2005: A Year in Review for Gaming

Posted this on the Dreamcsting forums, but eh...

With 2005 close at hand, I figured that this would be a good time to recap what has happened this year and what we expect to happen next year.

Xbox: A very strong year for the Xbox. First Ninja Gaiden, Then Burnout 3, then Halo 2, KOTOR II, Mechasult 2: Lone Wolf, and many other titles. Xbox live was very strong this year, with all the above besides KOTOR II being online. Halo 2 helped the sales of the Xbox and increase Live support. Then, add the fact that EA now supports Xbox Live, and you have a solid outcome for the Xbox. Let's just hope they keep it up.

Playstation 2: The PS2 has had a rocky start. With the delay of FFXII until 2005, and the failed PSX it wasn't looking too good. Add the fact that very few games supported the HDD, and you have a problem. However, we did get quite a few games: Silent Hill 4, Burnout 3, MGS3, GTA:SA, Shin Megami Tensei: Nocture, and various other RPG's and sports games. However, the slim PS2 did help Sony in the shortrun, so that may have been good for them. Add the fact that MGS3 and GTA:SA helped boost sales, and you have a decent year for the big sexy chocolate box.

Gamecube: Unfortunatly, this has been a sad year for the 'Cube. With a lack of 3rd party support and online play, most of the GCN's quality titles were by them. A few quality titles are: Zelda: FSA, Various mario sport games, Paper Mario: TTYD, Tales of Synphonia (Spelled that wrong, I know), Metroid Prime 2: Echos, and so on. Unfortunatly, Nintendo's big holiday game (Resident Evil 4) was delayed until the first weeks of January, so that screwed them over quite a bit.

The Handheld Wars: However, the same cannot be said to Nintendo with the GBA. The GBA came out strong with Pokemon FR/LG, Metroid: Zero Mission, Astro Boy: Omega Factor, and various other games. The N-Gage line-up was better, but it still sucked.

The DS came out, but had a very poor line-up for the North American audiences. Add the fact that Rayman DS (one of the main reasons I bought a DS early) was delayed until March, and you have a problem. The PSP came out in Japan, but was treated pretty poorly. While MGA and Dynasty Warriors were part of their launch, most of the games sold pretty bad due to poor distribution. Hopefully, this will be fixed with the NA launch.

Predictions for 2005:

-Spring: Very big time for most of the games. PSP is launching in North America, FFXII is scheduled to come out in Japan, Jade Dragon, RE4, and Conker: Live and Reloaded are coming out, plus the other DS titles that were pushed back.

-Summer: A absolute showdown. This years E3 is marked as the year where all 3 major companies are going to show off their new consoles, which may determine in the longrun how the next 5 years will be. Zelda GCN is marked to come out around the same time, but knowing Nintendo: They will push it back. Not much else around this time.

-Fall and Winter: Unsure at this point. I dare say it all depends on what E3 2005 will present to us. However, with all the major gaming companies working on their next gen games, it may be a sad christmas for the majority of gamers. Besides the PS2 RE4 port that will have slowdown problems and look like ass on the PS2...

 

Xbox: I also agree that it was a very strong year for the Xbox. Xbox Live's sub base grew to 1 million, and a lot of 3rd party support helped the 'Box out a lot. Halo 2's and Fable's releases were huge for the big MS, and raked in over 4 million in sales combined. MS has a good stable of 3rd parties that make games for them, and are catching up with Sony, striking a good note with "casual" (with Halo 2, Crimson Skies, XBL Arcade, etc) and "hardcore/niche" (Ninja Gaiden, Halo 2 (again), Kingdom Under Fire) gamers. Many PS2 gamers went out and bought an Xbox as well this year.

Playstation 2: A lot of fuck-ups for Sony, very surprising--very Sega-esque/Nintendo esque blunders. The HDD, PSX, and crappy online "service" all show this, along with the stripping of online play for GT4. However, their games appealed to lotsa people, and with a good balance between niche/casual/hardcore titles. A truly amazing boon of strategy RPGs came about this year--like 3-4 titles, all awesome (didn't play any, but that's what "teh hardcore" says Razz ). Likewise, GTA: SA and MGS3 sold a lot and helped them out this season. And the PStwo/PS2 slim (as it has been dubbed) was a great move--very slick, very spontaneous, and reignited interest around the PS2.

Gamecube: Many good titles were released, but it seems the Big N's fucking around again, thinking they can go on without third parties, online support, RPGs, fighters...well they're damn wrong. Almost all the 'Cube games of note released this year were from Nintendo, and while Paper Mario 2, Pikmin 2, Mario Party...6 (blech), Metroid Prime 2 etc. were good, none of them sold amazingly well...and they're all sequels. They did ok, respectable, but certainly not "teh system mover!!11" like Halo 2, GTA:SA, etc. And Nintendo's kiddie image is really starting to screw them over--most developers of mature games don't release said games on the 'Cube.

DS: A lot of hype for this little feller, and amazing sales to match. The games weren't AMAZING, but they were quite good--Feel the Magic is good handheld stuff, and very original. Super Mario 64 DS is absolutely freaking possible to control, and just a wreck in general. Seriously, I only play the fun extra mini games--the actual adventure just sucks ass and gives me a headache after 10 minutes. I exagerate not--the controls are that bad. As for the other titles, didn't play 'em but they all seemed like quickie ports/releases for the launch--a bit bland.

PSP:An even less spiffy launch line-up than the DS, with more hardware problems to boot. Coupled with ridiculous eBay prices and Sony instigated "shortages" the PSP was another bullshit launch, like the PS2. Looks like a good handheld, at a surprisingly low price, but the launch was pretty bad...and there's that battery life issue. Luckily for the PSP, the DS's games weren't that hot, or it could find itself being buried like it's ancestors the Game Gear, Turbo Grafx Express, Lynx, etc.

Other Handhelds: The SP had another solid year, with the crappy licensed kiddie shlock interspersed with quality SNES ports/Nintendo original games. The N-Gage probably gasped it's last dying breath, being gone from most retail shelves, and all but ignored by consumers, despite a redesign.

That's the way I see it, anyway. For the future, the Xbox Next is "supposedly" going to be released in 2005...I'll hafta see. The PSP NA launch will probably be similar to the JP one...so I'll be buying 5 of 'em to unload on the unwitting eBay bastards.

I have way too much fucking time on my hands. *Rolling Eyes* :smt043

I already posted this on the DCH forums, but figured it was worth bringing over here too.

 

im really worried about ninty for '05 :smt009

 

3rd party sucks, all you need is ninty stuff, ubisoft "we have" and japanese companiys, no need for more american companys, ubiseft is the only one needed. and is not evne american

 

I hope this is a joke.

 

no is not, i really dont need 3rd part on my gamecube, i have a modded xbox for that, dont feel like paying 50 bucks for a crappy game. capcom,namco,snk,square,nintendo probably only things i buy aaaa and sega

 

The point is NINTENDO needs 3rd party support so that other people buy their console.

 

Exactly... Sadly, the casual gamers are the ones who determine the market, and most of them seem to love games from 3rd party developers like EA.

 

Yet you still download them?

 

download games like mmmm gta 3.... mmm what else... mmm aaaa that manhunt game, and more games that are ok, but not worth owning.

 

Just to inform you guys.

Gran Turismo 4 can be played online through tunneling (Xlink). And my japanese copy is expected to arrive here by the end of the month. :smt023

 

Tunneling?

I call it the PS2 two, based on what's on the box - the normal PlayStation2 logo, then a little "two" in the corner. But I like calling things stupid names.

 

That sounds like a brilliant plan for running Nintendo into the ground and numbering their days on the console market!

Oh wait.... it's too late already.

You're really Satoru Iwata in disguise, aren't you?

 

Yes, using a program called Xlink, on the PC, you can play the LAN mode through the internet. At least that is what i read in some sites.

It's like HALO on the Xbox, when there wasn't Xbox live yet.

 

But their worth pirating? I'm sorry, but pirating any game is just wrong. It's outright stealing.

 

No offence, Ein (BTW, I'm listening to a 'Bebop OST, coincidentally), but...

doesn't make your piracy comment very congruent, or strenghten your case against it.

Not meaning to flame or anything, dude, but I found it ironic.

 

What are you talking about? It's not illegal to purchase 5 PSPs at retail price. I can buy 100 PSPs at retail price if I want. There's nothing ironic about it in the least. It's not piracy, and it's not stealing from anyone. I don't see your point.

 

Actually, this comment right here is what does not make any sense at all. There's a big difference in selling 5 illegal copies of a game and selling 5 legitimate copies. So, einbebop will legally obtain the PSPs then sell them on eBay. There's nothing wrong with that. Selling legitimate goods at marked up prices is not piracy, it's called supply and demand.

Irony - 1. expression in which what is meant is the opposite of what is said.
2. event that is the opposite of what is expected.

 

Yup. I misread

Thought he was going to resell them at like 3x the price to unwitting buyers.

Sorry, my bad.

 

I myself dislike the practice, and it may become a scam depending on the price difference, though... but I also believe in "buyer beware", so alright.

Nothing wrong with making profit as long as it's not exaggerated.