This sounds much like the Bungie situation, in this case I'd guess Sony wants to sweatshop another GOW by fall 08 and team members don't want to go through that experience anymore. In any event, more bad news for Sony because now they're main Western talent is slowly falling apart.

I'm not too shocked about EA Chicago, but I think this and the Bioware purchases shows weakness in EA. Half of their games that have released have been flops...most of the Wii catalog is clearly rushed and there talent pool has noticably thinned. The most damning thing about them to me is that the most intriguing titles such as Rock Band and Crysis aren't even in-house. Sure EA has always believed in buying their way to prominence, but they didn't use it as a crutch like they do nowadays.

To me the video is over the top sick and sadistic...you have to be pretty cold blooded not to be disturbed by that.

Manhunt and it's sequel is where the line for violence should be drawn...obviously each kill may not be as graphic as an individual fatality in Mortal Kombat or a kill in Gears/RE4; it's the atmosphere created by the savage, nonchalant killing that crosses the line. If a serial killer could make a game, manhunt would be the result.

It's a tough sell at $399. They are still well out of range on the mainstream family's gift list. The people who are more affluent will go for the 360. The system is still too immature right now: blue-ray, the library and HOME are things that will make casual gamer bob shrug his shoulders. The 360 has the hardcore locked up with it's sterling lineup this year(emphasis on this year)...so they really are trying to carve a niche that isn't there.

While I think 2008 will be a better year for the console, they'd have to execute everything exactly right...MGS4 missing the first half of the year is a bad start.

The biggest beneficiary to all of this of course is the Wii, they are winning by default simply by doing nothing imbecelic, unlike the other two.

Let's face it, right now it's a $120 game, the joystiq is pretty much required for this game otherwise it's like playing Guitar Hero minus the Guitar.radiocreed

That applies for any fighter that comes out on 360 unless MS fixes the pad, which is doubtful.

GS' review is up- 8.5

http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/virtuafighter5/review.html?sid=6182119

The online works fine apparently, good to hear unfortunately though predictable; you'd have to spend an extra $60 on a stick.

D3s7rUc71oN

Wow, what the heck is that? Zero information on gameplay:lol:

The differences feel negligible to the average player (aka Jeff) and an in-depth discussion of the changes is outside the scope of this review.

I'd also note that the complaints on the d-pad are valid, but then how does this happen? Because when DR released on PSP there was no option for a joystick...

I personally thought the beginning of this year was weak for all systems, with the drought subsiding in August or so, but hey, Microsoft has money out the butt. As long as they keep delivering quality titles and whatever they feel they should spend the money on, why would you care? It's not your money they are spending.SemiMaster

Hey I'm just making points. Here's a question...how much would Lost Planet this month sell if it was released tomorrow?

The 360 has been bombarding it's base with games since mid-August, but how much is too much?

I think they are at that "too much" point, mainly because of Halo 3. Halo 3 is going to do a lot of the "dirty work" in attracting users and doesn't need much help. So one has to wonder why the heck MS is bunching up the schedule like they are, especially given the buying history of their base of buying tons of 2-3 games a months. One example is Blue Dragon, Eternal Sonata and Mass Effect. I don't think Mass Effect is needed to come out so soon after Halo and Half-Life. They could move that into 2008 and give Eternal Sonata or Blue Dragon some room to breathe in that November spot. Moto GP 2007 and PGR4 could be saved for the spring as well, because Forza 2 should be their focus.

Another example is Stranglehold. With a normal month that game moves 500K plus, but instead it moves 20% of that because it's released at a very poor time.

MS is overcooking the schedule for 360, and piling on games that will have a very neglible effect with Halo 3 and Bioshock being the main draws. They would get more balanced sales figures next year if they simply spread out the games better. I think they are going to lose millions of units in software sales which will not be counterbalanced by a marginal increase in hardware sales.