411 Games Fact or Fiction 05.10.07: The Xbox 360 Elite, Resurrecting Dead Characters, & More
Posted by Tommy Coloma on 05.10.2007
Jordan Williams and David Redkey give us their take on DDR in gym class, the relevance of the Xbox 360 Elite, the loss of Xenosaga for Sony, bringing characters back from the dead, game camera systems, and the possibility of Ken "Father of the PlayStation" Kutaragi working for Nintendo in this edition of Fact or Fiction Games.
Welcome to another edition of 411 Games Fact or Fiction. This week both Jordan Williams and David Redkey return after a long break from the spotlight to give everyone a chance to see what they're made of.
Jordan Williams was last seen around the beginning of April. Hopefully you'll remember that he is the writer of Working Title. In this week's column Jordan highlights some of the opportunities that the big three (Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft) have so far failed to take advantage of. Gaming these days could be so much better. Take a look to see how.
David Redkey hasn't been around since the beginning of the year but don't fret - he already has a few things on his plate, including reviews for HoneyComb Beat for the DS and Dawn of Mana for the PS2. Don't forget to check back later to see what he has to say about them.
Here we go -
1. You would have liked to have had Dance Dance Revolution as part of gym class when you were growing up.
Jordan Williams: FACT
Not because I am a big fan of the game. It just would've been a lot cooler than the usual stuff you had to do in P.E. Also, it wouldn't cost as much as it would be to get new balls and pads for everyone. I do think it'd be a bit silly for it to be the complete course, but I've been in some P.E classes where on a rainy day they would just stick in a Tae-Bo tape and we'd do that all period. I could definitely see DDR being a good replacement for that.
David Redkey: FICTION
Would I want games to be in gym class? Yes. Do I think it actually serves a purpose? No and that is why I picked fiction. I feel that playing games may give you some exercise but playing outside or part of a team requires working with a human being instead of a computer program. I'm sorry but human contact is needed unless you have serious neurological problems.
Score: 0 for 1
2. The Xbox 360 Elite is a mistake on Microsoft's part.
Jordan Williams: FACT
I personally have a gripe with anyone who makes a new version of a console that doesn't fix a problem that was in the previous one. The GBA to GBASP fixed the poorly lit screen. The DS to the DS Lite improved upon the screen and fixed some design issues. I don't see what the 360 Elite fixes, if it does indeed fix anything. It comes with HDMI support, a new color, and a bigger hard drive. Why couldn't they release all of these components separately or in some sort of "Xbox 360 Elite" package? Why do we have to purchase a whole new console to get upgrades which could come separately? I think it was a mistake, and hopefully they don't plan on phasing the current Xbox 360's out in favor of this one.
David Redkey: FACT
The only reason that this will see the light of day is to address the PS3's larger hard drive and true High Definition support. If people rush to buy this, they are showing the people at M$ that we'll buy anything. They can release any semblance of a console and we'll rush out to buy it on name alone.
Score: 1 for 2
3. Nintendo now controls 80% of Monolith Soft, the makers of the Xenosaga series. The loss of any future Xenosaga games isn't a big deal for Sony.
Jordan Williams: FACT
Barely. Do I think Sony is happy about losing a franchise? Not at all. Do I think Sony is angry about it? Not at all. The only way I can see Sony getting angry about this is if Nintendo suddenly starts churning out Grade-A Xenosaga games on the Wii, which I really do not see happening (it would be pretty awesome if it did, however). But I don't think it's as big of a loss and everyone else is making it out to be.
David Redkey: FACT
What's Xenosaga to us in the US? Nothing. It's nothing at all. We still get Final Fantasy and that's all that matters. We have so many other different options. Do you know why they released Xenosaga? Monolith Soft's Xenosaga developers were from Square Soft. They didn't have the right to make a Xenogears game. Over the course of the series, the sequels became worse and worse. They changed things and even sacked shops and what not in the name of making it easier. I like the Xenogears/Xenosaga games but I don't want to see another installment after the raping the series received. On a side note, when will we see blood in the stupid series in the US? We wind up with neutered approximations of the Japanese counterpart. Nintendo will never let something so fundamentally mature see the light of day in Japan or the US.
Score: 2 for 3
4. You appreciate it when developers bring popular characters back from the dead.
David Redkey: FICTION
I've never had the belief that they should bring anyone back from the dead. The only reason they would bring someone back is to make more money. They would rather spit on the fans of their games then give them a finale that's memorable.
Jordan Williams: FICTION
Keep a character that is dead dead. Simple as that. If you go through all of the trouble killing off a character and then just bring them back two games later it completely kills all of the emotion that was charged in the death of the character. Imagine if they just brought back Aeris all of the sudden. Sure, a lot of FF Fanboys would stop crying, but it would kill one of the most iconic scenes in gaming history.
Score: 3 for 4
5. Game camera systems have finally gotten to the point where they are no longer an annoyance.
David Redkey : FICTION
Well, we can all look at Spider-Man 3 for that answer right there. That was a major problem for reviewers of the game.
Jordan Williams : FICTION
They are getting there, but they simple aren't there yet. It's definitely A LOT better than it used to be, but it's still bad when Mario 64's camera is still tons better than the camera in most of the games today.
Score: 4 for 5
6. Satoru Iwata, the president and CEO of Nintendo, recently indicated in a press conference that he "would love to see Kutaragi join up with Nintendo." That is a great idea as the "Father of the PlayStation" would fit in perfectly at Nintendo.
David Redkey : FICTION
Nintendo's goal is to release games that conform to the ESRB's rating of E (for Everyone). Sony has always been the home of games that are greater than the ones shown by Nintendo. I would give up Mario for Solid Snake in a heart beat. That's why I didn't rush out to buy a Wii and I think the two forces should stay on opposite spectrums.
Jordan Williams: FICTION
But for completely different reasons. I don't agree necessarily with Redkey's assessment that Sony has always been the home of greater games, but I know that Kutaragi wouldn't fit in at Nintendo. Nintendo, to me, was always about games first, extras second. Kutaragi is the exact opposite of that. I don't think he'd be able to work in a place that makes sure the games are main focal point, not the console.
Score: 5 for 6
A final score of 5 for 6. Don't forget to join us next time. Those of you who profess the belief that skipping out is ok will receive the standard substandard training, which will result in your eventual elimination.
