Resident Evil Reviews

I've started to think that "good games" really are not that very important for a consoles success.

An imaginary console (let's call it ycpy) that that would have average or poor overhyped games like Matrix Revolutions, EA Harry Potter games, Tom Clancy fps games, FIFA, some generic racers, some average cliched western rpg's pretending to be japanese...
I'm sure such a console could be a "good seller" as it would target the average mainstream gamer (who actually bought and enjoyed Matrix revolutions) to whom really almost all games are "good", because he doesn't know what really is considered "good" by those to whom gaming is more a passiona nd a way of life than just simpply one form of (fashionable, but still slightly geeky) entertainmet.

To sum it up, I believe the mainstream gamer, that who I think forms the biggest chunk of console markets, is quite happy to play crappy games.
 
rabidrabbit said:
I've started to think that "good games" really are not that very important for a consoles success.

An imaginary console (let's call it ycpy) that that would have average or poor overhyped games like Matrix Revolutions, EA Harry Potter games, Tom Clancy fps games, FIFA, some generic racers, some average cliched western rpg's pretending to be japanese...
I'm sure such a console could be a "good seller" as it would target the average mainstream gamer (who actually bought and enjoyed Matrix revolutions) to whom really almost all games are "good", because he doesn't know what really is considered "good" by those to whom gaming is more a passiona nd a way of life than just simpply one form of (fashionable, but still slightly geeky) entertainmet.

You just described the Xbox.
 
london-boy said:
rabidrabbit said:
I've started to think that "good games" really are not that very important for a consoles success.

An imaginary console (let's call it ycpy) that that would have average or poor overhyped games like Matrix Revolutions, EA Harry Potter games, Tom Clancy fps games, FIFA, some generic racers, some average cliched western rpg's pretending to be japanese...
I'm sure such a console could be a "good seller" as it would target the average mainstream gamer (who actually bought and enjoyed Matrix revolutions) to whom really almost all games are "good", because he doesn't know what really is considered "good" by those to whom gaming is more a passiona nd a way of life than just simpply one form of (fashionable, but still slightly geeky) entertainmet.

You just described the Xbox.

Yeah, Ycpy ;)
 
rabidrabbit said:
I've started to think that "good games" really are not that very important for a consoles success.
That's the problem right there. "Good games" mean different things to different people. To us, it usually means something much different than mainstream consumers. Heck, to us it usually means wildly different things than other subsets of "us"! :p

"Popular," however, has the most affect on the marketplace, and it's pretty easy to identify those games that will be "good" (or at least "good enough") and popular. I'm sure plenty of RE and survival-horror fans in general have been waiting on a game to be notably more different and attention-getting (and RE4 is both), and that there are Zelda fans who've been waiting for a return to more adult-themed Link, as there were Halo/FPS fans waiting for the game to be really worth playing on Xbox Live--all reasons for them to perhaps pick up the console now, after having put it off for a while for other reasons.

Of course the market is also filled with plenty of mediocre-to-bad that's also very popular (and of course people will apply their own definitions to what contitues that, too), but we tend to really get our hopes up around games that we think are good, and how much affect that will have on the marketplace... because then we get a little bit of redemption. ^_^ And even if chaff like Enter the Matrix sells a lot, you'll notice people don't really examine hardware sales trends because we don't WANT to know. I prefer to think of them as "games attention-getting enough to sell a lot" rather than "system-sellers" as well. Quite possibly they are, too, because they're the kinds of games you notice and want because of what you have, rather than turn your head sideways because they're interesting-enough and exclusive-enough to make you want something ELSE, too.
 
One day someone might not be interested in a system and the next they change their mind, a great game is usually the catalyst for that. Most of the people who were already going to buy XBox had probably already done so before Halo 2 got close to release. Then the hype kicked in for the game and XBox sales spiked and have stayed high for 3 months now.

I see what you're saying, but I think Gamecube is in a different situation than Xbox.

I also disagree with your statement that, “most of the people who were already going to buy XBox had probably already done so before Halo 2 got close to release,†and here’s why.

Xbox, unlike Gamecube, offers a game library with broad appeal.

With Xbox, Microsoft is competing for the exact same kind of gamer that Sony owns with PS2. It’s a huge market consisting of millions of hardcore and mainstream gamers, and there’s a lot of potential there.

So a game like Halo 2 - with mucho appeal to that demographic - can help Xbox make inroads with that audience. It’s not easy, because Sony’s already gotten into these gamers’ minds and pocketbooks. But after seeing Halo 2, many PS2 owners may have said, “You know, maybe it’s time I picked up a second system.†Maybe even a few non-console-owning consumers jumped on board at that point. Again, because Xbox, like PS2, has a game library with broad appeal.

Gamecube's appeal is much narrower. The console’s library is heavy on the kid’s stuff, and everyone knows it. If you’re a die-hard Nintendo fan, you don’t care. But the fact remains – the console doesn’t hold much appeal unless you’re a Nintendo fan or a child.

Will RE4 make a difference? Not really. Nintendo fans already bought their GCs. So did RE fans, and most everybody else who was sitting on the fence when the console dropped to $99. The rest can just buy the game later on PS2, and why not? That console’s huge variety of games holds a much greater appeal.

Bottom line, I think Xbox still has growth potential because its game library is deep and varied, and Microsoft may yet attract PS2 owners, GC owners, and people who have yet to buy a console.

Gamecube, on the other hand, offers a much more limited selection of games and has already been selling at a sub-$100 price point for more than a year. I just can’t see a lot more growth potential in that.
 
Actually, I see/hear more about Xbox's FPS games than anything else... so much for broad ;)
 
Kolgar

You may think XBox has a broad game library and GC doesn't, but you're opinion doesn't neccesarilly pass on to the population as a whole. Quite frankly I don't think XBox has a particularly broad game library. Its mostly FPS, Racing and Fighting games, 99% of it is stuff I can get on the PC. But that's just my opinion. We don't know how everyone thinks. Which is why I just can't understand how you can be so sure about this based on such a loose theory. Personally I'll just play it safe and say that these games have the potential to spur GC's sales similar to how Halo 2 has increased XBox sale.

BTW you really think GC's situation is so different to XBox's? A year ago GC had a price drop before Christmas and outsold XBox by quite some way for a while. The same thing is happening to XBox now, just with help from Halo 2 as well. Again your opinion of XBox having a broader games library is exactly that, just an opinion. Frankly XBox hasn't suddenly gained a broad games library in the last few months (since it started to sell well) AFAICS. What it has gained is a cheaper price and Halo 2.

Finally AFAICS RE4 can have a far broader apeal then past RE games on GC. Its not limited to the core RE fan base. Because not only is it a very different game when compared to past games in the series, but the reviews its getting are also in another league compared to past games.
 
Im growing a little tired of that , its kids system plaa plaa.. explanation. When im playing metroid ,Zelda,Mario,Mkdd,wievtiful joe,fzero.... i see only godlike gameplay mechanics, wtf is wrong with wide wariety of colours and not so serious plot. When the thing in games is about gameplay, not some sam fisher whos trying to sound like he has something stuck in hes throath. and at the same time , the fish controls like bad joke when longtime gameplay mastering is conserned (not for kiddies).

Im trying to see what is 98ish in a re4, god what a gameplay, i can shoot or walk (reviewer explains this as a very inventive, to me its the only way to allow this mindless ai to kill you even once ,and prevent you from doing anything that you could not do from the minute one). Yeah we have metal gear now i can allmost hit the wall with this msg5000 thing, not talking about halo2 with a pad and a 90% automatic accuracy control.(yes is still love these games) But at the same time these kiddie games allow me to do really advanced gameplay manouvers , like in mario kart the majority doesent even know how to play the game . and at the same time they are complaining about shit about color balette and models based on 20 year old brands.

Sorry for the emotional burst but i needed to let i out :D
 
I agree with Kolgar, with some exceptions.

The Xbox has many demographics/genres covered with good-great games, but it lacks Japanese RPGs and quality kids games.

The Cube has a poor sports lineup, no serious driving or fighting games, and generally a really thin release schedule. Most of the Japanese RPG titles for Cube are B-list titles like Baten Kaitos or Tales of Symphonia. Good games, but not attention getters.

If Nintendo didn't have an established fanbase of Mario/Zelda/Pokemon/Metroid addicts Cube would probably have sold about as well as Dreamcast. Beyond the hardcore Nintendo fan, the Cube just isn't on many people's radar.

Every Nintendo system has sold less than the one before it because they have refused to evolve with the marketplace.

What does the marketplace at large want? GTA, Halo, GT3, Sports games, Action games, pretty much in that order. Kids games and Japanese RPGs are an important secondary decision maker for many gamers as well.

Summary: Xbox has some problems with a narrower lineup than PS2, but Cube's problems are in another league and RE4 isn't going to help much IMO.
 
Perhaps I misstated my thoughts. Xbox may not have what everyone would consider a broad game library. But its library does appeal to a broader audience of gamers.

If Xbox is heavy in FPSs, fighters, and racers, perhaps that's an asset to the system, as these are some of the most popular genres today.

Which would explain why, although I own all of the systems, my Xbox library is roughly five times the size of my Gamecube library.

Though lacking in some areas, the Xbox library in general simply has more games that appeal to gamers like me.
 
Johhny without Halo XBox would have failed like Dreamcast. So its a little rich for you to say that GC would have failed if it didn't have.. oh, all of Nintendo's games :)

There are a broad range of games on GC and it does basically have all genre's covered to some degree. From survival horror, to action to platformers and yes even some solid racing games (even GTA style games). Of course from an exclusive standpoint it has a lot more holes, but IMO XBox has even more in this case. XBox has the momentum ATM of course, but if you think that can't change then you're being naive.
 
Why has this thread turned into a sales thread. Mods should just closed the thread, because its way off topic.

I take it no one here has the game, and some have no interest in the game.
 
Well, at least the talk of RE4's impact on GC sales is somewhere in the neighborhood of the original topic.

In any case, I will most certainly buy RE4 for my GC. I just wish there were more games like it, both technically and content-wise, on the system.
 
Thanks for the tip.

I do own MP, RE, and RE0. Haven't played Eternal Darkness, though. And frankly, I ought to finish MP before tackling the sequel. :)
 
I found Eternal Darkness to overall be a lot more interesting than the Resident Evils. RE4 seems like it will be a step in the right direction, though. ^_^ But ED was its own great and unique step into the field.
 
Kolgar said:
Thanks for the tip.

I do own MP, RE, and RE0. Haven't played Eternal Darkness, though. And frankly, I ought to finish MP before tackling the sequel. :)

Eternal Darkness is still the only GC-game I've finished. And it's the only one I own :) (well, actually I have Mario Sunshine too). ED is absolutely great game and I don't have any regrets that I haven't found any other GC-games that interest me. Cube and ED together cost around 300€, but it was worth it. (well, almost)
 
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