The 2010 Video Games Thread

[dubb93]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

It will turn a profit pretty easily. It's easy to forget that they've already made millions off the release of a glorified demo in the form of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. If you include that profit, they only have to sell around 2M copies worldwide to break even. They'll do that in the first week.

Also, it's been mentioned by developers that Gran Turismo 6 will be released using the GT5 engine, so they're going to be printing money with the lower development costs on that game, which should be out within 3 years.

Source for all of this?

[SirFozzie]

August Sales:

360: 356,700
Wii: 244,300
PS3: 226,000

.... It's going to take a lot of spinning for those numbers to look good from the PS3 point of view.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

August Sales:

360: 356,700
Wii: 244,300
PS3: 226,000

.... It's going to take a lot of spinning for those numbers to look good from the PS3 point of view.

Nah. They're not that far behind the Wii, and the 360 is still benefitting from people swarming the shelves looking for the 250 GB slim models.

It's not that those are GREAT numbers for the PS3, but they're certainly not catastrophic, either.

(I wonder if that'll forestall MBBF.)

[dubb93]

As a total portable newb I'm looking for advice. I had never owned a portable system until recently and I have purchased both a PSP and a DS within the last couple of months. My question is for the DS which is mostly being used by my girlfriend. She was on the internet today and got a message that she was out of memory and needed to delete some things to continue surfing(not really exactly sure what it said, this is what she told me).

I'm going to guess that a memory card for the DS would solve this issue. If this is the case can someone please suggest a good one to get to help me out here. We have the new XL.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by dubb93

Source for all of this?

I actually did a bit more legwork and found that it's already going to be profitable before release. This analysis from Joystiq doesn't include the advertising costs, but it gives a general overview.........

This could be an absolute first that a game has already made a profit before it even launches. Even with a $60 million dollar (so far) development cost of this game.

Most games could not recover from such a steep development cost no matter what, much less before it launches.

Its quite simple and interesting that a lot of us tend to overlook it…but the reason why is Gran Turismo Prologue. The partial game was a splice of Gran Turismo in the making, launching at $39.99 USD and selling over 3.5 million units gaining over $100 million dollars in revenue.

So Sony is looking at a starting profit before the game launches which is expected to be the PS3’s highest selling title to date.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

I actually did a bit more legwork and found that it's already going to be profitable before release. This analysis from Joystiq doesn't include the advertising costs, but it gives a general overview.........

I think $100 million is probably on the high side, since their numbers take into account neither non-development expenses nor the fact that a significant portion of the $39.99 price tag is retailer markup.

But you're right that if they make money on GT5, Prologue will be why.

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

I think $100 million is probably on the high side, since their numbers take into account neither non-development expenses nor the fact that a significant portion of the $39.99 price tag is retailer markup.

Correct. The actual profit on that game is far, far less than $100M once you factor in retailer markup, marketing costs, development costs, manufacturing costs, etc.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by dawgfan

Correct. The actual profit on that game is far, far less than $100M once you factor in retailer markup, marketing costs, development costs, manufacturing costs, etc.

Well, the $100m number isn't a profit number unless you think actual GT5 sales on their own will cover development costs.

Just saying that the $100m is inaccurate in terms of the amount of gross revenue Sony actually took in on that game. The true number is probably more in the realm of $70-75m. Which still ain't chicken feed, granted.

The other thing is that there have been several additions to the game since Prologue was released - the NASCAR license is the most notable one off the top of my head. So it's not inconceivable that the $60m budget number is going to end up just being a baseline, and all of the expenses that Prologue incurred above the line are going to apply again for the full game. Possibly more so.

We'll see. It's not impossible for it to break even, but I don't think it'll be the system seller for Sony at this point that it would have been two years ago, and I'm not convinced that they WILL break even. But, if they do...it will be because of Prologue. Without that, there would have been no chance.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

We'll see. It's not impossible for it to break even, but I don't think it'll be the system seller for Sony at this point that it would have been two years ago, and I'm not convinced that they WILL break even. But, if they do...it will be because of Prologue. Without that, there would have been no chance.

I'd agree and disagree depending on which region you're talking about. In Asia and Europe, this will be a big system seller without question. They'll move a lot of units.

The NASCAR license is the big question mark in the States. If they can sell to the large NASCAR audience that this is the game to scratch their itch, it'll be a big hit. Let's face it......the avid gamers already know that they are or aren't going to buy this game. It's a love it or hate it situation. They have to target the casual gamer and NASCAR fan if they want to achieve bigger numbers.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by dubb93

As a total portable newb I'm looking for advice. I had never owned a portable system until recently and I have purchased both a PSP and a DS within the last couple of months. My question is for the DS which is mostly being used by my girlfriend. She was on the internet today and got a message that she was out of memory and needed to delete some things to continue surfing(not really exactly sure what it said, this is what she told me).

I'm going to guess that a memory card for the DS would solve this issue. If this is the case can someone please suggest a good one to get to help me out here. We have the new XL.

You know, I've never used the web browser on any of my iterations of the DS. It strikes me more of a square peg-round hole thing. But, doing some homework, it looks like it's a free DSiWare download now.

As for your problem- looks like you're kindof out of luck, which is, to say the least, a bit of a design flaw. The DS just doesn't have the memory to run this proprietary version of Opera that's a bit of a resource hog, from the sounds of it. And it doesn't support Flash or streaming media since they take up too much memory.

Here's one of many reviews talking about it:
Nintendo DSi Browser (DSiWare) review
http://ds.ign.com/articles/970/970635p1.html

Wish I had better news for you, but it looks like the browser is just meant for light browsing and there are some sites that just don't play nice with it (let me guess- she was using Facebook?) and there's not much you can do about it except hope they come up with a better browser. The old DS had a slot where you could plug in a memory expansion but that's gone on the DSi (then again, the DSi has 16MB of RAM whereas the DS had 4MB + 8MB expansion)

SI

[dubb93]

Yes it was facebook. That kind of sucks, but not a deal breaker.

Onto a more serious note the US Courts of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that when you buy a piece of software you do not own it, rather you license it and that you can be prevented from reselling it. Will the major videogame publishers try to outlaw the second hand game market? Will this ruling stand up in further appeals? Will the average videogamer really pay $60 to buy every game they play brand new?

Source:

hxxp://games.ign.com/articles/112/1120315p1.html

[Neon_Chaos]

Originally Posted by Neon_Chaos

Just got Valkyria Chronicles 2 for the PSP, and it is awesome.

I am now PO'd that I never bought the first game for the PS3. Sigh. More purchases for me.

I sunk around 30-ish hours on this game already. And I'm only halfway through the story (which runs from January to December, I'm just in May). Busy grinding to get better items, unlock character potentials, and unlock the storylines for the ridiculous amount of characters.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by dubb93

Yes it was facebook. That kind of sucks, but not a deal breaker.

Onto a more serious note the US Courts of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that when you buy a piece of software you do not own it, rather you license it and that you can be prevented from reselling it. Will the major videogame publishers try to outlaw the second hand game market? Will this ruling stand up in further appeals? Will the average videogamer really pay $60 to buy every game they play brand new?

Source:

hxxp://games.ign.com/articles/112/1120315p1.html

Seems kind of weird that they would overturn the first sale doctrine that way.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by cthomer5000

You mean 1Q 2011? That was the lastest I heard. Another year push-back and that being 'at earliest' would seem a bit extreme.

You're correct. Kotaku clarified a post they made and corrected the delay to 1Q 2011.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Nice. New Valkyria Chronicles sequel on the way. PLEASE be a PS3 game.

Sega registers Valkyria Chronicles 3 domain | Joystiq

PSP bound. I don't get it. It's like they're trying to limit the number of people that play this series.


Valkyria Chronicles 3 Is Coming To The PSP

[Neon_Chaos]

Originally Posted by Atocep

PSP bound. I don't get it. It's like they're trying to limit the number of people that play this series.


Valkyria Chronicles 3 Is Coming To The PSP

That is awesome.

[CleBrownsfan]

Doesn't seem to be getting that buzz but I am pretty excited for the release of Move this Friday. Mostly because I can't wait to play EyePet with my daughter

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Atocep

PSP bound. I don't get it. It's like they're trying to limit the number of people that play this series.


Valkyria Chronicles 3 Is Coming To The PSP

Yeah, pretty baffling move. Only option that I could see happening is if they put it out as a downloadable title that could be played on the PS3. But I'm not holding my breath.

[Neon_Chaos]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Yeah, pretty baffling move. Only option that I could see happening is if they put it out as a downloadable title that could be played on the PS3. But I'm not holding my breath.

I think that despite being a critical success, the first game sold poorly compared to production costs on the PS3 that they really didn't want to risk losing money again.

I'm just glad they're keeping the series alive, rather than just quitting on it because of poor US sales of the first game.

VCII is a great handheld game. VCIII is apparently going to be set in the same time as VCI, and the series will return to the canvas look and feel of the first.

Who knows, if VCIII turns out to be a success, SEGA might think of bringing the series back to the PS3 for one more attempt at making money off of the US market.

[SirFozzie]

MMORPG APB announced that the game is closing, just three months after release, and so deep in the hole (300 people worked on the game, $100 million spent), that they were never going to get out (Max 130,000 registered users)

[Neon_Chaos]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

MMORPG APB announced that the game is closing, just three months after release, and so deep in the hole (300 people worked on the game, $100 million spent), that they were never going to get out (Max 130,000 registered users)

I don't think there's marketshare available for a shooter mmo. What with halo and cod hogging all the players.

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by Neon_Chaos

I don't think there's marketshare available for a shooter mmo. What with halo and cod hogging all the players.

And in this case everything I'd heard about APB was that it was pretty bad and the most fun to be had was in customizing cars and characters.

I still wouldn't be surprised if Activision tries a CoD with an MMO like subscription though. Not that I think it'd be a good idea, but could see Kotick trying it with his apparent strategy being short term profits that could likely hurt the company long term.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Neon_Chaos

I don't think there's marketshare available for a shooter mmo. What with halo and cod hogging all the players.

Done properly there definitely could be. Firefall is one of the most anticipated MMOs out there. Halo isn't a big deal to PC players. It's just now getting features that have been in PC shooters for 15 years.

APB screwed up because it tried to do too much and ended up not doing anything well. It tried to be a shooter, but was a poor one. It tried to be a driving game, but wasn't a good one. It tried to have RPG elements, but they sucked. It was a game that lacked direction and with more than 100 free to play MMOs out there right now you have to release a quality game or people aren't going to bother.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by mckerney

I still wouldn't be surprised if Activision tries a CoD with an MMO like subscription though. Not that I think it'd be a good idea, but could see Kotick trying it with his apparent strategy being short term profits that could likely hurt the company long term.

He's busy right now trying to convince people that it's a good idea to strip the cutscenes from a series of games (the starcraft series, for example) and sell them on a DVD as a "Starcraft Movie" for $20-$30.

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by Atocep

Done properly there definitely could be. Firefall is one of the most anticipated MMOs out there. Halo isn't a big deal to PC players. It's just now getting features that have been in PC shooters for 15 years.

APB screwed up because it tried to do too much and ended up not doing anything well. It tried to be a shooter, but was a poor one. It tried to be a driving game, but wasn't a good one. It tried to have RPG elements, but they sucked. It was a game that lacked direction and with more than 100 free to play MMOs out there right now you have to release a quality game or people aren't going to bother.

Here's a good read on some of the things that went wrong with APB:

Redundancies At Real Time Worlds | Rock, Paper, Shotgun

[SirFozzie]

Here's a similar article from one of the higher ups at RTW:

Luke Halliwell's Weblog | Just another ex-game developer

[MajikMan77]

APB servers to close down in the coming hours.

Realtime Worlds | APB: All Points Bulletin

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by MajikMan77

APB servers to close down in the coming hours.

Realtime Worlds | APB: All Points Bulletin

So they just shut it down and everyone who purchased it basically has dead software? Am I seeing this correctly?

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

440 Gamestop locations opening up at 10:00 PM local time tonight for the release of the PS Move controller.

http://www.gamestop.com/gs/landing/events/movemidnight/

[stevew]

I think a COD type shooter with ridiculous amounts of stats and connectivity would be amazing.

[SirFozzie]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

So they just shut it down and everyone who purchased it basically has dead software? Am I seeing this correctly?

yup. and places in the UK and Canada are still selling the game.

[mckerney]

And those who bought the game never got the update either.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

yup. and places in the UK and Canada are still selling the game.

That brutal. That's a great way to lose all credibility and ensure no success in any future MMO endeavors due to a lack of trust.

[DaddyTorgo]

going to be interesting to hear what the story behind this is

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

440 Gamestop locations opening up at 10:00 PM local time tonight for the release of the PS Move controller.

http://www.gamestop.com/gs/landing/events/movemidnight/

I'm kind of stunned at that one. No idea that many people wanted to get it at midnight or get it period.

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by TroyF

I'm kind of stunned at that one. No idea that many people wanted to get it at midnight or get it period.

Same here, I'd be curious what Move titles people can't wait to play that they'd get it at midnight. Plus I thought I'd read some places were selling it already.

[Atocep]

A friend of mine is a manager at a Gametag here in Tacoma and he said he has a total of 3 preorders for Move. He also said no one asks about it. His store gets a fair amount of business too as he said they got about 50 people to show up for the midnight release of Reach to go with over 100 preorders.

[Groundhog]

I own a PS3 and don't even really know what Move is. I'm guessing it's a wii-esque controller or something?

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

I own a PS3 and don't even really know what Move is. I'm guessing it's a wii-esque controller or something?

Yeah, it's basically an improved Wiimote and nunchuck.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

yup. and places in the UK and Canada are still selling the game.

The US, too.

[CleBrownsfan]

I searched for an answer but couldn't really come up with a clear answer - maybe MBBF has the answer.

Are games like MAG, Tiger Woods, Resident Evil, ect that are MOVE compatible already to play with the new Move equipment? Or do you have to buy an "enhanced Move" version of the game?

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by TroyF

I'm kind of stunned at that one. No idea that many people wanted to get it at midnight or get it period.

I don't think there is that many first adopters. I was just as surprised as you.

Originally Posted by CleBrownsfan

I searched for an answer but couldn't really come up with a clear answer - maybe MBBF has the answer.

Are games like MAG, Tiger Woods, Resident Evil, ect that are MOVE compatible already to play with the new Move equipment? Or do you have to buy an "enhanced Move" version of the game?

The console update for Move should already be available. I downloaded it the other night. Each individual game will receive updates/patches as well.

[DaddyTorgo]

Read an article on the MOVE that says that it's pretty awesome, but I don't think I have a need to shell out for one - certainly not till the stable of titles gets a bit bigger...

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

Read an article on the MOVE that says that it's pretty awesome, but I don't think I have a need to shell out for one - certainly not till the stable of titles gets a bit bigger...

I think that's going to be a pretty common thing amongst gamers. It's a great controller, but we'll likely see some package deals in the holiday season or early next year that are much better than the current price point.

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

Read an article on the MOVE that says that it's pretty awesome, but I don't think I have a need to shell out for one - certainly

From what I've heard about it the tech sounds good as more accurate than a Wii, but I already own a PS3 and a Wii so there would have to be some pretty amazing Move exclusive titles to get me to spend $210 just to get a 2 player setup.

[Neon_Chaos]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

I think that's going to be a pretty common thing amongst gamers. It's a great controller, but we'll likely see some package deals in the holiday season or early next year that are much better than the current price point.

Definitely.

I was terribly disappointed that the bundled game is a WiiSports rip off.

I would have been much more interested in purchasing this when it came out if they packaged that Wizard game they demoed on E3.

[CleBrownsfan]

Well, I got the Move about a hour ago. Like I said in a previous post - I got it more for my daughter (EyePet) so I hope she enjoys that little monkey-dog-cat looking thing

I'll give some impressions on EyePet & Sports Champions this weekend.

Ping MBBF: So if I already have MAG, an individual patch for that game will come up to d/l & I'll be able to play with the Move controls? You or anyone know if there is a time table for these patches?

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

- certainly not till the stable of titles gets a bit bigger...

Did anyone else read this as "not till the stable of titties gets a bit bigger"?

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by CleBrownsfan

Ping MBBF: So if I already have MAG, an individual patch for that game will come up to d/l & I'll be able to play with the Move controls? You or anyone know if there is a time table for these patches?

News: Huge MAG update 2.0 detailed - ComputerAndVideoGames.com

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Bundle deal for the Move controller..............

Playstation Move Sports Champion Bundle - Slickdeals.net