Interesting thoughts on the health of the game industry. http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-06-01-neil-young-e3-relevance-has-diminished-massively http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-06-01-e3-is-more-relevant-than-it-has-ever-been-says-esa http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/170237/Annual_US_game_retail_could_hit_sixyear_low_in_2012.php http://www.cnbc.com/id/47614501
Not directly E3 related, but good news if you followed the problem with Curt Schilling's studio(s) (i.e., the ones where everyone lost their job, including the people who just launched a new IP that was pretty good apparently): http://epicgames.com/community/2012/06/big-problems-need-huge-solutions/ If you like Kingdom of Amalur, I suppose it isn't out of the question that Epic might acquire the IP from Rhode Island, and maybe they can continue the work there (though Rhode Island could give it to someone else too). Stealing info posted about a UE4 GameInformer article (originally posted at NeoGAF): Don't think I posted this earlier for some reason (and don't think anyone else did?), but some internal Sony staff have been hinting at something going on with PlayStation Plus. Basically telling people to subscribe now, before E3 (of course, guess they'd always say that). More or less hinting that the price might go up, although for good reason I think (probably related to the game streaming stuff). I guess if you missed that, you have a few hours to decide.
I believe the last quarter was the first NES has lost money so they are moving a little slow in bringing out their flagship -but they're not far off. I think both the 360 and the PS3 have at least 5 more years -- there are so many great games I (and the average gamer) have no problem waiting for until they are really cheap. The graphic quality doesn't really look old until you are about 4 years removed from the actual release date and some never do. Sony needs to come out with a Slim v2 that plays PS2 games and upconverts them to HD. I wish I could find that GT5 thread I think I was right about it being set in Hollywood.
I think that's awesome news, and is probably the result of BHG studio execs going balls out to protect their people. Good for them. It's clear that good developers, many of them just starting out, were being ground into dust over things they had no control over. I wish nothing but the best for the management responsible for pulling this off.
Doesn't change your point, but they lost money during the Gamecube era IIRC (think when it dropped to $149 or $99, around 2003), but only for one quarter there as well. Other than those two periods, not sure when they were last in the red. I am curious to see the direction Sony and MS go with their new consoles, as well as how gamers react to them (and the technology specifically). I do wonder if the leap in technology might not provide as obvious of a leap in graphics that we usually expect. Viewing some opinions on the UE4 stuff, it seems like some people aren't as impressed as you'd expect. In comparison, I seem to recall UE3 wowing just about everybody. I think the tech is great, but I'm not sure if the improvements are noticeable to all. For example, technology that allows for a fully dynamic lighting engine might not produce lighting that appears much better than a game with pre-baked (but very well done) lighting, at least to the average gamer. On the other hand, I'm not sure if Sony/MS even want to go so crazy on specs (at not PS3-crazy), so maybe that won't matter as much. Put together a solid console for $299 (supporting all the latest features, but relatively affordable still). Maybe not a huge leap in tech, but you can play Battlefield 4 at 1080p, 60 FPS with "ultra" graphics (or whatever). Enough people might buy into that, at least for the first few years (just looking at maybe 10-20 million). Adoption rates can be slow (but steady), so maybe they won't even care about the average gamer until 2-4 years after they release the console (at that point, maybe it would be <$199, with lots of great games/services, enough to justify upgrading from 360/PS3/whatever). New Nintendo "Pro" controller for Wii U, plus other info: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/...ls_Wii_Us_Miiverse_new_hardware_specifics.php
Happy E3 day (1) everyone! Terrible? You think Left4Dead is terrible? I'm interested to see what you consider good.
Hope to see Star Wars 1313 at E3. Also hope to find out a release date for it. I need me a new game to dive into.
Left 4 Dead was a riot. As simplistic and mindless as it can be, I haven't had that much fun in the first few months of playing a game ever. Granted I lost interest by the time Left 4 Dead 2 came out, but man, what a ride.
They lose money in the first quarter often, however http://www.joystiq.com/2012/04/26/nintendo-reports-461-2-million-in-losses-for-fiscal-2011/ So yeah...they screwed the pooch big time. They had the console lead this generation big time then they screwed over the people that got them there. I had an original Xbox (never bought a Playstation/Playstation 2 or Gamecube), and I passed on the 360 initially to get a Wii. I felt like it was the future of gaming (and in a way it still was/is), but then after they had the huge initial success they didn't back it up with any core games. Just games for all of the casual gamers who weren't really going to kick them money to begin with. Also going with a non-HD console was a huge mistake, and I think they're going to pay for it with the Wii U as well. I know it's supposed to be more powerful than the current generation consoles, but it certainly won't be able to compete with the next gen Xbox/PS3. I want to believe in Nintendo, but I don't think they're going in the right direction. Did I mention that I believe the Wii U tablet controller is incredibly stupid?
They are going for a different market. The Gamecube era ruined them with hardcore gamers, and allowed XBox and Playstation to pass them relatively easy. And you have to remember that Nintendo has thrived on family friendly games throughout its history. And lets not forget that the other game systems aren't exactly profitable.
I never really understood why Nintendo couldn't have had both markets (ala the PS1 and PS2, or even some of their handhelds to some degree). The Wii could have easily (IMO) had some pretty good hardware @ $250 (given the launch craze, guess it could have even gone for $300, but that's in hindsight). Wouldn't have to match up exactly with the 360/PS3, but it would have been enough to compete, ala the Gamecube (or...previous Nintendo consoles in general I guess). Still would have been an affordable console that was profitable for Nintendo. Some of this is hindsight, and I guess it is possible that some of these decisions could have jeopardized some of the success the Wii had (to be fair, it is hard to criticize Nintendo TOO much, I'm sure Sony and MS would have liked some of that profit). But I don't think it is right to think it was an either or situation (target hardcore gamers only, or target casual gamers only). It is certainly possible to target both, and be hugely profitable (as history has shown).
They're not profitable? I guess you mean the sales of the consoles themselves, cus Microsoft has had some record quarters recently based almost entirely off the strength of the Xbox. As for Nintendo; I'm well aware of what they're after. It isn't helping them right now. I also feel like Microsoft leap-frogged them a bit with the Kinect. It may not be good for games right now, but for casual gamers it's making a killing. I never took issue with their "family" friendly games. I'm talking about the fact that when they had their huge market share lead they didn't release any games of note. What happened? Microsoft and Sony took over from there, and managed to beat them with their own idea -- or in Microsoft's case; came up with a better idea. Naturally having a controller in your hand is still better, but there are quite a few experiences you can't get anywhere but Kinect right now (Gunstringer, Child of Eden, Fruit Ninja, Steel Battalion). That's my point exactly. They were so concerned about casual gamers that they forgot who got them to where they were. You can say what you want about Nintendo's games being "family friendly" (they are). However, hardcore gamers play those games as well (I love Mario, Zelda, and so on), and those are the same games they weren't releasing while they sat on their hands and collected money. The result? They got passed up big time.
I haven't really kept up with this in a while, but I think the 360 itself is profitable. Or should be. Maybe even the PS3 (or some PS3 SKU), although I have more doubts about that. Might just be breaking even. This is the "let's make our money" stage of those consoles' lifecycles. edit: Oh yeah, MS conference starting up soon for anyone who wasn't aware (12ish minutes I think).
Leak for Quantic Dream's next game (remember the Kara tech demo recently?): http://www.insight-factor.net/gallery-videogiochi-prime-immagini-per-beyond-04-06-2012 Stars Ellen Page it seems. Kind of funny given the Last of Us reveal.
Just saw the initial gameplay of Halo4; I'm impressed. Way to go for not letting your main IP go to trash Microsoft. Spoiler Why are the covenant involved? Specifically I saw elites attacking MC...wasn't there a truce between the elites and humans after Halo3?
