The mobile gaming sector is currently dominated by one company (Nintendo) with one delightful machine which appeals to the mass market (the DS). But the sector is becoming more crowded with the Apple iPhone offering casual gaming, and the PSP soon to be relaunched. Could Microsoft also be entering the fray with a portable Xbox?
Final Fantasy XIII is undoubtedly the most anticipated RPG game of next year. The game has been in development for a very long time and Japanese PS3 owners will have first crack at it later this year. The lengthy demo for the game was released several months ago in Japan with enough content packed in to offer a taste of the game.
President Obama made a comment a few days ago using the Xbox as the whipping boy for problems with video games today. This comment has Microsoft riled-up resulting in a public response to President Obama’s comment. Interestingly enough, Microsoft claims that the Xbox 360 is the only console to have parental controls.
The signs have been there for the last few months but June finally saw conclusive evidence that the video games industry is not recession-proof. June saw sales fall year-on-year for the fourth month in a row and the largest year-on-year monthly decline since September 2000.
Sony announced that the PSP will get its own Assassin’s Creed game. The game will not be a port or a spin-off, but will be a full-fledged open world game. Ubisoft recently released a new video showing off the in-game engine and it looks pretty good.
One of the greatest online multiplayer games to hit this year is Killzone 2. The game offers a solid multiplayer experience along with an excellent single player campaign. Guerrilla Games, the developers of Killzone 2 have been hard at work supporting the game by releasing a good amount of map packs.
It seems clear which way the video games industry is heading, with the Wii being the bestselling console of this generation, and both Sony and Microsoft unveiling new motion sensing control methods at E3 2009. While some people will love the idea of a casual gaming, motion sensing future, many aren’t, including the founder of Heavy Rain developer Quantic Dream.
Online multiplayer games offer a ton of replayability for many gamers out there. Some gamers literally spend over a hundred hours playing against other live players across the globe. Battlefield 1942 is a prime example of such a game. However, with the release of Battlefield 1943, can this remake live up to its predecessor’s reputation?
As the holiday season is rapidly approaching it is looking like 2009 is set to be another crowded year for gaming. Sony is said to currently have the biggest 2009 line-up out of any publisher and it is looking like that might actually hurt the company. Sony may need to start thinking about delaying some of the games to 2010 to ensure that the market doesn’t get too crowded.
The Tomb Raider franchise has gone off the boil of late. OK, so Underworld isn’t too bad, but the series is generally feeling stale and has probably since Tomb Raider Chronicles. What Tomb Raider really needs is a reboot, a re-imagining, a brand new way of playing with Lara Croft and company.
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