Games are too expensive and the industry would benefit from lower price points,jimmy choo outlet, reckons Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim director Todd Howard. Speaking in the latest issue of PSM3,cheap jimmy choo, the Bethesda designer argues that $60 is "a lot of money for entertainment" - but insists that Skyrim is one title that's truly giving gamers their quid's worth."I've thought for a long time that games are too expensive," he said, adding that "I don't put us in that category of course - for what we give you, for sixty bucks or however many 'quid' it is. "That's a lot of money for entertainment, so I think the good news is that in certain markets - PC, iPhone, mobile - we can see prices coming down."But I do think industry-wide we would benefit from more games out at $19 or $29. I would try more games. Because I'm not going to try a game for $60. It's a tough decision."That's why people read reviews and previews, because it's not only a money decision, it's a time-investment decision. It's not like going to a movie."Howard's comments echo those of Namco Bandai Partners VP Olivier Comte, who said in an interview he thinks the £40 price point is fair for developers but for the consumer it is simply too much."From September to December there are three new blockbusters every week, and consumers just can't afford to buy all that," he said. "I feel all the big video game companies need to join together in a worldwide summit to discuss the future of our industry. I think we have to pull our thoughts together."Buy the new look PSM3 online and have it delivered to your door. Andy Robinson
2012年1月6日星期五
2012年1月5日星期四
Ubisoft drops From Dust DRM
Ubisoft is to release a patch for the PC version of From Dust that will remove online authentication DRM entirely. According to Rock Paper Shotgun,cheap jimmy choo, the publisher originally stated the game would require a one-off online activation, before later deciding it would always need an active internet connection to launch. If the latest post on the matter by a Ubisoft forum manager is to believed, that won't be the case for much longer."We recognize that one of our posts in the From Dust forum regarding the need for authentication in the game was not clear," it reads. "We sincerely apologize for the misunderstanding."Our tech teams are working on a patch that should release in approximately two weeks that will eliminate the need for any online authentication. This development time is required as we are working to ensure that those who have already started the game, and who's progress is currently saved on our servers, will receive and save their game information locally."Once the patch is ready, players who already have the game will automatically receive the update on their next login and subsequent game sessions will be 100% offline."Earlier this month, Ubisoft also backtracked on the use of always-on DRM for Driver: San Francisco following negative consumer feedback. Tom Ivan
Deus Ex Human Revolution - Where's cheap
If a round up of gushing reviews from around the web haven't convinced you to buy and play Deus Ex: Human Revolution by now nothing will. But before you rush out and throw down your hard earned Queen sheets for a copy of Eidos Montreal's latest you'd do well to cast your eyes on our price round-up. It might save you a couple of quid.First up in the Human Revolution price war are the usual online duo: Play and Amazon. Play has the PC version for £27.99, while the console editions are priced at £38.89. Both of these come with the 'Explosive' mission pack. The 'Augmented Edition', which has extra weapons and a DVD is priced at £39.99 on PC and £47.99 on consoles.Amazon's prices are largely the same, the only differences being the Limited Edition on PS3 is £35.66. GameStop is one of the cheaper options out there and will sell you Human Revolution on console for £35.97 or on PC for £24.97.ShopTo's lowest Deus Ex price is £36.85 and its PC price is £25.85 for the standard edition.Also going with £36.85 for the console versions is Zavvi, or you can get it for £27.85 on PC.Tesco is offering the cheapest Deus Ex: Human Revolution price among the supermarkets so far, selling the sci-fi stunner for £30 when purchased with a pre-order for Battlefield 3, Gears of War 3 or Batman: Arkham City.Meanwhile Sainsbury's is selling the game for £33.99 and Morrisons is going with £34.99.If digital downloads are your thing Human Revolution is available on Valve's Steam service for £29.99. Direct2Drive undercuts Steam by a couple of pennies and it's priced the game at £29.95. Pennies make pounds.As always if you spot any particularly good deals let us know in the comments below and we'll move the best into the round-up. Happy bargain hunting. Tamoor Hussain
Modern Warfare 3 Xbox 360 console priced
The Modern Warfare 3-branded Xbox 360 console announced at the weekend has been priced for pre-orders ahead of its November 8 launch alongside the game. GAME is currently taking online pre-orders for £270,jimmy choo boots, while the US estimated retail price is $399.For your cash you'll get the Modern Warfare 3 console complete with custom sounds when it's turned on/off and the disc tray is ejected (listen through the link below),jimmy choo outlet, a 320GB hard drive, the game, two custom wireless controllers, a one month Xbox Live Gold subscription and exclusive avatar items.Microsoft will also be releasing two limited edition Modern Warfare 3-themed accessories on October 11. The aforementioned wireless controller will be available for £34.99/$59.99, while a Modern Warfare 3 wireless headset will cost $69.99 (no UK pricing yet).If you missed the Call of Duty XP madness at the weekend, check out the first official Modern Warfare 3 multiplayer details, plus our Modern Warfare 3 hands-on from Los Angeles. For the word-shy, we've also posted video interviews on Call of Duty Elite and Modern Warfare 3 itself. Tom Ivan
2012年1月2日星期一
UK CHART Deus Ex topples Zumba Fitness
Square Enix's Deus Ex: Human Revolution has knocked 505 Games' Zumba Fitness of the top of the official UK weekly games chart. The action RPG, which has been developed by Eidos Montreal,sells just 26,000 units short of outperforming previous title Deus Ex: Invisible War's lifetime sales after being on the market for only two daysIt sells slightly more on Xbox 360 than any other format, with the format taking a 57 percent share of boxed sales. PS3 claims 31 percent, whilst PC takes home 13 percent. Zumba would have only needed one more week to have equalled the longest ever uninterrupted run at No.1, held by EA's FIFA: Road to the World Cup with 11 weeks.However it's a good week for 505 Games overall, with Rugby World Cup 2011 making its debut at No.3.Competitive pricing and the recent launch of the 4th map pack 'Rezurrection' on Xbox Live help send 'Call of Duty: Black Ops' back into the Top 10 at No.5 with an 83 percent week-on-week sales rise.The full gfK-ChartTrack/UKIE Top 20 All Formats chart for the week ending August 27th:1. Deus Ex: Human Revolution (Square Enix)2. Zumba Fitness (505 Games)3. Rugby World Cup 2011 (505 Games)4. LEGO: Pirates of the Caribbean (Disney Interactive)5. Call of Duty: Black Ops (Activision)6. Cars 2 (Disney Interactive)7. FIFA 11 (EA)8. Dirt 3 (Codemasters)9. LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 (Warner)10. Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (Ubisoft)11. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D (Nintendo)12. The Sims 3 (EA)13. Harry Potter: The Deathly Hallows Part 2 (EA)14. Brink (Bethesda)15. Wii Sports Resort (Nintendo)16. Just Dance 2 (Ubisoft)17. LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars (LucasArts)18. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (EA)19. Call of Juarez: The Cartel (Ubisoft)20. Homefront (THQ) CVG Staff
Shrek and other DreamWorks characters go
DreamWorks and Activision have announced DreamWorks Super Star Kartz, a racing game staring DreamWorks characterz such az Shrek that, we're sure, will be NOTHINGZ like Mario Kart. At allz. Nopez. 14 characters from DreamWorks' movies Shrek, Madagascar, How To Train Your Dragon and Monsters Vs. Aliens will turn up for arcade races in which you'll be able to "speed, jump, power-up and boost" through karting courses no doubt based on environments from the films. It'll also have stunts, weapons and "hilarious" commentary from Madagascar lemur King Julien. Battle, Circuit and Time Trial modes will feature, along with four-player split-screen multiplayer "on consoles". There's no mention of online play or any multiplayer for handhelds, which is worrying.DreamWorks Super Star Kartz, with a 'z' because they didn't get the memo about random 'z's in titles not being cool anymore, will be out 'this holiday season' for DS, 3DS, Wii, Xbox and PS3. Mike Jackson
THQ MX Vs. ATV Alive DLC experiment was
THQ CEO Brian Farrell has admitted that an experimental new pricing structure the publisher tried with MX vs. ATV Alive 'was not a success'.In an attempt to "take some of our learnings from the free-to-play market and apply them to the console world", THQ released the off road racer at the budget price of $39.99, with less content on the disc than you'd expect in a full-price title, but placing a bigger focus on regular and substantial paid DLC packs that would allow players to selectively purchase the elements of the game they wanted.But Farrell said in a recent earnings call that while the reduced entry price "gave us good acceleration of sales, it just wasn't enough to drive the installed base to what we wanted to do". Ignoring factors such as the poor reviews for the game (63 and 62-out-of-100 Metacritic averages on Xbox and PS3 respectively), Farrell deemed the pricing structure a failure. "Our takeaway there is it's not a great model in the console market because with the high fixed cost of goods in the current console model, you can't get the price point low enough to drive that installed base for the client out there to drive the DLC."We thought the idea was (and still is) an interesting one - just poorly executed. The game, to start with, just wasn't good enough; the on-disc content was overly minimal to point of it feeling like a rip off despite the slightly lower price tag. But the thought of being able to pay for the parts of a game you want and leave out the parts you don't is appealing. We'd be interested to see how this build-it-yourself structure would work with a more desirable franchise - like Call of Duty, for example - and with a starting package that warrants the entry price tag and better-timed, more substantial DLC releases that truly allow gamers to craft the game they want.