Xbox/Xbox 360 E3 Game Announcement Thread

[quote name='epobirs']MMORPGs don't age like regular games. EverCrack has players with characters going strong after almost five years. MMORPG was a gaping hole in the Xbox library since it was ideally suited to such games but the three announced all fell through.

This category also is capable of making serious money with much lower numbers than a typical game. A dedicated audience paying monthly fees over a long period can in the long term produce far more net revenue than agame reaching an audience several times larger.[/QUOTE]


I don't agree with this. Everquest was going strong for 5 years was because they had almost no competition. It is slowly dying tho, SOE had to merge alot of the servers just recently, and its probably due to World of Warcraft and partially Everquest 2.

I honestly don't think FFXI will sell over 50k units for xbox360 unless SquareEnix decides to put in new servers for that launch. And I HIGHLY doubt FFXI would motivate japanese people to buy the xbox360.
 
[quote name='gokou36']I don't agree with this. Everquest was going strong for 5 years was because they had almost no competition. It is slowly dying tho, SOE had to merge alot of the servers just recently, and its probably due to World of Warcraft and partially Everquest 2.

I honestly don't think FFXI will sell over 50k units for xbox360 unless SquareEnix decides to put in new servers for that launch. And I HIGHLY doubt FFXI would motivate japanese people to buy the xbox360.[/QUOTE]
Combine FFXI, future Square games on the platform, Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey, Dead or Alive 4, 99 Nights, Condemned, Dead Rising, and you have serious motivation for Japanese people to buy the Xbox. The support from Japanese developers is there this time around.
 
[quote name='dafoomie']Combine FFXI, future Square games on the platform, Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey, Dead or Alive 4, 99 Nights, Condemned, Dead Rising, and you have serious motivation for Japanese people to buy the Xbox. The support from Japanese developers is there this time around.[/QUOTE]


I was going off of what someone said FFXI alone would motivate people to buy xbox360.
 
[quote name='gokou36']I was going off of what someone said FFXI alone would motivate people to buy xbox360.[/QUOTE]
Oh, well yeah, it by itself isn't going to do shit, you're right about that. I think Square is using this to test the waters a little bit, its much less of a risk than a completely new game.
 
[quote name='gokou36']I don't agree with this. Everquest was going strong for 5 years was because they had almost no competition. It is slowly dying tho, SOE had to merge alot of the servers just recently, and its probably due to World of Warcraft and partially Everquest 2.

I honestly don't think FFXI will sell over 50k units for xbox360 unless SquareEnix decides to put in new servers for that launch. And I HIGHLY doubt FFXI would motivate japanese people to buy the xbox360.[/QUOTE]

Simply not true. Several successful games preceded EQ into the market. (Ultima Online, Meridian59, etc.) During the years EQ has been through a truckload of expansions. FFXI is still young in that respect. Square Enix plans to keep building up their world for a long time to come. If they get the client software for the 360 out within the first half of 2006 the game world will be no more aged than EQ was for the majority of players when they got involved. It took a good while for the buzz to build for an MMORPG still when EQ started.

50K sales for an existing MMORPG is actually quite good if all of those become subscribers for at least one year. EQ's original target for profitability was 100K but they were happily surprised to find themselves at 400K and growing before WoW and EQ II began drawing off people. The problem with EQ II was that they couldn't implement the kind of improvements they wanted for new material without requiring more PC than many of the players had. The solution was a separate environment catering to high end PC owners and hoping it did n't take too long before the specs seemed less stringent in terms of the average PC.

That wouldn't be a problem for a console based MMORPG. The platform is static. The biggest issue they'd face is telling people they'd need to upgrade their drive capacity or plug-in a USB of x or greater space to enter the new territory. Compared to what I've seen dedicated players spend in service of PC based MMORPGS that isn't a big expenditure.

Why would new servers be needed. Are there performance problems now? If you mean Xbox users should be playing in their own separate newly spawned world, that doesn't require a big hardware investment, just separate instances of the software running the capacity is available. What is happening physically at the server side and what players are lead to believe can be two very different things. Players are often fooled into thinking the server is performing some awesome task because they see lots of pretty pictures at their end but that is completely local. The server is just dealing in database entries and their updates/interactions. Capacity problems are pipe issues rather than the server itself but it looks the same from the client end.
 
Ah, the Xbox.com archive is now being offered in high and low streams. I was starting to get a decent stream from Gamespot last night but some -ahem- household issues left me too annoyed to sit through it then. After enduring the Sony spiel I'm probably going to wait for a version I can download and have FF control.
 
[quote name='dafoomie']Oh, well yeah, it by itself isn't going to do shit, you're right about that. I think Square is using this to test the waters a little bit, its much less of a risk than a completely new game.[/QUOTE]

By itself it isn't going to build a market that will draw more third parties but a wall is made of individual bricks. This genre was a gaping hole in the Xbox library. The machine that should have been THE alternative to the PC as MMORPG platform with easy setup instead had nothing at all to offer. In Asian markets, not just Korea, this is a genre that is showing great growth. Square has good reason to see it as becoming a big profit center over the coming years.
 
I wonder if they will do a price drop on the Xbox around the holiday season since they are coming out with 360 at that time and if they will drop the price of Xbox games?
 
Another thing that is interesting to me is the fact that we will have to get rid of all of those nice S controllers and won't be able to use them with 360.
 
[quote name='epobirs']By itself it isn't going to build a market that will draw more third parties but a wall is made of individual bricks. This genre was a gaping hole in the Xbox library. The machine that should have been THE alternative to the PC as MMORPG platform with easy setup instead had nothing at all to offer. In Asian markets, not just Korea, this is a genre that is showing great growth. Square has good reason to see it as becoming a big profit center over the coming years.[/QUOTE]
Exactly, by itself its nothing, but its a very big piece of the growing Japanese support.

There are several other MMO's on the way, including True Fantasy Live Online. And a Korean company is making an MMOFPS based on the Unreal 3 engine, Huxley.
 
[quote name='dafoomie']Exactly, by itself its nothing, but its a very big piece of the growing Japanese support.

There are several other MMO's on the way, including True Fantasy Live Online. And a Korean company is making an MMOFPS based on the Unreal 3 engine, Huxley.[/QUOTE]

That one will be interesting to see how the mechanics of the long term aspect works. They've been playing their cards very close to the vest in interviews so far.

The TFLO project I'm not so confident about. It's become one of those cursed products. Although if Rare can finally release Kameo on its fourth platform, anything is possible.
 
After having watched the video I think people may be misinterpreting the statement about backward compatibility. These are marketing guys in sales pitch mode. The phrase 'bestselling' doesn't necessarily mean that only the top titles will be supported. for those people it can be a blanket term for the entire Xbox library. Such adjectives of questionable validity fall from their lips almost unconsciously.
 
[quote name='dafoomie']Exactly, by itself its nothing, but its a very big piece of the growing Japanese support.

There are several other MMO's on the way, including True Fantasy Live Online. And a Korean company is making an MMOFPS based on the Unreal 3 engine, Huxley.[/QUOTE]

Wait, what is this madness? TFLO is back in development? Please tell me it's true.
 
[quote name='cdeener']I wonder if they will do a price drop on the Xbox around the holiday season since they are coming out with 360 at that time and if they will drop the price of Xbox games?[/QUOTE]

Doubtful. Nvidia has stated that they've scheduled the final delivery of Xbox chips for August. The supply of the original Xbox at retail will be very limited and still has a good appeal to people just now ready for current generation stuff. The only reason they'd have to cut the price would be if retailers started to complain they'd become unsellable. Since many retailers have had short supplies for a while now it probably won't happen. The last few units may even carry a premium for those last determined buyers.

Now that backward compatibility has been confirmed the only remaing question is price. If the 360 carries a low enough tag most shoppers denied the chance to buy an original Xbox new won't have much to complain about if they can hold out for the new console but still use the hits from the earlier machine.
 
[quote name='Grave_Addiction']Wait, what is this madness? TFLO is back in development? Please tell me it's true.[/QUOTE]

http://news.spong.com/detail/news.asp?prid=8167&ngb2=oxy

The developer has indicated they're still working on it but didn't say for what platform. It would have to be a next gen system to make it worth doing at this late date.

It could be a case like Psychonauts. After going wayyyy over the schedule Microsoft decided they weren't going to keep pouring money in it. (They have Rare for that sort of thing.) But it didn't end the project. Majesco made a bet that Double Fine could finish it in a reasonable time frame and funded the continuing development along with a PS2 version. So far that has worked out well. OTOH hand there are cursed projects like Malice that although finally released is only a pale shadow of its original promise.
 
[quote name='cdeener']I wonder if they will do a price drop on the Xbox around the holiday season since they are coming out with 360 at that time and if they will drop the price of Xbox games?[/QUOTE]

They won't drop the price. They will discontinue it. nVidia officially stopped production of the Xbox GPU.
 
[quote name='alongx']They won't drop the price. They will discontinue it. nVidia officially stopped production of the Xbox GPU.[/QUOTE]

Damn!, that sucks. That means that MS will sell off its inventory at that $150 price point. I was thinking that I could pick up a new one on the cheap.
 
[quote name='epobirs']Simply not true. Several successful games preceded EQ into the market. (Ultima Online, Meridian59, etc.) During the years EQ has been through a truckload of expansions. FFXI is still young in that respect. Square Enix plans to keep building up their world for a long time to come. If they get the client software for the 360 out within the first half of 2006 the game world will be no more aged than EQ was for the majority of players when they got involved. It took a good while for the buzz to build for an MMORPG still when EQ started.[/QUOTE]

Those games you mentioned were old and they weren't in 3D, plus they were losing or already lost their customers to EQ. EQ was losing its touch around the 4th year, but there were no other contenders to dethrone it from the king of MMORPG, til WoW came out. Now that WoW, EQ2, Guild Wars is out, I don't see many new people would be interested in FFXI in 2006.



[quote name='epobirs']Why would new servers be needed. Are there performance problems now? If you mean Xbox users should be playing in their own separate newly spawned world, that doesn't require a big hardware investment, just separate instances of the software running the capacity is available. What is happening physically at the server side and what players are lead to believe can be two very different things. Players are often fooled into thinking the server is performing some awesome task because they see lots of pretty pictures at their end but that is completely local. The server is just dealing in database entries and their updates/interactions. Capacity problems are pipe issues rather than the server itself but it looks the same from the client end.[/QUOTE]

Nah, i'm talking about the economy in that game. Way too many farmers, high lvlers, the economy is so screwed up. Yeah I know the US didn't have new servers but there were some servers that were like 3months old.

I don't see who would want to play FFXI for xbox360 when they could either play it for PC or PS2. Any die-hard FF fan would play it by now. BTW for those who want to return to FFXI, SquareEnix will allow people to reactivate their content ID(character) in June.
 
[quote name='gokou36']

I don't see who would want to play FFXI for xbox360 when they could either play it for PC or PS2. Any die-hard FF fan would play it by now. BTW for those who want to return to FFXI, SquareEnix will allow people to reactivate their content ID(character) in June.[/QUOTE]

You're making two assumptions. First that every prospective player owns a PS2 (plus is willing to pay the price for the HDD Kit) or a suitably equipped PC. Second, that the interest is limited to FF fans. A lot of MMORPG players I've know didn't get into RPGs previously. It was the multi-player and expanding, evolving world that drew them in. Plus, there are a lot of people, including myself, who greatly prefer to do their gaming on consoles. The console MMORPG is still in its infancy. So far Sony has done a terrible job with it as part of their terrible job of PS2 hard drive support. The situation would be a lot different on a platform ready to run the game out of the box. (Though a USB or compatible wireless keyboard would really be a must.)

The details are still scarce. At the least we can expect the client to be more than just a port of the PC software, or to match a major revision of the PC software to also be delivered in 2006. That can put a new face on the existing content and may mark the debut of new content.
 
I wonder if there will be headset support for FFXI, similar to how PSO got headset support when it came to the Xbox, that would make things easier than needing a wireless keyboard.
 
So Xbox 360 will be at least partially backwards-compatible.... interesting...

"Along with a firm release date and price point, the other big question surrounding the 360 was backward compatibility. However, Microsoft would only say that the console will be "backward-compatible with top-selling Xbox games." This ambiguous wording could mean that Microsoft will select which titles will run on the next-gen console. However, it could also simply mean that Microsoft is merely being prudent in case some original Xbox titles don't work on the 360, as was the case with some older PlayStation 1 games and the PlayStation 2."

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/05/16/news_6124746.html
 
[quote name='dafoomie']I like my sig too, was thinking of doing a side by side with the PS3, or slapping the George Foreman's Lean Mean Fat Reducing Grilling Machine logo on there. Maybe someone can photoshop the PS3 open like a grill with some steaks cooking.[/QUOTE]
ps3grill2gp.jpg
 
[quote name='gokou36']Those games you mentioned were old and they weren't in 3D, plus they were losing or already lost their customers to EQ. EQ was losing its touch around the 4th year, but there were no other contenders to dethrone it from the king of MMORPG, til WoW came out. Now that WoW, EQ2, Guild Wars is out, I don't see many new people would be interested in FFXI in 2006.[/QUOTE]

Asheron's Call, Anarchy Online, Dark Age of Camelot...all of those did big business. Maybe they aren't doing as well as before, but then neither is EQ. At one time, EQ, UO, and AC were 'the big three' in MMORPGs. Anarchy Online was a serious contender, but one of the worst game launches in history limited it's impact. DAOC became the EQ alternative.

Of course, I didn't even mention Lineage, which dwarfed EQ thanks to it's Korean following. At it's peak, EQ had about 600K players. Lineage had well over 3 million players at it's peak.

And for the record, last numbers I saw (a bit old now) showed more people playing FFXI than either of the EQ games. FFXI is second only to WoW in terms of subscribers. (once again, this doesn't account for either Lineage game, both of which have over 2 million subscribers each and dwarf FFXI/WoW)
 
[quote name='adamada']So Xbox 360 will be at least partially backwards-compatible.... interesting...

"Along with a firm release date and price point, the other big question surrounding the 360 was backward compatibility. However, Microsoft would only say that the console will be "backward-compatible with top-selling Xbox games." This ambiguous wording could mean that Microsoft will select which titles will run on the next-gen console. However, it could also simply mean that Microsoft is merely being prudent in case some original Xbox titles don't work on the 360, as was the case with some older PlayStation 1 games and the PlayStation 2."

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/05/16/news_6124746.html[/QUOTE]

I can form 2 scenarios in my mind

#1 Microsoft wants to somehow not hinder the sales of Xboxes or for people to merely get rid of thier old xboxes when the new console is released.

#2 microsoft has been having problems making backwards compatability work 100% therefore they don't want to make any guarentees and have games not work later. Therefore they're putting thier effort into "top titles" they can guarentee to work.

Somehow I think #2 is more likely since I don't see why they would try to continue selling xboes after 360 is released, but it's awlays possible

on another note it's cool to see that the xbox is getting the new castlevania game. Microsoft has done a good job (coff too much money) of getting 3rd party support.
 
[quote name='epobirs']Meaningless at this point. Remember the $200 price they listed for the DS until an offial price was announced?[/QUOTE]
And the $49.99 games for the DS.
 
Well atleast the 360 is somewhat backwards, thats better then nothing at all, but everyone was expecting it to be totally backwards or not backwards at all. But what I *REALLY* wanted was ALL previously XBox LIVE titles to work.

Hopefully this means overtime there are patchs/updates to download to make almost every single xbox game backwards compatable. I still think my Xbox will get some love if I am unable to succesfully transfer saves, particullarly Ninja Gaidens, because I don't want to start all my old games all over again.

I think thats good news the XBox is getting a port of Castlevania, hopefully it sells decently enough for Konami to continue to support the box in terms of that and Silent Hill. Maybe we'll get lucky and get the Suikoden series, since the XBox is still in dire need of RPGS outside of what Bioware has to offer.

The two questions I still have are: The price, and the release date? I think we can all take a good guess that it will be released in November, but what about the price? If it hits $300 that will garner alot of interest.

Also, about the $60 games? Who didn't see it coming? Activision and EA made it clear they were working towards higher priced games. If you also noticed some people are paying $50 for certain PSP games, and they are selling decently. Those are HANDHELD games, and it can be easily assumed they will charge an extra $10 for console games without much problems, atleast for launch titles/hot products like Halo 3 and what not. No, no one wants to see the $60 pricepoint (this is CAG after all) but It's going to be hard to refuse at launch when your left with little choice if you bought a 360.
 
[quote name='Monsta Mack']Well atleast the 360 is somewhat backwards, thats better then nothing at all, but everyone was expecting it to be totally backwards or not backwards at all. But what I *REALLY* wanted was ALL previously XBox LIVE titles to work.

Hopefully this means overtime there are patchs/updates to download to make almost every single xbox game backwards compatable. I still think my Xbox will get some love if I am unable to succesfully transfer saves, particullarly Ninja Gaidens, because I don't want to start all my old games all over again.

I think thats good news the XBox is getting a port of Castlevania, hopefully it sells decently enough for Konami to continue to support the box in terms of that and Silent Hill. Maybe we'll get lucky and get the Suikoden series, since the XBox is still in dire need of RPGS outside of what Bioware has to offer.

The two questions I still have are: The price, and the release date? I think we can all take a good guess that it will be released in November, but what about the price? If it hits $300 that will garner alot of interest.

Also, about the $60 games? Who didn't see it coming? Activision and EA made it clear they were working towards higher priced games. If you also noticed some people are paying $50 for certain PSP games, and they are selling decently. Those are HANDHELD games, and it can be easily assumed they will charge an extra $10 for console games without much problems, atleast for launch titles/hot products like Halo 3 and what not. No, no one wants to see the $60 pricepoint (this is CAG after all) but It's going to be hard to refuse at launch when your left with little choice if you bought a 360.[/QUOTE]
The 360 is actually getting RPG's this time around... Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey, FFXI, another Square game... Theres more Japanese RPG's announed for 360 than there are today for Xbox. Could always use more, and there aren't exactly tons of them, but its better than its been before.
 
[quote name='Scorch']That's SHADOW, not Sonic.. I think that game will tank.. get guns outta my Sonic/Shadow games![/QUOTE]

Hmm, get 80's rock music out of my Sonic/Shadow games!... ;)
 
[quote name='Apossum']http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/614/614570p1.html

Good article about DoA 4-- says the fighting system has been completely overhauled[/QUOTE]

While I find it VERY hard to believe that is the case - especially after seeing the video - if it turns out to be true I'll end up taking back some of the stuff I've said lately. I have no problem eating my words if it results in a better game.
 
I love the fact that the 360's compatible with everything and not afraid to flaunt it...even if it means flaunting the fact that it's compatible with the ipod and *psp*, lol....how amusing. not sure if it's a sideways show of respect or a slap in the face, or, perhaps, both. simutaneously. :lol:
 
[quote name='dafoomie']The 360 is actually getting RPG's this time around... Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey, FFXI, another Square game...[/QUOTE]

What other Square Enix game? Last I checked, they only are developing FFXI. As much as I'd like to see Square give equal development time to all three next gen consoles, I have a feeling that the Xbox 360 will get about as many Square Enix games as the Gamecube did after Square started GC development...
 
[quote name='KaneRobot']While I find it VERY hard to believe that is the case - especially after seeing the video - if it turns out to be true I'll end up taking back some of the stuff I've said lately. I have no problem eating my words if it results in a better game.[/QUOTE]

This might be what you are looking for--

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/616/616617p1.html

Itagaki talks DoA 4-- the game is 15% complete(I'm guessing they misunderstood him and he said 50%), the fighting system has been fleshed out to include a strong focus on defense and the complexity people have asked for has been added, the Virtual Arcade returns and it's still slated for the 360 release(this is why I think it's 50% rather than 15% done...they don't make games in 6 months)

Can't wait to try it out and find out what "added complexity" means.
 
[quote name='alongx']What other Square Enix game? Last I checked, they only are developing FFXI. As much as I'd like to see Square give equal development time to all three next gen consoles, I have a feeling that the Xbox 360 will get about as many Square Enix games as the Gamecube did after Square started GC development...[/QUOTE]
There is at least 1 other unannounced title for 360 from Square.
 
[quote name='dafoomie']There is at least 1 other unannounced title for 360 from Square.[/QUOTE]

Could this be World of Mana?
 
[quote name='Monsta Mack']http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/617/617014p1.html

MS is going to announce their Japanese details for price, launch date and starting line of games in Japan for July. Now wheres my US info damnit?[/QUOTE]

The details for the US will have to be no later than that time frame but more likely in June. Retailers start making their major Xmas season commitments in that month.

One of the reasons the Winter CES in January was always bigger was because that show had a lot more wild prototypes and weird stuff. The other CES in late Spring or early Summer was much more about demonstrating real working and deliverable product so orders could be placed.
 
[quote name='spoo']Could this be World of Mana?[/QUOTE]

Probably not. Square said they were brining a Mana game to the DS, I'd be World of Mana was that game.
 
[quote name='Apossum']Read there if you want to see an interesting spin on MS showing some interest in making good games...i.e. "They are stealing Nintendo's line of thinking" :lol:[/QUOTE]

Exactly. They are showing interest in finally making quality games after 3.5 years...:roll:

Seriously. You posted in that thread. That's fine. Anyone who wanted to read it would have seen your opinion. Must you try and namecall on me somewhere before people even have a chance to read the story for themselves?
 
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