In the most recent generation of gaming consoles, digital distribution became a reality on consoles for media content, game modifications and add-ons, and full titles. This development gave the three major platform holders (Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony) an opportunity to re-release some of the “classic” titles in their back catalogs for gamers that missed out on some titles, entire consoles, or just wanted to revisit some gaming nostalgia. Now that each platform has made a portion of their back catalog available for at least a year, I feel it’s fair to grade their performance to this point, as well as to offer my suggestions for extra credit. Each platform will start with a grade of ‘C’, and will have points deducted and added due to its various deficiencies and strengths until I arrive at a final grade. Our syllabus for the platforms includes pricing, selection, and quality of titles.
Student 1: Microsoft
Microsoft was the last platform holder to make a part of its back catalog available for download on the Xbox360. Xbox Originals titles are available for download via Xbox Live Marketplace. Let’s start from ‘C’, and see how it grades out.
Pricing: Xbox Originals conform to a flat rate pricing model of $15 US, or 1200 Microsoft spacebucks. For last generation Xbox titles, that’s not an awful price point. For some of those games, $15 might be a stretch, but for others it doesn’t seem too bad. On the annoyance factor, you can’t buy a block of 1200 spacebucks, you have to buy 1000 or 2000. This means you can’t just buy an Xbox Originals game, you either have to buy extra points, or have some laying around. To sum up, flat rate pricing is worth raising the grade up to a ‘B’. The price point is a bit higher than it could be, and the annoyance of not being able to buy 1200 spacebucks combine to drop the grade to a ‘B-’.
Selection: There are currently 31 games available for Microsoft’s back catalog service; however, two of them are exclusive to Japan. While this is a fairly low number compared to the other two platforms, the service didn’t debut until December of 2007. There is a nice variety of titles both in terms of genres and publishers as well. Surprisingly, less than a quarter of the titles available are from Microsoft Game Studios. Also, some games that weren’t necessarily huge sellers at retail are available. The solid variety raises the cumulative grade to a ‘B+’, but the relatively low number of titles available drop it back to a ‘B’.
Quality of Titles: While there are some forgettable titles on Xbox Originals, there are some real gems, both Xbox exclusive and multiplatform. Fable, Halo: Combat Evolved, and and Ninja Gaiden Black are great titles, but non-exclusive classics such as GTA: San Andreas, and the Max Payne games are also available. Also, lesser known games such as Indigo Prophecy, Jade Empire, and the chronically under-appreciated Psychonauts are available. For having some all around great titles, Xbox Originals gets bumped up to a ‘B’. Then, for including the Tim Schafer gem Psychonauts, they get a ‘B+’. The world needs more Tim Schafer.
Extra Credit: Microsoft has a pretty solid back catalog service. More titles could certainly be released (they’re releasing between one and two per month, on average) Also, the price point could possibly drop a bit, maybe to 1000 spacebucks or $12.50, which happens to be an amount you can purchase exactly on Xbox Live Marketplace.
Student 2: Sony
Sony started it’s PSOne Classics back catalog service on December 4, 2007 in the US, just after the release of the PS3. The PSOne classics are part of the broader PlayStation Network. Once again, Sony starts out with a grade of ‘C’.
Pricing: PSOne Classics have a general price point of $5.99. However, certain “premium” titles may be priced at $9.99. The $5.99 price point is good, especially as these games are now from two console generations ago. The “premium” pricing is a smart business proposition, but very annoying to consumers. Sony gains half a letter grade for a quality price point, but loses it again for their “premium” pricing scheme. At this point, their grade remains a ‘C’.
Selection: This is where a major division exists between what is available for North American and Japanese gamers. There are 36 titles available on this service to North American gamers, a bit pitiful when you consider Microsoft has essentially the same number of titles available, with games a generation newer, in one less year. The Japanese service, however, boasts 246 PSOne games. Even considering that many of these titles are Japanese only, that’s a difference of over 200 titles. Sorry Sony, but these grades are made in America. They’re down to a ‘D+’.
Quality of Titles: This may sound a bit redundant after the last aspect. There are solid titles available in North America, including; Castlevania:Symphony of the Night, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six, Twisted Metal 2, and Wipeout. However, the Japanese store offers all of these titles, and adds to it with classics such as Resident Evil 1-3, Dead or Alive, Metal Gear Solid, and Final Fantasy VII. Now Sony, I know these games came out in the US as well, so it’s not as though they would need to be localized. Rumor has it that Metal Gear Solid and Resident Evil are on their way, but they’re not out yet, so no dice. Down goes Sony, all the way to a ‘D’.
Extra Credit: Sony desperately needs to improve their back catalog distribution. They have two previous generations of home consoles to draw from, and are barely drawing from one in North America. They do better in Japan, but other regions suffer. Also, their entire PS2 library has been ignored. I understand they still sell these consoles, but since most of the PS3 units sold don’t include backwards compatibility, that would seem to be a logical next step. If Microsoft can manage to have “last generation” games available, so can Sony. Like most of Sony’s offerings since the PS3, this one is substandard.
Student 3: Nintendo
Nintendo provides offerings for a variety on consoles, some not Nintendo products, on its Virtual Console service. The current consoles offerings are the Nintendo Entertainment System, the Super Nintendo, the Nintendo 64, Sega Master System, Sega Genesis, Turbografx-16, Neo Geo, Commodore 64 (North America), and the MSX (Japan). For the final time, it’s time to reset to ‘C’.
Pricing: Nintendo provides standard pricing for each individual console available on its service, with a few exceptions for certain titles. The prices are listed in Wii points, where 100 Wii points = $1. There does not appear to be an obvious pattern to why some titles are more than the standard pricing. However, the pricing tiers seem generally reasonable, from 500 points for NES, Sega Master System, and Commodore 64 titles, to 1000 points for Nintendo 64 titles. Nintendo’s grade rises to a ‘B’ for generally reasonable pricing tiers and the ability to spend exactly the cost of individual games, but falls to a ‘B-’ for the strange pricing exceptions.
Selection: Nintendo has the most impressive selection of titles available due to the large number of consoles it draws upon (including consoles not made by Nintendo). There are also a fair number of titles available for most of the individual systems, although with these impressive back catalogs, more are certainly possible if Nintendo chooses to release them. While there are a larger number of titles available in Japan than in North America, this is mostly due to a large number of Japanese-only games developed for Nintendo and Sega platforms. The vast and varied selection earns Nintendo a jump to a ‘B+’.
Quality of Titles: There are some absolute gaming classics available on the virtual console. From the Zelda games to Mario, Sonic, and some pretty strong third party offerings, the amount of gaming history represented on this service is impressive. This service has games that defined the youth of a few generations of gamers available for download. There are a few exceptions that would be great to see, but more games are forthcoming, and hopefully the gaps will be filled in. For the amazing breadth of titles and historical significance, Nintendo’s grade jumps up to an ‘A’.
Extra Credit: There’s not much for Nintendo to do, besides continue to release more games. Some more of the classic RPGs would be welcome (Final Fantasy, Earthbound, etc), and some are rumored to be on the way. Oh, and please, Nintendo, please ditch the strange pricing exceptions. Other than that, the Virtual Console is great, provided you have a classic controller around to work with.
Grades are in, class dismissed.
