Playing It Safe, New Games Feature Classic Faces

Later this year, the biggest videogames will feature characters such as Tony Hawk and Mario. If they sound familiar, that's because they are.

Amid the recession, videogame publishers are not taking big risks on brand-new games. Instead, they're focusing on the latest installments of established videogame franchises.

That strategy was evident this week at the E3 videogame trade show in Los Angeles, where makers such as Activision Blizzard Inc., Electronic Arts Inc., Nintendo Co. and Microsoft Corp. showed off some of their coming wares. Among them was the latest edition of EA's Madden NFL videogame, Activision's newest Tony Hawk skateboarding game and Nintendo's new Super Mario Bros. Wii game, featuring its popular characters Mario and Luigi. All three build on longtime franchises.

The videogame companies are promoting the recognizable across numerous game categories. In music games, MTV Games is releasing The Beatles: Rock Band, the third in its popular Rock Band series. For hardcore gamers, Microsoft is coming out with a new version of Halo. The company has sold more than 27 million copies of games in that blockbuster series.

The videogame industry is largely falling back on showcasing the tried and true as industrywide game sales have been relatively weak in recent months. Videogame software sales in the first four months of the year were down 6% from a year earlier at $2.7 billion, according to market research firm NPD Group. Last year was an unusually good time for videogames, with the release of blockbuster-selling titles like Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto IV action-adventure driving game.

Still, game publishers are optimistic about the coming holiday season, as many consumers consider games to be a cheaper alternative to going out. Several years after the debuts of the major videogame consoles -- Microsoft's Xbox 360, Nintendo's Wii and Sony Corp.'s Playstation 3 -- developers are getting into the groove of making games that take greater advantage of each console's features.

At this week's show in Los Angeles, Microsoft and Sony demonstrated new motion-detecting technologies that let people play games with gestures rather than pushing buttons, while Nintendo showed a finger accessory that measures a player's pulse. But those aren't expected to be available for some time.

"In these times, a lot of gamers are trying to get the most out of their game machine," says Peer Schneider, publisher of IGN, an online news site specializing in videogames.

Much of the focus at E3 was on the games lineup, with publishers preparing one of the broadest -- and most familiar -- slates of games for core gamers, as well as mass consumers, who are becoming a more important target audience.

"When developing costs are high, people are going to go with what's proven to work," says Tony Bartel, executive vice president of merchandising and marketing at videogame retailer GameStop Inc. He added that the market has gotten more competitive, so familiar titles are easier to sell.

Another thing that won't change much: pricing. While few of the game publishers revealed pricing for new products, console games have typically hovered at around $60 and are expected to stay in that range.

As in years past, music games are set to be big. Apart from the new Rock Band game, Activision is releasing DJ Hero, a spin-off of its popular Guitar Hero series that simulates what it would be like to be a DJ working the turntable.

In sports, many of the latest versions of classic franchise games like EA's Madden and Fight Night are back with better graphics, while a new wireless skateboard controller is putting more players into the action in Activision's new Tony Hawk: Ride.

Nintendo is tapping the fitness genre with Wii Fit Plus, the next installment in the company's immensely popular exercise game, which uses a balance board to track a player's movements. New games include juggling, skateboarding and an exercise that requires users to shake their hips. The company also introduced Wii Sports Resort, which takes advantage of a new, more sensitive motion controller to let players try their hand at archery, basketball and water skiing.

And Nintendo is trotting out its most famous character with the game Super Mario Bros. Wii, out later this year. It stays true to the look and feel of the classic game while allowing four people to play simultaneously. The company also provided a glimpse into a second Mario game, Super Mario Galaxy 2, a 3-D adventure set in outer space where Mario jumps from galaxy to galaxy. Nintendo is also bringing a harder and edgier feel to the Metroid action-adventure franchise with Metroid: the Other M. Neither will be ready until next year.

Racing fans can look forward to EA's Need for Speed: Shift, a new installment of the popular series, focused more on the driving simulation experience. Sony may release Gran Turismo 5 this year; the company hasn't given a release date, but showed a trailer of the game at its E3 media briefing.

Though much attention has focused on easier-to-play games for nontraditional players, dedicated gamers also have plenty to choose from this year. Apart from Microsoft's new Halo 3 ODST, which is a prequel to Halo 3, Activision will unveil another shooter dubbed Modern Warfare 2. Sony will also have action-adventure game Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, and Ubisoft Entertainment is releasing Assassin's Creed 2.

Among the few surprises at the show: Konami Digital Entertainment Ltd. said its famed developer Hideo Kojima was developing a Metal Gear Solid game for the Xbox 360 for the first time, in addition to one for Sony's PlayStation Portable.

And not all the games were prequels, sequels and spin-offs. One of EA's most highly anticipated games for this year is Brutal Legend, an action adventure game to be released in October, featuring a roadie, voiced by actor Jack Black, who is transported to a fantasy world inspired by heavy-metal album covers.