31
Mar
2010
New Technology: Full-Scale Digital Distribution Now Possible
Digital distribution has always seemed like a pipedream to me. This is mainly because there are several substantial roadblocks that are hindering it from coming into the market in a full-scale way. Obviously the main one, at least in the US, is the bandwidth caps imposed by the various ISP companies: Time Warner, Cox, etc. The truth of the matter is, not only do these companies not want to support a higher bandwidth model, but also the US’s technological infrastructure is antiquated and doesn’t have the capacity to support this kind of traffic, especially in rural areas. Secondly, and probably more importantly, digital distribution will disrupt that standard retail model that has been in place since the industry was birthed. This would cut out the retailers from the equation completely and ultimately lower the price of the product to the consumer, but we can’t have that now, could we?
14
Jan
2010
TPR – Rant 3: Third Party Support for the Wii Waining
Pardon some of the background noise in the podcast. I just recorded my thoughts while I was driving down the road, and it actually turned out to be something interesting. Let me know what you think.
-Will
19
Oct
2009
And the Halo Killer is… Halo?
This is a reaction article for sure, a reaction to me sitting back for the past month and just shaking my head at what “journalists” have been writing. The Halo franchise for sure is the 800-pound guerilla of this console generation, with the third iteration in the series selling over 11 million copies, these are extremely impressive numbers. However, as far as first party exclusives, what else really is Microsoft offering to its fanbase…? Lips? (Fine, I’ll give you Forza)
Microsoft began the bad habit of piggybacking off of the brand name of “Halo” to drum up sales, rather than relying on the critical acclaim that games would receive to create sales for themselves. Instead, by relying simply on brandname and enforcing review embargos, they seem to con customers into buying their products before word can get out about them. This isn’t just an unjustified claim; here are some of the facts surrounding this.
The issues that I have start with the release of Halo Wars in March. While this was not a bad game in the least, actually quite enjoyable, take a quick look at the official TV commercial promoting the game: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWphv8lJeG4) Nowhere in the entire commercial is there any ingame footage, or is there any evidence to show what genre of game this is. Since ALL off the other Halo branded games released up until that point had been first person shooters, why would this one be any different? If you weren’t up to date in what was going on in gaming at the time, then the commercial would have just told you that there was a new Halo game coming out, and your own previous experience would have made you think that it was a FPS. The problem lies in the fact that it’s NOT. That commercial deceived many people into buying a realtime strategy game while they were expecting anything but that. Is this really Microsoft and Ensemble Studio’s fault for the advertising, or is it the responsibility of the gamer to research the product and not to be fooled by false uninformative advertising.
The result of this is the game selling over 1.5 million copies worldwide in 6 months despite only having a Metacritic score of 82! That’s what review embargos will buy you, especially when some of the reviews for the game came in as low as 6.5 from accredited sources!
The next point of contention of course is Halo 3: ODST. This was originally slated to be downloadedable content for the megaseller, Halo 3. However one could only assume that Microsoft needed another big First-Party exclusive title for this year, so they decided to change it into a fullfledged game. That’s fine, but in this transition, somehow the content didn’t mirror the change in packaging. Translation: The content is still that of a $19.99 download, yet retailers are charging a premium of $59.99. Despite all of this, the game still managed to move 2.2 million units on the first day of sales. But who came out on top in all of this? Don’t get me wrong, ODST is a really fun game and I enjoyed playing through the 5 hour long campaign, however there’s no way that this could be justified as more than a “rent” for me. Here’s why!
More than likely the majority of the 2.2 million that purchased this title on day one already owned the previous iteration of the franchise. If you own both titles, then unfortunately, you just repurchased a lot of content that you already owned. The ONLY differences in online play are the three exclusive maps and the new game mode. Personally, I don’t understand why Halo fans aren’t up in arms about this. While ODST is a great package for newcomers to the Halo series, if you are a loyal fan, there’s not reason to purchase this game, mostly because you already have the content. Yet they did, and by the truckload.
So this really comes down to one thing: When are people going to wake up and actually demand a full package game rather than just drinking whatever brand of Halo Koolaid that Microsoft tries to market to you next? Because as the old saying goes, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” Loyal Halo fans just got fooled twice, I don’t think they’ll stand around and take it a third time, otherwise there is going to be a severe backlash against the brandname. So Bungie, my best advice to you is to bring your A-game AAA game when it comes to Halo Reach coming out in 2010. I’ve already heard word that it will be the “most expansive” Halo to date. Let’s see if they can live up to that hype!
21
Sep
2009
The Effect of Next-Gen Re-Releases on the Gaming Industry
Because of the issue of backwards compatibility only being available in select PS3 SKU’s and it being limited among select X-Box games on the 360, a new phenomenon has started to arrive on the scene: Next-Gen Re-Releases. This has been something that has been present for a while in the form of Downloadable Content (DLC), some of the more recent and bigger names of the titles span from Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 which received a graphics update as well as online compatibility, all the way to the recent release of TMNT: Turtles in Time Re-shelled.
The market is obviously there for these past titles to be re-released and consumers are demanding them. But more recently Sony’s Santa Monica offices are trying a new approach by releasing the God of War collection on a Blu-ray disk for the PS3. This package will include the original two titles in the series completely remastered from their PS2 states to run in native 720p HD graphics at 60 frames per second. Not only this, but unlike other classic games that are just offered through the various online marketplaces: PSN, XBLA, and Wii-ware, this God of War bundle will come with full trophy support, adding a new twist to two classic games. But really, the icing on the cake is that despite all of this work in remastering and adding new code to existing games, the release price for this bundle will only be 2/3 of what a standard new game retails at. $40 for next-gen updates to classic titles may just be the sweet spot.
But, why would a company spend all of this time and effort on games that have been out for years? Well, the developers surveyed the fans (Source) and simply asked them what they wanted done. This comes at a great time, because it will lead hype and anticipation for the March 2010 release of the sequel God of War III on the Playstation 3. Obviously it pays to listen to your fans, because as of now, a month and a half before the release of this new collection, it is in the Top 5 sales of all PS3 games on Amazon.com. (Source)
Now the question really is, knowing all of this, what effect will this have on the industry? If developers are focusing all of their resources on remastering classic games, then there will never be any forward progress made in the way of new IPs. There has to be a balance, and I do think that God of War has struck that balance. The way they are handling this timeline, they are allowing 4-5 months of play on the release of their classics collection in order to build the anticipation for the release of the next iteration in the series. In this you have the best of both worlds.
People that never got the chance to experience the original games (because they lived under a rock on in inner Siberia) will be able to play them in their remastered HD glory, but even more important, fans of the series will be able to wet their appetite on 720p Kratos months earlier than they expected to. This God of War collection really is an experiment as to how well the public will receive remastered games in disk form rather than just as Downloadable titles. Depending on the success of this title, we could potentially see lots more “collections” rolling out. Possibly a remastered Team ICO collection (ICO and Shadow of the Colossus)? It’s important to keep in mind that one of the most highly demanded titles is a remastered version of Final Fantasy VII.
In the end, the best part about this scenario is that everyone benefits from it. As long as developers don’t become complacent by ONLY remastering their classic titles, then gamers, developers, and the entire industry will all reap the rewards from seeing the most demanded games resurface in this generation.
Please leave questions or comments at the end!
1
Jul
2009
TPR Podcasts: Rants – Episode 2 : The Problem With MetaCritic
Here’s the second installment of the series of TPR micro-podcasts: Rants. Hope you guys enjoy. Please leave your feedback in the comments section to let me know what you think!
PSN – UNCyrus
Skype – UNCyrus
24
Jun
2009
Ballad of Gay Tony: A Lawsuit Waiting to Happen
When you have one of the most popular gaming franchises that has inspired more lawsuits than any other series of video games in history, you would think that the developers wouldn’t purposefully release an expansion whose title screams, “Please sue me!!!1~” (http://tinyurl.com/kju6n4) Now that the dust has settled from the announcement of this next Xbox 360 exclusive expansion of Grand Theft Auto IV, I thought it would be an appropriate time to revisit the topic in order to ask the question, “What were the developers teams and PR teams over at Rockstar thinking?”
So, let’s recap: Slated for release in the Fall of 2009 is the second expansion to the GTAIV world titled: The Ballad of Gay Tony. Similarly to the first expansion, it will also be priced at $19.99 / 1600 MS Points. However, the theme of this is in stark contrast to the first expansion which focused on the darker underbelly of Liberty City’s biker gangs. Now, the main character Luis Lopez will be working for a glitzy nightclub owner named Tony “Gay Tony” Prince. This is where the trouble begins…
With a game that is already the target of ludicrous lawsuits ranging from killings, to car thefts, to robberies, why would Rockstar put their metaphorical head on the chopping block again? This game is setting itself up to be the target of a class action lawsuit from an entire segment of society simply by portraying them in a stereotypical and negative light. I really don’t think that I’m overanalyzing the situation at all, especially considering that the GTA series is one of the most high profile series currently. They will be under even more of a media spotlight once you remember what has happened to other recent releases this year: Remember the racism claims when Resident Evil 5 was being released? (http://bit.ly/ip93W)
The only reason that Rockstar would make this bold move is simply for publicity. The first Xbox 360 exclusive expansion set the record for day-one sales on the XBL marketplace, and now with the added publicity over the controversy of the name of this expansion, it looks like Rockstar is gearing up to steal this sales record crown from themselves. With all of the money they will be making from this game, they can afford to pay off a couple class action lawsuits. But the question remains, is this type of shameless promotion harmful to the company and franchise’s image? Most likely not, because if the gamers really cared about negative publicity from the media, then the GTA franchise would have died long ago. But only time will tell.
Please leave your thoughts and comments below!
13
Jun
2009
New Reviews Incoming!
I am writing the first installment of a new series of reviews that I’m going to call: “I’ve got the platinum, so I know what I’m talking about.” For those of you who don’t know, I’m a huge trophy/achievement collector and have over 1500 trophies now. So, just because I’m limiting these reviews to games that I have platinums for, it won’t really restrict me since I have 19 of those already. Keep checking back, because this inFAMOUS review will be coming soon!
23
May
2009
Unreal Engine 3: Epic’s Fail
The Unreal Engine 3.0 (UE3) is, without a doubt, one of the biggest middleware engines powering games this console generation. It even eclipses past console generation’s middleware engines, like Renderware and Unreal Engine 2. UE3 is a great engine, but it worries me how much developers rely on this engine to make their games. I know it makes things easier when programming games for consoles; but what are the drawbacks of using one engine excessively? I, for one, feel it is time to retire UE3. It has been a double edge sword for the 360, and a jagged dagger in the back of the PS3
UE3 has been a major benefactor for Microsoft’s console this generation. It has been the catalyst for a major portion of 360’s exclusive games such as: Gears of War 1 & 2, Bioshock (yes, I know it was timed), Mass Effect, Lost Odyssey and The Last Remnant. These are all great games graphically; they even fueled early arguments that, maybe, Sony was feeding gamers a bunch of BOLOGNA with their claims that the PS3 is the more powerful console. I mean, come on, early in both of the consoles life cycles it was hard to argue that the PS3 was better graphically than the 360 when nothing stacked up to the titan, Gears of War. Though as of late evidence has been building that Sony may have been telling the truth.
Another benefit that UE3 provides the 360, is providing an advantage with multiplatform games. There hasn’t been a single UE3 powered game that runs better on the PS3 with the exception of Mirrors Edge. I’ll mention a few examples for you: Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Vegas 1 & 2, Tom Clancy’s Endwar, Stranglehold, X-Men Orgins: Wolverine, Unreal Tournament 3, Army of Two, Brothers In Arms: Hell’s Highway, Bioshock, Black Site: Area 51, Destroy All Humans, Fatal Inertia, Medal of Honor: Airborne, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, Turok and The Wheelman. There are more games, but I just gave you 16 examples; all of which to show you the slant that UE3 provides the 360 when it comes to UE3 powered multiplatform games’ performances. The slant in differences is so steep that when I see a head to head comparison of multiplatform games using UE3, I automatically know the outcome; the 360 version will be the winner. The reason for this is because the 360’s architecture is similar to a PC’s, where middleware engines thrive because there are so many different types graphics cards available in the PC market. Combine the previously mentioned reasons with the PS3 having a completely foreign architecture, then you a recipe for a downgraded port.
Above, I listed the good, but, now, it’s time to delve into the bad side of UE3 for the 360. First, Microsoft needs to stop using UE3 as a crux for the majority of its exclusive games, because, to be honest, I know that the 360 would be better off with more proprietary engines instead of relying so heavily on UE3 with the majority of its exclusive games. I mean, look how Halo 3, which was built on a proprietary engine to take advantage of the 360’s architecture, out shines Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Vegas 1 & 2, which both run on UE3 (What you should also take notice of is that Halo 3 and Rainbow Six :Vegas 1 & 2 are 1st person shooters, hence the reason I didn’t use Gears of War 1 & 2 in my comparison, because they are 3rd person shooters. I just wanted to stay as fair as possible).
Middleware engines, like UE3, never take full advantage of the hardware they are utilizing. I mean, think about it. PC’s use middleware engines because they have to. It’s just not feasible for a PC developer to make a games engine based around one graphics card. ATI and Nvidia have so many different cards available with different architectures and graphical performance limits. Also, 3rd party developers use UE3 in order to get multiplatform games running in parity on both the PS3 and 360. This same concept doesn’t apply to 360 games when they are exclusive. An exclusive game should be taking full advantage of the hardware its running on. One point in having a game be exclusive is to not worry about another console’s architecture. Besides, the more Microsoft relies on UE3 for exclusives the further they lag behind graphically to the PS3’s 1st party games that utilize proprietary engines. The fact that Microsoft relies so heavily on UE3 for their exclusive games saddens me because the 360, and its gamers, might never see the 360 reach its full graphics capabilities.
And PS3, I haven’t forgotten about you. The benefits that UE3 provide the PS3 are……(crickets!) Oh! That’s right! UE3 really hasn’t done any favors for the PS3, except the buzz that it caused for Sony at E3 ‘05, which is ironic; because it was touted to showcase the PS3’s graphics when the engine debuted, but it’s definitely done more for 360 in the graphical argument.
Honestly now, UE3 has constantly slapped Sony’s face this generation. There was the constant delay of multiplatform games that used UE3 on the PS3. This gave the 360 a de facto timed exclusive, and also branded PS3 with the nickname, The Delaystation 3. Then when said multiplatform games arrived, they looked and ran worse on the PS3. UE3 made many gamers doubtful, some still are, of Sony’s claim that the PS3 is more powerful than the 360, because the majority of games that use UE3 run better on 360. Really this isn’t any surprise to gamers in the know. Middleware engines tend to run better on the 360 because the architecture is closer to a PC’s, which is where middleware engines originated. Kind of seems obvious as to why the UE3 doesn’t play well with PS3; when you consider the PS3 and its unique architecture, which hardly resembles traditional PC game development environments.
UE3 delivered yet another slap to Sony with the ex-King of Graphics, Gears of War, running on rival console, the 360; and trumping anything on PS3 from a graphical standpoint in its first year. Many gamers and press were led to ask what the $600 price tag was for.
One thing is for certain and that is it might be time to retire the Unreal Engine 3. There are still more problems with the engine such as: rampant pop in issue with textures loading in late on characters and the environments, that weird haze that most UE3 games have around objects in the background, and other technical issues I won’t get into for sake of length, but yea, it’s time for us, as gamers, to move past the UE3. Think about it. It’s holding back the 360 and its games, because it’s being used as a crux for too many of the exclusive games which is leading to the 360’s graphical growth becoming stagnant. Its not helping the PS3 and its games because the engine just doesn’t operate that well with the PS3’s architecture, which has led to less than stellar ports and numerous delays for PS3 games (The Last Remnant anyone?). Well gamers, what do you guys think? Is UE3 past its prime, or can developers still squeeze a little bit more juice from this engine before it is inevitably put to rest?
Also to further elaborate my points here are some screenshots. I’m doing these screenshots to give gamers a visual reference point of how I arrived at my thought and to further elaborate on them as well.
Ubisoft Haze? It certainly sucks like it!
The first two screenshot are of my beef with Unreal Engine 3 and its weird blur effect. Notice the Backgrounds in both screen shots have that weird haze effect in the distance.
Screenshots form www.Gamespot.com and www.ign.com
Texture pop-in
The next graphical error I hate from the Unreal Engine 3, and it’s well documented ,is the texture pop in issue. Notice in the 360 screenshot made the guys over at The Lens of Truth that the boot’s texture hasn’t quite popped in. Also another source with games documenting the texture pop in is provided by Giant Bomb.
Screenshots from www.lensoftruth.com
The graphical hold back of 360’s exclusives to PS3’s
Also just so 36o gamer can see that Unreal Engine 3 lags behind Sony’s and Microsoft’s first party Engines. Here you go. Screenshots from
www.lensoftruth.com and http://kineticninja.blogspot.com/2009/01/naughty-dog-realtime-graphics-and.html
Microsoft Halo’s vs.UE3’s Rainbow Six: Vegas 2
Multiplatform:
And here are some screenshot to showcase the slant that Unreal Engine 3 provides 360 over PS3 when it comes to multiplatform games. Notice the higher resolution textures on Bioshock. Also notice the better lighting in the X-Men Origins: Wolverine Shots
Well that’s it for the screens guys.
Please leave your comments below to let us know what you think!
21
May
2009
The PS3’s Full Potential: A Breakdown
It has been long rumored that developers have not been taking full advantage of the Playstation 3’s extra capabilities, but is there any proof of this? Many gamers and press say that there isn’t any proof that the Playstation 3 has more capabilities than the 360. However, there have been slight hints that the PS3 does have a little more power than the 360. If you look at the top graphical games in certain genres that are comparable, but the PS3 games leads the way with its exclusives versus 360 exclusives and even compared to multiplatform games
First up is the racing genre, and the games in question are: Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, Forza 2 and Need for Speed Undercover (NFSU). Now it is without question that GT5: Prologue looks better than both Forza 2 and Need for Speed Undercover from a technical standpoint. GT5: Prologue runs at a higher resolution than both Forza and NFS Undercover, clocking in with a native resolution of 1280×1080p. Furthermore, GT5: Prologue also uses ray-tracing and has better lighting while running at a constant framerate of 60fps. While Forza 2 is good, it only runs at a native resolution of 1280×720p and a constant framerate of 60fps. If you look at a multiplatform game like NFS Undercover which runs at a frame rate of 30fps and has a native resolution of 1280×720p which is good, but where the confusion comes is where the PS3 version runs worse with slight framerate drops and missing effects. This multiplatform discrepancy makes no sense considering the PS3 has the best looking game in the racing genre in GT5 Prologue.
Next up we have the 1st person shooter genre, where once again the best game from a technical standpoint is a PS3 exclusive, Killzone 2. Yes, Halo 3 was good on 360, but from a technical standpoint Killzone 2 was much better. Killzone 2 runs at a consistent 30fps and at a native resolution of 1280×720p, and it probably has the best lighting this generation of any game period. If you look at Halo 3, it’s a good looking game but only has a resolution of 1152×640p and runs at 30fps with above average lighting. Yet, if we look at a multiplatform game like Bioshock, which has at a resolution of 1280×720p and runs at a constant 30fps, the same scenario applies to the PS3 version with low res textures and framerate drops in comparison to its 360 counterpart. Again I ask how can a PS3 exclusive, Killzone 2, be the best looking in the 1st person shooter genre, yet a multiplatform game, Bioshock runs worse in comparison to the 360 version?
Lastly if you look at the 3rd person shooter genre, you again have another PS3 exclusive, Uncharted: Drakes Fortune from a graphical standpoint at the top. Uncharted had a native resolution of 1280×720p and ran at 30 fps and had higher polygon models then Gears. The 360 exclusive Gears of War 2 is close with a native resolution of 1280×720p and runs at 30fps, but the low polygon count of the models killed it (that’s why everybody in the game looks like a linebacker). If you look at another multiplatform game like Resident Evil 5 which has a resolution of 1280×720p and runs at 30fps it again runs slightly better on the 360. With the PS3’s lighting being worse in some cases and the textures in some spots not being as high quality as the 360 version. Yet the same scenario applies the PS3 exclusive is touted as the best looking in the genre yet its multiplatform version of a game like RE5 lags behind its 360 twin.
So, I ask you guys as gamers. Are these Developers really not using the PS3 to its full capabilities? Going by the track record of PS3 exclusives vs. 360 vs. Multiplatform games I would have to say signs point to “yes”. I know that most Multiplatform games are built up around the 360 architecture and ported to the more difficult PS3; which is fine, but last generation the more difficult architecture of PS2 games were ported to the Xbox with enhanced graphics. If you go strictly by the exclusives then PS3 appears to have a bit more power, certainly enough to run multiplatform games in parity to their 360 counterparts. So why aren’t these Developers taking advantage of this extra power the PS3 appears to have when they did the same thing last generation for multiplatform games on the Xbox?
Please leave your comments down below!
*updated some of the numbers… sorry about the confusion with some of the “native” resolutions versus the upscaled ones*
20
May
2009
E3 Rumor: Xbox360 Slim More Likely Than PS3 Slim
This isn’t an argument about which company needs the additional SKU more, but rather an assessment of which is more plausible to be announced at E3 in June. Once the facts are reviewed it becomes pretty clear that both of these are in development, but the 360 version is more likely to be released first.
- RROD seems to have been solved – After a very bumpy start, with the release of the Jasper chip in 360 models, Microsoft seems to have finally put the RROD problem behind them. Although this isn’t to say that another error (E74 or something else) won’t pop up to plague future systems. Having a slim chipset, and being able to redesign the case entirely should also allow them to approach the “overheating” issue from an entirely new angle. I fully expect that a redesigned 360 should have failure rates well within industry standards (1-3%). Especially with the power brick being the size that it is, there’s no excuse this not to be the case!
- Xbox 360 has a 1-year lead on PS3 – The 360 has been around for three and a half years now, while the PS3 has been around for only two and a half. Considering that the 360 has taken a page out of Sony’s book for the PlayStation 2 regarding their approach to this generation, it would only make sense that they would continue to do so in this respect. That having been said, the PS2-slim model was announced and released during the fourth year of the PS2’s lifecycle. Why not emulate the most successful console of all time?
- Microsoft has been TOO quiet so far this year – At last year’s E3 they dropped the Final Fantasy bombshell, and it shook the gaming world. But at this point last year, they already had numerous announced titles that we slated for a Q4 release (Gears of War 2 was announced at GDC). Because this isn’t the case this year, it leads me to believe that their bombshell this year will be a hardware announcement rather than a software one. Sure there are also rumors about them entered the mobile gaming market with an announcement at E3, however I feel as if a 360-slim one is much more likely.
Like I said before, I fully expect that both companies have these SKUs in development, but which is more likely to be announced once you consider all the above information? Sure, Sony needs to have this announcement, because a smaller model usually means less expensive chipsets, fewer components, and cheaper production costs. What does all of that add up to??? Price drop! But, just because one company needs it more than another doesn’t mean that they are ready to announce/release it. Ideally both companies will come to E3 and announce slim models, however this seems highly unlikely.
In the end, regardless of what is announced, the gamers come out as the winners. Looking forward to seeing what these companies can bring to the table in two weeks!
Please leave your comments at the bottom of the post!