Koei Brings Former PS3 Exclusives To 360
Fatal Inertia and Bladestorm due for simultaneous next gen release
Microsoft has made much out of the ‘level playing field’ in terms of high profile third-party exclusive deals on Xbox 360 versus PlayStation 3. The company can, of course, make such comments, as it now has its own 360 ‘killer app’ in Gears of War as well as a roster of high quality first and third-party titles for the 360 this Christmas holiday season.
A high-quality line-up of must-have games which, unfortunately, Sony doesn’t have (and isn’t likely to have till well into 2007).
Koei is the latest to sign up to Microsoft’s ‘level playing field’ philosophy, having announced this week that two titles previously only announced for PlayStation3, Fatal Inertia (pictured here) and BladeStorm: The Hundred Year War, are both also heading for 360 for a simultaneous release in March 2007.
BladeStorm: The Hundred Years War recreates the immense historical battles between the English and French, and will feature a number of historical figures such as Joan of Arc and Edward the Black Prince. Koei’s rep as a high-quality developer of such ‘action strategy’ titles is second to none, so SPOnG looks forward to this game, when we can finally teach our Gallic cousins a proper lesson or two!
We also managed to get a quick look at futuristic racer Fatal Inertia, which the developer described to us “as a kind of cross between Wipeout, Mario Kart and Katamari Damacy” back at E3 this year. It looks a bit like WipeOut, but it involves elements of collecting weird and wonderful weapons that alter the basic laws of Newtonian physics and let you discard your racing competitors in some rather hilarious ways.
"With exhilarating visual and audio performance, unprecedented online connectivity, and sheer computing power, the next generation is a springboard to creating genuinely exciting entertainment experiences," said Mr Kiyoshi Komatsu, President of Koei. "These new games will tap the capabilities of the next generation to realize vast interactive worlds for a global audience to enjoy."
One other thought: when does the next generation stop being the next generation? Is it now fair to say that current generation means Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii, seeing as the consoles are now freely available to buy (well, we say ‘freely’… but you get the gist)?
A high-quality line-up of must-have games which, unfortunately, Sony doesn’t have (and isn’t likely to have till well into 2007).
Koei is the latest to sign up to Microsoft’s ‘level playing field’ philosophy, having announced this week that two titles previously only announced for PlayStation3, Fatal Inertia (pictured here) and BladeStorm: The Hundred Year War, are both also heading for 360 for a simultaneous release in March 2007.
BladeStorm: The Hundred Years War recreates the immense historical battles between the English and French, and will feature a number of historical figures such as Joan of Arc and Edward the Black Prince. Koei’s rep as a high-quality developer of such ‘action strategy’ titles is second to none, so SPOnG looks forward to this game, when we can finally teach our Gallic cousins a proper lesson or two!
We also managed to get a quick look at futuristic racer Fatal Inertia, which the developer described to us “as a kind of cross between Wipeout, Mario Kart and Katamari Damacy” back at E3 this year. It looks a bit like WipeOut, but it involves elements of collecting weird and wonderful weapons that alter the basic laws of Newtonian physics and let you discard your racing competitors in some rather hilarious ways.
"With exhilarating visual and audio performance, unprecedented online connectivity, and sheer computing power, the next generation is a springboard to creating genuinely exciting entertainment experiences," said Mr Kiyoshi Komatsu, President of Koei. "These new games will tap the capabilities of the next generation to realize vast interactive worlds for a global audience to enjoy."
One other thought: when does the next generation stop being the next generation? Is it now fair to say that current generation means Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii, seeing as the consoles are now freely available to buy (well, we say ‘freely’… but you get the gist)?
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Comments
SCiARA 23 Nov 2006 13:41
1/10
Maybe when next gen is mainstream?
RiseFromYourGrave 23 Nov 2006 13:53
2/10
yeah its technically current gen
but itll take a bit more time for the new consoles to feel 'normal'
but itll take a bit more time for the new consoles to feel 'normal'
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alexh2o 23 Nov 2006 16:01
3/10
i think its still next gen until someone announces something about their next next gen console...
SCiARA 23 Nov 2006 16:05
4/10
Anyways, so the PS3 looses more exclusives! I wonder how long before MGS is moved over...
ohms 23 Nov 2006 16:24
5/10
SCiARA wrote:
Anyways, so the PS3 looses more exclusives! I wonder how long before MGS is moved over...
There have been rumours that Konami want Kojima to make it for xbox360 as well, though apparently he doesn't want to.
I think it's likely to get to 360 eventually though, the same way MGS2 did, maybe a year down the line, with a few extras.
SCiARA 23 Nov 2006 16:28
6/10
Good business strategy though isn’t it; tell Sony your thinking of making it for the 360 (or even "leak" the info) to get a better deal from them.
realvictory 23 Nov 2006 17:24
7/10
alexhooren wrote:
i think its still next gen until someone announces something about their next next gen console...
This is definitely the answer, i.e. it's current-generation when they tell you it is.
Or maybe it's actually when software sales are beating the last generation's...
OptimusP 23 Nov 2006 18:46
8/10
I loathe everyone who even thinks that PS3, XBox360 or Wii ever have been next-gen. What the crap is next-gen? Nobody has a definition for next-gen heh?
Or is this one of those "i'll know when i'll see it" things? Probably not because consoles have a cycle of recurrence of new products implying there's a historical structure which is examinable and a definition is possible to be derived.
So anyone using the word next-gen has to come up with some serious welt-built arguments to define the term. By that time, let's not fall for the marketingpitfall of this vague and meaningless use of the term.
Or is this one of those "i'll know when i'll see it" things? Probably not because consoles have a cycle of recurrence of new products implying there's a historical structure which is examinable and a definition is possible to be derived.
So anyone using the word next-gen has to come up with some serious welt-built arguments to define the term. By that time, let's not fall for the marketingpitfall of this vague and meaningless use of the term.
SCiARA 24 Nov 2006 08:49
9/10
Next gen is simply the next generation of consoles, not necessarily any better than the last but the newer console. The question really is when next becomes current and what is needed for the change.
RiseFromYourGrave 24 Nov 2006 10:28
10/10
OptimusP wrote:
I loathe everyone who even thinks that PS3, XBox360 or Wii ever have been next-gen. What the crap is next-gen? Nobody has a definition for next-gen heh?
im sorry you loathe us, but its a perfectly suitable term to reference the next 'wave' of consoles.