his November is going to be one of the most crowded months this industry has ever seen. Tons of great releases are scheduled, but it's pretty obvious which title stands above the rest. And to complicate matters, the Nintendo DS and Sony "PStwo" will launch, leading to many a dry bank account for gamers. With all that's about to hit retail, some games will undoubtedly get overlooked. We break it down.
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Pachter believes that this November could see "numbers break records by a lot." Besides Master Chief's latest, Pachter expects Metroid Prime 2, Half-Life 2, The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age, Need for Speed Underground 2, WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw, EverQuest II, Metal Gear Solid 3, and Call of Duty: Finest Hour to perform quite well, with several of these surpassing the million mark.
MacDonald also thinks Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal might do very well because it has a large fan base and is already getting "top notch reviews across the board."
Game that may get overlooked
Shoe, however, disagrees; in fact, he believes it's more likely to get lost in the shuffle than many others.
"So far, my favorite fall game that many people will overlook is Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal. It's easily overshadowed by titles like Killzone, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and Gran Turismo 4, if that's still coming out this year. Up Your Arsenal is a great game, but despite its popular franchise name, it's practically a sleeper hit because of all the other big-name titles releasing around it. I hope consumers don't pass it up."
On the GameCube, specifically, it's possible that a great game like Mario Power Tennis could get overlooked, MacDonald told us. And although Metroid Prime 2 is drawing much interest, it's possible that it too could feel the "Halo effect."
"Only this November could [a game like] Mario Tennis be overlooked, but it's being kind of rushed out so we haven't heard much about itit's really good though. I like it as a sleeper game some might not notice. Prime 2 is excellentgetting attention, but maybe not as much as it deserves in Halo's shadow," said MacDonald.
Two other games that should be watched closely, according to MacDonald, are Prince of Persia: The Warrior Within and Viewtiful Joe 2. "Joe sold well as a Cube exclusive, but flopped on the PS2. What happens when the sequel comes out for both systems? [And] Prince floundered out of the gate but ended up selling huge numbers worldwide...where does that put the sequel?" pondered MacDonald.
