Viewing Thread:
"Has 2007 been a good year for games?"

Ok, I know, we're not done yet, but with all the big names announced for the end of the year now and everyone having a good idea about what the next few month involve, we can get an idea of what 2007 has been like for games.


CONSOLES
It started well for Microsoft. Still raking in money, despite the Wii launch, they were out in front by a long way. Even when the PS3 finally came along, the 360 looked as strong as ever, thanks to an amazing year for games. Halo 3 was obviously the main highlight for many, which more than doubled sales of the console at launch.

Nintendo just saw the Wii userbase grow and grow. I don't think they realised just how popular it was going to be, and it now looks like it'll be the number 1 console for Christmas, even after all the nay-sayers made fun of the low-res graphics and 'gimmicky' controls.

Sony, however, are keeping a brave face on things. Their console has sold fairly well on it's own, but once you put it up against the figures from the other 2 then it looks pretty bad. Some PR mess-ups and the price of the console itself haven't really helped, but it's still the lack of games which let the PS3 down.

GAMES
Well, who can mention 2007 without talking about Halo 3? On the news, in the papers and all over the media, this game was always going to be a money spinner for Microsoft, even if the game turned out to be worse than expected. In my eyes it does a pretty good job of improving on the last 2 games, though. Elsewhere on the 360, we've seen Forza 2's paint jobs, PGR4's bikes, Gears of War almost stealing Halo's thunder and yet another FIFA Football game, this time actually making some decent improvements. But we’ve also had games such as Viva Piñata, Crackdown, Need for Speed Carbon and the fantastic GRAW 2.

Sony’s problem seems to be convincing third parties to make games (then getting them to make decent games). We should have a new Gran Turismo by the end of the year, but for now we have Motorstorm and Fall of Man as the stand out titles, with online-only Warhawk and the Graphically excellent but slighty shallow Heavenly Sword following up behind. Hopefully Sony will address the issues with more original releases in 2008.

Nintendo, by their very nature, tend to have plenty of exclusives. Metroid Prime 3 has all the makings of a classic, as does Mario Galaxy, but from their released games, Mario Strikers Charged, Elidees, Super Paper Mario and Excite Truck (arriving far later over here than in the US and Japan) all make their mark, not forgetting a re-hash of the best Resident Evil game to date which made it even better.

So has it been a good year? Yes, unless you only own a PS3, in which case you’ll still have had fun, but you might be looking a little green-eyed at the competition.

pb wrote:
> Look at the lineup of games on the NES, on the SNES, on the N64,
> it's not all that different to what we have coming out or even
> out now on the Wii. I can't see the problem.

If what you want is true, I'd say its a very big problem. 5th generation console and they're releasing the same stuff again? :) So much for Nintendo the innovators.

Tiltawhirl wrote:
> Only bad thing this year is we've seen a different side of
> Nintendo. Not only do they now seem to be catering more for
> 'soccer moms' these days and leaving their diehard fanbase
> behind,

So what would this 'diehard fanbase' want? Classic games like Mario Kart, a new 3D Mario game, Paper Mario, some kind of sequel to Smash Bros with more back catalogue characters in. Let's have a look at what's coming out...oh....

Ok, so there are also plenty of re-hashes, and god-forbid, 3rd parties are now supporting a Nintendo console again, so the fanboys just jump on them and complain its not 'nintendo' enough.

So what is Nintendo's software now? It looks like a very diverse range of games that cater to everyone. Not just your mum, your baby brother or your uncle, to everyone. Resident Evil, Mario Galaxy, Mario Kart, Brain Training, Wii Sports, Scarface, Metroid, Tales of Symphonia, No More Heroes...

Look at the lineup of games on the NES, on the SNES, on the N64, it's not all that different to what we have coming out or even out now on the Wii. I can't see the problem.

I can't remember another year since I started gaming when I've bought so many games and been very happy with what I've bought.

not a bad year 4 gamers would have been nice 2 get gta4 this year but as iong as assasins creed is out soon i'll be happy enough

Garin wrote:
> Sorry but for me, any year where Microsoft remains in the console
> market is a bad one.

Because Sony are all about smiles and rainbows...

Oh and yes I'd say it's been a great year for gaming, certainly for me at least. There's been a steady release of top quality games, and it's only gonna get even better once we head into November.

Only bad thing this year is we've seen a different side of Nintendo. Not only do they now seem to be catering more for 'soccer moms' these days and leaving their diehard fanbase behind, but they're also getting increasingly cocky with their success. Making sweeping statements about knowing want gamers want and insulting the opposition, the kind of schoolground behaviour that you'd usually attribute to Sony and Microsoft.

I'm glad to see Nintendo getting success, but it's a shame that it's come by diluting their games and some what ignoring the diehard fanbase that has kept them going all this time.

For me it's been pretty good - well apart from the lack of decent wii games.

November looks like an excellent month for the 360 - plenty of games to look forward too.

It's been a long droughty boring year for Nintendo. You guys might not understand as most of you with wiis own another console.

It's not cool when you feel like you have to buy a game like Metroid Prime even though you probably won't like it just because there isn't a lot of choice in the market.

pb wrote:
> Sony’s problem seems to be convincing third parties to make
> games (then getting them to make decent games).

Would help if their console wasn't a b***h to program for and that development costs didn't cost an arm and a leg. Sony can thank their lucky stars that Microsoft isn't a Japanese company because if it was i think they'd be storming way ahead in the console race and Sony would be lagging behind even further than they are now.

It's just a shame Nippon Ichi have decided they're only making Disgaea 3 for it as then i wouldn't need to look at buying one at all.

Garin wrote:
> Sorry but for me, any year where Microsoft remains in the console
> market is a bad one.

I'd agree with that

Sorry but for me, any year where Microsoft remains in the console market is a bad one.