411 Games Fact or Fiction 09.08.06: Kasumi's tan lines, the PS3 and eBay, physics, Xbox 360 exclusives, and more!
Posted by Tommy Coloma on 09.08.2006
Sean McCabe and Steve McHugh give us their thoughts on video game realism, the PS3 and eBay, video game physics, PS1 games on the PSP, Capcom and exclusives, and the Wii's rumored lack of DVD movie playback in this week's Fact or Fiction Games.
Both of this week's participants write columns that take a good look at video games from the past. Sean McCabe explores the history and the games behind some of the most well known franchises in the industry every week in The Retrospective. He just completed his Legend of Zelda three-parter last week and has just begun his exploration of the Metal Gear series this week. Steve McHugh goes through the old consoles you know and love and reviews their games every two weeks in 411 Retro Review. Do those old games stand up well today or are we just seeing them through rose tinted glasses? His most recent articles include a review of Blue Stinger for the Dreamcast as well as a column devoted to the life and death of the Dreamcast itself. Here is their chance to give us their views about what is going on in the industry today.
1. Tan lines will be present in Dead or Alive Xtreme 2. This sort of realism should be expected and embraced as hardware improvements make such things possible.
Steve McHugh : Fact
Well kind of anyway. As the technology allows for such realism then yes of course developers should take full advantage of that ability. To see more realistic people, environments and lighting is a very important part of the NextGen. Do I care about seeing tan lines on women who aren't even real? No not even slightly.
Sean McCabe: Fact
In truth I'm somebody who couldn't care less about realism in videogames, but I know a lot of people do. I do know one thing and that is it requires a lot of skill to craft photorealistic images on console and PC hardware. The hardware can't do it for the developers, so chances are we'll see quite a big difference between games that look truly realistic and games that just look rather weird.
Score: 1 for 1
2. If you were to get your hands on a PS3 this winter, you would rather sell it on eBay than keep it.
Steve McHugh : Fact
Well firstly I couldn't care less about getting a PS3 even if it did come out. But with the machine not coming out in Europe there will be people over here willing to spend a lot of money to get one and so it's going to sell for big money on eBay. So if I could get one then hell yes I'd do it too. If you're dumb enough to pay over the $600 retail price for the console then I have no sympathy for you.
Sean McCabe: Fact
If I could make a few hundred pounds profit on it, then yeah, it would go to eBay. I am sick and tired of Sony now.
Score: 2 for 2
3. You prefer realistic physics to arcade/cartoony physics in your games.
Steve McHugh : Fact
This was a hard one to decided but it came down to the fact that I do prefer games that look and handle realistically. That's not to say that cartoony physics don't have its place in gaming, but would Oblivion have been as good without realistic world physics? Maybe, but it would have missed something. I can say the same about most games that use a realistic physics engine, especially FPS games. I think finding a balance between things being realistic but still enjoyable to play is the hardest trick.
Sean McCabe: Fiction, fiction, complete and total fiction
Like I said above I know a lot of people who like realistic games. I am not one of them, never will be, and I would forever prefer to play something that is less realistic in how it plays, i.e. Metal Gear Solid, over something that played more realistically i.e. Splinter Cell, because the former is just far more fun.
Score: 2 for 3
4. PlayStation 1 content on the PSP will be the best thing since sliced bread.
Sean McCabe: Fiction
The only portable console I ever bought was a DS. The reason for that is portable consoles are not very interesting if they don't offer something different from home consoles. If I was desperate to play PSX games, I have my PS2 there to play them on. Yeah this is a cool feature and I'm not saying the PSP should not have it, but it's nothing that will make consumers very interested in the long run.
Steve McHugh : Fiction
I actually brought a PSP a while back and then after discovering it wasn't very good promptly took it back and got a DS instead. The main problem with the PSP, well the two main problems, are a lack of good games and the fact that the controls are awful. Putting PS1 games on there helps with one but I agree with Sean here - if you want to play PS1 games then buy a PS2 instead. It's certainly cheaper and you can always get other good games too.
Score: 3 for 4
5. A producer at Capcom has stated that Lost Planet is an Xbox 360 exclusive. This game will always be an Xbox 360 exclusive.
Sean McCabe : Fiction
Resident Evil 4. Do I really need to say anything more? Actually, granted I do see this sticking, but I am the last person to say for certain given Capcom's track record.
Steve McHugh : Fiction
Personally I think this one is actually going to be an exclusive but with Capcom you can never be sure and that's why I picked fiction. I'm sure if it sells huge numbers, which it should, then the sequel won't be exclusive. Hey I may be wrong and this might be a series just for the 360, I certainly hope so.
Score: 4 for 5
6. Rumors are circulating that the Wii will not play DVD movies. Assuming that this rumor is true, the lack of DVD movie support will be a major determining fact for most consumers.
Sean McCabe : Fiction
Nintendo have confirmed in the past that the only thing required for the Wii to play DVD movies is a simple add on. These rumors are likely not even true, but even if they were it's not a problem, 99% of people with the tech savvy to even watch DVDs will have a player handy.
Steve McHugh : Fact
Lets look at the last generation of consoles that didn't have a DVD player included. Dreamcast and GameCube… neither of which did all that well. DVD players included in consoles is now a very big selling point and a lot of people would rather buy one with it than buy the console and DVD player separately. It's just easier for people. That said I can't see Nintendo making that mistake twice and would be very surprised if the Wii didn't have a DVD player included.
Score: 4 for 6
A final score of 4 for 6! Don't forget to join us again next Friday for more Fact or Fiction!
