• 25Jan 10

  The problem with Xbox Live Arcade

  I think the latest entry from Xbox Live Director of Programming Larry Hryb puts one of Microsoft's biggest problems with Xbox Live Arcade in perspective:

  KrissX will be available this Wednesday at 800 points.
  Information on the game is light, so here is what I was able to find:
  In "KrissX," players can play through an endless number of puzzles and unscramble over 3,500 jumbled words that will test your trivia knowledge and expand your own daily vocabulary
  Available worldwide (except Japan and Korea) and rated E for Everyone by the ESRB.

  If you're not going to open the floodgates and let everyone make whatever they want for your system, iPhone style, I think you've got an obligation to at the very least know about whatever it is you're trickling out there once a week. If your DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMMING doesn't even know what it is he's selling, how can you expect me to know anything about it, much less whether or not I want to spend my money on it?

  EDIT: As johnsteed7 and gbrading point out, this problem is not isolated to the Xbox 360. But maybe the people in charge of the PSN and WiiWare services are smart enough not to admit that even they don't have a clue what kinda crud they're asking people to buy this week.

  • Posted Jan 25, 2010 4:04 pm GMT
  • Category: Editorial
  • 12 Comments
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• 20Jan 10

  Legal fun and a call for help

  First off, here's your latest update from the Silicon Knights-Epic Games suit, and a prime example of absurd legalese. Last week,Silicon Knights filed a "response in opposition to motion to strike the reply to response to motion for partial summary judgment, or in the alternative for leave to file surreply motion to strike the reply to response to motion for partial summary judgment, or in the alternative for leave to file surreply filed by Silicon Knights."

  Also, here's an online survey from a GS user doing his master's thesis on what makes games successful. Higher education is a worthwhile pursuit and difficult enough as it is, so I hope some of you guys can find the 5 minutes it takes to answer the following survey and help him out:

  http://www.at-survey.eu/a/983

  If nothing else, it'll force you to really think about what the best game of all time really is. I think I said Tetris. It was either that or Giant Gram 2000.

  • Posted Jan 20, 2010 4:56 pm GMT
  • 8 Comments
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• 14Jan 10

  Awful behind-the-scenes!

  Do you have trouble sleeping? Try reading Nintendo's Iwata Asks! excessively long interview with the designers of the DSi XL. It's jam-packed with riveting discussions like this:

  Iwata:

  At first the plan was to go ahead with just these two colors, wasn't it?

  Fujino:

  That's because we were told that we could only mass-produce the system in two colors.

  Iwata:

  Then the sales department strongly urged us to make it in three colors.

  Fujino:

  Right. So we decided to add wine red to the colors. Thinking about it now, I'm glad that we made it in three colors.

  Iwata:

  It's good that you made all that effort and came up with three colors. The appearance when you line them all up together changed a great deal.

  Me:

  STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY STOP IT!

  • Posted Jan 14, 2010 6:17 pm GMT
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