Update: Some aspects of the PSN are back online, but not in all regions, and the PSN Store is still offline.
Imagine you owned a business where you made a nice product. Also imagine that you were incapable of selling directly to your consumers, so you partnered with a store to carry your products for you. This store promised that they’d be open 24 hours a day and that they’d be helping you promote your product to millions of potential customers each day. Like most stores, you’d have to share your space with the competition, but whenever you released a new product, it would get a featured placement in the store for a little while. Now, imagine that you were happy enough with the arrangement that you committed your products solely to that store and never partnered with anybody else to sell your product. What if the lights suddenly went out in the store with no indication of when they’d be back on?
For many developers, they’re facing some serious problems with the PSN Store being down. As the PSN limps back online, the storefront is still closed and a few developers and publishers have begun to comment on it a bit. While it’s not good practice to come out and say how many estimated losses they’re dealing with at this time, the losses do appear to be significant for some. The PixelJunk team has publicly stated that the outage is hurting them and have encouraged fans to buy some PixelJunk swag, such as t-shirts to support the team. Ubisoft has said that their losses have been noticeable but that they have the Xbox Marketplace to buffer the effects. Really though, the larger publishers still have disc-based sales and other platforms as revenue streams, it’s the smaller developers that are in danger.
For some of these developers, it has been nearly a month with no revenue stream. Nothing has been said in public as to whether or not Sony plans on subsidizing publishers and developers for lost revenue, but they have no legal obligation to do so. No employees have broken ranks to speak out as to whether or not their pay has been affected, but if the outage continues companies are going to have to start taking measures to stay afloat.
So aside from the PSN Store coming back online, what can PSN-exclusive publishers do? Unfortunately, there’s not much that can be done. It might come as a hard lesson that going exclusive these days is a risky move unless there is some subsidizing that is taking place from the hardware maker. I’m wondering if this will make publishers think twice about putting their games exclusively on a single platform. While this security breach only brought down the PSN, it could have definitely happened to other services as well.
It’s hard to say what the ultimate fallout will be for smaller developers and publishers that are locked into PSN exclusivity, but they’ve definitely taken one pretty hard on the chin in this process. Not only do they lose revenue that can’t be recovered, but their games have aged. In this industry it’s very rare for games to see a sales surge after the first month or two from launch. Sony has said that they’ll be accelerating PSN updates in the short term to make up for the outage, which means stuff that launched before the store went down are about to get buried in a deluge of new content.
If you are waiting for the new PSN Store to come back up to 100% functionality, don’t forget about the games that launched just ahead of the outage and give them a fair shot.
Note: Best Game Ever is a series of posts I’ll be doing dedicated to the best games ever made. Each game I profile will be a game I’d accept as someone’s answer to the question, “what do you think the best game ever is?” So please, do not email me and tell me I’m stupid for posting about game X when game Y is clearly superior. And you never know, game Y might be the next game profiled. For more in the series, check out the “best game ever” category in the side bar.
Chrono Trigger. Back in the heyday of the 16-bit era, RPGs were one of the most popular genres and Japan was producing nearly all of the top titles. Square was one of the top companies during the era, producing the illustrious Final Fantasy series and other popular RPGs. Among those big hits was the fan favorite, Chrono Trigger, originally released for the Super Nintendo.
Chrono Trigger stood out for several reasons. First, the story was very engaging and the storyline could be altered depending on how you played the game. There were several possible endings to see, and some items could only be collected at the sacrifice of missing out on others. It was a fantastic game to discuss with friends to find out how your ending or order of events played out.
Another big reason that Chrono Trigger was so popular was due to its fantastic battle system. The game didn’t have random encounters, so you could skip fights if you wanted, but once you got into fights, they were tons of fun. Chrono Trigger allowed you to combine character attacks, and those attacks varied based on what characters you were combining. Most of the rest of the battle system was pretty standard, but each character was quite unique and it allowed for lots of experimentation and fun. As far as the standard JRPGs go, Chrono Trigger is still a game that provides an enjoyable battle system under the modern lens.
Finally, the other big memorable aspect of Chrono Trigger is its music. From its joyous victory fanfare to its moody and slower tracks, just about any old-school RPG fan can recall multiple musical selections from the game easily.
Luckily, Chrono Trigger is available widely these days. There are re-releases for the DS, the Virtual Console, PSN, and some older consoles. The game holds up very well, and it’s a game I seem to go back to at least once a year for a revisit. There was a sequel released for the PSOne, called Chrono Cross, but it didn’t quite have the same magic as its predecessor despite being a very good game in its own regard.
For these reasons and more not stated, Chrono Trigger is the best game ever.
After a week in Hawaii, it’s time to get back on the mic and kick out another show. We discuss the latest round of Project Cafe rumors, the PSN hacking, Mass Effect 3′s delay, and more. As a heads up, Brad and I are on different channels again, so if you’re not hearing one of us, put your other earphone in. Next week I’ll go back to downmixing to one track.
We also talk about the current contest on our Gamer Theory Facebook page where we’re giving away another free game. Check out the page at http://www.facebook.com/gamertheory for details.
On May 15th Nintendo will drop the official price of the Nintendo Wii to $150 and will be changing up the bundle a bit. Rather than receiving Wii Sports, new Wii owners will get a copy of Mario Kart and a Wii Wheel. To me that’s a better value as Wii Sports can be had for cheap and if anybody had any passing interest in it at this point, they probably already have tried it out.
For many consoles, the $150 and $99 price points are the magic triggers that cause a flurry of sales to pick up. We’ll have to see if this stirs up a new buying audience for the Wii or if saturation will continue to be an issue. The biggest problem right now is that there’s no big game out to coincide with the new price, but $150 is still a great deal for a console and a game.
If you haven’t picked up a Wii yet, it’s definitely time. Get one and get playing some of the gems in the library. Heck, Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2 are worth the $150 console price tag by themselves…
Recently Nintendo gave official confirmation regarding the development of their next console, which is to be unveiled at E3 2011 next month. The code name for the console at this point is Project Cafe, which will almost certainly not be the final name for the console. Ever since the first rumors hit the Internet, speculation has been running wild over what the console would bring to the table. Some sources say that it’s significantly more powerful than the 360 and PS3, others say it’s about on par. Some say it has a 6″ touch screen on the controller, others say that’s crazy talk. Either way, some rumors seem to be gaining momentum, and the newest round points to some quirky decisions being made.
According to Stephen Totilo, here are the newest batch of rumors that he’s pulled together; and he seems confident that they are indeed legitimate.
- No internal hard drive
- 8GB flash-based memory, possibly for game storage
- Disc format that holds 25GB storage (possibly single-layer blu-ray)
- Support for SD cards
- Possibly 1080i maximum resolution
- The console can stream to the controller screen for portable play
- Wii Remotes definitely work with new console
I like the streaming to the screen for portable play, that sounds nice. It’s also really cool that the Wii Remotes will still work with the console, but the first few items worry me. Without a larger storage solution, downloadable content will be somewhat limited or else gamers will always be having to swap in SD cards. The disc storage might point to blu-ray, which would be nice, but it would be a real shame if they don’t support multi-layered discs. Finally, the possibility that the console won’t do 1080p would be near inexcusable. While 1080i still looks nice, there’s no reason not to support full 1080p with a console that’s aimed for a 2012 release.
It’s starting to feel like some of the earlier rumors about Nintendo putting out a powerhouse console are starting to be replaced by Nintendo putting out a console that’s going to be more in line with the 360 and PS3. While that’s a huge leap up from the Wii, it would be the same story again once the PS3 and 360 successors release and Nintendo’s console is once again a generation behind.
Graphics aren’t the issue here, either. The issue is that if Nintendo’s console can’t keep up from a hardware standpoint, the library will suffer. The fact that 3rd parties have been speaking highly of Project Cafe makes me think that Nintendo has a good idea on their hands, but I’m really hoping that it’s not going to be a generation behind again.
Warhawk was one of the first big multiplayer games for the PS3 that had sustained success. I got into it a bit, but ultimately I was left feeling that not enough attention was given to the flight combat and I didn’t stick around for too long. With rumors swirling that Starhawk is still in the works, I just might get that flight-heavy combat sim experience that I’ve been hoping for.
About two years ago Sony registered a trademark for a game to be named “Starhawk”, but not much came of it. Many figured that the project was either canned or it was just Sony securing the name just in case they ever chose to act upon it. Well, Joystiq is now reporting that Lightbox Interactive is working on Starhawk and that we could get an official announcement as early as mid-May with obviously a follow up announcement coming at E3.
While I’d still love to see a full on addition to the X-Wing/TIE Fighter series from LucasArts, I do have faith that the ex-Incog guys over at Lightbox Interactive can put out a great sci-fi flight combat game. Going into the next few weeks, this is one rumor I’ll be keeping a close eye on.
I’m out of town for the next week, so updates aren’t going to be likely. I should have an Internet connection, however, so I may squeak out a post or two. There won’t be a podcast this week, however. It should be a nice few days to get some relaxation time in and get caught up on my handheld gaming backlog while in the air and in the evenings.
Speculation is wild regarding the next Nintendo console, which as confirmed to be an HD console. For some fans, simply having a Wii that’s capable of 1080 resolutions. For most, however, Nintendo is in need of some reparations in order to get the hardcore to embrace their next offering. I’ve done some digging around into the rumors, have touched base with some developers I know and some PR people and they seem to think Nintendo is sincere in their desire to regain popularity with hardcore gamers and it’s not just lip service to ensure a strong launch support. So what does Nintendo do to get back in the good graces of the hardcore audience?
Better Online Support
One of the most important areas in which Nintendo needs to improve is in their online offerings. The Wii is online-enabled, but it’s pretty horrible overall in regards to the experience you get with online play. Nintendo needs to make friends list management easier, communication a focal point in gameplay, and a better solution for downloading games, content, and updates/fixes. To accomplish this, Nintendo is going to have to back off of their nanny tendencies and trust in parental supervision a bit more. It’s unlike Nintendo to open up the gates to wider communication via their platforms, but the time is now if they want to seriously contend in the online realm.
And for the love of all that is good and holy, Nintendo, make the Virtual Console service better!
A Standard Control Scheme out of the Box
Using a Classic Controller or a GameCube controller is a decent way to play games in a more standard manner on the Wii, but since neither controller came with the console, the inclusion of standard control schemes in games was an option that was typically an afterthought for many developers. With rumors swirling of a screen embedded into the controller, it’s nice to hear just as many rumors saying that the controller has a dual analog setup. How’s this for crazy? Nintendo has NEVER had a console with a dual analog controller unless it was an optional accessory. It’s time to get on the dual analog train, Nintendo.
Standard Media
While just about everybody has more DVD players than TV sets these days, it can’t hurt for Nintendo to finally support a common disc format that allows the system to play media other than video games. A blu-ray player would be nice, but if they don’t opt for blu-ray, DVD has to be the choice, despite its limited storage capacity. Swapping discs from time to time is preferable to an oddball format that doesn’t allow for any other uses.
Actual 3rd Party Support!
Nintendo has always raked in huge profits thanks to their high selling 1st party games, but no console in history has ever won the console war on the strength of their 1st party library alone. It’s time that Nintendo opens its doors more widely to 3rd parties and provides them with better tools, licensing agreements, and does a better job promoting 3rd party offerings. Many times Microsoft or Sony will help 3rd parties advertise their games and it always helps push more units through the sales channel. Nintendo needs to do the same.
Bring Back Core Titles Development
Miis are everywhere these days, and when used properly they’re great. However, aside from a handful of Zelda and Metroid titles, Nintendo has been far too casual with their offerings to appease the hardcore crowd. Not since Perfect Dark has Nintendo had a strong FPS offering (no, Geist doesn’t count) come from one of their own studios. That’s far too long. Keep up with the Marios and Zeldas, but explore some deeper content as well. While 3rd parties could carry the majority of this burden, it’s the 1st parties that generally need to provide the exclusives.
Make the Gimmicks Count and Support Them
Nintendo loves to engage in quirky behavior with their hardware. Sometimes the quirks turn into significant contributions to the industry (trigger buttons, rumble, d-pad, etc.), and other times those quirks fizzle and are left in the past (bongos, GBA link, Wii Speak, etc.) to fill closet space. While I don’t want Nintendo to stop pushing out their quirky accessories, they need to do a better job at supporting them once they’re out. The Wii Balance Board had some potential that was definitely left untapped. It’s fine to experiment, but don’t leave the buyers out in the cold once they gamble on new concepts.
It’s a long list of things that Nintendo needs to do, but I think that’s pretty indicative of where they stand with the hardcore crowd. Nostalgia always propels Nintendo’s efforts with the older crowd, but that effect seems to be losing its potency as each year goes by. If Nintendo is truly serious about becoming a mainstay in the hardcore gaming circles again, they better come to the next generation with a new attitude and a broader vision. We’ll find out more at E3 2011 this June.
We dig into the rumors surrounding the upcoming announcement of the next Nintendo console, which is said to be an HD console and set to release in 2012. We round up the rumors, give our thoughts, and then talk about what we expect from the console when it’s finally unveiled.
Enjoy.
Music by Jim Guthrie: http://jimguthrie.bandcamp.com/
Game Informer is reporting that several sources have confirmed that Nintendo will be announcing and unveiling a new HD console at E3 this year. In an article posted on their website, Game Informer pieces together some quotes from people who have seen the console and they also report that developers are already being brought into the loop. It sounds of Nintendo is going to make this one very developer friendly and is going to be finally joining the ranks of the HD gaming movement.
Nothing has been said in regards to whether or not the console will have motion controls, but one anonymous source did say, “Nintendo is doing this one right. [It's] not a gimmick like the Wii.” While I hope that doesn’t spell doom for motion controls, I do hope that it means that a more standard control scheme will be optional for developers and gamers to use if they wish to do so.
Check out the full story at Game Informer: http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2011/04/14/new-nintendo-console-at-e3.aspx
Update: More sources are reporting, and now it looks as if there will be an announcement this month. Also, IGN is saying that the new console will indeed be backwards compatible with Wii software. Some sources are saying it surpasses the 360 and Ps3 in power, others are saying it’s just shy of the Xbox 360. We’ll wait for official specs to call that one.
