Four Player Co-Op 12.01.09: WoW, Cheap Games, And The Wii Conundrum

Posted by Rod Oracheski on 12.01.2009

Did World of Warcraft's birthday mean anything to you? Will we see cheaper games in 2010? Can third party games sell on the Wii? The 411mania crew tackle these questions and more, this week in Four Player Co-Op.

Todd Vote has joined the game.
Rod Oracheski has joined the game.
Ramon Aranda has joined the game.

Question One: Monday was World of Warcraft's fifth birthday. Question is...are you one of the millions playing? If so, how's the game changed? If not, are you a 'never played' or a 'played and quit' and why?

Todd Vote

I'm a never played, for two seperate reasons really. I've never had a PC with enough power to play the game properly. Secondly, it's my tendency to stray away from most things RPG. Now the comments can light up about my lack of interest in the RPG genre, but after 20 years of gaming, I know what I like, and I tend to stick to it. I'm always willing to try new things if they catch my eye, but so far the RPG's that have been able to do that have been few and far between. I'm not knockin Warcraft or RPG's, but it's just never been my cup of tea.

Rod Oracheski

I played WoW, but quit a couple years back (just after the Lich King expansion was announced) and don't have any plans to go back. I just got tired of the loot/leveling treadmill, burned out after doing some 'endgame' raiding and didn't like the changes made to the high-level PVP game so I decided to walk away. A guy has since made me an offer for the account and I gave it up without regrets.

Even at the point I quit, the game had changed considerably from what it was when it launched - mostly for the better, but also with a real focus on making things easier and easier for casual players. From what I've read of more recent patch notes, it seems like that focus has continued - shifting away from bigger raids and into more small group content. Seems to work for them, with millions of active accounts, but I doubt I'll be back.

The only thing I really regret was that I never got a chance to check out Blizzard's take on Achievements.

Ramon Aranda

I never played the game as I'm just not a fan of MMORPGs. That being said, I'm actually looking forward to Lucas Arts' Star Wars: The Old Republic as I got a first hand look at E3. It's a world I'd rather be in than one based off of Warcraft - sorry. On the other hand if we had an MMO based on Starcraft, I might be willing to give it a go. Orcs and wizards and all that jazz? No thanks.

---

Question Two: An EEDAR analyst foresees cheaper games in our future! The analyst predicts the median price of Xbox 360 and PS3 games will decline by approximately $10 (to $49.99) in 2010. Not so fast on the celebration though, as the report says we'll get that lower median price via an increase in budget-priced casual titles and the release of Natal and Sony's motion controls - those big-budget blockbusters will still retail for $59.99. Believe or disbelieve, and do you think cheaper game prices are the way to go?

Todd Vote

I think we need new industry analysts. Seriously, where do these guys get these predictions? I think out of that whole question, just like each time these people speak up, only one part will be true. In this case I am guessing that the Natal game prices will be $59.99. So they have one good prediction in a mess of "throwing shit at the wall". I don't think we will ever see the price of games go down. $59.99 will be the standard till they shoot up another $5-10. Why lower the price when people are buying?

Rod Oracheski

I think it'll happen, but I don't really see Natal or Sony's motion controls as the impetus at all. We're four years into the generation, and the consoles have hit a point where those shovelware budget-priced games make financial sense. After all, the charts used in the EEDAR report show that was the case last gen as well.

In addition, there have been some efforts to push software with opening day price breaks as well - most notably Batman: Arkham Asylum and Borderlands, both priced at $39.99 for first-day sales at a number of outlets. With both garnering massive sales, it may be that we'll see that strategy employed more and more in the future.

However, I do take exception with the idea they put forward that no publisher is in the financial position to trade immediate profit for market share. With DLC proving a viable revenue stream, there might be a publisher out there who sees the potential to make up for that lost revenue at the cash register with post-sale revenue from downloadable add-ons.

Ramon Aranda

To be frank, analysts don't know SHIT. In fact, I'm quite tired of hearing news articles about what so and so analyst says about this game or that console etc. Shut the hell up! That being said, I think a price point of $49.99 for a game is just about right given the amount of content and anal raping we've gotten from some publishers by way of excessive DLC that could've been in the game in the first place. As for those $59.99 games, I guess it would be OK for blockbuster games but it damn well better be worth our while. I want to be convinced a game is worth that much.

---

Question Three: If you buy a new Alienware computer, it's going to come preloaded with Steam. What's your thoughts - is this going to matter?

Todd Vote

Isn't this a good thing? Steam is the PC streaming game service, right? I'm not much of a PC gamer, but this sounds like a good deal.

Rod Oracheski

I don't really understand this 'agreement' at all. I mean Steam is a free application that just anyone could download. Furthermore, chances are pretty good that anyone buying an Alienware computer already has a Steam account in the first place, so all this is really doing is saving them a couple minutes worth of installation.

It's certainly not a dealbreaker as to whether or not I'd buy an Alienware over some other brand, and I'd be more likely to just build my own in any case.

Ramon Aranda

Nope. I never have owned an Alienware computer nor do I plan on owning one. They're ugly. As for preloaded Steam..well if you go with one of those PCs, you're likely a gamer so why not. You don't have to use it if you don't want to. No one seems to bitch that computers come with Chess and the God awful Solitaire.

---

Question Four: New York is testing the feasibility of using Xbox Live to disseminate information on terrorist attacks and natural disasters. Is this an idea that's worth exploring, or just a waste of money?

Todd Vote

Worth exploring, I think. Anything that can get warnings about these kind of things to people earlier is a good thing. I mean if you aren't watching TV, it would be okay to see a ticker or something go across your screen to let you know of major happenings. Right now it is in early stages, so we don't know exactly how it will work, but it seems like a good idea for now.

Rod Oracheski

Anything that gets the news of an emergency out is worthwhile, I guess. I can't see this being too expensive of a project, so go nuts - just don't use it unless it really is an emergency. Let's not go crazy with the definition of 'emergency' though.

A terrorist attack? Fine. A heavy snow warning? Forget about it.

Ramon Aranda

The government needs to stay way the fuck out of range of our games. The last thing I need is Joe 'I wear suits everyday' Blowhorn sending me a message on Xbox Live while playing Modern Warfare 2, wondering what I meant when I said, "let's shoot this fucker in the face". It's a waste.

---

Question Five: The new 'season' of Xbox Live's 1 vs 100 just kicked off. Do you think the 'live production' style of game has a shot of catching on, and if so what's another game show you'd like to see converted over?

Todd Vote

I did play quite a bit the first season. What I took away from it is people have already figured out how to glitch the answers or something. I can get every answer right and answer most fairly quickly, yet I am still like 4000 on the scoreboard due to someone have 0.00 reaction time? How do you have 0.00 reaction time? Another thing I would like to see improved is a more even play field to be part of the 1 or the 100. I played the whole season last year and not once did I make it out of the crowd. What is the point if you are just sitting and answering trivia questions.

I was excited when I first heard about 1 vs. 100, but I lost excitement as it went on. I think the premise has water, but they need to figure out a way to get more people involved other than just in the crowd or interest is going to wane, quickly.

Rod Oracheski

I played the first season quite a bit, but still haven't managed to catch an episode of the second season due to some scheduling conflicts. I guess that's the downside of this kind of game, though - if you can't be on at the right time, you can't just can't play.

That said, I made it into the Mob a half-dozen times or so in the first season and I'm hoping that trend can continue. The best I've done as a member of the Crowd is 9th overall, which isn't good enough for prizes! The idea of winning something keeps bringing me back, and it helps that the trivia part of the game is entertaining. This year actually saw quite a few improvements as well, with the addition of leveling your Avatar - another carrot to dangle out in front of players.

I don't really know what gameshow I'd like to see adapted, as I don't watch a whole lot of them. I didn't actually know 1 vs 100 was a real gameshow until the PR for the game talked about it. I don't know any that would work for a live game the way 1 vs 100 does. It would have to be trivia based, with a formula that allows a great number of players a chance at winning. Readers have any ideas?

Ramon Aranda

I really do enjoy the game show even though I don't play as often as I'd like - based mostly on scheduling. The live production style is great and adds a lot to the personality of it all, so I hope they stick with the format. For those that haven't tried it out, you really should give it a go! As for other game shows....well, I wouldn't mind seeing Classic Concentration dug up from the ground, Family Feud, or the Price is Right.

---

Bonus Question: EA Montreal is switching from Wii development to 'blockbuster' games for the Xbox 360 and PS3, with the unpredictable Wii market one of the reasons behind the switch. Do you think third-party developers just haven't found the right game to hit the Wii demographic, or is it just not going to happen?

Todd Vote

This is a real tough call. I think blockbusters can happen on the Wii, but they will have to find the formula. I don't know if it is a good idea to abandon the Wii altogether, because someone is going to figure it out. When they do, you can bet EA will swoop right back in at the first hint of $$$$!!

Rod Oracheski

I don't know that there really is a guaranteed formula that will garner good sales for a third-party blockbuster on the Wii. The Nintendo fanbase just hasn't been very welcoming of third parties for quite a while now, regardless of quality or marketing.

MadWorld was a high-polished title that got a bucketload of advertising, along with a lot of free press from websites, magazines, and podcasts. Same for The Conduit, another SEGA product that disappeared into Nintendo's "blue ocean" without leaving a ripple to mark its passing. The Wii had a US installed base of over 20,000,000 consoles when The Conduit hit shelves, and it sold a dismal 72,000 units over the first nine days on shelves. With an installed base of over twenty million consoles that's worse than atrocious - that's a userbase that simply doesn't support the console. With twenty million potential buyers out there, you'd think there'd be at least 200,000 people who picked the game up accidentally - thinking maybe that 'The Conduit' was a sideways reference to the pipes in Mario games.

Because it really seems like there's no room for a 'blockbuster' game on the Wii unless it has Mario in it in some fashion - and that's tough for third-party games to come by. After three years on the market, I don't know if that situation will, or can, be changed. Either you make a knockoff of what Nintendo is already doing and hope you can draw the casual crowd away, or you make the blockbuster-style game that mostly appeals to the hardcore crowd and (because of development costs) has to be multiplatform - knowing that a hardcore gamer has at least one other system and might not buy the game because they can get a 'better' version on the other platforms.

Maybe someone can find a way to make a blockbuster fitness game?

Ramon Aranda

I think they're giving up though I understand that not getting the financial results from sales is a little demoralizing. Case in point though, if you actually produce a quality game on the Wii, MARKET IT!!!!!!!! How many good games have gone unnoticed on the Wii because people a large population of gamers don't even know about them?

---

That's it for another week of Four Three Player Co-Op. If you have any questions you want answered, feel free to leave a comment.