Ah yes, the Powerup card. The fact that I didn't have one meant that I had to stand in line behind all the people who had one at the midnight launch of Rock Band 3. And the rewards are laughably paltry considering the up-front fee.
So they made you get behind the other guy?
0
AegeriTiny wee bacteriumsPlateau of LengRegistered Userregular
edited August 2011
Given that most publishers view us with a bit of contempt due to our ridiculous games ratings laws - which are finally being changed - and the lack of incentives other places provide, combined with our very high dollar it's easy to see why these are happening. I also don't think the whole mess with Team Bondi has done Australia's gaming industry any favors either.
Edit: DEAR GOD, I JUST REFERRED TO AUSTRALIA AS "US". I have been assimilated into the borg
Given that most publishers view us with a bit of contempt due to our ridiculous games ratings laws - which are finally being changed - and the lack of incentives other places provide, combined with our very high dollar it's easy to see why these are happening. I also don't think the whole mess with Team Bondi has done Australia's gaming industry any favors either.
Edit: DEAR GOD, I JUST REFERRED TO AUSTRALIA AS "US". I have been assimilated into the borg
Resistance is futile mate.
The fixes to the rating system is wonderful.
Now we just need somebody to investigate why companies are allowed to retardedly overprice down here and get away with it.
Morninglord on
(PSN: Morninglord) (Steam: Morninglord) (WiiU: Morninglord22) I like to record and toss up a lot of random gaming videos here.
AegeriTiny wee bacteriumsPlateau of LengRegistered Userregular
In fairness with the rating, it may not mean anything if it's just the MA15+ rating called R18. This would mean we get an R18 rating in name only, while still having the same games banned or butchered (EG Left4dead 2). Without seeing the full document, we might be in trouble given that the ACL hasn't been going apeshit over it.
Anyone know how IP laws affect the possibility of a LA Noire sequel? I assume Rockstar might have access to it, since they helped polish/promote/publish the damn thing.
0
AegeriTiny wee bacteriumsPlateau of LengRegistered Userregular
Rockstar do own the LA Noire IP and are in fact apparently porting it to PC at the moment. If they wanted, they could and I hope they do make a sequel. Improved mechanics and a more coherently fleshed out story would do that game a lot of good.
Brainiac 8Don't call me Shirley...Registered Userregular
God, the people at IGN are morons sometimes.
As this change has occurred, so too have people's conceptions about what should be classified as a fully-priced game. Blockbusters made by hundreds of people (like Mass Effect 2 or Red Dead Redemption) are seen as worthy of a Triple A Game price, whereas most people no longer consider platformers as being in the same ballpark.
The LittleBigPlanet series is obviously one of the few exceptions, but those titles are much more than just platformers. The company that is truly bucking the trend is Nintendo. What other company still charges full price for a classic platformer experience? In the last couple of years we've had New Super Mario Bros., DKC Returns and Kirby's Epic Yarn to name a few. These titles are obviously Nintendo's bread and butter, but it does put the company at odds with the rest of the industry.
Don't get me wrong, I love Mario, Donkey Kong and Kirby as much as the next guy, but it can't be denied that these games are selling gameplay that hasn't necessarily evolved since the NES and SNES eras, at five times the price of new and original games being released on PSN, Steam and XBLA. These titles don't have the added bonuses of HD graphics, online play, leaderboards, true 5.1 sound and the potential for DLC expansions.
As this change has occurred, so too have people's conceptions about what should be classified as a fully-priced game. Blockbusters made by hundreds of people (like Mass Effect 2 or Red Dead Redemption) are seen as worthy of a Triple A Game price, whereas most people no longer consider platformers as being in the same ballpark.
The LittleBigPlanet series is obviously one of the few exceptions, but those titles are much more than just platformers. The company that is truly bucking the trend is Nintendo. What other company still charges full price for a classic platformer experience? In the last couple of years we've had New Super Mario Bros., DKC Returns and Kirby's Epic Yarn to name a few. These titles are obviously Nintendo's bread and butter, but it does put the company at odds with the rest of the industry.
Don't get me wrong, I love Mario, Donkey Kong and Kirby as much as the next guy, but it can't be denied that these games are selling gameplay that hasn't necessarily evolved since the NES and SNES eras, at five times the price of new and original games being released on PSN, Steam and XBLA. These titles don't have the added bonuses of HD graphics, online play, leaderboards, true 5.1 sound and the potential for DLC expansions.
As this change has occurred, so too have people's conceptions about what should be classified as a fully-priced game. Blockbusters made by hundreds of people (like Mass Effect 2 or Red Dead Redemption) are seen as worthy of a Triple A Game price, whereas most people no longer consider platformers as being in the same ballpark.
The LittleBigPlanet series is obviously one of the few exceptions, but those titles are much more than just platformers. The company that is truly bucking the trend is Nintendo. What other company still charges full price for a classic platformer experience? In the last couple of years we've had New Super Mario Bros., DKC Returns and Kirby's Epic Yarn to name a few. These titles are obviously Nintendo's bread and butter, but it does put the company at odds with the rest of the industry.
Don't get me wrong, I love Mario, Donkey Kong and Kirby as much as the next guy, but it can't be denied that these games are selling gameplay that hasn't necessarily evolved since the NES and SNES eras, at five times the price of new and original games being released on PSN, Steam and XBLA. These titles don't have the added bonuses of HD graphics, online play, leaderboards, true 5.1 sound and the potential for DLC expansions.
After the first 2 million copies of DNF were bought for the sake of remembrance, everyone else listened to the feedback and decided against it. At least that's what I'm going with.
I still plan to pick it up at some point once it goes dirt cheap during a Steam sale.
You didn't grab it for 50% off during the Summer Sale?
EDIT: Weapons issue covered previously.
When I say "dirt cheap" - I mean like $5 tops. I really can't justify paying more than that for something that I *know* sucks but I'm only really getting to sate my curiosity...
Brainiac 8Don't call me Shirley...Registered Userregular
"When we were preparing to launch the 3DS, we had very positive signals. High levels of pre-orders. High levels of buzz. High levels of interest. Even things like search activity, which we measure, were all very positive and very robust," Fils-Aime said. "That led to a very strong first day and very strong first few weeks of sell-through. Following that is when we began to see some slowdown of momentum."
...
"Having said that I think the launch of 3DS affirmed that it is the role of Nintendo first party content to drive the install base. Those the roles that Ocarina of Time, Star Fox, the Mario games, Kid Icarus and Luigi's Mansion 2 will play. Those are the titles that will drive the install base. We hoped that third party titles at launch would drive that base, and that didn't happen to the degree that we needed."
People and devs kept saying that they can't compete against Nintendo's first party titles, so they should give third parties some breathing room. They did, and it turns out that it blew up in their faces, and now people blame Nintendo for not getting their software out fast enough.
That'll be the last time Nintendo pulls this stunt.
"When we were preparing to launch the 3DS, we had very positive signals. High levels of pre-orders. High levels of buzz. High levels of interest. Even things like search activity, which we measure, were all very positive and very robust," Fils-Aime said. "That led to a very strong first day and very strong first few weeks of sell-through. Following that is when we began to see some slowdown of momentum."
...
"Having said that I think the launch of 3DS affirmed that it is the role of Nintendo first party content to drive the install base. Those the roles that Ocarina of Time, Star Fox, the Mario games, Kid Icarus and Luigi's Mansion 2 will play. Those are the titles that will drive the install base. We hoped that third party titles at launch would drive that base, and that didn't happen to the degree that we needed."
People and devs kept saying that they can't compete against Nintendo's first party titles, so they should give third parties some breathing room. They did, and it turns out that it blew up in their faces, and now people blame Nintendo for not getting their software out fast enough.
That'll be the last time Nintendo pulls this stunt.
"When we were preparing to launch the 3DS, we had very positive signals. High levels of pre-orders. High levels of buzz. High levels of interest. Even things like search activity, which we measure, were all very positive and very robust," Fils-Aime said. "That led to a very strong first day and very strong first few weeks of sell-through. Following that is when we began to see some slowdown of momentum."
...
"Having said that I think the launch of 3DS affirmed that it is the role of Nintendo first party content to drive the install base. Those the roles that Ocarina of Time, Star Fox, the Mario games, Kid Icarus and Luigi's Mansion 2 will play. Those are the titles that will drive the install base. We hoped that third party titles at launch would drive that base, and that didn't happen to the degree that we needed."
People and devs kept saying that they can't compete against Nintendo's first party titles, so they should give third parties some breathing room. They did, and it turns out that it blew up in their faces, and now people blame Nintendo for not getting their software out fast enough.
That'll be the last time Nintendo pulls this stunt.
I totally agree with this sentiment. Well put.
Yeah, pretty much.
I have a feeling it may stay that way, since most western game developers seem to have mostly given up on portables. Hell, we're not even seeing a crush of Petz type crap anymore.
"When we were preparing to launch the 3DS, we had very positive signals. High levels of pre-orders. High levels of buzz. High levels of interest. Even things like search activity, which we measure, were all very positive and very robust," Fils-Aime said. "That led to a very strong first day and very strong first few weeks of sell-through. Following that is when we began to see some slowdown of momentum."
...
"Having said that I think the launch of 3DS affirmed that it is the role of Nintendo first party content to drive the install base. Those the roles that Ocarina of Time, Star Fox, the Mario games, Kid Icarus and Luigi's Mansion 2 will play. Those are the titles that will drive the install base. We hoped that third party titles at launch would drive that base, and that didn't happen to the degree that we needed."
People and devs kept saying that they can't compete against Nintendo's first party titles, so they should give third parties some breathing room. They did, and it turns out that it blew up in their faces, and now people blame Nintendo for not getting their software out fast enough.
That'll be the last time Nintendo pulls this stunt.
I totally agree with this sentiment. Well put.
What annoyed me was that the Nintendo published launch titles Pilotwings resort and the Nintendogs + cats series in all honesty felt so half assed even compared to the nintendo published DS launch titles which were nothing more than tech demos.
Maybe it's a regional thing, but when I visited the states Fruit Ninja seemed to be more popular than Angry Birds. My Mom, over 60 years old, actually paid money for the game.
I'm not sure it's more popular than Angry Birds, but it's pretty freaking popular by any measure. It's stayed at the top of the iOS charts for a LONG time, there's a Fruit Ninja arcade machine out there and it's just been ported to Kinect. Fruit Ninja is definitely a thing.
Meanwhile, this is certainly interesting:
GameFly Goes Digital With PC Game ‘Rental’ Service
GameFly will launch a new program through which subscribers can rent PC titles to be delivered digitally instead of through postal mail.
GameFly is best known for its game rental service where customers can have differing numbers of games out at a time — much like the original Netflix. The new digital storefront allows subscribers to play PC games at no additional charge; access to the games is cut off when you end your subscription. The announcement comes three months after GameFly purchased Direct2Drive from IGN.
“It’s kind of like a Spotify or Rhapsody or a Napster,” GameFly co-founder Sean Spector told USA Today. “You have access to the content as long as you are a subscriber but when you are no longer a member, the content then disappears.”
A closed beta of the downloadable client will launch early next month, while the full version is expected to be available in time for the holidays. Around 100 games are expected to be available for download initially, and the service will be PC-only to start (Mac games will be available at a later date). Based on the teaser trailer, it looks like the service may already have support from major publishers like Ubisoft.
Of course, GameFly isn’t the first to offer a digital subscription-based rental service, as GameTap already provides a similar experience. The main difference is that the GameFly service is tied to the disc-rental business — as of now GameFly has no plans to offer a digital-only subscription option, according to Joystiq.
Huh. On the one hand, this could be pretty darn nifty. On the other, GameTap has really, REALLY scaled back, and they used to have an absolutely awesome rental library.
So, did you know there's a PlayStation 3DTV? Well, there's a PlayStation 3DTV. And you can pre-order it.
Turn any bedroom, den, or office into a 3D entertainment power suite with the best-in-class PlayStation® 3D Display. The brilliant 24" ultra-slim LED screen delivers all of your HD media by connecting to your PS3 system, cable TV box, and PC, while built-in speakers and subwoofer fill out the audio experience. Specially enhanced for gaming, SimulView technology delivers individual full HD screen action to each player in two-player mode, putting players deeper in the game. Quicker refresh rates keep gameplay continuous and smooth. And with the universal* PlayStation® 3D Glasses and MotorStorm: Apocalypse Game included, true 3D immersion is ready right out of the box. Enter a new dimension of gaming with true PlayStation® 3D.
Yes we do know, since it was made a big deal of during Sony's e3 press conference. It has that neat 2 player splitscreen/fullscreen thing (although you can do it with current 3d tvs already through some finangling.)
Ah yes, the Powerup card. The fact that I didn't have one meant that I had to stand in line behind all the people who had one at the midnight launch of Rock Band 3. And the rewards are laughably paltry considering the up-front fee.
That is definitely not company policy. Your local gamestop is pulling some weird-ass shit.
It was years ago, but I remember for the Halo 3 launch, pretty much the one midnight launch I can remember, I had no such thing. And I simply had my place in line.
Then again, my local Gamestop is generally run by okay guys,
The gamestop I worked at was pretty awesome. We had a really good customer base and always tried to help out. Then they closed our store this past week (yay unemployment :P). We had more than a handful of customers who say they won't be shopping at gamestop anymore. They came because they were treated well by us and we knew our shit. Was honestly nice to hear amidst the depression of losing a job I've been working at for years.
So i got a topic that i've been thinking about for a while and it relates to the video game console industry:
The Wii U kind of scares me. Its graphics are comparable to the PS3 and Xbox 360. It is rumored that next year Sony and Microsoft will be unveiling new, more powerful consoles. I feel like this is going to leave Nintendo in the dust. It was difficult for developers to port games across all four main systems already. Next year, the Wii U will be a technology inferior, niche console, that I can only really see housing Nintendo developed games and indie downloadable games.
I think Sony is going to make the PS-Vita directly interact with the PS3/Sony's new console. Therefore, The PS-Vita will basically be a Wii U controller in itself.
I feel like Nintendo is slowly fading out. I'm not sure they will be able to keep up on the console front. They were dominating handhelds, but slowly more and more people are getting their hands on smartphones, which cost about the same as a 3ds/psp, and smartphone games are amazing (cost/fun wise).
I think Sony is going to make the PS-Vita directly interact with the PS3/Sony's new console. Therefore, The PS-Vita will basically be a Wii U controller in itself.
Nobody will use this functionality except Sony itself and a few devs that they pay/coerce to integrate it. You can't count on people owning both the handheld and the console, unlike WiiU's built-in capability.
Essentially it's Wii remote vs. Move all over again.
This is at all surprising? Is there even anything on The Escapist site worth watching anymore? Was there ever anything worth watching besides Zero Punctuation? And even then... it got old pretty quickly.
The Wii U? Who knows. The start of every new console generation is the chance for the last to become first and vice versa. And the power gulf is potentially a problem. However, I don't think that gulf will be as wide as the one from the Wii to the others, plus it won't have the controller problem. So maybe developers will take the time to tweak things and port things over. Or maybe not. Developers do tend to be a lazy lot. But another thing to keep in mind is that the technologically superior console has never, ever won a generation up to this point.
Vita as a controller? It's been done/proposed before a LOT. The GBA could be used as a Cube controller, for instance. And it never, ever caught on. Unless Sony manages to do something truly awesome with it this time around, I can't see that really being a true selling point either.
Edit: And Sporky probably hit on the main reason console/portable connectivity never works: you can't count on people owning both devices.
cloudeagle on
Switch: 3947-4890-9293
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Ninja Snarl PMy helmet is my burden.Ninja Snarl: Gone, but not forgotten.Registered Userregular
edited August 2011
Nintendo will be fine on the console side of things if a) they find the right intersection of system capability and consumer price so that the Wii U is seen as a great value and b) Nintendo doesn't throw in another gimmick as a core focus and people pick up on it.
Yeah, the 3DS didn't start out real hot, but it's only been a few months. Long enough to judge that it's had a slow start, but not nearly long enough to judge whether it will retain handheld dominance. The PSP was an utter fiasco for years and years, so much so that I don't even trust Sony enough to consider picking up another one of their handhelds, but it still managed to do okay. Not stellar, but it still sold. And the major retail holidays are still months away, so the sales are going to up at least somewhat for the 3DS.
Personally, I think Nintendo's successes with the Wii were entirely a fluke rather than by design, but at least they ran with it instead of trying to change it up to attract a broader crowd. Nintendo has managed to repeatedly turn out stellar handhelds so I'm not worried about the 3DS vs. the Vita, but I doubt Nintendo will be able to intentionally replicate the Wii's success. The company has made some thick-headed poor decisions before based on narrow views and I think they're pretty ripe to do more stuff like make the 3DS heftily overpriced.
Nintendo is probably going to be super reasonable with the WiiU's price, given the 3DS's recent troubles. I expect $250.
And Sony and MS really ought to get dollar signs in their eyes, picturing putting out an only-slightly-more-improved hardware package at a reasonable price in order to avoid the pricing debacles this gen. The market doesn't like to pay more than $300 or so for its consoles.
Posts
So they made you get behind the other guy?
Edit: DEAR GOD, I JUST REFERRED TO AUSTRALIA AS "US". I have been assimilated into the borg
Resistance is futile mate.
The fixes to the rating system is wonderful.
Now we just need somebody to investigate why companies are allowed to retardedly overprice down here and get away with it.
http://au.wii.ign.com/articles/118/1186688p1.html
Mario and Donkey Kong, not evolving since 1981!
Nintendo Network ID - Brainiac_8
PSN - Brainiac_8
Steam - http://steamcommunity.com/id/BRAINIAC8/
Add me!
Yeah and shooters have evolved so much. What a load.
Mario an Donkey Kong Gaemz dont have leaderboards and DLC!!!!
SHITTY GAMES!
Uh...
When I say "dirt cheap" - I mean like $5 tops. I really can't justify paying more than that for something that I *know* sucks but I'm only really getting to sate my curiosity...
uhh...
something?
http://ds.ign.com/articles/118/1187093p1.html
People and devs kept saying that they can't compete against Nintendo's first party titles, so they should give third parties some breathing room. They did, and it turns out that it blew up in their faces, and now people blame Nintendo for not getting their software out fast enough.
That'll be the last time Nintendo pulls this stunt.
Nintendo Network ID - Brainiac_8
PSN - Brainiac_8
Steam - http://steamcommunity.com/id/BRAINIAC8/
Add me!
I totally agree with this sentiment. Well put.
Yeah, pretty much.
I have a feeling it may stay that way, since most western game developers seem to have mostly given up on portables. Hell, we're not even seeing a crush of Petz type crap anymore.
What annoyed me was that the Nintendo published launch titles Pilotwings resort and the Nintendogs + cats series in all honesty felt so half assed even compared to the nintendo published DS launch titles which were nothing more than tech demos.
I'm not sure it's more popular than Angry Birds, but it's pretty freaking popular by any measure. It's stayed at the top of the iOS charts for a LONG time, there's a Fruit Ninja arcade machine out there and it's just been ported to Kinect. Fruit Ninja is definitely a thing.
Meanwhile, this is certainly interesting:
http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2011/08/gamefly-pc-game-rental/
Huh. On the one hand, this could be pretty darn nifty. On the other, GameTap has really, REALLY scaled back, and they used to have an absolutely awesome rental library.
From within!!!! /scaryvoice
http://www.gamestop.com/accessories/playstation-3d-display/92829
Gamestop's charging $500 for the thing, and both they and Amazon are throwing in Resistance 3 if you pre-order it.
Has there been a PlayStation-branded TV before? I forget.
The gamestop I worked at was pretty awesome. We had a really good customer base and always tried to help out. Then they closed our store this past week (yay unemployment :P). We had more than a handful of customers who say they won't be shopping at gamestop anymore. They came because they were treated well by us and we knew our shit. Was honestly nice to hear amidst the depression of losing a job I've been working at for years.
The Pipe Vault|Twitter|Steam|Backloggery|3DS:1332-7703-1083
The Wii U kind of scares me. Its graphics are comparable to the PS3 and Xbox 360. It is rumored that next year Sony and Microsoft will be unveiling new, more powerful consoles. I feel like this is going to leave Nintendo in the dust. It was difficult for developers to port games across all four main systems already. Next year, the Wii U will be a technology inferior, niche console, that I can only really see housing Nintendo developed games and indie downloadable games.
I think Sony is going to make the PS-Vita directly interact with the PS3/Sony's new console. Therefore, The PS-Vita will basically be a Wii U controller in itself.
I feel like Nintendo is slowly fading out. I'm not sure they will be able to keep up on the console front. They were dominating handhelds, but slowly more and more people are getting their hands on smartphones, which cost about the same as a 3ds/psp, and smartphone games are amazing (cost/fun wise).
Wonder what your thoughts are on that.
Nobody will use this functionality except Sony itself and a few devs that they pay/coerce to integrate it. You can't count on people owning both the handheld and the console, unlike WiiU's built-in capability.
Essentially it's Wii remote vs. Move all over again.
Yep - that's when I bought it.
I like Unskippable.
Steam: Elvenshae // PSN: Elvenshae // WotC: Elvenshae
Wilds of Aladrion: [https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/43159014/#Comment_43159014]Ellandryn[/url]
Vita as a controller? It's been done/proposed before a LOT. The GBA could be used as a Cube controller, for instance. And it never, ever caught on. Unless Sony manages to do something truly awesome with it this time around, I can't see that really being a true selling point either.
Edit: And Sporky probably hit on the main reason console/portable connectivity never works: you can't count on people owning both devices.
Yeah, the 3DS didn't start out real hot, but it's only been a few months. Long enough to judge that it's had a slow start, but not nearly long enough to judge whether it will retain handheld dominance. The PSP was an utter fiasco for years and years, so much so that I don't even trust Sony enough to consider picking up another one of their handhelds, but it still managed to do okay. Not stellar, but it still sold. And the major retail holidays are still months away, so the sales are going to up at least somewhat for the 3DS.
Personally, I think Nintendo's successes with the Wii were entirely a fluke rather than by design, but at least they ran with it instead of trying to change it up to attract a broader crowd. Nintendo has managed to repeatedly turn out stellar handhelds so I'm not worried about the 3DS vs. the Vita, but I doubt Nintendo will be able to intentionally replicate the Wii's success. The company has made some thick-headed poor decisions before based on narrow views and I think they're pretty ripe to do more stuff like make the 3DS heftily overpriced.
And Sony and MS really ought to get dollar signs in their eyes, picturing putting out an only-slightly-more-improved hardware package at a reasonable price in order to avoid the pricing debacles this gen. The market doesn't like to pay more than $300 or so for its consoles.