Ah, it’s close to that time again where the consumers are soon going to be vaulting themselves into a buying frenzy. Holidays also signify the closing of a year, and 2007 was a pretty badass year. It started with January’s World of Warcraft’s first expansion launch and the year will soon will meet its sweet end with Mario Galaxy, Mass Effect, and Call of Duty 4. Adams, Hourglasses, Spartans, Orcs, and Bee Suits…not a bad year, eh? Well, I’m no gaming expert but with two major console launches last November, this was probably the year to give consumers the time and reason to make the next generation into the current generation. I love GOTY time. It’s just interesting to see what people’s picks are and how much of the decision-making is influenced by media, personal tastes, or money.
So after my little intro, I’m going to cut the bull and ask this:
When it comes to discussions about Game of the Year, is it fair to count Orange Box as one game?
Now, I’m not questioning the quality of the Orange Box games even though they’re top-notch. But in a vernacular setting, gamers would probably refer to each game as its own. No one’s going to ask me, “Hey, did you play that sweet multiplayer in Orange Box?” But they will ask me, “Did you try Team Fortress II yet?”
This isn’t a Rodriguez/Tarantino Grindhouse situation since Death Proof and Planet Terror are well under the same genre, and both films aim to convey the same sense of B-movie nostalgia. Orange Box, on the other hand, is offering so many aspects and types of gaming on one disc. It blows my mind how generous Valve is to package five games (2 new games, 1 new episode, 1 pre-released episode, and 1 all-time classic must-have) in one. Do you think they could have made more money by releasing Portal and TF2 separately? Maybe. Maybe not.
