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Benzino · 29-10-2017 4:25pm

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

I was interested in that video, but couldn't stand the man's voice so had to stop

gizmo · 29-10-2017 4:39pm

Benzino wrote: »

I was interested in that video, but couldn't stand the man's voice so had to stop

While I've enjoyed some of that dude's previous videos, you didn't miss much in the end. Despite the title of the video it contained a number of companies neither bought nor destroyed by EA and a bunch of factual errors to boot.

K.O.Kiki · 29-10-2017 10:52pm

gizmo wrote: »

While I've enjoyed some of that dude's previous videos, you didn't miss much in the end. Despite the title of the video it contained a number of companies neither bought nor destroyed by EA and a bunch of factual errors to boot.

Guru Larry is usually on-point with these; maybe he got too heated.

gizmo · 30-10-2017 5:37pm

Well on the upside, at least Jim's latest video addresses the reports that have come out about Visceral since, rolling back on some of his previous inaccuracies and vitriol, avoiding making even more and usefully incorporating some of the comments made by the former Dead Space creator mentioned earlier in the thread when discussing both the franchise in general and DS3 specifically.

Hah, does it ****.

Billy86 · 30-10-2017 6:06pm

Benzino wrote: »

I was interested in that video, but couldn't stand the man's voice so had to stop

Me: Oh it can't be that bad...

*10 seconds later*

Nope. Done. F*** that.

RasTa · 30-10-2017 6:08pm

Few exclusive PS4 game trailers out today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3AR3RSUBkA

RasTa · 30-10-2017 6:24pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-rZox_tFhM

RasTa · 30-10-2017 6:29pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3VG_aN2_5k

RasTa · 30-10-2017 6:34pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UD4_iIjmcnc

Thargor · 30-10-2017 6:34pm

I always had a soft spot for Spiderman games and that looked amazing but how much of it was actual gameplay? It seemed way too smooth...

gizmo · 30-10-2017 6:47pm

Great to see The Hong Kong Massacre getting some screentime, it's come a long way since first popping up on TigSource a few years ago.

Hopefully it'll scratch that Hard Boiled itch I've had since Stranglehold.

pleasant Co. · 30-10-2017 7:03pm

That new batman spiderman game looks quite neat

31-10-2017 10:09am

gizmo wrote: »

Great to see The Hong Kong Massacre getting some screentime, it's come a long way since first popping up on TigSource a few years ago.

Hopefully it'll scratch that Hard Boiled itch I've had since Stranglehold.

I loved Stranglehold, underrated IMO

OptimusTractor · 31-10-2017 10:44am

pleasant Co. wrote: »

That new batman spiderman game looks quite neat

Definitely would have got GOTY back in 2004.

CiDeRmAn · 31-10-2017 11:00am

M!Ck^ wrote: »

I loved Stranglehold, underrated IMO

Big deal at the time, don't think it got the sales at the time though.
Still looks great, modern remaster would work great, particularly if they through in an online cops and robbers mode.

gizmo · 31-10-2017 1:47pm

Yup, I loved it despite it's flaws but it sold poorly and cost a decent chunk of money to make given the technology in use at the time and licencing costs. Doubly sad was that it came at a time when Midway were already bleeding cash and so not only did we not get a follow up but we also didn't get a sequel to the equally under-rated Psi-Ops whose sequel was cancelled in favour of Strangehold at the time.

johnny_ultimate · 01-11-2017 2:36pm

Housemarque abandoning arcade games after weak sales of the (incredible) Nex Machina: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2017-11-01-housemarque-brings-longstanding-commitment-to-the-arcade-genre-to-an-end

Sad news given they're among the best in the medium at doing what they're doing, but at least we got two all-time greats in Resogun and Nex Machina out of them.

Varik · 01-11-2017 2:44pm

So many of their games were on Playstation plus, and with the exception of Nex Machina all their recent games were published by Sony probably distorted the market. I know I've enjoyed their games but probably wouldn't have bought one myself.

johnny_ultimate · 01-11-2017 3:01pm

And therein lies one of the unfortunate consequences of PS Plus, Games With Gold, Humble Bundles etc... When games are dirt cheap / free, it can be harder for them to be viable financially. Likely not the only factor in this decision, but a definite cause for concern for smaller studios making niche games - and why IMO it's always worth spending a few extra euro on the games you really admire and want to support.

kunst nugget · 01-11-2017 3:09pm

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

And therein lies one of the unfortunate consequences of PS Plus, Games With Gold, Humble Bundles etc... When games are dirt cheap / free, it can be harder for them to be viable financially. Likely not the only factor in this decision, but a definite cause for concern for smaller studios making niche games - and why IMO it's always worth spending a few extra euro on the games you really admire and want to support.

Wouldn't selling your games to PS Plus or Games with Gold not be a way of making that game financially viable?

johnny_ultimate · 01-11-2017 3:15pm

The details around the deals usually aren't made public, but definitely wouldn't cover the cost of production unless it was a very low-budget game or a special arrangement (I'm sure Resogun got some sort of bonus as a launch title, effectively meaning it would have negligible actual sales). You can be lucky and enjoy the visibility boost Rocket League enjoyed, but Rocket League is pretty much out on its own in that respect.

As Housemarque explicitly states in their open letter: "While some of them have reached a massive audience due to free game offerings across various digital sales channels, this unfortunately doesn’t help pay for development, which gets costly for high production quality."

gizmo · 01-11-2017 3:35pm

I doubt Housemarque had a choice in the matter given Resogun was published by Sony, johnny.

There was an article on Gamasutra years ago about this, the general gist being it can work for some, you just need to be careful with it. The final two comments from developers who took part in the program are also quite interesting and are a decent indicator that, four years later, the topic is worth revisiting given how much the market has changed.

"If players come to expect that every game from a developer will be eventually made available for free, it will eat into day one purchases. I'd determine it on a case-by-case basis."

"I think that [PS Plus] has its major advantages, but also some pitfalls that must be avoided. Most importantly -- we mustn't educate our customers that games are for free, like the developers of mobile games did, or we have a problem. But, so far, PS Plus seems to be working well."

EDIT: More details in an interview here. There comments regarding the comparison of sales with Super Stardust HD on the PS3 are pretty eye-opening.

CatInABox · 02-11-2017 3:06pm

Digital sales now make up around 30% to 45% for all sales in the UK. It's putting bricks and mortar retailers into a hard spot, as attempts to hold onto their profits, i.e. keeping physical prices high, may result in an increase in the rate of digital sales.

See GamesIndustry here

I can see dedicated retailers taking a hammering over the next ten years, with plenty of closures and mergers. If either company figures out how to do convenient digital game trade in, then I can imagine retailers struggling with-in three years after that.

Inviere · 02-11-2017 3:35pm

As internet infrastructure improves, physical media sales will continue to die off. They’ll become niche eventually, as the masses would seem to prefer the convenience of digital ownership.

Sieghardt · 02-11-2017 3:53pm

CatInABox wrote: »

Digital sales now make up around 30% to 45% for all sales in the UK. It's putting bricks and mortar retailers into a hard spot, as attempts to hold onto their profits, i.e. keeping physical prices high, may result in an increase in the rate of digital sales.

See GamesIndustry here

I can see dedicated retailers taking a hammering over the next ten years, with plenty of closures and mergers. If either company figures out how to do convenient digital game trade in, then I can imagine retailers struggling with-in three years after that.

This is misleading because Gfk only tracks retail sales at brick and mortar stores. This is not all physical sales, lots of people buy physical copies from online stores.

So while things do look bad for retail stores, it isnt really true of physical releases, even small indie games are now getting physical releases due to the demand for them

super_furry · 02-11-2017 4:40pm

I’d say I’m nearly at the stage where I’m buying 95% digital now. I just prefer the convenience and there’s a hell of a lot of value to be had in the weekly PSN/Xbox Live sales.

Penn · 02-11-2017 5:05pm

super_furry wrote: »

I’d say I’m nearly at the stage where I’m buying 95% digital now. I just prefer the convenience and there’s a hell of a lot of value to be had in the weekly PSN/Xbox Live sales.

Yeah I've started to move more to digital too, especially since getting the Pro with more storage space. Just much easier not having to change disks, preloading games so they're there when I get home and fewer places to buy physical copies anyway. Living somewhere with great internet since getting the Pro too so just makes more sense.

CatInABox · 02-11-2017 5:10pm

Sieghardt wrote: »

This is misleading because Gfk only tracks retail sales at brick and mortar stores. This is not all physical sales, lots of people buy physical copies from online stores.

So while things do look bad for retail stores, it isnt really true of physical releases, even small indie games are now getting physical releases due to the demand for them

I wouldn't say it's misleading really, not when EA themselves are saying that 36% of their sales were digital. Their own financial reporting wouldn't suffer from missing out on online physical sales, they'd see the genuine breakdown of digital/physical sales. I don't think that EA are very different than most publishers out there either, so I think that breakdown would hold true for most.

It had been a few years since I was last in a Gamestop, but called in there on Henry st recently. Was surprised to see how much of the store had moved from being a games shop, into being a games related toy and paraphernalia shop.

Varik · 02-11-2017 5:11pm

Penn wrote: »

Yeah I've started to move more to digital too, especially since getting the Pro with more storage space. Just much easier not having to change disks, preloading games so they're there when I get home and fewer places to buy physical copies anyway. Living somewhere with great internet since getting the Pro too so just makes more sense.

And if you're using an external drive, you can just move your entire library with you between playstations.

J Mysterio · 02-11-2017 8:23pm

One of the biggest benefits of digital purchases is not having to change discs all the time. Saves you getting off you ass.

Kind of odd though that you cant buy a physical copy of a game, install it, and then not have to use the disc again.

GameStops days sure are numbered, and they deserve to be hammeted frankly. The options going forward will be Smyths or Argos, retailers which have a diverse offering.

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