Gabe, I think you overestimate the impact of price. It definitely matters, but most consumers don’t just think “hey, I want a game system, I’m completely undecided on which so I’ll just go bargain shopping and find the best deal”. Something has to grab them and make them want to buy it. For example, tons of parents hear about the Wii, and think, “I just have to get this for my kids”. They don’t care about the price of the 360/PS3, because they don’t want those systems. This is why the Wii will continue to outsell the 360, even though the 360 now has a lower entry point.

Anyone who thinks that Gametrailers aren’t xbox 360 biased, watch episode 27 of Invisible Walls.

They said they’ve been ‘nice’ after saying “You know, Little Big Planet is okey… it’s creative, but the controls are bad.”

And then everything else is pretty much “OMGZ GAIS, U R MUST BAI XBOX”

It’s just disgusting.

I believe that gears 2 will sell because gears 1 was such a graphical juggernaut, with well above average gameplay. I mean, if you were to play a macho-space-marine shooter, that’s just the best one.

Here’s how I look at it : Lets say R2 and Gears 2 are equals and interchangeable. The PS3 is $399 and the 360 is $199, and you have to pick. 360 will win every time, because of the $200 difference.

If you think about it like that, it makes sense that sony is placing so much of their focus into LBP.

Take your last comment for instance. In it you said: “And everyone was dismissive of Resistance, but no one cited problems with gameplay or with technology, they criticized it’s lack of identity (marketing)”. That’s precisely what I’m talking about. The only things these media outlets are concerned with are hype, awareness, and PR. Consideration for technology, gameplay, and innovation is at the rear of their mindset because those aren’t the topics that put cash in their pockets.

That’s why I choose to visit this site, because I enjoy the honesty of it’s contributors. And while I know you want to play it nice Darrin, I think you’re at your best when your inner cynic takes the controls. Sure, you might stir up a beehive from time to time but you can’t let a few stings change your perspective.

However, I disagree on one main thing: I think it’s better to keep a positive focus and talk about the games that you love rather than bash the games you hate. There are tons of popular games I don’t like (including many prominent PS3 exclusives), but I know lots of people genuinely like them and I don’t want to rain on their parade. Same thing with Gears. People like rjcc and Gabe love that game and why should I insinuate that they are corporate mind-controlled drones for enjoying that?

Some negativity and criticism is important though. If you go to a classical music concert, most audiences will politely clap and smile even if the music is horrible. That’s when you know that a form of expression is dead.

I admit that I completely blew my postitive-focus rule here, but I’m not perfect. Also, I think it’s very post-worthy, that here a group of influential media people, who are all really excited about one of the most heavily hyped games of the decade, yet despite this being at the top of all of their wish lists, everyone more or less agrees that this isn’t very innovative or different from the competition.

rjcc, you really think I’m misquoting? Pachter clearly said this game isn’t substantially different from the competition and the sales and the buzz is all about Microsoft *making* it work with overwhelming advertising and branding. There was absolutely no disagreement. Also, look at Shane’s quote in the OP: he said that he wasn’t a fan of Gears 1 online, but got really into it just because everyone else was playing it rather than because the game was particularly good. And everyone was dismissive of Resistance, but no one cited problems with gameplay or with technology, they criticized it’s lack of identity (marketing) and weaker PS3 user base, and the PS3′s price.

Only pachter said that microsoft’s marketing would help gears become an even bigger event than it already would be, and he’s the only one who says “it’s not that different”. no one else said anything like that, and that, plus the “never was” that only you heard is the basis of this post. pachter doesn’t say gears is going to be the one game he plays through because of marketing, and not becuase it’s a “socially engineered cultural phenomenon”.

the other panelists specifically mention their impression that resistance is much more of the same in terms of shooters that came before it, and that’s why they think it won’t push systems for sony.

resistance doesn’t do enough to make its case as a game worth buying a system for, and since you apparently agree with the panel, I don’t see why they’re any more 360-centric than you are for saying so.

I think this is a great article because it points out the key element in the downfall of the gaming media over the past couple of years; the “corporate hivemind”. These days corporations have the power to dictate their game’s popularity and even it’s review score simply by throwing piles of advertising dollars behind it. Ironically, I’m sure Jeff Gerstmann knows all about that.

The big league gaming sites such as IGN and Gamespot are so clearly controlled by advertising dollars that it’s laughable and despicable. Every time a new big budget game comes out those sites literally becoming covered in ads for said game and they always seem to have some sort of a “Launch Center” with a panel of “experts” flailing their jaws and grunting favorable nonesense in hopes that the master will provide them with a favorable allowance.

The really tragic thing about all of this is that advertising dollars and numerical scoring systems have essentially killed off the written review. No one reads the wall of text when they can clearly see that the game got a “9″, and that it’s wickedly popular because it’s ads have encased all websites from top to bottom.

The hivemind mentality of the major sites is the exact reason people retreat to undergound sites like PS3Blog. Keep up the good work, Darrin.