Will be interesting to see if the new Tomb Raider can meet Square Enix's ambitious sales targets this time around, whilst only on one platform. I can't see it doing much for the franchise, or Microsoft's image for that matter.
Ah, replaying levels. I remember constantly replaying single missions from the original Hitman games, Interstate '76, and Duke Nukem 3D, among many others. I think this whole concept has been replaced by the online multi-player phenomenon, given that in modern single player games it can be difficult to isolate a single segment to replay out of the whole experience. if people are going to play a "mission", they want to do it within the boundaries of a story, and not disrupt the flow of the roller-coaster, and all of its Hollywood production values and carefully crafted plot twists that give the mission its context. if players simply want to kill some time they want to do it online in the company of others, where things like Half-Life's reactive AI are easier to find, or in indie games where 'pick up and play' game mechanics are more abundant than intricate plots and cinematic cut-scenes.
"Get out of the car or you'll end up like Michael Jackson!" - Pure Danny gold.
...actually, that should be "Gold! Gooooold! Always believe in your soooooooul! You got the power to know, you're indestructible, always believe in!"
I still listen to most of the music from Vice City. I don't think there's been a game since with a soundtrack so well curated. Even San Andreas struggled with a decent soundtrack - if you listened to one station, that would mean you wouldn't listen to any number of others because the music styles just didn't go together. But regardless of genre, be it heavy metal, underground electro, new wave, or cheesy power ballad, the music in Vice City just works.
Oh, and the end of the show gave me an idea. Danny should wear a top that's the same colour as the backdrop for next episode =D
is the $200k an initial payment, or the whole shebang? Many Aussie game devs have received funding recently as part of an industry "stimulus package", with CNET.au says will be over a three year period. In any case, $200k doesn't buy much in the way of AAA games these days, and if it were my money Team Bondi wouldn't be seeing any of it. AAA games are risky enough, let alone handing money to companies with a bad reputation and who recently faced liquidation.
The cost of developing for a platform is irrelevant, it's the cost of the next generation of game engines that will be significant, as it always is. Throwing out code and starting afresh with a higher set of expectations is where the money goes, and GTA4 proved that with development costs reaching an estimated $100 million, irrespective of which platform it eventually landed on.
@Hurvl I agree, 1313 is (or was) the only Star Wars game I've been interested in since Jedi Knight II, it looked like the first real attempt in a long time to make a proper Star Wars experience, rather than take someone else's ideas and put some Star Wars wallpaper over it, and that must have caused a few jittery nerves.
"We felt that Japan wasn't good for us, because we don't know this culture as Europeans," - that's generally what research is for. Quite often other people undertake this research for you, and publish their findings in what are called 'books'....
@ahchx @stailcookie yes I don't quite understand how digital download sales figures cannot be publicly available, and that publishers 'apparently' can't factor those numbers in when giving sales figures, considering the amount of money at stake.
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