Yes, that headline is probably shocking to most. There’s a Mexican gaming market? Most Americans probably don’t think of Mexico much as a place to sell superfluous consumer goods such as video games. Research and Markets, on the other hand, claim it’s the beginning of something big.
In their Mexico Video Games Market Report 2007, Research and Markets claims that the Mexican gaming market could hit $1 billion by the end of the decade mostly thanks to YUGS. The report defines YUGS as young unmarried gamers, and there has been a significant rise in their numbers in recent years. (more…)
In The Great Games column we look back at titles that have defined video games over the years and earned a special place in the history of the medium.
It is easy to forget in the shadow of its younger brothers just how revolutionary Super Smash Bros. was at the time of its release. It wasn’t that the gameplay was so unique (though it was in many respects), nor was it the graphics were mind blowing (though, again, they were pretty sharp). No, the revolutionary thing about Super Smash Bros. was that the game existed period.
Prior to Super Smash Bros., the idea of Nintendo characters crossing over into each other’s games was fairly unheard of. Yes, there were the occasional cameos here and there, but for the most part the worlds stayed separate. That all changed with Super Smash Bros., however, and it was perhaps no better showcased than in the television commercial that ran at the time. (more…)
There really isn’t much to say about this image other than to note how pretty it is graphically (and some might argue the background character, as well). Soul Calibur was the killer-app for the Dreamcast launch all those years ago. It outshone even the excellent for its time Sonic Adventure. While Soul Calibur II was a fair success, many fans felt let down by the PS2 exclusive Soul Calibur III. Now, both fans and Namco hope that the third time is the charm for making a truly worthy sequel that again recaptures the attention of the gaming community. Click on the image for a full sized version.
Balrog, the boxer with a suspicious resemblance to a distorted Mike Tyson (and yes, he was the original M. Bison), has been revealed in a new Street Fighter IV gameplay video. Even more interesting is the level he’s fighting on, which looks like it might be a raft or boat at sea.
Erik chimes in with his views on the recent rash of Street Fighter IV videos, “Capcom gave its fans a little taste of what Street Fighter IV looks like. Fans of the popular series should be impressed with the footage. The 3D animation is smooth and everything flows together. Looks like this time around Capcom will be avoiding the lumpy 3D-ness of Street Fighter EX.”
Here’s a bizarre idea. Let’s make an online version of Street Fighter that is played via mouse control. Who’s the target audience? Who knows! Seriously, there was a time when maybe people would casually play Street Fighter in a bar or bowling alley, but the only people playing it anymore are diehard fighting fans. The game simply left everyone else behind. Maybe that’s the rationale behind this simplified control scheme, but really it looks more daunting than casual.
Media Create, a site that reports sales figures in Japan, has announced that Super Smash Brothers: Brawl has sold 819,647 copies from the week of January 28-February 3rd. This is pretty remarkable considering the game wasn’t even on shelves the first few days of that week, since the retail date was January 31st. In related news, during the same time period Wii console sales also rose in Japan. I wonder why.
As we all know, this game is going to be Nintendo’s best selling game of the year by far. I’m also willing to bet it will be it’s highest rated game. The hype for this game had been building for years and, while Japanese gamers get to enjoy the game, Americans will have to wait patiently until March 9th. If you’re in Europe, well, let’s just say you have a long wait ahead of you as no date is planned for release yet.
It’s time for another Soul Calibur sequel, and another surprising reveal of hidden characters that don’t quite belong. Soul Calibur 2’s inclusion of Link from The Legend of Zelda will likely go down as one of the greatest strokes of marketing genius ever. On top of that, it fit beautifully with the game and made somewhat twisted, logical sense. Spawn? Not so much.
Still, despite all of that, hardly anyone was expecting to see Darth Vader and Yoda turn up in Soul Calibur 4. It shouldn’t be too shocking, perhaps, as fighting game cameos seem to be in style as of late. Dead or Alive 4 even gave us a Spartan soldier (Halo) to fight with, though curiously not Master Chief, himself. That being said, was a Star Wars fighter really on anyone’s most wanted list?
We’ve seen a Star Wars fighter before, but those who played it generally prefer to forget it. We’ve also seen just about every other imaginable Star Wars spin-off game. When shall we finally see Yoda’s Rock Band? But does anyone want these games? In the case of Soul Calibur, there are certainly fans of the series who will buy it despite the inclusion of these characters. You can feel safe buying the main package and considering Vader and Yoda as Easter eggs, if nothing more. But will anyone buy simply for these characters? (more…)
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