The Select and Start News Report: 11.10.08
Posted by Vincent Chiucchi on 11.10.2008
How Activision screwed themselves out of making a Beatles game, best Lawsuit of the Week ever, Ubisoft cancels Heroes game, Australia and the 18+ rating debate, yet ANOTHER Sonic collection announced, and more.
After weeks upon months upon years of waiting, it has finally happened. Many thought this day would never occur, and even when it seemed like it could, they was always that lingering sense of doubt that caused us to not be full believers. Last Tuesday, history was made thanks to the support of people like you. Ladies and Gentlemen of America, and all the people around the world, it is with great pleasure that FINALLY...
ACTIVISION ROYALLY SCREWED UP [credit: Destructoid, GameDaily, 1UP, Gamasutra]
Last week Harmonix and MTV announced that they made a deal with Apple Corps and Sony/ATV to make a new music game based on The Beatles. Turns out Activision could've been the ones to make that game if it wasn't for their stance on royalties. Back in August, Warner Music CEO Edgar Bronfman said that the royalties that the record companies get from developers making music games was too low. Activision CEO Bobby Kotick then said that it should be the record companies paying the game developers because the popularity of music games today is increasing music sales. In an interview with Reuters, Sony/ATV CEO Martin Bandier says he was put off by Activision's attitude:
"It was presented as if they were doing the music business a favor. It's true you can choose other types of music, and somewhere along the line someone's going to do it for free for the exposure...When it comes to the Beatles, the leverage changes. We're very happy with the terms of our arrangement with MTV."
Well way to go Activision! Your greed is finally coming around to bite you in the ass. Despite the huge popularity of Guitar Hero and Rock Band these days, I doubt they were driving music sales up, and it doesn't make sense to have record companies pay money to get their music featured in your games. Doesn't Activision make enough money from the millions Guitar Hero makes?
Speaking of music games, I saw the PS2 and PS3 bundles of Rock Band at Best Buy yesterday for only $90. I'm not sure if it was because Rock Band 2 was out now (priced at $189) or because there was some kind of weekend sale. Anyone else seeing big price drops on Rock Band?
NO MORE HEROES. LITERALLY. [credit: The Escapist, GameSpot, Joystiq, GameDaily, Gamasutra]
Ubisoft announced that it's canceling all plans to make games based on the TV show Heroes, and all rights to the game were given back to NBC Universal. Ubisoft first announced the project back in July 2007 but haven't said anything else since. These days the series is on a decline in the ratings, and NBC fired co-executive producers Jeph Loeb and Jesse Alexander. Ubisoft did not comment if this was the reason they decided to not do the game after all.
If I was still watching that show I'd probably be disappointed. But since I don't watch the show (I stopped watching before the virus thing), I don't care what happens to this franchise. Besides, making a game based on Heroes sounds only good in theory, but have you actually watched the show? Instead of getting awesome fights, we get a bunch of way too slow building melodrama. I used to think of this show as a realistic version of X-Men, but the X-Men actually fight villains, which these Heroes don't. No I don't care if they fight villains in Season 3. They should've done that in Season 2.
IT'S NOT JUST ANY COLLECTION; IT'S THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION! [credit: The Escapist]
Ah, game collections. What better way to buy multiple games from the past then these types of games? One particular guy who seems to love collections is Sonic the Hedgehog, since every few years or so a new collection of his old games come out. But just in case you still didn't buy any of them, Sega is releasing yet another collection game called Sonic's Ulimate Genesis Collection. But it isn't just Sonic games, but rather 40 different Sega Genesis titles retailing at $29.99! 40 Genesis games for such a low price looks like a steal, but let's look at the list and see if it's actually worth it.
Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle
Alien Storm
Altered Beast
Beyond Oasis
Bonanza Bros.
Columns
Comix Zone
Decap Attack starring Chuck D. Head
Dr. Robotnik's MBM
Dynamite Headdy
Ecco the Dolphin
Ecco II: The Tides of Time
E-SWAT
Fatal Labyrinth
Flicky
Gain Ground
Golden Axe I
Golden Axe II
Golden Axe III
Kid Chameleon
Phantasy Star II
Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom
Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium
Ristar
Shining in the Darkness
Shining Force
Shining Force 2
Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master
Sonic 3D Blast
Sonic and Knuckles
Sonic Spinball
Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Sonic the Hedgehog 3
Streets of Rage
Streets of Rage 2
Streets of Rage 3
Super Thunder Blade
Vectorman
Vectorman 2
Lots of beat-em-ups, the typical Sonic games, some old arcade games, some cult favorites, and Phantasy freaking Star. Quite a good collection for a $30 title. I think Genesis fans will be very pleased with this one. But why does Sonic get his name on the title? Is he actually deciding what games are being featured? It would make sense considering Sonic "3D" Blast on this thing.
THE AUSTRALIAN GAME RATINGS DEBATE [credit: GameSpot, Joystiq, Gamasutra, GamePolitics]
One of the most debated topics these days in the game industry is what to do with the ratings system. Do we leave as it is because for the most part it's working or do we need to make some serious changes, and if so, what exactly are those changes. Over in Australia the biggest problem with their ratings system is they have nothing to classify games meant for people 18 and over, leading to many violent games such as Silent Hill: Homecoming and Fallout 3 getting banned or changed to get a different rating. Last week however, the people at the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General (SCAG) meeting stated that the public will be asked on their opinion about whether or not they should have an 18+ rating via an online discussion paper. This was originally supposed to happen back in March but was withdrawn by Attorney General Michael Atkinson for unknown reasons.
I really don't see why they shouldn't have an 18+ rating for games. I think the more important issue is if they have an 18+ rating, will they still allow games to be sold or will they still be banned like how the AO rating works in America?
[credit: Destructoid, 1UP, The Escapist, Virtuallyblind.com]
This week Blizzard is getting sued over World of Warcraft by Jonathan Riches in a 3rd-party motion related to the Blizzard vs. MDY case. The case involves Blizzard suing MDY for making a bot that does all the work for gamers within the game, which Blizzard says violates the game's EULA. Last month Blizzard was awarded $6 million in damages. Riches is adding to the lawsuit against Blizzard, with his lawyers claiming that the game warped Jonathan's mind into thinking he lived in a virtual world and that's why he couldn't get a legit job.
Riches sounds likea a typical game addict, until you find out who this guy really is. Jonathan Riches is actually a prison immate currently serving time for wire fraud, and won't be released until 2012. While serving jail time, Riches has sent out several lawsuits to all sorts of people, including Rockstar for GTA4 (imagine if everyone's favorite ex-lawyer took that case), George Bush, Michael Vick, National Public Radio, Barry Bonds, Plato, The Eiffel Tower, Adolf Hitler's National Socialist Party, 13 tribes of Israel, and many more ridiculous defendants.
Odds are, unless this case is judged by the same retard that made Nintendo give the fake company Anascape $21 million, Riches is not going to win. I do however think he has a strong chance of winning his case against the Garden of Eden. If God didn't want Adam and Eve eating apples from that tree, he shouldn't have made the tree in the first place. Very irresponsible on His part.
Tidbit News
-In a new report titled "Online Games Market in Vietnam," internet and technology consulting firm Pearl Research predicts that Vietnam will have over 10 million online gamers by 2011. I wonder if any of those 10 million Vietnam gamers will listen to the 411Games Podcast. [credit: Gamasutra]
-One of the detained suspects of Al Qaeda (as part of bin Laden's "Dirty 30") at Guantánamo Bay said that he was taught how to make detonaters out of old Sega cartridges. How a major news network hasn't turned this into one of those "How Terrorists are using video games to kill you" sensational stories yet is beyond me. Also, I know another great use for old Sega games:
[credit: Kotaku, GamePolitics, The Escapist]
-Valve announced that it's latest Steam feature, Steam Cloud, is now available. Steam Cloud allows gamers using Steam to save their configuration settings and game data on Valve's servers rather then on their hard drives so that they can continue where they left off on any other computer that has Steam and the game installed. [credit: Gamasutra, GameDaily]
-Two video game related items have been mentioned in Time Magazine's lists. Wii Fit was listed as one of the best gadgets of 2008 and Spore was named the 20th best invention (out of 50) of the year. No mention if it's DRM protection was listed under worst invention of the year. [credit: CVG, GameSpot]
-In Bizarro World news, The Joker's Fatality in MK vs. DC has been uncensored...in Europe?! Why is the continent that hates really violent games get the uncensored Fatality? Apparently Europe's teen rating is 16+, where our T from the ESRB is 13+, so the slight age difference made a big difference. [credit: The Escapist, 1UP, Destructoid]
-After news of it's $310 million losses and laying off 600 employees, EA Casual is no more. Formed in June 2007, after the departure of President Kathy Vrabeck, EA has decided to merge the EA Casual label and Hasbro games under the Sims label to create a Sims and Casual Label. [credit: GameDaily, Gamasutra, The Escapist]
-Capcom announced that Dead Rising 2 is being developed by Canadian developer Blue Castle Games. Blue Castle Games has so far released only one game: baseball title The Bigs for 2K Sports. It is also known to be working on management title MLB Front Office Manager. [credit: Gamasutra, GameSpot]
-Bad news for all you Fallout 3 haters: Bethesda Softworks has shipped 4.7 million copies worldwide across three platforms and has outsold both previous Fallout games in the UK. Now quit your complaining. [credit: GameDaily]
-According to a survey of 1,997 gamers by IGN, the most popular store people go to buy their video games is Wal-Mart, slightly ahead of Best Buy and Gamestop. [credit: Gamasutra, GameDaily]
-Speaking of stores, one store that gamers apparently don't shop at is Circuit City, because last week Circuit City had closed 155 of it's stores. I've been told that CC was going to out of business over a year ago, so I wouldn't be surprised if they did. [credit: GamePolitics]
-Metal Gear Online has now reached the one million member mark. To commemorate the occasion, from November 25 to December 9, everyone with Metal Gear Online accounts will receive 10,000 reward points, and 30 random players (10 each from Japan, Europe, and North America) will get an additional 100,000 reward points the following week. [credit: GameDaily, GameSpot, Gamasutra]
-Richard Garriot's Tabula Rasa doesn't seem to be doing so well. The game has seen a major price cut at retail; it's now selling for only ONE DOLLAR. Not even 20oz sodas are that cheap. [credit: 1UP]
-Former New York Governor and total asshole Eliot Spitzer will face no criminal charges for patronizing a high-priced, multi-state prostitution ring. Damn it. [credit: GamePolitics]
-PETA recently praised Sega for pulling down the online ads of Samba de Amigo which involves the use of an actual monkey, which PETA of course claims is cruelty to animals. Good thing too, otherwise PETA would have started encouraging terrorist acts against the company. [credit: Gamasutra, GameDaily]
Guitar Hero:
-Active Music Distribution announced a partnership with publisher Activision to exclusively distribute Guitar Hero World Tour throughout music instrument stores in the UK. [credit: Gamasutra]
-On the conference call following Activision Blizzard's recent financial report, CEO Bobby Kotick said that Activision has "been surprised" by the response to the full band kit for Guitar Hero World Tour. The band kit is being sold out quickly and the publisher does not think they can keep up with the demand. [credit: GameDaily]
Rock Band:
-This week, Rock Band players can download the Foo Fighter's 2nd album "The Colour and the Shape." The full album will be available for $19.99, while individual tracks can be purchased for $1.99 each. [credit: GameDaily]
Gaming Calendar
November 11th:
-Eternal Poison (PS2)
-Call of Duty: World at War (X360, PC)
-Mirror's Edge (X360, PS3)
-Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party (Wii)
-Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World (Wii)
November 13th - WoW: Wrath of the Lich King (PC)
November 14th - Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts (X360)
November 16th - Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe (PS3, X360)
November 17th - Need for Speed Undercover (Multi)
November 18th:
-Tomb Raider Underworld (Multi)
-Rock Band 2 ported to Wii and PS2
-Sonic Unleashed (PS3, PS2, Wii, X360)
November 19th - New Xbox Experience to be launched
November 24th - Chrono Trigger DS
November 25th - The King of Fighters Collection: The Orochi Saga (Wii)
December 2nd:
-Prince of Persia: The Fallen King (PS3, PC, X360)
-Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories (PS2)
Fall 2008 - MySims Kingdom (DS, Wii)
January 13th, 2009 - Lord of the Rings: Conquest (X360, PS3, PC, DS)
March 13th 2009 - Resident Evil 5 (X360)
Survivor: Gabon Watch
This was by far the most interesting episode of the season. So everybody assumes that they're going to merge the tribes and start forming alliances. During the feast they had together they find an immunity item and toss it into the ocean. Seems like a good idea considering that if you decided to take it when everyone knows you have it, you basically paint a target on yourself. But then what happens? SWERVE! The tribes don't merge. Now it seemed foolish to get rid of that immunity.
So after new teams are formed yet again, Fang is actually able to win. Unfortunately, Ken is now on the Kota tribe, and since Crystal was his only ally, I was certain Ken would be gone from the game, so I was hoping the other three decided to get rid of Crystal instead. Ken and Crystal tried to convince Susie to vote out Marcus, but I was in serious doubt that was going to happen. But holy crap, it happened! Ken is still in the game. Maybe he'll actually win the whole thing after all.
Video of the Day
Capcom shows off the new boss character for Street Fighter IV, Seth:
Look at the way Seth stands with his arms like that. That looks similar to the way Gil and Urien stand in Street Fighter 3. Maybe Seth has some kind of connection to those characters?
"Anyone else seeing big price drops on Rock Band?"
Nothing that drastic for a new Rock Band set, but when I tried to trade in my PS3 copy of the game itself, FYE was only going to give me $4. I think the fact that you can transfer 55 of the 58 RB1 songs to play on RB2 is killing RB1 sales.
Posted By: Steve307 (Guest) on November 10, 2008 at 06:19 PM
Actually, music groups DO see huge sales increases/downloads due to their exposure in Rock Band and Guitar Hero. I've seen numbers where they track those sales and it can be several hundred percent increases. Without those games I wouldn't have heard of Freezepop, The Slip, Tokio Hotel, and other bands. And bands see their catalog sales increase exponentially when they have songs included in GH/RB.
All that changes when you're talking about the Beatles, of course. But Activision wasn't talking out of their ass--GH *does* sell albums, and in a big way. It's just that the Beatles are in a whole different realm.
Posted By: Ken B. (Guest) on November 10, 2008 at 10:27 PM
