GameSpot rumor column and the future of non-pc gaming.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/03/25/news_6121112.html?tag=lastword_ds_headline - Gamespot's Rumor Control column

"RUMOR #1: An image of the PlayStation 3 (pictured) has been accidentally made public"
Ugly. There's no way that's real.

"RUMOR #2: The Nintendo Revolution's controllers will be DS-style touch screens."
Awesome. Impressive.

"RUMOR #3: The real reason for the current Xbox shortage is that Microsoft is repurposing its manufacturing to crank out next-gen Xboxes in time for Q4."
Don't care.

"RUMOR #4: Katamari Damacy is coming to the Nintendo DS."
Neat, now I can't decide to wait or get it on ps2 right now.

To be honest both the ps3 and the xbox2 aren't interesting me at all, I'm only paying real attention to Nintendo's news. Especially with the good DS games on the horizon:Pac-Pix Meteos Advance Wars DS Castlevania (Sonic DS?)

I think the future of gaming is bright, as evident in recent high-popularity games like GTA3 and Halo 2. But could too much popularity kill the industry? Who is taking the right path, nintendo or sony + microsoft?

There is no gaming outside of PCs.®

If that's really the PS3, and I doubt it, it looks like a fuckin' camera.
The Revolution? Heh, we'll see. I'm not sure that I like the whole touch screen thing.

Touch screens on the controllers would make me decide NOT to buy the next Nintendo console.

I too agree that so-called PS3 image is probably bogus.

The next nintendo console has wireless internet and backwards compatibility with the gamecube. Enough for me to buy it. Source in another thread i posted here a few weeks ago

This takes all the guilt out of system modding and warez.

Hay now, the first TWO maps are free, what a bargain

I thought it says all maps would be free by the end of summer.

Ralphis said:

The next nintendo console has wireless internet and backwards compatibility with the gamecube. Enough for me to buy it. Source in another thread i posted here a few weeks ago

I don't see how the wireless internet is going to work... surely you'll still need to plug something into your phoneline? AFAIK current wireless only reaches about 50 metres or so.

Ralphis said:

The next nintendo console has wireless internet and backwards compatibility with the gamecube. Enough for me to buy it. Source in another thread i posted here a few weeks ago

When it plays cartridges from the original nintendo AS WELL, then maybe it's worth looking foward to.

ravage said:

When it plays cartridges from the original nintendo AS WELL, then maybe it's worth looking foward to.

That's what emulators are for :P

Dodge said:

That's what emulators are for :P

Just don't tell Nintendo that.

zarkyb said:

I don't see how the wireless internet is going to work... surely you'll still need to plug something into your phoneline? AFAIK current wireless only reaches about 50 metres or so.

Maybe it works in the same way the DS does, with local system connections? Wouldn't that be funny, that your connection to the internet would be essentially dependent on whether or not someone has a Nintendo system in your proximity. Probably not likely, but it's still a possibility.

Or maybe he meant wireless networking and not wireless Internet, since the latter would either have to be through a cell phone network (slow) or rely on fixed-point wireless Internet access (not widely deployed).

Well, it'd still be moderately fun to play system link with the guy next door, or at least on totally opposite sides of the house, to prevent cheating completely and it'd be slightly less messy.

People in apparment complexes, or dorms would be the lucky ones, getting massive LAN games going room to room.

The gaming industry is dead as far as I'm concerned. Unless Brian Fargo, Peter Molynux, or someone of their ilk come out with something original soon, I fear the entire industry will sink into a funk of shitty FPS and fighter games from which we will never recover. Seriously, the last game that was both fun and replayable to come out was GTA3 (and I guess Vice City though I've not yet played it...San Andreas looked annoying). Christon a t-shaped stick, I just don't care anymore.

* goes back to playing Baldur's Gate 2

Danarchy said:

The gaming industry is dead as far as I'm concerned. Unless Brian Fargo, Peter Molynux, or someone of their ilk come out with something original soon, I fear the entire industry will sink into a funk of shitty FPS and fighter games from which we will never recover. Seriously, the last game that was both fun and replayable to come out was GTA3 (and I guess Vice City though I've not yet played it...San Andreas looked annoying). Christon a t-shaped stick, I just don't care anymore.

* goes back to playing Baldur's Gate 2

What about Metroid Prime? And the 2D CV sidescrollers? RE4 is a good indicator of development (though it could be arguably labeled a shooter). And what about weird ass games like Katamari Damacy? The only area of decline that I've really noticed is a decline in the quality of RPGs as of late (if I'm wrong, please give examples) except for the ever-popular Zelda series. Actually, the other failing area of the gaming industry is the production of fad-games and a failure to develop new genres as possible.

Job said:

What about Metroid Prime?

Never played the other Metroid games before it, but it seemed like a failure of an FPS.

And the 2D CV sidescrollers?

Never was a fan of Castlevania.

RE4 is a good indicator of development (though it could be arguably labeled a shooter).

Last RE game I played was 2, and I hated it (hey, a zombies attacking you, look at this wall OMGROTFLAMO!)

And what about weird ass games like Katamari Damacy?

What's that?

The only area of decline that I've really noticed is a decline in the quality of RPGs as of late (if I'm wrong, please give examples) except for the ever-popular Zelda series.

Actualy, that's probably the one genre that hasn't been failing recently. Morrowind and Neverwinter Nights have both looked interesting to me and I'd play them if I could. Sadly, I haven't had the chance. Even WoW looks kinda cool.

Actually, the other failing area of the gaming industry is the production of fad-games and a failure to develop new genres as possible.

Yeah, that was kind of my original point. These days, a new game's main feature is "it's like the last one, but more better graphics!". Back in the old days, weird stuff would come out and everyone would play it because it was fun and original. There was Myst and Bad Mojo and all those Sierra and LucasArts adventure games for fans of that genre which sadly doesn't exist anymore. There were RPGs like Fallout and Baldur's Gate that completely made the Final Fantasy series obsolete in my opinion. Doom and Duke Nukem 3d and Thief were all interesting and had uniqueness that you just don't find in modern FPSs. Civilization, Dungeon Keeper, SimCity 2000, The Incredible Machine, Dune 2 -- all these game were fun enough for you to want to play them over and over again. There was something special with games back in the day where you'd sit down and start playing one and go "wow, this is great. I've never played a game quite like this before" and you wouldn't stop playing if for like a week. I don't get that anymore. Closest I got was Doom3 which was like "hmm, this is spooky", and I had fun looking at all their little neat effects or whatever, but I'm sure if I bought it, I'd play through it once then never come back to it.

Metroid Prime wasn't a FPS to begin with, anyway.

Mercenaries was awesome. Kind of like GTA (which many of you know I hate), but with a lot more freedom, and it didn't ake you feel like an insignificant little worm at the start. Plus the ability to call in weapons, airstrikes, and even vehicles in the heat of battle really made things interesting.

Other than that, yeah, gaming has pretty much stagnated on just about every level. I'm playing Narc right now, and although it's fun...taking drugs for bullet time effect is pretty gay. And unlocking the original arcade game is a whoop-dee-fucking-doo throw-in, considering it's in Midway Arcade Treasures 2 - which is quality gaming.

Unfortunately, this gen of gaming, I can only name a handful of games that made me play non-stop for more than week straight. Morrowind, Arx Fatalis, Deus Ex: Invisible War, Hitman 2 and 3, The Punisher, Mercenaries, DnD Heroes, Dynasty Warriors 4 and Samurai Warriors, and that's it. And that's a pretty short list considering what's out there.

Mercenaries did look kind of cool.

Nintendo's new controller isn't quite the revolution I was hoping for. It's a great idea, but I honestly think that we're still stuck with a "up down left right action" paradigm that'll impair any new games' originality (unless programmers do something really clever out of it). I really can't propose alternatives (maybe Dance Dance Revolution was a step forward) but that's my point: originality needs different input models.

The last 'New' game I bought and played repeatedly was Farscape: The Game. Last I played it was MONTHS ago.

spank said:

Nintendo's new controller isn't quite the revolution I was hoping for. It's a great idea, but I honestly think that we're still stuck with a "up down left right action" paradigm that'll impair any new games' originality (unless programmers do something really clever out of it). I really can't propose alternatives (maybe Dance Dance Revolution was a step forward) but that's my point: originality needs different input models.

What do you expect? Nintendo is horrible at making controllers. Take THIS for example. That has got to be one of the worst controller designs they have ever thought up, right next to the slightly less lousy but still annoying GameCube controller.

Jeez, you guys complain too much. The game industry will always be in a state of flux and change. And they'll never appeal to just you, so don't bother waiting for things to be perfect.

We here are gamers who still play the original DOOM. We're seen as a very small subset of hardcore gamers that just aren't marketable to, due to how goddamn picky we are about what we'll play. So we're ignored.

Here's what you should do .. buy a game you like, play it, enjoy it, and forget about all the industry rumors and B.S. floating around. If there are no games you like currently on the way, don't scream and bitch .. go look around for something else you might like.

I just recently got Metroid Fusion and Zelda Minish Cap, and am enjoying the hell out of them. I'm not bitching about how they don't live up to the SNES games like everyone else seems to love to do. :P I also got Riddick, which is a port of an xBox game, so that sortof counts. It's ********ly enjoyable.

If all else fails, there's always DOOM and emulators. :P