411 Games Fact or Fiction 08.17.06: PSP price cuts, Final Fantasy, game addiction, and more!

Posted by Tommy Coloma on 08.17.2006

Sean Garmer and Jordan Williams discuss the PSP, Final Fantasy, HD-DVD, Wii, addiction, and Castlevania in this edition of Fact or Fiction.

Today Sean Garmer returns for an emergency fill-in and takes on Jordan Williams. Make sure to check out Sean's reviews as well as Jordan's reviews and Working Title column here at 411. Will today's participants finally break the "5 out of 6" rut we've been riding for the past few weeks? Lets find out -

1. If the PSP were to drop in price to $149.99 as rumors suggest, the DS' days at the top of the portable gaming food chain will be numbered.

Sean Garmer: FICTION. If PSP even gets near the DS in sales that would be amazing. So far all the extra stuff that the PSP has going for it does not make it enough to buy the thing. UMD movie sales are stalling significantly and you can buy an IPOD for less than the PSP. That makes the music deal worthless as well. Don't even get me started on the games. The amount of good ones can be counted with one finger. The problem is that unlike the DS, the PSP doesn't have very many original games. Lumines and the GTA games sum up what isn't a port, a classic game, or just a different version of a game that will be released for the big systems later. The only thing that might get the units moving is the PS1 emulation accessory. Then there is another problem - we don't know how well the accessory is going to work and at the time that the accessory comes out the DS might already have a ridiculous amount gained in sales. New Super Mario Bros is moving DS's and DS Lites like crazy and there is no game that is moving the PSP. Sony can put all the extra crap into their system they want, but the bottom line is, if you don't have good games, you are not going to be winning the handheld war.

Jordan Williams: FICTION. The PSP is pretty much done for. It doesn't really have much of a hope in terms of catching up to the DS. Even if it DID all the sudden bust out with a bunch of great games, it'll be a case of too little too late. The PSP has had too many mistakes that turned away a lot of people: the high price point, the lack of games, and the lack of a real draw to the handheld. I'd be surprised if the PSP makes it another year before going the way of the N-Gage.

Score: 1 for 1

2. Final Fantasy XII will be the highest selling console game in the US this year.

Sean Garmer: FICTION. Final Fantasy is my favorite game series and I would love for it to be the highest selling console game in the US. However, that would mean that RPG's have finally crossed over into the mainstream and that still hasn't happened. Final Fantasy is one of the few series very much like Metal Gear, Mario, GTA, Madden, and Pokemon that sell on name alone. However, for a game to be the highest selling console game in a fiscal year it has to have a broad appeal in the mainstream or you have to make a game that gets kids to beg their moms to buy the game. Since 2001, the highest selling RPG has been Pokemon. In 2002, Kingdom Hearts showed up 8th for that year (and again it had Disney characters in it that got kids to beg their mothers to buy the game.) The top 10 for last year included Madden at #1, Pokemon Emerald (that is a continuation of Ruby and Sapphire that were released in 2003) at #2, and Gran Turismo 4 at #3. After that it's a mix of different sports games and all three Star Wars games that were released last year. What does that mean? Video Games are getting consistently more and more mainstream so every year we are going to see fewer sales for niche games like Final Fantasy, and more for Madden. Madden could probably release the same game every year with just a roster update and it would still be in the top ten every year, it's sad I know, but it is true. There is just too much coming out this year and there is a reason that there are commercials every year hyping the release of Madden - because everyone in the freaking US buys this game. Gamestop even does a Midnight release for the game because people can't wait to get their hands on it. If there is going to be one game to outsell anything that comes out on the Wii or PS3 it is going to be Madden. Madden might even move some PS3's and Wii's.

Jordan Williams: FICTION. Not even close. It will sell well, no doubt about it. But I don't think it'll take the number one spot. With Halo 3 and Legend of Zelda: TP out later this year, I really think one of those two will take the top spot in terms of selling, and like Sean mentioned, Madden is always a hot seller and always moves a lot of games no matter what the console is. So, a correct statement for this would be "Final Fantasy XII will be the highest selling SONY console game this year."

Score: 2 for 2

3. You are interested in buying the external Xbox 360 HD-DVD drive.

Sean Garmer: FICTION. Well if I had a XBOX 360 would I buy this? I don't really know because they would have to release a very good number of HD movies first. Microsoft is doing the smart thing in only releasing the accessory for $100 and then the movies themselves are $30. I wouldn't blame people for buying it because it's a smart move but I really can't say too much on this because I don't own an XBOX 360. If I had one I probably still wouldn't buy it because I don't really like to use my game systems for things other than games.

Jordan Williams: FICTION. Not terribly. I don't own an Xbox 360, but if I did I still wouldn't be too interested in it. I paid for an Xbox 360, not a DVD player. I'm sure it's pretty good for those who want to build an entertainment center around the Xbox 360, but I just want to play games, so it's not really a must have for me.

Score: 3 for 3



4. Most of the early Wii games, with the exception of first party titles, will be all gimmick and no substance.

Jordan 'Ogre' Williams: FACT. As much as I hate to say it, it'll probably be true. Just look at some of the horrid Nintendo DS games that were around when it first game out. Yoshi Touch and Go anyone? It'll take them a bit to catch their stride, but with so many people working on it, hopefully it shouldn't take too long.

Sean Garmer: FICTION. I have to disagree because I think Nintendo has learned from some of the early mistakes they made with the Nintendo DS. I didn't own a DS at its launch so I don't know what some of those early DS games were like. However, I do own one now and can tell you that the DS rocks and is a very innovative little machine. The Wii also has that innovation thing going for it that will promise some unique gaming experiences. Yes there are some gimmick games like Elebits, Wii Sports, Trauma Center: Second Opinion, and Madden 07. However, Zelda: Twilight Princess, Super Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, and Red Steel all will provide with substance and enthralling gameplay. I don't think it's fair to be saying things about these games before they even hit the console because you never know, they could be better than anyone expects. I could see a lot of people having many moments of playing Madden with a friend using the Wii remote.

Score: 3 for 4

5. Game addiction is a real problem.

Jordan 'Ogre' Williams: FACT. Barely. I can see people who are addicted to games a little bit more so than others, but a life ruining addiction in need of rehab or detox? Not really. If we are going to start shipping people off for that, we might as well ship them off for Television Addiction, too.

Sean Garmer: FACT. I guess it is a problem but so is every other addiction that we have here in America. There are probably not as many people addicted to Video Games as there is to the television. If you look at the way that Video Games have changed over the years, it really isn't the gamer's fault. Back in the day, games were short and repetitive and meant to be played for a while and that's it. Now games have developed into things that take hours upon hours to complete. Even the sports games have addicting Franchise modes that make the gamer want to play more than just one game. Video Games are so commonplace now that almost everyone has a PS2 at least, and about 3/4s of the US plays Madden. When I was younger my whole world was Video Games but as I got older I started to use Video Games more as a way to waste some time or give myself something to do on a lounging weekend. Most people play games when they can or when they have nothing to do. I've been in situations where an RPG's story is so gripping that it made me want to play it to the end. However, I've never been deathly addicted to a game where I wouldn't do anything but play that all day and lose sleep over it. I also don't play PC games so I have never gotten into that horrid culture of MMORPG's and shooter games that cause people to spend every moment of their lives in it. I agree with Jordan in that this is not something that is life threatening or that we need to start having meetings to talk about. It is just a video game and most people understand that. Video Games are just like Sports, Pro-Wrestling, or movies - they allow people to get away from the real life stress of everyday life and what is wrong with that?

Score: 4 for 5

6. As far as future Xbox Live Arcade releases go, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is more significant than any other titles that have already been announced.

Jordan 'Ogre' Williams: FICTION. Sure, I'm a Casltevania nut, but I dunno. I'm sure the game is significant, but it also runs in the realm of "How many people are really THAT into CV?" It's a great game and all, but unless you are REALLY interested in playing the classics, the game isn't really all that significant.

Sean Garmer: FACT. Well I was checking the release date calendar and there isn't anything coming out in the near future that isn't old school. Lumines is just a newer version of Tetris so that doesn't really count. I mean Sonic isn't a 1980's classic but it still doesn't have a lot to it. Castlevania is probably the first game that has a story and doesn't follow some basic premise like Pacman or even Street Fighter. If this game sells well in the Arcade it could very well start bringing other types of games to the arcade that aren't just classic games. So I think it is very significant to the future of the XBOX Live Arcade.

Score: 4 for 6



4 for 6. We finally break the cycle! Join us this Friday for another edition of Fact or Fiction.