Video Game Industry Thread: Time for a new thread

Rehab

Moioink wrote: »

I think it's quite sad what Rare have become. The decline of the British games industry in general really sucks.

Obligatory:




Somehow I think that comic will always be appropriate.

Skull2185

Hey, if you throw a bucket of darts at a dart board, at least one of em will hit.

UncleSporky

Skull2185 wrote: »

Hey, if you throw a bucket of darts at a dart board, at least one of em will hit.

I'm pretty sure that's actually a Kinect game.

Couscous

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/35257/Analyst_Duke_Nukem_Forever_Expected_To_Sell_Over_15M.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+GamasutraNews+%28Gamasutra+News%29

Analyst: Duke Nukem Forever Expected To Sell Over 1.5M

A games industry analyst said Wednesday that he expects the recently-released Duke Nukem Forever to see overall sales of 1.5-2 million units.

Analyst Arvind Bhatia with Sterne Agee noted in an investor report that the long-awaited Take-Two Interactive-published title will sell at the lower-end of the estimate. He also revealed that store checks indicated that first day sales of the game in the U.S. were "mediocre."

However, he said he believes Take-Two "was conservative in its unit assumptions on Duke Nukem," and that the game's performance will not reflect on the company, as it was originally in development outside of the studio and "is a one-off title for Take-Two."

Duke Nukem Forever has received average reviews from critics, although Sterne Agee noted that this was to be expected. "Overall, we believe management was conservative in its guidance on this title," the report said.

The game launched in the UK last week, and topped the UK retail software sales charts for the first weekend, dethroning Rockstar Games' LA Noire.

Also, Sony recently repeated the usual at least ten years plus whatever lifespan after the PS3 recently hit 50 million. As usual, cited the PS2 still selling as a justification for optimism.

Rehab

Xenogears of Bore wrote: »

Another reason Rare gets so much flak for copyitis is that their project previous to Wiinect Sports was the whole Avatar system.

Heh, I was actually looking back at a Kinect Sports review that I thought was entertaining and it turns out that both of these are things are mentioned in the same sentence in much the same way.

Kinect Sports isn’t nearly the eye-opening experience that Wii Sports was, though it does have its own small charms. However, with four years now standing between the two very similar games, it’s hard not to feel a sense of dull familiarity. Seeing Mii-like Avatars in the same brightly-lit bowling alleys, soccer fields, and boxing rings diminishes from whatever freshness the title might otherwise have had. Photos of seniors virtually bowling while attached to oxygen tubes can only be new once.

If you were to read the review using the same rule Yahtzee set forth in this review, but take a shot every time Wii Sports or Nintendo are mentioned, it would probably be best advised that you not drive anywhere for awhile.

UncleSporky wrote: »

Skull2185 wrote: »

Hey, if you throw a bucket of darts at a dart board, at least one of em will hit.

I'm pretty sure that's actually a Kinect game.

I'm almost positive that is too actually.

fragglefart

Unco-ordinated wrote: »

fragglefart wrote: »

He was talking about Microsoft's very specific situation, though. And since the genres they have been accused of 'ripping off' by Unco include 'epic big budget JRPG' and 'racing sim', you know, they types of games which have been on every single successful system since the 8-bit days, long before Sony entered the market, darley has a point.

I mean, if you want to critisize 'Scene It' for ripping of 'Buzz!' or 'Lips' for ripping off 'Singstar' you might have a point. Except Scene-It is a third party game based on a popular TV / DVD game which pre-dated Buzz! and can now be found on all consoles. And Lips / Singstar I'll give you but at the end of the day it's just Karaoke anyway.

You really think it's just a big list of complete coincidences? That Microsoft just happened to come up with their own racing sim when Gran Turismo was at its peak (15+ million sold, second highest selling game last gen)? That they came up with their own big budget JRPG when it seemed like Square Enix wasn't going to give them that much support? That Scene It pre-dated Buzz but just so happened to use an exact copy of the controller (and Microsoft published it so no, not a third party title). Come on.

Dude, Sony did not invent the racing genre with Gran Turismo.

Unco-ordinated wrote: »

fragglefart wrote: »

Still, the other specific titles which were mentioned in Microsoft's defence (Halo, Gears, Viva Pinata, Banjo N&B) were sadly missing from Unco's response anyway, since that would invalidate his theory further, so I doubt any of this information will matter either.

I ignored them because a couple of examples doesn't mean a whole lot compared to the numerous examples I brought up. But hey, now that you've brought them up, I'll go through them.

So my four specific named examples don't mean a whole lot compared to your five unspecific 'epic big budget JRPG, karaoke game, racing sim, trivia game (complete with Buzz controller) and motion control sports game' examples? Think you need to get over yourself a little.

Unco-ordinated wrote: »

Halo was well into development before they bought Bungie and Bungie is no longer part of Microsoft.

So? Microsoft saw the title as being an important part of their strategy for the oXbox - they needed a strong shooter. Since then it has stood for much of the innovation not only within the FPS genre, but also online gaming on consoles - half the point in Microsoft's platform and it's strongest differentiator for several years. Hence why Master Chief has become something of an Xbox mascot.

Unco-ordinated wrote: »

Gears of War was from an established PC developer, Microsoft doesn't own it and it is actually pretty derivative of RE4.

First point - again, so fucking what? So what that it came from an established PC developer? You want it to be made by elves from unicorn poop or something? Second point, still a significant presence on the console compared to PS3 and Wii, published by Microsoft. Third point - whatever you are smoking, lay off a little. GoW is nothing like RE4, which in turn, has more than enough influences of it's own.

Unco-ordinated wrote: »

Viva Pinata and Banjo I'll give them credit for (even if one was in a previously established, popular franchise), though shortly after those games came out, Microsoft seemed to replace that energetic little company with... Rowdy.

OK I have no idea what you mean.

Unco-ordinated wrote: »

Now that I've gone through them, how about you explain these: Avatars. You're In The Movies. Kinectimals.

Avatars? Yeah it's wholly impossible that Microsoft ever imagined using Avatars for anything, the very things they now have pinned through the entire Xbox experience both via 360 dashboard and games, curiosity apps, Marketplace, website, range of mobile phones etc. until they saw them used as Mii's - because no other service ever featured avatar-style representations before Wii right? What an obvious rip-off! Even though Rare employees have stated as such in interviews with plausibility considering the prolonged and very public evolution of 360 hardware, software and dashboard services. I'm sure Microsoft never saw any avatars in the time they spent building their PC software empire - must have copied Nintendo Wii Miis!

You're In The Movies - you'll have to explain that one to me, no idea what that is supposed to be ripping off.

Kinectimals? What is that supposed to be ripping off? It's a great game! Nintendogs? Totally different game with different setting and play style. Black and White? Seaman? Tamagotchi? What is your point?

Microsoft are new to the business. Customers expect certain genres to be represented. Can't see the problem myself providing the games are worth playing. And if they aren't - don't bother. Fact is Microsoft have put out some great games.

I don't give a crap if Gran Turismo users are butt-hurt that Forza is better - Gran Turismo was far from the first racer to appear on consoles OMG Sony you rippoffz! Hell, 10 years time we will have probably moved on from Forza and GT to whatever comes next. Remember Virtua Racing?

Valleo

I'm not even sure what's being argued here anymore.

urahonky

I was going to say that Valleo. LOL

Rehab

Gran Turismo and Forza are both striving to be the racing sim that Rad Racer was.

I think that is the jist of it.

cloudeagle

So you know how the ad agency publicizing Duke Nukem Forever threatened bad reviewers with no game review copies? According to Chris Kohler's Twitter, 2K just dropped them.

Wow. Kudos to them.

mere_immortal

Good on 2K.

It just sounded childish.

Couscous

cloudeagle wrote: »

So you know how the ad agency publicizing Duke Nukem Forever threatened bad reviewers with no game review copies? According to Chris Kohler's Twitter, 2K just dropped them.

Wow. Kudos to them.

Yeah. Everybody knows you only do that kind of thing as a public secret.

UncleSporky

Dammit Cous I was going to say that.

"Alright new agency, do you think you'll be able to keep your mouths shut about blacklisting game sites? Congratulations."

orionminus

Video game PR is guerrilla warfare at it's finest.

I wish I knew some people to help me break into the industry, shit would be SO cash.

Automaticzen

darleysam wrote: »

Henroid wrote: »

I like how much of a dick Cliffy B is when it comes to saying a simple, "Nah, no plans."

Then problem is that a comment like that just gets treated as "don't comment on rumour and speculation", so people will still keep bringing it up. I just figure he decided to put it down once and for all.

It's been described to me that he seemed incredibly tired of the question. Like if someone started a rumor about you, and that's all anyone ever brought up.

Magic Pink

Automaticzen wrote: »

darleysam wrote: »

Henroid wrote: »

I like how much of a dick Cliffy B is when it comes to saying a simple, "Nah, no plans."

Then problem is that a comment like that just gets treated as "don't comment on rumour and speculation", so people will still keep bringing it up. I just figure he decided to put it down once and for all.

It's been described to me that he seemed incredibly tired of the question. Like if someone started a rumor about you, and that's all anyone ever brought up.

Like Santorum!

cloudeagle

So an analyst is claming that the average U.S. household has TEN devices that stream Netflix:

Netflix’s recent decision to increase the number of devices by which an individual subscriber can access streaming content underscores the service’s ubiquitous reach in consumer electronics.

Netflix recently upped the number of devices a subscriber can use to stream to 50 from five. And with Netflix streaming now directly accessible on more than 250 CE devices — the latest being Android smartphones — analyst Dan Rayburn believes the average U.S. family has 10 Netflix-enabled devices.

If Netflix hadn’t allowed individual subscribers more access points, a not-untypical member with an iPad, iPhone, iPod, video game console and connected Blu-ray player or connected HDTV would have risked a streaming cap.

That said, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings in recent presentations has said the percentage of subs accessing rental streams on mobile phones is minute, compared with those accessing streaming on tablet computers and connected TVs.

Rayburn said Netflix’s quiet domination in the CE space —with remote controls from Best Buy’s in-house Dynex brand, Haier, Memorex, Panasonic, Samsung, Sharp, Sony and Toshiba incorporating a specific red “Netflix” button enabling subs to directly link to streaming and their rental queues with a simple click — is remarkable considering its market lead over such home entertainment brands as Blockbuster, Amazon, Redbox and Apple.

Of the four, Redbox has yet to unveil a digital strategy, Apple is limited to Apple TV and related platforms, and Blockbuster On Demand — as usual — is playing catch-up in digital distribution. Amazon Prime, which is available on Roku, TiVo, Logitech and select Sony devices, has made significant strides in connected TVs, including new models from Vizio, Sony, LG, Samsung and Panasonic.

In numerous analyst calls, Hastings has made no secret he considers Amazon (and Hulu Plus) formidable adversaries in streaming going forward, which Rayburn said is good for the market.

“Clearly Netflix won't be the only game in town for streaming content, but they sure do have a huge head start in the number of Netflix enabled devices already deployed inside the home,” he wrote in a recent note.

...of course this assumes that the average household bought multiple TVs in the last two years, has multiple gaming systems, smartphones, etc. Still, this really does drive home just how damn many things stream Netflix now.

Brainiac 8

Companies rip off each other all the time. It's nothing new in the least. MS has a tendancy to do it more now than they used to though. And Fraggle, I know you like these games, but it does not mean that they didn't decide to run with these ideas after it was proven that people wanted them and liked them.

It doesn't mean they aren't good ideas for MS to run with either. My biggest beef with some of MS current implamentation was that they relegated Rare to a closet to do nothing but minutiae.

Heck Sony and Nintendo have taken or 'ripped off' ideas from other companies too, why argue about a regular practice in the business. :?


Edit: Re: Netflix...I know in my house I have my computer, Wii, and 360 that all stream netflix, and soon my 3DS will....so yea, my house will have four netflix machines.

Forar

Magic Pink wrote: »

Automaticzen wrote: »

It's been described to me that he seemed incredibly tired of the question. Like if someone started a rumor about you, and that's all anyone ever brought up.

Like Santorum!

I dunno. Santorum said a lot of reprehensible shit to really earn that frothy title.

Has CliffyB been a massive goosehole for well over a decade now?

Edit: TV, Computer, iPhone. Only 3 here.

urahonky

Roku box, 360, Wii, PS3, 4 computers, soon-to-be 3DS... Yeah I bring the average up.

UncleSporky

urahonky wrote: »

Roku box, 360, Wii, PS3, 4 computers, soon-to-be 3DS... Yeah I bring the average up.

Isn't that only 9? You still bring the average down.

I really don't believe the average house has ten, because as you just illustrated, even a bunch of computers and consoles still don't get households up that high. And some houses are going to have two, while others have eighteen?!

Where are all these two parent households with five children that can afford an iPhone and laptop for everyone?

urahonky

Oh I'm not going by the BS "10 per household" thing stated. I'm sure the average is closer to 4.

Magic Pink

I think I only have four and Netflix isn't actually on any of them. They just have the potential I guess.

vagrant_winds

Desktop Computer, Laptop, PS3, Wii, Android Phone (which also streams Hulu and Crunchyroll)... I have five right now. More when I get a 3DS/Vita and they're sure to have it.

cloudeagle

Yeah, I kinda have my doubts at that analyst's number. Still, an average above, say, two is still pretty amazing.

At any rate, THQ's poaching from Ubisoft.

Patrice Desilets is finally ready to get to work at THQ. Eight months after THQ announced that it had wooed the Assassin's Creed creative director away from Ubisoft, the publisher said today that Desilets has officially begun work on an all-new property at the newly formed THQ Montreal.

Patrice Desilets

THQ has not offered any indication as to the nature of Desilets' first project for the publisher. However, the new studio head hasn't wasted time with bringing over talent from his former employer. Earlier this year, THQ VP Danny Bilson confirmed that the publisher had recruited three "key members" of Ubisoft Montreal.

Of course, those hires may not have been entirely on the up-and-up. In late March, word surfaced that Ubisoft had been granted a recruitment injunction against THQ to prevent the publisher from further poaching at its studios. According to court documents, Desilets had violated the one-year non-compete clause in his contract with Ubisoft by having THQ hire art director Alex Drouin, production manager Mark Besner, and associate producer Jean-Francois Boivin.

The Desilets-helmed project isn't the only activity occurring at THQ Montreal. Earlier this week, the publisher confirmed that it had moved its Homefront franchise to the Canadian outfit, after shutting down franchise creator Kaos Studios.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6319629/assassins-creed-creative-director-begins-work-at-thq?tag=newstop%3Btitle%3B2

So Homefront is a franchise now, I guess? Looks like the United States will continue to tremble before the North Koreans, whose overwhelming numbers and military might will surely crush the entire world's armies snrrrk BWAHAHAHAHAHA!! Ahem. Sorry.

If I ever make a FPS I'm going to set it in a world where some place like Lichtenstein invades, unleashing all kinds of hitherto-unseen nastiness like gatling lasers and super-enhanced clones and hovertanks and... uh... werecougars? Yeah, why the hell not.

UncleSporky

I mean maybe it's fruitless to examine a statement from some analyst, but how many people are in the average household? Internet says 2.6. 310 million people divided by 2.6 = 119 million households. Let's go high and assume there are 100 million Netflix-enabled gaming systems across the US. That's about 1 per household...

How many computers per household? Internet says 1.4. How many Netflix-enabled smartphones per household...?

Basically the average is probably closer to 5.

amnesiasoft

Netflix, let's see... 4 desktop computers, 3 laptops, 2 PS3's, 2 Wii's, a 360, Windows Phone, Blu-Ray player, and I'm sure with enough work, my Nook Color could too.

Remember guys, an average is very easily distorted by outliers.

Forar

amnesiasoft wrote: »

Remember guys, an average is very easily distorted by outliers.

Eh? Unless one of those outliers is a "household" that's actually a gaming warehouse that counts all 30,000 units of game console and portable that they have in stock, I don't see how that'd be the case.

A quick googling gives the average of people per US household at 2.6. Unless each one of those owns (on average) 4 Netflix capable devices, I don't see how that can be the case.

According to a 2006 survey, the average US household has 2.7 TVs in it, giving us 7.3 more devices to cover. We know that not everyone has a smartphone yet, and despite millions of sales, not every home has a Wii, PS3 or XBox (though that could account for some of it, where gaming fanatics have all 3, plus handhelds and others).

10 as an average seems awfully high, especially during an economic downturn where simple financial difficulties mean that there must be a lot of people struggling to have much more than a tv and perhaps a phone, let alone 5-10+ more such devices laying around, meaning those outliers on the high end might need to be in the 20's+ to offset the poorer households.

Apologies for rambling, been trying to post this between emails at work.

themightypuck

amnesiasoft wrote: »

Netflix, let's see... 4 desktop computers, 3 laptops, 2 PS3's, 2 Wii's, a 360, Windows Phone, Blu-Ray player, and I'm sure with enough work, my Nook Color could too.

Remember guys, an average is very easily distorted by outliers.

That is only true with Pareto type distributions. A normal distribution should swallow up outliers.

Elvenshae

cloudeagle wrote: »

So an analyst is claming that the average U.S. household has TEN devices that stream Netflix:

Family of two:

Two computers
Two laptops
Wii
PS3
Two iPhones

---

8 Netflix devices

Add two kids with phones to get up to a more average household size, plus maybe a kids computer, and you're there.

UncleSporky

According to a 2006 survey, the average US household has 2.7 TVs in it

I didn't even consider TVs since how many TVs are specifically Netflix-enabled out of the box? Isn't that a relatively new phenomenon?

And Elvenshae, as stated above the average household has 1.4 computers and there have been less Netflix-enabled gaming consoles sold than there are households.

Santa Claustrophobia

Is this the part of the thread where everybody whips out their dicks to show how much junk they own?

EDIT:
Because I'm having such a hard time wrapping my brain around the concept that a person owns both a desktop and a laptop and this is somehow supposed to be 'normal'.

That's fucking insane.

Dragkonias

*cough*...damn, thanks for ruining my moment, Santa.

Henroid

cloudeagle wrote: »

So you know how the ad agency publicizing Duke Nukem Forever threatened bad reviewers with no game review copies? According to Chris Kohler's Twitter, 2K just dropped them.

Wow. Kudos to them.

Holy crap, that's rad.

cloudeagle

Santa Claustrophobia wrote: »

Is this the part of the thread where everybody whips out their dicks to show how much junk they own?

EDIT:
Because I'm having such a hard time wrapping my brain around the concept that a person owns both a desktop and a laptop and this is somehow supposed to be 'normal'.

That's fucking insane.

Keep in mind that the trend, increasingly, is for a person to own a computer and an iPad. That's the typical profile for the person who buys a thing. Increasingly, this is normal.

Then again, you've said you think smartphones are unnecessary, yet they sell like crazy.

Forar

UncleSporky wrote: »

I didn't even consider TVs since how many TVs are specifically Netflix-enabled out of the box? Isn't that a relatively new phenomenon?

True. I was counting them in the "there's a fairly good chance someone could hook a computer/laptop up to it and maybe they're trying to count those as well?".

Was looking from the perspective of "how could I pad these numbers", because if TV's don't count, I really only have 2... wait, 3; computer, iPhone and xbox 360 I barely use. 4 if I bother to count the TV and computer seperately.

Turkey

Bravo on the new title, cloud :lol:

Forar

Santa Claustrophobia wrote: »

Is this the part of the thread where everybody whips out their dicks to show how much junk they own?

EDIT:
Because I'm having such a hard time wrapping my brain around the concept that a person owns both a desktop and a laptop and this is somehow supposed to be 'normal'.

That's fucking insane.

Apparently I'm now just playing Devil's Advocate, but along with netbooks and tablets/ipads/etc, this might become more prevailant as the tech generations go on.

Having a cutting edge desktop and a cutting edge laptop seems wasteful and unnecessary, agreed, but I imagine more and more people might have one and then a few years later get another. Someone with a laptop for school might decide to buy a more powerful (and cost effective) home machine for gaming and whatnot, or somone with a gaming rig might get a netbook for browsing from bed or something.

Santa Claustrophobia

Dragkonias wrote: »

*cough*...damn, thanks for ruining my moment, Santa.

Spoiler:

You're welcome!

But by all means, go ahead. It's just another version of list warz. All I know is I'm under the average and I'm fine with that because my junk works for what I need it to do.

Telling people about it is trying to compensate for...something.

Sheep

cloudeagle wrote: »

So an analyst is claming that the average U.S. household has TEN devices that stream Netflix:

Netflix’s recent decision to increase the number of devices by which an individual subscriber can access streaming content underscores the service’s ubiquitous reach in consumer electronics.

Netflix recently upped the number of devices a subscriber can use to stream to 50 from five. And with Netflix streaming now directly accessible on more than 250 CE devices — the latest being Android smartphones — analyst Dan Rayburn believes the average U.S. family has 10 Netflix-enabled devices.

If Netflix hadn’t allowed individual subscribers more access points, a not-untypical member with an iPad, iPhone, iPod, video game console and connected Blu-ray player or connected HDTV would have risked a streaming cap.

That said, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings in recent presentations has said the percentage of subs accessing rental streams on mobile phones is minute, compared with those accessing streaming on tablet computers and connected TVs.

Rayburn said Netflix’s quiet domination in the CE space —with remote controls from Best Buy’s in-house Dynex brand, Haier, Memorex, Panasonic, Samsung, Sharp, Sony and Toshiba incorporating a specific red “Netflix” button enabling subs to directly link to streaming and their rental queues with a simple click — is remarkable considering its market lead over such home entertainment brands as Blockbuster, Amazon, Redbox and Apple.

Of the four, Redbox has yet to unveil a digital strategy, Apple is limited to Apple TV and related platforms, and Blockbuster On Demand — as usual — is playing catch-up in digital distribution. Amazon Prime, which is available on Roku, TiVo, Logitech and select Sony devices, has made significant strides in connected TVs, including new models from Vizio, Sony, LG, Samsung and Panasonic.

In numerous analyst calls, Hastings has made no secret he considers Amazon (and Hulu Plus) formidable adversaries in streaming going forward, which Rayburn said is good for the market.

“Clearly Netflix won't be the only game in town for streaming content, but they sure do have a huge head start in the number of Netflix enabled devices already deployed inside the home,” he wrote in a recent note.

...of course this assumes that the average household bought multiple TVs in the last two years, has multiple gaming systems, smartphones, etc. Still, this really does drive home just how damn many things stream Netflix now.

One of the things we're gearing up for, and one of the things that IPv6 is going to address, is that we expect people to have at least 100 different IP addresses loosely or otherwise associated with themselves in the next five years. Phone, computers, tvs, eMail accounts, live accounts, etc.

It's staggering.

Eventually the lighting in your home will be managed over IP.