Metal Gear Solid 4 was a solid release for the PlayStation 3, the exclusive title that gives Sony an edge over the competition. This was Sony’s Halo 3 title and it needed to be a big success in order to keep gamers confident in the Sony brand.
Sony is reporting a 300% increase in PlayStation 3 sales over last month, mainly due to the desire for people to own Metal Gear Solid 4. Remember, this isn’t an increase in game sales, this is an increase in console unit sales, providing evidence that MGS4 sold consoles.
While Grand Theft Auto 4 seemed to sell a few consoles but, overall, didn’t impact console statistics during its release, this exclusive PS3 title has done just the opposite. Perhaps because of its exclusivity? Xbox 360 consoles have been in the hands of the consumer for a few years now, most of those consumers actually purchased GTA IV (as expected and reflected in sales) but not a lot went out to purchase the console. They already had it or didn’t care to own it for a game like GTA IV.
While many people purchased Metal Gear Solid 4 because it’s “Metal Gear,” you can see from the trailers that the game looked impressive, felt complete and contained a lot of great action. You’ll get a great sales pop the first few days on a title with a huge fan base but to sustain the growth and sell consoles you’ve got to provide a well known title that doesn’t suck.
MGS4 doesn’t suck by any reviewers score; it’s not perfect, but what game is? MGS4 delivered what it was said to deliver with very few bad experiences and that’s all you can ask for a console moving title.
So, what next? Sony has promised us that MGS4 is just the first of many titles to blow our minds. Resistance 2, Little Big Planet and what of that MAG game they showed off at E3? 256 players? We won’t hold our breath for that title, but Resistance 2 and Little Big Planet, combined, may move a few more units.
It may not be about the games today that move the next round of PlayStation 3 consoles, it’s about the promise of the games tomorrow with titles like MGS4 to hold us over until then.
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@Thief:
If you have Doom 3, and no patience for Thief 4:
http://www.moddb.com/mods/the-dark-mod
@Steam forums hacked
Me don’t like this. Normally you would not depend on third party software for modules in your core application. You’d want access to the source code, so that in case a vulnerability is found, you can fix it quicker than the third party.
So, assuming Valve has access to the code powering their forums, and yet somebody managed to hack it, it means that their developers need to better cover their security holes.
No puns intended.
@Xbox 360 failure rate down to 10%
Paul, I think those 10% come from any kind of combination of the following factors: old version of the console and placing it on a rug, with no space for ventilation.
I had no piece of equipment burn out. Those ventilation holes (sorry for getting back to holes) are there for a reason. If you thought of something different than ventilation, shame on you :P.
@Sony revamps< PSN sharing policy
I actually like that kind of sharing policy, and reducing it to just two devices is quite ok.
@cease-and-desist order to NeoGAF over Mass Effect 3 spoilers
Oh man … this is still free advertising. And since the game is not yet released, it can be changed so that the story of the game remains new.
@QOTW:
Yes.
You'll say this is absurd, but think of it: a game is not a novel, that once you read it you've extracted all of it.
A game is story and gameplay. Or just gameplay. The ones that are just story usually turn crap.
My 'Yes' answer is also based on a personal experiment: I watched/listened in background "lets plays" for STALKER Call of Prypiat, and I still love (not loved, love!) playing the game.
Now granted, such a big spoiler does have one effect: instead of buying the game full priced, I wait for a nice discount.
Great… First you say I’m 8 and then you say I could be a girl. Thanks a lot. =P
@Xbox 360 failure rate down to 10%: The biggest reason I didn’t buy an Xbox 360 when I was choosing a console was that it had a very large failure rate. I’m glad that it’s finally at a point where most people can enjoy it without it failing in less than a year.
@QOTW: I like to watch trailers and gameplay footage as much as I can until I see about 1 or 2 demos from gaming conventions such as E3, so that I know the game is worth buying. Otherwise, regarding story, I like to know as least as possible because gameplay is most important to me and the story is just what holds it together.
Regarding what you said about going to a library and learning a programming language: I would like to do that after I do my GCSEs which are only in next May and I need to focus on them as much as possible first. Also, I was unfortunate that my year is the last year that my country has Pascal programming in its Computer Studies syllabus instead of Java programming. Even though I excel at Pascal, I think there’s going to be a big leap for me to write in another language.