Next Xbox Rumors

[X]

@Al: presentation shouldn't mean the game is just a really fancy movie which games like MW3 and Battlefield seems to be going towards.  That's what I was talking about.  Yeah, they are multiplayer games, I'm just talking single player. 

@X: On PC platform they are getting a lot of attention and services such as Steam are giving them some spotlight attention.  iOS as well. 

King

What's wrong with an interactive movie? It's not like you don't know this when you buy it. They aren't advertising that it's anything else and there's nothing wrong with that.

[KingIsaacLinksr]

Didn't say there was anything wrong with ppl buying them.  But other people want something more interactive and engaging than a movie, hence why the Indie scene is getting attention.

King

[X]

Didn't say there was anything wrong with ppl buying them.  But other people want something more interactive and engaging than a movie, hence why the Indie scene is getting attention.

King

I hear what you're saying, but I just don't agree. Highlighting a few games out of hundreds doesn't mean it's getting any more attention than it was before. Add to the facts that some of these "indie" games are of far better quality than other games. Main stream publishers are also creating very interactive games and getting press for them. I don't see how indie games are doing something that isn't being done. The last point I'll make is that a huge majority of the attention is still going in the direction of main stream publishers and distributors. When you think about the most anticipated games of the year, what games come to mind?

[KingIsaacLinksr]

My anticipated games?  Well:
Next expansion of Ai War: Fleet Command
Castle Story
A Valley Without Wind 1.0
Sanctum 2
and the fifth would have been Mass Effect 3 until recent events...
So instead: the new XCom: Enemy Unknown game. 

You seem to be implying that indie Devs aren't indie Devs at all with one of your sentences.  Care to elaborate?  Because something you should know is that AAA development has slowed down in advancement due to consoles not improving plus indie Devs have easier access to better technology and graphics engines so they can do better, high quality games.  Such as the epic, rage and Source engines.

Also, there are a ton of games out there I could tell you right now are doing things that the big boys aren't and are making a profit.  But that depends on if you want to take this topic even further off course ;)

King

[QuadShot]

Tim, what recent events have transpired that have turned you off of Mass Effect?

[Jobydrone]

I wont be playing Mass Effect for a long time, I'm so mad I lost all my saves and I refuse to play it with a new character.  I am going to play through both 1 and 2 before I start 3 and I just dont know when I'll have the time or inclination to do that.

[KingIsaacLinksr]

I talked about it at length yesterday on FB and my blog but sure, I'll talk about it quickly. 
Bioware is releasing an important character via a paid DLC pack on the first day release of Mass Effect 3.  By the looks of it, this is an important plot point for the original game yet is being kept out of the final product so Bioware/EA can make even more money off it's fanbase.  I have no problem with expansion DLCs, but cutting out chunks of the game to make money off of it could lead down a very greed-driven road for gaming. 

ME3 is also being exclusively released on Origin, despite ME1 & 2 being sold on a wide range of services, including Steam.  Their stated reason is that it improves the experience of buying the game.  I won't touch Origin software due to it scanning your hardrive without your permission. 

I listed out my thoughts on Bioware more thoroughly on my blog so I won't retype it again so you can go there if your that curious.  Heh.  But they are really long reads so that's entirely up to you, I just gave you the tl;dr here :).
http://kingisaaclinksr.wordpress.com/2012/02/22/musings-i-will-not-buy-mass-effect-3-2/
http://kingisaaclinksr.wordpress.com/2012/01/14/musings-i-will-not-be-buying-mass-effect-3/

And yeah you guys may not agree with my stance and can understand if you don't agree/doesn't bother you.  But it bothers me...

King

[Dangelus]

The DLC practice of publishers when done this way is their way of combatting the Pre-owned market in the only way they can. We are getting to the point where some of these big budget games will come out on disc in a "crippled" state and requiring an online purchase to complete the content. This is a pretty similar practice to just buying a licence for your disc.

[KingIsaacLinksr]

The DLC practice of publishers when done this way is their way of combatting the Pre-owned market in the only way they can. We are getting to the point where some of these big budget games will come out on disc in a "crippled" state and requiring an online purchase to complete the content. This is a pretty similar practice to just buying a licence for your disc.

It's one thing if we were all buying discs these days.  We now have a digital market so such practices aren't as necessary. Even so, im paying $60 for a "complete" game and now it's only 3/4ths a game?  No thanks. 

King

[Jobydrone]

I highly doubt that the Prothean mission constitutes 1/4 of the gameplay content in ME3.  Even so, I agree it's frustrating to not be able to have access to it, but I have a good feeling that ME3 will be high quality and well worth the $60 without it.  Did you purchase and play Lair of the Shadow Broker and/or the last bit of DLC for ME2 Tim?  Those missions are pretty essential to the overall storyline of the series.

[KingIsaacLinksr]

I highly doubt that the Prothean mission constitutes 1/4 of the gameplay content in ME3.  Even so, I agree it's frustrating to not be able to have access to it, but I have a good feeling that ME3 will be high quality and well worth the $60 without it.  Did you purchase and play Lair of the Shadow Broker and/or the last bit of DLC for ME2 Tim?  Those missions are pretty essential to the overall storyline of the series.

I did.  It still remains to be seen if those DLC-packs will actually affect ME3 in any meaningful way.  Cause, the game still isn't out yet ;).  I did enjoy the Shadow Broker DLC, the last one...was very meh for the $$$ I paid. 

And it's not quality I'm concerned about, though the demo has some issues from what I've seen, just not interested in encouraging the DLC behavior and the only power I have is my wallet at this point. 

King

[Dangelus]

The DLC practice of publishers when done this way is their way of combatting the Pre-owned market in the only way they can. We are getting to the point where some of these big budget games will come out on disc in a "crippled" state and requiring an online purchase to complete the content. This is a pretty similar practice to just buying a licence for your disc.

It's one thing if we were all buying discs these days.  We now have a digital market so such practices aren't as necessary. Even so, im paying $60 for a "complete" game and now it's only 3/4ths a game?  No thanks. 

King

It's necessary to claw some revenue away from the used disc market though. It's a HUGE market that most retailers don't disclose accurate figures for.

[Jobydrone]

It's necessary to claw some revenue away from the used disc market though. It's a HUGE market that most retailers don't disclose accurate figures for.

If I'm understanding correctly, this is not "gateway" content available for new game purchasers.  It's exclusive content for people who buy the collectors edition.  This has nothing to do with used sales.  In my opinion Bioware are perfectly within their rights to offer additional gameplay to people who want to pay more.  It's annoying but I'll reserve judgement until I play the game and decide for myself if it's worth $60.

[Dangelus]

It's necessary to claw some revenue away from the used disc market though. It's a HUGE market that most retailers don't disclose accurate figures for.

If I'm understanding correctly, this is not "gateway" content available for new game purchasers.  It's exclusive content for people who buy the collectors edition.  This has nothing to do with used sales.  In my opinion Bioware are perfectly within their rights to offer additional gameplay to people who want to pay more.  It's annoying but I'll reserve judgement until I play the game and decide for myself if it's worth $60.

I don't know the details of this specific DLC but all add on purchases like this do have relevance to combatting profits lost in used sales. If somebody buys a game used the publisher makes squat. If they can offer the used customer some DLC they are making revenue from a used sale indirectly.

[KingIsaacLinksr]

It's necessary to claw some revenue away from the used disc market though. It's a HUGE market that most retailers don't disclose accurate figures for.

If I'm understanding correctly, this is not "gateway" content available for new game purchasers.  It's exclusive content for people who buy the collectors edition.  This has nothing to do with used sales.  In my opinion Bioware are perfectly within their rights to offer additional gameplay to people who want to pay more.  It's annoying but I'll reserve judgement until I play the game and decide for myself if it's worth $60.

I don't know the details of this specific DLC but all add on purchases like this do have relevance to combatting profits lost in used sales. If somebody buys a game used the publisher makes squat. If they can offer the used customer some DLC they are making revenue from a used sale indirectly.

If its to combat the used market, Mass Effect 2 had the Cerberus network which was a code that gave you a bunch of DLC, including a character funnily enough, for free as a thank you for buying the game new. I can get behind that a lot easier than this heavily encouraged premium DLC that is possibly overpriced for the content it provides. 

It came with all versions of the game, not just the collectors edition.  And that to me works.  This arm bending for a character with a probably cool story just doesn't sit with me well.

King