Evil publisher Activision loves the color of money, and apparently having the biggest game franchises in the world just doesn't rake in enough cash for the nefarious company. With that in mind, Activision is looking at ways to profit even more from big names like Call of Duty, "monetizing" the experience even more than it does now.

"It's definitely an aspiration that we see potential in, particularly as we look at different business models to monetize the online gameplay," says CFO Thomas Tippl. "There's good knowledge exchange happening between the Blizzard folks and our online guys. We have great experience also on Call of Duty with the success we had on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network. A lot of that knowledge is getting actually built into the Battle.Net platform and the design of that.

"I think it's been mutually beneficial, and you should expect us to test and ultimately launch additional online monetization models of some of some of our biggest franchises like Call of Duty."

Does that sound bad to you? It shouldn't. Activision apparently thinks that people like you "demanded" to pay more for Call of Duty: "Our gamers are telling us there's lots of services and innovation they would like to see that they're not getting yet. From what we see so far, additional content, as well as all the services Blizzard is offering, is that there is demand from the core gamers to pay up for that."

Did you tell Activision that this is what you wanted? Own up, who bloody gave Activision this idea!?

Black Friday is almost upon that, that dread day when human dignity shrinks to the size of an ant's testicle and Americans all over the country seem to take pride in the fact that they've imitated wild apes and fought over things that they don't even really want. Yep, good times for all! Here's what Kmart's selling.

The highlights of Kmart's Black Friday deals include DSi bundles for $170, Left 4 Dead 2 at $40 and an Xbox Elite bundled with three games for $299. Plenty of stuff to take a look at, so peruse the scans provided by Kotaku for the full skinny.

Now I'm going to go back to building my Black Friday protection bunker. See you on the other side!

PC games. They have better graphics, better online support and, depending on who you ask, better controls. Despite all these advantages, however, the PC game market has had its death-knell rung several times, and developers don't seem keen on making computer titles anymore. Among them is Brink studio Splash Damage, a developer that has come out to say that games designed solely for PC just can't attract money.

"About two or three years ago we realized that we really wouldn’t survive if we only made PC games, since purely making PC games was incompatible with our goal of making triple-A games," states SD boss Paul Wedgewood. "You just can’t get the publisher budget to ever [use] an orchestra in London, and then go and record at Abbey Road and get the best voice actors if you’re only going to release on the PC, where there isn’t the sales to justify that kind of work.

"Because we needed to make that transition, I started playing console games. [I now spend] a lot more time playing console stuff."

Considering this is the studio that denounced analog sticks as a poor man's mouse, these are weighty words indeed. Unfortunately, it seems that PC games are pirated to buggery more often than not (likely by people who spend their time complaining about a lack of respect for PC gamers) and that consoles are the only way to secure the cash. Things really are looking bleak for PC gaming.

Remember that ugly/fugly/fug ugly limited edition GameStop-branded Xbox 360 controller from way back when? Why am I even asking -- how could anyone forget?

Major Nelson reminds us that the black and red beast nears ever closer. The $70 wireless controller plus Play & Charge Kit bundle begins shipping on Monday of next week. Oddly enough, the device is being offered for pre-order at this time.

Who would want to reserve such a th--I don't even want to know.

Sega has always been ridiculously keen to exploit and whore out every franchise that's ever been popular, cramming them into remakes, re-releases and crossover games at the drop of a hat. However, one game Sega's never tried to resuscitate is Toejam & Earl. I always wondered why Sega won't pay tribute to the game and its classic characters, but it's recently been revealed that it's not a case of paying tribute, but a case of paying cash.

Responding to news that Toejam and Earl won't be appearing in the upcoming Sonic and Sega All-Star Racing, game creator Greg Johnson revealed that it's because he owns the rights to the game, and Sega doesn't want to stump up the green and license the characters out. However, Jones did tease that a brand new game might eventually happen one day.

"I can't promise anything but I'll give it another try and see if I can get the homies at Sega to talk again on the phone," explains Johnson. "No promises, but I'll see what their interest level is. Hopefully they can see what amazing devoted fans TJ&E has. Hurray for the FUNK! Well if I get any news I'll come back and post it here. And I'll keep trying to get some new TJ&E game off the ground. No publisher has agreed to foot the bill yet, but never say never. The funky duo shall yet return."

Would you fancy another Toejam & Earl game? Register your desire here and let Sega know that the series still has its fans. In the meantime, be happy that TJ&E will be coming to XBLA.

If there's one thing that Apple's App store has demonstrated, it's that there is mad bank to be made from making little bits of software that cost a handful of dollars. Even better, a few Apps that cost nothing at all are managing to rake in ludicrous amounts of cash thanks to in-App advertising. One such developer is currently earning $9,600 a month from free games. How amazing is that?

Amplified Games was among the first studios to really get in there and experiment with ads on free-to-play Apps, and the experiment appears to have paid off. Cookie Bonus Solitaire and Fat-Free Video Poker are free to download on the conditions that adverts occasionally play, courtesy of iPhone ad network Greystripe. On its very best month since the 2008 launch of these games, Amplified sucked up $53,134. 

I find this kind of stuff very exciting. That independent developers, free of publisher oppression, can generate that much money in a relatively risk-free environment is amazing. I really hope to see this kind of environment continue, and I really hope that platform holders like Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony eventually allow for a similar freedom on their own systems. 

Well ... we can dream.

Microsoft wants your money, but not all of it. Big MS is upping the ante in the price drop battle by offering a $50 rebate to anybody in the United States who purchases an Xbox 360 between now and October 5.

This certainly has to be a response to the PlayStation 3 price cut, with Microsoft attempting to undermine Sony's efforts to put more PS3s into homes this Winter. The rebate makes the entry cost for an Elite a rather attractive $249, which certainly makes it cheaper than the $299 PS3. Will the plan succeed? That remains to be seen. 

The rebate details are available on this page. What do you reckon? Will this have any impact on sales?

Where there are World of Warcraft players, there are people with dollar signs in their eyes lining up to take advantage. Cue Washington State's ReSTART clinic, a rehab center that aims to help WoW players beat their addiction and break the hold that Blizzard has over them. The best part is that it only costs $14,000!

"We've been doing this for years on an outpatient basis," aptly-named ReSTART director Hilarie Cash tells the AP. "Up until now, we had no place to send them."

I love how so-called experts try their best to take money from WoW players. I guess they feel that if someone's prepared to pay a monthly subscription for a computer game, they're gullible enough to pay for anything. If this venture has been going on for years, perhaps the con-merchants behind this scheme are actually right.

Shacknews brings even more bad news today as a series of layoffs have hit Maxis, the developers of Spore, The Sims and other Sim titles. Electronic Arts told Shacknews that:

"Often in the video game industry, the size of a studio fluctuates in response to business conditions. In this case, EA has taken action to reduce the workforce at Maxis as we focus the business and focus Maxis."

EA would not say how many people have been laid off, but Shack reports that there was a “sizable exodus” from Maxis.

As of late, there's been a rash of layoffs going around after the games were released. In this case, Maxis is still working on Spore Hero for the Wii and Spore Hero Arena for the DS, both of which should be out later this year.

Microsoft ruined fun, which is something we all know. However, according to FASA Interactive founder Jordan Weisman, Microsoft ruined far more than that. It in fact destroyed an entire studio after acquiring it, and very nearly did the same with Bungie.

"When Microsoft bought FASA Interactive and incorporated it into Microsoft ... the two reasons they bought us was, one, they wanted the catalogue of intellectual properties and, two, they felt that we had developed a really good development culture," explains Weisman. "And the reality is that, pretty much from the day we moved to Redmond, that development culture was destroyed.

"I don't think the studio ever really had a chance. It was destroyed right in the beginning."

Weisman goes on to explain how he reacted to the Bungie acquisition: "When we were acquiring Bungie, they wanted me to sit down with the owners of Bungie and tell them how well the transition went. And it was like -- 'what planet are you guys on?' This transition did not go well. And actually I became the lead vocal pain in the ass to get things done very different for Bungie.

"I tried to convince them to leave Bungie in Chicago, but not winning that I did succeed in getting them to put them in a walled off room, which didn't follow any of the other Microsoft stuff. We were much better able to defend Bungie's culture than we were FASA's culture."

Ouch. Incredibly damning words from Weisman, and really, it's probably very true. There's no denying that Rare has suffered since Microsoft dug its claws in, and then there are the infamous fates of studios like Bullfrog after Electronic Arts kidnapped them. Luckily, it seems things are changing, with BioWare flourishing as part of EA, and Activision managing not to be too evil to Infinity Ward, but for a fair few good developers, it's far too late.

I don't tend to get interested in the "business" end of gaming -- stock prices, mergers, hostlie takeovers, etc. I don't know a lot about business or economics and I'd rather be talking about actual games. However, I've been trying my best to follow Midway's downfall because I happen to have a soft spot for the much-beleaguered company. It probably stems from playing way too much Mortal Kombat as a kid, and way too much Blitz as a bigger, college-aged kid.

Unfortunately, it seems that the Midway saga has come to an end. "Substantially all" of the last Midway studio -- in San Diego -- is being bought by THQ, according to The Chicago Tribune, for a paltry $200,000. I don't know how much game studios generally cost, but I do know that $200,000 is nothing compared to the $49 million that Warner Brothers paid for the rest of Midway. Midway Newcastle, another studio left out of Warner Bros.' offer, closed a few weeks ago, making them the only studio to fall through the cracks.

Midway made a filing with the Securities Exchange Commission last Friday which stated that THQ is offering jobs to about 40 of Midway San Diego's 100 employees and may interview and hire more. The THQ buyout is still pending approval by the judge overseeing Midway's Chapter 11 bankruptcy hearings.

So, what does this mean for gamers? Well, THQ won't get the rights to Midway's TNA wrestling series (just the employees that made them). Given that THQ already owns the WWE license, having the rights to TNA would probably constitute a conflict of interest. Interestingly, Warner Bros. and THQ have agreed to share some of Midway's old intellectual properties, but I have no idea how that will play out.

While this seals Midway's fate, this news creates more questions than it answers: what will happen to the TNA license? How are Warner Bros. and THQ going to share IPs? And are any Midway games even relevant enough for us to care?

[Via Edge]

Modern Warfare 2 might be causing a stink in the UK thanks to its disgusting RRP of £54.99, but if you think evil publisher Activision cared, you'd be mistaken. In fact, CEO Bobby Kotick has admitted, without a shred of shame, that he would raise game prices even higher if he could.

Kotick's response came after Mike Griffith answered an anylyst question on price points: "And then on the second question, Tony, on the pricing, we’ve had for all of our launch titles in the back half of this year, some of which contain peripherals, as you point out, very strong retailer acceptance and support for all parts of our plan, including our merchandising plans, our marketing programs, and our price points."

To which Kotick added: "And Tony, you know if it was left to me, I would raise the prices even further."

That's cool. I'm glad Kotick has always been so open and frank about how little he respects his consumers and how much he revels in his own greed. Activision of course has the right to do and say as it pleases, and that's good. Of course, we as consumers have a right to buy used games if we so desire, and I fully recommend that everybody does that, especially when it comes to Activision games. 

After all, Kotick has just shown you how much he loyalty and respect he has for his customers. You'd only be responding in kind.

We all knew Wii Sports Resort would be popular, and Nintendo wants to be absolutely sure that nobody is left with a shred of doubt over the Wii's ability to print money, revealing that the game has shifted over 500,000 copies since it launched in the US on July 26.

"Through Monday we sold one copy of Wii Sports Resort roughly every 1.5 seconds continuously since it launched in the United States," says Cammie Dunnaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of smirking all the time. "This tells us consumers were eagerly waiting to get their hands on these fun activities, and it’s a great start for a game that will have long-lasting appeal."

So there you go. Wii Sports Resort is likely going to follow in the footsteps of Wii Fit and Wii Play, tearing up charts around the world. It's because Reggie really likes that throttle.

The most common argument you ever see during a debate about in-game advertising is one I tend to agree with myself: It's okay so long as the adverts don't negatively impact the gameplay. So, what do we say about WipEout HD, a game that was recently updated to include adverts which double the loading times?

The latest patch now forces players to watch a commercial before each race, courtesy of the fine marketing folks at Double Fusion. Before the update, races took eight seconds to load. Now they take sixteen. This is more than an in-game billboard or Solid Snake carrying an iPod in his pocket. This is a game basically being screwed with in order to push commercials over gameplay. 

I really don't care for that at all.

Hey, you! Yea, you! Do want to make money quick? Do you want women, power and fast cars? Do you want to be snorting cocaine off a hooker within the next six weeks? Well, if you're Lil' Poison, Arjun Mehta or Lim Ding Wen, you can't do those things we promised you this past weekend. However, you can still buy all the candy you want.

Videogames are full of people who want to make money off their favorite hobby, and Yahoo recently featured a group of them, focusing on just how amazingly young some of them are. Many of them aren't long out of diapers, and they're making more money than most of you. Arjun Mehta is fourteen-years-old, and his PlaySpan company raised $16.8 million in venture capital ... which he now gives to his father.

Victor M. 'Lil Poison' De Leon III has a stupid name, but he's an eleven-year-old pro gamer who is in the Guinness Book of Records and has been on 60 Minutes. He's got a hairless acorn winkie, but he probably gets more women in a week than you ever have. Lim Ding Wen made an iPhone App that reached 500,000 downloads, beating his father in a competition to see whose App could be more successful. He's only nine-years-old. If I was the father of that boy, I'd be simultaneously proud of him and ashamed of myself.

The article is worth checking out, just to see how long you can stand to read it before you're consumed with envy over these little snot-nosed brats and their huge wads of cash. Also, because it features professional Halo player Tom Taylor, who is one third of the team Str8 Rippin. We only mention that because it sounds like a gay porn site. BROKE STRAIGHT BOYS GET RIPPED APART ... or something.

Great news! Sony CEO and executive VP, Nobuyuki Oneda has boasted to the world that PS3 production costs are now down by 70%. This is great news for ... well ... just Sony, really. Good news for Sony, and nobody else. 

"The cost reduction since we introduced the PS3 is very substantial and this is on schedule," proclaims Oneda. He wouldn't go into specifics, as Sony has never been forthcoming about production costs, but did confirm a reduction of 70%, possibly because Sony is making the things out of cardboard. It's not yet been revealed what the PS3 cost to make in 2006, but it was believed to be setting Sony back by about $800/£430 per console. 

So, we now know that PS3s are cheaper than ever to make. Will that long-awaited, almost legendary price cut be coming soon?

Yeah, probably.

With the immense popularity of World of Warcraft, I'm surprised to even see people outside when I look out of the window. Becoming a reclusive and trendy shut-in is now quite cool, and for that Blizzard is to be commended. Who'd have thought that such geeky nonsense would sell 8.6 million units?

That's the figure touted by the folks at NPD, collecting all the sales data from the main game, its two expansions, and the WoW Battle Chest. Some number crunching suggests that Blizzard has raked in around $258 million on retail sales alone. That doesn't even begin to consider how much the company has made from its $15 a month subscription fee. 

The general point of the story is this -- Blizzard is making more money than you could realistically spend in two lifetimes.

It looks like Volition's hope for a word of mouth success for Red Faction: Guerrilla worked out for the developer after all. THQ sent out its June quarter results today and the company earned some serious money from a couple of its top games.

First off, UFC 2009 Undisputed was a runaway success, proving that a ton of people are into dudes beating up on other dudes; nothing wrong with that -- I'm one of them. 2.9 million units shipped worldwide is damned impressive, and hey, the game even reviewed well too.

Those strong numbers, combined with Red Faction reaching the one million units shipped milestone and the videogame adaptation of Up doing what licensed games do best, resulted in THQ being the "#3 independent publisher in the US and UK" for the company's first fiscal quarter. 

Now if y'all could hurry along and get Darksiders out the door, that would be tremendous.

They're only available in Japan, so I have no applicable use for them. Nevertheless, my wallet feels naked and empty without a hot Koei Visa card in it. Videogame-themed credit cards seem to be quite popular, with PlayStation and Capcom already making it more fun to accrue a mounting debt. Now Koei has joined the party with four of its own plastic leeches. 

The only one I'm interested in is, obviously, the Dynasty Warriors one. I have no no idea what the other three are, but I'm guessing its some Japanese nonsense that never made it Stateside. In any case, that first one is good and I need to own it, somehow.

If anybody's heading out to Japan, please steal me one of these. I wouldn't normally advocate credit card theft, but then, credit cards don't normally have Zhao Yun on them.

Curse you, Cult of Rapture, for making me have to squint me eyes in order to see your newest BioShock 2-themed wares.

Besides a free PlayStation 3 theme, which can be downloaded by clicking here, 2K Games has put out a premium theme for Xbox 360 (240 Microsoft Points), as well as gamerpics (80 MS Points) too.

While I am not one to buy gamerpics -- except for the one time when I got my Mr. Destructoid/Bomberman LIVE picture -- I will say that this BioShock 2 picture pack is pretty swanky. And the paid theme? Not half bad, but freebies can't exactly be beaten.

Oh Microsoft, you and your wacky patents! Hot off the heels of discovering that Microsoft has patented squad-based dynamic co-op, the Internet has also found out that Microsoft has reserved the right to produce advertising spaces that allow customers to play with mascots and characters in a sinister interactive advertisement plot. Allow Microsoft to explain ...

In one example, to advertise the movie TRANSFORMERS, an advertiser may provide the robot BUMBLEBEE, which is a popular character in the movie, as the advertiser-generated avatar. The BUMBLEBEE avatar may include functionality to "transform" between the robot and the CHEVROLET CAMARO depicted in the movie. In another example, to advertise the cereal TRIX, an advertiser may provide the TRIX RABBIT as the advertiser-generated avatar. The TRIX RABBIT avatar may include functionality to say the popular catchphrase "SILLY RABBIT, TRIX ARE FOR KIDS." In yet another example, to advertiser the ZUNE digital media player from MICROSOFT CORPORATION, an advertiser may provide an image of the ZUNE digital media player as the advertiser-generated avatar. The ZUNE digital media player avatar may include functionality to change colors, change models, and play various digital media.

Think of it as something similar to PlayStation Home, but with all the pretense of a social networking tool completely stripped out and the focus on marketing put squarely in the spotlight. These playable avatars are being dubbed "Advertars," and Microsoft suggests that players who interact with them could recieve "compensation," such as money, points or virtual pets. 

Just think ... all these years of videogame development, platform research and corporate showboating, all in the name of giving us a playable rabbit that tells us Trix is for kids. Kind of sad when you think about it.

Some would say that the games industry would be better for everybody if publishers weren't around. Similar to how record labels helped kill music and become an unnecessary middle-man between musicians and music fans, so too can publishers feel like they get in the way. Valve's Gabe Newell, may have found a way around it, but you'll need to dig deep into your own pocket if you agree.

"One of the areas that I am super interested in right now is how we can do financing from the community," explains Gabe Newell. "So right now, what typically happens is you have this budget -- it needs to be huge, it has to be $10m - $30m, and it has to be all available at the beginning of the project. There's a huge amount of risk associated with those dollars and decisions have to be incredibly conservative.

"What I think would be much better would be if the community could finance the games. In other words, 'Hey, I really like this idea you have. I'll be an early investor in that and, as a result, at a later point I may make a return on that product, but I'll also get a copy of that game.'

"So move financing from something that occurs between a publisher and a developer … Instead have it be something where funding is coming out of community for games and game concepts they really like."

That's actually a really interesting idea, and could be useful for smaller projects (I can't imagine something like BioShock 2 being entirely fan-funded). Of course, it's getting gamers, who aren't always flushed with cash, to invest in the first place. Still, if any studio has the loyalty and community to pull it off, it'd be Valve. Anything that reduces publisher influence is worth pursuing.

With the NPD results rolling in, it's been made clear that things are not all roses and gumdrop rainbows in the land of videogames, with the industry seeing a fourth consecutive month of decline.

Hardware, software and accessory revenues are down $1.17 billion from June, seeing a 31% downturn. A slump this bad hasn't been seen since September 2000. I'm not going to blame ridiculous over-saturation of the market during an overall economic downturn, but now would be a good time to push that particular point. 

"The video games industry realised a significant decline when compared to June 2008," states NPD analyst Anita Fraizer. "The first half of the year has been tough largely due to comparisons against a stellar first half performance last year, but still, this level of decline is certainly going to cause some pain and reflection in the industry.

"This is one of the first months where I think the impact of the economy is clearly reflected in the sales numbers. While the aggregate of content may not be as strong as what we saw in the first half of last year, and while the consumer base willing to spend dollars on hardware at the current price points may be thinning, the size of the decline could also point to consumers deferring limited discretionary spending until a big event (must-have new title, hardware price cut) compels them to spend."

Looks like Bobby Kotick might want to hold off on buying another gilded elephant, at least for a few more months.

If you fondly remember an age where coin-operated arcade machines were king, you may feel nostalgic about the pricing structure of Trash Panic's latest incarnation, which utilizes a similar pay method on the Japanese PlayStation Network. It pretty much works in exactly the same way.

With 100 Yen Gomibako, players are expected to drop 100 Yen in exchange for three play sessions. Once those three chances are up, it'll cost another 100 Yen to get back in the game. A "Charge" button rests in the main menu, allowing customers to easily purchase more credits.

There are extra benefits, too. If you play the game on Normal Mode, you have a chance to win rewards for PlayStation Home. Further tie-ins with Sony's online "service" are also in the works.

What do you think of this idea? It's certainly an interesting scheme, and could really work well for a few old school arcade titles. Of course, it all depends on how much cash customers are willing to pump into these things. I'm sure if (or maybe when) a similar idea hits the West, we'll need more than a handful of quarters like we did in the good old days.

It's been a while since I lived in England now, but I still remember how annoying it was to spend £49.99 on a brand new videogame. It looked like things would calm down as I was leaving, with a lot of new games retailing for £39.99. However, if Activision's shocking price hike for Modern Warfare 2 is any indicator, it looks like the recession is giving publishers a license to gouge.

Amazingly, Modern Warfare 2 is going to sell for the hefty price of £54.99! The worst of it is that this is expected to be the first of many videogame price hikes across the UK, with other publishers ready to follow Activision's lead and make fifty-five quid an official price point.

"Exchange rates between the Euro and the pound are making it very difficult for publishers to show an acceptable operating margin in the UK," explains THQ man Ian Curran, apparently speaking in Activision's place. "You can’t continue to trade as normal when the biggest territory in Europe has seen cost of goods increase by 30 per cent due to the strengthening of the Euro. Publishers somehow need to offset this drastic increase in costs. I’m not surprised to see the SRP go up and I feel this will continue across more key titles."

Apparently, UK retailers were prepared for this, claiming that publishers have been "hammered" by the UK economy for quite some time. Meanwhile, Electronic Arts has stated officially that it has no plans to change its own prices, so that's something. 

"Will this affect consumers? I don’t think so," says one anonymous UK publisher. "If a title is this good, will they spend an extra £5? Of course. You can’t blame Activision. They’re entitled to do this – they’ve invested huge amounts."

What do you think? Will you will be buying Modern Warfare 2 for the high, high price of £54.99, or would you rather pay your rent that month?

Microsoft already makes tons of cash on Xbox Live Gold subscriptions. It also makes plenty of money from advertising on Xbox Live. Why not make some more? Despite being ad-driven itself, 1 vs. 100 could have its very own pay-to-play model, and Microsoft definitely won't rule out the thought.

We first had a clue that Microsoft may be demanding extra cash for 1 vs. 100 when news of a mysterious "season pass" surfaced. All we currently know is that the first "season" of the game will be free, but that Microsoft can't tell us anything more about its future.

"Our beta season is to see the interest in the game and the success of the game," says marketing manager Tania Chee. "In the beta season one it will be free for our Gold subscribers; moving forwards we have nothing to announce at this time. We ultimately hope it will be a resounding success so we can move forward into future seasons."

The basic jist of this seems to be that if 1 vs. 100 is popular, they'll hike up the price. You know, kind of like what they did with XBLA when they realized Braid and Castle Crashers could be used as leverage in MS Point extortion. I know I'm definitely excited about the prospect of paying to play something on an ad-supported service that I already pay for.

Oh wait, that would be a ludicrous thing to do.

Two Canadian provinces, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia, have agreed to a bare-knuckle brawl to the death, both hoping to curry the favor of Longtail Studios, an iPhone and Wii developer based in New York. Twenty-three Longtail employees currently work in a Charlottetown, P.E.I. office, but they were offered the chance to pack up and move to Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Ok, the bare-knuckle boxing bit may bit something of a hyperbole, but it's a lot more interesting than P.E.I.'s actual plan: throwing subsidies and tax breaks at Longtail until they agree to stick around. Speaking with CBC News, P.E.I.'s Innovation Minister, Allan Campbell, mentioned that he is "concerned about the possible loss of these positions on P.E.I."

The fact that Canadian provinces even have Innovation Ministers who are willing to fight for their videogame studios -- his office is currently trying "to put together a package that is attractive to the company and that incites them to remain here on P.E.I.” -- might explain why Canada's global ranking has been climbing steadily in the past few years. They're still behind the United States and Japan, but ahead of the United Kingdom and France. As for the U.S., Georgia has also recently instituted legislation that would give its game studios tax breaks, but I wish the practice were more widespread. That is how we could have nice things.

Longtail also has offices in Quebec City, Quebec, but no one seems to be fighting over that one. ""Why Nova Scotia in particular has targeted this particular company, I'm not sure about that," continued Campbell. 

Longtail Studios was created in 2003 by Gerard Guillemot, a Ubisoft co-founder (a brother of current Ubi CEO, Yves). Their official Web site is under construction, and they're currently hiring senior developers. Most recently, they developed Grey's Anatomy for the Wii.

[Via Gamesindustry.biz]

Mega-popular MMO EVE Online prides itself on its realistic, player-controlled economy. In a scarily familiar episode of games-imitating-life, EBank, EVE's largest virtual bank, has been shut down after a former CEO embezzled 200 billion ISK from it.

Known only as "Ricdic," the former CEO is actually a 20-something Australian guy who works in the tech industry, according to Reuters. After he made off with a fat wad of virtual spacebucks, he sold them for about $5000 worth of realbucks, which he used to make a down payment on a house and pay some medical bills. I probably would've used the loot to buy PCP and Taiwanese ladyboys, but to each his own.

When the rest of the EVE community caught wind of the theft, things got a little nasty. According to the New York Times, 5.5 trillion ISK were quickly pulled from EBank, effectively crippling the bank's ability to operate or give out loans. There are about 300,000 EVE users, 130,000 of which had accounts with EBank. With thousands of them clamoring to be refunded in full, some users are appealing directly to the developers for help, but CCP's laissez-faire approach will probably preclude any sort of intervention -- this wouldn't be the first time they've let players sort out their own messes.

Ricdic has been banned from EVE, but not for embezzlement: trading in-game assets for cash is against EVE's terms of service. If he had simply stolen the money and used it in game, he'd still be playing EVE. ""We have never seen ourselves as gods who make the rules of social interaction," said Eyjolfur Gudmundsson, an economics adviser to CCP. "You are able to lose the things you have created. That's what makes the world interesting."

A married father of two, Ricdic says that, while he regrets stealing the money, he would do it again in the same situation: "I saw that as an avenue that could be taken, and I decided to skim off the top, you could say, to overcome real life difficulties."

[Via Opposable Thumbs]

It seems that the backlash against the PlayStation 3's high price is continuing to resonate across the industry, as CEO of the newly formed Tecmo Koei has joined Activision in voicing his desire for a PS3 price cut. Kenji Matsubara claims that he has constantly asked Sony to lower the system's price, but to no avail. 

"Whenever I discuss this with Sony reps I always ask them: 'Please cut the price', but I don't have a clear view on Sony's situation," confesses the Tecmo Koei boss. "Yes, from a publisher's point of view we would welcome a price cut for PS3, and we are waiting, definitely.

"It's definitely a way of boosting the PS3 market, but it's Sony's strategy and I don't know their cost structure. Sony introduced cutting-edge technology in the PS3, that's why people in the industry accept that the PS3 cost is so high, but we'd welcome a price cut."

Slowly but surely, Sony must be feeling the pressure mounting. The platform holder doesn't seem to care what customers think, but now that publishers are starting to mutter rebellious things, it's almost do-or-die time. There's no question that a PS3 price drop is now an imminent necessity -- but can Sony afford to cave on this issue before it's comfortable?

In news that is sure to make a number of publishers vomit into their hands, it's being estimated that the number of used games being traded in the US has reached 100 million a year. That equals a revenue stream worth $2 billion, according to the chaps at Wedbush Morgan.

It's not all bad for the industry, however, as it's theorized that only 5% of new game sales are affected by the second-hand market, and the trading in of old games could always lead to new games being bought. The latter is a Captain Obvious, but it's something publishers easily forget when they moan about used games.

"The vast majority of used games are not traded in until the original new game purchaser has finished playing -- more than two months after a new game is released -- typically well beyond the window for a full retail priced new game sale," said good ol' Michael Pachter. 

Big publishers would like us to believe that used games are killing them, but they conveniently forget that they're still raking in millions of dollars from new games, and that all those used games being bought had to have been purchased brand new in the first place. Still, they'll keep acting like victims and keep treating consumers like evil rapists, helping to breed great customer relations.

In a weird turn of events, platform puzzler Trine will costs twice as much on PC as it will on PSN, costing $40 instead of $20. Bizarrely, developer Frozenbyte had no clue about the price difference, yet is still defending the decision to price one version considerably more than the other.

"Trine is far from a game created by a solo hero developer (we have over 20 employees and Trine has contributions from a double amount of people)," explains one dev on the company's forums. "We are very confident that we can deliver a full retail experience with Trine (hence PC version is sold in retail also for approx 35 to 40 eur/usd!).

"As for the PSN price, our publisher and Sony sets it. Heck, even I don't know it ... I just don't find it fair to compare us to games which have started at similar or higher pricepoints. It's very obvious Trine will eventually cost less, so I guess I just wanted to say that if the price hurts more than waiting, then that's the option."

As well as the $40 retail version, Trine is currently available for pre-order on Steam for $30. The boxed copy is due to ship some time this Summer, while the downloadable version should be available between July 3 and July 10. Somehow I can't see this move proving popular with PC gamers.

[Update: Southpeak sent us an email to say that the official price point for the PC version of Trine is $29.99. The publisher hasn't said much about the game since it was named as a publisher, but that is their official stance on the story.]

Earlier today, we ran a story about SCEE's Andrew House claiming that Europeans don't care about the expensive nature of the PlayStation brand. Well, he didn't stop there, becoming quite candid about the PSPgo's ridiculous European price hike. Do you know why Sony's charging so much for the new PlayStation Portable? Because it can, dummy!

When asked by MCV if R&D or retail markups were the reason for the PSPgo's exorbitant 250 Euro price tag. House is remarkably honest, stating that there is no valid reason for the cost, Sony simply felt like charging that much. 

"Those aren't the factors," House explains. "When you introduce a new piece of hardware you have the opportunity to say there is a certain premium that is associated with it, and we took that into account."

That's all there is to it. Sony is simply taking the opportunity to "say" that the PSPgo costs as much as it does, and practically admits that they could be a lot less expensive if Sony simply said otherwise.

It's not like it's an uncommon practice, and it's not like Microsoft and Nintendo aren't equally as guilty, but just blatantly admitting that you're punishing early adopters through sheer greed leaves a sour taste.

Like a petulant child making up excuses to get out of taking a bath, it seems Sony will say anything to dodge the issue of a price cut. A particular favorite tactic of Sony's is to speak for the consumer, and that's exactly what SCEE president Andrew House has done, claiming that Europeans don't care about price.

"Not to harp on about it, but the PlayStation 3 has a ten-year life cycle and there are issues of cost and profitability," harps House. "We will make that move on price when all those factors are aligned. Would people buy more when they are cheaper? Of course. But on the other hand there is an inherent marketing challenge.

"In Europe I think people do see the value of the machine, the Blu-Ray and network services and take that all into consideration instead of just focusing on price. But we will look at price and will address it when the time is right."

I believe SCEE has drummed up this excuse before, and to some extent he is right. At least in the UK, the PS3 is a rather popular device, and many who can't afford one at least want one. Still, it's becoming very clear that the jaws of a price drop are closing around Sony's jugular, and they have to do something soon.

Ian Stevens, head of Vin Diesel's Tigon Studio, has said that Hollywood only takes videogames seriously when there's money to be made, with most of them viewing games as pointless toys until they start to realize that such a pointless industry is kicking their arses.

"There's certainly no shortage of guys that look at games and see them as toys, and meaningless bullsh*t, and now look at revenue -- and for their own survival's sake have to care, and have to get involved," reveals Stevens. "I think a lot of it has changed because we're making so much more money than they are."

Stevens also claims that Hollywood and the game industry "don't speak the same language," and that those in the movie biz simply don't understand the creative process of videogames. That said, he also acknowledges that the games industry has a lot to catch up with in terms of story-telling, stating that "there's such a depth and vocabulary involved in film-making that we're just completely ignorant of."

Sony might not be rolling in mad bank right now, but SCE president Kaz Hirai remains hopeful that the PlayStation brand will provide the key to clawing back some cash. The secret lies in the PlayStation Network, with Hirai believing that the online service's expansion will see the company breaking even.

"We need a strategy where buying a hardware is not the endpoint but instead a starting point that can offer new experiences to our customers," states Hirai, clearly setting us up for the announcement of the PSP Go. He believes that PSN revenue will more than double to about 50 billion yen ($525.6m/£325.6m) this fiscal year, making up for the 18% sales dip that the PlayStation division suffered at the end of March. 

Money, Sony wants it. Do you want to give it some?

Microsoft today announced the sale of 30 million Xbox 360s around the world, crowing about "record growth" in 2009. Of those 30 million 360 owners, 20 million of them are part of Xbox Live, which is actually a really good rate.

According to Microsoft, Xbox Live can now be considered "the world's largest global entertainment network." They clearly have not heard of the Internet, but this is Microsoft's special day, so we won't bring it up. Don Mattrick joins the ego-masturbation, stating that the 360 "offers more entertainment value than any other console on the market, and these latest numbers show that consumers agree." Again, if Mattrick is saying that sales figures prove entertainment value, he's clearly not heard of the Wii. Sorry, I said I'd be good to them today. 

Microsoft did not comment on whether or not the 30 million sales included people who had to replace their Xbox 360s. I couldn't be good.

Media analyst Screen Digest has predicted that in five years time, in-game advertising will be worth $1 billion, turning it into an irresistible prospect for businesses. Audience media habits and the "unique advantages of dynamic in-game advertising" will drive videogames to become 1% of all digital media marketing by 2014, according to the report.

"There are many ways in which advertising can help evolve business models for video games and we have only just begun to explore that potential," says number cruncher Martin Sorrell. "Given gaming is now a mainstream leisure interest, in-game deserves the same consideration as mobile and social media."

Maybe it's just me, but the projection of $1 billion by five years seems a little ... low. We'll see how it goes, but one would expect videogames to be exploited far quicker than that, especially with Activision in this industry. You can bet they'll welcome the rise of in-game advertising with open arses. 

It is inevitable that videogames will be sucked into the world of advertising in the game way everything else has. We can hope and pray that it's kept tasteful, but we're asking for a lot.

Just in case you felt you haven't heard enough about how Nintendo has way more money than you do, let it be known that Wiis now cost 45% less to manufacture than they did at launch, meaning that the Big N is raking in more cash than ever before. Shigeru Miyamoto is now rumored to be having both of his eyes replaced by precious emeralds that shoot lasers. Just because he can.

Logically, this means that Nintendo can easily have a price cut without breaking a sweat. In the real world however, Nintendo is actually jacking up the trade price in Europe, pretending it can't afford to keep the prices the same. I find it quite amusing that European retailers are paying more to purchase the Wii, when they are costing 45% less to make. Greed is good, my friends. Greed is good. 

Not that one can really fault Nintendo. People will keep buying, so Nintendo has no incentive to drop. Still, this should give you a good idea of how many dollar bills Reggie uses to light the cigars he had rolled on the thighs of young Indonesian virgins.

A lot. 

Breaking MEGATON news: Game developers and publishers absolutely love taking money from us, and look forward to a day when they can take even more than they already do. That seems to be the message from a latest industry survey, that polled games industry members to reveal microtransactions had the most potential impact.

160 members of the industry were polled, with 66% of the vote claiming microtransactions were the most impactful development in gaming, followed closely by Smartphones with 61% of the vote. User-generated content claimed 43%, with advertising revenue and voice recognition accounting for 21% and 18% respectively. 

It was Apple's iPhone that was voted the platform with the most potential. 74% of the vote went to Apple's latest shiny expensive toy. 

So there you have it. You can rest easy tonight, knowing that the games industry loves your money. So long as we're all clear on that.

Capcom has nothing to cry about with the Devil May Cry franchise (I made a funny joke), because the ludicrous action series has just recently shipped its 10 millionth copy. Hurray!

The most recent of the games, Devil May Cry 4, accounts for 2.2 million of that figure, but Capcom isn't sharing details of any of the other games. It's also worth pointing out that the announcement concerns shipments, not sales, as some are reporting. Capcom was quick to note that DMC 4 achieved its numbers "despite being released early in the life cycle of the current generation of systems." Capcom is just showing off. 

As a big fan of the Devil May Cry series, this makes me happy, as does Capcom's promise that "more franchise-related products" are on the way. DMC 4 wasn't quite as good as its predecessor, but was still a fun ride, and I hope we see plenty more of gaming's most flamboyantly stupid action series soon.

There's been a bit of controversy in Florida after nasty pranksters spammed Xbox Live and offered a two-year-old girl for sale. The worst part of the prank? The girl was real, and the unwitting mother's genuine phone number was posted along with the ad.

Christa Manos of Punta Gorda had to spend her Saturday night fielding angry phone calls from idiots who believed this was a real advert and decided to voice their disgusted opinions at a woman they believed to be selling a kid. At first she put it down to a crank call, but as the phone continued to wring, berating her for being a bad mother, she suspected foul play. 

"By the 18th or 19th call, I knew something wasn't right," proclaimed Manos. 

The Charlotte County Sheriff's Office is investigating, but Manos says she has a good idea of who is responsible. The pranksters better hope they made a brand new Gamertag and used somebody else's Xbox to send these messages.

You know, a whole bunch of Dtoid staff members are in Miami right now, celebrating our third anniversary by getting drunk and doing crazy things. Not that I'm accusing Niero of being responsible for this, but it would make sense.

The farcical "casual games" conversation has come up once again, with RPG publisher Square Enix looking to fully exploit the market. Not put off by the fact that a large amount of its non-traditional RPG games are pretty crap, Squeenix is ready to provide games that "empower" newcomers to the medium. We take it to mean that "empowering" means "easy for drooling retards to cope with."

"There is a large audience for casual titles that is growing all the time, we see other viable routes to this audience," explains President John Yamamoto. "Not just via conventional hardware but via Live Arcade, PlayStation Network and the WiiWare channel.

The used game debate is one that shows no sign of slowing down, with most publishers ironically (read: hypocritically) raging such capitalistic practices. We've covered the majority of these outbursts, arguing time and again that secondhand games are a basic part of trade and commerce, and that game publishers shouldn't try and be special exceptions to the rule. Luckily, it seems a few people get that, not least Microsoft's Chris Lewis.

"I'm a fan of the ecosystem overall," explains the EMEA VP. "I can see the positive in it, because I can see that what you then get is more and more people touching, playing, experiencing a game that they may not otherwise have access to.

"I think you've got to try and extract some positive from it, and that's undoubtedly a good factor -- a positive swirl of ecosystem that results. Clearly it's a reality, and certain retailers are very focused and spend a lot of time on it. It's good business for them."

Lewis' opinion is grounded and realistic, and it's great that he's able to pick his positives out of the whole situation. Naturally of course, the Microsoft man would like to see more money made out of each sale, and is among those who view DLC as a way of doing so:

"I think things like premium downloadable content, and that kind of thing, will ultimately play a part in used games - and that's not me saying that it's a great way for us to try and minimize that. I think it will be a great enhancement to the way that people experience games. If some additional content is available via the Xbox Live service, for instance, that further enriches the game experience and might encourage folks to hang on their games for a bit longer."

I wish more publishers (and people within Microsoft) thought the way Lewis does. I would be so much happier forking out extra money to people who believed in rewarding and encouraging their consumers, rather than spend their time whining about not making an extra million dollars.

Dave Perry, founder of Shiny Entertainment (Earthworm Jim, Messiah), has been speaking at DICE 09 in Las Vegas, where he talked about used games, growing technology and the short future of the single-player experience.

Perry spoke about how technology is moving more and more towards the digital, stating that he is currently looking into the possibility of remotely storing games, then delivering finished frames to the player via flash video, effectively eliminating the need for a consumer to own powerful hardware in order to play a game. High concept stuff, but something Perry likes for the obvious reason -- the elimination of used games.

However, while such technology is interesting, it seems that the Shiny founder has a less promising outlook for the future: "I personally think the days of single-player games are numbered. Without question, our focus is entirely on multiplayer."

Perry uses the example of China and Korea, stating that if they ever find their Miyamoto or Kojima, existing business models could be in trouble, faced with high quality, free-to-play multiplayer games. It's an interesting theory, but personally, I have to wonder how long I will be able to care about an industry that completely ignores single-player games. Sometimes you need a linear, one-player game in order to tell a story, and if this industry decided story no longer matters, I'll probably hang up the controller for good. 

I can't see single-player games going away anytime soon, but let's not help that to happen. As videogames reach the technological heights needed to craft stories that can rival movies, it'll be a crime to throw that all away.

Eric Nofsinger, chief creative officer at High Voltage, has criticized what he believes to be the short-sightedness of game developers. He's accused games of having bloated budgets with little regard to the future, claiming the industry has "stars in its eyes."

‬"I think that we,‭ ‬as an industry,‭ ‬have become dazzled by the bling," claims Nofsinger. "We've all got stars in our eyes for Hollywood,‭ ‬with twenty,‭ ‬thirty,‭ ‬forty million dollar budgets over night and hundred-person teams working for years on titles without ever running a P&L to see if anything could support that.‭"

Nofsinger, whose company is currently working on Wii FPS The Conduit, also adds: "What we’re seeing right now with the number of layoffs and the numbers of studios closing‭ [‬is‭] ‬the repercussion of that very short-sided view where all we wanted to eat was candy.‭ ‬Everybody rushed towards the candy house and now we’re getting eaten by the witch."

He also used the Wii to illustrate the same mentality, suggesting that everybody rushed to put half-hearted crap on the system thanks to the "big old dollar sign" hanging above it. " As long as the‭ ‬360‭ ‬and PS3‭ ‬are seen as the lead SKU,‭ ‬it’s problematic," he warns.

As a technological industry, it's natural that videogames would want to embrace current machinery and make the most visually impressive titles out there, but Nofsinger is right when he suggests that budgets are running out of control. With the next generation of systems making a threatening silhouette on the horizon, one dreads to think just how far beyond studios' means the price tag will get. 

A price tag that will, of course, be transferred onto us.

Just in case you don't like surprises, let it be known that the PlayStation 3 shall continue to be the most expensive console on the market right now. While some think that Sony's refusal to slash prices is a bad idea, the company is adamant that it's doing the right thing, as explained by David Reeves.

When asked if the PS3 would remain the most expensive console this generation, he was quite honest about it: "I think it will, yes.

"I'm not saying there are [not] going to be any price cuts at all in the short term or the medium term. I'm not saying we don't need to do it - we are expensive. It is possible that as the cost [of manufacturing] comes down, we will be able to do it.

"But we're protecting ourselves with a very hard shell to get through the next one or two years of an economic situation. If you're experienced, you know you have to go into that mode - it's like being an armadillo. You have to be hard, and then you will come out when the sun comes out."

Reeves believes that if Sony can hold out for most of 2009, there will be a "massive uplift" when September/October rolls around. Again, Sony is sticking rigidly to its "tortoise and hare" policy, entrenching and holding a defensive position. So far it seems to be keeping the PS3 afloat, but I wouldn't mind seeing the company go out on the attack at some point. Siege warfare is all about time, after all. 

Here's hoping the consumers become more confident later this year so Sony can capitalize with a quick price cut. That seems to be the current gameplan, but it's a gameplan that's rooted in uncertainty.

To be honest, isn't fresh IP the first casualty in any situation?

As if new and original games didn't already have a hard time getting the marketing and the green lights they deserve, Sega Europe president and COO Mike Hayes has warned that they will likely get even worse in the face of economic disaster.

"... I think that publishers in general will reduce the number of titles that they'll bring to market," explains Hayes. "Whether than means people will focus less on innovation and more on sequelization of course is a big debate.

"What we're actually doing is getting rid of the bottom tier of titles that we were putting in to get an extra bit of market share, of money. We're getting rid of those, and we're going to focus on the biggest titles -- but we do have a lot of new IP coming out. We've invested in things like MadWorld, for example, and we feel our line-up is good enough that we can take that.

"But I think a lot of other publishers, and EA have been quite open on this, will stop a lot of projects and cut back. Ultimately I think the number will go down, which will probably be less good for consumers."

This is something we've more than likely all expected, but it's still sad to see an industry figure confirm it. Even during good times, it can be difficult to get a publisher to take a chance on a new title. Now that any risk taken could spell financial doom, the Okamis and Killer 7s of the world have a bleak outlook.

An Oklahoma state senator has proposed tax breaks for game developers, but only if the games being made aren't rated M for Mature by the ESRB.

Films, commercials and TV projects already get tax incentives in the state with only a an obvious restriction on hardcore porn, but games have thus far been left out in the cold. The new proposal was made by Senator Anthony Sykes, who apparently would rather not exclude Mature games, which is hypocritical, given the breaks other media get. However, it seems that pressure from other, grudge-bearing politicians has seen the snub come into effect.

According to Sykes, other senators were very interested in enforcing age restrictions on this tax proposal, and that the only way to get their support was to acquiesce and make the rather petty clause. It's worth pointing out that Oklahoma attempted one of those famous unconstitutional videogame laws in 2006, too, so it has a history of wanting to control videogames. It looks like forcing a restriction into the proposal is a rather bitter way of keeping the spirit of the failed legislation alive.

Either way, shoehorning the age restriction condition into this proposal is a stupid move. With the state already suffering from a budget shortfall, encouraging developers to work in Oklahoma would definitely help. However, since some politicians refuse to let go of this "videogames are evil" mindset, they are cutting off Oklahoma's nose to spite its face. Telling game studios what they can and can't make for a tax break isn't a good way of convincing them to move to your state, geniuses.

Splash Damage studio director Paul Wedgwood has criticized a prevailing trend in the industry for publishers to put undue emphasis on Metacritic scores, something which can affect a studio financially if they don't hit review targets. He also voiced disapproval of publications that score using a percentage, instead urging the games media to move towards a five star system.

"Personally I think it's ridiculous," said Wedgewood, talking about the percentage score system. "In the film industry, four stars is an amazing score. I think it's a really good idea for a developer to go to a publisher and demand that they get an additional bonus for achieving a certain review score, but it shouldn't affect their royalties or anything else. If you have a high-selling game, you have a high-selling game.

"We know that some websites score quite high and some quite low, but in general, all websites tend to score between 60 and 100. There's never a 37. It's as if that whole section doesn't exist, so zero starts at 60, so three stars, and goes up to five. It's just not really an accurate enough measure."

Percentages are certainly ludicrous, but I have no idea why publishers are still so hung up on Metacritic averages. First of all, everybody knows that sh*t games will sell regardless of how many reviewers tear it apart, as years of licensed garbage prove. Second of all, I'll believe that most publishers care about quality on the same day I believe that Sonic Unleashed deserved to be in the UK top ten.

The whole "should virtual goods be taxed?" debate has been a matter of concern for quite a while now, and while I doubt many of us are keen on the idea of giving the government even more money to misuse, at least one person thinks that politicians should get a slice of that downloadable Horse Armor.

"Economic activities in virtual worlds may present an emerging area of tax noncompliance, in part because the IRS has not provided guidance about whether and how taxpayers should report such activities," claims IRS taxpayer advocate Nina Olson. Of course, it's dressed up in a way that makes it attractive to the taxpayer -- with guidelines on how to declare income from virtual goods, you don't run the risk of getting into trouble.

At the very least, this isn't so far being presented as sales tax, but just as an extension of claiming one's own personal income. Since every scrap of cash you make is expected to be reported, it makes sense that the IRS ought to issue guidelines on how you can do that with money made online.

That said, however, slopes can be slippery, and I'm sure this one is covered in soap. I personally feel that sales tax on virtual goods is inevitable in America. It's far too big a cash cow for the government to ignore, and I can see the IRS licking its lips over joining China and Australia when it comes to virtual taxation. It's bound to happen, although we're not all bound to like it.

Buy our crap!  I'm happy to announce that our T-shirt supplier SplitReason is having a 20% off sale today on all Destructoid merch. including our new Kamikaze shirt (pictured) and the RetroforceGO! shirt (now available in Baby-T for the ladies) as designed by one of our readers.  Just use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout and you're good to go.

Update: The coupon code works but there is a "promo" code area that is not the same as the "coupon code" field.  Here's a note from their webmaster:

one is for the promo on the check out page and one is in the cart which is only used for gift certificates... some people have been entering the promo there which doesn't work.  It should work if it's entered in the promo box on the "buy now" page.

The warning lights are blinking, and that can mean only one thing -- another publisher is saying some very worrying things about how the digital age can help them nickel n' dime consumers. Take-Two is doing the honors, suggesting that its "triple A titles" could go the way of the MMO.

After chatting bollocks about how great downloadable content is at the BMO Capital Market's conference, T2 CEO Strauss Zelnick moved onto what he called the "Holy Grail" -- the MMO model that publishers have pathetically tried to grasp at without realizing that they'll never make as much money off it as Blizzard.

"The holy grail is taking a business, already a very large and successful business that's focused on packaged goods that you sell once and then are occasionally resold by others with new benefit to us, and turning that into a subscription business or a semi subscription business where we have an ongoing relationship with consumers, giving them products that they want," Zelnick explained. "Who's better positioned to do that than the company that has the top franchises?

"It's our view that you won't be able to apply a subscription model to mid-tier titles. The triple A titles that people really want to have that are really must have are in the best position for this business model."

The triple A titles? We heard suggestions of a Bioshock MMO once before, and it seems Zelnick and pals are still hypnotized by the lure of subscription-based gaming. Could we be seeing incremental, sustained payment models for BioShock and Grand Theft Auto in the future? As I say, those warning lights are blinking.

How much money is Rock Band worth? More Nazi gold than has ever been smelted, if Viacom's absurd $300 million bonus to the development studio is anything to go by. Viacom is to award Harmonix founders Alex Rigopulos and Eran Egozy more than that princely sum as part of the studio's 2006 acquisition.

For exceeding performance targets in that last quarter, Viacom awarded the Harmonix boys roughly $150 million. The second half of this meaty bonus is due to be received in 2009.

"We may not have anticipated the payment would be that high, but it's based on what they have achieved," started a Viacom rep. "If they are making more money for us and we have to give a little back, that's ok."

I love how that's put. "That's ok," as if Viacom really had to think long and hard about giving Harmonix what it earned. Still, that's a ridiculous amount of money, and it just goes to show the power that plastic instruments have in this industry. Now someone help me design a Spoons n' Harmonica game so we can be as rich as Texan land owners.

Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello must be a very confident man, despite his company suffering an alleged $310 million dollar loss. The silver-haired Lothario has just plonked down $1 million to purchase EA stock.

42,500 shares have just been bought by the CEO, a move which follows the revelation that massive layoffs had been instigated within the company. Riccitiello remains clear that "the sky isn't falling" on EA, but that the publisher is attempting to safeguard itself against the recession and manage its costs.   

While this seems like a huge purchase on Riccitiello's part, remember that Electronic Arts stock has recently dropped to its lowest price in eight years -- a mere $24.50 . This means that he is, in fact, a cheap bastard. At less than twenty five bucks a pop though, I'm tempted to buy a share myself, just for a laugh.

You really wouldn't imagine it, but according to financial reports, it would appear that several huge publishers are making more money from the PlayStation 3 than they are with the Xbox 360. One writer, who uses the term "bread-winner" far too much, has been checking out some numbers which indicate that the PS3 is now capable of outperforming the 360 in terms of software sales.

The writer claims that EA's financial statement shows that the PS3 accounts for 17% of its total revenue while the 360 only manages 10%. Ubisoft has a similar story, with the PS3 netting 20% of software sales with the 360 lagging behind at with 14%. In the case of Namco Bandai, not even Tales of Vesperia could stop the PS3 netting the company 57% more sales than the 360.

It is Konami's report, however, which is the most telling. Doubtlessly helped by Metal Gear Solid 4, the PS3 accounts for a massive 57% of Konami's sales, while the 360 only manages a pitiful 2.6%. 

This would all seem to suggest that Microsoft's company line of being THE place for software sales is a lot of horsesh*t. Of course, these examples by no means define the industry as a whole, but they show that the PS3 is putting up a Hell of a fight on some very important battlegrounds. When you consider that the 360 has the larger install base, it only serves to make the PlayStation 3's software successes all the more impressive. Fair play to Sony on this one. Fair play indeed.

Do you like Target? I mean really, really like Target? If so, you won't want to miss the chance to ski down Target Mountain in their special edition of Shaun White Snowboarding for the Wii.

Ubisoft and Target worked together to add this content to copies of Shaun White Snowbarding purchased at the retailer. Target Mountain will feature five different events, two slopes and one chalet, and a lounge area -- all plastered with Target logos.

"We've actually offered the player something really useful; it's not just that we built something with branding on it,"  said Trent Ward, creative director on the Wii version of the game. Opposable Thumbs said that the content is also coming to the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions, though never as DLC at a later date.

More game for the same price would be great, but Target is asking $5 more than other retailers for Shaun White Snowboarding for their exclusive stage. I honestly don't see gamers going out of their way to get a Target Mountain for five more dollars. If anything, I see gamers seeking out the cheaper version... the one not plastered with branding.

Game developers and publishers have been whining for a while now about second-hand games, deciding that their industry is a special snowflake which should be exempt from one of the most widespread forms of trade in the world. Rather than just cry and moan, it seems that some publishers are employing sly measures to dissuade gamers from buying used products.

As we discussed earlier today, Gears of War 2 will come packed with a one-time code that allows players to download a free multiplayer map. There is no reason for the map to be downloadable, save for the obvious incentive of buying a brand new copy.

Similarly, NBA Live 09 will have a one-time code of its own, which allows you to access the daily roster and stat updates for free. If you have a used copy of the game, you'll be expected to pay a further $20 to access this feature. 

Incentives for first-hand buyers is a good idea, but if publishers adopt such methods en masse, then I foresee some absolute bullsh*t taking place, as often happens when publishers get carried away with new ideas. The NBA Live 09 code, for instance, sounds like garbage to me. Rather than offer anything new, I predict that publishers will actively gimp their own games and rely on codes not to enhance, but rather complete their products.

And that's not good.

Who would have thought it? There are some people out there who think that $60 for a videogame is too much! Actually, there's quite a lot of people, if a recent survey is anything to be believed.

Frank N. Magid Associates has been studying consumer attitude toward current-gen software prices and it certainly doesn't look good for the publishers. Of 452 people surveyed, here is what they had to say:

• 43% said theyʼd wait for next-gen game prices to drop
• 30% would buy more used games
• 23% would buy fewer games at $60 a pop
• 17% would rent more games rather than purchase them
• 17% said that for the right game, price would not matter

What think you, gentlemen? Game prices are certainly felt more these days,  especially since last-gen game prices had been declining as current-gen systems loomed on the horizon. Still, at least in the UK, you never have to pay full retail price for a game provided you know where on the Internet to shop.

The US economy may be in bad shape, but that hasn't reflected on Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices division, according to executive Robbie Bach. The division currently looks after several computer peripherals, the Zune, Windows Mobile and of course the Xbox 360. While people struggle to afford gas, they're not struggling to buy from Microsoft, apparently.

"We have not seen, on the consumer side of our business, a slowdown," claims Bach. He said that the videogame and computer business runs on a cycle determined by new releases, and not the economy. Thanks to this independence, Bach expects strong sales during the Christmas period.

Back also talked about the Zune, stating: "Apple has an advantage of strong market share position and that's a challenge for us. The value of Zune over time will transcend across everything we do in Entertainment and Devices."

Yep ... and it'll be a BIG HIT TOO I BET!

Prophetic Silicon Knights boss Denis Dyack has made one of his bold predictions, suggesting that a series of big mergers, similar to ActiBlizzard, is heading our way. Comparing the games industry to 1930's Hollywood, the Nostradamus-in-glasses stated that big changes are coming and that there's nothing that can stop them.

"I think the industry is going through a paradigm change. And it’s not just North American companies, it’s all companies," stated Dyack, revealing that he knows the word "paradigm" and isn't afraid to use it. "The economy worldwide is kind of in crisis; demographics are changing and birth rates are declining. So is it easy out there? No it isn’t. Is it getting harder? Yes it is. But, if a lot of groups are not going to survive the paradigm shift, hopefully we’ll be one of those that do.

"I think if you draw parallels with the movie industry, you’ll see a lot of mergers and acquisitions that took place as it was forming in the ‘20s and ‘30s, which resulted in the six major studios that are still around today. That seems to be happening in our industry, so mergers and acquisitions are going to continue and there’s nothing that can stop it. It’s all about making the economics work."

A sobering reminder that as much as we talk about art and creativity, it's the almighty dollar that drives, rules and dominates this industry. I don't agree with everything that Dyack says (like when he says Too Human will be good), but this is definitely one of those times when he makes a lot of sense.