Episode 456: What’s Coming in 2017

This week, the gang ponder about the games that are coming in 2017, thinking about what they’re really interested in. The games range from Mass Effect: Andromeda to Injustice 2, among other titles. It’s a long rambling conversation, but at least it’s hope. The Gaming History focuses on the folly that was The Capcom 5.

The news items this week include:

  • Fallout 4 surpasses Skyrim to become Bethesda’s most successful game ever
  • Rainbow Six Siege year two: free loot, better matchmaking, subversive operators
  • E3 2017 will be open to the public

The Question of the Week is “What game are you looking forward to in 2017?”

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Episode 271: Paul-less PodcastEpisode 271: Paul-less Podcast

This week’s Gaming Podcast lacks Paul S. Nowak, who had to bow out due to illness, but there’s still Jonah Falcon, Jordan Lund and Daniel Quick to keep the podcast lively. This week features yet another weird NES title, Wall Street Kid, and some friendly Paul-less banter between the trio.

This week’s news includes:

  • Capcom: Street Fighter X Tekken DLC will never come to Xbox 360
  • Vivendi finding few buyers for Activision-Blizzard
  • Gearbox: “Wouldn’t be surprised” if more aggressive PC games start to appear
  • Grand Theft Auto V will support planes and jets, won’t have beta test

Jonah also startles Dan and Jordan with a “secret topic” with the $99 console, the Ouya, which leads to the Question of the Week, “Would you buy a $99 Android-based console?”

Game Publishers Hate RiskGame Publishers Hate Risk

It’s clear publishers like Electronic Arts hate to take risks on video games. They’re not alone in their opinion, look how many sequels we’ve got for the holidays compared to new creative titles like Little Big Planet, or how publishers push out sequels to hot titles until we can’t take it anymore; how many Guitar Hero titles will arrive before we scream “enough!”?

Speaking to rocking music, Electronic Arts may pass on the chance to pickup Brütal Legend, a title originally being published by Vivendi Games prior to the Activision Blizzard merger. The title was left without a home when the merger was complete along with other dropped titles.

Why would EA not take the chance with the game? Risk factor. Brütal Legend is a game title developed by Double Fine Productions and has been designed by Tim Schafer, with past games like Monkey Island, NES’s Maniac Mansion and the fantastic title Full Throttle. With such sweet titles under his belt, why wouldn’t a game designed by Tim Schafer be a hot commodity in the market?

The game brings music and action adventure together in a creative twist. No, it’s not Rock Band and it’s not Guitar Hero, thus, MTV and Activision don’t care about it. However, the game plot and storyline are music related and, supposedly, the main character is voiced by Jack Black, vocalist of Tenacious D and popular actor (School of Rock anyone!?)

Creator Tim Schafer has said that roadies have long fascinated him. Schafer originally thought of the game’s title over fifteen years ago. “I was riding a bus, thinking about a game that would be the complete opposite of what we were working on, The Secret of Monkey Island. And Brütal Legend leapt into my head. (wikipedia)

It appears a series of publishers have walked away from Brütal Legend without much hesitation. “I have seen it,” EA CEO John Riccitiello told Gamasutra. “I am well aware of what the game is. It’s a very significant creative risk.” (joystiq)

Where would the game be without significant creative risks? In many ways, World of Warcraft was a risk… it’s only got 9 million or more players.

Nintendo Takes Yet Another Month in United StatesNintendo Takes Yet Another Month in United States

The holiday season is over, the NPD sales data for January 2008 is in and we see a common theme: Nintendo rules the show. While Sony continues to try and persuade gamers that the PlayStation 3 is in a completely different gaming category, statistic gathering companies like NPD put ’em all in one big basket.

wiifitIt makes sense for Sony to try to push themselves away from being classified with the Wii console because it makes them look bad. We’re all equal gamers here, there is no need to break into more sub-categories when only three consoles vying for top spot. Many folks (including us) criticize the slow adoption rate of Wii games, yet they steal top software sales spots as well.

  • Wii — 679,200
  • Nintendo DS — 510,800
  • Xbox 360 — 309,000
  • PlayStation 3 — 203,200
  • PlayStation Portable — 172,300
  • PlayStation 2 — 101,200

Thankfully Sony’s PlayStation 3 product took top spot on their hardware list, so that’s not so bad. Sadly, combining all Sony’s hardware still doesn’t meet the units of the Wii.

On the software sales front, Nintendo took six of the top ten positions including position’s one, two and three. Wii Fit takes number one position with an insane 777,000 units sold. The only closest product to Wii Fit was Wii Play (still!) with 415,000 units sold. Place four was held by a 360 title, Left 4 Dead sold 243,000 units.

Although many gamers haven’t turned on their Wii in ages, there is no doubt the market is red hot for Wii. At this point, we’re all wondering how long it will last — any predictions? It’s already been a long time.