GDC Week Preview
Posted by Brian Vaughn at 2/18/2008 9:48 AM 
Categories: Xbox 360, Gears of War, Fable 2, Microsoft, NG2, Gears2, Rumor, gdc, Gaming
Categories: Xbox 360, Gears of War, Fable 2, Microsoft, NG2, Gears2, Rumor, gdc, Gaming
So this week is the Game Developers Conference and we should get some good game news this week. Last year Sony showed off Home and Little Big Planet is the mass praise from gaming media. In the past we have also scene early images of Gears of War and other Xbox 360 games. This year there is a lot of speculation about what will be at GDC and what Microsoft has up it's sleeve.
First off in 2008 there are plenty of AA games coming to the Xbox 360 like Ninja Gaiden 2, Grand Theft Auto 4, Resident Evil 4 and Fable 2. The Xbox 360 exclusives Too Human and Halo Wars are two games that should impress in 2008 as well. We do not know any release dates for these titles except GTA 4 which will be out in the end of April. It is believed that Fable 2 and Halo Wars will be holiday releases and Too Human should be a May/June release. I really hope we get some solid release dates so that gamers like me can start get our calendars in order for big releases.
The other news I want to hear about is the games that have not been announced. It's about that time we hear about sequels from games like Perfect Dark Zero, Forza Motorsport, Lost Planet, Prey, Dead Raising and Gears of War. There has been a lot of hope that Gears 2 is announced at GDC but I fear we will not see any Gears action but instead see Unreal Tournament 3. It's about time we see Gears of War 2 but I fear Epic will not release the next Gears on 2008. Still there are plenty of other good Xbox 360 games that should be getting sequels. Microsoft Game Studios needs to beef up their own offerings because just releasing kingdom Under Fire, Lost Odyssey, Too Human, Halo Wars and Fable 2 is not going to cut the mustard. Another AAA title is needed and probably at least two more middle tier games as well.
With the recent news of Xbox 360 hardware shortages it is believed a new SKU will be announced at GDC. So far of the new SKUs released the Arcade and Halo versions have not done very well. The Halo version was a limited run but can still be found in stored some five months after the release of Halo 3. The Arcade did well initially but has not maintained that momentum since it reality it is incomplete without a hard drive. I expect the new Xbox 360 SKU will be a very minor adjustment to the system like adding built-in Wifi support to the Elites and maybe Pros. There will be no internal HD-DVD or BluRay drive. Adding Wifi is the only thing that seems to make sense. If this is the case then expect some media backlash because this is a feature that should have been in every 360 at launch.
So I will keep monitoring all the important game sites for nuggets to write about on this site. GDC is the possibility to be a total letdown considering this is the first press conference with the new head of the Xbox division firmly in charge. I hope they do a much better job than just rehashing stuff we already know. These press conferences are needed to rally up the troops and get the media excited about what the Xbox 360 has to offer down the road. We all know the Xbox 360 has the best software library now but gaming journalist are a fickle group. They want to hear about how great the future will be and they totally buy into that apple pie in the sky crap. Make big promises and don't worry about delivering, that's what made Sony so loved by the games media.
First off in 2008 there are plenty of AA games coming to the Xbox 360 like Ninja Gaiden 2, Grand Theft Auto 4, Resident Evil 4 and Fable 2. The Xbox 360 exclusives Too Human and Halo Wars are two games that should impress in 2008 as well. We do not know any release dates for these titles except GTA 4 which will be out in the end of April. It is believed that Fable 2 and Halo Wars will be holiday releases and Too Human should be a May/June release. I really hope we get some solid release dates so that gamers like me can start get our calendars in order for big releases.
The other news I want to hear about is the games that have not been announced. It's about that time we hear about sequels from games like Perfect Dark Zero, Forza Motorsport, Lost Planet, Prey, Dead Raising and Gears of War. There has been a lot of hope that Gears 2 is announced at GDC but I fear we will not see any Gears action but instead see Unreal Tournament 3. It's about time we see Gears of War 2 but I fear Epic will not release the next Gears on 2008. Still there are plenty of other good Xbox 360 games that should be getting sequels. Microsoft Game Studios needs to beef up their own offerings because just releasing kingdom Under Fire, Lost Odyssey, Too Human, Halo Wars and Fable 2 is not going to cut the mustard. Another AAA title is needed and probably at least two more middle tier games as well.
With the recent news of Xbox 360 hardware shortages it is believed a new SKU will be announced at GDC. So far of the new SKUs released the Arcade and Halo versions have not done very well. The Halo version was a limited run but can still be found in stored some five months after the release of Halo 3. The Arcade did well initially but has not maintained that momentum since it reality it is incomplete without a hard drive. I expect the new Xbox 360 SKU will be a very minor adjustment to the system like adding built-in Wifi support to the Elites and maybe Pros. There will be no internal HD-DVD or BluRay drive. Adding Wifi is the only thing that seems to make sense. If this is the case then expect some media backlash because this is a feature that should have been in every 360 at launch.
So I will keep monitoring all the important game sites for nuggets to write about on this site. GDC is the possibility to be a total letdown considering this is the first press conference with the new head of the Xbox division firmly in charge. I hope they do a much better job than just rehashing stuff we already know. These press conferences are needed to rally up the troops and get the media excited about what the Xbox 360 has to offer down the road. We all know the Xbox 360 has the best software library now but gaming journalist are a fickle group. They want to hear about how great the future will be and they totally buy into that apple pie in the sky crap. Make big promises and don't worry about delivering, that's what made Sony so loved by the games media.
Comments