Features// SPOnG's Review of the Year '09: November

While Modern Warfare 2 commanded the bulk of November’s attention, there was still time for analysts to place bets on the winner of this Christmas’ hardware wars (“Analysts: PS3 vs Xbox 360 Xmas Fight”, 25th Nov 2009). PS3 or Xbox 360? Place your bets!

Cowen Group analyst Doug Creutz declared that in the US, “Sony now has, for the first time, a significant price advantage at retail,” while Mark Pearson of My Voucher Codes UK backed Microsoft; “If sales stay at their current rate, the Xbox 360 will outsell Sony’s console by three units to one, a marked defeat.”

Even as we write, it could be anyone’s game, but wait! More analysts want to talk! Nick Williams for OTX’s GamePlan Insights said that based on “data on franchise lineage” (whatever that means), US gamers were flocking from the Xbox 360 to the PlayStation 3 (“Analyst: Xbox 360 Owners ‘Defecting’ to PS3", 5th Nov 2009). Apparently, 15 per cent of those planning to buy the PS3 version of Assassin’s Creed II owned the Xbox 360 version of the original, compared to 7 per cent vice versa.

While Sony was clearly enjoying the attention, it didn’t let that get in the way of their duties in updating the PlayStation 3’s firmware (“PS3 Europe: Firmware 3.10 Detailed”, 18th Nov 2009). Version 3.10 was launched in Europe in late November, and altered the friends list after many complaints were filed for the ‘boxy’ design from 3.00. On demand TV became available for various European countries and Photo View added a grid format. Oh, and it added Facebook support too.

Following SCEE’s giveaway of 16,000 MAG Beta codes in September, SPOnG managed to obtain a whole bunch more of them, and we also spread the love in the same way (“MAG Beta Code Give-Aways for SPOnG Readers”, 23rd Nov 2009). We also previewed The Saboteur, Just Cause 2 and Command and Conquer 4, whilst reviewing Smackdown vs RAW 2010, the PSP version of LittleBigPlanet, Assassin’s Creed II and Left4Dead 2.

November was also a seriously social month for SPOnG, as we left the safety of our Underwater Castle several times to interview a whole bunch of games designers, brand managers and luminaries. Here’s a list of who we spoke to: Insomniac’s TJ Fixman and James Stevenson for Ratchet & Clank: A Crack In Time; industry legend Charles Cecil; Warren Spector on Epic Mickey; Sumo Digital’s Ned Waterhouse on F1 2009, as well as Brawn GP driver Anthony Davidson and Radio Five Live commentator David Croft; Telltale Games’ Dave Grossman on Tales of Monkey Island; and SCEE’s Alison Turner on the PlayStation 3 Video Store. Phew!

We’d tell you all about our coverage of Video Games Live in Gateshead too, but we’re just too knackered right now after running through all of that.

Finally...

‘The PlayStation 3 is no more! The Cell is doomed!’ That’s the reaction to a news story where IBM, the maker of the PS3’s multi-core processor, announced it was discontinuing one of the core’s product lines (“Rumours of PS3 Processor Death - Failed”, 24th Nov 2009). Instead of assuming that the PowerXCell 8i would simply be replaced with a more competent chip, rumours spread that the PS3 - and by association, the PlayStation 4 - was in jeopardy.

Turns out it wasn’t the case, really.