Edge claims that it has been told by a trusted source that the video camera-controller, Natal, will be released this October at US$150. If this is true, i think it will prove to be an expensive proposition for most people. It will only be able to capture a very small niche market within the 360 community. Unless of course Natal comes with a really compelling game like Wii did with Wii Sports. LINK
There are rumours flying around that Sony will give the HD treatment to Ico and Shadow of the Colossus (like it did with the God of War series) and release the pack just before the Last Guardian. This is indeed great, great news as Sony did a great job with the God of War collection. I am not sure though thay these two games need the upgrade as much as the GoW did because of their minimalism in design.
The bad news is that according to the rumours the pack will be released in 2011, which means no Last Guardian this year?? LINK
Sony has not announced a PS3 price cut so it’s widely expected that it’s holding on for a bigger one right before the Christmas/Thanksgiving shopping season. It was a return to the basics for the wounded Japanese juggernaut. An impressive exclusive lineup of Uncharted 2, God of War III, Gran Turismo 5, The Last Guardian, MAG and Agent. However most of these games are scheduled for a 2010 release.
Read the rest of the post at OnThisIsland
I am rather disappointed at Nintendo’s announcements this year. Its major hardcore games are just sequels, Super Mario Galaxy 2, New Super Mario Bros Wii, Metroid Prime Other M. It’s hard to get excited about these franchises even if they are as brilliant as Super Mario Galaxy was.
Read the rest of the post at OnThisIsland
Microsoft made an impressive conference by all accounts in this year’s E3. Apart from all the game announcements it has also unveiled improvements to the service it provides to Xbox Live users. Xbox Live is undeniably the X360’s strongest feature and together with the camera controller it has announced could it be headed towards that golden Wii path.
Read the rest of the post at OnThisIsland
In case you’ve been wondering why there was no Game Releases post last week it’s because I was in transit. After a long flight from Larnaca airport taking me via Frankfurt I finally arrived yesterday to Los Angeles where the 2009 Electronics Entertainment Expo will take place from 2 4 June. It’s the biggest event in the games industry and I will be there to report directly to you.
Read the rest of the post at OnThisIsland
About a month ago i linked to a news story about the French parliament trying to pass a bill which would disconnect people suspected of downloading illegal content.
“The new legislation operates under a three-stage system. A new state agency would first send illegal file-sharers a warning e-mail, then a letter, and finally cut off their connection for a year if they were caught a third time. ”
As this is the first time a country introduces a specific law to combat piracy i am really interested where we will go from here and how successfully can such laws will be enforced.
Read the full news story here at BBC.
Professional Gamer returns with some news and time wasters this week. Again, let me remind you that if you find anything game related which you think is worth sharing feel free to email me (costas.taliadoros@gmail.com) and I will try and include it in a future post.
NEWS
Gfk Chart Track released the UK Lifetime Hardware figures as of 31 January 2009. Link
Wii 4.9m
360 3.2m
PS3 1.9m
DS 8.8m
PSP 3.2m
PS2 10m
The PS3 is lagging behind its two competitors (launched later than both consoles) but it’s believed to be ahead of the 360 in the rest of Europe. While the Wii appears to be the new leader in the current console generatio, and not just in the UK, some dark clouds are starting to appear in the horizon. Japan has traditionally been the country where the console cycle is ahead of the rest of the other countries. Bill Harris at Dubious Quality has an excellent analysis of the lifetime sales in Japan and why Nintendo should be worried. It seems that the financial crisis, lack of good Wii games and the expansion of the market to less hardcore gamers are starting to take effect. Not to mention that the Wii has not had a price cut yet since it’s launch. In Cyprus the Wii is more expensive than the 360.
Read the rest of the post at OnThisIsland - link
I have started a new weekly series of blog posts at OnThisIsland where i will be providing you with information on gaming events, interesting articles, videos and my views on games i am currently playing.
This series will complement the Game releases posts which can sometimes be handicapped by the quality and quantity of what is being released. If any of you out there stumble upon any stuff you find exciting feel free to email me (costas.taliadoros@gmail.com) and i will try to post them in future Professional Gamer posts.
Videos
Starting off this first post are three videos on Halo. You can say what you like about the quality of the Halo series but the Halo fan community is one of the most loyal and creative groups out there. If you like Red Hot Chili Peppers you will love the first one, Halo ((All I Play-Oh)) . The next video can be true of any multiplayer game, The Clan . If your gaming affects your relationship, then you can always Blame Halo 3!
Finally two non-gaming videos which are worthy of your attention. A fantastic promotional video for the Asics shoes brand (Link) and a video on how dolphins make their bubbles! (Link).
”And i find it kind of funny, i find it kind of sad”
MadWorld was no.34 in the UK’s sales charts in its first week of release. In the following week it disappeared from the top 40. From what i have read, the situation is not any better in the US either.
Unfortunately whenever a developer tries to do something bold and different the gamers’ response is “give us something we know and have seen before with a number preferably at the end of the game’s name”. MadWorld could not manage to find an audience even in the Wii’s massive installed base.
For PlatinumGames (developer) and Sega (publisher) this must be a big blow to another attempt to create a new IP with a distinct art style and gameplay. I don’t follow other forms of entertainment as much as i do video games so i don’t know if it’s common but it is really extraordinary how people avoid to venture out of their comfort zone. And sad.
“When people run in circles it’s a very, very
Mad world, mad world enlarging your world
Mad world”
