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The Changing Face of Bethesda’s Heroes Led the Way at E3 2015
Bethesda’s first-ever E3 Press Conference was chock-full of goodies, from Dishonored: Definitive Edition for next generation consoles to a new Doom and its intuitive SnapMap creator. But there was also something else to celebrate during the presentation, as the company’s two biggest announcements, Fallout 4 and Dishonored 2, both offered the choice to play as a female character. And believe it or not, every game showcased by Bethesda will give players that same choice. (more…)
Posted in Opinions, PC, PS4, Top Story, Xbox One
Tagged Assassin's Creed: Syndicate, BattleCry, Dishonored 2, Doom (2016), E3 2015, Fallout 4, Horizon: Zero Dawn, ReCore, The Elder Scrolls Online
I Wish Sony Had Let The Last Guardian Fade Away
Sony put on an incredible show during this year’s E3 Expo, debuting new IPs from Guerrilla Games and Media Molecule, as well as offering further glimpses at long-awaited titles such as No Man’s Sky from Hello Games and Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End from Naughty Dog. Yet it chose to open its presentation with perhaps the most long-awaited title of all time, The Last Guardian. (more…)
Posted in Opinions, PS4, Top Story
Tagged E3 2015, Final Fantasy VII, Shenmue III, The Last Guardian
Iwata is Listening: 5 Things Nintendo Needs to Hear After Negative E3 Reaction
In a year when big hitters like Microsoft, Sony, and Bethesda gave exciting, extraordinary E3 presentations that included a smooth blend of new tech, surprise reveals, and gorgeous gameplay videos, the reverse is true for Nintendo. The company, who gave up on live E3 presentations two years ago, delivered a lackluster Digital Event that sought to highlight games due out this year or early next year. This effectively ruled out showing any new footage from the still untitled Legend of Zelda Wii U, despite the fact it was revealed at last year’s E3. Not content with backing itself into a corner with this decision, we were told that the company’s new platform, the NX, would also not be touched upon. Yet, given how meager-looking the titles were for the Wii U, it has led to rampant speculation that the company is holding upcoming games back for its next console.
In summary, Xenoblade Chronicles X was shown. Again. Super Mario Maker was shown. Again, and not just from E3 2014, but also from the Nintendo World Championships. Yoshi’s Woolly World was shown. Again.
3DS owners fared far better, with the announcement of new games such as The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes and Hyrule Warriors Legends, a port of the underrated Wii U game. There was also a new Paper Mario-esque title, Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, and an odd Samus-lite Metroid game, Metroid Prime: Federation Force.
There were a few surprises for the Wii U, but not the good kind, and certainly not the ones fans wanted or expected, such as Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash or Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival (which is, essentially, Mario Party with Animal Crossing characters). The initial reaction to the presentation was best summed up by our good friends over at Nintendo Life:
As a Wii U owner and general advocate for Nintendo, I was not as angered as many who chose to vent their anger on social media, but after Sony and Microsoft made pitch-perfect presentations, to say I was disappointed in Nintendo’s efforts would be an understatement. Nintendo President (and part-time puppet) Satoru Iwata seemed equally aware of the reaction from gamers and fans around the world, taking to Twitter to reassure them the company was listening: “Thank you for watching until midnight. We take the various opinions for this year’s Digital Event very seriously. I would like to continue our efforts to be able to meet more and more of your expectations in the future.”
Unlike many armchair CEOs calling for his resignation, I personally think Iwata has steered Nintendo through a stormy chapter in its history, and is obviously aware that more change may be needed. With that in mind, here are five suggestions on how Nintendo can improve for next year. (more…)
Hype Fatigue: Why I’m Exhausted With Viral Marketing, Elaborate Advertising Campaigns, and Countdowns
The machinations of video game marketers absolutely baffle me. Obviously, “video game marketing” is an incredibly broad term that encompasses hundreds of different campaigns a year, all run by different people, and all carried out with different expectations. Whipsawing between a seemingly neverending series of hype events and viral campaigns has started to make my head spin. Following hashtags and decoding secret messages has become de rigueur if you want to come up with all the latest game news. Last week, three publishers launched three very different viral campaigns that made me long for the days of the simple press release/trailer combo platter. But maybe they aren’t to blame, as video game marketing has been growing increasingly insane for years now. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, Mobile, Opinions, PC, PS3, PS4, Top Story, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Call of Duty: Black Ops III, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, Friday the 13th, Joe Montana Football 16, Lego Dimensions, Star Wars: Battlefront
Calzones For No One: How Mayfair’s Cones of Dunshire Kickstarter Campaign Flopped
As we reported in January, Mayfair Games, the publisher of Settlers of Catan, took to Kickstarter with the dream of making Cones of Dunshire, a fictional board game from the Parks & Recreation universe, into a real game. Fans of the NBC show and of intricate and/or confusing cooperative board games rejoiced. It seemed like an impossible task to raise $300,000 to create a deluxe version of the game… and it was. So Mayfair canceled their original campaign and relaunched it in early February with some adjustments, including a lowered project goal ($125,000) and reworked pledge levels and rewards.
Even at the reduced levels, it still took at least $400 (and a dream!) to reserve a copy of the game. As before, additional goodies and enhancements to the game were available at higher pledge levels. For example, backers would receive the game at $400, but at $550 they would receive the game with metal “Hero Bases,” and at $700 they would get the game with metal figures.
During the original campaign, pledges were slow to come in and it did not appear that Mayfair would meet its goal in the 60 days allotted. The second Kickstarter, which after a 30-day run ended on March 12th, fared no better. At its conclusion, Mayfair had raised $48,696 from 194 backers, only reaching 39% of its goal.
So how did it all go wrong? (more…)
Posted in Opinions, Tabletop Games, Top Story
Kickstarters Need To Kick It Up A Gear
It’s the start of a new year, which means analysts are pouring over statistics from the previous 365 days, especially to do with the weird and wonderful world of crowdfunding, which still appears to be more of an art than a science.
So what have we learned? Kickstarter revealed that investment in the Games category is down to $89.1 million in 2014, compared to $105.6 million the previous year. Yet successful projects were up from 1,481 to 1,979. That’s nearly a difference of 500, suggesting investors are backing smaller projects that have a larger chance of success. According to Kickstarter’s own stats, the overall rate of success for Games is 34.18%, 5.5% less than the total success rate of the site, which sits at 39.68%.
In short, video games donations and numbers were down.
A lot. (more…)
Nintendo of America Needs To Fix Club Nintendo
Nintendo confuses me at times. On one hand, their studios are among the best. Nobody can deny that when an official Nintendo game is released, it will likely be a great title. On the other hand, some of their internal practices are questionable at best. Case in point: Nintendo of America’s handling of Club Nintendo. Many diehard fans (myself included) have been left scratching their heads at some of the Big N’s decisions. What started off as an amazing way to get Nintendo swag has devolved into a barren wasteland of repeating digital games and greeting cards.
That’s not to say it’s all bad. The digital offerings we get every month are appreciated (although I would like to have more third party Virtual Console titles), and they are reasonably priced. The limited-edition freebies, such as the Smash Bros. soundtrack and Hyrule Warriors DLC are a step in the right direction, but with Nintendo’s merchandising partners and deep pockets, one wonders why the physical rewards are near non-existent. Do they not feel physical rewards are economically viable? Are they just liquidating old inventory before bringing out a new wave of products? Did they run out of ideas, or do they just not care anymore? The truth is that we’ll never know why Nintendo is giving their North American fans the cold shoulder. We may never see an actual renaissance of Club Nintendo rewards, but here are a few ways Nintendo could fix Club Nintendo in the eyes of many gamers. (more…)
Bringing Ubisoft’s U Back to the Wii U
Ubisoft has been sending out mixed signals regarding Nintendo’s beleaguered home console over the last few months. Despite a renewed momentum in sales thanks to the likes of Mario Kart 8 and the release of Hyrule Warriors in Japan, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot announced that Watch Dogs would be the last mature game published on the Wii U. Guillemot pointed to the fact that the Wii U accounted for a mere three percent of the company’s sales for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2014. The Xbox One doubled the Wii U’s total with 6%, and the PS4 tripled it with 9%. Impressive, considering they were both launched half-way through this period. The original Wii chipped in for 11%. (more…)