Daddy Gamer

It’s not enough to make billions of dollars selling video games. PC and video game companies are also looking into creative ways to get the most out of their titles. I’m seeing a lot of revenue models being tested and I’m not really sure how they’re going to pan out.
[Out of left field]

Kwari, based out of Gibraltar, plans to make money buy selling ammo to players of their online first-person shooter, Kwari. The plan is to hook gamers into making cash as they takedown other players and acquire items in the mayhem. The concept is very intriguing from a technical standpoint but I’m not intrigued enough to jump in as a gamer. Plus, Kwari is not available to U.S. gamers at this time.

Cheating will always be a factor when you start throwing money in the mix. Kwari states that their Big World game engine and security test framework should weed out this issue. Hmmmm… impregnable cheat blocker? *thinking* Let’s not forget the gambling implications. Players are not only shooting for points and rankings but are also forking out the ante by buying ammo in the hopes of acquiring cash and the big pot.

[Freemium games]

Ahhh… here comes the buzz words! IGA, Id’s advergaming partner actually coined this term to say free-to-play premium games. I CAP’ed (cut-and-pasted) this from Id’s press release:

QUAKE LIVE offers game players of all skill levels a totally free and easily accessible multiplayer game and community through a single website at quakelive.com. Every element of the experience, including friends lists and communication, sponsored events and tournaments, matchmaking, stats tracking, and even the game itself is accessed and delivered free of charge through the web browser.

Quake via a web browser powered by advertising? I think this is a viable, more acceptable revenue model. We do this now with TV shows. Why not video games? And as long as I’m not firing Pepsi bottle caps at my opponents or peppering them with Burger King french fries, I think I can live with advertising in my free premium games.

I remember back in the 70’s when my friends and I were attempting to figure out the chords and riffs in one of the Police songs. We spent countless days and hours together trying to get the notes right. It was a great sense of accomplishment when we finally came up with something decently close to the original. This goal fed our passion and friendship throughout the good and bad times.

Reading about the news that Microsoft’s XNA community games program made me think that this could generate the same passion and camaraderie among today’s friendships. XNA is a set of tools and programming languages that will allow video game pros and hobbyist to create games for Windows and the Xbox 360. The new XNA program will give producers an outlet on Xbox Live to promote, test and sell their games. I can see a lot of garage-programmers being spawned by this. But XNA its not for everybody. Programming terms such as C++, Visual, compilers and vectors were being thrown around in the XNA forums like they were Skittles in a candy store.
I wish I had this growing up. I could have skipped my hippie-long-hair-wannabe Bee Gees-look.

I’m hoping that this movie will not be the embarrassing 1994 adaptation of Capcom’s fighting video game. Ouch. Ouch. And ouch again! I was the first in line in 1994. I was as excited as the 7 year olds behind me back then. Claude Van Damme and Raul Julia (Bison) did not do the game justice. It was pathetic. Capcom got a lot of press though that year. I hope that Capcom is not just after publicity this time for their Street Fighter IV title this year.

This time though the hook to the movie is the focus on Chun Li, my favorite Street Fighter character. Chun Li will be played by Kristin Kreuk. Oh snap. I’ll be the first in line again for this movie. Dang it! Kristin plays Lana Lang in TV series, Smallville on the WB. The man-of-steel was relegated to the background next to the star power of Kristin in the series. I’m praying and hoping that the movie somewhat mirrors what the producers did in Mortal Kombat: The movie. The first one was great.

Being a gamer and a dad is a tough balancing act. The $65 per pop for a video game also gets the attention of the commander-in-chief i.e. my wife. Finding a game to satisfy all this prerequisites definitely puts a lot of stress in my game buying decision. Luckily, Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction is a great game that will satisfy all of the above and then some.

[Graphics and Animation]
The graphics and animation in this game are some of the best I’ve seen in my 20-plus years of video gaming. I’ve played the game several times just to watch the detail of the characters and environments. The experience is quite exhilarating when you realize that you’re not watching an animated Pixar movie but playing a video game. I know I have something good going when my kids ask me to play the “giggly head” game. They’re referring to the enemy soldiers driving the robots.

[Storyline]

But beyond the eye-candy graphics, Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction have manage to insert a storyline that will hook the kid-at-heart. Ratchet, an orphaned Lombax, is in search of his kind. He’s never encountered another Lombax in his life. Clank his trusty sidekick also has a side story that will carry this game to the sequel. Ratchet and Clank will run across witty and mysterious characters along the way. There are tons of side quests that adds to this game’s re playability; another added value to the $65 price tag.

[Violence]

Ratchet and Clank is basically an animated war story. Of course, there will be violence. But it’s not over the top nor beyond any Saturday morning cartoons such as Pokemon or Power Rangers. What helps is that there are no human beings that could make it touchy. The interaction and fire fight are usually between high powered furry creatures against dazzling, super powered robots.

[Bottomline]

I’d recommend this game to parents and to anyone with a Playstation 3. It’s money well-spent and you’ll actually entertain people watching you play this game. What a concept. Beware though; you’ll crave the sequel after playing this game.

Hell is freezing over or pigs are flying somewhere around Redmond, Washington. Rumor has it that Microsoft is toying with the idea of producing a Blu-ray player for the Xbox360. I recently ran into articles in the blogosphere that Australian hackers, Smarthouse broke the news. The 180-degree-decision could have come amidst the news the everybody and their mother will be supporting the Blu-ray movie format. I’m also looking into news that Netflix will be streaming Blu-ray movies to a video game console near you soon.

How much will this cost Xbox360 owners though? Everybody, including myself, jumped all over Sony for releasing a $600 video game console with the Playstation 3. I’m eating my words now, of course. A standalone Blu-ray player runs for about $600. This makes the Playstation 3 a damn good option when you consider its gaming, internet, photo and video capabilities. Will consumers fork out a $400 Blu-ray add-on?

Don’t do it Microsoft. There’s nothing wrong with keeping the 360 a video game player only. Take a cue from Nintendo. Just play the games but play them well.