Are Games Detracting Theater Audiences?

With the upcoming release of Grand Theft Auto IV for the PS3 and Xbox 360, it's all but guaranteed that millions of people will be staying home to get their fix of Liberty City come April 29th. The highly anticipated title will be the first Current Generation offering from the GTA series and has already reached over 3 million preorders in the US alone.

With this kind of selling power, gamers will no doubt be devoting a considerable amount of time in front of their televisions making good use of their new purchase. With an estimated 100+ hours of gameplay from the single player missions and the bonus of a slew of multiplayer options, a first for the series, people may choose to spend the week at home rather than going out.

This is a cause for concern in the film industry, where the new Iron Man flick will hit theaters just three days after the release of GTA IV.

The target demographic for both the film and the game are virtually the same for both titles, so the potential audience can for Iron Man's opening weekend could be sapped by GTA's release. Will gamers take a break from their misadventures in Liberty City to watch Tony Stark become Iron Man? Can a film release really be affected by the release of a videogame?

Hollywood is worried that this can absolutely happen.

In October 2007, Halo 3 was blamed for the poor box office showing of the Ben Stiller film "The Heartbreak Kid," which was released in the wake of Halo 3's September 25th release date. The rest of the film industry also suffered supposedly under the weight of Master Chief's gun as it was reported that total industry sales were down 27% compared to 2006 figures.

Personally, I think that Hollywood might have reason to fear big games releases in the future as the game industry continues to increase its mainstream appeal. I know that given the choice between buying a quality $60 game and playing all weekend and paying $10.50 for a night at the movie theater, I'll tend to take the game unless there are other incentives to get me out of the house. I generally only will go out to see a film in a group or on a date, otherwise I'll wait until I can watch it at my leisure in my own home.

The initial investment does cost more for a game, but with a game I'm going to be getting more time spent per dollar than I would for the 90-120 minutes I'll be spending in the theater. Games can also be played through multiple times and I have the option to sell them after I've finished them.

The appeal of a new blockbuster game has more weight than the appeal of a new movie title. The problem is that many movies that are coming out these days are just rehashed old films, unwanted sequels, revived old television shows or just plain bad. there are plenty of good movies that reach the silver screen, but many of the best are often lost in the shuffle.

The film industry still has a saving grace: I'm not going to buy buy Lost Odyssey for a girl to watch me play on a Friday night. As the trend in gaming tends to lean toward being more social, this could change. My friends come over some weekends just to play Rock Band and Wii Sports instead of spending money on a movie, but there are times when it's nice to get out into the world, socialize and interact with other people. As long as going to the theater remains a social event and people are willing to pay to see the new terrible Superhero Movie or Meet the Spartans the industry wont have to worry too much, but it will have to get used to the new kid on the block in the form of videogames taking away some revenues.

Riccitello: Hollywood is 'worried' [ Gamespot ]

Everything Old is New Again!

Today, when I got home from a long day of class, I was greeted by the smiling face of an Amazon.com box on my doorstep holding my brand new baby: a DUALSHOCK 3 controller. I then happily tore into the box to unearth my new controller. I (after taking this picture, of course) immediately opened the plastic fortress that protected this beauty from my greasy, dirty hands and, instead of popping in a compatible PS3 game, I got down to the nitty gritty and put in Tales of the Abyss for the PS2. I was worried that my shiny new controller wouldn't work with my old PS2 games, so my first task was to see if my concerns were unfounded.

Thankfully, any doubts that I had faded away once I initiated a battle and felt a familiar tingle in my hands. At first I almost didn't notice it. I still have rumble in my Xbox 360 controllers, but it's been over a year since I felt the gentle buzz of a PlayStation controller in my hands. The sensation of rumble just felt right and subtlety adds to the gameplay experience. The DUALSHOCK 3 also feels as if it can deliver more subtle rumbles to give a more authentic feel to your on screen experience. While playing MLB 08: The Show (PS3), I noticed that I immediately felt more connected to what was going on in front of me and was able to move carefully guiding my pitches into the strike zone, which coincidentally improved my game dramatically, though there's no way I can directly link my favorable game results to the controller any more than I can claim that Lady Luck is on my side.

The controller itself feels just right in your hands with the added weight the rumble offers. The controller feels more solid and less likely to snap after a frustrating game moment coupled with a controller squeeze. Other than the "DUALSHOCK 3" written above "SIXAXIS" on the front of the controller there have been no aesthetic changes made to body or design. The face buttons and analog sticks both feel the same as the SIXAXIS and respond just as well. The battery life for the DUALSHOCK 3 has been impressive and can be relied to survive any Final Fantasy throwback sessions on your PS3.

My only complaint is that my new controller didn't come with a USB cable because Sony is assuming that I am happy using my own that came with my PS3. Good ol' Sony cutting corners where they can.

I'm glad to see that Sony listened to consumers and brought this "last generation" technology into the now with the DUALSHOCK 3 controller, and with it, completed my PS2 gameplay experience by giving me what has been missing since I made the jump from last gen platforms to current generation. I might even play through some of my PS3 games again to experience the rumble for the first time and to see if they can replicate the immersion I felt during my play through the MLB 08: The Show.

Hello World

This is a gaming blog that focuses primarily on games that have been passed by and forgotten, left to sit on store shelves unplayed. We here at last Generation Games will be focusing primarily on bringing you PS2/Gamcube and Original Xbox reviews now that the shine has worn off and reality about the games has set it. We will also be bringing you current Generation titles as well, because we don't just play the oldies here at Last Gen.

We'll also be giving you general articles about gaming, opinion editorials, book and movie reviews and anything else we feel will relate to the general gaming audience.

We will slowly begin working on this site as our schedules dictate, but expect some good stuff. History has been made today. Let's hope it lasts.

-Anthony Rondina and the LG Staff.


**EDIT SEPT 12, 2008**

The mission statement has changed and I'm doing this alone. Jeff's got his own life and never really got into the blog thing so I'm the staff. Game reviews right now will no longer be the focus. I'll still talk about games and may be compelled to play in the future, but for now it's going to be about stuff I want to write about concerning videogames and I'll still be rocking the old PS2 games as well as the current gen stuff.