Author Archive | Jared Newman

E74: Microsoft Recognizes the Xbox 360's Other Problem

Posted by Jared Newman on April 14, 2009 at 11:38 am

redringofdeath“Red Ring of Death” has worked its way so thoroughly into gamer lexicon that it’s comical to watch Microsoft work around the terminology. Perhaps the company’s talking heads will have an easier time with “E74,” a different system killing hardware issue whose moniker is so succinct it’ll probably stick. But I digress.

Microsoft’s Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb acknowledged this new hardware issue today, announcing that the infamous three-year Xbox 360 warranty will extend its coverage to include E74 along with the “three flashing lights error,” as Hryb calls it. The warranty began in the summer of 2007 in response to Red Ring issues and is good for three years from the purchase of an Xbox 360 console. In addition to covering new E74 repairs, Microsoft will retroactively reimburse anyone who has paid the company to fix the problem. Checks will go out before July 1.

Joystiq has been covering the E74 issue since complaints emerged in greater numbers this year. They believe the problem stems from a faulty solder on the ANA/HANA scaling chip in HDMI models. Lines across the screen or snowy interference typically preceed the fatal error message, which is accompanied by one flashing red light (Quadrant of Death?). Microsoft has not described the nature of the problem except to call it a “general hardware failure.”

Chances are, the company won’t elaborate. Microsoft has claimed that the Red Ring of Death debacle hasn’t hurt the brand, and was reluctant to come clean on the problem for some time, so I imagine the company is tackling this issue with the same bravado. Maybe brand loyalty is okay for the Xbox 360, but Sony would be wise to store these issues in its memory banks for the next round of console wars.

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Downloadable Games, With the Inconvenience of the Store

Posted by Jared Newman on April 13, 2009 at 2:43 pm

pspslimA solution for the digital download squeamish: Go to your local video game store, buy a boxed version of a digital download voucher, go home and use the Internet to install the same product that’s being sold cheaper to those who don’t want to leave the house.

Ars Technica’s Ben Kuchera has word from a “reliable” insider — with a proven track record of breaking stories — that this will happen for the upcoming PSP game Patapon 2. Kuchera suggests that Sony is testing this retail download model to gauge whether it will work for other games, maybe even setting the stage for a UMD-less PSP.

Why would Sony hang on to retail at all with this release? Because as much as video game publishers would love to kill the middleman, they need that shelf space. Digital distribution doesn’t share equal footing with hard copy sales. Besides, cutting out Gamestop and other retailers could potentially force them to drop the PSP in retribution. Despite the strained relationship between publisher and retailer, no one wants to rock the boat.

As a result, we might have this bizarre solution in which consumers can pay $20 plus a trip to the store for a $15 game that they can download at home. You pay more for the luxury of an empty box.

Whether the rumor is true or not, I can’t imagine retailers lovingly embracing the idea in the long run because they’d be digging their own graves. Once enough retail shoppers realize they’re getting duped at retail, they’ll abandon the store. GameStop also loves the used game market, and won’t give it up without a fight.

Retail downloads might work in the present simply because of shelf appeal, but Sony and other game publishers can’t have it both ways forever. Eventually, they’ll have to commit to a download-only future — brick-and-mortar be damned, consoles can be distributed other ways — or commit to physical media and all the retail baggage that comes with it.

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GameStop Accused of Selling Played Games As New

Posted by Jared Newman on April 10, 2009 at 11:49 am

gamestopsignThe world’s largest video game retailer could be in hot water thanks to some investigative work by Kotaku’s Brian Crecente and Michael McWhertor.

Speaking to unnamed GameStop employees and retailers around the US, the popular game blog has exposed a practice in which employee-played games are getting mixed up with unplayed copies kept behind the counter for security purposes. The Federal Trade Commission told Kotaku that this practice could be illegal.

According to GameStop’s written policy, as confirmed by several employees, company staff are allowed to check out store merchandise for up to four days of personal use. When receiving new games, GameStop “guts” several copies, putting the box on display and leaving the disc behind the counter so it doesn’t get stolen. Kotaku reports that these new discs tend to get mixed up with the “check-out” copies that employees take home.

In all cases, customers are told that they are buying a new copy of the game, and they pay full price as a result.

Though some managers offer “Shop Worn” discounts for games that have been gutted or checked out, this is specifically against company policy, which says these discounts should not by applied to “new, used or checked out games.”

GameStop won’t comment on the matter, and the FTC won’t say whether it is getting involved.

Personally, I’ve never had a problem purchasing new games from GameStop (it’s their used game trade-in prices that set me off), but a glance through Kotaku’s comments section turns up several customers who swear they’ve bought new games that don’t look untouched.

The graceful solution for GameStop would be to start selling any unsealed games as used, even if they’re at a lesser markdown than typical used prices. After all, the customer can’t return a game as new once the plastic comes off, even if the disc never leaves the case. If GameStop can’t assure that an unsealed game is unused, the company should treat itself the same way.

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Thanks Amazon, For Doing What the Xbox 360 Doesn't

Posted by Jared Newman on April 9, 2009 at 10:38 am

amazonlogoAmazon has been dipping its toes in a few new video game ventures lately. The latest from the online retailer, in addition to trading used games and offering downloadable computer games, is the sale of Xbox Live Arcade downloads.

The new service allows customers to purchase a download code for games like Braid and Marble Blast Ultra, which is then redeemed on the Xbox 360 console. Visitors can also purchase games as gifts and send the codes to their friends.

Cool stuff, but why buy this way instead of on the console itself? Simple: Microsoft has a silly download policy that doesn’t let you pay exact change. Packages start at 500 “Microsoft Points,” equal to $6.25, and since most games come in $5 or $10 increments, buying a game through the Xbox 360 sticks you with unused points. This is supposed to encourage future downloads, I imagine, but it strikes me as underhanded. What other retailer requires you to pay extra for a product in exchange for store credit?

All online game stores do this, but to a lesser extent. The Wii Shop Channel requires purchases in $10 increments, but some games actually cost that amount (more often than not, you’re stuck with extra, though). The Playstation Network lets you pay exact change, but only for purchases greater than $5. Sony’s plan is the most justifiable, in the same way that some store owners require minimum credit card purchases to cover the transaction fee.

Kotaku has a rumor that Amazon will duplicate the service for the Wii and Playstation 3, but the retailer won’t comment. Customers should be able to pay the exact amount for their downloadable games, but it’s too bad they’ll have to jump through Amazon’s hoops to do so.

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Will Wright Leaving — But Still Working With — EA

Posted by Jared Newman on April 8, 2009 at 2:44 pm

willwrightFans of Will Wright probably know about his bizarre hobbies. At times, he’s built Battlebots, collected Soviet space program relics and enjoyed a bit of illegal street racing. Those pursuits are probably easier when you’re a legendary game designer, the creative force behind Sim City, The Sims and Spore.

Effective today, Wright is taking his mind off computer games, at least partially, to pursue other creative endeavors. He’s leaving megapublisher Electronic Arts to run the Stupid Fun Club, which he founded in 2001 as a way to build competitive robots and experiment with other non-gaming ideas.

“The entertainment industry is moving rapidly into an era of revolutionary change,” Wright said in a press release. “Stupid Fun Club will explore new possibilities that are emerging from this sublime chaos and create new forms of entertainment on a variety of platforms. In my twelve years at EA, I’ve had the pleasure to work alongside some of the brightest and most talented game developers in the industry and I look forward to working with them again in the near future.”

While it’s certainly big news, the headline has more gravity than the story itself. Wright’s comments imply that he’s not totally leaving game design. Furthermore, MTV Multiplayer reports that EA has an equal stake with Wright in Stupid Fun Club — a third investor has a smaller share — plus first rights on any games that emerge from the venture.

If Wright is taking some sort of hiatus from game design, I’ll miss his creative influence on the medium. At the same time, I’m excited to see what happens when he tries to entertain the masses with his other hobbies.

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Iraq War Video Game: Appropriate?

Posted by Jared Newman on April 7, 2009 at 12:33 pm

fallujahQuick, think of a knee-jerk reaction: A game based on the war in Iraq, insightful culture or crass cash-in?

Okay, now let’s think about it a little bit.

The Los Angeles Times reports that Konami is preparing a video game based on the Iraq conflict, called Six Days in Fallujah, but it wasn’t the publisher’s idea. The concept comes from a group of U.S. Marines who survived the Second Battle of Fallujah, which occurred in 2004 and left 38 troopers and an estimated 1,200 insurgents dead. Raleigh, N.C.-based Atomic Games, a company with experience designing combat software for the military, will design the game.

The marines want their story to be told through video games, and that goes a long way towards legitimizing the game in my book. One marine named Mike Ergo tells the Times that video games “communicate the intensity and gravity of war” to people — young ones, likely — who aren’t learning about it on TV or in the classroom, and aren’t as tuned in to books. (Ergo says we live in an age where the imagination isn’t what it was.) Video games it is, then.

But does that mean games are the best medium for Six Days in Fallujah? Put aside the idea that video games are more of an entertainment platform than film and books, because that’s debatable; even watching Saving Private Ryan is entertainment on some level, an escape into another world. I’d also like to ignore the knee-jerk detractors, such as the veterans calling for a ban on the game because that’s just ridiculous.

The real issue that Atomic Games will face deals with the very nature of what games are. Like binary code, video games do not play well with gray area, and that’s where so much of real drama lies. Bioshock, hailed as a pillar of artistic game design, places its moral stock in a simple decision with clear-cut ramifications — kill the Little Sisters and steal their powers, or save them for a delayed reward. Mass Effect transforms your character into a Paragon or Renegade based on your actions, but there are no facets to the character’s personality. For game designers, moving beyond “good and bad” hasn’t been easy.

So Atomic Games has the unenviable challenge of portraying the gray areas of war. I hope they pull it off, but I won’t rush to judgment.

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Yahoo Music Gets Friendly With YouTube, iTunes, Others

Posted by Jared Newman on April 6, 2009 at 4:46 pm

YahooTomorrow, Yahoo will embrace all sorts of third-party widgets at its Yahoo Music pages, allowing visitors to create their own layouts of videos, listening stations and online stores.

The relaunched Yahoo Music intends to become a “starting point for music fans,” according to the press release. The logic goes that curiosity or love for a recording artist will compel you to visit the artist’s page on Yahoo Music, which acts as a content hub. Widgets, or “modules,” can be added, removed or moved around the page for each individual viewer, allowing you to nix iTunes if Amazon is your preference and dump Pandora if you prefer Last.fm. There are modules for YouTube and Rhapsody as well.

Yahoo Music currently hosts 500,000 artist pages, but down the line, the company wants to open artist page creation for any musician or record label. That sounds like an ambitious undertaking, but it could work well for indie bands with enough devotees.  A spokeswoman tells me that other modules will follow, such as online merch shops. CNet says this is all part of the company’s “Open” strategy of adding third-party features to its existing Web services.

I poked around the old Yahoo Music site today, and actually enjoyed its current form. The listening limit on the embedded Rhapsody links are a downer, but otherwise the site was clean and easy to navigate. Hopefully, the addition of extra modules won’t clutter the screen or grind down on my poor little netbook.

My other concern is remembering to visit when my first instinct for any curiosity is to plug a search into Firefox’s Google toolbar. Yahoo searchers will find the stuff easily, but it’d be really great if Yahoo Music could get enough Google juice to land on the front page of those Web searches, above or near Wikipedia. That would probably be too friendly.

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Silly Sony, PSPs Are for Kids!

Posted by Jared Newman on April 6, 2009 at 12:52 pm

pspslimThough I try to abstain from fanboyism, I’m addicted to the console wars. And I’m not talking about insults flung around by loyal customers; only official company statements from Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony will do. The more ridiculous, the better.

Spin factor is always high, but the latest remarks on the Nintendo DSi by SCEA director of hardware marketing John Koller are even more satisfying, because they’re false.

Here’s his statement, in part:

“If Nintendo is really committed to reaching a broader, more diverse audience of gamers beyond the “kids” market that they’ve always engaged, there isn’t much new with the DSi to support that. Significant gamer demographic groups are being ignored … Compare that with the PSP platform, where we have many blockbuster franchises from our publishing partners launching this year, representing a wide variety of genres and targeting diverse demographics.”

I want to focus on the idea that the DS is for “kids,” while the PSP is apparently for everyone. Let’s put aside anecdotal evidence, such as the recent release of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for the DS, because then you’ve got to subjectively compare entire game libraries.

Instead, let’s look at what Sony’s Koller said to Edge magazine last September as he explained why the PSP was losing support from third-party publishers. Koller himself said the PSP’s demographics had shifted younger since launch, and publishers weren’t grasping that fact because they kept putting out mature games that sold poorly. To wit:

“When we launched the PSP it launched at a 28-year old, heavily male, New York subway [demographic], and that slowly trended down. Now we’re in the mid-teens with a lot of tracking even younger than that. Our research shows that in the next 12 months young moms actually are set to have the highest propensity to purchase the hardware and software for their young children.”

Isn’t this the “kids” demographic Koller was alluding to this weekend, or was he trying to say that Nintendo DS owners are primarily young goats?

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MySpace Music Reinventing Itself After Foul-ups

Posted by Jared Newman on April 3, 2009 at 5:11 pm

myspaceWired has an interesting feature on MySpace Music, which was supposed to be a boon for the music industry when it launched a half year ago. Free streaming music from all four major record labels and support for playlists seemed like a good idea.

Unfortunately, the service had some serious usability issues, such as limits on playlist size and a slow music player, and the song selection wasn’t comprehensive. Courtney Holt, who stepped in to lead MySpace Music in January, three months after launch, is candid about the problems in his chat with Wired, calling the original service “plumbing and a playlist.” He covers similar ground as he did in a New York Times Bits interview from March, when the service started adding new features and improving the interface. Perhaps Holt is trying to get the word out that MySpace Music isn’t all bad anymore.

And for a free service, it could be worse. The ability to search for bands and build playlists directly from the results is nice, and I like the pop-out player. I’m wondering why playlist management is stunted — it can’t be done in real-time and new songs add themselves to the top of the list, rather than the bottom — but as a tool for discovering new music, it’s functional enough. Links to the Amazon MP3 download for each song are enticing, too.

Holt is also looking to “bring back the album,” as Wired puts it. Entire pages will be dedicated to individual albums, packed with bonus features and a forum for fans to discuss the music. With greater support for indie bands, MySpace Music is starting to look pretty robust.

If I were the record labels, I’d be looking to duplicate this service on other social networks. Design-wise, I’ve always found MySpace to be sloppy, and that’s keeping me away more than the content or the way it’s managed. Obviously adding streaming music to my network of choice (Facebook) can’t happen overnight, but I’d much rather get two dozen streaming track recommendations from friends than read 25 of their obscure personal details.

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Happy 20th Birthday, Game Boy!

Posted by Jared Newman on April 3, 2009 at 1:02 pm

gameboyThis month marks 20 years since the Game Boy’s release in Japan. Though the handheld’s actual birthday is April 21, and the US release followed in August, now seems as good a time for reflection as any.

After all, the US launch of Nintendo’s DSi handheld on Sunday will mark the true demise of the Game Boy moniker; by eliminating “Slot B” from the new device, Game Boy Advance games will no longer be playable. How’s that for an arbitrary factoid?

Anyway, the Game Boy family — if you include the Pocket, Light and Color editions — is currently the second-best-selling video game device of all time, trailing only the Playstation 2. Further, 1UP’s Jeremy Parish points out that the Game Boy brand was Nintendo’s “backbone” during trying times; the Nintendo 64 and Gamecube may have failed commercially, but handhelds always kept the company afloat.

Parish writes that the Game Boy subscribed to Nintendo’s “good enough” policy. Better technologies were available back in 1989, but somehow the handheld with the pea green screen took off, even as more technically impressive competitors, such as Sega’s Game Gear and Atari’s Lynx, languished. When Nintendo strays from that policy, Parish argues, the company fails.

I think that idea is not as true as it used to be. For the Game Boy family, slight modifications through the years — a slimmer figure, a little color, a boost in graphics — were good enough to keep the handheld in demand. Meanwhile, the Virtual Boy tanked, and experiments with connecting to Nintendo’s bigger consoles never took off.

By comparison, Nintendo’s current success is due to a change in philosophy, Now, we’re looking at “different enough,” with two products that were initially questioned for breaking the mold. Dual Screens? Motion Control? The industry doubted those ideas until they started steamrolling the competition. The focus is now on calculated risk, which I guess you could say is “good enough” for Nintendo.

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