The joke's usually on me anyway.
31 Mar 05

I think once again I'll forgo any April Fools jokes. It's not really fun if you can't see the person's face. I'm not big on lying anyway. I'm also a bit miffed about EGM's "joke." It briefly fooled me, but it really wasn't that outrageous. For those that missed it, they claimed you'd get a "realistic" graphics overhaul for the Wind Waker with your new Legend of Zelda preorder. Nintendo already claimed they were using the same engine and a lot of the new models needed would already be done as they're for stock characters in the series, so it wouldn't be impossible. But no, it was just a lie they made up and reported as news. I can't see getting to respectable journalism status that way. But it's funny. Whatever.

Anyway, take any strange news tomorrow with a grain of salt. Gee, I wonder what the New York Times has planned for their April Fools gag.

Continuing with the Microsoft and Sony strategies, Spong (notorious for rumors) is reporting that the Xbox is being phased out right now. That has some interesting implications. First, there's no pressure on Sony to drop the price on the PStwo until the Xbox 2 launch. Then I imagine that Sony will be able to pick up some cheap PS2 exclusives. After all, Microsoft wants all attention focused on the next generation.

I understand the economics of it all with the high cost per unit of the Xbox, but it's hard to get over the fact that a huge chunk of Sony's Playstation base was built once the console was dirt cheap and there were tons of greatest hits games. It puts added pressure on backwards compatibility. If there's not backwards compatibility, there's less reason to put out a new titles for the Xbox as there won't be new purchasers and the most enthusiastic base has moved on. If there is compatibility, each new game will have to be double checked against the Xbox 2 emulation adding headaches and delays.

I mentioned Iron Phoenix for the Xbox last week. I read a review which was overall positive, but they pointed out that the single player story mode had been removed from the game. Now most people don't expect much from a fighting game's single player campaign, but they do expect it. They offer the same modes as multiplayer with bots, but I'm even more baffled as to why this wasn't a budget release. At least now I have confidence that the price will be dropping soon.

Finally, Xcom fans should check out the News section. Interesting things afoot in unexpected places.

Jason