It was a big year for videogaming – the console war began to cool down, some great games were released, World of Warcraft was expanded, and Jack Thompson is facing disbarment.
Here are my picks for top gaming news stories of 2007.
Mar. 14: Games for Windows – LIVE launches
There are a few problems with Microsoft’s PC-based version of Xbox Live. For one thing, it costs money – PC gamers didn’t have to deal with that issue until now. Second, you need Windows Vista to use it – and very few people are willing to install Vista, which has a variety of problems.
May 18: StarCraft II announced
The biggest gaming news story of the year: StarCraft II, the sequel to the seminal RTS and Best Game Ever Written, is announced at the Worldwide Invitational in Seoul, South Korea. Nick “Tasteless” Plott’s head explodes.
June 27: Nintendo announces WiiWare
Nintendo’s WiiWare software platform will allow small developers to add their own shitty Wii games to the shitty Wii games now available in the Wii Shop Channel.
July 5: Microsoft finally addresses the Red Ring problem
You knew that heating issues were bricking as many as 30% of Xbox 360 consoles. I knew that heating issues were bricking as many as 30% of Xbox 360 consoles. Everyone knew it – but Microsoft. Finally in July, Redmond announced a $1 billion warranty extension to address the issue.
Sept. 25: Halo 3 released
The long-awaited first-person shooter hits North American stores; it’s the highest-grossing opening day in entertainment history. Uncounted thousands stay home from school and work to play. Master Chief dies. Oops, spoiler alert.
Oct. 11: EA gobbles up Bioware/Pandemic
So John Riccitiello masterminds the Bioware/Pandemic merger; becomes CEO of Electronics Arts; gets EA to buy Bioware/Pandemic. This guy is the Katamari Prince of game developers.
Nov. 28: Gerstmann-gate
GameSpot.com editorial director Jeff Gerstmann is fired, supposedly over a negative review of a game that is heavily advertised on the site. The gaming community responds with an uproar, and the trustworthiness of every videogame reviewer is called into question. In other news, Lair rocks!
Dec. 3: Blactard is born
When I was at the Pandemic Christmas party a couple of weeks back, all the games industry bigwigs were referring to the new Blizzard/Activision as “Blactard.” So no, I didn’t make that up.
What did I miss? Let us know in the comments!
One Comment
For one, Windows Live does not require Vista. I run it on XP using Gears of Wars. Second it does not require money. You only need to pay for ranked matches as well as to form and join a game specifically with friends. Pub play is free.
The problem with Games for Windows is not it’s cost, but it’s inability to provide dedicated servers. There is no way that I am going to pay for a P2P connection using no hardware resources from microsoft as well as providing me with a software solution that already exists for free with Hamachi.
There is a #hamachigow channel on Quakenet; however there are very few people ever on it because most players either give Microsoft the big FU and won’t buy the game because they think it’s for live only, or avoid it all together because there are no dedicated servers.
If Microsoft would restructure the Games for Windows Live strategy to server based instead of client based it would go much better. They could sell gold liscences by server would would unlock achievements, ranking, and PC-XBox inter-playability and possibly even special maps/player skins/etc… Server owners could either opt out of the package, or pay a nominal fee for the enhancements.
Furthermore Microsoft really needs a life standalone client so you aren’t forced to be in game in order to use it’s features as well as give PC owners access to the marketplace to buy and rent movies and tv shows as well as digitally download any game available. With out that, they don’t stand a snowballs chance in hell against Steam.