New Assassin's Creed For 2011
On the back of Asssasin's Creed: Brotherhood shifting over a million units after its first week on sale in Europe, Ubisoft has begun talking about the next outing in the increasingly successful series – and begun hinting where the time-hopping adventure might be heading next.
Geoffery Sardin, Ubisoft's EMEA chief of marketing and sales told MCV that next year there will be another installment in the Assassins' Creed series.
Sardin went on to hint where the series could go having already explored Renaissance Italy and The Holy Land. "If you've read the comic books you will see that we took Assassin's Creed to the USSR, or Caesar's Rome – that's a good example of what we could do in the coming years in the next video games," Sardin told MCV, "We never saw this as just a franchise – it is a 360 degree franchise, and touches a lot of other experiences. It's not just a game, but an animated story, on comics, in books, and other formats too. There's lots of scope for what we can do."
Source: ign.com
Should NBA Jam have stayed on PSN/XBLA?
It's probably the most entertaining same-couch multiplayer game this year, but should it really be a retail release?
The story surrounding NBA Jam has certainly become a messy one over the last few months. Now that the basketball classic is out on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, it's time to take a look back at all the twists and turns in the lead-up to its release, and to analyse EA's rationale for moving the game from a cut-back download to a fully fledged retail release.
It all started with a simple announcement that one of the most loved and prized sports titles in gaming history was to be remade. "NBA Jam is one of the most recognizable franchises in videogame history," said Peter Moore, President of EA Sports. "Diehard fans of the original game have been asking for a remake for more than a decade. We're very excited to give them their wish this year with the return of this iconic franchise."
It was a joyous time for Wii owners everywhere, finally having a popular title all to themselves. This enjoyment was short lived however when news broke that NBA Elite 11 would come bundled with a one-time download code for a new, high definition version of NBA Jam that would hit both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Those willing to shell out for Elite would be able to enjoy the Classic Campaign (a simple ladder-style tournament) and an Exhibition Mode. Wii users concerned about their version being overshadowed were told to rest easy with the knowledge that the Xbox 360 and PS3 version would feature a scaled back set of game modes while the Wii SKU would hold onto its additional exclusive modes. Never mind the fact that it soon came to light that while the Wii version would not have online play, the cut-back Xbox 360 and PS3 versions would.
Of course, the plot thickened further with the news that the troubled NBA Elite 11 was to be indefinitely delayed (and then later cancelled). What would be the fate of the HD NBA Jam? Surely it would become a PSN and XBLA title? Nope, the game would include all the content that was previously exclusive to Wii and ship as a retail release.
The big question that arises from this whole debacle is - why? Those well versed in business would without doubt attribute the decision to a simple strategy of maximising return on investment. Why not approve a full retail distribution for a fan favourite? It's business 101. Porting across all the additional features represents a relatively low cost for EA, especially taking into account the jump in price – and margins per unit sold – when moving to a retail release.
It's also worth noting that most publishers view the retail space as the dominant sector for their products, and rightly so, as it still has access to a much larger audience. Anyone who disagrees with this mentality need only look at Rockstar's history of downloadable content for its biggest titles. Grand Theft Auto IV's two extensive DLC offerings received strong reviews and no doubt sold well as downloadable add-ons, but ultimately were also released at retail, simply because retail reaches a much wider audience than online. It's the more engaged console owners who buy titles through the respective marketplaces, whereas putting a title on retail shelves means it gets seen by people who may not otherwise know the product exists. Rockstar has taken a similar approach with Red Dead Redemption, with Undead Nightmare now on retail shelves, complete with all the downloadable content for the game released to date.
The strategy, then, was clearly to put the new NBA Jam in a physical space where people from all demographics would see the title; where gamers who played it back in the day but may not be playing games now, would find out about it and buy it.
I have to wonder, however, is this the right strategy for NBA Jam? The margins on a retail title are certainly higher, but a retail release is a significant investment (particularly in Australia), whereas on PSN or XBLA it would represent an impulse buy. Will this game just be a moderate success on Xbox 360 and PS3, when it could have been a landmark downloadable title? The downloadable market may not be as big as retail, but it's certainly maturing rapidly. We'll never know.
There's also the question of whether EA has done a disservice to its audience. Sure, it has delivered a game with more content, but here at the IGN AU office, modes like the Remix Tour are just a sidenote – for us this game is all about four of us playing straight-up old school two-on-two basketball. We don't need anything more than that, and a low price seems like a fairer proposition for that experience than having to buy a full retail product. We'd have liked to see EA recognise that probability and give us what we want for an affordable price.
What do you think? Should NBA Jam have been made as an exclusive downloadable title for the HD consoles or are you fine with having to purchase a disc – albeit at a lower price than most big budget releases - that mirrors the Wii experience? Should it have just stayed as a Nintendo exclusive in the first place or do you think this is a game that should be available to all?
Source: ign.com
