Sunday Supplement – 4th December

Comic courtesy of Fat Gamers.

Reportage

The place: GAME, Oxford Street. The time: Midnight, Thursday. The weather: freezing, wind and rain. The queue: 200. The staff: frayed. The point? Xbox 360.

A determined young man toured the queue and told grumpy gamers if they hadn’t received an invitation by telephone then they weren’t coming in. There was absolutely no way, he said, anyone who hadn’t been called by the store would be walking away with a 360. Apparently GAME had called Westminster Council to make sure they could prevent uninvited gamers, desperate for a mere slither of a 360, from getting in the shop.

This certainly applied to some, who just sloped off and hung around for a bit; it was a surreal thing to witness. Others remonstrated with staff. One woman with her son wasn’t happy. She was told to try again in the morning, when the shop would be opening extra early, at 7am, to sell any pre-orders they hadn’t shifted on a first-come, first-served basis. What could she do? She had to go home, her son, like a 360-less drenched rat, struggling to keep up.

But there were no riots, which was disappointing. No punch-ups, no mob mentality. No charging gamers, stampeding past the burly bouncers GAME had employed just for the launch. Someone, somewhere, was certainly taking precautions – some coppers were on standby, casually braving the elements, gawping at 200 or so very strange people getting all worked up over a game or something.

How strange it must have looked for the many drunken partygoers who stumbled past the queue. One particularly brave lout shouted: “That’s the most expensive box I’ve ever seen!” The gag didn’t raise even the stingiest of smiles in the crowd – their sense of humour worn down, perhaps, by the weather.

Nevertheless, there was a certain buzz. About three-quarters down the queue, just as it began to wrap around the corner, a particularly chavvy gamer sparked up a spliff. Lucky for him, he had crossed the street by the time a copper inspected the line, his friends quite clearly bricking it as he passed. One gamer began talking of his complete adoration for the pad he was about to get his freezing fingers on. Another mentioned something about Perfect Dark Zero, and one astute gamer wondered if his 360 would be slightly faulty “as all first batch consoles are.”

Inside, GAME was kitted out in that Matrix green we’ve all become accustomed too, but with a generous amount of creative white space, reflecting the design overhaul the Xbox itself has received. Projected onto the nearby Centre Point tower was a green Xbox laser display, and, for those of us who looked to the heavens, a green light was flashing in the sky, although what it depicted was anyone’s guess – the rain clouds pretty much spoiling the fun.

Floor lights in the shop itself added a bit of glitz to the launch, but it all felt a little subdued. Every now and then a Mini-Cooper with 360 paintwork would whiz by, for no apparent reason. When the clock struck midnight, a PA tried to get the adrenaline pumping by asking gamers if they would remember where they were when the 360 launched. They turned the urban music up as well. Lovely.

There were a couple of camera crews, but nothing much. National journalists were in attendance, as well as a few press officers, rushing around looking like a meteor was about to hit them right in the temple. I thought they might have hired some C-list celebrities for the launch though, to jazz it up a bit. I’m actually glad they didn’t (have you seen what the Sun have said about Myleene Klass after she promoted Nintendogs!?), but it was unusual all the same. Overall, bit of a damp squib.

Then again, was there any need for a desperate celebrity endorsement, a set from some generic rapper or live reporting from some hot anchor? On Thursday night’s evidence, the answer is no. The 360 sold out quicker than a Take That reunion gig. Friends of mine told me they had seen queues fifty strong outside Tesco on their way to work on Friday morning. You just can’t get one for love nor money (well, you can, actually, for a lot of money, and on eBay).

The press has, on the whole, been extremely supportive. Most of the nationals ran stories on the console selling out, and being in huge demand, with only a few reporting the stock issues. Conspiracy theorists will tell you the shortages were “manufactured” (see what I did there?) to guarantee “SOLD OUT” headlines. We’re told weekly replenishments are on their way and I’m sure Microsoft is doing all it can.

So Microsoft did all it had to with the launch and it went as well as could be expected (for Microsoft, not gamers who pre-ordered and were told they wouldn’t get one). The work was done drumming up hype before hand. The launch was just like opening a door, and allowing excitement to burst through. So, thumbs-up to them! Now, as the tills start to ring, and pre-orders are honoured, the real work begins – Christmas is upon us.

Art

This week a nice little ‘disagreement’ has been brewing over the validity of gaming as art. Now, personally, I hate this bloody discussion. It’s old, tired and pointless. Frankly, I don’t care if some high-minded gamers think the latest epic from Miyamoto is as worthy as a Dickens novel. All I care about is whether or not I’m having any fun.

But, and you knew there was going to a but, well-known US movie critic Roger Ebert’s comments made me realise something, however inadvertently, about gaming: games can be art, but never in the same way as film and literature. Therefore comparisons are pointless.

Mr Ebert’s argument boiled down to this: “I am prepared to believe that video games can be elegant, subtle, sophisticated, challenging and visually wonderful. But I believe the nature of the medium prevents it from moving beyond craftsmanship to the stature of art.”

Gamers have been outraged at this, citing Ico, Rez and other games I don’t get as evidence that, actually, gaming is art. This is the wrong way to go about convincing the older generation of our worth. Instead, twist Ebert’s argument around and use it to our advantage. It is indeed the nature of the medium that is the problem. Film and literature is a linear experience; the author has complete control over events. Games are not linear (well, some of them!), and the author (developer) has no control. Ebert says this means games cannot be art. I say they can, but in a different way.

If art is an experience, and has a meaning, then gaming is art. Remember exploring Hyrule field in Ocarina of Time, or entering Ironforge with five of your friends in World of Warcraft. These experiences have meaning for us all. But, instead of that experience being laid on a plate for us, dictated to us, we construct the experience for ourselves.

So, games can be art, but in a completely different way. A lack of authorial control does not mean games are worthless. In fact, it means they are, potentially, more worthy than any creative form in the world. Critics of established art are scared stiff by this. Power is shifting away from the creators and into the fingertips of the users. Stop comparing games to film and literature – it is a futile argument. Games are playing in a whole new field.

This week on Pro-G

In case you’ve missed anything, here’s a run-down of all the articles on the site this week.

Reviews

Suffering: Ties That Bind [Xbox, PC, PS2]

James Bond 007: From Russia With Love [PS2, Xbox, GC]

S.L.A.I. [PS2]

WWE Smackdown! Vs. RAW 2006 [PS2]

Half-Life 2 [Xbox]

Star Wars Battlefront II [PC, PS2, Xbox]

Crash Tag Team Racing [PSP]

Need for Speed Most Wanted [PS2, Xbox, GC, PC]

Brothers in Arms Earned in Blood [PC, Xbox]

System Rush [N-Gage]

This week’s new releases

Well, unless you’ve been living under a rock (and failed to read any of what was said above) you’ll know that the Xbox 360 was released in the UK this week. That means that this week’s new releases are dominated by 360 tiles. From what we’ve played Project Gotham Racing 3 seems to be the pick of the bunch, but Call of Duty 2, Condemned (although this was released last week), King Kong, Kameo, Need For Speed Most Wanted and Perfect Dark Zero all appear to be solid launch titles.

Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones could well be the biggest seller of this week’s releases though. Our early impressions are very positive, and given that the only alternative for non-360 owners is Codename: Kids Next Door, Ubisoft should have a hit on their hands. This week the game is for PlayStation 2 owners only, but the Xbox, GameCube and PC versions will hit retail on December 9.

• Bubble Bobble Revolution (DS)
• Call of Duty 2 (Xbox 360)
• Codename: Kids Next Door (Xbox, PS2)
• FIFA 06: Road to the FIFA World Cup (Xbox 360)
• Frantix (PSP)
• Go! Sudoku (PSP)
• GUN (Xbox 360)
• Kameo: Elements of Power (Xbox 360)
• Lord Of The Rings Tactics (PSP)
• Madden NFL 2006 (Xbox 360)
• Need for Speed Most Wanted (Xbox 360)
• NBA Live 2006 (Xbox 360)
• Peter Jackson’s King Kong (Xbox 360, DS)
• Perfect Dark Zero (Xbox 360)
• Perfect Dark Zero – Limited Edition (Xbox 360)
• Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones (PS2)
• Project Gotham Racing 3 (Xbox 360)
• Quake 4 (Xbox 360)
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06 (Xbox 360)
• Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland (Xbox 360)

Next week on Pro-G

Expect loads of Xbox 360 game reviews, including Call of Duty 2, GUN, NBA Live 06, Madden 06, Project Gotham Racing 3 and more. Plus we’ll be reviewing Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones on PlayStation 2 and Sonic Rush on the DS.