CAGcast #216: The Mystery of Shaq's Toilet

I'm sure Shipwreck will love the new Xbox 360 update that gets rid of the New Arrivals page and forces you to go to each section's new arrivals tab (XBLA, Demos, Indie Games, Add-ons, etc.) to find the newest stuff. The PS Store's New Releases page shows the newest PSN and PS1 games, demos, videos, themes and other things with the only separate sections being for games with a lot of DLC (Guitar Hero, Rock Band, LBP, MNR, etc.), deals, PSP Games, and other things that don't need to be shown on one unfiltered page.

There's no way that there will be four shoulder buttons on a handheld without messing with its form factor and size.

Good show.
 
This was definitely the most entertaining show I've listened to so far. I listened to it on a flight from Houston to Jacksonville, and literally laughed out loud (LOL'd, if you will), on multiple occassions.

I really enjoy the fact that you guys don't shy away from the tough subjects. The editorial portion of the show where you pondered about Shaquille O'Neil's bathroom was very entertaining. Please, we want more of this!

Shipwreck, we've heard about Wombat and CheapyD's bathrooms, care to lend us listeners any insights on the WC at the Shipwreck Mansion? Maybe since you're visiting Tokyo, you could offer your opinion on the Japanese toilets.

Keep up the great work!
 
I think Sony just said fuck the fall season, they have been releasing many exclusives in the first three months of the year. Killzone 2 came out in February, God of War III came out in March, and Infamous came out in March (not all the same year). The only titles that I can recall them releasing in the Fall would be Uncharted, Resistance, Ratchet and Little Big Planet. In fact the next game on my radar is actually Dead Space 2 that is releasing in January. I just think that Third-Party Publishers push way to many games out in the last four months of the year where it gets saturated. If EA released Brutal Legend in March do you think that it may have had better sales? I think that releasing all games at once is bad and I know that getting Dead Space 2 in January and Killzone 2 a month later is not going to kill me as a game consumer. The only thing that is annoying as a consumer is the constant delays such as what Gran Turismo has been doing. One push back is okay, several is telling me that a game is in trouble. I mean honestly, does anyone really think that Duke Nukem Forever is actually going to be any good?
 
[quote name='Davestation']I think Sony just said fuck the fall season, they have been releasing many exclusives in the first three months of the year. Killzone 2 came out in February, God of War III came out in March, and Infamous came out in March (not all the same year). The only titles that I can recall them releasing in the Fall would be Uncharted, Resistance, Ratchet and Little Big Planet. In fact the next game on my radar is actually Dead Space 2 that is releasing in January. I just think that Third-Party Publishers push way to many games out in the last four months of the year where it gets saturated. If EA released Brutal Legend in March do you think that it may have had better sales? I think that releasing all games at once is bad and I know that getting Dead Space 2 in January and Killzone 2 a month later is not going to kill me as a game consumer. The only thing that is annoying as a consumer is the constant delays such as what Gran Turismo has been doing. One push back is okay, several is telling me that a game is in trouble. I mean honestly, does anyone really think that Duke Nukem Forever is actually going to be any good?[/QUOTE]

Another good market people seem to forget about is the post-Christmas one, where people blow all their gift cards on shit, and if games are out in January people will save them for those games. Plus, you can't get every game at Christmas (There's so many big releases coming out between now and the end of November), so there's enough time to pay off the bills and then buy the new game.
 
[quote name='Davestation']I think Sony just said fuck the fall season, they have been releasing many exclusives in the first three months of the year. Killzone 2 came out in February, God of War III came out in March, and Infamous came out in March (not all the same year). The only titles that I can recall them releasing in the Fall would be Uncharted, Resistance, Ratchet and Little Big Planet. In fact the next game on my radar is actually Dead Space 2 that is releasing in January. I just think that Third-Party Publishers push way to many games out in the last four months of the year where it gets saturated. If EA released Brutal Legend in March do you think that it may have had better sales? I think that releasing all games at once is bad and I know that getting Dead Space 2 in January and Killzone 2 a month later is not going to kill me as a game consumer. The only thing that is annoying as a consumer is the constant delays such as what Gran Turismo has been doing. One push back is okay, several is telling me that a game is in trouble. I mean honestly, does anyone really think that Duke Nukem Forever is actually going to be any good?[/QUOTE]

Killzone was Feb. 09, GoW III was March 2010, and Infamous was May 09.

Pushing a game back is understandable, but you have to plan your releases properly. If you're a shooter like Homefront and you go against Killzone 3, Bulletstorm, or even Duke Nukem, then you might as well kiss your sales goodbye. This year is was literally 1 AAA after another from the end of Feb. through mid-March, a bit of a slowdown in April with Splinter Cell and SSFIV, then some disappointing sales for A LOT of titles in a slammed May that got dominated by Red Dead Redemption. Those that didn't get Red Dead got Mario. Capcom is a MASTER at getting the most sales in the springtime (outside of Lost Planet 2) while EA is becoming a fast learner. Sony has done good business the last two spring seasons, then seem to drop the ball for Christmas.

If Sony thinks only PS Move and no other exclusive titles are going to be able to compete for Christmas sales against Halo, Fable, and Kinect, with the 360 already being the leader in third-party titles like Fallout and Call of Duty, then they have another think coming. I'm beginning to wonder if 2011 is going to be like 2010 for Sony, a BUNCH of games in the first few months then almost nothing for the rest of the year.

Between Feb. and March, I bought 5 PS3 titles new at retail. Since then, it's only been a Move bundle and a used copy of MAG.
 
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[quote name='padumavati']I wish there was something worth playing on the PSP, then maybe I would buy one. I'll probably spring for a 3DS because I'm a sucker and I haven't bought a DS since the Lite.[/QUOTE]

SOCOM Fireteam Bravo 3, Lunar 1 remake, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Persona 3 Portable, Valkyria Chronicles 2, Ys Seven, Phantasy Star Portable 2, and Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep (all released this year) not enough for you? New God of War and Ys remake coming in 2 weeks; plus The 3rd Birthday (ie Parasite Eve 3,) FF: Dissidia 2, more Ys ports/new titles, and Valkyria Chronicles 3 coming next year.

Plus there's a ton of older titles like Rock Band Unplugged (Checkmate Arcade's 2009 PSP GotY), Resistance Retribution, the two Syphon Filter games, the 2 previous SOCOM Fireteam Bravo's, Ratchet and Clank, GoW, 2 Jak and Daxter platformers (1 a sequel to the trilogy, the other a side story with just Daxter set between Jak 1 and 2,) FF Disidia, FF Tactics, FF7 Crisis Core, Phantasy Star portable 1, port of PS1 hard-to-find-classic Valkyrie Profile, a ton of other JRPG's, and a bunch of good old-school compilations.

Now if you don't like Japanese developed games then yeah things are looking grimmer, but you mentioned the DS specifically, so I figure at least SOME of these are in your wheelhouse.
 
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[quote name='Davestation']If EA released Brutal Legend in March do you think that it may have had better sales? [/QUOTE]

Borderlands and Dragon Age both did fine as new IP released in the holiday season last year. Brutal Legend's problem wasn't timing.

If anything this year has proved that it is riskier launching outside of the holiday window. If a Red Dead Redemption falls in your month there aren't enough dollars to go around outside of the holiday season. Keep in mind that last year 46% of the full year console sales occurred in Nov/Dec.
 
[quote name='jkanownik']Borderlands and Dragon Age both did fine as new IP released in the holiday season last year. Brutal Legend's problem wasn't timing.

If anything this year has proved that it is riskier launching outside of the holiday window. If a Red Dead Redemption falls in your month there aren't enough dollars to go around outside of the holiday season. Keep in mind that last year 46% of the full year console sales occurred in Nov/Dec.[/QUOTE]

Actually, they got their asses handed to them in the top ten sales. Each game only made it to the top ten once from release date to end of year. Dragon Age Origins made it to the number nine spot in November and Borderlands made it to the number three spot in October. These where not combine sales, just on the 360. Its much more logical to release your new IP against Red Dead instead of the most anticipated games of the year.

They are still good but if they where released in a time with less competition, than it could help the sales. I mean, if you look at the trend it seems like big games are being released in each month.
 
[quote name='Davestation']Actually, they got their asses handed to them in the top ten sales. Each game only made it to the top ten once from release date to end of year. Dragon Age Origins made it to the number nine spot in November and Borderlands made it to the number three spot in October. These where not combine sales, just on the 360. Its much more logical to release your new IP against Red Dead instead of the most anticipated games of the year.

They are still good but if they where released in a time with less competition, than it could help the sales. I mean, if you look at the trend it seems like big games are being released in each month.[/QUOTE]

Your argument is not supported by facts. The absolute top ten rankings by month are meaningless when taken out of context.

Avg #10 in Apr/May TY - 144K
Avg #10 in Nov/Dec LY - 486K
 
The argument is supported by facts. The fact that they got blown away by much better known franchises shows that it is a tuff market in the fourth quarter. Its good that they broke in to it, but I would imagine that they would sell more units if they where not up against Modern Warfare or Uncharted. Sure if they where released in January they still have to face Mass Effect 2 and God of War III in March.

If you here that there is an awesome first person shooter that came out, but you know for a fact that Modern Warfare is on the horizon the consumer is likely to go to what they know witch is Call of Duty.

I used the top ten to show that they had trouble breaking in the market, as to the possibility that they could have better sales in the following months.
 
[quote name='Davestation']The argument is supported by facts. The fact that they got blown away by much better known franchises shows that it is a tuff market in the fourth quarter. Its good that they broke in to it, but I would imagine that they would sell more units if they where not up against Modern Warfare or Uncharted. Sure if they where released in January they still have to face Mass Effect 2 and God of War III in March.

If you here that there is an awesome first person shooter that came out, but you know for a fact that Modern Warfare is on the horizon the consumer is likely to go to what they know witch is Call of Duty.

I used the top ten to show that they had trouble breaking in the market, as to the possibility that they could have better sales in the following months.[/QUOTE]

I'll put in simpler terms so that you can understand it better. People buy 3 games in Nov/Dec for every 1 they buy in Apr/May. After Call of Duty they still have two more games they will buy in Nov/Dec. If they buy Red Dead in Apr/May they aren't buying any other games. As a result it is much riskier to launch a game outside of the holiday season.
 
[quote name='jkanownik']I'll put in simpler terms so that you can understand it better. People buy 3 games in Nov/Dec for every 1 they buy in Apr/May. After Call of Duty they still have two more games they will buy in Nov/Dec. If they buy Red Dead in Apr/May they aren't buying any other games. As a result it is much riskier to launch a game outside of the holiday season.[/QUOTE]

That's flawed logic. Gamers and casual gamers do not have a I am only going to buy 3 games between November-December and one through April and May attitude. Lets take the NPD Numbers for November 2009. Using the top ten selling. The total units sold for the top ten is 10.87 million units. Call of Duty takes the number 1 (360 sale) and the number two (PS3 sales) at selling a total of 6.1 million units or 56% of the total of top ten sales. The next selling highest one is Assasins Creed II selling a total of 1.24 million units or just 11%. So if only two titles make up 67% in the top ten, you are telling me that people are buying different games and that people are not just buying the triple A titles that have been anticipated all year?

Now back to Brutal Legend. EA should have realized that Tim Schaffer and his studio is a critically acclaimed studio and is not that great of a seller. So by EA releasing Brutal Legend in the fall, it was over-shadowed by Uncharted, Call of Duty, and Assasins Creed. If they released it in January or February all the hype would have died down from the Triple A titles giving it a better platform to stand out. Thats all I am saying. Its cool to see that Borderlands and Dragon Age did well.

Also, you have to ask yourself why Nintendo and Sony are releasing there triple A titles in the spring/fall. They have less competition during that time. If God of War III was released in the fall instead of March, I bet you Call of Duty would have hurt its sales and on top of that Uncharted would have been competing against it as well. I just think that Publishers are starting to realize that they can spread games out through out the year and still get great sales.
 
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If you can feel what I am feeling, then the truth is just believing. You're my, you're my Diiiiaaaammmond Giiirrrrllll.
 
[quote name='Davestation']That's flawed logic. Gamers and casual gamers do not have a I am only going to buy 3 games between November-December and one through April and May attitude. Lets take the NPD Numbers for November 2009. Using the top ten selling. The total units sold for the top ten is 10.87 million units. Call of Duty takes the number 1 (360 sale) and the number two (PS3 sales) at selling a total of 6.1 million units or 56% of the total of top ten sales. The next selling highest one is Assasins Creed II selling a total of 1.24 million units or just 11%. So if only two titles make up 67% in the top ten, you are telling me that people are buying different games and that people are not just buying the triple A titles that have been anticipated all year?

Now back to Brutal Legend. EA should have realized that Tim Schaffer and his studio is a critically acclaimed studio and is not that great of a seller. So by EA releasing Brutal Legend in the fall, it was over-shadowed by Uncharted, Call of Duty, and Assasins Creed. If they released it in January or February all the hype would have died down from the Triple A titles giving it a better platform to stand out. Thats all I am saying. Its cool to see that Borderlands and Dragon Age did well.

Also, you have to ask yourself why Nintendo and Sony are releasing there triple A titles in the spring/fall. They have less competition during that time. If God of War III was released in the fall instead of March, I bet you Call of Duty would have hurt its sales and on top of that Uncharted would have been competing against it as well. I just think that Publishers are starting to realize that they can spread games out through out the year and still get great sales.[/QUOTE]

Again you're using numbers that are irrelevant (% of top ten), assuming that Brutal Legend ever would have sold well and making assumptions about how games would have sold in a different window. Bayonetta was highly rated and didn't even sell 171K units on a single platform in January. Same with MAG. Look at what happened in May. RDR, SMG2 and UFC pushed all other new releases to
 
[quote name='jkanownik']Again you're using numbers that are irrelevant (% of top ten), assuming that Brutal Legend ever would have sold well and making assumptions about how games would have sold in a different window. Bayonetta was highly rated and didn't even sell 171K units on a single platform in January. Same with MAG. Look at what happened in May. RDR, SMG2 and UFC pushed all other new releases to
 
Decided to get off my fat ass and take a walk each night after my wife and son have gone to sleep and whenever it's not raining.
Went ahead and downloaded this CAGcast to kill time during the walk. My first podcast ever and, I have to say, it was more entertaining than I had imagined.

Thanks Cheapy for the terrible Lou Ferrigno impression. That and a few other high points had a very nice end result. For future reference, a foreigner walking around in the middle of the night on dimly lit sidewalks who suddenly starts laughing out loud really freaks out Japanese people.
 
Hey guys, I just finished listening to the show and I love the Midnight Madness clip at the end of it! What an awesome movie. M-E-A-T M-A-C-H-I-N-E, MEAT MACHINE, MEAT MACHINE! It also showed me that beer is cool and that you could telescopes for other purposes.
 
Regardless of that first 10 mins not being anything near the topic of video games. I whole-heartedly approved of it because it made me laugh out loud while walking in public.
 
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