One of the most important announcements for Microsoft was the Netflix deal. That's gonna be huge, folks.
Third party exclusives are going the way of the passenger pigeon. Maybe the console that trojans itself into the most non-gamers homes is the 'winner' this generation?
Penny Arcade's Take on Microsoft's E3 Press Conference:
-GAC-
Last edited by GrandAmChandler; 07-16-2008 at 11:32 AM.
#vbender
You do mean Microsoft yes?Picking nits and taking names.
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Netflix thing is pretty rad. New dahsboard is ugly-ass.
As for the "mee too" stuff, yes, thay are doing that, BUT they are also giving their me too software features that should have already been there (or ARE there in PC clone software already...). Singstar ripoff? Sure, but you can import your own music. I wonder about the absolute funcionality of that (will it have a lyrics database it can look up?), but that's a huge feature. Mii ripoffs, yes (PS3 is doing the same sort of thing too, just more second-life-y), but look at what they are going to be used for. Party system sounds decent (no having to set up shit mid-game,get everyone together first, plus one person with netflix = everyone watches? cool), and the primetime stuff is casual gaming, yes, but it's got actual prizes and isn't gonna cost extra (well it better not).
So basically they are ripping stuff off, but they are at least improving on it with major features.
I'm actually looking most forward to the new dashboard. The current one doesn't exactly blow me away or anything, so some change might be good.
I'm looking least forward to the avatars, although I'll reserve judgement until I actually go to create mine. I'd like mine to look less like Mario and more Master Chief personally, and I doubt I'll get to do that.
I think the FFXIII thing is absolutely massive though. For the first time ever a FF game will be available on multiple consoles. I wonder just how many copies of it they'll sell? And I can't wait to see what Achievements are obtainable!
Time will be when the broadest river dries
And the great cities wane and last descend
Into the dust, for all things have an end
I am hoping the avatars will also be Mii++. Ie, MORE OPTIONS. Hopefully per-game content like the ps3 second life stuff showed off. Imagine getting free helmets or whatever for your avatar when you get the achievment, etc. Preorder bonuses and so on. Could be cool.
Yes, yes I did. I thought the story was very standard and the frame rate problems really got on my nerves for some reason. I only played it for about 7-8 hours and then lost interest. In checking the reviews just now, it seems I wasn't alone in thinking it was a pretty average game. Certainly, the sales figures weren't great from what I have seen.Originally Posted by Sudo
You really thought Lost Odyssey was mediocre? Really?
That's why you thought it was very standard. It's a long game, and the characters and storyline take a while to develop. The Thousand Years of Dreams alone make the game excellent.
The sales figures were actually supurb in the states selling 440,000 copies to date in the US and 750,000 world wide (from VGChartz) leading all non Final Fantasy/Kingdom Hearts JRPGs (e.g. Eternal Sonata, Persona 3, Blue Dragon, and the like).
And though I had my share of issues with the game, average it was not. It suffered from radical shifts in tone and some really tired cliches but, overall, it was a much more refreshing JRPG than most and treated the player (mostly) as an adult with themes and play to match.
Though I will freely admit that it took awhile for me to warm up to it.
440K copies in the US for a game that Microsoft basically bought and paid for in hopes of getting Final Fantasy sales numbers is not exactly a ringing endorsement. 300K in Europe and Japan is also pretty dismal. Admittedly it's better than Atlus or NIS numbers for a typical release, but those games are designed to be much more niche. Microsoft expected Lost Odyssey to do 1 million units in the US and invested quite a bit in marketing, including television spots and lots of magazine and web ads. Not that sales numbers matter too much, but they do drive development decisions for companies like Microsoft.
Maybe I should have played longer, but 8 hours into an RPG without getting sucked into the story or gameplay is well beyond my tolerance.
Frame rate issues? That's a laughable assertion at best. Without derailing this topic further, A) it's an RPG and B) I see no frame rate drops, except on the world map. And 700k is a good number for most any game; just because a game doesn't sell millions doesn't mean it's not a success. It didn't do poorly by any means.
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[on topic]
I'm hoping that they give us a release date for Banjo Kazooie soon. Stop 'n Swop...finally.
I will keep this positive and E3 related. I like the the 360 library is getting more diverse. The FF XIII is going to help alot I think. Gears 2 looks amazing. Being $299 for the Fall will help sales.
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I totally agree. I enjoy FPS games, but I need variety. FFXIII gives us that if nothing else.
Time will be when the broadest river dries
And the great cities wane and last descend
Into the dust, for all things have an end
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