Weekend Confirmed 160 - Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate

Hey guys I been listening to you guys for awhile now and finally got around to commenting and Im very interested in your opinion. I have been hearing you guys mostly Dan and Garnett talk about how awesome Monster Hunter is and it has gotten me super excited and now im curious to know if buying a Wii U strictly for monster hunter would not be a good Idea? I know on the surface one game should never be the reason of buying a system but I know there are some cool things im missing in the Nintendo world and would love to get back to loving Nintendo the way I did during the ERA of Nintendo 64. So would you recommend a Wii U or a 3DS? since I know so many of you guys enjoyed Luigis Mansion.

There was a lot of discussion about Microsoft requiring an always on Internet connection for the next Xbox. It seems that Microsoft is beginning to rebuff the rumor, but I guess we will have to wait until May 21st to get the official word. However the current console generation did have an always on feature (Wii Connect, Playstation Plus and Xbox Live) each offering gamers the option of updating software, receiving notifications and downloading software while the console is in sleep mode. Until Microsoft issues an official statement as to whether or not the next Xbox will require an always on Internet connection, it seems like much to do about nothing.

Since the DS was such a success, do you think releasing updated versions of popular DS games on the Wii U would increase sales? With the main feature of the Wii U being its Gamepad, it would appear that the system can easily replicate the user interface of the DS and provide Nintendo with a large library of tested gaming experiences that can only be played on the Wii U.

I really enjoy the show and the fun and informative commentary on the video game industry. In your recent podcast (ep. 163) there was an interesting discussion regarding the inclusion of streaming services and social media apps in consoles and whether gamers wanted/needed those services in their gaming console. As I gamer, my primary use for my console is gaming, but on occasion I was want to watch a movie or listen to music so I will use my game console for entertainment versus gaming. Do you think the reason that the console manufactures include streaming services is to create a force of habit for gamers (hardcore and casual) to continually turn on their console in order to increase the chance that they will make impulse purchases to download software/movies as well as play games? Keep up the good work.

HI I just WANTED TO SAY I REALLY LOVE THE SHOW DO YOU GUYS THINK NINTENDO CAN TURN IT AROUND WITH. THE. WII U I HAVE THE WII U AND I LOVE IT. LOVE. THE SHOW. KEEP UP THE GOOD. WORK GUYS

I really wish I could sit down and talk to Spicer about why he disliked Bioshock Infinite, because I feel like I could understand why he didn't like it and it still be compatible with why I love it so much.

I think that the themes that the game sets up such as religion, American Exceptionalism, racism, and less talked about, class warfare, are used in a way that is far more realistic that usually found in games or any other media. This is literally the environment that you have found yourself in, it is made simply to be a setting for your story. This story doesn't have to culminate in you freeing all of the slaves while converting them all to atheism and renouncing the good of American society. The themes come back in more subtle ways. [SPOILERS AFTER THIS POINT] The racist element of of Columbia is mirrored back when you meet Daisy Fitzoy and the Vox, where they are just as awaree of the usefulness of Propoganda and manipulation of people. Religion becomes a large part of the ending, but it's not a criticism on the practices of religion, it is the question of what is redemption and can a person be a)Good without God, b)Evil with God, and also the value of the 'weight of sins' in a persons life. Booker seeks to redeem himself simply because he accepts that he has done bad things in the past and actively works to atone for them, whereas Comstock has forgotten his sins and is doomed to repeat them or even surpass them, because he has nothing holding him back.

I think the best description I've heard in regards to Bioshock and Bioshock Infinite is that Bioshock is a game in which the story starts off small, and grows emmensely until by the end you have this Randian parable about humanity and it's search for genetic perfection. Infinite, on the other hand,is a game that starts with huge ideas (Religion, American Exceptionalism, Class Warfare, Quantum Physics) and it slowly draws itself in until, by the end, it is simply a story about a man in search of redemption for what he has done.[END SPOILERS]

I completely agree that there are flaws in Bioshock Infinite. But most of them are in the realm of the gameplay, and yes, they are things that need to be criticized. The navigation tool is far too hand hold-y, the vigors feel a tad out of place, and it would be nice if the other characters were using them, and there are other problems. As someone who loves this game with his whole heart, I am more than welcoming to criticism of it, because it is not only a major game and story experience in and of itself, but it is also a great step towards where I want gaming to go in terms of story, character interaction, etc. And I think that the people at Irrational want to hear this things, too. They don't what their game to be bronzed and put on a pedestal as the pinnacle of gaming. I believe they want to hear these criticisms so that, next time along, they can work to fix what can be fixed, and fine tune what people loved.

So, yes, I can understand people's problems, and almost none of the criticisms I've heard have made me say "no, you're wrong". But, after finishing it twice and starting again, I still think it is a fantastic storytelling achievement in gaming, despite its flaws.

You guys seem to switch between discussing a console that utilizes an always-online connection and a console that *requires* an online connection to start a game that could otherwise be played offline. These are separate issues. Seemingly nobody has argued against the former; it's the latter that confounds people.

I really like Andrea . She is the nicest person. Garnett is super hard on her all the time and you can still hear she still loves and respects the dude. I can get behind that. I agree with her point about high speed internet being still to expensive for a lot of gamers. I am worried about where MS is going with this.

Jeff and Andrea defending corporate interests over consumer's?

What a shocker!

I think I'm more excited for the Blood Dragon DLC than I am for most actual full GAMES coming out this year.

With all the hand-wringing over the evolution of gaming as a storytelling medium and an artform and blah blah blah, it's nice to have some big budget reminders that stupid, silly, over-the-top, throw-back fun is still something for developers to be proud of and for gamers to revel in.

A blast of unapologetic, self-indulgent fun-for-the-sake-of-it gaming is great for cutting through the pretentious hand-wringing and monocle-adjusting that this industry and community tends to devolve into from time to time.

In an age where everyone is quick to decry certain games as being sexist or misogynistic I'm surprised there hasn't been any talk about how racist Guacamelee is.

As someone who wanted Darstalkers HD but did not buy it...

I would have easily bought this game 2 or 3 years ago, but so close to the launch of the PS4, I have no desire to spend 15$ on a digital game for a system that I will be selling in less than a year.

If Sony said that their would be backwards compatibility for their digital games, I would buy the game, as would a number of friends of mine who also wanted the remake, but till PS4 comes out, I do not plan on buying any digital games.

This game is just too little, too late

FINALLY!!! The return of Zelda its been over a decade since we've had a new Zelda. E3 just got trumped there is no bigger news GOTY sight unseen. Man does that look great when he turns into a painting and boy oh boy is the 3D going to rock on that game!!!!!!!!

HOLY SHIT YOU GUYS EARTHBOUND I CAN'T BELIEVE IT SERIOUSLY THIS IS HUGE I CAN'T BELIEVE IT I THOUGHT IT WAS NEVER EVER GONNA HAPPEN NEVER EARTHBOUND I CAN'T BELIEVE IT EARTHBOUND HOLY SHIT YOU GUYS!

(colour me exited)

Ugh he said it and it was like... I MUST PLAY MARVEL!!! Ugh it's been so long that game is so damn good. The way X factor completely changes combos mid stream. The rooster my god not a weak character on it they are all so different and fun in their own ways, and lets face it Wolverine has never been better in a game then he is in marvel. Oh spider man, oh iron man, wait wait Dr. Strange how'd the make him that cool. I mean really, but the cake topper wesker, Virgil, and Dante nothing compares to that trio of awesome capcom power:)

"Oh shit, get your towels ready
It's about to go down
Everybody in the place hit the fucking deck
But stay on your motherfucking toes
We running this, let's go

I'm on a boat, I'm on a boat
Everybody look at me
'Cause I'm sailing on a boat
I'm on a boat, I'm on a boat
Take a good hard look
At the motherfucking boat"

So, I'd take an always on machine which was subsidized by a cheap (but long term) plan in a heartbeat, especially if it meant I could cheaply upgrade when new versions release. I was leaning towards the PS4, but that pricing and BC would have me on Xbox again quickly. I don't see how Sony could counter the perception a $200-$300 subsidized Xbox. Plus is a great start, but without getting many launch titles free through it, won't have the draw it currently does on PS3.

So, not to brag or anything, but that shiny new copy of Soul Hackers makes the whole shelf look nicer.

mmmmmmmmmm, Soul Hackers.

Part of me wants to finish Etrian Odyssey 4 before jumping in, but I just can't wait that long. EO is wonderful, but I can come back to it later without feeling overly lost. Of course, Pokemon X/Y will probably be out by then, then Rune Factory 4. Then SMT IV, no word yet on whether Fantasy Life will get localized though, but I sure hope so.

I feel sorry for you poor fools, stuck playing junk like Mass Effect and Skyrim. Okay, sorry, that's out of line, Mass Effect isn't that bad. :P

but still, SOUL HACKERS!

Does anyone think Borderlands 3 won't be an MMO?

Garnett, seemed to be saying on the show that big Kickstarter projects are hurting smaller kickstarter projects, by pulling focus away from them, but the opposite is actually true.

http://www.kickstarter.com/blog/blockbuster-effects
http://www.kickstarter.com/blog/the-year-of-the-game

It's pretty obvious from looking at this data, that big projects bring in more attention and support to all of the other projects on the site. It's too bad that a project he was partial to didn't get funded, but the truth is that the majority of projects don't get funded - this has always been the case. If anything, the rate of success has increased, not decreased, as he seemed to imply.

On the backwards compatibility comment right at the end, I think that if the add-on rumor is true it might actually be a neat middle ground that some people will be willing to accept.

To those that don't know, the full rumor basically states that the add-on will actually be an even slimmer Xbox 360 that doesn't have a disc drive. The reason it's called "always online" is the same reason an Apple TV is -- none of its software really works without an internet connection. The leak (from vgleaks) also stated however that it could play digital Xbox 360 games, and could play content installed on the hard drive while offline. The add-on thing says that this mini 360 could be connected to the Durango and piggyback off of the Durango's disc drive in order to play Xbox 360 discs. Another leak came in however suggesting that the Durango on its own might actually be backwards compatible.

Anyway, if any of this is true, it might be a smart move for Microsoft. They're probably trying to compete against the Apple TV or any iOS TV device that Apple might one day release. In my opinion, the day Apple does release a living room device with the full range of iOS, it will be a threat to consoles. At the very least it will threaten to take the casual audience away from consoles. I wouoldn't be surprised if Microsoft were trying to head this off. A $99 or $149 (according to the rumor) mini Xbox 360 with apps and an existing library of games would be their way of fighting it or even beating Apple to the punch.

On the BC add-on front, I also think it's a fairly smart way of offloading the choice of the cost of BC to the customer. If the architecture of the Durango really is completely different from that of the 360, then putting in BC would probably inflate the cost of the system. Some customers care about BC, some don't, so it might be a smart move to let those customers who do care about BC to go ahead and pay extra for the mini 360 and an add-on.

As for why you wouldn't just keep your 360 in addition to getting the Durango, I imagine the add-on solution would save you an HDMI port and a power source. I already have eight freaking consoles hooked up to my TV. I'm just about out of room for any more.

Jeff I think you kind of fell down that Internet mass mentality hole. Saying diablo 3 and sim city are exhibit A for why not to be always on. These aren't bad games, they're good games they had bad launches. Big difference play them now and the complaints everyone (most who probably never played them in the first place) says they have about the games. Well they don't exist, and the games are uniquely interactive with friends. They're both exhibit A for why always on is a good thing as well as why its bad early on.

I would recommend for any and all new Monster Hunter players to actually avoid any weapon out of the gate that has a shield. One of the most key things about the game is dodging and having a shield to fall back on at the beginning will severely alter how the game plays for nearly every other weapon.

Also the way the offline begins it makes it accessible for any weapon, the nuance and politeness of certain weapons online obviously comes in later.

Jeff and Garnett,

(Let me preface this by saying this rant is not directed at either of you, but rather the points you brought up in your Next Box discussion, it's not meant to be personal, but I need to let out this rant before my head explodes).

"Always on" consoles are already here, at least IN SPIRIT. PS Plus subscribers can wake up their PS3s via remote play as well as download patches and system updates automatically without even being present. Xbox 360s can download content in the background even when turned off. IN SPIRIT, I'm an "always on" gamer. I have two Xbox 360s, one PS3, a PS Vita, a Sony Xperia Smartphone, a Sony Google Box, a Sony S Tablet, a Sony Bravia Internet TV and a Sony VAIO computer. I have a high speed internet connection with near unlimited bandwith and these devices are always connected to the internet or my cellular data plan whenever possible. My experiences with all of these devices would be severely diminished, in some cases, fruitless, if they couldn't be connected to the internet. But I would be an ABSOLUTE IDIOT to buy any product or game that would not work if it wasn't connected to the internet.

Seriously! Would you buy a smartphone that wouldn't let you use the calculator or allow you to watch a movie you have stored on the device because you don't have a signal (e.g. you're on a subway)? Would you buy a TV that turned always itself off if the cable box connected to it stopped feeding it a video signal? Of course you wouldn't. BECAUSE THEN YOU'D BE AN IDIOT.

This is not about trusting corporations, guys. It's not even about DRM (I am fine with DRM if it is fair and reasonable, such as the 2-console, 1-mobile DRM that Sony uses for the PS3 and PS Vita...far more fair than that of Microsoft which forces players to buy the same content twice to be able to use them on two consoles in the same house without having to be connected to the internet). It is about practicality. A gaming console that interrupts your game or stops working after losing an internet connection for 3 minutes would be the most ridiculous, unpopular product ever released by a game console manufacturer in history, and that's why Microsoft isn't going to include such a feature (even though its RUMORED that they will and they totally could if they wanted to). If they do, the console will FAIL. Plain and simple. There is no benefit to the consumer to own such a product, Jeff, and even the consumer will realize that the first time their internet goes down for an hour and the product they paid hard earned money for temporarily becomes an expensive doorstop.

Perhaps Microsoft is allowing these rumors to persist because the Next Xbox will absolutely be heavily internet reliant for the majority of its features (just like the current Xbox is, or likely even more so) and they want to manage our expectations of that now. But a console that won't work at all without an internet connection? It's crazy talk. It's crazy talk now, it's crazy talk five years from now, it will even be crazy talk TEN YEARS FROM NOW. Until we live in a world where everyone has a constant, reliant, never-ceasing connection to the internet, and the companies that sell us these boxes can supply us with services that are just as constant and infallible, consoles that REQUIRE online to function will NEVER FLY.

To reiterate, It's not about DRM. It's not about trusting corporations. It's about common sense.

Jeff brought up Snakes on the Plane and suggested it tanked. The movie was going to be a direct to dvd movie, and would up making up 66 Million Worldwide for a movie that would have been lucky to make back its money.

I do think it does indirectly support make his point. If you separate the hype from how something performs you might find you have more "hits".

I think Jeff is confused about how subsidized products work in the real world. You don't pay LESS over time, you pay MORE over time. Saying "I'm going to pay for the service anyway, so I might as well..." is.. I don't know, irrelevant? You're going to pay MORE for it. Total Cost of Ownership (MS loves this term); The deal is, you pay LESS upfront and MORE in total.

This is especially true if you calculate what they're counting on making, which will include all sorts of fees (sent-you-a-bill fee, late fees, ...). They will also allow themselves to sell your information and so on. It all adds up.

And no, there is no magic "benefit to consumers of always-online req." that Microsoft are waiting to spring upon the world. Sorry, magic isn't real. Everything you can do when being online (by choice) you can do when being online (forced). There are only downsides to being forced. You don't have to try and write out the logic expression to figure that out.

Now allow myself to contradict what I just said. If this always-on DRM led to lower prices on new games, then that could be seen as a win for the consumer. However, that too is FANTASY.

Third, the question isn't ONLY whether I trust MY connection to the internet. I don't necessarily trust THEIR service.

I like to think that I'm pragmatic about this. I assign value to games and the machines I play them on. Things like second hand value, oppressive DRM, reproduction cost, quality, zeitgeist, etc, etc. goes into calculating this value. Then I buy the product when its actual price goes below my assigned value.

If they think I'm buying.... sorry... **paying full price for a non-transferable license** to be able to download -- a limited number of times -- a digital-only version of a game that I get to play only as long as their service allows it, then they're deluded.

Companies love to try and exploit us using 'Value-based pricing'. Let's judo that shit.

So on the "cross play/transfaring" talk about the Vita, and Andrea's assertion that it seems like a better platform for cross play than the WiiU pad---the flaw in the Vita being a "cross play" device is that it can't play games as well as the WiiU's pad.

See this: http://www.shacknews.com/article/78648/xperia-phones-now-support-dualshock-controllers
And as I pointed out a couple weeks ago see this: http://cdni.wired.co.uk/620x413/g_j/gamepad.jpg

So we have console controllers on a collision course with mobile devices, but at the same time Sony is trying to make the Vita's tiny controls play with home console games. I think I've been saying this since before the Vita launched, but its terminal problem is its form factor.

If Sony standardized a Vita spec, and sold that through smartphones and touchscreen devices, then made a Dualshock to house that spec and form factor, then they would have a marketable product. They could even put the game card reader, and maybe some of the hardware in the controller.

Then they would have the most robust handheld, the best cross play solution, the Playstation Phone, and the mobile device with probably the best battery life ever, all in one foul swoop.

I think a lot of people have a perception that only people in the middle of no where dont have broadband. Like when you guys were jokingly talking about the Dakotas, and that's not the case. I live in Virginia and have given up on having proper broadband.

My area does have 4g (80$ for 10gb a month with a 10$ a gig overage), which Verizon considers good enough. I guess my point is, when polls of broadband coverage are done, I technically would be considered "covered". Our countries broadband coverage is not good enough for always online, but i'm worried Microsoft looking at the data may think it is.

Are people still spouting false generalizations about Apple products? How quaint.

Gawd! I remember Denis Dyack's sermon on 1UP Yours. Gonna go have a listen now. Anyone else here listen to that episode back in the day? I was in America at the time. That feels like ancient history now.

I had seen somewhere a while ago that someone had been talking about Xbox doing a subscription based option the same way cell phones are done. I know nothing about actual pricing but lets say there would be a standard model for the regular price, say $500 and the subscription model for less, call it $200-$250 or whatever. The standard model would connect to Live through the standard yearly $60. The subscription model would be a monthly charge. Call it $10-$15 a month. This would give people the option to get the newest console right away for a more reasonable price. The fees they would be paying monthly for the service would more than make up the discount given on the cheaper model. I could see the subscription model having to have always on, like was mentioned in the cast, just so you couldn't get a console, cancel the service then keep using the machine. I wouldn't be surprised if the standard model wasn't an always on model. There would be no reason to have always on if you owned the machine outright. It would be stupid of Microsoft to do something that would alienate so many people.

Always On is fine by me since we are mostly always on.
Australians are getting Fibre to 90% of the houses then Wireless or Satellite for another 6%.

assuming future consoles require internet connections to play single player games, I just might see if onlive is still around in the future and get an account.

Mnor point about the iPad 'gyroscope' requirement:

The only reason Apps say silly things like that is because Apple makes it impossible to have your game require a certain speed processor. So what every developer does is choose a weird hardware feature that only comes on certain speed processors and up, and say their game requires that.