PS3 will beat 360 by 2009 (Wii, 2012).

[ps3andlovinit]

Originally Posted by Proteus

Actually, Halo can suck as much as he says.

Halo is a strong brand that was built primarily on the first release (which was originally going to be a Macintosh only game, btw). Microsoft bought up Bungie to use the title as a launch platform for the original Xbox (I know the story well, I was a part of it) ending it's Macintosh exclusive nature and everything else. The game had already been building tremendous hype... Why? Because it was 'bigger' than previous FPS games. It utilized a much larger 3D space and was pretty creative in it's presentation (and vehicles). The co-op was the best at the time.

The first Halo was a truly genre expanding game and it quickly became the brand that made the Xbox.

Unfortunately, all the heart at Bungie apparently went away after the first Halo and it became a marketing and promotional medium for Microsoft to use to sell the Xbox. The game quality went to crap in Halo 2 (and beyond) but the marketing dollars spent to sell it went up... WAY up. In fact, it could be argued that Halo, as an IP, has seen more marketing dollars spent on it than any other franchise to date. Microsoft even imaged the Xbox to align with Halo and brand the two together (green/black motif). Regardless, subsequent Halo releases after the first did not sell because they were 'good' persay, but because the world was told over and over and over that they were 'good'. The games actually did suck. Most of us who played them only played for a week before putting them down. Truly sad for a franchise that really mainstreamed Xbox. Even worse when you look at a modern 'average' FPS release, such as Haze, that, technically, is superior to the current Halo but because of the lack of brand sees reviews far worse just because of hype. Haze shouldn't be rated higher (it is average at best), but Halo should definitely and without question be rated much much lower (it is at least as 'average' as Haze if not more so at this point).

+100. Absolutely correct. Loved the original Halo. Then it went off the rails as you describe. There was one reviewer that came back and admitted he had given Halo 2 a 10 strictly based on getting caught up in the hype. It was a mediocre game and that's being kind.

Originally Posted by Proteus

I actually was just going to point out that the Wii is in stock everywhere here. I can go down and buy dozens at my local Walmart right now. No problem. It's actually been like that since January now. Even the Gamestops always have them when I go in.

Except the latest numbers showed they are still flying off the shelves. If anyone is in Toronto they have a huge Wii Fit display in the Eaton's center...with mostly 40 somethings around it when I was there...interesting.

Originally Posted by Proteus

I do believe that many people misunderstood the context of Sony's commentary regarding 'it's not truly HD until we are in it' or whatever. Many thought that referred to just the gaming side, but I'm pretty sure it was in reference to the BD playback capability of the PS3 as well. In that context, it is 100% true and Sony has lived up to it's hype.

Yep. Anyone that looked at it objectively instead of jumping on the hate bandwagon saw that.

Again for anyone in Toronto the Sony Style store has re-launched with a new look etc. Much nicer .. two GT5 arcade cockpits setup now .. the whole PS3 setup is focused on actually letting folks play games. What a concept.