Gaming In The News

[gaminginthenews]

Investor Want Nintendo to Charge 99 Cents For Jumping

Nintendo fans are currently enraged at one of Nintendos investors. The company, famous for games such as Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, and Metroid, has yet to tap into the mobile market or microtransactions.

This investor, Seth Fischer, has reportedly sent a letter to Nintendo president Satoru Iwata informing him that Nintendo will be more successful if they charge money to make Mario jump higher.

Mario and Luigi

Nintendo fans are very loyal to their brand, and have not taken lightly to this investor. Nintendo has stated that it will not send its brands into the realm of mobile gaming or microtransactions.

Works Cited

AlphaOmegaSin. "Investor Wants Nintendo to Make Gamers Pay to Make Mario Jump Higher." YouTube. YouTube, 27 Feb. 2014. Web. 02 Mar. 2014.

Duwell, Ron. "TechnoBuffalo." TechnoBuffalo. TechnoBuffalo, 28 Feb. 2014. Web. 02 Mar. 2014.

Narcisse, Evan. "Crazy Nintendo Investor Wants Us To Pay $0.99 For Higher Mario Jumps." Kotaku. Kotaku, 26 Feb. 2014. Web. 02 Mar. 2014.

[gaminginthenews]

Nintendo to Retire Its Wi-Fi Connection Service

It has recently been announced that Nintendos Wi-Fi connection, the service that allows those with Nintendo Wii or DS consoles, will be taken down as of May 2014.

As an owner of both these consoles, and a lifelong Nintendo fan, I was appalled that Nintendo would do such a thing. After digging though some websites, I learned this would not affect e-store downloads.

However, this does affect my favorite Nintendo series: Pokemon. No longer will us Pokemon fans be able to trade or battle each other, without us being in the same room. No longer will Super Smash Bros. fans or Mario Kart fans be able to face each other online.

A Screenshot of a internet-based service in Pokemon Black

This shut down is being initiated in order for Nintendo to focus more on their Wii U and 3DS consoles.

Do you believe Nintendo should be shutting down its internet services for these consoles, or should they continue to offer this service as Sony does for the PlayStation 3?

Works Cited

Chowdhry, Amit. "Nintendo To Shut Down Wi-Fi Connection Service For Wii And DS In May." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 27 Feb. 2014. Web. 02 Mar. 2014.

"Nintendo Retiring Wii and DS Net Connections." CTVNews. CTV News, 28 Feb. 2014. Web. 02 Mar. 2014.

[gaminginthenews]

Can Twitch Plays Pokemon Evolve Into Something Larger?

Seventeen days ago, an anonymous programmer launched his channel on Twitch; a website which shows live streams of various video games. This programmers channel had a simple goal: it was a social experiment to see if many people could band together through chat and beat a game together. This, is Twitch Plays Pokemon.

Last night, Twitch finally beat Pokemon Red. With almost 400 hours of game play, and over 100,000 people playing at one point, they are now into the second generation of the Pokemon series.

A Fan-Made Image With Many Corresponding Memes

As I participated in this social experiment I thought to myself, "Imagine if game developers created a game that could be played similar to Twitch Plays Pokemon."

Ideas began accumulating in my head of what could be done, now that it's evident there is some sort of demand for this type of game. After doing some research, I learned that Matthew Di Pietro, Vice President of Twitch, had this to say, "It has delivered a huge and sustained audience for days on end and captivated the attention of the entire Twitch community.The incredibly high volume of chat activity has helped us to hone our chat system to deal with massive loads like we’re experiencing. It has also made us all think deeply about creative social experiments that can be done on Twitch. This is one of the most interesting things we've seen on Twitch since we launched, and we hope to see more experiments like it"

In my research, I found no clues toward developers taking advantage of this amazing social experiment. I do feel however, that this phenomenon will eventually find its way into console gaming. Some day in the future, others will be able to control a game from their Wii U or Steam Machine at home.

What's your opinion on Twitch Plays Pokemon? What would you like to see come from this experiment?

Works Cited

Corriea, Alexa Ray. "Twitch Plays Pokemon Suggests the Service Could Evolve into a Games Platform." Polygon. Polygon, 28 Feb. 2014. Web. 02 Mar. 2014.

Sofka, Samantha. "Success of Twitch Plays Pokémon Raises Possibility of Gaming Platform - Nintendo Life." Nintendo Life. Nintendo Life, 28 Feb. 2014. Web. 02 Mar. 2014.

[gaminginthenews]

Kickstarter and Gaming: The Beautiful and the Ugly

Kickstarter is a crowdfunding website, which allows people to fund creative projects. In return for funding, the people hosting their Kickstarter campaign give their funders things such as early models of their projects. Kickstarter has been a massive success for indie developers, allowing them to gain additional funds for their game, as well as developing a bigger fan base.

An excellent example of a game developing a large fan base from Kickstarter is the game A Hat in Time. The game is a 3D platformer, with the cell shading art style of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, and platforming elements similar to Banjo Kazooie. There was a surprising demand for this type of game, and A Hat in Time was funded almost 1000% their original goal. They are continuing to accept donations from their website; the alpha build is currently available for purchase.

A Screenshot from A Hat in Time

With every success for Kickstarter, there is also a failure. The console OUYA was also publically funded by Kickstarter, but proved to be a massive flop once released to the public. The campaign for OUYA raised over $8 Million; I was almost one of those funders. At the release there were many problems with the OUYA, many of them being with the controller. There was also the issue of many funders not receiving their OUYA consoles, and the console having very few games. The OUYA consoles proves to be one of the biggest gaming flops for Kickstarter funding.

OUYA Console and Controller

Fans of the Mega Man series were disappointed when Capcom let go their developers from that series, and hired new developers. Ever since then, the Mega Man games haven't had the same vibe. Those developers who were let go from Capcom created their own development company and started a Kickstarter campaign for a game called Mighty No. 9. Mighty No. 9 is a spiritual successor to the original Mega Man games, and has many elements from the original games incorporated into it. The developers of Mighty No. 9 are allowing those who fund their Kickstarter to have their own spot in the game; whether it be their voice, an image of them, or an enemy which the funder designed. Mighty No. 9 has raised over 400% of their target, and is continuing to accept donations.

Screenshot from Mighty No. 9

Kickstarter is a great tool to be used for developers seeking to gain a new audience. There are many untapped markets in gaming just waiting to be discovered. Although Kickstarter has many successes, be weary when donating, in case the campaign you are funding happens to end up like OUYA.

Works Cited

AlphaOmegaSin. "Mega Man Creator Announces Spiritual Successor Called Mighty No. 9." YouTube. YouTube, 01 Sept. 2013. Web. 01 Mar. 2014.

AlphaOmegaSin. "Mighty No. 9 Meets All Stretch Goals and Then Some (A Celebration Is in Order)." YouTube. YouTube, 02 Oct. 2013. Web. 01 Mar. 2014.

AlphaOmegaSin. "Ouya Kickstarter Backers Getting Screwed (Not Getting Consoles, Missing Controllers Etc.)." YouTube. YouTube, 26 June 2013. Web. 01 Mar. 2014.

Comcept USA, LLC. "KICKSTARTER." Kickstarter. Kickstarter, n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2014.

Gears for Breakfast. "A Hat in Time- 3D Collect-a-thon Platformer." A Hat in Time- 3D Collect-a-thon Platformer. Kickstarter, Apr. 2013. Web. 1 Mar. 2014.

Mahardy, Mike. "Ouya CEO Addresses the Console's Recent Problems." IGN. IGN, 23 Oct. 2013. Web. 01 Mar. 2014.

OUYA. "KICKSTARTER." Kickstarter. Kickstarter, n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2014.

[gaminginthenews]

The Newest Console in Next-Gen Gaming: The Steam Machine

Valve Corporations long-awaited debut in the console market, the Steam Machine, will be released some time later this year. Some believe that the console will fail; sending us back into the video game depression that plagued gamers in the '70s-mid '80's. I disagree with them; the Steam Machine will revolutionize gaming, and will dawn a new era of consoles.

Unlike other consoles, people can build their own Steam Machines at home. Valve has even provided on their website steps to building your own Steam Machine. For those who do not wish to build their own Steam Machine, Alienware will be selling Steam Machines.

A Steam Machine Console with Controller

The Steam Machine will be playable with both a controller and a keyboard; other companies in the console market require players to use their consoles controllers only. This will allow PC gamers and console gamers to choose which method of control they prefer.

Along with the Steam Machine, Valve will also be releasing the Steam OS. The Steam OS is optimized for console gaming, allowing players to connect to the Steam Cloud and play their PC games on the big screen. It also features family library sharing, in which people can play games of others in their household, while still earning their own achievements.

I believe that the Steam machine will revolutionize at-home gaming. If developers take advantage of things such as the controller options, family gaming, and being able to build a custom Steam Machine, gamers will be launched into a revolutionized era of gaming.

Works Cited:

"Alienware Pushes the Boundaries of Gaming. Again." Alienware Steam Machine. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.

"Steam Machines." Steam Machines. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.

"SteamOS." SteamOS. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.

[gaminginthenews]

Microtransactions: Friend or Foe?

A trend in the gaming industry within the last few years has been to include microtransactions in their games. These are in-game transactions, usually priced at 99¢, which allow for more in-game content; they are also found in many- if all- free to play games. Candy Crush Saga, easily the most successful game with microtransactions, is estimated to bring in approximately $633,000 a day from its microtransactions. Do microtransactions help, or hurt the gaming industry?

Microtransactions for Jetpack Joyride

Microtransactions have helped to propel some smaller free to play games into the mainstream, such as League of Legends or Dota 2. In those games, the microtransactions are used to purchase stronger characters, which puts players who do not wish to make in-game purchases at a disadvantage.

Larger games are also taking advantage of microtransactions. At its release in 2007, Team Fortress 2 had no microtransactions and had to be purchased at full price. In 2011, Team Fortress 2 became free to play, and began including microtransactions. The microtransactions in Team Fortress 2 are mainly for aesthetic purposes; many players choosing to buy hats for their characters. Some weapons can be bought, but none of which put other players at a disadvantage.

I believe that depending on how companies put forth their microtransactions will determine if this trend will hurt or help the gaming industry. I feel that games should follow the Team Fortress 2 model; allowing players to buy items/ accessories that will not put other players at a disadvantage. Only time will tell if microtransactions will hurt the gaming industry.

Works Cited

Abbott, Benjamin. "Are Microtransactions in Gaming Always That bad?" Are Microtransactions in Gaming Always Thatbad Comments. Metro.co.uk, 24 Feb. 2014. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.

Dickey, Megan Rose. "Insanely Popular Game Candy Crush Saga Is Bringing In An Estimated $633,000 A Day." Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 08 July 2013. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.

Patterson, Eric L. "The Freedom of Being Free." Electronic Gaming Monthly 2014: 12-14. Print.