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XBox (Games)

360 Launch Lineup Released 163

Posted by Zonk from the not-many-surprises dept.
Gamespot reports that the much-discussed launch title list for the Xbox 360 is now available. The list, from the article: "Amped 3 (2K Sports), Call of Duty 2 (Activision), Condemned: Criminal Origins (Sega), FIFA 06: Road to the World Cup (Electronic Arts), Gun (Activision), Kameo: Elements of Power (Microsoft Game Studios), Madden NFL 06 (Electronic Arts), NBA 2K6 (2K Sports), NBA Live 06 (Electronic Arts), Need for Speed Most Wanted (Electronic Arts), NHL 2K6 (2K Sports), Perfect Dark Zero (Microsoft Game Studios), Peter Jackson's King Kong (Ubisoft), Project Gotham Racing 3 (Microsoft Game Studios), Quake 4 (Activision), Ridge Racer 6 (Namco), Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06 (Electronic Arts), Tony Hawk's American Wasteland (Activision)"
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360 Launch Lineup Released More

360 Launch Lineup Released

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  • That leaves 2 or 3 games that I'd consider buying.

  • Comment removed (Score:3, Funny)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Monday November 14, 2005 @02:00PM (#14028214)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • Re:holy shit! (Score:3, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward

      (I don't suppose the XBox comes with, you know, a mouse, or some other controller that would actually make a console FPS fun?)

      Sure it does! You'll have to get an older version of the Xbox360 (i.e. it won't look as shiny, nor does it come with built-in wireless controllers), but you should be able to pick up one at Best Buy for $300-400 or so. Best part about it is that there's no artificial shortages, and a lot of these games have already been released (and even discounted)!

      So: you head down to Best

  • What a bunch of junk (Score:3, Insightful)

    by voice_of_all_reason ( 926702 ) on Monday November 14, 2005 @02:03PM (#14028234)
    Half of them are sports clones. These are the games you'll see in 2 months in the bargain bin for $10. Why not just release the 4-5 decent games and have a stellar-rated lineup then filling up the shelves with crap?
    • Because when you're rushing a console release, it's a whole lot easier for the devs to kick out a bunch of clones then produce some brand new quality titles?

      I'm not saying that the reality is a good thing, just that it shouldn't be a surprise to anyone at all.
      • Because when you're rushing a console release, it's a whole lot easier for the devs to kick out a bunch of clones then produce some brand new quality titles?

        While you could consider many of them "clones" (aren't nearly all games today clones of older games?), many of them are more than just ports from the current-gen systems. For example, Madden '06's engine was rewritten for the XBox360 (I'd post the link from the gamespot article but it's blocked at work), and I'm pretty sure I remember reading somethi

    • Half of them are sports clones. ... Why not just release the 4-5 decent games and have a stellar-rated lineup then filling up the shelves with crap?

      Because people will play and buy the crap. The sports game market is huge. I'm not a sports gamer myself, but it's clear to see they sell big and pull in huge piles of cashy money.
      • Is that really true? How do places like Wal-Mart end up with dozens of brand new copies still in inventory months later?
        • Because a) all the games they sell are brand-new, and b) the first tenate of retail is to keep inventory full. Just because you or I don't like sports games doesn't mean everyone agrees.

        • Re:What a bunch of junk (Score:5, Informative)

          by (A)*(B)!0_- ( 888552 ) on Monday November 14, 2005 @02:46PM (#14028592)
          Well, even though your example is completely anecdotal and has no reason to be in a discussion of what sells and doesn't sell - my guess would be is that since Walmart gets many more copies of the highest selling games in, there are going to be more left.

          Now for reality: Video Game Sales for Last Year [about.com]

          1 - Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - PS2 - Take II Interactive
          2 - Halo 2* - XBX - Microsoft
          3 - Madden NFL 2005* - PS2 - Electronic Arts
          4 - ESPN NFL 2K5 - PS2 - Take II Interactive
          5 - Need For Speed: Underground 2 - PS2 - Electronic Arts
          6 - Pokemon Fire Red W/ Adapter - GBA - Nintendo of America
          7 - NBA Live 2005 - PS2 - Electronic Arts
          8 - Spider-Man: The Movie 2 - PS2 - Activision
          9 - Halo - XBX - Microsoft
          10 - ESPN NFL 2K5 - XBX - Take II Interactive
          Guess what - sports games sell. I know it's popular to look down on playing sports games on Slashdot but there's really no reason for it. Different people enjoy different types of games. Just as I don't insult people who enjoy D&D (even though I myself don't play D&D) I don't look down on others who do. Let people play the games they want to play. If, in your eyes, the games aren't appealing, don't buy them. But since you don't enjoy them and, I presume, don't play them, you're not really in a position to determine which ones are good and bad. Enough of the 'I'm too intellectual for sports games and FPS games'-attitude; they're all games. I own both Katamari Damacy and Madden 2006 - neither of those games is a reflection of my manhood and/or intellectual capability. People who think that way and equate playing sports games with being stupid are the ones with the lacking intellect.
          • I look down on sports games because, seriously, how many times can you release the a game about football? Or cricket? The sport doesn't change. You don't add special powers. You don't get new levels. There's no story to continue. You just update the rosters and add a new camera mode, not to mention a thousand bugs. I could go on about sweatshop development, consumer lock-in, the death of creativity in video gaming, and such--but I have better things to do.

            If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go back to wait
          • Exactly. Beautiful post. The elitist attitude on games.slashdot.org needs to die. The fact that so many people do play these games mean that a lot of people find them fun. It's fine if you don't enjoy them, but don't think you are special and have some god given gift to know what a great game is for everyone.

  • Holy sequels Batman! (Score:4, Informative)

    by holySherm ( 916265 ) on Monday November 14, 2005 @02:10PM (#14028279)
    18 total games at launch. 14 of which are sequels. 15 unoriginal games if you count King Kong. Yet, people will still buy the roster updates in droves and reinforce the gaming industry's (mainly EA's) lust for easy cash from recycled crap. Though I definitely expect to see half of these games on ebay for $30 right after launch since they're forcing you to buy the games with the systems. New system and theres just 1-2 new and creative titles made for launch and the sequels aren't even adding anything new to the game like Mario 64 did for the n64 when it created the first 3d platformer, sequel yes, but at least something new.
    • It makes sense to release sequals, though... how else are you going to get people who don't read game reviews to be EXCITED about buying the game?

      1.People see Perfect Dark 0

      2. People remember Perfect Dark

      3. PROFIT!!!

    • What is wrong with sequel games? "Never buy the first year of a new line of cars" is good advice for a reason. Madden is better now than it was back on SNES.
    • If I were a game publisher and I was risking a ton of dev $$ on a game for a new console, and I was pretty certain that the game wouldn't have a markedly upgraded appearance over late-gen games for the previous console...

      You can bet I'd publish a low-risk title like a sequel. Especially until my dev team was able to make better use of the next-gen capabilities.

    • Re:Holy sequels Batman! (Score:4, Interesting)

      by generic-man ( 33649 ) * on Monday November 14, 2005 @02:22PM (#14028393) Homepage Journal
      Like the PlayStation or GameCube are any better: Dance Dance Revolution Extreme 2, Dynasty Warriors 5, Romance of the Three Kingdoms X, Final Fantasy XII, Mario Party 7, Dragon Quest VIII, Soul Calibur III, and even We Love Katamari (remember the original, the game that was supposed to rid us of derivative games? It has a sequel).
      • and even We Love Katamari (remember the original, the game that was supposed to rid us of derivative games? It has a sequel).

        Ya know what? Katamari has a sequel because people asked for a sequel. We just couldn't get enough of the first one. "Having a sequel" in itself isn't bad. But when having a sequel is predictable, and the sequel has a sequel, and then the whole genre is used by hundred of games... that is when originality begins to go away.

        • I know it's hard to believe, but people asked for more sports games too. While EA could have sold roster updates for a fraction of the cost of Madden n+1, making nearly 100% profit on readily-available data, people will happily pay $50 for each incarnation.

          Is Pac-Man less fun because there are 200 clones of it floating around? Is Breakout less fun because it's been ported everywhere? I thought competition (in the absence of exclusive licenses) was supposed to encourage creativity and innovation, not stif

      • Like the PlayStation or GameCube are any better: Dance Dance Revolution Extreme 2, Dynasty Warriors 5, Romance of the Three Kingdoms X, Final Fantasy XII, Mario Party 7, Dragon Quest VIII, Soul Calibur III, and even We Love Katamari (remember the original, the game that was supposed to rid us of derivative games? It has a sequel).

        We're also talking a console launch, not its 5th year, here. Once you're working on an Nth-generation of a console, you can expect a lot of sequels---hopefully you have some

        • Cripe, and people were complaining about the PSP launch. It at least had original stuff: Lumines, Darkstalkers, Untold Legends. Even where there were franchises, we got new stuff (Metal Gear Acid, THUG2:Remix, Wipeout:Pure, Twisted Metal: Head On). The one exception to this was probably Ape Escape, which was basically upgraded graphics.

          But don't complain about the PSP and then laud the 360 on its wonderful launch.

          Listing a more or less direct port of a Dreamcast title in a decade-old series (Darkstalkers) d

      • and even We Love Katamari (remember the original, the game that was supposed to rid us of derivative games? It has a sequel).

        You leave out (on purpose?) the fact that it was the only game of the ones listed that truly deserved a sequel. All the other games were sequels of sequels of sequels. You don't cut We Love Katamari some slack for being a mere sequel, despite the fact that almost everyone who played the original would agree it was much too short?

        As for it ridding us of derivative games, yeah sure li
        • Terribly sorry. When my game company wants to release a sequel to one of our extremely popular games, I will have to contact MilenCent first by e-mail to see if the game "deserves a sequel.' If MilenCent does not approve, we will have to shelve the project.

          Sincerely,
          Lawrence F. Probst III
          Chief Executive Officer, Electronic Arts
      • and even We Love Katamari (remember the original, the game that was supposed to rid us of derivative games? It has a sequel).

        Katamari did that very nicely. As a game instead of an abstraction, though, it was also very short and had crappy multiplayer. People wanted a sequel, so they made one. This wasn't a sequel looking for an audience.
    • The N64 comparison isn't a good one for a few reasons:
      • The N64 was launched with only *2 games*: Mario 64 and Pilotwings 64.
      • Both games were sequels
      • While they were both very good games, neither was 'new': in spite of your claim, there were in fact 3D platformers and flight sims on the Saturn and/or the PS1 before the N64 launched.

      I wont comment on the quality of the line up because I haven't played any of the games, and I wont even speculate as to whether the 360 will succeed in the long run. Howeve

    • Two points:

      1) In what way is King Kong unoriginal? Was there a video game based on the original movie that I'm not aware of? Just because it's adapted from a movie script doesn't make it unoriginal... see the Chronicles of Riddick or Spiderman II video games for proof.

      2) Though I definitely expect to see half of these games on ebay for $30 right after launch since they're forcing you to buy the games with the systems.

      You don't say who "they" is, but Microsoft isn't forcing you to buy games with the system
  • The XBox racing games are much better than the other consoles. The others could catch up if they stopped focusing on fantasy-type racing. Yes there are normal racing games for the Playstation but the Xbox racing games blow them away IMO.

    Call of Duty 2 is a good cornerstone FPS for the 360. It is a proven franchise game that is focused on solid MP gameplay.

    • Re:Titles (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Grey Ninja ( 739021 ) on Monday November 14, 2005 @02:20PM (#14028370) Homepage Journal
      The GameCube racing games are much better than the other consoles. The others could catch up if they stopped focusing on realistic-type racing. Yes there are fantasy racing games for the Playstation but the GameCube racing games blow them away IMO. It's all a matter of perspective. And for the record, I would rather play Gran Turismo than anything on Xbox, as far as realistic racing is concerned.
      • Chances are you haven't played Forza then.
        • Uh, I think you missed the point of that article. Some people like Mario Kart style racing, some people like something more like Forza or Gran Turismo. But god forbid people like something other than what you like, right? I mean then what does that say about you if the games you buy aren't the games everyone else buys? Clearly it would bring your manhood into question.

  • Pricing (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Red Flayer ( 890720 ) on Monday November 14, 2005 @02:12PM (#14028301) Journal
    FTA: "Official price points for games have also been released, and Microsoft Game Studios is cutting gamers a break on their three launch games (Perfect Dark Zero, Project Gotham Racing 3, and Kameo: Elements of Power). MGS-published games will retail for $49.99, and third-party games will sell for $59.99."

    I really don't see how this is "cutting gamers a break." This is simply competitive pricing. MS is choosing to set a price that will increase sales on MSG games. Also, how will MS set the price on 3rd-party games? Seems shady to me.

    Sure hope there's no retaliation by MS to retailers that want to offer a different price, say, $49.99 for third-party games, because that would be, you know, illegal.
    • MS does not force the pricing on third party Xbox releases. They give a suggested retail price, but if a developer wants to offer a game for $.50 they can.
      And yes it is competitive pricing, and who does that benefit? The consumers. Hopefully we'll see some third parties follow suit. Hell, the GameStop near me is probably going to tack another $5 on the MSRP of these games anyway.
      • "They give a suggested retail price, but if a developer wants to offer a game for $.50 they can."

        MS has to be very wary of suggesting a price for games they do not publish... the legality is questionable, and they are still under watch by the FTC.

        "And yes it is competitive pricing, and who does that benefit? The consumers."

        Sure... in this case, I'd agree with you. Except I don't think this is MS "cutting gamers a break" at all, which was a point of my OP. MS "cutting gamers a break" would be to
        • I agree that the phrase "cutting a break" was stupid and incorrect.
          I don't think MS is trying to push 3rd party developers out, honestly I hope more of them publish at the $50. I mean the funny thing is I can buy the PC version of Call of Duty 2 for $35 on sale ($40 regular) yet the 360 one will be at least $50. About the only way I can find dicounted console games is if they are used - yet PC games supposedly sell way less copies.
          • PC games also don't need to pay a console maker for the right to play on a computer
          • "I mean the funny thing is I can buy the PC version of Call of Duty 2 for $35 on sale ($40 regular) yet the 360 one will be at least $50."

            Aside from console licensing, which another person pointed out (and is the method by which MS & Sony attempt to recoup their losses on console sales & end up with a profit), there is the issue of demand. I'm not sure of units sold for CoD2 PC vs Console, but for new-release high-demand games without a console port (WoW, I'm looking at you) prices seem to be a
            • World of Warcraft did get stuck at the $50 mark for quite awhile. Partially I believe to demand outstripping the actual number of copies available. The first time I tried to buy it, it was sold out. It remained sold out for a few weeks during the period when Blizzard was having trouble with realm stability do to the amount of players coming on.
              While mainstream shops such as GameStop gouges PC and console gamers alike, other stores (especially online) will usually have the games in the $40 range even just af
              • Well, brick-and-mortar overhead also accounts for some of that. The thing is, millions of people are willing to ay 50 or 60 bucks for a new game... so the price seems pretty fair. Me, I just wait to get it used, or wait until it hits the 'classics' stage and I can pick it up for $20.
      • In the UK we've got it worse. The current RRP for games is £40 (~$70), although if you exclude the 17.5% VAT then it's about £35 (~$60). Now if the US game prices appear to have risen so the sans-tax prices would be about the same if the US payed $60 for a game.

        So therefore, the Xbox 360 games RRPs appear to be £45 (~$80) for Microsoft games, and £50 (~$90) for 3rd party games.

        I should point out, if I imported a $60 US game bought for $60, and it got charged by customs (and therefore
    • With inflated game prices like that, you can bet that modchips will be coming out very quickly.

      It's also kind of a lackluster lineup, dominated by run-of-the-mill EA sports titles with most of the remainder being PC ports.

      As I've probably mentioned before, I'm only looking forward to the 360 launch because I'm thinking of buying an XBox (original, not 360) and I know the price will go down once the 360 is on the shelves.
      • "Inflated" in what way? The game industry has been selling games at $50 for years, and years, and years, despite inflation. If anything, selling games at $60 is simply the price of games settling where it belongs instead of being artificially low.

        Heck, if you counted inflation, I'd bet $60 is still cheap considering the $50 games we were buying in 1995.

      • I'm only looking forward to the 360 launch because I'm thinking of buying an XBox (original, not 360) and I know the price will go down

        You might want to rethink that strategy. I just bought a second Xbox (original) because when softmodded they make nice XBMC sets (i.e. networked media players) and nice emulators for all the great older-generation games. [Be sure to pick up an Action Replay kit for your softmod, and possibly a large hard drive.]

        With the huge losses Microsoft has taken with the first Xbo

        • It's not the manufacturer that mandates a price reduction. Once Microsoft releases the XBox 360, stores will want to offload XBoxes to free up shelf space (in anticipation of the XBox becoming a less saleable item than other products) and make money on people who want a console but can't afford the 360's price tag.
      • With inflated game prices like that, you can bet that modchips will be coming out very quickly.

        It's also kind of a lackluster lineup, dominated by run-of-the-mill EA sports titles with most of the remainder being PC ports.

        As I've probably mentioned before, I'm only looking forward to the 360 launch because I'm thinking of buying an XBox (original, not 360) and I know the price will go down once the 360 is on the shelves.

        they will, but sony's HD DVD system will keep it impractical for at least 2-3 years.
        • they will, but sony's HD DVD system will keep it impractical for at least 2-3 years.

          I was talking about the XBox 360, not the PS3. Also, remember when the XBox and PS2 came out with DVD drives? Most games didn't take up more space than a CD could hold, and I heard that many PS2 games were "ripped" (had movies and other stuff removed by pirates to reduce game size) to make them fit. Even the Gamecube's supposedly radically different disc was cracked eventually. I fully expect the same to happen with the next
          • I was talking about the XBox 360, not the PS3. Also, remember when the XBox and PS2 came out with DVD drives? Most games didn't take up more space than a CD could hold, and I heard that many PS2 games were "ripped" (had movies and other stuff removed by pirates to reduce game size) to make them fit. Even the Gamecube's supposedly radically different disc was cracked eventually. I fully expect the same to happen with the next generation of consoles.

            The GC pirating methods are exstremely clumsy, the data is s
            • The GC pirating methods are exstremely clumsy, the data is streamed in through the data port in the back. This means very very few people pirate Gc games exept hobbiest. No commerical pirating is available.

              They now have GC modchips and you can replace the case with one that lets you insert standard-sized DVDs (which the GC drive is apparently capable of reading without modification).
              • They now have GC modchips and you can replace the case with one that lets you insert standard-sized DVDs (which the GC drive is apparently capable of reading without modification).

                The GC disks were basically a mini-DVD. But their design choice did keep the pirates away. IT's still nto common to have modded GC While Modded Xbox's and Modded PS2's are very very common.
                • That's all true, although I believe GC modding would have been more widespread if the modchips had come out sooner. Remember that PS2 modchips came out way before DVD burners were available, and pirates simply made those ugly CD-sized rips instead of waiting. I'm sure the same would have happened with the GameCube had things progressed faster.

                  My guess is that the Phantasy Star Online exploit was used to aid in reverse-engineering the GC enough to design a modchip.
    • Also, how will MS set the price on 3rd-party games? Seems shady to me.

      Nintendo did the same with the Game Boy Advance at launch, and did so by (if I remember this correctly) making the licenses expensive to the point where other developers had to have a higher MSRP to make a profit.

      Of course, that didn't last for very long, and I doubt it will here.

  • Is anyone going to buy Madden? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by hal2814 ( 725639 ) on Monday November 14, 2005 @02:31PM (#14028464)
    It's halfway through the regular season! Madden 06 is dropping in price for the other consoles. Do they really expect to sell a lot of copies for the 360? I imagine anyone who really wanted Madden 06 already bought it for their current system. Generally, the only potential purchasers who don't buy it by the beginning of the season are waiting because they expect to pick it up cheap later on. I could understand the decision to put out Madden 64 midseason because there was no current year (98?) for the SNES and Madden 64 did legitimately add something the other systems (Saturn and Playstation) didn't have (3D instead of sprite-based). I don't see the 360 version of Madden 06 to be so far above the previous generation's version to merit the purchase.

    • Re:Is anyone going to buy Madden? (Score:5, Funny)

      by Otter ( 3800 ) on Monday November 14, 2005 @02:45PM (#14028589) Journal
      It's halfway through the regular season!

      This is the 2006 Midseason edition, where the game consists mostly of interminable yammering about "T.O." with occasional mentions of a football game that seems to be going on in the background. Also the Pats defense has been updated to be Tedy Bruschi and 10 guys they found playing touch football in the park.

      • "Also the Pats defense has been updated to be Tedy Bruschi and 10 guys they found playing touch football in the park." That's all they ever were. They're just starting to play like it now.
    • I specifically didn't purchase Madden '06 this year for the XBox for two reasons:
      1) I was too busy playing WoW so I didn't mind waiting until November so I could get it for the XBox360.
      2) I don't care whether the NFL is actually in season while I'm playing an NFL game. Just like I'll play a baseball game during the winter, or a hockey game in the summer (although the hockey season lasts so late sometimes it feels like summer before it's over).
      Additionally, for my patience, I'll have the option of turnin
      • Can you not turn off QB Vision in some versions of Madden 06? I have the option to turn it off on the GC version. Personally, I keep it on because it's the first "innovation" I've seen Madden come up with in a long time that makes the game both more realistic and more fun. If you want to see something interesting, play with your favorite team for a while and then switch to one of Don Meredith's Cowboys teams (most of the 60's teams). His QB Vision is enormous.

        I'd have to wager that you're in the minorit
  • I don't know what some of you were expecting. What, you think the XBox1 or the PS2 had games like Ico, Halo, Shadow of the Colossus, etc. at launch? Nope. The first batch of games are always basically gen1 games with a bit of a facelift.

    Give it time. Give BOTH consoles time. The truly innovative games are rarely seen on day one.
    • I dunno... PS2 had SSX, which is still among the best snowboarding games out there, and, at launchtime of the PS2, it was quite "fresh". Perhaps one of these 360 games will end up similar to that, but it sure isn't going to be a yearly update of a sports game. Is there a reason they don't just release a game and update the player stats on a yearly basis?
      • I dunno... PS2 had SSX, which is still among the best snowboarding games out there, and, at launchtime of the PS2, it was quite "fresh". Perhaps one of these 360 games will end up similar to that, but it sure isn't going to be a yearly update of a sports game. Is there a reason they don't just release a game and update the player stats on a yearly basis?

        Yes.
    • Halo was a launch title for the first XBox. *cough*
    • Erm, Halo WAS an Xbox launch title. And Super Mario 64 is often praised to high heavens (but it was the last console of it's generation to launch).

      But I agree, it's pretty rare for a truely original game to appear at launch. I kinda doubt many of the games are really destined to become long lasting classics. I'm kinda "meh" on most of them, but I do think Project Gotham 3 is certainley going to be solid (I loved PGR2), and Kameo sounds interesting. But I'm not that sure about say, Yet Another FPS, or Sports
    • Uh, Halo was an Xbox launch title. It was THE Xbox launch title. Aside from PGR1 it was pretty much the only game worth buying from the XBox launch, as I recall. Also, I think you meant to say give ALL THREE consoles time. People who act like this is a two horse race (and presumably discount Nintendo as a non-player) are in for a suprise, I think. Unless you mean to say give them both a chance to see which one gets to sit next the Revolution everyone buys for the unique first party games?
      • My bad about the Halo thing. But yeah, I'm not marginalizing the Revo at all. In fact, I agree with your final statement entirely. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what kind of showing they'll have, especially how developers use the new controller style. Personally I don't think the industry can support two consoles that are basically just more of the same that's out currently, except with better graphics. A lot of the genres are tired.
  • Wow... how many of these are actually not sequels or games based on movies? I rest my case.

    • Re:No originality here (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Gulthek ( 12570 )
      What's your case? What system do you think had a stellar launch/lineup?

      Remember how many games the SNES opened with? The N64? the Playstation?
      • My case is that there's little or no originality in any of the launch titles. They're all rehashes of the same old shit, just with fancier graphics. How boring.

        It's not about the number of games a console launches with -- it's about the originality of the launch titles. Unless a new console hits the market with original titles that can't be had on any other platform, there's little reason for seasoned gamers to take much interest, especially when the mere "realism" aspect of the graphics and sound can be
        • Example: The Sega Genesis wouldn't have had its glory days if Sonic the Hedgehog hadn't been released at the time it was exclusively for the Genesis. No other system had a comparable game during that time.

          Example: The 8-bit NES wouldn't have had its glory days over the Sega Master System if Super Mario Brothers hadn't been available exclusively for NES. No other system had a comparable game at the time.

        • Okkaay. Nintendo 64 launched with Mario 64 and a new Pilotwings. That's it! Two games, both sequels.

          Dreamcast's BIG launch title was Soul Calibur, the sequel to Soul Edge.

          XBox's BIG launch title: Halo. You can't get more rehashy than a new FPS.

          NES: Super Mario Brothers. Who hadn't already been playing Mario in the Donkey Kong game. The only thing this added was length and ability to sidescroll the screen.

          SNES: Super Mario World. Super Mario Brothers with fancier graphics.

          Gameboy: Tetris. The game that had a
  • The only games listed above that didn't appear to be tied to an existing property or an existing game franchise were Kameo and Gun. I know it has been more noticeable recently in the current game market, but I worry that the next generation consoles (with their incredibly high budget games) will solidify the publishers' aversion to original titles. There is some truth to the saying, "if it's not broken, don't bother fixing it." But there is also truth in, "familiarity breeds contempt."

    Come to think of i
  • I thought that MS was going to try and win over some gamers in Japan this time around... that lineup for launch will likely only perpetuate their being the but of jokes in Japan as none of that is going to sell a system or get people excited there.

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