Rockstar unveils exclusive Xbox 360 title... Table Tennis?
by James Ransom-Wiley 
{ Mar 3rd 2006 at 2:55PM }
IGN promised to deliver the news, and here it is. In a surprising move, Rockstar has decided to put down the guns and pick up the paddles. Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis, anyone?
Under development by Rockstar San Diego, this exclusive Xbox 360 title is certainly a departure from the studio norm. But Rockstar's Sam Houser contends, "we absolutely love table tennis and wanted to try and make something that could show the audience what could be possible... in the next generation of videogames." Is he for real?
Apparently, Rockstar believes it can create a next-gen Pong with the "intensity of a fighting game and the sense of speed and control that would make playing it a more intense and more visceral experience than has previously been possible with sports games." Rockstar suggests that table tennis is the perfect medium to showcase this new model of gameplay, which would feature blazing speed coupled with unprecedented control. Wow, this is really... well, shocking. Leave it to Rockstar to flip the game up...
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
James @ Mar 3rd 2006 3:05PM
Interesting concept but not worth the hype IGN put all over it.
ronnie @ Mar 3rd 2006 3:07PM
Yuck, that should be a minigame in the next-gen GTA.
Zanch @ Mar 3rd 2006 3:07PM
Well, I think "WTF" about sums up this game. I mean, it looks...amusing, perhaps, but why did IGN make such a big deal out of it? Just because it's Rockstar?
aMart007 @ Mar 3rd 2006 3:08PM
I have to admit.. despite this being a Table Tennis game, if Rockstar can infact achieve the thrill and excitement of the really playing table tennis, then this game may actually be quite good. Also you have to admit, they caught everyone off guard with this announcement, and any game with the Rockstar name is sure to be an ambitious but worhtwhile project.
Me @ Mar 3rd 2006 3:09PM
This was actually more fun reading peoples comments and guesses on what the game would be, it had me rolling for the most part of my afternoon. Some people almost got it right pong 360, but lame anyways. Who the hell cares about table tennis?
will @ Mar 3rd 2006 3:10PM
hahahaha, i hope this isn't one of the games that microsoft was praising as being an incredible second wave of games coming to the 360. what a joke
aMart007 @ Mar 3rd 2006 3:13PM
Did I read correctly ? $30 price tag ?
It seems that we should be paying $10 for this on xbla... i mean its liek paying that much for say.... Bankshot Billiards 2 :O
Rawker @ Mar 3rd 2006 3:13PM
hey..
At least the wont get sued over this one,I hope.
Mr. Samuel @ Mar 3rd 2006 3:15PM
I think I just remembered why I didn't renew my Insider account.
Gonzo @ Mar 3rd 2006 3:17PM
Oh yea laugh now.
This is Rockstar games. Yopu just wait to see what that chick in the pic can do with those paddles.
nudge,nudge
wink wink
say-no-more
I can't wait for all the other crazy mods on this one.
Nushio @ Mar 3rd 2006 3:19PM
I predict a Table Tennis: 'Hot Tennis' mod for this game.
Alkaiser @ Mar 3rd 2006 3:20PM
Wow. This could be really fun if it gets the control down right...but I don't think it will.
I've been waiting for someone to try a table tennis game, but I figured it'd be part of an Olympics type game, and not really a standalone.
ill trooper @ Mar 3rd 2006 3:20PM
I could see this being better suited for the revolution and its controller. I liked Top Spin, so I'm not against the idea of this being fun, but the problem is that with so much hand-eye/3d-space-relation in ping pong and tennis, developers can never really let you control the racket/paddle, only when you swing and where you hit it.
I'm skeptical, but no doubt, I'll check it out when they demo it on LIVE Marketplace...
J.D. @ Mar 3rd 2006 3:20PM
Some of us are curious as to why IGN hyped this up soo much?
The first thing that came to my mind was the article I read here a few months back about how Game companies were paying or some crap, to have their stuff hyped up and over advertised.
Could this be an example of this?
It's kinda like the whole 'payola' thing with Radio, execept with games... 'Gameola' ? LoL
Jeff @ Mar 3rd 2006 3:25PM
This has got to be a joke.
m3mnoch @ Mar 3rd 2006 3:31PM
maybe some takeoff on the fight night swinging mechanism? whorls, dips and swoops controlling the paddle?
totally not against it. i think having a sports game that's super fast action (i actually hate the slowness that is fight night. irritates me.) like a fighting game -- well -- that'd be cool.
all the hype for table tennis? maybe it should have been pitched like "we have a weird 360 exclusive."
m3mnoch.
Chad @ Mar 3rd 2006 3:33PM
After all, what could be more "next-gen" than 3D pong?
Is it too early for an April Fool's joke?
White Rose Duelist @ Mar 3rd 2006 3:33PM
Why did it take 14 comments to reach the bleedingly obvious conclusion?
retro @ Mar 3rd 2006 3:33PM
The one thing I can't believe is why they're making it a 360 exclusive and not a REVOLUTION exclusive. WHY THE HELL DO THEY THINK IT WOULD BE BETTER ON THE 360?
Alkaiser @ Mar 3rd 2006 3:36PM
#13: If any company were able to be swayed by "gameola" IGN would be at the top of the list.
#12: You can't do this on the Revolution any better than you can on the PS2, XBox, DC, GC, or whatever.
The "Potential of the Revolution Controller" zealots see a game like this and immediately start saying, "this would be perfect for the Revolution". Only it's not...not by a longshot.
Think about it for a second. By mapping the swing to the controller, you're already using the X and Y axes for the swinging of the paddle. How are you going to move your player? Are you going to try and hit the D-Pad while you're swinging?
You can't use the analog dongle either, unless you're going to somehow train your body to have one hand both focusing on movement while keeping 6 inches behind the other hand so it doesn't unplug the dongle from the back side of the Revolution controller.
Please stop making the controller into something it can't be, at least not from all the photos, videos and such we've seen of it thus far.
Sam @ Mar 3rd 2006 3:38PM
isn't his name Sam Houser?
sgt manji @ Mar 3rd 2006 3:47PM
Why are you guys getting anrgy? It looks amazing, I can't wait for this game. It looks really fun too. Atleast they're trying to be original. Everyone seems disspaointed with this. I'm quite happy.
They will sell an absolute shit load of these in China!
PS3 can keep GTA for all I care. A new unique game is the stuff I want to see on the 360. So yes, I'll take ping pong over guns and cars, thankyouverymuch.
BTW, I could see a Ping pong game playing extremely well on the Revolution even more so than on the 360.
the chinese are mental for ping pong
this is the kind of stuff that microsoft need to pump out in the far east, quirky off beat games. hell i would buy this.. imagine a few mates round some beers , some green ,360 ping pong = load of fun
obo @ Mar 3rd 2006 3:47PM
Alkaiser: The Z axis?
Besides that, did anyone else think of the Ping Pong Club anime?
LunarDuality @ Mar 3rd 2006 3:47PM
The game will retail at $39.99 not $30 as stated above.
The idea actually has potential but the hype and the stereotype of Rockstar games has hurt its chances I think.
PayTheMan @ Mar 3rd 2006 3:54PM
No one else is the least bit suspcious of an impending April fool's prank? I am.
bqtrain @ Mar 3rd 2006 3:55PM
I don't understand how good graphics translate to great gameplay in a Tennis game. This game would be much better suited for the Revolution. The first Revolution tennis game is going to blow this game out of the water.
Dignan17 @ Mar 3rd 2006 3:56PM
I'd love if this were a straight-up ping pong game, and that they request that the ESRB give it a Mature rating just for the hell of it.
Artimus @ Mar 3rd 2006 3:56PM
#18, you really don't understand the controller, do you?
You would obviously use the analog stick to move left and right. You would just need to mvoe the revmote in a very small circle, never once causing a problem with the length of the cord. If you read ANY impressions of the actual controller use you'd know things like this.
pete @ Mar 3rd 2006 3:57PM
You guys are being such tools. OMFG A PIGN_POGN GMAE?! WTF?!LMAO HAHLOLORZ.
Please, get over yourselves.
As you've seen with games like Katamari and Geometry Wars, a very simple premise + a beautiful implementation can = a wonderful game. Not everything has to be an FPS or carry the name "MADDEN" to be good.
I like ping pong as much as the next guy - and I played tennis competitively in HS - and having played a few Flash pong games online, can tell you that it can be incredibly fun. It's about 100x faster than tennis, there are many more options (crazy spins, slams, defenses, racket styles (Chinese, Russian, American) etc. Again, it can be a TON of fon, if it's pulled off right (i.e., if the controls are both sophisticated and subtle enough to be used and mastered by anyone). A DOA4-like mechanic for counters would also spice things up - hit a certain combo at the right moment and get a slam; or another one produces a spin; and on and on.
Don't be so quick to judge.
Mephy @ Mar 3rd 2006 3:57PM
Oh Rockstar, it's FAR too late to start backpeddling to save your image. It's already ruined. I hope you enjoy watching as all the money you made gets whittled away in lawsuits you brought about yourself by lying to the world about Hot Coffee and permanently scandalizing games unnecessarily. Enjoy bankrupcy, Rockstar, cuz you earned it... and there's no going back now.
Nathan @ Mar 3rd 2006 3:59PM
How do you go from killing hookers to table tennis?
Q @ Mar 3rd 2006 3:59PM
Has anyone here ever played virtua tennis? It may be jazzed up pong, but it's fun as hell, especially with multiplayer. I can play the crap out of real table tennis, and I can imagine how a fighter approach could really work on this. As long as the controls aren't like trying to shoot in any GTA game, I think it could work. I know it would work if Team Ninja or someone who did know how to do it right was working on it.
Alkaiser @ Mar 3rd 2006 4:01PM
Artimus:
Because that "moving the remote in a very small circle" would be SO much more fun than just using a dual analog setup.
People were talking about swinging at the ball, not gesturing at it. A short clipped movement to make the swing would actually give you LESS control and less precision than holding the analog sick in a direction.
The1 @ Mar 3rd 2006 4:02PM
This is CRAP!
Dan @ Mar 3rd 2006 4:02PM
...looks like Rockstar's coming to Nintendo Revolution...the revmote would be perfect for ping pong...
Moogle @ Mar 3rd 2006 4:13PM
I'm curious why you think the analog dongle would be at all necessary for RevPongOlution? Last I heard, unless you're playing some bizarre full contact table tennis, the only thing that interacts with the ball is the paddle. The position of your body in table tennis affects how and where you can swing the paddle. The rev player's body affects how and where he moves the controller. All you have to do is scale up/ exaggerate movements in the xy plane so the player doesn't have to dive all over their livingroom, and you eliminate the need for any in-game body control.
Wait, fuck, this story has nothing to do with the revolution, it's a 360 game! Personally I can't mentally map dual analog to playing pingpong in any realistic fashion. The best I can figure is the left stick controls the location, and the right is used to swing, angle of attack and rotation equating to ball direction and spin, bypassing actual specific paddle movements. Actually, now that I write it out, that seems like it'd be ok... Maybe some auto-aiming to counter the suckitude that is dual analog control resolution. We'll have to wait and see how they do it thought, by the end of this post I think it actually has some potential!
Hairy Jew @ Mar 3rd 2006 4:15PM
Yes, I agree. How dare they try something different and innovate. I will deride them for that in an inarticulate manner, replete with incomprehensible 1337 spelling and references to my pelvic region!
Just make another GTA, morons! There's still so much to be explored in the free-roaming action genre. I mean, GTA - Anchorage would rock. You could be Nootaikok, an Inuit just released from prison for a sled-by shooting. Just make sure that it has some juvenile PG-13 sex game imbedded in it so that politicians, media hacks, and shyster lawyers can have their 15 minutes. That or another FPS. At least now I'll have spare cash for Madden Roster Update 2007.
Alkaiser @ Mar 3rd 2006 4:24PM
Moogle:
Table tennis is like tennis. They don't just hit the ball to where you're standing...you have to run after it a good portion of the time. That's why you need to move the player. If you don't move the player, you're just playing Shufflepuck Cafe. The actual swing, much like in Virtua Tennis is the part that can be least replicated by the player, while keeping the game enjoyable and still skillful.
With the dual analog, you could set it up a number of ways. If you choose to go first person perspective for the swing, you'd map the left analog to movement, and the right for paddle placement. X,Y,A,B would be shot types and maybe a lunge, and you'd control power by how long you held down the button, a la Virtua Tennis. L and R trigger can impart left and right spin.
If you go third person, which is more likely, the left analog governs movement, and so long as you're within range of the ball, X,Y,A,B would hit/lunge however you felt like it. L and R for spin modifiers once again.
It does have potential. There's also a high probability of failure, though.
leojsoap @ Mar 3rd 2006 4:24PM
I suppose none of you have thought about the minigame women can perform with ping pong balls
hey, don't look at me funny, that's like a sport out in Asia
Artimus @ Mar 3rd 2006 4:34PM
Alkaiser, I'm not talking about a 2" circle, but one 1-2" big. Just try it. keep your hands within 4 feet of each other and you'll see it works great. It's just more physical, which makes a simple thing more fun.
Tobor is robot spelled backwards @ Mar 3rd 2006 4:38PM
Alkaiser, USE ANOTHER rev controller to simulate body movement. Nintendo has already simulated boxing using one revmote in each hand. Think outside the box a little, sheesh.
mercatfat @ Mar 3rd 2006 4:50PM
this a truly hilarious, and in a completely non-ironic way.
it reminds of "Desert Bus" from the unrealeased Penn and Teller game. Read more here:
http://www.waxy.org/archive/2006/02/28/penn_tel.shtml
essentially, it was created because Janet Reno and the like were complaining about violent games. So, they made Desert Bus, a game in which you drive for 8 hours (real time) straight from Flagstaff to Vegas, but you can't just tape a button down because the bus drifts. if you make the trip, your score is now "1". prepare for the return trip.
seriously, how do so few of you get the joke? that's 90% of the reason IGN is pimping it up. just read Rockstar's responses.
it's the current video game equivilent of "Snakes on a Plane".
Alkaiser @ Mar 3rd 2006 4:59PM
Tobor:
One: Nintendo's not going to include 2 controllers with the Rev.
Two: Now you need 4 controllers for a 2-player game, and you can't play vs. doubles anymore.
If you're fine with removing fucntionality from the game, you're welcome to it.
Artimus:
http://www.moviemail-online.co.uk/films/14072#
Click the trailer here to see how Ping Pong is actually played...and a fantastic movie. If you're going to be happy with those dinking 1/2 inch movements you speak of, I would suggest picking up some of these instead:
http://www.xavix.com/products/tennis.htm
They actually look kinda fun, and it some physical motion is all you're looking for, you can take natural swing motions with those.
gjd @ Mar 3rd 2006 5:02PM
Heh, I'm excited about it! Think abstractly about how boring fighting games are, but they're still wildly popular. Essentially a fighting game is two characters facing each other with the players hitting key combos and trying to do things with the right timing based on what the opponent does. It's the exact same game play concept just in a different environment. I am honestly all for this game.
CYRiX @ Mar 3rd 2006 5:06PM
if they get the gameplay and controls right i'd buy this.
plagiarize @ Mar 3rd 2006 5:13PM
People talking about the revolution version are quite amazingly missing the functionality of the revolution controller. It doesn't just know where it's pointing (rotation on all three axis) but it knows where it is in relation to the console too, thats it's physical position.
the controller would be your paddle, and you'd get off your arse and run side to side to reach the shot. it'd be just like playing real ping pong. wouldn't need any buttons other than for serving.
mokko @ Mar 3rd 2006 5:43PM
#44 Finally someone who sees how it would work on the revolution. :) I thought that the people know how the controller works... but for what i've seen, it seems that lot of people will be surprised at e3...
(or i'll get surprised if they show a shitty working controller... lol)
diggersf @ Mar 3rd 2006 5:46PM
It's Sam Houser, not Sam House. Although Sam House would be funny.
OTAM @ Mar 3rd 2006 6:05PM
Just pretend it's coming out on the Revolution so you people can change your comments to things like "This game looks like it's gonna be fun!" and "Nintendo knows you don't need violence to have a good time".
"This is coming out for the 360? F That,the 360 is gay and so is this for being associated with it. Yes,it has sexual relations with other 360s. Who wants to play this CRAP. Microsoft is only supposed to have M rated Halo games and stay away from anything else!! Oh,what? It's for the Revolution? Really? Oh sweet,I can't wait to play this,it looks like so much fun!"
You people never seem to amaze me,you really don't.
ill trooper @ Mar 3rd 2006 6:33PM
"Think about it for a second. By mapping the swing to the controller, you're already using the X and Y axes for the swinging of the paddle. How are you going to move your player? Are you going to try and hit the D-Pad while you're swinging?"
No, you think about it for a second. In table tennis, you move left, right, forward and back in a small enough area that the Rev controller could tell where you are, in a similar-sized area to if you were actually playing ping-pong. The Rev's sensors on the TV in front of you could tell if you were hitting on the left or right side, and how fast.
Believe me when I say I'm not a 'Revolution' controller zealot, but this game really does seem like a good way to use the Revolution. I mean, the demo video when they revealed it had a raquetball game implied with one of the couples using it, so it's already something Nintendo was thinking about.
This is going to be a cool game for the 360, and from the interview it seems they are focusing on a control and finesse angle untouched in the tennis game s before it, and by using a powerful machine like the 360, it will likely have finer details in control than you would expect.
I think it's going to be a good party game that can be played by your friends when they come over, like katamari or guitar hero, as well as a high competitive level that will keep the old 'roomate pizza nights' crowd intrigued, like FIFA or Geo Wars... Hopefully it will be online, although lag might be an issue.
Plus, things look authentic in the licensing dept., maybe some pro-players like Biba in there?