General Game News

[mrbasehart]

If it were Lego, it'd probably be 5 times the price.   

[Compound]

If it were Lego, it'd probably be 5 times the price.   

Not really. The Stormwind Set above is about 900 pieces and runs $99. The Lego Moria set is about 800 and $80 and Helm's Deep is 1350 pieces for $130.

Meh. I'll just find a Murloc hat or something to sate my need for WoW stuff.

[Compound]

Reports are surfacing that Nintendo will be revealing a lot of stuff about the Wii U on the 13th of September. In addition, that seems to be the first day you'll be able to preorder them as well.

[Pak-Man]

More Skyrim DLC on the way!

http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/08/28/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-hearthfire-announced

Buy some real-estate! Build a house! Settle down and Raise a family! Join the PTA! Buy some sensible shoes and a Chevrolet!

[Variety of Cells]

Im in. Whenever they decide to randomly release it for the PC. I'm guessing they aren't in a rush though, because of you really want to build a house you already can with the creation kit.

EDIT:  Here's the trailer. 

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/TvhQZoyZn1g?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/TvhQZoyZn1g?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US</a>

It's funny how if you had no idea what Skyrim was, this trailer would make it seem pretty boring.  But considering all this stuff is added into this already huge game, it sounds awesome.  I'm actually quite excited for it.  Having a nice place to display all the stuff I've collected will be cool.  My stone shelf in Markarth piled high with centurion dynamo cores is well... it's a little messy.

[bigheadtodd82]

And I just traded my Skyrim after finishing Dawnguard:(  (sad trombone)

[SJP]

Speaking of Skyrim...for the life of me, I can't remember what site I got this from (it's one of the many game*insert word here*.com websites, and from what I gather it's generally reputable) that apparently the good people at Bethesda view the PS3 as some sort of alien artifact beyond their comprehension...as in, there's a good chance the bugs in Dawnguard are so insurmountable that they may never release it for the PS3.

So, here's Bethesda's RPG track record for the past ten years or so:
Elder Scrolls IV: 360, PC, PS3.  DLC breaks the main game's vampire side quest; you own the GOTY edition, you're screwed.  Only bypassable by not getting GOTY edition or buying it for PC and hacking.  This elephant in the room, fixable by reportedly moving a quotation mark back to where it should have gone, was never patched, not even for 5th anniversary re-release.  However, horse armor can be purchased for $1.99.

Fallout 3: 360, PC, PS3.  Random crashes across the board, but PS3 notable for ridiculous frame-rate stutters in PS3 DLC content.  Was patched to fix minor bugs, but stutter was never fixed.

Fallout New Vegas: 360, PC, PS3.  First time Bethesda was called out by the industry at large by releasing a game that was unplayable on ALL platforms upon release.  Quite possibly the most work Bethesda has ever done to actually fix buggy code.

Skyrim: 360, PC, PS3.  Bugs across the board once again, but PS3 version stutters like Fallout 3 used to.  360 and PC get problems fixed and DLC as promised, Bethesda finally admits they have no one on-staff that understands how a PS3 operates despite the system existing for 5+ years.  Bioware finally gets to laugh that, despite outcry against the ending of Mass Effect 3, at least PS3 owners can PLAY to the end without trouble.

Maybe Sony is partially to blame for having what is apparently very stringent policies on hardware access, but really, Bethesda really needs to get somebody in charge who knows what they're doing.  I mean, the Silent Hill HD Collection at least has a variety of damn good excuses as to why they released a broken product (despite the fact that it probably should never have come out at all, considering the factors).  But this is an age where most games released are cross-platform titles...hell, even Valve, who are best known for their work in the PC market, figured out how to get a PS3 and PC to game with each other on Portal 2, and STILL have a working game released for the 360 despite Microsoft disallowing cross-platform play.  For Bethesda, a company that releases games that have good stories and otherwise good gameplay, to not be able to hire anyone who knows how a PS3 works is an embarrassment.  That, AND they have a long and undistinguished track record of releasing titles that are half-finished, beyond even the ones I mentioned.  Call of Cthulhu, anyone?

But then, this might be why getting those exclusivity deals with Microsoft might be a detriment.  They've spent so much time with the 360 and PC that they know all the tricks and shortcuts to making stuff work on those systems, and never bothered to learn the secrets of the PS3.  I can only imagine whose brains would be exploding if they ever tried to tackle the Wii or WiiU one of these days...

[Henry88]

you know we need a thread just for game bugs

[Pak-Man]

Here's Bethesda saying they just don't know if they can get Dawnguard to work on PS3:

http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/08/31/skyrim-dlc-on-playstation-3-may-never-happen

[Compound]

Aw, son of a...

City Of Heroes Shutting Down, Paragon Studio Closing

NCSoft has decided to pull the plug on City of Heroes once and for all. The game and the studio working on the game, Paragon Studio, will be no more. In case it wasn't made clear enough, imagine NCSoft is Bane and Paragon Studio/City of Heroes is Batman...now imagine Bane just breaks Batman's back. Eh, only this time Batman stays broke.

Despite going free-to-play during the late-middle of 2011, Paragon sent out the sad words earlier today notifying gamers and the community at large that they will no longer be employed to work on City of Heroes. Community manager Andy Belford makes it clear that gamers shouldn't be sad, but should be happy about the great experiences and time afford in City of Heroes, saying...

    Thank you. Thank you for your years of support. You've been with us every step of the way, sharing in our challenges, encouraging us to make City of Heroes better, more than everyone else thought it could be. We couldn't have come this far without you. I implore you all, focus on the good things of CoH and Paragon Studios. Don't dwell on the "how" or the "why", but rather join us in celebrating the legacy of an amazing partnership between the players and the development team.

Belford explains further up in the goodbye letter that effectively immediately the cash shop for City of Heroes will be closing and all subscription fees and billing will come to cessation. The game and its services are expected to come to a full end before the year is out and Paragon has stopped developing content for the game.

Shoot. CoH was a great little game and despite my best efforts, I never got the chance to fully explore it.  You'll be missed. Now, I'm off to kil a few more skuls.

[Henry88]

Recent reports indicate that the launch of Microsoft's next-gen Xbox 720 may be delayed due to chip shortages.

According to Silicon Valley tech guru Charlie Demerjian, the Xbox 720 "Oban" processor is being run through multiple fabs in high quantities. However, chip yields have been described as being "painfully low."

Report: Xbox 720 may be delayed by chip shortage

"Given the sheer number of wafers Microsoft contracted for, this seems to be both an anticipated problem, and one they have plans to work through," Demerjian explained in a detailed analysis posted on SemiAccurate.

 "That said, SemiAccurate's sources are still reporting there is much work to be done, yields are not even up to 'horrid' yet."



As such, says Demerjian, Redmond is attempting to dual or triple source the parts, hoping that one foundry will manage to fix things ahead of the rest.



"If production wafers are really going in this year, the last time a foundry can run a test wafer is about November 1," Demerjian noted. 

"Anything after that day will not come out of the fab in time for the results to be fed back in to the production chips. That is the technical term for ‘[yes], the XBox Next is going to be delayed.’"


Nevertheless, it appears as if there may be "some slack" in the production schedule, meaning approximately six to eight weeks of delay is possible before the launch would have to be pushed back.



"That meshes well with what SemiAccurate knows about silicon production times and ODM capabilities. Microsoft insiders tell us that the planned launch date is September 2013, and that is not changing without heads rolling internally," he added.



In related news, EA exec Frank Gibeau recently told GamesIndustry.biz that Microsoft's Xbox 720 and Sony's Playstation 4 (PS4) are shaping up to be "spectacular" consoles. 


"I've seen the machines that we're building games for, and they're spectacular. Gen 4 hardware is a huge opportunity, and it's going to lead to a huge growth spurt for the industry.

"The only thing that could really displace that is really high-end tablets and IPTV and IPTV is further out than just a couple of years. But those are the only two places I see that kind of risk occurring, and the good news for EA is that we're going to publish across all of them. We might ultimately find that to our advantage."



Although Microsoft and Sony have decline to name a launch date for their respected systems, Gibeau believes both next-gen consoles will launch "in about a year's time."



http://www.tgdaily.com/games-and-entertainment-features/65915-report-xbox-720-launch-may-be-delayed-by-chip-shortages

Star Wars is more than just a series of movies or your typical franchise.

Indeed, the expansive Star Wars universe has become modern folklore for fans all over the world, alongside a virtual industry of merchandise, especially games and toys. The Star Wars video games have been especially impressive, and The Force Unleashed got major press for being, as the cliché goes, a game changer way back in 2008.

Can Free to Play save Star Wars: The Old Republic?
 
At the same time, all has not been well in the Empire. As we recently reported here on TG, "No gamer is likely to forget all the buzz and hoopla surround Star Wars: the Old Republic [which] kicked off with over 1.7 million subscribers, yet slowly lost a significant number of players as time went by." 



How significant? According to reports, it went from 1.7 million to less than a million in a nine-month period.
 
In an effort to try and save the game, Star Wars: The Old Republic is switching to a free-to-play model. BioWare is a division of Electronic Arts, who released The Old Republic, and their new general manager Matt Bromberg told CVG, "My primary intention to to make as many people play this beautiful game that we've made... A lot of other games that have moved from subscription to hybrid haven't lost as many customers as you might think, in fact a lot of them have gained subscribers."
 
While no one can predict the impact of having a free to play model and if it will help revive the game, Bromberg added, "We do think the numbers will grow steadily, but we're not looking for some enormous surge on day one."
 
Now could also be a good time to try and resurrect the game because there's a big gaming season coming up this fall with Halo 4, Call of Duty, and many other long awaited games about to hit the market. As we've previously discussed, the gaming industry is also trying to embrace free to play as a way to try and combat piracy, and the Old Republic could benefit from this, as well as the next big surge in the market.
 
As Bromberg told CVG: "We looked at where the market opportunity was, and it seemed clear to us that a game as big and broad as Star Wars was well suited for the free-to-play model... We looked at it and thought, what is the size of opportunity for your brand?



"There are tens of millions of Star Wars fans, how many have tried our game? How many would like to try it? The awareness of the brand is really high so what's standing in the way? We found that people who gave it a try but left found the subscription to be the biggest barrier. So it was a pretty straightforward decision for us."

http://www.tgdaily.com/games-and-entertainment-features/65888-can-free-to-play-save-star-wars-the-old-republic

[Henry88]

http://kotaku.com/5941179/its-time-for-jrpgs-to-get-rid-of-voice-acting

the only people i want to shut up is the complainers. 

[Compound]

Well, here's something cool and infuriating at the same time.

Popcap, in association with the American Dental Association, is offering something special this Halloween. They're out to stop zombie mouth!So instead of giving out boring old candy, give out FUN instead! Fun in this case means copies of Plants vs. Zombies.

Ask if your local dentist has the limited-edition, collectible Plants vs. Zombies™ trading cards with the code for a free Plants vs. Zombies download game. Or, download printable free-game coupons here.

While this is a rather infuriating (to me) nannyistic whining from the ADA, (It's Halloween. Let the kids have candy a few times a year. Concentrate on, oh say, the amount of soda they're drinking before you tackle the once or twice a year things) if you'd like to give out candy to the little ones along with a copy of PvZ, well, here you go. But don't just hand out coupons for a copy of the game. That's just cheap.

And that's at http://www.stopzombiemouth.com/ BTW. Which is not the same site as www.stopcowboymouth.com or www.stopsmashmouth.com or www.stoplemonademouth.com

[Variety of Cells]

Well, here's something cool and infuriating at the same time.

Popcap, in association with the American Dental Association, is offering something special this Halloween. They're out to stop zombie mouth!So instead of giving out boring old candy, give out FUN instead! Fun in this case means copies of Plants vs. Zombies.

Ask if your local dentist has the limited-edition, collectible Plants vs. Zombies™ trading cards with the code for a free Plants vs. Zombies download game. Or, download printable free-game coupons here.

While this is a rather infuriating (to me) nannyistic whining from the ADA, (It's Halloween. Let the kids have candy a few times a year. Concentrate on, oh say, the amount of soda they're drinking before you tackle the once or twice a year things) if you'd like to give out candy to the little ones along with a copy of PvZ, well, here you go. But don't just hand out coupons for a copy of the game. That's just cheap.

And that's at http://www.stopzombiemouth.com/ BTW. Which is not the same site as www.stopcowboymouth.com or www.stopsmashmouth.com or www.stoplemonademouth.com

The nations optometrists, after hearing of this, were quoted as saying "What the fuck guys?  I mean come on, kids strain their eyes enough as it is.  I thought we were on the same team."  They then proceeded to give their patients sugar filled mouth guards. 

[Compound]

Hmmm.

Chris "Wing Commander" Roberts just announced a new company "Cloud Imperium Games" and his website http://robertsspaceindustries.com/start/ seems to be counting down to something. (The access code, BTW, is 42.)

It won't be Wing Commander (That's owned by EA) but it might be Wing Commander-ish. In any case, we'll see what's up on October 10th.