411 Games Fact or Fiction 09.01.08: GTA IV's Downloadable Content, Square-Enix's Attempt to Acquire Tecmo, Finding a Boxing Game That Is Better Than Mike Tyson's Punchout, & More!

Posted by Tommy Coloma on 09.01.2008

411's Derek Robbins and Rod Oracheski tell us whether GTA IV's downloadable content will matter by the time it is actually released, if a Square-Enix controlled Tecmo will result in good things for both companies, how gamers will spend their time with Spore, whether any boxing game has surpassed Mike Tyson's Punchout in entertainment value, if Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise will do better than the previous game, and whether $200 really is the sweet spot for console sales in this edition of Fact or Fiction Games.

Welcome to another edition of Fact or Fiction. This week Derek Robbins and Rod Oracheski check in to tell us what they think about some of today's most important video game news and issues.

About this week's participants:

Derek compiles The 10th Hour every week. In his latest column, he breaks down what he feels are the 10 finest NES games of all time.

Rod currently writes Achievement Unlocked. This week's column takes a look at the pace at which Achievements are doled out and how that can affect one's enjoyment of a game.

Let's go -


1. The downloadable content for GTA IV could be here as early as November or as late as January or February of next year. At this point, the release date is irrelevant as a large number of the gamers who were interested in the downloadable content have moved on to other games.

Derek Robbins: Fact

It doesn't even matter any more. Grand Theft Auto IV was a good game when it came out in May, but gamers have just moved on since its release. To be honest, I haven't even touched the game since I beat it and don't see myself doing it again even when the downloadables come out. Now, if they decided to throw in some nice story stuff to go along with the downloads, I would be all for that, but it appears they won't even do that. For this sort of thing, they HAD to be timely. An August release would have been great. November will hurt definitely (though it can be bolstered thanks to the holidays), but if they release it as late as January, why even bother releasing it?

Rod Oracheski: Fact

I suppose it depends just how big this DLC is. Like Derek said, if it adds in new storylines and is sizable, then maybe it doesn't matter that it's hitting this far after launch, but with all the new titles coming out this fall, Rockstar might have missed the boat here. Great game or not, eventually, gamers start looking around and wondering what else is out there.

Score: 1 for 1


2. A Square-Enix takeover of Tecmo will result in nothing but good things for both companies.

Derek Robbins: Fact

Tecmo hasn't been very good over the past several years. Actually, they've barely even been on my radar. Oh sure, they release fantastic games such as Ninja Gaiden, but for the most part, they appear to be struggling. Square, on the other hand, is one of the leading developers of games today, and if they were to lend some help to Tecmo, I imagine that a lot of great things could come of it. Now don't get me wrong - I'm not exactly clamoring for a Dead or Alive RPG, but with some of the minds over at Square, it's possible that a lot of Tecmo's old franchises can be brought back to some prestige. Also, yes, this is me hoping to see Ayane or someone of similar ilk in Dissidia.

Rod Oracheski: Fiction

I'm assuming Itagaki doesn't return to the fold with this guess. I just don't think SE is that great a match for Tecmo, even with their recent focus on expanding beyond the JRPG market and putting games onto store shelves in a more timely matter. SE wants to expand their offerings, but just acquiring a property like Ninja Gaiden by buying Tecmo isn't necessarily going to give them that variety. I'm guessing there'll be some rough starts and stops with new production, assuming the deal goes through.

Score: 1 for 2


3. In the end, most people will spend more time messing around with Spore's creature creator than playing the actual game.

Derek Robbins: Fiction

The creature creator has been out for months. I can't speak for everyone, but after the first couple of weeks of tooling around, I was ready for the main course. From everything I've seen about Spore, it will offer a ton of replay value and should be worth our wait. Now, some may complain that Spore isn't much of a "game" so much as an experiment, but that's where it's fun. The idea of evolution and ecosystems and food chains gets me very excited, and honestly, I see myself tinkering with the actual Spore title a lot longer than I messed with the creature creator. I mean, it's fun to MAKE things, but to see them actually do things is a whole different thing.

Rod Oracheski: Fiction

As with Derek, it didn't take me long to get tired of the creature creator, so I would guess most people will be the same way. How many obscene creatures can people really make before moving on to the game itself? As for the game itself, I'm not sure I'm completely sold on it. Will Wright hasn't let us down yet, but this one is reaching pretty far.

Score: 2 for 3



4. No boxing game has surpassed Mike Tyson's Punchout in entertainment value as far as single-player experiences go.

Rod Oracheski: Fiction

While Punchout was king for a long, long time, Fight Night Round 3 has proved, for me at least, to be a far more entertaining time. The cast of characters might not be as lively, but if you can't have a blast pummeling them into submission, you need to hang up the gloves for good.

Derek Robbins: Fact

You could accuse me of being washed away in a sea of nostalgia, but I am not a fan of boxing in the least and I can STILL enjoy Mike Tyson's Punchout. While Fight Night is a good series, it just... I'm not sure how I can put this... never hit home with me. A lot of the aesthetics seemed to cater to boxing nuts, and since I am... not exactly that... I prefer Punchout. Seriously, that game was released in 1987 and it STILL is a blast to play. On top of that, the roster remains as quirky as ever. For something to hold up over so long, it really does deserve some props and I'll give them here. While boxing fans may prefer the Fight Night series, as a video game fan, I prefer Mike Tyson's Punchout.

Score: 2 for 4


5. Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise will do better than its predecessor.

Rod Oracheski: Fact

Even if it's just by virtue of a larger userbase, the sequel should surpass the original pretty handily. Rare should also see a larger push on the title this time, though I'm not sure how much "bigger" it gets than having the franchise get its own TV show. Topping it all off, the game looks to actually be a fairly sizable improvement over the original, so appealing to a bigger audience should be simple.

Derek Robbins: Fact

Viva Piñata was kind of a surprise hit, wasn't it? It came from RARE who was sort of struggling to come up with something worth anyone's time, so to say it caught me unaware is a bit of an understatement. I believe that the sequel will surpass the original simply by word of mouth. A lot of people may not have bought the original title right away simply because the kiddy look to it was a turn-off. This time there will be some word of mouth, as well as fans of the TV show as Rod mentioned, to get others into the Viva Piñata mood, so I gotta say this game will absolutely do better than the original.

Score: 3 for 5


6. It is rumored that the Xbox 360 Arcade console will finally reach the $200 price point, which is said to be the "sweet spot" for console sales, on the 7th of September. If the Arcade's price does drop to that magical number, it will be difficult for Microsoft to keep the Arcade in stock this Christmas season.

Rod Oracheski: Fact

All three companies have had issues keeping supply on hand during Christmas in the past, so I don't see how Microsoft really stands a chance at keeping the Arcade on shelves in any case. The price drop on all three SKUs should give them a good boost going into the holidays, and I'm not even going to guess what the November/December numbers will be like.

I don't see how it can be called a rumor when the fliers are already out, by the way.

Derek Robbins: Fact

I have to be honest - even for someone who swore off Microsoft and the loathed 360s (mine broke on me, if you needed an explanation), this deal seems really great to me and could have me buying ANOTHER one. That's insane, you know? At two-hundred dollars, it's a really, really good deal. One of the big selling points of the Wii was the fact that it had such a low price, and sure, it'll receive a drop as well, but the Xbox has better graphics and that could attract more people. On top of that, it has a hard drive you can purchase, if you so desire, which is more than what the similarly priced Wii can say. I think it'll be a struggle to keep these on the shelves. This might also help to further push the 360 ahead of the still expensive PS3 in America. It's a great move for Microsoft all around.

Score: 4 for 6



We have a final score of 4 for 6. That's it for this week.

Now, we are currently lost in the forest. If the correct path is to go north, west, south, and then west as we had been told, we'll be back next week.