Gamecast - Episode 42 - "Don't Download this Show!"

[Link Antilles]

In this show, we talk about DRM, Gamestop, Greek Mythology copyright infringement, a Mass Effect movie, Mega Man 9, and much more!

Search "CAA Gamecast" on iTunes or download the show from here: http://www.linkantilles.com/caagamecast/


Question Audience:
Do you buy games from Gamestop? Do you typically have a good or bad experience there?

[Fish and Chips]

Download Knytt and Knytt Stories here.

[Omega Amen]

Sorry for not being on the show this time. I had family matters during the week and a splitting headache Saturday night.

That being said, I have noted my thoughts as I listened:

1. Fish disliking Zelda Part 1: YESSS!!! BRING ON THE ZELDA HATE!!!

2. Nate talking about playing FFIV (again): Very nice, detailed-oriented discussion as usual. But I can't help wondering... have you touched Panzer Dragoon Saga since the last episode? I mean, that is a $250.00 investment. Does your Saturn still function?

3. Irony - Link Antilles asks does anyone care about Star Wars anymore: Isn't Antilles in your username pulled from X-Wing character Wedge Antilles?

4. You know, Link: If you lost your patience with playing crappy games and went to playing PC games earlier, you actually might have finished NWN2. Why don't you do that so that we can do a NWN2 Spoilercast including Mask of the Betrayer story analysis and a preview to Storm of Zehir?

5. Template for Link's Awesome Ending = Nuclear Explosion + Inside aircraft that is ripped apart mid-flight + Gun iron sights

6. Spore thoughts on the game: From what I read it seems that it is a collection of lite versions of other PC game genres with a detailed character/building creator with social networking of everyone's creation. If you are creative and are invested in your creations interested in others', you will like it. If not, it may feel lacking.

7. Irony with Spore and DRM: A game that is all about sharing and generating as many creations as possible is tied to a strict DRM scheme that discourages buyers to share copies within someone's household.

8. The Other Side - Stardock (No DRM): Stardock is a software (not just games) publisher who have this stance of having no DRM in their products. They develop mainly Strategy games (Galactic Civilizations II series, The Political Machine 2008), and have published Ironclad's Sins of a Solar Empire (yes, a big seller in retail and online without DRM), and now they are publishing Gas Powered Games (Chris Taylor) upcoming action RPG Demigod. They have a digital distribution platform (like Valve's Steam) called Impulse, which you can download here. I think it is a close second to Steam, and I hope it does well to provide competition.

9. More Stardock, The Gamer's Bill of Rights: Stardock CEO Brad Wardell elaborated more on his company's stance on no DRM for PC Games by writing a "Bill of Rights" you can read here.

10. The Witcher: Like I said, Link, get used to the "shady" surroundings. This ain't no kiddie JRPG where the world can be "saved" by some androgynous male teenager finally learning how to date a girl. This is a man's RPG. We'll discuss more later.

11. Hardware - Just for you, Fish: Since my birthday was this week, and I got a nice raise due to a good annual performance review, I decided to make progress on my quest to l33t pwnage by getting one of the best keyboards on the planet: The Deck Legend. And yes... I think the price is fine considering it is less than Nate's Panzer Dragoon Saga. So there.

12. Burnout Paradise: The PS3 version will be sold as a downloadable title on PSN later this year. Considering they keep having these game-changing patches and a big online component that might be the way to go. Will the PC version be on Steam (it is an EA game)? But then, I want to wreck Link during races and listen to his sorrow of defeat.

13. I want Metal Gear Raiden... and make that Patrice dude from Assassin's Creed work on it. Just cause.

14. Life with PlayStation (Yes, I tried it): You can still see the regular Folding@Home view. The picture of the planet is pulled from a website (not sure where) so it is an updated satellite. Weather is pulled from the Weather channel. News is using the Google News feeds. Sony says they have a lot more features planned for this.... We'll see I guess. Looks nice.

15. Greek Mythology Copyright Infringement (serious business): Look, all I care about is that this pathetic lawsuit does not delay God of War III.... Or... In the end... "There will only be chaos!"

16. How is Mass Effect's DRM? If it was on Steam, I would buy it immediately.

17. Gamestop: Actually, my local Gamestop is pretty good in treating customers. They don't hound you about pre-orders. They are honest and accurate about what they have in stock. They are hardcore gamers themselves and do not try to take advantage on anyone including parents/uninformed buyers. I feel lucky.

18. Forget Guitar Hero... play LUTE HERO: It is a mod for NWN2. Take a look at Youtube video about it here.

19. White Knight Chronicle - Wave of the Ancients:
Here are some new pics. I hope it turns out well. (I like Level 5.) We should know more during TGS.

20. About revealing game information before release: I think in general Japanese developers really do not show stuff early to the West. There are exceptions, of course. But Japanese developers have not widely adopted customer feedback as an important part of the development process. You do not see community managers like at Bungie where they use constant customer input or opinions to help make game design decisions or make patch improvements like Burnout Paradise.

21. Mega Man 9: I don't know. After Bionic Commando Rearmed, it is hard for me to get excited about a game "remake" that is low-res and thus look awful on an HDTV due to the crazy upscaling. I feel a different attitude compared to BCRearmed: with BCRearmed (under a Western developer) they were concerned about re-introducing a classic to reach everyone, with Mega Man 9 (under Capcom Japan) they are intentionally not changing things to mainly evoke nostalgia in the existing fanbase. Can't they at least do high-res sprites but keep the gameplay the same like SNK is doing on King of Fighters XII (or Capcom is doing on Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix)?

22. Chain of Memories: So, Squeenix finally makes the right decision after how many years?

23. PS2, should people care?: Here is my argument: it is still not $99 yet. It has not reached full market saturation yet.

24. Crap: Now we sound like a bunch of jerks by not playing UC's RPG. *Goes to search for it.*

25. Fish disliking Zelda Part 2: WHAT??!!1! That is no rant!!! What is this nuance wishy-washy analysis?! What are you doing?! Running for office this year?! We want lots of hate mail! Especially from Nintendo fanboys since they are so amusing!! Crush their dreams and they only become more unhinged! And then we get a large listening audience! Bah!

26. Reviews: I really like Ars Technica's approach. Very detailed review,
followed by bullet points of "The Good, The Bad, The Ugly" about the game, and finalized by a Buy/Rent/Avoid verdict.

27. Red Alert 3: Guys, look, if Red Alert 3 is on Steam, I will play Japan, Link plays the Allies, and Fish can be the Commie. I can respect cheesiness if it is taken all the way, and that is what it looks like so far.

28. No errors as far as I can tell: Good job, guys. Though, one honest question, I have never seen Mystery Science Theater. What is it? Wait... is it like what I just did here?

[Link Antilles]

1. Fish disliking Zelda Part 1: YESSS!!! BRING ON THE ZELDA HATE!!!

This is what you get for missing the show. We needed an "objective" person to chant: "Fight! Fight! Fight!"

3. Irony - Link Antilles asks does anyone care about Star Wars anymore: Isn't Antilles in your username pulled from X-Wing character Wedge Antilles?

Actually, the first part of my username is taken from the internet term. The second part, this "Antilles"... is a chain of islands in the Atlantic. How people get the idea I ripped this name from both Zelda and Star Wars is beyond me. O.o

4. You know, Link: If you lost your patience with playing crappy games and went to playing PC games earlier, you actually might have finished NWN2. Why don't you do that so that we can do a NWN2 Spoilercast including Mask of the Betrayer story analysis and a preview to Storm of Zehir?

Oh please, that was only enough time for my computer to crash again -causing my eight install/try to finish Neverwinter Nights 2.

In all seriousness, a Neverwinter Nights 2 spoilercast would be totally awesome. I'm sure all 2 of our Neverwinter Nights listeners would love it.

5. Template for Link's Awesome Ending = Nuclear Explosion + Inside aircraft that is ripped apart mid-flight + Gun iron sights

Template for Omega's Awesome Ending = An almost rhythmic hand to hand combat scene + the tragedy of a hero + decapitation. Too bad it hasn't happened yet, eh?

6. Spore thoughts on the game: From what I read it seems that it is a collection of lite versions of other PC game genres with a detailed character/building creator with social networking of everyone's creation. If you are creative and are invested in your creations interested in others', you will like it. If not, it may feel lacking.

Yeah, that's the basis of a Will Wright game: creating something. After all, that's how Sim City started... he was working on an attack helicopter game and had more fun building the city then destroying it. I never really expected much else beyond that with Spore.

8. The Other Side - Stardock (No DRM): Stardock is a software (not just games) publisher who have this stance of having no DRM in their products. They develop mainly Strategy games (Galactic Civilizations II series, The Political Machine 2008), and have published Ironclad's Sins of a Solar Empire (yes, a big seller in retail and online without DRM), and now they are publishing Gas Powered Games (Chris Taylor) upcoming action RPG Demigod. They have a digital distribution platform (like Valve's Steam) called Impulse, which you can download here. I think it is a close second to Steam, and I hope it does well to provide competition.

Competition is awesome, but where the heck is Supreme Commander? Seriously.

9. More Stardock, The Gamer's Bill of Rights: Stardock CEO Brad Wardell elaborated more on his company's stance on no DRM for PC Games by writing a "Bill of Rights" you can read here.

That's something the folks at EA would read when they wanted a laugh ...before the launch of Spore, that is.

10. The Witcher: Like I said, Link, get used to the "shady" surroundings. This ain't no kiddie JRPG where the world can be "saved" by some androgynous male teenager finally learning how to date a girl. This is a man's RPG. We'll discuss more later.

Sorry, I didn't think I'll ever get use to the bubonic plague.

11. Hardware - Just for you, Fish: Since my birthday was this week, and I got a nice raise due to a good annual performance review, I decided to make progress on my quest to l33t pwnage by getting one of the best keyboards on the planet: The Deck Legend. And yes... I think the price is fine considering it is less than Nate's Panzer Dragoon Saga. So there.

Fess up, how many keyboards did you break playing Call of Duty 4 online?

12. Burnout Paradise: The PS3 version will be sold as a downloadable title on PSN later this year. Considering they keep having these game-changing patches and a big online component that might be the way to go. Will the PC version be on Steam (it is an EA game)? But then, I want to wreck Link during races and listen to his sorrow of defeat.

What races? Races are only for trophies. I go for the takedown and marked man challenges. Bring it!

13. I want Metal Gear Raiden... and make that Patrice dude from Assassin's Creed work on it. Just cause.

Where's the online petition for that?

14. Life with PlayStation (Yes, I tried it): You can still see the regular Folding@Home view. The picture of the planet is pulled from a website (not sure where) so it is an updated satellite. Weather is pulled from the Weather channel. News is using the Google News feeds. Sony says they have a lot more features planned for this.... We'll see I guess. Looks nice.

Whatever, I talked about that... tell us about Playstation Home, Omega! ....please?

15. Greek Mythology Copyright Infringement (serious business): Look, all I care about is that this pathetic lawsuit does not delay God of War III.... Or... In the end... "There will only be chaos!"

Call me bitter, but somedays I wish a certain guy would get in a lawsuit over Norse Mythology Infringement to delay Too Human 2 (2H2) .

16. How is Mass Effect's DRM? If it was on Steam, I would buy it immediately.

I dunno, I'm waiting on Steam too.

17. Gamestop: Actually, my local Gamestop is pretty good in treating customers. They don't hound you about pre-orders. They are honest and accurate about what they have in stock. They are hardcore gamers themselves and do not try to take advantage on anyone including parents/uninformed buyers. I feel lucky.

It is a real bummer that your story is the exception.

I'm friends with a former store manager (of the store I use to frequent in the good 'ol days) and after he left, he told me a ton of horror stories. Not much that is very appropriate for the gamecast or CAA, but the point is: I wasn't shocked at what happened, but corporate's response. I thought my district manager, who tried to roll a stalled car uphill across a busy four-way, was a... well, you get the idea.

It'd be great for some more direct competition to rise up and shake up Gamestop. Or Gaming needs to become more socially accepted across the demographics.

21. Mega Man 9: I don't know. After Bionic Commando Rearmed, it is hard for me to get excited about a game "remake" that is low-res and thus look awful on an HDTV due to the crazy upscaling. I feel a different attitude compared to BCRearmed: with BCRearmed (under a Western developer) they were concerned about re-introducing a classic to reach everyone, with Mega Man 9 (under Capcom Japan) they are intentionally not changing things to mainly evoke nostalgia in the existing fanbase. Can't they at least do high-res sprites but keep the gameplay the same like SNK is doing on King of Fighters XII (or Capcom is doing on Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix)?

That's why this is so awesome. Because it's the right kind of dumb nostalgia. And dude: The year is 2008 and a company is making a game with sprint flicker on purpose.

Anyways, you can always play the hyper cute Mega Man Powered Up.... I mean, it's not like something is coming out on the PSP this holiday.

22. Chain of Memories: So, Squeenix finally makes the right decision after how many years?

Chrono Trigger: Rearmed on the PS2 in 2012. 480p with Widescreen support. OST included with all copies.

23. PS2, should people care?: Here is my argument: it is still not $99 yet. It has not reached full market saturation yet.

Well, I guess so.... seeing how the Wii can sell for $250 and Nintendo can still release a N64 game for $50 in November.

25. Fish disliking Zelda Part 2: WHAT??!!1! That is no rant!!! What is this nuance wishy-washy analysis?! What are you doing?! Running for office this year?! We want lots of hate mail! Especially from Nintendo fanboys since they are so amusing!! Crush their dreams and they only become more unhinged! And then we get a large listening audience! Bah!

If that really happened, I would have titled the show, "Fish totally hates Zelda."

Actually, in hind sight, I should have named the show that nevertheless.

27. Red Alert 3: Guys, look, if Red Alert 3 is on Steam, I will play Japan, Link plays the Allies, and Fish can be the Commie. I can respect cheesiness if it is taken all the way, and that is what it looks like so far.

Mr. Sulu will not save you and you're army of King Oni(es). Shotgun Infantry, Armored Dolphins, and President JK Simmons for the win!

28. No errors as far as I can tell: Good job, guys. Though, one honest question, I have never seen Mystery Science Theater. What is it? Wait... is it like what I just did here?

I'll let you decide:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXsu0ueiB9k

[uc pseudonym]

I've gotten the show downloaded, but I don't have time to listen to it yet. Next week I'll open a media player.

[Omega Amen]

In all seriousness, a Neverwinter Nights 2 spoilercast would be totally awesome. I'm sure all 2 of our Neverwinter Nights listeners would love it.

That's right! The two of us would love listening to ourselves on this subject!

Template for Omega's Awesome Ending = An almost rhythmic hand to hand combat scene + the tragedy of a hero + decapitation. Too bad it hasn't happened yet, eh?

Well, first, a correction.

Template for Omega's Awesome Ending = An almost rhythmic hand to hand combat scene + the tragedy of a hero + fatal blow that causes a slow, bleeding death

Decapitation is too quick and anti-climatic to serve as an ending, especially since it will not reinforce the suffering/endurance of hand-to-hand combat, and the introspection of tragic heroic themes. However, for the mid-game action, sure, knock a monster's head off.

Competition is awesome, but where the heck is Supreme Commander? Seriously.

THQ publishes SupCom, and they want some DRM. But Impulse does have The Witcher, the Episode 1 of the Penny Arcade game, Epic's Unreal series, Sins of a Solar Empire, and their Galactic Civilizations II series. Not bad for just getting started.

No DRM will always make Impulse have a smaller library of big PC hits. However, if they continue to cater independent developers, like Gas Powered Games, they can possibly have a nice exclusive lineup on their distribution platform over time. I want them to succeed enough to keep Valve honest with Steam. Last thing we need is a practical monopoly on PC digital distribution.

Fess up, how many keyboards did you break playing Call of Duty 4 online?

None. I actually take care of my hardware. I just wanted a l33t upgrade.

Whatever, I talked about that... tell us about Playstation Home, Omega! ....please?

*looks nervously at NDA.*

Uh... Game 3.0!

That's why this is so awesome. Because it's the right kind of dumb nostalgia. And dude: The year is 2008 and a company is making a game with sprint flicker on purpose.

So you are telling me upscaled to the mega-ugly and irritating flicker is the right type of dumb nostalgia? You must be that existing fanbase I referred.

Anyways, you can always play the hyper cute Mega Man Powered Up.... I mean, it's not like something is coming out on the PSP this holiday.

I am not even asking for hyper cuteness (In fact, I would really prefer to see Mega Man remade in the likeness of a Warhammer 40k Space Marine. That would be awesome.)

I am just asking for a higher-resolution.... I will even take the same art style. I mean look at the new KOFXII trailer. How can a fan not want a similar remake treatment to their favorite franchise?

Chrono Trigger: Rearmed on the PS2 in 2012. 480p with Widescreen support. OST included with all copies.

Easy money right there.

Mr. Sulu will not save you and you're army of King Oni(es). Shotgun Infantry, Armored Dolphins, and President JK Simmons for the win!

*is really clueless about the Red Alert franchise but feels the need to make a really dumb comeback.*

Uhh... well... I've got... Kelly Hu! And you don't... yeah.

I'll let you decide:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXsu0ueiB9k

Dude.

I've gotten the show downloaded, but I don't have time to listen to it yet. Next week I'll open a media player.

Ouch. That burns.

[TheMelodyMaker]

I haven't listened to this yet, but I will tomorrow. You guys are always entertaining to listen to while I'm working on The Traveller's Guide.

To answer your question, I have absolutely no experience shopping at Gamestop at all. I'm not even sure whether we have that up here in Canada, actually. ^_^;

Actually, the first part of my username is taken from the internet term. The second part, this "Antilles"... is a chain of islands in the Atlantic. How people get the idea I ripped this name from both Zelda and Star Wars is beyond me. O.o

I have a new nickname for you: Earl of the Atlantic.

[uc pseudonym]

That's right! The two of us would love listening to ourselves on this subject!

Actually, I would have been moderately interested in hearing what the two of you might have said. I'm curious about the game, given how highly you have praised the story, but the chance of me playing it is very low.

[Bobtheduck]

Actually, the first part of my username is taken from the internet term. The second part, this "Antilles"... is a chain of islands in the Atlantic. How people get the idea I ripped this name from both Zelda and Star Wars is beyond me. O.o

Well, the star wars avatar you used to be known for couldn't have anything to do with THAT one...

I listened... I found out Securom was made by sony. I nearly burned my PS3, but I came to my sense (that's right, just one)...

I could make analogies to what this is like, finding this out, but none of them are CAA appropriate.

[Omega Amen]

To be fair, I just noticed this. Link, are you sure you do not see SecuROM with Crysis Warhead when you download from Steam?

Steam's Store page on Crysis Warhead says it is there.

I am disappointed by this, especially since Steam has its own DRM, thereby making the presence of SecuROM completely unnecessary.

I guess we'll see how long EA will be stuck on stupid.


Other interesting things about digitally distribution in the past few days. PSN had its best set of releases yet this past Thursday with Mega Man 9, Wipeout HD (my eyes burn from the amazing), and Burnout Paradise.

Also, Level 5 is attempting to become the Valve of Japan with its announcement of its upcoming digital distribution platform on the PC called ROID. They are not making a console, but that did not stop them from imagining what it would be like if it were a console: a console that transform into a mecha robot that teleports, so awesome.

Yes, we will talk about ROID in the next show, and yes, we will make fun of its name.

[Raiden no Kishi]

So if the program's glitchy, and it deletes the software you just bought, do you get ROID rage?

.rai//