[Multiplatform] General MINOR gaming related news, rumours and things of not-thread-worthy nature

I wouldn't mind grabbing a copy of ZOE2 on the cheap if I ran across it. I've already beaten it as a rental many years ago, but it was quite a bit of fun. Even moreso once you get the teleportation ability at the end.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Wow, Microsoft just kicked Australia in the balls big time:

Quote:

As the new Xbox Live update rolls out, prices for the new Games on Demand service have been found to vary much more than the 1600 to 2400 Microsoft Points originally revealed in the US.

Kotaku has learned that each Xbox territory is responsible for setting its own prices, and some seem to feel that the US isn't asking enough.

A NeoGAF forum thread has collated the prices known so far, and Australia and New Zealand seem to be the worst offenders, asking as much as 6000 MSP - $99.99 in Australian money, or some £45 - for Mass Effect, and 3000-4400 points for some other titles.

The UK and most European countries seem to be sticking to the 2400 MSP (£19.99 / €29.99) upper price point, but applying it across the board - even on titles, like Sonic the Hedgehog, that are being offered for 1600 MSP in the US.

[ source ]

Whoever's idea it was to allow each territory to price individually in such a haphazard way needs a good slapping, along with the arsehole who decided 6000 MSP was reasonable for a download only version of a game. Fuck that sideways.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

What blows my mind is they didn't learn from the Xbox Originals failure.

Sometimes "Try, try again" just doesn't work, boys.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by OmagnusPrime

Wow, Microsoft just kicked Australia in the balls big time

Buying both games on disc, in the one package = $50



Buying both games as digital downloads = $100.
Downloading both games = almost hits the monthly download limit for a lot of people (lolworstinternetintheworld).
Digital distribution future = frown.gif

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Yeah, I checked the CAD price for COD2.

40 dollars.

Gamestop's used version of the GOTY edition with the 15 extra dollars worth of map packs?

7 dollars.

YEAHHHHHHHHh BOI



FELIPE NO

Well they must think people will buy the things at this price or they wouldn't have set it like that. Microsoft spends a fucking fortune on market research, they haven't just put a load of random prices into a hat and pulled one out. I'd imagine that they're relying on the fact that most people in Australia live a ten minute drive from their next door neighbour, let alone a Gamestop and as such, downloading games is much easier than trying to get to a shop. I'm not sure how many bush ranches have broadband mind you.

It's like charging for avatar stuff. Most of us here think it's retarded but then we're all well informed as a rule so we know better. For every one of you facepalming at the idea of paying for avatar clothes, don't forget there's me over here facepalming at you lot spending an extra $5 to get your game in a metal tin rather than a plastic case. We all have different ideas of what constitues stuff worth spending money on and Microsoft obviously think there's enough people who think avatar clothes or full price games from five years ago are a good deal, otherwise they wouldn't have bothered launching the stuff.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

They can spend all they want, it doesn't make sense.

Xbox Originals was a commercial flop because of it's high prices. If you're going to set a downloadable game above it's retail price and give less features (no GOTY edition DLC), you just haven't done your homework.

They have an opportunity to make it a success after learning from the mistakes of the Originals line, but they are making the EXACT SAME ONES, and if it isn't a miserable disaster again I'll eat my hat.

Edit: To their credit, they did pick a better lineup to launch the service with this time. Mostly games people have heard of and those of which reviews are favourable, not the "pick one or the other" that was the Originals line.

I still don't think the average consumer is dumb enough to make this a success again though. It failed before and it will fail again unless they price accordingly. (See PSN for mostly proper pricing strategies for their DLC PS1 games. 6 bucks for the most part for something like Wild Arms 2, which is reasonable. Most of what's up there resells for more than it's price up there. Versus here where it's the opposite scenario.)

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I won't buy any, just because of the fact that I might want to sell the game down the line. Did that with a lot of PC and PS games a few years back.

How ya doing, buddy?

Technically the RRP of Halo 3 is still £45. That nobody would ever pay that much for it is beside the point, in Microsoft's stock list it costs £45.

Of course this is a rather blinkered view point and one would hope that they are usnig more than their stock sheet to set prices but like I said, they've set a price they think they can make money from. After all, it's costing MS fuck all to make these things available online so any sales they do get are pretty much pure profit and I'm often reading people here say they've not bought certain games because their local store doesn't have it and they've apparently never heard of Amazon.

They have missed a trick though. If they priced the stuff much lower, they could pretty much wipe out the second hand game market which I know is something a lot of developers would welcome. I guess MS and co need the games stores to get their message out or something so they don't want to extinct them just yet but I'd suggest that they'll be a lot fewer mainstream game shops about in ten years time once digital distribution really kicks off.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Big Gay Chulo

They have missed a trick though. If they priced the stuff much lower, they could pretty much wipe out the second hand game market which I know is something a lot of developers would welcome. I guess MS and co need the games stores to get their message out or something so they don't want to extinct them just yet but I'd suggest that they'll be a lot fewer mainstream game shops about in ten years time once digital distribution really kicks off.

I could very well be wrong about this, but they I think MS, Sony, and Gamestop have a pretty good thing going at the moment. While their focus on preowned sales is pissing off some developers, they also seem to fund the majority of TV ads for games. Nintendo games are the only commercials that don't focus on, or at least end with a message to pre-order whatever game it is being advertised at Gamestop. Microsoft probably isn't quite ready to piss them off.

I've got no interest in these games on demand unless they get marked down considerably cheaper than their store price. If I'm going to pay full market price for a game then I want a case and manual to go with it. I suppose not having to put in the disc to play a game would be nice, but considering how long the NXE game library takes to load it's probably faster to get the disc off the shelf.

Not like I have any room on my 20GB HDD for a full 360 game anyway.

Most amazing jew boots

I bet at least one of the big companies will probably attempt a download-only version of a console. It would cut down on so many costs, and with terabyte hard-drives at like $70 space is becoming less and less of an issue.

Isn't there a PSP coming out without a umd drive? I can see some people would be interested in a (arcade like) xbox 360 step-down which can only download games. Think about it, virtually no load times.

Most amazing jew boots

Yeah, the new version of the PSP has no UMD drive. Then again, nobody ever buys PSP games anyway so there's not much of a market to destroy in the first place. I'd be surprised if in the next few years while they develop a new generation of consoles the big players don't consider a move to facilitate a lot more digitally downloadable content. Sony are already doing pretty well with this distribution method and a few developers have suggested they'll be the first out with a new console, to avoid the kicking they got from the 360 coming out a year earlier than the PS3. A new generation is still a long way off though. I think digital distribution would catch on a lot faster if MS let you use any HDD with your 360 rather than an offiical one, given you can pick up a terrabyte of storage for the price of an official 360 100 gig one.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by Marco

I bet at least one of the big companies will probably attempt a download-only version of a console. It would cut down on so many costs, and with terabyte hard-drives at like $70 space is becoming less and less of an issue.

Isn't there a PSP coming out without a umd drive? I can see some people would be interested in a (arcade like) xbox 360 step-down which can only download games. Think about it, virtually no load times.

Yeah, installed games have no load times whatsoev...wait what

FELIPE NO

Remember how Bionic Commando was kinda set up for a sequel? Guess we'll never see it.

Quote:

Recent reports of layoffs revealed that Swedish developer GRIN was in financial trouble. Today, in a statement on the GRIN website, founders Bo and Ulf Andersson announced that the company was officially closing, citing an "unbearable cashflow situation" due to delayed payments from unnamed publishers.

In the statement, the founders mentioned "our unreleased masterpiece that we weren't allowed to finish" and thanked many of the companies they worked with, including Ubisoft and Capcom -- but not Warner Bros., for whom GRIN made Wanted: Weapons of Fate and Terminator: Salvation. As reported earlier today, several GRIN staffers who had previously been laid off have gone on to form Outbreak Studios.

Source: Joystiq

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Took them long enough to talk about it. They've been dropping jobs left right and center for weeks. It's a crying shame, too.

I wouldn't be counting on a Bionic sequel based on it's sales, rather than on this unfortunate newsbit though, to be quite honest.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

As some of you might be aware, the Metroid Prime trilogy is coming to the Wii. For those of you who like Pre-ordering and bonuses, Amazon.com has a poster available for those who pre-order the game from them. Gamestop does the game, and also throws in an "exclusive" T-Shirt. The game is cheaper from Amazon.com (46.99 + Free Shipping), so it really comes down to this for those pre-ordering: Do you like T-Shirts? Considering the bland design of the shirt, I'm probably gonna skip it and go to Amazon, but up to the individual of course.

Amazon.com: Metroid Prime Trilogy Collector's Edition: Nintendo Wii: Video Games
Gamestop.com - Buy Metroid Prime Trilogy - Nintendo Wii

Metroid Prime Trilogy ships the 24th of August.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Microsoft manage to demonstrate their 'excellent' understanding of how to price stuff once again:

Quote:

Retailers have told Eurogamer that Microsoft will increase the price of the Arcade Xbox 360 bundle to £159.99 (from £129.99) starting 1st September. The five XBLA games will no longer be included in the bundle, either.

[ source ]

So they're removing stuff and upping the price. Yep, that's going to stimulate sales for sure.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by OmagnusPrime

Microsoft manage to demonstrate their 'excellent' understanding of how to price stuff once again:

[ source ]

So they're removing stuff and upping the price. Yep, that's going to stimulate sales for sure.

Does anyone actually buy the arcade model though? Surely putting up the price of something nobody buys won't harm their sales figures of none?

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by Infernal Monkey

Buying both games on disc, in the one package = $50

I bought this, but pretty sure I payed $40 for it at Best Buy.

(I still have some catching up to do on my gaming. Just came into some money and vacation time, so I got it.)

Originally Posted by OmagnusPrime

Microsoft manage to demonstrate their 'excellent' understanding of how to price stuff once again:

[ source ]

So they're removing stuff and upping the price. Yep, that's going to stimulate sales for sure.

Kinda makes sense if you think about it. If MS runs its books based on the US dollar. If the pound is weak, it means selling an item for more UK pounds is gonna bring in the same revenue in US$. That said though, the product still sucks and would need a reduction even with the weakness of the UK pound to sell anything. :P

I was speaking idiomatically.

EARTHWORM JIM

Interplay has announced a new EWJ game for XBLA, WiiWare and PSN, launching in like, two months or something. It'll be a timed exclusive for XBLA (one month). Gameloft is developing it. The talented mobile studio behind Sexy Poker and American Pop Star: Road to Celebrity.

"The game, with its humorous and edgy style, is a great fit for today's gamer who craves a fully immersive experience that is fun and easily accessible. We look forward to delivering a fantastic game."

Earthworm Jim Coming to WiiWare, PSN and XBLA

Also good fucking work using a badly emulated ZSNES screenshot, 1UP.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

But Shiny Entertainment is dead, man. DEAD.

Gameloft took Assassin's Creed and made this

FELIPE NO

Well if there were any doubts left about a new PS3 console, they have been dissolved. Today at GamesCom 2009, Kaz Hirai introduced the PS3 Slim which will contain 120GB of space, released on the first week of September internationally, and will retail for $299.

The current 80GB phat model will have the price cut to $299 starting tomorrow.

"[10:36] The PS3 Slim is 32 percent smaller and 36 percent lighter and has 34 percent less power consumption than the current model. It will have all the same features and functionality as the current PS3."

Source

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Apparently they slimmed it down by making it ugly.

Good for them.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Not like they ever looked great to begin with. Hopefully with its 34% reduction in power consumption it won't have that deafening fan anymore.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

God dammit, Sony, put the backwards compatibility back in. $300 isn't a bad price, especially since my PS2 died.

Also, how about that aboutface from Sony? They were pretty steadfast on price for a while, and unless I missed something, the price drop came completely out of nowhere.

Granted, the Slim has been rumored for months, but I never saw anything about a new price being attached to it.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.