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3 doom and gloom scenarios for games
Layoffs. Missed earnings. Mergers. Cancelled titles. It's bad now, but it could get worse. Every transition between one generation of game consoles to the next generation of game consoles tends to temporarily hurt the games industry. Fewer games are sold during transition periods as gamers choose to delay current-gen purchases to hoard cash for expensive new consoles and games. Industry analysts Jason Kraft and Chris Kwak of Susquehanna Financial Group examine three disaster scenarios that could result in even more bad news for the games industry: The PS3 fails to launch on time. Though Sony hasn't budged from their "Spring 2006" mantra, there's plenty of reason to think that the complexity of the Cell processor and Blu-Ray drive could delay the console's release until next year. EA and Activision would take body blows in this scenario. Gamer appetite for Xbox/PS2/GameCube titles might fall even faster than expected. This scenario would nail Take-Two in the tender bits because Take-Two relies on revenues from these consoles the most. EA, Activision and THQ would also be hurt considerably. Publishers might choose to slash current-gen prices even more (see Microsoft's recent announcement that they plan to sell top Xbox titles for $9.99 each.) All of these events happen. A perfect storm could result in all three of these scenarios occuring at once, decimating the stock values of the biggest publishers. The result? Big drops in the value for public game companies and (presumably) attempts by those companies to staunch the loss of blood through layoffs, mergers, and bake sales. There's a lot of detail in the report, so send an email to kraftandkwak [at] gmail.com to request a copy.
Still downloading... downloading... downloading... (Xbox 360 annoyance #003.1)
We're all about Xbox Live's game demo service. In theory. Last night, we spent just over 90 minutes waiting to get our sweaty palms on The Outfit demo (and we know we're not alone). The problem for us wasn't that it took so long. We knew that 6 PM (Eastern) wasn't the best time to fetch the file. And we knew that our broadband connection probably wasn't optimized for this function. The point is, we anticipated a long download-and we were okay with that.The real problem is that the Xbox 360 is crippled when it's downloading. We've known about this. We've bitched about it before. But last night's episode warrants another post. It's not like we can't find anything to do for 90 minutes (there is a world of possibilities out there, right?). But, if Microsoft wants to claim that the Xbox 360 is all about choice, then give us that choice. Let us listen to music. Let us watch DVDs. Heck, let us play games! Let us do all of these things while we download a game demo from the Marketplace. Microsoft, are you listening?Other Xbox 360 annoyances: 001, 002, 003, 004, 005, 006, 007, 008, 009, 010, 011, 012, 013Xbox 360 delights: 001, 002, 003, 004, 005, 006, 007, 008, 009, 010, 011
The Outfit multiplayer demo now available on XBL
THQ had hoped that its multiplayer demo would be released this past Friday, just in time for weekend gamers to get a taste of The Outfit before GRAW and Burnout hit the Xbox 360 this week. Instead, the weekend passed by without an update. Today, the demo finally went live.Intended to showcase The Outfit's multiplayer gameplay, the demo will allow Xbox Live Gold subscribers to test out the full 8-player destruction-on-demand experience, while Silver subscribers will be limited to 1-on-1 split screen combat. The Outfit demo features a single map (Estate Assault) played on Strategic Victory mode. Let the chaos commence!
Load time from HELL! PSP game takes its sweet time
A warning to curious Joystiq'ers: the video presented above is long... very, very long. It's a (presumably) undoctored video detailing the time to get from menu to gameplay in THQ's WWE SmackDown! Vs. RAW 2006 for the PSP. The following sites had this to say about the loads: Gamespot: "You will need to suffer through some lengthy loads prior to wrestler entrances, and then another lengthy load prior to the match. Thankfully, the in-game action doesn't suffer from any slowness or technical issues, but getting into a match does take a touch longer than it ought to." 1UP: "...being a PSP game, you should expect some ridiculous load times, which thankfully can be shortened by simply turning off those entrances that you've already seen a million times over." Yahoo! Games: "The load times may annoy you, but they're pretty much on par with the rest of the PSP library." To preempt any console flaming, I'll say that I have a PSP, and of all the games I have--which admittedly isn't many (alright, alright, just one jab)--I have never seen a load screen like this; not on the PSP or any console! One would think load screens this long would immediately disqualify a game from being reviewed, not to mention being enjoyed! Any masochists manage to find enjoyment in this mess? For shame THQ... for shame.[Thanks, Joe]UPDATE: Updated the video link after the earlier one stopped working.
The Outfit multiplayer demo moves out March 3rd
Frustrated with another WWII themed 360 titles lackluster online play? In a couple short weeks, THQ will release a multiplayer demo for their upcoming 360 dubya-dubya-eye-eye title, The Outfit. The 500MB demo will support up to 8 players and will be available March 3rd in the XBLM and bundled in the Official Xbox Magazine. [Via Joystiq]
New Worms Open Warfare Screens
After discussing just how gross worms are earlier today, we have to admit that we've been somewhat swayed by these new screenshots of Worms Open Warfare, the vertebrae-less crew's portable outing coming soon on the DS and PSP. As you can see, the backgrounds are 3D, but the destructible foregrounds are slightly lesser-D. After the so-so reception the 3D incarnation of the series received and the DS' less than stellar proficiency at churning out polygons, this approach is definitely the way to go. [Thanks neil!]
Worms wage war on DS
Worms are gross. They wriggle in unnatural ways, crawl around in your intestinal tract and in some cases, burst forth from gigantic sand dunes and devour your Fremen troops. I may be confusing my fictional and non-fictional worms here, but the fact of the matter is that worms are one of the lesser adored creepy creatures on the planet, slotting in somewhere between tarantulas and Anne Heche. With that in mind, it's rather miraculous that developer Team 17 have made such a success out of their hilarious strategic combat series, Worms. Now under the THQ umbrella, Worms Open Warfare is set to debut on both the DS and PSP, continuing the long-running franchise's wacky traditions that mainly revolve around squeaky smacktalking and exploding sheep. The graphics promise to go with a "2.5D" approach, only rendering the backgrounds in 3D whilst constricting movement to the 2D plane. The DS version will happily support multiplayer combat (which is what the games have always trumpeted) with up to 4 players playing from a single cart...or pak, if we must to use that word. No information on online Wi-Fi capabilities yet, but we'd be very angry indeed if such an opportunity was wasted.
MotoGP screenshots released, commence drooling
Take it all in: THQ has released some stellar new screenshots of their super fast MotoGP Ultimate Racing Technology 2006. There are only so many buzzwords that one can use to describe the graphics of this title. Slated for a Q1 release (or otherwise TBA), MotoGP is being developed by Climax, the same people working on the recently-sold Ghost Rider franchise.
New WWE game announced
Must... Try... To Control... Excitement... Oh, wait, that was easy. Continuing the trend of putting out one average wrestling game after another, the "wrestling" (from some of their shows, you have to wonder...) behemoth that is WWE have announced yet another PS2 video game. Imaginatively titled Smackdown vs Raw 2006, the game will include, for the first time, stamina, adding more strategy and realism to the matches. No word on whether poor booking, ridiculously ill conceived plots, and wrestlers with talent being fired while untalented idiots keep their jobs will be part of the season mode. That would truly bring WWE videogame realism to a new level.
No WWE at E3
For those quivering in anticipation of the new WWE Smackdown vs Raw title being revealed at E3, we're afraid you're going to have to keep quivering. Try not to hurt yourself. The logic at THQ, if you can call it that, is that, apparently, revealing the game AFTER E3 has a bigger impact. Really not sure how that works, since everyone knows E3, everyone knows the really big players make big announcements at E3, and everyone expects the big names to be revealed at E3. The move paints THQ as bush league, but the title will still sell, even if they do no promotion whatsoever, so let's let them have their little fantasy, shall we.
WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw: a great letdown
Since the turn of the century, THQ's SmackDown! franchise has been churning out titles year after year, courtesy of Yuke's development team. Alright, so five years & six games isn't record breaking, but THQ has been in the wrestling business for a long time now and perhaps reached the pinnacle (at least in this generation) with last year's Here Comes the Pain. That's not to say this year's installment is along the lines of Just Bring It, but it is a bit of a letdown. The two most talked about features, online play & WWE voice acting, are really disappointing. The online component is a shockingly bare bones affair that seems like it belongs in the first generation of broadband console games. As for the voice acting, it ranges from pitiful to believable, but generally remains just tolerable. A few additions have been added to the gameplay, including minigames that mimic stare downs, shoving matches, chop battles, & spanking contests (sorry, ladies only). The character models remain top-notch, and the arena options/match types are overwhelming, but Yuke's still fell short of true innovation. If you're a fan of the series, you'll likely enjoy SmackDown! vs. Raw the same way a Madden-head enjoys each annual installment. It's a great wrestling game, just don't expect it to redefine the genre.
WWE sues THQ
The WWE has filed a lawsuit against THQ and others, alleging that these companies used bribes to obtain the WWE videogame license. The WWE wishes to void this license and seek damages. THQ released a statement yesterday, claiming, "[It] is not directly accused of any wrongdoing in the complaint." Indeed, Jakks Pacific, THQ's partner, is carrying the brunt of the allegations, believed to have offered more than $100,000 to WWE senior vp of licensing & merchandising James Bell and WWE licensing agent Stanley Shenker for the videogame license back in 1998. At any rate, the lawsuit will not effect any current WWE games, namely WWE Smackdown! vs. RAW & Wrestlemania XXI.
Dawn of War today?
According to this press release, THQ announced that Dawn of War went gold close to two weeks ago. However, over at IGN it seems that this real-time strategy was actually cancelled. What's going on here? Well, according to several major retailers Dawn of War is hitting stores today. So what gives IGN? (Not that we expect an explanation...) In terms of DoW, it's actually an extension of the Warhammer 40,000 universe. So if you're looking for that dark, futuristic edge combined with quality RTS, then look no further.
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War demo for adults only
All you Warhammer fans out there now have the chance to check out the brand new demo for Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War. The 319 MB demo includes a single-player campaign, as well as a couple of skirmish maps to test out how well the game has translated to the PC. We've taken a preliminary look at the game and can tell you it's worth checking out for a measly 319 MB.
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War: Exclusive inside look at the beta
Thanks go out to "Pete" for an insightful and thorough peek at Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War. His hands-on look at the beta has yielded a good post that should get all you fans excited. Heads up for RTS fans, this game has great potential for anyone interested in a good RTS. The graphics are reminiscant of Warcraft 3 but also has style similar to Starcraft. Using Relic's new graphics engine that was also used in Homeworld 2, this game looks great. Also the strategy implemented in Dawn of War is astonishing. Almost every unit can be upgraded to be used for somthing else (i.e. Space Marine Dreadnaughts can be upgraded for either anti-infantry or anti-tank purposes). Also, squad based infantry makes for interesting strategies. For example, if artillery rains down upon a squad of Marines not much damage will be inflicted on them - but it might as well have. It throws the Space Marines into the air and separates them, greatly diminishing the squad's effectiveness and rendering them almost entirely useless. At least, until the squad gets a chance to regroup, which can be deadly in a large scale battle.
