Great podcast as usual.

Maybe I posted this to a previous podcast, but Euro gaming prices really aren't that bad (here in the UK, at least). Looking on Amazon, GTAIV is $64 ex-VAT in the UK and $59.99 in the US, that's not a huge difference. Especially considering all the extra protection workers have here ($11.50 minimum wage, 4 weeks minimum vacation etc.) which is going to bump up retail margins.

Whether a 17.5% tax on virtually everything apart from food, books and kids clothes is a good thing or not is a whole other debate, of course.

If the prices are manageable or downright horrible here depends a bit on what you are comparing. I was in a local EB Games last week and the price for GTA4 was 699 SEK, which comes out to $94 before tax and $118 after. My understanding is that they are charging $59.99 at their stores in the US. That's a 57% markup.

You can of course get online and use price comparison sites to find the cheapest one. That way I can get it shipped for 478 SEK ($64 before tax, $80 after). Even when it's been a while since the release the cheapest price from an online-only store is still above the US MSRP. I have no idea what the cheapest online price is in the US, which is what that (and probably your Amazon price) should be compared to. As another data point, MGS4 is a more recent release and can at the cheapest be found for $70 before tax ($87 after).

If you only shop online and try to stay away from day 1 purchases you can do somewhat ok. Setting foot in an actual store pretty much guarantees that you'll get ripped off.

The cost of a new game in the UK is £39 (the RRP is £49 that price is just so retailers can offer a 'discount.') I tend to wait for games to drop to £20-£25 then I buy them. I was interested to see that Play.com recently dropped the price of Gears to £18 and it rocketed to No 1 on their sales charts so there are clearly a lot of people out there who are waiting for certain games to drop to a 'reasonable' price that they can afford.

I was gardening the other day and from next door's garden I could here their little lad shouting, "Daddy, come and help me kill Darth Vader!" They were clearly playing Lego Star Wars.

A game that has an ending on an emotional level but not an story level? I'd say Assassin's Creed. That is exactly how it worked for me but I realise that it didn't work on either level for many, many people.

I just looked at the first version I saw, the 360 version which is £37.48:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Grand-Theft-Auto-Xbox-360/dp/B000FNDYWI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1216210040&sr=8-1

£37.48 is £31.90 ex-VAT, which is $63.83. The PS3 version is $68.83. So you're looking at around 10% more for normal games. The Rock Band pricing is just bizarre, I agree: $220 ex VAT.

Edit:

Sorry, I phrased that badly: extra costs increase the amount retailers have to charge to make the same profit.

I don't think you will see a convergence of actual controllers that you can plug into your Sony, MS or Nintendo system on demand. (No, PC usb accessories do not count.) I do however think that we will see open standards shake out that will make development more efficient across the systems that offer the evolving generation of motion control as well as traditional controller inputs.

There is a lot of money to be made in plastic accessories, whether it be controllers, memory cards, keypads or headphones. There is a reason each system has different dongle connectors for their system controllers and it comes down to money and control. As an example, this generation, MS specifically locked down 3rd party accessories for the most part and that strategy has assisted them in turning the XBOX division into a profitable one.

The controllers also are a tangible physical touchpoint for defining the gaming experience and feel for a company's console. Controllers are iconic on the branding level. As an example, think of any kids cartoon "Billy and Mandy", "Simpsons" whatever and when they draw a semi genericized game controller into the scene, I'm sure your mind and mine is immediately recognizing it for the system that inspired their drawing. i.e. It's gamecube or 360 inspired etc.

I also don't think we will ever see one open standard gaming system in the console sense. We are as close to that today as we will ever get, and its called a PC. The PC's flexibility with plug and play components is also an achilles heel when it comes to controlling the user experience and fragmenting market-size. From a software development perspective, sure they have 3 different architectures to develop for, but assets are reusable and middle-ware is probably getting to the point that it optimizes cross-platform dev more and more. Having a bunch of manufacturers constantly try to one-up each other around an open console standard will result in a more difficult testing and expensive development process.

The open standard console is just not going to happen because ultimately it comes down to money and corporate branding/ego.

The souls of a thousand tormented demons will only rest when all you guys doing the podcast try Alone in the Dark.

Alright so I will stop buggering all you guys about it. Unlike what is mentionned in the Podcast, I didn't find the game's bugs to be dealbreakers.

I've experienced one lockup, true, true, but it happened after I did something strange (throwing a chair in a small hallway, the chair didn't have room so it flew backwards and the game didn't like that apparently because it froze). The other bugs I encounter are some mild collision detection issues that I never got stuck in.

I guess in the end, I think I'm more willing than the average person to overlook a few flaws because I find the game's innovations and unforgettable scenes rewarding enough.

case closed.

That is the most terrifying marriage of Evil and Wii Fit I've ever seen.

It's terribly Wiivil....

If it animates, we're done for because Wiivils wobble but they dont fall down....

I'd like to agree with the comment "what game drought!?" This time last year we were playing the darkness, as if it was an interesting game. That's a drought. We're doing pretty well this year, plus plenty of backlog titles from last year.

These forums are going to crap, and it's all the fault of Ely and Certis' lack of enforcement of Rule #4!

That was about the technical problems--problems that could be patched. Rabbit's always been more about the quality of a game's design and story than its implementation.

Rabbit, I might be willing to run a couple miles with you at GenCon. I doubt I'm up for a marathon, though.

Jazzy, I don't think you really have to worry about being victimized at GenCon. Sure, Certis can ban you, but he has no power in the corporeal world.

Elysium, I think it's disingenuous to start a "games aren't art" parade and then quickly turn to proclaim that "going all smart" and textual (i.e. literary) analysis of games is justified. Perhaps what you intended was to say that the industry isn't geared toward producing purely artistic games. I concede that point, as it's hard to imagine the more artistic games not coming from the independent artistic or academic crowds.

Please bear in mind, however, that just because the industry that drives production of the medium is unfit for art, that does not mean that the medium itself is unfit for art. I find it much more likely, given a brief glance across other media, that industries in general are predisposed against artistic works. The most profitable painted works are watercolor prints made to match your sofa. The most profitable books are trashy novels, self-help exploitations, and technology guides. Summer blockbusters, garden statues, caricature drawings at festivals. Creating fine art hasn't been a financially viable career for centuries, while mass-produced crafts make millions. That does not, however, preclude drawing and painting from being viable media for fine art.

That's not really what I was trying to do. I just didn't want to divert the discussion into one of games as art. I'm not saying they aren't, I just didn't want to address the question at the time.

That _is_ what I was trying to get across. My only excuse is that we recorded on Sunday. Nothing good comes from Sundays.

Ah, but you've forgotten, where he has the power hear in the digital realm but unfathomable feebleness in meatspace, my cyber-ineptitude is mitigated by my sizable frame and dominating presence here in reality. Also, while my beard is not a factor in online functions, it dominates men of lesser standing here in the real world. We are a formidable duo.

Try it again without the personal attack. - Certis

Is t0W still upset about Diablo?

I loved that scene!

Edit: Not on the front page?

I see what you did there. Nice.