Episode 276: Covered in Concrete

Paul is not in the podcast, and will be out for the next couple of weeks as he recovers from major surgery. In the meantime, the podcast chugs on with three podcasters, as Jordan relays what he thought of the Sony Gamescom 2012 press conference.

In the meantime, the news items include:

All that plus Reader Feedback wishing Paul well (sorry, Kizer, we didn’t moderate your message til after recording), as well as this week’s Question of the Week, “When is the right time to cut the price of a console?”

0 thoughts on “Episode 276: Covered in Concrete”

  1. @Diablo III‘s Wilson on former Diablo dev’s mixed feelings on game: “F- that loser”
    The criticism sounds fair. I’m with Jonah on this subject, Diablo 3 didn’t do as good as expected, so it could be that the current team ended up venting some of their frustrations.
    I’ll stick with how I feel about Blizzard after opting for all time Internet connection DRM: f*ck Blizzard.
    I like what Brevik said:
    “so I am happy that it has come to light that how talented that group was and how unique and special that group was. I am hoping that, as this happens very often in the industry, you see it with Call of Duty and things like that , when the people leave the game changes and it shows how critical people are in this industry.”

    @C&C: Generals 2 will be multiplayer-only at launch
    🙁 … why … I liked the story mode in Generals …
    If however they release also modding tools for it, I can see fan made stories.
    Thing is, if the game is MP only, I can see it forcing you to play with a constant online internet connection, no modding tools available.
    Hmm ….
    Jordan does have a point, to me the story sold the game. I did play MP and lots of skirmish, but it was the story that hooked me.
    I will give it a play though, who knows …

    @QOTW: I guess 2-3 months before announcing the next generation.

    What happened to the “There’s a zombie on your lawn” song?

  2. It’s good to hear that Paul is all right. We really need that “Paul touch” he adds to the podcast. I already miss his emotionally spurred illogical arguments. Reminds me of my ex-girlfriend.

    @Diablo 3 bitching

    It’s easy to see why Blizzard gets so emotional about that comment. It takes a lot of time and effort to develop a game. When someone criticises your work, you are bound to lash out. But if you do it on twitter and it makes into the news then you are daft and should probably go back to school. Next time just break into the guys house and discreetly take a shit on his carpet.
    In reality, Diablo II was better and more successful then it’s sequel. That is a fact for many. But that was a long time ago. Blizzard attempted to modernise III to contemporary standard. This may have been a mistake. Poor fan service. Still, the game is out and nothing will change that.

    @Guildwars

    Wanted to play the original but never had an opportunity. For me there was always a barrier to playing MMOs. As I am a student, I am forced to own a laptop rather than a desktop. That means I can play an hour of an MMO at most before the thing goes into a critical meltdown. Recently I got a PS3 and downloaded DC Universe. I played the game before on my laptop but had to quit because of heating and lag problems. With the PS3 that problem is gone and I am actually enjoying myself. Wish they would release more MMOs on consoles. I am actually looking forward to FFXIV.

    @Command and Conquer

    The series is just not the same after Westwood fell apart. I enjoyed Red Alert 1 and 2. Played C&C 3 and wanted to kill something. That game was cancer. I still prefer to stick to Red Alert 2. Believe it or not, but there are still a 100 or so people hanging out on the on-line servers there.

    @Prey’s great escape

    Prey was a launch title for Xbox360 as far as I remember. Wouldn’t surprise me if they made Prey 2 for the next gen launch. A bit too risky to release games at the moment, unless they start with Halo, Assasins or Call.

    @QOTW

    Depends on the popularity of the console and the economic situation. In standard cases, you should cut the price a year or so after the release. By then most of those interested in shelling out full price for the console probably bough it. Others need an incentive and the price cut will do the trick. In special cases like PSVita, you should cut the price preferably before the sales figures go into negative numbers. With cases like PSP GO you shouldn’t make the console in the first place.

  3. PS: I was enraged when BBC NEWS spent most of it’s report on Brevik’s conviction talking about how he played WOW and COD. Cause obviously all mass killers are influenced by video games. Should make a decent QOTW: does playing games make you want to pick up a gun and massacre people?

  4. Greetings from Portugal!

    Can’t wait to get a chance to play Guild Wars 2. I’ve already got enough games for now. If it receives enough praise by the end of this year, I’ll probably buy it. I’m also mildly excited for Plants vs Zombies 2, the original was great.

    @QOTW: I think that any time hardware is not coming close to target sales, that should be the time that the company considers a price cut.

Leave a Reply

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

Related Post

Episode 246: Computer SpecsEpisode 246: Computer Specs

CES 2012 is going strong, as Jonah and Jordan do tonight’s podcast without Paul, who is packing for a trip. This week’s Gaming Flashback is the notorious Custer’s Revenge, and a punch of intriguing news and rumors comprise this week’s topics:

  • Fallout MMO rights belong to Bethesda as Interplay settles
  • Pachter sez there’s “zero chance” of PS4 at E3 2012
  • Rumor: Next Xbox tablet-based?
  • Rumor: Kaz Hirai to return as president of Sony
  • Diablo III release held due to South Korea (from GameFront)

Plenty of Reader Feedback this week, which is good because we forgot to include a Question of the Week this time.

Episode 306: Batman ReturnsEpisode 306: Batman Returns

The crew bemoans the decline of handheld gaming as it gets dominated by mobile platforms like Apple iOS, while they rejoice at Justice League being available on Netflix Streaming. There’s no Gaming Flashback or Gaming History, but there is some Reader Feedback.

This week’s news items include:

  • Batman: Arkham Origins confirmed for PC, consoles
  • Domains for Mad Max videogames registered by Warner Bros.
  • Report: Xbox 720 not always online, doesn’t block used games, supports backwards compat
  • Jade Empire as an Xbox 360 launch title “would have been massive
  • Zeschuk: Old-school gaming in “sick market” right now, digital ‘not filling gaps’

Gamers can read Jordan’s “Death of Handheld Gaming” article here.

Episode 722: Off the RailsEpisode 722: Off the Rails

[This file was corrupted and re-uploaded.]

Podcast notes:

  • Sony backs down on demand that Helldivers 2 players log into a PSN account
  • Microsoft announces Xbox Games Showcase and mystery Direct for June 2024
  • EU rules iPadOS must comply with Digital Markets Act, opening door for Fortnite
  • Hades 2’s surprise early access release already has more stuff in it than the first game
  • Square Enix announces it’s tanked $140 million in losses due to “content abandonment”

Feel free to leave feedback.