This week’s episode has bad audio, but at least it’s short, due to Jonah’s lingering laryngitis. Paul insists Homestar Runner hasn’t been good in 15 years, while Jonah talks about the NES classic bomb Athena.
This week’s news includes:
All this and Listener Feedback.
Rhythm Gaming is all the rage, or is it? Turns out Guitar Hero: World Tour didn’t meet or exceed the figures they hit with Guitar Hero III. Where GH3 brought in $115 million in the first week, GHWT brought in $67 million in the same time frame.
Why?
There are plenty of factors that could cut down the sales units, considering those that can purchase Guitar Hero World Tour don’t have to purchase additional instruments to play the game like they played GH3.
We know people love charts, so here is another to toss at you via Kotaku:
Guitar Hero World Tour Sales, via Kotaku
The break down from Guitar Hero 3 to World Tour is obvious, also apparent is the shift in console when buying into the rhythm gaming franchises. The Wii has started taking more market share, odd considering the DLC isn’t there, and the PS3 is showing its lackluster sales of the console by growing in proportion but not excelling to grab huge share (PS3 fanboys attack!). Sony kicked ass by taking control of the share using their PlayStation 2 with Guitar Hero 3, but has lost that lead for the World Tour.
Will these lower sales figure change the future roadmap for Activision in their Guitar Hero franchise or are they satisfied taking home $67 million in the first week of the launch. That is still a lot of money and probably doesn’t even consider any money they could (or will) potentially make on the World Tour hardware.
Luckily, the rhythm gaming content doesn’t get old with age, it just gets more classic. No doubt Guitar Hero World Tour will be landing in homes over the holidays and into 2009.
The crew gets excited about the announcement of The Wolf Among Us 2, although it won’t be out for a while, and bemoan the infestation of live service games everywhere these days in videogames.
The news includes:
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While Sony and Microsoft one-up each other with fire sales on old hardware and blockbuster titles like Gears of War 2 and Resistance 2, Nintendo goes for something completely different… older people.
You’re only as old as you feel, but it’s hard to discount Nintendo’s attack on a demographic when they visit the American Association of Retired People’s Life@50+ Expo in Washington, D.C. this week. Odd move, indeed… or is it?
Retired people may have a bit more time than a busy adult with two kids and a few jobs to hold down. While young adults may want to game, they may not always have the time in their schedule, especially in the United States where people forget what “vacation” means. Retirement is a time to reflect upon your life, your deeds and enjoy the fruits of your labor with your grandchildren; it’s time to get a Wii.
The Wii is the perfect gift for retired folk who want to entertain themselves with something new and different without having to keep up with game releases. The Wii doesn’t have very many games when compared to the 360 and, although many get low review scores, retired folks aren’t scanning the Internet for weekly game reviews and news. They may not be the most in-touch with the industry but that’s okay, they’re non-gamers.
All that Nintendo has to do is sell the unit to them, it may sit on the shelf for months or only get pulled out when the grandchildren visit, but it’s a low-cost unit with games like Wii Sports and Wii Fit, what more do they need?
(Thanks, Kotaku)
I was soo looking forward to the new Silent Hill game… I’m a little upset but I guess this is how the industry is. It’s just unfortunate that it’s the gamers who tend to suffer when this type of stuff happens but as Paul likes to say… if you are not happy with the way they (developers/publishers) do things, stop supporting them. As for the discussion about older games… I sometimes use virtual machines to run older PC games but I have had a really hard time finding good ways to play my old console games short of reconnecting my old systems. I would love to see more support for emulator created and supported by portable console system like PS Vita and Nintendo 3DS that allows for downloading and playing of old titles in ROM format. I have a PS Vita and I only bought it to play PS One (I love Chrono Trigger) and PS Two games. As for old games I still play… Dragon Warrior, Final Fantasy III, Zelda, Chrono Trigger… I couldn’t tell you which one it older… Good Episode, short and sweet.
Hello Guys.
Sorry that i did not comment your great podcast so frequently 🙁 I am moving to another city right now and my new Job takes a lot of time.
The most important thing: get well soon Jonah! (you sound terrible during the last podcasts, even if one of them was only a few seconds 😉 ).
I heard the last 4 or 5 episodes during the last few days and here are my questions to some questions of the week:
– snack during gaming –> salt sticks, because no fat or chocolate on the fingers 🙂
– future of old games –> i am into retro games, so i believe in the future of the old games and consoles. All the games, that came out during the last decade will fade very soon, or the 200. follow up will come out and nobody knows the original. But like you mentioned during the last episodes, there are still Atari 2600 Games or NES games, that people still want to play! I will stick with all my retro consoles. My newest console is an xbox360, and that only because of Street Fighter 4 … i am addicted to the street fighter series 🙂
– old game i still enjoy to play –> nearly all the NES titles, but especially Zelda, Metroid and Mega Man. These game DO NOT get old 🙂
Regarding to the topic of Kickstarter projects: i also pledged some projects, but most of the time, they were connected to some “Back to the future2 stuff (i am addicted to this trilogy as well 🙂 ). Since i only got Apple-Pc´s and i am not into pc-gaming i dont have a good opinion wheter it´s good or not good to pledge for a game.
And to the topic of getting Windows 10 for free …. like i said, i dont have a windows pc and i dont want any, the same reason Paul sticks with XP: my apple pcs do their work, no bluescreen, no problems, so why should i use a newer / different OS, when i am happy with my one?
I hope i wrote everything down, i wanted to say, and at least Paul asked for some love … ok here it is –> <3 …. i also tried to give him my Disney BluRay Codes, when he asked for them on FB, but german codes dont work in the US Disney Store 🙁
I hope to hear from you guys next week and the week after and the week after …. 🙂
Greetings from germany
Ralf
@Regiking got its act together. (Pokemon reference)
It’s a sensible idea. They gave away Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training for free a few months ago, so I can say that DS games are functional on the Wii U gamepad. If only they would have done this sooner. It seems to be that Nintendo is making some sound decisions lately. It’s as if someone gave Satoru Ivata a management guide book for his birthday. I am just concerned that this may be too little too late. Sega used to be a first party publisher too you know.
@Metal Gear Solid – Kojima = bread without butter.
I am going to argue with Paul here. I believe that one man’s vision can sell a game. I understand what Paul is saying. A huge title like MGS is produced by a lot of people. But the gaming industry’s perception is that Kojima is the one responsible for Metal Gear games. I just finished MGS3 and 4. It has Kojima Industries logo pasted everywhere. I almost forgot that Konami owns MGS. As as a side note, I am currently playing Zelda Skyward Sword. You can tell that Shigeru Miyamoto is less involved here, because the game is a re-hash of twilight princess. No shred of original idea whatsoever.
What I am interested in is why Kojima is leaving Konami? Is it him trying to take over the company? Is he trying to take ownership of the franchise? Is Konami afraid that Kojima is more popular than their entire company?
To be honest it’s very sad. First they kicked out David Hayter. Now Kojima is leaving. MGS will never be the same. The series might as well end now.
@QOTW
Hard to say. I have been too busy playing recent titles. I would have to say Morrowind. Some may consider the gameplay dated, but I love it nonetheless. No quick travel to ruin adventuring, no rag doll physics throwing quest items into hard to reach places. I still love it.