Kim Pallister @ Gamasutra: "A while back I posted some thoughts on the entry of other retailers into the used-games biz (both here and on Gamasutra) after Best Buy, Amazon and Toys R Us all announced they were jumping into the controversial yet attractive-margin business.
The topic popped into headlines again this week as Walmart floated a test balloon of used-game kiosks in 77 of it's US stores. Walmart isn't running the business itself, but renting retail space to E-Play, the company that runs the kiosks.
The Walmart name prompted some press calls to analysts, I guess, because we saw quotes from Todd Greenwald ("we don't beleive this proposition poses much of a near-term threat") and Michael Pachter ("I can't see this having tremendous appeal to hardcore gamers, unless the credits are substantially higher than those offered at GameStop"), both citing it as sort of a non-issue."
Get the scoop on Comedy Central's exciting new cartoon show inspired by the iconic Golden Axe video game
Golden Axe is a great game I enjoyed it on the SMS, Genesis and in the arcade. Great game but it truly was a quarter eater back in the day. I wish Sega could get the rights to the arcade port of Moonwalker another great arcade game I enjoyed. Collect so many monkeys and become Robo Michael lol.
GB: "With this feature, we will be taking a look at 15 of the best games from the PlayStation 2's vast library."
With so many games fighting for players' attention and interest losing out over time, time sink games are at risk of eventually losing steam.
It was worrisome to begin with.
It's a niche genre with only a handful of hits that can stand the test of time.
Only a few will catch on. You need a perfect storm to be successful in GaaS and a bit of luck on top of that. But a potential cash cow will keep them trying and some will go out of business because of it.
Helldivers 2 manages just fine…
Keep production costs low… don’t just make custscenes until the mechanics and enemies are perfected first.
Make so much content that you can drip extra content for years, and the game already feels complete without them.
Most importantly: make weapons, enemies, levels, and mechanics that will stand the test of 1000 hours. This might require more devs embracing procedurally generated leveled, which I think separates Helldivers 2 from Destiny’s repetitiveness.