The Coffee Table (Sept. 2005): Columns

Despite most of the events of September being overshadowed by the hype surrounding Nintendo's new controller, and pretty new footage of Metal Gear Solid 4, Omni and Mr. Nash have gotten together to discuss all of the events of the month. Not surprisingly, there's a lot to talk about if one actually looks beyond what Nintendo and Konami had to show off. So, let's get down to it, shall we?

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The Coffee Table

September 2005

(October 3, 2005)

Omni:

Okay, first and foremost, the Revolution controller. Your thoughts.

Mr. Nash:

I like it. I've been complaining that the industry is heading for a great big rut the way companies are all looking for a winning formula, and exploiting the hell out of it, resulting in lots of overly similar games. This should help bring new ways of playing games to the table.

Watching some people when they play a game like Mario, it's funny to see them jerk the controller up when they make him jump, as though it will somehow make him jump higher. Soon that will actually be a reality.

Omni:

No doubt about the controller being "new." What I loved most is that it obliterated most of the outlandish theories surrounding it before it was unveiled. Hopefully they have something playable at E3.

Mr. Nash:

Well, something beyond the basic tech demos at TGS anyway. How much do you think this will open up gaming to new demographics?

Omni:

I can totally see a Legend of Zelda game taking advantage of "realistic" sword swinging. Or at least a Star Wars game. It all depends on how the software uses the hardware. It could make games easier to get into but it could also make some really "hardcore" games more difficult, particularly if you have a tendency to drop your controller.

Mr. Nash:

They'll definitely need to make a wrist strap for the controller. You just know that some over zealous gamers will send the thing soaring into TV screens and people's heads after the slips out of their sweaty palms, as they flail their arms every which way while playing.

Omni:

Or whacking your buddy on the head.

Mr. Nash:

I think we'll see Nintendo doing a lot of the grunt work for the first generation or two of games, proving to the rest of the industry just how viable this new control setup is. As much praise as other publishers and developers

have given it, I suspect they'll take a wait and see approach to fully utilizing the Revolution controller until Nintendo has some hits on their hands with the thing.

Omni:

The "heavy lifting" as Microsoft likes to say.

Mr. Nash:

It'll be a lot like the DS where at first other companies weren't really trying to fully take advantage of the stylus or microphone, leaving Nintendo to show how its done with things like Nintendogs and the brain testing game. Now a lot more companies want in on the DS's action. Same thing will likely happen with the Revolution.

Omni:

It could happen, I suppose -- much to Sony's chagrin. It seems like the buzz around the PSP has dipped while the DS has done the opposite. That may just be my imagination.

Mr. Nash:

Well, they're still neck in neck in North America, and PSP is doing quite well for itself in Europe now that it's finally out. The only region where the DS is mopping the floor with the PSP is Japan so far. But Japan has always been far more open to quirky games.

Omni:

If only North America could more quirky. The Xbox 360 gets a firm release date.

Mr. Nash:

Yup, a day for people with copious amounts of money to have some fun, and the rest of us to sell our kidneys just to afford the thing and a few games to play on it. Good times.

Omni:

Oh c'mon, how many internal organs do we really need? Launch titles -- how many have been confirmed?

Mr. Nash:

I think the real question will be how many of them get pushed back.

There'll be a few that make it for sure, I reckon, like DOA4, PGR3, and the latest Madden, but I'm still skeptical of games like Kameo and PD0 being on time.

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Omni:

"Rare" refers to the ability of the developer to hit announced launch dates.

I just think it would be a mistake not to come out swinging with a stellar launch line-up.

Mr. Nash:

Of the launch titles, Oblivion, DOA4, and The Outfit are about the only ones I'm really interested in. To a lesser extent PGR3 and Condemned look decent as well.

Even a stellar launch line-up is no guarantee of success. Just look at the Dreamcast.

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Omni:

Point taken. But how would it look if Halo 3 launched the same day?

Mr. Nash:

For 360 launch?

Omni:

Yeah.

Mr. Nash:

It would help, for sure, but at this point it probably makes more sense to release the game right around the launch of the PS3 (possibly the same day) in order to steal Sony's thunder. Ugh, I wouldn't want to go to a game store on that day.

Omni:

I would love to go. It would be really easy to start a riot. Anyway, games released this month...

Mr. Nash:

Ninja Gaiden Black is about the only must-have of the bunch that I can think of.

Omni:

Battalion Wars (GC) was another good one. And NHL 06 hit the ice as well.

Ninja Gaiden Black (left; Battalion Wars (right)

Mr. Nash:

It seems like this month was dominated by above average games that sell for $20 too much.

Omni:

And classic compilations.

Mr. Nash:

EA still needs to get off their ass and release an uber compilation. They have tons of games in their catalogue that would be nice to see again.

Omni:

Don't give them any ideas! I thought the same thing at E3 where the entire back wall of their booth was covers of their catalogue of games.

Mr. Nash:

I also hope that Namco releases their compilation of classic PlayStation games in North America, there's tons of good stuff on that one. A lot of people can finally play Klonoa who missed the boat the first time.

Omni:

I wouldn't mind seeing Crusader: No Remorse (PC) get an update.

Mr. Nash:

An updated version of The Immortal would be nice too.

Omni:

That would be awesome.

Mr. Nash:

Oh, did you see the 360 bundle that Gamestop is offering for $4,500US? Good God!

Omni:

Does J Allard deliver it? Talking about Gamestop though... you wanted to touch on used games.

Mr. Nash:

Yeah, especially now that a big box chain like Best Buy is getting in on the action. It just irks me that the publishers have a knee-jerk bitch session about people wanting to buy used games. You'd think that it would tell them that consumers think their games cost too much, and don't want to spend $50US or more per game. If publishers want us buying more of their games, maybe they should make it so we can actually afford them. If prices keep going up, people will find less expensive forms of fun.

Omni:

I've seen more and more games turning up at garage sales too. NES, Sega CD, PC, PS2, etc. Who gets the royalties for that?

Mr. Nash:

Publishers just seem to be drifting further and further from reality with each passing year now, and it'll only get worse when we hit the next generation of consoles. I think the industry is heading for a very big shake out in the next year or so.

Omni:

And are there any gamers out there choosing between used games and new games as a moral choice?

Mr. Nash:

Yeah, some people will suffer, and that's going to suck big time for them. But the game industry is in desperate need of an enema right about now.

Omni:

The morality extends to how cash is in their wallets.

Mr. Nash:

Yup. It's about know what you can afford. At least they're still buying games. Would publishers prefer these people just find something less expensive to do with their time?

Omni:

There's always hacking their system and buying pirated games from China.

Mr. Nash:

Yeah, then there's that as well. People chipping their system, renting the game, copying it, and suddenly having massive game libraries. We'll just have to see how quickly media burners hit the market for stuff like Blu Ray...and you just know that Sony's computer component division is probably already working on a Blu Ray burner.

It always makes me laugh that there are probably people burning PS2 games on a Sony-made CD/DVD burner.

Omni:

The laugh is on them.

Mr. Nash:

If Sony doesn't like their media being copied, why do they make the tools to do it?

Omni:

Then the games industry goes down the toilet and AE converts to reviews of pocket lint of celebrities.

Mr. Nash:

Hot!

Omni:

And belly-button lint features.

Mr. Nash:

I dunno, that's getting a bit too kinky for my tastes. The scary part is that there's probably a demographic out there craving just that.

Burnout Revenge (left); Masters of Doom (right)

Omni:

As today is October 1, lets get our usual tirade about the 4th Quarter out in the open.

Mr. Nash:

I can't complain too much, since I only reviewed one game last month. Must have been good "fun" for you. You did what? 6 reviews or so?

Omni:

I don't even keep track anymore. I just plug away, occasionally collapse into a pool of drool and pile of empty beer cans.

Mr. Nash:

I'm honestly having a very tough time picking out an absolute must-have game this Christmas, though. There just isn't any super high profile games coming out. Sure there's the 360, but I think the price will make it a very prohibitively pricey. I wouldn't be surprised if Christmas actually turns into a battle of the handhelds, though.

Omni:

This time of year I spend more time gaming than sleeping.

Mr. Nash:

Well, send more games my way this year so I can join in the fun.

Omni:

You don't sleep anyway!

Mr. Nash:

All the more reason to need to keep myself occupied. Well, occupied with things that are legal, anyway.

Omni:

What the hell else happened in September? What else came out of TGS?

Mr. Nash:

There was the MGS4 trailer.

Omni:

Ah yes. More demo reel stuff.

Mr. Nash:

I don't understand why everyone got so excited. Yes, the visuals looked extremely good, but did everyone forget that the series has traditionally been love it/hate it for some time now.

Given Metal Gear Solid's track record, it wouldn't be surprising if long-time fans love it, but the game does little to attract new users..

Omni:

And I couldn't believe or understand that backlash over Snake being portrayed as older. I mean, look at Sam Fisher -- that guy's old and he's still kicking ass. But I won't enter into the "debate" because it would brand me a complete geek.

Mr. Nash:

It's all the 15 year olds that are flabbergasted that a company isn't making a game tailored specifically to them.

Omni:

Ah well.

Mr. Nash:

I think I'm starting to discover that I don't like people.

Omni:

I thought you held that view ever since graduating from high school.

Mr. Nash:

That sounds about right. I'll be a real hit at E3 next year, no doubt!

Omni:

Oh, I'm sure it will be a good time. I'm obliterating the logo on your business cards right now.

Mr. Nash:

Hah!

Omni:

It's just a complete opposite from me -- I'm hugging people, laughing, etc. running from security... oh, good times.

Mr. Nash:

I'll be lucky if I crack a smile. Especially with hordes of geeks getting in my way the whole time. I'll have to pack air horns and truncheons for us when we go.

Omni:

Something else I noticed this month -- the possible demise of Majesco?

"Struggling publisher Majesco, which most recently announced a calamitous third quarter loss of $38.6 million, as an aggressive expansion into higher budget full-price games backfired, is now under attack from hedge fund and previous investor Trinad Capital Master Fund. Trinad has offered to invest $5 million in the company, according to information announced in a regulatory filing. But the offer, which is subject to due diligence, would have Trinad employees taking over a majority of Majesco's board, effectively taking control of the company."

Looks like it could be a change in ownership.

Mr. Nash:

Looks more serious than once thought. But come on. We've discussed this before. They have a gem like Psychonauts, but the powers that be over there thought it was a good idea to promote the hell out of a buggy pile of crap like Advent Rising instead. Not good.

Omni:

I won't pretend to know how these decisions are made but, I'd have to agree.

Mr. Nash:

I suspect oujii boards and séances.

Omni:

I also read this one on Gamasutra and thought it was another interesting bit of history for id Software:

"According to legal documents obtained by the Wall Street Journal, Doom and Quake creator id Software is involved in a legal battle with co-founder Adrian Carmack, following his removal from the company. In addition, Carmack's lawsuit against id has revealed a number of behind-the-scenes facts, including information that current publisher Activision made a bid for id and its properties in 2004.

In the suit, Carmack (no relation to current technology head John Carmack) claims that Activision's 2004 offer was to acquire the Doom, Quake and Wolfenstein franchises, while offering only $15 million extra for the entire company. Unsurprisingly, the developer’s four founding members rejected the offer as being too low.

The law suit itself arose as Carmack claims he was fired as an employee and director after he refused to sell his shares back to the company, complaining that the sums being offered were a fraction of that which would have resulted from the Activision deal. As the owner of 41 percent of the company, he was offered only $11 million for his shares, compared to a potential (but still presumably low) $40 million from the Activision deal.

He claims he was later terminated from the company after he turned down a second offer of $20 million, and that the primary reason id Software turned down the offer from Activision was so that the other founders could acquire his shares at a lower price. Carmack further claims that towards the end of his time at the company his hours at work were tracked, he was refused access to board documents, and was denied normal payouts of profits in dividends.

Neither id Software nor Activision have yet officially commented on any aspect of allegations, likely because there is ongoing legal action that would prevent them from doing so. Nonetheless, the id-produced, Raven-developed Quake IV is believed to be unaffected, and will be published by Activision this holiday season for PC and Xbox 360."

After reading Masters of Doom the happenings -- although surprising -- shouldn't be THAT surprising.

Mr. Nash:

I still have yet to read that book.

Omni:

I still need to read the Xbox book. I gotta hunt down a copy.

Mr. Nash:

Still, doesn't it just bug the hell out of you when people are bitching about a money like that? Ugh, what these guys make in a year, most people could make last for a life time.

Omni:

You know after buying a hybrid flying car from Nieman Marcus and building a dedicated office I'm not sure what the hell I would do with that kind of money. But when you've had an interest in the company and you feel you're being screwed.... there's some justification there. It's not like spilling hot coffee on your lap and suing McDonalds.

Something tells me that kind of behavior shouldn't be unexpected at id. Place sounds like an insane asylum -- at least in the early days.

Mr. Nash:

I'm sure they're not the only place like that either. An asylum that is.

Omni:

Ah, well. That about it for September? Burnout Revenge shipped too. Call it?

Mr. Nash:

Time of death...10:24PM

Omni:

Morbid to the end.

Mr. Nash:

Wooo!


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