Xbox Series Y?

 

Or to be more exact: why? With the new generation of consoles almost ready to be fully unleashed on the world, evidence suggests that the question of ‘why’ is much more pertinent that what the new Playstation and Xbox have to offer.

The evidence comes in the form of popular Ted Talk-er Simon Sinek. He explains (very effectively) which components of what, how and why companies offer influence us as consumers – breaking it down into the biological impact these have on us. This is the ‘gut feeling’ if you will. You can check out Simon’s work here:

If we rewind to the reveals of the Xbox One and PS4, Xbox did exactly what Simon states companies shouldn’t: they focused on what the multimedia Xbox could do and the reaction was a resounding ‘meh’. Check out the part of his lecture where he discusses TiVo; swap this for the word ‘Xbox’ and the similarities are stark. Infamously, Sony captivated on this situation with their powerful ‘this is how we share games’ line on stage. This was followed with the ‘This is for the Players’ slogan and we were all instantly clear on why we needed a PS4.

In 2020, Xbox (unlike TiVo) is fighting back with its vast array of consumer-friendly moves: Game Pass, backwards compatibility and the free patching of older games to utilise Xbox One X. In contrast to the start of the current generation, the ‘why’ is much clearer. Microsoft wants you to play your games with them; they want you to be able to play all of your games with them and – as has been well publicised – they don’t care where you play them. This point is reinforced by ‘ next generation’ Xbox exclusives being playable on Xbox Games Pass, on Xbox One as well as the new console. If this extends to the full library, this may have longer-reaching ramifications on the industry.

If third party games take this approach, simply being boxed and marketed as an ‘Xbox’ game, future-proof conscious consumers may jump into the Xbox ecosystem. Again, contrast with the start of the current generation when games such as Assassin’s Creed Black Flag launched on Xbox 360, then later on Xbox One. Later, games such as Grand Theft Auto 5 were remastered on the Xbox One, rendering the original almost obsolete. If games such as these ship with one, scalable SKU, Xbox may become a money-savvy choice, even for gamers entrenched in Playstation’s ecosystem. If Sony launch with Playstation 5 only versions of current generation games, they could be forced to pivot and follow Microsoft’s lead. A stark turnaround from what Microsoft had to do at the start of Xbox One’s lifespan. Similarly, the need for Nintendo Switch may be redundant if Project X Cloud and Game Pass finally come to the system. Which ever company comes out on top, will certainly be the ones who give us the ‘why’.

 

Spending Power

A year ago (roughly) I made a list. More on that in a minute. Following a surprise swag bag of previously unpaid wage arriving in December 2017, I picked up a long-time target purchase: a 4k tv. My launch PS4 made a Cinderella-esque HDR transformation and I enjoyed the final third of Horizon Zero Dawn in eye-blistering graphical glee. Anyway, this made me reflect on what I had bought that year and compared that to my actual mental ‘wishlist’. The conclusion I made was that I was more prone to dipping into an impulse buy as opposed to the more desirable purchases. I’m not talking about cars and motor boats; I mean games, geek-toys and other media. This was personified by Horizon – a game I had courted since its launch – that had to wait until Black Friday and a significant price drop. Thus, the list was made.

As well as video games and films/boxsets etc I also collect Transformers so these made up the majority of the list. The highlights were a PS4 Pro to fully appreciate my new 4K setup, most of the biggest games of the year I knew were coming (God of War, Spiderman, Pokemon Lets Go, Smash, Starlink) as well as a few on the backlog (Injustice 2, Skyrim Switch, Mario+Rabbids).

2018 came and has nearly gone and astonishingly, I’ve only got one item left on the list. In the first half of the year, I mopped up most of the games – waiting for offers to sweeten the deal: £21 for Injustice 2 legendary edition, £31 for Skyrim on the eshop plus using Zeek vouchers for an extra 7% discount on credit, £26 for Rabbids on eBay…and by the summer, most games on the list that had been released were signed, sealed and delivered and mine! This had two added bonuses: my focus then switched to the larger purchases and I had a little extra left over for the impulse buys (£4.99 Shovel Knight amiibo was the highlight).

Just after the launch of Spider-Man in September, an eBay 15% discount code plus a very attractive PS4 Pro bundle finally persuaded me to pull the trigger. Raising £170 on eBay for my launch PS4 gave me a net spend of £105 on my Pro. Not. Bad. At. All.

I guess the moral of the story is budgeting and being objective about your purchases pays off. We all have digital service backlogs (especially on Steam…) and even games that have remained untouched. I feel like I’ve achieved something and when the Christmas dust has settled, I’ll start to think about a new list. This time though, everything on it – as Sheldon from Big Bang Theory once said – ‘hasn’t been invented yet.’

Winning E3

Nintendo’s shares have plummeted this week after – what has been perceived to be – a weak E3. SEGA’s slide out of the console market arguably started when Sony gazumped them with the infamous ‘299’ at the Saturn’s stealth launch. Microsoft and Sony have both dropped the ball this generation too. What does this mean? For all its detractors, the power of E3 can not be underestimated; so what makes a ‘good’ E3? What is the formula to success?

Pacing

In recent Directs, Nintendo picked up the pace of games shown which has been met with positive feedback. Microsoft, who aped this speedy succession of showings at E3 this year, have been considered to have had a strong E3 whereas Sony’s disjointed conference diluted the message they tried to convey. Having a quick flurry of games means you can (almost) please all of the people all of the time. If a game is shown that doesn’t resonate with you, rest assured there’ll be another along soon. Pace can also be affected by ill-judged technology too…

Gimmicky Tech

Kinect. Move. Vitality Sensor. Wonderbook. MotionPlus. All of these technologies are no doubt impressive but make for boring – sometimes farcical- presentations. There’s nothing more jarring than watching a rep holding whichever whatever is in vogue this gen and failing miserably. Save it for the show floor!

Stupid Spin-Off Conditions

Don’t announce left-field spin-offs. Or, if you do, announce a mainline game in development in the series. Metroid Prime Federation Force failed because fans wanted a proper Metroid. Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee is announced and people eat it up because they know a ‘proper’ Pokemon is coming soon. At this year’s Microsoft Conference they knew this; if they’d left it as just Funko Pop Gears there would have been riots. However, because Gears 5 was announced, it’s okay!

Free Games Out….now!

We all love free stuff. We especially love free stuff which we don’t need. I’ve downloaded and tinkered with Fallout Shelter and Fortnite on Switch as well as Elder Scrolls Online and Division through Game Pass. It turns out if I didn’t buy/stick with those games a few years ago then I’m not going to now. But they’re free! You could buy Fallout 4 for about £3 pre-E3 so although one should never turn down a free lunch it’s usually something not needed. Just look at how much good will Microsoft has got for backwards compatibility though.

Old Games

Dev: “Last year was a great year for us!”

Us: “Show us new stuff!”

Don’t talk about or showcase games which came out last year.

Beloved Franchise Resurrection

Final Fantasy 7. Resident Evil 2. Shenmue 3. Shadow of the Colossus. Crash N’Sane Trilogy. We love remakes and long-lost sequels. Especially, when one of these comes out on Switch.

Indie Darling

Every dev needs an indie title which looks visibly stunning, plays slicker than an oiled otter and cost £1 to make. EA and Ubisoft have entered this space in recent years and Nintendo has fully leaned into the indie love-in.

However, E3 is often remembered for the unplanned moments: Ubi devs crying, Ubi devs whispering they nailed it (shoutout to Ubisoft!) or IGN staff going wild at Nintendo announcements. Leading up to E3 is a time to dream and ultimately if you want to succeed, these must be met or exceeded. After all, we never knew we needed a console-handheld hybrid…

Guardians of the (Mario) Galaxy?

On the verge of E3 2018, game announcements – and cryptic viral marketing – are flying at us left right and centre. Buried beneath the Pokemon avalanche of the last 24 hours, Fallout 76 and even Team Sonic Racing is the recent rumour that Starfox is being reimagined as a kart racer. Only Mario, Zelda, Smash and Mario Kart can truly be described as being on top form at the moment: Starfox devoid of its star status since the N64; Metroid Prime 3 is a decade old and perhaps worse of all F-Zero is stuck on the GameCube. The space between the high points of these franchises and where they stand now is vast but is also the thing which binds them: space…

These franchises – all set in the black – have struggled for a variety of reasons. Starfox has struggled to push past the reality of it being a plastic – yet furry – Star Wars. Metroid has never had the commercial appeal of its peers; F-Zero also has failed to reach Mario numbers. It is worth noting that Zelda: Breath of the Wild was the first real mega-success in terms of units sold. Although beloved by a hardcore army of fans, many Nintendo’s franchises beyond the aforementioned and Pokemon are in need of radical reform. What if Metroid and F-Zero and Starfox became one?

Banding together the unlikely heroes in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy could be the inspiration for this. Captain Falcon – who many would be hard-pushed to associate with his franchise – needs a reboot/revamp in personality. Think 90s Tomb Raider to the PS3 era series or more recently God/Dad of War on PS4. Give him an edge. Give him a purpose other than winning races. Make him Starlord.

Obviously, the small mammal role goes to Fox McCloud. Star Fox’s plucky captain would make a good fit to the group as well as competition to Falclord (you.are.welcome.Nintendo). It also gives a narrative excuse to cut some of Fox’s anthropomorphic ensemble cast. Contrastingly, Samus Aran of Metroid fame has struggled to hold down a meaningful supporting set of characters. Samus brings an air of mystique, a sense of duty and also prevents this being a fully male team. It would be easy to call her the Gamora of the group but Samus is far too incorruptible as a renowned yet straight- laced bounty hunter. She is the boy-scout (girl guide?)/Superman (erm..Supergirl) of the group.

That uses up the A-list characters from these franchises; there are still two places to fill. Drax and Groot are the two (MCU lineup) guardians remaining. This is where it gets weird.

Groot is a fairly easy character to cast. Petey Piranha from the Mario series is an obvious candidate. That would be a like-for-like switch. Another possibility is a Pikmin. It stands to reason that this group could have stumbled across these creatures at some point. Finally, a Deku Shrub from Zelda could fit the bill if we really wanted to connect the UNESverse (that’s either a TM or a cease and desist…).

In the role of the muscle, there are more limited options. Who is this crew’s Jayne? There’s only one answer: Waluigi! This would add a criminal element to the ensemble whilst giving this cult favourite a chance to shine at last. If not, insert your choice of Pokemon here.

Now that we’ve got a lineup, the genre needs nailing down. What would be the game style of choice? A 3rd person Tomb Raider/Witcher/Uncharted style adventure would possibly fit best. With the unique abilities of the characters co-op or squad mechanics would add variety to each play through. Perhaps there are branching areas and secrets only specific characters can access. It would be a great addition to Nintendo’s online portfolio. If we really want to dream, adding in Strikes and Raids – in addition to a story mode – would give Nintendo their games as a service title. There would definitely need to be racing and Arwing battles to pay homage to previous games.

On a quick note, the antagonist could easily be one of the many previously seen in the individual series. Or a newly created character. Or Earthworm Jim…

Back in 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy, we are introduced to each character in a police lineup as they are processed ready to send to the kyln. Imagine the Nintendo equivalents in that lineup (probably not having Falclord giving the middle finger).

Nintendo Indirect

Last Thursday’s Nintendo Direct was the one which finally met – and probably exceeded – all expectations. However, there’s a few bits and pieces of subtext to what Nintendo announced:

1. GameCube Virtual Console isn’t happening

Basically any title Nintendo releases in 3D post 2001 is game for a HD/3DS remake. Expect Mario Sunshine and Wind Waker/Twilight Princess to fill in the gaps between the next original incarnations of the series. Why charge £7.99 on virtual console when you can charge £49.99, right? If the games come with modern advancements like wide-screen that’s fine with me.

2. Samus Aran

Smash Bros usually has the most recent iteration of Nintendo characters in its roster so we can expect a few subtle hints to what Nintendo’s underused bounty hunter will be up to in Metroid Prime 4. It would be unthinkable to fathom a Smash game without her; I anticipate more than one tease for her next adventure.

3. Wii U 2019

With Captain Toad, Hyrule Warriors and Donkey Kong hitting Switch this year already – joining Mario Kart 8 – Nintendo seems to be drip feeding the Switch’s predecessor’s back-catalog out over the next few years. Mario 3D World, Mario Maker, Yoshi and New Super Mario Bros will no doubt pop up later in Switch’s lifecycle. OG Wii re-releases are conspicuously by their absence though…

4. E3 is all about Holiday 2018

The Switch has a healthy selection of support going to the end of July. June’s E3 events (whether they be Directs or Treehouse Live) will be all about the holiday season. We know Smash will be there but expect at least three more titles to pick up in time for Christmas. One of those will likely be Labo based and with Metroid Prime 4 and Pokemon looking like 2019 games, we might see HD re-releases or spin offs from these series. Plus we’ll know exactly what Virtual Console/Nintendo Classic/Nintendflix will look like too!

Possibly the most important and exciting piece of information from the Direct was how bullish Nintendo is prepared to be. Q1 was clearly just a chance for everyone to catch their breath before the big guns came out. Crash Bandicoot, Okami, South Park and No More Heroes are the right types of games for Switch: ideally suited to the versatility of the console. Expect even more at E3 to wrestle attention from Spider-Man and (yawn) Crackdown 3. It’s good to see the kind of swagger Nintendo has seldom been willing to share.