This week’s episode as a guest in the form of Jordan Lund’s wife Jennifer. There was to be a Gaming History, but it’ll be used next week when there’s more time.
This week’s news includes:
- Microsoft Points transformed into cash
- Gamers can return digital titles on Origin after a week
- Bungie feels Destiny can be bigger than Halo, as big as Star Wars
- Borderlands 2 coming to PlayStation Vita
- Sony announces 33 “launch” titles for PlayStation 4
- Microsoft announces launch titles for Xbox One
- The Sims 4 emotional gameplay revealed at GamesCom 2013
All this and Listener Feedback, with the same “console or PC gamer?” question from last week.
The game industry, like other entertainment avenues, is a risky business in which publishers have to pick titles they “predict” will do well in the market while passing on other “risky” propositions. While a the good ol’ shooter title will break sales records, the market cannot rely on one genre to carry the business especially considering many of these titles are forgotten within two months from launch. Publishers are going to be forced in expanding their reach to “family games” in order to finance new blockbuster titles.
The idea of designing a “family” game isn’t new to our industry, as a matter of fact, it’s one of the oldest cornerstones of video game entertainment. Pong, Centipede, Pac-Man, Space Invaders and many other classic titles were no doubt playable by the entire family, but things have changed. We’ve evolved from hit titles like Donkey Kong to hit titles like Halo. We migrated from 2D gaming to full 3D adventures and pixel graphics to pixel shaders, but where do we go next?
Most folks in the game industry are already writing off E3 as an actual event to be attending. Even Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter is calling it “virtually useless” for both retail and investors. The writing is on the wall and the reasons are obvious.
@Microsoft Points
This makes more sense, doesn’t it? I’m not sure what the deal was previously – did the games cost a different number of points in different regions? If so, it doesn’t make a difference which way you make transactions but for the customer it’s always easier to think in their native currency rather than some arbitrary points. And, if you get some extra $$$ when converting, that’s even better.
@Origin return policy
Are you sure, Jonah, that they will be able to monitor if you played through the game? One would have to read the fine print, probably, and I’m too lazy to do it 😉 They should implement some fail-safes into the user agreement if they don’t want the policy to be abused.
Anyway, seems like a good idea to demo games. People will buy them thinking they will return it if they don’t like it but a part of them will be too lazy to do that later 🙂 Win some, lose some for EA, but should result in a net gain. However, this may mean they won’t win the Worst Company in America Award next year…
@Borderlands 2 on Vita
YAY! I played the first Borderlands on my PS3 and I really liked it. It wasn’t as boring as Diablo, although the core mechanic of both games is similar – kill, get loot, upgrade weapons. Rinse and repeat. The second part coming to Vita is great news and I really hope they add some DLCs to the bundle. Still, it’s another non-exclusive game for the Vita so why even bother, right? 😉
@Next gen launch titles
As much as I enjoy indie games there’s one thing that I don’t like about the industry moving in that direction as much as it is. It’s simple – I don’t need a 1.6 GHz, 8-core, 8GB RAM machine to play Limbo… I understand that games are games and there are a multitude of great games with simple graphics but that doesn’t justify creating a new generation of gaming consoles. Unless there are developers and publishers willing to break the boundaries of what the current gen can support, I don’t even see why we need ‘next gen’ hardware. Hopefully, what’s happening now means that we will get as many AAA titles as before and, in addition, a slew of amazing indie titles.
QOTW: Nothing’s changed since last week 😛
Podcast
@Microsoft getting some sense
Microsoft points were a barrier to many people I know. Awkward unspendable amounts. Having to buy more points then needed. Not to mention that a game that is £7 looks more cost effective than a game that is 800MS points (equivalent prices). I am glad they are gone. Just have to cash in my codes and good riddance.
@Gamers can return digital titles on Origin after a week
What’s Origin?
@Bungie’s Destiny
I am really looking forward to it. I have great respect for Bungie. Destiny is an ambitious project. However, I can’t speculate on whether it will outshine Halo. Let alone Star Wars. So far all it looks like is a Halo MMOFPS. Prove me wrong Bungie.
@Borderlands 2 coming to PlayStation Vita
What’s Playstation Vita? Is it somehow related to Origin?
@Sony/Microsoft announces launch titles/line-up/window (the Internet has no clue either)
I pre-ordered a PS4 because by the time Xbox comes out in Europe my exam period will start and I will have no time. The line-up is impressive but makes not much difference. In the end, launch titles are pointless. What will sell the console are the exclusives which will come out much later in the console cycle. By the time Halo 5 comes out I will probably already own both consoles. So, for now I am going for the cheaper one that comes out earlier.
@QOTW
Very console gamer. I own practically every console that came in the past 10 years (minus PS vita which sucks). I have a laptop but it has crap specks. Much like Pavel, I stopped chasing performance as it is a very expensive business. Especially if you are not a teckie. I still have a 100 or so games on my Steam account (bloody sales), which I sometimes play.