DICE 2009: NPD says six million new gamers came to play last year

He just realized he's playing Wii Music.

Alternatively, given the way he hold his WiiMote, he got first on Mario Kart, but proceeded to get butt-raped by the rubberband-AI.

When you turn his age, you'll be taking dumps at random moments too.

Also, diapers.

I think you're right, especially since games like sing star helped the PS2 become the 'definative' console of the last gen, and made the playstation brand so big.

If it means I get god of war 3 instead of a wii music clone, then I'm happy. Bad enough they cancelled a promising game like Eight Days for that piece of shit pet game with the eyetoy.

Except that it was built almost entirely on Final Fantasy. FF7 was (close enough) to a launch title, and everyone had to have it, so they got a Playstation 1.

Then stuff like Metal Gear came out, then along came GTA...

The Playstation was built on hardcore franchises, not casual.

@the kid
Eight Days would have been trash, kid. Just like The Getaway and whatever it was that that sorry studio produced previously.

@Hydrophobicfish

"Except that it was built almost entirely on Final Fantasy. FF7 was (close enough) to a launch title, and everyone had to have it, so they got a Playstation 1."

PS1 launched in 1995.
FF7 launched in 1997.
FF7 is close enough to being a launch game.

Silly revisionism is silly. By the time stalwarts such as MGS and Final Fantasy came out, the PS1 was already well established in homes across Europe, America and Japan.

Games such as Crash, Tomb Raider and Fifa, the latter two promoted as PS1-only events, built the Playstation brand. It's as clear as day and anybody that actually remembers the times, rather than a woeful glance at a Wikipedia page, would actually agree with me. You could argue that MGS/FF solidified the PS1 grip, but that's an entirely different question, you feel me.

And don't start on that hardcore/casual shit. Just leave it out.

Although Spyro and Crash did a lot to lure my age group to the PS1. But they're both actually quite hardcore games underneath the cartoony sheen.

"And don't start on that hardcore/casual shit. Just leave it out."

Funny coming from the KID who started it.

I dont care about the getaway cause it's always been a mediocre series, but Eight Days had tons of potential with one of the best animation/cover systems out there. It's just a shame they caved in to cater to the lowest common denominator. Leave the selling out to Nintendo.

Bowser

The indusry isn't dominated by any one group of people. What the PS2 did that made it so successful was to have a machine that brought the casual and hardcore gamers together on one platform. No one has been able to do that thus far in this console cycle. The 360 is probably the closest machine to what the PS2 did.

If you go back and read the research article done by Nielsen you would see that the Wii audience is by far the youngest (pre-teen), the x-box audeince is the next oldest (teenagers) and the PS3 is by far the oldest (18-24). Besides, Sony has released a number of Sing Star games for the PS3 which MS has attempted to copy by releasing Lips. The problem with the PS3 isn't so much the games as it is the cost of entry in a global economic slowdown. With that said they certainly have a big time exclusive lineup ranging across all genres.

It was rather strange of Sony to throw their winning strategy out and try to imitate Microsoft, whom they crushed on a 5:1 basis last generation. For some reason they traded to debase themselves like Microsoft did and focus on the niche of the industry, instead of the full spectrum like they did with the PS2

It really doesn't make sense.

some of Sony's biggest exclusives during the PS1/PS2

Spyro
Jak (Before he went all emo in 3)
Crash Bandicooter
SingStar
Guitar Hero
Ratchet & Clank
Final Fantasy
God of War
Dance Dance Revolution
Metal Gear Solid
Grand Theft Auto

out all of those franchises, only 4 could be considered "Hardcore". The rest were used to attract kids and present a family friendly image.

"Just goes to show that the industry is dominated by children and parents, so the fact Sony are still chasing bloodlust gamer crowd with games such as MAG is all the more confusing. The house of Sony wasn't built on shooters, but on Singstar and DDR."

Sorry Sire, but that is bullshit.

PlayStation consoles have always had balance, it has never been all about the casual or all about the hardcore.

Just in the first year for the PS1 there were more than 4 critically acclaimed "hardcore" titles by Sony (developed or published) such as Arc the Lad, Twisted Metal, Warhawk, Philosoma, Beyond the Beyond, Rapid Reload, etc.

As for the PS2's first year, well, to begin with, they only developed/published one title on 2000, FantaVision, but then there was the second year...and well, I see most of those games being "hardcore" as well, but like I said, there were enough casual titles as well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_video_games_published_by_Sony_Computer_Entertainment

So please, if you guys don't mind, would you mind telling me where the hell do you get the idea that Sony's main focus was always on "casual" games?



Moptimus

"out all of those franchises, only 4 could be considered "Hardcore". The rest were used to attract kids and present a family friendly image."

Many of those games came long after the consoles had been released, the hardcore games have always been what put the PlayStation consoles up front.

Well first you need a grounded definition of what is and is not a hardcore game. As such a term is rather subjective, and groundless, it is impossible to debate the merits of what the PS1 stood for in that regard.

All I know is that with Sony, gone were the old templates of what constituted a gamer's game, if you will. Real platformers were out, third person action adventure types were in; 2D fighters were out, 3D fighters became the mainstay. You could call this evolution, or you could call this a dumbing down, I haven't the energy to think about that at this time. But it is impossible to deny that the previous difficulties and complexities of the 16bit generation (the arduous nature of Yoshi's Island compared to the ease of any Crash, the button bashing of a Soul Edge compared to the nuanced nature of Street Fighter 2) was eroded by the tide of 3D and 3D design. To play into the hands of those who love labels, you could say a casualisation of the marketplace had taken place. Everything, suddenly, got a little bit easier.

Philosoma, as you've just mentioned, is a perfect example. If I remember correctly, this was the game that couldn't decide whether it would be R-Type, Zaxxon or DonPachi, and it suffered for it. An ugly game with the most silliest camera angles I've ever seen in a shump, all for the benefit of showcasing wonderful 3D. 3D came at a cost, of course, and not just due to the drunk camera. Oh no. There was also awful level design which could never decide which series it wanted to rip-off; it was terribly short; and had tank controls. But my main point was that Philosoma was easy, oh so easy. It could be completed in one sitting, within 20-30 minutes. What's the point? No challenge, a multitude of powerups and health bonuses: the perfect game for our new casualised marketplace.

Twisted Metal and Warhawk are in the same boat, as was 95% of the original PS1 launch lineup, the welcome to a new dawn. This doesn't mean Sega and Nintendo were not complicit as well. 3D on all consoles, for the most part, killed off any worthy challenge in our hobby.