DCUO does things backwards in my opinion, by announcing the pre-order bonus packs you get for putting your money down, followed by the announcement of open beta registration. Only by a few minutes, but it does seem backwards to me – theoretically pre-order bonuses are the kind of things you promote just before release, not … Continue reading
APB (Now That The NDA Is Gone, Or Maybe It Isn’t)
I’m not actually sure that the APB NDA has gone, but the game has launched, so I’m going to rely on the legal precedent of O’Really vs Ya’Really and put up my pre-launch opinions anyway. So, APB: Conclusion: – This particular attempt at GTA Online is probably going to struggle to hold large numbers of … Continue reading
Blizzard Has Sent You A Friend Request
Blizzard recently implemented its own social network application called RealID, which launched as a totally optional adjunct to World of Warcraft. Two weeks later and the indication is that “totally optional” actually meant “compulsory with the launch of the Cataclysm expansion“. The reaction to this move hasn’t been positive, with a lot of the criticism … Continue reading
APB: Advertising Over VOIP
Something I hadn’t heard of before: advertising over VOIP. Particularly in a MMO. Especially in a MMO that charges a box cost and subscription fee to play. Kudos then, I guess, to APB for being so creative. You can pay to turn it off by paying for Vivox Premium services, or alternatively use a different … Continue reading
Bobby Kotick: “WoW Basically Props Up Activision”
Okay, that isn’t exactly what he said. The head of Activision Blizzard actually said, “Today, probably 70 percent of our operating profit comes from non-console-based video games. So, while you might see a month-to-month change or volatility against expectations, that doesn’t really get us too concerned.” The key word there is ‘profit’. Not ‘revenue’ which … Continue reading
The Downward Life Spiral of the Mainly PvP MMO
(Apologies for the resolution at this size – click on the images to see things a bit more clearly.)
APB Learns Something Else From The Movie Industry
In the movie industry, if a studio is releasing a film they know will be savaged on release, it is a common practice to not let movie critics see it before it launches. This maximises the number of people who will see the awful film because they won’t be warned off by bad reports at … Continue reading
Prototype: Now With The A-Team
I’m pretty close to getting all of the Xbox 360 achievements on Prototype. I still have to complete the game on hard and also without dying, but that isn’t going to stop me. Nope, it’s the stupid Platinum results for the street races that will stop me – the character controls are awful if you … Continue reading
Video Game Violence Corrupts Children; or How Night Trap Begat Petz
Gamasutra has a book extract that covers the development of the US games rating system, spurred on by Joseph Lieberman’s hearings and the threat of having a government ban on violent games. Mortal Kombat and Night Trap were two key examples in those hearings and my, don’t they look tame by today’s standards? Funnily enough, … Continue reading
Two Quick Points
Point 1: E3 is soon and Star Wars: The Old Republic is going to receive nothing but good press, probably even a few ‘Game of E3’ or equivalent titles. It’s BioWare, it’s EA, it’s Star Wars, it’s a hugely expensive title and no video game reviewing organisation wants to be left in the cold by … Continue reading
World Class Villains 