You can thank Microsoft for that.
Heck, if all they had were Avatar clothing packs for 2009, you can bet they'd twist some arms to get media outlets to hype them as full games.
What caught my eye is how he said "Devs shouldn't be scared to be inventive"....
....and my first thought was "Sooo...Fable 1 and 2?"
LOL.
As good ol' Aaron said, "We don't make you pay for things you don't want".
In other words, "We strip your console of most equipment and then charge a primo price when you (and by "you" I mean any 360 owner who isn't a soccer mom playing Peggle on XBLA) find out it wasn't included in the original package".
We don't charge you for online....but if you want to use basic multiplayer functionality that the "other" ...
So much for "Bu bu bu but JUST YOU WAIT! Microsoft has a secret, magical vault full of awesome games that they're gonna announce in 2009!"
Yakuza 3 and soon inFamous:
Solid proof that the PS3 is the most capable system for open-world games.
Yet another reason to prefer PSN over XBLA.
Microsoft just buys up exclusives. Sony is actually encouraging and empowering indie devs to stand on their own two feet with this incentive.
Sales > everything.
That's why Steven Colbert and me hang out all day long to play The Sims, Pokemon, Wii Fit, and Mario Kart.
So much hope being placed upon a "game" that -- so far -- is nothing more than a PC tech demo. We have yet to see actual gameplay, let alone gameplay of the 360 version.
I hope they will tighten up the choppy framerate of the 360 version.
There's nothing worse than trying to pull off intricate combos while your framerate drops below 10 fps.
So frames-per-second matter now?
Apparently it didn't matter so much when everyone was praising Gears 2 and Fable 2...
Is E74 the new RRoD? I feel bad for 360 owners. Microsoft keeps trying to fix the problem that's under warranty, but they continue to ignore the problems outside of warranty.
So, people call the Wii "kiddy", but then this isn't "what the Wii needs"?
However, remember that all those games you mentioned had the absolute best graphics for their time. I'm not disagreeing with your original statement...just pointing out that even those "out-dated classics" you love playing today for their great gameplay were once the "Killzone 2"s and "Crysis"s of their time.
The sad thing is...
...this "spoof" show has roughly the same amount of credibility as their "normal" shows and articles.
Actually, it might have a bit MORE credibility.
Normally, I would agree with you. However, LBP is focused on online, community gameplay. Yes, eventually it would do them well to release a "Super Pack" for the game, but for now their support of the game fosters the design philosophy that this is a game meant to be played online.
All I have to say that if we are to believe that Sony and Apple are doing so horribly as Microsoft would want us to think, what does Microsoft have to show us? Huh? A copycat of Linu...er...Windows 7? A new motherboard replacement for the 360 to "fix" the RRoD (while the "One Ring of Death" E76 errors run rampant)? Maybe we'll see the Zune finally overtake the iPod like Microsoft boasted about all those years ago? Maybe Microsoft has some new IPs and studios to announce fo...
To me, "next-gen" boils down to an expansion of core concepts in a game. Graphics are part of that, but physics, AI, enemies-per-screen, and draw distances are more important.
Take -- for example -- the original Metal Gear Solid. The game was popular for a reason. It wasn't just the pretty graphics. It was the new approach to game storytelling. It was the new approach to the action-adventure genre. It was the new approach to camera angles and gameplay presentation.
So far, I think the PS2 era was the best (barring the current generation, which isn't yet finished). Everything memorable from the PS1 era (fighting games, RPGs, racing games, platformers) was improved upon with the PS2, plus a few new genres were fully realized (FPS, rhythm) and a few new genres were invented (the open-world game, for instance).
IMO, the PS2 still has the best blend of gameplay, storyline, and graphics. Many PS2 games are still fun to play, many PS2 games have t...
Mediocre dev...mediocre publisher...mediocre leadership...when the powers unite...CAPTAIN PLANET!
*Disclaimer* The unification of previously mentioned entities does not typically result in Captain Planet. Results will vary. Lower your expectations.