This weekend I was browsing the Web as part of my ongoing quest to learn EVERYTHING and I stumbled across Etsy.com. This is a site where a number of different people/companies offer their handmade creations. I must admit, there is a reporter from Moses Lake, Washington who calls her creative endeavor Digital Soaps and makes some very interesting (wait for it…) soap. If you need some form of incentive to get your kid off the console and into the tub, or if your spouse would get a kick out of such a novelty, I have to say that these are pretty neat. Click below to see even more of these creations!
For years writers have found ways to leverage interesting characters, stories, and experiences through sequels, spin-offs, and ongoing storylines. Another strategy to increase profitability of lucrative franchises is to place them into another media all together (i.e., successful books made into films, television series yielding books, and films spawning games). But with the advancement of gaming technology we are witnessing a new way to make money without creating all new titles.
The current platforms all have the ability to download content and many developers are taking advantage of this to create supplemental levels, characters and features to enhance games that have already proven successful. Rather than attempt to re-create “the magic” in a sequel, many have chosen to extend the experience for those who are still interested. The beauty of this approach is that it can offer enhanced value for an already owned title which a player knows he or she likes.
An example from the last year that has offered such enhancements is Soul Calibur IV. Both the Xbox 360 and the PS3 versions offer downloadable content through their online services (Xbox Live and The PlayStation Network respectively). These upgrade packs enable further customization of characters within the game. For an example of such modifications, see the trailer below.
Though customization of characters in a fighting game can be a treat, it doesn’t really approach the level of enhancement provided by a furthering of the story. The 2008 release of Prince of Persia offers additional narrative gameplay. In order to provide an enhanced experience to those who enjoyed the title, Ubisoft offered a download called “Epilogue” that gives the player a chance to enjoy more challenges and provides further closure to the story. For an idea of what is offered, view the trailer below.
Never willing to be an “also ran” in the video game industry, Rockstar Games produced one of the most striking game enhancements available within the last year – the Xbox 360 exclusive side story for GTA IV entitled The Lost and Damned. Though a little more expensive than other supplemental downloads available, this is an entire playable side story that adds at least another 10 hours of scripted gameplay to this title. View the trailer below for an idea of what this adds to the experience. (Keep in mind that this is very much a mature title and though it is an impressive and involved story, it is not intended for those under 17 years of age.)
But perhaps my favorite examples of developer-provided downloadable game enhancements are for Burnout Paradise. This title is over two years old and Criterion Games is still creating new content to keep this game fresh and fun. These upgrades include the Bikes Pack (which was free!), the Legendary Cars Pack, and the Cops and Robbers Pack. But one of the most impressive upgrades just came out earlier this month and it’s called Big Surf Island. This pack includes not only new vehicles, but an entire new island to explore! For an idea of what is included in this pack, watch the trailer below.
Granted, there are some who believe that all downloadable content should be free. in fact, there are many downloads that incur no charge. However, if developers are going to continue to invest their resources to enhance their customers’ gaming experience, it should only follow that they recover their costs. We as gamers and game-playing families can decide what options are worth our hard-earned dollars and what aren’t.
As a game-playing parent, I appreciate the option of spending only a fraction of what a new game costs to get added value for some of my favorite titles. And in the case of Burnout Paradise, you can currently find it new for $19.99 and the Big Surf Island is only $12.99 on top of that. Together, that’s just a little more than half of the original price of the game two years ago. Criterion Games is well aware of the current bargain price of their title and by providing continued support, many who originally purchased the game are rediscovering it while others are just seeing it for the first time and recognizing the continued enhancements to the gaming experience.
Consider it all food for thought from a frugal gamer. Enjoy!
As Chris mentioned in his last post, we’re always on the lookout for game deals as part of our mission of sharing valuable information with fellow parents. Well, I stumbled across some price drops at GameStop this week that I thought would be of interest including these PSP titles at $9.99 (new):
In addition to these thrifty options, I am delighted to say that it appears that the PSP title God of War: Chains of Olympus (ESRB-M) has dropped to $19.99! (For more information about this gem, feel free to read our article HERE.) GameStop also appears to have dropped the price of Chrono Trigger (ESRB-T) for the NDS to $29.99.
It’s official. As of THIS PRESS RELEASE The Beatles Rock Band has a release date of September 9th. For those of you who love numerology, that’s 09-09-09! For those of you who are old Beatles fans, you may remember Revolution 9 off of The White Album. Any way you look at it, mid September will be an opportunity for Beatles fans and their families.
Harmonix has created a teaser site HERE and we expect that it will become more realized as the release date approaches.
According to the press release, this is the expected availability and pricing for September 9th:
• The Beatles: Rock Band Software:
- Xbox 360, PLAYSTATION 3, Wii: $59.99 MSRP
• The Beatles: Rock Band Standalone Guitars:
- Xbox 360, PLAYSTATION 3, Wii: $99.99 MSRP
• The Beatles: Rock Band Limited Edition Premium Bundle:
- Xbox 360, PLAYSTATION 3, Wii: $249.99 MSRP
Limited edition instruments will be available that represent the Liverpool lads’ choices over the years, so I’d expect (minimally) Paul’s Höfner bass, John’s Rickenbacker, and George’s Gretsch among others. Also, the game is supposed to be compatible with existing Rock Band hardware.
For more information, you can also read THIS ANNOUNCEMENT on MTV’s site too. Come September, you may get to enjoy reliving classic Beatles moments with a little help from your friends!
Micro transactions…downloadable content…updates…expansions…whatever you call it, the gaming industry is leveraging online marketplaces to sell additional gaming goodness for less than the cost of a whole new game via your local brick-and-mortar location.
Expansion packs are nothing new with this generation of gaming, however there are a number of factors that are making this a more feasible option for many console players. Right now all of the current generation systems have the ability to store content locally. The Wii uses flash ram. The Xbox 360 has an optional harddrive. Even if you choose to buy the Xbox 360 Arcade without a harddrive, you can add one on later. And all PS3s come with a harddrive. This means that each system has a place to store downloaded content.
Add to this our current economy and finding cost-effective ways to re-vitalize gameplay of your favorite title seems far more frugal than buying a whole new game at full-price which you may or may not enjoy as much. This is an important concept for parents. How many times have you heard a child (yours or another) beg for a game only to realize later that it was a total dissappointment. (Anyone my age remember E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial for the Atari VCS?) The fact is that if you know your child likes a game and you can add new levels to it or add another character which changes the gameplay experience, you get more fun for less than buying another game.
The industry is leveraging this more than ever even to the point that some games are created with the expectation that people will invest more in downloadable enhancements to the game than the original investment in the game itself. Look at the Rock Band and Guitar Hero franchises. Every week Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony push the latest song packs for these titles through their online marketplaces. Granted, there is logic to extending the value of something you enjoy as long as the original game is worth its initial investment freestanding. My biggest concern is that at some point the industry may choose to release Rock Band 7 with only one demo song per each of 5 genres because they expect you to fully customize the experience. Yet, they will charge the full amount for the title.
Perhaps it’s the cynic in me.
Anyway, for now there are some real interesting options available for all three current generation platforms. Those who have the Xbox 360 who enjoy GTA IV (M-rated – not for the kiddies) are probably excited that Microsoft has secured an exclusive expansion which has an entire new story and characters using the original engine. Burnout Paradise (E10+rated) has offered a number of enhancements on the PS3 and 360 and many were free! And Little Big Planet (E-rated) for the PS3 has a number of costumes and levels available online.
However, LIttle Big Planet offers something which I hope to see more frequently. It presents the ability for the community to create their own content and share it free of charge. This is nothing new to the mod scene for PC games, but it has been much less common on the consoles. I hope that we see more games with this ability because it not only creates additional content with which to enjoy the game, but it opens provides a whole different form of entertainment through the creative process and, thus, offers a whole different type of “play.”
As with all new presidencies, there is a time of transition as one administration takes over the work of another. Apparently President Obama is having some tech issues.
Two years after launching the most technologically savvy presidential campaign in history, Obama officials ran smack into the constraints of the federal bureaucracy yesterday, encountering a jumble of disconnected phone lines, old computer software, and security regulations forbidding outside e-mail accounts…
“It is kind of like going from an Xbox to an Atari,” Obama spokesman Bill Burton said of his new digs.
He really shouldn’t be complaining. I mean he did only help Obama win the presidency of the United States of a America…
Wait, I guess that means he can complain. Someone get this man an Xbox!
