Jake and Mike Videogame Show

Some interesting news from the latest US game sales charts, Bioshock 2 and Dante’s Inferno came out for both the PS3 and 360 and the numbers are in. I bet most of you are saying “Jake, who cares about game sales numbers? I own all the systems and play the games that are best for each platform.” Well you are a great person, I think more people need to be like you and in being more like you they will be more like me, which is fantastic. I know that game sales numbers are really only for fanboys to jerk off too but I think there is some interesting things happening out there in the gaming world and you should be informed. Don’t fall asleep on the job here people.

Alright, anyway, lets start with Bioshock 2, a first person shooter that had it’s predecessor come out exclusively for the 360, then about a year later saw a release on the PS3. I think it’s pretty logical how the sales for this game look, the 360 version has sold more then double the copies of the PS3 version, and why wouldn’t it? It is a game that we loved here in the US (where the 360 has almost double the consoles sold compared to the PS3), it is a first person shooter, and it had a long exclusive run on the 360. Almost all first person shooters do better on the 360, I don’t have the info in front of me but I would be willing to guess that a 360 FPS sells more then it’s PS3 version almost every time. So no big surprise there, but the Dante’s Inferno sales are a little more interesting.

So assuming that there are a little under 2x as many 360s as opposed to PS3s in the US you would think Dante’s Inferno would have a similar ratio of sales, but that is not the case. We have seen a trend recently of games that are not FPS’s selling very comparable on both consoles, not only that but in the case of games that have some sort of exclusive content (Batman Arkum Asylum anyone?) they are selling better on the PS3. Dante’s Inferno has some sort of exclusive content on the PS3, I don’t know what it is because I don’t really care about the game, but I can assure you there is something. I’m guessing a scythe, no that’s too easy… a big claw weapon. I bet people are clamoring over this big claw weapon as we speak, “Oh what do you think of the big claw?” they will say, “I got the 360 version, I didn’t get the big claw” their friend will reply, then everyone will laugh at them. Kids can be cruel. So back to the numbers, Dante’s Inferno is selling better on the PS3. That’s right, BETTER. Now I need to point out that I don’t really care which version sells better, I don’t own any stock in either company, but I think Sony is starting to compete with the 360 due to its price drop and exclusive content and that is something gamers need to realize. The PS3 is selling video games now, and some of them are better.

How long will this trend last? Is Sony finally taking some business from Microsoft? What’s up with the stuff? These are all great questions that I can’t answer but I hope I have given you something to think about and for you 360 fanboys, maybe it is time to buy a PS3. Oh, and for you PS3 fanboys, calm down.

jake

ps – haters wanna hate, get your shine on, I’m Gutta Gutta. Good night.

I got my 360 back today, and it is still Canadian.

That had me worried sick, I’m glad I had nothing to be afraid of.

-(MS)Mike out.

Now I downloaded the demo for Shadow Complex, obviously, because the buzz on the game was insane.

I wasn’t really blown away, and although it seemed decent, it wasn’t really as great as the buzz had led me to believe it may be. Some less then stellar control issues and an overly basic feel kept me from feeling as amazed as the greater video game media seems to be. It’s a shame this game didn’t come out a month ago, when nothing else was out, BUT that isn’t what this post is about.

The production values that Shadow Complex has brought to the table for a downloadable game are near unprecedented. I am flat-out astonished with them. The cut scenes, level of detail, voice work, story fleshing and narrative are all completely above the level I’ve ever seen in a game on PSN or XBLA. It’s almost hard to believe you’re even playing an XBLA title when the gameplay cuts away and the story related stuff kicks in.

I never really thought about it this way, even though I’m always bringing up the greater significance of DLC titles these days, but If you saw more dev’s taking the initiative like this in their downloadable titles, not so much a gameplay thing but a level of polish like this, something truly amazing could be ushered into the gaming world and really rock the boat, in a good way.

I would just like to see this become a trend in titles that come from the downloadable realm of gaming and see the envelope truly pushed into the atmosphere of what can be done with the narrative and cinematic viewing of a downloadable game when the right hands are involved, because to me, that is what truly sets Shadow Complex apart from the crowd.

-(MS)Mike out.

Just like yesterday, I wanna run a few bullet points over what I thought of today. Again, well be going over these at more length on the podcast this Friday.

-I really didn’t think any one was going to be able to steal the thunder that Microsoft started with their keynote yesterday and I was half right. I personally think that Sony and Microsoft stole the show from Nintendo pretty hard this year. Any other year it would have been great for them with the type of game announcements they brought, but this year had too steep a competition from Sony and Microsoft.

-I can’t express how damn excited I am that Golden Sun DS is a real thing and not some fevered dream in my head. That just shot to the top of my must have list.

-Sorry Microsoft and Nintendo, but I think Sony may have trumped you guys on the motion control thing. From what I saw, I think it’s easily the most exciting and has the best gaming applications out of the three.

-I’m  not quite sure what the hell Nintendo is thinking with that goofy ass Wii Vitality Sensor, but I feel like that was a pretty poor thing to make such a big deal about during the keynote, especially without many details as to what exactly its really supposed to do for you.

-I was already interested in borderlands (gearbox goes hand in hand with valve so I like them) but the Idea of a loot based co-op first person fallout/diablo style game….I mean, who WOULDN’T be interested in that? All the details surrounding the emphasis on co-op only made me that much more excited!

-Who the hell does bungie think they are, charging full retail for Halo: ODST?! Especially after they made such a big deal about how it wouldn’t cost the same as a full game back when they announced it. Dirty business, my freinds, dirty business.

-(MS)Mike out.