The gaming industry has gotten bigger and better with each passing year, but sometimes it just doesn’t do things right. Whether it’s gameplay, story, pricing, or business practices, sometimes the industry needs a little friendly fire from gamers to keep it in line.
Other times, developers look down their sights and fire off a well placed bullet right into our thrilled heads. This is Josh & Cameron, and today we have a special guest for Headshots & Friendly Fire.
A Bit of Friendly Fire
Yakuza Releases March 9th
I know what you’re thinking: Is Sega evil, or just stupid? Sega didn’t want to release Yakuza 3 over here, and they don’t want to release Yakuza 4 over here, either. So the question is: are they deliberately releasing Yakuza 3 on the same day as FFXIII so that it doesn’t sell well and they can justify not bringing Yakuza 4 to the west? Could Sega not realize that they are pitting Yakuza 3 against one of the biggest games of the year? Judging from Sega’s past history with marketing, it would be typical for Sega to screw up the marketing for Yakuza 3. Sega needs to decide if they want to support games in the US and Europe, or if they want to be a Japan-only company.
Still no Trophies?
I’ll be the first guy to tell you that trophies shouldn’t matter if the game is good enough. That still holds true, but in a game market where trophies are such a sought-after commodity, there is really no excuse not to patch a game for trophies, then turn around and complain about lack of sales. Every time a for sale article goes up on Valkyria Chronicles, one of the top 10 PS3 games to date, you will always find complainers about no trophy patch. While I still think everyone should play this game, I can’t help but get upset at SEGA over not patching this and getting themselves more sales. Another game in need of some trophies just to make it playable is 50 Cent Blood on the Sand. I rented the game to gain trophies and have fun with a friend (no offline co-op, another story) and alas, no trophies. The game even got patched in Japan, where I don’t even think 50 has any fans. Add replay value, guys, and make an extra buck or two, though it might be a bit late for both of those.
Batman 2 Preorder Already Available
Batman: Arkham Asylum has been on the market for less time than Conan O’Brien has been on the Tonight Show, and yet pre-orders for the second game are already available. In the last H&F, I said that Batman: Arkham Asylum 2 needs to have a long develpment cycle, and not just be pushed out the door. Now, it’s starting to look like my fears may be coming true. RockSteady, don’t let success go to your head.
Built around Co-op, but no Offline?
I mentioned 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand earlier and its lack of offline co-op. Why do developers decide to make a game that is supposed to be played with a friend and yet fail to make the game offline co-op compatible? I know online is where it’s at, and more and more people are going online to join up with friends, but every so often, people like to play a game together while sitting in the same room. The only reason a lot of these games are rented is for just that feature, and when it’s not made available, it leaves gamers feeling frustrated.
