NEXT GEN CONSOLES

[luckysalt]

The Last of Us coming to PS3 in May looks brilliant

[LondonTom]

Surely if you can upgrade it and even buy the box from different manufacturers it will create fragmentation? I guess its not really a problem in the PC gaming world, you just upgrade when you need and lower/raise the visual fidelity to suit your system.

I guess, from what I've read it very much could like Android but with maybe an easier way to update. I think really it's ust Valve don't like where Microsoft is going with Windows, with it's own app shop rather than being closed off as they have been saying...So they have to create an eco system where they control content distribution.

Got my xbox back yesterday Well I say its a different actual console as mine was one of the ones without the HDMI port and this one has one And they sent a 1Month Gold Sub Card with it to so pretty impressed.

Edited February 28, 2013 by LondonTom

[Jaybles]

Yea, the last of us is looking great. Can't wait to play it.

Might have to get Tomb Raider too. This video made me laugh

[Jaybles]

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-02-28-parents-refused-refund-by-apple-after-son-spends-1700-on-free-ipad-game

As silly as the parents were to give their kid the access code enabling him to spend. It is absolutely shocking how a "free" game can have in app payments/microtransactions that cost 70 pounds each.

This is digital content, nothing tangible. How can it cost so much for some ammo to kill a zombie in a "free" game. It is cheaper to buy a full priced console/PC game which has cost millions of pounds and taken years to develop.

Expect to hear plenty more stories like this as microtransactions and freemium software are here to stay. They are designed purely to exploit kids and unsuspecting parents. Apple and other content providers know this is wrong as they are very quick to refund. They need to stop it.

Unfortunately i hear companies like EA wanting to include microtransactions in every game going forward. 50p to reload your gun anyone?

[G-Stud]

And today's Penny Arcade strip:

[G-Stud]

AND:

An article on IGN in which Cliffy B defends microtransactions.

I'm not a fan of either microtransactions OR Cliffy B.

[LondonTom]

Can't say I am a fan of Micro transactions either.....it's not like they wasn't making boatloads anyway is it? I like how when ever it's introduced to a game/franchise they always start off by saying, it will be non essential items just fluff and clothing items then sure enough than they start selling boosts and better weapons/ships etc...

But then if people didn't give in and purchase them they'd soon stop with this nonsense. (I do try to avoid them as much as possible, thats not to say I agree with Cliff Bleszinski in that article either..what a tossbag.)

Edited March 1, 2013 by LondonTom

[Jaybles]

But then if people didn't give in and purchase them they'd soon stop with this nonsense. (I do try to avoid them as much as possible, thats not to say I agree with Cliff Bleszinski in that article either..what a tossbag.)

Problem is the lowest common denominator reigns supreme. I don't know any "gamers" who invest in freemium games with microtransactions. But there are a lot of people in the world who will plough away hundreds of pounds into these business models, without even thinking about it. I bet half don't even realise how much it has mounted up to.

I don't mind idiots paying for fluff like customization, but when it leads to games that will leave you at a disadvantage online or leave you unable to complete then its gone too far.

[LondonTom]

I don't mind idiots paying for fluff like customization, but when it leads to games that will leave you at a disadvantage online or leave you unable to complete then its gone too far.

Oh yeah I agree totally with that, it's just never going stop while they are making money from it. Sadly the best you can do, is only support games that go for this model.

[Kyelo]

The Last of Us coming to PS3 in May looks brilliant

Been waiting for this game for a while, looks superb. Something a bit new.

Yea, the last of us is looking great. Can't wait to play it.

Might have to get Tomb Raider too. This video made me laugh

Very funny.

As to Tomb Raider, not looked much into it but knew they were trying to revamp it and looking at that it looks pretty good. Those stabbing scenes look brutal!

[luckysalt]

By the way PS3 owners, Walking Dead by Telltale games FINALLY is getting a sale on it this month.

Been waiting for this to go on sale, its been such a good seller on PS3 though, telltale haven't wanted to put it on sale, but the PS3 blog has confirmed it will be going onsale this month.

It went on sale in the US this week and was 50% off so I hope we get the same discount. Been waiting to play this for a while but knew it would be on sale soon so have waited.

Telltale have also confirmed Season 2 of Walking Dead and there will be something released in between the two seasons and season 2 will be a while off.

[windy_miller]

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-02-28-parents-refused-refund-by-apple-after-son-spends-1700-on-free-ipad-game

As silly as the parents were to give their kid the access code enabling him to spend. It is absolutely shocking how a "free" game can have in app payments/microtransactions that cost 70 pounds each.

This is digital content, nothing tangible. How can it cost so much for some ammo to kill a zombie in a "free" game. It is cheaper to buy a full priced console/PC game which has cost millions of pounds and taken years to develop.

Expect to hear plenty more stories like this as microtransactions and freemium software are here to stay. They are designed purely to exploit kids and unsuspecting parents. Apple and other content providers know this is wrong as they are very quick to refund. They need to stop it.

Unfortunately i hear companies like EA wanting to include microtransactions in every game going forward. 50p to reload your gun anyone?

It's the same business model as drug dealing. The first hit is free, then you've got to start paying.

If people are stupid enough to pay for this shit, then the games companies will continue to exploit it.

[Purple Monkey]

AND:

An article on IGN in which Cliffy B defends microtransactions.

I'm not a fan of either microtransactions OR Cliffy B.

His name is Cliffy B. Think that's enough evidence as to why nobody should pay much attention to him.

They're only videogames. Don't like em? Don't buy em.

[t8yman]

Looks like gamers have spoken with their wallets, and EA miss the point completely, and dump the IP.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-03-05-ea-cans-dead-space-series-following-poor-sales-of-dead-space-3-report

Dead Space had a lot of potential, they add stupid microtransactions, gamers boycott it, sales suffer, EA blame the developer.

You couldnt make it up....

[Spindles]

EA have a long history of not getting what customers want.

[Lithium05]

FarCry 3 is a bit good, isn't it!

[G-Stud]

FarCry 3 is a bit good, isn't it!

Bloody brilliant eh?

[windy_miller]

FarCry 3 is a bit good, isn't it!

Aye. Finally made it to the second island the other night. The outposts have got much harder now, but I have some new guns to play with! The Ripper signature Assault Rifle is my favourite at the moment.

The most frequent thing I shout at the TV whilst playing it is "Bloody Leopards!"

The only bad thing about it is that its keeping me from playing XCOM, which is also a fantastic game. If you haven't played it check out the demo.

[windy_miller]

Looks like gamers have spoken with their wallets, and EA miss the point completely, and dump the IP.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-03-05-ea-cans-dead-space-series-following-poor-sales-of-dead-space-3-report

Dead Space had a lot of potential, they add stupid microtransactions, gamers boycott it, sales suffer, EA blame the developer.

You couldnt make it up....

They have completely fucked over Sim City as well by requiring you to be online to play a single player game, and not having enough servers to cope with the demand. The sooner EA goes down the pan the better.

[luckysalt]

The studio behind Just Cause reckons that the PS4 marks a much-needed step forward in console horsepower, suggesting that Sony's next-gen offering will remain much more powerful than the majority of consumer PCs during its life cycle.

“The consoles desperately need a boost since having been overtaken in terms of performance by PCs several years ago, and also losing market share to mobile platforms,” Avalanche Studios' chief technical officer Linus Blomberg told Gamingbolt. “I’m glad Sony decided to go with 8GB RAM because it means that the PS4 will out-power most PCs for years to come.”

Hold your horses, fellow PC gamers. Before you scroll down to the comments, it's worth noting that Blomberg is probably technically correct. Our tasty gaming rigs are definitely the minority in terms of PCs out there, often requiring a massive initial outlay and continual costly upgrades (even if you're a Scan junkie), while the majority of consumers probably won't pack the latest graphics cards and more than 8GB of RAM. Not only that, but the standardised hardware architecture will make PS4 games much easier to optimise compared to the majority of PC games.

Blomberg also believes that Sony could continually update the PS4 down the line, in order to stay abreast of the latest hardware innovations. “The off-the-shelf philosophy behind the architecture makes sense from a pricing and heating point of view, but it also means that Sony more easily can make incremental improvements of their system,” he posited. “If that’s actually their plan I don’t know, but it could help preventing the inevitable loss of market shares that the long console cycles entails.”

The PS4's 'supercharged PC' architecture should certainly make it easy to develop for, and allow studios to leverage its power from the get-go. That said, though, I won't be writing off the PC's uniquely massive range of genres, cheaper RRPs, customisation and raw graphical grunt any time soon.

[the_hedge]

The studio behind Just Cause reckons that the PS4 marks a much-needed step forward in console horsepower, suggesting that Sony's next-gen offering will remain much more powerful than the majority of consumer PCs during its life cycle.

“The consoles desperately need a boost since having been overtaken in terms of performance by PCs several years ago, and also losing market share to mobile platforms,” Avalanche Studios' chief technical officer Linus Blomberg told Gamingbolt. “I’m glad Sony decided to go with 8GB RAM because it means that the PS4 will out-power most PCs for years to come.”

Hold your horses, fellow PC gamers. Before you scroll down to the comments, it's worth noting that Blomberg is probably technically correct. Our tasty gaming rigs are definitely the minority in terms of PCs out there, often requiring a massive initial outlay and continual costly upgrades (even if you're a Scan junkie), while the majority of consumers probably won't pack the latest graphics cards and more than 8GB of RAM. Not only that, but the standardised hardware architecture will make PS4 games much easier to optimise compared to the majority of PC games.

Blomberg also believes that Sony could continually update the PS4 down the line, in order to stay abreast of the latest hardware innovations. “The off-the-shelf philosophy behind the architecture makes sense from a pricing and heating point of view, but it also means that Sony more easily can make incremental improvements of their system,” he posited. “If that’s actually their plan I don’t know, but it could help preventing the inevitable loss of market shares that the long console cycles entails.”

The PS4's 'supercharged PC' architecture should certainly make it easy to develop for, and allow studios to leverage its power from the get-go. That said, though, I won't be writing off the PC's uniquely massive range of genres, cheaper RRPs, customisation and raw graphical grunt any time soon.

Still think I will go for the x box option as it will be cheaper. Can't see the games being that different on wither console.

[windy_miller]

The first unofficial Steam Box is going to cost $1000. May give that a miss then

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-03-11-valve-backed-xi3-piston-console-starts-at-USD1000

Looks like we'll have to wait and see what Valve's official offering is like.

[t8yman]

Think I'm gonna take the plunge with Far Cry 3 today. I'm sure there may be bargains out there.

[5co77ie]

can't see Sony selling upgrades - can't think of a product of theirs where they have used that model before. Just getting a new CD unit replacement for a Vaio laptop is tricky enough

[t8yman]

far cry 3 is ace. one of the few open world games I actually like. the first time you get in the water and a croc jumps you, you shit yourself! I knew there were sharks, but wtf!

Really enjoying it, but I'm gonna have to hunt some shit, 'cos I cant bear only being able to carry 1 or 2 weapons. once I'm fully kitted up, I'm gonna go for it.