The Digital Pulse 10.03.06
Posted by Joshua Richey on 10.03.2006
The final edition of The Digital Pulse... for now.
Alright, before I get into the news and all of that, I'd like to first talk about a few changes that you'll be seeing around the Games section here soon. For starters, this will be my last edition of The Digital Pulse (for now). It's sad I know, but I would like to move on to writing an actual column rather than the standard News Report. I think that the other guys that write News Reports do an excellent job, and would highly encourage you to continue reading them.
My school schedule as of right now is not really allowing me to dedicate myself to this column. So Tommy will be delivering you the news every Monday, rather than me. Tommy writes the Start and Select News, and his News Reports kick ass. I'm going to go a different route. I'm going to be writing a weekly article that will focus on a number of different issues that are currently embedded within the Gaming Industry. I'll tackle the current state of Arcades, why the G4 Network failed, and the many reasons as to why GameFly is a terrible concept and an even worse service.
The article will be titled Pressing Buttons, and will debut next Tuesday.
Now that I've gotten that all out of the way, I'd like to deliver you some video game news that is so sweet – that you'll have to brush your teeth after reading it.
Splinter Cell 5 goes X-Box 360 Exclusive
Last week at X06, Ubisoft threw an unexpected monkey wrench into the next-gen console wars when they announced that Splinter Cell 5 (not the upcoming Splinter Cell: Double Agent) would be released exclusively to the X-Box 360. The word 'exclusive' has nearly lost all merit in today's world. Saying that any game is exclusive to a certain console is like claiming that Paris Hilton is exclusive with... well, anyone. We should know better, right? Just look at Assassin's Creed. Once believed to be a PS3 exclusive it's now sneaking onto both major consoles. The Grand Theft Auto series is another example.
GameIndustry.biz talked with Yves Guillemot, President of Ubisoft, about the announcement. Here's what he had to say:
"Splinter Cell was created on the first X-box, so we thought it was important to come back for one volume with Microsoft to create a very good quality title focused on using the full power of the system"
Translation? 'We love money, and Mr. Gates has lots of it!' Splinter Cell: Double Agent is set to be released for a flurry of consoles this month, and the game looks amazing. So I'm not buying this 'we want to focus on using the full power of the 360' mumbo-jumbo. Man up, and tell it like it really is. Nobody can blame you.
The news of Splinter Cell's exclusivity is eye-brow raising for a few other reasons: 1.) Ubisoft has been by far the biggest supporter of the Nintendo Wii. If any company was going to score the game to an 'exclusive deal', you would think that it would have maybe been Nintendo. 2.) This is just going to further the Metal Gear-Splinter Cell/Solid Snake-Sam Fisher debates. It'll be fun watching Sony and Microsoft fan boys debate 'who would win' for years to come.
MTV Buys Harmonix
Harmonix Music Systems, makers of Guitar Hero, will now be working in collaboration with MTV. The deal, which was finalized this past week, is being rumored to be in the proximity of 175 million, and will include special stock options for current shareholders.
Unfortunately, there is still no word on if Harmonix plans on creating a My Super Sweet 16 game, but one can only hope.
Shut Up Sony
Sony attempted to pwn Microsoft last week, but accomplished nothing more than looking more childish themselves. Here's what Dave Karraker, Sony Computer Entertainment of America's Senior Director of Corporate Communication, had to say about it:
"It's unfortunate that Microsoft's external HD-DVD drive will not enhance the experience at all for the gamer. Sony realizes that to truly take gaming into the next generation requires a larger data format for both games and movies. PS3 uses the Blu-ray format for gaming, giving developers 50 GB of high-definition storage on a single disc, while Microsoft's 9 GB DVD gaming format is an obstacle for storing HD content. Furthermore, Microsoft's announced HD games patch is really just a compatibility feature -- upscaling lower-resolution content does not make it Full HD (1080p), something that PS3 can do out of the box."
This just in: the Playstation 3 right out of the box.. will still cost $600.00.
EA's Quest For World Supremacy Continues!
Activision's Tony Hawk series is about to get some competition. EA has announced plans for SKATE, a skateboarding game from Electronic Arts and EA Black Box, the makers of Need For Speed: Carbon.
You would think that with as much money as Electronic Arts has, they would've done some market research first. Skateboard games were awesome for like 15 minutes. It's a shame those 15 minutes were about 5 years ago.
ESRB Being Forced To Complete Games?
If people like US Senator Sam Brownback (yes, that is his real name) have their way - third party rating groups, such as the ESRB, will be forced to fully complete a game prior to giving it a rating. Attempting to justify this, Sen. Brownback said that this movement is needed "because reviewers do not see the full content of games and don't even play the games they are supposed to rate."
The plan has its fair share of problems, but for the most part I'm all for this. I have a hard time believing how anyone could review anything without actually completing it. Nonetheless, you of course have some setbacks. What about games that seemingly never finish, like MMO's? Or what about those long, elaborate epic games that require 40+ hours of gameplay? If this new review system were to result in delayed gaming releases, than you would have a lot of irritated gamers out there.
New Releases This Week
(X-Box)
Fifa 2007
(Playstation 2)
Star Trek: Encounters
Fifa 2007
SnoCross: featuring Blair Morgan
NRA Gun Club
NHL 2K7
(Gamecube)
Fifa 2007
(Nintendo DS)
Hannah Montana
Biker Mice From Mars
Hardcore Pool
Uno 52
F-24: Stealth Fighter
Fifa 2007
Disney's The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure
(PSP)
Prostroke Golf – World Tour 2007
Stacked with Daniel Negreanu
Mercury Meltdown
Star Trek: Technical Assualt
Fifa 2007
Gangs of London
Tales of Eternia
(GBA)
Disney Princess: Royal Adventure
Fifa 2007
Harlem Globetrotters: World Tour
Disney's Little Mermaid: Magic in Two Kingdoms
Dora the Explorer: Dora's World Adventure
Mega Man: Anniversary Collection
(PC)
Space Empires V
Nancy Drew: The Creature of Kapu Cave
Fifa 2007
Go Diego Go!: Wolf Pop Rescue
Cabela's Alaskan Adventure
Wildlife Zoo
Backyardigans: Mission to Mars
Pony LUV
Paparazzi
Neverend
Desperate Housewives: The Game
Making History: The Calm and The Storm
Zoo Tycoon 2: Zookeeper Collection
The (O.T)
The O.T returns for the last edition of The Digital Pulse. I will not be carrying this segment over with me when I begin writing Pressing Buttons, so enjoy!
Game of the Week: NBA 2K7
Take Two's NBA 2K series is always a safe bet when it come to quality. Quality is something that was really lacking in the month of September; at least from what I played. Just Cause was 'Just Awful', Spyhunter was absolutely horrible and NHL 2K7 was about as fun as actually watching a game of hockey. So basically, NBA 2K7 wins by default.
Don't worry about the lack of good games here lately. Things are about to pick up in a big way. In the coming months we have Splinter Cell: Double Agent, Gears of War, and of course the launches of the Wii and Playstation 3. Good time are ahead.
Movie of the Week: Kung Fu Hustle
For months now, I've had people approach me and ask 'have you seen Kung Fu Hustle?' I would gingerly reply 'no' just prior to being told that I 'must'. After about 6 people came to me and proclaimed it 'genius', I went out and purchased the DVD.
I'll be honest with you, after the first 10 minutes of the movie I immediately regretted this purchase. I do have a lot of stoner friends, and only they could enjoy such a film. But as the film progressed, I was quite amused and entertained. If you haven't already, check out Kung Fu Hustle. It's great. Especially if you're high.
Future Ex-Wife of the Week: Eva Longoria
I would like to congratulate Eva on her recent return to singldom. You should have known better than to attempt to marry a Frenchman. They're bad.
The Send-Off
So, I guess that this is it. I'm not ruling out to possibly reverting back to this column at a later point; perhaps after school is finished I'll give it another go. We'll see. But as for now, I'm going to continue to go down a different path. Don't forget, the new column is called Pressing Buttons, and debuts next Tuesday.
