Video Game News and Miscellany

Frank

Frank

If Sony was smart, and they're not, they would do the opposite. They would set themselves up as the console that can still play used games.

Funny, from all the talk of the hardware, Playstation and Xbox are set to switch roles. The new Xbox hardware sounds a lot more complex and harder to program for and it sounds like Microsoft wants it to be the everything settop box Sony wanted the PS3 to be and the new Playstation hardware sounds like it'll be easier to program for, being basically a PC, that will be able to edge out the Xbox in pure graphical power.
 
figmentPez

figmentPez

Staff member
stienman said:
Man, someone is setting up the perfect storm for the ouya. If you're going to have single use purchases, and always require internet, better not be charging $60 per game and $500 per console.
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I was thinking more Steam Box than Ouya, but it does open the door for competitors.
 
Gared

Gared

Frank said:
If Sony was smart, and they're not, they would do the opposite. They would set themselves up as the console that can still play used games.

Funny, from all the talk of the hardware, Playstation and Xbox are set to switch roles. The new Xbox hardware sounds a lot more complex and harder to program for and it sounds like Microsoft wants it to be the everything settop box Sony wanted the PS3 to be and the new Playstation hardware sounds like it'll be easier to program for, being basically a PC, that will be able to edge out the Xbox in pure graphical power.
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If the new Xbox OS is anything like Windows 8, they're gonna be screwed. No one likes programming for that damn OS.
 
AshburnerX

AshburnerX

The Wii U is already out and doesn't have this second-hand game blocking feature. If it's the only console out there that doesn't have it, the Wii U will win. Hands down. And since Sony hasn't came out and said if they are doing it yet ether, I can't see this happening. If ANYTHING like this happens, it's going to be on a per-title basis... because there is no evidence that supports people paying $60 for a game just because they can't get it for cheaper.
 
Frank

Frank

The only chance the Wii-U has is dependent on how awful and anti-consumer Microsoft and Sony will be.

There are rumors surrounding the PS4's price in Japan now too. Some place somewhere has it listed at 40000 yen or about 420-something dollars which would give it a North American price of between 350-400 dollars.
 
Ravenpoe

Ravenpoe

Re: always on internet connection. I have a hard time believing this. I mean... they can't... they can't really be that stupid, can they?

... don't answer that.
 
PatrThom

PatrThom

This would sure be an opportune time for someone like Apple, Ouya, or even good ol' Sega to blindside the console market, assuming one of 'em decides to seize the opportunity (and has some good games to back it up).

--Patrick
 
bhamv3

bhamv3

Ravenpoe said:
Re: always on internet connection. I have a hard time believing this. I mean... they can't... they can't really be that stupid, can they?

... don't answer that.
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I think they think they can get away with it because when was the last time gamer rage actually hurt a company?

Diablo 3 will require always-on Internet? RAAAAAGE!! Sell like hotcakes.
Mass Effect 3 requires Origin? RAAAAAGE!! Sell like hotcakes.
Street Fighter X Tekken has on-disk DLC? RAAAAAGE!! Sells quite well, though perhaps not quite at hotcakes level.

We're their bitches, and they know it.
 
AshburnerX

AshburnerX

Mass Effect 3's PC sales were kinda crap actually. Most game sales are within the first 30-60 days of a title's release and Mass Effect 3 PC hadn't even cracked a million by April. People REALLY don't like Origin.
 
Frank

Frank

I thought Street Fighter X Tekken was a pretty poor seller.

Oh shit, looking it up globally it barely cracked 500K, which is a tiny fraction of Street Fighter 4. Yeah, gamers are finally beginning to vote with their wallets about this garbage.

The current backlash from the world of games journalism that I find hilarious is the DmC stuff. Some journos are calling consumers whiney, entitled bitches that aren't buying DmC out of spite. It's pretty funny. Consumers are told to shut up and vote with their wallet, when they do, apparently publishers and developers are entitled to our money according to these same hypocrites.[DOUBLEPOST=1360229744][/DOUBLEPOST]
bhamv3 said:
I think they think they can get away with it because when was the last time gamer rage actually hurt a company?

Diablo 3 will require always-on Internet? RAAAAAGE!! Sell like hotcakes.
Mass Effect 3 requires Origin? RAAAAAGE!! Sell like hotcakes.
Street Fighter X Tekken has on-disk DLC? RAAAAAGE!! Sells quite well, though perhaps not quite at hotcakes level.

We're their bitches, and they know it.
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Mass Effect 3 will sell less than 2 and about as many as the first and I would bet a dollar the next one will sell abysmally. The first game didn't have the benefit of being fully cross platform either.[DOUBLEPOST=1360229849][/DOUBLEPOST]Diablo 3 seems to have ruined Blizzard's goodwill with gamers too. Diablo 3 is not being looked back on fondly.
 
bhamv3

bhamv3

Well, let's see what happens next then. Personally I'm skeptical, I think Blizzard's next game will still sell like hotcakes.
 
Bubble181

Bubble181

bhamv3 said:
Well, let's see what happens next then. Personally I'm skeptical, I think Blizzard's next game will still sell like hotcakes.
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Because BLizz's next game is Starcraft II: the Continuation. Of course everybody and their dog will buy it; at least pretty much everyone who bought the first one.

I was a superfan of Diablo, and DIII has made me decide not to buy the DIII expansions, unless I'm told by GAMERS, not media or comemrcials, that it's actually good and rights the wrongs in DIII. Fat chance of that happening, but hey. I'm not willing to pay as much for what DIII turned out to be, as I am to pay for, say, The Witcher 2.
 
Frank

Frank

I'll probably pick up Starcraft 2 expansion when it's cheap. I only ever really played through the single player.

And speaking of the Witcher, Witcher 3 is sounding pretty amazing. All about Geralt getting his memories back and it's going to be open world.
 
Ravenpoe

Ravenpoe

I don't know how well SC2:2 will do. SC2 is losing favor as the go to competitive game, in fact League of Legends has overtaken it in Korea. Blizzard has been making a DOTA clone called Blizzard All Stars, that was originally supposed to be a free addon to SC2 that was supposed to get more players playing it (the same way DOTA got more people playing Warcraft 3) but they have since made it a standalone title, suggesting that Blizz themselves lack confidence in SC2
 
Azurephoenix

Azurephoenix

Wow... draconian DRM schemes and always on internet connections for EVERYBODY!

I'm not going to buy any of these shitty products. There are plenty of good games that don't require buying into this complete bullshit.

Up yours EA.
Up yours Blizzard.
Up yours Microsoft.
 
Gared

Gared

And don't forget, the portal that this always-on Xbox 720 will use, thanks to several re-orgs and divisional mergers, is... Games For Windows Live. Oh, and Ravenpoe, I really really wish that I could tell you that no one at Microsoft, or at least no one with decision making authority, is that stupid. I really, really wish I could tell you that.
 
PatrThom

PatrThom

Frank said:
Diablo 3 seems to have ruined Blizzard's goodwill with gamers too. Diablo 3 is not being looked back on fondly.
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I played Diablo for years, even trucking my computer back and forth for LAN play (a hassle).
I played Diablo II for years, continuing to truck my computer back and forth for LAN play (more of a hassle, since by then I had upgraded to a 20in Trinitron that weighed about 70lb).
I have played Diablo III for only 4 months now, and it has already been relegated to only being "on par" with Path of Exile, which is a free-to-play game with no auction house. Seriously, D3 feels more like eBay right now. I log in, check my auctions, and log back out again. I haven't actually played it in weeks.

--Patrick
 
ScytheRexx

ScytheRexx

PatrThom said:
I have played Diablo III for only 4 months now, and it has already been relegated to only being "on par" with Path of Exile, which is a free-to-play game with no auction house. Seriously, D3 feels more like eBay right now. I log in, check my auctions, and log back out again. I haven't actually played it in weeks.
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If there is one thing I agree Blizzard dropped the ball on the most with D3, it's the auction house. I am not even talking about the RMAH, which is a whole different problem. Diablo as a series got much of it's love by every run being like a loot pinata, hitting that boss over with a bat hoping for him to explode in rare items and gems/runes. The auction house removes that in favor of just farming gold or using cash, and if that ends up becoming the game, then whats the point?

Blizzard should have known better. They said countless times why items in WoW are Soulbound, and that's to keep the design of getting the best stuff through the game, not just a guy with a lot of gold. (BMAH kind of hurts this, but elite items appearing on there is so rare it's not really a problem so far.)
 
PatrThom

PatrThom

ScytheRexx said:
They said countless times why items in WoW are Soulbound, and that's to keep the design of getting the best stuff through the game, not just a guy with a lot of gold.
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They are kind of addressing this with the 1.0.7 patch, where you will be able to get items you can't sell that have stats and stuff outside the norm, but you will still need high-quality auctionable items in order to play to the point where you can acquire these, so it's more like you'll eventually "graduate" out of needing the auction house in order to find better gear (without slogging through bosses for weeks, that is). It's an imperfect solution, but if it cuts down on the number of items selling for 2 billion gold, then it'll be a start.

--Patrick
 
Covar

Covar

stienman said:
Man, someone is setting up the perfect storm for the ouya. If you're going to have single use purchases, and always require internet, better not be charging $60 per game and $500 per console.
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Ouya is going to kill whatever momentum they get by releasing a new system every year.
 
Frank

Frank

EA is blaming Medal of Honor and a soft market for it's lagging sales.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/31/technology/electronic-arts-posts-decline-in-revenue.html?_r=1&

In other news, Activision boasts record profits (as my ATVI stock adds about 10% to it's value today). 100 million Skylanders sold, untold trillions of people buying Call of Duty and for some reason, World of Warcraft is still popular, losing only half a million subs (as of Dec 31st, they were very specific).
 
bhamv3

bhamv3

Now, granted I'm just a layperson, and I don't have access to EA's accounting records, but don't they have IPs out the wazoo? Blaming one single IP for their losses seems disingenuous.

Plus, like Frank said, other companies seemed to have a nice Christmas.
 
AshburnerX

AshburnerX

bhamv3 said:
Now, granted I'm just a layperson, and I don't have access to EA's accounting records, but don't they have IPs out the wazoo? Blaming one single IP for their losses seems disingenuous.

Plus, like Frank said, other companies seemed to have a nice Christmas.
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To be fair, Medal of Honor had a pretty big promotion budget. It had TV spots, magazine spots, online ads, in store advertising. It also had a comparable budget to CoD... and it sold like shit. So they probably lost $50-80 million just from that one game. That's a pretty huge loss.

That being said, EA had a pretty shit year last year.

- Mass Effect 3 didn't sell as much as Mass Effect 2, and neither did the DLC.
- The Old Republic failed to be the WoW killer they wanted it to be
- Kingdoms of Amalur is a dead franchise because of legal problems
- Syndicate bombed
- Tiger Woods 2013 bombed because golfing isn't "in" anymore now that he's fallen off his pedestal

To put it simply, outside of The Sims and their annual sports titles, EA had nothing going for them in 2012. The soft market probably didn't help but the real culprit is the EA didn't release a single blockbuster the entire year that actually reached it's projections.
 
Frank

Frank

Their projections are also insane.

Dead Space franchise for instance. The games have never sold gangbusters. The first did 3.5 million and the second did quite a bit less than that but this third installment, with it's egregious microtransactions for a 60 dollar game, they expect to sell 5 million for it to be a success.

I'm shocked that the shareholders haven't called for Riccotello's head by now.
 
Frank

Frank

ScytheRexx said:
Maybe when the PS3 first came out, and only then if they count all the computers that exist, including the low scale non-gaming ones, which would be kind of silly to compare.
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When the PS3 came out, yeah it was better than 99% of PCs I'd wager. Better than 90% of honest to goodness gaming PCs? Not a chance.
 
ScytheRexx

ScytheRexx

Frank said:
When the PS3 came out, yeah it was better than 99% of PCs I'd wager. Better than 90% of honest to goodness gaming PCs? Not a chance.
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Exactly my point, him saying the PS3 is 90% more powerful then computers is like saying a oven bakes 90% more powerful then a toaster. Yes, both have the ability to heat food, but one is designed to actually bake, the other just to heat some toast/bagels/poptarts in the morning. Gaming PCs are designed to game, that Dell you buy for $100 at Discount Electronics are not, so why make them part of the comparison just because they are all PCs in the end?

Then again, the guy called PC gaming a GENRE so obviously he has some issues with logical thinking.
 
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