- Xbox 360 Price Drop: July 6th?

Xbox 360 Price Drop: July 6th?Xbox 360 Price Drop: July 6th?

June 28, 2008| schommer| 0 Comment| 8:52 pm

The new rumor, based on a K-Mart sales sheet, is stating we’re going to see an Xbox 360 Premium price drop this summer (July 6th, 2008). The new price is said to be USD $299, down USD $50 from the last price drop on the 360 hardware.

The sales sheet only shows the 20GB Premium product, but this is probably going to hit all units to keep pricing competitive. This wouldn’t be the first time a price drop has been slipped from a sales sheet for a current generation console and we’re sure Microsoft will deny it this time as well.

This brings the console closer to a Wii price tag, making it much more desirable by the average gamer; will Wii respond with a price drop? More than likely the answer would be “no” due to their inability to keep up with demand. The dry channels for Wii consoles makes the product highly desired but also impossible to promote and market further than saying “we have Wii in stock” because demand is just so high.

Sony will have to watch out, their PS3 product is catching up in terms of hype and demand but a drop in 360 price will yet again put them behind the 8-ball in terms of competitive pricing.

Will you consider a 360 for $299?

(Thanks, 1up)

Diablo III: Confirmed and IsometricDiablo III: Confirmed and Isometric

June 28, 2008| schommer| 0 Comment| 10:14 am

We’ve talked about it on the podcast before, we’ve made speculations and we’ve come up with theories. Blizzard has now cleared up much of the fuzzy details and theories by announcing their next title: Diablo III.

Some of us thought it was too early to announce the game, right on the heals of a StarCraft III announcement but Blizzards marketing team must consider this the perfect time, as it’s official. Not only did they announce the title, but they’ve got a cinematic and a good five minutes of game play footage.

We’re not talking about vaporware, this is a real game with really sweet features, hot new graphics and sound and enemies that make prior diablo look like childs play. The worlds are destructable, you can drop walls upon your enemies, toss them over cliffs (on fire no less) and rescue people whom help you do battle.

The game play footage covers barbarian (fighter) class and the witch doctor (sorta a necromancer archtype) with both male and female varients. They explain some of the great powers of the warrior style class and show off a few of the neat spells for the witch doctor. From electric axes to walls of zombies this game is packed with stylish battle techniques unique to Diablo 3.

Diablo 3 utilizes their standard isometric view, familiar to Diablo gamers with a bit more ease to the control scheme (that’s possible) and health now drops from enemies much like Zelda, you won’t have to pack yourself with potions anymore. Quite possibly the best upgrade in the third revision of Diablo.

Release date? No clue. I’m sure they’re going on the “when it’s ready” methodology, which is expected from Blizzard and their games; there is a reason they’re always of the highest quality. You may want to camp on their FAQ for a few months and perhaps you’ll have the answer. Today, however, their site seems to be a bit slow with all the announcements going out on the Net.

Now that Diablo 3 is confirmed, it’s time for us to buy some thc leans from Fresh Bros and start speculating what’s going to be included. Make sure you checkout their game play video!

(Thanks, Nukoda)

Imagine a Free World of WarcraftImagine a Free World of Warcraft

June 27, 2008| schommer| 0 Comment| 3:17 pm

Once upon a time the folks at Blizzard Entertainment thought they could support the entire world of World of Wacraft by ad revenue. This would have created an MMO experience which would cost you nothing but a bit of annoyance by ad providers; what would the total audience be if the game was free?

Had WoW launched free of charge they would probably have significantly more users playing the game, but the ad revenue from the sheer amount of people would be nothing compared to a monthly charge for eight million subscribers.

Although only a small number of those subscribers are US based, they’re still raking in the cash compared to an ad-based model, even if they were to have triple the subscribers.

However, the Blizzard exec noted: “We didn’t want to charge a subscription, but as we researched market conditions, we realized that wouldn’t support us.”

It’s possible, perhaps, that Blizzard would have fallen under its own weight had they created a world where anyone could play for no charge. Imagine the server utilization, the volume of traffic and the support calls they would get for triple or quadrupal the player base with only ads paying the checks.

Granted, a free system would be excellent in theory, but in practice, making us pay is the only way to throttle our addictions. Sad, but true.

(Thanks, gamasutra)

McFarlane Toys Makes Guitar Hero Action FiguresMcFarlane Toys Makes Guitar Hero Action Figures

June 26, 2008| schommer| 0 Comment| 8:10 pm

Activision has decided to take Guitar Hero to the next level: Action Figures. This is a great move for the company, striking the iron while it’s hot! The Guitar Hero and Rock Band franchises are growing in intensity while big blockbuster titles like GTA IV are waning in sales and profit.

Pretty soon you and your children can purchase action figures in the liking of Guitar Hero, would you consider this or is it just a gimmick?

McFARLANE TOYS ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH ACTIVISION
TO PRODUCE GUITAR HERO(tm) ACTION FIGURES

TEMPE, Ariz. ~ McFarlane Toys announces a partnership with Activision, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) to produce action figures from the hit video game franchise, Guitar Hero®. The first line is expected to hit store shelves this fall.

The hugely popular Guitar Hero franchise delivers the ultimate guitar-bending experience and enabling aspiring axe-shredders everywhere the chance to Unleash Their Inner Rock Star. Featuring a wide variety of music spanning five decades, the franchise is highlighted by countless original recordings from many of the most beloved artists of all time.

Represented in the first line of action figures are four of the Guitar Hero game’s most popular characters:

JOHNNY NAPALM
AXEL STEEL
LARS ÜMLAUT
GOD OF ROCK

“We have very recently begun creating toys based on video games,” says McFarlane Toys CEO Todd McFarlane. “With Activision, we get to work on arguably one of the biggest video game franchises out there, and capitalize on the wide-ranging demographic that encompasses this game.”

Each figure has 15-18 moving parts. Additionally, a unique guitar is included with each character that is removable and interchangeable with the other figures. Each figure also comes with a sculpted Guitar Hero logo base.

McFarlane Toys’ 6-inch action figures retail for $10-$15.

Visit www.SPAWN.com for updates and the all the latest and to-the-minute news.

About McFarlane Toys
Grammy-and Emmy-winning producer/director Todd McFarlane, creator of Spawn and the founder of SPAWN.com, is the force behind McFarlane Toys, one of America’s top action figure manufacturers. With an eclectic array of movie, TV and music licensing tie-ins – as well as the officially licensed teams of the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL, McFarlane Toys has become a leader and redefined the standards within the action figure industry. For complete information on this pop-culture powerhouse, visit SPAWN.com.

About Activision, Inc.
Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products. Founded in 1979, Activision posted net revenues of $2.9 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2008.

Activision maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, the Netherlands, Australia, Japan and South Korea. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company’s website, www.activision.com.

PopCap: Casual Gaming in AsiaPopCap: Casual Gaming in Asia

June 26, 2008| schommer| 0 Comment| 8:43 am

PopCap will try their luck in the Asian market for casual games. The US market and the Asian market are clearly different and have different likes and dislikes when it comes to video games, this can be seen in the division between the US first-person-shooter genre running wild and the success of FPS franchises in Japan (a great example being the Xbox 360 console).

Many eastern style games have a casual feel to them and PopCaps going to see how they’re feeling about titles like Zuma, Chuzzle, Peggle and Bejeweled. James Gwertzman, their new Asia/Pacific VP says, “This is the opportunity of a lifetime.” He believes success will be the result of this endevor.

What do you think, Asia/Pacific, ready for US casual games?

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End of 100 Million Dollar Games?End of 100 Million Dollar Games?

June 25, 2008| schommer| 0 Comment| 10:11 pm

Gigaom had a great writeup about how Grand Theft Auto IV marks the end of “next generation” as we know it, stating, in more words or less, the game is a failure. GTA: San Andreas sold 21.5 million copies during its time on the shelf while GTA IV has sold roughly 9 million copies as of June 7th.

Granted, the game is still on the shelves and will still get sales, but the mass of “hardcore gamers” have had their fill and either purchased it or will not. The end result? A huge tapering of sales numbers for the graphically impressive game. Take-Two spent USD $100 million to develop the game which had great opening sales records but has gone down drastically since.

Imagine the title gains them USD $30.00 per sale in profit (considering distributors get the game for roughly USD $45 to $48.00 USD), taking into account shipping of the product, marketing and all the materials that go into producing a copy, they’d have to sell a large quanity of game titles to break even, which I think they have done.

Nobody is in this industry to break even. A block buster title should make block buster profits, right? Else, why bother to spend the 100-million when a Wii title can double or triple the profits with six months of development?

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TD Gaming Podcast 76: GamingPodcast.netTD Gaming Podcast 76: GamingPodcast.net

June 24, 2008| schommer| 0 Comment| 10:23 pm

Welcome to the TD Gaming Podcast! This week we discussed:

Microsoft releases Xbox 360 before everyone else, will they do it again? (1up)
Ubisoft’s Play Zone label/division for Wii mini-games (next-gen)
Guitar Hero World Tour Rumors (gamespot)
Atari’s Hunts Negative Alone in the Dark Reviews (shacknews)

We take a walk down memory lane with Baldur’s Gate as this weeks Gaming Flashback, take a deeper look into RPG’s and “Devil Worshiping” and we’ll also read a great listener comment regarding video game mascots, what mascots did you enjoy?

Call of Duty 5: World At War TrailerCall of Duty 5: World At War Trailer

June 23, 2008| schommer| 0 Comment| 9:18 am

One thing Activision does very well with the Call of Duty series is making you feel like you’re part of the war and not just a gamer. It may be the coloring, the life-like environments, explosions or movie-style filtering, whatever it is makes their series feel like a world at war.

Now, we’re heading back to WWII but from a brand new perspective, the Pacific Theatre. Why did it take so long to produce a game in this area of the world? Our guess, to gain the intensity and power of the battle we needed higher end console/pc processors to properly render the jungles, waters and terrains in a life-like manner.

Or, maybe nobody thought of it? In any case this is a must buy game for myself and probably many others, regardless to multi-player capabilities. World at War will be released for Wii, PS3, PS2, Xbox 360, and PC.

Gaming Flashback: The Incredible MachineGaming Flashback: The Incredible Machine

June 22, 2008| schommer| 0 Comment| 6:19 pm

The Incredible Machine (TiM) is a game designed and developed by Kevin Ryan and produced by Jeff Tunnel (now co-founder of GarageGames and their successful title Marble Blast Ultra on the 360 and co-founder in Dynamix makers of A-10 Tank Killer and The Red Baron). At the time, The Incredible Machine series came out of the shop known as Jeff Tunnel Productions.

Jeff Tunnel Productions published the first Incredible Machine games from 1993 to 1995 while Sierra Entertainment published all the rest of their titles all the way up to 2001. What is The Incredible Machines all about? It’s a game where you must build a series of Rube Goldberg devices in a “needlessly complex fashion” all to perform some simple tasks. That is the entire point to a Rube Goldberg device, which was originally defined as “accomplishing by extremely complex roundabout means what actually or seemingly could be done simply.”

I think everyone has seen a Rube Goldberg device, their are examples in science museums, and entire Myth Busters Episode about them, they appear in many movies (Goonies used one to open the fence to let in Chunk after he does his dance as did Doc Brown in Back to the Future to cook his breakfast and get his dog food).

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Community Expands: Team Fortress 2 Has a BlogCommunity Expands: Team Fortress 2 Has a Blog

June 21, 2008| schommer| 0 Comment| 11:52 pm

The Internet has given us a communication mechanism which allows developers to better understand their audience. You can use community sites to market your content and your brand but you can also use them to better understand your market and bring your strageties and progress to your fans.

Valve Software has taken their latest successful franchise title Team Fortress 2 and followed it up with a website or “blog” which can keep their fans “in the loop.” Teamfortress.com will, no doubt, be the launch pad for much hype, community offerings and up-to-date news about the TF2 game and any updates.

“Now that we’ve settled into regular releases of content, we’ve found ourselves wanting a better way to talk directly to the TF2 community about the state of the game and some of the reasoning behind the choices we’re making. Our hope is that this blog will accomplish that, and give everyone some better insight into our development process as well.” (teamfortress.com)

Now, there is a great chance Valve will use their new launch pad to talk about upcoming games and lead you to demo’s and downloads to the TF2 title; they already link to the valve store to purchase the game. But, blogs bring in users searching for fresh content about the game and give official word to kill any bad rumors.

Call it marketing, call it journalism or developers notes, there is nothing wrong with having one more resource which represents the voice of Valves TF2 development team. Congradulations guys!