LUCIDMEDIA

Lucid Gaming – August

Written by Adam A. Donaldson Friday, 31 July 2009 13:01

Even though they say the recession is cooling off, it appears that the once invulnerable video game industry is feeling the effects too. More in the that…

In the News

Former Sony exec suggests price hike

Sony’s former European President thinks that the average price of video games should be increased, especially on blockbuster titles, according to the UK gaming site Register Hardware. “In order to price these games at a level where they would support an industry [as strongly as] they did ten years ago, they’d have to be sold at £70”, Chris Deering told MCV, a games trade website. In Canada, that would translate to about $125 per game, or a price jump of about $40-$50. The comments came in response to Activision’s decision to raise the retail price of Modern Warfare 2 from £45 to £55 in the UK, blaming the weak pound and increased development costs. “The cost of development is ten times what it was for PS2. Yet there are lots of things you can get for less than the relative value of paying 50p an hour for a very high end game." The question is though: will consumers used to paying a lower price point shell out almost 50 per cent more for the same game?

Industry gears up for stronger second half

It appears that earlier statements about the video game industry being recession proof were not entirely in earnest. Overall, sales have been down for 2009 and analysts are suggesting that it’s because the games released over the first half of 2009 were not as strong as those released during the same time in 2008. The second half of 2009 will see the release of big name games from franchises like Left 4 Dead, Assassin's Creed, Call of Duty and Halo, but Janco Partners analyst Mike Hickey adds that this isn’t the only consideration for a recovery. "There are some big games coming out," said Janco Partners analyst Mike Hickey. But he also noted that console price cuts are important to the industry's fortunes in the near term. "The spark needs to come from price cuts on the hardware side to get the installed base breathing again. Once that happens, software will follow." Both Nintendo and Microsoft have cut the price of their systems, Sony has yet follow on the Playstation 3 though, as previously announced, there was hoping to be an announcement of that sometime this summer. "People were saying the videogame industry is recession-proof, but it was fantasy," said Pacific Crest Securities analyst Evan Wilson. "The correct thing to say is that videogames are more tied to the hardware cycle than they are to the economic cycle."

Charts

It seems that video game sales are down again for the month of July with across the board losses on all platforms. But amongst the bad, some are taking it worst than others, if only by a little. Nintendo is still top dog by far in terms of hardware sales, but X-Box 360 game sales in the Top 20 are on par with Wii game sales. Here are this month’s charts.

Top 20 Games - July

1. NCAA Football 10 (X360/Electronic Arts) - 250,089/250,089
2. Wii Sports (Wii/Nintendo) - 238,085/23,912,383
3. Wii Fit (Wii/Nintendo) - 219,003/8,863,215
4. Fight Night Round 4 (X360/EA Sports) - 208,183/477,125
5. NCAA Football 10 (PS3/Electronic Arts) - 149,787/149,787
6. Mario Kart Wii (Wii/Nintendo) - 148,899/7,134,416
7. Fight Night Round 4 (PS3/EA Sports) - 144,727/299,369
8. EA Sports Active (Wii/EA Sports) - 129,597/844,458
9. UFC 2009 Undisputed (X360/THQ) - 121,252/1,022,008
10. Prototype (X360/Activision) - 106,906/505,421
11. Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood (X360/Ubisoft) - 93,608/93,608
12. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 (Wii/EA Sports) - 88,843/321,853
13. BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger (PS3/Aksys Games) - 74,594/74,594
14. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (X360/Activision) - 74,475/121,828
15. Pokémon Platinum Version (DS/Nintendo) - 72,709/1,939,211
16. BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger (X360/Aksys Games) - 68,035/68,035
17. Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood (PS3/Ubisoft) - 67,040/67,040
18. New Super Mario Bros. (DS/Nintendo) - 66,669/6,998,555
19. The Conduit (Wii/Sega) -             66,159/130,628
20. Wii Play (Wii/Nintendo) - 64,002/12,289,449

Hardware

Nintendo DS: 491,618/36,621,308
Nintendo Wii: 238,085/23,912,383
Microsoft X-Box 360: 170,694/17,821,723
Sony Playstation Portable: 110,654/17,119,131
Sony Playstation 3: 107,960/8,910,046
Sony Playstation 2: 101,115/50,665,869
Total: 1,220,126

Previews

Avatar for Wii – Gamespot.com

“The Wii version of Avatar the game makes use of both the nunchuk and remote to play. In addition, the game features unique support for the Wii MotionPlus accessory. The game is a third-person action title that mixes combat, stealth, some platforming, and some puzzle solving. The nunchuk and remote let you race through the natural setting like a pro. The Wii MotionPlus support in the version of the game we saw let the young hunter summon a wasp the he could precisely control thanks to the peripheral. The fine control was needed to guide the winged critter to take down an electric fence blocking the hunter's way. People who don't have the peripheral will be able to take an alternate route around the fence. At the same time the game still has some waggle control for stealth takedowns, which you initiate with a button press and finish up with a controller motion.

“Melee is fairly straightforward, although you'll want to be smart about when you engage mobs of soldiers. Puzzle solving and getting around require you to use your head and, most importantly, the natural world around you. As a both a local and a hunter, your Na'vi has all sorts of natural tricks up his sleeves (metaphorically speaking, since he's light on clothes) to counter the military's technical opposition. Although, as evidenced in the boss fight where he used explosive canisters lying around, he's not opposed to improvising with what's lying around to get the job done. For example, if there are explosive canisters he can use to take down a massive tower that will knock the dragon airship out of the sky, why not use them? The demo ended with the hunter making a hasty retreat on a brightly colored flying creature that was somewhere between a bat and a pterodactyl.”

Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks for Nintendo DS – GamePro.com

“Though graphically similar to the previous Legend of Zelda entry on Nintendo's portable, Link's latest outing on the DS is looking to innovate on a few different levels, aside from the already apparent "train challenges" seen in earlier trailers. One new component of the gameplay involves players controlling the heavily-armored Phantom Knight, who is used as an auxiliary character to help solve puzzles and reach inaccessible areas; one example is Link riding the Phantom Knight through a sea of lava to avoid green leotard burns. The knight can also be used to trigger door locks and removing obstructions, with the player switching back and forth between controlling Link and the Phantom Knight.

“Aside from the Knight, the previously mentioned Train Challenges are looking to add a change in pace from the series' traditional dungeon crawling/puzzle solving mainstay mechanics. The challenges task players with assaulting enemies with a giant cannon mounted on the engine, while attempting to avoid crashing into other trains at the risk of failing the challenge. Players have to balance controlling the train speed, switching train tracks, defeating enemies and avoiding oncoming train traffic in order to succeed, and the intensity of these sections is extremely engaging.

“Fans of Phantom Hourglass should surely get a kick out of Spirit Tracks, and the new gameplay aspects look to bring fresh ideas to the series. While we never envisioned Link as a train conductor, when Nintendo says it can be done, we listen.”

Reviews

Wii Sports Resort – Wii

“Wii Sports, the casual-friendly minigame collection Nintendo packages in with every Wii, has some definite shortcomings. But, as a launch title, it showed developers how to take Nintendo's minimalistic remote and create fun, engaging games. Wii Sports Resort takes that same pick-up-and-play formula and expands on it, with the help of the MotionPlus accessory (an add-on that comes bundled with the game and heightens the Wii Remote's motion-sensing capabilities). Like Wii Sports, not every minigame in Resort is worth your time, but almost every one is unlocked right from the start, so you're free to ignore whatever parts you don't like and focus on the events you have the most fun with. My favorite minigame in Resort is Swordplay. The MotionPlus adapter provides a one-to-one level of control over your remote; the padded, on-screen blade even mirrors minute adjustments in your hand position. I never got tired of smashing through computer opponents in the game's free-for-all Showdown mode, and everyone who stopped by to watch me play wanted to face off in the one-on-one Duel mode. Since the controls are so precise, picking up the Wii-mote and swinging it around feels immediately natural.” – 1Up.com

“The sequel to arguably the best freebie pack-in game in 20 years arrives bearing a $50 price tag, 12 tropical-themed mini-games, and one Wii MotionPlus, an inch-long attachment for the Wii remote that purports to vanquish the pesky lag between player movement and onscreen movement. Cynics will say that the game features only 10 mini-games, since two of the games—Golf and Bowling—are do-overs from the original. Cynics will also say that this game is a Trojan horse designed to sell Wii MotionPlus attachments. Those cynics wouldn’t be wrong on either front. Yes, the production values on Wii Sports Resort are infinitely higher than they were in the bare-bones original Wii Sports. The elaborate opening alone—your Mii parachutes from an airplane to the titular resort—probably cost more to produce than the original game did in its entirety.” – AV Club

Marvel Vs Capcom 2 – X-Box 360

“But much more important than any graphic enhancement is the addition of online multiplayer. Like most of Capcom's fighting games, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 makes most sense with human competition and, provided the existing fan base for the game makes the HD jump, there should be no lack of live players to challenge. Online options are minimal, as the game offers just ranked and friendly matches with lobbies of up to six players. In our experience, the online play ranged from nearly flawless to jumpy yet fully playable, even with the optional input delay set to max. Hopefully the quality holds up under the duress of public hammering. But one mildly serious issue exists even in our controlled environment: During the versus loading screen, players cannot secretly swap character order by holding down the assist buttons, a feature that's in the arcade and Dreamcast originals and is even available in the offline modes of this HD update. (It's possible that this limitation is purposely imposed to enforce a tournament rule I'm not aware of.)” – IGN.com

“The upshot: you and your friends can go nuts in head-to-head matches, pitting, say, Iron Man, Dr. Doom, and Mega Man against Hulk, Chun-Li, and Jill Valentine. With its pared-down control scheme — two punch buttons, two kick buttons, and two assist buttons (each summoning a different partner) — MvC2 is more beginner-friendly than the Street Fighter games. Mashing the punch/kick buttons like a maniac while doing quarter- and half-circles with the analog stick (or better yet, with one of Mad Catz’s superb Street Fighter IV FightSticks) will generally let you pull off at least one special move per character, like Cable’s sweeping Viper Beam or Juggernaut’s trembly Earthquake. And with such flashy, screen-filling attacks, the game’s fun even when you’re seeing just a piece of it.” – Official X-Box Magazine Online

New Releases

August 3rd

Brave: A Warrior's Tale (Action/Evolved Games) - PSP
Fallout 3: Mothership Zeta (Role-Playing/Bethesda Softworks) – X360/PC

August 4th

Aliens in the Attic (Action/Playlogic) – PS2, PSP
Hannah Montana: Rock Out the Show (Puzzle/Disney Interactive) - PSP
World Championship Athletics (Sports/Conspiracy Entertainment) - Wii
Daisy Fuentes Pilates (Puzzle/Sega) - Wii
Brave: A Warrior's Tale (Action/SouthPeak Games) – Wii, X360
Real Heroes: Firefighter (Action/Conspiracy Entertainment) - Wii
SingStar: Queen (Puzzle/SCEA) – PS3
Reversal Challenge (Puzzle/UFO Interactive) - DS
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (Action/Electronic Arts) – Wii, DS, X360, PS2, PS3, PSP

August 5th

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled (Action/Ubisoft) – X360

August 7th

8BallAllstars (Sports/O-Games) - DS
Hearts of Iron III (Strategy/Paradox Interactive) - PC

August 10th

Death to Spies: Moment of Truth (Action/1C) - PC
Sky Pirates of Neo Terra (Action/Aspyr) - DS
Fossil Fighters (Role-Playing/Nintendo) - DS

August 11th

Joint Operations: Complete Collection (Puzzle/Navarre Corp) - PC
Active Life: Extreme Challenge (Sports/Namco Bandai Games) - Wii
Phantom Brave: We Meet Again (Role-Playing/NIS America) - Wii
C.O.R.E. (Action/Graffiti Entertainment) - DS
Still Life 2 (Adventure /Encore Software, Inc) - PC
Imagine: Soccer Captain (Sports/Ubisoft) - DS

Trials HD (Driving/Microsoft) – X360
Polar Sports Vol. 1 (Sports/MumboJumbo) - PC

August 13th

Marvel vs. Capcom 2 (Action/Capcom) – PS3

August 14th

Madden NFL 10 (Sports/Electronic Arts) – Wii, X360, PS2, PS3, PSP

August 16th

Pizza Morgana: Monsters & Manipulations in Magical Forest (Adventure/Corbomite) - PC

August 18th

My Make-Up (Puzzle/Oxygen Interactive) - DS
Speed Zone (Driving/Detn8) - Wii
Ant Nation (Action/Konami) - DS
SingStar: Queen (Puzzle/SCEA) – PS2
My Dress-Up (Puzzle/Oxygen Interactive) - DS
Paws & Claws Pet Vet (Puzzle/THQ) - Wii
Paws & Claws Pet Vet: Australian Adventures (Simulation/THQ) - DS
Sudoku Ball Detective (Puzzle/Playlogic) - DS
My Friends (Puzzle/Oxygen Interactive) - DS
Sudoku Ball Detective (Puzzle/Playlogic) - Wii
Marker Man Adventures (Action/Majesco Games) - DS
War Leaders: Clash of Nations (Strategy/Dreamcatcher) - PC
Wolfenstein (Action/Activision) – X360, PS3, PC
Raven Squad: Operation Hidden Dagger (Action/Evolved Games) - PC
Fallout 3 Game Add-On Pack (Role-Playing/Bethesda Softworks) – X360, PC
Spectrobes: Origins (Puzzle/Disney Interactive Studios) - Wii
Raven Squad: Operation Hidden Dagger (Action/Evolved Games) – X360

August 19th

Shadow Complex (Action/Epic Games) – X360

August 21st

All Star 5-A-Side Football (Sports/Oxygen Interactive) - DS

Metroid Prime Trilogy (Action/Nintendo) - Wii
The Sims 2 University Life Collection (Puzzle/Electronic Arts) - PC
Black College Football Experience - The Doug Williams Edition (Sports/Aspyr) – X360
Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box (Role-Playing/Nintendo) - DS

August 25th

Mahjongg Ancient Mayas (Puzzle/Cerasus Media) - DS
Wizards of Waverly Place (Action/Disney Interactive) - DS
Reel Fishing: Angler's Dream (Sports/Natsume) - Wii
Logic Island (Puzzle) - DS
The Clique: Diss and Make Up (Adventure/Warner Bros) - DS
Imagine: Teacher Class Trip (Puzzle/Ubisoft) - DS
Harvest Moon: Magical Melody (Strategy/Rising Star Games) - Wii
Emergency Room: Real Life Rescues (Simulation/Legacy Interactive) - DS
Wizards of Waverly Place (Action/Disney Interactive) - Wii
Cursed Mountain (Action/Deep Silver) - Wii
Warriors Orochi 2 (Action/Koei) - PSP
Batman: Arkham Asylum (Action/Eidos Interactive) – PS3, X360, PC
Dissidia: Final Fantasy (Action/Square Enix) - PSP
Harvest Moon: Frantic Farming (Action/Natsume) - DS
Mana Khemia 2: Fall of Alchemy (Strategy/NIS America) – PS2
CrimeCraft (Action/Vogster) - PC

August 26th

Watchmen: The End Is Nigh Part 2 (Action/Warner Bros. Interactive) – X360

August 27th

Shimano Xtreme Fishing (Sports/Mastiff) - Wii

August 28th

Beach Fun Summer Challenge (Action/Midway) - Wii

August 30th

Animal Kingdom: Wildlife Expedition (Adventure/Natsume) - Wii
My Virtual Tutor: Reading Adventure Pre-K to Kindergarten (Puzzle/Mentor Interactive) – DS
My Virtual Tutor: Reading Adventure Kindergarten to First (Puzzle/Mentor Interactive) - DS
My Virtual Tutor: Reading Adventure First to Second Grade (Puzzle/Mentor Interactive) - DS
Time of Shadows (Role-Playing/Kalypso) - PC
NyxQuest: Kindred Spirits (Action/Over the Top Games) - Wii
Monster Mayhem: Build and Battle (Action/Crave) - Wii
Picture Book Games: Pop-Up Pursuit (Action/Nintendo) - Wii
Harvest Moon: Sunshine Islands (Strategy/Natsume) - DS
My Hero: Firefighter (Action/Majesco Games) - DS
Prehistorik Man (Action/Interplay) - DS

August 31st

PAIN: Museum (Action/SCEA) – PS3
Diner Dash (Puzzle/Big Fish Games) – PS3, X360, Wii
Sarah: Keeper of the Unicorn (Adventure/Dreamcatcher) - DS
You, Me & the Cubes (Action/Nintendo) - Wii
Pinball Hall of Fame - The Williams Collection (Puzzle/Crave) – X360, PS3
Indianapolis 500 Evolution (Driving/Destineer) – X360