I think it's about time somebody did an MMO on a handheld device. The persistent-world grinding of most MMOs makes them the perfect candidates for something you could do while you're away from your big screen, e.g. on the bus.
@Thirdrail1 I've noticed that too, and I hope it's just first-year growing pains. With any luck, the PSVita and 3DS will have long lives as flagship handheld systems and 3rd-party developers will have time to figure out the best types of games for them. But you're right, at this point in time, many of the Vita's best options in the PlayStation Store are PSP downloads.
Quite frankly, I think he's right. Sony would be wise not to put all their eggs into one basket and hope that a AAA mature-rated title can sell three million copies before year's end. Predicting gamer's tates is hard enough without having to worry about release windows and cross-platform competition (e.g. whether people will buy the X360 version of a game instead of the PS3 version).
I was quite surprised that after the amount of research and early promotion that went into the PlayStaion Move control system, it went nowhere. Microsoft still seems to support the Kinect, and obviously the Wii is dependent upon the Wii remote and nunchuck, but I don't recall seeing any Move-compatible games released in a while. And even the ones that came out had the Move as an optional control scheme.
If Sony remembers that casual / low-budget / family-friendly games don't have to be bad games, they'll be fine.
First off, I don't know why the mention of the name Michael Pachter causes so many of you gamers to go into fits. Is it because you disagree with his "analyses" or because he actually gets paid to do it? I'm always interested to hear the opinions of insiders...it doesn't hurt my feelings or invalidate me as a pesron just because his ideas conflict with my own.
As far as Nintendo's "luck" goes, I think it could go either way. The Nintendo DS was novel, but the transition to the 3DS hasn't been as smooth. Sadly, some of the same problems that kept devs off the DS are keeping them away from the 3DS...adding a 3D element didn't do much to make things better, so the games have been slow to trickle out.
Lots of people had fun with their Wiis, but for many folks that time has passed. Nintendo might still be able to capture some loyalists if the price is low enough...getting a new console while still being able to play older games does have value, regardless of what Sony and Microsoft now say about it. But Pachter is right about this much--the XBOX 360 + PlayStation 3 + PC trifecta works so well because devs can assume a certain baseline of processing power and physical controls. Anything too far outside that norm means more time (and money) writing code, which eats into profits. For many games on the Wii, that effort was not deemed worthwhile...why would anybody assume the Wii U will be different?
Making the tablet controller an option is a good idea, but many devs will say stick with the standard 14-button / two-stick controller we all use and make it easier for us to port our games.
I'm sure Microsoft would rather have recurring subscription fees than one-off console purchases, and I'm sure that $99 with a two-year commitment deal they're running will only help they're bottom line.
I have been an XBOX Live subscriber for years now, but lately I'm finding more value in my PlayStation Plus subscription. Those free games they give away from month to month are sweet. Microsoft believes they're doing a good deed if they drop the cost of a game from 1200 to 800 points ($15 to $10 US).
I'm not at all angry (no pun intended) about the success of these games. I think they will make great party games...easy to learn and play in bursts, and good comic fun for a group or family. Sometimes we core gamers forget that there is a market for that type of fun.However, I am disappointed in (a) the cost of these games and (b) that they aren't planning a PS Vita version. I think the Vita's big screen, processing power, and touch inputs make it the perfect system for Angry Birds. It could give the best of the mobile version's tactile inputs and the improved animations and cutscenes of the console versions.
@steelmouth Sounds like you have to choose which you're willing to give up: Halo 4 or sex. Personally, I'd say so-long Master Chief, hello Mighty Eagle! LOL.
@squall_83 Apparently there was a lot less standardization back then, so prices varied wildly based on what you bought and where you bought it. So maybe we both remember correctly based on our experiences.
@squall_83 I'm not going to say that you're wrong because I don't know what systems you're referring to, but thinking back to the original PlayStation, it's games cost nowhere near that much. I got most new games at retail for $40.
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