Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Are We Going To Let them Screw Us

Gamasutra has a piece up about Bobby Kotick and Chris Deerings recent comments over the price of games on the market. Both think that premium games should be sold at a higher price, but I really need to ask what makes a game premium. If it's expected to be AAA does that autmatically make it a premium game? What if they think a game is premium and gamers tend to disagree, it would instantly make the game tank.

In our current economy a lot of people have been turning an eye toward reviews. I certainly have, games are $60 if it sucks I don't want to sink $60 into it. Bionic Commando is just one game that had reviews and the early multiplayer demo affect it's immediate sales when it was released. But a person can't always trust reviews.

Anyway the write up at Gamasutra makes for a good read so I would check it out. At least if you are interested in this aspect of gaming. Only we as gamers can stand up and say no to what these companies let their mouthpieces say and ultimately get away with. I won't pay more for a premium game(Modern Warfare 2) and I won't pay for a game in three parts just so a ompany can make triple what it would have made on a blockbuster game(Starcraft 2). It's up to us, we speak with our wallets, and I have spoken with mine hofully you will speak with your's as well.

I would really like to hear other's thoughts on this so please speak up!

Gamasutra

Euro PS Blog Q&A With Heavy Rain Director

The Playstation Blog Europe will be hosting an interview with the director of Heavy Rain Guillaume de Fondaumiere. Heavy Rain is set to be a groundbreaking title for the PS3, literally a game changer of sorts that looks(to me) to blend cinematics and videogames in such a way that the uncanny valley will seem that much closer to reality. If you have any questions that you have a burning desire to get answered I would make time out of your day to get them ready and ask away.

Keep in mind that Quantic Dream has made to other games of similar quality to this one, critical darlings, market underperformers, so if you have silly questions it wouldn't be wise to ask them. I am pretty excited about this game, I like quick time events and blending that gameplay with CSI style investigation is gonna moake for some intense situations. Link over to the site below, you have to have a PSN account to ask your question in the comments.

PS Blog Heavy Rain Q&A

XBL Dashboard Update August 11

There are a bevy of updates in this new update to the dashboard of Xbox Live. There are far too many to list here, the most notable of the bunch being the Netflix options that have been opened up. Here is what it says on Xbox.com

Netflix*
Now you can watch movies with your friends and find new movies to add to your Instant Queue without leaving your seat.

Party Watch - Catch a show with your friends! Bring your party into Netflix and watch a movie or TV show together. (Feature available with supported titles.)

Find Content Faster - Browse through New Releases and other genre lists based on the types of shows you’ve previously watched, all from the comfort of your couch.

Improved Playback Experience - Improvements have been made to ensure a better experience when adapting to changing network conditions.

Improved Presence - Richer information is now displayed in the Friends channel and in the Guide showing what you and your friends are watching.



Nice new set of features, but remember most, if not all, of these features require both a Gold membership and a Netflix unlimited membership to work. Way down at the bottom of the page it states that it is an "exclusive partnership" between Netflix and Microsoft. I think this is just corprate speak to keep people on it for Xbox since awhile back Netflix was running some polls about what the public interest would be if the service was available via Wii or PS3.

Right now the features are only available on the Xbox 360 Arcade, Pro, or Elite period, PS3 has it's own video service of sorts but it isn't as robust as what Netflix is doing on the 360, so if you have a very good connection it's worth watching movies on your 360 if that's your thing. There is a massive list of what's in the update over at Xbox.com so head over there to see the rest.

Feel free to click through and comment!

Xbox.com