Why Christmas 2007 Has Been Relatively Quiet for Video Games

If you have the unfortunate situation of living with a child who desperately wants a Nintendo Wii this Christmas, I feel for you. On any given day in my town, the line in front of Wal-Mart at 8:30 in the morning could have as many as 40 people...just to see if a truck shows up that happens to be delivering some Wiis. The demand for Nintendo's newest game system hasn't dropped off from its initial release, and parents are being driven crazy just to find one.

But what about the rest of the gaming world?

It seems as if this holiday season, the "Big Three" are taking something resembling a collective break from the mad holiday dash, aside from Nintendo's production of Wii game systems. Simply taking a look at what Gamespot lists on their upcoming release page, the only title that immediately jumps out in the next 2 weeks is Rock Band for the PS2, a game meant to take the Guitar Hero experience further. It is already out for the Xbox 360, however, so it's not really new, just available to a wider audience.

To put things in perspective, I'm a college freshman who played video games throughout high school, and you can find me joining anywhere from 3-10 people playing Halo 3 or the original Super Mario in the dorms. Upon asking my friends if there was any video game they really wanted for Christmas, their response was similar to what mine would be: "What's coming out?"

While the Wii's game selection will grow with the addition of sports games like WInter Sports Challenge, Showtime Championship Boxing, and Baseball Stars 2, nothing jumps out as a must-have experience.

While Unreal Tournament 3 will be releasing for PS3, and NCAA March Madness 08 will be available to players on PS2, PS3, and Xbox 360 consoles, neither should make a huge splash. Both are continuations of established series, and neither is getting much hype; apparently, the strategy is to let fans of each series buy the next installment and then encourage others to buy it. While Sony figures to make a gain with exclusive rights on UT III for about a year, little will be done otherwise to shake up the video game market.

While Sony does have a few big-name games out, including Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction and Heavenly Sword, these figure to only marginally strengthen the current lineup of games for the Playstation 3. Meanwhile, Microsoft's Mass Effect has found popularity, selling over 1 million copies.

However, it seems as if 2008 will be the more fiercely contested battleground. Microsoft's Halo Wars and Fable 2 are due out, as are Sony's Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, and Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. Brawl with Mario Kart Wii also set to be released.

So, gamers and parents, enjoy the break from all the running around frantically this holiday season. The real fun begins next year. Unless, of course, you're still looking for that blasted Wii.