THE FIVE BIGGEST TRENDS OF 2006
[Hartford Courant]
Published Date: January 8, 2007
Page: D3
Section: LIFE
Author: -- Scott Jones
5 Downloading old games
下载老游戏----微软，任天堂
Nintendo and Microsoft realized that gamers are more than happy to spend $5 to $10 to download old games they probably already own. I downloaded ``Smash T.V.,'' ``Joust,'' ``Super Mario 64'' and ``F-Zero,'' even though I have those games buried inside a closet somewhere. Amount of time I actually played these downloaded titles: about four minutes total.
4 Xbox Live Achievement Points
xbox游戏成就点数------微软
I really don't understand the strange voodoo that Achievement Points work on me. But seeing that ``Achievement Unlocked'' icon at the bottom of the screen while playing an Xbox 360 game always makes me feel like it's my birthday. I know that getting 10 points for performing five headshots in a row, or 15 points for playing 75 multiplayer matches, is completely and utterly meaningless -- and yet I crave those points so much that I'll even play through a crappy game just to earn the points.
3 Motion-sensitive controllers
动作感应手柄------索尼，任天堂
First Nintendo showed off its Wiimote. Not to be outdone, Sony came up with its SixAxis for the PS3. Mimicking a steering wheel or a basketball free throw while sitting on your living room couch is fun now, but it'll take time before we know whether this is a trend or a passing novelty.
2 Advertising in games
游戏中的广告----微软，索尼
I'm the sort of person who gets angry when I have to sit through ads before a movie. So having to endure increasingly obnoxious ads in games does not make me happy. The most egregious violation: being able to use the Burger King himself as your corner man in ``Fight Night: Round 3.''
1 Nintendo rises
任天堂崛起--------任天堂
Don't deny it: When Nintendo announced that the name of its new console was ``Wii,'' you checked the calendar to make sure it wasn't April first. After several years of questionable business decisions, and the poor performance of the much maligned GameCube, the Big N delivered a one-two punch with the success of the DS and now the Wii. All those questionable business decisions? In retrospect, they're starting to seem pretty savvy.
