411 Games Fact or Fiction 10.31.06: Retail Employees Buying PS3s, Wii and PS3 Demo Units, The Importance of RPGs, More!
Posted by Tommy Coloma on 10.31.2006
Vincent Chiucchi and Andrew Mellick give us their opinions on retail employees buying PS3s, the demise of Lik-Sang, Dead or Alive Xtreme 2, using real dollar amounts instead of a points system for online transactions, next-gen demo units, and how RPGs factor into the life and death of a console in this week’s Fact or Fiction Games.
It is once again time for your weekly dose of Fact or Fiction. This week we bring back fan favorites Vincent Chiucchi and Andrew Mellick. Every week in Gaming Trends, Vincent takes a close look at a video game trend and shows us its best and worst aspects. Last week's column centered around the many Tycoon games that have come out over the past few years. Vincent also gives readers something to look forward to every Monday with The Select and Start News Report. Want to see what is currently happening in the world of video games? Look no further. Andrew, on the other hand, does double duty as both a Games Section and Music Section writer. For the Games Section, he writes reviews and previews. His latest review is for PS2 version of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon. Does the game live up to the hype? Read his review to find out! Over in the Music Section, he writes The Psychoholic Slag News Report. Feel like taking a break from video games? Why not give it a read? You won't regret it! Alright - it's time to begin. Are you ready?
1. Video game store and retail store employees should not be allowed to purchase PS3 systems from their places of employment.
Vincent Chiucchi: FACT
Usually, I'd say Fiction because they have just as much of a right to buy the systems as people who don't work at a video game store. However, with Sony deciding to screw everything up and deliver a small amount of PS3's, you have to think about the consumers first. What this shortage means is that someone is unfortunately going to have to be screwed. If consumers come first, employees get screwed. But if employees come first, consumers get screwed, and out of those two, the consumer is more likely to never come back after being F'ed over.
Andrew Mellick: FICTION
I don't think it matters. The store is going to make money whether their own employee buys the system or some customer. Also, if I go in and try to buy a PS3 only to find that it is sold out, I don't think that I'm going to ask all the employees if they got one first. All jobs need perks and if they are working in a video game store, putting up with loud mouth, smart ass kids all day, they deserve it.
Score: 0 for 1
2. The closure of Lik-Sang will have little impact on the video game industry in the long run.
Vincent Chiucchi: FACT
Lik-Sang was very great for consumers who like to import. But even though it's sadly gone, it isn't like it was the only import site in the world. People will still find ways to import somehow, and the video game industry won't be affected for that long. Sony may be, but not the entire industry.
Andrew Mellick: FACT
I agree. It is too bad to see them closing up but it will have virtually no effect on the gaming world. Look at Napster - when they shut down, illegal downloads didn't stop. The fact of the matter is there are too many smart people out there who will do whatever it takes to get what they want.
Score: 1 for 2
3. Supposing that you have an Xbox 360, if Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 had games/mini-games that were fun to play, you might actually buy it.
Vincent Chiucchi: FACT
I actually do have a game that I play just for the mini-games rather then the main game: Super Monkey Ball. I HATED the main game so much, but the mini-games it had were so addictive, that became my main reason to play the game. Same thing would apply with DOAX2. If it had plenty of mini-games that are worth playing more then the stupid volleyball crap, I'd probably buy it.
Andrew Mellick: FICTION
I've got enough games where I love the main story that I still need to beat. I like mini-games fine but if I want to play some fun little games, I'll find something free on the internet and save myself 50 bucks. I'm not going to buy a game just for a few minutes of enjoyment. (that sounds dirty)
Score: 1 for 3
4. Allowing gamers to use real dollar amounts for online downloads makes the PS3's online service much more attractive.
Andrew Mellick: FACT
It's simple and straight forward. No damn point system or credits to worry about. I like this; I don't know why other companys waste time with all those stupid points and crap.
Vincent Chiucchi: FACT
Seriously, if Nintendo and Microsoft convert dollars to points and we spend the points, why not just cut out the unnecessary point step and use dollars? It just makes sense.
Score: 2 for 4
5. The upcoming Wii and PS3 store demo units will sway more customers than advertisements on television and other forms of media.
Andrew Mellick: FACT
With all the crap about whether we are seeing pre-rendered graphics or actual in-game play, a true hands on test will answer these questions once and for all. Also, Sony and Nintendo can tell me how great their new systems are but when I get that controller in my hands, I will know what is real and what is hype.
Vincent Chiucchi: FACT
Especially for the Wii. We hear so much stuff about how great the control system will be, but we won't know if it's that good unless we've actually picked it up and tried it out. As for the PS3, we'll finally decide if those uber-good graphics can be backed up by good games. Plus I've seen some PS3 advertisements, and they make no freaking sense.
Score: 3 for 5
6. A lack of recognizable RPG franchises (Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Megaten, etc.) on a next-gen system would be enough to kill it faster than the lack of recognizable franchises in any other genre.
Andrew Mellick: FICTION
I am not the biggest RPG fan so that probably sways my decision. I understand that a good RPG can spawn a legion of loyal fans. But I don't think that a lack of RPG's at the start will kill off any of the big three. Give it a year or two. Once developers get a handle on this new technology you'll get all your RPG jollies.
Vincent Chiucchi : FACT
RPG's are one of the most popular genres of gaming, and any console that lacks a really good one tends to suffer. Look at Nintendo's last two consoles. The N64 died thanks in part to Nintendo parting with Square's "slow dull games" as Nintendo put it, and the GameCube had Baten Kaitos, which received a somewhat cult status but didn't do much for the system. The Xbox 360 in Japan was failing until Blue Dragon came and sales went up. The PSP is dying because there are no RPGs for it, which is a big disappointment because you'd think a Final Fantasy PSP would be a no-brainer, but who's getting the Final Fantasy games instead? The DS. I'm not a hardcore RPG fan, but I know this genre is powerful enough to make or break a system.
Score: 3 for 6
A score of 3 for 6. You aren't invincible so make sure that you check back next week or I'll make you dine on turtle soup. You've been warned!
Reader Response Time:
Both of these were sent in by Todd Vote. The first was from a few weeks ago. Somehow it got lost in the sea of junk mail that I've been getting recently. The other was from last week -
A friend and I just had a similar conversation about a week ago. First I would like to say that it is the pre-rendered cut-scenes that will draw your attention away from the cereal bowl, but I've never bought a game without seeing game play footage. I will rent a game to see if I like it before buying. Especially now entering the age of $60+ game prices. People are going to be less apt to be wowed by a cut scene that given the current systems should easily be amazing looking, and I agree to an extent that they need to wow you in the 30 seconds they get in a commercial. So in TV advertising I can see a 50/50 mixture of cut scenes and game play. But going one step further, and looking at the trailers and demos on xbox live, game play is the only way to go. The people that view the trailers and Demo's online are already gamers, developers need to remember on Live that people are seeking out the game; they want to see what it is all about. Give them some game play, and stop worrying about hooking casual gamers.
A developer trying to pass of cut scene footage as game play is as bad as Hollywood thinking that telling consumers that such and such movie was distributed by the studio that brought you Saw, and Hostel…to me they are saying that the studio doesn't have enough faith in this movie for it to sell itself to you. If the developers are so confident that their games are so good, show us! Don't try to fool us into thinking they are going to look awesome.
My apologies, I got a little long winded there. I love all the fact or fictions on 411, keep it up.
You brought up a good point. It annoys the hell out of me whenever I download a trailer or a preview that just shows pre-rendered scenes. I've been around long enough to know the difference between pre-rendered cut-scenes and in-game action. I hate it when game companies try to BS their way into my wallet.
Dude, I just had to give you props for slippin the Double Dragon reference into the fact or fiction column. Please don't send Abobo after me.
Great! I was wondering if readers were paying attention to the references I've been throwing around. It's good to know that the extra few minutes that I spend on them are not going to waste...
