This year’s list is ridiculously long.  I can’t even begin to tell you how much Nintendo has just blown my mind.  While looking into the games that I wanted to write about, I found more games that Nintendo has announced at E3.

Wii – Top 10 Games at E3 2010, in no particular order

Donkey Kong Country Returns – I’ve been hoping for this game and it was one of the many surprises of the show.  I’m excited to finally have a true sequel to the DKC Trilogy of games that I love so much.

Epic Mickey – I’m more excited about this game now knowing the premise of it.  It looks like a unique platform game that will capture imaginations.  You are Mickey Mouse and you carry a paint brush that allows you to control the environment.  Whatever your gaming style is, it has an effect on the outcome of the game and how characters within the game react to you as you go.

GoldenEye 007 – Wow.  A complete re-build of the classic N64 shooter that changed first-person shooter games forever.  It’s effects on the gaming industry are still felt and this game should recapture the feel of the original.

Kirby’s Epic Yarn – A truly unique take on the Kirby franchise.  Looks really fun and stylistic.  Everything seems to be made from yarn in this adventure, and it gives the game an original look that is unlike anything I have seen before.  Kirby still has his classic moves with some new ones.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword – This will be out sometime in 2011 now, as development is scheduled to continue through the end of the year.  It’s going to use Wii Motion Plus and it’s going to be another great Epic Zelda game!

Mario Sports Mix – Mario characters playing Volleyball, Basketball, Dodgeball and Hockey.  You can even collect items to use against each other, kind of like Mario Kart.  This is a very exciting sounding game, though Mario Hoops 3-on-3 for the DS was very difficult and frustrating.  I think having Mario Basketball on Wii will make a big difference.  I just hope the A.I. of your teammates is actually intelligent.

Metroid: Other M – This was announced at last year’s E3 show, and now it’s very close to release.  I’m looking forward to playing this one.  It’s going to be in the style of Super Metroid from the SNES with a dash of Metroid Prime from GameCube and Wii.

NBA Jam – I loved playing this on the Super NES back in the day, and now it’s back!  Boom-shaka-laka!

PokéPark Wii Pikachu’s Adventure – This one’s for Courtney.  Looks fun, though.  It’s an adventure set in a Pokemon Park that features attractions and Pokemon.  Pikachu was summoned by Mew to find missing Sky Prism Pieces to save the day.

Wii Party – Party games, horseback riding, etc.  All with your Mii.  This one features 13 different party game modes and over seventy different minigames.  It seems to have a variety of unique games that will make it fun to play with your friends.  Hopefully it becomes a staple of a game night for family and friends.

3DS – Top 10 Games at E3 2010, in no particular order

It’s 3D – without glasses – holy crap!

Animal Crossing
Batman
Kid Icarus: Uprising – I was hoping for this game to be announced last E3 and was surprised that it was announced this time around.  Looking forward to it!
Kingdom Hearts
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D – While I feel Twilight Princess is the best Zelda game ever, many feel Ocarina of Time is.  This will be huge.
Mario Kart – Awesome, this is going to be great fun to play in 3D!
Nintendogs 3D
Paper Mario
Professor Layton and the Mask of Miracle (name not final) – I believe this is the 4th in the series of addictive puzzlers.
StarFox 64 3D

DS

Ōkamiden – The sequel to Okami for Wii, it looks interesting if not different.
Professor Layton and the Unwound Future – Likely the 3rd in the series of addictive puzzlers.

As you can see from the list above, Nintendo has really made quite an impression this year.  The length of the list of great properties that are coming out is enough to last me for years of gaming at the speed that I currently play video games, and this is if no sequel to Ghostbusters: The Video Game is announced.

Related Posts

• June 15, 2010 -- Donkey Kong Country Returns! Coming to Wii, a true sequel!
• June 5, 2009 -- E3 2009: Nintendo News – Zelda and Studio Ghibli (Part 3)
• February 24, 2010 -- Super Mario Galaxy 2 Release Date is May 23
• October 8, 2009 -- Oswald the Lucky Rabbit returns in Epic Mickey!
• June 2, 2009 -- E3 2009: Nintendo News (Part 1)

This game, however, is enough for me to feel that Nintendo has won this years E3 Expo.  I know that this is a selfish reason, though.  I’m completely pumped about the game and look forward to jumping back into the DKC world when the game comes out this fall.  The original is my all time favorite video game, and I loved the sequels as well.  I just never dreamed that I would see another one so soon.

Controlled by a group of evil Tikis, the animals in Donkey Kong Island have raided Donkey Kong’s Banana Hoard and stolen his stash of bananas – and he understandably wants them back. Retro Studios brings Donkey Kong™ back in a new side-scrolling adventure with familiar characters and new levels that reignite the passion players had for the Super NES™ original.

Features:

• Retro Studios faithfully restores everything that made the original series great, from barrel cannons to mine carts, and then builds on those elements with stunning graphics and new layers of depth to the world and game play. The game offers the traditional side-scrolling experience everyone loved, but with levels created in fully rendered 3-D environments.
• Diddy Kong™ joins the quest. With his trusty backpack, he can produce a jet pack or Peanut Pop Guns to give Donkey Kong more abilities.
• For the first time ever, the franchise features the ability for two people to play together at the same time (additional accessories required and are sold separately) – one as Donkey Kong, one as Diddy Kong. Players can navigate the levels separately or as one unit. Diddy Kong can ride on Donkey Kong’s back and hop off whenever he pleases, allowing novice players to ride on Donkey Kong’s back through more challenging areas of the game.
• Hidden items, puzzle pieces and other surprises are found all through the jungle. Spell out K-O-N-G by the end of each level to earn an extra bonus.
• Motion controls give players a real feeling of control. Players move Donkey Kong using the Control Stick on the Nunchuk™ controller and can shake the Wii Remote™ controller to make Donkey Kong slap the ground.
• Vibrant colors, beautiful graphics and fun characters draw players in. Even people who have never played a Donkey Kong game before can pick up a controller and start collecting loads of bananas.
• Every level offers new fun and new challenges. Sometimes Donkey Kong is running through the jungle, sometimes his action takes place on a tropical beach and other times he must become a master of timing as he jumps chasms in a mine cart.

Related Posts

• June 16, 2010 -- E3 2010: Nintendo News
• November 16, 2008 -- Donkey Kong Country Trilogy, My Dream Game
• February 24, 2010 -- Super Mario Galaxy 2 Release Date is May 23
• October 8, 2009 -- Oswald the Lucky Rabbit returns in Epic Mickey!
• June 5, 2009 -- E3 2009: Nintendo News – Zelda and Studio Ghibli (Part 3)

Today at the Nintendo Media Summit, Nintendo announced the release date of the sequel to Super Mario Galaxy.  May 23, I’ll be playing more Mario and loving nearly every minute of it.  Though I am also partially dreading that day as well.  The first game posed some very frustrating challenges.  I had episodes of Boy Meets World playing on a computer as I played the game to keep me laughing through the frustration of some of the levels.  From what I’ve heard, this game assumes that you’ve completed the first one, and so they’ve ramped up the challenge.

I love games when you can just pick them up and have fun with them, without being too challenging.  It’s really exhilarating to be able to easily pick up a game and fly through levels while achieving great victories.  I suppose I just have to get better.

Related Posts

• April 24, 2009 -- Ghostbusters: The Video Game Opening Cinematic
• June 16, 2010 -- E3 2010: Nintendo News
• June 5, 2009 -- E3 2009: Nintendo News – Zelda and Studio Ghibli (Part 3)
• June 2, 2009 -- E3 2009: Nintendo News (Part 1)
• May 6, 2009 -- Sony to release Ghostbusters: The Video Game Exclusively on Sony in Europe

Over the course of the press release, it was revealed that Warner Brothers had purchased Traveller’s Tales back in 2005.  A fact that I had forgotten, if I ever knew it, because they keep releasing Lego Star Wars and Lego Indiana Jones games, with the second Indy recently released, and Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars coming out later this year.  Back in 2009, they purchased Snowblind Studios to develop their Lord of the Rings game franchise.  But is there room for a Lego Lord of the Rings?

I’m going to say an emphatic yes!  Afterall, with what they’re doing with Batman, there is clearly room in the marketplace: Lego Batman and Batman: Arkham Asylum are currently available, with both Batman: Arkham Asylum 2 and Batman: The Brave and the Bold in the works for later this year.  There are also many Harry Potter games based on each of the movies, and Lego Harry Potter is coming out very soon.

There is certainly room for Lego Lord of the Rings among all of the other Lord of the Rings video games that are in the works.  Heck, if they do that one now, they can also begin work on a sequel to coincide with the Hobbit films in 2011/12 (or 2012/13 if they are delayed).  I don’t see them making Lego Silmarillion any time soon, however.  Either way, this is something that I would love to play, as the Lego games tend to be a comedic look at the films, while also keeping with the spirit of the story.  And The Lord of the Rings fits the mold of all of the other Lego games: it has a LOT of great characters that people could use.

With that, I say: Lego Lord of the Rings – make it happen, WB!

-via Deadline Hollywood

Related Posts

• December 16, 2011 -- Lego The Lord of the Rings is coming! (Lego The Hobbit, too!)
• April 5, 2005 -- Star Wars
• March 23, 2004 -- Some of the best DVDs of 2004
• June 17, 2011 -- DC Comics 52 Title Reboot – Batman Titles
• February 7, 2011 -- My 10 Favorite Super Bowl Commercials for 2011

But now he’s making his return in a very inventive way.

Since the return to Disney, there was a quick effort to release products featuring the character in an effort to educate the public on who exactly Oswald is. I found things at Disney stores including a statue, a stuffed animal, a canvas art piece and a cup. They also released a DVD of the old Oswald cartoons with newly composed music, as most of them were silent. They were played theatrically, presumably with a live orchestra. I also spent a bit of time, each time I was in a Disney Store, explaining Oswald to other shoppers and sometimes store employees.

And this week, this article appeared, making me very curious about the game, and instantly adding the game to my wishlist for 2010.

A source close to Disney has let slip the first details of Warren Spector’s new Wii game, Epic Mickey, to Eurogamer.

The choice of platform, incidentally, boils down to Mickey’s tools – paintbrushes, erasers, thinner, pencils and other artist tools – being mapped to Wii remote gestures.

But let’s rewind a bit.

Epic Mickey is a tale about the ‘forgotten’ Disney stars: the rides, the characters, the lesser-known cartoons. When nobody any longer cares, they are cast into a dark void; a forgotten world of broken machines and bitter personalities – a bit like Sid’s bedroom in Toy Story, but without the friendly furnishings.

This forgotten world is run by Oswald the Rabbit. He was Disney’s first creation, made long before Mickey Mouse, and his jealousy of the newcomer has fermented for years. Now, finally, Oswald is ready for revenge.

He unleashes The Phantom Blot to wipe out Mickey and his cartoon world. The Blot pollutes the Disney universe with sticky black ink that makes colours run and fade (as seen on the Game Informer cover), so it’s up to Mickey to restore peace and order. And this is where his tools come in.

Mickey has to draw and scribble his way through levels, mending broken bridges by applying the right colour paint or peering through walls after applying thinner. He can even clear rubble from his path by erasing parts of the world.

Our source told us Epic Mickey is a game about thinking and artwork – laterally considering your environment in order to overcome puzzles.

On top of that is a healthy dose of exploration, plus Mickey will be getting “his first makeover in years”. “That’s why no one’s seen his face yet,” our source explained, “But he’s far more retro than you’ve seen him for years.”

Related Posts

• June 16, 2010 -- E3 2010: Nintendo News
• June 15, 2010 -- Donkey Kong Country Returns! Coming to Wii, a true sequel!
• February 24, 2010 -- Super Mario Galaxy 2 Release Date is May 23
• June 5, 2009 -- E3 2009: Nintendo News – Zelda and Studio Ghibli (Part 3)
• May 6, 2009 -- Sony to release Ghostbusters: The Video Game Exclusively on Sony in Europe

Not only that, but Studio Ghibli and Level 5 are working on an RPG for the DS called Ninokuni.  There’s no word on when or if it’ll come stateside, but it is beautiful.

[via Famitsu, Kotaku]

Related Posts

• June 16, 2010 -- E3 2010: Nintendo News
• February 24, 2010 -- Super Mario Galaxy 2 Release Date is May 23
• June 3, 2009 -- E3 2009: Nintendo News and a bit more (Part 2)
• June 2, 2009 -- E3 2009: Nintendo News (Part 1)
• May 6, 2009 -- Sony to release Ghostbusters: The Video Game Exclusively on Sony in Europe

I want to also mention a bit more about the press conferences from this week, as far as winners and losers.  Remember: I own a Wii and an Xbox 360, and do not own a PS3.  But I’m trying to be fair to all of them. This is a stream of consciousness that I’m only writing what comes naturally, so bear with me:

Presentation:

Winner: Microsoft

They presented a new game technology called Project Natal, that allows for many different things. Controller free gaming, object scanning, face and voice recognition, etc. But the lack of buttons makes this an impossible device to use on games that require, oh I don’t know…. a trigger?

They also announced more first person shooters than you can shake a stick at, including not just one, but TWO new Halo games.  Granted, we don’t know all that much about the differences in gameplay, but I can almost guarantee it’s much different than Nintendo announcing two new Mario games.

The biggest downside is that Microsoft spent a lot of time talking up games that are non-exclusives.  The Beatles: Rock Band, for example, will be available on all three consoles, as will the new Tony Hawk.  Thanks for padding your presentation with extras, Microsoft.

Runner Up: Nintendo

Seeing is believing with the games, and with a focus on first party, as well as third party exclusives, Nintendo showed only what they had to and nothing more.

Loser: Sony

“You’ve never played games like this before.” Yes we have, and yes we will. First on Nintendo Wii. Wii Motion Plus ring any bells?

Games I ACTUALLY want to play:

Winner: Nintendo

The Marios, Metroid, Wii Sports Resort. These are titles that interest me, and are the reasons why I keep my Wii locked and loaded. I guess I’m not a big fan of first person shooters. They kind of look… I don’t know… like they’re the same game after a while… with slightly different enemies and weapons but the same outcome.

Runner-Up: Sony

There’s a twist, as I own an Xbox 360 and NOT a PS3. I want to play The Last Guardian. But here’s another twist: I won’t be buying a PS3 just for one game. Period.

Loser: Microsoft

I guess I wouldn’t really call it a total loss. They did announce Halo: ODST and Halo: Reach. What they didn’t do is announce any killer apps for their motion capture control device. Nor did they announce any games that I would love to play.

Technology

Winner: Microsoft & Nintendo (Tie)

Microsoft has finally created something worth talking about in gaming, that is unique to the Xbox 360.  However, Nintendo has the most accurate control system coming out with Wii Motion Plus. Nintendo also has a greater installed user base and less of an upward climb to get their technology into homes.

Loser: Sony

So much for being first at anything, Sony has followed up their dreadful trend in copying what everyone else is doing by copying what everyone else is doing. Sony’s Motion Controller involves nothing new. Sure there’s a camera to track the location of the controller…. but why does it need that? I guess Nintendo holds the patent on Motion Controllers themselves, so to get around it, they had to use a camera to track it. This could also explain why Microsoft pulled their own motion controller last E3 and started working on the camera device for their system. Of course, that’s all theory on my part.

They also announced PSP Go for the same price as a Nintendo Wii.  Now, if you don’t want to have fun, you can have a portable device that you can take places and play games with the very few that have a PSP. Might as well just buy a DS Lite for over $100 less, or the DSi for about $80 less. Pick up some games for your shiny new DS while you’re at it. If you love RPGs, you’ll thank me later.

Overall

For this, I tallied up the score by giving two points to the winner, one point to the runner-up and zero to the loser in each category.

Winner: Nintendo (5 points)

Nintendo may not have won in presentation, but they’ve got it where it counts. Games and technology, giving them the best overall for this year’s E3.

Runner-Up: Microsoft (4 points)

Presentation was top notch, but game offerings are slim to none, though the technology is intriguing.

Loser: Sony (1 point)

One one category did they impress me: they had a game that I would like to play, and I don’t even know why. It might be the main character with the huge dragon thing for a companion that is intriguing to me, as a fan of such films as The Iron Giant and The NeverEnding Story.

Related Posts

• June 5, 2009 -- E3 2009: Nintendo News – Zelda and Studio Ghibli (Part 3)
• June 2, 2009 -- E3 2009: Nintendo News (Part 1)
• May 6, 2009 -- Sony to release Ghostbusters: The Video Game Exclusively on Sony in Europe
• June 16, 2010 -- E3 2010: Nintendo News
• February 24, 2010 -- Super Mario Galaxy 2 Release Date is May 23

Today was Nintendo’s Press Conference at E3. The announcements that were made were not at all bad, though presentation could have been better, the products speak for themselves. I’m just upset about the omission of three properties that I’d love to see make a comeback on Wii.

Nintendo Channel on Wii has also been updated to include trailers for the games they debuted at E3.

We’ll start with the surprises. All three are games that I now plan to get, and have added to my radar to acquire as soon as they are available.

Surprises that I now want to have:

New Super Mario Bros. Wii

I love the first New Super Mario Bros. on DS, and with that game being a top seller, expected to hear about New Super Mario Bros. 2 for DS at this year’s E3. What I did not expect was to see another entry in the series appear on the Wii. And it’s four players – SIMULTANEOUSLY! Not only that, but it is scheduled to come out by the end of this year, as they said Holiday 2009.

Seeing as the rumored new Mario game had just been announced, I didn’t see this announcement coming, and was slightly disappointed, even though I didn’t really expect it to be announced. And then it happened:

Super Mario Galaxy 2

You’ve got to be kidding me! This has me extremely excited. When I finished Super Mario Galaxy, I already wanted more adventure in the universe that Nintendo created with that game. Even with the pain and frustration that sometimes came with the challenges presented by the game, I wanted more. And more is exactly what we’re getting. This time, Yoshi is invited along on the adventure, as you can ride him around. It’s going to bring new gameplay elements into the fun adventure that I gave a 10 out of 10. I look forward to playing through the first adventure again, as well as the all new adventure, coming in 2010.

Metroid: Other M

I had heard rumor of the Metroid series returning to the style of play that it began with, with the first person perspective going away. This is that game. With Metroid Prime Trilogy being released later this year on Wii, you could say that is Retro Studios final Metroid game. What they’re working on now is a mystery at this point.

The trailer for Metroid: Other M starts out with the identity of the game being a mystery, until finally Zero Suit Samus appears and then puts on the suit. Not to mention the fact that she talks as well. This game looks incredible, and it, too, is due out in 2010.

Other games that they announced that I want

Wii Sports Resort

This looks better than when they first announced it. With a really wide variety of mini-games to play, including Table Tennis, a Swordplay game, Archery, More golf, Basketball, Water Skiing, Kayaking, Frisbee throwing, 3-point contests and more. I was very surprised by the number of different games available to play.

Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box

This is for the DS, and it’s the second game in the Professor Layton series. I’ve been having a great time playing the first game in the series, and look forward to this one as well. It’s utterly addictive and fun. This wasn’t announced during the press conference, but looks great.

I hear this game comes out as soon as August of this year.

Properties that are mysteriously missing

Donkey Kong – As I’ve written about, I want a true Donkey Kong Country 4. They can call it New Donkey Kong Country for all I care. I want it.

Kid Icarus – Pit appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and is a terrific character. Let’s see him return in a new franchise that becomes classic!

Zelda – Twilight Princess doesn’t really count, Nintendo. Let’s see a new Zelda made for the Wii from the start! And let’s see it come out on the Wii and not Wii 2.

All in all, though, a great E3 for Nintendo. Microsoft has enthralled the world with it’s controller free motion device, but to play a game like Super Mario Galaxy, no amount of hands free control will give you the added benefit of having a control stick and some buttons. People like to have tactile feedback.

As for Sony, the one game that they have a trailer for that I wouldn’t mind playing is one that is exclusive to the PS3. Sad. It’s called The Last Guardian.

But then Sony, again, tries to claim to be the first with technology that Nintendo invented. Really, Sony? Motion controller? In 2010?  With 1 to 1 controls? Sounds a lot like you’ve been in a cave somewhere, while Nintendo announced Wii Motion Plus. Seriously. Get with the program.

There was one other Nintendo announcement that I just wanted to comment on: Wii Vitality Sensor.

The Wii Vitality Sensor could add more depth to games like Resident Evil and Call of Duty. Imagine a game where you do a whole bunch of stuff, and then you get caught and have to use it when doing a lie detector test. There are many many possibilities for this that people aren’t really thinking about. Thinking outside of the box with this device is very important.

Related Posts

• June 16, 2010 -- E3 2010: Nintendo News
• February 24, 2010 -- Super Mario Galaxy 2 Release Date is May 23
• June 5, 2009 -- E3 2009: Nintendo News – Zelda and Studio Ghibli (Part 3)
• June 3, 2009 -- E3 2009: Nintendo News and a bit more (Part 2)
• May 6, 2009 -- Sony to release Ghostbusters: The Video Game Exclusively on Sony in Europe

Even [Bill] Murray returned – not with a hatful of diva demands, but wanting an assurance that Winston Zeddemore, the underwritten black character from the movies, would be elevated to full status.

This is really interesting. I suppose in my mind, Winston was always a full status Ghostbuster. After joining the team just after the halfway mark of the original film, he’s there for the entire adventure of the second, and even has his own episodes in The Real Ghostbusters. But I can also see his point, as Winston is the one character that doesn’t really appear on the cover of the Blu-ray edition of Ghostbusters, and (Video Game SPOILER WARNING) he isn’t included in the commercial within the opening cinematic, which I felt was a glaring omission.

Way to go, Mr. Murray! I commend you on that request. It shouldn’t have been necessary, but the gesture is noted and notable!

Now, onto the Ghostbusters 3 rumor that Aykroyd let slip, as well as my thoughts on what he could have meant.

“There’ll be a whole new generation that has to be trained and a leader that you’ll all love when you meet her,” says Aykroyd. “There’ll be lots of cadets, boys and girls who’ll be learning how to use the neuron splitter and the inter-planet interceptor – new tools to enable them to slip from dimension to dimension.”

Well… there’s an interesting statement. We’ve spoken about the new Ghostbusting tools before, but what he just slipped was the gender of the new leader.

Rumors place Alyssa Milano and Eliza Dushku as potential future Ghostbusters.  However, what Dan said was that we’ll all love her when we meet her.  That could mean many things, but I’ve come down to two theories that I think are possibilities.

Either it’s as simple as the attitude of the leader, and the character is really cool and we’ll love the leader because of how well written she is (if she, in fact, is a girl).

Or it is none other than Dana Barrett, led by Sigourney Weaver herself. That’d be quite the twist, would it not? She’d then be the former skeptical musician now at the heart of the business. Not only that, but Sigourney’s presence in that role would be something that I think would be easy to love, and she seems like she’d be a natural leader. The way that she carries herself makes her a natural fit in a leadership role.

I don’t think it likely, but I do think it’s a really interesting What if?

This morning, via twitter, I found out about a couple of the female Ghostbuster cadets that appear in the first draft of Ghostbusters 3‘s screenplay.

Carla, the youngest. Beautiful, Hispanic college grad. And Moira. Fit, clean, compact gymnastic champ and science undergrad. Bit tightass.

The source of the screenplay is unknown. I have no idea how they were able to acquire this information. However, it does fit the two actresses that are rumored for the roles. Carla would likely be played by Alyssa Milano, and Moira by Eliza Dushku.

-via Twitter, The Guardian

Related Posts

• October 9, 2008 -- Bill Murray’s talking Ghostbusters 3
• September 7, 2008 -- Ghostbusters 3 – Wow, it’s Really Happening!
• January 10, 2011 -- Ivan Reitman on Ghostbusters 3 Script: It is Complete!
• May 6, 2009 -- Sony to release Ghostbusters: The Video Game Exclusively on Sony in Europe
• February 23, 2009 -- Ghostbusters 3 to shoot this fall?

In NTSC regions such as the United States, Atari is handling distribution of the game, and it WILL be released on time on ALL consoles on June 16th.

In PAL regions such as the United Kingdom, Sony is handling distribution of the game and ONLY releasing it on PS3, PS2 and PSP on June 19th, and Wii, DS and 360 in Fall 2009.

Sony has a history of bad moves like this.After they announced the Extremely high price models of the PS3 of $500 and $600, their head Ken Kutaragi had this to say:

“This is the PS3 price. Expensive, cheap — we don’t want you to think of it in terms of game machines. Because the PS3 is like nothing else.

For instance, is it not nonsense to compare the charge for dinner at the company cafeteria with dinner at a fine restaurant? It’s a question of what you can do with that game machine. If you can have an amazing experience, we believe price is not a problem.

When we announced the PlayStation price, it was said to be expensive… same for the PlayStation 2. However, when released, both had sales that were unthinkable for previous game machines. This is because both offered experiences that could not be had on previous game machines.

With the PS3, you can have next generation game experiences that could previously not be experienced — things like next generation graphics and various services via the network. And, as with the PS and PS2, we believe people who like games will, without question, purchase it.” (1)

Read between the lines, folks. What he is actually saying is this. “We want you to think of the PS3 how we want you to think about the PS3. Not as a game machine, but something more than that. And we offer experiences that can not be found on previous game machines. And we believe that our fans are idiots that are willing to pay whatever price we set for a gaming system.”

We aren’t stupid, Sony, and no system of yours has ever been groundbreaking, period. Every big groundbreaking event in gaming in the last thirty years can be traced to one company alone: Nintendo. I defy anyone to prove me wrong.

Ghostbusters Delay

Sony is up to their usual tricks again, however, only in Europe. Thankfully only in Europe. Here’s the quote from the horse’s mouth:

‘With our colleagues at Sony Computer Entertainment Europe publishing Ghostbusters: The Video Game, we are thrilled by the dynamic new Ghostbusters game. We think it will have tremendous appeal to gamers and we can’t think of a better way to celebrate the 25th anniversary of this beloved franchise.’ said Mark Caplan, Vice President of Licensing-Interactive for Sony Pictures Consumer Products. ‘With this superb game launching alongside the Blu-ray release, we will reach existing fans and the next generation, bringing them all into the irresistible Ghostbusters universe.’ (2)

Now, let’s look at that quote again with what he is really saying.

‘…We think it will have tremendous appeal to [Sony] gamers and we can’t think of a better way to celebrate the 25th anniversary of this beloved franchise [than to release the game only to fans that have one of our consoles].’ said Mark Caplan, Vice President of Licensing-Interactive for Sony Pictures Consumer Products. ‘With this superb game launching [on PS2, PS3 and PSP] alongside the Blu-ray release, we will reach existing fans [that are among the 10 million (3) fans that purchased a PlayStation 3 in PAL regions] and the next generation, bringing them all [to stores to buy our overpriced hardware] into the irresistible [heh! see what I did there?] Ghostbusters universe.’

It’s a dang good thing that Atari has the distribution license here in the United States. Sony, I love that your Motion Pictures division is creating Ghostbusters 3, but why have you not even listened to the life-blood of the series: Dan Aykroyd? He prefers the Wii version of the game, as he told Newsweek:

Honestly, I love the way we look in the Wii platform, because it resembles the animation that was done in “The Incredibles.” Anybody who looks like an Incredible is automatically a superhero. And I was so pleased that they shaved off at least 60 pounds from my current bulk. The boys look good. We resemble the actors who were in the first movie. You wouldn’t want us out there looking as we do today. But in the third movie we will! There, we’ll have the benefit of passing the torch to a new generation. Much prettier and much better looking, like Alyssa Milano. (4)

Why are you ignoring the fact that you have lost this generation of gamers? Why are you being ignorant of your legion of fans that doesn’t have a Sony console, or even want one. I think that while it’s being looked at as great marketing for Sony’s consoles, it’s really not being fair to the Ghostbusters franchise, as it is limiting the reach that the game will have for a while, and the franchise is still unproven as far as making a come back. It’s a good thing it’s releasing on Wii, 360 and DS over here at the same time as the Sony versions of the game. It’s Sony’s choices like this that remind me why I don’t purchase their consoles.

Photo Credit: Woot.com

Sources
1. IGN: Ken Kutagari
2. CinemaBlend: Sony makes GB exclusive in Europe
3. VGChartz
4. Newsweek: Dan Aykroyd loves Wii version

Related Posts

• April 24, 2009 -- Ghostbusters: The Video Game Opening Cinematic
• February 16, 2009 -- Ghostbusters: The Video Game Behind the Scenes Details
• May 26, 2009 -- Aykroyd talks more Ghostbusters 3, Video Game
• September 23, 2008 -- Great Wii Games
• June 16, 2010 -- E3 2010: Nintendo News