Author Bio
Chase Becotte
Home Town: Nomads don't have home towns
Sports: A bunch
Games: Too many to list
Teams: Sixers, Flyers, Pirates
OS Username: ChaseB
Tags: PS3: Slizeezyc / 360: Slizeezyc
Home Town: Nomads don't have home towns
Sports: A bunch
Games: Too many to list
Teams: Sixers, Flyers, Pirates
OS Username: ChaseB
Tags: PS3: Slizeezyc / 360: Slizeezyc
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
07:57 PM - December 7, 2010. Posted by ChaseB. Written by Chase Becotte
Eric Brown, Electronic Arts' CFO, pointed out today at the UBS 38th Annual Media and Communications Conference that fans of FIFA Ultimate Team mode are willing to pony up the cash to improve their teams with virtual soccer cards, according to Gamespot.
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Spending that amount of virtual space bucks on virtual cards obviously makes it clear why EA was intent on adding the Ultimate Team mode to other sports franchises like Madden and NHL. And while Brown did not point out how much money the Madden and NHL series have brought in on the Ultimate Team front, the increasing amount of profits brought in by FIFA Ultimate Team show that UT mode is at least a successful model for the footie franchise.
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Overall, EA expects $750 million, or about 20 percent of its revenue, to come from the digital business. So we should probably expect more DLC rather than less in our sports games in the future.
Source - EA expects 20% of sales to be digital (Gamespot)
Monday, December 6, 2010
07:46 PM - December 6, 2010. Posted by ChaseB. Written by Chase Becotte
It's becoming clear that Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick is not enamored with franchises that are released annually, according to Gamasutra. At the UBS 38th Annual Global Media and Communications Conference in New York City, Strauss Zelnick discussed the risks of an annualized franchise.
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However, IGN points out that Zelnick is still backing yearly sports titles.
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If there was a company out there that might lean towards a biennial release schedule for its sports games, it would be Take-Two. After all, the company has been very successful with downloadable content for Grand Theft Auto and Borderlands -- Gamasutra points out that Take-Two is on pace for "its first profitable year without a numbered GTA release" -- and it has become known as a company that is unafraid of delaying marquee titles.
But if Zelnick is not even considering biennial sports franchises, it might be time to retire the discussion for now. At best, we might continue to see alternative sports games like Skate or The Bigs come out every two years, or we might continue to see something like EA MMA and Fight Night alternating with each other on the yearly release schedule.
06:13 PM - December 6, 2010. Posted by ChaseB. Written by Chase Becotte
The developers at Criterion did a great job with post-release DLC for Burnout Paradise, and they obviously want to continue that trend with NFS: Hot Pursuit.
Titled the "Super Sports Pack" and coming to consoles at an unknown date and price, this DLC pack will include six cars -- really just three because each of the three will skinned as a cop car and racer car -- as well as at least 12 new events spread across the cop and racer careers. And, yes, Trophies/Achievements will be connected to these DLC events.
GamerZines reports that we should watch out for updates about the release date and price at NeedForSpeed.com, the official site for NFS: Hot Pursuit.
Source - EA announces new premium DLC for NFS: Hot Pursuit (GamerZines) via (1UP)
03:23 PM - December 6, 2010. Posted by ChaseB. Written by Chase Becotte
One of the items included in the Xbox Live Marketplace deal of the week is 3 on 3 NHL Arcade. For this week only you can procure this frantic, big-headed, power-up fest for 200 Microsoft Points (equal to about $2.50).
For half its regular price, I feel 3 on 3 NHL Arcade is more than worthy of its price tag. I had a blast with the title when it was released many moons ago, and if you missed out on it originally, play it with a couple friends and enjoy. But hey, you could always read our review of the game and go off that, too.
Source - Deal of the Week (Major Nelson) via (Joystiq)
Friday, December 3, 2010
12:12 AM - December 3, 2010. Posted by Steve_OS. Written by Chase Becotte
Take-Two Interactive's chairman Strauss Zelnick believes the company could walk away from its third-party MLB exclusivity deal when it expires in 2012, according to Reuters. At this point, he feels like Take-Two is not reaping enough benefits from the current deal.
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While that comment almost makes it seem like it's a foregone conclusion that Take-Two will walk away from the MLB deal in 2012, Zelnick also made it clear he was not opposed to renewing the exclusivity agreement if the terms changed.
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The "economics" he is hinting could deal with how the game sells in the coming years or how much cash has to be doled out for the license, but in the grand scheme of things that does not really matter.
In fact, I could have just typed "blah blah blah blah MVP Baseball 2013 could happen blah blah blah blah" and it would have sufficed here, especially for Xbox 360 owners out there who have not been able to get their grubby green hands on The Show during this generation of consoles.
Source - Reuters Summit-Take-Two sees opportunity in digital (Reuters) via (Kotaku)
Thursday, December 2, 2010
06:19 PM - December 2, 2010. Posted by Steve_OS. Written by Chase Becotte
In what will probably amount to being the closest we will ever get to deciphering the curious cancellation of NBA Elite 11, Kotaku's Stephen Totilo recently got a chance to sit down with EA head honcho John Riccitiello and get the boss' take on what exactly happened with Elite during its development cycle.
There are a bunch of interesting nuggets to dig through within this fascinating interview, but it's interesting to note that Riccitiello had the final say when it came to ending Elite 11's existence.
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Clearly Riccitiello's ban hammer is strong, but the most intriguing part of the interview might have to deal with the actual deadline chaos surrounding Elite. Everyone (including me) has a theory about what what was the final straw for this game, but EA has been adamant that the demo itself was not the final straw, but rather people knew even as the game was being printed that there were issues that might halt the game's release.
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Read the entire interview to see everything there is to offer, just try not to snicker while reading this Riccitiello tidbit.
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Oh, and you should still bet on NBA *insert name here* by EA Sports releasing in 2011.
Source - How A Big Video Game Was Killed (Kotaku)
01:53 PM - December 2, 2010. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Chase Becotte
Gold: MLB '09: The Show
The long-term success of any baseball game is based around the perpetual nature of the pitcher-batter duel, and MLB 09: The Show nailed that aspect. Working the count, painting the outside corner and sitting on a fastball all felt quite fitting in MLB 09. In fact, you could even pitch the ball according to the signs the catcher put down. Beyond that element of the game, the sheer amount of in-game cut scenes added an incredible amount to the game. While a player shooting a snot rocket out of his nose has nothing to do with realism, it certainly adds another layer that player attributes alone can't quite nail. Of course the AI also played a major role in the realism. AI pitchers seemed to learn from what you were trying to do, and each game had a different feel to it because the CPU tried to keep you on your toes at all times. Simply put, MLB 09: The Show defined realism.
Silver: NHL 10
Board play and 360-degree passing were major developments in NHL 10, but Tuner Sets were what made NHL 10 great. The developers found a way to create a great game out of the box but then constantly improved upon it with tuners. These were not "patches" but rather simply tweaks that could be made by the developers on the server side of things. As users made recommendations or complained about certain things in the game, the developers were able to tweak and play the game without having to go through a long "certification" process. By the end of 2009, gamers were playing a title that had been tuned and calibrated to such a fine degree that it was hard to figure out what should be changed next. The day more developers start including "Tuner Sets" in sports games will be great moment for all gamers.
Readers Choice': MLB '09: The Show
It seems there was a tie in the Most Realistic Game of the Decade category -- between MLB '09: The Show and the rest of the field. The Show received 50 percent of the votes, which means it simply ran away from the rest of the pack. None of the other games in this category received as much love from fans, making MLB '09: The Show the choice between the staff and the readers.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
08:05 PM - November 23, 2010. Posted by ChaseB. Written by Chase Becotte
2K Sports' own Ronnie 2K has revealed the details and fixes in the upcoming NBA 2K11 patch.
Approximate Launch Date/Times
Playstation 3: Wednesday, November 24th, 2010 - 2 AM PST
Xbox 360: Wednesday, November 24th, 2010
PC: TBD
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Friday, November 19, 2010
05:13 PM - November 19, 2010. Posted by ChaseB. Written by Chase Becotte
There's not much in the way of racing in the latest Test Drive Unlimited 2 trailer, but it still serves to show off some of the extracurricular activities that will be available in the DLC portion of the upcoming TDU2.
By taking some risks you can win cars, clothes and money, and then take all your winnings and take a ride on the track that also comes included with the Online Casino DLC.
Test Drive Unlimited 2 is set for a US release in February 2011.
Source - Test Drive Unlimited 2 gets Casino trailer (VG247)
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
04:48 PM - November 17, 2010. Posted by ChaseB. Written by Chase Becotte
While the news was bleak for Bizarre Creations and its 200 developers yesterday, the Activision-owned development studio behind Blur and the Project Gotham Series might yet be able to survive.
Develop has heard from sources within Bizarre that multiple parties have inquired about the studio. To be more specific, Microsoft was a studio mentioned to have at least shown some interest in Bizarre.
One source at the studio said, "Microsoft aren’t stupid. They know we’re talented and have spoken to Activision about us."
If Microsoft did purchase the studio, it would be an interesting turn of events considering the fact that Bizarre and Microsoft did not always get along. According to Develop, another outcome to all of this is that Microsoft could simply bring over some of the Bizarre employees and still let the studio close its doors.
Source - Bizarre mood lifts with several keen to buy (Develop) via VideoGamer
03:47 PM - November 17, 2010. Posted by ChaseB. Written by Chase Becotte
The NPD results for October were released yesterday, and while the news about NBA 2K11's successful launch was the big story, some other sports games disappointed. To be more specific, NHL 11, EA Sports MMA and Tony Hawk: Shred all struggled during the month of October, according to analyst firm Cowan and Company.
In an article published by GamesIndustry.biz, Cowan and Company points out that Tony Hawk: Shred sold just 3,000 units during its first month at retail. Yikes.
The Tony Hawk franchise has struggled for a couple years now, so it's no surprise that Shred did poorly at retail, but 3,000 copies is frighteningly low. Robomodo, the developer of the last two peripheral-based Tony Hawk games recently underwent staff cuts and is off the Tony Hawk series, so it will be interesting to see how Activision tries to breathe life back into a once-dominant sports franchise.
EA Sports MMA sold 45,000 copies, which may explain why I have trouble finding anyone to play online that is anywhere close to my skill level. As has been said before, this is not entirely surprising news given the lack of a "true" license backing the title. It will be interesting to see how much of a tail there is to the EA MMA sales because word of mouth has been strong here at OS and on Metacritic. Perhaps we may see a TV-style situation where a critical darling gets a second chance.
Finally, what I found to be the most interesting part of this sales analysis is that Cowan and Company places some of the lack of industry software growth on the shoulders of NHL 11.
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This seems strange to me because NHL 11 actually was in the NPD's top five for September 2010, and that was after it did not even break into the top 10 during September 2009.
Source - Tony Hawk: Shred flops with only 3000 units sold in US (GamesIndsutry.biz) via Joystiq
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
02:34 PM - November 16, 2010. Posted by ChaseB. Written by Chase Becotte
Sure, Manny Pacquaio just beat Antonio Margarito, but some might not realize how he became one of boxing's greats. This is a man who has fought for everything in his life, and he wants to make sure all of you know how he became the boxer he is today.Source - Cubed
02:19 PM - November 16, 2010. Posted by ChaseB. Written by Chase Becotte
For those of you out there looking to snap necks and cash checks on a whole new set of devices, then never fear THQ executive VP of core games Danny Bilson is here.
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Source - Twitter, via CVG
02:00 PM - November 16, 2010. Posted by ChaseB. Written by Chase Becotte
One THQ executive just told us that game prices are too high, but Danny Bilson, THQ's executive vice president of core games, wants to tell us again. While speaking with IGN, Bilson talked about the $40 business model a bit more.
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At a glance it almost seems like he's joining with Activision Blizzard boss Bobby Kotick in criticizing EA's "Online Pass" idea. However, that would not make much sense since Bilson oversees the Smackdown vs. Raw franchise and the UFC Undisputed series -- two franchises that use a model that is not unlike the Online Pass prototype. So the only conclusion is that he's talking about the future.
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Since the next UFC and Smackdown games are not coming out in the near future, I have to assume "another franchise" is not one of those titles. However, if all goes well with MX vs. ATV, maybe we will see full-featured UFC and Smackdown titles at $40 this time next year.
Source - THQ's $40 Plan to Solve Used Games (IGN)
Friday, November 12, 2010
06:24 PM - November 12, 2010. Posted by ChaseB. Written by Chase Becotte
Do you like music? Do you like classic arcade games? Do you like when both those things are smashed together to create a mixtape that is meant to create mind-blowing nostalgia in the hearts of us all? Well, if you're into that type of thing, and you have not yet picked up NBA Jam Wii, then celebrate the looming release of NBA Jam on the PS3 and Xbox 360 (Nov. 16 people!) by downloading this mixtape created by Mick Boogie.
Titled 93 Til' Infinity, this mixtape includes 27 tracks that are meant to tap into the year that was 1993. At that time we were putting our hands, slathered in just the right amount of pizza grease, on joysticks everywhere to play NBA Jam for the first time in arcades everywhere -- who cares if I was only six at the time, I was there man.
If the mixtape doesn't hit the spot for you, at least head here and check out a couple fantastic NBA Jam t-shirts.
Source - Mick Boogie – 93 Til’ Infinity Mix… Inspired by NBA JAM (Mixtape) (Nah Right)