XBox 3's Attempted Murder of Gamestop

So there is an article on IGN talking about how the next XBox system may disallow for used games to be played on your system. In other words, the only games you can play on your XBox are games that you purchased yourself. Similar to what they do to the PC programs, they might have some sort of code to enter so that the property becomes yours and only yours. I mildly understand the reasoning behind it (after all, we are all in the business of making money) but this is hands-down a pitiful idea that will potentially kill jobs, limit mainstream appeal, and also look quite douche-like when compared to the competitors. If Micro$oft was smart, they would squash this idea immediately. Now i know this is all rumor and speculation, but I wouldn't put it past them to contemplate such an idea.

Let’s start with who it affects the most: Gamestop and the slew of indie-game stores (Play-n-Trade, Game Traders, etc.). Most of the profits from these places come from used games. What would separate Gamestop from much larger companies like Target, Best Buy, and especially Wal-Mart? Part of Gamestop’s appeal is its linking to the past and the ability to offer much older games and cheaper video games from the current generation. We can’t all afford $60 games from the getgo, there are hundreds of families that wait several years before purchasing a system to buy the games we’ve all already enjoyed at smaller prices. If I were running Gamestop, I would threaten to pull all XBox games off the shelves if they dare make this move.

And how can we possibly allow someone to borrow our game if they can no longer play it on their system? We have to bring our own XBox just to show them a game that we bought? That’s outright stupid, and diminishes the chances of a smaller-budget game of getting widespread fame. In the history of gaming there have been video games that were met with lackluster sales but over time develop themselves a crazy fanbase through word-of-mouth (and a mix of used game sales and borrowing from others). Nintendo’s best example is Earthbound, a video game that flopped like a fish out of water in 1995. However, in the years following thanks to word-of-mouth it’s gotten so much more popular that it has become a true-blue part of Nintendo culture. If a game flops in the future, it will remain a flop because there’s no other way to spread the game’s magic---unless you throw in the $60.

And if Microsoft does go through with this idea, what would prevent them from increasing the price of games a little? Would $65 be out of the question? $70? And with no used games allowed, you have no other choice but to buy it full price or wait years for them to decide to drop the price a little. The XBox 360’s lead has already been diminishing, why further the pain by throwing this monkey wrench in the system? I don’t care how amazing-looking your new XBox is going to be, if you pull off this Microsoft Office trick there’s just no reason why I would buy the 720 as opposed to the PS4.

Bottom Line: In another example of a prick powerhouse company trying to make more money, there are rumors of the next XBox disallowing your system to play used games. This my friends is wrong, ridiculous, atrocious, and overall just a plain stupid idea. So we can buy used houses, cars, clothes, computers, televisions, toys, books, apartments, cameras, but video games are a no-no? Microsoft, I can not, will not, shall not support your system if you go through with this. And I am sure there are plenty of gamers that wouldn’t mind flocking to the competition if it means them actually being able to take a game to a friend’s house. I know the goal in every company is to make the maximum profit possible, but if it means threatening the future of several companies and businesses and also financially shunning off the financially less-fortunate crowd, I for one will be against this decision until the very end.

F-Zero: The M.I.A That Needs a C.o.m.e.b.a.c.k

The WiiU is coming out this year with Nintendo’s first foray into HD graphics. So now Nintendo games can look like the best-looking works from Sony and Microsoft—even if it’s a couple years too late. So now we are imagining the possibilities, which include HD versions of good ol’ Mario, Zelda, Samus, Pokemon, etc. But if there is a franchise that desperately needs this HD update its one of the more underrated gaming series out there. My friends, we are talking about F-Zero. F-Zero is the one brand from Nintendo that can utterly usher itself into a brand new audience of gamers while also appeal to the old-schoolers. And most importantly, F-Zero has the chance to finally utilize its full potential.

F-Zero is a fast, furious, and insanely hard series of games that has survived years of inactivity, flops, and lack of popularity outside Japan. Although the original F-Zero was a smash hit, all the sequels that followed (most notoriously F-Zero GX) failed to follow in the successful footsteps—even if they were all pretty good games. It remains a mystery to me as to why these games can’t reach high sales; after all, it’s a high-concept. Think about it: a mysterious bounty hunter that races in an extremely dangerous racing sport in the future. The concept is fast, has a flurry of different characters, and a multitude of personality.

WiiU can revitalize this franchise because now it has the technology possible to pull off the feat. Similar to Mario 64 for the N64, Metroid Prime for the Gamecube, and Uncharted for the Playstation 3, F-Zero 7 can deliver the goods in ways previously thought impossible because the technology has not progressed far enough. F-Zero GX was darn close I will admit, but had to sacrifice gameplay hours in favor of maintaining its great frame rate and incredible graphics. But if the WiiU is as powerful as it seems, then F-Zero 7 can lift the brand to new heights.

Imagine it now: fast and furious F-Zero racing gameplay combined with a deeper story mode that further explores Captain Falcon and the environment he lives in. Imagine online play with F-Zero as you can race against other people around the world Mario Kart Wii-style. And lastly, imagine the one true-blue awesome addition that F-Zero had dangled in front of us for years but delivered only with a Japanese GBA game: a track editor. So imagine racing single-player and in story mode, then building your own track and vehicle, and then share it online with other friends. You have the speed of Burnout combined with the strategy of Gran Taurismo and garnished with the online mayhem of Mario Kart Wii and 7. Just imagine.

This is essentially my “begging” letter to Nintendo. I am begging that we finally get the sequel to F-Zero GX that we’ve waited too long for. Now, I know Miyamoto was very disappointed when Sega’s underrated gem sold next to nothing, but its time to rub off the disappointment and try, try again. Sega should have another go, as they know speed (Sonic, Crazy Taxi) or maybe give someone else a shot (Critterion Games [Burnout franchise] anyone?) Either way, it’s been too long. I want F-Zero with HD, online, track editor, and all the goods that we’ve seen from the other racers. It can happen, and should happen.






Come on, don’t you want to see this in HD?

E3 2012: The Mandatory Appearance

With the 3DS exploding in sales, the Wii still owning the currently top-selling video game in the world (Yes its Just Dance 3, but they still own it), the PSVita getting its arse kicked by its own predecessor, and the WiiU literally right around the corner and a few months away, Nintendo is enjoying the beginning of 2012. We had just come off a year of Zelda which gave us 6 video games, including the first fully motion-controlled entry with Skyward Sword. We have just come off a year in which Mario Kart Wii raced past 30 million copies sold, while the latest installment is quietly sneaking in 4 million sales in about a month. And we have just come off a year in which although the Wii has lost all its tender love and care from the company, they are still bringing in some decent sales. Even Skyward Sword under a muddled ad campaign and a poor release date choice has sold nearly 3 million copies.

The Wii owns 43% of the market, and that’s after the fact that the XBox 360 and PS3 delivered some of the strongest games in the past 15 years in 2011. Even after Skyrim (Well, the XBox version), Little Big Planet 2, Uncharted 3, Batman Arkham City, Portal 2, FIFA Soccer 2012, NBA 2K12, Forza 4, etc., Nintendo and its much smaller library of games still dished out decent sales. There is no stopping Nintendo whether you like it or not. If you have any chance of killing the momentum, E3 is the place to do it.

There have been reports that the next-gen XBox and Playstation will be unveiled this year. And then there were reports countering that news story. The truth is this is the first E3 since the late Sixth Generation (PS2/XBox/Gamecube era for those keeping track) which pretty much demands a good show, pretty much demands your 100% effort. In other words, it’s much more crucial to win on this E3 show, or at least be damn close. Nintendo’s WiiU is pretty much destined to steal the show and deliver. Not sure if you guys know this, but the WiiU comes out this very year, right after the summer. Now we know that Nintendo has a sketchy history in presenting their hardware, but do any of you honestly believe that Nintendo will drop the ball on their first HD system? Just the potential is enough to make us salivate. Thinking about F-Zero HD or Zelda HD is increasing my heart rate.


How can you possibly counter a next-generation system? With current-generation games? I’m sorry, no matter how excited we might seem for Halo 4 or that Metal Gear Solid XBox 360 game that for some odd reason still hasn’t come out, a brand new system with HD, a new unique take on gaming, and uncanny parallels to the Sega Dreamcast is going to have all the attention. Why in the heck would you not at least dish out some fun tidbits or fun little details about the upcoming system that you will eventually release? Sony and Microsoft are foolish in not even attempting to throw any kind of monkey wrench in the system. Nintendo’s momentum is heavy and will wipe away the E3 clean unless a competitor steps up and stands toe-to-toe with the current leader in the industry.

Bottom Line: For the sake of competition and for the sake of Nintendo not running away with all of 2012 with the 3DS and eventual WiiU launch, Microsoft and/or Sony needs to start teasing about its next generation of games. The XBox 360 and PS3 were fantastic systems don’t get me wrong, but if your competitor is heading up the next step in the ladder, you have to do the same—or at least peek at the next step. An XBox 360 title will not hold a candle to a potential Zelda, Mario, or even Smash Brothers HD. This E3 is crucial, and is the best opportunity to provide the necessary counter. If we don’t see XBox 720 or PS4 this year, it might be too late in late 2012/2013 when the WiiU is the only one in the field, raking up all the potential sales.









Or they can always pray that the WiiU becomes the next Dreamcast.........

Vann’s Games of the Year. 2011 Edition

With the end of 2011 behind us and everybody giving out their games of the year award - I decided to give out mines: at least my opinion. SO HERE WE GO!

Best Fighting Game of the Year:

We had the return of legends in 2011. Marvel vs. Capcom 3 was visually amazing and fun to get into - especially if you are a beginner and you didn’t know all the combos so well - they develop ‘Simple’ mode. New characters made the frame with Dante and Trish from Devil May Cry, Taskmaster, Chris Redfield (Resident Evil 5), X-23, She-Hulk, and Phoenix(Jean Grey). Later on, we have the additions of Virgil, Dante’s brother from Devil May Cry, Frank West - the first protagonist from Dead Rising, and the spirit of vengeance - Ghost Rider. The only strong disappointment of this game was there was no Mega Man. A lot people wanted Mega Man a part of this game, but we did get Zero and he was amazing to play. If there is another installment of this franchise, we better see Mega Man or at least his X counterpart.

Another obvious thing to say was that there was nothing from Tekken nor Soul Calibur this year except anticipation for Street Fighter X (Cross) Tekken and Soul Calibur V - all set for next year and look amazing. Also, one has the pressure of being a launch title for the upcoming PS Vita. They don’t make my anticipated game list for 2012, but they are a nice foot note.


The winner: Mortal Kombat!

Seriously, we really don’t have to get into this, but we must. It was good to see MK make it way back on to the big stage. When we last left it with Armageddon, it was still a big pile of blood and confusion and a fighting system that wasn’t exactly Tekken, but was just as annoying.

Ed Boon and the rest of NetherRealm Studios brought it back to its basics and make it easy for anyone to get into - they just made it look awesome. From character, stage, and costume designs to an awesome story with an even better challenge tower (farthest I got was 45...I got frustrated.). The cover was even in 3-D! You knew there were serious! Mortal Kombat simply wins with a flawless victory. Thank for actually fixing your game as we played. One other thing - Can a brother get a Sonya Blade and Liu Kang costume pack, and a Tanya or Kira DLC?!

Best Platform Game of the Year:


I am obviously going to give this to Portal 2. I haven’t played this game, but it is on my 2012 play list (as soon as I finally finish Darksiders and Dragon Age 1 and 2. That will take a while.). Seeing the gameplay and hearing the smart-ass computer torturer known as GlaDos makes your want to play this game. She’s probably what’s next after Suri for the Iphone 4S. Oh God…

There are plenty others to give it too, but they might be higher than you may think right now.

Best Shooter Game of the Year:

With Mass Effect 2 finally being released on the Playstation 3, you think it would easily win this category because of last year’s awards and just the amazing time I had playing it. I still enjoy playing it. Right now, I am trying to get a full Renegade female Shepard. I want this more than a piece of hot apple pie with some Breyer’s Vanilla Ice Cream.


I am actually going to give this one to Gears of War 3. The entire Gears of War series along with the Fable games are the only reason I would look into getting a Xbox 360 - one that doesn’t melt down. Oh, snap! The story, the gameplay, the guns. Oh my - the guns. The enemies are worth playing against alone. This game is almost a game changer as far as creativity in game play goes, plus in science-fiction based action, this is the new standard.

It would make sense to do a RPG of the year, but since every game out there now is basically an RPG, we will jump ahead to a special category -

DISAPPOINTMENTS OF THE YEAR!

(They don't deserve pictures)

~~Final Fantasy XIII - You were so disappointing, I thought I was playing eleven with the leftover crap from twelve and I’ll never play twelve. Visually - you were amazing. I was so happy to get my hands on you. You looked so good, I actually thought I was playing a movie. I didn’t regret wasting time on you, until I realized how much a pain in the butt you would be. Don’t give me that “We wanted to make it more difficult…” pile of dung speech. There’s a very strong difference between difficult and annoyance. Your battle system might as well been a button masher without a block button. Is your glory days that far behind you? Take a lesson from a lot of games the past two years - Go back to basics and improve on them.


~Splatter house - You wanted to add on the horror game genre. Hell, me and Jo Garcia on Twitter had a ‘bigger disappointment’ discussion on Twitter about you vs. Final Fantasy XIII. You were better, but damn you sucked when it came of just overall repeating violence. There’s only so many times you can kill an enemy the same way. I honestly want some really cool way of doing it and it wasn‘t enough. Music and visuals were awesome and just the variety of weapon…even your own limbs were a nice touch. For a game like this, leveling up the force of your shotgun to kill your enemies doesn’t make sense. However, I fell asleep while playing with the controller in my hand…ENOUGH SAID!


~X-Men Destiny/Spider-man: Edge of Time - What a big pile of dung you were. I couldn’t believe how sad you made me. You were just a button masher with no signs of improvement. Why couldn’t you just give us another X-Men: Legends?! That game was your shinning moment and people love you for it. You actually played as the legendary X-Men and as soon as the new character was available, we wanted to play with her. That how good the game was and how bad you were! The moment Legends come up on the Playstation Network or X-Box Live, I will buy it. That’s how much I want that game over you. You’re not getting off easy too, Spider-man. You sucked more than them. Shatter Dimensions was just awesome! I really did enjoy playing you and you were just an awesome example of where Spider-man games can go. Believe me when I tell you this - Never change a good thing no matter how good the money looks.

EDITOR NOTE: Final Fantasy XIII. I have to repeat this disappointing pile of trash once again. Square, you used to be awesome. Anyway, back to Vann's article....

I am about to give you my overall top-ten games of the year. I do apologize in advance because well - I AM NOT A WII GAMER! There’s just one Wii title on this list and after doing my research against the other games that could have made it, it surprised me and actually almost made the halfway point my list:

10) Dead Space 2 - If you were on a Resident Evil 5 hangover, but you just needed a little bit more blood and gore to start your day, you most likely picked up this game and ran rough-shot. I screamed my head off and said “WTF?!” so many time watching people play this game. You know a game is too scary for me when I have nightmares about it.

9) L.A Noire - This game almost makes me with I was a cop - if a black man could be a cop in the 50’s in California. The nostalgia of this game had addictive qualities. Seriously loved this game. I am now looking forward to L.A. Noire cosplay at future con gatherings.

8) Saint’s Row: The Third - I shall confess early that this game isn’t on my official play list, but I do give it props for being as crazy as it is. Honestly, it makes being a thug fun. If you almost want to know what the hell could be going wrong in America, play this game!

7) The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword - The only Wii game to make the cut! The only reason this game made the cut wasn’t its excellent usage of controls and story, but it was Robin Williams along with his daughter, Zelda Williams. This game proved something to me - The Zelda franchise will be forever timeless. Outside of that, it was just good, classic fun.

6) Infamous 2 - Sorry, Wii gamers - Playstation had to beat you somehow and this was a good draw for them. This game had right from the get-go: Let’s not ignore your hard work from the first game. Let’s reward you for it by making sure you can carry over your powers that you earned and powered up. Also, this game had a great way of presenting its Karma system with a good-girl/bad-girl. By siding with the good girl, you can get ice powers on top of your already inFamous lightning powers. Be with the bad girl, you get some fire powers. I already know how much of you sided with bad so you can have fire powers (Freakin’ Future Arsonists of America!)

5) Mortal Kombat - Best fighting game of the year, plus it did what every video game needed to do - Improve on the basics and make it look better than the rest. The Challenge Tower was also a nice touch.

4) Gears of War 3 - Best shooter, awesome guns, villains, and buyable replay on all modes.

3) Assassin’s Creed Revelations - We finally reached the end of Ezio’s story and it couldn’t have ended better. Now we really can move on to Assassin‘s Creed 3. It’s about damn time. The new weapons weren’t a nice touch, but they were fun to use.

2) Mass Effect 2 (PS3) - It was the silent victory for all Playstation fan boys and girls around the world who didn’t want an Xbox, but definitely wanted to play a few of their games. How did we win? We got two DLCs that Xbox Live friends had to pay for, plus it was our way of saying ‘Thanks for taking Final Fantasy. We’ll replace that pain with the Mass Effect series.’ To be honest - I wanted Fable instead.



1) Batman: Arkham City - You knew it was going to be my number one! I love this game! I cut class for it, but I didn’t cut work! Storyline, game play, visuals, fighting engine, Catwoman….AH! This was some good stuff, plus the DLCs for this game are worth the steal. Besides, if you go into the jail cell of the City Courthouse, you’ll meet Calendar Man and he will talk about the day. I didn’t hear his Christmas or Thanksgiving message, but something tells me his New Year’s Eve and Day speeches might be excellent.