Video Gaming Blog

Submitted by videogame2play

This is why Sony may yet rule the console-verse in spite of all its missteps and bungled first-gen games and cynical press. Because pretty much out of the blue, a game like Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII can come along in the right market (Japan) and turn a mediocre selling handheld system into a top seller six times the PSP’s prior week sales. Snap. Just like that. Crisis Core’s sale to-date in Japan? 486,659. (The game comes out here sometime next spring.)Last week’s Japanese hardware sales, courtesy Media Create:

95,487 Sony PSP
79,974 Nintendo DS
26,181 Nintendo Wii
13,128 PlayStation 2
13,101 PlayStation 3
1,243 Xbox 360

Aside from a plaintive “Ouch, Xbox 360, just ouch,” it’s another reminder that games move hardware faster than you can say “Too bad no Metal Gear Solid 4 ’til 2008, grasshopper.” Final Fantasy XIII too, which I’m actually betting we won’t see stateside until 2009 at this point. Then again, those franchises are bigger in Japan anyway. For instance, as I’m typing this, I’m listening to the Final Fantasy IX Piano Collection. What’s that? You didn’t know they had solo piano arrangements of Nobuo Uematsu’s music? You don’t know who Nobuo Uematsu is? Exactly.

Sony’s going to retake the Japanese market from Nintendo probably sooner than later, but what about over here? Let’s see, Lair was pretty much a disaster and I expect to see that reflected in sales figures going forward, i.e. it won’t be a game that sells well despite its critical drubbing (the way, by contrast, pretty much every EA sports title does). Heavenly Sword is getting decent reviews, but it’s more of a niche action title without the franchise recognition Sony needs to churn out Halo-sized numbers.

What’s on deck for the rest of the year in terms of PS3 exclusives?

Folklore is supposed to be a “dark fantasy adventure inspired by western fairy tales,” and sounds a bit Diablo to me, i.e. central town hub, venture out to do battle with monsters on intermittent quests, button-mashy combat. Unique stuff includes using the SIXAXIS to “shake” enemies and “yank” their powers away to use for yourself. It’s getting mixed press so far. Release: Early October.

The PSP’s “Size Matters” was fantastic, so let’s hope Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction is even better. I don’t know where this one’s buzz went, since no one seems to be talking about it. Have we lost interest in platformers? Release: Late October.

Umm, that’s about it. Yeah, kind of a bum holiday season for PS3 owners, though to be fair, Microsoft’s Xbox was tapping the Halo IV (as in “eye-vee,” not the roman numeral) its first couple years before stuff like Splinter Cell and Ninja Gaiden and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic finally showed up.