Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Lunch with Tom - I need more than frickin' Halo!
Game Informer is reporting that there is a strong chance a Halo 3 demo will hit in the early half of next year. They mark it as a rumor at this point, but the idea is not far fetched at all. Halo is the biggest franchise in America. If Microsoft has any chance of gaining ground on Sony this generation, they have to convince America that life without Halo 3 is not really a life at all. So they will bombard us with Halo 3 news/non-news from next month until Halo 3 finally comes out a year from now. Are you ready?
My question is - what is the point of all this? Yes, Halo is a fantastic franchise, but is it really going to help MS to promote this game? Anyone who is interested in gaming is already aware of Halo 3. I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who are just waiting for it to come out before they finally buy an X360. But what will happen after that? The biggest problem with the Xbox was the lack of games. It was like owning an N64 with better 3rd party support. Halo and KoTOR are good enough to own a system for, and Ninja Gaiden was one game every insane hardcore gamer needs in their library, but there was little exclusive content after that. That was pretty much all the system had to offer. I fear that MS is going the same route with the X360. Halo 3 may be the best game ever made (trumping Zelda: Twilight Princess) but it is just one game.
The PS2 was great and the PS3 is going to be great because it offers a steady stream of quality titles. The PS2 is probably the best system ever made. I don't know if it is my favorite system ever, but it is impossible to look at the lineup of games and not be impressed. The thing is, I never bought any of the big name titles for it. I've never even played Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3. I owned Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec but never put it in my console. I didn't even buy GTA. But, while MS and Nintendo rely on one or two huge games a year to sell their system, Sony has a legion of willing third parties just churning out great games.
I am happy that Halo 3 is arriving, but I need something before that game hits. There are only two X360 games I am interested in for the rest of the year - Viva Pinata and Gears of War. That is disgraceful. There are twice as many NDS games (Elite Beat Agents, Castlevania, Kirby and Yoshi's Island). There are twice as many PS3 games (Resistance, flOW, Untold Legends and Blast Factor). Hell, there are even more Wii games coming out this year (Red Steel, Zelda, Excite Truck, and Trauma Center) that I actually want. MS has a year head start and some great games coming out in the future, but this first year has been a complete disgrace. One great "real" game in Oblivion, one great arcade game in Geometry Wars, and a crapload of good games that will be forgotten when their inevitable sequel hits. This is not the way to make a successful video game system.
My question is - what is the point of all this? Yes, Halo is a fantastic franchise, but is it really going to help MS to promote this game? Anyone who is interested in gaming is already aware of Halo 3. I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who are just waiting for it to come out before they finally buy an X360. But what will happen after that? The biggest problem with the Xbox was the lack of games. It was like owning an N64 with better 3rd party support. Halo and KoTOR are good enough to own a system for, and Ninja Gaiden was one game every insane hardcore gamer needs in their library, but there was little exclusive content after that. That was pretty much all the system had to offer. I fear that MS is going the same route with the X360. Halo 3 may be the best game ever made (trumping Zelda: Twilight Princess) but it is just one game.
The PS2 was great and the PS3 is going to be great because it offers a steady stream of quality titles. The PS2 is probably the best system ever made. I don't know if it is my favorite system ever, but it is impossible to look at the lineup of games and not be impressed. The thing is, I never bought any of the big name titles for it. I've never even played Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3. I owned Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec but never put it in my console. I didn't even buy GTA. But, while MS and Nintendo rely on one or two huge games a year to sell their system, Sony has a legion of willing third parties just churning out great games.
I am happy that Halo 3 is arriving, but I need something before that game hits. There are only two X360 games I am interested in for the rest of the year - Viva Pinata and Gears of War. That is disgraceful. There are twice as many NDS games (Elite Beat Agents, Castlevania, Kirby and Yoshi's Island). There are twice as many PS3 games (Resistance, flOW, Untold Legends and Blast Factor). Hell, there are even more Wii games coming out this year (Red Steel, Zelda, Excite Truck, and Trauma Center) that I actually want. MS has a year head start and some great games coming out in the future, but this first year has been a complete disgrace. One great "real" game in Oblivion, one great arcade game in Geometry Wars, and a crapload of good games that will be forgotten when their inevitable sequel hits. This is not the way to make a successful video game system.
// posted by Tom @ 12:16 PM 
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