Tokyo Game Show (1 Viewer)

[Chad Ferguson]

I believe this starts on October 12th-15th.
I just had a couple of questions and statements about this show that involve the Xbox.
1. Xbox plans a huge announcement at the show, rumor has it Sqaure Soft is apart of this. Anyone know?
2. I pray that Metal Gear Solid X is announced!
3. That Silent Hill 2 DC release date for US is given.
4. That the Resident Evil series is announced for Xbox.
5. That Genma Onimusha's release date for US is announced.
6. That Devil May Cry will come to the Xbox with release date.
7. That Microsoft gives a statement about the Progressive Scan issue.
I know that it's a long list but if anyone knows anything about these titles please give me all the info you have. If you know of any other announcements at the show say those too.
Thank you very much

 

[paul h]

Just read this on Computerandvideogames.com make of it what you will...
Heavy talk is circulating among senior sources that Konami has suspended all work on its Xbox games. Although CVG's investigation this morning has revealed a slightly different story, both Konami and Microsoft have backed away from the issue. A spokesperson for Konami flatly denied the rumours, stating: “We are still releasing two Xbox games. [Konami’s Xbox titles are] still going ahead, still under development and still on the European release list.”
The two titles referred to, according to the company, are Air Force Delta Storm (Deadly Skies) and Silent Hill 2: Director’s Cut. Air Force Delta is still officially on schedule for US launch on November 8, with Silent Hill 2 to follow roughly six months later. The two Xbox titles compare with at least ten heading to PS2 in Europe this fiscal year, and it is no secret that the Japanese publisher and developer has a particularly strong relationship with Sony.
One of the most anticipated Konami titles is the Xbox version of Metal Gear Solid, but the future of the project has been cast in doubt, with the Konami spokesperson stating: “[Metal Gear Solid] has never been on our Xbox release schedules. We don’t know what’s happening with the title.” Metal Gear Solid 2 was announced as a PlayStation 2 exclusive at E3 this May. CVG contacted Microsoft for comment, but the company was keen to distance itself from the matter, stating that it was an issue for Konami and refused to make any official statement. Microsoft insiders have pointed to talk of total suspension being completely off the mark.
If these rumours are proved to be true to any extent, this will be a bitter blow for Microsoft, as Konami possesses some of the largest franchises in gaming and it would now appear the company has shifted its focus onto PS2. We’ll have more on this as it develops.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

Don't be suprised if you see Namco dump everything to go for PS2 as well. Sony sees a DIRE threat to their top-spot in X-Box, and they're doing exactly what they did for Dreamcast, pulling their #1 3rd parties close to them in order to stay afloat. PS2 software sales are not very good, and they're really feeling the pinch.
I just wish Sonic Team'd get off the Gamecube bandwagon, or that AM2/Hitmaker would jump to GC. That way this wouldn't be such a hard choice for the frontline console
Jeff Kleist

 

[Morgan Jolley]

1. Squaresoft has said that FFX and XII are PS2 exclusive, but XI is on PC, PS2, and possibly GCN and/or XB.
2. MGSX is supposed to be a combo of MGS and MGS2, but nobody is sure about the details. I assume it will come out next year, if at all.
3. Silent Hill 2 is supposed to come out for the Japanese launch of the XB, so it will probably be out next spring.
4. Another RE game is supposed to be in development for PS2 (it might have been RE:CVX) and RE Zero is in development for GCN. I doubt an XB one this soon, but maybe next year.
5. Genma Onimusha is supposed to be out for the Japanese launch of the XB, so I would assume it will be out next spring, probably earlier.
6. I doubt Devil May Cry will come out for XB. If it does, it will be a port and will be announced at the next E3 if the XB is a success.
7. MS will probably do some sort of announcement about Progressive Scan, though I doubt we will be happy about it.
If the X-Box touted itself for its games more than its power, maybe more people would stick with it.

 

[Ron Gilbert]

Morgan, I guess we see what we want to see.
I feel that, since Gamestock at least, MS has been promoting games over power. I mean seriously, these last few months have been all about the games. Considering that MS started later than Nintendo (devs didn't receive kits until late summer of 2000) I think its remarkable that some of the games are in any sort of playable state, and that the launch lineup is looking as strong as it is. And correct me if I'm wrong, but both DOA3 and Project Gotham began Xbox development at the start of this year! Impressive, to say the least.
Anyway, to the topic at hand - I've not heard anything from MS proper about a big announcement at TGS. There are some games that we can reasonably infer will be shown (Panzar Dragoon, Project KX, Bruce Lee?) but I've learned now that unless MS directly hints at something, to not expect it. That includes any supposed announcement from Square, and any talk about progressive scan.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

The reason that I don't see them advertising games more than power is because nobody talks about the games besides DOA3 or Project Gotham. When the PS2 came out, everyone knew about some of the bigger games that were coming out for it, like FFX, MGS2, SH2, and many other ones that are already out. The X-Box has a great game or two, plus some ports of great games from other consoles or PC. Nothing for the X-Box that is exclusive is as big a title as Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Final Fantasy, Silent Hill, or Metal Gear Solid. The XB is running like the XB in the fact that the DC mainly had new games on it or ports. I have seen ads in magazines for the XB, but they just have screenshots of games, most of which don't look as impressive as they probably should. Most of the hype for the console is its power and not its games. Also, a lot of the bigger games for PS2 and GCN will be out in Japan first, which means that they will gain steam there and then people in America will want them more. The XB doesn't have that opportunity.
I think DoA3 and Project Gotham (or Gotham Racing) were started in development before the beginning of this year. If you want to see impressive, find a video of Phantasy Star Online for GCN and keep in mind that it has only been in development since around the middle of April.
About GameStock, everything I read about that was of utter disbelief of how bad the show went. All of the games were incomplete and running on bad hardware, plus they released screenshots that weren't exactly impressive and were doctored. I haven't read anything saying that people left the show with a good feeling about the XB. Looking back at it, they should have held the show around the same time as SpaceWorld so the games and hardware would have been complete (or at least more complete).

 

[Ron Gilbert]

Most of the initial hype for any new console is in its power. This is true for Gamecube and especially the PS2, where the promise was that we would see a significant advance over the Dreamcast. Since, as far as I can tell, there is nothing revolutionary about the initial gameplay offerings on any console, what is there to be hyped about aside from the anticipation of playing new games? How about the extra power that these new consoles will hopefully bring to the table.
I see MS marketing their other games all over the net. They may not have the current popularity of DOA3 or PG, but the marketing is there, in the form of websites, fansite profiles, etc. I expect that once the campaign begins in earnest, MS will spread the wealth accordingly. And at this point, we wouldn't know as much as we do about any company's game lineup if we were not actively seeking such information out on the web. In that regard, I think MS and Nintendo, neither of whom have begun any mainstream adverstising campaign, are about equal in game promotion. Yes, Nintendo has been more coy about the Gamecube from a hardware perspective, but I think Microsoft should be lauded for being so open about their system and the process and history behind its development. In some cases, it may have backfired on them, but by and large, I haven't felt cheated out of any game info as a result of this approach.
Sorry for going off the topic of this thread!

 

[Morgan Jolley]

The PS2 sold so many copies because of the DVD function and the fact that games like Final Fantasy were on it. It was more of what was going to be on it than power.
Nintendo will have a 9-week advertising blitz from late october/early november to december. MS has a higher budget than Nintendo by over $400 billion, yet everything has been on the internet and in magazines, not on TV or billboards, which is sort of strange to me. Nintendo told the specs of the GCN in August 2000 at SpaceWorld. MS announced the XB specs the following December. Nintendo destroyed ALL speculation about things or flat out denied things as fact (such as saying that the video from SW2000 was not actual gameplay from Zelda, Metroid, etc.) whereas MS lets things be speculation for a long time (like the whole Prog. Scan thing and the DVD features). MS also pulls out features of its console in order to change its image, which is rude to the public. Nintendo has only changed the shape of the B button.
Overall, I think that Nintendo has done the best job with their console. They have a powerful piece of hardware in a tiny package, they haven't lied to the public, they haven't made false promises, and they have been frank about almost everything from the beginning. They might not have disclosed every single aspect of the GCN since it was announced, but they also didn't let speculation about its abilities float around (the 5.1 Rogue Leader thing is Factor 5's deal, not Nintendo's). Nobody is quite sure about what the XB can do yet in terms of its DVD function, as well as some other aspects of the console itself. It would make sense for MS to screw up a little bit since they don't know what they are doing. Nintendo dominated the console industry for years, then lost it, then got it back (via GameBoy Color), so they know what they are doing.
Back to topic, when is TGS?