XBL Deals|7/4 Only- Witcher2, OrangeBox, More | 7/5 Only-Hitman:Absolution $10, More | ME3: Omega | BL2 DLC (Gold) | FREE Defense Grid (Gold) | MORE

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tylerh1701

tylerh1701

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Here is a list of all the current and upcoming Xbox Live Marketplace Sales for the USA. This includes the Deal of the Week, KINECT Central sale item(s), and any other 3rd-party sales or promotions. We have also included the upcoming Xbox Live Arcade releases in the 2nd post. Most sales are for one week. Feel free to post if you see anything not listed here.

Please note:

  • All known sales and information on sales are in the OP. Major Nelson usually updates us with new sales information every other Tuesday. When offers are validated by Moderators, it will be added to the OP as time permits.
  • ALL OFFERS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE! No information within this thread can or should be construed as accurate (or still valid), therefore ...
  • Always verify Xbox Live Marketplace prices before your purchase!
  • Some sales are intended for GOLD MEMBERS ONLY, as noted within each section.
  • Spend wisely, have fun, and enjoy!
________________________________________________________________________
XBOX Live (Gold) Deal of the Week
GOLD MEMBERS ONLY ... neither a 48hr GOLD trial nor free GOLD weekends will give you the sale price. You must
either be a paying Individual/Family subscriber or within a console-activated "1 month complimentary GOLD trial" account.
________________________________________________________________________

7/2 - 7/8 ... Borderlands DLC


7/9 - 7/15 ... Dishonored and Metal Gear Rising DLC and More

  • Dishonored Games on Demand - Price Unknown
    DLC - The Knife of Dunwall - 400 MSP (50% off)
  • DLC - Dunwall City Trials - 200 MSP (50% off)
  • DLC - Void Walkers Arsenal - 160 MSP (50% off)

[*]Metal Gear Rising Revengeance DLC
  • Jetstream - 400 MSP (50% off)
  • Raiden Custom Body - 80 MSP (50% off)
  • Bladewolf  - 320 MSP (43% off)

[*]XBLA - Battle: Los Angeles - 400 MSP (50% off)
________________________________________________________________________
XBox "Games with Gold" Promotion 
GOLD MEMBERS ONLY ... neither a 48hr GOLD trial nor free GOLD weekends will give you the FREE price. You must
either be a paying Individual/Family subscriber or within a console-activated "1 month complimentary GOLD trial" account.
________________________________________________________________________

  • Confirmed as future free games: Halo 3

_______________________________________________________________________

Sales & Specials: Open to Everyone!
NOTE ... if the start & end dates are not well-defined, ACT FAST! since these
"sales" could end anytime. However, they may also be permanent markdowns.
_______________________________________________________________________
 

Ultimate Game One Day Sales:

7/2 ... Day One:


7/3 ... Day Two:


7/4 ... Day Three:


7/5 ... Day Four: (will last through 7/7)


7/2 - 7/8 ... Ultimate Games Persistent Sales:

* =  Want to Buy Games On Demand Using Microsoft Points? [customspoiler="GonD with MSP"]
Often overlooked, GoD are by default displayed in dollars both on Xbox.com as well as on the console, but on the very-first confirmation screen of the download process is the option to use Microsoft Points in place of real-world currency.

Through the console, after first selecting to download a GoD you are greeted by a familiar gray confirmation screen that pops up displaying the size of the download as well as confirming the price. At the bottom of this gray pop-up is the instruction to press the "X button" in order to change the payment type to MSP. Pictured below with an arrow:
confirmation.jpg


On Xbox.com they've made it much more obvious, the confirmation "extra step" pop-up after clicking the download link displays a link that simply says "Use Microsoft Points" directly under the price in dollars at the top of the page.

The more you know....[/customspoiler]

 
Kinect Central sales

7/2 - ??? ... Unannounced Rocksmith DLC Markdowns


7/2 - ??? ... Other Unannounced Markdowns


7/2 - 7/8 ... Robocop and Fast and Furious Avatar Sale

  • Please check the avatar store on your Xbox 360 for more information

7/9 - 7/15 ... Just Dance 4

  • Price and content unknown
______________________________________________________________________

Monthly Marketplace Markdowns
Announced ... as confirmed on the Xbox 360's own dashboard, or corroborated from other sources (PSN, dev/pub, etc).

Unannounced ... from Xbox.com scrapes. *These may or may not be permanent, so judge accordingly.

_______________________________________________________________________

Unannounced Price Drops for July:

* =  Want to Buy Games On Demand Using Microsoft Points? [customspoiler="GonD with MSP"]
Often overlooked, GoD are by default displayed in dollars both on Xbox.com as well as on the console, but on the very-first confirmation screen of the download process is the option to use Microsoft Points in place of real-world currency.

Through the console, after first selecting to download a GoD you are greeted by a familiar gray confirmation screen that pops up displaying the size of the download as well as confirming the price. At the bottom of this gray pop-up is the instruction to press the "X button" in order to change the payment type to MSP. Pictured below with an arrow:
confirmation.jpg


On Xbox.com they've made it much more obvious, the confirmation "extra step" pop-up after clicking the download link displays a link that simply says "Use Microsoft Points" directly under the price in dollars at the top of the page.

The more you know....[/customspoiler]

 
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[quote name='FriskyTanuki']Sure, but that's not how they were marketed up to launch. The community's response to the achievements of certain games definitely shaped how developers designed them from then on, though MS seemed to care more that people would buy more games just to get more points than whatever silly ideas they had before launch.

MS also had plans for a real money marketplace for user-created content and the ability to live stream games to a ton of people, so their pre-launch plans didn't always work out the way they wanted it to.[/QUOTE]

A hell of a lot of things have changed between pre-launch, launch, pre-Kinect, and today. No doubt about that. One thing that hasn't changed at all since launch is the impact of achievements, to the point of them being a gaming culture phenomenon. They're everywhere now. Going back to the point which initiated our back-and-forth, I don't suspect that Microsoft would ease up on timestamps or whatever else; if anything, they'll probably go to greater lengths to make achievements even more integral to the experience, someway, somehow. "You must be connected to the internet to earn this achievement!" Hopefully not that...

Personally, I hope they go to greater lengths to make sure achievements actually function and unlock correctly. And punch the shit out of EA for all their online achievements ruined by premature server shutdowns. I can dream, right?
 
[quote name='Glass_Ghost_0']Sooooo, how's Monaco? Looks interesting but idk for 1200 points.[/QUOTE]

Inquiring minds want to know!

I want the demo, I'm excited to try this game but being a cheap ass... 15$ is hard to part with.
 
I'm considering Small Arms for 400MSP for the Weekend Achievement Challenge. Anyone played it? Is it any good?

(Also, anyone enter this contest on a regular basis? How often do you win since they changed it to a random contest?)
 
[quote name='tylerh1701']I'm considering Small Arms for 400MSP for the Weekend Achievement Challenge. Anyone played it? Is it any good?

(Also, anyone enter this contest on a regular basis? How often do you win since they changed it to a random contest?)[/QUOTE]

Good...not really. The achievements are pretty easy though. Everytime I buy a game strictly for the contest, I get nothing for my trouble. It hasn't stopped me though. I have some points to spare so I'll grab Contra since I don't think I stand a chance with Alien Hominid. Probably wont win -as usual- but what the hell.....
 
[quote name='ooga']Good...not really. The achievements are pretty easy though. Everytime I buy a game strictly for the contest, I get nothing for my trouble. It hasn't stopped me though. I have some points to spare so I'll grab Contra since I don't think I stand a chance with Alien Hominid. Probably wont win -as usual- but what the hell.....[/QUOTE]

Thanks man, maybe I'll just pass. I am rather unlucky as well when it comes to contests and the like...
 
So can the people at Crash Course 2 get their shit together? I still can't play the damn game unless I delete it and redownload it.

Never mind, now it won't even work at all.

Great idea on their end, great idea.
 
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[quote name='dark_inchworm']A hell of a lot of things have changed between pre-launch, launch, pre-Kinect, and today. No doubt about that. One thing that hasn't changed at all since launch is the impact of achievements, to the point of them being a gaming culture phenomenon. They're everywhere now. Going back to the point which initiated our back-and-forth, I don't suspect that Microsoft would ease up on timestamps or whatever else; if anything, they'll probably go to greater lengths to make achievements even more integral to the experience, someway, somehow. "You must be connected to the internet to earn this achievement!" Hopefully not that...

Personally, I hope they go to greater lengths to make sure achievements actually function and unlock correctly. And punch the shit out of EA for all their online achievements ruined by premature server shutdowns. I can dream, right?[/QUOTE]
This is getting way off topic, but the big buzz right now is that the next Xbox will have non-DLC achievements added to games constantly in an attempt to battle the used game market. Thought you were done with that game? Think again! There's also talks of time limits for achievements. Didn't buy the game at launch for that first weekend event? Too bad, no completion for you.

Honestly, if even half the rumors about the new Xbox are true I won't be getting one. Lord knows I have enough games to tide me over for a few years.
 
[quote name='tylerh1701']I'm considering Small Arms for 400MSP for the Weekend Achievement Challenge. Anyone played it? Is it any good?

(Also, anyone enter this contest on a regular basis? How often do you win since they changed it to a random contest?)[/QUOTE]
I recently bought small arms to complete the punchcard last month for my son to play. From what I can see the achievements should be pretty easy unless it's asking you to beat 10 opponents in a row or something.
 
[quote name='ooga']Good...not really. The achievements are pretty easy though. Everytime I buy a game strictly for the contest, I get nothing for my trouble. It hasn't stopped me though. I have some points to spare so I'll grab Contra since I don't think I stand a chance with Alien Hominid. Probably wont win -as usual- but what the hell.....[/QUOTE]
Figured I'd throw this out there...maybe someone else can contradict me.
I have contra and have NEVER been able to get any of the achievements to unlock. I've tried deleting the game and clearing all traces of it and reinstalling but never got one achievement to work.

I've searched the web for other examples of this happening but found nothing. Just something to keep in mind before you drop 400 points on it.
 
[quote name='tylerh1701']Thanks man, maybe I'll just pass. I am rather unlucky as well when it comes to contests and the like...[/QUOTE]

You're making the right choice. Game was mediocre when it came out and certainly isn't any better now.
 
[quote name='irafreak']Figured I'd throw this out there...maybe someone else can contradict me.
I have contra and have NEVER been able to get any of the achievements to unlock. I've tried deleting the game and clearing all traces of it and reinstalling but never got one achievement to work.

I've searched the web for other examples of this happening but found nothing. Just something to keep in mind before you drop 400 points on it.[/QUOTE]
Rather than reinstalling, have you tried clearing up the cache?

NOTE that to obtain achievements in the game you cannot use the classic Konami code and all of the game settings must be set to default.
 
[quote name='irafreak']Figured I'd throw this out there...maybe someone else can contradict me.
I have contra and have NEVER been able to get any of the achievements to unlock. I've tried deleting the game and clearing all traces of it and reinstalling but never got one achievement to work.

I've searched the web for other examples of this happening but found nothing. Just something to keep in mind before you drop 400 points on it.[/QUOTE]

Huh... that's weird. XBLA gave it out for free at one point years ago and I remember getting a number of achievements for it.
 
[quote name='CAiNiACprime']Sooooo happy I bit on the DLC yesterday when the heads up was given that the game had been delisted. Thank you again to whoever it was that brought it to this threads attention.[/QUOTE]

Damnit. I was planning to finish the achievements on that game too.
 
Am I the only one who thought the doritos crash course was a complete waste of time? I know it's free but damn, I have 100 other things I'd rather do, play, or otherwise spend time on.
 
[quote name='Althax']Am I the only one who thought the doritos crash course was a complete waste of time? I know it's free but damn, I have 100 other things I'd rather do, play, or otherwise spend time on.[/QUOTE]

It was kinda fun practicing the harder levels to get a gold time.
 
[quote name='Althax']Am I the only one who thought the doritos crash course was a complete waste of time? I know it's free but damn, I have 100 other things I'd rather do, play, or otherwise spend time on.[/QUOTE]

Well, since they're better than several Arcade games that you have to purchase, and sadly some retail games, I'd have to go with yeah.
 
[quote name='simmias']This is getting way off topic, but the big buzz right now is that the next Xbox will have non-DLC achievements added to games constantly in an attempt to battle the used game market. Thought you were done with that game? Think again! There's also talks of time limits for achievements. Didn't buy the game at launch for that first weekend event? Too bad, no completion for you.

Honestly, if even half the rumors about the new Xbox are true I won't be getting one. Lord knows I have enough games to tide me over for a few years.[/QUOTE]

Ugh. I wouldn't have an issue with that if they'd issue completion marks for completing a "core" set of achievements, but... yeah, right.

More off-topic fun: Finally playing Alan Wake. Damn good game. Just so you know.
 
Althax - we are all different and enjoy different types of games. The world is better this way, I'm sure of it. Did you try the other 2 free doritos games? Maybe those are more up your alley?
 
[quote name='dark_inchworm']Ugh. I wouldn't have an issue with that if they'd issue completion marks for completing a "core" set of achievements, but... yeah, right.

More off-topic fun: Finally playing Alan Wake. Damn good game. Just so you know.[/QUOTE]

I'm dying to play that. Just waiting for a sale on the DLC. It's been so long...
 
[quote name='dark_inchworm']Ugh. I wouldn't have an issue with that if they'd issue completion marks for completing a "core" set of achievements, but... yeah, right.

More off-topic fun: Finally playing Alan Wake. Damn good game. Just so you know.[/QUOTE]

Honestly, Alan Wake was really disappointing to me. Maybe I had to high expectations, but it just felt really repetitive and the pacing was a bit out of wack. Enjoyed the story a good deal, though the ending was a little unfulfilling (is that what the DLC is for? I haven't played it yet). It's not really bad, but I don't think it's anything to really write home about, after you get over the novelty. Just my opinion, don't want to start a flame war.
 
[quote name='sickman']I'm dying to play that. Just waiting for a sale on the DLC. It's been so long...[/QUOTE]

I bought "The Signal" on ebay for $4. Something to consider.
 
[quote name='simmias']This is getting way off topic, but the big buzz right now is that the next Xbox will have non-DLC achievements added to games constantly in an attempt to battle the used game market. Thought you were done with that game? Think again! There's also talks of time limits for achievements. Didn't buy the game at launch for that first weekend event? Too bad, no completion for you.[/QUOTE]
Jesus, that sounds AWFUL. It's like they specifically brainstormed ideas to make the achievement system less fun.
 
[quote name='simmias']This is getting way off topic, but the big buzz right now is that the next Xbox will have non-DLC achievements added to games constantly in an attempt to battle the used game market. Thought you were done with that game? Think again! There's also talks of time limits for achievements. Didn't buy the game at launch for that first weekend event? Too bad, no completion for you. [/QUOTE]
How is this bad, though? I'd like a game that keeps on adding new challenges and goals to work towards. It just keeps adding value and extra playability. Are people really that addicted to Achievements and Gamerscore that they'd rather have a finite amount of gameplay to enable them to move on to their next fix?

They're potentially giving you more to do in a game you've already paid for and people are complaining... If this was last generation people would be going on about how neat this sounds. Persistent extra challenges, and for free? Amazing.

It's like people aren't playing games for the game anymore, just the number it gives them.

[quote name='MrNinjaSquirrel']Honestly, Alan Wake was really disappointing to me. Maybe I had to high expectations, but it just felt really repetitive and the pacing was a bit out of wack. Enjoyed the story a good deal, though the ending was a little unfulfilling (is that what the DLC is for? I haven't played it yet).[/QUOTE]
Don't bother with the DLC. It explains and concludes nothing. Same with Alan Wake's American Nightmare.
 
[quote name='The Ebbtide']How is this bad, though? I'd like a game that keeps on adding new challenges and goals to work towards. It just keeps adding value and extra playability. Are people really that addicted to Achievements and Gamerscore that they'd rather have a finite amount of gameplay to enable them to move on to their next fix?

They're potentially giving you more to do in a game you've already paid for and people are complaining... If this was last generation people would be going on about how neat this sounds. Persistent extra challenges, and for free? Amazing.

It's like people aren't playing games for the game anymore, just the number it gives them.

[/QUOTE]


Amen brother, finally someone speaking some sense. I thought I was all alone.
 
[quote name='dark_inchworm']
More off-topic fun: Finally playing Alan Wake. Damn good game. Just so you know.[/QUOTE]

Yes I finally got to Alan Wake the other week in a big backlog completion drive (crossed Bioshock, Alan Wake and Arkham Asylum off my list). Alan Wake is fantastic. Maybe my favorite Xbox 360 game. The DLC is great too. If you picked up a used copy and didn't get the Signal, I'd grab it next time it's on sale or you can probably get a code off the internet. I'd also totally grab The Writer, some amazing stuff. In some ways I wish the mechanic they use in the DLC (using the flashlight on words to bring things into reality) was used more often in the main game. Yes it sorta explains nothing and doesn't help conclude the story, but it feels sort of like a chance to revisit things and has some of the best visual transitions I've ever seen in a video game in my life. The DLC does stuff that can only be done in a video game (there's a great set piece with the whole world turning upside down in The Writer). It also kind of feels like how ME3's The Citadel DLC feels, it doesn't add to the game but it sort of allows you to spend more time with certain characters and see certain things from new angles. If you're a big Alan Wake fan you'll love the DLC trust me. And yes there should be lots of codes for The Signal on eBay or forums for purchase as it came with every brand new disc. Maybe I'm bad but sometimes when I go shopping at a used game store where they leave the manuals in the case, I'll take a pic of the DLC code in the case and try it at home. I'm amazed at how many people don't use the codes and then sell the game.

Also, if you like Alan Wake I have a feeling you'd be into Max Payne 3 if you haven't played that. I'm just going through it now and it still has a lot of the flavour of Remedy in it. I wasn't so much into the game for the first hour or two, but by mid-way through the 2nd level I'm hooked. Graphically it reminds me a lot of Alan Wake as well (though a different setting completely).

And lastly, I do recommend Alan Wake: American Nightmare. If you liked the main game it's sort of more of the same, except each level is sort of a semi-open world (there's 3 levels). The story isn't as tight, but there's a few great new weapons and it's still one of the better arcade games on XBLA. We should be expecting more Alan Wake for the new Xbox, hopefully now that Remedy has a couple of Alan Wake games under their belt we can expect the next one to even be a launch game or to at least not have the torrid history of development that the first game did.
 
[quote name='The Ebbtide']How is this bad, though? I'd like a game that keeps on adding new challenges and goals to work towards. It just keeps adding value and extra playability. Are people really that addicted to Achievements and Gamerscore that they'd rather have a finite amount of gameplay to enable them to move on to their next fix?

They're potentially giving you more to do in a game you've already paid for and people are complaining... If this was last generation people would be going on about how neat this sounds. Persistent extra challenges, and for free? Amazing.

It's like people aren't playing games for the game anymore, just the number it gives them.[/QUOTE]
Why not just implement this into the game/community itself then? Make your game good enough that people want to play it for a while instead of just moving on to the next game after they finish it.
 
Depends on your Nostalgia, I've played Serious Sam 3 in the past so it's great to play again. I'm stuck at a temple with an enormous amount of frogs though lol.
 
[quote name='Althax']Am I the only one who thought the doritos crash course was a complete waste of time? I know it's free but damn, I have 100 other things I'd rather do, play, or otherwise spend time on.[/QUOTE]

I haven't played too much of this one yet, but the first Doritos Crash Course is a genuinely great game. It gets very challenging towards the end, but the controls feel great and the level design is fun and challenging. It is a better game than quite a number of games I've paid money for on XBLA.

So for me it's been well worth my time.
 
[quote name='The Ebbtide']How is this bad, though? I'd like a game that keeps on adding new challenges and goals to work towards. It just keeps adding value and extra playability. Are people really that addicted to Achievements and Gamerscore that they'd rather have a finite amount of gameplay to enable them to move on to their next fix?

They're potentially giving you more to do in a game you've already paid for and people are complaining... If this was last generation people would be going on about how neat this sounds. Persistent extra challenges, and for free? Amazing.

It's like people aren't playing games for the game anymore, just the number it gives them.
[/QUOTE]

I think those ideas sound great. They should reward people who are playing on launch day, etc. That's rarely me, so i'm not one who would benefit from it. But people who are plunking down 60 bucks at launch honestly deserve some special stuff. Same with people who are sticking with a game for a long time. For example people who play annual sports releases... create some achievement for playing it every week for the year it comes out or something.


[quote name='DarkZion']Why not just implement this into the game/community itself then? Make your game good enough that people want to play it for a while instead of just moving on to the next game after they finish it.[/QUOTE]

By that logic they should just dump the achievement system. Playing the game should be the reward itself. The achievement stuff is totally extra. Why do you care if they add a new achievement for Dead Space 4 weeks after you've sold the game back?

By adding achievements that roll out later they ARE making the game more fun to play for some people. Clearly a lot of people around here care about achievements.
 
[quote name='hufferstl']Althax - we are all different and enjoy different types of games. The world is better this way, I'm sure of it. Did you try the other 2 free doritos games? Maybe those are more up your alley?[/QUOTE]

Ya, I tried them all and crash course was the best of the bunch but there ate tons of games I enjoyed more. Guess Im in the minority for feeling like it was shareware level crap.

No biggie, theres lots of games that people love here that I just can't get into.
 
[quote name='The Ebbtide']
It's like people aren't playing games for the game anymore, just the number it gives them.
[/QUOTE]

I agree and disagree with you at the same time....I don't play it to get High Gamerscores, but those Achievements are something like a "completion" of the game...as Completionist I don't like when I can't finish Games...for example I put endless hours in Rogue Galaxy on the PS 2 just to get every single item (around 250 hours) same for the Persona Games with all Personas and almost every other RPG I played (or game that was appealing to me)... I play to complete the game as a whole as in everything there is so yeah Achievements are somewhat of a completion...(some games aren't finished when you got all achievements, so I still play to the end)
 
It's funny that a few years ago, achievements didn't exist at all, and now some people are so tied to a particular model of achievements that even rumored changes are met with distress.
 
[quote name='Antarael Dulacre'](some games aren't finished when you got all achievements, so I still play to the end)[/QUOTE]

I believe you'd be among the minority in this case.

Side Q: Doesn't this thread always turn into an achievement discussion when there are bad Deals of the Week? Doesn't matter how it starts, it will eventually lead to achievements and last until a good deal shows up
 
[quote name='illennium']It's funny that a few years ago, achievements didn't exist at all, and now some people are so tied to a particular model of achievements that even rumored changes are met with distress.[/QUOTE]

Well Microsoft hasn't been doing a particular job changing things for the better lately *cough* dashboard *cough*

I think it would be cool to have new achievements added, but I also wish they would change the completed system so you don't lose games when DLC comes out. This is one thing I really like about Trophies on PSN, in that I can get the platinum and 100% the main set of trophies, and DLC is put into it's own section.
 
Doing away with cheevos entirely would be best case scenario to me. Bring back gaming for the sake of gaming rather than have people spent countles hours on tedious unfun cheevos preying on their OCD. Thankfully I don't fall into this category but its a depressing state of affairs in my eyes when I see/hear it all the time. Nintendo has always had the other competitors trumped by this. Their games are legitimately fun and people eat them up for the sake of the game and not some meaningless badge or number.

This is just my opinion after all, and I realize I'm in the minority.
 
[quote name='CAiNiACprime']Doing away with cheevos entirely would be best case scenario to me. Bring back gaming for the sake of gaming rather than have people spent countles hours on tedious unfun cheevos preying on their OCD. Thankfully I don't fall into this category but its a depressing state of affairs in my eyes when I see/hear it all the time. Nintendo has always had the other competitors trumped by this. Their games are legitimately fun and people eat them up for the sake of the game and not some meaningless badge or number.

This is just my opinion after all, and I realize I'm in the minority.[/QUOTE]

I'm with you on this Cainiac. I have a completionist streak in me and have had to give it up. My free time is so limited that it would take me 2-3 months of play to 100% a lot of games. I don't have the patience to play the same thing that long for a few meaningless e points. It's very rare that I will invest the time to 100% a game.

It sucks that income and free time are inversely proportional. As a kid I had few games but tons of time. Now I'm fine with money but so time poor that I buy games much faster than I can possibly finish them.
 
[quote name='MrNinjaSquirrel']Well Microsoft hasn't been doing a particular job changing things for the better lately *cough* dashboard *cough*

I think it would be cool to have new achievements added, but I also wish they would change the completed system so you don't lose games when DLC comes out. This is one thing I really like about Trophies on PSN, in that I can get the platinum and 100% the main set of trophies, and DLC is put into it's own section.[/QUOTE]

I dont get what your saying though. If you 100% the game and get the platinum on PS3 and then DLC is released it knocks you back down to a lower percentage. Technically making it an incomplete game just like microsoft does.
 
[quote name='Althax']

It sucks that income and free time are inversely proportional. As a kid I had few games but tons of time. Now I'm fine with money but so time poor that I buy games much faster than I can possibly finish them.[/QUOTE]

You're preachin' to the choir. It gets worse every year man.
 
[quote name='Stellar Inertia']I dont get what your saying though. If you 100% the game and get the platinum on PS3 and then DLC is released it knocks you back down to a lower percentage. Technically making it an incomplete game just like microsoft does.[/QUOTE]
You don't lose your Platinum when DLC is released, which is what he's talking about. There's no acknowledgement for earning all of the main achievements on Xbox 360 if DLC is released.
 
[quote name='Althax']
It sucks that income and free time are inversely proportional. As a kid I had few games but tons of time. Now I'm fine with money but so time poor that I buy games much faster than I can possibly finish them.[/QUOTE]

I think the ways games are have changed though. When I was a kid most games were fun light-hearted and just always a blast to replay. I mean I can still play Super Mario Bros and have an amazing time, and I've played that game to death a million times. But I find it hard to replay something like Bioshock, that's dark, depressing and less of an escape for me than the absurdity of an old Nintendo or Colecovision or Atari game. Maybe there wasn't much of a story but the game mechanics were simple and I could feel like I could just pick up and play it for hours on end. I've never been into multiplayer but I feel like with most single-player campaigns I'm almost happy by the end of the game as it was just slugging it out. I'm on Chapter 11 of Max Payne 3 right now, right near the end. I'm loving the game, but I just want it over with and I know I likely won't repeat the campaign again. But it's like that with movies now, I used to watch movies from the 80s/90s over and over again and now even movies I love such as Dark Knight Returns, I can watch maybe twice and I'm done. I don't know if that's me or if the entertainment industries are just not making products that stand up to repeat viewing as they did back when I was a kid.

With games I wonder if that's a design strategy, like obsolescence, I've always wondered how broad the practice of obsolescence is in the video game industry. The one that bothers me most is the Tiger Woods games, as why do I need to buy an annual release of a golf game, how different are they from year to year (other sports games have roster changes I suppose). But I wonder if they design games these days hoping you finish it and then move on to the next one to encourage us to part with our money.

That's the only reason I like achievements. When they are used wisely they promote players playing the game differently to get more out of the experience. I hate when they are just a grind or a collect fest. I wish they were more like the "tie a woman to train tracks and watch a train go over her" achievement in Red Dead Redemption - I know it seems silly but I'd have never thought to do that unless there was a reward. The only time I like when games reward you for progress is when it's about choice as it promotes going and replaying the game in a different manner (though saving and loading often defeats this purpose - the achievement for watching all the ending in Deus Ex: Human Revolution is a fairly lame one for this as you are almost encouraged to just save and try the 4 different endings, though none of them are all that weighty anyways so it isn't a big deal). But I'd really love to see a list of the best, funnest, funniest achievements as I'd love to go through that list and complete it rather than just try to get all the achievements in one game which is usually boring as shit.

Anyways, just my two cents. You can tell that no one is all that interested in these 2 weeks of deals as we've started to segue to other topics as per usual. Sorry to do a long post.

Sort of on topic but I managed to score a code for Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon and I would tell people to pass on it at full price - especially as Ubisoft sales are quite often. It's a good game, but I'm finding the parts between missions boring. It reminds me a bit of Brutal Legend with an over-world that's quite empty, but worse off everything looks the same. There's no nice vistas or interesting things to do outside of collecting a few things, killing a handful of animal types and missions. It's fun and I was super-excited for it, one of my big games of the year, but I wish just a bit more love had been put into creating a world that was a bit more alive. I'm actually more excited about the USB stick that Ubisoft sent me too as it's like a mini-VHS tape with Blood Dragon logo on it, super sweet.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend - and hey, don't forget Mother's Day by the way!
 
[quote name='FriskyTanuki']You don't lose your Platinum when DLC is released, which is what he's talking about. There's no acknowledgement for earning all of the main achievements on Xbox 360 if DLC is released.[/QUOTE]

I guess i see what your saying. To me a 1000 is equivalent to a platinum. I guess my own idea of a completion is knowing its at 100%. So if i platinum something and DLC is released its still incomplete once again to me. If I ended up hating the game though I wont buy the DLC just to complete it. Me not liking a game though is rare.
 
I may be crazy, but I'm going to make an on topic post:

The Forza 4 DLC is NOT a price drop, rather it's on sale to encourage people to participate in the ALMS challenge currently going on. Said DLC pack is required to participate. Although the sale was just announced in the forums and via twitter, no end date was announced. My guess would be that the sale lasts for most or all of the challenge, but I don't know how long it lasts as I've ignored it since I don't have the DLC...
 
[quote name='skonson']I think the ways games are have changed though. When I was a kid most games were fun light-hearted and just always a blast to replay. I mean I can still play Super Mario Bros and have an amazing time, and I've played that game to death a million times. But I find it hard to replay something like Bioshock, that's dark, depressing and less of an escape for me than the absurdity of an old Nintendo or Colecovision or Atari game. Maybe there wasn't much of a story but the game mechanics were simple and I could feel like I could just pick up and play it for hours on end. I've never been into multiplayer but I feel like with most single-player campaigns I'm almost happy by the end of the game as it was just slugging it out. I'm on Chapter 11 of Max Payne 3 right now, right near the end. I'm loving the game, but I just want it over with and I know I likely won't repeat the campaign again. But it's like that with movies now, I used to watch movies from the 80s/90s over and over again and now even movies I love such as Dark Knight Returns, I can watch maybe twice and I'm done. I don't know if that's me or if the entertainment industries are just not making products that stand up to repeat viewing as they did back when I was a kid.

With games I wonder if that's a design strategy, like obsolescence, I've always wondered how broad the practice of obsolescence is in the video game industry. The one that bothers me most is the Tiger Woods games, as why do I need to buy an annual release of a golf game, how different are they from year to year (other sports games have roster changes I suppose). But I wonder if they design games these days hoping you finish it and then move on to the next one to encourage us to part with our money.

That's the only reason I like achievements. When they are used wisely they promote players playing the game differently to get more out of the experience. I hate when they are just a grind or a collect fest. I wish they were more like the "tie a woman to train tracks and watch a train go over her" achievement in Red Dead Redemption - I know it seems silly but I'd have never thought to do that unless there was a reward. The only time I like when games reward you for progress is when it's about choice as it promotes going and replaying the game in a different manner (though saving and loading often defeats this purpose - the achievement for watching all the ending in Deus Ex: Human Revolution is a fairly lame one for this as you are almost encouraged to just save and try the 4 different endings, though none of them are all that weighty anyways so it isn't a big deal). But I'd really love to see a list of the best, funnest, funniest achievements as I'd love to go through that list and complete it rather than just try to get all the achievements in one game which is usually boring as shit.

Anyways, just my two cents. You can tell that no one is all that interested in these 2 weeks of deals as we've started to segue to other topics as per usual. Sorry to do a long post.

Sort of on topic but I managed to score a code for Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon and I would tell people to pass on it at full price - especially as Ubisoft sales are quite often. It's a good game, but I'm finding the parts between missions boring. It reminds me a bit of Brutal Legend with an over-world that's quite empty, but worse off everything looks the same. There's no nice vistas or interesting things to do outside of collecting a few things, killing a handful of animal types and missions. It's fun and I was super-excited for it, one of my big games of the year, but I wish just a bit more love had been put into creating a world that was a bit more alive. I'm actually more excited about the USB stick that Ubisoft sent me too as it's like a mini-VHS tape with Blood Dragon logo on it, super sweet.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend - and hey, don't forget Mother's Day by the way![/QUOTE]

I think you have an interesting point about obsolescence being designed into games, but I think the only games that are really guilty of this behavior are games that have a heavy emphasis on online multiplayer with annual iterations. Other than those specific titles, the general feeling that I get from reading various video game journalists online is that most publishers actually want the opposite. They want games where the experience lasts long enough so that they can also sell additional DLC (which also has the benefit of keeping retail copies in the hands of the original buyer). The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim would probably be one of the best examples I have of this.

I agree with you on Achievements. I like them in principle, but I vastly prefer when they show me a different way of playing the game or highlight something I would not have seen otherwise. The Achievements and Trophies that involve collecting arbitrary amounts of MacGuffins are less ideal because they take the fun experience of exploring a game world and turn it toward tedium instead. How many of us are guilty of going for Achievements even when it is more of a chore and less fun than if we had not known the satisfying "Achievement Unlocked" sound was around the corner? In a way, it makes me think of some of the articles I have read regarding Intrinsic Rewards vs. Extrinsic Rewards.

Thanks for the feedback on Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon. It definitely looks fantastic in a 80's B-Movie sort of way, but I will wait until it goes on sale.
 
[quote name='FriskyTanuki']You don't lose your Platinum when DLC is released, which is what he's talking about. There's no acknowledgement for earning all of the main achievements on Xbox 360 if DLC is released.[/QUOTE]

this is what I meant. I find it very annoying that I have to keep buying DLC to keep my 100%. Getting 1000/1000 or whatever the original 100% amount was doesn't really seem relevant after more achievements are added, because you can then get 1000+ without having to do all the original achievements. I just wish they put something like a + or other icon to indicate DLC achievements from the originals, but I rarely buy DLC in the first place, so this is all working for Microsoft's favor making me buy some to satisfy my completion side:drool:
 
[quote name='Antarael Dulacre']I agree and disagree with you at the same time....I don't play it to get High Gamerscores, but those Achievements are something like a "completion" of the game...as Completionist I don't like when I can't finish Games...for example I put endless hours in Rogue Galaxy on the PS 2 just to get every single item (around 250 hours) same for the Persona Games with all Personas and almost every other RPG I played (or game that was appealing to me)... I play to complete the game as a whole as in everything there is so yeah Achievements are somewhat of a completion...(some games aren't finished when you got all achievements, so I still play to the end)[/QUOTE]

I'm in the same boat as you. I like to experience all a game has to offer.

To be honest, lots of games already have challenge systems built into them so I don't think those need to be converted into achievements. Think of the daily/weekly/monthly challenges in Halo 4 or the N7 system in Mass Effect 3. I like the way those work. Why rock the boat?

What's interesting is a lot of achievement hunters I know hold onto their games and have huge collections. It's people who don't care about achievements that tend to trade in games quickly to get newer games so in my opinion it's not going to change the used game market much if that's what they think. Achievement hunters expect more achievements to be added later. It's called DLC.

Anyways, I think it's best to wait for official word from Microsoft than get worked up over speculation so I'll leave it there.
 
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