Every Wednesday I 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 this afternoon.
Now, fire away with those questions.
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Every Wednesday I 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 this afternoon.
Now, fire away with those questions.
Still up in the air. Ask Serrels again next week. He’s all over the 3DS like a… [insert thing that’s like a thing that’s all over something]
Next time you talk to someone from 2K/Activision/Bethesda/EA, would it be possible for you to mention the whole price gouging Australians on Steam thing?
It’s like repeatedly giving yourself a dose of the ole *headdesk*. But perhaps Mr Serrels will get into that turf when he hits the hot seat (he starts next week).
I think the price of gaming overall, whether it’s digital or at retail is one of the biggest issues Aussie gamers have to deal with. It’s a complicated issue – I’m looking into doing some sort of feature on this in the very near future!
GameCafe compares prices from all aussie online stores. http://www.gamecafe.com.au/ It will certainly help keep those prices down.
More and more often now we see things come out with “addons”. Games come with DLC and foxtel has pay per view etc etc.
What I want to know is, where do we draw the line for what we pay for ? In the old days you paid and got a complete game. I’m afraid pretty soon we are going to pay for 50 percent of game and pay again for the rest via DLC, when the game we paid full price for in the first place should have been complete from the beginning.
Foxtel used to be the same we pay foxtel for premium content, yet now they make us pay again via pay per view for what we should have already paid up front for in the first place. Slowly, the consumer is being forced to pay for things they already paid for in the first place.
Where do we draw the line for what is a complete package ? How do we know when we are being forced to pay for content we already should have and how much is too much ?
Was the ‘incomplete’ full price game disappointingly short or failed to conclude like a good game should?
If they’re holding out just to score some extra cash, then yeah, that’s rubbish. If they’re extending the experience beyond what was already awesome, with some (ideally) inexpensive add-ons to a game you love, then I see that as win-win.
Devs are trying to keep the game in your hands longer to minimise 2nd-hand resales, but if they chase that motive via some tasty, tasty carrots then that’s good for gamers.
I can see this would also frustrate the hell out of gamers who are completionists by nature. You would feel very forced to buy every add-on to feel like you’ve had the ‘total’ experience. Of course, you could always ignore the DLC for a year or so, then wait for the ‘complete edition’ to arrive?
Borderlands, GTAIV and Fallout are games that I think got the DLC right. The addons were pretty substantial and allowed me to revisit games that I had already sunk many many hours into.
Addons for maps etc for COD and games where you have to pay for a mode are a complete ripoff and the only way developers will abide is if gamers speak with their wallets…
I tend to agree. Although i will say that apart from the fallout DLC that actually continued the story and increased the level cap, I did not enjoy them that much.
I agree that price is key. I am happy to chuck another 5-10 bucks at DLC after paying for the original, but only if it adds substantial new content and is more of what i liked about the game. I am worried when i start seeing red dead throw in zombies????
And can’t talk about DLC without a special mention to Trials HD (Big Pack). 35 new tracks, about 50% more than the original 1200 point game for 400 points. Another 50 new tracks (Big Thrills) are coming out next month for about the same price… well played sirs!
I’m not opposed to DLC, I just hope it doesn’t go to the ways of foxtel. Foxtel when first introduced had advertised no ads, with new release movies etc etc.
For the most part in the beginning they upheld their claims. As time pushes on companies get greedier and pretty soon those new release movies you got to see are now pay per view. Even though you paid foxtel for the privilige of new releases when you signed up.
I guess what i’m saying is if there’s 5 features to a piece for a price, they eventually end up delivering 2 of the 5 and making us pay more for the other 3 even though we should have been getting the full 5 in the first place.
I would hate to see games people doing the same, slowly chopping up story lines and games into smaller pieces and charging for every piece of extra.
When are you tipping the next Mass Effect 2 DLC?
and/or
Will there ever be another MechCommander game?
Mech Commander Gold =
Most damn fun i have ever had in an RTS
AND
Most damn fun i have ever had in multi-player
We should all try and organise a time to all jump on and play a few rounds.. it is, afterall, free now!
Are we talking to Seamus or Jung?
Doesn’t matter though. I’d like to know what your most anticipated games for 2011 are. Mine: LBP2, inFamous 2, Gears 3, Arkham City, Ico/SotC, The Last Guardian and hopefully an Uncharted 3.
Also, thanks for stepping in being a great acting editor Jung. Keep up the good work with 5′ inch floppy!
‘Tis me today while Jung is on the road, but he’ll check in a bit too.
My hot for 2011 list? I’d agree with Arkham City and the Team Ico updates and latest. Cataclysm sneaks in this year now but I’ll spend a bit of time checking out the new content on that one… always loved early leveling so keen to re-experience that side of the redesigned experience across all the races.
I’ve had some nice preview sessions with Homefront that makes me pretty damn excited for that, too.
Oh, and DEUS EX: HUMAN REVOLUTION, BABY!!
It’s all about The Last Guardian for me! And I’m interested to see what the multiplayer will be like in Brink, and Natural Selection too. Hopefully we’ll find out more about the DOTA-ish game Valve is making.
1) Ubisoft announced that the PoP Trilogy is Europe only… are we going to be included in that Europe?
2) Castlevania : Lords Of Shadow was getting a special edition version in most parts of the world, there was a European one that was going around, supposely looked something like this…
yet, no one seems to be stocking it and potentially heard there was a problem producing it, so much that an announcement about it was going to be made once the regular game came out.
Is there anything you can clear up about the release of any special edition that europe or Australia might end up getting and when it is going to be released.
I’ve checked with EB, JB, and Game over the last few days, and they’ve all said they’re not getting anything.
I’d say we would’ve heard sumthin by now if they were going to release on…dammit.
Thanks on that, I hadn’t yet done the full rounds of the actual stores, just been watching their websites for the time being.
It’s a shame though, as it looks like a classy package (even if the mask is somewhat plastic, etc)
Even though I loved the demo, I’m not going to do the Day 1 thing and just see if anything comes from it after the actual release date.
last I heard it was actually going to be limited numbers and EU only and hard to find… 🙁
At least ‘Euro’ generally means you can get your hands on it if it doesn’t turn up locally. But no word I’ve heard on it.
What are your thoughts on this new “jungle” thingie… i’ve already stated that i believe it will tank quite hard..
I mean it doesn’t seem like it has much appeal to those outside of MMO players, as there are already a tonne of other products that do that same sort of stuff anyway…
…then again i guess it could all come down to price, hey?
So I started thinking and it came to me a slight worry while trying out the playstation move. Consoles and gaming are starting to breakout of the whole “relaxing on the couch” with the whole motion control.
We have the wii, move and soon the kinect. All, if not most of the developers wanting to have their shot with it. Is this going to be the new standard of gaming or is this just a fad that will blow over in a few months?
Also how’s your day going?
Well my 2c worth.
I spent $3000 on a Recliner and $70 on a rug in front of my TV. From this you can guess where I plan on spending most of my gaming time.
I think that businesses are silly not to realise how much money the wii made not to want to jump on board. The ‘Revolution’ did just that, but the wii has failed to capitalise on the gaming side of things. It was innovative tech that just lacked substance from a gaming perspective. I think that these add ons also run the risk of just being a fad if they don’t deliver a better gaming experience. In saying that, I see that these will stick around for some time yet.
Seamus, with your experience in the entertainment / news industry…
Can you tell us if David Kosh is as big a tool in real life as he seems on tele?
Ha! Seriously, he’s really nice. Of course they all ham it up a bit on air, but they’re just nice and relaxed off camera. A big part of what the morning TV hosts have to do is ask the ‘basic’ questions on behalf of their viewers. So I often get asked how dumb they must be to ask such simple questions… ultimately they’re just trying to set up something so the guest can start from a basic answer and try to explain something without assuming the audience knows what you’re talking about.
SPLATTERHOUSE was just classified MA15+ by the classification board. Couldn’t help but notice that the version says MODIFIED. I wonder if Namco bandai may have censored the game before submitting it for Aust classification(like what happened with GTAIV).
Is there any way I can find out?
If I recall correctly there have been a couple of games recently like this. You should be able to find an original listing with the same rating, but without modified. Apparently some games get rated too early, a change happens before the games Release Client is finalised and they have to resubmit it. Basically the same game is rated twice for no good reason, and then we start to get worried. Hope that’s the case here.
Unlike Halo: Reach the Classification board has not classified two versions of Splatterhouse (The 2010 game does come with an “uncensored” version of original arcade game as an extra.)
Any idea when Castlevania : Lords Of Shadow demo will be available to silver members on LIVE?
Is there a set time before they make exclusive GOLD demos available?
1 week. One of the perks of being a Gold subscriber. As far as I was aware this was the case with all demos, and possibly the Arcade as well.
Thanks.
Doesn’t seem to be ALL demos. It’s only happened to me 3 or 4 times before. And one of those times it was multi-player only soooo…
OOO!!!
Will you guys still be doing “Show us yours”?
I’ve been desperate to show you mine for a while now, and while i was talking about my games collection, David just got creeped out when i asked him purely because it was ME. Apparently he wouldn’t open the email because he was affraid of what i was showing him. 😛
Also, as i have not yet done so, a big hello and welcome to Mike. I’m the resident maniacal poster and although it may seem like i rant like a 12 year old, i am proud to announce that i am just a very immature 25 year old. I will also vow to love you long time. Hope you enjoy your stay, mate. 🙂
It’s the Serrels show from next week, so he’ll make the call on which ‘regulars’ become his eras regulars.
And it’s Mark, not Mike. Better this week than next to get it wrong… 😉
Hey Seamus I wanted to know if the specials on the xbox marketplace update on a particular day? I want to get the star wars force unleashed dlc for 400 but they keep coming up as 800 both on the marketplace and on the xbox site. They are part of the sequel extravaganza! And it seems the rest of the dlc hasn’t changed price either. I have the beta dashboard if that could cause problems!?
Beta dashboard shouldn’t make a diff when checking online. I see 800 points on all mission packs too. I can’t find any local references, either. Maybe the beta dashboard is showing US only deals?
Thanks for the reply. But apparently the uk has the same deal and that would be crap if it wasn’t available in Australia
Sometimes we just won’t get the same deals here in Australia. I remember when they did a promo for Sonic the Hedgehog’s anniversary, and the 4 Live Arcade games, as well as the DLC for Sonic 06, were supposed to be available at a reduced price.
The promo was accessible from our dash during the brief period it was available, but the prices were still the same as standard. Funnily enough, Sonic & Knuckles got a price drop a few weeks after the promo. Sometimes we just get screwed.
You may already know this…
But the other thing is if you’re a Silver member you don’t get the deals.
I nearly cried…
Any idea when the incredibly awesome String guitar for RB3 will be released if at all?
Are all the instruments going to be released in Australia
Hopefully not at the same time the special Beatles guitars were released locally for that game! *snap*
As it is a genuine game mode, not just a cosmetic ‘special edition’, I can’t imagine it won’t make it to local retail, but I doubt it will be sitting in every store in the country. Some people might be forced to order online?
Heya. So what’s the deal with Tantalus? I’m a Melbourne games student, and I’ve been hearing some disturbing things about local companies for a while. I understand that with moneys being scarce these days around half our games industry is going out of business. But even so, I hear that two Melbourne devs in the past 6 months have basically screwed over their entire staff. Is this normal in the rest of the world, or is Melbourne just becoming a really unfriendly place to work?
Could you chase up why the ‘Sequel Sale’ on the Xbox Live Dashboard doesn’t actually reflect any of the discounted prices it’s advertising?
(game DLC for Assasins Creed 2, Force Unleashed, Fallout 3 and Fable 2 all saying discounted but when purchased AREN’T)
Probably a bit late, but how do i submit a review?
feel free to e-mail me that answer instead of posting here, thanks.
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