Random Gaming Talk Thread

[AdmiralViscen]

Whoa, day 1 for that

[Bebpo]

sony loses another exclusive

In more serious talk, Sony is getting destroyed in the digital realm.  Almost every XBLA/PSN/Steam type of game is either 1) exclusive to X360, 2) exclusive to X360 for 6 months or a year, or 3) is exclusive on X360 for 1 month.  Imagine if retail releases were like this and CoD8, Dead Space 3, etc..etc.. were 1 month exclusive to X360.  I don't know how Sony fucked up this badly to let the competition completely destroy them, but it seems like it's only getting more lopsided lately.  Either they don't care, or they have no idea how to fix the situation.  Either way it's killed their digital sales outside of the Sony hardcore fanbase (which is pretty small these days).

[pilonv1]

Do Microsoft charge for bandwidth like Sony does?

[The Sceneman]

Half-Minute Hero: Super Mega Neo Climax Edition is coming to XBLA: http://www.gamerbytes.com/2011/02/half_minute_hero_gets_super_me.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+gamerbytes+%28GamerBytes%29

I'll buy it if it's $10. I played the PSP version briefly, but I got bored by it because the game played itself. But I guess I'll give the XBLA game a shot.

yeahhhhh I'll be all over that shit even at 1200 future bucks

[ferrarimanf355]

Got Pac-Man CE DX at the half-off price, will play it soon-ish.

Anyways, in Tekken Tag 2 news that will probably only interest me and Sho Nuff, here's how Jun's gonna look in the game.

http://p.twipple.jp/ad3HU
http://p.twipple.jp/uNXLZ
http://p.twipple.jp/YJ6MW

Hawt, Jun/Asuka tag team, here I come. 

[chronovore]

and fuck my 360 is on it's last legs, fired it up today and wouldn't let me log in, it's saying my profile is corrupted. Currently recovering my gamertag, it's been going 30 minutes and the bar is still only 2/3'rds full.

Will suck dick for new xbox

Did it ever finish updating? Once you've "recovered" your GamerTag somewhere else, your old data is rendered unusable. It has to use the newly recovered GamerTag from that point forward, and the more 'cheevs you've got, the more time it takes. For reals, a huge PITA.

[Stoney Mason]

Not a surprise

Harmonix boss Alex Rigopulos has said that Dance Central “outperformed” Rock Band 3 at retail.



Speaking to D’Toid, he said the Kinect-only dancing title is its “top-selling product”.

“To date it has outperformed Rock Band 3 at retail. It’s one of the top-selling titles for the Kinect, and the Kinect is one of the most successful products in the entire videogame industry right now. So we’re thrilled with how Dance Central has performed out of the gate,” said Rigopulos.

He continued to say that “the largest single development team at the studio is hard at work on Dance Central, without being able to be too much more specific than that.”

But it still remains commited to Rock Band, though, in the short and long-term future.

“But, we do continue to have significant resources devoted to Rock Band — both in near term and far term of Rock Band — and we also have significant resources devoted to a number of new IPs and new game concepts in development as well. So there’s actually quite a lot of work underway here on a diverse variety of projects.”

While sales numbers for Dance Central haven’t been announced, it’s certainly done enough to have Dance Central 2 enter pre-production. On the other hand, Rock Band 3 hasn’t done as well in terms of sales, with Rigopulos telling Edge it hasn’t performed to its expectations.

“There’s no denying that Rock Band 3 hasn’t yet sold to the level we hoped it would out of the gate,” he said.

“But on the flipside of that we also believe that it’s a product that has a lot of life. It’s an incredibly huge product with a lot of functionality that people haven’t experienced yet; a key peripheral, the Squier, is shipping next week. And we have long term plans to support the platform indefinitely.”

[archie4208]

[youtube=560,345]cs2DsoiA54Y[/youtube]

 

[Great Rumbler]

:psyduck

[magus]

Cannon Fodder

what do you mean that's not cannon fodder?

[archie4208]

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/03/01/beefy-super-meat-boy-pc-outsells-360/

Super Meat Boy sold better on the PC.  Not bad for a dead platform. 

(Also it generated more revenue than the 360 version before anyone mentions the Steam sale)

[Rman]

Do Microsoft charge for bandwidth like Sony does?

Not sure.  I could imagine that XBL subsidizes stuff like that.

[maxy]

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/03/01/beefy-super-meat-boy-pc-outsells-360/

Super Meat Boy sold better on the PC.  Not bad for a dead platform. 

(Also it generated more revenue than the 360 version before anyone mentions the Steam sale)

According to estimations by Jon Peddie Research (JPR), in 2011 expenditures on PC gaming hardware are set to jump to over $22 billion globally, with a 27% gain in 2011 across the three segmentations of the market: mainstream, performance and enthusiast. The increased demand for rather expensive pieces of hardware is projected to be driven both by lowering previously prohibitive prices onto superior devices as well as advances of software.

Ted Pollak, senior gaming analyst JPR notes a number of drivers for the PC hardware market, including the natural cycle of PC hardware purchases from historical inflection points, system demands of modern FPS (first person shooters) and RTS (real-time strategy) titles, cheaper high resolution displays, SSDs (solid state drives), and the convenience of digital distribution services like Steam and Direct2Drive. Mr. Pollak also attributes growth to newly converted PC gamers tiring of the limitations of aging console platforms, the widely applauded advancements in DirectX 11, and the increasing appetite of PC gamers for high quality speaker systems, headsets, mice, cases, cooling, and other accessories and customizations.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/other/display/20110228140841_PC_Gaming_Hardware_Market_to_Increase_to_22_Billion_JPR.html

outdated consoles

PC

[Great Rumbler]

Interesting, the longer this generation goes, the more people move back towards PC gaming. At least, according to JPR's argument.

[maxy]

I'm definitely slowly going back to PC
The biggest problem is that consoles have too much exclusive games that i want to play

It won't be something massive(power hungry core userbase),but things are moving
We are slowly reaching a point similar to last gen,imo...uhh,ps2,xbox are not good enough anymore

This year I expect nothing to happen,but next year,year after that...buzz will be there

[Great Rumbler]

That's completely cyclical.

Hmm...not entirely, I would think. Or, at least, this generation and the past one have been an amplification of that. I would say that, up until the success of the Xbox, that Western development was, if not necessarily favoring PC, at least more evenly split, with PC's heyday coming during the late 90's. Whereas with the Xbox and Xbox360, Western development has begun to skew much more towards consoles.

Also, this generation has one underpowered console with a commanding lead and two more powerful consoles in a close race for second place, more effectively splitting the big-budget games market than in previous generations. There's also the very real possibility of this generation continuing several more years, when it's already reached the standard generation life-span of five years.

Now, I don't expect developers to suddenly flock back to the PC en mass, but it will be interesting to see what's going on with PC development a couple of years from now.

[archie4208]

I don't think the current crop of western devs will move back primarily to the PC, but there is a new generation of developers, primarily in the indie area, that are more than happy to take their place.

[maxy]

This gen will last long,but that doesn't mean that next gen consoles won't be released in a year or two.
Consoles will dominate development(money is there),but more and more people will mumble about next gen...that is inevitable



 

[Bebpo]

I've definitely been moving back to PC over the last year or two because the indie scene has become so strong and creative and it's mainly PC based.

Plus the resurgence of PnC adventure games, which is a genre I love and is best on PC.


Basically these days I don't have time to play X360/PS3/PC/DS/PSP/XBLA/XNA/PSN/Wii/Wiiware, so I've given up on keeping up with console indie (XBLA/PSN/XNA/Wiiware) for the most part and just get all my indie fun on PC where I feel the better and more varied indie stuff is (plus on the PC it's often legally free!).


In terms of real core million dollar budget games though, I don't see them ever coming back to PC exclusive.  Instead more and more Euro indie devs will become million dollar budget devs and move to consoles.  All I hope is that they still release PC versions day & date that run 60fps/1080p with some AA options.

[archie4208]

Indie gaming

Hollywood gaming

[chronovore]

  I had forgotten about "Hollywood Gaming"...

I'm curious to see where things go next gen, but for my money it doesn't really need to be about more polys and more textures. Features are really what's going to make or break the next generation. We've seen how much it costs to make games this generation; adding costs to asset creation to make even more complex visual and audio and physics simulation hasn't worked out well on average. Some games sell insanely well, but the others, mid-range sales are not enough to make back an investment. Something needs to change.

[cool breeze]

I just play games on PC because it's easier and more comfortable for me personally.  I like using kb/m for games.  I like options.  Things like that.

I don't really relate to the average PC person because I don't play RTS games, MMO games stink, tower defense is agony, uh, I don't have a facebook account.  I mainly play the same types of games I play on consoles, like shooters, rpgs, action, adventure and all those good genres.  But I do really like eurojank games like STALKER that are as ambitious as they are busted. 

I have nothing against consoles, though.  Games are just better on PC for me.  If I was into that community thing, then yeah, I'd totally be about the Xbox.  If I was into home folding not the Xbox 360, I'd be into the PS3.  If I was into...ok, I probably wouldn't be into the Wii regardless.  I don't expect others to share values.  I don't really rage hard about Crysis 2, or Dragon Age 2, or contarding or anything like that, at least not seriously with that level of fervor.  It's generalizing, but hardcore PC peoples can be nutty about that stuff.

[Bebpo]

Yeah, I don't play any PC exclusive genre besides adventure games.  I don't like RTS, MMO, I don't have the time/patience for pure strategy games like Civ, I don't play Tank/Plane simulators or Football Manager.  I also basically play console games on PC because they look better, control better, are cheaper, and are more convenient since I'm on a PC already.

[Raban]

How strange to see that perspective. Here I am, a die-hard PC gamer since the mid-90s, jumping ship to consoles while you guys are doing the opposite. It's cool that you guys can find your gaming niche in PCs, but I think the platform is dead. On average, about one or two PC-lead titles come out in a year, the rest of the releases are console ports that vary in quality from acceptable to downright insulting

However, I think this indie developer movement is something worth keeping an eye on.

[cool breeze]

ok, I think Crysis 2 is a good immediate example.  On 360, and even default on PC, the low fov actually hindered my enjoyment.  Getting near an enemy was so confusing and generally navigating the levels wasn't comfortable.  I went in and added +cl_fov 80 +pl_movement.power_sprint_targetFov = 80 to the exe and it feels a lot better now.  Game devs may not put in an fov slider (Black Ops did!) but it's nice to add a command and make the game more playable.

[Mr. Gundam]

What's up with all the games getting released this summer? Infamous 2, Child of Eden, EDF, Catherine, etc. Summer time used to be a wasteland with nothing to play.

[iconoclast]

Add Shadows of the Damned to that list too (June 7th).

Summer Drought

[Mr. Gundam]

Yeah, I meant to include Shadow of the Damned, just forgot. I wouldn't be surprised if Namco dumps Tales of Graces F in the middle of the summer, too.

I used to count on the summer to get caught up on my backlog... guess that's not happening now.

[Bebpo]

I dunno, 2011 is still a pretty boring year in gaming for me.  Very few titles I'm actually hyped to play, or maybe it's just because I'm getting older and don't care about day 1 playing games anymore and just play them eventually.

Only games in 2011 I'm excited to play are SRWZ2, Tales of Xillia, Dungeon Siege 3, and Uncharted 3.  Maaaaybe Shadow of the Damned because I like Suda, but after NMH2 I may be less than hyped.  I guess Mass Effect 3 when they actually show something and maybe Witcher 2 if turns out well.  I dunno, it's a solid year, but just not a lot of big AAA hype stuff imo so far.  Hope E3/TGS has cool announcements including Bayonetta 2.

[Bebpo]

Well, after seeing that Infamous 2 video, I guess you can add that too.

[cool breeze]

2011 has the most awesome games all in the same year, and we haven't hit E3.  But I like white people games, so 

Battlefield 3
Elder Scrolls V
Deus Ex 3
New (real) Zelda (hopefully), and if not, Zelda OoT 3DS (lowered expectations)
New hardware!
Portal 2
Batman Arkham City
Infamous 2
Diablo 3 lol 2012

and that's just off the top of my head, top tier stuff for me.  Games in the series or sequels to some my favorite games.  There's also LA Noire, Uncharted 3, Shadow of the Damned (depending on the Mikami to Suda ratio), Mass Effect 3, etc.  Hate that I resorted to list wars, but really, goddamn this year is stacked.

I'm happy that summer is getting a bunch of games.  I had to pass on Dead Space 2, MvC3, and a few other games in the past few months.  I'll probably get around to those in the summer too.

[Raban]

This summer is gonna fuck me in the bum so hard.

[iconoclast]

The only game I'm super hyped about is Dark Souls. Really looking forward to Akai Katana Shin and Catherine too, but I'm confident that Dark Souls will be the best game ever created.

[Raban]

I keep forgetting Dark Souls is coming to 360. Jesus. Jesus. I feel like I'm getting gangbanged.

[Bebpo]

I keep forgetting that Dark Souls is 2011

[cool breeze]

haha totally forgot about Dark Race too.  Last Guardian isn't 2011, is it?

[Bebpo]

who knows

would be nice!

[pilonv1]

I don't play Tank/Plane simulators or Football Manager. 

I like that I'm subliminally marketing Football Manager to everyone here.

[chronovore]

What's up with all the games getting released this summer? Infamous 2, Child of Eden, EDF, Catherine, etc. Summer time used to be a wasteland with nothing to play.

Games are finally becoming mainstream acceptable enough that they're not entirely viewed exclusively as children's toys. Marketing kids' toys is centered around holiday release scheduling, so games used to come out primarily during September through November, sometimes as late as December.

This has always appeared to be utter idiocy to me, and at every publisher I've worked I've discussed it at length with the marketing department. "Hollywood doesn't release all their movies at the same time. In fact, they'll delay or rush theatrical openings strategically so they don't get stepped on by larger releases." The marketers would respond that there were factors I didn't understand. I've had this schtick for at least 15 years.

A couple years ago Ritticello at EA came out and said almost exactly the same thing, he may have even used the movie release schedule analogy. And after EA's marketing makes a statement like that, apparently other companies are finally hearing the wisdom as well.

me

[maxy]

 

[Raban]

It may mean nothing, but I feel this news article is pretty revealing when it comes to what publishers think of the Wii these days:
http://www.joystiq.com/2011/03/02/super-meat-boy-wii-canceled/

Team Meat today finally laid to rest the troubled Wii version of Super Meat Boy. "We really tried hard to make this happen but not one publisher we talked to thought a retail budget title for the Wii would be profitable at this point in the Wii's life cycle," reads a missive on the Team Meat Blog, "and we totally understand that."

[maxy]

btw,Iwata will be soon speaking at GDC

live stream

http://gdc2011.nintendo.com/

[Brehvolution]

You know what sucks mojo? I just found out that 2 guys from my work are going.  :'(

[magus]

[youtube=560,345][/youtube]

You know what sucks mojo?

DICKS

[The Sceneman]

  I wasnt being serious when I suggested the "Find Makarov" thread get locked.

I just thought a MW2 inspired live action short is stupid ass idea is all

[Raban]

http://www.joystiq.com/2011/03/02/jaffe-console-makers-should-limit-game-updates-to-four-per-year/

I have a feeling Jaffe doesn't own a 360, since this is only a problem on the PS3, last time I checked. I had to think of that, since at first I found that comment pretty stupid. Why prevent devs from delivering the best version of a game to the consumers?

[The Sceneman]

oh, that Bulletstorm clip has made me pretty keen to play it! I love creative swearing

[Bebpo]

Yeah, that clip makes me want to play it.

/will pickup at steam sale for $5

[cool breeze]

http://www.doublefine.com/trenched/

New Doublefine game (XBLA exclusive this time, I think) is a World War 1 Mech action game 

[Bebpo]

haha, cool. 

Sony loses another game in the digital wars.

[The Sceneman]

Murdered in the digital realm!

[Raban]

[chronovore]

I wasnt being serious when I suggested the "Find Makarov" thread get locked.

I just thought a MW2 inspired live action short is stupid ass idea is all

It is, but ya gotta be careful what you wish for! Who locked that thread, anyway?

http://www.joystiq.com/2011/03/02/jaffe-console-makers-should-limit-game-updates-to-four-per-year/

I have a feeling Jaffe doesn't own a 360, since this is only a problem on the PS3, last time I checked. I had to think of that, since at first I found that comment pretty stupid. Why prevent devs from delivering the best version of a game to the consumers?

FTFA:

We'll see if any of these bold new ideas make it into Jaffe's next release, the Twisted Metal reboot.

[maxy]

I wasnt being serious when I suggested the "Find Makarov" thread get locked.

I just thought a MW2 inspired live action short is stupid ass idea is all

It is, but ya gotta be careful what you wish for! Who locked that thread, anyway?

Me,blame Sceneman

But if you people like it open...

[magus]

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/angry-video-screwattack/711094

nintendo was a master of pointless gimmicks well before the wii and the ds

[Joe Molotov]

Which DQ game is the best on the DS? And why is DQV like $70 online?

[demi]

V because of Pachisi!!!!!!!!!

Also it had a low print run, so it went UP UP UP

You can have my sealed copy for a shirtless pic. Ante up, baby

[Raban]

so glad I picked up DQV while it was still in retail. Is DQ4 hard to find at all?

EDIT: checked Amazon. Nope!

[maxy]

Cliff Bleszinski interview,interesting stuff...Mario is mentioned,move,iphone,etc
Nintendo=fun

Jason Kapalka and David Perry interviewed after Cliff

Jason Kapalka
favorite board comment after bundling Peggle with Orange Box on Steam

"this peggle thing is like the gayest thing i've ever seen,but i can't stop playing it"

David Perry talked about his meeting with Michael Jackson
Meeting turned out to be egg fight
 


http://www.eurogamer.net/videos/gdc-after-dusk-episode-ii#comments

[iconoclast]

 

http://www.siliconera.com/2011/03/03/elite-beat-agents-developer-inis-are-wheeling-and-dealing-with-publishers-at-gdc

iNiS might be free from karaoke purgatory!!!!!!

Now that the MS shackles are finally off, it's time for them to save the rhythm genre.