At last night’s Indie Game Maker Rant, Tommy Refenes, one half of Team Meat, appropriately let off some steam about Apple’s App Store, saying, “The majority of people who do anything for the App Store work on it and then kind of get screwed over.” Refenes suggested that what the App Store specializes in are cheap ports of established brands, sold on their established names alone, as he compared it to the Tiger LCD handheld games of the late ’80s and early ’90s.
“It’s just a way to sell a brand,” Refenes said. “That’s what the Tiger handheld games were, and that’s what I think the App Store is.”
To prove a point that the App Store is “kind of shit for most things,” Refenes recounted the experiment he launched with
Canabalt creator Adam Saltsman. The two developed a “joke game” called
Zits & Giggles (in which players pop pimples) and submitted it to the App Store at the 99 cents price point. Each time sales dropped off, they raised the price. Consumers kept buying it, however, as the game rose to $15, then to $50, and so on — it was even purchased for $299!
We don’t know what to take away from that, but luckily Refenes had an observation: “My conclusion to all of this is that the people who you’re selling to on the App Store are not necessarily gamers.” Care to challenge that theory?
Zits & Giggles ($349.99): 
Super Meat Boy dude: ‘App Store is Tiger handheld of this generation’ originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Tags: 11th-2010, aol, app store, Featured, indie-game-makers-rant, Joystiq, joystiq-playstation, joystiq-xbox, team-meat, tiger, tiger-handheld, weekly-releases, xbox
Speaking during GDC, Peter Molyneux highlighted Lionhead’s strategy for Fable 3, specifically noting that a franchise will die if it fails to grow. “If we don’t grow as a franchise, If Fable doesn’t get bigger as a franchise,” said Molyneux, “then it will eventually die.” Lionhead is “very happy” with the success of Fable so far, with Molyneux stating that the original Fable sold “about 3 million” copies, while Fable 2 moved approximately 3.5 million.
He added that he hopes that 25-30 percent more people will play Fable 3, explaining Lionhead’s plans to craft Fable 3 as more of an action-adventure title — a genre which tends to perform better than RPGs. The overall goal for Lionhead is to sell more than five million copies of Fable 3. According to Molyneux, Fable 3 needs to sell that many in order to “be part of the big boys, the big blockbusters.”
How will Lionhead rope in that many new customers? Read our full coverage of the Fable 3 GDC panel to find out.
Fable 2 sold 3.5 million copies, Lionhead ‘needs’ 5 million for Fable 3 originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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It would appear that the still-unnamed next project in the Dragon Age series has been given a date, as spotted by 1UP in an early retail box of Dragon Age: Origins — Awakening for PS3. Aligning with the release window hinted at by EA hinted earlier this year during a financial call, the scarcely-detailed game will arrive on Februrary 1, 2011 — or, in the graphic’s terms, “02.01.2011.”
We’re not exactly sure if this is part of the two years of promised content that BioWare outlined late last year, but at very least it’s an extremely early (possible) release date for more content in a critically acclaimed series. We’ve asked EA for more information on the date and will let you know more as soon as we do.
Mystery Dragon Age project dated Feb. 1, 2011 originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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click to visit the new Albion
Peter Molyneux has made it clear that Fable 3 is ditching as much of the 2D interface from Fable 2 as possible. Speaking at GDC, he finally showed us exactly how Lionhead will achieve this. According to Molyneux, Microsoft user research revealed that a majority of Fable 2 players understood fewer than half of the features in the game. “We’re creating content that people literally don’t care about,” said Molyneux.
To help rectify this, Fable 3’s menu system is managed entirely from within the game world. When players pause the game, their character is instantly warped to a chamber with different rooms that serve different functions. Molyneux specifically demonstrated the dressing room, where players will change clothes. Molyneux contrasted the process with that of Fable 2, in which changing outfits was like “going in the morning and choosing index cards to choose what you wear.”
Continue reading Peter Molyneux explains Fable 3 menu, morphing systems
Peter Molyneux explains Fable 3 menu, morphing systems originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Yoshio Sakamoto has had a rather diverse career with Nintendo, having worked on games like Metroid, WarioWare and Tomodatchi Collection. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata asked the Metroid: Other M producer to speak at GDC to “explore the secret of creating games for such a dynamic range of titles.”
One of Sakamoto’s greatest inspirations seems to be film, noting directors Dario Argento, Luc Besson, John Woo and Brian de Palma as key figures. In particular, he found Argento’s “Deep Red” to have a profound impact. Argento’s manipulation of mood through music and timing is something he found moving; the use of foreshadowing helped transcend the film beyond other horror films.
Other M will take these various inspirations by becoming a “synthesis of everything I’ve learned,” Sakamoto told the audience. A new trailer screened for GDC attendees highlighted various cinematic moments in the upcoming Wii game, including a CG reimagination of Super Metroid’s climatic ending. Sakamoto pointed out the return of Metroid Fusion’s Adam, reminding the audience that foreshadowing will play a key role in creating suspense in the interquel. Considering the subsequent applause, it seems clear that Metroid fans approve of this new direction.
Nintendo’s Yoshio Sakamoto reveals Metroid: Other M’s cinematic inspirations originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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During his panel at GDC 2010, Lionhead’s Peter Molyneux revealed that Fable III will include some form of Twitter support. Molyneux discussed the game’s experience system, noting that the most important thing in Fable III is to acquire followers. We’ve heard that before, but then Molyneux said he was going to give the audience a “clue” about a new feature, but that he wasn’t allowed to say more. Said Molyneux, “I Twitter now and, you know, I’ve got followers on Twitter. That’s an interesting mechanic, and we integrate that into the Fable experience.”
True to his word, Molyneux didn’t drop any further hints, but considering that followers are akin to experience points in Fable III, we’re assuming @conanobrien will soon rule us all.
Fable III Twitter integration revealed originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Sony Worldwide Studios VP Scott Rohde had the onerous task of introducing the first PlayStation Move games at Sony’s GDC press conference last night. We caught up with the executive after the show to talk about Sony’s plans for exploiting motion control and if hardcore gamers should be concerned about the future of the PS3 games library.
Our complete interview with Rohde follows:
It’s obviously going to take internal resources to develop games for PlayStation Move. How can you guarantee that this won’t take away from the resources devoted to traditional hardcore games?
Scott Rohde: The bottom line is, you know Worldwide Studios is a huge organization. I’m not sure exactly where it sits among other global publishers, but it’s right up there. There’s a lot of resources put into product development. I’m pretty proud of the roll that we’ve been on — with Uncharted 2 kind of sweeping the awards recently.
There’s plenty of resources to go around. It’s our heritage: we’re never going to compromise our core; great exclusive games. This is a new initiative to us. Some teams are looking into how they might incorporate motion control into some existing plans; others are totally focused on making the best sequels to the games we all love. It’s not something I’m worried about.
Continue reading Interview: Sony’s Scott Rohde on PlayStation Move
Interview: Sony’s Scott Rohde on PlayStation Move originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Carrying on in the longstanding Epic Games tradition of offering up free upgrades to existing products, the developer, publisher and game engine creator announced this morning that it will be adding Steamworks support to Unreal Engine 3. “With Valve offering these services free of charge, the idea of providing the Steamworks SDK [software development kit] to all Unreal Engine licensees was a no-brainer,” Epic VP Mark Rein notes in the announcement.
As it turns out, Valve offered up the development tools to UE3 developers (via Epic) without charging a single penny. That said, this isn’t just a philanthropic gesture on Epic’s part, but rather a strategy aimed at targeting the large stable of games powered by Unreal Engine. “Epic’s technology is one of the most widely used engines in the industry and has powered many of the best games created in the past 10 years, on multiple platforms,” Valve prez Gabe Newell proclaims.
That’s really the crux of it — bring in the Unreal Engine 3 users and they might stick around to purchase some other games on Steam. It’s a bit of a sneaky trap (and a smart business move to boot), but it’s one we wouldn’t exactly be upset about falling for.
Epic giving Unreal Engine 3 devs free Steam SDK update originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Wanna watch 9 minutes of a guy sneaking around, tying people to balloons? What if we told you it was Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker footage? Kojima Productions has uploaded a lengthy gameplay video of the former “Metal Gear Solid 5,” in which our hero Big Boss does a bit of recruiting for his cause — in this case, that means knocking dudes out and floating them back to his base on a balloon.
We also get to see the “Sonic Eye” and “Analyzer” tools in action (a radar device and an item used to determine the stats of potential recruits), as well as the ninja-inspired “Stealth Mat,” which allows Naked Snake to hide in plain sight while he’s holding it up. Check it out after the break!
Continue reading Lengthy MGS: Peace Walker gameplay video floats in
Lengthy MGS: Peace Walker gameplay video floats in originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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[Wii version]
Warner Bros. Interactive has revealed that, in addition to the previously announced PS2, PSP, DS and Wii releases, it’s putting Lord of the Rings: Aragorn’s Quest on PS3 — with PlayStation Move support. The kid-friendly LOTR game will now be released this fall (delayed again!) on all five platforms, with the Wii version developed by Headstrong Games (yes, that Headstrong Games) and the others by TT Fusion. Of course, the Wii and PS3 versions will be the only ones with motion control, and they will also be the only versions featuring two-player co-op (with the second player controlling Gandalf).
The PS3 version won’t be an exact port of the Wii one, but it’s the same idea — a game for which the Wii was originally the lead platform, now spreading to the PS3 thanks to the existence of a very Wii-like motion controller. It may be the first, but this is definitely not the last time we’ll see this!
Lord of the Rings: Aragorn’s Quest makes ‘Move’ to PS3 originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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