Split-Screen :: The Game-Geek’s Daily Read

By Nike Okami

Two seemingly different events, one increasingly familiar tangent dividing them. Fanboyism, for better or worse (like, say, kittens or man-eaters) taints them in an all too familiar shade. Good news: Final Fantasy XIII will feature about +50 hours of gameplay. Yes, it’s arguably the 50th Final Fantasy game to release – I would have counted all the re-releases and spin-offs but I like my eyes, thanks – but it’s easily the most beautiful and epic. Bad news: Bobby Kotick is “running his mouth again”. Apparently this very evil man had the audacity to say, “A small segment of very vocal gamers say everything has to be new and different every year. Actually, people are happy with existing franchises, provided you innovate within them.”

I can already see where this is going: “Kotick is just trying to put that subtle hint of propaganda in his speech, stating that his company’s key upcoming title (Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and that new Guitar Hero as well I suppose) will be successful because gamers wanna buy it. He’s blowing his own trumpet, he’s overestimating the appeal of the ‘overhyped’ Modern Warfare 2 and is just overall a douchebag.”

The sad part is that no matter how it’s spun to make him look like an insensitive arse, he’s inevitably right.

(Update: That hasn’t stopped some people from trying though)

Kotick’s said some dumb things before. He’d charge more for games, if he could. He’d ignore the PS3 altogether unless Sony reduces the price of it’s console – which has happened, and should provoke some interesting counter-arguments to his previous stand. I’ve seen his words provoke a pointless petition from gamers on boycotting Modern Warfare 2 unless a reasonable price is arrived upon. The funny thing is: MW2’s pricing of 54.99 GBP annoys so many people. And yet, the same people haven’t thought of the possibility that Square-Enix’s Final Fantasy XIII could cost the same. A triple-A blockbuster that’s been in development across two major platforms for so much longer than the 2-year old MW2, selling for less? One that will span multiple discs on the Xbox 360 and push the PS3 and Blu-ray to the limit? Not possible.

It gets better. Kotick and Activision unabashedly see more merit in a game that can be updated with sequels and spin-offs. Any one even briefly versed in brand recognition will tell you that a game with the Call of Duty tag will sell infinitely better than any XYZ: Super Special Awesome Futuristic Combat game. Why, the Final Fantasy name has been whored out far, far more with everything from prequels to Chocobo racing titles. It makes far more business sense, after all. They want to stick to business moves that will earn money. They’ll be criticized and hated for it, simply because they went against Sony. Square-Enix is bringing out a Final Fantasy XIV, even before FFXIII’s release, and no one bats an eye in disdain (not even numerous FFXI players on whether they’re getting short-changed or not). Entirely different issues? Break it down like this then: Sony-hating Activision bad. Long-time Sony sympathizer and “PS3 is our primary dev platform” Square-Enix good. Buy SE. Boycott Activision. Intolerance, meet your ugly sister Hypocrisy.

The arguments will inevitably be stirred up. I for one find it astonishing how such parallels are ignored and abused, all in the name of fanboyism. Okay, it’s dumb to assume the holy halo will come back into fashion (along with common-sense) but some times, the overwhelming fanboy bias becomes too much for logic to withstand. Smite me if you haven’t felt the same.