News Hound: This Week In Gaming Issue 6 Page 1

News Hound: This Week In Gaming Issue 6

News Hound
One man and his dog, went to mow a meadow. The dog got bored, ran back home and became a journo...

What's Hot...
Yes my friends its that time of the week when we have to take a look at what's great in the ever changing world of videogaming. So, prepare yourselves as I delve deep into the news and forage out the best bits...

E3 | So many games! Well E3 has come and gone, and one thing it bought with it was a plethora of gaming goodness. Gaming websites the world over have been inundated with masses of new games and screens, which is without a doubt a very good thing for the industry. For just a few days gaming was big news. It was able to get a lot of publicity and companies could propel themselves into the spotlight if they were able to impress. Whether or not the games are good, seeing so many and just the whole hype around E3 makes it a great week for the industry.

E3 | Konami on board! It may of taken a while but it has finally happened, from what we can only presume to be a nice amount of the green stuff from Nintendo; no not broccoli, money. Anyway, with yet another world-class developer on board things look hopeful. This game, in the views of many, was the biggest title for Nintendo at E3 and is certainly one that shows a huge amount of promise. Not too many games outside of Nintendo get me excited [Halo being the other one] but this has the potential to be a major puller for the GameCube.

E3 | Shift of power It would seem, judging by the Nintendo prospectus for the next year, that the Japanese giants intend to keep on pushing and have a very aggressive battle plan for the next few years. At the pre show conference that always chucks up one or two interesting morsels Nintendo stated that they were in it for the duration and were using the GameCube as a springboard for bigger things. Of course this being a press conference hosted by Nintendo it was inevitable that we didn't really find out how, but the fact that Nintendo are still feeling positive about the future is a very good sign indeed.

What's Not...
Of course not all news is good news, and an old saying is very much the case with this bunch of stinkers; 'No news, is good news...'

E3 | Mario 128 Well the lack of it anyway. The Nintendo stand seemed a bit empty without a Mario or a Zelda [in full 3D anyway] and the hype these two titles create could not be matched even by the presence of numerous top tier titles from Nintendo. Of course you cite the fact that Nintendo still managed to run the show with a weakened line up as a good thing, but why was there no Mario? Perhaps it shows something is changing inside Nintendo, is the focus of the company moving on to more fast paced and easy access titles? Lets face it, gamers today are not playing huge games as often, its not that we are lazier its just that pick up and play gaming is a much more social thing, and we are now much more social people. No more are the days of acne-perplexed teenagers sitting in a darkened room, with nothing but a load of polygons for company, we are moving into to the real world, and thus the fast paced life that can be found outside of graphics and joypads i
s moving into gaming. I may have seemed to of moved away from the point, but all of what I say has some relevance, u can trust me on that one.

E3 | PSP This was perhaps the announcement of the show and one that clearly knocked the stuffing out of Nintendo. Upon the announcement the first reaction for journalists at E3 was to find someone high up the ranks at Nintendo and interview them. The response was vintage Nintendo; things like we don't feel a threat and we will be concentrating on our own situation were mentioned more than once, and then came the bad news. Nintendo shares fell, SONY shares did the opposite and everything seemed to have gone a bit tits up for the company we all know and love. Still, Nintendo will not be wanting to loose the domination that the GBA has on the industry and we can only hope that the PSP will be as much of a flop as so many other feeble handheld attempts by non-Nintendo companies.

E3 | Something new? Its all very well when you have a good idea or franchise, just look at EA, they rarely make a good game yet they are the most successful software company in the world. They have a number of good names under their collective belt, FIFA and James Bond being the prime examples. Now I'm not about to compare Nintendo to EA, but I am going to say something that most of you will either disagree with, or hunt me down for saying. Looking at the games from Nintendo there was very little new material. Sure, thinking up new ideas within a proven idea [like in Mario] is all very well, and we get to play some great games from it, but perhaps taking a totally new concept once in a while would be a good thing. We now have Pikmin and the average looking GEIST but was there really any need for the predictable, and probably mediocre, Mario Party 5? Sure it will have sixty new mini games and lovely graphics, but who gives a shit if it doesn't really take the series anywhere? Surely Nintendo would be much more wise to look at new ideas for the next time E3 comes along.

In the Kennel: The Weekly Analysis
Well, I'm hardly likely to analyse anything but E3, so, anything I haven't taken a good look at above will be found here. In taking in the views of a number of my very well informed fellow gamers and journalists it has become rather obvious that this years E3 has failed to live up to the massive standards set by the events of the last few years. Perhaps it was the fact that companies simply have less of note to show, but the general power and hype of the event, usually making the gaming inclined internet go slightly mad, seemed to die down when people realised that the big announcement we were all hoping for quite simple was never going to happen, and to be frank it was a let down. Well, that's all I have to say for now, E3 is over and the industry can go back and hide in its cupboard one again until it emerges next year.

Happy gaming one and all and I'll see you next week.
News Hound

or sign in with...

News Hound: This Week In Gaming Issue 6

Comment on this article

Comments

Subscribe to this topic