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by Published on August 16th, 2010 19:28
via MCV
Next gen consoles will shun retail in favour of digital, says analyst firm Electronic Entertainment Design and Research (EEDAR).
The prediction was made by EEDAR CEO Greg Short during a speech on the state of the games market, which he delivered at GDC Europe today.
He said that digital is growing at a dramatic pace, boosted by a surge in the number of small studios. Short explained that the high number of redundancies over recent months has resulted in a growing number of independently-run digital-only developers.
However, despite the gloom, Short said that those predicting the death of the High Street will have to wait a long time, and that retail will continue to be a “dominant force” for years to come.
He points out that retail is still vital in educating the consumer, in particular about DLC. He presented a graph that showed a huge proportion of consumers learnt about digital add-ons via in-store marketing and game packaging.
According to EEDAR research in an upcoming report on DLC, 35 per cent of gamers are still not interested in paid-for DLC. With many gamers confused over “the value of DLC,” claimed Short.
“We expect digital revenue to make a huge impact with next-gen consoles,” he said. But added that digital is still some way off from reaching mass-market acceptance.
He continued by saying full-game downloads are being held back by slow broadband speeds. He told attendees that the average PS3 game will take five hours to download based on average European download speeds. Meanwhile, gamers wanting to download Rockstar’s upcoming LA Noir – which reportedly uses a full Blu-Ray disc – may have to wait 14 hours.
Short underlined his point by asking the room who bought StarCraft II? A large number of the room raised their hands, and when he asked ‘who downloaded it’ everyone put their arms down. ...by Published on August 13th, 2010 22:07
Today I bring another round of updated sales figures for console shifts in Japan as shown below:
- Playstation Portable: 30,397
- Playstation 3: 28,630
- Nintendo DSi LL: 21,018
- Nintendo DSi: 18,318
- Nintendo Wii: 18,238
- Xbox 360: 5,639
- DS Lite: 4,372
- Playstation 2: 1,524
- Playstation Portable go: 708
by Published on August 13th, 2010 21:59
via Eurogamer
PlayStation Plus subscribers will be able to buy the original Tomb Raider two weeks before everybody else.
The PS One classic will be released through the PlayStation Store on Monday.
PlayStation Plus is the PS3's premium PlayStation Network service.
"Wherever we can, we are trying to get early demos and exclusive content for Plus members and this is by no means the end of these little mid month treats that you have requested, so keep an eye out for more," said James Thorpe, PlayStation Network product manager, on the European PlayStation Blog.
Subscribing to PlayStation Plus costs £11.99 / €14.99 for 90 days or £39.99 / €49.99 for a year.
Related Games ...by Published on August 13th, 2010 00:27
via Computer and Video Games
Creative Director Kevin Levine has said that BioShock Infinite, revealed earlier today, is not your typical sequel, but more like a re-imagining of the BioShock franchise.
You can read the full Q&A with Levine here, check out a BioShock Infinite preview here and watch the reveal trailer here.
"In the game industry, people have a particular sense of what a sequel is. You know, they're going to follow the story, it will be the same world, a lot of the same weapons," said Levine.
"I guess "re-imagining" is a good way to describe it. Anything that was in the previous game has to earn its way into this game. We're open to explode any ideas, change any ideas, re-imagine any ideas. That's why we've been quiet for so long. That's a question we've had to wrestle with for a long time, and it took us a few years to get to the point where we were ready to talk about it. Now the team is super excited about it.
"Once you make a game like BioShock, the audience expects to be surprised and amazed the same way they were by Rapture. We wanted to make sure we had something that felt familiar in some ways, but also felt different at the same time."
by Published on August 13th, 2010 00:20
via IGN
Those hoping to finally see Doom 4 at this year's QuakeCon will have to wait longer, perhaps until next year. At the convention's welcome speak, CEO Todd Hollenshead immediately broke hearts by saying that Doom 4 would not be shown.
The game is still in the works, says Hollenshead, but it isn't at the stage in development where id Software feels it is ready to be shown publicly. Bummer. But hey, if it looks as good as id's other game Rage, IGN's E3 Game of the Show, when it finally is unveiled, my guess is it will be worth the wait. ...by Published on August 13th, 2010 00:18
via iSuppli
Traditional handheld games consoles are in decline with 1m fewer devices produced this year compared to 2009.
The drop has been attributed to the rise in popularity of mobile phones equipped to play games and other forms of entertainment.
Research shows handheld consoles will decline 2.5 per cent to 38.9m this year down from 39.9m in 2009, according to market research firm Isuppli.
In comparison factory shipments of mobile phones are forecasted to reach 1.27bn in 2010 – up 11.4 per cent from last year’s 1.14bn orders.
Tufegdzic added: “Although gamers who prefer a superior gaming experience will always opt for either a console or handheld, sales of both platforms tend to rise and fall based on the vagaries of product development, consumer buying patterns and economic trends.”
Consumer electronics analyst for Isuppli Pamela Tufegdzic said: “The formidable lead enjoyed by mobile phones capable of gaming will continue in the years to come with no hint of decline.
“Their near-universal presence gives them the potential to become a viable competitive threat to dedicated gaming platforms – primarily handheld devices.”
The firm also says units of home consoles will total 52.3m this year, a small rise of 0.2 per cent year-on-year. It expects Move and Kinect to cushion its anticipated decline of console shipments next year, and for Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo to launch next-gen consoles in late 2010. ...by Published on August 13th, 2010 00:14
via Eurogamer
The next instalment in the Metroid series is so emotionally charged it brought one of the game's creators to tears.
That's according to Nintendo's Ryuzi Kitaura, speaking in the latest Iwata Asks interview. He said producer Yoshio Sakamoto was left speechless the first time he saw storyboards for the cut-scenes in Metroid: Other M. "I thought there was no hope for me, I thought I should just go home there and then," Kitaura said.
When it came to viewing the actual cut-scenes Sakamoto was even more moved, according to Kitaura. "He stood close to me, checking the monitors. When we'd shoot a particularly moving scene, I'd ask him 'How was that, Sakamoto-san?', but he'd be completely silent - again.
"That wasn't it at all!" chuckled Sakamoto. "The truth is that I was so inspired I couldn't put it into words. I think anyone would become speechless if they were presented with storyboards that were so far beyond their wildest dreams.
"Kitaura-san's passion was really apparent in those storyboards. That's why I decided to ask him to be responsible for all production, not just for the cinematics, but doing production for gameplay parts too."
In total Kitaura drew more than 300 storyboards featuring over 2000 images. It took him more than six months to get them all done.
"I was really worried, thinking 'Oh no, he doesn't like it...' But then when I peeked at his face, his eyes were full of tears," Kitaura said. "Well, the cinematic did show Samus in tights."
You can find out whether it was worth the effort when Metroid: Other M is released for Wii on 3rd September. In the meantime, there are billions of videos over on the gamepage. ...by Published on August 13th, 2010 00:12
via Computer and Video Games
Finished New Super Mario Bros. Wii? Defeated Bowser and collected every gold coin? Pah. That's merely a "decent" achievement, says Nintendo.
You're no expert until you can finish level 1-1 in 44 seconds, or get 20 extra lives from a single fireball spat from Yoshi. Those and several more feats listed on a New Super Mario Bros. Wii Challenges website.
Nintendo has set a bunch of challenges from time trials to technique and multiplayer challenges, and divided them up into three difficulties. There's some cool ones on there, like getting through levels without scoring a single point (so even coins and mushrooms are the enemy), or Goomba combo-stomping.
Should be good fun if you want more out of the already brilliant platformer. It's a shame, in the age of Achievements and Trophies, that Nintendo is doing it this way instead of just building these challenges into the game itself.
Full details here from Nintendo ...by Published on August 13th, 2010 00:07
via IGN
As the (still completely unfounded) speculation about a possible PSP Phone continues to travel in circles around the internet, it has been alleged that Nintendo was at one point considering its own foray into the mobile phone sector.
Pocket Gamer carries word from “a development source” that in the early 2000s an R&D project jointly run by Nokia and Nintendo was established at Nintendo’s Kyoto HQ.
The project supposedly progressed as far as board level, where Nintendo execs were presented with a concept. Which they rejected. In the subsequent years Nokia went on to launch the ill-fated N-Gage and Nintendo debuted the not-so-ill-fated DS.
The requirement for mobile phone users to sign up to a contract has always been seen as a big barrier for platform holders, but the huge success of the iPhone proves that – despite the failure of N-Gage – gaming machines and mobile phones can co-exist. ...
“You have to remember Nintendo is a very conservative company,” the source stated. “It always has various R&D projects on the go, but most of them are eventually rejected. It's just how it operates.”by Published on August 13th, 2010 00:04
via IGN
Now, this is the kind of office prank everybody wants to come back to. When SEGA's Aaron Webber went on a three-week vacation, his mates pitched in to turn his cubicle into the Green Hill Zone. Using cardboard, print-outs of classic Sonic the Hedgehog assets, and a little Astroturf, Webber's workplace was transformed into a 3D 16-bit wonderland.
Really, you should check out the video. The detail in the modeling is pretty amazing, such as the dropping paper fronds of the palm trees and the actual ramps Sonic blasted across during his first Genesis adventure. There's even a spinning sign from the end of the stage, which turns from Robotnik to Sonic as the Blue Blur blasts by it.
Webber's a total good sport about it. When he's welcomed back to his office, he even pops on a Sonic hat (like the one you get if you pre-order Sonic Colors) and sits right down in the middle of the Green Hill Zone. Hey SEGA, how about releasing the papercraft plans so fans can make this at home?
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