Valve continues to have problems in the wake of Epic (and now Discord) giving developers more of the earnings pie, as the year draws to a close. Meanwhile, T.J. explains his gamertag.
This week’s episode includes the following news items:
Let us know what your favorite game of 2018 was.
Last week, we recorded a show with Jonah on the E3 show floor, while Paul made a cameo to discuss Zelda and Lego Dimensions before leaving with the Nerd Flu.
But better yet, we have a E3 LOOT SWAG CONTEST, with a crapton of stuff to give away, including a T-shirt and an ACTUAL Loot Crate, as well as an NBA 2K17 gold Kobe Bryant coin complete with exclusive DLC for NBA 2K16.
How do you enter? Be in the continental US and listen to the podcast to learn how to win a bunch of E3 goodies.
Congratulations to PopCap for showing why casual games will always be a viable market. Let’s put this in perspective, investors believe GTA IV will push 13-million sales by the end of 2008 and, as of January 2008, Halo 3 had sold 8 million copies. PopCap’s little casual game has hit 25 million units sold, that’s fairly impressive considering these blockbuster titles haven’t achieved such numbers.
You may say “well, these titles sold 3+ million in the first week, what about Bejeweled?” True, Bejeweled probably didn’t hit 3 million in a week, but which game will still be played in 2010? Bejeweled or GTA IV and Halo 3?
Casual games age well, they’re not competitive on the graphic space and, instead, focus on fun value. Fun value is a lasting appeal and is immortal in the time line of video games. The same reason people still find fun in Pac-Man gamers still find cash to pickup their copies of Bejeweled.
Which game had the smallest budget? Bejeweled or GTA IV? We’re pretty sure PopCap did not give the bejeweled team $100-million to make it! Investors take notice, casual games have a long lasting appeal.
Read on for full press release details.
Some folks over at Kotaku ran into problems at the Penny Arcade Expo, it was packed with people and complications. Apparently the rooms are cramped with humans and bad acoustics, leaving some wondering what was going on at the Harmonix demonstration. Others sat in long lines, way ahead of time, to see games like Fallout but were turned away after a long wait.
It seems the lack of fans at E3 has caused people to go elsewhere, PAX for instance, to get their demo gaming fix. There is obviously a demand for this type of expo, if people could figure out how to balance the costs associated with holding such an event. Despite cramped space, long lands and epic disappointments being turned away, will people refuse to go next year?
Probably not. Perhaps they’ll expand to a bigger venue, eventually to be the new “E3” expo?
