Video Game News and Miscellany

ThatNickGuy

ThatNickGuy

Frank said:
The EA cycle continues.

Buy famed developer, force them to make shitty design choices, shutter them closed after newest game is a disappointing.

RIP Maxis.
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EA took the ladder away from Maxis' swimming pool.[DOUBLEPOST=1425509071,1425508614][/DOUBLEPOST]Oh my god...

OH MY GOD.
 
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AshburnerX

AshburnerX

Frank said:
I bet he's meant it every time, but he won't leave Konami so they won't stop making him make them.
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GasBandit said:
"THEY DROVE A DUMP TRUCK FULL OF MONEY UP TO MY HOUSE! I'm not made of stone!!"
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What actually ends up happening is Konami comes up to Kojima, informs him that they are making another Metal Gear Solid game, then he drags his feet a few weeks and commits to the project. The issue is that Metal Gear is his baby and he doesn't trust anyone to do a mainline entry without him because his signature style is in every element. To put it bluntly, Metal Gear won't be Metal Gear without him and he knows it... so to preserve the franchise, he has to buckle and work on them as they come up.

To compensate for the bullshit they put him through, Konami generally gives Kojima free reign to work on any side projects he wants. Some of these, like the Boktai series, are pretty fun in their own right. He's even getting to direct the next Silent Hill game.
 
Frank

Frank

I'm so pleased that the new consoles have all this exclusive content BEFORE the Kickstarter backers get their stuff.

Seriously, I am. SUPER pleased.
 
Jay

Jay

Can't believe Maxis is finally dead. You could see it coming years ago but today it's a fact.

It's surreal.
 
SpecialKO

SpecialKO

It's probably an unpopular opinion around here, but I don't think this is an example of the EA curse (for once). Mismanagement by the current bunch at EA definitely, but it's hardly Bullfrog or Pandemic this time.

It's pretty universal knowledge that Maxis was in pretty severe trouble before EA bought them 18 years ago, and it was the EA-assigned management that made the decisions that probably saved SC3K. SimCity 4 and the entire Sims series was made under EA auspices.

It's really not that weird that a studio would fail after 18 years.
 
Hailey Knight

Hailey Knight

Frank said:
I'm so pleased that the new consoles have all this exclusive content BEFORE the Kickstarter backers get their stuff.

Seriously, I am. SUPER pleased.
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Since these exclusives are just for one-time miniboss fights, I think it was more the porting to new consoles at all that took the time. But I agree.
 
Frank

Frank

SpecialKO said:
It's probably an unpopular opinion around here, but I don't think this is an example of the EA curse (for once). Mismanagement by the current bunch at EA definitely, but it's hardly Bullfrog or Pandemic this time.

It's pretty universal knowledge that Maxis was in pretty severe trouble before EA bought them 18 years ago, and it was the EA-assigned management that made the decisions that probably saved SC3K. SimCity 4 and the entire Sims series was made under EA auspices.

It's really not that weird that a studio would fail after 18 years.
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The current Sim City was so publisher meddled that I totally think it's the EA cycle at work.
 
SpecialKO

SpecialKO

Frank said:
The current Sim City was so publisher meddled that I totally think it's the EA cycle at work.
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The person who made the key decisions on SimCity by all accounts was Lucy Bradshaw, who also helped spearhead the decisions to re-design SimCity 3K into something worthwhile in 1997 and supported Will Wright while he worked to get the Sims off the ground in the first place. All under the auspices of EA.

Thanks to EA, Maxis was making gold again for the first time in 5 years, and that basically persisted until Spore.

Much as EA deserves shit for Bullfrog and Pandemic among others, this is not one of those times.
 
AshburnerX

AshburnerX

CynicismKills said:
Harmonix is back in the driver's seat for Rock Band, which they're working on for XBone/PS4. They're even working to make the previous instruments work for the new systems, to keep folks from having to drop another $80+ on new peripherals.
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They've also come out and said that this will be the only version for this generation. Instead, they are going to keep updating and expanding this version the entire console cycle.
 
Hailey Knight

Hailey Knight

Here's what those still playing Metal Gear Solid can enjoy in choices when Phantom Pain comes out:

Konami announced the different versions that will be available for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain when it launches on September 1st of this year (September 2nd in Japan) and September 15 on Steam (September 16 in Japan).
Regular Edition
Day One Edition
“Day 1 Edition” Content:
  • MAP (Physical Version Only)
DLC items
  • Adam-ska Special Handgun
  • Personal Ballistic Shield (Silver)
  • Cardboard Box (Wetland)
  • Fatigues (Blue Urban Snake Costume)
  • METAL GEAR ONLINE XP BOOST
    *Steam version will include the above DLC content at launch
Collector’s Edition
Collector’s Edition Content:
  • Half Scale Replica of Snake’s Bionic Arm
  • Collectible SteelBook
  • Behind the Scenes Documentary & Trailers Blu-ray Disc
  • MAP
  • Exclusive Packaging
DLC items
WEAPON & SHIELD PACK
  • Windurger S333 Combat Special Revolver
  • Adam-ska Special Handgun
  • Maschinen Taktische Pistole 5 Weiss Special Handgun
  • Rasp Short-Barreled Shotgun Gold
  • Personal Ballistic Shield　(Olive Drab)
  • Personal Ballistic Shield　(Silver)
  • Personal Ballistic Shield　(White)
  • Personal Ballistic Shield　(Gold)
CARDBOARD BOXES
  • Cardboard Box (Rocky Terrain)
  • Cardboard Box (All-Purpose Dryland)
  • Cardboard Box (Wetland)
SNAKE COSTUMES
  • Fatigues (Black Ocelot)
  • Fatigues (Gray Urban)
  • Fatigues (Blue Urban)
  • Fatigues (All-Purpose Dryland)
Other
  • “VENOM SNAKE” Emblem
MGO BOOST
  • METAL GEAR ONLINE XP BOOST
MGO Items
  • Metal Gear Rex Helmet
  • AM MRS-4 GOLD Assault Rifle
  • WU S. PISTOL GOLD

The collector’s edition comes with a (half size) replica of the bionic arm, something that was rumored a while back.
Japan will have a different set of collector’s editions, including stuff like an artbook and a full size replica of the arm.
Premium Package (Japan)
Available for Xbox One, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4.
  • Map
  • Full Size Arm Replica
  • Digital Content
Special Edition (Japan)
Available for Xbox One, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4.
  • Map
  • Digital Content
The prices are as follows:
US: $59.99 for the Day One Edition. The Collector’s Edition is $99 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Europe: €69.99/£59.99 for PS4, Xbox One and Steam. €59.99/£49.99 for PS3 and Xbox 360. The Collector’s Edition is €99.99 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Japan: MGSV: TPP packaged version / download version: 8,400 yen. Special Edition: 9,980 yen (excluding tax). Premium Package (Konami style Limited Edition): 29,800 yen (excluding tax).​
 
ThatNickGuy

ThatNickGuy

Is it just me or does it seem like, these days, there's more focus on what DLC or bonuses a game comes with than the actual content of the game itself?
 
figmentPez

figmentPez

Staff member
ThatNickGuy said:
Is it just me or does it seem like, these days, there's more focus on what DLC or bonuses a game comes with than the actual content of the game itself?
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I read an article a while back on the psychology of various priced models of consumer appliances/electronics. From what I remember: say a company that sells watches really wants their $40 watch to be the one that people choose. They'll make models for $10 because they know some people just want a cheap watch. Then they'll make a few more models coming up from there, slowly adding a feature here and there. Adding alarms, chronographs, the date, timers, multiple time zones, etc. until they hit the price point they really want to sell at. Then they'll make a big jump to another model with a few more features, but a lot more price. Basically, they have all the cheaper models to get your eye moving up the chart, talking yourself into getting all these features, then they have the expensive one so that you feel like you're getting a deal by grabbing the one at the price break, even if you don't need three alarms and the time in Abu Dhabi. They don't expect the expensive one to sell well, it's there to convince people they got a deal, and the rest are just to make people feel like they have a choice.

That's what the video game industry seems to be latching on to.
 
Telephius

Telephius

figmentPez said:
I read an article a while back on the psychology of various priced models of consumer appliances/electronics. From what I remember: say a company that sells watches really wants their $40 watch to be the one that people choose. They'll make models for $10 because they know some people just want a cheap watch. Then they'll make a few more models coming up from there, slowly adding a feature here and there. Adding alarms, chronographs, the date, timers, multiple time zones, etc. until they hit the price point they really want to sell at. Then they'll make a big jump to another model with a few more features, but a lot more price. Basically, they have all the cheaper models to get your eye moving up the chart, talking yourself into getting all these features, then they have the expensive one so that you feel like you're getting a deal by grabbing the one at the price break, even if you don't need three alarms and the time in Abu Dhabi. They don't expect the expensive one to sell well, it's there to convince people they got a deal, and the rest are just to make people feel like they have a choice.

That's what the video game industry seems to be latching on to.
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As I work in retail I would say this is pretty accurate.
 
AshburnerX

AshburnerX

ThatNickGuy said:
Is it just me or does it seem like, these days, there's more focus on what DLC or bonuses a game comes with than the actual content of the game itself?
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A lot of this is the fault of the stores wanting an "edge" over the competition, but not wanting to pay an arm and a leg for it. Hence they lean on the developers to give them exclusive Day 1 DLC unless they want to find out that the company didn't order quite as many games as they wanted. Considering places like Wal-mart and Gamestop sell enormous volumes of titles, this isn't hard for them to pull off.
 
Frank

Frank



This comes out in 2 days. It's apparently a stone hard Metroidvania. It also looks better than most animated films, let alone games. I'm pretty stoked.

It's coming out on PC too so don't let all the X-Box branding turn you off.
 
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