Microtransactions

I just read an article about video game microtransactions for perishable in-game items. In case you don’t know what microtransactions are, they’re what happens when a game company (most often, a company that’s running a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game, or MMORPG; sometimes another genre) decides to offer what’s been called “Premium Content” to players for a small fee (usually just a couple dollars at most). For example, if you wanted your character in your game of choice to wear a special color, the company night offer you that color for $1.99. Or, if you’re playing a First-Person Shooter (FPS), they may offer you a new map to play on for $2.99.

Perishable in-game items include things you’d use to give your character more health, or even in-game currency. Once you use those things, they’re gone until you happen to come across some more. So, to bring this all together, if the game companies start selling perishable items, then it’ll slant the playing field to those people who have more real-life money to spend. As it stands now, everything you get in-game depends on how long you spend playing the game, and what skills you have (and what cheats you use, but that’s another story; cheaters should find something better to do with their time…bastards).

If they want you to spend a little extra for a new map, or different colored armor, then I’m all for it. If they want you to use real money to replace tenacity and skill, then I’m 100% against it.

Tony Stark and Peter Parker...dark days ahead

Excuse me now while I proceed to talk about comic book characters like they’re real people. No real spoilers to Civil War #4 in this post.

Tony Stark has gone too far this time. Someone needs to put a serious hurting on him. Maybe it’s even time for a dirt nap. There are just some lines you don’t cross, man.

As for Peter Parker, it’s a well known fact that every time Spider-Man makes a seriously bad decision, the fallout involves the death of one of his loved ones. Uncle Ben paid the price for Spidey’s arrogance. Gwen Stacy paid the price for him not taking things seriously enough. Who’s going to pay the price for his siding with Iron man? Aunt May? Mary Jane?

Shake, Rattle, and Roll

So, now there is a study out there (conducted by the company that sued Sony for patent infringement, no less) that says that Sony is going to lose market share because the controller for the forthcoming PS3 does not have the “rumble” feature like the Xbox 360 and the Wii. I have never been one to play many racing games (and I think it may have something to add in that genre), but I don’t really see the appeal.

I think the feature was used well in one game, I think it had to be a Resident Evil title, where you began to feel your heartbeat when your health was low. That was kind of cool, but you still had to open a menu to find out exactly how badly you were hurt. For my dime, I’d just rather you put a health bar at the top of the screen.

Also, and maybe this is just me, after I’ve been playing a game for more than a few minutes, I don’t even notice the shaking of the controller. So, I say “good riddance” to the rumble feature. I also say that the price of the PS3 controller should reflect the lack of internal hardware as well, but that’s the subject of another post.

First G4, and now Wizard?

Once upon a time, there was a cable station called G4tv. At one point, it was even given the tagline “TV for Gamers”. The tag fit perfectly, as the programming was all about video game previews, tips/strategy, interviews with industry movers, coverage of major gaming events like E3, and even video game competitions. It was a good network. Then came the shows about cars. And Star Trek. And The Man Show. After that, G4 became nothing more than another TBS clone. Oh well, it was good while it lasted. At least they still show X-Play every now and then.

So, I’m reading the latest issue of Wizard (also known as Wizard: The Comics Magazine), and I come across something inexplicable: an article about the TV show “Lost”. A few pages later, there was a blurb about how the movie “The Grudge 2” is going to be too good to miss. What’s all this? Don’t get me wrong, Wizard has been about a lot more than just comics forever, but they’ve always been grounded in comics-based material. They’ve always talked about movies and TV, but only as they relate to comics – TV shows like Mutant X, movies like Spider-Man…that type of thing. Throw in an action figure and a Batman statue or two, and it’s still good. Add a recommendation for a non-comic-based TV show or movie, and the formula is broken.

I already had to give up watching G4 (unless I’m in the mood for Star Trek, of course) because it broke its formula. I don’t want to have to give up Wizard because it has aspirations of becoming an Entertainment Weekly clone.

[insert console name here] Haters...UNITE

The Sony fanboys hate Microsoft and everything they stand for. The Microsoft fanboys hate Sony with every fiber of their being. Both the Sony and MS fanboys generally ignore the Nintendo fanboys, but the Nintendo fanboys don’t care because they secretly hate everybody who isn’t a Nintendo fanboy.

All this hate going around is really good for the industry. Tensions get high, message boards get filled up, and the corporations are forced to produce even better product. “Our console was out first…we’re first to market!” “Oh yeah, well, our offering will be more powerful than you could possibly imagine!” “Well, we have a gorilla-chasing plumber as our mascot…so there!”

Personally, I follow the software…the games decide what console I’ll buy. I’m a Sony fanboy, but I’m 100% sure I’ll buy an Xbox 360 as well as a PS3. If the games look good, I’ll even pick up a Wii. But that’s not the point of this post. The point is this:

Playstation Haters, Xbox Haters, Nintendo Haters…UNITE! Let’s all bring the hate together against the PC gamers! Those uppity bastards have had it coming for a long time!

Civil War!

Well, this just has to be said. Iron Man is a jerk.

This Civil War storyline from Marvel has got to be the best thing to come out of the House of Ideas in a very, very long time. I was just beginning to lose hope, too. It was starting to look like anything except for the Ultimate stuff (and anything by Bendis) was bound to suck. Hard. But, in walks Civil War, and all the tie-ins, and I’m completely blown away.

In case you’re unaware, the basic premise is that the powers that be in the US government in the Marvel Universe (Marvel “616”, to be exact) have decided that all practicing superheroes need to either register themselves with the government (thereby revealing their identities to various agencies, and essentially become government employees themselves), or they need to hang up their tights for good. No one pays much attention to this initiative until the New Warriors are involved in the destruction of a schoolyard full of kids while trying to bring in some bad guys for a reality show. Iron Man agrees the measure needs to be pushed through, and Captain America disagrees. A deadline passes, and Cap and the rest of the heroes who refused to register become criminals.

I can’t reveal too much more without ruining the story, but just know that Iron Man is indeed a huge jerk. And as of this writing, Spider-Man isn’t too far behind.

What the?!? Only 400k PS3s for the US Launch???

This is painful...truly painful. I can't lie to you...I'm a Sony fanboy. Sure, I own an Xbox, and, as I've said before, I plan to buy an Xbox 360. I'll most likely be buying a Wii at some point, too. But in deep down inside, I'm pulling for Sony all the way. Sure, I'll probably have to slip the Game Stop clerk $50 to make sure I get my name at the top of the PS3 reservation list, but I still plan to get a PS3 on the day it launches. And I'll stand by my decision, just like I did for the Sega Dreamcast...not that my support for Sega's best console made much difference in the end. It's too bad...the Dreamcast was a worthy console.

Aside from the fact that there will only be 400,000 PS3s (projected) in the US, Sony has decided to scrap their plans for a worldwide launch. For the initial launch, only the US and Japan will be receiving units. And Japan will only be getting 100,000 PS3s (projected). Ouch. The rest of the world will have to wait until March 2007. Ouch again. Either that, or wait to buy a PS3 for $5000 on EBAY. That goes way beyond "ouch".

The problem is this: Sony, at least publicly, is trying to say that this drastic cut in their PS3 launch numbers are no big deal. They're saying that this'll be the same as the PS2 launch, and better than the Xbox 360 launch. Sure, when the PS2 launched, they had about the same amount of hardware. But, they also didn't have any real competition when they launched. If you wanted to play on the newest console, and you missed out at launch, then tough...you just had to suffer through the PS2 shortage. This time around, there are two other new consoles out there -- one of which will be brand new (the Wii, of course). As for the faults of the Xbox 360 launch...well, they did it the same way Sony did with the PS2. They launched when there were no other new consoles due out for months. They launched when there was no competition, and now they have a foothold. At least in the US and Europe. They are still sucking pretty hard in Japan.

In closing, this PS3 hardware shortage may be good for the short-term profits of the EBAYers out there, but I'm not so sure it bodes well for the future of Sony's PS3. Either way, I'll still have my PS3 on the day it launches. And I'll stand by my decision, just like I did for the Sega Dreamcast.

I just hope the PS3 has a brighter future than the Dreamcast.

'52'

Well, when I first heard of DC Comics' idea to publish a cohesive story in the style of TVs '24', I was a big sceptical to say the least. The plan was for DC to put out a weekly comic (called '52') for one year that would take place in real time in that the series would cover an actual year of comic time.

Cool idea, but I had already been burned too many times by late shipping comics. I had decided not to get it -- not a very dificult thing to do since I already didn't get very many DC titles. Then I walked into the comic store to retrieve my regularly held titles, and the damned comic store guy had put the first two issues in my box. I gave him a dirty look. He assured me that I would like them. So, I got them, took them home, and read them.

Sixteen weeks later, I'm still reading 52, and it has yet to ship late. Not only that, but now I'm reading more DC titles than ever before. Don't get me wrong, I'll always be a Marvel Zombie at my core...I'm just a Marvel Zombie with a little DC around the edges.

All I Want From My Video Game System

Yeah, it's been a long time since my last post. Sue me. Anyway, I've been thinking, and although I've been a hardcore gamer since Atari and Intellivision, there's always been something missing from my gaming life. Seamless gaming at home and on handheld. Sure, the technology hasn't always been there, but I think it's here now. For instance, 'Tomb Raider: Legend' is basically the same game on the PSP as it is on the other consoles and PC. That's all fine and good, but it's time for the next step

Here's what I propose: Make a game that I can start on my home console (PS3, X360, Wii, whatever), and continue on my handheld from where I left off. Now, I understand that now all gamers may not have both the handheld and the home system, so the game would have to be available seperately for both platforms. What the game companies need to do is offer the game at full price, and include a '60% off' coupon for the same game on it's sister platform. Additionally, they need to include some type of 'crosstalk' feature (similar to what Sony did with 'SOCOM 3' on PS2 and 'SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo' on PSP) so you could swap game save information back and forth.

Just imagine...sitting at home, playing the latest RPG on your PS3 when you look at the clock and remember that you have a plane to catch in 3 hours. You save your game, download the save data to your PSP, and run out the door secure in the knowledge that you'll still be able to make progress on that 60+ hour monster of a game while you're at the airport, on the plane, and even in the hotel at your destination. And then, when you get home again, you can download the save data from your PSP back to your PS3 and continue the adventure.

Will everyone be willing to buy the same game twice (even if there is a deep discount on the second copy)? Probably not. But since most games have a handheld port anyway, they might as well throw in the crosstalk feature for those of us who would entertain having seemless gameplay. A true "Play Anywhere" experience.

Standard Game Length

As gamers, we need to make sure we set forth the expectation to the video game publishers that we expect our games to be of a certain length. This shouldn't be news to any of them, because they used to adhere to these previously unwritten rules back in the day of SNES and Genesis. We need to make sure they know that pretty graphics do not make up for a 10 hour game (I'm looking in your direction, 'Onimusha'). In the PS2/Xbox/Gamecube generation, games ran about $50 each. In the PS3/X360/Wii generation, we're most likely looking at games going for $60 each. We need to get our moneys worth, people! Stand united!

The rules are as follows:

• An action game (defined here as a running-and-gunning game with minimal puzzles; e.g. Metal Gear Solid, Devil May Cry, any FPS) must be at least 25 hours long. Not counting the cinematics.
• An adventure game (defined here as a puzzle solving game sprinkled with spurts of action; e.g. Resident Evil, Prince of Persia, Tomb Raider) must be at least 35 hours long. Again, not counting the cinematic sequences.
• An action/adventure game (defined here as an adventure game where the '"puzzles" involve a more action-based solution -- sandbox games fall into this category; e.g. The Warriors, Mercenaries, the whole GTA series) must be at least 35 hours long to complete the main storyline, and at least 45 hours long to complete all of the side quests. Not counting the cinematics, of course.
  
• An RPG (defined here as any story-heavy game that, for the most part, does not rely on quick reflexes; e.g. The Final Fantasy series, The Xenosaga series, the Dragon Quest series) must take at least 60 hours to complete the main storyline, and at least 70 hours to complete all of the sidequests. This time, of course, should not take into account any cinematic sequences (I'm looking at you, 'Xenosaga'...)

Of course, fighting games, racing games, sports games, and MMORPGs should all have unlimited play time due to the replay value. Stand strong; demand more play time and less BS.

"The next generation begins when we say it does."

Yup. Those were the words of the Sony VP when he was questioned about the (scheduled) PS3 launch nearly a year after the XBOX 360 launched. He then went on to say that the XBOX 360 isn't next gen, and that it's merely "XBOX 1.5." Ouch. Yes, this is indeed shaping up to be a console war the likes of which we've never seen.

Even Nintendo is being dragged (kicking and screaming) into the fray. The Wii's main selling point was the unique motion sensing controller...which Sony seems to have not only copied, but perfected (since Sony's version doesn't require and additional external sensors like the Wii does). It appears that Sony just wasn't satisfied simply declaring war on Microsoft, and allowing Nintendo to have it's niche market. Sony seems to have given the finger both Miyamoto and Gates.

The nerve of them. AND they plan to launch at $599 for the good package. Are you kidding me? 600 bucks for a game console? Did they learn nothing from the Neo-Geo debacle? I'd have to say that they did indeed learn, seeing as how the PS3 will be able to play BluRay disks out of the box, in addition to playing games.

Needless to say, I'll be first in line to buy one. Maybe even three, so I can sell a couple on Ebay. I'll also buy a 360 on the same day seeing as how the price is likely to drop just to make the PS3 look like a huge rip-off. Hell, I may even pick up a Wii while I'm at it. With the hundreds I hope to make off of the Ebay sales of the PS3, I just may come out a little bit ahead.