The Business Side of Video (Space) Games EXCLUSIVELY ON IDLE THUMBS

[sclpls]

That has definitely been the case with some bands!

 

It has been historically very difficult to get Japanese punks to reissue classic records. Stuff that achieved a sort of legend status based on 1,000 original copies 20+ years ago. Most of these have been bootlegged a few times and the bands get really angry about it, but also refuse to let labels do legit reissues. "You had to be there" is usually the answer. 

 

Haha I was about to say the same thing. The vinyl market has a fair share of hip labels/bands producing artificial scarcity.

[Henroid]

GFWL is closing down its marketplace thing. Probably because they have the Windows 8 store that they've gotta push and unify across all platforms.

 

I know people don't generally care about this sorta thing but the NFL Sunday Ticket function is going away from the PS3 for this upcoming season, which sucks. Not that Sony did a good job of advertising it as a thing people can invest in. The NFL is also probably setting up to have the feature on the XB1 (not clear if it's exclusive there or if it'll be on the PS4 as well - the NFL is a really strange business).

 

Sorry I'm a sports guy sometimes.

[Dewar]

GFWL stuff is lame. There's a lot of DLC for games that's locked up in that crappy system. I'm glad that I got to play Minerva's Den while I still could I guess.

 

Edit: Hmm, I was working my way through the Fallout 3 DLC on PC, I wonder if I'm screwed now.

 

Edit 2: Aha,

The Xbox.com Games for Windows Live PC Marketplace will shut down on August 22. Microsoft's long lambasted Games for Windows Live client will still function, so people can keep playing games they've already bought, but without a way to buy new games, Microsoft's service is effectively in limbo.

So you just can't buy new things. That's good at least.

[elmuerte]

So... does that mean I won't be able to download all my GFWL DLC (like Minerva's Den) in de future?

[Dewar]

It means you won't be able to purchase it if you don't own it already.

 

Edit 1: Damn, they're shutting off Zune as well. I wonder how that's going to work.

 

Edit 2: MS shutting down another service that I use every day might have just sealed my decision on buying an Xbox One.

[Henroid]

So Microsoft managed to arrange something in Europe for the XB1's release: FIFA 2014 packed in at no additional cost.

 

I'm sure it's costing them a fortune because EA is not going to just give away their best European franchise for free.

[Henroid]

 

RIP

 

Well, at least come August of next year.

 

In the meanwhile developers are already starting to jump up noting that they're going to be patching out GFWL integration, before it breaks when MS kills the whole thing.

[Niyeaux]

On the one hand, good riddance, because GFWL totally sucks. On the other hand, this is going to be a huuuuuge pain in the ass for developers with games that use it. I hope I'll still be able to play Dark Souls...

[Ucantalas]

That's going to be a huge pain for everyone involved.

...on the other hand, its existence was a pain for everyone, so it's a fitting end.
 

[Henroid]

Dark Souls was one of the first games confirmed to getting a patch developed that will remove the GFWL stuff.

[Dewar]

I imagine Fallout 3 won't be getting a patch. I need to hurry up and play that again.

[miffy495]

Space Asshole? Probably dead forever. That will suck a lot, as I have been meaning to go back and play more of that for a long time.

[elmuerte]

Fallout 3 works without GFWL, quite a few GFWL games work in "unregsitered" mode. But I fear most of them will be dead in the water.

[Henroid]

Whoops, okay so disregard everything about games getting GFWL patched out - turns out that was a hoax. No word on what anyone is doing for games already released; the only confirmed thing now (hopefully this is true) is that games not yet released are getting converted to Steam integration instead.

[osmosisch]

Fallout 3 works without GFWL, quite a few GFWL games work in "unregsitered" mode. But I fear most of them will be dead in the water.

The best part is that Fallout 3 will 'lose' all your saves if you later decide to start using GFWL because that changes where it looks for saved games.

[elmuerte]

You can move them. You needed to do this trick with you wanted to use that "script enhancer" thingy. It was not compatible with MSGFWL.

But I'm not sure if that works for the other games. So I think I will lose 8 games next year.

[Dewar]

I really want to go to a Microsoft press conference/interview and ask "So, you've shut down GFWL, Zune, and the old XBL. Why should I trust this new digital future you're trying to sell me when you're just going to shut it down in a few years?"

[Justin Leego]

So is it a DICE inside joke that the Battlefield Dude always looks a bit like a younger and / or hardened version of a senior studio employee, or is it just a vanity thing to get the bosses to approve of key art?

 

Dear DICE employee reading this post, please contact me with further information.

[elmuerte]

No, DICE employees are only hired if they match the key art.

[Henroid]

Plenty of news this morning.

 

First, Electronic Arts is planning a second wave of original IP! By which they mean releasing sequels.

http://www.computerandvideo games.com/426302/ea-planning-second-wave-of-original-ip-on-next-gen/

 

And probably bigger, actually important news, Steve Ballmer has announced his retirement one year in advanced. That's pretty huge, and I wonder how much of an impact (and how long it'll be until we see that impact) this has on Microsoft's overall business strategy. Cross your fingers for 2015, the year of the XB1.

http://www.theverge.com/2013/8/23/4650596/steve-ballmer-retiring-as-microsoft-ceo

[Dewar]

the exec explained that EA considers sequel Dragon Age: Inquisition as a new IP because it's being reinvented with "a new approach".

 

Apparently someone needs to define the word "New" for EA.

 

Really all I want from them is another, non-shepard, Mass Effect universe game.

[elmuerte]

Ooh... a Mass Effect that plays in the previous era.

[Dewar]

Either previous to the games and from the Turian War era, or after the games and dealing with the fallout from all the Mass Relays being broken.

 

Edit: It doesn't even have to be the same type of game. I'd take a pure FPS, or a TIE Fighter style game, whatever they want to serve up.

[Justin Leego]

Yeah although what if EA chooses to put all its sci-fi stuff into Star Wars now?

[Henroid]

How about a Mass Effect game based on humanity's first uses of the Mass Effect so that the title is accurate.