3581

I’d be curious to know the number of people who knew or cared about Oblivion pre-release compared to how many bought it post release. Does anyone other than a small niche of people that played the first two Fallout games really feel the tension in the air when it comes to Fallout 3?

3582

And are the vast majority of people who will actually play Fallout 3 even aware of any tension?

3583

I see a pretty big press advantage in pissing off a small group of people who seem to excel at whining and not much else. I think they’re doing a better job than anyone else of putting this game in the spot light, we get to hear about it everyday even if there isn’t any real news.

3584

spotted on Brios’ blog (http://fallout3.wordpress.com)

As I walked among the debris and the civilization that has risen from it in the 200 years since the disaster, it’s easy to see what he means. Signs jovially inform the naïve population what to do in the event of a nuclear disaster and so-called bomb shelters house charred bones, becoming coffins. And while the world may change, humanity, it seems, doesn’t. Among the people I encountered, familiar human traits of greed, violence, discrimination and religious fanaticism loomed large.

From all the previews I’ve read, I’m pretty hopeful that the characters in Fallout 3 will be significantly more interesting than any found in BethSoft’s previous outings. Yay.

http://www.videogamer.com/xbox360/fallout_3/preview-1134.html

I really hope you can disable the vats slow mo cam.

3585

I think it safe to say that the majority of people who will play the game (e.g., Joe Consumer and John Xboxer) will have never heard of the originals, let alone any online controversy.

In fact, wouldn’t conventional industry wisdom imply that the game should instead be named Fallout: Subtitle? Wouldn’t want to scare anyone away from playing the sequel to a game series they’ve never heard of. At least that was the justification for Thief: Subtitle and Deus Ex: Subtitle.

3586

Certainly there’s the whole economic angle to look at, that they’ll make boatloads of money anyway despite the flame wars.

I wonder if it affects their ability to get their job done and turn a profit in any significant way. Maybe indirectly, through magazine articles and word of mouth that perhaps don’t mention the controversy specifically, but also fail to put their criticisms in perspective? Just thinking out loud.

3587

is there a release date pegged for this thing yet?

3588

If English were your native language, you might have noted that I was speaking about games that have come out in the past, not games that are coming out in the future.

You can’t very well deny that Deadly Shadows, Invisible War, and Bioshock (to a much lesser but not-insignificant extent) didn’t exactly warm the cockles of PC gamers. Which, as my previous post was in response to, may very well explain why previewers are being so guarded in their enthusiasm for Fallout 3.

But hey, don’t let me interfere with your witch-hunt.

3589

What? What? WHAT? Are you fucking high? Bioshock was awesome. And I’m the PCest of PC gamers. Other than the PSP and DS, which I own so I can play Pirates! and turn based strategy games while I wait at the dentist’s, I haven’t owned a console since the Atari 2600. If Bioshock was dumbed down for consoles, I say call me Forest Gump and give me a biscuit.

3590

If you ever become a sitcom character, please make this your catchphrase.

Especially if you’re the wacky gay neighbor character. The vague double entendre will be delicious.

3591

Maybe in the past, but there seems to be a shift these days to consumers trusting games with high numbers in their titles. Something along the lines of “well if they made three of them, they must be pretty good!”

3592

Nice first post! You have done a man’s work this day, sir!

3593

Dude, I see respectively, one push, one miss, and one hit with those games, so there’s really nothing doing there. Of course, I realize you hate Bioshock for reasons that still remain somehwat vague and ill-defined, but aside from that are you just not paying attention to all the games being released to consoles first then ported to the PC? I rank myself among the PC hardcore as well, but this attitude is years in the past.

3594

Uh… yeah, I can deny that. But can you deny Satan, your dark master, and take absolution from the holy soldiers of Christ’s Inquisition? Confession is the first step.

3595

Ha! But can you not un-deny it?

3596

Fine. What’s your explanation for the peculiar impressed-yet-standoffish press attitude toward FO3 thus far?

3597

Am I missing something? The press, with a few notable exceptions, has been overwhelmingly enthusiastic.

3598

Yes, giving a game the Best Of Show award is the traditional method of telling a game to watch its step.

3599

That it doesn’t exist. Keep those trick questions coming, heretic.

3600

Psh Matt, they give that award to toys and Tamagotchi mods.