The next generation of game consoles will see oodles of intellectual properties prettied up and danced around the high definition stage. Good old stand-bys, like Solid Snake, Master Chief, and Link will be all over the next gen, and all over the marketing materials. But the winner of this generation may not be determined by the biggest names in the business. In fact, it may just be that some of the lesser known and lesser praised properties will become the real break-out hits. Perhaps this wouldn’t be possible were the next gen entirely populated with 360’s and PS3’s.
But it isn’t. The Wii gives even the lamest of properties the chance to innovate. Indeed, in order to make a game for the Wii, innovation is almost required, just to figure out a good control scheme. And thus, in an attempt to guess the future, here is my list of the eight most undervalued intellectual properties for the next generation of consoles.
#1
Mario Party
Of all the glorious potential games for the Nintendo Wii, it’s those that offer full-on 4-player support that hold the most potential for exploding the popularity of gaming. All those commercials showing off old people playing with Wiimotes aren’t indicative of some broader appeal held by Twilight Princess. They’re a hopeful view of non-gamers, at the best, especially when you take into account that most Wii Sports games are still too complex for oldsters and Luddites. That’s why Mario Party is so important. Everyone knows how a board game works. The very framework of Mario Party gameplay is something inherently familiar to any American, and indeed, to almost any human. Add in some simple motion games that last a few minutes each, and you’ve got a recipe for the first Wii game that will really bridge the gap between the Wii-faithful and the Wii-tarded.
#2
Tomb Raider
Of all the icons of gaming, only Lara Croft elicits the heartfelt love amongst fans. While the Mario-masters are certainly ravenous, they’re not likely to fantasize about the little red-suited plumber while alone in their rooms. If Lara could create utter infatuation when her breasts were still made up of pyramid-shaped polygons, some next-gen physics-controlled boobies would certainly rank high on most fan-boy wish lists. And thanks to Eidos’ recent decision to stop sucking so much, Lara just might become the “It” girl for the next-gen.
#3
Pokemon
For the handheld crowd, trading Pokemon has always been a tedious affair. Plug in the GameBoy cable, move your character into a town, walk into the arena, and wait for your opponent to arrive. But that’ll all change when Pokemon goes wireless. The original monster trading game will only become more popular when players are finally given the chance to trade without the need for cables. Add in the inevitable tie-ins with Wii-based Pokemon games, and the potential for online swapping, and you’ve got a lot of pokemaniacs spending a lot of pokedollars.
Capcom’s scariest series will certainly be a major player in this generation. Thanks to the revamped controls of RE4, the hardcore shooter crowd can’t complain about slow gameplay, or sluggish controls any more. A sure-fire hit for Capcom, no matter what console scores the initially exclusive title first.
#5
Dead Rising
Another Capcom property, another sure-fire zombie hit. The original certainly raised the ire of some 360 fans, what with the incompatibility with non-HD setups, and some of the questionable game design decisions. But despite these quibblings, the game is a best seller, and has left happy zombie slaughterers in its wake, wherever it’s gone. Look for a revisionist sequel that fixes the issues everyone had with the original, and look for it to be the number one game on the Xbox 360.
#6
Aquaria
This excellent indy game, which won the Seamas Mcnally award at GDC, is a great example of where innovation comes from. The title offers seriously old-school gameplay that resembles Symphony of the Night and Metroid, but the fact that the protagonist is underwater gives the game an Ecco-like control scheme. It looks like the console jockeys are fighting over which download service will win the title, while Nintendo might even see the game make it to the DS. Either way, it’ll mark one of th first major publisher deals for the winners of the highest honors in indy game development. This is the equivalent of a bidding war for the top film at Sundance. And it’s about time that something like this happened. Previous indy console titles have won major awards, but they’ve typically been signed on for distribution and publishing prior to winning. Aquaria’s two creators are about to find out just how much bargaining each of the console game services is able to do. This game will pave the way for indy dev in next-gen consoles.
#7
Star Wars
Whatever schlock Lucas Arts pushes onto the 360 or PS3 doesn’t really matter. We all know what the next big Star Wars game will include: real, live, motion controlled lightsaber duels. The Wii will bring back the Jedi, and it will almost certainly rock. At least, it had better. If Lucas Arts can screw up a Wii Jedi game, it’s obviously bankrupt creatively.
Sword fighting maniacs speak in hushed tones of reverie about Bushido Blade, and its amazing sequel. But samurai sword fighting will only get better when the Wiimote is involved. Look for Square Soft to pull this IP out of the dustbin and bring it to Nintendo’s new darling. And if they do, then look for this game to be massive.
{"source":"https:\/\/gigaom.com\/2007\/03\/26\/top-8-most-under-valued-next-gen-properties\/wijax\/49e8740702c6da9341d50357217fb629","varname":"wijax_35d881d0b0e2dbefcb5ccb5c1e15bf56","title_element":"header","title_class":"widget-title","title_before":"%3Cheader%20class%3D%22widget-title%22%3E","title_after":"%3C%2Fheader%3E"}