Worst console launch evar?

Gizzle

RE*AC*TOR wrote:

What are you talking about?

1. Publicity for who? 1UP.com? They are one of the most popular gaming sites on the net, because they have a history of integrity. This does nothing to reinforce that.

2. More time in development for Zelda? You must be nuts, its been in development for ages, it was supposed to be released a year ago on the cube. By all accounts its completely polished and is one of the longest games released in recent times.

1: Chill before you launch into a scathing defence for something I have no opinion on (re: 1up.com's integrity) Publicity for the thread is what I meant. Apologies for mixing up "thread" and "article". At work. Brain switched off.

2: Yeah, supposed to be released a year ago, but not on the Wii. Chances are the graphics (which is one of the aspects critics of the game have shat over) would have gotten a bit of a scrub to make it more next-gen with a bit more time, and nowhere did I mention game length. 50+ hrs is acceptable by anyone's standards.


Also, replace "Probably" in my post, with "Maybe".

skywalker

Retr0gamer wrote:

If you want a bad launch look at the PS2. There wasn't a good game out on it until GTA3 about 9 months later. Fantavision was good but could have been done on the PS1 and then Tekken Tag, a game cobbled together in 6 months.

Retr0gamer wrote:

As for the PS1 being the worst? For me it was one of the best. Sony bring out the PS1 with an arcade perfect port of Ridge Racer, at the time the best looking game around

Those were the exact points I was going to make, fair play retro.

Retr0gamer

BlitzKrieg wrote:

Didnt Zone Of Enders launch with the PS2 and MGS 2 hobbled in a few months later?

Or am I out of touch? At the time of the PS2 launch I was snuggling my Dreamcast...

ZoE wasn't out until 6 months after launch. It only sold because the MGs demo was included but it wasn't a terrible game just nothing special. ZoE 2 however is one of the best games onf this generation of machines.

BlitzKrieg

wow...I missed the first six months of the PS2 launch.

heh.

Didnt notice it until I saw ZoE...and then MGS2.

For some reason I always picture them as launch games.

Wait are we talking six months after European launch or six months after US launch?

Retr0gamer

Six months after the European launch. TBH The MGS demo was the thing worth playing on the PS2 at the time. Some PS2 magazines had 8 page articles about how to get the most out of your MGS2 demo, thats how bad it got. Then GT3 came along and in october out of nowhere we got the genre defining GTA3 and the wonderful Deveil May Cry.

DarthWraak

Feel free to flame if this is old/already been posted

http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=-9136575504838642038

CiDeRmAn

Just discussing the PS2 launch yesterday, itsucked, the only game I still play from that era is Fantavision, remember the long waits for decent games?
Glad I had a Dreamcast to fall back on when I was bored!
The Wii and 360 seem to have had pretty sweet launches, anything that comes out with a titles like PGR3 and Zelda can't be dissed, the PS3 launch in the states on the other hand is an elitist cock up, I mean none of the launch titles do it for me, and the best of them, Motorstorm, well, how many Dune Buggy/ Offroad racing games do you play to this day? Not many i'll warrant, sowhat for us? Hopefully at least one killer app that will make the PS3 indispensible, but I won't hold my breath!

1huge1

wasnt red faction released not long after the ps2 launched
i thought that was absolutely brilliant

Retr0gamer

1huge1 wrote:

wasnt red faction released not long after the ps2 launched
i thought that was absolutely brilliant

Red faction gets more stick than it deserves but it was far from brilliant. It came out at a time when the likes of Half-Life and No one lives forever were woeing us and Red Faction just wasn't in the same league.

Cuddlesworth

I dont think its fair putting any console fps in with the made for pc ones. I cant think of anything since Goldeneye that could come close.

Btw, I think Halo was over-rated.

ambro25

CiDeRmAn wrote:

(...)

Wasn't Buggy Heat a DC launch title? Complete with "Dune Buggy/ Offroad racing games"?

Can't believe you guys are arguing over "what makes a successful launch", based on software line-up. A "sucessful launch", as Sony have taught us all gamers, is when you achieve sell-through on day 1 and your latest and greatest tops at least $2,000 on eBay

See, it's got nothing to do with software

Vyse

My fav launch line up was on the good old Megadrive. Golden Axe, Revenge of Shinobi, Altered Beast (came with the system) and Truxton were the games I picked. I think, at the time, they all scored 90% + in Mean Machines. Beat that:)

Retr0gamer

Altered Beast is very overrated. It looked gorgeous when it was released but is an absolute joke of a game. Revenge of Shinobi on the other hand is a timeless classic. Could never beat Vidal Sasoon at the end.

Best launches would have to be GBA, Snes and N64. GBa had F-Zero and Castlevania, Snes had Super Mario World and F-zero (American and European launches were even better) adn the N64 had only two games, Mario 64 and Pilotwings 64 but both of them were groundbreaking and rightly hailed as classics.

Star Lord

Vyse wrote:

... I think, at the time, they all scored 90% + in Mean Machines. Beat that:)

Man, I had forgotten all about Mean Machines, seems sooooo long ago! I used to get that all the time! (At the time the free stickers etc ftw! )

And Retr0gamer:
Didn't the N64 launch with Mario 64, Pilotwings and Waverace?

Vyse

Retr0gamer wrote:

Altered Beast is very overrated. It looked gorgeous when it was released but is an absolute joke of a game.

Okay, granted that it was the worst of the bunch but it was a freebie. And when you get pretty much an arcade perfect port of the game you can't complain. I use to love that one in the arcades.

DamoElDiablo wrote:

Man, I had forgotten all about Mean Machines, seems sooooo long ago! I used to get that all the time! (At the time the free stickers etc ftw! )

Man how could you forget the likes of Julian Rignall, Richard Leadbetter and Paul Glancey. They were my idols when I was younger. Check out www.meanmachinesmag.co.uk, great site. The new edition of Retro Gamer also does a great cover story on them.

Retr0gamer

DamoElDiablo wrote:

And Retr0gamer:
Didn't the N64 launch with Mario 64, Pilotwings and Waverace?

You're right, it did in Europe. Another groundbreaking game with water physics that are even better than in any other game still (even it's sequel).

Peteee

Retr0gamer wrote:

Red faction gets more stick than it deserves but it was far from brilliant. It came out at a time when the likes of Half-Life and No one lives forever were woeing us and Red Faction just wasn't in the same league.

Red Faction was great fun!

As for the console launch, It should be based on the amont of A+ titles available, not an average