Even with shit on the iPhone and other devices with no used sales, I bet most sales generally happen in the first month unless the company remembers to constantly push the game through various means like using social networks to get people to push the game. You don't see that with boxed games in general. Advertising is usually dead quickly after release, and the only encouragement for sales is going to be word of mouth, but people will have probably stopped talking about it soon after that unless you design the game to encourage them to keep on talking about it.
Edit: Hell, I still see Angry Birds ads on the web.
Used games have always existed. As games have become popular, used game sales have gone up.
About that EA viral guy. He states that he worked from home and his boss didn't pay attention to what he did. Even if he is telling the truth about having the job, it doesn't exactly sound like a position that would have a lot of insider information. Rumors, or excuses for firing him, probably.
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Brainiac 8Don't call me Shirley...Registered Userregular
Games are also increasingly being developed for the 18-24 male demographic, and I think that has a lot to do with the short tail issue. If you look at games aimed at a younger or wider demographic, those are the ones that tend to sell for longer. Of course, everything having multiplayer now isn't helping either, since you want to get in on the action pretty quickly before the multiplayer community dies off on everything but the biggest titles.
Want to find me on a gaming service? I'm SwashbucklerXX everywhere.
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Warlock82Never pet a burning dogRegistered Userregular
I'm going to go with BS, but then I'm a corporate shill.
But I mean, saying 'yeah the workers are treated like crap' may have been true five years ago. I don't know. But now? Really don't think so - there have been a number of work/life balance and Quality of Life initiatives starting over the past few years.
Yeah I'm not sure how you outsource marketing to Asia. Seems like the kind of thing you need a good grasp of, you know, English for :P (unless you are marketing to Asia :P)
For one, the console's name—or at least its codename/working title—is apparently Orbis. And it's being planned for release in time for the 2013 holiday season.
Our main source supplied some basic specs for the console, but as the future is always in motion, bear in mind these could easily change between now and the Orbis' retail release. Still, if you'd like to know what developers are being told to plan for now, here you go.
AMD x64 CPU
AMD Southern Islands GPU
The former, that's largely something we've heard before, but the latter is interesting. That's the name given to many of AMD's 2012 roster of high-end PC cards. The PS4's GPU in particular, we're told, will be capable of displaying Orbis games at a resolution of up to 4096x2160, which is far in excess of the needs of most current HDTV sets. It'll also be capable of playing 3D games in 1080p (the PS3 could only safely manage 3D at 720p).
Remember how the PlayStation 3 swiftly dropped the ability to play PS2 games? Well, our main source tell us the Orbis won't even bother, and that Sony has no plans to offer backwards compatibility for its existing catalogue of PS3 games.
Just like the next Xbox/Durango, we've heard from multiple sources that the Orbis will likewise have some kind of anti-used games measures built into the console. Here's how our main source says it's currently shaping up: new games for the system will be available one of two ways, either on a Blu-Ray disc or as a PSN download (yes, even full retail titles). If you buy the disc, it must be locked to a single PSN account, after which you can play the game, save the whole thing to your HDD, or peg it as "downloaded" in your account history and be free to download it at a later date.
Don't think you can simply buy the disc and stay offline, though; like many PC games these days, you'll need to have a PSN account and be online to even get the thing started.
If you then decide to trade that disc in, the pre-owned customer picking it up will be limited in what they can do. While our sources were unclear on how exactly the pre-owned customer side of things would work, it's believed used games will be limited to a trial mode or some other form of content restriction, with consumers having to pay a fee to unlock/register the full game.
This would allow used games to continue to be sold at outlets such as GameStop, while also appeasing major publishers who would no longer have to implement their own haphazard approaches to "online passes".
The thing about anti-used games would be so shitty. Some people don't have constant online access and 22 percent of PS3 users haven't brought it online suggesting that many people don't want to have to deal with this shit. It would just turn discs into shit so you don't have to download it like with Valve games.
So EA is running for the worst company in America.
Two weeks ago, 32 of the nation's worst businesses entered the Worst Company In America Battledome Nonagon, hoping to prove they could out-twit, overcharge and outlast the others to ultimately be named the Worst Company In America 2012. Two dozen companies have since been fed to the shark-eating robot piranhas and only eight remain with a chance to be crowned with the Golden Poo.
The eight contestants still standing are a rogues gallery of bad businesses from a variety of industries.
...
Voting on match-ups begins this morning with BofA vs. Ticketmaster, followed by PayPal vs. Walmart. Tomorrow, you'll get the chance to vote on Facebook vs. AT&T and then Comcast vs. EA.
Polls for each match will remain open for only 12 hours. To add a soupçon of suspense to the contests, results will remain hidden until we reveal the winners on Thursday.
That's the new guy they got from the movie side of things. Sad.
Alex Navarro? Thought he was one of the Gamespot evacuees.
Left Gamespot a bit after Gerstmanngate, joined Screened and occasionally helped with Giant Bomb, currently working for Giant Bomb/CBSi out of their New York offices.
Yeah, it's just that Zen's comment made it sound like he's new to video games. Dude's an old hand, and responsible for one of the greatest video reviews of all time. He's winner.
Ah, I only knew him as the guy from Screened. My apologies.
For one, the console's name—or at least its codename/working title—is apparently Orbis. And it's being planned for release in time for the 2013 holiday season.
Our main source supplied some basic specs for the console, but as the future is always in motion, bear in mind these could easily change between now and the Orbis' retail release. Still, if you'd like to know what developers are being told to plan for now, here you go.
AMD x64 CPU
AMD Southern Islands GPU
The former, that's largely something we've heard before, but the latter is interesting. That's the name given to many of AMD's 2012 roster of high-end PC cards. The PS4's GPU in particular, we're told, will be capable of displaying Orbis games at a resolution of up to 4096x2160, which is far in excess of the needs of most current HDTV sets. It'll also be capable of playing 3D games in 1080p (the PS3 could only safely manage 3D at 720p).
Remember how the PlayStation 3 swiftly dropped the ability to play PS2 games? Well, our main source tell us the Orbis won't even bother, and that Sony has no plans to offer backwards compatibility for its existing catalogue of PS3 games.
Just like the next Xbox/Durango, we've heard from multiple sources that the Orbis will likewise have some kind of anti-used games measures built into the console. Here's how our main source says it's currently shaping up: new games for the system will be available one of two ways, either on a Blu-Ray disc or as a PSN download (yes, even full retail titles). If you buy the disc, it must be locked to a single PSN account, after which you can play the game, save the whole thing to your HDD, or peg it as "downloaded" in your account history and be free to download it at a later date.
Don't think you can simply buy the disc and stay offline, though; like many PC games these days, you'll need to have a PSN account and be online to even get the thing started.
If you then decide to trade that disc in, the pre-owned customer picking it up will be limited in what they can do. While our sources were unclear on how exactly the pre-owned customer side of things would work, it's believed used games will be limited to a trial mode or some other form of content restriction, with consumers having to pay a fee to unlock/register the full game.
This would allow used games to continue to be sold at outlets such as GameStop, while also appeasing major publishers who would no longer have to implement their own haphazard approaches to "online passes".
The thing about anti-used games would be so shitty. Some people don't have constant online access and 22 percent of PS3 users haven't brought it online suggesting that many people don't want to have to deal with this shit. It would just turn discs into shit so you don't have to download it like with Valve games.
It sounds like the online is required just for activation, so it's not that bad for people who don't have 24/7 good Internet. It's obviously worse than no online activation, but them's the breaks in this modern west-centric world.
For one, the console's name—or at least its codename/working title—is apparently Orbis. And it's being planned for release in time for the 2013 holiday season.
Our main source supplied some basic specs for the console, but as the future is always in motion, bear in mind these could easily change between now and the Orbis' retail release. Still, if you'd like to know what developers are being told to plan for now, here you go.
AMD x64 CPU
AMD Southern Islands GPU
The former, that's largely something we've heard before, but the latter is interesting. That's the name given to many of AMD's 2012 roster of high-end PC cards. The PS4's GPU in particular, we're told, will be capable of displaying Orbis games at a resolution of up to 4096x2160, which is far in excess of the needs of most current HDTV sets. It'll also be capable of playing 3D games in 1080p (the PS3 could only safely manage 3D at 720p).
Remember how the PlayStation 3 swiftly dropped the ability to play PS2 games? Well, our main source tell us the Orbis won't even bother, and that Sony has no plans to offer backwards compatibility for its existing catalogue of PS3 games.
Just like the next Xbox/Durango, we've heard from multiple sources that the Orbis will likewise have some kind of anti-used games measures built into the console. Here's how our main source says it's currently shaping up: new games for the system will be available one of two ways, either on a Blu-Ray disc or as a PSN download (yes, even full retail titles). If you buy the disc, it must be locked to a single PSN account, after which you can play the game, save the whole thing to your HDD, or peg it as "downloaded" in your account history and be free to download it at a later date.
Don't think you can simply buy the disc and stay offline, though; like many PC games these days, you'll need to have a PSN account and be online to even get the thing started.
If you then decide to trade that disc in, the pre-owned customer picking it up will be limited in what they can do. While our sources were unclear on how exactly the pre-owned customer side of things would work, it's believed used games will be limited to a trial mode or some other form of content restriction, with consumers having to pay a fee to unlock/register the full game.
This would allow used games to continue to be sold at outlets such as GameStop, while also appeasing major publishers who would no longer have to implement their own haphazard approaches to "online passes".
The thing about anti-used games would be so shitty. Some people don't have constant online access and 22 percent of PS3 users haven't brought it online suggesting that many people don't want to have to deal with this shit. It would just turn discs into shit so you don't have to download it like with Valve games.
Dang, beat me to it.
I think lack of BC is to be expected since they're dropping Cell. Since Cell is kind of a pain to program for directly, I could imagine emulating it would be a complete pain in the ass.
While any sort of used game restriction/constant online requirement would be an insanely bad idea, I can't rule out Sony actually being crazy enough to do it:
1. They have a history of crazy DRM schemes.
2. Sony, as a company, is always about "we're high technology!" whether that actually helps them or not (see: the $599 PS3 due pretty much entirely to Blu-ray)
3. The company as a whole is doing awful and they're desperate to improve their margins.
4. They thought the PSP Go was a good idea.
Switch: 3947-4890-9293
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Brainiac 8Don't call me Shirley...Registered Userregular
That thing with the anti used measure for the PS4 would be a terrible thing to do. I'm fully of the mind that if you purchase something material, you should have the right to sell/trade/get rid of it, and if you want something on the cheap, have the right to buy/trade/borrow things used and still get the use out of it.
I mean car dealerships don't sell used cars and say you have to pay an extra premium just so they'll reattach the steering wheel. It's just dumb. It's the reason I really hope my hobby never goes full digital, as that would get me to probably quit gaming. /Old man rant.
You know, my game collection this current generation is significantly larger than my game collection in any previous generation. Losing backwards compatibility would suck - particularly since I imagine that'll mean no backwards compatibility with the PS2 or PSX games, either. And I really don't want to have to keep multiple consoles setup. I only have so many shelves on my entertainment center.
Games are also increasingly being developed for the 18-24 male demographic, and I think that has a lot to do with the short tail issue. If you look at games aimed at a younger or wider demographic, those are the ones that tend to sell for longer. Of course, everything having multiplayer now isn't helping either, since you want to get in on the action pretty quickly before the multiplayer community dies off on everything but the biggest titles.
Yet all those biggest titles are aimed at that demographic. CoD outsells pretty much every game released, many times exponentially so. Black Ops is still high on sales charts, even, and that was the last years models. CoD games dont really drop off on sales figures til two years out. So there is apparently a pretty healthy market for this demographic.
To say used games don't effect sales at all is pretty silly, though. Witcher 2 is a prime example of a game that didn't exactly sell gangbusters out of the gate, but kept a healthy and sustainable sales flow going and managed to make big numbers.
Now, we'll get to see first hand how it plays out when the game launches on consoles. Witcher 2 is a fantastic game and the console user base is fairly massive. I don't think it'll do nearly as good as the PC version does. I'd like to be proven wrong, but I can easily see it selling much fewer if just because people will ditch it once they finish the campaign. Hope I'm proven wrong though.
Interesting thought -- so far the Wii U is the only console that doesn't have strong rumors of some sort of anti-used initiative. That might wind up giving it an unintended advantage.
Then again, late 2013 is still a loooooong way away. There's still plenty of time for the companies to do wacky prototyping and experimentation, so hopefully someone manages to talk sense into Kaz between now and then.
Nintendo has never really worried about the used market. People pretty much keep their games forever and the prices never go anywhere. Half the time I'm not even sure its due to any quality, so much as people are just used to it being 'how it is' and acting accordingly. I mean I recently sold off my copy of Mario Kart DS and I think I still got 20$ for it.
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Brainiac 8Don't call me Shirley...Registered Userregular
Interesting thought -- so far the Wii U is the only console that doesn't have strong rumors of some sort of anti-used initiative. That might wind up giving it an unintended advantage.
Then again, late 2013 is still a loooooong way away. There's still plenty of time for the companies to do wacky prototyping and experimentation, so hopefully someone manages to talk sense into Kaz between now and then.
Of course the existence of the Go makes me worry.
Hopefully not, as the WiiU currently is the only next gen machine I'm planning on grabbing. (at launch even!) But I'm not worried, Nintendo's anti online-friendly policy should protect us of any anti-used measures. :P
If the protection against used game sales really happens, how big do you think the backlash will be? I know that Korea's going to be fucking livid, but what about other territories?
That's the new guy they got from the movie side of things. Sad.
Alex Navarro? Thought he was one of the Gamespot evacuees.
Left Gamespot a bit after Gerstmanngate, joined Screened and occasionally helped with Giant Bomb, currently working for Giant Bomb/CBSi out of their New York offices.
Yeah, it's just that Zen's comment made it sound like he's new to video games. Dude's an old hand, and responsible for one of the greatest video reviews of all time. He's winner.
Ah, I only knew him as the guy from Screened. My apologies.
No worries, I was honestly unsure if I was mistaking him for someone else..
For one, the console's name—or at least its codename/working title—is apparently Orbis. And it's being planned for release in time for the 2013 holiday season.
Our main source supplied some basic specs for the console, but as the future is always in motion, bear in mind these could easily change between now and the Orbis' retail release. Still, if you'd like to know what developers are being told to plan for now, here you go.
AMD x64 CPU
AMD Southern Islands GPU
The former, that's largely something we've heard before, but the latter is interesting. That's the name given to many of AMD's 2012 roster of high-end PC cards. The PS4's GPU in particular, we're told, will be capable of displaying Orbis games at a resolution of up to 4096x2160, which is far in excess of the needs of most current HDTV sets. It'll also be capable of playing 3D games in 1080p (the PS3 could only safely manage 3D at 720p).
Remember how the PlayStation 3 swiftly dropped the ability to play PS2 games? Well, our main source tell us the Orbis won't even bother, and that Sony has no plans to offer backwards compatibility for its existing catalogue of PS3 games.
Just like the next Xbox/Durango, we've heard from multiple sources that the Orbis will likewise have some kind of anti-used games measures built into the console. Here's how our main source says it's currently shaping up: new games for the system will be available one of two ways, either on a Blu-Ray disc or as a PSN download (yes, even full retail titles). If you buy the disc, it must be locked to a single PSN account, after which you can play the game, save the whole thing to your HDD, or peg it as "downloaded" in your account history and be free to download it at a later date.
Don't think you can simply buy the disc and stay offline, though; like many PC games these days, you'll need to have a PSN account and be online to even get the thing started.
If you then decide to trade that disc in, the pre-owned customer picking it up will be limited in what they can do. While our sources were unclear on how exactly the pre-owned customer side of things would work, it's believed used games will be limited to a trial mode or some other form of content restriction, with consumers having to pay a fee to unlock/register the full game.
This would allow used games to continue to be sold at outlets such as GameStop, while also appeasing major publishers who would no longer have to implement their own haphazard approaches to "online passes".
The thing about anti-used games would be so shitty. Some people don't have constant online access and 22 percent of PS3 users haven't brought it online suggesting that many people don't want to have to deal with this shit. It would just turn discs into shit so you don't have to download it like with Valve games.
So the game is registered to an account.. does that mean other accounts playing it on that console are okay, or does only the one account get full access? Because one of those is a dick move, the other makes that dick move look like the kind of stunt it pulled in college before graduating to the big leagues, setting up its own company, and reinventing the dick move to be the most popular consumer product of all time (voted #1 Dick Move in 2009, 2010 and 2012)
Interesting thought -- so far the Wii U is the only console that doesn't have strong rumors of some sort of anti-used initiative. That might wind up giving it an unintended advantage.
Then again, late 2013 is still a loooooong way away. There's still plenty of time for the companies to do wacky prototyping and experimentation, so hopefully someone manages to talk sense into Kaz between now and then.
Of course the existence of the Go makes me worry.
Part of me thinks these rumors are just a way for Sony and Microsoft to get some leverage over GameStop. Some kind of used game kickback.
To say used games don't effect sales at all is pretty silly, though. Witcher 2 is a prime example of a game that didn't exactly sell gangbusters out of the gate, but kept a healthy and sustainable sales flow going and managed to make big numbers.
That isn't really evidence that used games affect sales. You need more samples than that. As far as I can tell, most PC games follow the same sales drop off as the console games except when there is a really good sale. For example, every port of a console game ever. Witcher is more of an exception because of the rabid fanbase that basically advertising the game. CDProjekt did a really good job of fostering a fanbase to proselytize. Wouldn't piracy be comparable to used sales in this case?
If the protection against used game sales really happens, how big do you think the backlash will be? I know that Korea's going to be fucking livid, but what about other territories?
Unfortunately, I think you'll see a vocal minority outraged, while the majority of the public will just shrug and carry on as always. The fact is that most people aren't likely to get up in arms about it - they'll be mildly inconvenienced, sure, and will probably show some irritation towards a Gamestop employee or something, but at the end of the day they'll just shrug and buy games brand new.
I may be wrong - I hope I am, because while, as a developer, I would rather people buy games new, as a consumer I think it's a little too far.
I really hope those account locking rumours aren't true.
Me and a work dude occassionally play some Mortal Kombat after work on a Friday, if he would have to bring his console as well as the game over it wouldn't really work.
For one, the console's name—or at least its codename/working title—is apparently Orbis. And it's being planned for release in time for the 2013 holiday season.
Our main source supplied some basic specs for the console, but as the future is always in motion, bear in mind these could easily change between now and the Orbis' retail release. Still, if you'd like to know what developers are being told to plan for now, here you go.
AMD x64 CPU
AMD Southern Islands GPU
The former, that's largely something we've heard before, but the latter is interesting. That's the name given to many of AMD's 2012 roster of high-end PC cards. The PS4's GPU in particular, we're told, will be capable of displaying Orbis games at a resolution of up to 4096x2160, which is far in excess of the needs of most current HDTV sets. It'll also be capable of playing 3D games in 1080p (the PS3 could only safely manage 3D at 720p).
Remember how the PlayStation 3 swiftly dropped the ability to play PS2 games? Well, our main source tell us the Orbis won't even bother, and that Sony has no plans to offer backwards compatibility for its existing catalogue of PS3 games.
Just like the next Xbox/Durango, we've heard from multiple sources that the Orbis will likewise have some kind of anti-used games measures built into the console. Here's how our main source says it's currently shaping up: new games for the system will be available one of two ways, either on a Blu-Ray disc or as a PSN download (yes, even full retail titles). If you buy the disc, it must be locked to a single PSN account, after which you can play the game, save the whole thing to your HDD, or peg it as "downloaded" in your account history and be free to download it at a later date.
Don't think you can simply buy the disc and stay offline, though; like many PC games these days, you'll need to have a PSN account and be online to even get the thing started.
If you then decide to trade that disc in, the pre-owned customer picking it up will be limited in what they can do. While our sources were unclear on how exactly the pre-owned customer side of things would work, it's believed used games will be limited to a trial mode or some other form of content restriction, with consumers having to pay a fee to unlock/register the full game.
This would allow used games to continue to be sold at outlets such as GameStop, while also appeasing major publishers who would no longer have to implement their own haphazard approaches to "online passes".
The thing about anti-used games would be so shitty. Some people don't have constant online access and 22 percent of PS3 users haven't brought it online suggesting that many people don't want to have to deal with this shit. It would just turn discs into shit so you don't have to download it like with Valve games.
The [http://orbis.scedev.net/] part is the one I'm going to go with being real for now, because I believe that's how we learned the Vita's final name as well.
As we all know, one website name is more than enough to confirm the rumored final name of the temporarily named NGP as "PlayStation Vita." Okay, okay, we may be getting ahead of ourselves a bit, but it is certainly interesting that Sony's developer sites contain a curious subdomain: Vita.SCEdev.net.
So, why does Sony have a developer subdomain with the word "Vita" involved? Your guess is as good as ours. We do know that the site scedev.net is most certainly registered to Sony's UK branch, and a handful of other subdomains tied to Sony gaming products also work (PSP, NGP, and PS3, for instance), while random words only elicit a "page not found" error. As per usual, we've contacted Sony for comment, and are more than happy to hear from you internet supersleuths who see something in this that we don't.
For one, the console's name—or at least its codename/working title—is apparently Orbis. And it's being planned for release in time for the 2013 holiday season.
Our main source supplied some basic specs for the console, but as the future is always in motion, bear in mind these could easily change between now and the Orbis' retail release. Still, if you'd like to know what developers are being told to plan for now, here you go.
AMD x64 CPU
AMD Southern Islands GPU
The former, that's largely something we've heard before, but the latter is interesting. That's the name given to many of AMD's 2012 roster of high-end PC cards. The PS4's GPU in particular, we're told, will be capable of displaying Orbis games at a resolution of up to 4096x2160, which is far in excess of the needs of most current HDTV sets. It'll also be capable of playing 3D games in 1080p (the PS3 could only safely manage 3D at 720p).
Remember how the PlayStation 3 swiftly dropped the ability to play PS2 games? Well, our main source tell us the Orbis won't even bother, and that Sony has no plans to offer backwards compatibility for its existing catalogue of PS3 games.
Just like the next Xbox/Durango, we've heard from multiple sources that the Orbis will likewise have some kind of anti-used games measures built into the console. Here's how our main source says it's currently shaping up: new games for the system will be available one of two ways, either on a Blu-Ray disc or as a PSN download (yes, even full retail titles). If you buy the disc, it must be locked to a single PSN account, after which you can play the game, save the whole thing to your HDD, or peg it as "downloaded" in your account history and be free to download it at a later date.
Don't think you can simply buy the disc and stay offline, though; like many PC games these days, you'll need to have a PSN account and be online to even get the thing started.
If you then decide to trade that disc in, the pre-owned customer picking it up will be limited in what they can do. While our sources were unclear on how exactly the pre-owned customer side of things would work, it's believed used games will be limited to a trial mode or some other form of content restriction, with consumers having to pay a fee to unlock/register the full game.
This would allow used games to continue to be sold at outlets such as GameStop, while also appeasing major publishers who would no longer have to implement their own haphazard approaches to "online passes".
The thing about anti-used games would be so shitty. Some people don't have constant online access and 22 percent of PS3 users haven't brought it online suggesting that many people don't want to have to deal with this shit. It would just turn discs into shit so you don't have to download it like with Valve games.
The "4K resolution games" bit smells like Grade-A bullshit, but the rest of it doesn't seem too out of line with what Sony typically does.
If the protection against used game sales really happens, how big do you think the backlash will be? I know that Korea's going to be fucking livid, but what about other territories?
Unfortunately, I think you'll see a vocal minority outraged, while the majority of the public will just shrug and carry on as always. The fact is that most people aren't likely to get up in arms about it - they'll be mildly inconvenienced, sure, and will probably show some irritation towards a Gamestop employee or something, but at the end of the day they'll just shrug and buy games brand new.
I may be wrong - I hope I am, because while, as a developer, I would rather people buy games new, as a consumer I think it's a little too far.
I think too many people buy used for there not to be a big backlash. If the console makers do put something in, I'd expect it to be like the online passes. You can still buy used but you are going to pay $5 to unlock the game.
If the protection against used game sales really happens, how big do you think the backlash will be? I know that Korea's going to be fucking livid, but what about other territories?
Unfortunately, I think you'll see a vocal minority outraged, while the majority of the public will just shrug and carry on as always. The fact is that most people aren't likely to get up in arms about it - they'll be mildly inconvenienced, sure, and will probably show some irritation towards a Gamestop employee or something, but at the end of the day they'll just shrug and buy games brand new.
I may be wrong - I hope I am, because while, as a developer, I would rather people buy games new, as a consumer I think it's a little too far.
I think too many people buy used for there not to be a big backlash. If the console makers do put something in, I'd expect it to be like the online passes. You can still buy used but you are going to pay $5 to unlock the game.
That would be fairer, as long as unlocking really does that cost that little. Somehow I'm worried that it won't be that cheap though
The "4K resolution games" bit smells like Grade-A bullshit, but the rest of it doesn't seem too out of line with what Sony typically does.
Actually 4K is going to be the next thing the TV industry (including Sony) is going to hyperventilate about now that 3D has failed, based on the last CES. So I wouldn't be shocked if the PS4 has some sort of 4K compatibility, especially since Kaz is trying to get all the Sony divisions to integrate better. But it would be hilarious if Sony integrates 4K, but at the cost of making the PS4 cost, well, $599. Honestly I can't see people getting excited about 4K, especially since half the population thinks that plugging in a coaxial cable gives them HDTV.
As far as how much of a reaction eliminating used would generate... part of me thinks not much, because the process delves deep into tech jibber-jabber that most people ignore. But part of me remembers that Gamestop has trained a LOT of people to buy used. So I dunno.
To say used games don't effect sales at all is pretty silly, though. Witcher 2 is a prime example of a game that didn't exactly sell gangbusters out of the gate, but kept a healthy and sustainable sales flow going and managed to make big numbers.
That isn't really evidence that used games affect sales. You need more samples than that. As far as I can tell, most PC games follow the same sales drop off as the console games except when there is a really good sale. For example, every port of a console game ever. Witcher is more of an exception because of the rabid fanbase that basically advertising the game. CDProjekt did a really good job of fostering a fanbase to proselytize. Wouldn't piracy be comparable to used sales in this case?
Depends on the game? I mean Terraria stayed in top sellers for almost a year. edit: Actually, Terraria is still on that list. Hah. But just looking at my rather large friends list most people played it for a couple hours then stopped. So odds are if it was a console game it would have just been sold off to gamestop once they had their jollies.
If you want a better comparison: AC Rev is still on Steam's top seller lists, but no where to be seen on console top seller lists. Amalur is still within the top seller Steam list as well. Though I guess until we see the march NPD we won't know how the console counterpart is doing. Of course this is ignoring sales on Origin as well.
Looking at multi platform games in general, the PC seems to keep games higher on sales charts longer then console ones, which tend to drop off after the first month unless they are the biggest of franchises. Though just using Steam's best seller list is a bit nebulous, it's all I can really grab due to the way PC sales tend to work.
Games are also increasingly being developed for the 18-24 male demographic, and I think that has a lot to do with the short tail issue. If you look at games aimed at a younger or wider demographic, those are the ones that tend to sell for longer. Of course, everything having multiplayer now isn't helping either, since you want to get in on the action pretty quickly before the multiplayer community dies off on everything but the biggest titles.
Yet all those biggest titles are aimed at that demographic. CoD outsells pretty much every game released, many times exponentially so. Black Ops is still high on sales charts, even, and that was the last years models. CoD games dont really drop off on sales figures til two years out. So there is apparently a pretty healthy market for this demographic.
To say used games don't effect sales at all is pretty silly, though. Witcher 2 is a prime example of a game that didn't exactly sell gangbusters out of the gate, but kept a healthy and sustainable sales flow going and managed to make big numbers.
Now, we'll get to see first hand how it plays out when the game launches on consoles. Witcher 2 is a fantastic game and the console user base is fairly massive. I don't think it'll do nearly as good as the PC version does. I'd like to be proven wrong, but I can easily see it selling much fewer if just because people will ditch it once they finish the campaign. Hope I'm proven wrong though.
Yes, and the impressive sales of CoD and its buddies are why a lot of smaller games are aimed at that demographic... but look at the perennial sellers on the NPD charts. Yeah, you've got CODBLOPS, but otherwise it's mostly wider-demographic games. Nintendo stuff, dance games, Skylanders, etc. A lot of PC games with a wider demographic have a long tail as well, but aren't tracked as well by NPD anymore. Beyond the biggest sellers, a lot of games aimed at that narrower demographic are flashes in the pan, sales-wise.
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used game sales are good for the industry. it's pointless shit trying to circumvent used sales that hurt our rights as customers (according to numerous EULAs, we don't even own the games we buy. yeah, bullshit.)
i look at this like DRM and music in the 2000's. itunes changed how people download music, but also put DRM all over it. people value DRM-free music, which the amazon music store was happy to offer. if sony/mircosoft are trying to kill used sales, you can bet your ass i'm not buying that console/supporting that stupid idea.
i'll even go buy a wiiu and just play that forever and ever
I think Steam does a good job of advertising games. I'm not sure why piracy wouldn't work effectively as used sales if they are as common as developers claim.
If you want a better comparison: AC Rev is still on Steam's top seller lists, but no where to be seen on console top seller lists.
AC Rev had a 50 percent off sale early in the month. Steam has shown that sales can increase sales after the sale is over. The steam best seller list usually is mostly titles with a strong fanbase like Terraria, recently release games, the really fucking huge games like Call of Duty, or games involved in a sale.
Add me to the 'anti used games is bullshit' camp. Like I posted before, if there are used game passes that require you to pay a small fee like 5$ or so, I still won't feel good about it, but that's relatively reasonable, so I'm cool with that.
If they full on block used games... Yeah, I'm just going to buy only a Wii U or roll PC + Handheld only. Full on anti used games is so blatantly anti-consumer that I wouldn't feel comfortable to support that shit at all.
I think Steam does a good job of advertising games. I'm not sure why piracy wouldn't work effectively as used sales if they are as common as developers claim.
If you want a better comparison: AC Rev is still on Steam's top seller lists, but no where to be seen on console top seller lists.
AC Rev had a 50 percent off sale early in the month. Steam has shown that sales can increase sales after the sale is over. The steam best seller list usually is mostly titles with a strong fanbase like Terraria, recently release games, the really fucking huge games like Call of Duty, or games involved in a sale.
Right. Sonic Generations has done well on Steam even though the console versions didn't sell well at all, but that's thanks in large part to repeated massive sales.
I'm still a little surprised that the consoles haven't offered more sales than they do since Steam's been doing so well with them, but part of that may be because Steam continues to drop their sales data into a lead-lined concrete bunker 20 miles below the surface of the Earth.
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Edit: Hell, I still see Angry Birds ads on the web.
About that EA viral guy. He states that he worked from home and his boss didn't pay attention to what he did. Even if he is telling the truth about having the job, it doesn't exactly sound like a position that would have a lot of insider information. Rumors, or excuses for firing him, probably.
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POOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!
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Yeah I'm not sure how you outsource marketing to Asia. Seems like the kind of thing you need a good grasp of, you know, English for :P (unless you are marketing to Asia :P)
http://kotaku.com/5896996/the-next-playstation-is-called-orbis-sources-say-here-are-the-details The thing about anti-used games would be so shitty. Some people don't have constant online access and 22 percent of PS3 users haven't brought it online suggesting that many people don't want to have to deal with this shit. It would just turn discs into shit so you don't have to download it like with Valve games.
Eh, maybe if you were the guy who has "it" I'd be more impressed.
Or possibly the guy on the horse.
http://consumerist.com/2012/03/the-8-remaining-worst-company-in-america-contenders-are-an-elite-bunch.html
Ah, I only knew him as the guy from Screened. My apologies.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/
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It sounds like the online is required just for activation, so it's not that bad for people who don't have 24/7 good Internet. It's obviously worse than no online activation, but them's the breaks in this modern west-centric world.
Dang, beat me to it.
I think lack of BC is to be expected since they're dropping Cell. Since Cell is kind of a pain to program for directly, I could imagine emulating it would be a complete pain in the ass.
While any sort of used game restriction/constant online requirement would be an insanely bad idea, I can't rule out Sony actually being crazy enough to do it:
1. They have a history of crazy DRM schemes.
2. Sony, as a company, is always about "we're high technology!" whether that actually helps them or not (see: the $599 PS3 due pretty much entirely to Blu-ray)
3. The company as a whole is doing awful and they're desperate to improve their margins.
4. They thought the PSP Go was a good idea.
I mean car dealerships don't sell used cars and say you have to pay an extra premium just so they'll reattach the steering wheel. It's just dumb. It's the reason I really hope my hobby never goes full digital, as that would get me to probably quit gaming. /Old man rant.
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Yet all those biggest titles are aimed at that demographic. CoD outsells pretty much every game released, many times exponentially so. Black Ops is still high on sales charts, even, and that was the last years models. CoD games dont really drop off on sales figures til two years out. So there is apparently a pretty healthy market for this demographic.
To say used games don't effect sales at all is pretty silly, though. Witcher 2 is a prime example of a game that didn't exactly sell gangbusters out of the gate, but kept a healthy and sustainable sales flow going and managed to make big numbers.
Now, we'll get to see first hand how it plays out when the game launches on consoles. Witcher 2 is a fantastic game and the console user base is fairly massive. I don't think it'll do nearly as good as the PC version does. I'd like to be proven wrong, but I can easily see it selling much fewer if just because people will ditch it once they finish the campaign. Hope I'm proven wrong though.
I am suuuuuuuuuuuuuuure they will lower or maintain prices on games thanks to the lack of a used market. *snicker*
Then again, late 2013 is still a loooooong way away. There's still plenty of time for the companies to do wacky prototyping and experimentation, so hopefully someone manages to talk sense into Kaz between now and then.
Of course the existence of the Go makes me worry.
Hopefully not, as the WiiU currently is the only next gen machine I'm planning on grabbing. (at launch even!) But I'm not worried, Nintendo's anti online-friendly policy should protect us of any anti-used measures. :P
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June can't come soon enough for a western release.
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No worries, I was honestly unsure if I was mistaking him for someone else..
So the game is registered to an account.. does that mean other accounts playing it on that console are okay, or does only the one account get full access? Because one of those is a dick move, the other makes that dick move look like the kind of stunt it pulled in college before graduating to the big leagues, setting up its own company, and reinventing the dick move to be the most popular consumer product of all time (voted #1 Dick Move in 2009, 2010 and 2012)
Part of me thinks these rumors are just a way for Sony and Microsoft to get some leverage over GameStop. Some kind of used game kickback.
Unfortunately, I think you'll see a vocal minority outraged, while the majority of the public will just shrug and carry on as always. The fact is that most people aren't likely to get up in arms about it - they'll be mildly inconvenienced, sure, and will probably show some irritation towards a Gamestop employee or something, but at the end of the day they'll just shrug and buy games brand new.
I may be wrong - I hope I am, because while, as a developer, I would rather people buy games new, as a consumer I think it's a little too far.
Me and a work dude occassionally play some Mortal Kombat after work on a Friday, if he would have to bring his console as well as the game over it wouldn't really work.
The [http://orbis.scedev.net/] part is the one I'm going to go with being real for now, because I believe that's how we learned the Vita's final name as well.
http://www.joystiq.com/2011/05/30/vita-scedev-net-website-spurs-more-speculation/
So if it's not true, Sony is doing some trolling.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/
I write about video games and stuff. It is fun. Sometimes.
The "4K resolution games" bit smells like Grade-A bullshit, but the rest of it doesn't seem too out of line with what Sony typically does.
I think too many people buy used for there not to be a big backlash. If the console makers do put something in, I'd expect it to be like the online passes. You can still buy used but you are going to pay $5 to unlock the game.
That would be fairer, as long as unlocking really does that cost that little. Somehow I'm worried that it won't be that cheap though
Actually 4K is going to be the next thing the TV industry (including Sony) is going to hyperventilate about now that 3D has failed, based on the last CES. So I wouldn't be shocked if the PS4 has some sort of 4K compatibility, especially since Kaz is trying to get all the Sony divisions to integrate better. But it would be hilarious if Sony integrates 4K, but at the cost of making the PS4 cost, well, $599. Honestly I can't see people getting excited about 4K, especially since half the population thinks that plugging in a coaxial cable gives them HDTV.
As far as how much of a reaction eliminating used would generate... part of me thinks not much, because the process delves deep into tech jibber-jabber that most people ignore. But part of me remembers that Gamestop has trained a LOT of people to buy used. So I dunno.
Depends on the game? I mean Terraria stayed in top sellers for almost a year. edit: Actually, Terraria is still on that list. Hah. But just looking at my rather large friends list most people played it for a couple hours then stopped. So odds are if it was a console game it would have just been sold off to gamestop once they had their jollies.
If you want a better comparison: AC Rev is still on Steam's top seller lists, but no where to be seen on console top seller lists. Amalur is still within the top seller Steam list as well. Though I guess until we see the march NPD we won't know how the console counterpart is doing. Of course this is ignoring sales on Origin as well.
Looking at multi platform games in general, the PC seems to keep games higher on sales charts longer then console ones, which tend to drop off after the first month unless they are the biggest of franchises. Though just using Steam's best seller list is a bit nebulous, it's all I can really grab due to the way PC sales tend to work.
Yes, and the impressive sales of CoD and its buddies are why a lot of smaller games are aimed at that demographic... but look at the perennial sellers on the NPD charts. Yeah, you've got CODBLOPS, but otherwise it's mostly wider-demographic games. Nintendo stuff, dance games, Skylanders, etc. A lot of PC games with a wider demographic have a long tail as well, but aren't tracked as well by NPD anymore. Beyond the biggest sellers, a lot of games aimed at that narrower demographic are flashes in the pan, sales-wise.
i look at this like DRM and music in the 2000's. itunes changed how people download music, but also put DRM all over it. people value DRM-free music, which the amazon music store was happy to offer. if sony/mircosoft are trying to kill used sales, you can bet your ass i'm not buying that console/supporting that stupid idea.
i'll even go buy a wiiu and just play that forever and ever
AC Rev had a 50 percent off sale early in the month. Steam has shown that sales can increase sales after the sale is over. The steam best seller list usually is mostly titles with a strong fanbase like Terraria, recently release games, the really fucking huge games like Call of Duty, or games involved in a sale.
If they full on block used games... Yeah, I'm just going to buy only a Wii U or roll PC + Handheld only. Full on anti used games is so blatantly anti-consumer that I wouldn't feel comfortable to support that shit at all.
Right. Sonic Generations has done well on Steam even though the console versions didn't sell well at all, but that's thanks in large part to repeated massive sales.
I'm still a little surprised that the consoles haven't offered more sales than they do since Steam's been doing so well with them, but part of that may be because Steam continues to drop their sales data into a lead-lined concrete bunker 20 miles below the surface of the Earth.