As per RPadholic N8R’s suggestion, let’s play some poker on PlayStation Home next week! Please let me know if Tuesday or Wednesday works better for you. I’m pretty flexible with the times. I hope a bunch of you can make it! Also, a heads up for March: it’s going to be Quarrel on XBLA. I love that game on the iPad and hopefully a bunch of you are down to play this Scrabble/Risk melange next month.
Are you ready to think about buying games in a modular way? A few publishers are exploring the option in the quest to find a new game-publishing model that will work better in the upcoming years. As an example, let’s use the fictitious (but potentially awesome) game Marvel vs. San Rio…
Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, your favorite Chocobo color, the arrival of Cadbury Creme Eggs, or dreaming of Chris Brown getting curb stomped, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
What do you think of when you hear the word modular? For me, the cheap and popular modular furniture from Ikea immediately springs to mind. Are you ready to think about buying games in a modular way? A few publishers are exploring the option in the quest to find a new game-publishing model that will work better in the upcoming years.
As an example, let’s use the fictitious (but potentially awesome) game Marvel vs. San Rio. The full game costs $60. The game is also available modularly, with the single-player and multiplayer components costing $35 each. This could be a potentially interesting way to buy and sell games. People that want to enjoy all the variations of Wolverine vs. Hello Kitty would snatch up the whole thing. Those that only care about the story mode would save $25 by paying for single-player only, while multiplayer fiends could just buy that mode. Naturally, the publisher would include all kinds of demos and incentives to nudge players to buy the mode they don’t already have.
A couple of publishers have mentioned this idea to me and my friend Paul mentioned that a publisher mentioned it to him last week (that’s triple mentioning in case you’re counting). Do you think this model would work? Is it something you’re interested in? Will videogame publishers borrow from the ingenious world of Swedish modular furniture and sell their wares modularly?
The other day, my colleague Kevin Dent asked about the prices of next-gen games. Due to escalating development costs, he believes that there will be $60 and $80 titles. Of course there are other revenue sources to consider, like monthly subscriptions, online passes, dolly avatar clothing…
Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, wishing you had a moogle that could transform into a sword, Verve’s El Salvador El Porvenir Bourbon, or CM Punk vs. Chris Brown, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
The other day, my colleague Kevin Dent asked about the prices of next-gen games. Due to escalating development costs, he believes that there will be $60 and $80 titles. Of course there are other revenue sources to consider, like monthly subscriptions, online passes, dolly avatar clothing, etc. All that aside, I was just floored by the idea of an $80 console game. That’s like…expensive and stuff.
To be honest, the reason why the $80 price was so jarring to me was that I really haven’t been thinking about the price points for next-gen games. I’ve been more curious to learn about how publishers are going to adjust their business models because the traditional way of publishing videogames isn’t long for this world. It just never occurred to me that a publisher would think, “I know! Let’s increase the price of games by $20! That will solve all our problems!!!” I’d like to (naively) think that even the stiffest suit is more creative than that.
How much do you think next-gen games will cost? Are you ready for a world where triple-A console games cost $80? How many $80 games can thrive considering you can get a solid iOS experience for $6 or less?
Obviously the big deal this week is the full North American launch of the PlayStation Vita. Sony’s newest portable gaming system is supported by several excellent titles. My writer friends seem to be enjoying Uncharted: Golden Abyss the most. For home consoles, Asura’s Wrath is out this week. My industry friends mostly love this game, lauding it for being fun, creative, and different. A few of them have dinged it for offering only five hours of gameplay. Syndicate is also out this week and I know of at least one RPadholic (Hi Sandrock!) that’s excited for the return of this classic gaming franchise. Last, but not least, is Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D. If you have a 3DS then I highly recommend picking this game up.
Any of you buying new games this week?
As some of you know, I’ve been watching the panels and talks from DICE 2002. One of the dominant themes of the show was attracting the mainstream and mass markets. It’s hard to believe how far gaming has come in 10 years. Between consoles like the Nintendo Wii, mobile games…
Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Super LINtendo, the excellent Gary Carter, or what the hell ever happened to Urkel, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
As some of you know, I’ve been watching the panels and talks from DICE 2002. One of the dominant themes of the show was attracting the mainstream and mass-market consumer. In 2012, the issue has changed. The mainstream consumer is a gamer. It’s hard to believe how far gaming has come in 10 years. Between consoles like the Nintendo Wii, mobile games, and Facebook games, the mass market is arguably a bigger deal than the enthusiast-gamer market.
Back then, the talk was about attracting casual consumers. These days, most people play some sort of videogame. Part of it is how the industry has progressed, but part of it is that gamers simply got older while a whole new generation has grown up with games as a standard form of entertainment. (And not to be morbid, but a lot of people that viewed videogames as a foreign or unusual thing simply died.)
Originally I was going to ask you, “Who is the mainstream gamer in 2012?” After typing all this out, perhaps the better question is, “How can companies turn casual gamers into enthusiast gamers?” Getting someone to play a game on the iPad 2 or on Facebook is easy. Is there an opportunity to “graduate” those gamers? Can they be turned into players that buy PlayStation Vitas and Xbox 720s? Who are the new targets in 2012 now that gaming in mainstream? How can traditional videogame companies snag them?
Getting back from DICE and catching up with other work responsibilities hasn’t left me with a lot of time for gaming. I’m going to fix that this weekend. I’ve really missed Final Fantasy XIII-2. I’m pretty sure Serah, Noel, and Mog feel neglected. Sorry guys! I’ll play with you this weekend, for sure.
How about you? What’s on your weekend playlist?
I wanted to make sure you guys and gals were aware of two web sites run by two of my former GameSpy coworkers: the excellent John Keefer and the dazzling Sal Accardo. Keefer is a master of MMOs and PC RPGs; you can read his thoughts and musings at An Avatar’s Life. Sal is a beast at first-person shooters, World of Warcraft, and music games. He’s sharing his thoughts over at Bytica.
If you have a chance, please visit their sites and leave a comment letting ’em know I sent you. These guys are awesome.
Jordan Mechner has revealed that he’s working on a Karateka remake for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It will be available as a downloadable title on PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade later in 2012. This is outstanding news. I have fond memories of playing Karateka as a kid on my Commodore 64. It was one of the first games (that I can recall) that used music and cutscenes to create an atmosphere larger than the gameplay. Nearly 30 years later, I’m psyched to see how Mechner uses modern game development tools to re-imagine Karateka. Here’s what he said in today’s press release:
Making the original Karateka was a labor of love. To have so many people embrace it and share the impact that game had on them has been incredibly fulfilling. In remaking Karateka, I want to honor the original with a compact, pick-up-and-play game that is fluid, atmospheric and beautiful.
This wouldn’t be the first time Mechner has revisited one of his classic creations. He worked with Ubi Soft as a game designer, writer, and creative consultant for the Prince of Persia remake. That one turned out pretty excellent, don’t you agree? I’m also excited to see a gaming legend return to show the new kids how it’s done. It’s going to be fun tracking the development of the new Karateka and hopefully it will be even more fun to play.
Any of you old enough to remember Karateka? You psyched for the Karateka remake?
Since I’m feeling all inspired and invigorated from DICE 2012, I’ve decided to revisit some old DICE panels from 2002. It’s going to be fun checking out the attitudes, predictions, and stances on gaming with the benefit of a retroscope. Before I get to the smart stuff, let’s take a look at some old photos of an old friend of mine. Ever wonder what Epic Games design director Cliff Bleszinski looked like 10 years ago? Here are some photos from the DICE 2002 brochure to appease your wonder.
Cliff’s bio pic looks a bit scary. He looks like a charming felon or someone you wouldn’t want around your teenaged daughter. Perhaps both. Probably both. Okay, definitely both.
Thankfully (for everyone), he looked much better during his DICE 2002 panel. Of course his career has skyrocketed over the last ten years and I’m immensely proud of everything he has accomplished. That said, the photo reminds me of a simpler time that felt more innocent and carefree. Cliff was getting ready to kick all kinds of ass and he hadn’t yet discovered the joys of human growth hormone (rumor). He would also return my phone calls back then (*joke*). When did the world and life get so complicated?!? (You weren’t supposed to see that last sentence.)
Anyway, I’m going to dive into some DICE 2002 panels. Let me know what you think of 2002 Cliffy B when you have a chance (please!).
Please join me in congratulating RPadholic smartguy for becoming a…let me see if I have this right…sergeant for being a senior tax manager for a law enforcement agency. In WWE terms, I believe this makes him a cross between Sgt. Slaughter and Irwin R. Schyster. I’m also certain this makes him one of the few RPadholics that’s allowed to carry a gun (legally). Now it’s time to start scripting a new RPad.TV original series featuring smartguy harassing people that haven’t filed their taxes.
