OPINION: Digital Only- Good or Bad?

In the recently slur of rumours that have been thrown at us by various sources, the term ‘Digital Only’ tends to get thrown around a lot. Basically, it is rumoured that the next generation of gaming consoles may force us to download software, instead of buying it in store. While this is a sure-fire way to decrease costs and manufacture time, but is it really good for the industry to move forward? Read on to find out…

The arguments for converting games consoles to Digital Only are more beneficial for the manufacturers. The fact that they can cut costs almost completely when it comes to the distribution of the software they are publishing makes it rather appealing. It is arguable as to whether or not the content will come at less of a premium to us, however, so we’ll have to wait and see.

Also, the ease of distribution makes life easier for, once again, the manufacturers. Retail stores will no longer be required, meaning that they don’t need to ship hard copies, or bother with having to handle reorders. Basically, they set up the file on a server, make you pay to access it, and away you go.

While this sounds all well and good, there are various implications. The biggest one being the holocaust that would descend on retail game stores. I can’t seem to understand how it would be smart to destroy all the free marketing that is provide by simply having the products in a store. Tell me what sort of kid travels down the virtual isles of XBOX Live, PSN or Steam, asking for anything that catches their eye. It would be stupid to move away from this, as there is less of an audience for games on online store, also letting the biggest selling be the publisher with the biggest marketing budget.

The next argument is purely practical. What appears to be overlooked my so many people is the fact that not all countries have high speed internet infrastructure. Eg. Australia. This means we could be waiting a few hours to download games onto the console. And I’m not a patient person, so…

All in all, I have to say that I’m 110% certain that I’m against converting to online content downloads instead of hard copies. What’s going to fill my games shelf otherwise?

RANDOM: Sorry for not posting

To anyone who may or may not view this page regularly, I just thought I needed to make a post to explain that I haven’t abandoned this blog, nor do I have any plans to. I’ve missed out on a lot of good gaming news, so I’m sort of a bit bummed about that.

Anyway, this post is only here to tell you that I’m back and I’m ready for a whole lot more posts in future.

XBOX 360: No More XBOX 360 in Japan

Image Courtesy of danieliwholesale.com

It is now all but confirmed that Japanese retailers are beginning to phase out the XBOX 360. Poor sales are surely to blame, with games being put in ‘Bargain Bins’ and prices drastically reduced on all Japanese stock. It’s beginning to look a lot like the XBOX 360’s days are numbered in the gaming hub of the world.

As for sales, the 360 sold 1.5 million units in Japan over it’s lifecycle. This may seem like a descent amount, although when you realise that that’s over a 7.5 year life span, you will begin to get the picture. The PS Vita has already shipped between 600 and 700k units in just 3 months of release.

The sad part of the story is, Microsoft invested time and a lot of money into bringing top Japanese titles to this system, and making many of them exclusive. Tales of Vesperia and Star Ocean 4 are both examples of titles that never hit the big time in Japan due to low sales of the system they were designed around.

If you’re Japanese and you own a ‘360 don’t worry, you haven’t got a totally raw end of the stick- games are on sale for as low as 100 yen (1.40 USD). This has basically opened up a world of opportunities for those who don’t own the system yet- cheap system- insanely cheap games. It’s not hard to see why so many gamers are envious of the Japanese.

Stay tuned to The Gaming Aperture for more info on the XBOX 360’s life cycle and much more- be sure to subscribe, follow and comment.

 

 

MASS EFFECT: ME3 Records Huge Sales in North America

Image courtesy of GamingUnion.net

The long awaited title, Mass Effect 3 has recorded sales of over 890,000 copies on day one in North America, according to a statement issued by EA. Sources such as IGN and GameInformer have given the games near perfect scores, so it’s little wonder that it has been received so well. This is also the first time that EA are shipping a Mass Effect game on XBOX 360, PS3 and PC.

I should have had my copy by now, but a stuff up at EB Games left me empty handed. I am going to get a copy though and I’ll be delivering a review ASAP.

VALVE: Valve Denies ‘Steam Box’

Not too long ago, we were hearing rumours of a new console coming onto the market, made by Steam. Dubbed the Steam ‘Box’, it got gamers everywhere pretty excited due to the fact that a new console attempting to break into the Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft dominated market. This would encourage new competition and inovation in the market, with the winners being… us!

Although this has been recently denied by Valve themselves, admitting to building the boxes, but for an entirely different purpose. In am interview with Kotaku, they have said:

“We’re prepping the Steam Big Picture Mode UI and getting ready to ship that, so we’re building boxes to test that on,”

This is rather disappointing to many, but given the widespread success of the concept, I wouldn’t be surprised if we do hear something about the new console rather soon. Stay tuned to The Gaming Aperture for more news, reviews and opinion, and be sure to subscribe, follow and comment.

XBOX: 720 To Be Digital Only?

What the XBOX '720' will probably not look like...

MCV has received information that the new XBOX will be digital download only. Microsoft have reportedly been contacting developers in regards to their new console NOT including an optical disk drive.

Their unnamed ‘source’ has provided them with the following information:

” …the console will not include a disc drive, it will offer compatibility with some sort of interchangeable solid-state card storage, although it is not known whether this will be proprietary or a more standard format such as SD.”

This is about all we actually know about the new XBOX, but if these rumours prove themselves correct, it will signify a new era in gaming. In a later update on MCV, Microsoft had issued a statement:

“Xbox 360 has found new ways to extend its lifecycle like introducing the world to controller-free experiences with Kinect and re-inventing the console with a new dashboard and new entertainment content partnerships. We are always thinking about what is next for our platform and how to continue to defy the lifecycle convention. Beyond that we do not comment on rumors or speculation.”

By no means are Microsoft denying the existence of such a console, which points to the rumours being true, in my humble opinion. This would almost destroy the retail games market and retailers such as EB Games and GAME may even go out of business. While this new technology would be descent in countries with high-speed internet, it would be all but useless in regions with basic ADSL connections. I also struggle to see why Microsoft and some developers strive to destroy the very market that they have been selling to in years gone by- it makes little sense.

Anyway, stay tuned to The Gaming Aperture for more news, reviews and opinion, as well as more info on the new 8th gen consoles. Be sure to follow, subscribe and follow this site for more great content delivered daily.

IOS: The New iPad…

So, first off I’d like to apologise for the lack of posts in the last couple of days- I haven’t been keeping a descent post count up. Anyway, onto the topic of this post- the new iPad. That’s what Apple has dubbed it too. It’s not the iPad 3 or iPad HD, just ‘the new iPad’… This seems to be shying away from Apple’s traditional names and taking a new approach. To me, this really missed the mark as the creativity in naming is gone- is this setting the example for Apple products to come?

As for features, as of the Apple press conference in San Francisco, we know a whole lot about this new product. Apple have been very transparent with this release. We are currently being teased with 4G, a ultra high resolution HD Retina display, A5X CPU and a new camera. These sound rather interesting, although not aren’t revolutionising the tablet, the new features should set the bar for other manufacturers to catch up to.

Pricing is not too bad, starting at $539 for a WiFi only 16GB model in Australia, due for a February 16 release. The iPad 2 has received a huge price drop as well. We’ll keep you updated with more news and rumours here on The Gaming Aperture.

Army of Four Leaked?

A third Army of Two game may be on the way, as suggested by a voice actor’s Twitter post. It read:

“Just signed on to do the new AO4 video game for Electronic Arts. Some splinter from Battlefield. Finally, my kids think I am cool again.”

The fact that Army of Two never was and never will be a Battlefield spinoff caused some gamers to begin to wonder what was going on. A following post of the same Twitter account read:

“Showing how distinctively uncool I am, I think I have those games mixed up.”

We have no idea as to wether or not that he was forced write this due to EA telling him to keep it under wraps, although this could be the first of a long string of new rumours about this game. Stay tuned to The Gaming Aperture for more news, reviews and opinion. Also, don’t forget to follow, subscribe and COMMENT with your opinion.

New SimCity Info

As reported previously on this site, there is a new SimCity game on the way from EA and Maxis. The game, which is known as just SimCity, brings a lot more tot he table in terms of detail and graphics capabilities. Thanks to IGN for the info, as they’re the ones who translated it from German.

Detail is key in this game, with different views, you can see the hustle and bustle of city life up close, or have tranquil overview of the entire region. Also new is the new info charts instead of graphs to track city progress, as well as new building progressions.

Multiplayer is also receiving an overhaul, with the ability to trade good by land, sea and air with other players and new online leader boards. The German magazine GameStar also reports that in-game economy is based around the online world- whether or not that means online in game or online real world is left for you to decide.

That’s it for now, but be sure to stay tuned for more news and info. Be sure to follow, subscribe and comment here on The Gaming Aperture for more news and reviews.

NEWS: EA and Maxis Revealing New Game at GDC 2012

The creators of games like Spore and The Sims are back again, ready to release a new title at the Games Developers Conference next month. There isn’t much confirmed info, or even many rumours, although many people are beginning to think it may be Sim City 5.

We’ll have to wait and see, but in the mean time, remember to follow, subscribe and share The Gaming Aperture with your friends to find out more news and rumours on this new title and much more.