Episode 270: Same Bat Time…

This week is the battiest episode Gaming Podcast has ever done, and it’s not just because the crew argue over the first news item more emotionally than usual, but because it’s full of Batman. Lots of Batman. Plenty of Batman. In addition, the winners of the Spec Ops: The Line contest were also picked.

The news items this week include:

  • Square Enix exec says long console lifespans “biggest mistake”
  • No fee to be charged for connecting to Wii U network
  • Next Rocksteady Batman game will feature Silver Age Bats
  • Michael Fassbender pegged to star in Assassin’s Creed flick

All that and the question of the week, “Which Batman would you most like to see a game made from?”

0 thoughts on “Episode 270: Same Bat Time…”

  1. Funny enough I actually started by looking for podcasts in Google. Yes I was overwhelmed by the number of podcasts I had no idea. Then I started narrowing my results and typed podcasts about games. Yes you were the first one that popped up.
    @ question of the week- this question made me laugh because I just watched six batman movies. I was watching my nephew who is obsessed with barman. I also watched the brave and the bold. I think I would have to say Christopher Nolan batman. The catch is he would have to have a big say in the game. I think his view on Gotham City and batman is phenomenal.

  2. Did I hear Jordan’s wife in the background?

    @Square Enix exec says long console lifespans “biggest mistake”
    … what? So they left for the web and found it a greener pasture than a console? As for profit margins, dunno. Yes, production costs are smaller for a browser. But the competition is …
    Question: how many big names (Activision, id and so on) dropped the console totally in the favor of a web browser plug in?

    @No fee to be charged for connecting to Wii U network
    They have to recoup the costs from some other place. What will that be?

    @Michael Fassbender pegged to star in Assassin’s Creed flick
    Erm … movies made after games don’t have a great track record …
    The main issues with movies made after games is that they deceive the gamer. They have expectations set up by the game and the movie somehow doesn’t deliver.
    Both game fans and movie makers seem to forget one aspect that makes the game good and (because of it lacking) makes movies … not so good: interactivity.

    @Batman game:
    Erm, I don’t like super hero games that much (my way of saying I wouldn’t play one … well, except the NES games).
    Dunno. I’d go for Christopher Nolan, the atmosphere in Dark Knight was good – less super hero-y stuff, more realism.

    Keep the bloopers coming 🙂

  3. @Square Enix exec says long console lifespans “biggest mistake”: You already covered every argument on this subject so I’ll just say this: I think that Sony and Microsoft are making a mistake by letting Nintendo get a year or more head-start in next-gen consoles.

    No fee to be charged for connecting to Wii U network: Completely agree with the opinion that they had no other choice in this matter.

    Next Rocksteady Batman game will feature Silver Age Bats: I’m hoping they can pull this off after the amazing Arkham series, it can be a nice change of pace.

    Michael Fassbender pegged to star in Assassin’s Creed flick: Have zero expectations for this, hoping to be pleasantly surprised.

    @QOTW: I already have enough of my Batman fix (cartoons, movies and video games), so I don’t really care what version they use at this point.

  4. Hey!
    @ass ass in Creed movie
    I hope this movie is better than other movies based on games… Mario comes to mind right away 🙁

    @QOTW meh.. Not my kind of comic… But ill go with adam west batman, he was funny in a kinda sad way

    Thanks for the code!! (but i still have not got it) :p

  5. @Square Enix and lifespans
    That’s a difficult one to answer. For money consious gamers this generation was the best. However, the gaming industry is slowing down. Most of the upcomming titles are sequals or reboots. A new generation might bring back some originality. Regarding iOS and WEB game turncoats, you covered an item a few weeks back where Epic games stated that their iOS game brought more profits than Gears of War. But I don’t think that big names like, Activision or EA, will go purely iOS/WEB. The console market is highly monopolistic. It’s difficult and costly to make a console game. It’s much cheaper and easier to programm for an iPad.

    @WiiU and free network
    The 3DS has a free network. But you cannot benefit from it if there are NO GAMES THAT USE IT. Satoru Iwata released a statement at some point, that they will not concentrate on on-line, like Xbox 360. Which means that WiiU users will be stuck with crap network, like the Wii (2 minutes to get to the Wii Shop screen).

    @Batmans QOTW
    I am not sad enough to know what guy made what Batman. WIKIPEDIA!!! I CHOOSE YOU!!!
    Tim Burton’s Batman could be fun, if they would bring back the actors that played villans (Danny Devito, Arnie, Jim Carrey). The recent comix emo Batman would make for a nice 18 rated game. But I think the animated series would be the best choice. It was a very good representation of Batman.

    PS: they had Batman: Brave and the Bold game on Wii and DS. Might want to check it out.

  6. @Arthur V – console lifespan
    I’m afraid it’ll be just the opposite: new hardware? No cool new software available yet? Quickly, do a high definition version of Mario and sell it as Mario U! Or a high definition of Halo and call it Halo-rango!

    “It’s difficult and costly to make a console game. It’s much cheaper and easier to programm for an iPad.”
    Not sure about that in term of immediate costs. XNA is free, there’s a free version of Visual Studio.
    If I’m not mistaking, all compilers for Apple are not free, and there’s a developer fee you have to pay.

  7. The Terry McGinnis Batman from Batman Beyond, is awesome and it’s a from a Batman age that haven’t been explored much so developers would have great creative freedom and few restrictions.

Leave a Reply

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

Related Post

Popcap’s Feeding Frenzy 2 on Xbox LIVE ArcadePopcap’s Feeding Frenzy 2 on Xbox LIVE Arcade

The place to be, this week, is Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) as Popcap’s now released Feeding Frenzy 2 on the 360 platform. Xbox Live Arcade has been the go to place for awesome new content brought in high definition on both shrink wrapped box games along with classic casual titles.

Not into casual games? Perhaps your spouse or children are into them! If you’ve got an Xbox 360 and continually consider it a “big boys hardcore console” it’s time to change your perspective because that’s old world thinking. Microsoft, together with Popcap, plans to change how people game on the Xbox 360 console system.

This isn’t Popcap’s first title, many may remember Heavy Weapon on the Xbox 360. This sure won’t be the last!

Read on for full press release details!

(more…)

MGS4 Quickly Falls of Top Titles, NCAA Football 09 Takes LeadMGS4 Quickly Falls of Top Titles, NCAA Football 09 Takes Lead

The month, June 2008, Metal Gear Solid 4 takes number one on the NDP figures with 774,600 individual units (over 1-million if you include bundles), in July… they didn’t even make the top ten figure. What the heck?

NCAA Football 09 for the Xbox 360 took number one with 397,600 games sold, nothing close to MGS4’s figures form last month but still took the first position. Wii Fit took number two position, up from its fourth position in June showing lasting appeal or the ability for gamers to purchase the rare to find game set.

Wii Play still sits in the top ten titles along with Mario Kart and Rock Band (for the Wii). As a matter of fact, four out of the top ten titles are Wii games. One for DS (Guitar Hero: On Tour), two for Xbox 360 and two for PlayStation 3.

How is it possible for Wii Play and Wii Fit to hold top positions for so long while a game like MGS4 dies off so rapidly? More than likely this is the impact from having such great console sales that even a low attach rate (games to consoles) is significant enough when millions upon millions of consoles have been sold.

If the PlayStation 3 had more units in the hands of gamers, would their top tier titles like MGS4 hold top spot for more months? Presumably yes, another negative impact from being third in the race it seems.

(Thanks, 1up)

Are You An Okami Fan?Are You An Okami Fan?

PlayStation 2 fans may recall a little title called Okami, it’s an action adventure game developed by Clover Studios and published by Capcom. The original Okami title received fairly high reviews by many popular game sites, although there were a few flaws, the receiption seemed well received.

Clover Studios was closed after the release and all the intellectual properties went back to Capcom, the company that funded the studio, leaving Capcom responsible for future sequels.

Christian “Sven” Svensson said “I think we need a lot more people buying the current version before we seriously consider a sequel”. A harsh statement on the game’s combined sales figures, perhaps, but also probably an accurate one. (Kotaku)

This is the sound of a developer not so happy with prior performance and finding it too risky to try for a second title. Although many sequels outshine their parents there is some truth to the fact that slow selling parents will create slow selling sequels, there is something to be said about learning form past experiences.

The game had good reviews, isn’t it worth trying to make a second game based on that? Maybe people just aren’t jazzed about Japaense folklore, myths and legends as the basis for a game.