The Full Circle: 360 News Report 1.16.09
Posted by Joe Roche on 01.16.2009
Once again it's Friday and 411Mania's Joe Roche is here to take you around The Full Circle. This week we're going to talk about a Resident Evil 5 demo, some DLC for Mirror's Edge and Fallout 3, the top rentals of 2008, whether or not Indiana Jones has been canceled by LucasArts, and whether you care about having an all-in-one entertainment console.
As always ladies and gentlemen I am your host for this wonderful Friday morning edition of The Full Circle. Right off the bat I'd like to thank everyone for their input on the Christian Bale Batman voice conversation from last week, it was nice to know that I wasn't alone on that one.
On the gaming front I am starting to fall way behind with my backlog. I blame this almost entirely on NHL 09 which I threw back in the 360 a week ago and haven't been able to take out. I've made my love for this year's NHL game known in this column more then once but it is now starting to affect my productivity for this site. What I should be playing is The Last Remnant for a 411mania Review, and I fully intend on spending many hours with the game this weekend. I only mention this so that if any of you see me on Live playing NHL 09 please remind me that I have an obligation to Square Enix to fulfill.
My quick thoughts on The Last Remnant after playing about ten (10) hours, I'm not sure the game got a fair shake when it released. There are obvious graphic issues, and you're still playing a JRPG as a spiked hair, smooth skinned youth but I believe there is enough new stuff presented in this game that it deserves a try. Obviously I should have a much more in depth review in the near future. Without any more delay though lets get into the reason you're here.
Late NPD Update
I am updating this column very late (10:22 PM EST) but I am just now seeing the December NPD numbers and as a Microsoft fanboy these were too good to pass up. According to Microsoft (so take this as you will), the past month was the biggest in 360 history as the Xbox 360 sold an impressive 1.44 million units, almost double the PS3 (726k) and nowhere near the Wii (2.15 million). This has to be considered a very good sign for the 360 as the holiday numbers could have been very bad when you think about the economy being in the state that it's in.
On the gaming front, Call of Duty World at War sold a very impressive 1.33 million copies to snag the #2 spot overall for the month (Wii Play w/ Wiimote was #1). Also showing pretty good holiday sales signs, Gears of War 2 sold an additional 745k units, and Left 4 Dead did a very respectable 629k sales. For the year Microsoft had four of the top 10 selling games of the year with #5 GTAIV (3.29 million), #6 COD World at War (2.75 million), #7 Gears of War 2 (2.31 million), and #9 Madden NFL 09 (1.87 million) carrying the banner for the 360.
Resident Evil 5 Demo
For those of you (like me) who didn't rig your Xbox Live to allow access to the Japanese marketplace and thus missed the RE5 demo today is your lucky day. According to multiple sources, the Resident Evil 5 demo will be coming exclusively to the Xbox Marketplace during the week of January 26th. The demo is going to be almost identical to the Japanese release which included two levels from the campaign, plus Live and co-op support. I am extremely excited to get my hands on this demo as there have been some mixed feelings from people who've had a chance to play and I want to give it a whirl myself.
Oh and for those PS3 owners reading this column, there was no release date announced for your access to the RE5 demo. So my suggestion to you would be to get in close with some Xbox owners, and maybe they'll let you bask in their Resident Evil glow.
- In a year of zombie outbreaks you're the zombie outbreakiest
New Time Trial Maps
If you're a first person, running and jumping fan then I've got some good news for you. The first batch of Mirror's Edge DLC will be coming to Xbox Live on January 29th and will include seven new time trial packs. The pack will be available for 800 MS points. I have not had the chance to pick up Mirror's Edge yet so I'm not sure how excited the Faith fans will be to get their hands on some new time trials. From what I remember of the 411 review of Mirror's Edge our own Ramon Aranda loved the time trial feature in this game so I imagine if nothing else he's looking forward this update.
- The hottest thing with a stopwatch
Indiana Jones Cancelled?
Earlier this week IGN was reporting that multiple sources within Lucas Art and beyond had been saying the game based on the Indiana Jones license had been cancelled. Joystiq followed up on the rumors and they got first hand remarks from LucasArts stating the company was still committed to the franchise, and that further details would be forthcoming.
This is a pretty loaded answer by LucasArts. On the one hand they do claim to have a continued commitment to the property. However, they don't actually say that this particular Indy game hasn't been cancelled. I tend to land on the IGN side of the fence which says this game has been canned. It didn't really make sense to release an Indy game so far into the future from the last film coming out (which in its own right was pretty average). However, I would like to see an Indy game in the future, it's a property that would adapt well to the video game medium (see: Croft, Laura). I actually think that an Indy game that isn't tied into a movie would probably be pretty fantastic (much like Arkham Asylum seems for Batman), but then again what do I know?
- Will this be Indy's video game legacy?
Star Ocean Pushed…Up?
In what has to be considered an amazingly rare occasion tri-Ace has announced that they're pushing up the release date of Star Ocean 4: The Last Hope from March 3rd to February 24. That'd be a full week ahead of schedule for those calendar inclined readers out there. I am unapologetic about my love for JRPG's even if most of them leave me rather disappointed, and with that in mind I am very much looking forward to Star Ocean 4. I can't say that I'm a diehard Star Ocean series fan, but tri-Ace always delivers games that are worthwhile and from what I've seen thus far from this game I see nothing to hint that they will not do the same here.
Anyone in the crowd have a chance to play the demo? I know there was one released on the Japanese marketplace, so if you've had a chance to get your hands on Star Ocean I'd love to hear your early take on the game before it releases at the end of next month.
- I hope there is an intergalactic princess with a secret
More DLC News
If you're one of the many Fallout 3 fans in the crowd then I am sure you're already well aware of the Operation Anchorage DLC. However, if you somehow missed the news Bethesda has given an official date for the 800 Microsoft point pack to be available – apparently January 27th. This DLC pack will allow the player to fight off the Chinese Red Army and liberate the city of Anchorage through an in-game simulator. The simulator will also include new weapons, armor, a new "Covert Ops" perk and will add additional achievements. As I'm sure you already know this is the first of three DLC packs that have already been announced for Fallout 3 – the others being The Pitt, and Broken Steel.
- This picture looks even cooler when you have Rad Poisoning
Xbox 360 Dominates Rentals
File this one under the most useless news story of all time, but according to the NPD numbers, Microsoft dominated video game rentals this past year. For 2008 the Xbox 360's overall market share of rentals increased from 26.1% to 36.8% of the market. The only other console with games in the Top 10 was the Wii with Mario Kart Wii (6), Super Smash Brothers Brawl (7), and Mario Party 8 (10). For the sake of making this post complete, the Microsoft breakdown went something like this: (1) Grand Theft Auto IV, (2) Call of Duty 4, (3) Halo 3, (4) Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2, (5) Army of Two, (8) Fallout 3, and (9) Assassin's Creed.
Looking over that list a few things stick out. Army of Two was the fifth most rented game in 2008? I'm even pretty surprised by Rainbow Six Vegas 2 being on this list, but I loved that game so I'm glad that there were more people getting a chance to play through it. As for the rest of this list, no real surprises with GTAIV, COD4, and Halo 3 at the top 3.
- Hey I'm as surprised as you are
The Hot Button>
Topic: The Entertainment Unit
Am I crazy or as of late does there seem to be a lot of Microsoft/Nintendo/Sony bashing going on between the three companies? It appears as if the fanboy flame war, usually relegated to message boards and our comment section have started to trickle into the console HQ's and now we're all seeing super wealthy console developers throw rocks at one another.
In a move that I am almost certain has 100% to do with their financial situation, Sony recently unveiled an advertising strategy which basically slams the Wii as a worthless piece of garbage that only children and women would even enjoy momentarily, while the Xbox 360 is a huge expense hiding behind a discount price. The Sony claim is that while these other consoles claim to offer everything that a gamer would want, in reality there can be only one (Highlander?) complete entertainment unit.
Sony based their claims on the usual talking points. The 360 doesn't come with WiFi, no Blu Ray player, and no free Xbox Live. While I'm not going to argue with the WiFi thing because I'm in Sony's corner on that one, I am going to stick up for Microsoft (shocked I know).
My biggest issue with Sony touting its console as a complete entertainment unit is that to me it's a non issue. Am I alone in this? Could I possibly be the only person who buys a video game console to play video games, and a DVD player to play DVDs? Look I think that it's great to have a Blu Ray player in your PS3, and there is no denying that games on Blu Ray have the capability to pack a lot more graphical punch but at the end of the day is there really any benefit to the gamer audience of having to pay extra for the full entertainment console?
There is no denying the fact that when cross platform titles are released for the most part they run smoother/better on the Xbox 360. Now whether that is because the 360 is easier to develop for (it is), or because developers put more time into a game that they know will have the chance to wind up in more hands (probably) isn't the point of this discussion. Sure Metal Gear Solid 4 would have been toned down graphically, and the hour long plus cut scenes would have needed to be changed had the game appeared on the 360, but are hour long CG cut screens really worth the extra cash?
This is where the Sony fans come running out and point to the fact that it really isn't extra cash when you break it down bit by bit. I'm nodding and rolling my eyes until you're finished so let me give you a second….
….
Ok you done now? Fantastic. But if I'm someone on a limited budget (you know, the whole economy in the shithouse thing) then do I really care about the aggregate cost of an Xbox 360 plus second controller, and WiFi connector, and additional HD, and game? Maybe I'm a lonely person who just wants to sit in his house and play Braid all night. Or maybe I'm someone who has an internet router right next to his entertainment center so a wireless connection is not necessary (I imagine many people have this luxury) and I only need one controller because I'll spend all night on Call of Duty World at War stabbing Nemesis in the back with a bayonet.
Oh and then there is always this – maybe I don't have an HDTV. I realize that this might be blasphemous for some people but I would hazard a guess that the majority of people still haven't upgraded to high definition yet, which would make their need for a Blu Ray player pretty low.
So I come back to my original question – is having an all-in-one entertainment console really as huge a selling point as Sony wants it to be? The sales figures of the three consoles would obviously point to no. Personally I own two of the three current generation gaming consoles and the only one that I haven't picked up is the PS3. I have an Xbox 360 for the games library and a Wii because my wife is the all important "casual" gamer who likes to play Wii Sports and gets a kick out of horribly controlled Mini Golf games. What is my incentive to buy a PS3? For the Blu Ray player? Well I could just buy one of those for under $200.00.
In my mind, gamers don't care about having an all inclusive entertainment console because they only care about games. And the casual market doesn't care about having an all inclusive gaming console because they would just buy a Blu Ray DVD player. So what market does that leave?
Personally I think that Microsoft made the right decision this generation by making their HD DVD player an accessory. The format failed, big deal – you weren't stuck paying extra for the luxury of having HD DVD capabilities, and in the end isn't the only thing important to gamers – well the games?
I'd love to hear what you guys think; about whether or not having an all inclusive entertainment unit is important to you.
Posted By: Guest#8047 (Guest) on January 16, 2009 at 12:16 AM
"This is where the Sony fans come running out and point to the fact that it really isn't extra cash when you break it down bit by bit. I'm nodding and rolling my eyes until you're finished so let me give you a second….
….
Ok you done now? Fantastic."
lol
I can see a lot of Sony fanboys calling you a bunch of bad names after reading this. Some ppl really hate it when opinions don't match up. I agree, I'm buying a gaming console to play games. I can careless about it being able to play movies. Graphics look pretty good on the TV I got, so having a HDTV isn't important either.
Posted By: TWilliams (Guest) on January 16, 2009 at 12:49 AM
Great column.
I have to agree with the one in all entertainment is not what gamers want.
I use my Xbox360 to watch DVDs, but when by xbox gave me the ring of death, I couldn't watch DVDs - luckily I still had my old DVD player to connect to instead.
All in one may be pretty and compact, put a problem if it breaks.
Posted By: TheBaldEgo (Guest) on January 16, 2009 at 03:58 AM
Man whoever wrote this column really need to learn how to size pictures better...geez.
Posted By: Joe Roche (Registered) on January 16, 2009 at 10:32 AM
All in one entertainment system is convenient in the sense that "Hey, I can do this, this , and this on one machine". But what happens if it breaks? You just lost everything fun in your living room. Not to mention you've paid more for one machine than it would have cost you to buy everything separately.
But really, PS3 loses this war for two main reason. Quality and quantity of games. Sony has a history of starting slow when it comes to games, and then usually catches up near the end of the consoles life. Not the best thing for someone shelling out around $600 for a system.
Microsoft however pumps games out like crazy. That's why you always hear 360 say "No, I haven't tried that yet cause I'm playing (insert game title here)". But when you ask a PS3 owner if they played it, the answer is "Yep, there's really nothing else out right now to grab".
And gameplay itself, we all know 360 wins. Sure, PS3 may look much nicer (I say may because grass should not look like tiny green swords, Madden fans will get that) but 360 kills in every other category. Every game I have tried on 360 and PS3, the 360's just performs better overall.
People use the PS3 like they do cell phones these days. They will use it for everything but their main purpose.
So it's preference to whether you would like to shell out a lot more money now for a system that will catch up in games in maybe 3 years (PS2 is proof) but has other cool things, or buy a cheaper system that has all the games now, and will continue to keep up at a good pace, but doesn't have as many features as stabby grass or a blu-ray player. I'm not telling you how to live your life, but use your options.
Use the machine what it was meant for. Everything else is trivial. That's what myself, and majority of the gaming community do.
But it's up to you.
Posted By: Tubby (Guest) on January 16, 2009 at 11:01 AM
I use my 360 as a complete entertainment system. I don't have an HDTV, so blu ray means nothing to me. My system sits next to my wireless router so I don't need wifi. I use TVersity to stream movies/tv/youtube clips directly to my xbox from my notebook so I can watch whatever I download on my tv, and its absolutely commercial free. My entire music library streams while I play COD World At War. Everything works seamlessly to the point that I'm refusing to purchase a Digital Converter box (even with a coupon) because I don't bother watching TV live. If I read about a show that sounds interesting, I download it or look it up on youtube or on the networks website.
On the downside, the dvd drive is starting to go, and I have nightmares about red rings (wtf would I do without my xbox???!!!*starts crying*)
Posted By: guest (Guest) on January 16, 2009 at 11:10 AM
Ok I fixed the frame of this column by squeezing my Fallout 3 picture, so it looks a little weirder but the overall column is better.
Second -- Tubby you just won the award for the most reasonable, well put comment in the history of 411Mania, you should have thrown in a "Did RVD sign a 1 shot deal with PS3?" comment to qualify for poster of the year.
Posted By: Joe Roche (Registered) on January 16, 2009 at 12:07 PM
When my first 360 died & they wouldn't repair it because it wasn't "3 red lights", I got mad & traded it in (it was an E74 error, so still played without the hard drive attached) and used the trade credit towards a refurb 40gb PS3. I kept it 13 days & promptly returned it and purchased a new 360 Pro w/hdmi. I missed the 360 controller & all of my 360. Sure I had to pay for another wifi adapter & and start all of my games over due to the new hard drive, but I would do it again any day. I was able to recover my GT & gamescore, so all wasn't lost.
I didn't find a single compelling reason to own the PS3 at the time. The exclusive it had at the time that I tried was Drake & Motorstorm. Everything else was available on 360.
Now the blueray was compelling, but other than renting - I'm not that much of a movie guy. Plus with DISH TURBO HD & my new 360 pro's Hdmi upscaling DVD's, I don't think I'll ever need a blueray
Posted By: Byzdalmyt (Guest) on January 16, 2009 at 05:13 PM
I have some Blu Ray movies, but there's no way I'm switching the majority of my movie buying to Blu Ray until the price drops drastically. A new movie is $15 on DVD and $30-35 on Blu Ray...it makes no sense at all.
Posted By: Rod Oracheski (Registered) on January 16, 2009 at 11:59 PM
Thanks for the award Joe. And ya, I've noticed that any kind of RVD comment made will instantly put you into this "club", in which you must make RVD comments at all times or you're not cool...
*holds two thumbs up, points them at self at each syllable*
NOT
A
SHEEP
Posted By: Tubby (Guest) on January 17, 2009 at 08:41 AM
Please please pleeease start signed off on your columns the same way you do on your emails:
Mr. Joseph Roche Esq.
Posted By: Mark Salmela (Registered) on January 18, 2009 at 04:53 PM
I might start doing that just for you Mark. Should I also include the legal blurb after my signature?
Posted By: Joe Roche (Registered) on January 19, 2009 at 03:31 PM
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