It's (not) in the GAME

As some of you are no doubt aware, an internal memo from GAME (transcribed below) was recently leaked which detailed the reasons as to why the beleaguered high street chain will not be stocking EA releases in March.

Dear all,
Last week we held an event for our partners in the industry and explained the challenges we are facing in the short term - and we asked for their support.
We asked them to trade with us using manageable credit terms, and for them to continue to do that whilst we work through the strategic review and refinancing of our business.
We gave the industry commitments - we committed to integrity and openness in our dealings, and working with everyone equally.
We committed to only stocking products on which we could get the right credit terms, regardless of the title or the supplier. We will not stock products if the terms are not right for our business - we will not sacrifice long-term credit requirements for short-term sales opportunities.
As a result of us taking this position - a position that we believe is critical to our long-term health as a business - we have taken the very difficult decision to not stock EA's March releases, including Mass Effect 3.
As a specialist retailer dedicated to games and gaming, it is never easy to make a decision not to stock a title, particularly one with such a strong fanbase. But it is imperative that we treat every supplier evenly, that we stick to our commitments, and that we don't sign up to payment terms that will hamper us further in the future.
It is even more critical that we manage this appropriately with our loyal customers. We know they will be disappointed regarding Mass Effect in particular and in recognition of this, we will be contacting our Mass Effect pre-order customers and as a gesture of goodwill we will be offering them £5 of reward card / elite points.
I know that many of you will have to manage customer and supplier feedback directly, and I would like to thank you in advance for your support and am happy to answer any questions you have directly - just grab me as I walk around.

While it's commendable that GAME will not back down over the issue and is trying to deal with all publishers/distributors on an even playing field, it strikes me as strange not to put off the decision so that they can stock two of the most hotly anticipated EA titles of the year, Mass Effect 3 and the SSX reboot. The timing really couldn't be any worse for GAME, as these two titles, ME3 in particular, would have made a decent profit for the group.

Perhaps the bigger concern for GAME going forward is that if this stand-off continues they may find themselves on the outside looking in when FIFA13 comes out later this year. As many readers are aware FIFA12 set the record for both the highest and quickest selling sports game of all time, so to remove yourself from the equation seems tantamount to corporate suicide to me.

GAME recently said that they would be willing to consider giving publishers a cut of their used game sales, perhaps they could bring this to the table in an attempt to get a more flexible arrangement with EA ratified? I certainly think this is a case of GAME needing EA rather than the other way round, especially with the increase in games sales on-line at places like Play.com and Amazon.

Either way, this situation needs to be sorted out, and fast. EA represents a large chunk of the gaming pie, and GAME can't afford to do without their games on their shelves.

UPDATE 

Mark Photiades, a market analyst with Singer Catalyst Markets has estimated the capital loss to GAME from not stocking Mas Effect 3 at around £2.5million. In a Post by Nick Fletcher on the Guardian website, Photiades is quoted as saying -

"Working on the assumption that a decent triple A title sells 0.8m-1m titles in the first few weeks of release in the UK and assuming Game has around 20% share, we calculate that by not stocking Mass Effect 3, Game is potentially missing out on around £6m-£7m of revenues in the UK given the title will retail for £39.99,"

 That is a massive loss for a company already forecasting losses of around £8million for this year alone. Interestingly he also states that profit margins on new titles stand at around 24%. Also of interest is the opinion of Nick Bubb in the same piece who doesn't seem to understand the market at all.

So, had you heard of this new so-called blockbuster game Mass Effect 3 that comes out next week? Well, nor had we, and despite all the tut-tutting about how ominous the EA supply problem is, we suspect that it is just a storm in a teacup in a seasonally quiet time of year, as the big game suppliers can't really afford to do without Game at Christmas, given its huge share of the market. We are more concerned about the lack of news on the overseas disposal front.

Idiot...

The Round-up: Gamestop encourages second hand sales, Wii UK pricing announced, FIFA 12 knocked off it's perch...

A few days later than expected, and with a throat that feels like it's been coated with sandpaper, here's your weekly Video games round-up.



Starting off today's round-up there's news of two seperate legal wrangles currently making their way through the court systems. First is the news that Rocksmith's European release will be delayed into 2012 after it emerged that there is a band with the same name who aren't happy with being fobbed off by Ubisoft. According to Chris Ford, the percussionist for the UK group Rocksmith, the band even took the first step and contacted Ubisoft regarding their concerns over the naming of the new Music game, and trying to sort out a solution moving forward.

Eurogamer quote Mr Ford as saying that "there's nothing I've said that can't be backed up with absolute fact. I've got documents proving that I registered the name." Seems fairly cut and dry to me...

Next up is the news that Mojang have won an interim injunction against Zenimax/Bethesda and can continue to use the Scrolls title for their new game until the action goes to court. In a tweet on his official @notch account, Markus Persson said "We won the interim injunction! We can keep using the name "Scrolls". Zenimax/Bethesda can still appeal the ruling, but I'm very happy :D" Frankly it's ridiculous that Bethesda could even contemplate suing over any concern that the Title "Scrolls" infringes on their Elder Scrolls property, but i guess lawyers will be lawyers...



In happier news it appears that Blizzard have been raising money for charity while giving their rabid MMO fanbase a keep sake of their gaming past. On October 17th Blizzard began auctioning off server blades that used to house their long running World of Warcraft MMO. All in all, four seperate auctions were planned with all money raised going to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. With around 2000 blades up for sale, each with their own special presentation case, that's a lot of money for a very deserving cause.



Good news for all UK Sony fans now, it was announced by Jim Ryan who explained "PlayStation Vita is an incredible device that offers the best possible portable gaming experiences." That's fancy talk designed to make the price sound reasonable, in case you didn't know. To be fair to Sony, the price for the PS Vita is actually reasonable compared to other tech out there right now. At £229.99 for the Wifi only and £279.99 for the 3G enabled models you get plenty of technology for your money including the now famous rear touch screen, front touch screen and massive horse power the processor affords it. February 22nd is the official release date for PlayStation's latest hand held, and with only a £50 gap in price it wouldn't surprise me if a lot of people end up going 3G.



While we're talking Portable Sony devices it would be remiss of me not to mention the ever expanding roster of double packs making their way to PSP. For $15 US gamers can pick up the Mega Man Maverick Hunter X/Mega Man Powered Up or Monster Hunter Freedom Unite/Monster Hunter 2 packs. Absolute bargain right there.



More HD remake goodness is heading our way sometime next year, with Capcom confirming that they are working on a remastered HD bundle containing Devil May Cry 1,2 and 3. Not only that, but it will be available on PS3 and XBox 360. That's right, Microsoft fans can play it on their console too. Not happy to leave it there Capcom have also confirmed a RRP of just $40 for the collection!



Everybody knows that the best kind of shit is free shit, and thanks to Zen Studios you can download Pinball FX2 absolutely free of charge between October 26th and November 2nd. Not only that but you can also get the new Paranormal table layout for free at the same time. A round of applause for Zen studios please ladies and gents.



This next item may not be free, but it is awesome. On the heels of the Portal 2 knee socks (see what I'm doing there) comes one of the cutest little plushies I've seen (at least since Kon of Bleach fame). Seriously, take a look. Turret's never looked so cutesy.



Right, we have a shed load of Arkham City stories this week. First up is the news that Gamestop might be giving away Catwoman DLC with every used copy of the game that they sell. Obviously this benefits the retailer as their overheads on used games are much lower than new software, but from the developers point of view this is the worst thing that Gamestop could possibly have done. Kotaku report that an anonymous tipster sent them an internal memo detailing plans that all used copies sold would have a code for the Catwoman downloadable content printed on the receipt. This has since been confirmed with a retail branch by the Video games site.

Fans of the Batman Beyond TV series will be able to download a free skin of the futuristic not-so-caped crusader if they drink enough NOS energy drink. Although the skin will be available as regular DLC later on, fans of the Fast and Furious styled energy drink will get the attire once they complete the single player or play any of the challenge maps. To be honest i always thought that the Beyond version of Batman was a bit lame, but then, I love impractical capes.

PC gamers will finally get hold of Arkham City on November 18th, the delay is apparently due to the team working on the PC port wanting to fix some bugs before they ship the final product. Good for them i say, patching post release is something i really detest, but it's a growing trend as developers look to meet release schedules.

While players on the console versions of Arkham City might not have many bugs to contend with they are having trouble with DLC, namely the free DLC included in the box. Reports range from codes not working at all, to doubling up on certain pieces of DLC and in some cases Code cards included being completely blank! The Warner Bros twitter account has promised news as soon as they work out a solution, with a cryptic message pointing towards Catwoman being the first to be solved, claiming that players "will get to play as the sexy thief,"



Now then, PS3 owners out there, and i myself am included among your numbers, will know only too well how annoying it can be to turn your console on for a quick session, only to be told you need to run a firmware update before continuing. Sony seem to have finally realised this inconvenience and as a result Firmware Update 3.73, which fixes software stability issues will be completely optional. No doubt other firmware updates will be mandatory depending on what they address, but it's nice to have a choice on this one at least.



What news of EA? I hear you ask, okay i didn't physically hear you, but you must be wondering surely? well the pre-order figures for Battlefield 3 are in, and they're mightily impressive. EA have stated that pre-orders currently stand at over "a couple of million" while participation in the Beta has apparently topped 8 million users according to a graphic on the Battlefield 3 blog. wowzers.

Also hot off the presses from EA is the news that they have filed 2 trademark requests for the title "Prison Kings". Trademark applications for an Online game, as well as downloadable computer game software have both been made but any other clue as to the type of game it will be aren't forthcoming at the moment. Personally I enjoyed the prison sections of Fight Night Champion, so a re-imagining of the Knockout Kings brand set in the prison system would be an interesting take on the fighting game genre. Either that or we're going to get a bully style prison game with online components.



Finally, here's your UK top ten selling games on all platforms for the week ending October 15th

1. Forza Motorsport 4
2. FIFA 12
3. Just Dance 3
4. Rage
5. Pro Evolution Soccer 12
6. Gears of War 3
7. Dark Souls
8. Zumba Fitness
9. F1 2011
10. Jonah Lomu Rugby Challenge

The might of FIFA 12 has finally been vanquished! After two weeks in pole position EA's football sim has been outsold by Turn 10's ode to the motor vehicle. What makes this even more impressive is that Forza 4 was released on Friday the 14th, meaning that in 24 hours it sold more copies than FIFA did in an entire 7 day period. True enough most people that wanted FIFA would have bought it inside the first two weeks, but no other game on the top ten this week, including Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer 2012, has managed to beat EA's sales.

Good to see once again that Dark Souls is in the top ten, while F1 2011 and GoW3 also hang around the list. Surprise surprise, Zumba fitness is still selling well. I'm beginning to think that Wet wet wet had the right idea when they withdrew Love is all around from sale after they got sick of being number 1. Take note Majesco entertainment...

Right, that'll do for today, I'm going back to bed to die quietly.

Later days.

The Round-up: Valve give away free shit, Karma catches up with Team Bondi.

It's a few days later than expected but non the less here's the weekly edition of the Round-up for all you gamers out there.

Don't you just love getting things for free? I know i do, which is why Valve continue to be in my good books after they released the third volume of "Music To Test By" the official soundtrack for their smash hit game Portal 2. Along with a free download of all three volumes, the official site also has promotional videos, posters and ringtones available for fans of the game. You can follow this link to the free goodness that our masters at Valve have provided for us, just click on the Download link at the top of the Portal 2 home page...



While on the subject of Valve's portal based puzzle game the new DLC pack entitled "Peer Review" featuring a new test track and everyone's favourite homicidal AI, GLaDOS, is now available on PSN, XBL and Steam for free. Once again Valve show that they know how to keep the fans happy. And if by any chance you haven't picked the game up yet i have more happy news for you, as Valve have made Portal 2 available on Steam for half price, get them while they're hot!



Any gamer who wants more graphically impressive games on Facebook or Google + may have lucked out after Epic and Adobe announced at the ADOBE MAX conference that Unreal Engine 3 will support Flash Player 11, even going as far as to demonstrate a version of Unreal Tournament 3 running on flash. impressive, but it's still not going to get me playing Mafia Wars...



Regular readers of this Blog may recall i had a go on Resident Evil: Revelations a while ago, and while i wasn't all that happy with the controls it was a graphically impressive title that showed just what 3DS is capable of. Obviously that build was some way from complete since Capcom recently announced that North America will see the game released on February 7th, that's still a way off so hopefully the controls can be tweaked between now and then.



From one Zombie game to another now, as it was announced by SEGA that Yakuza: Of the End will be seeing a release in the West under the new name Yakuza: Dead Souls. Gamers familiar with the Yakuza series will see a different side to the franchise in this instalment as they try to survive the Zombie hoard rather than beating up rival gangsters. It's an interesting spin on the standard Yakuza stories of the past so here's hoping it does well.

Ah the dead...that reminds me.


Team Bondi are officially no more after documents were filed with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and the company entered administration. Production company Kennedy Miller Mitchell has reportedly bought the studios assets, but fear not LA Noire fans, Take-Two still hold some rights to the game that should have heralded a bright future for the now defunct Australian developer, and given the number of copies it sold will be giving a sequel the green light at some point.

Seven years huh? way to fuck it up Mr McNamara...



It is a truth, universally recognised, that code based validation of video games is a stinking turd of an idea that leaves little good will between gamers and games makers. There's no arguing that developers need to protect their investment, and that the people that spend hundreds of hours honing the games that we play deserve recompense for all the hard work and effort they put into the game, but Sony's Online Pass and EA's Project $10 as i have heard it referred to by some people are the worst way to do it.

Why am i writing about this? Well it turns out that Resistance 3 was only the first game in Sony's first party catalogue that will have an Online Pass included with it. Uncharted 3 will also include one of these wonderful little codes which SCEE/SCEA claimed to be "an important initiative as it allows us to accelerate our commitment to enhancing premium online services across our first party game portfolio."

Bull shit.

Sony's online infrastructure is, has been and will be for some time yet, a pile of Crap. Just admit to what this really is, a way of making more money from people that buy their games second hand because new ones are too expensive. I'll get back to that particular point later on... The implication here is that any first party game with online functions from now on will have a code included with it.

Gentlemen, start your keyboards.



Microsoft's Major Nelson has released a list of Xbox 360's TV partners, essentially listing which TV channels we can expect to have access to when the Fall update hits "This Holiday 2011" with regard to the release date, vague doesn't really cover it does it?

Click here to see the full list for your region.




Last but not least here's the new UK Top 10 best sellers on all platforms

1. FIFA 12
2. Gears of War 3
3. F1 2011
4. Zumba Fitness
5. Dead Island
6. Deus Ex: Human Revolution
7. Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection
8. Driver: San Francisco
9. Lego Pirates of the Caribbean
10. Call of Duty: Black Ops

People of the UK, you disgust me. How on earth are you still buying Zumba Fitness!?

On the other hand the rest of the top ten looks rather respectable, FIFA 12 is somewhat inevitably at number 1, more on that in a moment, while GoW3 and F1 2011 round out the top 3. Driver is still hanging around the top ten dropping two places from 6 to 8 and it's great to see the Team Ico Collection getting some love. The continued sales of Lego Pirates of the Caribbean are confusing while it was no surprise that with CoD and Battlefield around the corner CoD:Black Ops has seen a rise in sales.

So FIFA 12 is number 1? It didn't exactly take a crystal ball to figure that one out, but the rate at which it's sold is startling. On the list of all time début weeks It's third behind CoD: BlOps and Modern Warfare 2, beating GTA4 down into fourth. Given that last year EA claimed that FIFA 11 was their fastest seller ever it seems clear that FIFA 12 will not only dwarf that record but most likely it's on target to become the quickest selling sports game of all time. EA estimates put week 1 sales of FIFA 12 at some 3.2 million copies meaning that it's up on last years release at the same point by roughly 20-25%

As i said, Startling.

Even more surprising though is the fact that in almost every shop that sells the game it's retail price is £42.99. Now I'm no cheapskate, but it seams to be a cynical move on either EA's part or on the part of the retailers. Knowing that the game would sell out on day one, they put prices up by an extra £3 on the normal retail price for a current generation game, which for the longest time has stood at £39.99. HMV actually made a big deal of the fact that they were selling the game at £39.99, the price the game should have been to start with.

This isn't the first time that the Market has been manipulated by EA and the retailers though. Back in 2010 during the world cup in South Africa you couldn't find a copy of FIFA 10, used or new, in any store. Instead you could only buy FIFA World Cup 2010, the same game as FIFA 10 but with World Cup branding etc. I'm sick of being treated like cattle by these big companies, but unfortunately the majority just go along with it.

I've tried the Demo for FIFA 12 and I'm not buying, admittedly I'm a bit of a PES fan boy, but this year EA have taken defending and turned it into an impossible challenge, aiming more at people who can already play the previous instalments of the game rather than trying to be inclusionary to the rest of us. The rest of the game is fine, but they made learning the game too hard for me to jump ship, plus PES is easy as hell to patch with real Kits, and that's really the only thing FIFA has over Konami's game most years, in my book anyway...

Fight Night Chump-ion - Spoilerific Review

Oh dear EA, how could you create such a great story mode and botch it so badly at the end?

Fight Night Champion is the first in the franchise to feature a custom built story mode to supplement what has now become the standard Legacy and Fight Now modes from last year. You play as Andre Bishop a former amateur boxing champion turned pro who was framed by a corrupt boxing promoter and sent to prison for assaulting a police officer and carrying an unlicensed weapon.

The problem I have with this game isn't anything to do with character development or scripting, all of which is top notch and a real credit to the guys at EA Canada. The reason that the story mode falls down is that the path it forces you to take makes no sense whatsoever.

EA Canada are at great pains to develop a bond between the player and Andre Bishop. His back story is classic underdog stuff. Framed for assaulting a police officer he's locked away in prison only four years into a promising career, through flashbacks you play through Andre's rise to prominence and learn all the techniques needed to succeed in professional boxing. you face the nine time amateur boxing champion and defeat him in what is presented as a real upset, you learn how to take down a man quickly in sparring sessions, you witness the relationship between Gus, your trainer and adoptive father, and the Bishop brothers.

When Andre is framed and sent to prison you're right there with him. After several vicious fights you both emerge from the state prison more ruthless and hungry than ever. Andre, having put on several extra pounds of muscle in order to survive in jail, is now a legit heavyweight but is left mopping floors after brother Raymond gets him a job at the gym. Embarking on Andre's comeback you're faced with new challenges. In one match Andre breaks his right hand, meaning that you have to box the majority of the match one handed and still win. This raises the stakes but is also a great way for the game to teach you how to box behind a jab rather than swing for the fences in the vain hope that you catch the opponent with a lucky shot.

Eventually, through hard work you reach the top and a possible face off with current Heavyweight champion Isaac Frost, and unfortunately this is where things take a turn for EA Canada's story mode.

I have no trouble with the idea that the Bishop brothers would fight each other for a shot at the title, and while i can also understand why Andre would take a fall to let his brother have a shot at the title, it makes no sense for me as a gamer to play a game just to lose on purpose.

Worse still, when Raymond gets his shot at the champion you find that you're in control of the Champ and not your brother! Why on earth would i want to control the champion at this stage? Surely if the idea is to impress on the player just how strong Frost is it would be better that you play as Raymond and get obliterated?

Never the less Raymond loses and is brutally knocked out, setting up the fight that everyone wanted. And now it's personal.

Having set all of this up it would make sense to let me go hell for leather against this guy wouldn't it? Surely i can swing for the fences and get sweet revenge for my fallen brother?

nope.

For the first three rounds of the title fight you're instructed by your corner to run away. Yes, that's right, in the grudge match of the century, a blood feud where the older brother is gunning for vengeance in his brothers name, you have to spend the first three rounds RUNNING AWAY from your opponent! at least when you complete this ridiculous task the corner then tell you to start putting in body shots, unfortunately this is ruined by a counter which is placed in the corner of the screen to tell you when you've hit him 75 times. I thought this was a game about realism? oh well.

At least after another three rounds of body punching I could look forward to being able to let loose on the bastard that brutalised my brother, oh wait, I have to run away for another two rounds?

great.

Finally, in round 8, you can fight Frost like he's a regular human being and not some kind of Omnipotent Greek God carved out of granite.

It would have been so much nicer if i could ignore the corner and box my own match, but they've overpowered Frost so much that it is literally impossible to beat him until round 8 when they normalise his stamina and punching power. If you even attempt to stand your ground before then you're toast. I didn't buy a Superman game, why am I fighting him?

Why spend all that time building up a great story only to completely gimp it at the end with totally nonsensical game play choices and almost impossible endgame fights? EA had a gem of a game here for 90% of the play through, it's such a shame they blew it with the last three fights...

/Rant

Goodbye Mark Lawrenson

After what seems like an eternity i have returned to the world of the Blog, in the hopes that i can once more be ridiculous for a moment.

Today is a landmark day in my life, for today i have finally turned the corner and realised it's time to make a change. Many a year i have revelled in the creative freedoms that Pro Evolution Soccer has afforded me in the editing suite, but that is no longer enough to keep me faithful to Konami's version of the beautiful game.

Wednesday September the 8th saw a bunch of listeners attend the 50th IGN UK podcast recording and i was fortunate enough to be amongst the lucky few. At this event we were treated to a demonstration of Playstation Move (It didn't work) and also had the chance to play FIFA 11 against each other.

For as long as i remember there have been two camps in the football simulation market, those who play FIFA, and those who play ISS/PES. ever since ISS 98 i have fallen into the Konami camp, preferring how a game played over the official licences it held. When ISS became PES it added something else to the mix which cemented my loyalty to the brand, Full kit editing. Last year i played both games at the demo stage and was sorely tempted by EA's game because for the first time in a long time it was more fun to play and actually felt closer to the real thing. Despite this i maintained my loyalty to Pro Evo more out of blind faith than logical reasoning.

This year will be no different in as much as i will play both demo's to see how they are to play, however there is one big difference that could play a vital role in which game i purchase. This year I'm buying the game i enjoy the most and leaving blind faith at the door.

Now onto my thoughts of the game i played today.

FIFA 11 plays beautifully, the passing is crisp and precise when you get it right rewarding you with a defence splitting pass that puts the opposing goalkeeper at the mercy of your centre forward. That's not to say that the computer does the work for you, you still have to direct the pass and choose how hard to strike the ball with the familiar power gauge.

Tackling is challenging but satisfying, meaning that you'll get as much out of a clean sheet as you will scoring at the other end. When playing with the ball at the feet of Marouan Chamakh or Robin Van Persie i never felt like being barged off the ball as easily as you can be in PES 2010. Trickier customers like Andrey Arshavin were easier to barge off the ball in a physical tussle but nippier and more nimble in and around the penalty area.

Graphically this years FIFA is a definite improvement on last years entry, players looked spot on in the game i played (Man Utd were emphatically beaten by a rampant Arsenal 3-0) The shirts looked as vibrant as they do in the real thing and the Stadiums are painstakingly duplicated in all their majesty. Pro Evo has had the edge as far as looks are concerned for the last few years, but now that FIFA has bucked it's ideas up in that area it'll be interesting to see how PES responds.

Finishing chances off has long been a gripe of mine when it comes to EA football games, but on the limited play time i had with the next one it would appear that the chances of pulling a Chris Iwelumo and skying the ball from 2 yards out have been drastically reduced. Great news for me, less so for my opponents.

Oh and as far as commentary is concerned, even though the game i played had commentary turned off FIFA has always beaten PES hands down in that department so i'll take it as red that Mark Lawrenson is still putting through Konami's own net

So how are we doing for reasons to buy this game?

Graphics - Check
Game play - Check
Official Kits and Licences - Check
Commentary - Double Check

The only thing that has me slightly reserved is that EA have still not really come up with a Master League killer and as i understand it you still can't play as your own imaginary team in FIFA. True, you had to edit PES United or Winning Eleven FC if you wanted to play as Brentwood FC in last years Pro Evo, but you could still design your own shirt, crest and sponsor.

I guess old habits really do die hard...

Robinho.