RandomNPC – Video Game RPG Reviews, Editorials, and Features

Guess who’s back!  How’s everybody doing?  I spent the weekend watching mutants and mercenaries duke it out in the Capitol building.  And then I came home to play Fallout 3 heyoooooooooo!  Okay, yeah, obvious joke is obvious, but DC is a cool town even if you’re not a political junkie such as myself.  But anyway, it’s good to be back at home base, got my computer a shiny new video card, the Mass Effect 3 review finally done, and ready to get down to business.  So let’s get on it!  In today’s headlines we have:

• Bethesda announces The Elder Scrolls Online.  I explain why this is not going anywhere profitable, and point to a much more interesting property they’re funding for one Shinji Mikami.
• A Forbes article breaks down that Zynga, Groupon, and Facebook work with an accounting firm that makes rules up as they go.  I wish I were kidding.
• Eurogamer runs a lengthy piece on the demise of Free Radical.  Long story short, it took a little more treachery than doped-up marines going “Boosh!”
• NVidia rolls out a top-of-the-line graphics card for $1000.00.  How else can a month’s salary last until next week when they push the envelope even further?
• FilePlanet is no longer being updated, thus preparing itself for the annals of Internet history.  Behold, children, the days when patches didn’t download themselves.
• Electronic Arts rolls out an Indie Bundle, upending basically every sensible definition of the term ‘indie.’  And on Steam, no less, making it all the more confusing.
• A Chinese company develops a console specifically for pirates China, EA asks for feedback on Origin, I speculate based on Sega-centric Steam deals, and more!

Continue reading ‘What Happened This Week – Capitalism Means Never Saying Sorry’ »

All right, back in business!  Just in time to let you all know that, naturally, there will not be a podcast on Christmas Day.  Enjoy the holidays everyone, and I’ll see you all in the new year!  Until then let us dig into the bigger happenings this week (and 2011 in general), including the following:

• Zynga went public and entered its first day of trading, starting at $10/share and never quite getting higher.  You may want to get popcorn for this.
• Nintendo partnered with the Louvre to use its 3DS as an interactive display guide.  Yes, that Louvre.
• Meanwhile, DJ Deadmau5 lost and then recovered pretended to lose a demo PS Vita in a cab, while a boat named the PlayStation Vita was capsized at sea.  What’s the over/under on these being roundabout marketing schemes versus ill omens?
• Square Enix got hacked, with the scope of the theft not known but the company certain no credit card information was leaked.  Affected users were heard to collectively say “Oh no, not again.”
• CD Projekt pursued Witcher 2 pirates, stating that being anti-DRM and anti-piracy aren’t mutually exclusive.  I am forced to conclude they are trying to confuse the internet, and it’s working.
• 2011 roundup: my own Top 5 for major events in the gaming industry, from the awesome to the shocking to the just plain sad.
• Naughty Dog claims The Last of Us will have a heavy story focus (oh, boy), Pokemon partakes in a most unusual crossover, and much more! Continue reading ‘What Happened This Week – Zynga All the Way’ »

November is upon us, as is daylight savings time for those of us that practice it for some reason. I, for one, look forward to driving to and from work in perpetual darkness, only occasionally seeing sunlight through the office windows.

Let us proceed with the news, which includes the following:

• Groupon goes public, setting records not seen since Google’s IPO. Of course, it’s only been one day and doubts persist about the company’s long-term growth prospects, but I’m sure it will all work out just fine. (Note: I’m not a financial expert and my opinions should not be construed as advice.)
• Silicon Knights sees substantial layoffs, reaffirming what happens when you fail to make Technoviking: The Game look interesting.
• Richard Garriott warns that Blizzard “needs to watch out for the Zyngas of the world.” Yeah, I’m sure they’re quivering behind the giant forts they’ve constructed purely out of money.
• Grand Theft Auto V finally launches its official trailer, with not a single carjacking or crazy stunt in sight. I’ll bet Pepperidge Farm remembers when GTA games were fun.
• In truly unexpected news, GameStop plans to sell tablet PCs in stores. Preorder yours today for bonus exclusive DLC for Microsoft Office!
• Ultima takes a long, strange trip into BioWare, Spike TV’s VGA includes games that aren’t out yet, we learn the terrible secret of Bro Con, and more!

Continue reading ‘What Happened This Week – Groupon to Buy Britannia Manor’ »

Finally got to upload this, would’ve had it earlier if not for an inopportune (though easily fixed) network hiccup.  Anyway, hope you’re all enjoying the beautiful Labor Day weekend!  It’s time for the news:

• Famitsu unveiled a cornucopia of Persona news: a Vita port of 4, a fighting game, and a lot of dancing around Persona 5.  So much speculation, so little time.
• Bethesda does the timed exclusivity song-and-dance with Skyrim DLC, setting a new record by doing so before the game launches.  The power of the money hat is strong.
• Zeboyd Games gets a crack at Penny Arcade Adventures: Really Long Subtitle: Episode 3.  Don’t underestimate them; Breath of Death VII is deceptively good.
• Sony plans another head-mounted TV screen monstrosity.  No, Sony, the “3D” part of it doesn’t make it any more likely to succeed than your last attempt.
• Square Enix plans to boost the staff at Eidos Montreal, Doom‘s 17-year ban in Germany is removed, and more!
• Plus, a spotlight on the recent financial workings of Zynga, Groupon, and LinkedIn: fuzzy accounting practices, pending market headaches, and the SEC asking pointed questions like “Why do all these numbers have asterisks by them?” and “Why did your accountant introduce himself with air quotes?”

Continue reading ‘What Happened This Week – Summon Your Accountant’ »

Mandatory viewing for all Deus Ex fans.

Howdy folks!  Getting busy around here before E3, but we still have time to wrap up the news. Let’s break it down:

• Groupon joins Zynga, PopCap, etc. in preparing to go public, despite not actually making a profit.  We should make a drinking game out of this.
• A huge preview build for Deus Ex: Human Revolution got leaked to the internet.  To everyone’s surprise, nobody minds.  File that under “did not see coming.”
• Interplay teeters on the brink of bankruptcy, as they seemingly have for years now.  But don’t worry, Fallout Online is gonna be here any day now!
• Dueling digital distribution services: Gamestop automatically charges for re-downloading “insurance,” which its competitors give away for free…
• …while EA launches its own DD network coincidentally named after one of the studios it absorbed.  Oooh, awk~waaard.
• E3 pre-conference projections: Nintendo’s new hardware, Sony’s image problem, and Microsoft’s Kinect… stuff.

In addition we have some late-breaking news that didn’t make it into the recording: NPR and NECN.com reported that not only was Nintendo hacked, but they were hacked by the same group that’s been plaguing Sony recently.  No data was stolen in the Nintendo hack, but the group, calling itself Lulz Security, has claimed responsibility for an attack on Sony Pictures that resulted in a million more users’ personal information.

From where I sit there’s actually a fairly clear line between exposing a company’s lackluster security procedures – which Sony is clearly guilty of – and releasing sensitive information for all to see.  The second Robin Hood starts shooting random people and telling them to blame the authorities for failing to protect them, he’s lost the argument.  I don’t see the Nintendo hack changing the game much, although I’d put money down that these ongoing hacks are going to draw more attention than LulzSec might like.  Much as it pains me to admit, life isn’t Shadowrun, and when the feds come knocking the game’s pretty much over.

And now, on with the actual episode.  Enjoy!

Continue reading ‘What Happened This Week – Pre-E3 Warmup With Electronic Old Men’ »