WorthPlaying writes: "For a long time, the tale of two basketball franchises has been that 2K makes the best hoops sim, while EA's NBA Live series has been its faster-paced, but not-as-intricate rival.
One thing I enjoyed about the Live series was its speed. While the 2K games certainly had the advantage from an Xs and Os and execution standpoint, the Live series (at least to me) was particularly good at capturing the sometimes-frenetic pace of an NBA game, where you're not really bogged down by a litany of controls and offensive sets. The game understood that sometimes, you just play. That's it, and that's all.
That's the feeling I got when I played a little bit of NBA Live 09, which has a chance to be the title that puts the Live franchise on equal footing with - if not surpass - 2K's efforts, at least in terms of on-court experience. I managed to squeeze in a game using the Cleveland Cavaliers against the Philadelphia 76ers and the newly acquired Elton Brand. I picked the Cavs because, well, I'm from Ohio, and that other than Kobe Bryant, Bron Bron is probably the best player to use when you're still figuring out what the hell you're doing."
Techtorial: Amazon has updated its warehouse giving away big discounts to used games with prices starting from 22 cents going up.
Publishers insist on devaluing used games at their own peril; a strong secondary market supports a healthy primary market, and packing games with one-time-use codes for certain content erodes that relationship.
I'm not convinced that there's a major problem with this policy. Do you think this will dissuade people from buying games at all? People who buy used still get the core game; new buyers simply get an added bonus. If the used buyers end up loving the game and want to pay for the extra content, they can. If they bought the game used for $40 and end up paying $10 for the extra content, they're still saving money.
And if the policy does in fact drive people to buy more games new, couldn't one argue that including codes in new games is important to new game sales?
Personally, I prefer this option to other measures to curb second-hand sales, like excessive DRM or increased prices.
That's my only real issue with this policy; the fact that they claim it's for "server maintenance" or whatever BS excuse they are coming up with. As it was said in the article, when the first guy trades it in and the second guy picks it up it all balances out. I wouldn't really have any issues with it if they weren't lying to us. Just tell the truth, you are charging because you are tired of getting hosed out of money on used game sales.
The video game market is so huge that it shocks me that some Publishers are complaining about lost profits, and going so far as to try and discourage people from buying a game used.
Stephen King has more used books circulating around than almost any other author, and I have never heard him complain. If people are making games as an art form, then isn't the point for people to play them any way they can?
Amazon.com has bundled "NBA Live 09", "The Bigs" and "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" Playstation 3 video games into 1 $20 package. That's around $7 per game and approximately $30 discount if you would buy these games separately.
FIFA 09
NHL 09
Madden 09
...all will represent the best the sport has to offer.
EA SPORTS made a stunning turn around.