Features// SPOnG's Review Of 2006: April

[b]NiGHTS for Revolution as Naka Goes Solo
20/04/06[/b]


Ah, those happy first days of spring…

Not so happy for Sony, however, as more criticism of the PS3 oozed through the swollen pores of the games industry. As a $499 RRP price tag for the 20gb model came to look likely, there was a growing unease in the industry at the price point and release date of the new console.

Not helping matters was the news that the PS3's E3 showing would be a little, well, underwhelming. One developer told SPOnG: "People thinking the floor will be awash with playable demo pods will be sore if they walk through the doors expecting to be able to sample a massive range of [PlayStation 3] software at leisure." Ouch. No one likes to feel sore.

'Twasn't all crying at teatime though. The sunlight poked through the clouds like a reticent grey squirrel in the form of the ghost of a rumour about a whisper alluding to the possibility of NiGHTS Into Dreams for the Wii

April wasn't all shits and churlish giggles for Nintendo, however. It had to take a bit of the flying mud of April, too. Keita Takahashi of Katamari fame had this to say about the Wii's control system: "I'm not really interested in it. I don't think a controller should have that much influence on the enjoyment of games." OK, not quite the most blistering of burns, but when it's coming from one of gaming's great forward thinkers it has to sting a little bit.

And then, just as SPOnG was resigning itself to April being a slow news month, came Nintendo's announcement of its next-gen console name: Wii. Immediately the internet broke in two, the seas rose, Andy's girlfriend spat forth snakes from her womb as SPOnG sat, gob-smacked and in awe.

Of course, this was quickly followed by scorn, outrage and general fanboy flamery across the internet gaming community. Folk just didn't seem to get it. And, of course, hilarity (in the form of urine related quippery) ensued. We thoroughly agreed with Wired's Chris Kohler, however, when he noted, "Of course, I expect the Internet to brim over with toilet humor; that is what the Internet is for. But the Internet is not real life." Well said that man.

And that was that for April…

…Sorry? What? Games? Oh, yeah. There were a few…

Primary amongst them was Tomb Raider: Legend on a bunch of platforms that aren't the PSP and 2006 FIFA World Cup tapping into the nation's building football fervour. Also of note were the much beloved Guitar Hero taking air guitar strummery to new heights, and Final Fantasy XI Online, exciting spurts of fan juice over PCs and Xbox 360s everywhere.

Read on for SPOnG's review of May, or look back at March