Author Archive | Jared Newman

Gaming in Theaters Sounds Cool, Won’t Be Easy

Posted by Jared Newman on September 30, 2009 at 11:51 am

As a gamer, I’m enamored with the idea of playing a shoot-em-up on a 50-foot screen, surrounded by Dolby audio. And I can’t be the only one.

Unfortunately, these incidents are rare, but on Monday and Tuesday, the stars will align, and Sony will let people in four U.S. theaters try the upcoming (and universally lauded) Uncharted 2: Among Thieves for the Playstation 3.

If you don’t happen to live in Rosemont, Ill., Bellvue, Wash., San Francisco or Thousand Oaks, Calif., there’s good news: In a Reuters interview, Mike Fidler, Sony’s senior vice president of Digital Cinema Solutions and Services, suggests that this isn’t a one-off thing. In explaining that he wants more theaters to go digital, Fidler said that gaming “will be an important part of that equation.”

From Fidler’s remarks, it’s easy to dream up gaming nights, or perhaps the ability to rent out a theater for an evening of Killzone 2. A Canadian chain already does this during off-peak times, for the totally reasonable price of $169 for two hours and up to 12 people (a movie ticket doesn’t cost that much less at that rate).

Not to be a party pooper, but I see a major roadblock here. The best big-screen games — shooters and racing games — can at most be enjoyed by four people at a time, and even splitting the screen reduces the coolness factor. Given that a movie theater is designed to entertain lots of people, you’d be looking at minimal playing time with any more than a dozen participants. And let’s face it, most games aren’t that fun to watch from the sidelines.

If Sony does get the Playstation 3 into more theaters, I’m sure the Uncharted 2 event won’t be the last of its kind, but for most of us, I have a feeling that any significant gaming time in a theater will remain a fantasy.

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What’s a Game Demo Worth, Anyway?

Posted by Jared Newman on September 29, 2009 at 4:36 pm

Peter Molyneux, the ever-mouthy creator of the Fable video game series, is spouting off about video game demos and why they’re worthless.

“I hate demos,” Molyneux told Official Xbox Magazine. “I think demos are the death knell of experiences.” He then explains that most demos either show too much, don’t show enough or confuse the player. His solution? Tease people with the first 45 minutes of a game, then pitch them on the full version.

That’s not a groundbreaking idea, as pretty much every Xbox Live Arcade title lets you download the whole game and play a small portion, then charges you to “unlock” the rest. Some PC game portals, such as Big Fish Games, let you download any game and play for an hour.

But Molyneux is alluding to a bigger issue, that downloadable games are more conducive to demos than boxed retail titles.

Partly, that’s because boxed games are often greater in scope than downloadable games. After 10 minutes of an Xbox Live Arcade title, such as Braid, you can get the gist. But 10 minutes wouldn’t do justice to the massive environments of Fallout 3, which is why the developers of that game said a demo was simply not possible. Demos of downloadable games are also more attractive to publishers, as it’s easier to make an impulse purchase when all you need is a credit card nearby to keep playing.

Molyneux’s Fable II is an anomaly, because it was once a boxed title, but it’s now being chopped up into downloadable episodes. A 45-minute demo gives Fable II the best of both worlds, as players will have already downloaded the full game, and will be able to experience a significant chunk before deciding whether they want the rest. Molyneux can be somewhat arrogant with his public statements (see: rating his own game a 9 out of 10), but he may be onto something here.

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Sony: No UMD Transfers for PSP Go

Posted by Jared Newman on September 25, 2009 at 2:02 pm

Those who want in on Sony’s download-only PSP Go will have to leave their disc-based games behind, as there won’t be any way to convert games from UMD to digital form.

Delivering the bad news to Kotaku, Sony said that “due to legal and technical reasons we will not be offering the program at this time.” Sony didn’t elaborate on its reasons, but I can take a crack at it:

When Sony announced the PSP Go at E3 this year, John Koller, Sony’s hardware marketing director, said that a “good will program” to convert UMDs would be announced soon. There was speculation that retailers would convert UMD games through kiosks at their stores.

That sounds good in theory, but in practice it’s a nightmare. If a store such as Gamestop kept the UMDs after every conversion, it wouldn’t take long before stores become overwhelmed with used PSP games. The value of those games would plummet, forcing Gamestop to lower its prices, which I’m sure it doesn’t want to do.

Then, there are the game publishers, who’d have to agree on letting their UMD-based games get copied into digital form. That’s messy enough from a legal standpoint, but it has no benefits as a business proposition. Unless Sony planned to pay publishers for their cooperation, digital conversion would only amount to a lost sale, with retailers selling the used UMD copies instead of new ones (at greatly reduced prices, mind you).

In the end, I doubt there was enough “good will” from all parties involved to push a conversion program through. I’m reminded of how Sony once promised that the Playstation 3 would be backwards compatible with Playstation 2 games, only to have that support erode steadily over the years.

Adding insult to injury for U.S. customers, there’s a rewards program in Europe where existing PSP owners will get three free games for buying and registering their PSP Go. That program won’t come stateside, as a Sony representative explained that the U.S. has a “dual platform strategy.” In other words, don’t upgrade.

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Wii Price Drops, Sony and Microsoft Beat Chests

Posted by Jared Newman on September 24, 2009 at 1:46 pm

Nintendo finally responded to the pressure from Sony and Microsoft, cutting the Wii’s price to $200, effective this Sunday. There were plenty of warning signs — store circulars, retailer’s internal e-mails, and plain old common sense — but now it’s official.

I’ve said my piece about the Wii’s holiday prospects, but I had to chuckle today at the indirect responses from Sony and Microsoft, who individually offered the same message. To paraphrase: “Hey, we’re making motion controllers too, you know!”

Exhibit A is Microsoft’s brag-laden press release about Project Natal, an upcoming 3D motion-sensing camera peripheral for the Xbox 360. Microsoft name-dropped a dozen publishers who are “actively working on games” for the motion controller, and spoke of a “high-powered panel” at Tokyo Game Show, in which a few top game designers will talk about how they love the new technology.

The message is that Microsoft loves third-party development, and wants to get publishers on board early on. That’s a not-so-subtle dig at Nintendo, which has a reputation for putting its in-house work on a pedestal. I’m still waiting to see whether the accuracy-boosting Wii Motion Plus will be adopted by more than a half dozen brave publishers.

Not to be outdone, Sony revealed some concrete information on its remote-like motion controller. Resident Evil 5, which was released earlier this year, will get a “Directors Cut” with motion controls, and 13 other titles are in development now. Some are existing games, like Flower and EyePet, while others are mysterious working titles, such as “Champions of Time” and “Eccentric Slider.”

I’d say Sony has been far more open about its technology than Microsoft, which makes sense because the Playstation 3 motion controller isn’t that revolutionary. It’s merely a ticket for the motion control bandwagon, and Sony’s trying to get on board by next spring.

Will the Playstation 3 or the Xbox 360 beat Nintendo at its own game? We’ve barely seen either in action, so it’s hard to tell on quality alone. But the Wii’s price cut, combined with undying interest in franchises such as Mario, will ensure Nintendo’s success for a long time.

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The Video Game Bundle Wars of 2009

Posted by Jared Newman on September 23, 2009 at 10:26 am

Evidence that the Wii will become a $200 console is piling up, with the latest rumor coming from Best Buy management. Engadget scored a screen grab of a company letter, warning that the price drop will happen on Sunday, following an official announcement this Friday.

Alongside price cuts for the Playstation 3 and the Xbox 360 Elite, this is great news for anyone looking to buy a gaming console this holiday season. But even if you’ve got the itch now, consider holding out for the inevitable software bundles that will follow.

The Best Buy letter notes that stores should “use bundle bands to create bundles that tell a story and truly meet customers’ needs.” I’m not exactly sure what it means to tell a story with products, but I’ll bet Best Buy will try tacking on games and extra controllers to get you spending a little more. Those deals can work out in your favor if you are, in fact, buying the same things you planned to purchase a la carte.

Another thing to watch for are official bundles from the console maker. Ars Technica has a rumor that Xbox 360 Elites will include two games, Pure and Lego Batman, for the same $300 starting in mid-October. Sure, those wouldn’t be the first two games I’d choose, but for the same price tag they do sweeten the pot. I wouldn’t be surprised if Sony and Nintendo started offering their own added incentives.

Just remember that your brand new gaming console is worthless without at least one game, and it’s not as fun without two controllers. As the holiday shopping season approaches, keep an eye out for bundles that will save you from spending too much beyond the console’s initial price tag.

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Are Game Downloads Successful? We’ll Soon Know

Posted by Jared Newman on September 21, 2009 at 6:38 pm

Addressing what increasingly seems like a glaring omission in its sales charts, The NPD Group says it will start tracking sales of downloadable video and computer games.

That’s important if you’re at all interested in how gaming is changing. NPD finds itself in headlines every month, when it releases sales figures for games and consoles. When we want to know if games are in a recession or whether an experimental game idea worked out commercially, NPD is usually a good resource.

But lately, it seems like the group’s sales figures don’t provide the whole picture, and NPD itself knows it. NPD’s corporate marketing director David Riley told MCV that tracking game downloads will reduce “the spin, and in some cases, misleading information that often appears on the internet.”

It’s not clear who Riley was pointing that comment at, but I think game publishers shoulder at least some of the blame. We usually only hear about the performance of downloadable content when it’s wildly successful (see the popularity of Shadow Complex for the Xbox 360). Even then, the news is just a flash in the pan, and we have no way to track the performance of a downloadable game over time. I’d definitely like to see, for instance, how the shelf life of a downloadable game compares to a boxed retail title.

NPD was short on details for this plan, which seems awfully ambitious. The group plans to track console, PC and mobile games, which, as Joystiq points out, would comprise a lot of distribution channels, including small, independent outlets. No start date has been announced, and NPD didn’t say whether it will track downloadable add-ons for existing games, or just full games.

Still, I look forward to whatever NPD puts together. For understanding how digital distribution is changing video games, anything’s better than nothing.

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Sony Ericsson’s Motion-Sensing Earbuds Sound Cool

Posted by Jared Newman on September 21, 2009 at 6:09 pm

mh907_520x311 Here’s a neat idea from Sony Ericsson: Put motion sensors in earbuds, so they automatically stop playback when you pop them out, and resume the music when you put them back in. As someone who hates fumbling for the play button when temporarily removing earbuds — say, to answer a question — I’m interested.

The MH907 earbuds use capacitive sensors that turn your ear into an electrical conduit, determining whether the earbuds are inserted. In addition to controlling music, the earbuds work as a cell phone headset, going into call mode when you insert only one bud.

Here’s the catch: You’ll need one of Sony Ericsson’s phones with a Fast Port connector, as opposed to a standard 3.5 mm jack.

On one hand, this makes sense, as you’re sending as well as receiving information from the headphones. Still, iPods are able to detect when you’ve removed headphones from the jack entirely, so I’m wondering if a 3.5 mm connection could at least handle the basic on and off switching from the motion sensor. In any case, I can’t fault Sony Ericsson for using a cool accessory to sell its music phones.

Before today, Sony Ericsson was teasing that this announcement would change the way we listen to music forever. That seems a little extreme, but if there’s any chance the company hasn’t locked up the idea with a patent, I’m hoping we’ll see other manufacturers follow suit.

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Good: ESRB Pre-Loads PSP Go With a Ratings Guide

Posted by Jared Newman on September 18, 2009 at 4:19 pm

pspgoratings Let’s just assume for a minute that it’s an ideal world, where parents keep a watchful eye on the video games their kids are playing.

If that’s the case, it’s great news that Sony plans to load a video game ratings guide directly onto the PSP, through a partnership with the Entertainment Software Ratings Board.

The guide explains the meaning behind ESRB ratings, along with movie ratings from the MPAA. It also provides a walkthrough for setting up parental controls on the PSP Go.

While it’d be great to see this functionality on all gaming consoles, it’s especially important to the PSP Go. The handheld gaming device, coming October 1, doesn’t support physical media, so every bit of content is downloaded directly onto the console.

That means no game boxes, unless you plan to buy download vouchers from Gamestop. While resources such as WhatTheyPlay, Gaming With Children and the ESRB’s own Web site are already available to parents who actively get involved with their kids’ gaming, the rating on the box remains the most convenient way of knowing what games are appropriate.

Packing a ratings guide onto the PSP Go isn’t just useful to parents, it’s a clever move by the games industry to head off inevitable criticism. Once politicians and other video game alarmists realize the box has gone away, they’ll target the PSP Go for providing easy access to explicit materials. When that happens, Sony and the ESRB can point to this ratings guide and say they did the best they could.

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The Problem With Musicians and Music Games

Posted by Jared Newman on September 17, 2009 at 2:52 pm

With The Beatles: Rock Band and Guitar Hero 5 released earlier this month, several musicians have spoken their minds about music games. And I wish they hadn’t.

To recap: Last week, singer Courtney Love decided to sue Activision when she realized how her late husband, ex-Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, was being used in Guitar Hero 5. When letting Activision use Cobain’s likeness, Love didn’t realize that in-game characters can perform in any song, resulting in a rather troubling video of Cobain rapping and singing 80s metal. The rest of Nirvana then added their disapproval, and so did, of all people, Bon Jovi.

Earlier, former Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman and Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason expressed their disdain for music games, based on the tired belief that these games kill the motivation to learn a real instrument (Mason said he was open to a game based on Pink Floyd, simply to make money).

Topping it all off, Paul McCartney admitted that he hadn’t yet played The Beatles: Rock Band. His rationale? The former Beatle can play an actual concert any time he wants.

McCartney’s dismissal, however justified, is disheartening, and I’m saying that as a fellow musician. Having played guitar and drums since childhood, I initially pooh-poohed Guitar Hero as well. But then I tried it, with people who aren’t musicians, and everything clicked.

What Guitar Hero offers musicians is the ability to enjoy music with everyone, not just for the words and beat, but for the musicality and the intricacies that become most apparent when you’re performing. It’s too bad McCartney, Mason and Wyman can’t see that.

Courtney Love’s case is a bit different, but the underlying issue, that she obviously hasn’t spent time with the game, is the same. Instead of experiencing why Guitar Hero and Rock Band are special, these musicians only see two potential rewards: relevance and money. Ideally, music should be about neither.

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PSP Go Retailer Backlash Begins

Posted by Jared Newman on September 16, 2009 at 11:57 am

When the PSP Go launches next month, the Netherlands’ largest video game retailer won’t be selling it, according to Eurogamer.

Nedgame says the biggest reason it won’t carry the PSP Go is the price of 249 euros ($250 in the United States), which isn’t justifiable when the existing PSP-3000 costs 169 euros ($130 here). The retailer also knocked the PSP Go’s smaller screen size, at 3.8 inches compared to 4.3 inches.

But there’s another, more obvious reason behind the decision. Because the PSP Go has no optical media slot and the games are download-only, Nedgame would essentially be digging its own grave by selling the handheld. Sure, the retailer could sell game vouchers, as GameStop does with the download-only Patapon 2, but no physical media means no used game sales. I’m not familiar with Nedgame, but at least in the United States, used games generate monster profits for Gamestop.

Meanwhile, Eurogamer’s Spanish-language Web site is reporting a rumor that several retailers in Spain won’t support the PSP Go for similar reasons.

GameStop is selling pre-orders for the PSP Go, so it seems the retailer is willing to support it. However, after the handheld launches on October 1, it should be interesting to see how well GameStop promotes the PSP Go, and how the retailer treats downloadable titles. We could see more incentives for buying games in the store, such as the early demos offered for Patapon 2. I’d like to see frequent buyer discounts and some way to let shoppers come in, try the title out and then buy it using an in-store kiosk.

Whatever happens, I don’t think banning the PSP Go from store shelves is a good idea. Customers who want it will ultimately find a way, and retailers will have burned bridges.

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