Unpopular games, Cabela, Activision titles, and value

There are silent fans of small unpopular games who do not rave as loudly as some of you do about your games, but we’re all still having fun – that’s what the game industry is all about. See, these are the niche titles that give color to the gaming world. For every big and famous racing game, there are dozens of little games aimed at every segment of the gaming population.

For every sports title that gets us excited, there’s a board-game-based release for the geeks or a puzzle-solving game for those who want some quiet time. For every wildly high-budget adventure game that gets us swooning, the inexpensive RPGs and unpopular ports are out there, silently gathering a meek fanbase.

One example: Cabela’s African Safari from Activision Value is available now for PSP, and it’ll be ready for the Xbox 360 come Christmas. It’s simple (just shoot the cute animals), but it’s detailed: authentic firearms, different safari missions, Adrenaline Mode. It’s not exactly as simple as tic-tac-toe. But it’s ignored.

And we can keep going. We took a quick look at Activision Value and learned they’re into inexpensive games with “mass-market appeal.” They have such Cabela’s Alaskan Adventure (Xbox 360), Shamu’s Deep Sea Adventures and Whac-a-Mole (DS), and The History Channel’s Civil War: The Game – Great Battles (which the history geeks here are looking at with a bit of wonder).

None of these titles have any hope of being as big as Devil May Cry 4.

But these are the kinds of games that many moms buy and put into Christmas stockings – it’s the thought that counts, so think about this:

That good old gaming feeling. Those of us who grew up with the SNES remember games like Crystalis, Chrono Trigger, Robotrek, and Secret of Evermore. Then the PSOne came out and the games were better looking, but there were “simpler” games like Disney’s Hercules and games that were fun but weren’t really the best in their genre (I’m a fan, but not everybody liked Valkyrie Profile, for example; and although my friends at QJ listen to the soundtrack, some don’t even remember Bust a Groove).

Value games still have value. Sony’s master plan to emulate tons of PSOne games on the PSP is a sign that there is still demand for “that good old gaming feeling”. The popularity of emulators running 2D games proves it. Our industry has plenty of room for inexpensive games, for these so-called “value titles”. And we’re going to come out of the gaming closet and admit our secret: we like value titles.

There are silent fans of small unpopular games who do not rave as loudly as some of you do about your games, but we’re all still having fun – that’s what the game industry is all about. See, these are the niche titles that give color to the gaming world. For every big and famous racing game, there are dozens of little games aimed at every segment of the gaming population.

For every sports title that gets us excited, there’s a board-game-based release for the geeks or a puzzle-solving game for those who want some quiet time. For every wildly high-budget adventure game that gets us swooning, the inexpensive RPGs and unpopular ports are out there, silently gathering a meek fanbase.

One example: Cabela’s African Safari from Activision Value is available now for PSP, and it’ll be ready for the Xbox 360 come Christmas. It’s simple (just shoot the cute animals), but it’s detailed: authentic firearms, different safari missions, Adrenaline Mode. It’s not exactly as simple as tic-tac-toe. But it’s ignored.

And we can keep going. We took a quick look at Activision Value and learned they’re into inexpensive games with “mass-market appeal.” They have such Cabela’s Alaskan Adventure (Xbox 360), Shamu’s Deep Sea Adventures and Whac-a-Mole (DS), and The History Channel’s Civil War: The Game – Great Battles (which the history geeks here are looking at with a bit of wonder).

None of these titles have any hope of being as big as Devil May Cry 4.

But these are the kinds of games that many moms buy and put into Christmas stockings – it’s the thought that counts, so think about this:

That good old gaming feeling. Those of us who grew up with the SNES remember games like Crystalis, Chrono Trigger, Robotrek, and Secret of Evermore. Then the PSOne came out and the games were better looking, but there were “simpler” games like Disney’s Hercules and games that were fun but weren’t really the best in their genre (I’m a fan, but not everybody liked Valkyrie Profile, for example; and although my friends at QJ listen to the soundtrack, some don’t even remember Bust a Groove).

Value games still have value. Sony’s master plan to emulate tons of PSOne games on the PSP is a sign that there is still demand for “that good old gaming feeling”. The popularity of emulators running 2D games proves it. Our industry has plenty of room for inexpensive games, for these so-called “value titles”. And we’re going to come out of the gaming closet and admit our secret: we like value titles.