Via Joystiq:
"We've assembled a virtual tour of Microsoft's XNA bar slash lounge for you. Click on the picture to access it, and thank us for sparing you the pain of playing the actual games on show."
There has been news of developers moving over seas, but not to much on actual outsourcing. As costs weigh down on developers and publishers a like, they are beginning to to take a good hard look at moving all aspects of the game development over seas.
Gamedaily.Biz writes: "During GDC we sat down with Scott Steinberg, VP of Product Marketing at SCEA, to talk about the impact of a Blu-ray victory, the PS3's momentum, controller complexity, reaching the mass market, GTA IV, and more.
GameDaily BIZ: Regarding the PS3 SKU strategy, there's been some talk about the 80 GB model possibly being phased out from some of the rumblings we've heard and that Sony is looking to possibly put some more distance between the 40 GB and some new model that might come out, maybe packed in with the Dual Shock 3... but it seems like there's been so much change over the last couple years; first you had the 20 GB and the 60 GB and the 40 GB and the 80 GB. Doesn't that lead to consumer confusion to have so many different SKUs out there?
Scott Steinberg: It hasn't hurt Apple. Our strategy at the end of the year was to offer up a $399 40 GB, which we thought was the magic price for a Blu-ray machine and then a $499 80 GB. What we were surprised to see is that $100 really didn't matter to a certain customer. Our sales were fairly equitable according to TRST and our internal numbers through the holidays and even into January; we're pretty dry on the 80 GB as a result of us underestimating the demand for the 80 GB and thinking that most folks, because the price message was such a big part of the pundits and the analysts decrying the differences between the 360 and the PS3, [would prefer the 40 GB]. Reality is the price wasn't that big of a deal and $499 sold a lot more than we thought, so the 80 GB got dry at retail not due to us artificially compressing it but the demand became greater than we thought. So you'll see us replenish these in the marketplace. We're still committed to our current strategy and there is much to do about nothing, I think is the way to think about it."
The part about MS spending as much money as several Latin countries GNP gave me the lulz.
In any case, I think he's very correct about the fact that people who are waiting on the fence about which system to buy and/or which system to buy GTA4 for will most likely look at what games came out within a month prior to, and after its release.
Most places don't have preorders anymore... GTA is gonna be just that big... I doubt people will be able to find the games for a month after release.
GTA IV is gonna take 60 hours to finish and then you got multiplayer...Your gonna tell me people are then going go spend more moeny on next GTA IV stuff? There are more games, many more in 2008 that will be played. What comes with GTA IV is enough people don't need extra stuff. Now if the multiplayer was exclusive that would be a different story...
Sure, at times expansions do work. Other times, maybe not so much. This is seriously, just my opinion, but I think with past GTA games, alot of people enjoyed them thoroughly for what they offered (Open-ended gamestyle, side-missions out the wazoo and the like) and have still yet to finish the title to its completion. I don't mean 100% everything gained complete, but the core story. Maybe those people who realize that they probably won't be able to finish the game by the time an expansion comes out will not really care for the DLC. Others who finish the game quickly might not care to wait for the DLC to arrive.
For you to call people brainwashed for not seeing the NEED for an expansion since they're content with just the title itself, is downright ignorant. Maybe its those who feel that they HAVE to have more from the game, its mandatory since so and so paid so and so amount for it who are brainwashed. But I can't honestly in all right say that. Some people want it, others don't regardless of what system they buy the game for. It's an option that's tailored to different gamers. Nothing brainwashed about it.
Playstation 3 is the obvious choice this generation.
Don't be gay. Just Play.
Jack Tretton, CEO of SCEA, and The Second Coming.
the sony boys are here in force lol. how good of you to take time from your busy schedule to mingle with the likes of us common people.
"I think yes in some ways, but I think also history will show that a lot of those grandmas and grandpas who don't want to learn button configurations aren't buying software"
Best sentence ever. So freaking true.
GamesIndustry.Biz writes: "According to GDC 2008 attendee evaluations, the most popular session was not the Portal post-mortem or even the Super Smash Bros Brawl development discussion.
The highest rated talk was "How to Create an Industry: The Making of the Brown Box and PONG" from Ralph Baer and Allan Alcorn. Both men spoke of their inventions and their contributions to the games industry circa 1960s and 1970s. Later that evening, Allan Alcorn presented the Pioneer Award to Ralph Baer at the Game Developers Choice Awards.
Both men were gracious enough to speak to GamesIndustry.biz about their first-hand experiences and the current state of the industry they helped to create. In part one of this feature, we first talk with former Atari engineer Allan Alcorn."
err, we salute you that is.
j/k man, I'm bored and drank too much coffee this morning.
