A word of advice: GIVE INFAMOUS A SPIN!

I was teetering between inFAMOUS and Prototype. Both games look somewhat similar --- free-roaming city (like recent GTAs), mysterious super-power main character, parkour abilities. But after playing this inFAMOUS demo, knowing the developer's experience in free-roaming games (Sucker Punch is known for the awesome Sly Cooper games) and the Metacritic compilation of the early reviews, I am convinced that inFAMOUS is the one.

As for the demo, it's a shockingly (*rimshot*) great demo. You get to play 4 missions. That's right, FOUR! This is the longest time I ever spent on a demo. You get to experience some of the earlier abilities that the main character has. You'll also see the different sides of the "morale system" (kinda like Jedi and Sith). All in all, I'm convinced. The graphics are tight. The controls are great (whatever you want to climb or crawl or whatever... the game detects it flawlessly). Camera play is great --- not a liability at all.

5 minutes after putting down my PS3 controller, I preordered this hotness. If you're not convinced, check out some gameplay.

PEACE!

After writing my previous post I've decided to challenge myself, the other blog writers, and anyone else out there to play 2 new games (not recurring titles that you've play before) in the next month and to think about why those titles aren't as popular as Halo, Mario Kart, or GTA.

Then...I'll do a post on my thoughts of why we're stuck in the land of reruns and we can all try and expand our gaming catalogs. Or at least be a little more open.

Ok time for me to throw my 2 cents into things.

@Obeng - you have a point, Nintendo's unique franchises do indeed drive its console and game sales. Clearly Mario is the strongest example with Zelda trailing as a close second (oh and up until the disaster that is Donkey Congo, Donkey Kong & co.). But honestly, are Microsoft/Xbox and the Playstation really cranking out unique titles that rake in the cash? Let's look at the 11 bestselling Xbox 360 games (numbers as of 2008 per Wikipedia):

1) Halo 3 (8.1 mil copies)
2) Gears of War (5 mil)
3) Gears of War 2 (5 mil)
4) Grand Theft Auto 4 (4 mil)
5) Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (3.7 mil)
6) Call of Duty: World at War (3.3 mil)
7) Forza Motorsport 2 (2.7)
8) Fable 2 (2.6 mil)
9) Assassin's Creed (2.3 mil)
10) Marvel Ultimate Alliance (2.1 mil)
11) Guitar Hero II (2 mil)

If my calculations are correct....I see quite the number of recurring titles (I mean come on - GoW and CoD were on the list twice each!). And with Rock Band & Guitar Hero this is going to continute perpetuating.

Let's look at the Wii:
1) Wii Sports (45 mil - but we can even exclude this since it did come with the console)
2) Wii Play (23 mil)
3) Wii Fit (18.2 mil)
4) Mario Kart Wii (15.4 mil)
5) Super Smash Bros (8.4 mil)
6) Super Mario Galaxy (8 mil)
7) Mario Party 8 (6.7 mil)
8) The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (4.5 mil)
9) Link's Crossbow Training (3.8 mil)
10) Mario & Sonic Olympics (3.4 mil)

Now, clearly Mario Kart, Smash Bros, Mario, Mario Party, and Zelda are all repeat offenders. But I cannot help but think that the success of Wii Play & Wii Fit - titles exclusive to the Wii that changed gameplay and the overall concept of what a "game" really is, in the Wii Fit's case, point to the fact that there is some originality and some credit due to the innovation of the Wii.

My point is this - across the board there are numerous recurring titles/franchise that pop up across all consoles/devices and spanning the lifecycle thus far of video games. Is this a bad thing? I would tend to lean towards yes, but honestly let's no knock just one company for doing that. All parties are guilty.

I relate this to the movie industry - we time and again as consumers question the need for a Rush Hour 3 or a 5th iteration of Bring it On or yet another "new" rebranding of a superhero franchise - but the reality is people go see those movies. Thousands or millions of people see these recycled ideas every year, particularly in the summer, as it's entertainment that, well, can be sort of mindless fun.

Is there harm in Harvest Moon #20? Probably not. Should we as video game consumers be looking for something innovative and fresh? I think so! Hence why the Wii is being touted as unique and original - when else have we changed the way in which we play (button mashing to standing up and using more than your thumbs)?

But, who's to say that just because a "hardcore gamer" isn't interested in shaking a wiimote that the Wii is just a passing fad? I say, it has in some ways been even more critical in changing the video game industry and its consumer base in a permanent way because it attracts a gamer beyond just a typical FPS player. Why not celebrate the fact that your grandma can play some Wii Tennis just as easily as you can? Is that not a success in and of itself? Certainly a different end of the spectrum but at the end of the day, the Wii did something gaming hasn't been able to do since the era of Pacman - attract all people regardless of their "gaming ability".

But there is a cautionary component to this tale. @neoeon - Nintendo has had a history of changing gaming as we see it, and as I've argued I don't think the Wii is any different. Where they are losing is in being able to continue to provide quality games that leverage their innovation take on gameplay - there are countless crappy games out there on the Wii (Wii Cheer? Littlest Pet Shop? Wii Music?) that threaten the overall creative value perceived by consumers. I'd rather see another Zelda that rocks everyone's world than 5 new titles that, honestly, suck.

Point is - video games are changing. Video game players are changing. Innovation in gaming is no longer constrained to graphic quality or storyline. Recurring titles aside, the real thing to keep focused on is the strategy each of the gaming giants will take on to continue innovating and providing better and better games, whether in the form of Fall Out #8 or some brand new franchise.

First, you need to ask yourself, “Where would gaming be without Nintendo?”

No, really, think about it for a moment…or two. - - - Okay, now that you have had time to mull it over, this is my take on any and all Nintendo progenies.

NES, Gameboy, N64, Wii: What do these all have in common? They are the first of there kind. They are collectively responsible for over half of all innovative advancements in gaming over the past quarter century.

The NES was released in 1985(NA) and revolutionized the gaming industry. It did, by the way, single handedly save North America from the “Video Game Crash of ’83.” Gone were the oversimplified graphics and game play of the Atari, no offense to the Atari, and in stepped “Super Mario Bros.” with “Duck Hunt.” Where was everyone else at this point; Sega, Sony, Microsoft? Sega Genesis didn’t hit North America shelves until 1989 and Sony’s Playstaion didn’t crawl onto the NA gaming scene until 1994! A SOLID THREE YEARS after Nintendo released their SECOND CONSOLE the Super Nintendo!!!

Game Boy fell into the sweaty palmed hands of North Americans in 1989. Bringing a rudimentary form of gaming, that had already been established, to a new mobile market. Now lets see here… when did our said named friends decided to get their, ah-hem, corrupt code in the bucket? Sega Game Gear lumbered onto the NA market in 1991 consuming 6 AA batteries every six hours and Playstation Portable… 16 YEARS! What were you doing Sony?!? Oh, that’s right, you had not even released an in home console yet, sorry. For you number guys and gals, try these on for size. Worldwide and up to date; the SGG has sold a measly 11 million; the PSP a respectable 50 million; finally the Nintendo Game Boy has racked in a grand total of 118.69 million. Oh, and for you Playstaion fan boys, who demand a fair fight, the Nintendo DS (Nintendo’s 4th hand held gaming system) which was released in 2004, 5 months before the PSP (Sony’s first), has sold 100 million.

Nintendo 64. Need I say more? I could go on and on about revolutionary 3D graphics/game play and how it only took Sony 4 years to answer back with the release of the PS2, but I am sure everyone reading this has heard it all before. So I will save you the torture of listening to a broken record routine.

Now for the grand finale. The whole reason I was inspired to write this specific blog entry was actually due to one of my fellow bloggers/friends (you know him as Obeng) entry. He recently stated that he believed the Nintendo Wii was the “longest freakin fad…ever.”

Now lets define what a ‘Fad’ is. Merriam-Webster says a fad is: a practice or interest followed for a time with exaggerated zeal. If we apply this in a general sense then console gaming itself is the longest running fad ever. But lets not concern ourselves with generalities, I am here to approach the specific claim that the Wii is a fad. As with past Nintendo creations, the Wii has opened the door to a new way of looking at gaming. First, Wii’s homepage, Nintendo gave you the first chance to customize what you wanted to see for different channels, whether it be applications or classic games. The Wii’s controllers allow you to manipulate characters in ways that we have been only trying to emulate ever since falling into that first pit as Mario. I think a word that better describes the Wii, or Nintendo in general, is “Trend”. Trend is: to show a tendency. The Wii has set the trend for gaming in more than one way. Starting with homepages or ‘Dashboard’ as Microsoft likes to call it. In fact Microsoft liked the Wii’s customization of personal Miis so much that they have included the ability to make an avatar on Xbox’s latest Dashboard update. The one trend that has been barely elaborated on, mainly talked about, is using a 3D accelerometer remote control for game play. The Darwin controller has been in talks to be the Xbox and PS3’s answer to the Wiimote. Sadly though there has been very little advancement in this field, so the odds of seeing this technology come into play for this generation’s consoles are very low.

I know the general tone of this entry seems like a Nintendo vs. the world rant, but that is really not what I intended. The Wii needs some improvement too, downloadable content for existing games, online game play and hard drive space to name a few. Point being, my main goal was to debate the fact that the Wii is not an undying fad but rather a trend setter, I believe I did a good job extrapolating on that topic. If you think differently, let me know and I will be more then happy to elaborate further on this topic.

So you may not see it now. But ask yourself this question 5, 10 or 25 years from now: “Where would gaming be without the Wii?”