RandomNPC – Video Game RPG Reviews, Editorials, and Features

Nothing quite like a sales binge to pick up on games you missed, especially when it reminds you how expensive some of them are. Hey, dude selling Suikoden V for $100: I hope your parents hated you, because I do. Also, a heads-up: I’ll be in DC next week starting Sunday, so no podcast while I’m away. See you all the following week! With that said, here are this week’s headlines:

• Rumors swirl that EA may be laying people off, though even if they’re true there may be a plausible explanation.  Or EA’s stock could be dropping, it could be that too.
• That said, Zynga appears to have gone off the deep end, with more OMGPop-style pricey acquisitions in the future.  OMGPop, incidentally, may have peaked the very day of its acquisition.  Get some popcorn, folks.
• Two of the Big Three schedule their E3 conferences, prompting a rehash of speculation.  My take: Microsoft offers no surprises, Sony needs to explain themselves, and Nintendo will steal headlines whether it wants to or not.
• Speaking of Sony, the New York Times offers a revealing look on where the electronics giant stumbled.  Short version: departmental tribalism, right down to war paint and scalping.
• Wired’s Chris Kohler asserts the existing publisher-hardware-retailer model is broken and we don’t really need it.  I agree, but scrapping it all seems premature.
• Namco-Bandai may avoid using GFWL for the PC version of Dark Souls.  On bended knee, I beseech Bamco to do the right thing and serve the Newell.
• A rumored meeting between Apple and Valve is debunked, Saints Row DLC may have saved THQ, and more!

Continue reading ‘What Happened This Week – The Future Needs More RAM’ »

Yes, I’m late to the party on Recettear.  But it’s never too late to make money through overpriced goods!  Anyway, hello everybody!  We’re back from break and ready to tackle the news, and what a couple weeks it has been:

• Facebook files for its $5 billion IPO, appearing every bit a giant of the tech sector until people start asking how much one would really pay for social networking.
• In the process we learn that Zynga makes up about 12% of Facebook’s earnings.  As a reminder, Zynga is currently looking for ways to survive without Facebook.  Happy filing, Mr. Zuckerberg!
• Kazuo Hirai formally assumes his role as President and CEO of Sony, to which his exact words are “Holy s***, now what?”  Truer words have rarely been spoken.
• Double Fine’s Kickstarter project succeeds far beyond expectations, suggesting a viable path for small-to-midsize developers outside the usual publisher song and dance.  I wouldn’t hold my breath for a rash of publicly-funded games, however.
• Amazon plans to open a retail store in Seattle, apparently in a bid to corner the market on physical depictions of irony.
• THQ faces a slew of financial difficulties, from shedding 175 jobs to a potential delisting on the Nasdaq.  They should’ve rolled the North Korean taco truck around some more for Homefront.
• Square Enix posts a decent profit for 2011, a man named William Fourkiller (OK state rep) wants to tax violent games, Ubisoft’s always-on DRM schemes backfire, and more!

 
Continue reading ‘What Happened This Week – Capitalism, Ho!’ »

Greetings to you all on this lovely Sunday, or as the media calls it, “two days until the world ends.” The debt ceiling might be on everyone’s mind these days – actually job creation is, or at least it should be – but we’ve still got some gaming news to cover. In tonight’s gravity-defying* episode:

• The Big N announces a sizable price drop on the 3DS and Iwata takes the heat for low sales numbers.  Some say this is brilliant, others that it’s risky; smarter people say it’s both.
• Alleged members of LulzSec are under increasing scrutiny from the UK authorities, leading to at least one arrest.  This is what happens, Larry!  This is what happens when you [censored by Standards and Practices]!
• Dragon Age 2 disappears from Steam in the wake of their Legacy DLC release, and EA and Valve bicker despite making so much money together off Portal 2.   Somewhere, Bobby Kotick is giggling like a schoolgirl.
• A major Battlefield 3 release party holds a “No girls allowed” stipulation.  Apparently, booting less-than-ideal representatives of the online community requires actual work.
• THQ ends the Red Faction series, wondering why people found a corridor shooter about killing aliens in a cave less interesting than a sandbox destruction simulator on the surface of Mars.
• Kinectimals DLC will add bears to the game.  The title: Kinectimals: Now With Bears! Would that more DLC could be so honest.
• Lastly, I offer some pointers about the debt ceiling fiasco: how we got here, what might happen, and what (little) we can do about it.

Continue reading ‘What Happened This Week – Worldwide Economic Catastrophes, Now With Bears!’ »