B3yond the Report 10.27.09: Netflix Comes to PS3 and the Dragon Age is Un-Delayed
Posted by Jon Seddon on 10.27.2009
God of War III's lazy DLC, Netflix coming to PS3, PS3 tops sales charts, Bioware moves up Dragon Age: Origins release, Fat Princess maps on the way, and more!
This is the week that PlayStation 3 sales went through the roof and Netflix was announced, bringing hundreds of films to Sony's console. I've been finding it difficult to notice any of this though, having spent the last week playing Demon's Souls, which is a must play for everyone that likes games that don't just do what other games have done.
This is also the week that will see a big dent in pocket books if you buy into the special editions of DJ Hero and Tekken 6.
Top Stories
Netflix Coming to PS3
Yesterday, this would probably have been my rumor of the week, but via the PlayStation Blog, it's now a fact. As early as next month you'll be able to stream Netflix movies and TV programs via your PS3, although nowhere does it say whether HD content will be available. What you'll be watching is also missing from the press release, but it does offer you the chance to "access thousands of items from the XMB", so it'll probably be a fairly good selection of stuff.
Jack Tretton is obviously pleased to be adding what was seen as a key 360 differentiator to the PS3, saying, "The PlayStation 3 system has always been about more than just gaming, and it will soon be the only platform in the industry to offer consumers such a variety of convenient options for enjoying movies and TV shows".
To access this content will require you insert a disc into your PS3, but this will be sent out free to Netflix subscribers. Once in possession of the disc, you'll be able to queue up and play content from PS3 menus and you'll also be able to view movie synopsis and rate content. If you're not already a subscriber, unlimited movies are yours for $8.99 a month.
Anyone with a broadband connection and a PS3 must be pretty pleased about, as long as you live in North America as Netflix isn't currently available elsewhere. The combination of Blu-Ray, Sony's own downloadable movie store and now Netflix cements the PS3 as a solid workhorse in your lounge. I had to tail off the hyperbole at the end of that last sentence, before I started writing Sony's marketing copy for them.
This generation of consoles is becoming the most useful entertainment devices we've ever had as more and more content providers see the benefit of getting their service into the homes of gamers, who are usually avid consumers of other media. The PS3 is also a route to more HD content, which is certainly an attraction in the UK, where HD is still not widely available and often charged at a premium.
No doubt our PS3s will require another firmware upgrade to accommodate this.
NPD Results - PS3 tops the console charts
They were out a day later than usual this month, but now they're out it's clear that the new PS3 SKUs have made a difference at retail with sales of 492 thousands putting it in second place behind the DS with its 525 thousand units. No need to feel bad about second though as this is the first time the PS3 has been above the 360, even though 360 sales were also boosted by a price cut.
1. Nintendo DS (524,500)
2. Sony PlayStation 3 (491,800)
3. Nintendo Wii (462,800)
4. Microsoft Xbox 360 (352,600)
5. Sony PSP (190,400)
6. Sony PlayStation 2 (146,000)
Everyone cut prices this month and so hardware revenue wasn't up, unit sales showed marked increase, which is ultimately what it's all about, unless you're selling units at a massive loss. Sony had a week on week increase of 87%. Hopefully, this isn't just a blip in sales and is the start of a trend which sees PS3 sell well, but overall the whole market grow. Only with continuing console sales will we see continued investment in games and the more risky games that in a recession are the first one's to fall by the way side.
Talking about the games it was an overall strong month for games sales with a 5% increase on sales, compared to this time last year. Disappointingly though only Madden and Batman made the top 10 for PS3 in the all format charts.
Dragon Age: Origins and it's bonus content
It's worth talking about; just because Bioware confirmed that it'll be coming to PS3 sooner than previously advertised. In the summer it was announced that the PS3 version would be delayed due to some development troubles, but it seems that the team have turned it around. In the PS3's favor, the 360 and PC versions also suffered minor delays, which now means that there will be a simultaneous launch on November 3rd.
Dragon Age is following a growing trend for publishers offering additional in game content, which is either only available for pre-ordering customers or else isn't resalable, devaluing the pre-owned version. There are various bonuses and special editions available which were detailed previously on 411 .The permutations are pretty complicated, but at it's simplest, you get an experience boosting item if you pre-order, you get extra campaign content if you buy a new copy and you get a bunch of physical items if you get the special edition. Additionally, if you pick your retailer correctly, you'll get even more in game content. Last thing of note for 360 owners is that the Dragon Armor is also usable if you get Mass Effect 2.
I have been carefully weighing this up and trying to fathom which version to get, but luckily, EA is catering to other side of my psyche by offering a cloth map for the Special Edition. If Oblivion had offered a cloth map, I'd definitely been up for the Special Edition. I don't have a problem with Special Editions, but in this case it seems like there are too many permutations and options, meaning you may never get that special trinket that was offered at another store. The other problem with special editions is that you don't even know you wanted the special edition until you've played the game to death. A case in point is Fallout 3, which really wasn't on my must have list when it first came out. Over 100 game hours later, I almost bought another copy because my local game store had some of the special editions left with the Bobble Heads.
I haven't seen a review yet, but according to Gamestop, the game got a 9/10 in Game Informer. Hopefully, it'll turn out a worthwhile game on PS3, even if it might well have to wait until the summer of next year before I can devote the required hours of play.
God of War III Challenge rooms - lazy DLC?
A game isn't worth it's salt these days unless it is quickly followed up by some downloadable content. Occasionally, this angers the consumer, when it appears like we're having to pay for something that's on the disc; RE5 came in for some fire earlier this year, regardless of the rights and wrongs of their vs. mode. When done correctly it serves the purpose of extending the life of a game, keeping in the hands of the original owner and sometimes even generating some extra revenue for the publisher.
God of War III will join in this party when it's released next year, at least there's a strong hint for that being the case. In an interview with GamePro, the producer Stig Asmussen said of downloadable content and challenge rooms in particular, "It would make a lot of sense to be able to download them. So, maybe you'll see the game ship with a certain amount of challenges on it, then later on, we might put a download pack out with new challenges."
I have to say I didn't even remember challenge rooms being a part of God of War, initially blaming Batman for their inclusion here. I suspect that, similarly to Batman, challenge rooms will only be a very minor distraction for me as I like my games in the main to be narrative driven. I also suspect that this is the cheapest way for Sony to add DLC - well not the cheapest way - you could add some new costumes for Kratos. A challenge room or area can easily use any of the existing in game assets and areas and just mix things up with new enemies of even new and different waves of enemies. There's nothing wrong in re-using areas, which games like Gears of War, Modern Warfare and other shooters do for their multi-player content, but as soon as you are using it for multi-player you're by default getting a very different experience.
There's nothing to say that God of War will just recycling it's content and call it new, but even if they do create some new playgrounds, how will they offer anything other experiences you will have played out again and again by the time you've finished the story mode. I'm quite obviously not a game designer, so I'm not expecting to second guess the developers but hopefully they'll bring something fresh to the table.
This year we have seen how to do DLC well with extra story for Fallout 3 and how to do it badly with all that crazy Street Fighter clothing. I'd like to see something other than just score chasing for Kratos and perhaps a couple of new chapters exploring other parts of the back story. They could even have a go at making levels of the excellent Chains of Olympus available in 720P.
Fat Princess - new maps coming soon
I'm not sure whether any of you are still playing this game, which I never really got into, but Titan studios are still supporting it. This week they released a substantial new patch, taking the game to version 1.03 that includes a bunch of game play tweaks and balancing changes. It also includes the New Pork City map that was announced a few months ago and can be seen in action here:
Amongst the stuff that's been fixed include:
> Team switching has been modified to try and keep teams more even, encouraging players to change sides if they become too uneven
> Online leaderboards will contain more than the top 1000 players and will be reset shortly
> Character classes have been modified changing things such as movement speed and attack strength
> Trophy bugs have been fixed
> New control schemes giving you the option to use R1 for attack
Far from me to suggest that had some of these things been fixed in the beta they might now have a bigger community still playing, which might have something to do with giving the new map away for free.
And Finally....The Return of Matt Hazard
The last Matt Hazard game had a marvelous concept that persuaded me to give it a chance despite the very poor review scores. They were right and I was wrong and it was sold on long before it had frustrated me to the point of either finishing it or destroying my controller. It was a decent concept with some good ideas in the levels I did play, but ultimately the game designers and the level designers must not have seen eye to eye. Controls and difficulty spikes left you seething with rage even if the idea of using water pistols as weapons had initially seemed charming.
I still though have a soft spot for the idea of the yesteryear game character making a comeback in this new and daunting world of the hi def 3D world. I've got not idea how well the game sold, but it seems that some execs somewhere must have thought the same as me, because the comeback kid is making a comeback.
Gametrailers had a couple of trailers on this week and they showed a simpler game, putting the hero in a sideways scrolling game, which will be out as a smaller downloadable title called Matt Hazard: Blood Bath & Beyond. The footage doesn't prove it's going to be any better than the first game, but hopefully with only two dimensions to worry about; the game designers won't get in the way of the good ideas.
A lot to tempt you this week on the store despite your wallet feeling the strain from the retail storm. Trine finally gets a release and its worth checking out of you're into your 2.5D platformers. I gave it a 7.5 when I reviewed it. Definitely a decent game, but one that ran out of ideas before it ran out of levels.
There are 3 demos as well this week with the star being Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in Time. This demo lets you control Clank and manipulate time in ways that look awesome and
PS1 gets Oddworld: Abe's Odyssey and Abe's Exodus, which were never to my taste but some people, loved these quirky platformers, but they seem a little pricey at $10 a go.
I don't normally mention Rock Band content, despite buying a ton of it, but this week you might want to check out the Queen content. A pack of 10 classics including Under Pressure, I Want to Break Free and Killer Queen for only $15.99.
For PSP another bunch of classics and new titles are added to the store, including Liberty City Stories, the Warriors and Marvel Super Hero Squad. There's also a demo for Star Wars Battlefront if you're so inclined.
This week sees the best Ratchet game of this generation take on Tekken 6 and DJ Hero, which provides a pretty varied collection of massive releases. It's potentially a hugely expensive week if you were to pick up the Renegade DJ version of DJ Hero and the Special Edition of Tekken 6, which comes with a wireless fight stick. I'm about six Ratchet games behind the curve and after my experiences of DJ Hero at Gamescom, I'll probably not rush out and buy that either, but I do really want a wireless stick. Whether it's worth nearly as much as a console though! All decent games and you won't go wrong with any of them.
PS3
Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in Time
Tekken 6
DJ Hero
Fairytale Fights
Jurassic the Hunted
PSP
Petz Saddle Club
Petz Dog Family
Petz Hamsterz Bunch
Mytran Wars
Ben 10: Alien Force Vilgax Attacks
Ghostbusters
PS2
Ni Hao, Kai-Lan: Super Game Day
DJ Hero
Ben 10: Alien Force Vilgax Attacks
Jurassic the Hunted
Dance Dance Revolution X2
What I've Been Playing
Uncharted. Before I got carried away with the sequel, I thought I should go back and actually complete the first game. By complete, I mean I should restart it again, as it's been nearly 2 years since I last started it. When I booted it up I was struck by how good it looks, but how much of an improvement the sequel is. A combination of the lighting model, the palette and the animation still provide a graphical feast above that of most currently released games. What is noticeable though is how plastic everything looks, but in game this isn't really noticeable.
Given a little more slack in my game playing schedule, I think I would probably have romped through it in a couple of days, but it's competing against games I need to finish for review and the might of...
Demon's Souls. This is one crazily great game and it's really hard to encapsulate what makes it such a great experience. If, when talking about a game you said that you will die a lot in this game and each time you die, the last minutes or hours of gameplay will be almost erased, you might think you were listening to a description of something 20 years old. You might also be mistaken for thinking it sounded like broken game design if describing a modern game.
That is essentially though your experience of Demon's Souls and whilst dying does make you want to scream in the greatest anguish, you do, within minutes, want to play again. What the game gives you is a drip feed of new experience and promise.
The game gives a little more with each play and this is quite literal as you will probably get a little further each time you try a level as you learn from your mistakes, whether it be the attack pattern of a new demon or the best route to avoid taking too much damage. It then gives a little more with its items, which you do keep between your multiple deaths. An example is a magic ring that boosts your hit points. Suddenly, you become a whole lot less vulnerable the next time you work through that tricky part.
If this isn't mentioned in game of the year debates, then something has gone wrong, but I can definitely imagine it not being for everyone. Who will love it and loathe it though isn't obvious. It's not twitch reflex difficult like a shooter, but it does punish you mercilessly for poor choices and recklessness.
Borderlands. After me talking this up so much last week, I thought I better at least play a little of it. With my current schedule, it's not going to get much more play time until I've finished Uncharted, WWE and a bunch of other stuff. First impressions provide you with a game that just looks stunning, and something that's beautifully presented and has a great soundtrack. I was seriously struggling with the controls to start with though, finding them much too twitchy, with the aiming reticule flying madly about the screen. Notching the acceleration down a bit helped, but they still don't feel as solid as a really great shooter. Can't say any more than that at the moment, but hopefully I'll get back to this one soon.
Motorstorm: Arctic Edge. The quality of the games coming to PSP these days are streets ahead of stuff coming out even a year ago. MotorStorm is truly a game showing what the portable can do with great graphics, tons of content and robust online racing. Every bit as much fun as the PS3 games with probably even more modes and content. I've finished quite a few races, but have barely scratched the service of all the events and vehicles on offer. The format is really portable friendly as well with races that are short, exhilarating and the controls have been tweaked to make them work really well with the analog stick, which is so often a sticking point
The Beatles: Rock Band. We finally got round to finishing this off at the weekend and it's been an enjoyable if fairly short lived game play experience. I'm not likely to just to want to switch it on just to play Beatles songs, although I did enjoy them. Without the world tour mode of Rock Band proper the experience feels just a little slight, but the Trophies/ Achievements seem like they're aimed at increasing your enjoyment, if you do indeed enjoy practicing long enough to be able gold star songs on expert. Note scores in the 90% range on hard are my limit. If only you were able to import these songs into Rock Band 2.
WWE Smackdown vs. RAW 2010. My previous wrestling game experiences were limited to about a half hour play of last year's Smackdown and then before that a game by Epyx on the Commodore 64. I might be soon coming to a realization that those have been wasted years as I am having a great deal of fun throwing my weight around the ring. I'm also enjoying creating the wrestlers from childhood days, even if the tools don't quite allow for the overweight jolly giants of 30 years ago.
Well I didn't get to talk about Tekken 6 this week, but then I didn't get my hands on it as I'd planned. There's always next week when I'll hopefully be able to give you a hands on verdict on the stick. I'll also be going to the Golden Joystick Awards, which are the UK video game awards, so hopefully there'll be a few stories from that.
I was all about downloading the Ratchet and Clank demo until I saw that it was over 2GB in size. Screw that for a demo.
Posted By: Steve307 (Guest) on October 26, 2009 at 11:21 PM
I'm surprised I haven't seen more 360 damage control from posters/writers. The loss of exclusive Netflix content is a major blow to the 360's appeal. For you to access the service you need a Gold account. For the PS3, you just need a Netflix account (the $8.99 per month).
Posted By: Guest#9980 (Guest) on October 27, 2009 at 01:35 AM
I called Netflix about the disc, the disc IS the update, and the 8.99 is just the generic netflix subscription (i.e. you still get the one-two at home at a time, and not only can you stream to your PS3 but to your computer/notebook as well)... Netflix makes Blockbuster look like even more crap than they already were. (Blockbuster is the only video store available around here besides 2 REALLY Sketchy Hollywood Video stores)
Posted By: M:-X (Guest) on October 27, 2009 at 08:08 AM
"There's nothing to say that God of War will just recycling it's content and call it new, but even if they do create some new playgrounds, how will they offer anything other experiences you will have played out again and again by the time you've finished the story mode."
To get an answer, try the challenge rooms in God of War 1 and 2. They were pretty unique.
Posted By: Guy (Guest) on October 27, 2009 at 10:13 AM
I am a proud 360 owner and I am more than happy about the PS3 Netflix announcement. As the differences between the Sony and MS online networks become less distinct, the one big difference, the fees, will become more apparent. This will hopefully pressure MS to drop the fees for Live altogether. Exclusive features are great for console flame wars, but in the end, they just make your gaming cost more than it should.
Just a comment on Netflix streaming, it's worth the $8.99 a month for just that alone.
Posted By: Wii60 (Guest) on October 27, 2009 at 11:50 AM
"The loss of exclusive Netflix content is a major blow to the 360's appeal."
How so? They still have Netflix and it's integrated into the system. They didn't lose anything but exclusivity and that really doesn't mean all that much.
Posted By: lol (Guest) on October 27, 2009 at 12:46 PM
"How so? They still have Netflix and it's integrated into the system. They didn't lose anything but exclusivity and that really doesn't mean all that much"
Actually, it does from the standpoint there are less, and less reasons to pay for XBL. Microsoft is facing stiff competition from Sony and Nintendo. As PSN and XBL become more and more the same, the only glaring problem is one is free and you pay for the other.
A mature individual can see that Microsoft may soon be in the position to offer XBL for free. If they do not, then they are in some real trouble. As I have stated elsewhere, Microsoft is suffering from the same hubris that cost Sony this generation/the start of this generation.
Posted By: Guest#1934 (Guest) on October 27, 2009 at 06:21 PM
Microsoft could easily make Live free for elite console owners and still charge arcade owners, all the more incentive to buy their top console. With all the current subscribers, you just give them a credit in MS points for the remaining balance of their Live subscriptions. That way they can continue their pay model for a smaller audience while being able to say their service is free just like Sony.
Posted By: Wii60 (Guest) on October 28, 2009 at 04:51 PM
