Video Games Archive

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PlayStation Vita’s AT&T Data Plan

By
Andy Yen
– Posted on January 9, 2012Posted in: Video Games

Stephen Totilo:

The data plan for the 3G version of the PlayStation Vita will run you $15 for 250 MB or $25 for 2GB. There are no contracts, the company said during a presentation at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

It’s a slightly better deal than iPhone users who have to pay $15 for 200MB, but let’s be real here. Unless you’ve got a ton of disposable income, why would you pay another monthly data plan (assuming you’re a smartphone owner) for a purely gaming device?

Even without contracts involved, it’s still a hefty price to be paid to scratch that multiplayer game itch.

via Kotaku.

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The 2011 Spike Video Game Awards Retro Liveblog

By
Andy Yen
– Posted on December 13, 2011Posted in: Features, Games Industry, Reviews, Video Games

Another year, another Spike Video Game Awards show to suffer watch through. It’s got to be having some sort of success, or else they wouldn’t be putting it on every year, right? That, or the sponsorship money they’re getting from the games publishers and Kraft Macaroni and Cheese is enough to keep the show afloat.

Overall, the show was roughly the same as it was last year, maybe slightly better. Jason Scherier had a finely crafted open letter about the Spike VGAs that eloquently states why actual game enthusiasts have been so frustrated with the production each and every year. Honestly, there’s some elements the show nails, like the augmented reality elements and the actual awards themselves. Spike is wise to leave the nominations and selections of the awards themselves to people who know about the games themselves. That’s why the show hasn’t devolved into complete dreck – because the core of what they’re trying to accomplish is actually solid. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the occasional potty-humor bit and I’m sure others do too. But we also know when that line is crossed into cringe-worthy unfunny. I don’t know, maybe Spike should hire Louis CK as a consultant? That guy gets how to incorporate crude humor in a way that is funny without insulting its audience.

Anyway, as long as the show stays awkward, I’ll have fun with these running diaries. Again, this year’s awards were on a Saturday night, so what follows is a retro-liveblog off my DVR.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Shigeru Miyamoto Changes Roles At Nintendo

By
Andy Yen
– Posted on December 7, 2011Posted in: Video Games

Shigeru Miyamoto to Wired:

“Inside our office, I’ve been recently declaring, ‘I’m going to retire, I’m going to retire,’” Miyamoto said through his interpreter. “I’m not saying that I’m going to retire from game development altogether. What I mean by retiring is, retiring from my current position.”

“What I really want to do is be in the forefront of game development once again myself,” Miyamoto said. “Probably working on a smaller project with even younger developers. Or I might be interested in making something that I can make myself, by myself. Something really small.”

Sad to see Miyamoto not overseeing Nintendo’s blockbuster titles anymore, but perhaps this is for the best. Bigger teams and bigger budgets on established franchises doesn’t really afford much room for radical innovation. You can bet I’ll be very interested to see what sort of games he cooks up himself or with a small team. Imagine if Miyamoto put his talents toward revolutionizing smartphone gaming just as he did the console industry way back when…

via Wired.com.

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Microsoft Releases Xbox LIVE iOS App

By
Andy Yen
– Posted on December 7, 2011Posted in: Mobile, Technology, Video Games

I’ve been playing with the new Xbox LIVE iOS app this afternoon and have to hand it to Microsoft – this thing looks slick. It’s got the new Metro UI that’s on the new Windows Phone and now the Xbox 360. The app looks and performs wonderfully even in iOS, especially on the iPad where it literally turns your iPad into a mini Xbox 360 dashboard. If you use Xbox Live with any sort of regularity, there’s no reason not to get this app asap.

Currently, it’s got the basic functionality of things you’d want to do away from your Xbox, like check/send messages, achievements, and friend activity. You can even check out some streaming video content from the Xbox LIVE team. You can’t, however, browse the Xbox LIVE Marketplace and make downloads or purchases. This would be the logical next feature add and I’d be surprised if Microsoft didn’t implement this sooner rather than later. After all, allowing players to impulse purchase content on the go can only do good things for Microsoft’s bottom line.

Here’s a list of features from Major Nelson:

Some of the features include:

Read and send messages to friends
Manage your friends list, invite new friends
Read and Edit your full LIVE profile (name, bio, motto)
Change your avatar features/items with the avatar closet
View and compare your achievement progress with friends

Download the iOS app here for free

via Xbox Live’s Major Nelson

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Wait For It…

By
Andy Yen
– Posted on December 5, 2011Posted in: Sports, Video Games

via reddit

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‘DRM Does Not Work’

By
Andy Yen
– Posted on November 30, 2011Posted in: Technology, Video Games

CD Projekt CEO, Marcin Iwinski:

From the very beginning our main competitors on the market were pirates. The question was really not if company x or y had better marketing or better releases, but more like “How can we convince gamers to go and buy the legit version and not to go to a local street vendor and buy a pirated one?” We of course experimented with all available DRM/copy protection, but frankly nothing worked. Whatever we used was cracked within a day or two, massively copied and immediately available on the streets for a fraction of our price.

We did not give up, but came up with new strategy: we started offering high value with the product – like enhancing the game with additional collectors’ items like soundtracks, making-of DVDs, books, walkthroughs, etc. This, together with a long process of educating local gamers about why it makes sense to actually buy games legally, worked. And today, we have a reasonably healthy games market.

In any case, I am not saying that we have eliminated piracy or there is not piracy in the case of TW2. There is, and TW2 was [illegally] downloaded by tens of thousands of people during the first two weeks after release. Still, DRM does not work and however you would protect it, it will be cracked in no time. Plus, the DRM itself is a pain for your legal gamers – this group of honest people, who decided that your game was worth the 50 USD or Euro and went and bought it. Why would you want to make their lives more difficult?

Again, the lesson here is to treat your would-be customers with respect and add enough value to your legitimate product to make pirating unattractive.

via PC Gamer

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The Xbox 360 Is Still Selling Well

By
Andy Yen
– Posted on November 29, 2011Posted in: Video Games

From The Official Microsoft Blog:

· Xbox 360 sold more than 960,000 consoles in the U.S. alone, with more than 800,000 sold within a period of 24 hours.

· More than 750,000 Kinect for Xbox 360 sensors were sold in the U.S. – standalone and bundled.

It’s amazing that a 6 year old console can still do these kinds of numbers, though keep in mind that that 24 hour sales period spike was undoubtedly due to a $100 price cut on the 360/Kinect bundle for Black Friday. The 750k quote for Kinect sales is also a little tricky as it includes sales from said Black Friday bundles too.

Nevertheless, with numbers like these, why would Microsoft need to rush out an “Xbox 720” next year?

via The Official Microsoft Blog 

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The Titanic, Recreated In CryENGINE 3

By
Andy Yen
– Posted on November 23, 2011Posted in: Technology, Video Games

Well, this is pretty impressive.

ORMEntertainment has been trying to recreate the Titanic for awhile, and their latest attempt apparently incorporates CryENGINE3, the same tech that powers Crysis 2. The framerate is a bit lacking, but hot damn does this look photo-realistic!

I hope Taiwan’s NMA news gets ahold of this technology soon. How awesome would some Mandarin narrated CGI tabloid news be?

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Review: Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3

By
Andy Yen
– Posted on November 22, 2011Posted in: Articles, Comics, Features, Reviews, Video Games

Full disclosure: I’m a huge comic book and video game geek and have loved the Marvel vs. Capcom series ever since I was a kid. I’d buy each and every release, even if they only add new characters and come up less than a year after the last one. It’s a really fun fight experience and I find the ridiculous speed and combos a nice change of pace from the more methodical Street Fighter or Tekken series.

That being said, I really wish Capcom would include a nice tutorial mode or something to make it easier for newcomers to get into the game. It’s a blast to play and there’s definitely a larger audience for this stuff now that Marvel’s successfully launched so many high profile films.

You can find my full review of the game on ComicsAlliance. I’d feel honored if you read the whole thing, but I’ll admit it’s a bit detailed for you impatient types out there.

If you’re one of those people, here are some tl;dr points:

If you skipped out on the original Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and love the characters and/or just love a good brawling game, then picking up Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is a no-brainer. It’s strictly superior to the previous version in virtually every way. Even if you’re not normally a fighting game person, you may want to at least rent the game once just to experience your beloved characters brought to full interactive life (LifeTip for overworked readers: I’ve found that setting the game to an easy difficulty and breezing through arcade mode is a wonderful stress reliever).

As for those who own the first version, whether or not you’ll find the right value in UMvC3 depends on how often you play with others — either online or on the couch together. This is a game meant to be played competitively. Things will get very tiresome on your own once you’re done experimenting with the new characters. Feel free to skip UMvC3 if you got the idea the first go-around and have no desire to see the new characters. It doesn’t bring a whole lot new to the table.

Read the full review: ‘Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3’ review on ComicsAlliance.

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Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 Panders To The Fanboys

By
Andy Yen
– Posted on November 12, 2011Posted in: Video Games

Ugh, I really hate Capcom’s fighting game release model. It hasn’t even been a year since the release of Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and they’re already putting out a strictly superior version of the game in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Granted, it retails at $39.99 rather than $59.99, but that’s no solace to people who have already shelled out the full price for it.

But just look at newly playable Phoenix Wright’s ultra combo:

I will probably end up getting this game again and hating myself every step of the way.

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