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The Netherlands or Spain? Video Games Predict World Cup Final 2010 Winner

Sam Naylor — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 01:44:43 +0000

By now most of the world is completely transfixed by the biggest sporting event on the planet: the World Cup. With the World Cup Final between Spain and The Netherlands within sight, we here at Ripten have decided to provide you with a comprehensive prediction of the winner.

Paul the Octopus is by far the most popular prediction method this year, with his success rate being over 80%. Obviously, that octopus is a football genuis. Except, of course, that he is not. He is an octopus, and does not understand the concept of soccer. We thought that we would stay true to this theme, and use some videogame AI to find out who will win the World Cup in 2010.

The three games selected were done so on a completely arbitrary basis- fitting with the octopus’ gimmick. If a water-dwelling mollusk is a reliable way of predicting the result, why can’t the AI in some videogames be as well? One of the games is even a football game. If anything, that’s even less stupid than listening to an octopus about it. Today we’re testing on Street Fighter IV, FIFA 10, and Garry’s Mod. They might seem odd choices, but I’ll quickly reiterate: they make about as much sense as the octopus.

FIFA 10: “The Blues” vs. “The Reds”

FIFA 10 was an obvious choice to help predict the World Cup Final winners in 2010. Not only is it a football game, but it’s actually set this year. Of course, we couldn’t make it too relevant. That would be too easy. No, we’ve mixed things up completely by choosing very-nearly-completely-unrelated teams! It would make too much sense to pit Spain and The Netherlands against one another. It would even make too much sense to pit a Dutch team and a Spanish team against each other.

In the end, the teams should be boiled down to “The Blues” (The Netherlands) versus “The Reds” (Spain). If you really need to know, it’s Chelsea versus Barcelona, but just ignore that for now (it’s not too hard- it’s the same thing as ignoring common logic when believing an octopus can predict the world cup winners). While the full game, being a computerised version of football, was incredibly tedious, we’ve collected the highlights of the match for you. How nice of us!

Goal 1

The Dutch have gotten off to an early lead with their surprise addition to the team, Frank Lampard. Isn’t he an English player? Shut up, you. Pretend he’s Wesley Sneijder or something. 1-0 to The Netherlands.

Goal 2

Spain hit back with the equaliser in this perfectly adequate goal. Once again not exactly accurate in terms of the scorer, but you can just pretend that Fernando Torres finally scored for Spain. It’s 1-1 at half time!

Goal 3

Spain take the lead with this brilliantly normal goal a way into the second half. Fake Torres has done it again! Can The Netherlands pull this one back, or have Spain got it in the bag? 2-1 to Spain.

Goal 4

Another spectacularly pedestrian goal by Fake Torres. He’s become quite the goal scorer in this game, after no goals in any of his previous matches! Perhaps it’s something to do with it not actually being Torres. 3-1 to Spain.

Goal 5

As if Spain hadn’t already handed the Dutch their bottoms on a lovely Paella dish, Fake Torres has scored again! Is there anything he can’t do? Fit into a tiny box like Paul the Octopus, for one, but that’s beside the point. 4-1 to Spain, and the final whistle goes!

Spain have gotten off to a great start, chalking up one win in our series of three predictions!

Street Fighter IV: Vega vs. Zangief

Vega was an obvious choice to represent Spain, being an utter stereotype of the country- a matador’s outfit, Mediterranean good looks, and a flamboyant fighting style. Oh, and the flag by his name is the Spanish one. Zangief was chosen to represent The Netherlands because, well, the Russian flag is similar to that of the Netherlands. Oh come on, you just have to switch around the coloured bars. Give me a break, here. It’s a shame there are no Dutch characters in Street Fighter IV. If Shadaloo had got to the final, we’d be fine- but they didn’t. I hope Dutch readers don’t feel too bad about being represented by a Russian wrestler.

Vega put up a decent fight, but Zangief pulled out all the stops and stomped home to a triumphant win. There were moments where it looked bad for The Netherlands’ representative, but the sheer brute force of Zangief just couldn’t be matched by Vega’s poncy fighting style. It’s just too hard to jump around when your opponent’s hands are the size of your head.

That’s one win for The Netherlands, putting the score at one win each; It’s all down to the final prediction!

Garry’s Mod: Combine vs. Civilians

It’s the final challenge for Spain and The Netherlands, and Garry’s Mod is the game that will decide the final prediction for the winner of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa! Again, completely arbitrary choice. No reasoning whatsoever (like the Octopus). The pitch is a lovingly (read: haphazardly) painted in the grass with bird poo, with children’s climbing frames as the goalposts. It’s about the same level of quality as your local recreation ground. I’ve heard that they actually use real paint at the World Cup (no expense spared), so this isn’t totally accurate- but it’ll be fine for our little test.

Spain will be represented by the civilians, and the Dutch by the Combine soldiers. My reasoning behind this was that since Zangief represented The Netherlands in the Street Fighter IV test, and the Combine wear Russian gas masks, that was a close enough connection. The Civilians were picked to be Spain because, well, they have civilians in Spain (or so I’ve heard). I’m sure I’ve done the octopus proud.

The First Half

Well, that was unexpected. The Spanish Civilian team has massacred the docile Combine soldiers representing the Netherlands- and in just 20 seconds the first half is over. The poor referee- he couldn’t do a thing. The ball lays untouched, forgotten even, next to his feet. A solitary tear can be seen rolling down his cheek. He turns his head so that he may not see the wasteland ahead of him.

We’re getting news reports now that the first half has been disallowed due to the Dutch representatives all being dead. Bear with us one moment and we will bring you the second half of the match, and the results of our 2010 World Cup Predictions.

The Second Half

Well that was a surprise. The Spanish civilians have once again completely wiped out the Dutch team- and this time in a world record 16 seconds! This is highly unorthodox for a World Cup final. What could the outcome possibly be?

News just in!

The Ripten officials have made their decision on the outcome of the game. The Spanish team have all been disqualified on account of unsporting behaviour. The first few killings were a step in the wrong direction, but by the time the Ref realised that he’d left his cards in his other shirt pocket, it was too late.

The trophy goes, posthumously, to The Netherlands- and that of course means that they are our overall winners! Congratulations to them. If they aren’t too busy being dead, we’ll be watching their progress carefully in the real World Cup Final on the 11th July 2010.

Ripten World Cup 2010 Winner Prediction: The Netherlands

Paul the Octopus has decided upon Spain- but Ripten’s vigorous method of making completely arbirary decisions based on unrelated videogames went the other way, and has awarded the prediction to the Dutch football team. Considering that both methods of prediction carry the same weight, it’ll be an interesting final indeed.

Xbox 360 Price-drop Live on Amazon.co.uk – Now Confirmed

Patrick Steen — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 10:22:19 +0000

After rumours that the Xbox 360 would be seeing a price cut in Europe, today is the day Amazon.co.uk let the numbers slip before the end of the announcement’s NDA. The NDA has now been lifted. Follow the jump for the new prices and PR.

Not only have Amazon.co.uk listed the new prices, they have cut them by a further £10. As far as price drop rumour rumblings, these came from the German Financial Times and two stores in the Netherlands. The price cut was rumoured to be as follows:

Xbox 360 Arcade – from €279.95 to €199.95
Xbox 360 Premium + 2 games – from €399 to €299.95
Xbox 360 Elite – from €449 to €399.95

Amazon.co.uk can now confirm the new UK prices. The Xbox 360 Arcade will drop from £199.99 to £159.99 (cheaper than the Nintendo Wii no less, a phenomenon we can recall from December 2007), the Xbox 360 Premium from £249.99 to £199.99, and the Xbox 360 Elite from £299.99 to £259.99.

The Xbox 360 Elite is still priced considerably higher than the Premium even though the value added does not appear to match £60. Still, at a further £10 off of each model at Amazon.co.uk, Microsoft have set themselves up for some jolly shopping by the time Grand Theft Auto IV comes out. This is especially clear when compared to the PS3′s current cost of £284.99 at the online retailer.

You’ll find that the price cut will be officially announced at approximately 2pm GMT today.

*Update 12.55pm GMT* Amazon.co.uk have returned their Xbox 360 prices to the original costing, presumably because they have jumped in front of the official press release. Thankfully we have a screenshot to prove the price drop.

*Update 2.20pm GMT* Just after 2pm, as I predicted, the Microsoft Press Release comes. The price cuts will be effective in Europe as of March 14th.

Microsoft today announced it is lowering the estimated retail price (ERP) for its Xbox 36 family of consoles in Europe. Now with an entry-level ERP of £159.99, Xbox 360 is a mass market entertainment proposition with something to offer for every interest and budget.

From Friday, 14th March, Xbox 360, which includes a 20GB hard drive and one wireless controller, will have an ERP of £199.99 – a saving of £50 on the current ERP. The Xbox 360 Elite, which comes with a massive 120GB hard drive enabling consumers to store huge quantities of content downloaded from Xbox LIVE Marketplace as well as their own music, will have an ERP of £259.99 – a saving of £40. The Xbox 360 Arcade console, perfect for those wishing to make their first foray into the gaming and entertainment world of Xbox, will have an ERP of £159.99 – a saving of £40.

Xbox 360 is the number one next-gen console in EMEA, owning 42% of the market in terms of life-to-date revenue. Xbox 360 continues to enjoy the highest software attach rate of any game console in Europe with more than 7.0 games sold per console (PS3: 3.8; Wii 3.5) after 26 months on the market.

The new ERPs are part of Microsoft’s ongoing strategy to open up the ultimate in high-definition gaming and entertainment to an even wider audience, with an offering for everyone.

“Xbox 360 is now mass market in Europe,” said Chris Lewis, Vice President, Microsoft Interactive Entertainment Business Europe. “We have reached and surpassed several key milestones that form part of our long term strategic plan to achieve critical mass in Europe; and our portfolio now offers the kind of mainstream entertainment experiences that secure wider appeal for Xbox 360. These factors allow us to execute on our strategy to widen the market for Xbox 360, as planned.

“We continue to offer intense, immersive gaming experiences for gamers – but now we’re priced in a way that will allow new consumers to find out for themselves why Xbox 360 is the ultimate in high-definition entertainment.” said Lewis. “History shows that £159.99 is the price point where a console’s audience begins to expand, and with these new ERPs in place we’re ready to bring more consumers into the Xbox 360 world.”

Credit: Gamer.nl for magazine scan
Full Press Release can be found at MCV.UK
Xbox 360 Price Cut Q&A with Chris Lewis, Regional Vice President Xbox Europe: Wonderwallweb.com