Have they ever made a disaster game where you're an official having a really bad day - natural disaster after disaster is happening across the country and you have to assign resources to the areas that need it ... like an RTS!
Have they ever made a disaster game where you're an official having a really bad day - natural disaster after disaster is happening across the country and you have to assign resources to the areas that need it ... like an RTS!
That sounds like a reverse Sim City (where, whenever I played it, it inevitably became build city -> INSERT NATURAL DISASTERS).
Argh, I cannot find a good deal on a Live subscription.. Anyone know if Borderlands comes with a free trial?
No HDD has got to be the worst idea MS has ever had (or the best, if you consider that they probably sell add-on HDDs a lot once people discover you can demo games or download games directly).. Fortunately I'm getting a free 20GB tomorrow as they upgraded to a 120GB when it came out. Should suffice.
Also, I can't send a message to a friend using the xbox.com interface as that requires a Gold subscription, but I can type one out and send it through my console. ??? Very weird.
...I'm no 360 expert but don't they give you a free month every time you make a new gamertag on a new system?
Only when you make a new gamertag and for that gamertag only from what I've read online. I already have a gamertag from my Zune and playing on friend's consoles, so I just "recovered" it which doesn't give me anything.
I suppose it makes sense, I was just hoping for a free ride for a bit before I took the plunge and spent the cash. Will probably buy my year once I get Borderlands.
Any idea what sales of Forza3 and NFS: Shift are like? I just played both of the demos and they seem so crazy similar I'm curious if one sold better than the other. I also discovered that I'm terrible at these games. :P
ArcSyn on
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Dr Mario KartGames DealerAustin, TXRegistered Userregular
edited November 2009
What do you think will be the bottom price points for the current gen machines?
The PS2/XBOX/GC seem to have bottomed out at $99 as far as in production MSRP, not counting fire sales.
Do the additional complexity/hard drives/blu-ray drives make it to where the bottom price point may be higher, say $150 or $200?
What do you think will be the bottom price points for the current gen machines?
The PS2/XBOX/GC seem to have bottomed out at $99 as far as in production MSRP, not counting fire sales.
Do the additional complexity/hard drives/blu-ray drives make it to where the bottom price point may be higher, say $150 or $200?
Depends on how long the generation drags out. If we really do hit 10 years, then $99 is very possible. Tech gets cheap over the years... bigger hard drives and Blu-ray is no exception.
Probably $99 again. Eventually the Arcade and Wii will reach it, and eventually they'll clearance out PS3's for the eventual PS4 or unlikely as it seems try and extend the life of the PS3 by Wiifying it like the Gamecube.
I'm not sure, but I think the last few times I saw new Xboxen in the store (around the time the 360 launched), the core system was about $150, and the Forza bundle was $180. So that one may not have dropped to $99, or retailers cleared it out faster around here.
I could see the Arcade eventually reaching $99 (I wouldn't be surprised if it was $150 by Christmas 2010, actually). The Wii will probably go down to $99 whenever Nintendo's successor system hits, it should hit $150 at the very least. The PS3? Anything goes. Even if Sony do stick to their "ten year plan" (do not take a shot every time you hear that phrase unless you want to die from alcohol poisoning), who knows what they'll do in terms of wacky model refreshes to keep the price as high as they can. I could see it going down to $200 or even $150 in a few years, but considering it took them nine years to lower the PS2 to $99, who knows. (Of course the PS2 price stayed above $100 for so long partially because the PS3 was losing them money, too, so that has to be taken into account.)
I could see the PS3 getting down as low as $200, then sony "adding value" into it in the form of increasingly larger hard drives until they discontinue the system.
Well here's your wisdom of the masses, the neogaf aggregate forecast for Oct. NPD along with theSimExchange. Pachter/EEDAR should drop their forecasts tomorrow.
People are expecting big things from Uncharted 2. Most of the gaf predictions fall in the 500-600k range (avg. 557k) and TSE has it at 529k for the opening month. Impressive considering the US LTD for Uncharted: Original Recipe is just below 600k.
AFAIK, the Oxbox and the Ps3 have the same problem when it comes to price reductions and that's the required HDD.
HDD don't really get cheaper to make. The cost of making a 60gig drive and a 120gig drive are nearly identical. This is part of the reason why we've seen so many Sony SKU's and likely the reason we'll never see a $99 PS3.
AFAIK, the Oxbox and the Ps3 have the same problem when it comes to price reductions and that's the required HDD.
HDD don't really get cheaper to make. The cost of making a 60gig drive and a 120gig drive are nearly identical. This is part of the reason why we've seen so many Sony SKU's and likely the reason we'll never see a $99 PS3.
Looking at it completely from a size-to-price point of view (and not the platter size and number), HDD's do actually get cheaper but then they eventually level off. At that point, it's cheaper to just change HDD sizes, which is why Sony have juggled their HDD's around so much.
Microsoft, however, only did that once with the Xbox (putting in a 10GB HDD and then locking out 2GB's to keep it at 8GB's) and I'm pretty sure that's why they were so expensive. I also imagine the number of hard drive manufacturers making 8GB/10GB's HDD's was pretty by the time Microsoft stopped Xbox production.
I'm pretty sure I got all that right, feel free to correct me if I've fuzzed some of the details though.
AFAIK, the Oxbox and the Ps3 have the same problem when it comes to price reductions and that's the required HDD.
HDD don't really get cheaper to make. The cost of making a 60gig drive and a 120gig drive are nearly identical. This is part of the reason why we've seen so many Sony SKU's and likely the reason we'll never see a $99 PS3.
Looking at it completely from a size-to-price point of view (and not the platter size and number), HDD's do actually get cheaper but then they eventually level off. At that point, it's cheaper to just change HDD sizes, which is why Sony have juggled their HDD's around so much.
Microsoft, however, only did that once with the Xbox (putting in a 10GB HDD and then locking out 2GB's to keep it at 8GB's) and I'm pretty sure that's why they were so expensive. I also imagine the number of hard drive manufacturers making 8GB/10GB's HDD's was pretty by the time Microsoft stopped Xbox production.
I'm pretty sure I got all that right, feel free to correct me if I've fuzzed some of the details though.
In fact, I'm pretty sure this applies to all technology. If something's originally cutting-edge, you can always make savings by shrinking dies, cutting more chips off the silicon wafer, but there eventually reaches a point where production costs are optimal. A 64MB flash drive costs about the same to produce as a 2GB one. In a market where variable technology exists, this is fine since consumers will simply move on to the higher-priced upgrade - but consoles are by necessity 'fixed'. You can upgrade storage and the features list, but the core abilities of the system have to remain the same.
This is the big problem with the 10-year model. Most consoles release at a performance-level equal to that of a high-level PC (but massively subsidised). 2 years later, it's a mid-range PC. 2 years after that, a low-end PC. Meanwhile, manufacturing costs haven't fallen in line with this reduced relative performance, so manufacturers have to keep subsidising the machine to keep prices competitive - when you buy a $99 machine, it will certainly be losing the manufacturers money.
None of this is a problem with something as successful as the PS2, as it was both seen as good value even into 2008 and easily sold enough software to pay back the subsidies. Less-successful machines are faced with the unenviable choice between 1) extending their lifespan to 10 years or so (and thereby offering poor value for money for consumers whilst still losing the manufacturers a little money) or 2) launching a new generation early and limiting profitability from the current install base.
The biggest release week of the year in terms of individual products and SKU’s sees 41 different games/franchises added to Chart-Track’s database – overall this is almost 80 SKU’s, ranging from single format PC titles to products like ‘Band Hero’ - available as 9 different versions.
Sega’s ‘Football Manager 2010’ (-53%) drops from No1 to No4 and last week’s 2 & 3 simply move up to No’s 1 & 2: Nintendo’s ‘Wii Fit Plus’ (+3%) is now No1 and enjoys a storming second week with EA’s ‘FIFA 10’ comfortably nestled at No2 (-13%). Nintendo’s ‘Wii Sports Resort’ climbs 7 places to No3 (+63%), fuelled by the best Wii hardware sales so far this year, including a 57% increase in the White Wii Sports Resort Pack (launched 6 weeks ago) and a strong debut this week for the Black Wii Sports Resort Pack. The highest new entry is EA’s ‘Dragon Age: Origins’ on 360/PC at No5. Konami’s ‘Pro Evolution Soccer 2010’ receives the PS2/PSP versions this week but overall sales are down 42% and the title drops from No5 to No9. Next on the new-release radar is Sony’s ‘Singstar Take That’ debuting at No16 for PS3/PS2 and Sony also debut at No22 with PS3 ‘Ratchet & Clank: A Crack In Time’.
The final new-entry is actually a re-entry as Atari launch 4 formats (XB360, Wii, DS and PC) of ‘Ghostbusters: The Videogame’ – now over 7 formats (including the PSP version, new this week from Sony joining the original PS2/PS3 versions which debuted 20 weeks ago, also published by Sony).
Week 45, 2009 - Individual Formats (Units)
01 (02) WII Wii Fit Plus (Nintendo)
02 (05) WII Wii Sports Resort (Nintendo)
03 (01) PC Football Manager 2010 (Sega)
04 (03) 360 Forza Motorsport 3 (Microsoft)
05 (04) 360 Grand Theft Auto Episodes - Liberty City (Take 2)
06 (06) 360 Fifa 10 (Electronic Arts)
07 (__) 360 Dragon Age: Origins (Electronic Arts)
08 (09) WII Mario & Sonic At Olympic Winter Games (Sega)
09 (08) PS3 Fifa 10 (Electronic Arts)
10 (21) WII Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo)
11 (__) PC Dragon Age: Origins (Electronic Arts)
12 (14) NDS Professor Layton And Pandora's Box (Nintendo)
13 (19) WII Super Smash Bros: Brawl (Nintendo)
14 (16) WII Wii Fit (Nintendo)
15 (11) PS3 Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Ent.)
16 (__) PS3 Ratchet & Clank: A Crack In Time (Sony Computer Ent.)
17 (10) PS3 Tekken 6 (Atari)
18 (07) PS3 Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 (Konami)
19 (20) NDS Mario & Sonic At Olympic Winter Games (Sega)
20 (23) 360 Lego Batman: The Videogame (Warner Bros. Interactive)
21 (24) 360 Pure (Disney Interactive Studios)
22 (18) PS3 Eyepet (Sony Computer Ent.)
23 (22) 360 Halo 3: Odst (Microsoft)
24 (17) 360 Wwe Smackdown Vs Raw 2010 (Thq)
25 (32) WII Wii Play (Nintendo)
26 (30) NDS Dr Kawashima's Brain Training (Nintendo)
27 (__) PS3 Singstar Take That (Sony Computer Ent.)
28 (12) 360 Borderlands (Take 2)
29 (26) PS3 Need For Speed: Shift (Electronic Arts)
30 (15) 360 Tekken 6 (Atari)
31 (31) 360 Dj Hero (Activision Blizzard)
32 (13) 360 Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 (Konami)
33 (35) NDS Style Boutique (Nintendo)
34 (__) PS2 Singstar Take That (Sony Computer Ent.)
35 (__) 360 Sega Superstars Tennis (Sega)
36 (29) 360 Need For Speed: Shift (Electronic Arts)
37 (__) 360 Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Atari)
38 (36) PS3 Littlebigplanet (Sony Computer Ent.)
39 (34) NDS Rhythm Paradise (Nintendo)
40 (39) NDS Professor Layton And The Curious Village (Nintendo)
Couscous on
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Brainiac 8Don't call me Shirley...Registered Userregular
Less-successful machines are faced with the unenviable choice between 1) extending their lifespan to 10 years or so (and thereby offering poor value for money for consumers whilst still losing the manufacturers a little money) or 2) launching a new generation early and limiting profitability from the current install base.
The choice is always (2) though, isnt it? No one has tried dragging out a generation except the market leader.
So then do you think the addition of Natal and Swaggle really will allow their respective companies to drag out the generation by only asking a little of their current install base, or will they have to launch new machines in a few years anyway, guaranteeing failure for their initial entry into the motion control space.
Natal and Swaggle will not be the big deal some people seem to think they will be.
No one except recently Nintendo has ever had any success for hardware addons. If they are expensive, not many people will buy them, and software developers making games that require them will be in the small numbers.
Of course, games might support them, stuff like the RE5 waggleport or whatever, but only in option ways.
I still hold that in a large part they're a test bed for a possible foray next generation into these technologies as pack ins. They need to be judged as such.
No one except recently Nintendo has ever had any success for hardware addons.
Sure, if you're excluding Sony, Activision and EA then yeah, Nintendo is the only one to have had success with hardware addons. Cause I'm pretty sure Eyetoy, Singstar, Guitar Hero and Rock Band have been pretty successful. :P
Personally, I have serious doubts about both products. I doubt Natal will work as well as Microsoft claim and I also doubt it'll have any real applications in games. Whereas I think Sony's Wand will do most of the things they claim but I have doubts they'll be able to launch it properly.
I still hold that in a large part they're a test bed for a possible foray next generation into these technologies as pack ins. They need to be judged as such.
It could be. And as I've said before, the main reason waggle took off as much as it did is because you HAD to use it. You couldn't get a Wii without it. Whereas with Natal and Swiggle, you have to go out of your way and pay extra for it... maybe a lot extra.
Then again, this "test run" could burn out the developers on the concept of motion controls if it fails to catch on, and make them less likely to incorporate it in the future. I think the fact that Microsoft and Sony are taking that risk means that, at least in part, they feel this is a way to compete with Nintendo.
Anyway, the UK charts. Holy fuck, Band Hero didn't chart at all? And DJ Hero has fallen off completely. Not a good sign for Activision.
Anyway, the UK charts. Holy fuck, Band Hero didn't chart at all? And DJ Hero has fallen off completely. Not a good sign for Activision.
I don't know why Activision had to release all of the Hero games around the same time. I know they want the holiday sales but they really should have put more space between releases.
As for next gen I'm fully expecting Microsoft to speed up their timeline if Sony gains any sort of momentum and 360 Natal bombs. I don't think Sony wants to sink a bunch more money into the next Playstation when they still have a lot of movement left on the price of the PS3. Especially with how much money they have lost on it. But for Microsoft, starting next gen would put a lot of pressure on Sony.
Nintendo already has next gen ready. They'll just keep increasing the specs as parts get less expensive while waiting for Sony, Microsoft, or a new challenger to announce their next console. That's my theory anyway.
Anyway, the UK charts. Holy fuck, Band Hero didn't chart at all? And DJ Hero has fallen off completely. Not a good sign for Activision.
I don't know why Activision had to release all of the Hero games around the same time. I know they want the holiday sales but they really should have put more space between releases.
As for next gen I'm fully expecting Microsoft to speed up their timeline if Sony gains any sort of momentum and 360 Natal bombs. I don't think Sony wants to sink a bunch more money into the next Playstation when they still have a lot of movement left on the price of the PS3. Especially with how much money they have lost on it. But for Microsoft, starting next gen would put a lot of pressure on Sony.
Nintendo already has next gen ready. They'll just keep increasing the specs as parts get less expensive while waiting for Sony, Microsoft, or a new challenger to announce their next console. That's my theory anyway.
Actually rumblings from Nintendo lately seem to indicate that they haven't quite decided on the whole specifications yet.
And if Natal (or, for that matter, Swiggle) bombs, that wouldn't necessarily be the spark of a new gen. You have to give customers something new and shiny to make people buy the next machine, after all... but what could they possibly offer at this point? Visuals haven't evolved enough to make 99% of the market care. Stuff like video streaming is being patched in. The 360 and PS3 are great machines... but they may have painted themselves into a corner as far as what they could do to make people buy another machine.
And yeah, most of us here thought Activision's zerg rush of Hero games was a disaster waiting to happen.
cloudeagle on
Switch: 3947-4890-9293
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HedgethornAssociate Professor of Historical Hobby HorsesIn the Lions' DenRegistered Userregular
Actually rumblings from Nintendo lately seem to indicate that they haven't quite decided on the whole specifications yet.
And if Natal (or, for that matter, Swiggle) bombs, that wouldn't necessarily be the spark of a new gen. You have to give customers something new and shiny to make people buy the next machine, after all... but what could they possibly offer at this point? Visuals haven't evolved enough to make 99% of the market care. Stuff like video streaming is being patched in. The 360 and PS3 are great machines... but they may have painted themselves into a corner as far as what they could do to make people buy another machine.
And yeah, most of us here thought Activision's zerg rush of Hero games was a disaster waiting to happen.
Nothing Nintendo does would surprise me but their specifications shouldn't be set yet. They should be changing them as next gen gets pushed farther and farther back.
Natal bombing and Sony surging is just what I feel Microsoft would need to have happen before they announce the next gen. Otherwise they are in the perfect spot right now as they are making money on the 360 and beating Sony.
I think a good chunk of the market does care about having the next shinny toy and even if announced next summer, it would still be 2 years from now until the next generation started. So the systems will have plenty of power and multi processing goodness.
If you really like the current generation then things are looking pretty good right now. Sony is almost making money, Microsoft is making money, and Nintendo is making money. If Sony and Microsoft stay close to each other and Nintendo keeps their sales up, then maybe we can wait another summer without any new announcements for next gen.
Unless of course Apple decides to jump in.
AZChristopher on
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Brainiac 8Don't call me Shirley...Registered Userregular
edited November 2009
As it gets further and further along, something tells me that Apple may just attempt to jump in...it's just a matter of time. I'm guessing that E3 '10 wouldn't be a huge stretch to hear something of the sort.
Nintendo are not stupid, they have ideas, and chances are, already have a prototype machine with specs and all. We'll see though, their R&D never rests.
I don't see why Apple would want to try the console market right now; they're focusing their efforts on keeping the Mac viable and expanding the iTouch/iPhone arena.
As it gets further and further along, something tells me that Apple may just attempt to jump in...it's just a matter of time. I'm guessing that E3 '10 wouldn't be a huge stretch to hear something of the sort.
You really think Apple's going to jump into this fray?
I mean, I'm not trying to be rude or anything, that's just a very surprising forecast. It just seems like Apple's success with the iPhone/iPod Touch as a product that features some game support is a sharp departure from their gigantic failure of an actual console, the Pippin.
But maybe Apple has a trick up their sleeve to turn one success into a different success?
Me, I think there's a...80% to 90% chance it'd be like the Phantom, but more expensive (in projection).
Synthesis on
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Dr Mario KartGames DealerAustin, TXRegistered Userregular
edited November 2009
Apple would have to be ready to bleed for a long time. Its always been my belief that the market cant sustain 3 major hardware makers. 4 would be even worse. Bad enough that someone would have to pull out. While Microsoft and Sony are either just becoming profitable or about to, it cost them too much to get here, and starting a new cycle puts them back in the hole.
It's an area Apple could jump into. They're doing well right now... the iPhone is absurdly successful (74 percent of all phones AT&T sold in the last quarter were iPhones), the iPod line is humming along and Macs are doing well. Video games would be a new market for them, and a new way to spread their brand. Besides, Apple is one of the very few companies with the cash and connections to make a viable mass-market gaming device.
But yes, the market can just barely support three machines as it is, and even starting a successful one can be ludicrously expensive. Not to mention they like to "think different"... which works wonderfully sometimes (iPod, iPhone) but has been known to fail miserably (Apple TV, the Mighty Mouse). They could make something so different it alienates rather than attracts people.
I dunno. I wouldn't bet on Apple joining the fray, but I can't rule it out, either.
Posts
They only "fucked up" the controls in that they didn't take full advantage of the Wii controller's features.
It's still an excellent game.
Steam ID: slashx000______Twitter: @bill_at_zeboyd______ Facebook: Zeboyd Games
I didn't know about the awesome box art until now.
That sounds like a reverse Sim City (where, whenever I played it, it inevitably became build city -> INSERT NATURAL DISASTERS).
No HDD has got to be the worst idea MS has ever had (or the best, if you consider that they probably sell add-on HDDs a lot once people discover you can demo games or download games directly).. Fortunately I'm getting a free 20GB tomorrow as they upgraded to a 120GB when it came out. Should suffice.
Also, I can't send a message to a friend using the xbox.com interface as that requires a Gold subscription, but I can type one out and send it through my console. ??? Very weird.
Only when you make a new gamertag and for that gamertag only from what I've read online. I already have a gamertag from my Zune and playing on friend's consoles, so I just "recovered" it which doesn't give me anything.
I suppose it makes sense, I was just hoping for a free ride for a bit before I took the plunge and spent the cash. Will probably buy my year once I get Borderlands.
Any idea what sales of Forza3 and NFS: Shift are like? I just played both of the demos and they seem so crazy similar I'm curious if one sold better than the other. I also discovered that I'm terrible at these games. :P
The PS2/XBOX/GC seem to have bottomed out at $99 as far as in production MSRP, not counting fire sales.
Do the additional complexity/hard drives/blu-ray drives make it to where the bottom price point may be higher, say $150 or $200?
In like ten years, maybe. Sony has a lot of catching up to do to even consider another price drop. (Since each PS3 is STILL being sold at a loss.)
The 360 is pretty much an entry-level computer by now, so that will probably happen eventually. (core components probably cost less than 150 for MS)
I bet the Wii will hit 100/150 by next year, especially if the rumors of the Wii2 are in fact true.
Depends on how long the generation drags out. If we really do hit 10 years, then $99 is very possible. Tech gets cheap over the years... bigger hard drives and Blu-ray is no exception.
I could see the Arcade eventually reaching $99 (I wouldn't be surprised if it was $150 by Christmas 2010, actually). The Wii will probably go down to $99 whenever Nintendo's successor system hits, it should hit $150 at the very least. The PS3? Anything goes. Even if Sony do stick to their "ten year plan" (do not take a shot every time you hear that phrase unless you want to die from alcohol poisoning), who knows what they'll do in terms of wacky model refreshes to keep the price as high as they can. I could see it going down to $200 or even $150 in a few years, but considering it took them nine years to lower the PS2 to $99, who knows. (Of course the PS2 price stayed above $100 for so long partially because the PS3 was losing them money, too, so that has to be taken into account.)
I see the Wii probably stopping at 100$, the 360 core at 100$, and the PS3 probably at 149$.
NPD GAF Aggregate (SimExchange in parenthesis)
1. NDS - 503K (488k)
2. WII - 483K (501k)
3. PS3 - 377K (383k)
4. 360 - 312K (292k)
5. PSP - 176K (181k)
6. PS2 - 114K
People are expecting big things from Uncharted 2. Most of the gaf predictions fall in the 500-600k range (avg. 557k) and TSE has it at 529k for the opening month. Impressive considering the US LTD for Uncharted: Original Recipe is just below 600k.
HDD don't really get cheaper to make. The cost of making a 60gig drive and a 120gig drive are nearly identical. This is part of the reason why we've seen so many Sony SKU's and likely the reason we'll never see a $99 PS3.
In bulk Sony must be able to get the thing for a couple of dollars.
Looking at it completely from a size-to-price point of view (and not the platter size and number), HDD's do actually get cheaper but then they eventually level off. At that point, it's cheaper to just change HDD sizes, which is why Sony have juggled their HDD's around so much.
Microsoft, however, only did that once with the Xbox (putting in a 10GB HDD and then locking out 2GB's to keep it at 8GB's) and I'm pretty sure that's why they were so expensive. I also imagine the number of hard drive manufacturers making 8GB/10GB's HDD's was pretty by the time Microsoft stopped Xbox production.
I'm pretty sure I got all that right, feel free to correct me if I've fuzzed some of the details though.
In fact, I'm pretty sure this applies to all technology. If something's originally cutting-edge, you can always make savings by shrinking dies, cutting more chips off the silicon wafer, but there eventually reaches a point where production costs are optimal. A 64MB flash drive costs about the same to produce as a 2GB one. In a market where variable technology exists, this is fine since consumers will simply move on to the higher-priced upgrade - but consoles are by necessity 'fixed'. You can upgrade storage and the features list, but the core abilities of the system have to remain the same.
This is the big problem with the 10-year model. Most consoles release at a performance-level equal to that of a high-level PC (but massively subsidised). 2 years later, it's a mid-range PC. 2 years after that, a low-end PC. Meanwhile, manufacturing costs haven't fallen in line with this reduced relative performance, so manufacturers have to keep subsidising the machine to keep prices competitive - when you buy a $99 machine, it will certainly be losing the manufacturers money.
None of this is a problem with something as successful as the PS2, as it was both seen as good value even into 2008 and easily sold enough software to pay back the subsidies. Less-successful machines are faced with the unenviable choice between 1) extending their lifespan to 10 years or so (and thereby offering poor value for money for consumers whilst still losing the manufacturers a little money) or 2) launching a new generation early and limiting profitability from the current install base.
Fixed for accuracy.
Oh, and NSMBWii has a great chance of outselling at least one of the console versions of MW2...but definitely not both combined.
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So then do you think the addition of Natal and Swaggle really will allow their respective companies to drag out the generation by only asking a little of their current install base, or will they have to launch new machines in a few years anyway, guaranteeing failure for their initial entry into the motion control space.
No one except recently Nintendo has ever had any success for hardware addons. If they are expensive, not many people will buy them, and software developers making games that require them will be in the small numbers.
Of course, games might support them, stuff like the RE5 waggleport or whatever, but only in option ways.
Sure, if you're excluding Sony, Activision and EA then yeah, Nintendo is the only one to have had success with hardware addons. Cause I'm pretty sure Eyetoy, Singstar, Guitar Hero and Rock Band have been pretty successful. :P
Personally, I have serious doubts about both products. I doubt Natal will work as well as Microsoft claim and I also doubt it'll have any real applications in games. Whereas I think Sony's Wand will do most of the things they claim but I have doubts they'll be able to launch it properly.
It could be. And as I've said before, the main reason waggle took off as much as it did is because you HAD to use it. You couldn't get a Wii without it. Whereas with Natal and Swiggle, you have to go out of your way and pay extra for it... maybe a lot extra.
Then again, this "test run" could burn out the developers on the concept of motion controls if it fails to catch on, and make them less likely to incorporate it in the future. I think the fact that Microsoft and Sony are taking that risk means that, at least in part, they feel this is a way to compete with Nintendo.
Anyway, the UK charts. Holy fuck, Band Hero didn't chart at all? And DJ Hero has fallen off completely. Not a good sign for Activision.
I don't know why Activision had to release all of the Hero games around the same time. I know they want the holiday sales but they really should have put more space between releases.
As for next gen I'm fully expecting Microsoft to speed up their timeline if Sony gains any sort of momentum and 360 Natal bombs. I don't think Sony wants to sink a bunch more money into the next Playstation when they still have a lot of movement left on the price of the PS3. Especially with how much money they have lost on it. But for Microsoft, starting next gen would put a lot of pressure on Sony.
Nintendo already has next gen ready. They'll just keep increasing the specs as parts get less expensive while waiting for Sony, Microsoft, or a new challenger to announce their next console. That's my theory anyway.
Actually rumblings from Nintendo lately seem to indicate that they haven't quite decided on the whole specifications yet.
And if Natal (or, for that matter, Swiggle) bombs, that wouldn't necessarily be the spark of a new gen. You have to give customers something new and shiny to make people buy the next machine, after all... but what could they possibly offer at this point? Visuals haven't evolved enough to make 99% of the market care. Stuff like video streaming is being patched in. The 360 and PS3 are great machines... but they may have painted themselves into a corner as far as what they could do to make people buy another machine.
And yeah, most of us here thought Activision's zerg rush of Hero games was a disaster waiting to happen.
No, DJ Hero is still there.
It's not exactly burning up the charts, though.
Damn my eyes.
Staying at the same position is actually pretty respectable, even if it's not exactly a big mover.
Nothing Nintendo does would surprise me but their specifications shouldn't be set yet. They should be changing them as next gen gets pushed farther and farther back.
Natal bombing and Sony surging is just what I feel Microsoft would need to have happen before they announce the next gen. Otherwise they are in the perfect spot right now as they are making money on the 360 and beating Sony.
I think a good chunk of the market does care about having the next shinny toy and even if announced next summer, it would still be 2 years from now until the next generation started. So the systems will have plenty of power and multi processing goodness.
If you really like the current generation then things are looking pretty good right now. Sony is almost making money, Microsoft is making money, and Nintendo is making money. If Sony and Microsoft stay close to each other and Nintendo keeps their sales up, then maybe we can wait another summer without any new announcements for next gen.
Unless of course Apple decides to jump in.
Nintendo are not stupid, they have ideas, and chances are, already have a prototype machine with specs and all. We'll see though, their R&D never rests.
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You really think Apple's going to jump into this fray?
I mean, I'm not trying to be rude or anything, that's just a very surprising forecast. It just seems like Apple's success with the iPhone/iPod Touch as a product that features some game support is a sharp departure from their gigantic failure of an actual console, the Pippin.
But maybe Apple has a trick up their sleeve to turn one success into a different success?
Me, I think there's a...80% to 90% chance it'd be like the Phantom, but more expensive (in projection).
Apple seems fine where they are.
But yes, the market can just barely support three machines as it is, and even starting a successful one can be ludicrously expensive. Not to mention they like to "think different"... which works wonderfully sometimes (iPod, iPhone) but has been known to fail miserably (Apple TV, the Mighty Mouse). They could make something so different it alienates rather than attracts people.
I dunno. I wouldn't bet on Apple joining the fray, but I can't rule it out, either.