The Full Circle: 360 News Report 02.15.08
Posted by Mike Minotti on 02.15.2008
Is this crazy opposite day? The PS3 outsells the 360, Cliffy B says he doesn't like PC gaming, and... Vigilante 8 is making a comeback? I wouldn't be surprised if this column was being written by a strange mustached mirror version of myself.
Why the hell does AJ Style wear a crown these days? Did I miss something?
Oops, wrong zone.
Welcome to the Full Circle, everyone. We've got a lot of news today, as well as a lot of rumors to cover. Of course, just about every rumor is debunked, so don't get too excited. Also, the PS3 outsold the 360 in January.
I KNOW CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!? o.O
But first, podcast plug!
This week we talk about Half-Life. A lot. If you're cool, like, at all, you like Half-Life, so listen to the show.
News
NPDs - PS3 beat 360.
Uh oh.
- Wii -- 274,000
- PlayStation 3 -- 269,000
- PlayStation 2 -- 264,000
- Nintendo DS -- 251,000
- PlayStation Portable -- 230,000
- Xbox 360 -- 230,000
Obviously everyone's numbers are down from December, but the real story here is the PS3's rise. How can it be explained? Well, Microsoft has already been claiming that sales are down for the 360 due to hardware shortages. They claim that they didn't expect demand to be this high after the holiday season. I can hardly comment on the validity of that statement (although my Best Buy has been short on 360s lately), so its hard to say if it's a legitimate excuse or damage control. Regardless, Nintendo will probably say something similar to explain its slightly lower numbers.
If this trend continues in February, things will be really interesting. Still, let's not get too excited. Even though the chart has finally seen some diversity, it's worth noting that all of the consoles are only separated by tens of thousands of sales numbers, as opposed to hundreds of thousands.
The software side was more like business as usual.
1. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Xbox 360) -- 330,900
2. Wii Play w/ Remote (Wii) -- 298,100
3. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Wii) -- 239,600
4. Rock Band (Xbox 360) -- 183,800
5. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Xbox 360) -- 182,700
6. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) -- 172,000
7. Burnout Paradise (Xbox 360) -- 144,100
8. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PlayStation 3) -- 140,000
9. Mario Party DS (Nintendo DS) -- 138,500
10. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Nintendo DS) -- 133,000
The 360 version of CoD4 still leads the list. Honestly, I think the most interesting thing here is that Rock Band has outsold GH3 on the 360. Of course, GH3 sales have been so high that perhaps practically everyone already owns the game.
KOTOR 3 rumors start flying, EA starts denying.
Things sure were exciting for a several hours. EA gave a presentation, and from one snapshot of one slide, everyone began assuming that BioWare was working on a new Knights of the Old Republic game.
It turns out, however, that the slide was simply naming games that they have worked on before. It was more of a portfolio than a coming attractions list.
I knew that people are disappointed. KOTOR was one of the best Xbox games, and even if the sequel did disappoint, it's still a very high profile franchise. I'm sure if we're patient, we'll see KOTOR someday.
In the meantime, BioWare is busy with that Sonic RPG.
Xbox 360 failure rate = 16%.
Are you really surprised? This new report comes from a group called SquareTrade, who deals with electronic warranties. Makes sense. Also, in case you're wondering, the PS3 failure rate is 3%, while the Wii failure rate was too low to give a percentage.
Personally, more than half of the people I know have had the red ring of death. I almost find the 16% to be too low. Even still, that number is pretty pathetic. If this was almost any other kind of electronic, there would have been a recall a long time ago. I guess we should be happy with the extended warranty.
GTAIV online for 360 and PS3.
There were rumors that the 360 version of GTAIV was only going to be the only one to have online capabilities. Sorry guys, we're not special. It was implied that the DLC would be 360 exclusive on Major Nelson's podcast, but Rockstar representatives have since denied the claim.
This, my friends, is why we don't take Major Nelson too seriously. As a rule, I usually only listen to people that refer to themselves by their real name. Speaking of not having a real name…
Cliffy B prefers consoles these days.
The face of Epic Games has laid the smackdown on PC gaming. Kind of. In an interview at the MTV's Multiplayer blog, Cliffy says the only PC games that really sell anymore are "'Sims'-type games and WoW and a lot of stuff that's in a web-based interface." Well, it's hard to argue with him. I mean, compare Unreal Tournament 2008's PC sales to Gears of Wars 360 sales. Thanks to Halo's success, shooters have been much better received on consoles. It wasn't long ago that they were mostly a PC gaming affair.
Vigilante 8 coming to XBLA.
You know, when I first decided to post this story, I thought I didn't know what Vigilante 8 was, but now I remember! It was a Twisted Metal clone that came out for the PS1. Also, there was a school bus in it, which I believe was somewhat controversial at the time.
This sure seems like a strange franchise to revive on the XBLA, but why not? It'll be more of a remake than a sequel, so I hope they keep the price reasonable.
Weekly Releases
The Club – 02/19
This one sounds weird. The previews make it out to be some sort of bloodier Fight Club game. I hope it fairs better than the actual Fight Club game.
Dynasty Warriors 6 – 02/19
This series still has its fans, so I won't mock it. After all, most series don't really hit their stride until the sixth installment.
Fifa Street 3 – 02/18
I wonder if this is anything like Sega Soccer Slam, because that game was awesome.
Weekly Trailer
Here's the special edition of Rockstar's Bully. This is the Scholarship Edition. I'm personally holding out for the Transfer to a Technical School Edition.
Target Topic: Why don't I care about Lost Odyssey?
You know, I've become a big fan of RPGs as of late. During the second half of 2007, I embarked on an epic journey to play Final Fantasy 1 through 10 in six months, all games I have never beaten before. The experience was… exhilarating. Right now I'm deep into Persona 3, a very quirky but deep RPG for the PS2 (I shouldn't talk about PS2 stuff here too much, but if you're a fan of the genre you should check Persona 3 out).
So, I love RPGs. Then why don't I care about Lost Odyssey? I mean, here's an epic RPG made from the creator of Final Fantasy, with music from Nobuo Uematsu. It sounds like heaven on paper. But Blue Dragon did absolutely nothing for me. Still, I blamed that on the games derivative art and game play styles. The game was meant to be a throw back, so whatever. Lost Odyssey would surely be more interesting, right?
Well, I don't know. Reviews have been mixed. I think the highest amount of praise I've seen for the game was an 8.0 from 1up, but that seems to the peak in a mountain of more average review scores.
Still, numbers hardly mean everything. I think a large part of me is turned off by the story. The protagonist is another stoic warrior of few words. Man, I'm really tired of that cliché. Sure, he's immortal and all that, but that just kind of confuses me. How exactly does an immortal have Hit Points, and if he doesn't, exactly what kind of Points does he have?
I probably should rent the game sometime (although my ridiculously high Hollywood Video late fees may block that road of action). I really wish there was a demo. If the combat system sparked my interest, that would be good enough for me. As it is, I think I'll stick with Persona 3.
The Other Guys
Nintendophiles' Theo Fraser has a lot of new info on Mario Kart Wii.
The SIXAXIS' Mark Salmela has new pics of Street Fighter IV up. I'm going to laugh if it doesn't show up on the PS3.
