CheapAssGamer.com‘s CAGcast podcast recently discussed, well, I’ll let CheapyD himself tell it to you:

On CAGcast #133, Wombat and I discussed how major gaming blogs seem to
post any and all gaming rumors with little consideration given to the
credibility of the source or the plausibility of the story.

It goes on to use the specific example of the G4-Xbox 360 “relaunch” that spread like wildfire all the way up to Adam Sessler’s Sessler’s Soapbox segment. As an experiment, CheapyD and Wombat offered a free game to any listener who posted a fake news story that ended up getting picked up on any one of the major gaming blogs (Destructoid, Joystiq, Kotaku). Well, do a Google search for “xbox pure” and you’ll see exactly how that experiment fared (read: very well).

Since then, the backlash from these Blogging sites has been quick and strong, with Kotaku Managing Editor Brian Crecente posting just how he really feels about being duped:

It appears that this rumor story could be CAG throwing their
credibility out the window as part of a contest. Kotaku”s decision to
run rumors is always based on the credibility of the site and the
information contained within it. In the past CAG has proven to be a
reliable site, having broken a number of stories through apt reporting.
It appears that may no longer be the case.

I have been very critical of Video Gaming journalism in the past, only because the industry deserves more. It is a multi-billion dollar industry covered by immature twenty-somethings who would rather emulate gaming blogs rather than rise above them as true journalists. Imagine if the motion picture industry, of which video games is nipping on the heels, had to rely on Ain’t It Cool News or C.H.U.D. for coverage. No Variety, no Premiere, no Interview magazine; just a bunch of kids who started a website to post snarky half-wit comments on multi-million dollar projects of which they have little creative knowledge and no business sense. Just doesn’t sound right, does it?

In regards to video game blogging – these blogs have demanded the same attention from the industry as legitimate gaming sites, such as IGN, GamesRadar, GameDaily, and Gamespot. And the major blogs have been so successful in terms of generating an audience that these said legitimate gaming sites have changed their style and presentation to capture some of that same audience, blurring the line between the two.

But Crecente’s comment made that line a little more clear. Even with his background in traditional journalism, he makes it evident his blog does not follow the same standards or ethics as legitimate news sources. Kotaku, like Joystiq and Destructoid, are nothing more than RSS feeds with commentary. To accuse CAG of any wrongdoing is like the Wizard accusing Dorothy of looking behind the curtain. Those who wish to hide behind a facade are only at risk of being exposed; whereas those who have nothing to hide also have nothing to fear.

I applaud CAG for what it did, and I hope they continue to demand more from the video game press both with intelligent discussion on the website and podcast and creative experiments such as this.

Source: Heard Any Good Rumors Lately?

Another week, another very good weekly used game sale at Gamestop. Although I scratch my head at the discrepancy between individual store’ policies on handling used games, I’ve found more than a few gems at great prices post-discounts which could be cleaned up rather easily to look good-as-new.

So as the pathetic soul that I am, I spent my thirty minutes of free time this weekend Gamerscore-whoring through Madden 06 on the Xbox 360. And then I put the two separate thoughts together – the creation of the Gamerscore has to invigorate the used game market in some way. Think about it – in years past, no one would have been interested in Madden 06, or King Kong, or Avatar much after their release. But Gamerscore gives players a whole new reason to go back to older Xbox 360 titles – and potentially for those titles to hold their value in the resale market.

One could also say this would bode well for the rental market as well, but I don’t think the same is applicable. The last time I rented a game it was close to $10, and that same game could be found in the resale market for between $5-$10. Don’t forget, with ownership comes the luxury of dipping back into the resale market, something that doesn’t come with rentals, or digital distribution for that matter.

What do you think?

During one of the recent excellent “Gamestop 25% off used PSP games” weekly deals, I picked up the Square remakes of Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy II in preparation for my family’s annual week of relaxation at the New Jersey shore. I now, over the span of five consoles, have accumulated the entire series of numbered Final Fantasy titles sans FF XI. And with that accomplishment, I’ve finally set out to conquer the most storied RPG franchise in video game history from its initial installment.

I’m about six hours into the game, and I’ll start by saying this is the type of game for which the PSP was created. Fast load times, simplistic controls, incredible price-to-gameplay value are characteristics of a blueprint that should be copied for all PSP games to come. Unfortunately, as the PSP catalog amounts to nothing more than a dumping ground for PS2 ports, complete with the requisite shoehorning of its dualshock control scheme, Sony continues to position the PSP to be something more than what it should, or can, be.

It would be unfair to talk about the shortcomings of the game itself, as its core gameplay is 20 years old; but it is a disappointment it wasn’t given the same overhaul as FF III and IV for the DS. There needed to be something to spruce up the rudimentary story and bland characters of a game that just did not age well. I was continually thinking of the original Golden Sun title for the GBA, and how that was a better game both technically and creatively.

Maybe it was my waning interest in FF, but it also exposed another need for the PSP – in-game custom soundtracks. If Sony keeps preaching the media capabilities of the PSP, what better than to integrate the ability to play music stored on a memory stick while playing a game? It would have been perfect for a game like FF to be able to listen to my backlog of podcasts and at least remain interested while progressing through dungeon levels and random battles. Sony, if you could add this via firmware to the XMB, I would love ya for it.

So now the question is, should I continue to press through FF or just skip to FF II and beyond?

Whenever I receive such superlative customer service (hint of sarcasm), I just have to share. This latest anecdote comes thanks to the Airport Square Gamestop in suburban Philadelphia, with the cast being myself, an unnamed male employee and a female employee I will call “D”.

Here’s the situation: I had picked up my pre-ordered Limited Edition Bioshock for the Xbox 360. “D” had stuffed it in a bag and handed it to me, and I was on my merry way, blinded by the pent-up anticipation of having to wait a couple of days past the release date. So I get back to the office, take the box out of the bag, and to my dismay, it was completely crushed on one side. The Big Daddy figure looked to be intact, but if I’m going to pay $70 for a game, albeit one I pre-ordered, I want one to be undisturbed. So I went back to the store to swap for a replacement which had seen a better fate than mine. This is where the story begins.

Me: “Hi, I just bought this, and when I took it out of the bag it was all crushed. I just want to exchange it for another one.”

“D”: (Emerging from behind the desk, unsuccessful at acting sympathetic) “That was the last one.”

Me: (Surprised) “Really?!?” (The exclamation came as a spike in my voice from a disappointment I was somehow expecting but didn’t want to believe)

“D”: “Yeah, sorry. We didn’t get very many. We only got five regular editions above pre-orders as well. I could call the store across the street to see if they have any left. Or, I mean, you could take it home and open it and go ahead and play it, and wait if we get more in. I know you shop here a lot, I know your face, so we could do that.”

First lesson learned years ago – never believe anything anyone ever tells you unless you have it in writing. In this situation I would have fully expected them to turn me away because I had already opened the box, and I was smarter than that.

Me: “Would you mind calling the story across the street to check?”

“D”: “Sure, I could do that.”

Now I’ve shopped at this Gamestop store plenty in the past, and have dealt with “D” on many occasions. Never before had I had an unpleasant experience with her in the past, and had no reason not to trust her. But just for grins, I decided to maneuver over to the other side of the counter while she was on the phone, so I could get a good look at the stack of Bioshock boxes tucked underneath.

Me: (Pointing) “Hey, there’s some Bioshock Limited Editions right there!”

“D”: “No, those are for the PC.”

Me: (To the male employee standing next to me) “No, that one says Xbox 360”

Male Employee: “I don’t know what those are for, they could be for somebody or something. I don’t know.”

Yeah, somebody like me who had already pre-ordered the game. Do you think?

“D”: (On the phone, I can only hear one side of the conversation): “Hey, this is ‘D’ from Airport Square. Do you have any limited editions left?” (Note she never said the name of the game, only the words “limited editions”)

I count three Xbox 360 Limited Edition packages behind the counter. “D” hangs up without saying goodbye. I suspect I was being duped, that she never had anyone on the other side of the conversation the entire time. She then bends down, grabs a Limited Edition from underneath and puts it on the counter in front of me. I think I might have said, “cool”, when instead I should have called her a cheating piece of crap.

“D”: (Grabbing my crushed box and says under her breath) “Well I guess someone’s gonna get this one.”

I thought, here I was, someone “D” acknowledged as a repeat and frequent patron, yet she tried to pull a fast one on me by unloading a damaged box and then trying to cheat me from exchanging for a good one. I never had any beef with her before, and she never had with me.

So I pack up the box, say “thanks” and leave, feeling somewhat deflated by the whole experience. I just hope the game is worth the trouble, because I need a good ending to this story.

Just another day in the world of Gamestop, I guess.

I can’t recommend The Bourne Ultimatum enough. It is an intelligent, exciting, political action/spy/espionage/thriller that takes the formerly ho-hum multi-genre into a fresh and electric direction. But this isn’t a movie review, unfortunately.

As I was watching the movie, the organization and structure of the story resonated with me in a very unexpected way. Let me sum it up: Jason travels from city to city, encountering government “assets”, another word for assassin, along the way. Let me state that in general terms: Hero travels to location, fights enemy, travels to next location, fights enemy, travels to next location, fights enemy, big finale, end credits.

Now let me sum up the plot of every fighting game since the original Street Fighter:  Hero travels to location, fights enemy, travels to next location, fights enemy, travels to next location, fights enemy, big finale, end credits.

See the resemblance?

I’m not saying Ultimatum is as mindless as the Dead Or Alive movie, but it does have that similar progression, more so than I noticed in the previous two Bourne movies. And as bad as the Street Fighter movie was, it does give a little hope to any filmmakers who want to convert their favorite fighting franchise to the silver screen. The key is to success is: great direction, smart writing, and a big budget, or at least the suggestion of a big budget. Don’t dumb it down, don’t make it cheesy. Don’t dress your actors in goofy costumes and makeup. And don’t ever, ever cast Jean-Claude Van Damme as the lead. Don’t think that every fight must be fisticuffs from start to finish, as with Bourne running through the rooftops of Morocco tailing Desh; or the car chase through the Port Authority ending in a spectacular shower of car parts. Even Bourne’s chase through Waterloo Station in London, where never a punch was thrown, was more thrilling than any fight in the Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat movies.

Looking at this argument from the opposite viewpoint, it validates DOA’s grandiose and multi-level fighting stages, in that it demonstrates environment in the fighting game genre is as much of a factor as the technique. Whether it’s throwing a combatant through a stained-glass window, riding their back down a flight of stairs, or using apple carts as cover down a village road, it’s evident Itagaki-san has his finger on the evolution of the fighting genre much more than we give him credit.

I doubt a Fatal Fury movie would be made with the same support as Ultimatum, but it does make a solid case for how a video game adaptation can be done right.

The date: January 6, 2006.

The subject: EA Jumping the Shark.

The quote: “[EA] certainly have enough cash to cruise on autopilot for the next year or so, but as the next generation of consoles emerge, you can mark my words there will be a new number-one publisher.” (original post)

The evidence: “Activision has become the first publisher this decade to topple Electronic Arts as the top grossing third-party publisher…” (source: Next Generation, July 24 2007)

’nuff said.

There’s something far more important going on with the HD format war than anything that ever happened during the DVD generation. It hit me last night as I was watching a HD feed of Night of the Comet on Universal HD. Which made me reflect on my recent viewing of Krull on HDNet. Which reminded me of my marathon session of the Die Hard trilogy in preparation for Live Free or Die Hard. Which I then promptly revisited Lethal Weapon 1 and 2. Yeah, that’s a pretty deep reference there.

All that made me realize, it’s not about which format wins, or has the best sound, or what the storage capacity is. At the end of the day, physical media won’t be a factor. As more and more studios prepare their catalog for the next era of pixel-popping eye-candy, more and more of these HD transfers are making their way onto cable and satellite broadcasts. And because high definition televisions are showing up in more and more households, there’s a wide audience to revisit these classics in HD. Like me.

So I’m watching these classics, or guilty pleasures, or whatever you want to call them; and after repeated and countless viewings on VHS and standard definition DVD, this is the first time I’m able to experience these films as they were intended. In some cases, the first time since I initially saw them in the theater 20 years ago; in others, having never seen them during their theatrical run, the first time ever.

It’s been a recent practice of remastering transfers to HD for standard DVD releases, and as such the titles from first half of the DVD generation have suffered considerably. Some never received a proper widescreen release; others are barely above VHS-quality. And I’m sure we’ll see the same in the HD generation – dirty prints being shoveled out in 1080p, only to be cleaned up when it becomes cost-effective to do so.

While HD-DVD and Blu-ray beat themselves into oblivion, I’ll be quietly curled up on my couch with a bag of popcorn, reliving the glory days of my youth in glorious digital 1080p.

Google “GameStop questionable practices” and you’ll find anecdote after anecdote about how GameStop employees screw over the average consumer. We’ve all seen it, we’ve all been affected by it. Yet the retailer reports quarter after quarter of increased profits in seemingly unstoppable fashion.

I recently went to the largest (in sales) area store to peruse the PC selection, and I was sickened by what I found. Some of this I’ve been seeing for years, some are just now evident, but it’s inspired me to sum up my experiences.

The practice of their used game policy is probably the most controversial. Every gamer feels slighted when GameStop buys a game for $1 that they turn around and sell for $20. The problem is, people keep selling games to them knowing this. The margins are huge, and although I applaud GameStop for successfully turning over games at such a profit, I don’t support it. Even more, I hate seeing used games on the shelves without box or manual, for only $5 off MSRP, knowing they bought them from consumers for pennies on the dollar. I avoid used game-only titles like the plague, but apparently someone is buying them because GameStop keeps taking them for trade.

There’s no question GameStop employees take games from the store to play at home. What kills me is that they still sell these as new, either as an unsealed “display” copy or deceivingly repackaged to appear as sealed to an unsuspecting consumer. Today I saw a display in the store with a bin of games marked “Final Clearance”, where most of the games were outright used or unsealed and marked as new.

Being back in the market for PC games, I decided to peruse their selection for some bargains. What I found were two shelves of “new” PC titles, all of which had the stickers sealing the boxes cut. Effectively, each one of these titles were opened, but were being sold as new. And it never fails, regardless of which GameStop store I go to, dating back to when EB Games existed, every PC game box on the shelf looks like it was peddled by a street vendor – weathered, kicked around and generally abused.

I don’t mind getting hounded for trade-ins and pre-orders, because frankly I know better than that to be bothered by it. If I absolutely need a game the hour it gets released, I’ll pre-order; otherwise I can just stroll down to the local Best Buy where they have an ample supply of new releases on hand. The problem is that the average consumer, aka soccer moms, isn’t as educated, so maybe exposing GameStop’s business practices for what they are isn’t enough – a targeted approach of spreading knowledge to these individuals might be more appropriate.

With my recent experience specifically, I am now more inclined to purchase a PC title from an online retailer like Amazon or GoGamer, or download through Steam and cut out the middleman entirely. It’s almost as if GameStop is more of a disservice to PC game developers and small publishers. The good news is it hasn’t deterred my PC game purchases; rather it has made me seek out more acceptable means of procuring my fix.

UPDATE: Apparently bad news doesn’t come in fives, they come in threes x 2. Kudos to 1UP for going forward with a story that started out as a potential gag on NeoGAF. The story involves “Da Man” Jeff Bell, Corporate Vice President of Global Marketing, Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft (let me repeat that for emphasis: Corporate Vice President of Global Marketing, Interactive Entertainment Business) pulling a Kramer and responding via Private Message to a heckler on the NeoGAF forums. Good job Jeff, way to go stir up the bee hive.

And I ask – what the hell is going on over at Microsoft?

Bad news comes in threes. So what do you say when it comes in “five”s? Or is it just another trilogy of horror? In this case, Microsoft has their hands full of bad news, the first time this generation where they’ve gotten used to Sony’s PR follies over the past two years. Even still, when all major news outlets have caught on to the PS3 “price cut” for what it really is, Microsoft’s avalanche of atrocities keeps on rollin’.

First and foremost is the dissention of Peter Moore. Here is someone poised as the figurehead of the second most popular gaming console worldwide, at a critical moment of its lifecycle, who decides to jump ship. Granted, his compensation at EA, including his $1.5MM signing bonus, was probably hard to resist. What we all don’t know is how long this deal was in the works. Perhaps his evident lack of enthusiasm during the E3 press event was because he had already “checked-out”.

His post-event interviews seemed off as well. I thought it was just because he was having a bad week. After all, having to answer to a $1 billion charge to repair defective consoles isn’t an easy thing to do. Or maybe he was just disappointed by the event’s critical reception. But now we all know, don’t we?

If he still had his head in the game, maybe he would have planned the event to make a bigger splash. Maybe he would have gone that extra mile to broker that next big exclusive deal. Or maybe he just would have hit pause about two times less than he now infamously did.

Does he know something we don’t about the future of the Xbox? Is the writing on the wall that it will be nothing but an unprofitable business venture for Microsoft? Does he hear the sound of Sony on his heels? Jumping ship at such a critical time, having arguably the strongest holiday lineup of any console this year, why leave when success is so close? Only time will tell, but I have a suspicion there are some good stories trapped in that head of his.

But with Microsoft’s billion dollar hit (bad news #1), the poor showing at E3 (bad news #2), and Moore’s departure (bad news #3); things could only get better, right? Wrong.

Let me introduce you to bad news #4 – Halo 3 will ship without cooperative play over Xbox Live. Before you start screaming, “fanboy!”, let me break it down. First, Gears of War set the next-gen standard with online co-op. Once something like that is done, it’s difficult for any title to go back – the bar is now raised. So for a showcase title like Halo 3 to exclude that, it tells me it’s nothing more than a rezzed-up version of Halo 2. Second, it gives Sony and Nintendo ammunition to shoot down the mighty juggernaut with words (“the Xbox 360 is technically deficient to handle online cooperative play”, “a pay service like Xbox Live doesn’t have the infrastructure to handle it, while PSN does”) and actions (watch for an announcement for Killzone 2 to have online co-op – Sony would be stupid not to make it work).

But the biggest problem, which may tie into Moore’s decision, is, “is this as good as it gets for the Xbox 360?” Will it be all downhill from here? For a first-party like Bungie to miss an opportunity like this may be the catalyst that turned the tides in the console war. Sure Halo 3 will still sell a gazillion units, but it doesn’t ensure that there won’t be a better console experience available on a competing platform three to six months after Halo 3′s release – a major departure from expectations and everyone’s experience with the unstoppable machine that was Halo 2.

But the bad news doesn’t stop there – Aaron Greenberg has stated there will be no X07. That means, not only did we not see what was coming in 2008 at E3, but there will be no big unveiling of 2008-and-beyond announcements and exclusives. That also means, for example, if Microsoft were to broker a big deal with Capcom, there would be no outlet for them to trumpet the partnership. That means, the word doesn’t get out to the major news outlets, at least without the pomp and circumstance usually required to garner their attention. Which means, Capcom loses out. Which means, why do an exclusive deal if it’s not going to make waves?

So while consumers scramble to buy a Wii on potential, and the PS3 gains momentum with a bright 2008 outlook, Microsoft is left to salvage their management team and scrape the bottom of the barrel of its remaining good news to counter the barrage of disappointment that is seemingly on the way.

Remember just yesterday when I explained the benefits of PC gaming being: a) the separation of physical media from the gaming experience; and b) the ability to purchase and download a AAA selection of games and software for instant gratification? Well, to fuel that argument, Steam announced a partnership with THQ to provide digital distribution of their catalog.

Granted Steam provides a similar discount schedule as their brick and mortar retail counterparts, I’m all over this. Right now, THQ is arguably the leading publisher of PC titles, with Company of Heroes, Titan Quest, Supreme Commander, and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. - that’s a killer lineup of titles released in the past year. If I can get CoH for $29.99 or better, the price I’d pay in the store, for the ability to download, install and play near-immediately; well, that’s just awesome. Add to that no CD required and no activation key required, and the deal is made even sweeter. Steam has a nice tendency to price games aggressively through sales and bundles, so I’m confident there will be some nice deals to be had.

So in comparison, I could spend $10 on Bomberman Live through Xbox Live, or spend $20 or so for a great Diablo-clone in Titan Quest. Which would you prefer?