Opinion: Xbox Live Arcade Vs. PlayStation Network - The E3 Showdown?
There were so many game announcements this week at E3 that you might have gone a little dizzy, but one of the things that GSW tends to get especially interested in are the smaller, sometimes indie-r downloadable games - both for Xbox Live Arcade on the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation Network for the PS3.
So what info sneaked out there for E3, and which line-up is looking more enticing from the PSN to the XBLA? [Disclaimer: I'm still the Chairman of the IGF, but I love all parties equally here.] Here's a quick round-up for the E3 shellshocked:
Xbox Live Arcade - Thanks to XBLArcade.com for keeping up in fine style and listing the XBLA titles shown by Microsoft during their E3 press conference - there's also a YouTube version of the video available.
That full countdown: "Bomberman Live!, Undertow [pictured], Sonic the Hedgehog, WarWorld, Sensible World of Soccer, Hexic 2, Geon, Wing Commander: Arena, Every Extend Extra Extreme, Feeding Frenzy 2: Shipwreck Showdown, Track & Field, Golden Axe, Spyglass Board Games, Space Giraffe, Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, Word Puzzle, Marathon: Durandal, Poker Smash, Switchball, Tetris Splash, Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords, Boku Sudoku." Now, that's obviously not everything out there or in development, but it's a not insignificant 22 games, many of which are keenly awaited.
Advantages? There are plenty of genuine indie titles sprinkled in there, some even self-published by the developer (let's have more of that if at all possible!) There's a large amount of titles and some really wonderful diversity in genres (puzzle, retro, shooter) that get relatively short shrift in the console retail market right now.
Disadvantages? There aren't that many 'experimental' or very out-there new IPs out there - not many of the games would really be considered to be super-innovative, because they're very much built to connect with existing genres and markets. Now, I don't think that's _totally_ fair, and I'll probably be buying the majority of these XBLA games (wallet, ouch), but I hope people can see what I mean, abstractly.
PlayStation Network: Obviously, some higher-profile titles such as Wipeout HD, Warhawk, and SOCOM Confrontation are due out on download for PS3 this year as well. But Gamasutra's own Brandon Boyer did a nice little round-up post on the vaguely 'indie-r', more bite-sized titles, pointing out: "Various yet unannounced PlayStation Network downloadable titles have recently been revealed, including the Pontifex-esque Elefunk [pictured], a racing title in Q-Games's Pixel Junk series, the IGF award winning Everyday Shooter, and more."
Poking around, I found that QJ.net has the best round-up with screenshots and press details on the 8 smaller titles announced - including Part 1 (with Blast Factor: Advanced Research, Nucleus, Pixel Junk, and Super Stardust HD) and Part 2 (with Everyday Shooter, Go! Sports Ski, High Velocity Bowling, and PAIN.)
Advantages? There are certainly some more mundane titles, from bowling to skiing, but there are some handpicked nuggets of innovation, obviously partly funded by Sony (Everyday Shooter, PAIN, Elefunk), which spark a good bit of excitement. And though the games do fit into existing genres, in some cases, they seem a little more diverse than XBLA's in terms of exploring little-seen corners - particularly the physics games (including LittleBigPlanet, too). This is because Sony is funding them and assuming some or most of the risk - with a particular wish to show off the PS3 hardware.
Disadvantages? Almost all these exhibited titles are first-party or 'second-party', there aren't that many of them, and it looks like the third-party titles are still being given the runaround in terms of publicity and ease of appearance on PSN. And that's a major shame - Sony needs to get its external submissions and publicity infrastructure in place for PSN games it's not so closely associated with. And fast.
Conclusion
Well, in pure dollar amounts, I'm pretty sure I'll personally be spending much more on Xbox Live Arcade than on PlayStation Network over the next 6 months or so. But equal amounts of my most-awaited digital download titles, as announced at E3, are on PlayStation 3 compared to Xbox 360 - and that's a little bit of a surprise, even to me.
And in the end, I still think this is what Microsoft is missing in its XBLA line-up - the ability to step up and fund some riskier, more abstract games for digital download - the 'fl0w' effect, if you will. Right now, Microsoft is only self-developing and significantly funding its own XBLA titles through Carbonated Games for hardware/Xbox Live feature showcasing, and I'm not sure that's quite the right move. (Some earlier indie XBLA titles had low-profile flecks of Microsoft funding in them, but if they're doing it now, they're being even quieter about it than before.)
In fact, there are plenty of amazing games out there whose creators just can't afford to develop it for console. While third-party publishers are stepping up to bridge the gap, it's more often the case that publishers are snapping up near-complete titles for XBLA which have less risk in the genre (see: Switchball), rather than those titles that take a bit of a conceptual leap and require more work to be brought to console (see: Everyday Shooter).
Or, of course, Microsoft, you can wait for the market to bring you those more innovative titles - but don't be surprised if Sony (and Nintendo?) nick them all first - the indie game market on consoles may just be starting to get competitive, in terms of exclusivity.
Comments
Jem is truly outrageous! Truly Truly Truly outrageous! XBLA is better in Jem's Opinion Damn it!
Posted by: Jem | July 15, 2007 8:05 AM
Is this a joke? XBLA has like 3x the titles with fan-favorite franchises such as Bomberman, Sonic, and Katamari. The Bomberman developers have said that this is their new flagship title (ending saturn's long reign) and there are a ton of innovative titles. Poker Smash is a puzzle game that I can't wait to play and Hexic was one of the most fun times I've had to date - the sequel only looks better! Undertow and Wing Commander: Arena are going to present plenty of multiplayer hours for anyone that enjoys a pickup and play experience. Puzzle Quest has been one of the most well received games of the year, with one complaint of course: no multiplayer - WELL IT DOES ON THE 360, with full voice communication I might add (oh yeah, don't forget that all these games are fully integrated into Live, which puts PSN to shame - really, stop acting like they're equal or Sony will never fix it). Not to mention that now Sega is on board, Golden Axe and Sonic are just a start, they've already got something like another 5 games in production. I'm not even gonna get into classics like Marathon and Tetris, with full online multiplayer, live, and new features. This is an absurd comparison and I gotta say I'm disappointed in GameSetWatch's writeup here. No innovation? Have you played geometry wars and the genre it's spawned? THAT DIDN'T EXIST until XBLA. Every Extend w/e and Space Giraffe sound crazy, they're so outside the box I don't even know how the game's work. XBLA is the undeniable victor, even ignoring the fact that all these games will be released in the next FIVE MONTHS. I don't think Sony even has this many games on their entire network (XBLA's total is up to what? 100? I think so). I'm no fanboy, I just love to play games and besides Calling All Cars, the PS3 has been a huge waste of money as far as downloadable content goes. And last, but certainly not least, it's really nice to be able to play a demo of a game before you buy it - in fact, I consider it necessary - does anyone not agree?
Posted by: Anthony DiSanti | July 16, 2007 7:41 PM
@Anthony: I haven't tried PSN games but I think you're exaggarating a bit regarding certain 360 games.
Geometry Wars is not an original title and it certainly didn't spawn its own genre. There's been indie games like it before it was released anyway. The game is basically just a modern Robotron... it certainly can't be compared to something like Echochrome which definitely looks like a whole new type of experience.
The future of 360 Live Arcade definitely looks bright. There's many titles released for this year which I'm really looking forward to. But I agree with the article, 360 lacks innovative titles.
Remakes of old classics like Bomberman and Worms are great. I love those. Some of the puzzle games are great too (Lumines and Marble Blast Ultra). But besides Lumines I can't think of any titles which feel original and unique. At least non-original games like Assault Heroes are still a blast to play through.
There's another thing I'm really starting to dislike about Live Arcade though. Bland direct ports of old arcade games where the only true addition is a graphics filter which they call as "HD graphics". I'm absolutely tired of those. If I wanna play old arcade games in a non-improved way, I'd go play MAME.
I think Microsoft would do a good choice by breaking their bond with Digital Eclipse (which are "developing" most of those mindless emulated games) and instead look for underrated indie developers who wanna making new interesting games.
Posted by: Sectus | July 17, 2007 10:20 AM
@Sectus: Haha, ok maybe I went a little overboard. Also, I like your use of paragraphs, I think I'll start doing that...
Geometry Wars may not have been the first game to adopt the independent movement and aiming controls, but it was the first to use the dual joysticks on a modern system and it has spawned a bunch of fun games using the same control scheme - such as Assault Heroes, as you mentioned.
Ok, PSN clearly has some innovative titles on the way, there's no question about that, but I wouldn't say having 3 or 4 titles makes one network innovative and the other not. XBLA has crossed a lot of boundaries that I never would have imagined being fun, forget profitable. Table-Top games on next gen hardware? I know we've had things like hearts and backgammon for a while now, but Carcassonne and Catan? This is something I haven't seen done before, but apparently am going to continue seeing done on XBLA.
And I like remakes of classic games as much as the next guy, but it's not the fact that we get to play these old games that makes their presence on XBLA notable. The fact is that these games DO have new features. Online multiplayer cannot be ignored. Street Fighter 2, Ultimate Mortal Combat 3? The online multiplayer defines these games as being leaps and bounds beyond the original - even ignoring the HD graphics, which is a must have on today's TVs. On top of new features, achievements improve the gameplay experience immensely and that's something you don't get on these other systems.
As far as games like Pac-Man CE and Bomberman go, these aren't just classic franchises, but entirely new games. Pac-Man CE is not just fun, but provides a much needed breath of new air into the Pac-Man line. Bomberman as I mentioned is going to be the new franchise-defining game according to the development team. These may not count as "innovations" but let's not act like it's just the same old games repackaged to make a quick buck.
I do have to acknowledge though, that some of these ports are just the original with achievements, live integration, and HD graphics, which even with all those additions, really is the same gameplay experience at heart. Games like Centipede and Missile Command, although they might look pretty with the new graphics aren't anything new. I really don't enjoy playing these and don't think they're worth the $5 they're being sold for, but I've spent countless hours on Double Dragon and Smash TV - online multiplayer is priceless.
All in all, I'll concede that entirely innovative new experiences are coming to PSN and seem to be lacking from XBLA, but if I had to choose to only have one or the other, I'd take XBLA hands down. Live is releasing games like mad and DOES make the arcade very accessible to indie developers. Soon, XNA will be integrated into live and anyone in their basement will be able to make an XBLA game. Check out the Dream.Build.Play contest MS has going on right now. This is an introduction to allowing community homebrew on the 360. I still gotta disagree with the article for which system had a stronger E3 showing.
Posted by: Anthony DiSanti | July 18, 2007 7:19 AM