bobfish09 • Comments

• Spec Analysis: Xbox One

• bobfish09 22/05/2013

  @Darren Given the shared technologies, it would be feasible for a developer to build the PC version, with the usual range of video options and automatically disable options to get it working on the lower spec consoles.
  
  This would then always allow the developers to make the most out of the consoles.
  
  But that largely depends on the OS and driver support required, if the restrictions are the same as the unique hardware of previous generations, then you're right, nothing will change, lowest common denominator will continue. Reply +2

• What EA Sports' new Ignite engine means for a game like FIFA 14

• bobfish09 22/05/2013

  PC will resync with FIFA 15, but even so, I'll get it on PS4. Reply +2

• EA's MOBA Dawngate is trying to do a couple of things differently

• bobfish09 21/05/2013

  Only thing that would make me switch to this from an existing MOBA is if they added WASD movement like Smite. Reply 0

• 40 minutes of Fast & Furious: Showdown you'll never get back

• bobfish09 20/05/2013

  The iOS game for F&F6 is better :) Reply 0

• The Football Playbook review

• bobfish09 16/05/2013

  I think the game is fine, could be anything really, not just football, but the gameplay works nicely. Reply +1

• Ubisoft suspends development on Patrice Désilets' 1666 "for an undisclosed time"

• bobfish09 16/05/2013

  From what I've read so far, it seems like Ubisoft wanted some control over the game and couldn't reach an agreement with Désilets about it.
  
  Now they've got rid of Désilets, they have a problem, as the inspiration for the game has gone, that isn't something easily replaced if you're still in heavy development.
  
  Suspending it until you figure out a solution and moving that team onto something else in the meantime seems sensible.
  
  I doubt however that Ubisoft will resume development, once it is stopped, it is very hard to begin again. Reply +11

• Hawken art prank changes CEO's mind about scantily clad women

• bobfish09 15/05/2013

  @arcam You mean I'm facebooking wrong? :( Reply +2

• EA announces Star Wars-focused DICE Los Angeles studio

• bobfish09 15/05/2013

  @CamberGreber This is my concern, when EA said DICE would be working on Star Wars we assumed it was the talent they already had.
  
  But hiring a whole new team and calling it DICE LA isn't the same thing. Reply +10

• 2008 PSN hack suspect smashes PCs, hides HDDs, gets off lightly

• bobfish09 14/05/2013

  Surely it should at least include a suspension from using the internet... Reply +23

• BioShock Infinite sells "significantly" more than series predecessors

• bobfish09 14/05/2013

  @TheApologist Take-Two has always been overly reliant on GTA revenue.
  
  However, you're right, big studio development is fucked and has been for a few years now. Some optimists in the industry think a new generation of consoles will change that, but the reality is, the big games sell more and everyone else sells less.
  
  You can either afford to risk $50m per game or you go indie, the middle ground doesn't exist any more. Reply +14

• Danny Bilson: inside the rise and fall of THQ

• bobfish09 10/05/2013

  Profit isn't what is important, it is revenue, you need continuous cash flow to keep afloat in this industry, either through sales or investment.
  
  THQ's releases were too sparse, their share price dropped and investment dried up. Even without the losses incurred by uDraw, they were walking a tight rope.
  
  You unfortunately, can't run a games business based on making profits, you run it based on covering your costs or justifying additional investment.
  
  Its an ugly industry and frankly, I'm amazed investors keep pumping money into it. Reply +5

• Chinese World of Tanks clone so similar it allegedly copies even historical inaccuracies and fictional tanks

• bobfish09 10/05/2013

  @tidy-spidey Changyou have a US subsidiary, so this could work. Reply +1

• Aliens: Colonial Marines co-developer TimeGate Studios has been shuttered - report

• bobfish09 10/05/2013

  @SuperSoupy Topping charts means nothing outside of October/November.
  
  You could sell a thousand copies and still top the charts some weeks. Reply +1

• Former THQ frontman Danny Bilson announces ambitious new game-and-film idea

• bobfish09 09/05/2013

  I'll be interested to see how much of the player's decisions/interaction will translate back into the film. Reply 0

• Another hour of Star Wars: Battlefront 3 gameplay footage leaks

• bobfish09 07/05/2013

  @bad09 We may rip into companies for cancelling projects or not doing the sequels we want, but at the end of the day, they know quality will affect sales. If they don't think the developer will product the quality they expect to bring in the sales they expect by the deadline given, then they cancel.
  
  That is what I think happened here. Not that I think LucasArts didn't have other issues, but there is no way BF3 was 99% complete and that kind of bullshit from a developer is reason enough to not continue paying for them. Reply +2

• bobfish09 07/05/2013

  @L_Franko The footage isn't very good, it shows potential, but looks like it is from an Alpha build, so a good year or so away from being finished or really playable. Reply +2

• bobfish09 07/05/2013

  I would expect DICE to create Battlefront 3, BioWare to not do anything beyond SWTOR and Visceral to do the film tie-ins.
  
  I can't imagine EA branching out beyond FPS, story-driven FPS/TPS and the MMO. Reply +8

• Senior Scottish cop calls for second look into prevention of children playing adult games online after 13-year-old boy slashes friend's throat following Gears of War 3 session

• bobfish09 03/05/2013

  A 13 year old shouldn't be playing an 18 rated game.
  
  It is illegal to sell 18 rated games to minors, so deal with that obvious crime or parental neglect and then deal with the "video games are bad" debate. Reply +55

• Neverwinter open beta begins, opening cinematic released

• bobfish09 01/05/2013

  You don't need to pay for anything, you can convert Zen (purchased for real money) into Astral Diamonds, (earned in game), through an anonymous auction with other players, but you don't have to.
  
  ADs are used as a higher level currency so are quite important, only the impatient will convert Zen to AD or complain that they have to. As the amount of AD you can earn is limited on a day by day basis.
  
  It is a really good free game, plus if you actually enjoy questing and the stories of the world, the Foundry (user generated content), will keep you playing long after you've exhausted all of Cryptic's content.
  
  I've actually spent more time in the Foundry creating quests than I have playing it so far, its pretty cool :) Reply 0

• Aliens: Colonial Marines class action lawsuit targets Sega and Gearbox

• bobfish09 01/05/2013

  I actually feel sorry for SEGA, I don't think they were hands on enough with this and have been thrown to the lions along with Gearbox for their misplaced trust in Gearbox's ability to deliver a good game. Reply +5

• Respawn game is reportedly an always-online Xbox exclusive

• bobfish09 30/04/2013

  Keep in mind that EA is publishing by their partners program, which means Respawn keep complete control of the game and plans for it. This exclusivity deal may be directly between Microsoft and Respawn, as EA wouldn't have a say in it. Reply +3

• Driving ambition: pCARS, crowdfunding and the FSA

• bobfish09 18/04/2013

  Interesting article, though it is unlikely that pCARS can shift 1 million units.
  
  Simply won't happen. Reply -26

• Bethesda re-releasing The Elder Scrolls: Arena for tablets and phones?

• bobfish09 15/04/2013

  Mobile games don't need to go for classification, so this doesn't make sense. Reply 0

• Pre-order Company of Heroes 2 and you get free campaign DLC

• bobfish09 05/04/2013

  Relic previously tried a micro transaction version of CoH, so this isn't surprising. Reply +3

• Don't rule free-to-play MMO Neverwinter out

• bobfish09 04/04/2013

  @Ezzekhiel Because it is based in Neverwinter?
  
  Seems logical to me. Reply +10