Episode 453: Videogame Piss-Take

Unfortunately, there’s no Donald Trump in this podcast – you’ll have to wait for an outtakes episode to listen to THAT discussion. However, there’s plenty of news culled from the past two weeks to enjoy.

The news includes:

  • Rumor: Beyond Good & Evil 2 Switch exclusive for first 12 months
  • ‘Game Mode’ for Windows 10 will power Xbox One and Project Scorpio games too
  • Square Enix strongly hints at Dragon Quest XI heading west
  • Xbox boss says Microsoft will still “take risks” after Scalebound cancellation

Let us know what you think.

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Nielsen Ratings, PS3 Played Less Than Classic Xbox?Nielsen Ratings, PS3 Played Less Than Classic Xbox?

In a WTF moment, Neilsen Ratings shows more gamers are playing the classic Microsoft Xbox console than the PlayStation 3. While 9.7% of gamers are playing the Xbox 7.3% are playing the PlayStation 3 but Sony isn’t out of the picture by a long shot, having 31.7% of gamers playing the PlayStation 2!

Only 13.4% of gamers are playing the Wii even though it’s the hottest selling console on the market, showing the fury of the casual gamer it seems. It’s trendy to own a Wii but it’s not trendy to play it; it would be interesting to see how much of the 13.4% is Wii Sports.

We’re guessing there are more classic Xbox gamers playing their console compared to the PlayStation 3 because of the console cost. You can find a used Xbox for under $25.00 on eBay but the question remains, who wants a used Xbox? The audience for the PS3 is more hardcore, more elite and more rare compared to the cost conscious gamers in the larger game industry pie.

More than likely, in ten years, we’ll see most gamers playing the PlayStation 3 while Microsoft works to claim demographics on whatever their next console will be. However, we’re not so sure how many Wii gamers will be playing their current generation console in ten years. Probably very few given the two year old console still has a small amount of gaming public.

(Thanks, 1up)

GTA IV: 46th Best-Selling Game In AugustGTA IV: 46th Best-Selling Game In August

Like a washed up superstar, Grand Theft Auto IV continues to drop in NPD figures. This Axl Rose of video games came on strong and sputtered out into oblivion with barely a notice, leaving the spotlight and all hype behind it. This drastic fall may hurt any negotiations “behind closed doors” with Electronic Arts and their constant attempts to take over Take-Two.

Prior to the release of GTA IV we, in our gaming podcast, predicted a huge launch would up the anti against the bids on Take-Two from EA but things didn’t work out exactly as we expected. Although the game has sold 8.5-million units, it might not add any new bargaining power to the back door negotiations.

A game company is only as good as their games. A hit title which dies out quick helps financially guide the future of the company; technically the future isn’t so bright. With the title quickly falling off the top game sales charts we may never see it hit record sales figures to match that of smaller titles. Having one hot title every four years that “breaks records” for a week isn’t a strong weapon against a low bid from a larger publisher.

While EA may not have any record setting “one week” sales titles yet, they do have a consistently strong set of titles which stick on the charts for months with newer titles arriving to take their spot when they fade. The same can be said for a few other notable publishers, Activision and Ubisoft. To survive in the hot game industry, especially with market downturns, one must have a cycle of great games to publish throughout the year consistently year-over-year in order to provide evidence of their financial stability.

Assuming the bid won’t raise for GTA IV, where does that leave Take-Two? Perhaps Take-Two is better off under the umbrella of Electronic Arts after all. The waters are getting more hostile in the industry as companies compete for gamers attention with 100-million dollar titles and casual games and game consoles (read: Wii) start to build a whole new none-gamer-style momentum.

Is Take-Two better off under the EA brand?

Episode 604: Bethesda Officially Belongs to MicrosoftEpisode 604: Bethesda Officially Belongs to Microsoft

Microsoft confirmed their ownership of Zenimax, and what wasn’t in the episode because it would be revealed in Thursday that Bethesda games and others would be as exclusive as possible to PC and Xbox; contractual agreements would have to be honored, of course.

This week’s news includes:

  • Microsoft’s $7.5B acquisition of Bethesda has been given the green light
  • Star Dynasties announced
  • Phasmophobia’s latest update means ghosts can open doors and follow your voice

Let us know what you think at the Facebook comment page.