Why has all the good stuff been pushed into Q1 2011? Things could go really badly...

[kupocake]

Not often I post a thread anywhere (I do contribute though!) and yes,

Spoiler

This is sort of a shameless plug. Sort of definitely.

But I can no longer stay silent about something I've prattled about in everyone else's threads anyway. My Christmas tree will have a big ass pile of promissory notes under it because publishers holding onto PC titles have basically surrendered the most lucrative shopping season to Call of Duty: Black Ops (because... ? Was World at War that successful?). The only exceptions? A Medal of Honor game hurting to be as Modern Warfare as possible and Fallout: New Vegas, a game you can pretty fairly judge based on the game that preceded it.

So ok, I can wait for games to get done and yes, all I really need for a Happy Christmas is the Beauty and the Beast BluRay, but I come before you today to ponder whether there's so many genuinely exciting games coming out in the first three months of next year that, actually, the PC may be in trouble as a gaming platform.

It goes something like this

Console games are often a lot better at sustaining their RRP, whereas new PC releases can enter budget price-points with the passing of a single season.

[...] the PC versions of some of these under-performing titles could well return some absolutely abysmal numbers, making only small change in the long run. We're talking the level of cataclysmic failure that could be offered up to prove that PC versions aren't worth the risk, and all because of some daft scheduling

And then, because there's nothing like a good bear baiting, I weigh in on which games are pretty much shafted, all the time using hedging terms that cover my back when I'm completely wrong.

Portal 2
Even if this game wasn't the sequel to the critically acclaimed original (or the sequel to a game that made gamers sick of cake references regardless of whether they'd played it or not) the grip Valve has over the PC Games market is such that Portal 2 can't help but succeed. Steam front-pages will be dominated by monolithic advertisements, every schoolchild will get a second copy of the Source back-catalogue and crucially, Team Fortress 2 will gain at least one new hat.

So how about you guys:
Will you be getting any games for Christmas this year?
and
Do you think there are too many games coming out in Q1 2011? Which ones will you be getting, and which ones do you reckon no-one really care about?

Spoiler

See, isn't that better than me just dumping my shitty links and saying 'discuss'. But anyway, discuss.

 

[StarBob]

I'm going to get WoW: Cataclysm next month. Then I'll probably just pick up games that go on sale from this past year on Steam for their awesome Christmas sale. There aren't a lot of games I didn't pick up that I really wanted but I'm sure thre are plenty out there that will be cheap enough to warrant purchase. Maybe The Force Unleashed if it's like $10 or Modern Warfare 2 if it's $15 or $20. Buying new games is such a risk these days. You can never tell if it's going to be buggy and previews/reviews often feel like glorified sales pitches. I have too many games to play the way it is though... albeit some are crap and will probably never be played.

 

[Vegeta897]

Kupote, that's clever.

 

[kupocake]

Kupote, that's clever.

It's really not.

 

[MJ12]

The only game I will be getting immediately in Q1 is Deus Ex: HR. Portal 2 can wait, I want to hear some reviews first. Might ask for New Vegas for Christmas, as Winter break is the only realistic time to waste 60+ hrs on Fallout games.

 

[Stigmata]

Personally I'm not that worried. PC gaming isn't going to just up and die. If traditional publishers give up, it'll just make more space for indie devs in the industry.

http://software.intel.com/en-us/blogs/2010/04/19/hear-that-knocking-sound-its-pc-gaming/

That plus the fact that PC sales traditionally don't include digital distribution numbers. For example, New Vegas' first-week PC sales figure of 90k was retail-only. Given that digital distribution has pretty much surpassed retail as the primary delivery method of PC games, I expect its total PC sales figure to have surpassed 250k by now.

 

[Escaep]

The only Q1 2011 game I really want is Brink. I'll ask for Black Ops for my bday and if that doesn't prevail then again for Christmas. I'm waiting to see how good it will be first, whether it is more like COD4 or more like MW2, and how it will fair on the competitive side. If by after Christmas it looks like it'll be a solid game, I'll see if I can budget it in with Brink.

 

[StarBob]

The only game I will be getting immediately in Q1 is Deus Ex: HR. Portal 2 can wait, I want to hear some reviews first. Might ask for New Vegas for Christmas, as Winter break is the only realistic time to waste 60+ hrs on Fallout games.

I really feel like - from what I've seen - that should be the other way around. Portal 2 immediately and Deus Ex wait and see. Portal 2 can only be better as far as I can see. Valve created that type of gameplay and I can't see it being worse. On the other side - Deus Ex has been looking really hit or miss in every department outside of graphics.

 

[kupocake]

The only Q1 2011 game I really want is Brink.

I was going to write something on it, but IIRC it's Q2. Or at least, I've confused Q2 with 'Spring'.

 

[MJ12]

I really feel like - from what I've seen - that should be the other way around. Portal 2 immediately and Deus Ex wait and see. Portal 2 can only be better as far as I can see. Valve created that type of gameplay and I can't see it being worse. On the other side - Deus Ex has been looking really hit or miss in every department outside of graphics.

Well Portal 2 looks more of the same to me, so I haven't been aching to get my hands on it. On the other hand DE:HR looks new and unique so I am more intrigued to see it's relation with the Deus Ex Universe. Plus Deus Ex is story driven, open, and has RPG elements, which usually means more bang for my buck.

I waited to hear about L4D2 because it looked like more of the same, and I am really happy I held out until it was 10 bucks. I was right in my personally opinion, L4D2 was a polished and improved L4D1, no way was it worth 50 dollars to me personally. I feel that Portal 2 might be the same way.

 

[Tony]

It happened Q1 of this year too. Mass Effect 2, Bioshock 2, and Splinter Cell: Conviction all coward a the thought of going up against MW2. I assume they all sold well on the PC??

 

[Escaep]

I was going to write something on it, but IIRC it's Q2. Or at least, I've confused Q2 with 'Spring'.

Yeah you're right, for some reason though Q1 was the start of the year.

 

[Stigmata]

I waited to hear about L4D2 because it looked like more of the same, and I am really happy I held out until it was 10 bucks. I was right in my personally opinion, L4D2 was a polished and improved L4D1, no way was it worth 50 dollars to me personally. I feel that Portal 2 might be the same way.

Good point. Then again, there was only a year between L4D and L4D2, but it's been over three since Portal came out.

 

[YROC]

Is Diablo III out early next year?

 

[Quixoticism]

Don't count on it. Maybe by the end of the year.

I'm just interested in sequels next year. Guild Wars 2, Portal 2, Torchlight 2.

 

[Barnz]

too many games? yes. too many good games? no.

 

[CyberPitz]

If GT5 comes out any time soon *ha*, I'll be snatching it.

 

[Wanted Bob]

Personally, I have a large enough backlog of older/newer games:

- Dragon Age: Origins (I need to beat this at some point. It fills the KoTOR itch I had since Mass Effect came out)
- Thief 3 (Going at this at a slow and steady pace. How long is this game anyways?)
- Deus Ex (I still regard this as one of my favourite games of all time yet I STILL cant bring myself to finish it. If only my save didnt get deleted I wouldve finished it by now)
- Dead Space (Loved it went I tried it out at a friends house, would like to finish it before the sequel comes out)
- Puzzle Quest 2 (This game is too damn addictive, if its as long as the first I'll finish it soon)
- Dead Rising 2 (Not the greatest game, but the story isnt too long and then I can go back and fool around whenever I want)

Next year, I'll definitely pick up Portal 2 and Deus Ex: HR (though maybe I should play Invisible War before then?).

 

[StarBob]

Personally, I have a large enough backlog of older/newer games:

- Dragon Age: Origins (I need to beat this at some point. It fills the KoTOR itch I had since Mass Effect came out)
- Thief 3 (Going at this at a slow and steady pace. How long is this game anyways?)
- Deus Ex (I still regard this as one of my favourite games of all time yet I STILL cant bring myself to finish it. If only my save didnt get deleted I wouldve finished it by now)
- Dead Space (Loved it went I tried it out at a friends house, would like to finish it before the sequel comes out)
- Puzzle Quest 2 (This game is too damn addictive, if its as long as the first I'll finish it soon)
- Dead Rising 2 (Not the greatest game, but the story isnt too long and then I can go back and fool around whenever I want)

Next year, I'll definitely pick up Portal 2 and Deus Ex: HR (though maybe I should play Invisible War before then?).

Dragon Age is a really good time especially if you like the story (I did)
Thief 3 isn't too long really. There are like... what.... 5 or 6 real levels outside of the streets? The Asylum scared the shit out of me when I played it back in the day :/
Deus Ex is another great game with a good story if you follow it.
Dead Space I didn't play.
I didn't buy Puzzle Quest because I had to play my ass off (seemingly forever) to finish the first one and that only happened about a month ago. So I'm burnt out on it.
Dead Rising never appealed to me. Too gimmicky for my tastes.


I liked the polish of L4D2 because I really enjoyed L4D and just wanted an excuse to play more of it. New stuff was just enough for me so I bought it new (although in a four pack for like $35). Portal 2 really just left me wanting more. Just when I felt like I was moving forward it was over. I want more of that. Deus Ex has some new stuff but it just looks so far from the glory of the original that I can't be excited about buying it. I'd have to see some in game stuff maybe first hand and see some reviews. I mean if it was old Eidos making this and not new Eidos that's been pumping out weaker and weaker titles I might be more inclined... but Valve hasn't really released anything disappointing so I'm going to trust them for now. But yeah it's just how you look at it I suppose.

 

[Wanted Bob]

I didn't buy Puzzle Quest because I had to play my ass off (seemingly forever) to finish the first one and that only happened about a month ago. So I'm burnt out on it.

Not to take this thread off topic, but if you ever feel like getting back into Puzzle Quest, I absolutely recommend the sequel. The production values have been upped a ton, and while it may not be AAA game quality, the original background art and better sound (ie. there are actually more sounds now) really made the game more enjoyable as a whole. They added an improved weapon/item system (you now match "action gems" in order to use weapons like spells, but they dont drain in a Mana Drain), and an upgrade system which ensures you are always slowly improving as you progress. They added about 7 different minigames for certain events (looting, bashing doors, lock picking, learning spells), each with their own set of unique rules. The change to an isometric RPG definitely makes the world more interesting, with portals every 5-10 rooms to prevent tedious backtracking.

 

[Krynn72]

Yes, I say they rush their games out to meet a christmas time release. That always turns out great!

 

[Deleted member 56031]

admittedly unlike last year i actually believe some of these were delayed for legit reason and not cos they were scared of the CoD machine.

Yes there is a lot of games in Q1 2011 but personally I'm only getting:

dead space 2
portal 2
deus ex 3
brink

 

[MJ12]

Yes, I say they rush their games out to meet a christmas time release. That always turns out great!

But it's not a Christmas time release? It's after Christmas.

I don't understand why games are released when they are; what their reasoning is etc. Like, there is always a large rush of games during early fall, and early-mid spring. I don't understand why more games are not released in Late November-Early December for Christmas sales, or why there are hardly any titles during the summer when all the kids get out of school.