@MikeB

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And it seemed as if you doubted this game

No, I just stated matter of factly that it doesn't look like a next-gen game. It looks like a good-looking PS2 game.

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Luckily they didn't, ensuring a more than 7 years lifespan for Playstation 2 owners.

Plus they'd likely not break even with development cost if they released it on PS3.

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I think the game would be stunning if released for the PS3 at high definition resolutions exclusively.

It still wouldn't look like a next-gen game. It would be like Tekken: Dark Ressurection. Nice looking but not amazing (mostly because textures and lighting are still last gen).

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Just look at the Colossus smashing the bridge into little pieces, if you were impressed by the Beserker in 'Gears of War' crashing through pillars, you will be doing the same yourself in God of War 2.

Sure it was nice, but it's not what makes or breaks a game. What matters is gameplay. I'm not saying God of War isn't a good game (I'm sure it is), but I'm a little tired of that kind of gameplay nowadays.

@Trezzer

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No, I just stated matter of factly that it doesn't look like a next-gen game. It looks like a good-looking PS2 game.

Does the most popular next generation game Wii Sports look like next gen to you?

http://www.infendo.com/uploaded_images/baseball-727063.jpg

Gotta love those crowds.

BTW, Wii Sports sold over a million copies in Japan surprisingly 'The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess' does not come close to half of this amount. Usually RPGs in general and especially also the Zelda series perform well in Japan.

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Plus they'd likely not break even with development cost if they released it on PS3.

I don't think that's the reason, the development of the game started way before there were mature PS3 devkits. Notice this is a Sony game, thus selling more HDTVs or Blu-Ray capable devices results into strenghtening the company for the long run as well.

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It still wouldn't look like a next-gen game. It would be like Tekken: Dark Ressurection.

Tekken 5 DR, surely looks less stunning to me than God of War 2. BTW, the 1080p PS3 version is a graphically/overall enhanced version of the latest arcade version. Not bad for a 15 dollar download.

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Sure it was nice, but it's not what makes or breaks a game. What matters is gameplay.

You know I agree with you on this. But I don't think God of War 2 will just receive raving reviews (I am sure it will next to IGN's early review) because of its impressive graphics, it's a combination of an appealing Epic story-line, gameplay, sounds and graphics.

Last edited by MikeB on 12-Feb-2007 at 02:58 PM.
Last edited by MikeB on 12-Feb-2007 at 02:44 PM.

@MikeB

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MikeB wrote: @Trezzer Quote: No, I just stated matter of factly that it doesn't look like a next-gen game. It looks like a good-looking PS2 game. Does the most popular next generation game Wii Sports look like next gen to you? http://www.infendo.com/uploaded_images/baseball-727063.jpg Gotta love those crowds.

I think it is quite obvious, and I hope to Trezzer too, that nothing on the Wii looks next-gen. Wii Sports doesn't even try, but games like Call of Duty 3 look very current-gen.

Wii might be "next-gen" as far as controls go, but the visuals certainly are not. Whether or not any future Wii game is any more next-gen, who knows, but I doubt it since it will still be SD resolution.

@MikeB

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Does the most popular next generation game Wii Sports look like next gen to you?

No. Nor was it meant to be.
I'm pretty sure none of the games we've seen so far come even close to maxing out the Wii. The prettiest title so far (Zelda) runs on GameCube and looks just as good.

That said the Wii will most likely never be even close the the visual quality of the other two (although you can do a lot with design alone). Nintendo themselves have also stepped out of the race and consider Wii new-gen rather than next-gen. They may be competing for the same money, but they do it in a different way.

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BTW, Wii Sports sold over a million copies in Japan surprisingly 'The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess' does not come close to half of this amount. Usually RPGs in general and especially also the Zelda series perform well in Japan.

Yes, that was quite surprising. Zelda performed very strongly in the US and Europe though.

I believe that the overall strongest-selling next-gen title (that is: not a pack-in game) across all territories is still Gears of War though. Three million and counting.

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Tekken 5 DR, surely looks less stunning to me than God of War 2.

It's all in the character / level design though. Have a close look at God of War 2 - notably the resolution of textures and the lighting effects - and you'll see that on a tecnical level it's the same thing we're looking at.

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Not bad for a 15 dollar download.

Nope. That's definitely a sweet deal.

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it's a combination of an appealing Epic story-line

Oh, so you DID like the storyline in Gears of War

Last edited by Trezzer on 12-Feb-2007 at 03:33 PM.
Last edited by Trezzer on 12-Feb-2007 at 03:33 PM.

@jtsiren

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Wii might be "next-gen" as far as controls go

In my case the jury is still out on that one. It's definitely a fun new way of playing games. I'm not sure if it's superior (or at least better in all / most cases), though. But we'll need a couple of generations of games to judge that properly - like it was the case on the DS.

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Whether or not any future Wii game is any more next-gen, who knows, but I doubt it since it will still be SD resolution.

It's actually unclear whether Nintendo have the possibility of unlocking the possibility for more than 480p eventually. We'll just have to wait and see.

@Trezzer

Acknowledged. I think the longetivity as well as the "superiority" of the Wii controls remains to be seen. I like the novelty of it all, though.

It is interesting to see how much technical potential there is in Wii. I fear the potential might not be that huge since the new controls may use some of that extra juice it provides, but it remains to be seen. The launch titles are not all that promising in this regard. I hope it improves.

I also think MikeB should start a blog. Even if its mostly PR/fanboyish, he does an admirable job of collecting PS3 links and information. I think it is wasted on a thread like this (that seems to gather limited interest on this site). If he can hold up his own interest in maintaining it, maybe he could indeed channel all the enthusiasm into a blog people would like to visit.

@MikeB

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Tekken 5 DR, surely looks less stunning to me than God of War 2. BTW, the 1080p PS3 version is a graphically/overall enhanced version of the latest arcade version. Not bad for a 15 dollar download.

Actually yes $15 isn't bad. Though a related game of the fighting genre, Virtua Figher 5, seems way too much at least in Japan. Various sites show with 80K 360s sold in Japan 60K copies of DOA4 sold. In the same timeframe we have 600K PS3s sold in Japan with 30K copies sold.. Ouch!

Surely the PS3 will win Japan. But, it's marketspace in the world will be a lower % then what the PS2 enjoys.

@Trezzer

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I believe that the overall strongest-selling next-gen title (that is: not a pack-in game) across all territories is still Gears of War though. Three million and counting.

Wii sports isn't bundled with the Nintendo Wii in Japan. Wii Sports outsold Gears of War roughly 23:1. Also Gears of War sells by far less well in Europe as compared to the US, even within the UK (the 360s strongest market in Europe) the game ranked 14th these past two weeks of available sales data..

BTW with regard to Final Night Round 3 I mentioned earlier and prior we argued about which version actually looks better I would like to note that the Visual Effects Society’s (VES) this year awarded the PS3 version of Final Night Round 3 for "Outstanding Real Time Visuals in a Video Game". So please don't get upset if I state that I believe the PS3 version looks better (apart from being more interesting to me, due to the added first person perspective option).

It's also noteworthy Casino Royale (James Bond) which will be given away for free to the first 500,000 PSN registrants in Europe has won the award for 'Outstanding Special Effects in a Motion Picture'.

http://www.visualeffectssociety.com/downloads/5thvesannounced.doc
http://www.gameinformer.com/News/Story/200702/N07.0212.1217.30937.htm

The major winner of awards was the Blu-Ray exclusive Pirates of the Caribbean : Dead Man's Chest, which won the following awards:
- Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects Driven Motion Picture
- Best Single Visual Effect of the Year
- Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Motion Picture
- Outstanding Created Environment in a Live Action Motion Picture
- Outstanding Compositing in a Motion Picture

Disney also received an award for Cars: Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Motion Picture

Last edited by MikeB on 12-Feb-2007 at 09:52 PM.
Last edited by MikeB on 12-Feb-2007 at 09:10 PM.

@BrianK

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In the same timeframe we have 600K PS3s sold in Japan with 30K copies sold.. Ouch!

When there were 600,000 PS3s sold in Japan 'Virtua Fighter 5' wasn't even officially released yet. Four days ago when Virtual Fighter 5 was officially released at least 650,000 PS3s were sold in Japan. Before making too many claims and guesses based on incomplete data I suggest we wait for the latest sales figures to arrive, for the week which ended on the 11th of February (just 2-3 days of Virtua Fighter 5 sales).

Last edited by MikeB on 12-Feb-2007 at 09:35 PM.

@BrianK

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80K 360s sold in Japan 60K copies of DOA4 sold

The sales data I could find was roughly 66K copies of DOA4 sold for the first 2 weeks within Japan after the game's release, with roughly 95,250 XBox 360s sold at the time.

DOA4 was by far the best selling XBox 360 title released in 2005. After many more weeks of sales the second best selling XBox 360 game at the time of DOA4 reaching 66K sales in early 2006, Ridge Racer 6 only sold 39K copies!

Last edited by MikeB on 12-Feb-2007 at 10:37 PM.

With regard to the European release:

"Gerry Berkley, Woolworths' head of games, said, "It's the hottest gaming system since the PS2 launched in 2000 - demand will outstrip supply."

"Woolies, one of the first stores to accept pre-orders, has admitted it has been staggered by the demand."

With regard to God of War 2, it appears IGN has made a mistake....

"Editor's Correction: After posting the review, we've gotten word from an SCEA representative that the game will support 480p on the PlayStation 3 but not 720p. Our error was due to crossed information and we're sorry for the confusion. We will report back once we have the final copy in our hands."

@MikeB

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Wii sports isn't bundled with the Nintendo Wii in Japan. Wii Sports outsold Gears of War roughly 23:1.

Yeah. But that doesn't change that Gears of War is the best-selling next-gen title world-wide by far.

@MikeB

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Ridge Racer 6 only sold 39K copies!

Ridge Racer 6 has so far sold almost 73k copies.
DOA4 has so far sold close to 104k copies.

Ridge Racer 7 has sold 129k copies. The reason why it sold a fair bit more is most likely that there are fewer decent launch titles available compared to the 360 launch.

Last edited by Trezzer on 12-Feb-2007 at 11:32 PM.

@MikeB

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"Gerry Berkley, Woolworths' head of games, said, "It's the hottest gaming system since the PS2 launched in 2000 - demand will outstrip supply."

He doesn't have the best memory, does he?

It doesn't take that much effort to think back to the Wii launch which was the most successful launch in the UK.

Before Wii it was the 360. It seems that so far the numbers increase for every launch. It will be interesting to see if PS3 can push it even higher. At least Sony should have had time to prepare properly this time around.

@Trezzer

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Ridge Racer 6 has so far sold almost 73k copies. DOA4 has so far sold close to 104k copies.

I said: "at the time of DOA4 reaching 66K sales in early 2006"

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The reason why it sold a fair bit more is most likely that there are fewer decent launch titles available compared to the 360 launch.

As of the 4th of February Mobile Suit Gundam sold 127,250 and Resistance 110,750 copies.

The PS3 is doing much better than the XBox 360 did last year in Japan for February 2006. Although at this point we see a lower attach rate, I think this is also due to more highly anticipated games being released later on in the year and games like Tekken 5 DR being available on the Playstation Store Network which aren't recorded by tracking companies.

@Trezzer

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Ridge Racer 7 has sold 129k copies. The reason why it sold a fair bit more is most likely that there are fewer decent launch titles available compared to the 360 launch.

How's that for reasoning? RR6 was the second best selling XBox 360 game at the time in Japan!

Soon we will have figures for the 11th February and for fun let's compare these to 5th of March 2006 XBox 360 figures when available, the figures to beat by the PS3:
114,000 XBox 360s sold

Best selling games (the only 5 games selling more than 20k at the time):

1) Dead Or Alive 4 - 76,000
2) Ridge Racer 6 - 45,250
3) Perfect Dark Zero - 25,750
4) Enchanted Arm - 22,750
5) Project Gotham Racing 3 - 21,500

OK, we already know these figures are already beaten hands down. Do you really believe RR6 only sold less copies in Japan than RR7 does due to the 'poor' quality of available games?

Last edited by MikeB on 13-Feb-2007 at 12:39 AM.

@MikeB

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BTW, Wii Sports sold over a million copies in Japan surprisingly 'The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess' does not come close to half of this amount. Usually RPGs in general and especially also the Zelda series perform well in Japan.

http://www.infendo.com/2007/02/twilight-princess-sells-1-million.html

_________________
Are we not done with the same silly arguments and flames yet??!

@MikeB

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guesses based on incomplete data I suggest we wait for the latest sales figures to arrive, for the week which ended on the 11th of February

Sources are from Kotaku, Joystiq and others that are quoting Japanese sources.

@ Wegster

Wii Sports sold 1 million in Japan alone. Zelda for the Wii sold 400,000. BTW "the fastest selling launch game since Mario64" does usually point to a good launch, but it doesn't guarantee platform dominance for the long run (32.93 million vs 100+ Million PS1s).

@ BrianK

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Sources are from Kotaku, Joystiq and others that are quoting Japanese sources.

I followed the story from the start. It started with a user quoting a Japanese blog regarding one day of sales:

"PS3 | Virtua Fighter 5 32000 37%
DS | Luminous Arc 19000 49%
DS | Jet Impulse 2400 12%
PS2 | OutRun2 SP 2900 32%
PSP | Medal Of Honor Heroes 3500 26%"

Babelfish shows it regards one important store retail channel in Japan and talks about low game shipments. VF5 tops this store's ranks for the day and the blog states "little busier than usual one day".

How anyone can make conclusions with regard to a lack of VF5 demand based on these figues I don't understand. Sadly news website, after news website picked up on the negative opinions from Wii and XBox 360 fans based on these figures. IMO simply horrible.

More info:

"Virtua Fighter 5's Japanese debut, as predicted, met with an enthusiastic reception from series fans, and resulted in a boost in PS3 hardware sales for the week. The game also managed to best established hits like Resistance: Fall of Man and MotorStorm in weekly sales numbers in its first week of release. Already Japanese gamers are turning an eye to the future, however, as the upcoming Gundam Musou is currently the most popular PlayStation 3 title at Amazon.co.jp, and Gundam fans are already feverishly anticipating its release next month."

"a sudden shakeup in the PS3 charts following a strong debut for Virtua Fighter 5 in Japan. Data for "Saling The World" comes courtesy of the public sales information on Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, and Amazon.co.jp, with sales split out for each platform and territory, and pre-orders disregarded."

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=12701

Staff : " I've never seen such thing. Not a single copy sold through out the whole day." http://www.akibablog.net/archives/2007/02/virtuafighter5_070209.html

Any conclusions based on these statements are premature!

Last edited by MikeB on 13-Feb-2007 at 08:02 AM.
Last edited by MikeB on 13-Feb-2007 at 07:57 AM.