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Multiplayer Chat Show Notes #73: George Fan, PopCap Games Interview
BC Gaming presents Multiplayer Chat, our live radio show on BlogTalkRadio. Be sure to stop by and participate in the chat room, or call in at (646) 595-4913 at 9:30 p.m. EST Tuesdays. The live show is scheduled for an hour and a half - if we go past the live feed, the remainder of the show can be heard in the archive and podcast feed.
Multiplayer Chat is hosted by Ken Edwards, Blogcritics Gaming Editor, and co-hosted by Blogcritics writers Jason "Njiska" Westhaver and Mark Kalriess.
Show #73: George Fan, PopCap Games Interview
- We will start the show off with an interview with George Fan, Senior Game Designer at PopCap Games, and talk about his latest game, Plants vs. Zombies.
- Be sure to listen for information on the making of Plants vs. Zombies, as well as a discussion on the amount of cholesterol in brains!
- George talks about making the sound effect for butter, and making the music video. Here is a blog post about it. You can download the song (also in Japanese) in MP3.
- Jason explains the 1 vs. 100 beta going on right now in Canada. He wrote about it already, and was trying to play while we recorded the show, but kept getting booted.
News & Stories Covered This Week
The Death of 3D Realms
- 3D Realms Closes, Duke Nukem Forever Delayed Indefinitely
- Duke Nukem Forever: 28 Hi-Res Screenshots & Entire Plot Leaked
- Laid-off 3D Realms staff reveal Duke Nukem Forever concept art
- Duke Nukem Forever Gameplay Footage
Atari Nixes Official E3 Presence
Rock Band Goes Country At Retail
Red Steel 2 Is Wii MotionPlus Only
Peggle released for iPhone by PopCap
Jerry Bruckheimer Gets Halo, Ubi Execs To Craft Unannounced Games
Resident Evil: Degeneration On iPhone
Ex-PopCapper Canessa heading up new Battle.net
Renders of DJ Hero controller
Please be sure to stop by the chat room as we do take questions posted there. If you missed the show, you can download it from the archive - also subscribe to the RSS feed
Be sure to tune in at 9:30 PM EST at BlogTalkRadio. If you have questions or comments about our show, or suggestions for future shows, please send those to gaming@blogcritics.org as well.
More layoffs - Brash Entertainment sacks 20
Lay-offs and cutbacks seem to be the trend in the gaming industry as of late as Brash Entertainment sacks 20 people across the org chart due to “the current tough economic landscape.”
They will, however, hand severance and extended benefits to those who lost their jobs. Brash has put out the following the statement:
Citing the current tough economic landscape, Brash Entertainment has confirmed the company has instituted a strategic cost reduction plan that will see the elimination of over 20 positions across multiple departments
Others who’ve made similar responses to the economy include Electronic Arts, Sony, and THQ is planning to do the same. The times are tough, especially for those who lost their jobs, let’s just hope that at the very least, games still come out good and some measure of good will come from these lay-offs.
Related articles:
- THQ fiscal report - cost cuts, streamlining, and realignment to come
- RIP EA Casual: EA merges Casual Studios, Hasbro partnership with SIMS label
Gamers would welcome in-game ad exposure for cheaper games
A study conducted by Frank N. Magid Associates found that gamers are willing to welcome in-game ad exposure in exchange for price cuts in games. We’ve already seen a lot of these in games, especially sportswear in titles such as NBA Live.
Gamers were found to be receptive to the idea. After all, 60 bucks take a lot of wind from your gaming sails. In fact, only 20 said that they would be less likely to purchase a game at half the price but with more ads. 31 said it won’t make a difference. 15 said they’d be much more likely to do so, while 28 said they’d be somewhat likely.
Even more gamers showed favor for the idea if the games were free, but bombarded with ads. 29 were “much more likely” and 24 were “somewhat likely.” Again, quite a large group (25 ) said it won’t matter, and only 15 said it would make purchases less likely.
I really won’t mind seeing a Starbucks shop on every block in GTA if the price would be halved. I would even think it adds realism to the game. Heck, it’d even be funny if Coca Cola asks Niko Bellic to smoke a Pepsi guy, then you get a Coke Trophy. I won’t mind Snake wearing a McDonald’s camo (if it can be called a camo at all), either.
But for pete’s sake, publishers shouldn’t go as far as Tekken moves being called “Quaker Oats cholesterol-free stomp” or RPGs getting Coca-Cola Swords, Jolly Rancher fruit bombs, and especially Verizon Wireless Fireballs. Hell no. A LittleBigMac is out of the question.
Amount of ads vs. game pricing should be balanced. Publishers would do well to regulate ad volume and appropriateness when it comes to advertising. There are also times when we’d rather pay to get those ads off. Tastefulness and moderation is key.
Related articles:
- The politics of in-game advertisements
- Sony to open up PS3, in-game ads coming to PS3 games
- Nolan Bushnell says typical in-game ads do not work
BusinessWeek: Apple may soon be "a Mobile Gaming Force"
Be afraid, be very afraid. That’s BusinessWeek talking to Sony and Nintendo. The business publication just boldly predicted that Apple, through its iPhone and Touch, will soon be “a mobile gaming force.”
The report looks at how Apple’s gadgets can directly compete with the same market of the PSP and DS considering the availability of games and pricing.
According to BusinessWeek, although the iPhone is primarily a… erm… phone, it being a gaming platform is not so hard to imagine. The iTunes’ participation in the whole thing makes it more easier, seeing as there are more games on it than those lined up for both the DS and PSP combined.
Currently, it’s looking like the iTunes App Store already hosts about 1,500 games, and no, they’re not just all Solitaires in many variations. Meanwhile, the PSP has got about 300 titles, while the DS has 600.
Apart from that, Apple is projected to easily sell more or less 40 million devices every year that accommodates games. If we are to look at Nintendo’s numbers, selling 42 million in the last 18 months, then we can see how Apple can easily outrun Ninty if they be inclined to do so.
True that the gaming function of Apple’s gadgets is a secondary one. But that’s just it, imagine what more it can do were it to focus on gaming as its primary function.
All in all, the BusinessWeek report is saying that both Nintendo and Sony shouldn’t be resting on their laurels in the handheld market. There’s a new guy in town and he’s bound to ruffle some feathers.
So to Sony and Nintendo, stop saying you’re not worried about iPhone. Because if BW is right, then it seems like you have every reason to be. Now that the holidays are coming, that would be a good time to see how close the numbers really are.
For the full report, click on the source link below.
Related Articles:
- Steve Jobs: iPod Touch is the best portable gaming device
- E3 2008: Koller says DS, not PSP, should be worrying about iPhone
- Eternity’s Child creator: DS, iPhone can coexist; PSP’s days may be numbered
- Iwata: DSi not after iPhone and PSP marketshare
THQ fiscal report - cost cuts, streamlining, and realignment to come
THQ today announced its financial results for the fiscal second quarter which ended in the 30th of September. Net sales dropped to US 164.8 million, compared to last year’s US 229.3 million. Now they’ve reduced their outlook for March 2009, and announced a big business realignment.
It’s not all bad news for THQ, they did manage to hit a few home runs. They’ve made others, but here’s to name a few:
- Shipped more than 2 million units of Saints Row 2 (Xbox 360, PS3) globally in its first two weeks and achieving a Metacritic rating above 80
- Established a new Wii franchise, de Blob, also rated above 80 at Metacritic
- Strengthened company portfolio and enhanced online business
In response to its current situation, THQ is now taking a new direction. It will now be focusing on fewer, higher quality titles. As such, they’ll be pulling the plug on some on-going projects as well as cost-cuts and streamlining. THQ President and CEO, Brian Farrell, leaves us with this statement.
We are aligning our business to be more competitive in key consumer segments and address the current business environment. We expect the combination of a much more focused and competitive product line with a more efficient cost structure to put THQ back on the path to growth and profitability in the fiscal year 2010.
More lay-offs and less games? We’ve been seeing this trend a lot lately. Developers are cutting down on less-popular games and are focusing only on bigger titles. The gaming industry has it bad right now. Hopefully, the sorry state of affairs will not be said about the games. If you want to read up on THQ’s report, follow the source link below.
Related articles:
- Video game software shares drop because of sales fears
- Nintendo cuts annual profit forecast, but they still expect to rake it in
- Michael Pachter - EA’s indifference is making investors leave
RIP EA Casual: EA merges Casual Studios, Hasbro partnership with Sims label
Still bloodied from the US 310 million dollar net loss they incurred back in Q2 of this year, EA has gone ahead and closed their Casual Label, merging it and their Hasbro partnership with their Sims Label.
They issued a statement to Kotaku on this matter, saying:
We ve learned a lot about casual entertainment in the past two years, and found that casual gaming defies a single genre and demographic. With the departure of Kathy Vrabeck, EA is reorganizing to integrate casual games development and marketing into other divisions of our business. We are merging our Casual Studios, Hasbro partnership, and Casual marketing organization with The Sims Label to be a new Sims and Casual Label, where there is a deep compatibility in the product design, marketing and demographics.
The remaining elements of the, now defunct, EA Casual Label are EA Mobile, Pogo, Media Sales and Online Casual Initiatives. EA mentioned that they remain “growth priorities” and will be given strong support in whatever group they will eventually land in.
Fairly depressing news though at least this probably means Sims 3 will get little content and support. I look forward to playing Monopoly with my adulterous obsessive-compulsive Space Pirate Sim next year. Hang in there, guys.
Related Electronic Arts Articles:
PSP best buy for Christmas says consumer advice group, PS3 lags behind
Been wondering what system to compliment your entertainment devices for this Christmas? Reevoo has some suggestions.
Reevoo is a consumer advice portal that collects and publishes reviews on various products written by “ordinary people” rather than traditional critics to prevent any kind of expert bias or ulterior motives. Their scope is rather broad, ranging from digicams to washing machines.
They recently released a guide to the current top picks in the videogame industry today. The system that won top marks? The PSP Slim and Lite.
Scoring a 9.5 out of 10, the little Sony handheld was lauded as easy to set up, not too big, has a bright screen and “looks cool.” On the other hand, it was criticized for having few extras out of the box and poor sound quality. Strangely, the PSP Slim & Lite also has the lest number of consumer reviews to its name on the site.
Among the consoles Xbox 360 Elite (9.0/10) led the way thanks in large part to Microsoft’s timely price cuts which made the overall price even more attractive than it was previously. The PS3 40GB finished last of its class (seventh overall - 8.7/10) again because of its cost versus value.
I’m suspect there are going to be a lot of readers crying foul on Reevoo’s assessment of gaming systems (I have a few objections myself). Before you start writing angry comments may I just point out that given that most everyone is still reeling from the state of the financial market, cost is a very real consideration (yes, even if you factor in the value of the system).
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Dissidia: Final Fantasy scan reveals FF6 duo (again), game install options, more summons
If last week, we saw Shonen Jump feature Square Enix’s FF6 duo, this week it’s Famitsu’s turn to bring Terra Branford and Kefka Palazzo into the Dissidia: Final Fantasy spotlight. There are a lot of things revealed in today’s scans, so we’ll take it blow-by-blow.
Esper-chick vs. Freaky Angel-Clown of Death. The first two magazine spreads show Terra and Kefka - some story cutscenes explaining their conflict between each other and what not. I find it strange to see that FF6 (original FF6, mind you) screenshot of the opera scene. From what I remember, it was Celes who preformed the opera, not Terra. A bit of a “hmm?” moment there.
Power-up! In the other scans, we see both their EX modes: Terra’s morph ability and Kefka’s final boss form (the magicite-imbued supreme being). I believe what we see in one of Kefka’s screens is his trademarked Forsaken attack as well as the Light of Judgment. They were annoying back then (since you were at the receiving end), but to get to use them now in Dissidia sounds like a very cool idea.
What’s on the menu? See the game menus explained in the bottom-middle part of the second scan? It’s the one with the silhouettes of Cosmos’ army. From what I could tell, from left to right, that’d be Tidus, Squall, Terra, Cecil (Dark Knight form), Firion, Warrior of Light, Onion Knight, Bartz, Cloud (finally!), and Zidane. Anyways, back to the main menu… Here, we see the Story Mode, Quick Battle, and Communication mode. Those are the top three options. Below that, we have PP Catalog, Museum, Player Data, and Option.
Bits and pieces. The bottom-right of the third scan explains the Game Install option. Players can choose to install either 528MB, 373MB, or 245MB of data packets for easier loading times in the game.
It’s a Summon nation. We previously saw only three summons confirmed for the game: Ifrit, Carbuncle, and Cactuar. Now we see three more: Leviathan, Bomb, and Barbariccia (Garland’s Archifiend of Wind in FF4).
Related articles:
EndWar sends last-minute treats - headset bundle and a trailer
Just in the nick of time, Ubisoft pack two more treats to enjoy Tom Clancy’s Endwar (PS3, PSP, DS, Xbox 360) with - a new trailer and a special headset to play the game with. Watch as war escalates to new levels in this trailer.
In the meantime, if you don’t have EndWar yet, good news. On the 6th of October, Ubisoft is offering a headset bundle for the PS3 for US 79.99 where you can take the gaming experience further.
Buy [Tom Clancy's EndWar (PS3), (PS3 w/ headset), (Xbox 360)]
Buy [Tom Clancy's EndWar (PSP), (DS)]
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