Video Game Industry Thread: Master Chief -- script delivery boy

RainbowDespair

That Valve Handbook was linked to on the Valve Facebook page so I doubt it's a fake. Also, that would have been a lot of work to have done for a hoax (not only is it fairly long but there are also some cool sketches in it as well as several great jokes).

Heisenberg

If they really do make what their customers want them to make, HL3 probably isn't far off. Every one of their fans wants it more than anything else. They're likely waiting for it to be nearly finished as to avoid the HL2 release date cluster fuck.

Renzo

Athenor wrote: »

Maz- wrote: »

Mgslee wrote: »

With all the Valve talk I'm surprised no one is talking about this http://kotaku.com/5903955/read-valves-employee-company-handbook-its-amazing
Unless you already have and I missed it.

Amazing? More like bullshit.

Sorry, the world does not work that way. At the end of the day, someone has to be in charge and tell others what to do, and these others need to do as they're gold.
Valve is not the magical fairy tale place of wonders and butterflies described in that book. I hope it's fake.

That handbook backs up at least 2-3 different articles I've read on Valve's corporate culture, including the Penny Arcade Reports article. It is probably telling that this is the first publication of the handbook in 18 years.

The picture of the physical handbook said it was the first edition. Also, the images reference Portal 2, HL3 t-shirts, DOTA2, and the 2011 company holiday. So the handbook is pretty recent.

subedii

darleysam wrote: »

chocobolicious wrote: »

I just want to say, levels in L4D2 can get fairly massive.

It isn't exactly a limit to the engine that keeps the environments how they are, its a design choice. Play around with some L4D or L4D2 modding stuff and poke around.

Source doesn't really need a 'new version' because its modular functions are always being prodded at and updated. whether they get used or not is a different matter. Seeing all the effort they put into designing tiny 20x50 rooms speaks volumes of why they probably leave areas so small.

Especially now that they've got Adam Foster working for them, some kind of wizard/Time Lord, the way he crams as much as he does into a single area.

I actually e-mailed Valve with feedback on Episode 2 way back when it released. One of the things I said was that I felt the best implementation of their AI wasn't from their own games (basically a major reason behind the Hunter enemies in Ep2 was to act as a more effective showcase for the AI), it was from the mod Minerva: Metastasis.

When I got a response they said that they also really liked that mod as well. This was shortly before they hired Adam Foster

Basically what I'm saying is that I'm fully and completely responsible for Adam Foster working at Valve today. Totally.

Jokes aside, Minerva was an awesome awesome mod, and if you're craving more Half-Life style action, it's certainly worth looking up. Be warned though, it's definitely a lot harder than Half-Life 2 is.

EDIT:

And yeah, all the other stuff about how Valve works as a company has been said and re-said for a freaking decade now.

Athenor

Renzo wrote: »

Athenor wrote: »

Maz- wrote: »

Mgslee wrote: »

With all the Valve talk I'm surprised no one is talking about this http://kotaku.com/5903955/read-valves-employee-company-handbook-its-amazing
Unless you already have and I missed it.

Amazing? More like bullshit.

Sorry, the world does not work that way. At the end of the day, someone has to be in charge and tell others what to do, and these others need to do as they're gold.
Valve is not the magical fairy tale place of wonders and butterflies described in that book. I hope it's fake.

That handbook backs up at least 2-3 different articles I've read on Valve's corporate culture, including the Penny Arcade Reports article. It is probably telling that this is the first publication of the handbook in 18 years.

The picture of the physical handbook said it was the first edition. Also, the images reference Portal 2, HL3 t-shirts, DOTA2, and the 2011 company holiday. So the handbook is pretty recent.

I was making a statement, not conjecture.

darleysam

subedii wrote: »

darleysam wrote: »

chocobolicious wrote: »

I just want to say, levels in L4D2 can get fairly massive.

It isn't exactly a limit to the engine that keeps the environments how they are, its a design choice. Play around with some L4D or L4D2 modding stuff and poke around.

Source doesn't really need a 'new version' because its modular functions are always being prodded at and updated. whether they get used or not is a different matter. Seeing all the effort they put into designing tiny 20x50 rooms speaks volumes of why they probably leave areas so small.

Especially now that they've got Adam Foster working for them, some kind of wizard/Time Lord, the way he crams as much as he does into a single area.

I actually e-mailed Valve with feedback on Episode 2 way back when it released. One of the things I said was that I felt the best implementation of their AI wasn't from their own games (basically a major reason behind the Hunter enemies in Ep2 was to act as a more effective showcase for the AI), it was from the mod Minerva: Metastasis.

When I got a response they said that they also really liked that mod as well. This was shortly before they hired Adam Foster

Basically what I'm saying is that I'm fully and completely responsible for Adam Foster working at Valve today. Totally.

Jokes aside, Minerva was an awesome awesome mod, and if you're craving more Half-Life style action, it's certainly worth looking up. Be warned though, it's definitely a lot harder than Half-Life 2 is.

EDIT:

And yeah, all the other stuff about how Valve works as a company has been said and re-said for a freaking decade now.

I always took the 'wheels on desks to shift them around freely' thing as just some rumour that went around, until I saw that they actually do work exactly like all the stories over the years said. And then I get sad that I will never work there.
Any chance you could email them and tell them how great I am?

subedii

darleysam wrote: »

subedii wrote: »

darleysam wrote: »

chocobolicious wrote: »

I just want to say, levels in L4D2 can get fairly massive.

It isn't exactly a limit to the engine that keeps the environments how they are, its a design choice. Play around with some L4D or L4D2 modding stuff and poke around.

Source doesn't really need a 'new version' because its modular functions are always being prodded at and updated. whether they get used or not is a different matter. Seeing all the effort they put into designing tiny 20x50 rooms speaks volumes of why they probably leave areas so small.

Especially now that they've got Adam Foster working for them, some kind of wizard/Time Lord, the way he crams as much as he does into a single area.

I actually e-mailed Valve with feedback on Episode 2 way back when it released. One of the things I said was that I felt the best implementation of their AI wasn't from their own games (basically a major reason behind the Hunter enemies in Ep2 was to act as a more effective showcase for the AI), it was from the mod Minerva: Metastasis.

When I got a response they said that they also really liked that mod as well. This was shortly before they hired Adam Foster

Basically what I'm saying is that I'm fully and completely responsible for Adam Foster working at Valve today. Totally.

Jokes aside, Minerva was an awesome awesome mod, and if you're craving more Half-Life style action, it's certainly worth looking up. Be warned though, it's definitely a lot harder than Half-Life 2 is.

EDIT:

And yeah, all the other stuff about how Valve works as a company has been said and re-said for a freaking decade now.

I always took the 'wheels on desks to shift them around freely' thing as just some rumour that went around, until I saw that they actually do work exactly like all the stories over the years said. And then I get sad that I will never work there.
Any chance you could email them and tell them how great I am?

I don't want them working on your amazing game ideas instead of Episode 3.

darleysam

subedii wrote: »

darleysam wrote: »

subedii wrote: »

darleysam wrote: »

chocobolicious wrote: »

I just want to say, levels in L4D2 can get fairly massive.

It isn't exactly a limit to the engine that keeps the environments how they are, its a design choice. Play around with some L4D or L4D2 modding stuff and poke around.

Source doesn't really need a 'new version' because its modular functions are always being prodded at and updated. whether they get used or not is a different matter. Seeing all the effort they put into designing tiny 20x50 rooms speaks volumes of why they probably leave areas so small.

Especially now that they've got Adam Foster working for them, some kind of wizard/Time Lord, the way he crams as much as he does into a single area.

I actually e-mailed Valve with feedback on Episode 2 way back when it released. One of the things I said was that I felt the best implementation of their AI wasn't from their own games (basically a major reason behind the Hunter enemies in Ep2 was to act as a more effective showcase for the AI), it was from the mod Minerva: Metastasis.

When I got a response they said that they also really liked that mod as well. This was shortly before they hired Adam Foster

Basically what I'm saying is that I'm fully and completely responsible for Adam Foster working at Valve today. Totally.

Jokes aside, Minerva was an awesome awesome mod, and if you're craving more Half-Life style action, it's certainly worth looking up. Be warned though, it's definitely a lot harder than Half-Life 2 is.

EDIT:

And yeah, all the other stuff about how Valve works as a company has been said and re-said for a freaking decade now.

I always took the 'wheels on desks to shift them around freely' thing as just some rumour that went around, until I saw that they actually do work exactly like all the stories over the years said. And then I get sad that I will never work there.
Any chance you could email them and tell them how great I am?

I don't want them working on your amazing game ideas instead of Episode 3.

Hahahaha, joke's on you, I don't have any amazing game ideas!

So anyway, Activision are doing some kind of 'live', 18-rated advert for Prototype 2 in London. The pictures make it look a bit naff, but I'm sure it's very entertaining if you're there:
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-04-23-prototype-2-live-event-photos
There's, like, one picture with some blood in it. And at least a couple that are just some actors showing off their best dance moves from the last musical they were in.

sir_pinch-a-loaf

http://kotaku.com/5904264/marketing-survey-hints-at-a-rayman-origins-sequel-of-mythic-proportions/

Marketing Survey Hints at a Rayman Origins Sequel of Mythic Proportions

Ubisoft's critically acclaimed platformer Rayman Origins is going to get a sequel; it's pretty much inevitable. What form that sequel will take might be hinted at in these screens taken from a marketing survey by one of our readers, hinting at a world filled with dragons, ghosts and Greek gods.

Rayman Origins received rave reviews, and Ubisoft has been on record as saying the game turned a profit for the company. The trick now is to take that amazing gameplay and package it in a way that appeals to the consumer. Ghosts, dragons and mythology might do the trick.

These images, sent to us by an anonymous tipster who stumbled upon them in a survey from marketing firm Arkenford (Ubisoft is one of its regular clients), point towards a Rayman Origins sequel that retains the same four-player drop-in/drop-out gameplay of the original, while trading the first game's outlandish world for something a bit more familiar. Seems like a sound strategy to me.

Of course these images could all add up to nothing. For one, Arkenford is a marketing survey site, and what you see there isn't necessarily what you get. And then there's always the chance that an overzealous fan was just getting ahead of themselves.

We've contacted Ubisoft regarding these images, and will update the post should we receive a response.

Brainiac 8

So even if the game didn't light any charts on fire, it sold enough to merit a sequel.

Does that mean it sold enough to justify Ubisoft allowing Ansel to finish BG&E2?

Probably not.

Renzo

Athenor wrote: »

Renzo wrote: »

Athenor wrote: »

Maz- wrote: »

Mgslee wrote: »

With all the Valve talk I'm surprised no one is talking about this http://kotaku.com/5903955/read-valves-employee-company-handbook-its-amazing
Unless you already have and I missed it.

Amazing? More like bullshit.

Sorry, the world does not work that way. At the end of the day, someone has to be in charge and tell others what to do, and these others need to do as they're gold.
Valve is not the magical fairy tale place of wonders and butterflies described in that book. I hope it's fake.

That handbook backs up at least 2-3 different articles I've read on Valve's corporate culture, including the Penny Arcade Reports article. It is probably telling that this is the first publication of the handbook in 18 years.

The picture of the physical handbook said it was the first edition. Also, the images reference Portal 2, HL3 t-shirts, DOTA2, and the 2011 company holiday. So the handbook is pretty recent.

I was making a statement, not conjecture.

I'm just talking about the existence of the handbook. It seems like you're saying a Valve handbook has been around for 18 years, and it was just now published.

I'm not sure how you can make a statement like that. Using recently revealed info, there's no evidence of a handbook existing before 1 year ago.

Unless you have info outside of the stuff that was recently released.

Athenor

Renzo wrote: »

Athenor wrote: »

Renzo wrote: »

Athenor wrote: »

Maz- wrote: »

Mgslee wrote: »

With all the Valve talk I'm surprised no one is talking about this http://kotaku.com/5903955/read-valves-employee-company-handbook-its-amazing
Unless you already have and I missed it.

Amazing? More like bullshit.

Sorry, the world does not work that way. At the end of the day, someone has to be in charge and tell others what to do, and these others need to do as they're gold.
Valve is not the magical fairy tale place of wonders and butterflies described in that book. I hope it's fake.

That handbook backs up at least 2-3 different articles I've read on Valve's corporate culture, including the Penny Arcade Reports article. It is probably telling that this is the first publication of the handbook in 18 years.

The picture of the physical handbook said it was the first edition. Also, the images reference Portal 2, HL3 t-shirts, DOTA2, and the 2011 company holiday. So the handbook is pretty recent.

I was making a statement, not conjecture.

I'm just talking about the existence of the handbook. It seems like you're saying a Valve handbook has been around for 18 years, and it was just now published.

I'm not sure how you can make a statement like that. Using recently revealed info, there's no evidence of a handbook existing before 1 year ago.

Unless you have info outside of the stuff that was recently released.

I said "It is probably telling that this is the first publication of the handbook in 18 years."

That's not a statement of 'the handbook has existed for 18 years, and they are just publishing it.'

It's a statement of 'holy shit, they've gone 18 years without a handbook.'

amnesiasoft

Speak of the devil: http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/04/23/half-life-2-episode-3-silence-due-to-development-twists-and-turns-says-newell/

Gabe Newell been talking about the Valve sequel everyone wants, Half Life 2: Episode 3, in terms of the Valve sequel no-one wants, Ricochet 2. With almost audible air quotes around each mention of a possible follow up to Valve’s year 2000 disk-lobbing multiplayer arena title, Newell told Seven Day Cooldown that the silence surrounding the next Half-Life is intended to spare fans from the unpredictable “twists and turns” of Valve’s iterative development style.

“We’d like to be super transparent about the future of Ricochet 2,” said Newell, “but the problem is that the twists and turns that we’re going through would probably drive people more crazy than being silent about it until we can be very crisp about what’s happening.”

Earlier he also said “we always have this problem, when we talk about things too far in advance we end up changing our minds as we’re developing stuff. We’re thinking through the giant story arc (which is Ricochet 2) you might get to a point where you’re saying “something is surprising us in a positive way” and “something is surprising us in a negative way.”

SDC asked Gabe if Valve’s fluid “work on what you want” approach to management style (captured nicely by the Valve employee handbook that surfaced over the weekend) has caused people to move away from the project to work on other things.

“No,” he said. “Everyone who’s working on Ricochet 2 continues to work on Ricochet 2.”

What would you like to see from Ricochet 2?

That tautological statement doesn't really say there are a lot of people working on "Ricochet 2," just that there are people really dedicated to it.

DarkPrimus

subedii wrote: »

darleysam wrote: »

chocobolicious wrote: »

I just want to say, levels in L4D2 can get fairly massive.

It isn't exactly a limit to the engine that keeps the environments how they are, its a design choice. Play around with some L4D or L4D2 modding stuff and poke around.

Source doesn't really need a 'new version' because its modular functions are always being prodded at and updated. whether they get used or not is a different matter. Seeing all the effort they put into designing tiny 20x50 rooms speaks volumes of why they probably leave areas so small.

Especially now that they've got Adam Foster working for them, some kind of wizard/Time Lord, the way he crams as much as he does into a single area.

I actually e-mailed Valve with feedback on Episode 2 way back when it released. One of the things I said was that I felt the best implementation of their AI wasn't from their own games (basically a major reason behind the Hunter enemies in Ep2 was to act as a more effective showcase for the AI), it was from the mod Minerva: Metastasis.

When I got a response they said that they also really liked that mod as well. This was shortly before they hired Adam Foster

Basically what I'm saying is that I'm fully and completely responsible for Adam Foster working at Valve today. Totally.

Jokes aside, Minerva was an awesome awesome mod, and if you're craving more Half-Life style action, it's certainly worth looking up. Be warned though, it's definitely a lot harder than Half-Life 2 is.

EDIT:

And yeah, all the other stuff about how Valve works as a company has been said and re-said for a freaking decade now.

It is my firm belief that the reason Episode 3 is taking so long is because Adam Foster is making all of the levels himself.

cloudeagle

Free-to-play keeps making money hand over fist.

A hefty chunk of free-to-play or "freemium" gamers have spent real dinero on their hobby of choice, according to a new report from the NPD Group. An online survey conducted by the group determined that four out of ten free-to-play gamers have made an in-game payment of some kind. Males are more likely to make such purchases, though females are more likely to have played free-to-play titles.

The report contains a few other interesting tidbits. For one, those who make an in-game payment tend to do so within the first month of playing, and those who try free-to-play titles tend to keep playing them, with 84 percent continuing to play after first trying them. Among those who abandon free-to-play titles, men aged 13 to 34 are most likely, while women in general are more likely to stay.

Perhaps the most interesting (horrifying?) statistic: data for the survey was gathered from 6,416 respondents aged two and older. Please, keep your two-year-olds away from the smurfberries.

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/04/23/npd-40-of-free-to-play-players-have-bought-something/

I checked the "highest grossing" list on iOS just now, and nine out of ten of them are free-to-play, though most of them aren't in the top-selling list.

subedii

DarkPrimus wrote: »

subedii wrote: »

darleysam wrote: »

chocobolicious wrote: »

I just want to say, levels in L4D2 can get fairly massive.

It isn't exactly a limit to the engine that keeps the environments how they are, its a design choice. Play around with some L4D or L4D2 modding stuff and poke around.

Source doesn't really need a 'new version' because its modular functions are always being prodded at and updated. whether they get used or not is a different matter. Seeing all the effort they put into designing tiny 20x50 rooms speaks volumes of why they probably leave areas so small.

Especially now that they've got Adam Foster working for them, some kind of wizard/Time Lord, the way he crams as much as he does into a single area.

I actually e-mailed Valve with feedback on Episode 2 way back when it released. One of the things I said was that I felt the best implementation of their AI wasn't from their own games (basically a major reason behind the Hunter enemies in Ep2 was to act as a more effective showcase for the AI), it was from the mod Minerva: Metastasis.

When I got a response they said that they also really liked that mod as well. This was shortly before they hired Adam Foster

Basically what I'm saying is that I'm fully and completely responsible for Adam Foster working at Valve today. Totally.

Jokes aside, Minerva was an awesome awesome mod, and if you're craving more Half-Life style action, it's certainly worth looking up. Be warned though, it's definitely a lot harder than Half-Life 2 is.

EDIT:

And yeah, all the other stuff about how Valve works as a company has been said and re-said for a freaking decade now.

It is my firm belief that the reason Episode 3 is taking so long is because Adam Foster is making all of the levels himself.

As long as it means good action sequences.

I wasn't kidding about my feeling his mod showed off Valve's AI to the best. The Combine soldiers felt smarter, constantly flanking and taking advantage of the layout of the area to coordinate and get you from multiple angles. As a result, Minerva was often a fair amount harder than Episode 2 was. The key thing was that the levels were designed with lots of interconnecting paths and corridors to allow them to flank you, where in the main games, things tended to be a bit more linear so the AI wasn't often given the opportunity to breath. Playing it reminded me a fair amount of the first FEAR.

Mind you I played it years ago, so I couldn't tell you whether it's held up today. At the same time, most modern FPS's have pretty much gone backwards in terms of enemy AI, so I suspect it has.

cloudeagle

I'm sure most of us have yelled "just lower the goddamn price of the Vita already!" to Sony, though an interesting Gamasutra analysis shows that it's a lot more complicated than that:

While a price cut seems logical to consumers at this point, it's a little more complicated for Sony. Kaz Hirai is still largely known as a PlayStation guy – and a price cut just two months after the system's U.S. launch would be viewed as a failure of that division. (Just look at the heat Nintendo president Satoru Iwata took when Nintendo slashed the 3DS's price.)

Having that public stumble less than a month into the job wouldn't help Hirai -- and it wouldn't help Sony. That makes it a little less likely that we'll see an immediate official price cut for the Vita. Add in Sony's long history of putting off price cuts, even when sales are sub-optimal, and it's an even bigger longshot.

I wouldn't rule it out entirely, though.

Lowering the system's price during E3 might raise fewer eyebrows, but I suspect it will be a bit longer before Sony pulls the trigger.

Nintendo's decision to reduce the 3DS was unusual not only because of its suddenness, but because it came at a time when there were still no notable games for the system on shelves -- or imminent.

The Vita has a much stronger launch lineup than Nintendo did, but the flow of new games has become a trickle filled with ports and multiplatform titles. At E3, everyone expects Sony to bang the Vita drum loudly, but the odds of a single title (or multiple ones) rallying hardware sales to an acceptable point are slim.

A holiday price cut, however, is something that could both raise sales and allow Sony to save face. It would come close to the system's one-year mark -- an acceptable time to lower prices. It would come as the next round of premium Vita games hits the market. And it would come at a time when consumers are more willing to pull out their wallet.

The only question is: If it does come then, will it be in time to grab people's attention? After all, as the end of the year draws near, the Vita's going to have a lot more competition -- with both the Wii-U and next iPhone likely lobbying hard for people's gadget dollars.

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/168986/Opinion_Its_time_for_Sony_to_consider_a_Vita_price_cut.php

Also, continuing on a series of what happened to movies based on video games, Wired looks at why the Super Mario Bros. movie was horrible:

http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2012/04/generation-xbox-super-mario-movie/

tl;dr: The producers' vision to make an adult movie clashed with the studio's desire to have a kid's movie.

The Wolfman

I just want Valve to finish the damn story they started. If they want to take a decade to finish some random standalone thing, they're free to go nuts. But if you end your games on cliffhangers and such, then finish what's on your plate first before you go waddling back to the buffet.

When I come into absolute world power, I'm making unresolved cliffhangers a hangable offense.

reVerse

The Wolfman wrote: »

I just want Valve to finish the damn story they started. If they want to take a decade to finish some random standalone thing, they're free to go nuts. But if you end your games on cliffhangers and such, then finish what's on your plate first before you go waddling back to the buffet.

When I come into absolute world power, I'm making unresolved cliffhangers a hangable offense.

The Wolfman

reVerse wrote: »

The Wolfman wrote: »

I just want Valve to finish the damn story they started. If they want to take a decade to finish some random standalone thing, they're free to go nuts. But if you end your games on cliffhangers and such, then finish what's on your plate first before you go waddling back to the buffet.

When I come into absolute world power, I'm making unresolved cliffhangers a hangable offense.

I don't know if you're being sarcastic or not, and I don't really care.

I just hate unresolved stories. Quite a few times I'll get invested in something, only for it to be abruptly canceled, or swept under the rug and ignored, or whatever. So fuck it, hang 'em all. In the case of canceled products, hang the suits who did the canceling as well. A message needs to be sent across the Empire. Your leader demands resolution!

C2B

Two guys from Andromeda have their first podcast up. Talkin' about stuff

http://guysfromandromeda.com/podcast-episode-1-the-two-guys-speak/

The_Spaniard

So a pair of Gunnar MW3 glasses and case for 42 bucks, do I go for it?

cloudeagle

Well, here's an interesting look at the state of things in Japan:

Turnover at game companies is high. But Japanese game developers who work on big titles for big companies tend to stay put. But what happens when your company is being eclipsed?

In the past few years, the Japanese mobile and social game industry has exploded. Companies like DeNa and Gree are doing great business, while the rest of the Japanese game industry has seen better days. At last year's Tokyo Game Show, Gree's booth was bigger than Square Enix's—heck, it was one of the biggest at the show.

No wonder longtime Square Enix developers like Ryuji Ikeda, Shouta Shimoda and Takeshi Arakawa are jumping ship.

As website NovaCrystallis pointed out, Ikeda was Dissidia: Final Fantasy's main programmer, Shimoda was Dissidia 012's director of planning, and Arakawa worked as a Kingdom Hearts texture director, the supervising director of Dissidia: Final Fantasy, and a graphic director on Final Fantasy Versus XIII. While they're not "name" developers, they are important. Or, rather, were.

The three men left Square Enix late last year. Their departure was recently noticed by Japanese bulletin board 2ch.

What makes their departure so interesting—and so telling about the state of the Japanese industry—is that the three men left Square Enix to work for social and mobile phone gaming studios: Ikeda went to DeNa, Shimoda went to Gree, and so did Arakawa.

http://kotaku.com/5904243/key-developers-leaving-square-enixfor-social-gaming

Couscous

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/ps4-and-xbox-720-sales-won-t-match-current-gen-analyst-believes/094858

The PlayStation 4, Xbox 720 and Wii U will fail to match the sales of their immediate predecessors, analyst Piper Jaffray believes.

In fact, analysts Michael J. Olson and Andrew D. Connor believe that between them the three machines will see an average software sales decline of 53 per cent compared to PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii throughout their first 14 months.

Gamasutra reports that the analysts add that they expect Wii U to be priced at $299 or more and sell only 35 per cent of the total units shifted by Wii in a comparable 14 month timeframe.

They go on to predict a summer 2013 launch for PS4 and for sales of that machine will be 50 per cent of its predecessor.

So what about the Next Xbox? 2014, the firm reckons, with sales of around 55 per cent that of the Xbox 360’s first 14 months.

"We believe console gaming will continue to be a time-share donor to social networks, mobile games and tablets,” it said. “We therefore favour companies with increasing exposure to social/mobile gaming, including Zynga and EA."

So why should we expect such a drastic change instead of a steady change?

Making predictions without solid information on price, gimmicks, games, market focus such as casual or not, or even the goddamn release date is kind of silly.

Brainiac 8

That's some grade A moronic speculation they've done there. Where are they getting those figures?

I think I know, and it rhymes with Bectum!

Tube

The_Spaniard wrote: »

So a pair of Gunnar MW3 glasses and case for 42 bucks, do I go for it?

This is not a chat thread

ArcSyn

The_Spaniard wrote: »

So a pair of Gunnar MW3 glasses and case for 42 bucks, do I go for it?

Where?

maximumzero

Analyst who now? If it's not Pachter I don't care.

The_Spaniard

Lewie P's Stepdad wrote: »

The_Spaniard wrote: »

So a pair of Gunnar MW3 glasses and case for 42 bucks, do I go for it?

This is not a chat thread

Then could you kindly point me to another generic gaming thread where we can ask simple general gaming questions without making a new thread?

Tube

The_Spaniard wrote: »

Lewie P's Stepdad wrote: »

The_Spaniard wrote: »

So a pair of Gunnar MW3 glasses and case for 42 bucks, do I go for it?

This is not a chat thread

Then could you kindly point me to another generic gaming thread where we can ask simple general gaming questions without making a new thread?

www.gamefaqs.com

Couscous

http://gamasutra.com/view/news/168986/Opinion_Its_time_for_Sony_to_consider_a_Vita_price_cut.php

While a price cut seems logical to consumers at this point, it's a little more complicated for Sony. Kaz Hirai is still largely known as a PlayStation guy – and a price cut just two months after the system's U.S. launch would be viewed as a failure of that division. (Just look at the heat Nintendo president Satoru Iwata took when Nintendo slashed the 3DS's price.)

So, does anybody think there is hope for the Vita without drastic things like price cuts?

The Wolfman

Couscous wrote: »

http://gamasutra.com/view/news/168986/Opinion_Its_time_for_Sony_to_consider_a_Vita_price_cut.php

While a price cut seems logical to consumers at this point, it's a little more complicated for Sony. Kaz Hirai is still largely known as a PlayStation guy – and a price cut just two months after the system's U.S. launch would be viewed as a failure of that division. (Just look at the heat Nintendo president Satoru Iwata took when Nintendo slashed the 3DS's price.)

So, does anybody think there is hope for the Vita without drastic things like price cuts?

Go to Square-Enix, drop 500 million in their laps and say "Drop everything and make FFVII for the Vita".

Outside that... nah, they doomed.

RainbowDespair

Couscous wrote: »

http://gamasutra.com/view/news/168986/Opinion_Its_time_for_Sony_to_consider_a_Vita_price_cut.php

While a price cut seems logical to consumers at this point, it's a little more complicated for Sony. Kaz Hirai is still largely known as a PlayStation guy – and a price cut just two months after the system's U.S. launch would be viewed as a failure of that division. (Just look at the heat Nintendo president Satoru Iwata took when Nintendo slashed the 3DS's price.)

So, does anybody think there is hope for the Vita without drastic things like price cuts?

Sure, if they release some big titles later this year, then the Vita could succeed as the hardcore niche portable platform.

If they want to compete directly against the 3DS though, they need a price drop.

cloudeagle

Gee, that article looks familiar. (I posted it on this page)

I guess E3's going to be absolutely critical for Vita.

Local H Jay

i saw a used vita at gamestop yesterday. i'm surprised people would buy the thing and sell it a month or two later...

UnbreakableVow

Local H Jay wrote: »

i saw a used vita at gamestop yesterday. i'm surprised people would buy the thing and sell it a month or two later...

They probably didn't realize that it had no good games for it yet and didn't want to wait around for it

I've sold Wiis (plural) in the past but always at profit, but yeah, selling to GameStop is pretty stupid because you'd take an enormous loss on a system

Brainiac 8

Lewie P's Stepdad wrote: »

The_Spaniard wrote: »

Lewie P's Stepdad wrote: »

The_Spaniard wrote: »

So a pair of Gunnar MW3 glasses and case for 42 bucks, do I go for it?

This is not a chat thread

Then could you kindly point me to another generic gaming thread where we can ask simple general gaming questions without making a new thread?

www.gamefaqs.com

Ooh, can I get a burn for five hundred Alex? :rotate:

Brainiac 8

RainbowDespair wrote: »

Couscous wrote: »

http://gamasutra.com/view/news/168986/Opinion_Its_time_for_Sony_to_consider_a_Vita_price_cut.php

While a price cut seems logical to consumers at this point, it's a little more complicated for Sony. Kaz Hirai is still largely known as a PlayStation guy – and a price cut just two months after the system's U.S. launch would be viewed as a failure of that division. (Just look at the heat Nintendo president Satoru Iwata took when Nintendo slashed the 3DS's price.)

So, does anybody think there is hope for the Vita without drastic things like price cuts?

Sure, if they release some big titles later this year, then the Vita could succeed as the hardcore niche portable platform.

If they want to compete directly against the 3DS though, they need a price drop.

The question is though, can Sony afford to make it the hardcore niche portable? It's not like the company isn't already bleeding money like nobodies business.

cloudeagle

Not only is Kaz the "PlayStation Guy," but he's already said that Sony's going to rely on the game business to help save Sony.

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/168374/Troubled_Sony_relies_on_video_games_to_reverse_its_fortunes.php

Honestly, I can totally see Sony delaying a Vita price drop to the holidays. But unless it's paired with some awesome games that might be too late.

jothki

Heisenberg wrote: »

If they really do make what their customers want them to make, HL3 probably isn't far off. Every one of their fans wants it more than anything else. They're likely waiting for it to be nearly finished as to avoid the HL2 release date cluster fuck.

Do people actually want HL3? I have no idea what Valve could do with it to make it stand out at this point.