Episode 390: Counting Down

As Paul’s departure as a regular host is in 10 episodes, Jonah rants about the Batmobile in Batman: Arkham Knight and talks about the painlessness of Fallout Shelter‘s micro-transactions. The other part of the podcast is them talking Heroes of Might & Magic II, and discussing what makes a good expansion.

The news items include:

  • Lack of female character choice in The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes explained
  • Australian government bans hundreds of mobile and Web-based games
  • Nintendo has no problems changing franchises, despite fan outcry
  • Apple pulls games with Confederate flag imagery

All this plus Listener Feedback and Paul’s indignation.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.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

Related Post

War On Video Game ExclusivesWar On Video Game Exclusives

Typically, we have “exclusive” fallout from the console war which forces the hand of the consumer to purchase all consoles to play all the games they love. Many hardcore gamers are into first person shooters like Halo and Gears of War but also like their Grand Theft Auto and Final Fantasy fixes. In years prior, you’d have to invest in Microsoft and Sony’s solutions to get your fix. Now things are changing.

With these third party developers playing neutral in the war on consoles, Microsoft and Sony are forced to rely on near “first-party” titles to keep their army strong. Metal Gear Solid is a Sony exclusive and Gears of War and Halo have been Microsoft’s hype babies for a year or so now. The problem? Many of these exclusive games are not divisions, subsidiaries or in any way under the wing of the console makers.

Nintendo holds exclusive rights to almost all their hard hitting titles. Mario, Link, Zelda, Samus Aran and all their mascot style characters are designed, developed and marketed under the name “Nintendo.” These characters are all part of Nintendo’s lineup of solid best selling titles including the Metroid, Zelda and Super Mario Bros. series and all their spin-offs. Nintendo has the power to re-implement their characters into games like Mario Party, Mario Kart, Links Crossbow, Metroid Prime, Metroid Pinball and a huge array of other first party titles.

Microsoft and Sony must continue to play nice with Konami, Bungie, and Epic Games to keep their exclusivity. What happens if one of these developers “betrays” their console and starts shipping multi-platform?

(more…)

Wii U Launch Price Expected to Be $399Wii U Launch Price Expected to Be $399

It seems that the Wii U will be one of the most expensive launches in Nintendo’s history, as reports indicate that the console will launch at a $399 price point.

In an interview, Nintendo of America prez Reggie Fils-Aime stated:

“If I’m the head of a household of a family of four, and my disposable income is $50,000 to $60,000, I’m going to continue to look at the Wii because of the software, and it’s a great entertainment device. For consumers who want to have the latest gadgets and have a higher disposable income, that’s for the Wii U.”

Those eyebrow raising comments have laid an expected MSRP of $399 for the Wii U and its tablet-styled controller. Let us know what you think.

EA Feels The 310 Million Dollar DaggerEA Feels The 310 Million Dollar Dagger

Halloween is a scary time of year, no less when you’re posting a $310 million net loss. EA CEO John Riccitiello sees “weakness” at retail in October and we’re betting this isn’t the end of the road of sorrow for game publishers around the globe.

Electronic Arts isn’t unfamiliar with bad times and we’re sure to see them make constant adjustments to their headcount, game releases and press as the economy goes into a bit of a slump. Although the game industry won’t see as big a hit as the financial market, everyone is going to watch their spending during slower economic times.

That slowness is a red flag for the mega-publisher, which says it’s “proactively making cost adjustments now.” One of those adjustments is the axing of some 600 EA employees across the globe. (Kotaku)

Last year Electronic Arts lost a “small” $195 million during the same time, not exactly a gold star on the financial records but it sure looks better than this loss. A few games may crumble under the economic pressures, Tiberium for example, but let us not forget the good times! EA posted some nice figures for Spore, Madden NFL 09, Warhammer: Age of Reckoning and Mercenaries 2: World in Flames.

So, they mixed a few sequels with a few new franchise hits and gave gamers some pretty hot titles for the year. Of course, hot titles in our hand do not always translate to positive revenue in theirs.