How the Gaming Industry can "Stop" Gamestop

The Gamestop Battles have been heating up…..again. Before it was the major controversy involving Capcom and EA trying to find ways to prevent resale. Then we had the XBox One and their DRM disaster. And now in the latest news, a PS4 developer is criticizing the practices of Gamestop and its concept of making extra money off of pre-purchased games. He says that the used game sales from Gamestop affects the game development companies and hurts the gaming industry overall.

Now, while I will save this argument for another day (You know, the argument about how the gaming industry seems to be the ONLY one mildly upset at the resales of their product as opposed to movies, cars, houses, electronics, etc. etc. etc.) , there is a fun simple way to combat the supposed business-killing ways of the Gamestop:





Stop. Being. So. ****ing. Expensive.


Pricing is everything, especially in a tougher economy. Nintendo’s battle against Blockbuster was short-lived in the early 90s because a) Nintendo was making fantastic money nonetheless, especially between 1994-1996 leading up to the Virtual Boy disaster and the rise of the Playstation and b) it was the 90s and everybody had money back then. The Clinton Days were good days full of good money flowing left and right.

Nowadays however, we don’t have that type of luxury. The 2000s brought upon some tough times. We are still attempting to recover. And with that the better deal always won, regardless of quality. The last time we had a good system that was the best in the business and the most economically affordable was the Playstation 2 about a decade ago. The best bang for your buck has been the victor in the past couple generations: the Playstation 2, the Nintendo Wii, and now the Nintendo 3DS which is literally eating away at the handheld market.

You are releasing $60 games with $5-$10 DLC packs left and right. And we are not including the increasing prices of online play, controllers, accessories, and other amenities. Games back then ranged from $35-$50 and we were done. Nintendo used to do their Player’s Choice on the SNES-N64 days to great success. PS2 had their share of Greatest Hits. Nowadays they still do it, but with smaller fanfare (Nintendo used to give their games ribbons) and less of a willingness to cut prices to so many games. Madden 2012 is about a year old, and still has the same price. And football season finished back in February. Why?

I am repeating this: if you want to defeat Gamestop and win the Eighth Generation you need to become the most economically friendly of the Big 3. And for the future, you need to be friendlier towards the backwards-compatibility feature. You think Xbox 360 and PS3’s heavy restrictions on what previous-gen games were allowed to be played helped them at all? Hell no. Nintendo took the better route and allowed ALL Gamecube games to be backwards-compatible, and even the controllers themselves could be re-used.

Is it a coincidence that one of the most-played games from the Sixth Generation (XB, PS2, GC, Dreamcast R.I.P.) happens to be Super Smash Brothers Melee? And now it turns out that both the Xbox One and the PS4 will also not be backwards-compatible. I am just saying, we have sent spacecraft to Pluto----it is not impossible to give improving technology the ability to play older games. If there is ANY advantage the WiiU has, it’s being the only Big 3 system to allow the play of Seventh Generation games without having to pay extra.

You wondering why Gamestop is making all this extra money for used games, yet however make it impossible for newer systems to play older games that gamers had already purchased. You think we are going to use the disks to hold paper when they become unplayable in the newer systems? You think lower middle class families would rather fork over $400 on a new system with $60 games as opposed to hitting a Gamestop and purchasing a $75 used older system with $10-$30 video games available? Be serious.

Make your older games available through the DLC. Don’t be afraid to drop prices on older games. Can you believe that Smash Brothers Brawl is still $50? This game is the best-selling fighting game in HISTORY!! Drop the price a little you pricks, you are essentially begging for us to search elsewhere to find cheaper product.

I am not a Gamestop fan by any means, but they will forever be the sexier alternative for poorer gamers and families and people just looking for a quick good game without having to sacrifice too much of the wallet. Gamestop and the other smaller game stores with similar concepts will continue to bust profits as long as it becomes tougher to have access to these older games in modern times. Gamestop secretly loves that the bigger higher-profile games are $60 at least, it makes their job that much easier.

Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, you need more cheaper games. You need to drop the prices on your systems and accessories and extra details if you want the places like Gamestop to supposedly crack into your profits. We need more $40, $30, $20 games. We need more games from the past through DLC and the infamous Virtual Console. We just need more options and opportunities to dish out smaller amounts of money. The video game industry needs to be more like the car industry: an extremely wide variety of options and prices to go with it. If every car was priced the same as a new Mercedes, I assure you more people would carpool or find other ways to get around.



Gamestop isn’t the problem. The ever-increasing expenses of the industry is.

Seven Franchises that need the Skyrim Scope

Elder Scrolls: Skyrim since its release has captivated gamers with its ridiculously long quest and endless amount of sidequests and random things to do that usually don’t even contribute to the main adventure. You can literally spend over 100 hours on the game and still not be done finding everything. Yes this game has its small bugs and issues, but the general scope of the game is arguably the biggest we have in all of gaming.

No franchise has honestly attempted to reach the scope of Elder Scrolls nowadays, with the possible exception of the Grand Theft Auto games. And of course, seeing what we can now do video games thanks to American game companies ever-expanding their horizons with the evolving admiration of sandbox/non-linear gaming that used to be held exclusively to RPG, we can only ponder: what other franchises should aim for the Skyrim heights? What gaming franchises would benefit from creating a game as big as Elder Scrolls IV?

Here is my list of the franchises that would most benefit from gaining the “Skyrim Scope.”



#7: Final Fantasy

Final Fantasy used to be one of the bigger games out there, with the SNES version guaranteeing over 20 hours of gameplay and Final Fantasy VII bringing the genre to a new level. But with the recent games, the franchise has gone so far backwards I have no idea how much worse it can possibly get. What they need to do is get back to the basics: provide a decent story, decent characters, and strip any shred of evidence of linear gameplay. The JRPGs are dying because with the exception of Pokemon, they fall into the category of being to focused, too linear, and far too restrictive. With a Skyrim environment, Square can give the next Final Fantasy more breathing room to set off on your quest at your own pace. That's all we want really.



#6: James Bond 007

Goldeneye remains the best James Bond game in all of history because of the amount exploring you got to do in the midst of completing your missions. Running on the Super Mario 64 engine, Goldeneye on the N64 had a lot of spots that actually didn't even contribute to the overall mission, they were just extra rooms to explore. Imagine taking the Bond license, creating a new storyline (or just take a few existing storylines), and then trying to expand the real world settings as much as possible. Imagine being Bond and fully exploring Las Vegas or Times Square, or London, or less-traveled roads in search of enemies or new clues. That would definitely take Bond in a new direction.




#5: Endless Ocean

These ocean exploration games despite being a little slow-paced, are soothing and delightful games that have enticed the imaginations of the younger gamers. Not much happens, but the opportunity to dive and interact with creatures of the deep have made these games mild surprise hits. Now if you were to maximize the scope and include more bodies of water, more depth, and much more, well, ocean, that would jack up not only the realism of the game, but the exploration aspects of it. Endless Ocean can truly be endless, if you give it the proper scope.



#4: Animal Crossing

Animal Crossing is a game that focuses heavily on interaction, an open world, and sheer size and variety. The Wii version didn't really improve upon anything the previous installments had, but with the WiiU, size should not be an issue. Imagine a Skyrim world for Animal Crossing, which allows for you to visit dozens of different places by traveling on foot or by boat or maybe even plane. With games like Animal Crossing, the main appeal is just finding all the fun little secrets scattered around. If you have a massive environment, the replayability, and eventually the quality of the game can improve.


#3: Pokemon

Pokemon is the biggest franchise in terms of sales, quality, and quantity in the handheld market. As a matter of fact its arguably the ONLY handheld franchise from the 90s to remain surviving in the world of today. Pokemon Black/White 2 has sold nearly 3 million copies---only in Japan---on an older system. One problem: too much potential has not been used. Yes, I have covered this before.

Imagine the Pokemon universe the size of Skyrim. Imagine combining all six major regions into one massive game. Now, similar to some of the entries here I have discussed the potential of Pokemon if they were to increase the scope and give it some extra time for development. Of all the best-selling franchises in history, the Pokemon remains the only one that has yet to tap into its full potential. Skyrim scoping it can definitely help.




#2: Kingdom Hearts

Part of this is because Square Enix is holding us hostage over Kingdom Hearts 3. Did you know that it has been 6 years since Kingdom Hearts II? Are you kidding me??! Now, Disney has purchased Marvel, has over 50 animated movies to work with, several live-action incarnations to mess around with as well. Come on now, that is dozens of environments to expand upon, dozens of places to truly dwell a little further into. Don’t give us samples of Disney movies, give us main courses! How awesome would it be if Disney truly went out and expanded places like Toontown, Africa (Lion King version), Halloweentown, the universe of TRON, and other Disney gems? It would be Disney fanfare to the ultimate degree. Remember, Square back in the 90s delivered some huge games. A nice way to come back to the prime is by exploding the Disney universe in the oft-delayed franchise.



#1: The Legend of Zelda

This is a no-brainer. I have discussed this time and time again: Zelda used to be the biggest and the baddest out there and Nintendo needs to attempt to reclaim this throne. In the 80s, Legend of Zelda was the biggest game out there with duel quests. In the 90s, Link to the Past held the throne for several years before the Nintendo 64 came out. Ocarina of Time---another Zelda game, became the biggest game on the face of the earth when 1998 rolled around. Lastly, Wind Waker was a game that suffered quality-wise because it was so large that gamers were quite frankly lost WITH a map AND a compass.

Fast-forward to today. Thanks to the weaker Wii system, the two Zelda games were nowhere near as immense as the norm. With the WiiU, Nintendo has the perfect opportunity to step up to the plate and truly create something special, something unique, and most importantly---something big. The Zelda brand has been soiled in recent times because of the weaker games within the past 7 years. The next Legend of Zelda game is arguably the most important in its long history---it will finally be in HD, in a decently-powerful system, and has the chance to scope like Skyrim. While it may hold the title only until the PS4 and Xbox 720 releases, it is a necessity to be on top at least for a little and clean up the name of the franchise.

WiiU's Road to Sucess must travel through Camelot

There is a company within the gaming confides that has had a perfect track record for the past decade, and has quietly mustered hit after hit after hit. Yet, they aren’t mentioned as often as Bungie, Valve, Square, among others. This development company puts plenty of effort to their games and can really step up and deliver something magnificent if given the opportunity. This company has been a great help to Nintendo in recent years but if the WiiU is to conquer the gaming industry, Nintendo needs to let Camelot fly a little more.



Camelot is responsible for the Mario Tennis series, the Mario Golf series, and the Golden Sun trilogy. All great games and some of them are among Nintendo’s best in the past 15 years. Mario Tennis for the N64 was arguably Mario’s greatest spin-off not called Mario Kart as it combined the Super Mario flair with some intense, varied, and surprisingly deep tennis gameplay. Golden Sun is one of the greatest handheld games of all-time as it transfers you back to the SNES days when the system had incredible RPGs with engrossing storylines and interesting battle systems. To add to that, Camelot made the greatest Game Boy Color game not named Pokemon Silver or Wario Land, as it made a Mario Tennis with heavy RPG elements. Camelot has succeeded in the console front and (especially) in the handheld aspect.

Here is where Nintendo needs to turn to Camelot some more: the console market. Surely Camelot has worked on console games, but they were limited to just the Mario sports games and they don’t have anywhere near the depth of the handheld games. With Mario Tennis and Mario Golf for the GBC/GBA, you actually played as a different person and worked your way up the ranks to becoming the best golfer/tennis player in town. You earned experience, could mess around with your stats, and even practice around the environment to sharpen your skills. This incredible way of playing the Mario sports games needs to find its way into the WiiU, as there’s more space to develop, more room to grow, and more opportunity to pull something special.

Imagine Mario Tennis WiiU which allows you to play offline and online with your created character to see who is the best tennis player in the gaming world. Imagine playing a full-length RPG but instead of fighting monsters, you are just bouncing from court to court taking on other tennis players. If Nintendo has proven something over the years, is that outside the Pokemon franchise they offer very-very little in the RPG genre. While Dragon Quest may quench the thirst a little, more can definitely benefit the WiiU. That example of “more” is the RPG versions of Mario Tennis and Mario Golf.

And Golden Sun, my oh my Golden Sun. This series is just begging for a transition into the big screen complete with its fantastic art direction, clever puzzles, decent storyline, and addicting battle system. Part of Golden Sun’s appeal is the fantastically creative spells and monsters that are summoned throughout the game. An HD enhancement will bring Golden Sun to a new plateau of quality. Golden Sun can be the game the puts the nail on Final Fantasy’s coffin as that franchise has been slipping and sliding for years and has survived because of lack of competition.

If Nintendo really wants to push the envelope, why not hand the Paper Mario series to Camelot as well? Camelot is arguably the best RPG developer since Square in the 90s. So why not give them a shot at the Mario RPG games? They might be able to muster the magic to make something as memorable as the best Mario RPG work of all: Legend of the Seven Stars. While Intelligent Systems did a fantastic job with Paper Mario (With Thousand-Year Door being clearly their best effort), I wouldn’t mind seeing the franchise shifting elsewhere.


Bottom Line: Nintendo has a gem of a company making games for them, but their scope has been small. Whether it’s because of the Big N or because the company is so small, they haven’t cranked out too many games for the consoles. If Nintendo wants to truly conquer the eighth generation, then they must allow Camelot to grow, and to expand to make more console games. The last time Nintendo has such a great second-party working for them was Rareware from 1994-2000---when that company shelled out masterpiece after masterpiece. Bringing some of the excellent Game Boy games to the upcoming HD system would be a great game to nab the hardcore audiences’ attention. Imagine an RPG Mario Tennis, a Golden Sun, or another new Camelot franchise for the WiiU.

Or better yet, imagine Pokemon or Paper Mario bring run by Camelot.

It could happen, and it should happen.

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?

Building the perfect Star Wars game...

When the Wii was announced several years ago, there was one franchise that we gamers knew could definitely benefit from the controller mechanisms of Nintendo’s newest machine. It wasn’t any of the first-party franchises, but actually its Star Wars. If you checked the online boards from years ago, we were stoked of the potential the Wii had on our fabled space epic franchise. But several years later, we are still on square one with the saga as its best game was the simple-yet-engaging Lego Star Wars games. Instead of a spiritual sequel to Rogue Squadron, instead of re-creating the gameplay from the Star Wars Trilogy arcade game, and instead of that lightsaber game that we always wanted---we get next to nothing. As a matter of fact, Star Wars honestly hasn’t hit its potential in any of the systems. Here is what the next big Star Wars game should look like:


Star Wars Saga (tentative title) takes you through several of the iconic Star Wars scenes throughout the six movies (yes, I have to include the prequels). Now I know this has been done to death, but usually in small doses, and never in a true epic presentation scale. Can you imagine engaging in the Battle of Hoth with the graphical presentation style of Modern Warfare? Can you imagine having Halo Reach’s epic presentation in the X-Wing aerial battles? The last game to really up the ante in Star Wars presentation was Rogue Leader for the Nintendo Gamecube, which to this day remains one of the best-looking games of that generation—and it came out at launch. I would throw in Jedi Academy for the XBox, but I'll admit I skipped out on that game. All the Star Wars games have had small doses of the films, but we’ve never had one that extensively embedded itself into the six films, and wrapped it all together in a nice package (that’s not consisting of Legos anyway). This game can change that.


Remember N64’s Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire? Or Rebel Strike for the Gamecube? They offered some variety in their missions, as they all weren’t aerial. There were some (even if flawed) on-foot missions that kept the game from being stale. Perhaps the best variety amongst the Star Wars games was the fabled Star Wars Trilogy arcade game that inexplicably never made its way to any console. With Star Wars Saga, you can podrace, fight in several space missions, wield a lightsaber, wield a blaster, do some exploration levels, visit several familiar locations, and finally immerse yourself into the Clone Wars and do some battling there—Call of Duty-style.

You don't have to be just one character, you can be many. One mission you are Han Solo, another mission you are Luke Skywalker. Hell, at one point you can be a random fighter in the aerial Battle of Endor. Part of the appeal of Star Wars is just the immense amount of stuff that goes on throughout all the films and television shows. We’ve literally seen action scenes at land, sea, air, and space. So why has that never been translated successfully into the video games?


The Wii version could have been by far the best version, but there is still hope with the WiiU. With the Wiimote, lightsaber battling would be far more fun as opposed to the controllers of the XBox 360 and the PS3. With the WiiU being backwards-compatible, the Wiimote still has relevance. And with MotionPlus accuracy, this could be like Twilight Princess—Star Wars-style. I think running around mowing down enemies with a lightsaber could definitely be one of the most fun things to do in all of gaming. And then add the blaster missions with the WiiMote, which I still say is the best controllers for first-person shooters. Lastly, the WiiWheel can be utilized for the Podracer missions, which hasn’t gotten extensive video game time since the infamous Star Wars Episode 1 Racer game years ago.


Bottom Line: All in all, we have come far enough in gaming in which we can re-create all of our favorite Star Wars moments with incredible accuracy for a new generation of gamers. When you see games like Battlefield 3, Modern Warfare, Halo Reach existing, LucasArts has no excuse as to why they can’t push the envelope with the Star Wars brand. There is too much potential here to be wasted in games that just never make the quality cut. It is time for Factor 5 or Sega or maybe even Bungie to take helm of the brand name and work with George Lucas to create the ultimate Star Wars game. It is time to combine the best of Star Wars gaming throughout the years (Episode 1 Racer, Rogue Squadron 1-2, Star Wars Trilogy) and put it all in one well-deserving package.

Star Wars Saga can be the next “Halo”, the next big gaming event.

We just need to see more effort out of it.

P.S. Some Dark Side missions would be pretty darn cool. Did anyone say Boba Fett missions?