The week in gaming
Good afternoon. Here is this week in gaming.
* Just before he unveiled Apple's new iPod lineup today, Steve Jobs made the bold claim that the iPhone/iPod Touch was the "number one portable game player" on the market in the US and worldwide. Jobs was quoted as saying the iPod Touch "outsells Nintendo and Sony's portable games player combined". Really, Steve? While there's no doubt that Apple has sold a load of iPod Touches, it's a bit rich saying that it's the number one portable game player, isn't it? I mean, not everyone plays games on their iPod Touch but everyone plays games on their Nintendo DS. Your thoughts on Jobs' bold claim?
* Reviews of Sony's Move motion-sensing controller are starting to hit the net. You can read a whole heap of them here (via website VG247). There seems to be plenty of praise for the hardware but the games are getting mixed reviews. The Move will be launched in New Zealand on September 16.
* Xbox NZ hasn't made any announcement about a release date for Kinect, but Xbox Australia's Jinx has, saying on her Twitter feed that Kinect will be launched in Australia on November 18. I asked PR for Xbox NZ for confirmation on whether the device will launch in NZ on the same date and this is what they said: "There is nothing to announce for NZ at this time. We will let you know as soon as we know." When Xbox does know when Kinect is launched in New Zealand, it will cost $229, bundled with one game, Kinect Adventures.
* Like a bolt out of the blue, a press release arrived in my inbox this morning telling me that little-known NZ game development studio Grinding Gear Games, is heading to PAX in San Francisco to show off its free-to-play online RPG Path of Exile. Griding Gear Games founder Chris Wilson said Path of Exile would appeal to fans of Diablo, Titan Quest and Dungeon Siege. The game, which will offer six player classes, randomised indoor and outdoor levels and competitive online PvP play, is due out in 2011 with a public beta expected sometime then also. You can check out a trailer of the game here.
* If you missed it earlier this week, Louse Murray from Lionhead Studios was in Auckland (they always go to Auckland) showing off Fable 3. You can check out my incredibly insightful and amazingly written interview with Murray here and here.
* And, finally, the weatherman is forecasting cold southwest winds tomorrow, with showers, so it sounds like perfect weather for playing Mafia 2 or comtemplating downloading Dead Rising 2: Case Zero, the 400 Microsoftpoint prequel to Dead Rising 2. What do you think?
And that is the news for today. Good afternoon.
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Yeah I think Steve Jobs was being a bit audacious there. Generally people don't buy the iPod touch or the iPhone specifically for gaming, it's just a nice extra - whereas obviously anyone buying a DS or PSP is doing it primarily for gaming.
It'll be interesting to see how this Move vs. Kinect thing works out, because it's kind of the next step in the console wars. Both have a lot of potential but ultimately it really is about the quality of the games that go with them. I'm not wild about the current lineup for Kinect and from the reviews, it doesn't seem like Move fares any better.
After getting the ipod touch I don't see any need to get a Psp or Ds now, the calibre of games is getting better and better, and for serious gaming I head to my pc or 360 anywho...
The new 360 controller looks okay (Over on Gameplanet) but I think it is better to have coloured buttons rather than grey ones, especially for games where sequencing is important. @ Sceneman re MTG comment, ya geek Mind you if I actually know what you are talking about then what does that make me...
Given that the DS and PSP consoles has been out for a while, it won't be a surprise that on a weekly/monthly basis the iPhone/touch sells more units. I'll be interested to see how they measure up by total units sold.
"Path of Exile would appeal to fans of Diablo" Wow, I though I *was* looking at a screenshot of Diablo. That UI is dancing the line between 'homage' and 'lifted wholesale'.
That's a bad comment from jobs. Just because it has a gaming function doesn't mean it's a specifically built game player.
On that note, I've clocked Plants v Zombies 5 times now- can anyone out there recommend any other Ipod games that have some depth (so not something like doodle jump or angry birds)....
As an asian I still think that Flotierville on Facebook is a superb game. It is one of my favoured games and I have been known to play it for a long time. Call me crazy but its just a great game. I like being able to turn a seemingly tranquil field into an expansion of my choosing.
Re: Jobs - Typical Apple marketing blah.......I have iTouch and play the odd game on it but don't really consider them games...more distractions when nothing else is at hand. Kind of like why most people play solitaire on work PCs cause its the only game on there....
Less than 2 weeks till Halo Reach!
Gong to be spending the time till then trying to tie up some loose ends on Mass Effect 2 and making more progress in Dragon Age on PC.
I am interested to see if Reach can hold my exclusive attention till Fable or if BFBC2 pops back up for multiplayer gaming...though I suspect Firefight 2.0 is going to monopolise most of my gaming time till Fable.
I downloaded Dead Rising 2: Case Zero yesterday but I'm still to spend some time playing it - tonight's looking promising though as the weather has completely turned to custard in Wellington.
I hate the hold Apple has over me DAMN THEM
I wish "Dead Rising 2: Case O" had a better name. Every time I see it I think it's a soccer result.
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Get DR2: Case 0!
I played it and finished it last night, it's totally awesome if you were a fan of DR1. Definitely more of the same, which is a good thing.
Path of Exile sounds very similar to a Magic: the Gathering card called "Path to Exile". Hmmm...