Episode 236: Now With Pandas

This week, Paul is not around, as Jonah Falcon and Jordan Lund discuss the latest news, which includes pandas. Lots and lots of pandas. That, and a Gaming History profile on David Crane.

The news this week includes:

  • World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria announced
  • Sony: April PSN outage has resulted in improved service
  • Deep Silver: “There is a clear technology gap
  • Starcraft II DOTA mod will remain free but monetized
  • “Literally, there’s three of us” on console Diablo III
  • Minecraft dev wins interim injunction over Scrolls name

With that is Reader Mail and the Queston of the Week: What was your favorite Atari 2600 game?

0 thoughts on “Episode 236: Now With Pandas”

  1. @World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria announced
    Well, they keep doing expansions, but something tells me people got tired of it.
    As for raising the level cap, it is the only way you can keep the players that don’t want to grind up again.

    @Deep Silver: “There is a clear technology gap“
    Wow … they discovered that a 4GB system RAM, 1GB video RAM PC is better than a 256 MB system 256 MB video PS3 …
    As Jordan said, the main issue is that developing 3 code bases is expensive. The advantage of the XBox is using PC-like components, and using a PC-like software platform.

    @Starcraft II DOTA mod will remain free but monetized
    What are the terms in the EULA? Does Starcraft II allows this?
    If so, then it is the second game that I know of that does this (TF2 being the first), and I like the trend it sets.

    @Minecraft dev wins interim injunction over Scrolls name
    Good for them. If they kept a record of the offer to give up the trade mark, then this will weigh in quite a lot in the court: it’ll point out that Bethesda is not up to protecting the name.

    @QOTW: none, unfortunately.

  2. No Paul again. =(

    Anyway,
    @Minecraft dev wins interim injunction over Scrolls name:
    Finally, I was sick and tired of hearing about this nonsense, and I am grateful that Bethesda hasn’t gained anything from his.

    @QOTW: Just to show how much out of my time that is, my parents had an Atari 2600 back when they were still children.

  3. ahhhh i really miss derrick and jennifer i wish they could host ,btw any news on their son???
    @ minecraft dev wins interium injunction over scrolls name ,Hooray good for mojang im so sick of bethesda being so freaking sensitive
    @qotw dude im 13 years old the atari is a dinosaur
    Paul is gone again a mixture of sadness and happiness but mostly happines ,jk

Leave a Reply

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

Related Post

Xbox 360 Price Drop: July 6th?Xbox 360 Price Drop: July 6th?

The new rumor, based on a K-Mart sales sheet, is stating we’re going to see an Xbox 360 Premium price drop this summer (July 6th, 2008). The new price is said to be USD $299, down USD $50 from the last price drop on the 360 hardware.

The sales sheet only shows the 20GB Premium product, but this is probably going to hit all units to keep pricing competitive. This wouldn’t be the first time a price drop has been slipped from a sales sheet for a current generation console and we’re sure Microsoft will deny it this time as well.

This brings the console closer to a Wii price tag, making it much more desirable by the average gamer; will Wii respond with a price drop? More than likely the answer would be “no” due to their inability to keep up with demand. The dry channels for Wii consoles makes the product highly desired but also impossible to promote and market further than saying “we have Wii in stock” because demand is just so high.

Sony will have to watch out, their PS3 product is catching up in terms of hype and demand but a drop in 360 price will yet again put them behind the 8-ball in terms of competitive pricing.

Will you consider a 360 for $299?

(Thanks, 1up)

ESRB Plugs The LeaksESRB Plugs The Leaks

One of the great places to find news on upcoming games is the ESRB‘s website. They typically rate their games and post the ratings on their site to be helpful to concerned citizens looking to purchase upcoming titles.

Of course, the ESRB gets their titles prior to the game release so posting the rating on their website gives away the names and potential timing for soon-to-be game releases. Dates aren’t required for blogs and news sites to glean an idea of a release and the official title name.

Now, the ESRB might be under the same embargo restrictions game review/preview sites are held to, by not posting game ratings until 30 days after it has been rated, says 1up.com.

What’s this mean for bloggers? You’ll need to look harder for dark corners of the Internet to get your rumors and “official” statements.

Ghostbusters Benefits From Activision BanishingGhostbusters Benefits From Activision Banishing

ghostbustersBad economic times mingled with company acquisition spells disaster for many game titles but the story ends well, we hope, for Ghostbusters. The game was slated for a Holloween release, last year, but was given the boot by Vivendi when they merged Activision and Blizzard. There is only so much room for projects and management when two companies combine, Ghostbusters was given boot.

Atari picked up the franchise once it was slammed to the cutting room floor and the team has since been given a second chance. Not only did Atari give them access to a channel for publishing, they asked the developers for a wish-list of things they could have done different. They then granted all the changes, in effect, giving the developers a second chance to update the title and make the story telling and game better than it would have been if they hit their original date.

Being picked up by a developer and being given the chance to update the game in ways you really only had dreamed means we, as gamers, will be getting the real title. The biggest factor for a crappy game is the time and money to get the job done. Unfortunately time and money are in constant battle with money usually arriving as victor.

Now, developers are being given the time to do it right at the expense of a little more money in the investment. A once in a lifetime change that could put a “would be” dead franchise in the top spots.

(Thanks, BlendGames)