Episode 241: Air Quotes

This week features a long podcast, as there’s a ton of news to report. Jonah tries air quotes on a pure audio podcast, while Paul refuses to believe The Legend of Zelda: Skyword Sword failed to hit the top 10 in software sales.

In addition, the Gaming Flashback checks out the JRPG Ys.

This week’s news includes:

  • Ubisoft polling gamers for next Assassin’s Creed setting
  • Electronic Arts bans a user for saying “badass”
  • Newell: Piracy is “almost always a service problem” and not price, DRM agitates
  • Christwire makes mock petition asking Pres. Obama ban Skyrim
  • Holiday shopping madness sees woman pepper spraying for 360
  • Microsoft refunds victims of Marketplace phishing scam

All this, and a bunch of reader feedback, as well as the Question of the Week: “Did you buy videogames as holiday gifts for friends and family?” Let us know.

0 thoughts on “Episode 241: Air Quotes”

  1. @Ubisoft polling gamers for next Assassin’s Creed setting: I would love it if they used multiple settings for Assassin’s Creed 3.

    @Newell: Piracy is “almost always a service problem” and not price, DRM agitates: I agree with him completely, even though I think game prices are a little bit steep for me at my age.

    @Christwire makes mock petition asking Pres. Obama ban Skyrim: Trolls will be trolls. This is just silly and it’s sad that it even got any attention.

    @Microsoft refunds victims of Marketplace phishing scam: I’m really pleased that they seem to be taking the Valve route, to be nice to the customers instead of treating them like insignificant numbers.

    @QOTW: I won’t buy holiday gifts for anyone. Period.

  2. @”Badass”: Are you kidding me? This looks to me like a broken forum filter. And why oh why do they still use a single database for forum band AND account bans?

    @Piracy is “almost always a service problem”:
    Yes and no. Yes, a bad service will lead to higher piracy rate. Still, 60 USD is too high for Romania , so price-point triggered piracy still exists, at least in my country.

    And Newel is not entirely honest there: when launching in Russia, besides doing it at the same time with the rest of the world, they also reduce the price of the games: around 20 USD versus 60 USD in the rest of the world.

    @mock petition asking Pres. Obama ban Skyrim:
    Paul, they made you read this because the petition is funny.
    And the truth is that politicians don’t really give a crap.

    @Holiday shopping madness:
    Woohaa !! 🙂 Wait … doesn’t this qualify as an assault? Normally she should be charged …
    This is pretty sick … you can get discounts at other times, no really need crowd up the shops during one day.

    @Microsoft refunds victims of Marketplace phishing scam:
    Microsoft went above what was required from them. I mean you cannot blame Microsoft from whatever clicks you made.

    @QOTW: … yes. I guess it says a lot about myself 😛

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PS3 and 360 Price Cuts, Before Holidays EndPS3 and 360 Price Cuts, Before Holidays End

A lot of people have purchased the Xbox 360 and a growing number have had new interests in the PlayStation 3. The summer time is winding to an end and fall will bring us a new host of video games and reasons to keep playing our current generation consoles. Many analysts and industry leaders believe the 360 and PlayStation 3 will undergo a USD $50.00 price cut before the Holidays begin.

With holiday madness comes momentum and sales, a USD $50.00 price cut would help bring new momentum to both consoles, especially with Nintendo lapping them in sales. Nobody has considered the direction of the Wii as it doesn’t need to be priced competitively given this is going to be the third year it’s impossible to find in stores.

Do the consoles really need a price cut? It’s hard to argue the PlayStation 3‘s dire need for cutting in price given its already outrageous costs for a console with the least amount of desired titles. The Xbox 360, for most, has the best lineup of titles with a strong fall series of games. The Wii… well, titles don’t really matter just yet because people still buy the console upon sight. The PlayStation 3 is showing off some impressive graphics for this fall and early next year, it may almost be time to invest in the product.

The fall games will keep hardcore gamers buying titles but it will do little to inspire new console sales. If GTA IV, Halo 3, Gears of War and Metal Gear Solid 4 couldn’t drag a gamer to buy, what fall titles will do so this year? Probably very few.

It’s time for the big console vendors to broaden their audience by opening the console to a demographic of gamers that just can’t afford the higher graphic consoles. No, USD $50.00 won’t bring in everyone but it may inspire those on the fringe of consideration to change their minds. With their new consoles in hand they can use their USD $50.00 savings to purchase a new holiday release title.

Episode 392: And Introducing…Episode 392: And Introducing…

Yes, it seems strange that we skipped Episode 391, but it was recorded, but some issues prevented it from being posted. Instead, it’ll come out sometime later this year. For now, Episode 392 features the debut of Scott Dirk, aka Alphashard, as a co-host. There are some audio issues, so be warned.

The news includes:

  • Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata passes away at 55
  • Kojima’s name removed from Metal Gear Solid V cover
  • Fallout 4 is about “freedom“, not being the “best looking game,” says Bethesda
  • Shenmue 3 breaks Kickstarter video game record
  • Over 50% of parents worry about their children playing video games online

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