Ben-DutkaAnother week, another set of opinions you probably couldn't care less about. Or, maybe you do, what do I know? 🙂
Snowmobile games. …why?
Okay, so I reviewed yet another snowmobile game ( Ski-doo Snow X Racing ), and I just don't get it. It's the second snowmobile game in the past couple of months, and I just don't get it . First of all, who's releasing a snowmobile game at the end of May? Secondly, is there any particular reason they have to be so bad? This last one was certainly better than that absolutely atrocious SnoCross 2 , but it was still far short of good. Is this sport a lot bigger than I think it is, or something? Who the heck is buying these games? You'd have better luck with a skiing game, and those are even impossible to sell! It just boggles the mind.
Some rumors make sense, others don't
A lot of people love rumors, and it's just because we have another excuse to blather on about games. But not enough people use logic or reason when approaching rumors, and it bugs the hell out of me. For example, there were a couple rumors this past week; one that makes sense and one that makes little to no sense. The first regards Konami's Silent Hill 5 and their probable plan to keep the game exclusive to the PS3. They haven't ruled out other platforms due to the slow sales of the PS3, so of course, that gets people talking. But there are two key things here: 1. Konami has already said they're only developing the game for the PS3, and will only change that plan if their hand is forced, and 2. The two previous entries in the series were exclusive to a Sony platform.
Okay, so that makes sense. But then there's the rumor – a rumor that never seems to die, by the way – that says that Capcom will make Resident Evil 5 a PS3 exclusive . …what? Who believes that? The important points here are obvious: 1. The last RE was initially exclusive to the GC and only later got ported to the PS2, and 2. Capcom has already produced two very successful exclusive titles for the Xbox 360 ( Dead Rising and Lost Planet ), so they're clearly on board with that platform. Lastly, why in God's name would they voluntarily abandon a platform that automatically offers more sales? It just makes no sense. Silent Hill 5 , yes, Resident Evil 5 , nope. It will probably be on the PS3, of course, but it won't be exclusive.
Selling M-rated games a felony?
To be perfectly honest, it's probably not a bad idea . Obviously, it's become a proven fact that parents can't police their own. And besides, we've got all the laws against selling R-rated movies to minors, so this fits right in line with that policy. We've got warning stickers on our music, you can't sell porn to minors, etc, etc, etc, so why not make this happen? It won't hurt sales, it's not a violation of anyone's rights, and it doesn't stop developers from being creative, so I really don't see the problem. Everyone can whine and cry all they want, but in the end, all I see, everywhere I look, is incompetent parents. I don't necessarily believe the government should have a hand in everything we do, either, but there comes a point when we have to realize we're no longer capable of handling certain things.
And clearly , along with driving skill, parenting skill has taken a dive in this country. So what the hell, make it a felony. Might as well.
Killzone PS3 in September? Oh, that's genius
This can't possibly be right, can it? Guerilla Games has apparently come out and said the next Killzone would be coming out in September 2007 . And of course, that would place it in direct competition with Halo 3 , and that makes absolutely no sense. Regardless of how amazing Killzone 2 might be, you're going up against another title in the same genre that already has 5 million pre-orders. Yeah, 5 million . From a sales standpoint, how is that logical? Hell, there's a rumor going around saying that Rockstar is considering delaying Grand Theft Auto IV so as to get further away from Halo 3 . GTA IV! A game guaranteed to sell like mad! And Guerilla is willing to go toe-to-toe with Halo 3 ? Are they nuts ?
I want Killzone 2 to be as good as humanly possible, of course. I love FPSs. But no matter how good it is, I expect there to be a problem with sales if this happens. And if the game turns out great, but doesn't sell enough to warrant a sequel due to this horrendous timing, that will really annoy me. C'mon Guerilla, do you really want to do this? Think about it.