Every once in a while you might see a story that’s just too ridiculous
to be true. Such a story popped up on 1up today and
it’s so ridiculous I couldn’t help but give it a mention.
The
article in question states that a spokesperson for GameStop is trying to
claim that GameStop doesn’t like their practice of buying and selling
used games but, the practice was necessary to stay in business. These
statements were made in a response to comments by InstantAction CEO
Louis Castle who called GameStop’s practices “parasitic.”
It’s a
little insane to think that GameStop doesn’t adore the practice of
buying old games at a low price and reselling them for 200% profit. It’s
a little thing called good business. It might not be a moral business
to those that are buying the product or even those that created the
product but it’s just the way things work.
GameStop and their
practice of buying and selling games is something the game industry
could do without but it’s not going to change. The fact is this,
GameStop found an easy way to make a lot of money. Most people might not
like it or they might be jealous of it but that doesn’t make it wrong.
Yett for GameStop to say that they don’t like the business model is a
lie, this is a money making business model and they’re in the business of
making money not doing the right thing by people.
In a continued effort to bring more players to the upcoming Medal of
Honor, EA today announced a new Limited Edition of the game. This new
Limited Edition holds one clear advantage for hopeful players, early
access to two shotguns at Tier 1 and the exclusive use of the MP7 in
multiplayer.
“Access to a weapon like the MP7 will allow players
to experience a tool developed with the Special Operations Community in
mind,” said Greg Goodrich, Executive Producer of Medal of Honor. “With
its light weight, high rate of fire and its ability to penetrate body
armor, the MP7 handles like a pistol yet allows targets to be engaged
like a rifle.”
The only strange thing about this Limited Edition
is that it doesn’t cost any more than the current regular edition of the
game. All you need to do is just pre-order the game and it’s yours.
This might make you think that Medal of Honor isn’t seeing the pre-order
success of the upcoming Call
of Duty. On the other hand it could just mean that EA is trying to
give a little more to those that really want the game.
Either way
you look at it, The Limited Edition of Medal of Honor will give gamers a
clear advantage when the game is released on October 12, 2010 for the
PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.
Currently the crown jewel in the Call of Duty franchise is Modern
Warfare 2. The game sold better than expected and the brought a ton of
new gamers to the series and franchise. Since that release it would be
an understatement to say that things have been tough.
Months of
back room deals lead Activision to quick remove top member of Infinity
Ward, makers of Modern Warfare 2. This also led to a mass exodus of
Infinity Ward employees and slightly public backlash be some gamers.
However,
even with these problems the truth is, gamers know a good game. This
probably why Activision is happy to hear that the pre-order sales of
Black Ops are even better than Modern Warfare 2 saw last year. It’s
obvious why the game is pre-selling so well considering its lead-in.
Just remember that this doesn’t mean that Black Ops is going to be a
good game. We’ll have to wait until November 9, 2010 before we know for
sure.
Remember last week when it was revealed that Microsoft was going to make
their XBLA
menu pretty? Well originally it was going to get the big facelift
this week. However, it turns out that this switch over isn’t going to
happen until next week.
So if you’re lost in a sea of crap XBLA
games, fear not. Next week you’ll find a new set of game that’ll make
you happy while we wait for Monday Night Combat to come out later this
summer.
With Netflix now a staple on every game console it’s important to know
what you can get out of the leading online and via mail movie rental
service. Not only do you get some of the best older film available to be
streamed directly to your system but now thanks to a new deal with
Relativity Media LLC the library of new films is about to explode.
The
deal works out like this; Relativity Media LLC is a film distribution
company. They normally work with premium cable companies like HBO and
Showtime. However under this new deal with Netflix, the online service
would receive up to 30 new movies a year.
As services like Hulu
and Netflix continue to grow, the demand for Cable Television dwindles.
At this time it doesn’t look like the Cable juggernaut is going to leave
us but it’s nice to know there is another option with the help of our
favorite game consoles.
Since the release of the New Xbox Experience there’s been little mention
of how hard it is to find anything. The new blade system can be helpful
at times but trying to pinpoint a specific game in the XBLA 250+ game
library is at times impossible. Fortunately that problem will soon be a
thing of the past.
Next week the XBLA library will get a much
needed face lift. This new reorganization should help all 360 owners to
find and purchase more games new and old. Plus with option to sort games
by ratings and price you’ll have an easier time to find the right game
at the right price. Hopefully the reorganization will be done correctly
and the whole system will work better.
In the last generations of game systems black was the fashion of the
day. Every system available was released in a multiple shades of black.
This all changed with the new line of systems when both the Xbox 360 and
Wii were released in White. Now it looks like there’s a full 180 degree
shift in the color of all systems.
Before this year’s E3
Nintendo announced a Black Wii, at the E3 Microsoft unveiled a new
high-end Black Xbox 360 and now it looks like is following suit with a
new White PlayStation 3.
This new fashionable PlayStation 3 will
feature more than just a new color scheme. Included with the new paint
job is a larger hard drive and an all white vertical stand. The only
drawback to this fancy new system is that its only available in Japan.
However, if this new system does find it’s way to US stores I’ll post an
update. Until than keep an eye your favorite import stores like National Console.
Last week, everyone was buzzing like a Vuvuzela over Hulu Plus and its
ability to work on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. That buzz died down a
little when it was reveal and discovered that PlayStation Plus was
needed to use the service. To calm those fears Hulu announced that
PlayStation Plus wouldn’t be need to use the final release of Hulu Plus
but it would be needed to use the service’s preview.
This might
sound like a solid move but to me it sounds more like Hulu was close to
making a big mistake and is now looking to correct a potential problem.
On the Xbox 360 no one is giving any pause to the idea of needed LIVE
Gold to get their hands on Hulu Plus. As for PlayStation Plus, it’s too
new and not setup properly to be needed for outside services. The other
thing to remember when it comes to Hulu Plus not needing PS Plus is that
is mean other services like Netflix will also work without PlayStation
Plus which is welcomed revelation for everyone.
Since Valve started updating and refreshing the classes in Team Fortress
2 many players have been neglecting the Engineer class. The idea was
simple. Why play a class without achievements or awards. Sure you’re
playing a team game and the Engineer is the second most important
support class behind the Medic but, why make such a sacrifice? Why play
as hard if not harder than the rest of your team and get virtually
nothing for it?
Soon there will be no need to even ask such
questions. Valve is now ready to update the final Team Fortress 2 class
and they’ve saved the best for last.
Starting this week Valve is
working on a major patch for the leading team based shooter, Team
Fortress 2 and in normal Valve fashion the way the information is being
dispensed is anything but normal. From now until Thursday, Valve will be
issuing Golden Wrenches to random players that build anything in-game.
For every 25 Wrenches rewarded Valve will drop some more info on the
next patch.
So from now until tomorrow, keep build stuff,
anything and if you built it once, build it again. On the other hand, if
you’re not interested in helping out, than you can just check in at the
Engineer
update page for more information.
Hey, remember that little map pack for Modern Warfare 2 that hit the
Xbox 360 last month? Well it’s finally available for the PC and PS3.
Now
players on the PPS3 and PC can experience a few new maps for Modern
Warfare 2. All you need to do is head over to PSN or Steam and throw
down $14.99 and the maps are all yours. Oh, and don’t worry, these new
maps are worth the wait.
Bob Kortick, Activision Blizzard CEO, started a small storm this week by
way of an article on FT.com
where he talked about his displeasure for consoles and specifically
Xbox LIVE. In the article he complained that the service and the money
generated from this service and the games played on it, mostly Call of
Duty titles, is only paid to Microsoft. He explained that if a portion
of that cash made its way to Activision than the Call of Duty fans and
franchise would benefit. But he gave no clear way to fix the problem.
One
option given by Kortick was a gaming specific PC that would easily
attach to the TV. He even said he would “very aggressively” support such
a product from Dell or HP.
It’s a nice idea if you’re the boss
of the world’s biggest game publisher. However, that’s a job for one
person and he’s got the power to complain about anything. But the fact
of the matter is this, if Activision was able to push for a PC styled
console where they could charge whatever they wanted for online play
they would. Plus that $49.99 a year you throw at Microsoft for LIVE to
play any Xbox 360 game online would instead go to Activision for just
one Call of Duty title.
So while on one hand it would be great to
have a high-end PC for gaming plugged into an HDTV, I’ll stick with the
current console. On the other hand, if the project was handled by a
company with a better track record for providing a great service at good
a price like Valve and Steam I would be more attracted to the idea. But
a company like Activision would quickly turn into the masters of
micro-transactions if given the chance.
