoy. Like Joshua pointed out, Nintendo has done so many things to push third party support away that it kind of reminds me of Sega and why the Dreamcast, great as it was, wound up dying. Despite all these complaints about PS3's price and such, it's still a safe bet to publish for that system. Xbox 360, though, I'm not really sure. Or maybe it's because I don't like that system anyway.
Score: 2 for 2
3. Target's removal of UMD movies from their stores is further proof that the PSP will become this generation's Game Gear.
Joshua Richey: FACT. Ouch. I'm not sure what the future has in store for the PSP. But, I will say that the PSP is a lot like the Game Gear in that: Sony thought that they could beat Nintendo at their own game; and have failed. The casual gamer is usually going to have (at the most) 1 handheld. Very few people are going to purchase both a PSP and a Nintendo DS. People are also more times than not-going to buy the cheaper of the two. Which in this case is the DS. Sega tried and failed. Nokia tried and failed. And while I wouldn't say that Sony has completely failed; they are definitely losing the handheld war.
Vincent Chiucchi: FACT. The PSP was looking so promising until the sudden realization came of how few games sold over a million compared to DS, how the UMD movies was a huge flop, and how it just had too many technical problems. PSP tried, and it tried very well compared to Sega and Nokia (if you can even say Nokia "tried"), but there's little hope for it in the future to be a commercial success. It all depends if PSP gets a few more Triple-A franchise games besides Gran Turismo. For the homebrew crowd, however, the PSP will live on for a very long time.
Score: 3 for 3
4. The Cartoon Network MMO (set to be released in 2008) with its focus on the younger generation will lead to profit margins that not even World of Warcraft will be able to surpass.
Vincent Chiucchi: FICTION. I was going to say fact because marketing to kids = money, but from what I've read, the game can be downloaded for free. How can a game that can be downloaded for free supposedly surpass World of Warcraft in profit margins? Sure they can make money off these offers to enhance the experience, but that alone isn't going to make it surpass World of Warcraft.
Joshua Richey: FICTION. It's not as if WoW is shutting down or anything. By the time 2008 gets here, World of Warcraft will be an even stronger Juggernaut, than what it already is. I also have my doubts on how successful a kid orientated MMO can be. Kids tend to like their action adventure games; I don't see them investing the time, or hardware requirements, that a MMO requires. And lastly, the demographic for World of Warcraft is anywhere/everywhere from the ages of 13-to-55. Making Cartoon Network's MMO target a much smaller market.
Score: 4 for 4
5. EA's upcoming Wii games will show everyone that the company is more than able to incorporate a "fresh and distinctive experience" into all of its franchises.
Vincent Chiucchi: FACT. No matter how popular a series Madden gets (or any sport game for that matter), it's basically the same football game over and over and over again. But by taking advantage of the Wii's controller, there could finally be a major noticeable difference in the games that can rid of the "different year, mostly same game" feel.
Joshua Richey: FACT. I think that Nintendo should get more credit for this than EA. Had Nintendo released just another console that didn't bring anything 'fresh' to the table, EA would still port there latest version's of their 'same ole-same ole' games. Nintendo took the initiative, and now EA (and all Developers for that matter) are having to adjust. If the Wii is successful, EA doesn't want to be on the outside looking in.
Score: 5 for 5
6. If Gears of War's release date slips to 2007, the Xbox 360 will fight the PS2 for 3rd place (behind the PS3 and Wii) in console sales this holiday season.
Vincent Chiucchi: FACT. Gears of War for Xbox 360 is what Halo was for Xbox. Sure Xbox had plenty of good games, but the only one everybody REALLY gives a damn about is Halo. Some may argue Halo was the only reason Xbox didn't die immediately. Now Gears of War is the only game for Xbox 360 everybody REALLY gives a damn about. If it gets pushed to 2007, the only way that system will get 3rd place in holiday sales is if enough Sony fanboys decide not to get a $600 PS3 after all.
Joshua Richey: FICTION. While Gears of War does look amazing; I don't think that Microsoft is relying on it to 'make or break' it's console. Heck, I would go as far as to say that Gears of War could be delayed until 2007, and that the 360 would still be the most sold console this holiday season. No matter how much Sony wants to destabilize these theories that their price for the PS3 is a concern; it is in fact a major issue. You cannot plan to release your console for $600 and expect it to fly off the store shelves. This is going to be a problem for Sony, and it's going to prevent them from having the monstrous holiday season that they're expecting. Nintendo also has their own problems. The general public has learned from the Nintendo 64 and Gamecube. Nintendo doesn't have the best reputation among American consumers as a result. Therefore, coming out with a 'risky' new console isn't going to be embraced right away either. In addition to the Wii having little to no 3rd party support.
The Xbox 360 will win the new era of console wars this holiday season. The future for the console is very bright, with games like Halo 3 and GTA4 due out in 2007.
Score: 5 for 6
5 for 6. Not a bad way to start. Join us next week for another edition of Fact or Fiction!
