By Brian Diefenbach
Western Herald
Images © Valve, Activision, 2K Games, 2009
Well, this fall certainly was… interesting.
The video game industry certainly isn’t recession proof, but it is one of the most resilient pleasure industries.
By pleasure industry, I mean that it makes goods for our enjoyment. And no, I’m not talking about certain Japanese games. You know the ones.
A few cutbacks in game releases and marketing aren’t out of the question. On the other hand, how do you convince consumers — with their proverbial belts cinched tight — that they should spend what little cash they have on video games?
Game developer Valve has an answer to that: spend, spend, spend. $25 million, to be exact, was spent on the ad campaign for “Left 4 Dead 2,” released this Tuesday. Contests, billboards, TV spots… they don’t come cheap.
On the flip side, the fall saw a price reduction for Sony’s PlayStation 3. The regular console is now $299, comparable to Microsoft’s Xbox 360 Elite for $299. There’s also the new PS3 Slim, also for $299, and the neutered Xbox 360 Arcade for $199.
As for the Wii, well… nobody really cares as much as they did the past two holiday seasons. For $199, you still get the same HD-less hunk of plastic with the same limited library of decent games. At the very least, it makes for a sexy — if dimwitted — companion for your DVR or TiVO.
The meat and potatoes of every holiday season — besides Thanksgiving dinner — can be found in the game releases. The interesting thing about releases this year was the pacing. Things got rolling with the not-anticipated-but-gobbled-up-anyway “Halo 3: ODST” back in September.
“Borderlands” and “Uncharted 2: Among Thieves” were released in October with little fanfare but strong reviews and positive word-of-mouth. BioWare, a game developer renowned for their role-playing games, released “Dragon Age: Origins” on Nov. 3. Last week saw the biggest release of the fall in “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.”
The aforementioned “Left 4 Dead 2” is the last big release of the season. While the fall had plenty of heavy hitters, there just wasn’t the same energy as in years past. Gamers certainly aren’t going without this year, but they have been treated to a lot of retreads and sequels.
On consoles, the season’s biggest successes come from games with strong, popular multiplayer components. “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2” is the heavyweight champion of online gaming this season. It seems that every year there’s a multiplayer game that breaks sales and online play records for consoles. “Gears of War,” “Halo 3,” and MW2 are all of this pedigree.
Last year, the PlayStation 3 got the spotlight because of “Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.” While MGS4 has online play, the single player was the big draw for Metal Gear fans. PC players on “World of Warcraft” received the expansion “Wrath of the Lich King” last November as well. However, this fall hasn’t produced the same results for the PS3 and PC.
As for myself, I’ve been playing “Borderlands” like a madman. Not good, given the workload of a job and 17 credit hours. I’m not boycotting MW2, per se. I just don’t see any point in buying it. The single player is too short and scripted to meet my criteria of replayability. The multiplayer is too mainstream and competitive for my taste.
If you read last week’s column, you know the reasons I won’t be purchasing “Left 4 Dead 2.” Barring an unforeseen attack of peer pressure from my Xbox Live friends, I’ll be passing on this particular zombie apocalypse.
As far as new purchases are concerned, I’m considering “Dragon Age: Origins.” The good reviews and positive buzz from my friends may lead me down the RPG path, one that I seldom take. I passed on “Mass Effect” back in the day, so this could be my chance to get in the BioWare action.
New content for “old” games is another thing to look forward to. I have “The Ballad of Gay Tony,” the second expansion for “Grand Theft Auto IV” sitting on my Xbox 360 hard drive. I may not take the time to play it until after finals, just so I can dedicate a couple of long play sessions to it.
The downloadable content for “Borderlands” is a must-play given my obsession with the game lately. “The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned” is set for release before the end of the year.
Otherwise, enjoy the fall releases and save your money for next year.
Brian Diefenbach, a copy editor and columnist for the Western Herald, is a senior majoring in imaging. For more Game Brain, visit www.westernherald.com.
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