Quick dispatch from The Land of Ginormous Numbers:
Apple® today announced financial results for its fiscal 2012 second quarter ended March 31, 2012. The Company posted quarterly revenue of $39.2 billion and quarterly net profit of $11.6 billion, or $12.30 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $24.7 billion and net profit of $6.0 billion, or $6.40 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 47.4 percent compared to 41.4 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 64 percent of the quarter’s revenue.
So, I'm a little vague on what some financial terms mean, but looking up, say, Electronic Arts shows that it has a market cap of around $5 billion. Does that mean that Apple could buy them, if they so chose, with about five weeks of their profits?
Lone Survivor has been in the Top 10 Best Sellers on Steam since it came out yesterday. I bet it feels like winning the lottery to Jasper Bryne - since he's a one-man team, he doesn't have to split his profits with anyone beyond Steam's cut and taxes. 24+ hours in the Top 10 on Steam is a lot of money for one guy.
Microsoft revealed on Tuesday that it has expanded its lineup of advertising partners on Xbox Live, and will distribute even more TV-like ad spots across the various media apps on the platform.
Xbox Live media apps such as ESPN, Last.fm, Manga Entertainment, GameSpot, and MUZU.TV will now include 15 to 30 second video ad spots. These partners join companies like UFC, TMZ, and Crackle, which have offered these video ads since December.
Microsoft first introduced these TV-like advertisements with last year's major dashboard update, as part of a larger initiative to grow the Xbox 360 platform from a games console into a full-blown entertainment hub.
According to Microsoft, that plan is working so far, as entertainment app usage has doubled year over year for Xbox Live Gold members in the U.S.
This trend toward multimedia entertainment has also coincided with an increase in ad revenue for Microsoft, as ad spending on Xbox Live has increased by 142 percent since 2010.
Xbox Live currently boasts some 40 million active members worldwide, and Microsoft says that U.S.-based Gold members spend an average of 84 hours a month using the service, making it an ideal platform for entertainment and advertisements alike.
Microsoft revealed on Tuesday that it has expanded its lineup of advertising partners on Xbox Live, and will distribute even more TV-like ad spots across the various media apps on the platform.
Xbox Live media apps such as ESPN, Last.fm, Manga Entertainment, GameSpot, and MUZU.TV will now include 15 to 30 second video ad spots. These partners join companies like UFC, TMZ, and Crackle, which have offered these video ads since December.
Microsoft first introduced these TV-like advertisements with last year's major dashboard update, as part of a larger initiative to grow the Xbox 360 platform from a games console into a full-blown entertainment hub.
According to Microsoft, that plan is working so far, as entertainment app usage has doubled year over year for Xbox Live Gold members in the U.S.
This trend toward multimedia entertainment has also coincided with an increase in ad revenue for Microsoft, as ad spending on Xbox Live has increased by 142 percent since 2010.
Xbox Live currently boasts some 40 million active members worldwide, and Microsoft says that U.S.-based Gold members spend an average of 84 hours a month using the service, making it an ideal platform for entertainment and advertisements alike.
Yeah, yeah, should be outraged. Apps with ads that are free on other consoles, but honestly? I expected this years ago from MS.
I'm now fearing the day that commercials start playing during loading screens. *sigh*
The sad thing is that we've all become so accustomed to ads in paid service (IE. Cable TV) that we simply can't muster enough outrage to do anything about it.
If anything, they should offer tiers of service. Ad free should be what Gold is right now, but offer cheaper versions of gold with ads active or some crap. That'll never happen though.
In other news, I've had it with these motherfucking announcement announcements on this motherfucking plane industry.
Geoff Keighley, Game Trailers TV host and master of the world exclusive video reveal is currently in hype mode for Thursday's installment of GTTV and is promising the following in a new promo for the show...
"A huge PlayStation 3 exclusive..."
"...this new game that will definitely be the talk of the Internet..."
"the next great PlayStation 3 exclusive..."
The development studio is the start-up Superbot Entertainment.
Oh, and on Twitter, he added: "I was absolutely blown away!"
Theories? Not God of War: Ascension. Maybe the long-rumored PS3 all-star fighting game? Something else?
The new episode of GTTV will air on Thursday night (aka Friday morning) at 1:05 ET/PT.
Sony's "announcement of an announcement", aka "secret PS3 game" bullshit has been so overused in the past few years, it just doesn't carry much weight anymore, at least not for me. They've tried to play that card too many times now.
Oh, and NPC Pikmin 2 was probably the best NPC game, as it only used the pointer to enhance the controls. Good to see them using that game to pre-hype pikmin 3.
The sad thing is that we've all become so accustomed to ads in paid service (IE. Cable TV) that we simply can't muster enough outrage to do anything about it.
Or worse, when people say "well you put up with ads everywhere else, why should this be special?".
Which... I understand what they're trying to say, but I also feel this is missing the point. Yes, I accept commercials and billboards and such, but that doesn't mean every aspect of every situation should be accosted by ads. Especially when you start getting into memberships and fees and the like.
"The sausage of Green Earth explodes with flavor like the cannon of culinary delight."
In other news, I've had it with these motherfucking announcement announcements on this motherfucking plane industry.
Geoff Keighley, Game Trailers TV host and master of the world exclusive video reveal is currently in hype mode for Thursday's installment of GTTV and is promising the following in a new promo for the show...
"A huge PlayStation 3 exclusive..."
"...this new game that will definitely be the talk of the Internet..."
"the next great PlayStation 3 exclusive..."
The development studio is the start-up Superbot Entertainment.
Oh, and on Twitter, he added: "I was absolutely blown away!"
Theories? Not God of War: Ascension. Maybe the long-rumored PS3 all-star fighting game? Something else?
The new episode of GTTV will air on Thursday night (aka Friday morning) at 1:05 ET/PT.
Sony's "announcement of an announcement", aka "secret PS3 game" bullshit has been so overused in the past few years, it just doesn't carry much weight anymore, at least not for me. They've tried to play that card too many times now.
Oh, and NPC Pikmin 2 was probably the best NPC game, as it only used the pointer to enhance the controls. Good to see them using that game to pre-hype pikmin 3.
I have learned that with anytime Geoff Keighley says people are going to be shocked by an announcement, prepare for disappointment
Microsoft revealed on Tuesday that it has expanded its lineup of advertising partners on Xbox Live, and will distribute even more TV-like ad spots across the various media apps on the platform.
Xbox Live media apps such as ESPN, Last.fm, Manga Entertainment, GameSpot, and MUZU.TV will now include 15 to 30 second video ad spots. These partners join companies like UFC, TMZ, and Crackle, which have offered these video ads since December.
Microsoft first introduced these TV-like advertisements with last year's major dashboard update, as part of a larger initiative to grow the Xbox 360 platform from a games console into a full-blown entertainment hub.
According to Microsoft, that plan is working so far, as entertainment app usage has doubled year over year for Xbox Live Gold members in the U.S.
This trend toward multimedia entertainment has also coincided with an increase in ad revenue for Microsoft, as ad spending on Xbox Live has increased by 142 percent since 2010.
Xbox Live currently boasts some 40 million active members worldwide, and Microsoft says that U.S.-based Gold members spend an average of 84 hours a month using the service, making it an ideal platform for entertainment and advertisements alike.
Yeah, yeah, should be outraged. Apps with ads that are free on other consoles, but honestly? I expected this years ago from MS.
I'm now fearing the day that commercials start playing during loading screens. *sigh*
The sad thing is that we've all become so accustomed to ads in paid service (IE. Cable TV) that we simply can't muster enough outrage to do anything about it.
If anything, they should offer tiers of service. Ad free should be what Gold is right now, but offer cheaper versions of gold with ads active or some crap. That'll never happen though.
I still don't get how the content providers let them get away with charging for access to their services, when its free on pretty much anything else with an Internet connection
I can't really get outraged at ads on the xbox right now, as they appear in a corner of the dashboard home page. Its just a picture that launches an advertisement IF i select it, and is clearly marked as such.
I don't find it obtrusive in the least, its like someone quietly saying "there's an ad here if you feel like checking it out". I find it far more irritating to have to move through a few pages to get to the game library on my game console, sorry, I mean entertainment hub.
We'll see how crazy the next update makes it, and i'll have outrage on standby. As this is the industry thread, I do wonder how much of this is down to the xbox division being a money pit for so many years. As far as I know, it is profitable now, but I don't begrudge them the chance for more revenue while they are not interfering with the games themselves. Publisher adding ads to their games is a different animal, for me at least.
While I'm complaining about the current dashboard, it would be nice if searches done through bing, youtube etc brought up the same interface as when I try to send a message to a friend. Moving through a single line containing the alphabet with no ability to move my cursor without just deleting letters is a bit crap.
This is at a time when the 3DS is getting an update that allows you to create folders on the home menu, and I can arrange my home page (and wii home too) as I see fit. All while using a virtual keyboard.
Beat me on Wii U: Raybies
Beat me on 360: Raybies666
i don't know why anyone uses the dashboard when you can access everything from the guide button. quick launch makes life easy, and your game/video/music/app library is only like, 3 button presses away...
oh yeah, and no ads.
the friends list and games list is easier to navigate within the guide, and you can easily view active downloads, input codes, and access settings instantly. seriously guys, press that shiny button in the middle.
I'm less annoyed at the ads and MORE annoyed you need an Xbox Live Gold subscription for Netflix. That's pretty much the only reason I have gold, I can't recall the last time I did any online gaming. I'd just use my PS3 but I'm a sucker for the Kinect voice commands (simple as they may be).
I'll be curious to see what happens next generation. I'm assuming Microsoft can't really just drop the live fee, I wonder if Sony/Nintendo will introduce one.
Lone Survivor (a 2D indie survival horror game - practically a retro version of Silent Hill 2) is currently climbing the Top Sales chart on Steam. It was #10 an hour or two ago and right now, it's #6.
I'm guessing the game sold less than 1200 copies day 1 when it was released on the developer's site (i.e. I bought the game late that night and the "First 1200 to order get this" bonus was still available when I bought it) so it's good to see that he's seeing much more success now that it's on Steam.
In other Steam indie game sales news, Noitu Love 2 came out today and was briefly in the Top 20 Overall Sales list. It's currently #1 on the Under $5 Top Sellers list. Haven't played the full version but the demo reminded me of Gunstar Heroes.
I literally bought Lone Survivor from that dude's(kinda hard to find) website 7 hours before the game went up on Steam(I had even checked to see if it was on Steam before trying to find his site).
Anyhow, I'm glad it's getting the exposure. I've only played a bit, but I'm really enjoying it so far. I think Konami could really learn a thing or two from this guy.
A new US online retailer has made the bold move of offering to share revenue from its used game sales with publishers.
Unlike most high street game stores which pocked all the cash from secondhand sales, EKGaming will give 10 per cent of a title's price tag back to its publisher.
Not only that, but it promises used prices 20 to 30 per cent lower than competitors.
How can it afford this? Well, it claims it's passing on savings made by not having a traditional bricks-and-mortar presence.
As for its motive, EKG explained that used sales have fueled the rise of online passes, DLC and digital-only sales, negatively impacting gamers, especially those "who just want to do what they have done since the dawn of the gaming industry some 35 plus years ago; that is buying, selling, trading and collecting physical game media in the form of cartridges, floppy disks and more recently game disks."
It believes handing money back to publishers will help create a healthy "circle of life" between the two ends of the video game sales chain.
CEO Mike Kennedy also argued that gamers will benefit as publishers might be more inclined to take risks on innovative ideas during development if they see more return from the used market.
"Publishers are spending record amounts of cash on new game development," he said.
"This increase in dev costs is steering them in directions that don't necessarily jive with gamers, causing them to take less risks on new and potentially exciting IP's or game mechanics and sticking with tried and true properties that are more of a guarantee.
"We want to share our used game revenue with them so they can continue investing in new gaming experiences without worrying about the negative effects used games could be having on their operation(s)."
If they launched this in the UK, I would be there on day one.
So, I'm a little vague on what some financial terms mean, but looking up, say, Electronic Arts shows that it has a market cap of around $5 billion. Does that mean that Apple could buy them, if they so chose, with about five weeks of their profits?
That's a lot of iPods.
It depends on how the ownership of EA is laid out, but in theory, yes.
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Brainiac 8Don't call me Shirley...Registered Userregular
A new US online retailer has made the bold move of offering to share revenue from its used game sales with publishers.
Unlike most high street game stores which pocked all the cash from secondhand sales, EKGaming will give 10 per cent of a title's price tag back to its publisher.
Not only that, but it promises used prices 20 to 30 per cent lower than competitors.
How can it afford this? Well, it claims it's passing on savings made by not having a traditional bricks-and-mortar presence.
As for its motive, EKG explained that used sales have fueled the rise of online passes, DLC and digital-only sales, negatively impacting gamers, especially those "who just want to do what they have done since the dawn of the gaming industry some 35 plus years ago; that is buying, selling, trading and collecting physical game media in the form of cartridges, floppy disks and more recently game disks."
It believes handing money back to publishers will help create a healthy "circle of life" between the two ends of the video game sales chain.
CEO Mike Kennedy also argued that gamers will benefit as publishers might be more inclined to take risks on innovative ideas during development if they see more return from the used market.
"Publishers are spending record amounts of cash on new game development," he said.
"This increase in dev costs is steering them in directions that don't necessarily jive with gamers, causing them to take less risks on new and potentially exciting IP's or game mechanics and sticking with tried and true properties that are more of a guarantee.
"We want to share our used game revenue with them so they can continue investing in new gaming experiences without worrying about the negative effects used games could be having on their operation(s)."
If they launched this in the UK, I would be there on day one.
Doing this would eliminate game companies problems with used game sales.
unfortunately the likelyhood of Gamestop (Largest used game retailer) doing this is nil.
A new US online retailer has made the bold move of offering to share revenue from its used game sales with publishers.
Unlike most high street game stores which pocked all the cash from secondhand sales, EKGaming will give 10 per cent of a title's price tag back to its publisher.
Not only that, but it promises used prices 20 to 30 per cent lower than competitors.
How can it afford this? Well, it claims it's passing on savings made by not having a traditional bricks-and-mortar presence.
As for its motive, EKG explained that used sales have fueled the rise of online passes, DLC and digital-only sales, negatively impacting gamers, especially those "who just want to do what they have done since the dawn of the gaming industry some 35 plus years ago; that is buying, selling, trading and collecting physical game media in the form of cartridges, floppy disks and more recently game disks."
It believes handing money back to publishers will help create a healthy "circle of life" between the two ends of the video game sales chain.
CEO Mike Kennedy also argued that gamers will benefit as publishers might be more inclined to take risks on innovative ideas during development if they see more return from the used market.
"Publishers are spending record amounts of cash on new game development," he said.
"This increase in dev costs is steering them in directions that don't necessarily jive with gamers, causing them to take less risks on new and potentially exciting IP's or game mechanics and sticking with tried and true properties that are more of a guarantee.
"We want to share our used game revenue with them so they can continue investing in new gaming experiences without worrying about the negative effects used games could be having on their operation(s)."
If they launched this in the UK, I would be there on day one.
Doing this would eliminate game companies problems with used game sales.
unfortunately the likelyhood of Gamestop (Largest used game retailer) doing this is nil.
And the likelihood of them actually succeeding/being allowed to succeed (in a market dominated by Gamestop) is sadly very small.
0
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Brainiac 8Don't call me Shirley...Registered Userregular
A new US online retailer has made the bold move of offering to share revenue from its used game sales with publishers.
Unlike most high street game stores which pocked all the cash from secondhand sales, EKGaming will give 10 per cent of a title's price tag back to its publisher.
Not only that, but it promises used prices 20 to 30 per cent lower than competitors.
How can it afford this? Well, it claims it's passing on savings made by not having a traditional bricks-and-mortar presence.
As for its motive, EKG explained that used sales have fueled the rise of online passes, DLC and digital-only sales, negatively impacting gamers, especially those "who just want to do what they have done since the dawn of the gaming industry some 35 plus years ago; that is buying, selling, trading and collecting physical game media in the form of cartridges, floppy disks and more recently game disks."
It believes handing money back to publishers will help create a healthy "circle of life" between the two ends of the video game sales chain.
CEO Mike Kennedy also argued that gamers will benefit as publishers might be more inclined to take risks on innovative ideas during development if they see more return from the used market.
"Publishers are spending record amounts of cash on new game development," he said.
"This increase in dev costs is steering them in directions that don't necessarily jive with gamers, causing them to take less risks on new and potentially exciting IP's or game mechanics and sticking with tried and true properties that are more of a guarantee.
"We want to share our used game revenue with them so they can continue investing in new gaming experiences without worrying about the negative effects used games could be having on their operation(s)."
If they launched this in the UK, I would be there on day one.
Doing this would eliminate game companies problems with used game sales.
unfortunately the likelyhood of Gamestop (Largest used game retailer) doing this is nil.
And the likelihood of them actually succeeding/being allowed to succeed (in a market dominated by Gamestop) is sadly very small.
Doing this would eliminate game companies problems with used game sales.
Now the problem shifts from "we don't make anything off of used games" to "used game stores aren't giving us enough of a cut from selling our used games."
A new US online retailer has made the bold move of offering to share revenue from its used game sales with publishers.
Unlike most high street game stores which pocked all the cash from secondhand sales, EKGaming will give 10 per cent of a title's price tag back to its publisher.
Not only that, but it promises used prices 20 to 30 per cent lower than competitors.
How can it afford this? Well, it claims it's passing on savings made by not having a traditional bricks-and-mortar presence.
As for its motive, EKG explained that used sales have fueled the rise of online passes, DLC and digital-only sales, negatively impacting gamers, especially those "who just want to do what they have done since the dawn of the gaming industry some 35 plus years ago; that is buying, selling, trading and collecting physical game media in the form of cartridges, floppy disks and more recently game disks."
It believes handing money back to publishers will help create a healthy "circle of life" between the two ends of the video game sales chain.
CEO Mike Kennedy also argued that gamers will benefit as publishers might be more inclined to take risks on innovative ideas during development if they see more return from the used market.
"Publishers are spending record amounts of cash on new game development," he said.
"This increase in dev costs is steering them in directions that don't necessarily jive with gamers, causing them to take less risks on new and potentially exciting IP's or game mechanics and sticking with tried and true properties that are more of a guarantee.
"We want to share our used game revenue with them so they can continue investing in new gaming experiences without worrying about the negative effects used games could be having on their operation(s)."
If they launched this in the UK, I would be there on day one.
Doing this would eliminate game companies problems with used game sales.
unfortunately the likelyhood of Gamestop (Largest used game retailer) doing this is nil.
And the likelihood of them actually succeeding/being allowed to succeed (in a market dominated by Gamestop) is sadly very small.
Gametop the EA of game retailers confirmed?
Not.. really? EA have plenty of competition, all in various states of success. And their recent spate of being 'the most evil' has largely been brought about due to misinformation and petty entitlement. Gamestop aren't really in the same position.
Lone Survivor has been in the Top 10 Best Sellers on Steam since it came out yesterday. I bet it feels like winning the lottery to Jasper Bryne - since he's a one-man team, he doesn't have to split his profits with anyone beyond Steam's cut and taxes. 24+ hours in the Top 10 on Steam is a lot of money for one guy.
Translation: Goddammit Slash. Keep you hands off MY money!
(Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
Lone Survivor has been in the Top 10 Best Sellers on Steam since it came out yesterday. I bet it feels like winning the lottery to Jasper Bryne - since he's a one-man team, he doesn't have to split his profits with anyone beyond Steam's cut and taxes. 24+ hours in the Top 10 on Steam is a lot of money for one guy.
Translation: Goddammit Slash. Keep you hands off MY money!
It's an interesting concept, but just eyeballing the 10% of sales that are 20-30% lower than most used sales....that doesn't sound great to me. I'm not the accountant in my family, but I would look at it as the same as getting only 10% of a game that was part of a steam sale (since those are competitive with used prices I would think, I'll just assume the steam sales are 20% lower than used). I mean, after that you'd look at the 10% and go "bullshit", since with steam, even during the super-mega-ultra-low sales, you still get the regular cut. I doubt many would look at it as a worthwhile alternative to just pushing things in the all-digital direction and slowly strangling the used market out of existence.
So, even if it got to the bargaining table, they'd all have died of old age by the time they could work out an acceptable system. (oh, and any agreed upon system would only be a baseline, it would be pretty expected for every game to have different rules, since you can't make an agreement when games will be put out by companies that don't EXIST yet; this means every large release demanding a larger "cut" than normal, thus taking out the largest incentive for a retailer to have those games available used in the first place)
Basically it's a wonderful idea for fairy land. Let me know when someone finds the magical path to it.
Some partial sales info from Japan for this week, actual numbers still incoming, but wow:
Famitsu Sales: Week 17, 2012 (Apr 16 - Apr 22)
01./00. [3DS] Fire Emblem: Awakening # <SLG> (Nintendo) {2012.04.19} (¥4.800)
02./00. [3DS] Code of Princess <RPG> (Agatsuma Entertainment) {2012.04.19} (¥6.090)
03./03. [3DS] Monster Hunter 3G # <ACT> (Capcom) {2011.12.10} (¥5.800)
04./01. [PSP] 2nd Super Robot Wars Z: Saisei-hen <SLG> (Bandai Namco Games) {2012.04.05} (¥7.330)
05./05. [3DS] Super Mario 3D Land # <ACT> (Nintendo) {2011.11.03} (¥4.800)
06./04. [3DS] Kid Icarus: Uprising <ACT> (Nintendo) {2012.03.22} (¥5.800)
07./02. [3DS] Kingdom Hearts 3D -Dream Drop Distance- # <RPG> (Square Enix) {2012.03.29} (¥6.090)
08./08. [3DS] Mario Kart 7 <RCE> (Nintendo) {2011.12.01} (¥4.800)
09./00. [3DS] Cho-ricchi! Tamagotchi no Puchi Puchi Omisecchi <ETC> (Bandai Namco Games) {2012.04.19} (¥5.040)
10./00. [NDS] Detective Conan: Prelude from the Past <ADV> (Bandai Namco Games) {2012.04.19} (¥5.040)
3DS claims 8 of the top 10, Fire Emblem off to a great start, and cool to see Code of Princess up there. It's that Guardian Heroes inspired beat-em-up with online multi.
i don't know why anyone uses the dashboard when you can access everything from the guide button. quick launch makes life easy, and your game/video/music/app library is only like, 3 button presses away...
oh yeah, and no ads.
the friends list and games list is easier to navigate within the guide, and you can easily view active downloads, input codes, and access settings instantly. seriously guys, press that shiny button in the middle.
It's great to have the alternative, but there are plenty of reasons.
For starters, more options--not much more, but still more.
Second, voice navigation (if you have Kinect). The Xbox has been set up as a media delivery machine, which allows more situation where you'd want to use it.
Third, aside from the ads in the corner, the initial menu system is...pretty convenient all the same. As far as I'm concerned. With the additional apps and whatnot being rushed into the system. You can both browse apps by category, then use them after installing.
But yeah, cable, satellite TV, and youtube have all desensitized us to some degree towards advertising. It is not that outrageous, plain and simple. More of a general annoyance.
Some partial sales info from Japan for this week, actual numbers still incoming, but wow:
Famitsu Sales: Week 17, 2012 (Apr 16 - Apr 22)
01./00. [3DS] Fire Emblem: Awakening # <SLG> (Nintendo) {2012.04.19} (¥4.800)
02./00. [3DS] Code of Princess <RPG> (Agatsuma Entertainment) {2012.04.19} (¥6.090)
03./03. [3DS] Monster Hunter 3G # <ACT> (Capcom) {2011.12.10} (¥5.800)
04./01. [PSP] 2nd Super Robot Wars Z: Saisei-hen <SLG> (Bandai Namco Games) {2012.04.05} (¥7.330)
05./05. [3DS] Super Mario 3D Land # <ACT> (Nintendo) {2011.11.03} (¥4.800)
06./04. [3DS] Kid Icarus: Uprising <ACT> (Nintendo) {2012.03.22} (¥5.800)
07./02. [3DS] Kingdom Hearts 3D -Dream Drop Distance- # <RPG> (Square Enix) {2012.03.29} (¥6.090)
08./08. [3DS] Mario Kart 7 <RCE> (Nintendo) {2011.12.01} (¥4.800)
09./00. [3DS] Cho-ricchi! Tamagotchi no Puchi Puchi Omisecchi <ETC> (Bandai Namco Games) {2012.04.19} (¥5.040)
10./00. [NDS] Detective Conan: Prelude from the Past <ADV> (Bandai Namco Games) {2012.04.19} (¥5.040)
3DS claims 8 of the top 10, Fire Emblem off to a great start, and cool to see Code of Princess up there. It's that Guardian Heroes inspired beat-em-up with online multi.
...keeRIPES. That thing's turning into a monster. I'm starting to wonder if it's even possible for the Vita to get a decent foothold in Japan at this point, even with some high-profile games.
In other news, GODDAMMIT KNOCK OF THE TEASES ALREADY
Let's keep this short and sweet. If you're a PlayStation 3 gamer, you're going to want to come to IGN early Friday for news on a major, unannounced PS3 exclusive. We'll have all the details you crave shortly after midnight Pacific Friday morning. Just what will you be seeing? Naturally, there's only one way to find out.
Lone Survivor has been in the Top 10 Best Sellers on Steam since it came out yesterday. I bet it feels like winning the lottery to Jasper Bryne - since he's a one-man team, he doesn't have to split his profits with anyone beyond Steam's cut and taxes. 24+ hours in the Top 10 on Steam is a lot of money for one guy.
Translation: Goddammit Slash. Keep you hands off MY money!
MONEY TENSIONS AT PA GAME DEV ZEBOYD
Heh. Saying that my games would look hideous without Slash's great art is the understatement of the year. I make WAY more money with his help than I ever would without him.
I just think it's really neat for the Lone Survivor guy. I got the impression that he was barely making ends meet before this but I wouldn't be surprised if he's made a couple hundred thousand dollars already thanks to getting on Steam.
Some partial sales info from Japan for this week, actual numbers still incoming, but wow:
Famitsu Sales: Week 17, 2012 (Apr 16 - Apr 22)
01./00. [3DS] Fire Emblem: Awakening # <SLG> (Nintendo) {2012.04.19} (¥4.800)
02./00. [3DS] Code of Princess <RPG> (Agatsuma Entertainment) {2012.04.19} (¥6.090)
03./03. [3DS] Monster Hunter 3G # <ACT> (Capcom) {2011.12.10} (¥5.800)
04./01. [PSP] 2nd Super Robot Wars Z: Saisei-hen <SLG> (Bandai Namco Games) {2012.04.05} (¥7.330)
05./05. [3DS] Super Mario 3D Land # <ACT> (Nintendo) {2011.11.03} (¥4.800)
06./04. [3DS] Kid Icarus: Uprising <ACT> (Nintendo) {2012.03.22} (¥5.800)
07./02. [3DS] Kingdom Hearts 3D -Dream Drop Distance- # <RPG> (Square Enix) {2012.03.29} (¥6.090)
08./08. [3DS] Mario Kart 7 <RCE> (Nintendo) {2011.12.01} (¥4.800)
09./00. [3DS] Cho-ricchi! Tamagotchi no Puchi Puchi Omisecchi <ETC> (Bandai Namco Games) {2012.04.19} (¥5.040)
10./00. [NDS] Detective Conan: Prelude from the Past <ADV> (Bandai Namco Games) {2012.04.19} (¥5.040)
3DS claims 8 of the top 10, Fire Emblem off to a great start, and cool to see Code of Princess up there. It's that Guardian Heroes inspired beat-em-up with online multi.
People should remember when they talk about the Vita that the 3DS was
"doomed" last year. 3DS is doing dandy now.
People should remember when they talk about the Vita that the 3DS was
"doomed" last year. 3DS is doing dandy now.
True, but the 3DS never did THIS badly. Vita games have been absolutely absent from the top 20 for, well, most of the system's life. At least the 3DS managed to have one or two games straggle on the charts before its price drop.
People should remember when they talk about the Vita that the 3DS was
"doomed" last year. 3DS is doing dandy now.
True, but the 3DS never did THIS badly. Vita games have been absolutely absent from the top 20 for, well, most of the system's life. At least the 3DS managed to have one or two games straggle on the charts before its price drop.
A better example; just look at the post above and check the last year's week column. 3DS did 23k post earthquake/tsunami pre pricecut. Last time Vita did 23k? It's fourth week right during New Years. Hasn't been above 20k since.
Posts
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2012/04/24Apple-Reports-Second-Quarter-Results.html
Good lord.
That's a lot of iPods.
Zeboyd Games Development Blog
Steam ID : rwb36, Twitter : Werezompire, Facebook : Zeboyd Games
Now, the question would be, how many iPhones would Apple need to sell to buy Samsung? Or HTC? Or General Electric, manufacturer of the M134 Minigun.
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/169153/Microsoft_expands_network_of_TVlike_ads_on_Xbox_Live.php
Yeah, yeah, should be outraged. Apps with ads that are free on other consoles, but honestly? I expected this years ago from MS.
That does suck though. With the exception of Last.fm, which is not free on any other platform (aside from the PC), and Microsoft pays for.
I'm now fearing the day that commercials start playing during loading screens. *sigh*
The sad thing is that we've all become so accustomed to ads in paid service (IE. Cable TV) that we simply can't muster enough outrage to do anything about it.
If anything, they should offer tiers of service. Ad free should be what Gold is right now, but offer cheaper versions of gold with ads active or some crap. That'll never happen though.
Sony's "announcement of an announcement", aka "secret PS3 game" bullshit has been so overused in the past few years, it just doesn't carry much weight anymore, at least not for me. They've tried to play that card too many times now.
Oh, and NPC Pikmin 2 was probably the best NPC game, as it only used the pointer to enhance the controls. Good to see them using that game to pre-hype pikmin 3.
Or worse, when people say "well you put up with ads everywhere else, why should this be special?".
Which... I understand what they're trying to say, but I also feel this is missing the point. Yes, I accept commercials and billboards and such, but that doesn't mean every aspect of every situation should be accosted by ads. Especially when you start getting into memberships and fees and the like.
I have learned that with anytime Geoff Keighley says people are going to be shocked by an announcement, prepare for disappointment
I still don't get how the content providers let them get away with charging for access to their services, when its free on pretty much anything else with an Internet connection
I don't find it obtrusive in the least, its like someone quietly saying "there's an ad here if you feel like checking it out". I find it far more irritating to have to move through a few pages to get to the game library on my game console, sorry, I mean entertainment hub.
We'll see how crazy the next update makes it, and i'll have outrage on standby. As this is the industry thread, I do wonder how much of this is down to the xbox division being a money pit for so many years. As far as I know, it is profitable now, but I don't begrudge them the chance for more revenue while they are not interfering with the games themselves. Publisher adding ads to their games is a different animal, for me at least.
While I'm complaining about the current dashboard, it would be nice if searches done through bing, youtube etc brought up the same interface as when I try to send a message to a friend. Moving through a single line containing the alphabet with no ability to move my cursor without just deleting letters is a bit crap.
This is at a time when the 3DS is getting an update that allows you to create folders on the home menu, and I can arrange my home page (and wii home too) as I see fit. All while using a virtual keyboard.
Beat me on 360: Raybies666
I remember when I had time to be good at games.
oh yeah, and no ads.
the friends list and games list is easier to navigate within the guide, and you can easily view active downloads, input codes, and access settings instantly. seriously guys, press that shiny button in the middle.
I'll be curious to see what happens next generation. I'm assuming Microsoft can't really just drop the live fee, I wonder if Sony/Nintendo will introduce one.
PSN: SirGrinchX
Oculus Rift: Sir_Grinch
I literally bought Lone Survivor from that dude's(kinda hard to find) website 7 hours before the game went up on Steam(I had even checked to see if it was on Steam before trying to find his site).
Anyhow, I'm glad it's getting the exposure. I've only played a bit, but I'm really enjoying it so far. I think Konami could really learn a thing or two from this guy.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-04-24-new-us-retailer-promises-to-share-used-game-revenue-with-publishers
If they launched this in the UK, I would be there on day one.
It depends on how the ownership of EA is laid out, but in theory, yes.
Doing this would eliminate game companies problems with used game sales.
unfortunately the likelyhood of Gamestop (Largest used game retailer) doing this is nil.
Nintendo Network ID - Brainiac_8
PSN - Brainiac_8
Steam - http://steamcommunity.com/id/BRAINIAC8/
Add me!
And the likelihood of them actually succeeding/being allowed to succeed (in a market dominated by Gamestop) is sadly very small.
Gametop the EA of game retailers confirmed?
Nintendo Network ID - Brainiac_8
PSN - Brainiac_8
Steam - http://steamcommunity.com/id/BRAINIAC8/
Add me!
Now the problem shifts from "we don't make anything off of used games" to "used game stores aren't giving us enough of a cut from selling our used games."
Not.. really? EA have plenty of competition, all in various states of success. And their recent spate of being 'the most evil' has largely been brought about due to misinformation and petty entitlement. Gamestop aren't really in the same position.
Translation: Goddammit Slash. Keep you hands off MY money!
(Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
MONEY TENSIONS AT PA GAME DEV ZEBOYD
Just a matter of who.
So, even if it got to the bargaining table, they'd all have died of old age by the time they could work out an acceptable system. (oh, and any agreed upon system would only be a baseline, it would be pretty expected for every game to have different rules, since you can't make an agreement when games will be put out by companies that don't EXIST yet; this means every large release demanding a larger "cut" than normal, thus taking out the largest incentive for a retailer to have those games available used in the first place)
Basically it's a wonderful idea for fairy land. Let me know when someone finds the magical path to it.
3DS claims 8 of the top 10, Fire Emblem off to a great start, and cool to see Code of Princess up there. It's that Guardian Heroes inspired beat-em-up with online multi.
It's great to have the alternative, but there are plenty of reasons.
For starters, more options--not much more, but still more.
Second, voice navigation (if you have Kinect). The Xbox has been set up as a media delivery machine, which allows more situation where you'd want to use it.
Third, aside from the ads in the corner, the initial menu system is...pretty convenient all the same. As far as I'm concerned. With the additional apps and whatnot being rushed into the system. You can both browse apps by category, then use them after installing.
But yeah, cable, satellite TV, and youtube have all desensitized us to some degree towards advertising. It is not that outrageous, plain and simple. More of a general annoyance.
Still good to have an alternative though.
...keeRIPES. That thing's turning into a monster. I'm starting to wonder if it's even possible for the Vita to get a decent foothold in Japan at this point, even with some high-profile games.
In other news, GODDAMMIT KNOCK OF THE TEASES ALREADY
http://ps3.ign.com/articles/122/1223682p1.html
Five Internet bux says it's the Sony Smash Bros. game that's been leaked 47 times already.
I got a little excited when I saw your ship.
Heh. Saying that my games would look hideous without Slash's great art is the understatement of the year. I make WAY more money with his help than I ever would without him.
I just think it's really neat for the Lone Survivor guy. I got the impression that he was barely making ends meet before this but I wouldn't be surprised if he's made a couple hundred thousand dollars already thanks to getting on Steam.
Zeboyd Games Development Blog
Steam ID : rwb36, Twitter : Werezompire, Facebook : Zeboyd Games
I agree with whoever said that this looks like a photoshopped parody of bad box art.
I got a little excited when I saw your ship.
People should remember when they talk about the Vita that the 3DS was
"doomed" last year. 3DS is doing dandy now.
True, but the 3DS never did THIS badly. Vita games have been absolutely absent from the top 20 for, well, most of the system's life. At least the 3DS managed to have one or two games straggle on the charts before its price drop.
A better example; just look at the post above and check the last year's week column. 3DS did 23k post earthquake/tsunami pre pricecut. Last time Vita did 23k? It's fourth week right during New Years. Hasn't been above 20k since.