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The Week in Reviewwith Mr. Nash
February 25, 2006
Here we are at the end of a week, and a short week at that for Americans who got Monday off for Presidents Day. Even with many people only having four days at the office this week, a lot of things went down in the world of videogames. So here they are in point form with some delicious commentary to wash it down.
PlayStation 3 Release Dates
Okay, it’s getting real hard to figure out just what Sony is trying to do with this new console of theirs. Over the course of last week, a number of analysts were making all sorts of predictions as to when they thought the PS3 would be release, and how much it would sell for. There wasn’t a whole lot of optimism in these reports, as they repeatedly stated some lofting price tags, and posed serious doubts that the PlayStation 3 would meet its Spring 2006 launch in Japan that Sony has been trumpeting for months now.
Just like clockwork, though, Sony marched into the fray last week, unleashing spokespeople who continued to toe the party line, emphasizing that the company has not changed their plans for a Spring release in Japan. However, the problem seems to be that nobody told Sony that Spring is barely four weeks away.
If this launch window is indeed just around the corner, as Sony claims, they sure do seem to be quiet about an eminent PS3 release. Leading up to the PS2, and PSP launches, there was |
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a hell of a lot more fanfare in the weeks and months before. With the PS3, Sony is staying very quiet, and companies developing games for the system seem to be under very strict non-disclosure agreements to keep their mouths shut as well.
It just doesn’t make sense that Sony would be so quiet right now if they really do plan to get the PS3 on store shelves in Japan by the Spring. Maybe they’re trying to do something similar to Apple this time, and nonchalantly announce the system on the same day it rolls into stores, and then enjoy some brisk sales. This has never really been Sony’s style, though; the company likes to hype things up as a new |
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product nears release. Since the PlayStation 3 is considered to be a key product in turning around Sony’s troubled business, one would think that the company would be vigorously promoting the thing right now if the console is actually coming out in the Spring. As it stands, Autumn seems a much more realistic time for the PS3 to be released.
God of War 2? Gran Turismo 4 Online? Killzone: Liberation?
While we’re on the topic of all things Sony…
Earlier in the week, Eurogamer ran a series of titillating stories that claimed that the outlet had gotten a hold of leaked marketing material for a number of upcoming Sony titles. Among those mentioned were God of War 2, which is supposedly coming to the PlayStation 2 in February of next year, as well as a PSP version of Gran Turismo 4, and more details on the next Killzone (you know, the one where nobody can decide if it actually is real-time or pre-rendered?).
Great news if true, no? As much as many gamers would love to believe these rumors, a lot of time nothing comes of them. In this case, however, it looks as though Eurogamer may have ruffled some feathers at Sony High Command, because shortly after initially posting these finds, the articles were all taken down, allegedly under threat of legal action from Sony.
That being the case, whatever happened to Sony’s stance of “not commenting on rumors”, because that’s exactly what these games were as far as public perception was concerned. Sony might as well have outright confirmed these games existed, because that certainly is the impression that gamers will have seeing as the company went so far as to threaten legal action in order for these news items to be taken down.
Microsoft is Eyeing China for the Xbox 360
As China slowly makes it easier for foreign companies to do business there, everyone and their mother seems to be tripping over each other to get a piece of the action. Who can blame them, though. There’s a huge population that can be tapped, making people rich in the process. Now it looks like Microsoft wants to sell the Chinese some Xbox 360s.
While I’m sure that getting into this market would be a big step forward in Microsoft’s quest to reach one billion gamers, doesn’t all of this seem just a tad premature? North America and Europe are suffering from console shortages, and the 360 has recently been released in a market that doesn’t care about it (Japan), and yet Microsoft is already looking abroad, when they should probably worry about making sure they can at least properly accommodate their core fan base first (Hint: They don’t live in China).
Namco Bandai’s Profit Forecasts Plummet
Just the other day, Namco Bandai announced that they were lowering their profit forecasts for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2006 by a whopping 55 percent. Apparently the company wants to pin a large portion of the blame for this on weaker than expected sales of various DS games that they have released.
Well, if the company is so concerned about this, maybe they should work on making better DS games to begin with. The thing is, why are they so intent of making Pac-Man games, and ho-hum ones at that. This past year, the company tried to make a fast buck from decent, but not great, and consequently over-priced games sporting the Pac-Man brand, essentially trying to sell games on a name. Gamers didn’t bite, and now it’s biting Namco on the ass.
It just boggles the mind, since Namco has so many brands that they could be making games out of that would sell well on the DS. Where’s Klonoa? What about Taiko no Tatsujin?
Thankfully, it looks like the company will be turning things around this year, with Xenosaga I&II due out in the not so distant future, and Namco Bandai plans to take full advantage of their library of Gundam games, so hopefully things will improve. Nonetheless, last year’s DS line-up was cripplingly uninspiring; it’s no wonder those games became expensive dust collectors.
Good things happened too, though
Sure, I’ve been a tad curmudgeonly so far, but there were a couple of good things that happened this week to make me smile. First, there’s the decision be Electronic Arts to bring the price of current generation games down to $39.95US. Now, I’m sure there’s a chorus of people out there that will complain that EA is an evil empire that will bring down the entire industry, but that just isn’t the case. They do indeed make fun games, just as much, if not more than, they release duds. Need for Speed, Battlefield 2, and Medal of Honor on the cheap? Yes, please.
The other piece of absolutely fabulous news came from Sega, who announced that they plan to bring their action adventure game, Ryu ga Gotoku, for the PlayStation 2 over to North American and European markets. I played this game a fair bit while in Japan earlier this year, so trust
me when I say that this is very good news. When the game is released here, it will be called Yakuza, which makes sense since the game’s story revolves around Japanese organized crime. |
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