The Biggest Events of 2007

But first, a preface from the Breakman: 

 

After reading Richies thoughts regarding the biggest things to hit us in 2007 I felt compelled to write a preface of sorts.  Lucky for me, Richie obliged me.  2007 has been a big year for gaming, and has been something of a preview for the coming generation.

 

We’re finally starting to get into the meat of games with Halo 3 and Super Mario Galaxy out with many other high profile games to follow, and as a gamer we all wonder how these events will color the coming years of this gen.

 

Each element that Richie has dutifully laid out gives you an indication of just what is to come for us.  From the Red Rings of Death, to super corporations, to the dividing of inseparable partners, Sony "decisions", the world crumbling around a future episode of The Game Show in 2012, and the politics of video games we have seen that, at least, the future will be very entertaining.  …  And full of morons. – BreakmanX

 

Microsoft copping up to the Red Rings of Death – Apr. 3rd

 

Vivendi and Activision merge, worth $18 billion – Dec. 2nd

 

Theoretically, there’s everything to like about this merger.  Vivendi
makes good games.  Activision makes good games.  Together, they’ll have
the power to eclipse the ultra-mega ‘We Buy Everything’ Electronic Arts
as the biggest third-party producer on the planet.  That means
competition for EA, which means good things for us.

They’re officially calling themselves Activision Blizzard, but we agreed that ActiBlizzard or Blizzavision
would be at least 12 times cooler AND easier on the tongue.  But does
this merger mean the milking of the World of Warcraft and Starcraft
franchises?  Only 2008 will tell.

 

Bungie splits from Microsoft – Oct. 5th

It must be said that ‘split’ is a bit misleading: Microsoft isn’t
letting go of Halo, and Bungie intends to develop primarily for
Microsoft platforms.  Still, cries of Viva la Resistance! could be
heard worldwide from Bungie and Apple fans alike.

Despite the split, I’m not counting on Halo DS in the near future, and neither should you.

 

Gerstmanngate – Nov. 29th

 

Talk about royal fuckups.  When you dig deep into CNET’s firing of Jeff Gerstmann, you really wonder how they could have done worse.  A close second with ‘Don’t tase me bro!’ on the Most Fucked Up Situations of 2007 list.

Jeff, of course, will be fine; an editor with as much
experience and popularity as he will have no problem getting another
(better) job.  But the aftermath rocked the community, leaving gamers
to question the integrity of gaming journalism, and reviewers wondering
if management would have their backs in the future.


The PS3 Price Cut – Nov. 2nd

Like a shot of heroin straight to the eyeball, Sony’s price cut of its 80GB PS3
model and the introduction of the Emotion-less 40GB saw sales numbers
almost triple in November, just in time for Black Friday.  Of course, Sony was already losing $150-200 per unit before the price cut.  But needs must, and the PS3 needed sales numbers.

 

The catch, for owners, is that ‘Emotion-less’ part.  Without backwards
compatibility, Sony have check-mated owners into buying PS3 games,
rather than PS2 games which, seven years on, are still plentiful. 
Sucks, huh? 

 

"…Backwards compatibility, as you know from PlayStation
One and PlayStation 2, is a core value of what we believe we should
offer."  Just gotta eat your own words sometimes, huh Phil?

 

FIVE FUCKING YEARS – Sept. 28th

Five years later, and we’re still on the air, waxing lyrical about games to anyone who’ll listen.  From E3 trips, to exclusive interviews, to WeezerJedi and his Metal Gear, it’s been a good time had by all.

With arguably the best lineup of staff ever, and the gaming industry
growing like a sunflower under the noon sky, we’re set to stick around
for another five.  Here’s hoping we’ll see you in 2012 (The end?).

Manhunt 2 getting an AO rating from the ESRB – Jun. 19th

This, in itself, wasn’t big news; the original Manhunt was often
classified as an interactive snuff flick, and banned in several
countries as a result.  I expected nothing less from the sequel.

But Rockstar, desperate to get its game on retail shelves, got the AO
rating dropped to an M after blurring out some of the gore.  The
hacking community quickly found a way around this, and instructions
were posted on how to return your copy of Manhunt 2 to its pre-blurred
glory.

The likes of Liberman, Clinton, and our own Brownback took notice,
bringing the ESRB rating system into question, and backed their
concerns by introducing new legislation.  To Hillary, a presidential
hopeful, this controversy couldn’t have come at a better time.

And thus, video games went from a form of entertainment, to an item on the political agenda.  Whoopee.