RANDOM VIDEO GAME NEWS

[melkathi]

I think my tastes have simply changed.  Diablo 3 and Starcraft 2 seem like solid continuations of the Action RPG and TBS genre respectively, but I'm no longer really into those types of games.

 

I see the changing taste thing. Of course we change. But for me personally I think that while my tastes have changed, Between Wings of Liberty and Heart of the Swarm they probably haven't changed all that much. Then again, I never thought that the original Starcraft had any worthwhile story to begin with

[Drowsy Emperor]

.  I buy them thinking I can recapture a time from my childhood, but it has already passed.

 

Eh, I hate when that happens, it makes me feel old and jaded. I grew up on Myth, Homeworld, Wing Commander, Baldur's Gate and Broken Sword. For years now, I didn't have anything to take me back to those years.

 

 

Now I'm waiting for PE and Wasteland, the new BS, Star Citizen and hoping I'm not too burnt out to enjoy them for what they are.

Edited May 23, 2013 by Drowsy Emperor

[Drowsy Emperor]

 

I think my tastes have simply changed.  Diablo 3 and Starcraft 2 seem like solid continuations of the Action RPG and TBS genre respectively, but I'm no longer really into those types of games.

 

I see the changing taste thing. Of course we change. But for me personally I think that while my tastes have changed, Between Wings of Liberty and Heart of the Swarm they probably haven't changed all that much. Then again, I never thought that the original Starcraft had any worthwhile story to begin with

 

 

It didn't, but by RTS standards it was pretty good. 

 

Not in the same league as Homeworld though.

Edited May 23, 2013 by Drowsy Emperor

[sorophx]

Starcraft 2 TBS

wait, Starcraft 2 is turn-based now?

[melkathi]

 

Starcraft 2 TBS

wait, Starcraft 2 is turn-based now?

 

 

I take it that with enough lag it can give that impression

[entrerix]

I don't think its changing tastes, i honestly believe that the story and mission design is better in starcraft 1 than it is in either volume of starcraft 2.

 

the UI is way better in SC2, but that doesn't make up for the boring and kinda stupid campaign

 

as for diablo 3, its flat out not as good as diablo 1 or 2.  the loot system is horrible, and there is no replay value because they essentially got rid of character builds.  its a fun game to play once (with each character that appeals to you), and then its over.

 

i dont think we are ageing out of action rpg's or army building RTS games.  i just think blizzard has been in a (very long) rut.  warcraft 3 was not as good as starcraft or warcraft 2, and they've been going downhill ever since.

Edited May 23, 2013 by entrerix

[alanschu]

Going back and playing, I find Warcraft 2 to be a remarkably dated game (as it should be).  I wouldn't call WC2 better than any of their current games.  It's just that, at the time, it was balls out awesome.

 

I'd be wary that it's nostalgia talking, because WC2 has a soft spot in my heart but it's clear that it was the game I was playing on dial up with a friend 20 years ago now.

[entrerix]

i would say warcraft 2 was vastly superior to any of blizzards recent games for its time

 

but yeah, its very dated now.  starcraft holds up pretty well though, barring some UI issues

[alanschu]

Well, if your standard for a gaming company is to always completely knock the ball out of the park, I'm not sure if that's the fairest assessment.  Especially as the industry and market changes and evolves.

 

It starts to come across as "Well, the original Star Wars movies are so much better" but it's usually with a caveat: based on the context of when it was released.  I think people wanted more "OMG mind blown" with newer ones, when to me it was very much along the lines of what I was expected, so the "fall" wasn't as intense.  I still prefer the original trilogy and think it has more objective qualities that make it better, but in reality it's still a pretty darn cheesy movie series that hammed it up in all sorts of ways.  Much like the prequels.

[Malcador]

wait, Starcraft 2 is turn-based now?

Well the turns end automatically after a few microseconds...

[greylord]

John Riccitiello's advice to Sony and Microsoft about successfully launching their consoles

 

I have been saying, much to the naysayers, that PC gaming of old, is done.  It's gone.  Sure, you may have a StarCraft II hit here, or a Diablo III hit there, but overall...no one really plays PC games anymore.  They moved to consoles, tablets, and I-wear (Ipods, Iphones, and the like).  Why?

 

In my opinion, DRM.

 

DRM killed the PC market overall.

 

The only ones really left standing was Steam...and it's almost exactly for the reasons why he stated (despite my dislike of steam).  You have to have a good tradeoff.  You can't limit it to only able to play it when and where the publisher dictates, it has to be a convenience to you.  Lose the computer, doesn't matter you still have your games via steam logon.

 

DRM stuff which says, not only will we restrict you, but we'll restrict you to a computer and only that computer...or we'll restrict you to online gaming only and when we decide to work on our servers...too bad...that's not convenience. 

 

That's the attitudes that killed PC gaming...and that's why almost no one I know in real life anymore plays PC games (I know you guys, but a majority of you I don't know in real life) whereas tons play mobile games, facebook games (I said gaming of old is done...not this new...quick fix gaming), and console games.

 

Kickstarter may breath new life into PC gaming (who knows, it's still a very new and young frontier), we'll see.  A few massive restrictions on their supporters in how to play the game...and I think it could kill Kickstarter, or a few guys who get millions and then don't pan out...that could kill it too.  But get it where games that we want are being made and we are able to play when, where, and how we want...I could see the entire PC scheme revitalized.

 

But for the new consoles...always on...whoever has that restriction, unless the other guy has it too...just killed their console.  If both have it...it's just like he predicts...consoles will go with a whimper instead of a fury.

[greylord]

Nice data from Blizzard: http://us.battle.net/d3/en/blog/9691895/diablo-iii%C3%A2%E2%82%AC%E2%84%A2s-one-year-anniversary-infographic-5-20-2013

 

14.5 million Diablo 3 players.

 

What they don't tell you.  They didn't sell that many copies...many of the numbers they are counting are from the free download and trial (which I think only goes to half the first act and level 12?

 

They only actually have somewhere in the range of 1 million to 3 million players that actually are playing (they aren't actually forthright straightforward on the number there...still...1 to 3 million are respectable numbers...even for an MMORPG free to play game).

[NOK222]

Is this speech supposed to be emotionless? Cause it's obviously written from a vulcan perspective. This is plain bad. Bad bad bad.

 

"We must face doubt"? Doubt? Does this word even exist in vulcan vocabulary? This is beyond bad. This game has gone where no game has gone before.

Did you forget how to Star Trek?

[Drowsy Emperor]

/

Edited May 24, 2013 by Drowsy Emperor

[alanschu]

 

 

What they don't tell you.  They didn't sell that many copies...many of the numbers they are counting are from the free download and trial (which I think only goes to half the first act and level 12?

 

A supposition.  You don't know this.  Though it's a logical conclusion you feel is necessary because you're (incorrectly) continuing to harp on about the death of PC gaming.

[Morgoth]

 

What they don't tell you.  They didn't sell that many copies...many of the numbers they are counting are from the free download and trial (which I think only goes to half the first act and level 12?

 

They only actually have somewhere in the range of 1 million to 3 million players that actually are playing (they aren't actually forthright straightforward on the number there...still...1 to 3 million are respectable numbers...even for an MMORPG free to play game).

 

 

Some people have short memory: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-08-03-activision-diablo-3-has-over-10-million-players

 

10 million units sold in the first three months.

 

Dunno about you but that sounds pretty swell to me.

[alanschu]

10 million is still pretty much "knocked out of the park for huge home run and gigantic revenues."

 

Blizzard is not complaining about the success of Diablo III.

 

 

Furthermore, 1 to 3 million people still playing your game a year after release?  That goes beyond "respectable numbers."

Edited May 24, 2013 by alanschu

[Rosbjerg]

Almost no one I know in real life anymore plays PC games

 

 

But that's hardly something you should make broad generalizations over.. The majority of my male friends and acquaintances play PC games and the the rest play consoles. I think I know maybe 10-20 guys that don't own either. So based on my observations the marked must be absolutely booming

[Drowsy Emperor]

Old news but still interesting: two months after Civ V was released, lead designer Jon Shafer "left" Firaxis.

http://flashofsteel.com/index.php/2010/12/21/jon-shafer-leaves-firaxis/

[melkathi]

 

Almost no one I know in real life anymore plays PC games

 

 

But that's hardly something you should make broad generalizations over.. The majority of my male friends and acquaintances play PC games and the the rest play consoles. I think I know maybe 10-20 guys that don't own either. So based on my observations the marked must be absolutely booming

 

 

I'm still wating for the reply "Almost no one I know in real life has sex anymore"

[Drowsy Emperor]

US only sale of XCOM, CIV IV complete and CIV V gold for 20$. (steam codes)

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CPBZDPE/ref=s9_newr_gw_d55_g367_ir03?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-3&pf_rd_r=0YX4VJM24EJKWF7S442E&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938811&pf_rd_i=507846

 

If I can get someone from the US to buy this for me will I be able to activate these games over steam?

 

I'd obviously send the 20 bucks to someone (can I send money to regular people through paypal?).

Edited May 24, 2013 by Drowsy Emperor

[Humanoid]

Old news but still interesting: two months after Civ V was released, lead designer Jon Shafer "left" Firaxis.

http://flashofsteel.com/index.php/2010/12/21/jon-shafer-leaves-firaxis/

He was leading up some Kickstarter project relatively recently: At the Gates

Edited May 24, 2013 by Humanoid

[Humanoid]

US only sale of XCOM, CIV IV complete and CIV V gold for 20$. (steam codes)

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CPBZDPE/ref=s9_newr_gw_d55_g367_ir03?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-3&pf_rd_r=0YX4VJM24EJKWF7S442E&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938811&pf_rd_i=507846

 

If I can get someone from the US to buy this for me will I be able to activate these games over steam?

 

I'd obviously send the 20 bucks to someone (can I send money to regular people through paypal?).

Yes, it's a plain old Steam key generally.

 

Amazon only do a check against the billing address by the way, so if you put in a fake one you can buy it yourself. Though "legally" yeah, safer to get someone in the US to buy from you - and yeah, it's trivial to send cash to other people through PayPal.

[alanschu]

 

Old news but still interesting: two months after Civ V was released, lead designer Jon Shafer "left" Firaxis.

http://flashofsteel.com/index.php/2010/12/21/jon-shafer-leaves-firaxis/

He was leading up some Kickstarter project relatively recently: At the Gates

 

 

Developer churn is still a fairly regular thing.  It doesn't mean that there's bad blood or anything.

[Drowsy Emperor]

 

US only sale of XCOM, CIV IV complete and CIV V gold for 20$. (steam codes)

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CPBZDPE/ref=s9_newr_gw_d55_g367_ir03?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-3&pf_rd_r=0YX4VJM24EJKWF7S442E&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938811&pf_rd_i=507846

 

If I can get someone from the US to buy this for me will I be able to activate these games over steam?

 

I'd obviously send the 20 bucks to someone (can I send money to regular people through paypal?).

Yes, it's a plain old Steam key generally.

 

Amazon only do a check against the billing address by the way, so if you put in a fake one you can buy it yourself. Though "legally" yeah, safer to get someone in the US to buy from you - and yeah, it's trivial to send cash to other people through PayPal.

 

 

A fake US address did it! You're a genius Humanoid 

 

Of course, now I have both a physical copy of Civ IV and a steam one but I think the package was too good to pass up at that price.