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Today in an interview with IGN, King’s Tommy Palm spoke about how conventional game developers are trying out the free-to-play model of games and how he sees free-to-play and micro-transactions as being the future for gaming.
“If you talk to many hardcore gamers, they’re not happy about it right now, but if you asked them about the long term, “Do you want to continue playing your favourite game for years to come?’ And the answer will be yes.” Palm said, talking about how he sees the micro-transaction as being strong and a ‘better model’ for games in general.
He did acknowledge that free-to-play games needed to sensibly price their micro-transactions though, and take care to avoid the pay-to-win mechanics that sometimes result. “At King, for instance, we took the decision to make our games truly free-to-play, so you will never end up in the position where you’re forced to pay. So you can play all the way to the end without having to pay.”
He pointed towards Blizzard’s card game Hearthstone as being a good way to do a free-to-play game and avoid the pitfalls. Indeed, the game was a runaway success, partially because it was based on an already existing property (Blizzard’s long-running and popular World of Warcraft MMO) but also because unlike Blizzard’s previous games it didn’t require a constant costly subscription fee and the card packs and Arena runs you can purchase with real money can also easily be bought with the in-game gold you earn by completing the daily challenges set.
The problem is though, most free-to-play games are not Hearthstone or even close. Free-to-play has become associated with the sort of game that has been made not to give the audience enjoyment, but to mine their pockets as much as possible, as quickly as possible. If f2p is indeed the ‘future’ of gaming, I can only hope it’s through games like Hearthstone and not ones such as the much-maligned Dungeon Keeper mobile game.
With more and more gaming moving towards digital distribution, downloadable content and online features, Capcom has decided it needs to make a serious investment to keep up and succeed in a “challenging” video game market. To this end, the videogame developer/publisher titan – popular for franchises such as Resident Evil and Dead Rising – has announced it is to spend the equivalent of around US$78 million to build two new R&D labs near their Osaka headquarters, focusing on the new trend.
“The appearance of next-generation consoles with a variety of network functions has shifted the focus of sales from conventional package software to digitally distributed content,” Capcom said. “The profit structure and business model are changing at an increasing speed as a result. Furthermore, the popularity of social games due to the widespread use of smartphones is enabling games to reach more user segments and enlarging the entire game market. To succeed in this challenging environment, Capcom has been focusing resources on strategic and growing areas under a policy of selection and concentration in order to operate with speed and flexibility.”
Capcom are fitting out their two new buildings with all kinds of modern technology that’s come into common usage in the videogames of today, including rooms dedicated to motion-capture technology; and a sound effects studio. They’ll also contain large, multi-purpose communal spaces for gatherings of over 100 people. With these, the company hopes to speed up game development and increase efficiency. The buildings will also have seismic isolation systems to protect against earthquakes.
The smaller building, currently nicknamed “R&D Building S”, will on completion consist of an 8-floor office with 2,054.38 square meters of floor area; and will cost an estimated ¥2.5 billion ($24.6 million) to complete, which Capcom aims to do by January 2015. Its bigger brother, “Building N” is over twice the size, with 16 floors and 10,972.87 square meters of floor space. Expected to cost around ¥5.5 billion ($54 million), this one should be ready in February 2016.
PAX East usually has more than it’s fair share of big announcements, and this year was no exception. On the final day of the convention, Respawn Entertainment revealed the first DLC for Titanfall.
Called Titanfall Expedition, the DLC is scheduled to drop (pun intended) in May with three maps that take place after Titanfall’s campaign story.
The first map is “Swampland”, a map with a ton of trees that promises to give players some crazy wallrunning paths. The second, “Runoff”, has a ton of pipes and water. The final map, “War Games”, takes place within a titan pilot training area.
Respawn is also adding what is perhaps the most requested feature – the ability to customize titans with decals. They are also adding the ability to meet up with new Titanfall players using identical hash tages. This is an effort to allow players to coordinate so that they can choose teammates. The developer also added a Private Match mode in a recent patch, so it seems Respawn is serious about pushing the community aspect of Titanfall.
Titanfall Expedition will be available as part of the game’s Season Pass ($24.99 for all three confirmed DLC packs), or as an individual download for $9.99.
Will you be climbing back into your Titan for this DLC?
The Indie Game Show with DJs Digmbot and PredictedCyborg Sunday night, 6pm til 9pm GMT, 1pm til 4pm EST.
Tonight on the Indie Game Show…
Not Games and NotGTAV!
This British-based group are dedicated to taking the mick out of games we have played and loved, setting them in the UK and putting their own unique spin on them. Their game – NotGTAV – is available on their website for just £1.99
They do this all for a great cause, raising funds for a charity called Peer Productions which works with vulnerable young people to talk about issues such as teenage pregnancy and addiction using plays and films as a medium, and works to get these young people into drama schools or other higher education after high school.
Fans of Sid Meier’s Civilization series, prepare to be blown away. Maybe literally if you happen to be standing too close to the rocket jets as they launch.
Today a trailer was made public for what appears to be the latest in the game series, that takes the well-established game mechanics of the series… and then sets them on strange alien worlds. That’s right, Civilization is going into space with Civilization: Beyond Earth.
The trailer itself is beautifully done and visually seems set in a not too distant future where mankind leaves the homeworld to seek new, uninhabited worlds to settle and develop further. Given that civilizations in this game start from the end point of the last game technologically (with rockets), the tech tree in this new game are taken from various sources of science fiction with such things as bio-genetics and cybernetics (yes!) being available in a ‘tech web’ system that guarantees no two civilizations will develop the same way. Ideologies also play a part in the game, affecting the development bonuses and appearances of units and buildings for the civilization that chooses them.
The game will release in the US, UK and Australia sometime during the third quarter of this year, so keep your eyes peeled for more news and information on the horizon. It’s sure to be one hell of a journey once we finally get into this game and launch our rockets to the wide reaches of outer space…
