There really wasn’t all that much going on this week in terms of hard news, but there was a bunch of mini-items that got discussed, as well as a Gaming Flashback of the terrifying game Amnesia: The Dark Descent.
What little news this week had included:
Let us know what you think.
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?
So, this episode covers that fact that Nintendo is about to announce their next device, which they did earlier today: the Nintendo NX is now called the Nintendo Switch. The official Red Dead Redemption 2 trailer was also unveiled today too, and the multiplayer aspect is discussed. Jonah advises TJ and Scott to try The Stanley Parable as well.
This week’s news includes:
All this and two Questions of the Week!
In an “unexpected” move, Ubisoft has opted to utilize the 1:1 accuracy of the Wii Motion Plus add-on device for the Wii remote in their next Red Steel sequel, currently called Red Steel 2. It may be most gamers consider this an unexpected move because they thought the series would be dead after the first launch title.
Red Steel was plagued with motion issues, making it a very unexceptable demonstration of the Wii control scheme. Luckily other titles arrived to show off how the controls were supposed to work; Ubisoft tried to make a hit FPS title using innovative control methods but came up a bit short.
This time, they’re hoping to redeem themselves by having the additional resolution of the new controller device, risking their reputation for a second time on Nintendo’s hardware.
“What was missing was the preciseness of the sabre,” Corre said of the first game, “and with this new device, I think it will change the experience.” (1up)
Although many gamers missed the first Red Steel experience because word about the horrid controls hit the streets quickly, this might be a chance to try the series one final time before giving up on it. In Ubisoft’s defense, the US market is very finicky about their first person shooters which helps explain higher reviews in Europe for the original title.
The games controls were tweaked after E3 2006 when people found it lack luster in performance and ability to mimick the users real moves when sword fighting. Ubisoft said it was because they received the Wii controller prototypes one month before the expo.
Will Ubisoft get the Wii Motion Plus in time to put out a highly polished game showing off Nintendo’s new hardware or will this be a second strike against the franchise? Only time will tell.
Hi Guys.
Thank you very much as always for the episode. I appreciate the work you put into every episode every week, and i am sorry,
that i can´t listenm to every episode as fast as i want to 🙁
Regarding the topics:
I played a lot of WoW (damn drug), amd since last week a loooot of MTG Arena, because the new set is out and its awesome 🙂
In addition i played some Ori and The Will of the Wisp and a lot of Last of Us 2. And of course some rounds of Jackbox Party, which was really fun!
Space Invaders:
I grew up with this, it was my first game on Atari 2600 back in the 80s 🙂
But paying so much money for a colored version … naaaarrr .. dont think so 🙂
Maybe if it will come to steam and there will be a sale 🙂
Gaming Flashback:
I never even heard of the name of the game … mhmm .. strange. But Regarding Doom: i was not able to play it back in the 90s, because the sound made me sick, i mean really sick. These bass-like sound for a longer time, made me feel like i had to puke 🙁
Shroud & Ninja & Mixer:
These guys have enough money for the rest of their lives … so .. i dont care where they will go, they will have their fans anywhere 🙂
I don´t like Mixer at all, can´t say why, but the “look and feel” is not mine. I can´t say how it was for the streamer, i am only telling my opinion as a viewer.
The only time i go on mixer, is playing JackBox party with Jonah.
SF5:
I loved to watch Street Fighter Tournaments, expecially the EVO or Capcom Cup … i don´t think that the same feelings come over with a online stream. Sadly it´s the best thing they can do right now during this situation.
And yes, SF4 was way more better than SF5 in my opinion!
Thanks again, its always fun, listening to you gus, having fun and hearing your opinion on all these topics 🙂
Stay healthy and i hope to hear from you next week.
Greetings,
Ralf