New system launches are hard, peeps. You have to put out an expensive and sophisticated piece of machinery, starting from scratch after having spent the last several years building up a totally different platform, and at the beginning, you have to work extra hard to make it viable and attractive, so that it attracts audience and developer attention, and becomes self sustaining after achieving a critical mass.
Thus, the importance of launch lineups. Incredibly enough, however, in spite of said importance, console and handheld launch lineups have, almost universally and with few exceptions, sucked. This isn't even a controversial statement. However, in the midst of all that suckage, there have been some consoles that have launched with games that aren't just impressive for being launch games, but are just remarkable games period, and among the greatest of all time.
Which of those console and handheld launch games is your favorite, and why? Make sure to talk about the 'and why' part.
For me, the answer is (predictably) Breath of the Wild on the Switch. Breath of the Wild is now conclusively my favorite game ever, so it wins any other category it is eligible for by proxy for me- the game cast a magic spell over me that, 10 months and 130 hours later, has still not worn off. Simply existing in its world and interacting with it, exploring, coming upon new sights, seeing unexpected things happen, the sheer emergence and scope of the systems at play, has been utterly unlike anything I have seen in games before. It's spellbinding- it's the first time I have actually felt that a game I am playing is 'next gen' or beyond anything that has been achieved before, since I was a kid.
But that's my answer, steeped in my opinion and take- what's yours, and why?
Some notable launch games over the years:
Thus, the importance of launch lineups. Incredibly enough, however, in spite of said importance, console and handheld launch lineups have, almost universally and with few exceptions, sucked. This isn't even a controversial statement. However, in the midst of all that suckage, there have been some consoles that have launched with games that aren't just impressive for being launch games, but are just remarkable games period, and among the greatest of all time.
Which of those console and handheld launch games is your favorite, and why? Make sure to talk about the 'and why' part.
For me, the answer is (predictably) Breath of the Wild on the Switch. Breath of the Wild is now conclusively my favorite game ever, so it wins any other category it is eligible for by proxy for me- the game cast a magic spell over me that, 10 months and 130 hours later, has still not worn off. Simply existing in its world and interacting with it, exploring, coming upon new sights, seeing unexpected things happen, the sheer emergence and scope of the systems at play, has been utterly unlike anything I have seen in games before. It's spellbinding- it's the first time I have actually felt that a game I am playing is 'next gen' or beyond anything that has been achieved before, since I was a kid.
But that's my answer, steeped in my opinion and take- what's yours, and why?
Some notable launch games over the years:
- Super Mario Bros. (NES)
- Duck Hunt (NES)
- Tetris (Gameboy)
- Super Mario World (SNES)
- Virtua Fighter (Saturn)
- Ridge Racer (PS1)
- Super Mario 64 (N64)
- Sonic Adventure (Dreamcast)
- SoulCalibur (Dreamcast)
- Halo: Combat Evolved (Xbox)
- Project Gotham Racing (Xbox 360)
- Wii Sports (Wii)
- The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii)
- Uncharted: Golden Abyss (PS Vita)
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch)
