Jim and Ned Discuss!
Today we are going to talk about the current gaming industry.
Jim: Well not so long ago, the console industry was considered to be dead. Thanks to Horse-Drawn games and the Gamewagon, however, the industry is on the rise.
Ned: Yeah, its marketing worked wonders. Customer awareness was increased and the gimmicks and innovative games made it past that “game console fad” barrier that retailers had before now. The use of a printer and a keyboard made it seem like a PC, and the creative use of these peripherals meant retailers could market it easy as something new, not at all associated with the gaming crash of 1983.
Jim: What about its competitor, the Gamercon? I hear that Congames is bailing out of the console business and is in need of some cash. What made it fail in comparison to the Gamewagon? It seemed to do well at the start, cheaper price tag and 3rd party publishers seemed to be signing up quickly.
Ned: Marketing. Gamewagon’s aggressive marketing made it difficult for the Gamercon to sell.
Jim: I reckon it was the library. It had a poor launch selection and then after the initial poor sales, the 3rd parties left for Gamewagon. Things never picked up from there.
Ned: Is there anything that can knock Gamewagon off its perch?
Jim: The upcoming Pixelcube looks promising.
Ned: Do you think its worth the price?
Jim: We’ll have to wait and see. The new format they’re using has potential. It’ll make the games cheaper so the extra price might save you in the long run and it has extra memory. It also seems to have 3rd party studios to rival Gamewagon.
Ned: Yeah, BM Games is known for making expansive games on the PC. It’d be great to see how they use that extra memory on their Pixelcube titles.
Jim: I don’t know much about Bamboo Cane Inc yet, but rumour has it that they’re developing a space RPG. It seems more mature than Horse-Drawn’s RPGs and appears to appeal to a different audience, which will help in differing the games.
Ned: The 1st party titles aren’t too shabby themselves, Bio-hazard looks to be an interesting game. I like the zombie theme, it’s different. Though its exact genre is unknown, it’s probably going to be action-based. Which is wise, since Gamewagon is dominating the console RPG market at the moment.
Jim: Don’t forget about the Gamewagon itself. I doubt Horse-Drawn will stand around and watch. I hear there’s a bundle of 1st party titles planned.
Ned: Yup, fan-favourite Astrid’s Pony Tales is receiving a sequel, hopefully it’ll live up to the hype. It’s still a while in the making, though.
Jim: Not like Way of The Wayfarer, Horse-Drawn’s newest release. You can clearly see in the game how Horse-Drawn are becoming more experienced with their own console. The tech in the game is excellent, the graphics are probably the best on the Gamewagon so far and the system itself is brilliantly reactive. I hope huge gaps such as this can be seen in their future games.
Ned: Like Beyond Human? Little is known besides being a cyberpunk RPG, but nonetheless, it’s a Horse-Drawn game and should be good.
Jim: Horse-Drawn aren’t the only ones making brilliant RPGs at the moment. Palm Studios‘, of ‘And They Came!’ fame, recent RPG; Demon Heart-A Cold Tale is getting great reviews. It’s even claimed to be better than Astrid Pony Tale.
Ned: Pixel cube will find it hard to compete with that.
Jim: Yeah, also Gamewagon is expanding into other genres at the moment too. Lockness latest game, Valor has sparked a new adventure genre on consoles, future games from them should be interesting.
Ned: As should Mirrors, the upcoming game by a new company called Roleplains for the Gamewagon. It has plenty of innovative concepts around puzzles involving mirrors images and platforming. It should be interesting to see in motion and definitely is a new type of experience.
Jim: The PC market isn’t exactly stagnant either. Myrune was a top of the range RPG and its mana concept was interesting. Future titles from PlayGames should be interesting.
Ned: There’s a buzz in the PC market over something called Terror-Ville at the moment, isn’t there?
Jim: Yeah, it’s a horror survival game that appears to be very immersive and looks to be tense. Should be a thrilling experience and I’m interested to try it out.
Ned: Looks like that’s how we could fit in the time, sorry folks, hopefully in the future you can see us do more detailed analysis of some games, console and companies mentioned.
Jim: Yup, the future of gaming looks strong.
