xbox 360 "where's the beef" artice at IGN

[CGQuarterly]

Final Fantasy has definitely lost some of its caché with consumers I think. Maybe I am wrong though. I lost interest after IX. I tried X on the PS2 and hated it. Metal Gear is a pretty good exclusive to have, as is Gran Turismo. (Yes I know that XBox has Forza but some people like me prefer GT). You definitely make a good point though. I hadn't really thought about it, but the XBox has really done well in getting a lot of games that would have been PS2 exclusives if it had just been PS2 vs. GameCube.

 

Chris

[King_Salamon]

The 360 has my interest, so does the Wii and the PS3. Who knows... I may end up with all three.

 

One question I must ask... what will happen when Sony has a game that uses the high storage capacity of the BD disc? If I understand right, the 360 can only have games on DVD correct? I mean, the number of HD-DVD games for the 360 will be pretty much non-existant (if it can play games via the add-on HD-DVD drive?). I apologize for my lack of knowledge here but the added capacity must be an advantage.

 

As for this topic... I brought this up earlier in another thread... it does seem MS is taking it a little too easy instead of putting the screws to Sony. Agreed, Gears looks great (and I stop everything when the commercial hits on the TV... love it!) but there isn't another game that has turned my attention to the 360.

[+swlovinist]

The 360 is sorely lacking in the department of console RPGs. Too many of their titles are either shooter or sports. What makes systems like the PS2 great is the diversity of their library. Sure, the PS2 has a heap of crap titles, but with the loads of junk come great off the wall titles that are exclusive. Shadow of Colussus, Okami, God of War, Maximo, Rachet and Clank just to name a few. The statement that that Sony does not have any more exclusives is crap. They have their own problems as a company, but games is not an issue. Every major third party game company is going to make PS3 games IN TIME. The true problem that I am seeing with these next gen systems is that game companies have to play it safe with ports so that they dont loose their ass in development costs. I fear that the diverse library the PS2 has will not be the case with any of the next gen systems. Games just cost too much to make anymore. I can guantee this: The PS3 will suffer the same issues with a software lineup this next year. The Wii has some great games coming, but they are a long way out(6-9 months). I expect the real heat to turn up NEXT HOLIDAY. I look forward to this as being the ultimate SOFTWARE War.

[Lord Thag]

Swlovinist and I are pretty much in agreement over this I think. Microsoft still needs some more killer apps, but then again, so does Sony. Nintendo has a great, original system, but everyone is waiting to see what the third parties are going to make of it. Nobody has a killer lineup yet, though Microsoft has a lot of solid games. I will say that I have played more really good games on my 360 than I ever have for a system in it's first launch year (oblivion, gears, dead rising, graw, just cause, FEAR, etc). Microsoft has a great lineup, they just don't have any really high profile 'system seller' games that everyone wants yet. They do have a lot of very fun, very good games.

 

This year is the calm before the storm. Next year it will be all about Sony and Nintendo trying to dethrone Halo 3. And when Halo Wars and Mass Effect come out.... I wouldn't count Microsoft out yet.

 

My hope is that all three companies carve out a decent chunk of the market so that it can support some diversity this time around.

[Mendon]

I don't think MS is dropping the ball at all when it comes to the current library of games and upcoming releases. I'm very, very happy with the games I own and the upcoming release list is EXTREMELY impressive. I can't wait for some of the upcoming titles, such as Lost Planet, Alone in the Dark, Huxley, Turok, Forza, and Battlestations: Midway. And these are coming in just the first three months of 2007.

 

If anyone thinks MS is dropping the ball, just go over to the EB/GS website and look at the upcoming releases for the Wii and PS3.

 

Own a Wii? You will be in heaven if you like games based on animated movies, such as Open Season, Ant Bully, Barnyard, Ice Age 2, Chicken Little, etc. as they are coming very soon. Or want another "mini-game" disk like Wii Sports... then Wii Play is almost here. But want a "meatier" game like Metroid, Smash Bros., Mario, etc and they don't begin arriving until June, 2007. That's a long, long dry spell. Sure, there are a couple games coming in March, like Sonic and Medal of Honor, but overall the Wii upcoming games list leaves a lot to be desired. Even Duck Hunt isn't scheduled until Dec. 2007!

 

PS3: a little better than the Wii but still (in my opinion) not an impressive at all upcoming release list. Fight Night, Blazing Angels, Oblivion, F.E.A.R., Sonic, Full Auto...... already out for quite some time on PC and 360. A couple games in March, like Motor Storm and MoH look good. But look at whats coming..... other than possibly GTA, Metal Gear, and Grand Turismo (which are late in the year), what are the killer PS3 titles in 2007? What titles in the first 6mos of 2007 say "You must buy a PS3!!"

 

But with all that said, I personally don't care which company has the supposedly best lineup of games. I'm a gamer, not a company man. Just show me the games, I don't care who makes them.

 

I own a 360 and have CoD3, GoW, Viva Pinata, and Oblivion playing right now with Star Trek Legacy and Rainbow Six Vegas coming right up. That will keep me busy for quite awhile. I have a Wii and have Zelda playing right now with Metal Slug and Far Cry coming right up. That will keep me busy awhile. And when the price of a PS3 drops and some games come out (like GTA and Metal Gear) that make it a worthwhile purchase, I'll own one of those.

 

I really don't want to get into system wars as I don't believe they serve any purpose. MS, Nintendo, and Sony all have the strengths and weaknesses. All have their exclusive good titles and crap titles. In the end, I just want to play games and that means I will probably own all three systems at some point. Nothing wrong with that.

 

I don't care who has the most "killer" games and will win the war. I just want to play games and if they are made by all three companies, then I HAVE WON THE WAR!

 

Mendon

[Red 5]

I expect the real heat to turn up NEXT HOLIDAY. I look forward to this as being the ultimate SOFTWARE War.

 

Halo 3.

War over.

 

The only reason I was looking at the PS3 was for Assassin's Creed.

Now that it is coming to the 360, a PS3 may be a long way off for me.

Of course God of War 2 may just pull me over sooner.

[King_Salamon]

I expect the real heat to turn up NEXT HOLIDAY. I look forward to this as being the ultimate SOFTWARE War.

 

Halo 3.

War over.

 

The only reason I was looking at the PS3 was for Assassin's Creed.

Now that it is coming to the 360, a PS3 may be a long way off for me.

Of course God of War 2 may just pull me over sooner.

 

I'm not so sure that Halo 3 will turn out to be the game of 2007. There's a ton of hype for this game already and with the public beta next spring it really makes me wonder if it will live up to the hype. Halo 2 was a fun game but many felt it was over-hyped.

 

I'm sure there will be the new game that is released next year that captures the next generation of gamers... seems to be at least one a generation. (PS2 had GTA, XBox had Halo as examples) I don't think we've seen the 360's game - could likely be Halo 3, PS3's? Not yet... maybe next year, and Nintendo? I don't think Zelda is it... although it is something spectacular from what I've read.

[Red 5]

I think Wii's big hit is definitely Zelda.

I can't possibly get enough of it right now.

I haven't turned on my 360 since I started it.

It's definitely a system seller, since it is the only reason I bought the Wii.

I can see the Wii collecting a lot of dust once I beat Zelda until Mario shows up.

 

GTA was PS2, but it had it's other moments like Guitar Hero, Ico, God of War and Katamari.

 

Xbox is definitely Halo.

 

Gear of War for the 360 is definitely up there. Oblivion (while for the PC and now PS3 as well) was way up there for the 360 as well.

 

Halo 3 will be a monster. It's the end of the trilogy (or so they say) and it will be hyped beyond belief.

You can already order the game 'Super Special Edition' in Master Chief's helmet for the love of all that is good!

Hopefully it will be better than Halo 2, but even if it isn't, it will be next season's biggest seller.

I would be willing to take bets if anyone is interested.

 

Throw in a Xbox 360 price drop right before Halo 3 hits and boom. Instant succesful 360 2007 holiday season.

[moycon]

I'm actually looking forward to Mass Effect more than Halo 3.

[Red 5]

I'm actually looking forward to Mass Effect more than Halo 3.

 

Agreed, but Assassin't Creed may trump them all.

(But I loved the last Prince of Persia: Two Thrones)

[Atariboy]

"The only reason I was looking at the PS3 was for Assassin's Creed.

Now that it is coming to the 360, a PS3 may be a long way off for me.

Of course God of War 2 may just pull me over sooner."

 

Why would a Playstation 2 title make you purchase a Playstation 3?

[sega saturn x]

I'm actually looking forward to Mass Effect more than Halo 3.

Are you telling me some people aren't? Anyway gears of wars IS the 360s killer app. The people saying how it needs a killer app are really just saying "they need a game that I want", gears has sold over a million copies in under a month. And it will remain on the x box, that sounds like a killer app to me.

[Red 5]

"The only reason I was looking at the PS3 was for Assassin's Creed.

Now that it is coming to the 360, a PS3 may be a long way off for me.

Of course God of War 2 may just pull me over sooner."

 

Why would a Playstation 2 title make you purchase a Playstation 3?

 

 

That's got to be the dumbest thing I have ever heard !

 

I just looked this up on IGN and they are talking about a March release on the PS2.

Why would they do that?

 

Wouldn't God of War 2 be a huge PS3 system seller?

Holy freakin' dumb.

IS there a big title (other than Final Fantasy 134) coming exclusively to the PS3 ? Ever ?

 

Recently PS2 has Okami, Guitar Hero 2 and in the spring God of War. Sounds like there is more reason to

own a PS2 than a PS3.

[MegaManFan]

Wouldn't God of War 2 be a huge PS3 system seller?

Holy freakin' dumb.

IS there a big title (other than Final Fantasy 134) coming exclusively to the PS3 ? Ever ?

 

Recently PS2 has Okami, Guitar Hero 2 and in the spring God of War. Sounds like there is more reason to

own a PS2 than a PS3.

 

Okay, this is the exact same thing people said about the PS1 when the PS2 came out. Let's be realistic - game developers have projects in the pipeline for long periods of time, sometimes years. That means at any given console launch there are going to at that moment and for the next 3-6 months be significantly more games coming out for the old generation than the new generation. That's where backwards compatibility comes in handy, but that's no reason not to own the new console. The tide starts to shift slowly as games that were being developed exclusively for the newer hardware come out after the console has launched. The larger the established userbase gets to be, the more profitable it becomes to develop for the new console, and the fewer people you'll find developing PS2 games. The # will continue to shrink even though the installed userbase won't, but sooner or later you'll be forced to make a choice - there WILL be a hot new game that will ONLY be on PS3 and if you're stubborn and stick with a PS2 you'll be left out. Then again if you're happy with the current generation and content to continue to select PS2 games from the 8000+ released and don't want the PS3's features there's no reason you can't skip it, especially if you don't like the price point and don't need the extra features. People arbitrarily pick a point at which they will no longer upgrade all the time, which is part of what makes retro-gaming still viable given there are people who bought an Atari VCS and never thought of ever buying a new game system ever again.

[Red 5]

I understand the idea that games were in the works for the PS2 before the PS3 was announces.

Simply port the game if it's a system seller.

 

A little game called Zelda Twighlight Princess was supposed to be a GameCube game.

They ported it and tweaked and made it a launch title.

 

Now I own a Wii.

 

Likewise, after the 360 came out last year, there was nothing released for the Xbox that was worth playing except for Half Life 2 which came out, I believe a few days after the 360. Certainly nothing 4 months later though.

 

From a business stand point, forcing God of War 2 to be an exclusive PS3 title could sell systems.

I would consider it if it was the only way to play the game.

[MegaManFan]

Game developers aren't in the business of selling consoles though. They expect the manufacturer to sell the consoles and once enough of those consoles are on the market it's more profitable to make titles for it. That's why console makers have to pitch woo to the game makers, like Sony convincing Rockstar to make GTA titles exclusive to the PS2 for a year +. It wasn't necessarily in their best interests, EXCEPT for the fact the PS2 already had such a huge installed base, so they knew they'd sell a buttload of copies. Very few game makers are going to look at a game they're already almost finished with for PS2 and say hmm... we could theoretically sell 20 million of this game since there are 20 million PS2's out there... or we could make it a PS3 exclusive and sell... 400K? Maybe?

[AtticGamer]

the 360 is dangerously close to becoming the next Dreamcast (and I don't mean that in a good way)

No worry, MS is smart and full of money, as opposed to sega.

Xbox 360 has many good games, but not for the japanese market because no RPGs are available for it. It's a system that is more fond of shooters and racing games. I plan to buy one sp I can play games like Doom 3, Quake 4, Avp Extinction and TR Legend. What MS needs is a Rpg killer app, FF for example.

Edited December 28, 2006 by Atari_kid

[moycon]

Xbox 360 has many good games, but not for the japanese market because no RPGs are available for it.

 

What would you consider Enchanted Arms, Final Fantasy XI, Phantasy Star Universe, Oblivion and Blue Dragon?

 

Personally I'm looking forward to Two Worlds, Lost Odyssey, Fable 2, Elveon , Warhammer Online, and Mass Effect.

 

There are also many games that have been announced but further information has been scarce or the game has been slated for Japan release only:

 

Zoids Infinity EX Neo

Trusty Bell: Chopin's Dream

Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom

Golden Axe

Project Gray Company

Dungeon Explorer

Cry On

Spectral Force 3: Innocent Rage

Magna Carta 2

Square Enix / Tri-Ace RPG

Far East of Eden Ziria - Tales from Distant Jipang

 

No RPGs...indeed.

[Clint Thompson]

Too many games and not enough money. I'm happy with the 360 lineup for 2007.

 

I'm anxious to get my hands on the Atari titles hitting XBLA in Jan. and then of course Alone in the Dark, Mass Effect, Virtua Tennis 3, Worms HD,... not to mention there's a ton of games I've yet to pick up. It's overwhelming (good games to get) and they are pacing the games very well imo.

 

I'll be spending a'bit of money next year, for sure! When does Space Giraffe come out again?

[AtticGamer]

I hope Resident Evil 5 comes out next year or so, if there's a game that will make me buy the console it's that one and Quake 4.

Maybe the Live Arcade can help sales in Japan.

Edited December 30, 2006 by Atari_kid

[CHIP72]

You guys not wanting a Wii don't know what you're missing. I dont understand how anyone wouldn't want one in addition to their other things. Hi Def is overrated anyway... I mean, it's real nice, but not mindblowing in my humble opinion.

 

High definition console support isn't a huge issue right now, but it will be in about 2 years (late 2008)...which just so happens to be the time the newest generation of video game systems will be in the middle of their era. I don't think being highly underpowered compared to the competition in the middle of an era will benefit Nintendo.

 

FWIW, I also believe A) both Microsoft and Sony will release a motion sensor controller/unit within the next year and B) the excitement over the Wii's motion sensor controller will subside significantly once people become more accustomed to it and it doesn't seem so new anymore.