The morning Inbox has some harsh words for both Microsoft and EA, as one reader wonders if Activision has given up on the X-Men.
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The industry you deserve
Just to the add to the ‘it’s all gamers’ fault’ motif of late but what kind of message is it really sending companies when the DayZ alpha sells 800,000 copies in a couple of weeks despite everyone knowing it doesn’t work properly and won’t be finished for a year? I’ll tell you what message it sends: that it’s perfectly okay for companies to release games like SimCity and Battlefield 4 that don’t work until months later.
I know that it’s a different situation, and that Bohemia were up-front about the limitations, but in my opinion it’s still an unhealthy precedent. It’s not like they need beta testing (since it’s not a beta!) or that they don’t know what features people want so why make it seem okay that buying a game a year before it’s finished is a thing. It just seems to me that we as gamers walk into these problems and never seem to appreciate the consequences.
Iceman
The last of Samus
Ever since Reggie’s hint at VGX I’ve been wondering what Nintendo could do with Metroid to make it popular again, and something that still honoured the old games. Considering how terrible Other M was I really can’t imagine what they’d do but I hope they go with a Western developer this time as I don’t think Japanese developers really get the game (correct me if I’m wrong but I don’t think it’s ever been popular there).
I don’t think a first person game would work any more either as although Metroid Prime was great it never really sold that much. What I’d do is model it more on The Last Of Us, with the same sort of atmosphere and controls but with more in the way of Metroid style puzzles and action. I’d keep the storytelling to an absolute minimum though and just intensify the sense of isolations and fear. That’s what Metroid’s about, and what Other M completely failed at.
Pinky
Sam vs. Lara
I know everyone is rightly upset that Rayman Legends didn’t sell much but I’m equally upset about Splinter Cell: Blacklist. It seemed to be forgotten long before it was even out but I think it did a really good job as a reboot: keeping the best stuff from the older games and making it more modern and pacy for an action audience.
The story was a bit lame, and the voice actor is no Michael Ironside, but for my money it’s a better reboot than Tomb Raider. Not only was it a more enjoyable game for me but it was a much better balance between old and new. Tomb Raider was a decent game but it had almost nothing to do with the old ones in terms of gameplay and despite all the hoopla the story was still lame after the first hour.
Cranston
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Music magic
Having just got Rayman Legends for Christmas, I’d thought I’d add my two cents and sing its praises. The game is just a delight to play and having it on rotation with The Last Of Us, the brilliant animation, music and general jovial attitude is a world away from the equally brilliant world of Joel and Ellie. It reminds me of the first time I played Super Mario Bros. 3 and it brings an old school smile to my face.
I would like to have a little bit of Inbox magic please and call for downloadable content or a standalone game which is all just the music levels. My favourite bit of any game for a long time.
McClane’sVest
PS: Is it just me or is The Wolf Among Us really, really laggy? Nearly spoiled it for me.
GC: What format were you playing The Wolf Among Us on? It was okay for us on the Xbox 360 but Telltale’s games do often suffer from performance issues.
Annus horribilis
Well, that was quite the start to 2014 for EA. The losses of three studio heads in one week? Add the BioWare guys and CEO John Riccitiello from last year and it’s obvious there’s big problems at EA. I like to think because of the fact that people are upset at microtransactions and the fact that none of their games work properly for the first couple of months.
That’s probably wishful thinking but I hope that when EA look at what’s going wrong, at why people hate them so much (I reckon they’ve got a hat trick for America’s worst company in the bag) and why developers keep leaving they realise that it’s because they’re treating gaming like a one size fits all factory line rather than a creative endeavour.
If EA execs aren’t interested in making great games then why are they even at the company? It’s not like they couldn’t get a job in some more boring kind of business. Selling paint or life insurance or something. Best of luck to all the creatives that have left them I say!
Dr Normal
Consumer cattle
I have to admit I’m pleased to see that the PlayStation 4 is doing better than the Xbox One at the moment in the UK and worldwide. I know normally it’s all about the games but I think many people would admit that Microsoft has created special circumstances where for the good of the industry they have to be knocked down a peg or two.
Even if you do let them off the hook for all their always-on unveil nonsense their attitude since and their love for microtransactions has convinced me that they cannot be trusted and see us gamers as little more than consumer cattle, to be used and abused at their whim.
And before anyone says they’re just a business and Sony would do the same if they thought they’d get away with it the point is they’re not. Sony knew it was stupid to pull that stunt and they haven’t, which is why I bought a PlayStation 4. If they did I’d drop them in an insistent. Loyalty to console is madness unless the company shows loyalty to you.
St1nger
Co-op mode
Although I’m on the fence about this year’s games line-up I still don’t understand why the console makers didn’t all just agree to delay the releases by a year. All three would’ve benefited from it to the same degree, so what exactly would’ve been the problem? I guess a lack of trust, that one of them would pull a fast one, but isn’t that what lawyers and contracts are for?
Sometimes it seems to me that the reason the games industry is so prone to fanboys is because the people in charge are setting the tone in terms of childishness and pettishness. It’s not all the time I know, and I saw one of the Xbox guys said some nice things about Sony and Nintendo the other day, but it’d be nice if that was the rule rather than the exception.
Col. Col
Catch up on every previous Games Inbox here
Marvellous licence
So I saw over Christmas that Activision had dropped all its Marvel games from being digital downloads. Does that mean they’ve lost the licence now? Since a similar thing happened with Capcom’s Marvel games does this mean that Disney might finally be trying to get the rights back and start making their own games?
I just don’t understand how their movies can be dominating for what must be the best part of a decade now and in gaming there’s just nothing to go along with them.
Hobbitboy
GC: It could mean that, although Activision is still making a game based on The Amazing Spider-Man 2, so it looks like they’ve only lost the X-Men licence at most. Considering how disinterested Disney is in the home console market we wouldn’t hope for any major Marvel gaming announcement, unless it was selling off the rights to a different company – as Disney did with Star Wars and EA.
Inbox also-rans
It’s that time of the year again. No, not reflecting on the previous year and deciding how to do better this year. The time of the year, when playing Skyrim in the cold weather makes it feel all the more absorbing.
ttfp saylow (gamertag)
If you’re still looking for a PlayStation 4 try Costco if you’re a member. I went to my local one the other day and they had loads left (about 20), they’re also slightly cheaper at £335 for the standard 500GB package (no games and one controller).
Woko
This week’s Hot Topic
Now that Christmas is over and 2014 has begun the obvious question for the first Hot Topic of the year is what new game are you most looking forward to?
You can find our preview of the biggest name new releases here, but feel free to nominate any game you have a reasonable expectation will be released this year (but please don’t just make up sequels that haven’t been announced or are almost certainly not going to be out in 2014).
Also, make sure to let us know why you’re looking forwards to the game so much. Is it because it’s part of an existing franchise, because it’s by a reliable developer, or for some other reason? Do you think the game will be a critical and commercial hit, and does that sort of thing worry you?
E-mail your comments to: gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk
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