On Summer Droughts

Summer's here, and that can only mean one thing: Gaming news has slowed to a crawl. E3 is just around the corner, and even in it's current scaled-down incarnation, there should be plenty of new information coming out of there. But really that just means that all of the big companies are holding back until that day, so we have nothing to talk about until then. So what I'll do instead is wane intellectual on where I think the big three stand right now.

Microsoft
The big M has plenty to crow about these days, as they still seem to have the lead in hardware sold, and easily has the biggest library of titles out there to choose from. Of course, it couldn't hurt them to have hardware that didn't seem to want to explode from people breathing on it too hard, and it might not hurt to avoid confusing the customer base by not having 18 different versions of the same system on the market, all with different SKUs and price points, but hey, I'm no business major, what do I know? The important thing is that MS would have to actively try to screw up in order to alienate the hardcore gaming audience at this point. They've got the systems out there, they've got the market dominance, and they've got the title lineup to keep them comfortably in the market at this point. Not bad for a company who seemed determined to buy their way into a market that didn't want them around 7 years ago, huh?

Nintendo
The big N has become the golden child of casual gamers and a media darling. But does Nintendo have the chops to do what needs to be done to secure their place at the head of the table? Certainly Nintendo's got a great strategy whereby they (at least theoretically) profit off of not only their software, but their hardware as well, ensuring that even a low attach rate of games is going to keep them good and in business, but is that enough to really get back the market dominance Nintendo craves so badly? Nintendo's in an interesting place compared to the other two companies, as they don't have any other business units to augment their gaming sector plans. Nintendo has to tread very carefully, because a poor showing of one console generation could well spell doom for them at this point. The company which became synonymous with gaming in the 80s and 90s via the NES and Super Nintendo fell from grace, hard. After the N64 failed to compete at any real level with the Playstation, I heard that the Gamecube was seen whoring itself out for nickels on the corner of 12th and Adams... Go check it out sometime, I'm sure he's still out there. Anyway, Nintendo has finally hit it big with the general populace, but they still haven't fixed a lot of their old glaring problems. They need third party interest in a bad way. Nintendo should be like some heroin addict looking for third party games... you know, just for that one last thrill. Instead, they seem quite content with selling the system and two games to johnny everyman, completely foregoing the hardcore market that not only grew up with Nintendo, but they people that practically put them on the map 20 years ago. A note to Nintendo, from the fanboy elite: We want to love you, we do. I want to swear that the old N is back, and that we'll never stray again, and that the Wii is everything we could ever want in a system, despite being so different from what's been available before. Honestly, though? As long as games keep coming out for your competitors, good games - mind you, we'll keep buying more and more of their stuff... So until Nintendo gets that through their head, we're stuck with the same 8 amazingly good first party franchises we've had for the past 2 generations. And apparently nothing else.

Sony
The big S is apparently what I should call Sony, given the pattern of the first two sections. That's kind of awkward, though, so I'll just call them... Sony. What's left to say about Sony? They bounce from horrible ad campaigns, absurdly arrogant statements by their upper management, and a price point that seems to cater to people who not only wipe their asses with money, they also use it to make giant paper-mache genitalia. But enough about my hobbies, we're talking about Sony. So what does Sony need to do to get back into the game that they seem to have forgotten that they were a part of? Honestly, I think they just need to chill out, brace for a long, cold financial winter, and wait things out. As much as they've tried desperately to fuck this up, to lose all of their market, Sony still has some aces up their sleeves. Sony has a handful of what look like good games coming out this holiday. There will be Little Big Planet, there will be Ratchet and Clank, and for heaven's sakes, there will be Heavenly Sword. These games won't save Sony by themselves, oh no. When Final Fantasy XIII comes out next year (or is it the year after? who knows?) or Metal Gear Solid 4 comes out, then these games that seem like solid titles will become the fluff titles that a prospective buyer will look at as options to broaden their library. Johnny Football-Star-Who-Happens-To-Also-Like-Final-Fantasy (who names their child that?) will look at the PS3 and say "Oh, FF, sweet! And it also has ! $600 doesn't seem so bad now!" Perhaps there will be a price-cut. Perhaps Johnny F-S-W-H-T-A-L-F-F could exclaim a lower price point. Certainly that would cut a bit of the sting away from his shitty name, but I digress. The important thing to note here is that Sony merely needs to a) not lose any of their big flagship exclusives.... anymore, and b) not go out of business. If they can accomplish those two things, I predict that 2009 might just be a decent year for the big S.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have some paper mache to get back to.

--Ak out