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Welcome to the video game industry thread, wherein we discuss atypical shit regarding video games like sales performances, layoffs, dev studio startups, and all that sorta stuff. On our last episode:
- King makes ridiculous trademarks, people remember Tim Langdell
- Rumor of Nintendo doing mobile apps were bullshit
- Rumor of Microsoft making a non-Blu-Ray-drive Xbox One unit SHAKES THINGS UP
- EA is doing financially well; two days later, closes up one of their offices
- Microsoft bought Gears of War from Epic; big win for Epic!
In the game industry, when you sell 1 million copies, it's known as "disappointment".
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People are arguing that Blu-Ray isn't required for media centers, and others disagree.
Forcing people into an Always-Online product? We'd have to see what else gives with this if it's true. What changes to Live happen, etc.
It would implode the internet.
No way they would do that, it would kill any brand trust that they have left. They would be down at Ea's level, lower if that's possible.
They would get away with it to some extent if it were on a new product. "Don't want our original consumer-hostile thing? Pay the extra $100."
This is me stoking a rumor on top of a rumor though so I should apologize for that.
I guess my issue with this is that it's REALLY early for Microsoft to be thinking about a different SKU of XboxOne. Yeah, I can totally see Nintendo playing with the idea, because the WiiU is a serious dud right now in sales. XB1 sales are only looking really bad right now because people are comparing them with the PS4's, when in reality both are doing very well for a new hardware release. Sony's is just doing much better, and it's not in all the markets yet.
Plus after the debacle that was Don Mattrick's quote about 'Don't want always online? Well, we got the 360 for you then.', do they really want to try and throw something else out there for people to complain about? Can you see them going 'Don't like physical media? Well here's a completely digital XB1.' That beast would have to have a larger drive, and possibly one you can replace yourself. Imagine the shitstorm if Microsoft made that kind of radical changes so early into a console's life. People would go nuts, wanting qualities of both SKUs or complaining that they already bought the first SKU.
This isn't like PS3s and the BC removal, because there's a sizable demographic that likes physical media, and they're not the ones you want to shaft just to cut costs. It would be Microsoft's PSPGo.
Don't all the X1's still have the original DRM capability?
they just disabled it right?
Yeah, but still having the capability is different from saying "we changed our minds and are not going to do this," proceeding to sell millions of consoles under that premise and then going "psych."
WB has cancelled the rest of Arkham Origins DLC on the Wii U. Nintendo has refunded everyone who bought the season pass.
My argument would be it is necessary for video games, in many parts of the US. My internet is 8/1, so next gen games represent a considerable download time, as well as taking up a lot of hard drive space, and I expect sizes will only increase over the course of the generation.
I could be convinced, since I do use Steam now, but part of Steam's appeal is aggressive pricing to offset minor quibbles like that.
Then bought the rights to the NaturalMotion (Euphoria animation [i.e. GTA, MP3] engine.
http://blog.zynga.com/2014/01/30/ceo-update-5/
So Zynga, while still reeling from the effects of its over-expansion, has refused to learn its lesson about acquisitions.
I love how that email is full of paragraph after paragraph of terrible corporate speak and then Mattrick signs it with just his first name as if that would make it seem that a human had actually wrote that.
Also this bit is terrifying coming from either Zynga or Mattrick:
(Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
I'd like to say I'm disappointed, but I'm not the type to buy DLC anyway.
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I said not necessarily for a reason. Some people may not require one. That's it and I'm not sure why you are trying to make more of it then that.
One can base a media altar around a good cable package and Netflix or the like. Shit, I know alot of people who don't really buy movies anymore in physical form. That doesn't mean everyone does, obviously, but it's a segment of the market that exists and can be catered too.
Plus, you know, the fact that anyone who is really into physical movie copies basically 100% for sure already has a player. And can just plug that into the X1.
A lack of a blu-ray drive is not an unbridgeable impediment to the X1 being a media centre.
I'd say it's definitely partly that. Not in that they will bring back the old DRM scheme (which they can't cause, you know, no disk drive).
Rather, this is their much friendlier push at an all-digital console. "Here's how it could be in the futre. And it's $100 cheaper!" Then you see how it goes. Get back data on usage and consumer response.
Because what a box like this really does is give MS the answer to the question "Do people want a disk-based console ecosystem enough to pay an extra $100 for it?".
Plus, you know, it also let's them claim an equal price to the PS4 in adds. "X1 starting at $399!" and all that shit.
NEVER!
vg247.com/2013/05/28/xbox-one-microsoft-exec-explains-consoles-name/
"The only input you have connected... well unless you wanna watch DVD's/Blu-rays. Gonna need another input for that."
It's going to be funny as hell if the final thing that MS backtracks on is the meaning of its own name.
would there be legality issues there? i mean, probably not i guess since 'EULA blah blah' but that would be changing a fundamental part of the console... i also assume that a decent amount of people who brought xbones after they back-tracked don't have any access to internet so would be left with an over-sized paper weight.
I mean, i don't think they'd actually do it, just curious.
And I don't see even Microsoft being that outrageously stupid.
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If it's released, it'll be interesting to find out an answer to this question.
The $100 cheaper is an upside to getting one without. Also there is always the hope that PSN and Live will catch up to steam in terms of crazy sales, which they have been getting better at with PSN even introducing a flash sale of sorts this past week. Anyway, if they are serious about doubling down on all digital, it will be much more likely that you will come across a great sale on a digital game than it will be you come across one in a store, and if you see one in store you will most likely find it cheaper digital at some point.
And considering there are at least a handful of first-run next-gen games which run notable poorer on the Xbone, there's not a whole helluva lot of a point to cutting the cost of the system if they can't cut it below the price of the PS4 without losing the features that really matter on a console.
I have an extensive Steam library but as a consumer I don't buy digital games on consoles. The console marketplaces are monopolies and have little incentive to price as competitively as Steam. Additonally, console makers have to keep the retailers happy, whereas retail hardly even exists in the PC space. The price difference between retail and digital is even greater in places like the UK, where physical games are always discounted from the RRP. The real reason I don't buy digital is the fact that I enjoy retro gaming. Microsoft already shut down the OG Xbox Live and all DLC with it and they're killing off GFWL. It doesn't seem much of a stretch to expect the same to happen to 360 and Xbox One online services once they stop being profitable. My library, on the other hand, will continue to exist even if Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft all go out of business. I'm pretty fucked if that happens to Valve, but I didn't exactly pay full price on these games.
I can't comment on the rest of the world, but in Ireland, anything that isn't buying games/dlc requires gold.
Beat me on 360: Raybies666
I remember when I had time to be good at games.
Yes I know its a pipe dream and Microsoft will probably never introduce something that friendly, however my point still stands that Microsoft needs to introduce something to consumers for a diskless XBO that makes it a selling option above the standard console for it to work. Something id say that previous attempt at an all digital console the PSP Go didn't have.
If everything stays the same right now, the $100 price drop is the consumer hook.
I want to know what this means for Euphoria licensing. I mean, it seems like only Rockstar and Natural Motion were using it anyway, but it's the best damned animation system around, and if this has any negative impact on its use, I'll be super upset.
Also means we'll probably see Zynga mentioned in the credits for the next GTA release.
Its $100 hundred dollars cheaper! That totally makes up for all of the used games you won't be able to buy for it for the next decade....and anything you want that we don't put on our marketplace....or gets taken down from the marketplace before you can buy it.....