Episode 265: See You After E3

This episode is a little late due to the holiday, but at least it’ll give everyone something to listen to when there’s no episode next week due to Jonah Falcon and Paul S. Nowak heading to E3.

In the meantime, the gang covers the following news:

  • THQ: “Linear is not a dirty word for an FPS”
  • Pachter decries on-disc DLC as “just plain greed”
  • Crysis 2 returns to Steam
  • The Old Republic still has one of the biggest dev teams in industry

Along with the usual Reader Feedback, the crew this time asks the readers to ask some questions, instead of the other way around. Let us know what you want to know.

0 thoughts on “Episode 265: See You After E3”

  1. @Gaming flashback: did any of you played Mission Impossible on NES?

    @“Linear is not a dirty word for an FPS”
    Well, what can I say, if you wan to push for a very specific story/experience, then linear is the only way to do it.
    However, you get better replay value from sandbox games. Heck, I still love playing all STALKER games.
    Jonah, good point on building a climax easier on linear games. I harp back to STALKER: the first game was a sandbox game up until reaching Chernobyl. Afterwards, it turned linear, and it didn’t feel bad at all.
    I feel so sorry for GSC having to shut down. I hope Vostok Games (the startup from the former GSC games) will do better.

    @Pachter decries on-disc DLC as “just plain greed”:
    You know, this time I agree with the dude.

    @Crysis 2 returns to Steam:
    Hmm, lemme guess, Origin didn’t work that great? Or is it that money has no color, so Steam customers are just as good as Origin customers?
    Did Valve lower their demands in the cut from DLC?

    @The Old Republic still has one of the biggest dev teams in industry:
    It’s hard to sell 3 mil. of copies of anything, never mind a new IP. It’s a risky bet.

    @QOTW:
    What do you guys think of “Amnesia: The Dark Descent”? That is, if you played it.

  2. i am sorry i disapeared but i do not have much time…
    @qotw how long does it take to make a single episode of a podcast from early planning to final editing?

  3. Not much interested in the news, so I’m going to comment on E3.

    Plenty of games have been added to my list of games I want to play, among them are:
    -Need for Speed Most Wanted
    -Epic Mickey 2
    -New Super Mario Bros. U
    -Pikmin 3
    -Rayman Legends
    -Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Blacklist
    -Tomb Raider
    -Watch Dogs

    Worst E3 conference was Microsoft, best was Ubisoft. What I don’t get is how many people are “disappointed” by Nintendo’s conference, expecting huge releases such as Zelda, Metroid, F-Zero or even Smash Bros. I think that many people do not understand how long it takes to make the great games Nintendo makes, and expect them to churn them out like Call of Duty. I also think that it’s a smart move by Nintendo, releasing quite a few good titles at launch, and then pace the awesome games one by one for the future. Maybe this way the WiiU won’t run out of first-party games as soon as the Wii did.

    2 questions, both for Paul:
    So, did you shit your pants when Nintendo announced the WiiU will come out Holiday 2012?
    Have you finished Skyward Sword yet?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Post

Circuit City Denied Sony Shipment, In TransitCircuit City Denied Sony Shipment, In Transit

Circuit City seems to have a problem paying their bills or so it seems, as Sony stopped their shipments mid-transit and returned them before hitting the distributors command center. In this unfavorable market climate, with the holidays around the corner, it seems bad for Circuit City to lose the trust of Sony.

Sony is afraid, “Circuit City couldn’t pay for the shipments” so the merchandise was turned around and returned home. Considering Sony, more than likely, wouldn’t have shipped the products to start with unless Circuit City was in good standing suggests things might have been “learned” after the shipment left the docks.

Circuit City’s been in some bad situations before, having a rough time dealing with competition in a very low margin, high volume, world of electronic retail. I’ve witnessed CompUSA disappear after the local Best Buy moved in and now Best Buy sits about 80 yards from Circuit City.

This is unfortunate because Best Buy can use some competition before they take over the bulk of this industry leaving only Wal*Mart and a few smaller stores to keep them in check. Considering I just purchased a 2-year warranty on my Rock Band 2 drum kit at Circuit City I’m fearing I’ll have to break the hardware sooner than later!

(Thanks, Gizmodo)

Microsoft Says They’ll Win Console WarMicrosoft Says They’ll Win Console War

Apparently the war is in full force and Microsoft’s Don Mattrick is ready to poke the flag in the ground and call it a sure fire victory (in so many words). He said he’s “willing to declare here today that Xbox 360 will sell more consoles worldwide this generation than PS3” (eurogamer)

They’re either not seeing the Wii as a competitor or are trying to avoid that evil word considering the growth of the tiny little console in the market. After telling the audience the Xbox 360 has already outpaced the PlayStation 3 and Wii he failed to mention the one-year head start the 360 had over its competitors.

There are, of course, bonuses to talking figures when you were first out of the gate. The interesting facts, which won’t present themselves for years now, will be the end unit sales figures for Wii, 360 and PlayStation 3 when all boxes are end-of-life’d. We’re sure to hear each side declare victory when they’ve decided when the war actually ends. In Microsoft’s eyes, the console war will probably end when they release the next-generation box, barring the fact that they should wait at least one year before claiming the title.

You can’t argue with the facts, Xbox 360 is doing very well in the United States (if we ignore Japan). The Nintendo Wii has sold 8.8 million units to the Xbox 360‘s 10.3 million units. How many units did the Xbox 360 have sold around the same time Nintendo boasts 8.8 million? Probably a bit less.

Press can be a great thing when you have numbers to play with and figures to skew. Oddly enough, if some of us are any indication, we’ve purchased multiple Xbox 360’s because of dead systems. Sure, we’re stupid for actually doing it, but those figures will work into the total units sold for the Xbox 360 hardware sales. Imagine, their failing systems may have actually boosted sales figures a bit; probably not statistically significant but funny non-the-less.

We can’t wait to see what type of numbers Sony and Nintendo are going to fling out. If we ask each competitor, we’re sure they’ll say we’re going to win the console war. Nintendo may just ask, “what console war? We just make game hardware” and you can’t fault them there!

Gaming Podcast Flashback: Episode 374: Lost In a CrowdGaming Podcast Flashback: Episode 374: Lost In a Crowd

This episode was recorded on January 10, 2015, and was guest hosted by former Joystiq editor Andrew Yoon. He tragically passed away three weeks later.

Here are the original podcast notes:

This week’s episode of Gaming Podcast has a special guest co-host, Andrew Yoon, formerly of Joystiq and currently in card game and video game development. The Gaming Flashback is the one that started them all: LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game. The slow news week includes:

  • DDoS service targeting PSN and Xbox powered by home Internet routers
  • Japanese console sales continued to slide in 2014
  • Evolve’s questionable bargain: pre-purchase to avoid the unlock grind
  • Sony delays PS4 in China

The Question of the Week: “What is your favorite, if any, LEGO videogames?”