Gaming Podcast 197 explores our inner child in terms of buying peer pressure, our thoughts on some analysts and, of course, reactions to user responses. Also, we’ve got news, as you may have guessed and it includes:
This week’s question of the week, do you fall for game sequels, are you just drawn into them over and over again? Which ones?
SimCity was released in 1989, was originally called Micropolis and was designed by the infamous Will Wright. For those that don’t know Will Wright, its suffice to say he’s one of the most popular and influential game designers of our time. SimCity, TheSims, SimAnt, SimFarm and Spore are a few of his hits and TheSims has taken many records since its original release.
Wright had trouble finding a publisher for a game in which you couldn’t really “win or lose.” Turned down by Broderbund, Wright eventually pitched the idea to Jeff Braun of Maxis. Maxis agreed to publish Simcity as one of its first two games.
When near complete, Wright and Braun took the game back to Broderbund to clear the rights for the game. Broderbund executives Gary Carlston and Don Daglow saw how addicting the game could be and signed Maxis to a distribution deal. Four years after initial development, SimCity was released for the Amiga and Macintosh platforms, followed soon after by the IBM PC and Commodore 64. On January 10th 2008, the SimCity source code was released under the GPL license as… Micropolis!
The objective of the game is simple, build and design a city. Though the player could focus on building a highly efficient city with an ever growing populace, it was by no means required. In a sense, open ended, the player was free to design the city as they chose.
Included in the city building experience was the possibility of natural disasters such as flooding, tornadoes and more. Pre-designed scenarios were also included in the game such as the Boston 2010 nuclear meltdown, or mass coastal flooding of Rio de Janeiro of 2047 … even a Godzilla attack of Tokyo in 1961.
In the years to follow, the SimCity franchise would continue to expand with greater detail as SimCity 2000 (1993), SimCity 3000 (1999), SimCity 4 (2003) and a host of other “Sim” games and until the release of “The Sims” in 2000, the SimCity series was the best-selling line of games made by Maxis.
In Fall of 2008, EA will release the next child in the SimCity family, SimCity Creator for the Nintendo Wii and DS systems. And thus, history continues!
This weeks gaming podcast is a his and her podcast as Don is out sick. Oddly, the episode is shorter than normal, apparently we just didn’t have enough to rant about this week. We did cover some community responses, covered some game history and busted through some news articles including:
This week’s question of the week, would it bother you if EA started charging fees to play used games?
It’s time to use your meat, you gotta work at it! Yeah, this weeks gaming podcast talks a bit about moma’s meat on her Pooyan, this is your gaming flashback for the week! We’ve also got some news bulletins including:
This weeks question of the week, sorta off the cuff random: What’s your favorite old school game, and how long do you believe it took to make it? (and, do you really know how long–do the research and let us know!)
… Arthas and Frostmourne are in the focus of Warcraft 3 as well. Didn’t WoW came after Warcraft 3?
@Game retailers hate Steam: sure they’re upset …
Very hard to add more to what you guys said. With or without Steam, you’d better sell them games if you want to make some money. Unless you decide to invest your past profits into building a Steam-clone, you’d better shut up. Oh wait, you bought yourself a fancy car and boat with that profit … sowy …
@Nintendo not feeling pressure for a Next Gen system:
I said this in a previous reply, Nintendo doesn’t have the game development muscle to develop enough games. They remain in the ‘casual’ game space, so no need for a more powerful console.
Their next gen console (when it comes, if it comes) will use a new control scheme rather than being a powerhouse for rendering.
@Viacom looking to sell Harmonix:
Fad! It is a fad, I tell you! ‘Course they’ll sell it. Question is, who’ll buy it?
@Analyst thinks PS3 will pass the 360:
Dunno … the XBox has a strong market. As for having a rich library of games, you’re telling me the XBox is poor in this regard? This leads me back to Jennifer’s reaction and the thumb being sticked in … well, not the most comfortable spot.
@Question of the week:
Not always. STALKER is one game where I am going for the sequels, although the second game in the series is slightly worse than the first game. But otherwise, dunno. One game doesn’t guarantee the success or quality of the sequel. I hated UT2003, 2004 was a ‘meh’ and UT3, well, I didn’t bother buying it.
… Arthas and Frostmourne are in the focus of Warcraft 3 as well. Didn’t WoW came after Warcraft 3?
@Game retailers hate Steam: sure they’re upset …
Very hard to add more to what you guys said. With or without Steam, you’d better sell them games if you want to make some money. Unless you decide to invest your past profits into building a Steam-clone, you’d better shut up. Oh wait, you bought yourself a fancy car and boat with that profit … sowy …
@Nintendo not feeling pressure for a Next Gen system:
I said this in a previous reply, Nintendo doesn’t have the game development muscle to develop enough games. They remain in the ‘casual’ game space, so no need for a more powerful console.
Their next gen console (when it comes, if it comes) will use a new control scheme rather than being a powerhouse for rendering.
@Viacom looking to sell Harmonix:
Fad! It is a fad, I tell you! ‘Course they’ll sell it. Question is, who’ll buy it?
@Analyst thinks PS3 will pass the 360:
Dunno … the XBox has a strong market. As for having a rich library of games, you’re telling me the XBox is poor in this regard? This leads me back to Jennifer’s reaction and the thumb being sticked in … well, not the most comfortable spot.
@Question of the week:
Not always. STALKER is one game where I am going for the sequels, although the second game in the series is slightly worse than the first game. But otherwise, dunno. One game doesn’t guarantee the success or quality of the sequel. I hated UT2003, 2004 was a ‘meh’ and UT3, well, I didn’t bother buying it.
When I say Japanese devs are making hardcore Kinect games, they’re not making it for Japan. The money is in the US and UK when it comes to the Xbox 360. Normal hardware sales in Japan are 20-50K per console. That’s less than a week’s worth normally in the US.
Boxing works best in Kinect Sports. EA Sports should be making a Kinect version of Fight Night – heck, the most recent Fight Night used the thumbsticks as your fists. With Kinect, your FISTS would be your fists. The full version could use your entire body so you have to be mindful of footwork, dodging, etc.
When I say Japanese devs are making hardcore Kinect games, they’re not making it for Japan. The money is in the US and UK when it comes to the Xbox 360. Normal hardware sales in Japan are 20-50K per console. That’s less than a week’s worth normally in the US.
Boxing works best in Kinect Sports. EA Sports should be making a Kinect version of Fight Night – heck, the most recent Fight Night used the thumbsticks as your fists. With Kinect, your FISTS would be your fists. The full version could use your entire body so you have to be mindful of footwork, dodging, etc.
Whether or not I “fall” for game sequels and expansions largely depends on how much I enjoyed the initial game I played in the series. I found it very interesting when I realized that nearly every game I have played for an extended time period, is a sequel of expansion of some kind. So my answer to your question of the week is yes, absolutely. I willingly and eagerly fall for the sequels of games I thoroughly enjoyed. Examples: I have rushed to buy every Gran Turismo release since I was introduced to GT2. After I bought my 360 I was introduced to Forza Motorsport 2 and consequently rushed to buy Forza 3. Looking back even further, I bought Half Life 2 merely because the original Half Life was such an iconic game in my adolescent years. I rushed to buy Starcraft 2 for the same reasons.
With that said, there are plenty of examples where a sequel does not attract my attention merely because I did not get “sucked into” its predecessor. Games like Rock Band, Guitar Hero, Call of Duty, and even Halo fall into this category. I was impressed with what these titles brought to the table, but they did not make me feel like coming back for more and thus neither do their sequels.
It is also worth noting that titles like Rock Band, Guitar Hero, Call of Duty, and Halo bring out new releases every week. OK, I exaggerate, but the market is so flooded with titles such as these, I ultimately tune them out and I don’t even bother checking them out. However, at least in the case of the games I have played, there are several years between the releases. Take for example the Gran Turismo titles, there is about a 6 year gap between GT4 and GT5. I am estimating on these figures, but Starcraft 2 was released twelve years after Brood Wars? Half Life 2 was released 8-10 years after its predecessor? I think that the time frame in between releases plays a large role because over long periods of time, technology changes more dramatically and allows for the creation of new ideas to enhance old genres.
Whether or not I “fall” for game sequels and expansions largely depends on how much I enjoyed the initial game I played in the series. I found it very interesting when I realized that nearly every game I have played for an extended time period, is a sequel of expansion of some kind. So my answer to your question of the week is yes, absolutely. I willingly and eagerly fall for the sequels of games I thoroughly enjoyed. Examples: I have rushed to buy every Gran Turismo release since I was introduced to GT2. After I bought my 360 I was introduced to Forza Motorsport 2 and consequently rushed to buy Forza 3. Looking back even further, I bought Half Life 2 merely because the original Half Life was such an iconic game in my adolescent years. I rushed to buy Starcraft 2 for the same reasons.
With that said, there are plenty of examples where a sequel does not attract my attention merely because I did not get “sucked into” its predecessor. Games like Rock Band, Guitar Hero, Call of Duty, and even Halo fall into this category. I was impressed with what these titles brought to the table, but they did not make me feel like coming back for more and thus neither do their sequels.
It is also worth noting that titles like Rock Band, Guitar Hero, Call of Duty, and Halo bring out new releases every week. OK, I exaggerate, but the market is so flooded with titles such as these, I ultimately tune them out and I don’t even bother checking them out. However, at least in the case of the games I have played, there are several years between the releases. Take for example the Gran Turismo titles, there is about a 6 year gap between GT4 and GT5. I am estimating on these figures, but Starcraft 2 was released twelve years after Brood Wars? Half Life 2 was released 8-10 years after its predecessor? I think that the time frame in between releases plays a large role because over long periods of time, technology changes more dramatically and allows for the creation of new ideas to enhance old genres.
I just wanted to comment and say you guys are way off base on the PS3. I mean honestly, really, its a FPSer console? Sony unlike MS has a stratagy to invest in a variety of games and innovation. Take a look at Demon Souls, Sly Cooper, Ratchet and Clank, God of War, Uncharted, Flower and Joe Danger, all of which Sony either owes or had a hand in coming to market. Add in then that third parties seem to be giving the system more support recently with games like 3D Dot Game Heroes and you have a system that is def not an FPS machine. Microsoft meanwhile started this generation strong with some games like Crackdown and Viva Pinata, but recently has doubled down on FPSers and the casuals(with Kinect). I am not going to accuse you guys of being 360 fanboys or hating the PS3 or anything like that, but listening to the cast it does seem like you are largely ignorant of what the PS3 has available and as a result you keep taking pot shots at it(especially Jennifer who snickers half the time when the PS3 is mentioned).
I just wanted to comment and say you guys are way off base on the PS3. I mean honestly, really, its a FPSer console? Sony unlike MS has a stratagy to invest in a variety of games and innovation. Take a look at Demon Souls, Sly Cooper, Ratchet and Clank, God of War, Uncharted, Flower and Joe Danger, all of which Sony either owes or had a hand in coming to market. Add in then that third parties seem to be giving the system more support recently with games like 3D Dot Game Heroes and you have a system that is def not an FPS machine. Microsoft meanwhile started this generation strong with some games like Crackdown and Viva Pinata, but recently has doubled down on FPSers and the casuals(with Kinect). I am not going to accuse you guys of being 360 fanboys or hating the PS3 or anything like that, but listening to the cast it does seem like you are largely ignorant of what the PS3 has available and as a result you keep taking pot shots at it(especially Jennifer who snickers half the time when the PS3 is mentioned).