Final Fantasy XIII-2 Brain Blast quiz walkthrough
14 hours 6 mins ago
OXCGN takes a look at the future of Downloable Content and how it might or will affect game delivery in the future.
As much as some dislike it, it will be something that will occure as some stage, or another. If we are to get games cheaper, then we do have to look at an alternative to the physical distribution of game media.
But is total DLC the way to go, or, will it need to be like the print media, where they offer both, but with one carrying a premium price tag to cover its costs . .?
First there is Bethesdas Microsoft exclusive downloadable content Fallout 3: Operation Anchourage available via Games For Windows and XboxLIVE, which will was followed by Rockstar Games GTA:IV exclusive DLC Lost & The Damned on February 17th.
Following not too far behind that will be Crystal Dynamics Tomb Raider: Underworld Beneath the Ashes which joined the ranks of those games offering Xbox 360 owners exclusive content through XboxLIVE.
Many say that Microsoft are showing signs of being in trouble as they are having to sell off their internal studios, when in fact, thats not the case. If you check their specialised 2002/3 XE 30 and J Allards 3″ white papers, MSs Xbox-Div estimated, at a worse case scenario, that it could afford to lose $US 6.2 billion within the first 7 years of the consoles life. At a worst case scenario.
Comments
Here in Oz, I pay $AU119 per month for 20 gig or Cable BB, go over that and it's $AU150 per gig, ($1.5 per meg) and that is rediculous as you can imagine.
If Nth America had those fees, they (MS/Sony/Nintendo wouldn't be making a penny.
And our BB is really a joke as far as speed goes.. Plus I'm an old-school guy. I like to be able to hold, wreck, sit on, throw around things I buy. Not have them stored in some virtual world I can not see, touch or even sell if I wanted to.
Hm. The minimum wage there is more than double the US' I'm reading, though? Still..crazy.
You do realize we have to also pay upwards of 40% and more of our wages in TAX . .!! Earn a $1000, give $400 to the government . . then try buying a game for $120 and then paying for rent where the average home in outer Sydney is $450 per week . .How much is left . .Oh, don't forget food, electricity and the fuel, which is currently $1.30 per LITRE, not gallon.
See the problem . .and yes, $AU150 per gig once you go over the 20 gig cap (Optus BB cable)
And of course if you live anywhere outside of a major city probably a quarter of the total population you're lucky if you can even get a reliable 56k connection. We have plenty of problems that need to be solved here before digital distribution would be a viable concept. And those problems are nothing compared to the rest of the world.
Nope, realistically about the only countries that digital distribution would be a good deal for the average gamers would be a handful of Asian countries. Korea and Japan would be fine with their average speeds of around 40mbps.
No, Sydney, and that is the standard $(( + Phone bundle from Optus. Read their small print with regards to what happens when you go over their caps.
I'll be changing so, as they have just gotten way to expensive, but even a super quick ADSL+2 still carries a decent cost if you want server connections and other facilities other than a basic plan. Especially if you're running a site from home.
I think full digital distribution could or will be something for the future, but not right now. While it might seem fine on paper to the pencil-pushers, it is a long way from it in reality.
This news story is archived and is closed to comments now.