Laughable is the wrong word, agreed. It's just one of those things people have to deal with.
But it IS a pretty big deal. The technology is out there, and has been out there for a long time (longer than the 360 has been around), so that you needn't swap disks. I'm not even necessarily talking blu-ray here.
And it goes beyond having to get up off your ass. With the recent discovery that Microsoft hold such strong rules for publishing on their platf...
So your argument here is that Sony is as bad as Microsoft because if they don't get the game for 12 months after original release, they want their users to have extra incentive to buy?
Opposed to Microsoft actively going out of their way to effect PS3 games ahead of launch?
If I was a dev, I know exactly which situation I'd be happier with.
I was actually refusing to buy it unless it had this feature. I would have rather waited another 12 months for the next Treyarch developed CoD than buy another game that my girlfriend couldn't join in on.
It's that much more fun with somebody actually there playing with you. Makes shouting at the TV that much less demented.
I hope that they manage to get out of the shadow of their previous successes on this one. It would be so easy to make a new game in the style of God of War, just a new character and a new location.
They're a talented group of developers, and I guess creating something unique will be proof of this.
I'll never buy a game full price unless I want to be amongst the first people to play it. Something like Uncharted 3 could be spoilt so easily by checking the wrong website or watching the wrong video, I'll happily pay a premium not to have a game ruined for me.
I suppose that depends on how much they play the game and how much they've gotten out of the DLC packs.
Personally, I would say it's money well spent.
@RustedMan
Further to my last message below, I don't think anybody hates Call of Duty because it's popular. I think people who say they hate Call of Duty hate Call of Duty because it's mostly been the same game for the last 5 years.
It's amazing how many of the haters say they still play the original Modern Warfare.
I love Call of Duty. It's great fun and well worth every penny I've spent on it.
But it will never live up to the hype. Ever.
At the end of the day though, nobody is ever going to agree with everything on one of these lists, because nobody thinks their favourite game has been TOO hyped.
I hate that Goldeneye box art, it just looks freaky now :/
Buying a game shouldn't be dependent on living in an area with an always-on connection, it shouldn't be dependent on the internet company being competent (not all of them are), especially considering that the people who want to pirate will probably find a work-around in a matter of weeks.
So who does it hurt? The people who would have paid for a copy and now don't really have that option.
Yeah, that is mentioned in the news piece. It's not exactly a $75 difference, because of tax and such - but I can't imagine that there is zero profit for Valve/the developers in that $75 difference.
They're not just passing on the increased charges, they're inflating the price.
I love Dynasty Warriors and I have a hard time understanding people who not only avoid playing it (fair enough), but actively knock it.
That said, without the haters I would have missed out on one of my favourite comments I've ever read on the internet: "I hate Dynasty Warriors, all you do is press buttons."
Yup.
I've spent 10 minutes writing and re-writing this comment because I can't really sort out in my mind why I think Braid is pretentious. While the ending is interesting, not highly original but interesting, and the game itself well worth a play, there seems to be a feeling running through it that there is that much more going on.
That Braid is some sort of allegory for a problem or larger issue would be fine, but there is no real hint at what exactly that problem or iss...
Pitchford made a huge mistake, in my mind, making that tweet. On first glimpse it's nothing but a reaction to the news that the announcement (of an announcement) had been made. But the more you think about it, the more you realize that it's a good indicator of how developers think of the press.
Eurogamer is the biggest games publication based in Europe (I believe) and, sure, they ruined the surprise coming less than 24 hours later. But they are professionals, any way ...
This is what it all boils down to in the end. And, hey, the only people I ever hear complaining about sequels, FPS overload and lack of innovation are usually so opinionated that I imagine the vast majority of them wouldn't be happy with most new, original games either.
The moral? Surely it's that a game can be good no matter what the genre or whether it is part of a series or not.
"NOT a big deal?! I have something to show you, and I don't think you're going to like it."
This would make perfect sense!
Oh, they could afford it in a heartbeat. But big businesses stay big businesses because they keep their outgoings low and their incomings high.
Activision may not be a well loved company, but there's a reason they're such a SUCCESSFUL company, and that's what is important to them.
See, i'd say the difference is that very few people would pay more than that for Killzone maps. Killzone, as fun as it is, just doesn't have the same sort of following Call of Duty has and it certainly doesn't have the same pull with casual players.
I have to get into these MMOs at some point. There is so many of them - big, popular releases as well - that they must be worth something...