Hello and welcome to this week’s Friday edition of VGQH. Not really newsworthy, but I started LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars this week. I’m just finishing up the story missions and I’m very impressed. I love all the LEGO games but this may be the best one yet. It’s huge, I can’t even guess how many characters I’ve unlocked and I’ve only got about a third of them. Minikits you find in levels build characters, but I’ve yet to complete one because I haven’t started Freeplay mode. You earn gold bricks for completing levels, getting True Jedi, etc. Collecting gold bricks allows you to build more doors in the hub world (the ships, Resolute and Invisible Hand) to find more red “cheat” bricks and buy more characters. The addition of the very light RTS ground battles can be a little confusing but is still fun. I absolutely love it.
But this is no place for a review, this is a place for news. So let’s get to it:
Release dates for games change all the time. But it’s rare that one moves up, not back. Burnout CRASH! has done just that. Originally announced for Fall 2011, EA has since stated it will be releasing in August. The specific day hasn’t been announced yet, but you can now look forward to this game hitting your download service a little sooner. This is pure speculation, but the reason for the move may be related to the next item, in that EA could probably use a little cash.
Following the recent rumors, EA officially bought PopCap Games earlier this week. The deal is worth about one billion dollars. According to EA’s CEO, John Riccitiello, “PopCap’s great studio talent and powerful IP add to EA’s momentum and accelerate our drive towards a $1 billion digital business. EA’s global studio and publishing network will help PopCap rapidly expand their business to more digital devices, more countries, and more channels.” I’m curious to see where this goes. PopCap is great at casual games, and I’ll be interested in what they can do with the financial backing of a megacorp like EA. I’m also curious how much creative interference they’ll get from EA.
EA also happens to be the developer and publisher on the upcoming SSX reboot. They’ve recently begun announcing the roster of snowboarders you’ll be using and the newest addition is Zoe Payne. Doesn’t look like she’s changed much. As weird as this game sounded at first, I’m slowly getting excited for January. This is starting to look more and more fun.
I’ve recently found myself picking up more and more PSN games and Sony has apparently noticed. They’re now planning to invest $20million into the development of exclusive PSN games. This is part of their three year plan for PSN and looks to bring more “unique, fun, innovative, edgy and higher quality game experiences.” Considering their track record with the PixelJunk series, Flower, and others, this should be a great investment.
PSN can definitely benefit from more exlcusive games, considering how many titles tend to hit XBLA first, only to follow up on Sony’s console a few months later. One of those games is Section 8: Prejudice. It’s been available for PC and 360 since Spring, but it’s now coming to PSN on July 26th. According to the developer, TimeGate Studios, they’re making up for the delay with two new multiplayer modes for this version. They’re also offering some special deals for this release. If you pick it up in the first week you’ll get the Blitz Armor Pack and Overdrive Map Pack free. If you’re on PS+, and some of you may still be in your free trial period, you’ll want to hurry to buy. The first one thousand Plus subscribers to buy the game will get the Hunter Armor and a free copy of the original Section 8.
Special Editions, Collectors Editions, Super Special Awesome Editions. They’re all the rage in this generation of games. Some of them are pretty cool. Others are ridiculous. Perhaps it’s no surprise that the UberPlatinum Pack for Saints’ Row: The Third is in the ridiculous category. But it’s not ridiculous in the over the top, dildo sword way the game is ridiculous. Instead, it just seems like a waste of forty extra dollars on top of the sixty you’ll spend for the game. This edition comes with the standard soundtrack CD and the game. But it also comes with the Professor Genki Hyper-Ordinary Pre-Order pack and a headset. But, if you’re preording the game, why do you need the preorder pack included in the box as well? Second, the headset is not for gaming. It’s not compatible with PSN or Live. It’s just a basic headset with a mic that you can use with any 3.5mm jack, but it seems mostly geared for smartphones. It does have a voice-changer, but why? It’s also designed to look like DJ headphones, something that strikes me as incredibly stupid if you’re using it as a hands-free device for your phone. Isn’t that why they make earbuds? Frankly, I’d be more interested if it included a life sized dildo sword. I won’t say why.
Are you one of the few waiting for Bloodrayne: Betrayal? If you aren’t, let’s recap. The franchise so far has consisted of a couple so-so third person action games featuring a red-haired vampire chick looking sexy and kicking ass. Uwe Boll ruined what credibility it had by making an Uwe Boll quality movie in 2005. This new game will hopefully change its fortune by turning it into a 2D side-scroller, not unlike another vampire game featuring the Belmont family which had the opposite evolution. The game had previously been announced for Summer 2011. That has now been confirmed as August 30. So, still summer, but fairly late in the season. The game will be available on XBLA and PSN. Pricing has not been confirmed, but I’d wager it’s around $10. Possibly $15, but that’s probably too steep for a franchise with such shaky history.
Ubisoft is reportedly joining the ranks of EA, THQ, Warner, and Sony with its own online pass initiative, UPlay Passport. The first game to feature the Passport is likely Driver: San Francisco. Following that, all Ubisoft multiplayer games will have this built in, including Ghost Recon and Assassin’s Creed titles. If you’re unfamiliar with the concept, a new, retail purchase of the game will include a one-time use code for access to online multiplayer features. If you purchase a used copy without the code you’ll be able to buy a pass (typically $10) from your console’s store to access the online service. For those that don’t play online, this could be a good thing, potentially lowering the used game cost in the long run (currently about $55 on a fairly new release).
Since that’s the end of the news today I’d like to spend a little of your time with an editorial, as usual. Regarding the online pass, I’m not convinced that this is such a powerful plan for the publishers or developers. As I mentioned above, long run economics means the used game market won’t go away, it will just settle out at a slightly lower cost. Lowering a used game price to $52, for instance, still makes it an attractive option for thrifty consumers who don’t play online. Multiplayer fans won’t buy used at that price because the additional ten dollars means they’re shorting themselves two bucks buying used. I can see how that helps the publishers and developers. But what if the used price went to $48? Offline players are getting a great benefit, and ten dollar passes mean online players are now saving two bucks. Sure, it gives the publisher ten dollars on some of the used sales, which is more than they’ve traditionally received. But how much are they still losing by not getting first run retail sales? Also, how many retail buyers won’t get as many games because they’ll get less in trade? Publishers may be forgetting that the used game market means retail buyers can afford more games by trading in or selling on eBay.
I don’t expect there to be a perfect solution to this problem, but I would propose an alternative. How about you make the passes $20 for everyone, but lower the retail cost to $40? Offline players would then be getting a price cheaper than they’re currently paying for used games, and online players will get similar value to current prices. True, the used game market would still adapt by lowering their used prices to $35 or so. But if you make this change while still sending a message about first party sales contributing to the development of better games, you might convince the used buyers to make the switch. You also guarantee $20 instead of $10 from online players. Just a thought. Maybe I’m wrong. What do you think about the ten dollar initiatives? Does my plan make more or less sense? What ideas do you have? Let us know in the comments.