The Future of Used Games?

Hey everyone, I thought I would start off today by bringing up a topic that has gotten a lot of attention since the unveiling of the Xbox one, or as we've come to call it the Xbone. The topic I am talking about is of course the concern of the longevity that used games have. Buying used games has always been a nice alternative to people who own consoles to buy a game that they aren't sure about and play it at a discounted price. If the game isn't up to the gamer's particular standards they can trade it back in. It seems like a simple process however: the inclusion of online passes, retailer versus developer and publisher income, always online drm, day one dlc, pre-order bonuses etc. has made the process more tedious and more questionable as to what is and isn't acceptable from all ends of the business. Recently it was revealed that the Xbox one would, this rumor hasn't been confirmed or denied, put up a pay wall to actively block the ability to buy or rent used games. As a direct result many gamers have taken issue with Microsoft's new policy and currently there are petitions and tweets going toward Sony and it's employees from gamers pushing them to not go forward with their used game detection system on the PlayStation 4.

 I am against the banning and blocking of used game sales but two of my favorite game journalists have directly opposing views on the matter. Totalbiscuit has recently made two videos explaining and arguing his viewpoint that used games are something that hurts publishers, their developers and need to be done away with. On the other hand Jimquisition has also put out a video recently, although he has addressed this issue many times in the past, stating how killing the used game market would ultimately carry negative repercussions to game industry and how it is wrong to block used games. I was curious what people think about this situation. Both videos are right here, Biscuit first and Jim second.

Summercast - 5/28/13

The first in what will hopefully be a summer podcast series.  On the couch is myself, DJ and Trey, as we go to town on the Xbox One.  Music is "Days of Summer V2" from the Thieves of Fate OC Remix Album

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Angry Joe's Xbox One rant

One of the funnier opinions about the upcoming console the Xbox one. They don't call him Angry Joe for nothing.

Cast photos for VGR

 

 

Super late post, but here's a look at UNCG's Radio booth where VGR was done for the spring.

Xbox One: presentation afterthoughts

It’s been roughly two days since the unveiling of the Xbox One, just enough time to let the announcement be processed and consumed by most around the net.  Interpretations by most have not been favorable to say the least.  While some may claim it to be a typical case of the gaming media being in an echo chamber of negativity, it all keeps coming back around to a very simple truth of the press conference itself:

The announcement was not for gamers.

In some ways this isn’t surprising.  We’ve seen the Xbox 360 shift its intended usage from blade-swapping game machine to blocky ad-delivery Netflix box.  The Xbox One continues Microsoft’s grand plan to dominate and control every facet of media in the living room, hoping that one day all consumers will have open floor space for their cameras whilst you integrate your surface to whatever smartglass app happens to coincide with the program on the screen.  It’s an ambitious goal for sure.  But for hardcore gamers and even mild gamer aficionados alike, this isn’t what we want to hear.

Hard to think I’d quote John Riccitiello, but his recent article at Kotaku says it best:

“The first and most obvious of these pitfalls is if Sony or Microsoft forgets who brought them to the dance in the first place. Gamers.”

At this time, the only attractive features gamers have seen about this console is the console specs, which end up being largely in line with Sony’s PS4 and dwarfing the WiiU, all standard stuff like an 8 core cpu with a 64-bit architecture, 8 gigs of ram, an AMD gpu, 500 gigs of onboard storage, etc.  This and an actual look at the box and controller all are positives in the books for gamers, but thats about it when it comes to the presentation.  Everything else being shown off if you go back and look at the conference are exclusive deals for TV content and Kinect functionality.  

What’s been worse has been almost all the info being presented after the conference that Microsoft of course would not present up front.  Always Online isn’t as bad as was speculated, like kicking you out of a game if the connection drops, but the Xbox One does need to check in online, what’s being speculated at least once every 24 hours.  Used games are somewhere between a small licensing fee and having to rebuy the entire game every time.  Live accounts still have a premium feature, which does share over the One and 360, but will no doubt be required for online gaming and probably other online services like Netflix.  Kinect is bundled with every system and is required to use the console, and will always be on, even if the console isn’t in use.

All of these “features” just serve to fragment the consumer base for a new console.  Gamers would rather see software.  Software is what sells a system, and Forza, Call of Duty and Quantum Break aren’t nearly enough to sell this monolith on its own.  The onus is now on Microsoft to make a phenomenal presentation at E3 in terms.  Comparatively,  Sony is still riding a wave of goodwill of presenting first, as well as advertise the ease of publishing for third-party devs and indie publishers.  Rest assured,  E3 this year will be very interesting, as we haven’t seen a true presentation for a new console generation for years now.

If I had to make a choice now though, Sony is looking far more attractive than Microsoft.

Bioshock Infinite Retrospective

Here's a quick retrospective of Bioshock: Infinite that some of our VGR and Pixel Loadout people help me put together for school.  Spoilers ensue, so make sure you've played the game.

VGR - Season 1 Finale

Well, it's the end of our first season of shows, but we go out with a bang by having Trey, DJ, Miguel and Ren in the studio, as we play some of the best music from our theme shows, as well as some new tracks to boot.  We also roundtable Nintendo's decision to go on hiatus at E3.

I'd like to take this chance to thank everybody who's listened, supported, and guest hosted on the show this spring,  I couldn't have done this without all your help.  I'm hoping to be able to get a 2nd season going soon, but for now, we'll be taking a break for a while.  Make sure to check back soon for more details.

-=Download Season 1 Finale=-

VGR - Rise of the Talkshow

We try something a little different this week and put some talk show into your music show.  It's me, Trey and DJ, talking about always online, violence in video games and review Injustice.

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VGR - Fighting Show

Time to show me yo moves and get in some sonic booms as we check out the best music from fighting games, while we contemplate that eternal question:  is there anything that Guile's theme doesn't go with?

-=Download Fighting Show=-

VGR - Indie Show

Trey and I delve into the best tunes from our favorite indie games.  From the lowly chiptune to majestic orchestras, it truly is an exciting time for independent developers and consumers alike

-= Download Indie Show =-