Jonah is in LA, TJ is at EVO, and who knows where Scott is.
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Episode 393: Pepper II PaulEpisode 393: Pepper II Paul
Paul’s not in this episode due to sickness, so it’s just Jonah and Scott, the former who berates the latter for the lack of any listener feedback. There is a Gaming Flashback this time, with the classic 80’s arcade game Pepper II.
The news includes:
- China ending restrictions on gaming console sales
- Capcom is sorry about the Street Fighter V beta
- Video gaming organization to start testing gamers for drugs
- Not even “a s—load” of Fallout 4 Pip-Boy Editions is enough for the world
The Question of the Week: “What makes a good expansion?”
Why Doesn’t iTunes Have Game Trials?Why Doesn’t iTunes Have Game Trials?
Nothing is more annoying than going into iTunes to see what video games are available for the iPod Touch and iPhone to find it cluttered with hundreds of duplicate games. Developers seem to find it most useful to release two games instead of one single game: a full version and a “lite” version.
Developers know gamers want to try before they buy, so many will create a game they’re hoping to sell, then a limited “lite” version with partial levels or stripped of features. They’re obviously trying to work around the fact that Apple released a half-assed game shopping experience. These pro and lite versions assist in cluttering the shopping space.
iTunes App Store should allow users to trial a game by allowing them to download a neutered version of the game title or using a time-trial like many other downloadable game services. Electronic game downloads are usually non-refundable because you can never give back a product which you can make infinite copies. The solution to getting users to buy into your product is to allow them to try before they buy.
Apple’s obviously enjoying the immense game sales from the application store but they may be able to increase their sales by allowing gamers to see what they’re buying before they walk away empty handed. This would also limit the total products found in the App Store because developers won’t have to post to revisions to their game title to allow gamers to try before they buy them.
There are some obvious downsides, Apple wouldn’t be able to boast the thousands of products in their store because many would be substituted for a real game download system. Okay, that’s really the only download I can think of… any others?
Developers may opt out of a trial system, forcing gamers to buy it before they try it based on the text and screenshots or utilize a time trial or limited featured version.
Thoughts?
Episode 465: No FrillsEpisode 465: No Frills
This week’s episode is raw and unedited, since Jonah’s laptop got fried. However, despite the audio issues and being posted via cell phone, the gang got off a pretty good show.
This week’s news includes:
- Overwatch pro ends career with stream of racial slurs
- Don’t expect Kingdom Hearts 3, Final Fantasy 7 remake until at least 2018
- DOTA 2 will soon require competitors to cough up their phone number
- Report: PlayStation VR bundle will come with required camera and one Move controller
The Question of the Week: “What kind of VR game would you want to play?”