This week, Jonah has the flu, but still manages to host despite hacking and coughing (which was edited out of the podcast), and having a nasally voice as well. Jordan was not so lucky, and couldn’t make it at all. Despite all this, the crew manages to give Dan a sendoff in his last regular podcast.
The news was also pretty major this week, including:
- THQ finally dissolved, assets auctioned off
- Dead Space 3 micro-transactions for players wanting “instant gratification”
- Disney Infinity to feature on-disc DLC, susceptible to movie spoilers
- League of Legends Team Solo Medbi players receive lifetime bans for anti-Semitism and abuse
- Sony fined 250K GBP for April 2011 hacker intrusion
We also have Reader Feedback and a new Question of the Week: “What kind of microtransactions are acceptable?”
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.
In this episode we’ve got a lot of MMO-style content and news. Although we’re not reviewing Wrath of the Lich King yet, we’ve got other subscription based news. This weeks gaming flashback is Defender and this weeks news includes:
@THQ finally dissolved, assets auctioned off
RIP. I’m curious as to how Metro will do, I saw them as a possible lifeboat for THQ.
Jonah, I think the release date for the games in development will be delayed. Those devs rely on money from the publisher, and even the ones that did get bought, their HR/payment systems will be disrupted.
We have a similar saying, going “Each kick in the arse forces you to take a step forward”.
@League of Legends Team Solo Medbi players receive lifetime bans for anti-Semitism and abuse
Ok, it’s a start. But as I said in a previous discussion, it won’t change that person. Sure, it makes the LoL garden cleaner, but it won’t do much for the real world.
@Sony fined 250K GBP for April 2011 hacker intrusion
Well deserved fine. I’m curious how the appeal will work. I agree with Jonah, the fine is small, but Sony has to appeal, even so that it doesn’t appear to be giving up. ‘Cause if they do, they’ll find themselves drowned in lawsuits.
@QOTW
Anything that can be obtained also by grinding. If it can’t be obtained by grinding then it must be a temporary upgrade, like EA’s Battlefield Heroes renting weapons.
Now I know I keep mentioning World of Tanks, but that visit at my brother’s was quite an eye opener. The microtransactions there revolve around buying ingame credits for fuel, ammo and repair points.
Now, you can also obtain those credits by playing the game. So what my brother does is to use a medium class tank for grinding up credits – it’s cheaper to operate – then fight a few battles using the high end tank. And although this sounds tedious, he enjoys a lot even the matches that he plays with his medium class tank. So, in his case, the experience provided by playing free is very enjoyable.
That flu made Jonah sound his age. How strange.
@THQ no more
A bit sad. They published some good games. A decade of gaming history down to the archives. Hell, we lost a lot of studios since the crisis. Midway. Ensemble. 3D realms. Let’s just hope once the next gen kicks in there won’t be just EA and Valve out there.
@Gears of War 3 microtransactions
Oh I am sorry? Did I spell Dead Space wrong? Silly me. I understand when a free 2 play MMO needs microtransactions. Servers and all that. But Dead Space is a full retail game and you will have to shell out full price for it. Mooching more cash of you once you pay them is just ignite.
@Disney
Don’t care. I want Kingdom Hearts where you can play as Darth Vader and Spider-man.
@Court slightly inconveniencing Sony for gross incompetence
Man that’s bad. I hope that slap on the wrist won’t turn into a bruise. I mean, it’s all the subscribers fault anyway. If they wouldn’t subscribe for PSN there wouldn’t be any account details to steal in the first place.
@QOTW
I prefer cosmetic microtransactions. When you pay for your character to look fancy but not actually be any better than an average player. Microtransactions can ruin competitive games. I have been playing Dust 514 recently. It’s unfair when you get dominated by a kid whose daddy has a fat wallet. In the end, it puts you off playing the game.