Mourn For Kameo
By Chris Cesarano
It seems I have a taste for under-appreciated games. When I first got my Xbox 360 I was torn between getting Kameo or Quake 4. My traditionally PC oriented friends instantly demanded I grab the latest saga in humans versus Strogg, and I complied. A month or two later I grabbed Kameo and regretted listening to my friends, as it was a much more wise investment. While the heroin’s snarky attitude was lame and irritating, the gameplay was an alchemical mixture of platforming and Zelda style adventure.
Naturally, such a creative game must get lame sales because it wasn’t…honestly I don’t even know anymore. I can’t figure out the tastes of gamers.
That isn’t what matters, though. What matters is the apparent cancellation of a sequel. While I won’t say a follow-up to the game was on the top of my “franchises I’d love to see return” list, it’s kind of depressing to see it be royally beheaded.
What is most concerning is the decree given for its beheading. Kameo 2 wasn’t canceled because the first iteration was not profitable. It was canceled, as were many other titles, because Rare is being forced to work on Natal. Now, I can understand cutting a game or two so a studio can focus on Microsoft’s latest attempt to beat Nintendo at their own game. However, Kameo is the only name we’ve been given. A careful look at the article states that many titles have been crossed off the list.
Video games may be a business, but what used to separate Microsoft as a first party from the others was their willingness to fund interesting concepts appealing to the “hardcore” sensibilities. Sure, some of them have met in commercial failure, but what mattered was the company was willing to try new things. Microsoft Games tried to push the games industry forward, a move that was very unlike the rest of the company’s decisions over the past two decades.
Yet this recent move sounds like it comes from the mouth of Steve Ballmer himself, a loud-mouth well portrayed by John DiMaggio in Pirates of the Silicone Valley. The guy never had much of a clue of computers or technology, but he definitely has a presence that used to work in terms of business. At least, that’s the assumption, though it’s kind of tough to believe it. He has overstayed his welcome, just as Bill Gates had years before he finally retired, and every time he opens his mouth the PR department has to scramble for damage control.
So having Rare cancel a pile of projects in favor of a device that may merely become gaming’s next Virtual Boy? Something bad is going on in the penthouse suite of Microsoft, gentlemen (and ladies). This is a complete corporate level move that only shows love of money and fame, not the creative industry. When Microsoft’s top competitor was the PlayStation 3, they knew what market they were competing with. They funded unique projects like Too Human while trying to put out innovative titles like Viva Pinata, Gears of War and Shadowrun and delivering fan favorites such as Halo 3 and Fable 2. Now, however, they’re abandoning that sort of exclusives market because it has failed to dominate the Nintendo Wii.
Now, don’t get me wrong. Natal is certainly an innovative system as well, and in the hands of Microsoft there’s a chance it could deliver content that “hardcore” and “casual” gamers alike will enjoy. However, if anything has been proven it is that not everyone wants to give up the controller in favor of the Wiimote and nunchuck. Heck, even Nintendo titles such as Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Mario Kart Wii play better with a GameCube controller than with the new motion-controlled peripherals. This is nothing to say of coming back home from a long day of work and the last thing on your mind is to jump around your living room. You want to sit on the couch and stare blankly into a television screen.
I have no doubt that one of Rare’s new projects is Viva Pinata on Natal. Heck, I imagine they were already developing a sequel that is now being modified for the new platform. Yet anything Rare is currently developing will most likely require gamers to purchase Natal, and not everyone wants to hop on board that train yet. A lot of gamers bought into the Nintendo Wii with high expectations, and those expectations haven’t been met (though many of those expectations are impossible, but I’ve argued that to death by now). Now anyone that has been waiting for a new announcement from Rare will likely have to expect to require Natal to play their latest title.
One also has to wonder what unnamed projects have been canceled. I’ve always hungered a return to Jet Force Gemini myself, and many others have longed for a new Blast Corps title. Yet if sequels to such titles were being developed there is no way we’ll hear of them now. Any new IP in development? Gone.
Microsoft needs to keep in mind that their direct competitor right now is Sony. They are already catching up to the Xbox 360 in terms of units sold, and the dividing line is always going to be exclusives. The Xbox 360 is going to need more than Halo and Gears of War, especially since the Playstation 3 is finally getting some seriously good exclusives themselves. If they don’t stop focusing solely on beating Nintendo then they’ll be in just the right spot to be knocked back into 3rd place.
This isn’t to say that I want Sony to remain in 3rd. I’d rather see both platforms being forced to innovate as many ways as they can, but that means multi-tasking against both Nintendo and each other. Sony has the right idea, but Microsoft is relying too heavily on 3rd parties at the moment. Most of which have decided it’s better to go cross-platform as opposed to staying on just a single console.
Am I making a mountain out of a mole hill? Probably, but it’s been a while since I’ve heard of a first party title coming from Microsoft that was on the level of Too Human, Kameo, Lost Odyssey or even a title to be of Halo‘s quality. Just look at their Wiki and compare 2007 and 2008 to this year and the next. Natal is not going to win over Nintendo’s audience this late in the game, and pushing the resources of one of their most talented studios in that direction is practically a sabotage.
To Kameo 2 and all your lost brothers. Cut down in your prime just because Microsoft can’t stand playing second fiddle to a company whose greatest sales are to people not guaranteed to come back over and over again.
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