Sunday Supplement – 29th January

Comic courtesy of Fat Gamers.

Gates and Abramovich

As a Chelsea fan, does this worry me? A little bit, I guess. Sure, it’s a drop in the vast ocean that is Mr Abramovich’s wallet, but the amount just seems immense. A loss the size of a planet, if you will.

Funny that in the same week the richest football club in the world recorded the biggest loss in football history, the richest software company in the world also reported losses. Microsoft’s results for the second quarter ending December 31st showed its Home and Entertainment division, which is in charge of all things Xbox, lost $293 million.

Which is roughly the same as Chelsea. The similarities don’t end there either. Both Chelsea and Microsoft have wealthy benefactors with seemingly bottomless pits of gold. Both are willing to pump money into their respective ventures until success is achieved.

But we’re most concerned with Microsoft of course. Microsoft suffered a drop in profits, which they attribute to the supply problems they have with some 360 components. This shortage has hit their forecasts for the console as well. Originally, Microsoft had hoped to sell three million 360s within 90 days of launch. That has been lowered to two-and-a-half.

Their numbers are still impressive, however. Over 1.5 million 360s were sold in the run-up to Christmas. Half a million of those were made over tills in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. For those who are interested, 100,000 were sold in Japan.

Like Chelsea, Microsoft’s hopes for the future are to win. They reckon between four-and-a-half and five-and-a-half million 360s will be sold by July. That’s one hell of a target and, if achieved, will certainly give Mr Gates a great chance of challenging Sony’s dominance of the game industry. And you can bet your second joystick that Mr Gates will take those losses all the way to the top.

I’ve only got two hands…

They’re not like consoles you stick under the television. With them, all you have to worry about is the size of your floor. With handhelds it’s completely different. The way things are going, you won’t be able to leave the house without a trenchcoat, combats and a rucksack. Even with all that, you’ll still look strange.

Rumours have been circulating this week that Microsoft might be considering a rival to Sony’s PSP and Nintendo’s DS. The original story, from Business Week, claimed Microsoft has already set up a team to look at the pros and cons of the idea. Microsoft’s Peter Moore didn’t confirm it, of course, but supported the idea in principle by saying that if they were to make a handheld, “it can’t just be our version of the iPod.” It would, therefore, have to play games and would be marketed under the Xbox brand name.

It’s way too early to speculate of course, but a mobile version of Halo, played online via Xbox Live, is a pretty exciting prospect, even if it is little more than wishful thinking at this stage. And what about a name? Well, theoretically, as a portable, it shouldn’t be a big thing, so maybe just drop the ‘box’ and call it ‘X’. Stranger things have happened. Either way, Sony and Nintendo will be keeping a close eye on this one.

Deny everything

Wednesday, 25th January 2006 – Nintendo UK General Manager David Yarnton comments on the issue of a Nintendo DS redesign to trade website GamesIndustry.biz: “That’s been rumoured, I don’t know for how long, but we haven’t got any plans at the moment. Nothing I know of… if I turned around and said to my staff that we’re doing something new they’d probably throttle me.”

Thursday, 26th January 2006 – Nintendo officially announce the widely anticipated redesigned version of the Nintendo DS, dubbed DS Lite, and it’s set to arrive in Japan on 2nd March 2006.

I’d throw a sickie, if I were you, Mr Yarnton. You would like to think that Nintendo Japan HQ keep their regional general managers in the loop about things. Either way, he doesn’t come out of this well.

Embarrassing PR blunders aside, the redesign itself is welcome. One of the primary concerns with the DS is the clunky design. Compared to the sleek ultra modern lines of the PSP, it can sometimes feel like a toy from the Eighties. This redesign will, among other things, reduce the size of the DS, instantly making it sleeker. You can see what they’re trying to do.

Good news for all? Perhaps not. Those who have just shelled out over Christmas will, I’m sure, be happy with their new handheld, but would be entitled to feel slightly aggrieved at the release of a new and improved model so soon after the holiday season. For those who have been holding out, now there’s no excuse. Pick up a DS Lite and never be ashamed to whip out your Nintendo handheld on the go again. However, if the disparity between the UK and US DS release schedule is anything to go by, don’t expect the DS Lite in Europe anytime near March.

The Empire is crumbling

Guess what NGEs are. Go on, have a stab in the dark. No idea? New Game Enhancements. It’s the marketing speak for ‘stuff you put in patches’. In the volatile world of the MMO, NGEs can make or break your subscription base. Gamers either love them or hate them. They will definitely have an opinion.

Perhaps the most controversial NGEs in gaming history are those implemented by Sony Online Entertainment into Star Wars Galaxies, but the falling subscription base of the game can’t be completely blamed on NGEs. World of Warcraft’s unbelievable success has also played an important part. This week, Sony Online Entertainment president John Smedley posted an open letter to the game community asking for their thoughts.

“In this thread, could you please list the top issues you see needing to be addressed in the short term,” he said. We will be watching this thread carefully and taking notes, and posting an ordered list of stuff we’ll take care of (and we’ll try to say how quickly we can do it as well)… If you really want to help, here’s your chance.”

This is a brave and dangerous move. Brave in the sense that he is openly and honestly asking for advice from punters. Some will commend him for that. Dangerous in that it could bite him in the ass. MMO players are known for their vocal and passionate comments. Often they want game features that are unrealistic. By providing a platform for hopes to be ‘upped’, hopes that cannot possibly be fulfilled, Smedley risks losing what little custom he has for SWG.

You can’t see Blizzard following suit though. No need when your accounts are being filled on a monthly basis by half the bank accounts on the planet.

This week on Pro-G

We’re still counting the days until the end of January and hoping February will see more releases than the odd Xbox 360 title that didn’t make the European launch. It hasn’t been all doom and gloom this week though. We’ve reviewed the rather excellent Dead or Alive 4 and Ratchet: Gladiator, plus taken early looks at the promising FPS UberSoldier and Entrepreneur sim Tycoon City New York.

Reviews

Dead or Alive 4 (Xbox 360)

Ratchet: Gladiator (PS2)

Battles of Prince of Persia (DS)

Previews

UberSoldier (PC)

Tycoon City New York (PC)

This week’s new releases

It’s getting awfully chilly, but some fighting is sure to keep you warm, assuming you own an Xbox 360 that is. It’s two in two for the Xbox 360, with last week’s release of Ridge Racer 6 being followed up by Tecmo’s Dead or Alive 4. We reviewed the game earlier this week and despite some really punishing (read cheating) AI, still believe it to be one of the better fighters released in recent months. Even if you’re not the biggest fighting game fan, it’s almost worth purchasing to see the rather bizarre end movies for each of the characters. PAL purchasers beware though; this is the first Xbox 360 game – perhaps the first Xbox game in general – that is 60Hz only. If you’ve got a really old TV you might find your shiny new game doesn’t display properly.

Other releases this week aren’t too thrilling, with the poorly received Torino 2006 Winter Olympics hoping to get your fingers into shape, and Zathura hoping to entice kids who are looking forward to the movie being released in the UK in February.

• Dead or Alive 4 (Xbox 360)
• Torino 2006 Winter Olympics (Xbox, PS2 and PC)
• Zathura (Xbox and PS2)

As we move into February things start to look up, with new releases next week including Alien Hominid on the GBA and We Love Katamari on the PlayStation 2.