Every couple of weeks I like to ask you to Ask Me Stuff. If you have a burning question about the games industry, leave it in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer it today.
Just don’t ask why this post isn’t illustrated with a Far Cry 2 screenshot.
Stephan Kold-Labia
April 29, 2009 at 1:15 PM
What are you most looking forward to doing, seeing or playing at E3 2009?
Report PermalinkCowboy
April 29, 2009 at 1:18 PM
Commented about this on your weekend post but don’t think you saw it, so I’ll ask again here :-)
Old(er!) gamer who can remember the heady days of the Atari 2600 and c64.
I look in envy at the list of Wii Virtual Console titles available in other regions, PARTICULARLY the commodore 64 ones!
Would love some Uridium, Paradroid, Impossible Mission action and was wondering if we are EVER going to see the Wii Virtual Console C64 games in Australia?
Report PermalinkDavid Wildgoose
April 29, 2009 at 2:49 PM
@Cowboy
Will we see C64 games on Virtual Console? I’d say it depends on how well they sell in the UK; if they don’t perform there, I doubt Nintendo will bother bringing them here. I’ve asked Nintendo for comment.
Report PermalinkFeels let down
April 29, 2009 at 1:24 PM
I have played my fair share of far cry 2. bought it on realease day, got to 74% and was still enjoying it, despite all the repetitive stuff. and going to get the next mission, my game stuffs up. it decides not to let me talk to the people in the building where i get the mission. it closes the office door on me :( have i missed something in the building, or is it a glitch and if it is a glitch WHEN IS THE PATCH COMING :( its been out for many months and i dont remember there ever being a patch….:’(
Report PermalinkDavid Wildgoose
April 29, 2009 at 2:51 PM
@Feels let down
Far Cry 2 patch? It’s been, what, six months now, so I suspect you could be out of luck. I haven’t heard anything, but perhaps Ubisoft have been having trouble pinpointing exactly what the problem is?
Report PermalinkMr Waffle
April 29, 2009 at 1:43 PM
What do games publishers have to say about how they charge us more for digital downloads of games compared to Americans? For example, many games on Steam are US$10 more for us than for Americans. In the past they’ve used “distribution costs” and “the exchange rate” as their scapegoats when talking about games being sold in stores, but neither of those are relevant in a digital economy (since we have to pay in US$ on Steam anyway).
The reason I bring up Steam especially is because Valve has said in the past that it is the publishers who set the prices, not them.
Report PermalinkDavid Wildgoose
April 29, 2009 at 2:55 PM
@Mr Waffle
This gives me an idea for a post. Stay tuned!
Report PermalinkMarttin
April 29, 2009 at 1:50 PM
R18+ question:
To the best of your knowledge David, what view(s) does the retail industry hold of:
a) the current Classification System in relation the videogames
b) the R18+ rating for videogames saga
c) their practices when enforcing the sale of mature content in other types of media at the point of sale and how that might differ when it comes to videogames.
Surely the likes of EB/JB Hi-Fi/Target/etc have a say on this matter.
They’ve been very conspicuous in their absence.
Report PermalinkDavid Wildgoose
April 29, 2009 at 3:03 PM
@Marttin
Great question. It’s not something I’ve ever discussed with retailers, so this is just speculation. I suspect that for the specialist retailers (EB, GAME, etc), it wouldn’t make much difference. However, we see in the US with chains like Walmart, the non-specialist retailers don’t carry their 18+ titles because they don’t want those games tarnishing their “family friendly” brand.
So perhaps the likes of Target, Toys R Us, etc would refuse to stock R18+ games. Local publishers would then have to weigh up whether to edit the game for an MA15+ or risk losing sales on an R rated title not stocked everywhere. Or perhaps EB or GAME would compensate for those lost sales by ordering in more stock of a potentially controversial title.
I don’t think we’ll see the retail sector make any sort of broad statement on the topic. Individual retailers however, may well be in favour or against the move.
Report Permalinkclawster
April 29, 2009 at 1:52 PM
more a request than a question – can you quote the person/question you’re answering in your answer? saves us scrolling up and down to find out the context for each response – thanks!
Report PermalinkTrent
April 29, 2009 at 1:56 PM
Hi David! My question is about Fez, and it’s a simple one. Has there been any hint as to when we may see this one available?
It’s already obvious it’s going to land on at least xbla, given that the speech bubbles in game have a green ‘A’ in the bottom right of them. But yeah, the developer hasn’t really given much indication as to when it’s being released; not that I’ve seen. Have you heard any word on or off the record that hints at a release date?
Report PermalinkDavid Wildgoose
April 29, 2009 at 3:06 PM
@Trent
No word. But remember that XBLA promotion during July/August last year that gave us Braid, Castle Crashers, Bionic Commando etc? Fez would seem a good candidate if Microsoft were to repeat that promo…
Report PermalinkAshling
April 29, 2009 at 2:10 PM
Yeah, I wanna know why games cost so much here than elsewhere.. Yeah, I wanna know why games come out so much later here than elsewhere.. Yeah, I wanna know why we never see some games here but everywhere else gets ‘em..
But the question that’s really bugging me is if we’ll ever see a release of Tales of Vesperia on the 360.. The date just keeps getting pushed back and then back some more..
I think I want to know what reasons companies give when they decide “oh, we’ll give Australia another year to hang before we release there” (if they ever do) ?
Report PermalinkDavid Wildgoose
April 29, 2009 at 2:53 PM
@Ashling
Atari announced a few weeks back that Tales of Vesperia would be coming to Australia in June. It’s still on track to do so.
Report Permalinkfiannan
April 29, 2009 at 3:52 PM
Someone already asked about Tales of Vesperia, but is there any word of a possible Australian release for the Tales of Symphonia sequel on the Wii? I’ve been waiting (mostly) patiently for news, but haven’t heard anything yet.
Thanks!
Report PermalinkHotDamn!
April 29, 2009 at 4:08 PM
Since the inception of FPS games, what’s been your favourite weapon of all time and which game(s) was it from? Perhaps even describe the scenario which made your jaw drop at its awesomeness.
Report PermalinkDavid Wildgoose
April 29, 2009 at 7:21 PM
@HotDamn!
On the more conventional (and I use that term loosely) side, I don’t think I could split the rocket launcher and railgun from Quake 3 for sheer satisfaction. Less conventional contenders would be Half-Life 2′s gravity gun and the Dragon’s Tooth sword from Deus Ex.
Report Permalinkwanston
April 29, 2009 at 4:17 PM
Can I crash at your house for a couple of nights?
Report PermalinkDavid Wildgoose
April 29, 2009 at 7:22 PM
@wanston
It’s $500/night for the couch. $50 extra per blanket.
Report PermalinkDave
April 29, 2009 at 4:29 PM
What “add on” should I buy for Dead Space for the 360
Report PermalinkDavid Wildgoose
April 29, 2009 at 7:30 PM
@Dave
Seriously, none of them. I guess if you’ve already finished the game and are keen to replay it, think about which weapons you liked the most and then download the enhanced versions. But, really… Meh.
Report PermalinkEvil Otto
April 29, 2009 at 4:41 PM
I’m curious about the ratings system. If every one is pushing for an R rating, why aren’t they pushing for an X rating, as well? (Given that much of the argument for an R is based on the idea that games ratings should come in line with film and literature classification.)
Report PermalinkDavid Wildgoose
April 29, 2009 at 7:30 PM
@Evil Otto
One step at a time…
Report PermalinkIndefinite Implosion
April 29, 2009 at 7:10 PM
Hey,
Report PermalinkI’m still not sure what the deal is with us not getting worms when it was released in all other PAL territories a few weeks ago :S ?
Thanks.
David Wildgoose
April 29, 2009 at 7:15 PM
@Indefinite Implosion
You and me both. I’ve been asking Sony to explain, but as yet they’ve not been able to supply an answer.
Report Permalinkshab'a'do
April 29, 2009 at 8:15 PM
i get really peed’off seaching for a game of call of duty on console and only finding games hosted by someone on the other side of the world or tryind to race some peeps at Forza 2 at 7am after work(Night shit) and getting some mass lag. my question is can you give a list of games on console that have region filter settings in there multiplayer, like killzone 2, halo, ect… why dont all games have a region filter setting, it’s woulden’t be hard to put in a game!
thanks
Report Permalinkmax
April 29, 2009 at 8:19 PM
mr. wildgoose
where is your surname from? (country)
Report Permalinkits pretty terrific
Neil Williams
April 29, 2009 at 11:51 PM
Not really gaming industry related, but…
Report PermalinkWhat happened to the Kotaku site revamp removing that annoying auto-refresh? I recall you mentioning it as a possible feature, and I’m still getting the bloody things…
David Wildgoose
April 30, 2009 at 8:15 AM
@Neil Williams
The auto-refresh will no longer happen while you’re entering a comment, which was the chief cause of anguish.
Report PermalinkSpanPanic
April 30, 2009 at 9:14 AM
David, in relation to the FC2 patch – Ubisoft have said they have identified the problem, but will not release it until they have some DLC to go with it. (See: FC2 forums), which is b’s imo.
Report Permalinkwillis
April 30, 2009 at 4:27 PM
Why are some PS3 save game files copy protected? I just want to format my hdd and keep my save files but games like Resident Evil 5 and Killzone 2 are copy protected. I know you can use the back up feature but that just backed up 45GB of crap.
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