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The video game industry thread: January 2011's over, use the new one

13468961

Posts

  • WordherderWordherder Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    You always beat Bowser the same way at the end of New Super Mario Bros. Wii, therefore it sucks. Why can't I express my individuality? Why can't I kill him with laser cannon blasts or hurled cans of Spam or recitations of really, really bad poetry? For shame, Nintendo.

    Wordherder on
    Why the crap did I ever make my original name "cloudeagle?"
  • RehabRehab Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    I thought the consensus even among most (but certainly not all) MMO players was that play got kind of boring after awhile at the highest levels of the game?

    Maybe not, but thats the impression I got anyway.

    Rehab on
    NNID: Rehab0
  • WordherderWordherder Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    So the marketing for Bulletstorm continues. In what may be a first, they're advertising the game with a completely different game, available for free on the PC. Called Duty Calls, it pokes fun at "realistic" military FPS shooters... and it's friggin hilarious! I can't get into the constant crotch shots of Bulletstorm or the random hot dogs in the Halo parody commercial, but I got a huge kick out of this.

    The game is here: http://www.thedutycalls.com/

    Or you can watch a (very short) runthrough here:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7r9RqWBdl8&feature=player_embedded

    Absolutely genius marketing.

    Wordherder on
    Why the crap did I ever make my original name "cloudeagle?"
  • AutomaticzenAutomaticzen Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    Medal of Honor didn't do it, so EA's going with the left hook.

    gami_215_front.jpg
    The franchise that revolutionized online multiplayer for PC games is back.

    In our world-exclusive cover story, Game Informer unveils the first numbered entry in the Battlefield series since 2005. Many longtime fans are wondering, "what took so long?!" DICE has honed the concept for the true sequel for years, but it wasn't until the company developed the powerful new Frostbite 2 engine that it felt all the pieces were in place to create a proper follow-up. Armed with powerful upgrades like deferred rendering, real-time radiosity, a new animation system borrowed from the EA Sports label, and an exponential leap in destructibility, executive producer Patrick Bach dubs Frostbite 2 "the best piece of technology on the market when it comes to building games."

    Automaticzen on
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    http://www.gamesindustry.biz/
    I write about video games and stuff. It is fun. Sometimes.
  • fragglefartfragglefart Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    cloudeagle wrote: »
    Absolutely genius marketing.

    Watched the first few seconds, laughed, figured I'd be better off downloading and playing - thanks for the link!

    fragglefart on
    fragglefart.jpg
  • GuekGuek Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    Boogdud wrote: »
    Guek wrote: »
    word. it's "cool" to hate on wow, and even though i'm speaking as an ex-player who will never go back to that crack addiction, dismissing the game as anything but the achievement it is is pretty narrow minded. wow is pretty incredible, even if it isn't for everyone.

    Chrimeny, I never said it wasn't an achievement. I was lumping it in with the original quote from dbrock270 about the gaming industry. It might not be an FPS but it definitely fits into the blockbuster multiplayer game that a developer only cares about how long the game is played and how well it sells. One which you add content to milk. On the consoles you'll have the CoDs and on the PC it'll be wow or whatever takes it's place, if anything ever does.

    Lighten up.

    sorry, i didn't mean that to be an attack on you or any other person specifically. i still feel though that wow is a pretty big exception to what you're describing solely because of the massive amount of effort and attention to detail that goes into maintaining something like wow. i don't feel that blizzard just milks the franchise because it's apparent that they put a lot of work into what they put out.

    Guek on
  • kedinikkedinik Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    cloudeagle wrote: »
    So the marketing for Bulletstorm continues. In what may be a first, they're advertising the game with a completely different game, available for free on the PC. Called Duty Calls, it pokes fun at "realistic" military FPS shooters... and it's friggin hilarious! I can't get into the constant crotch shots of Bulletstorm or the random hot dogs in the Halo parody commercial, but I got a huge kick out of this.

    The game is here: http://www.thedutycalls.com/

    Or you can watch a (very short) runthrough here:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7r9RqWBdl8&feature=player_embedded

    Absolutely genius marketing.

    This bothers me as much as the Halo parody and the endless crotch shots.

    It really seems like their writers and designers looked up "humor" in the dictionary, then tried to implement it in XTreme ways.

    kedinik on
  • MattnyxMattnyx Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    Medal of Honor didn't do it, so EA's going with the left hook.

    gami_215_front.jpg
    The franchise that revolutionized online multiplayer for PC games is back.

    In our world-exclusive cover story, Game Informer unveils the first numbered entry in the Battlefield series since 2005. Many longtime fans are wondering, "what took so long?!" DICE has honed the concept for the true sequel for years, but it wasn't until the company developed the powerful new Frostbite 2 engine that it felt all the pieces were in place to create a proper follow-up. Armed with powerful upgrades like deferred rendering, real-time radiosity, a new animation system borrowed from the EA Sports label, and an exponential leap in destructibility, executive producer Patrick Bach dubs Frostbite 2 "the best piece of technology on the market when it comes to building games."

    Wow... nothing about game-design, just lots of bragging about the new shinies ... <sigh>

    Mattnyx on
  • exisexis Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    Mattnyx wrote: »
    Wow... nothing about game-design, just lots of bragging about the new shinies ... <sigh>

    Well... yeah. He's talking about the engine there. Not the game.

    exis on
  • BoogdudBoogdud Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    The franchise that revolutionized online multiplayer for PC games is back.

    In our world-exclusive cover story, Game Informer unveils the first numbered entry in the Battlefield series since 2005. Many longtime fans are wondering, "what took so long?!" DICE has honed the concept for the true sequel for years, but it wasn't until the company developed the powerful new Frostbite 2 engine that it felt all the pieces were in place to create a proper follow-up. Armed with powerful upgrades like deferred rendering, real-time radiosity, a new animation system borrowed from the EA Sports label, and an exponential leap in destructibility, executive producer Patrick Bach dubs Frostbite 2 "the best piece of technology on the market when it comes to building games."

    Translation: "The game that introduced lame leveling systems into first person shooters is back! It's gonna look just like Battlefield Bad Company 2, with slightly different maps and longer leveling curves, because the engine we made for that game turned out really good. BC2 was just a beta test!"

    Boogdud on
  • reVersereVerse Attack and Dethrone God Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    If they balance the vehicles a little better and make some of the maps less frustratingly difficult to attack/defend (depending on map), I'm all up for some more Battlefield.

    reVerse on
  • CygnusZCygnusZ Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    corin7 wrote: »
    darleysam wrote: »
    Valleo wrote: »
    Or maybe he's hoping people will stop asking them to make games if they fail enough.

    There is a company making games that I don't enjoy! Well that just won't do, I should wish unemployment on their entire staff, that'll teach them!

    And because the publisher had high hopes for a game they were putting out, again, we want them to go bust?

    Nope, still don't see an angle that doesn't make that attitude completely asinine.

    Also it's like here is studio that isn't cranking generic fucking shooter number 10,000 and then everyone bitches and moans and hopes they go out of business. The next breath they turn around and complain about all we ever get is dudebro shooters. Most of my favorite games this gen have been these flawed gems that are trying to do something a little different. Give me more Ninja Theorys and From Softs and you can keep your Treyarchs and Infinity Wards.

    Ninja Theory is part of the problem though. A development house that uses a huge budget to create games that are little more than interactive movies. And I'm saying this as someone who firmly believes in the potential of games as a storytelling medium.

    CygnusZ on
  • Santa ClaustrophobiaSanta Claustrophobia Ho Ho Ho Disconnecting from Xbox LIVERegistered User regular
    edited February 2011
    ACSIS wrote: »
    Also i wonder if you really can call something a game where there is no possibility of loosing.

    Death is an enrichment in every game and adding greatly to the experience. If you leave him out you loose something.

    First, it's lose. Second, Jak and Daxter wasn't a game because it had infinite lives?

    C'mon... Any game where the threat of instant death around every corner is missing is automatically crap. You know that.

    Santa Claustrophobia on
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  • exisexis Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    Boogdud wrote: »
    The franchise that revolutionized online multiplayer for PC games is back.

    In our world-exclusive cover story, Game Informer unveils the first numbered entry in the Battlefield series since 2005. Many longtime fans are wondering, "what took so long?!" DICE has honed the concept for the true sequel for years, but it wasn't until the company developed the powerful new Frostbite 2 engine that it felt all the pieces were in place to create a proper follow-up. Armed with powerful upgrades like deferred rendering, real-time radiosity, a new animation system borrowed from the EA Sports label, and an exponential leap in destructibility, executive producer Patrick Bach dubs Frostbite 2 "the best piece of technology on the market when it comes to building games."

    Translation: "The game that introduced lame leveling systems into first person shooters is back! It's gonna look just like Battlefield Bad Company 2, with slightly different maps and longer leveling curves, because the engine we made for that game turned out really good. BC2 was just a beta test!"

    Bad Company 2 was a sequel to Bad Company. Battlefield 3 is a sequel to Battlefield 2.

    They are different games.

    And honestly I think it's a little early to be complaining about how similar the two are when we've seen nothing of BF2.

    exis on
  • RainbowDespairRainbowDespair Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    From the developer's twitter:

    "the ORIGINAL Baby Maker Extreme has had over 800k downloads, and over 120k sales."

    Yes, a game called Baby Maker Extreme is one of the best sellers of XBLIG last year. Apparently, it's a Nanaca Crash clone (haven't actually played it).

    RainbowDespair on
  • SpoitSpoit *twitch twitch* Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    http://blogs.battlefield.ea.com/battlefield_bad_company/archive/2011/02/03/looking-ahead.aspx
    There comes a time when we as a studio have to choose where to best put our efforts. At DICE we’re dedicated to taking care of our products after launch, and also hell bent on building new, innovative and high quality games.

    In my day to day work, I look at our release schedule and the studio’s capacity, weighing them against our wild ambitions to create awesomeness. I often need to make hard calls regarding where we put the studio’s focus. Part of the challenge is to balance work on the new against the already shipped, prioritizing the amount of energy spent on the known franchises and the time spent on developing something entirely new.

    This is one of those cross roads where I need to make a hard decision. While we’ll continue supporting Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and previous games, it’s time to look ahead to the next giant leap for DICE – the release of Battlefield 3, powered by the mighty Frostbite 2 engine. Our goal is crystal clear: we’re going to build the best Battlefield game ever, and we’ll do whatever it takes to make this the biggest launch in DICE’s history.

    We know some of you eagerly have been awaiting Battlefield 1943 and Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Onslaught on PC. I’m sad to say that these two titles are now officially cancelled. Instead, our talented teams will focus on delivering the greatest possible gaming experience in our next behemoth release. We’re confident this will lead to an even better experience in Battlefield 3, not only on PC, but on all platforms.

    For an idea of what that means, watch this space for some exciting news I think you’ll like.

    Best regards,
    Karl Magnus Troedsson
    General Manager, DICE
    I don't really even care about either of these, but after almost a year of promising that a PC version was going to come eventually, I'm pretty skeptical about dice's commitment to actually making a sequel to BF3, rather than just a re-skinned BC2 for consoles. Not that BC2 was a bad game or anything.

    And if they announce ME2, I'd preorder it in a heartbeat. But still, I'm taking their PR with a handful of salt.

    Spoit on
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  • ZxerolZxerol for the smaller pieces, my shovel wouldn't do so i took off my boot and used my shoeRegistered User regular
    edited February 2011
    I don't know how you delay a port of a game because you wanted to "make it the best damn PC version" you could, go dormant for almost two years with nothing said, and then in the end have nothing to show for it, but DICE managed to do so. Pretty amazing, but I expect nothing less.

    Zxerol on
  • fragglefartfragglefart Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    From the developer's twitter:

    "the ORIGINAL Baby Maker Extreme has had over 800k downloads, and over 120k sales."

    Yes, a game called Baby Maker Extreme is one of the best sellers of XBLIG last year. Apparently, it's a Nanaca Crash clone (haven't actually played it).

    It's actually not bad. Amusing enough for a few minutes with some beers and a mate. Worth the 60p IMHO! :D

    fragglefart on
    fragglefart.jpg
  • WordherderWordherder Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    From the developer's twitter:

    "the ORIGINAL Baby Maker Extreme has had over 800k downloads, and over 120k sales."

    Yes, a game called Baby Maker Extreme is one of the best sellers of XBLIG last year. Apparently, it's a Nanaca Crash clone (haven't actually played it).

    It's actually not bad. Amusing enough for a few minutes with some beers and a mate. Worth the 60p IMHO! :D

    And who here has tried Try Not to Fart? C'mon, admit it.

    Rainbow, Slash, the way is clear: your next game needs to be about a farting baby.

    Wordherder on
    Why the crap did I ever make my original name "cloudeagle?"
  • WordherderWordherder Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    News from the Rock Band thread... guess this was inevitable.
    MTV Games has closed its doors following the sale of Harmonix, MCV can reveal.

    The International office, which was headed up by UK industry veteran Roy Campbell, was closed on Wednesday.

    Only a handful of financial staff remain in the New York office to collect or reconcile any outstanding receivables.

    The news follows the sale of developer Harmonix to investment firm Columbus Nova. MTV chose to sell the studio following disappointing sales of Rock Band 3. However, the game was a critical darling with a Metacritic score of 93.

    MCV understands that the MTV Games International team met with Columbus Nova and Harmonix two weeks ago to do a deal that would see it handle sales in Europe. However, the decision has since been made to shut.

    The MTV International team was formed in May last year when former THQ exec Roy Campbell was appointed VP of International.

    MTV Games originally bought Harmonix for $175m in 2006.

    MCV has contacted MTV for comment.

    http://www.mcvuk.com/news/42870/MTV-Games-closed

    Wordherder on
    Why the crap did I ever make my original name "cloudeagle?"
  • Undead ScottsmanUndead Scottsman Cybertronian Paranormal Eliminator Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    cloudeagle wrote: »
    From the developer's twitter:

    "the ORIGINAL Baby Maker Extreme has had over 800k downloads, and over 120k sales."

    Yes, a game called Baby Maker Extreme is one of the best sellers of XBLIG last year. Apparently, it's a Nanaca Crash clone (haven't actually played it).

    It's actually not bad. Amusing enough for a few minutes with some beers and a mate. Worth the 60p IMHO! :D

    And who here has tried Try Not to Fart? C'mon, admit it.

    Rainbow, Slash, the way is clear: your next game needs to be about a farting baby.

    If they were going for whatever is popular, wouldn't they make a Zombie Avatar Massage game?

    Undead Scottsman on
  • Santa ClaustrophobiaSanta Claustrophobia Ho Ho Ho Disconnecting from Xbox LIVERegistered User regular
    edited February 2011
    cloudeagle wrote: »
    From the developer's twitter:

    "the ORIGINAL Baby Maker Extreme has had over 800k downloads, and over 120k sales."

    Yes, a game called Baby Maker Extreme is one of the best sellers of XBLIG last year. Apparently, it's a Nanaca Crash clone (haven't actually played it).

    It's actually not bad. Amusing enough for a few minutes with some beers and a mate. Worth the 60p IMHO! :D

    And who here has tried Try Not to Fart? C'mon, admit it.

    Rainbow, Slash, the way is clear: your next game needs to be about a farting baby.

    If they were going for whatever is popular, wouldn't they make a Zombie Avatar Massage game?

    You mean they didn't?

    Santa Claustrophobia on
    You're muckin' with a G!

    Do not engage the Watermelons.
  • UncleSporkyUncleSporky Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    cloudeagle wrote: »
    News from the Rock Band thread... guess this was inevitable.
    MTV Games has closed its doors following the sale of Harmonix, MCV can reveal.

    The International office, which was headed up by UK industry veteran Roy Campbell, was closed on Wednesday.

    Poor guy. Don't know why he ever left his old job for MTV anyway.
    276638mgsroycampbellscr.jpg

    UncleSporky on
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  • maximumzeromaximumzero I...wait, what? New Orleans, LARegistered User regular
    edited February 2011
    cloudeagle wrote: »
    News from the Rock Band thread... guess this was inevitable.
    MTV Games has closed its doors following the sale of Harmonix, MCV can reveal.

    The International office, which was headed up by UK industry veteran Roy Campbell, was closed on Wednesday.

    Only a handful of financial staff remain in the New York office to collect or reconcile any outstanding receivables.

    The news follows the sale of developer Harmonix to investment firm Columbus Nova. MTV chose to sell the studio following disappointing sales of Rock Band 3. However, the game was a critical darling with a Metacritic score of 93.

    MCV understands that the MTV Games International team met with Columbus Nova and Harmonix two weeks ago to do a deal that would see it handle sales in Europe. However, the decision has since been made to shut.

    The MTV International team was formed in May last year when former THQ exec Roy Campbell was appointed VP of International.

    MTV Games originally bought Harmonix for $175m in 2006.

    MCV has contacted MTV for comment.

    http://www.mcvuk.com/news/42870/MTV-Games-closed

    So that's it for Rock Band, eh?

    maximumzero on
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  • Santa ClaustrophobiaSanta Claustrophobia Ho Ho Ho Disconnecting from Xbox LIVERegistered User regular
    edited February 2011
    So that's it for Rock Band, eh?
    The news follows the sale of developer Harmonix to investment firm Columbus Nova. MTV chose to sell the studio following disappointing sales of Rock Band 3. However, the game was a critical darling with a Metacritic score of 93.

    Reading is Fundamental.

    Rock Band/HMX still exists and has been wholly separate from MTV Games for about a month now. Whatever happens going forward, MTV won't be involved.

    Santa Claustrophobia on
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    Do not engage the Watermelons.
  • plufimplufim Dr Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    With MTV out, will that make acquiring songs more difficult?

    plufim on
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  • SkyGheNeSkyGheNe Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    Good time to strike for battlefield.

    SkyGheNe on
  • maximumzeromaximumzero I...wait, what? New Orleans, LARegistered User regular
    edited February 2011
    So does anyone happen to know which microphones work with DJ Hero 2 on the 360? It's the only game I would own that uses a Mic so I'd like to get something on the cheap.

    maximumzero on
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  • corin7corin7 San Diego, CARegistered User regular
    edited February 2011
    CygnusZ wrote: »
    corin7 wrote: »
    darleysam wrote: »
    Valleo wrote: »
    Or maybe he's hoping people will stop asking them to make games if they fail enough.

    There is a company making games that I don't enjoy! Well that just won't do, I should wish unemployment on their entire staff, that'll teach them!

    And because the publisher had high hopes for a game they were putting out, again, we want them to go bust?

    Nope, still don't see an angle that doesn't make that attitude completely asinine.

    Also it's like here is studio that isn't cranking generic fucking shooter number 10,000 and then everyone bitches and moans and hopes they go out of business. The next breath they turn around and complain about all we ever get is dudebro shooters. Most of my favorite games this gen have been these flawed gems that are trying to do something a little different. Give me more Ninja Theorys and From Softs and you can keep your Treyarchs and Infinity Wards.

    Ninja Theory is part of the problem though. A development house that uses a huge budget to create games that are little more than interactive movies. And I'm saying this as someone who firmly believes in the potential of games as a storytelling medium.

    Have you played both games? Because they are both far more than that. Christ there was actually a fair amount of depth and challenge to the combat in Enslaved if you set it to hard. Get used to easy becoming not having to play. With all the data coming back showing how few people actually finish games more and more games are going to be push A to win on normal mode. I was fucking seriously challenged beating Enslaved on hard and I am hardly a newb at games.

    corin7 on
  • BluefistBluefist Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    corin7 wrote: »
    CygnusZ wrote: »
    corin7 wrote: »
    darleysam wrote: »
    Valleo wrote: »
    Or maybe he's hoping people will stop asking them to make games if they fail enough.

    There is a company making games that I don't enjoy! Well that just won't do, I should wish unemployment on their entire staff, that'll teach them!

    And because the publisher had high hopes for a game they were putting out, again, we want them to go bust?

    Nope, still don't see an angle that doesn't make that attitude completely asinine.

    Also it's like here is studio that isn't cranking generic fucking shooter number 10,000 and then everyone bitches and moans and hopes they go out of business. The next breath they turn around and complain about all we ever get is dudebro shooters. Most of my favorite games this gen have been these flawed gems that are trying to do something a little different. Give me more Ninja Theorys and From Softs and you can keep your Treyarchs and Infinity Wards.

    Ninja Theory is part of the problem though. A development house that uses a huge budget to create games that are little more than interactive movies. And I'm saying this as someone who firmly believes in the potential of games as a storytelling medium.

    Have you played both games? Because they are both far more than that. Christ there was actually a fair amount of depth and challenge to the combat in Enslaved if you set it to hard. Get used to easy becoming not having to play. With all the data coming back showing how few people actually finish games more and more games are going to be push A to win on normal mode. I was fucking seriously challenged beating Enslaved on hard and I am hardly a newb at games.

    I've just played through Heavenly Sword and Enslaved is in the pile of games I have to play so I'll only comment on HS. I played on normal and only found the final boss to be a challenge. I reckon a lot of people who don't finish would get stuck there. The last hat/gong puzzle was a pain aswell.

    The combat of HS was ok but it wasn't that great, the light puzzle sections that used the six axis were terrible but the arrow/cannon ball shooting with it were great. More games should use the six axis. I reckon the progression of the combat system was flawed in that it was too tied to the storyline progression. You don't get much time at all to use the top end "westling" finisher. A shop like system similar to god of war/devil may cry may have worked better.

    It was a alright game, the story was ok, but I didn't think it gave me much in the way of interesting choices in how I played it.

    Bluefist on
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  • Santa ClaustrophobiaSanta Claustrophobia Ho Ho Ho Disconnecting from Xbox LIVERegistered User regular
    edited February 2011
    plufim wrote: »
    With MTV out, will that make acquiring songs more difficult?

    Why would it? It wasn't MTV doing the acquisitions. By now, HMX has built up enough of a reputation for what their product is and how easy it is to deal with. About the only thing it would affect is perhaps the amount of money available for getting some songs. But until they start releasing public domain shit, it won't be a factor.

    Santa Claustrophobia on
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  • plufimplufim Dr Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    plufim wrote: »
    With MTV out, will that make acquiring songs more difficult?

    Why would it? It wasn't MTV doing the acquisitions. By now, HMX has built up enough of a reputation for what their product is and how easy it is to deal with. About the only thing it would affect is perhaps the amount of money available for getting some songs. But until they start releasing public domain shit, it won't be a factor.

    Ah, misunderstanding. I was under the impression that MTV helped them get some of the songs.

    plufim on
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  • Muddy WaterMuddy Water Quiet Batperson Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    http://www.gamefocus.ca/?nav=new&nid=12732
    According to an estimate done by the Research and Analysis division of Forecasting and Analyzing Digital Entertainment, LLC (FADE); Steam brought in an estimated $970 Million USD during 2010, with December’s total rounding out at an estimated $230 Million alone. What this essentially means is that the digital distribution method of delivering PC games to players around the world which has been a hot button issue at times over the last couple of years is not only a proven method of choice but also a healthy growing market. While there are still many players whom prefer the experience of going to a brick and mortar retailer, the growth seen in 2010 in digital distribution shows where the future is leading.

    An estimate but still, damn.

    Gamewise estimates
    As per the Research & Analysis division of analyst firm Forecasting and Analyzing Digital Entertainment, LLC (FADE), Valve's PC distribution platform garnered strong sales, estimated just shy $1 billion USD through the end of the year.
    Estimated revenues through the major digital PC retailer were estimated at $970 million USD in 2010, with December capping off the year with an estimated $213 million USD. Valve took a back seat during the year, as it was the 3rd largest publisher on Steam, bringing in an estimated $80 million USD in revenues, mostly from its 2009 release 'Left 4 Dead 2'. However, Valve sold the most titles of all publishers, as Valve published 7 of the top 10 titles when ordered for units sold. Director of Research & Analysis, Benjamin Schlichter, stated, "Steam's growth has been remarkable during the year. Over 180 titles were estimated reaching over $1 million USD in revenue for the year, painting a very healthy market for developers and publishers, with more room for growth in the future."

    Call of Duty Dominates 2010

    Mirroring its console successes, the 'Call of Duty' franchise saw great sales on the platform, with 'Call of Duty: Black Ops' and 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2' taking 1st and 2nd place in terms of gross revenues, respectively. During just 2 months on the market, Black Ops sold an estimated 1.6 million copies for just under $100 million USD. Due to the popularity of the titles and expansion packs, Activision was the #1 publisher on Steam in 2010, selling an estimated $153 million USD of content during the year. Other first person shooters saw great success as well, as 7 of the top 10 games were primarily of the format.

    Top Selling Titles, by Estimated Gross Revenues in 2010

    Call of Duty: Black Ops (Activision) - $98.2 Million USD
    Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision) - $39.4 Million USD
    Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve) - $36.0 Million USD
    Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (Electronic Arts) - $25.4 Million USD
    Sid Meier's Civilization V (2K Games) - $21.9 Million USD
    Portal (Valve) - $20.0 Million USD
    Fallout: New Vegas (Bethesda Softworks) - $17.0 Million USD
    Metro 2033 (THQ) - $13.4 Million USD
    Mafia II (2K Games) - $11.9 Million USD
    Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: Chaos Rising (THQ) - $10.8 Million USD
    Forecasting and Analyzing Digital Entertainment, LLC

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  • ACSISACSIS Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    Static, as opposed to what? Isn't this a "fault of the concept" of 90% of video games?

    Yes. Go figure. And thats why people can't cope with loosing in online games when pitted against humans. They ain't usded to it. Back in the old days games were oriented twoards arcade games, and naturally loosing was quite easy. Maybe too easy but the concept works better that way. In my humble opinion.

    But, yes: the general notion is twoards... movies... with savestates from where you try again and again until you overcome a difficult obstracle. And rerun the same frustrating part again and again.

    I don't think this is how games should be designed.
    First you need a good concept.

    I am eagerly awaiting Diablo 3 (hardcore mode), i consider that one a game. Also Starcraft 2 is a fine game (if you do not save in missions).
    So those are excellent examples of "good" concepts. And Blizzard is aware of it. Thats why they made Cataclysm the way it is. However, its just a temporary reprisal. MMORPGS are best when things are fresh and everybody is exploring.
    ACSIS wrote: »
    Also i wonder if you really can call something a game where there is no possibility of loosing.

    Death is an enrichment in every game and adding greatly to the experience. If you leave him out you loose something.

    First, it's lose. Second, Jak and Daxter wasn't a game because it had infinite lives?

    C'mon... Any game where the threat of instant death around every corner is missing is automatically crap. You know that.

    Not really, but you need a different concept then... business simulations work well without lives as an example.

    But walking in ghostform to your corpse is NOT a good mechanic. Is that fun? Backtracing your corpse?

    Death is a good concept because it changes the entire experience, the entire way you play a game, especially in the first go and especially if the gameworld is constantly changing it keeps up the challenge forever.

    Of course not everybody is manly enough to accept charcter death as a given possibility. So they amass hoards of precious loot until the next contend patch comes around to totally devaluate it... no... thanks.

    ACSIS on
  • CygnusZCygnusZ Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    corin7 wrote: »
    CygnusZ wrote: »
    corin7 wrote: »
    darleysam wrote: »
    Valleo wrote: »
    Or maybe he's hoping people will stop asking them to make games if they fail enough.

    There is a company making games that I don't enjoy! Well that just won't do, I should wish unemployment on their entire staff, that'll teach them!

    And because the publisher had high hopes for a game they were putting out, again, we want them to go bust?

    Nope, still don't see an angle that doesn't make that attitude completely asinine.

    Also it's like here is studio that isn't cranking generic fucking shooter number 10,000 and then everyone bitches and moans and hopes they go out of business. The next breath they turn around and complain about all we ever get is dudebro shooters. Most of my favorite games this gen have been these flawed gems that are trying to do something a little different. Give me more Ninja Theorys and From Softs and you can keep your Treyarchs and Infinity Wards.

    Ninja Theory is part of the problem though. A development house that uses a huge budget to create games that are little more than interactive movies. And I'm saying this as someone who firmly believes in the potential of games as a storytelling medium.

    Have you played both games? Because they are both far more than that. Christ there was actually a fair amount of depth and challenge to the combat in Enslaved if you set it to hard. Get used to easy becoming not having to play. With all the data coming back showing how few people actually finish games more and more games are going to be push A to win on normal mode. I was fucking seriously challenged beating Enslaved on hard and I am hardly a newb at games.

    You got me here. I'm staying away from the game solely based on the lackluster demo and its reputation for it being 8 hours long. In fact, if I saw it for $5 I'd probably pick it up (well, maybe... my backlog is getting beyond ridiculous). I would have considered it more seriously if it had a reputation for combat and re-playability on par with Bayonetta.

    CygnusZ on
  • ACSISACSIS Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    cloudeagle wrote: »
    You always beat Bowser the same way at the end of New Super Mario Bros. Wii, therefore it sucks. Why can't I express my individuality? Why can't I kill him with laser cannon blasts or hurled cans of Spam or recitations of really, really bad poetry? For shame, Nintendo.

    Well, it follows the concept of death (at least the old ones do, i have no idea how the Wii version handles things). Its an old concept. But the problem with those games is: you rerun the easy parts again and again until you beat the game. There were two approaches to deal with that. Either you have a vast gameworld where you decide where to go first (Super Mario Bros... II i think? Also Thunderforce III and many others) or you have a branching tree, so each game ends up different.

    In a way Super Mario Bros (at least the old one i know) have a far better concept than a WoW, even when being a bit straightforward in approach. I mean its platformers, not RPG. RPG demands more depth because it should be concepted around role playing and that involves options and choices. Options of Character development wich WoW does offer, but because of its compeditive element it always boils down to min/maxing and you don't really end up with a choice. You have to use the current blueprint. Guildwars does the character builds thing thousand times better. You have way more options. That being said Guildwars lacks the depth of a WoW.

    ACSIS on
  • UncleSporkyUncleSporky Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    ACSIS wrote: »
    But walking in ghostform to your corpse is NOT a good mechanic. Is that fun? Backtracing your corpse?
    Death in general is not a good mechanic. Is that fun? Playing an entire level over again because you made one mistake?
    Death is a good concept because it changes the entire experience, the entire way you play a game, especially in the first go and especially if the gameworld is constantly changing it keeps up the challenge forever.
    Exactly. You try hard not to die in WoW so you don't have to take a lot of durability damage and take a lot of time walking back. It changes the way you play the game. If you couldn't die, you'd just go all out every time and kill every boss easily.
    Of course not everybody is manly enough to accept charcter death as a given possibility. So they amass hoards of precious loot until the next contend patch comes around to totally devaluate it... no... thanks.
    These two sentences don't really follow very well...I think you're saying that people aren't manly enough to accept death, so they try to equip better things so that they don't die? Uh, isn't that the point of nearly every game, to become stronger? In hardcore modes do you always equip the worst possible equipment in the hopes that you'll die in order to prove you're manly?

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  • MorninglordMorninglord I'm tired of being Batman, so today I'll be Owl.Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    Cade wrote: »
    Know what the industries biggest problem is....YOU ARE, the negative gamer says Treyarch
    Speaking to NowGamer, Olin highlighted the risk of innovation in gaming culture.

    “Too many developers who try new things are getting burned by “pundits” and angry entitled fans who look to be contrarian, sometimes simply for the sake of being contrarian,” he said.

    “The only thing this attitude aims to achieve is stunt that creativity and innovation even further, which is something that no rational gamer looking to be entertained would want to do.”

    Olin said the “social culture” of gaming is moving in a “negative direction”.

    “More and more gamers seem to forget what this industry is all about. It’s a creative industry – the most creative form of entertainment in existence,” he added.

    I started at the end of this thread, had to go all the way back to find this and it is something interesting because I mostly agree with it.

    All you need to do is look at any sequel thread to see the evidence. It's pretty disengenuous to claim that people don't try to enforce the status quo. It's also disengenuous to claim that game development is not funded and planned around making money, which means appeals to popularity. I personally think that very few people enjoy brand new things or will try out different things for the sake of them. This is why brands are so strong!
    He's not saying anything remarkable here.

    My only problem is how he generalises to all gamers instead of the ones who do it. Since not all gamers do that.

    I'm unimpressed (to the point of actively ignoring their arguments) by people who use ad hominems to counter his claims. Seeing as ad hominem is a fallacy. All that matters is a persons argument.

    I didn't actually like heavenly sword much. I didn't dislike it, I did think it was kind of interesting, it just didn't grab me enough to finish it. I was neutral. I thought the three way switching was novel but something about its implementation put me off. So I'm hardly a defensive fanboy, just in case someone wants to have another crack at the whole ad hominem thing for old times sake.

    Basically all he did was word accurate observations of markets badly. People don't like something to be changed once they are used to it. This is utterly uncontroversial.

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  • ShenShen Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    Death in WoW is annoying because it pretty much only happens in instances, meaning that it's not necessarily your fault; maybe the healer wasn't geared, the dps was shit, the tank wasn't picking up adds.

    Death in Demon's Souls is enjoyable because you know it's usually your fault. Ran up the stairs without looking to see if there are any traps? Didn't check to see if the crumbly tower was missing some balconies? Thought it'd be a good idea to open some iron maidens? Enjoy soul form.

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  • MorninglordMorninglord I'm tired of being Batman, so today I'll be Owl.Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    The key to difficulty is making it rely upon the players skill.

    Can the player overcome the difficulty through something other than pure experience (having done it before)? Yes? Then he can improve. Improving yourself is satisfying. Knowing that you can improve yourself to get past obstacles puts an onus on yourself to get better.

    People who don't play games for this kind of satisfaction wont see the point of demon souls difficulty.

    Morninglord on
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