Wii U sales after the first month

Seems a little cumbersome, right?

As of last month, around four hundred and fifty thousand Wii U consoles were purchased in the United States, with forty thousand units sold in the United Kingdom during the opening weekend alone. In just one month, and not even a whole month mind you, the newest console by Nintendo has sold almost a quarter of what the PS Vita's cumulative sales were in October. Just two months ago.

Not only that, but the website MCVUK.com has stated that the software attach rate for the Wii U is 2:1, giving it a higher rate than the PS Vita in another area. The GfK Chart-Track, which monitors the sales of video, music, and software through retailers, states that 60% of sales in the UK are the 32GB console, 30% are the "ZombiU" bundle console, and 10% are the 8GB console. With that being said, one need only look at the reviews of the system from globally recognized sites like Kotaku, IGN and even G4 to see that reviewers and industry buffs are impressed with the system.

While it may still lack certain features that many gamers have come to expect, the hardware itself may take some getting used to and the update download times are almost mind-bogglingly slow, consumers are warming up to the new console.

The tablet-style controller, of course, is the most unique feature and one that most people are curious about working out well enough for them actually play games with. Opinions here vary from "works well," "takes a while to figure out" and "gosh, I hate this thing." Thankfully, the system allows for Wii-mote and classic controller peripherals which can be used to adapt to the style of play for the owner. Choosing to use controllers other than the Gamepad means that some of the features in games requiring a touch pad are inaccessible.

One gimmick that has many people singing the Wii U's praises has been the ability to play full console games on the tablet while another person uses the television. Stories abound on Twitter illustrating ways in which gaming couples are able to share the same space finally and game at the same time in the same room. Kids are able to play while their parents watch TV and families are no longer divided to gaming rooms and living rooms.

If the Wii U did one thing right, it was this feature. Changing the entire atmosphere of the gaming room not only changes the way gaming is viewed, but it changes gaming to a more social enterprise without having to include many other people in the experience. In the past, a social experience was a party game or multiplayer. Now a gamer can lounge on the couch with their significant other as they watch their favorite show or play their own system, Wii U still plugging away.

Now, mobile and handheld gaming systems have been able to provide this experience for years. However, the quality of game has often not been on par with console gaming experiences, contrary to the PS Vita's tagline and sales. Gamers don't want to play "on-the-go" games at home unless, it seems, it's "Pokemon" or "Final Fantasy." Other than that, if they are at home, they'd rather play a title like "Mass Effect" or "Call of Duty."

You can't go wrong with basic black, it seems.

What does this mean for Nintendo? Well, they have continued their trend of creating a system or technology that raises the bar for their competition. I expect we'll see more streamlined, complex and sophisticated versions of the Wii U gaming pad in the future. But by that time I expect Nintendo will have announced another new technology like they always do when their competition catches up to their latest innovation.

Zynga has massive lay-offs

Yep, that's right. Zynga has again laid-off in large numbers. This time, the company has released some 100 employees, or more if the tweets about the situation are correct, and gave them 2 hours to vacate the offices of their Austin studio.

Not only that, they did this during the Apple press conference that was occurring at the same time. Many think that this was done to avoid major press coverage of the issue.

Now, is it questionable to lay-off so many employees and think that no one would notice that suddenly about 100 free agents would enter the market place? Slightly. Also, it's pretty odd to do it during a press conference that most digital and gaming media would be watching carefully.

Do we know for sure that Zynga intended to keep this on the down-low so that no one would find out? No, we do not know this for sure, nor do we want to start pointing fingers at the company and call them out for "clandestine management practices."


For all anyone knows, the company could have fully intended to make a statement about it and happily answer questions. The Vault does not know if the employees were given notice ahead of time and today was the day they were given two hours to clear out.

From the look of Twitter and many other sites who are covering the event as it happens, it does seem to be a rather unexpected move by the company that no one anticipated.

Granted, the company has been doing less than stellar since they went public some months ago, the stock not being picked up as successfully as the company hoped. This might be due to the claims that the company threatened to fire its employees who still held company stock and refused to give it up since that was their method of compensation for their work.

What is certain is that the company, like many others in the game industry, are suffering large bouts of lay-offs that are putting many out of work. Obsidian Entertainment let go much of its own workforce a few months ago. THQ even did lay-offs during one of E3.

This is not an isolated incident, but the fact that so many are rapidly and angrily posting about does merit some looking into. Should more details arise, we'll try to keep you up to date.

For those taking the gaming industry seriously as a place of employment, this is a good hard look at it right now. This is not a frequent occurrence, but you have to be prepared for every eventuality.

UPDATE: Zynga Boston has "shuttered its doors."

Wii U: too much money and too many promises?

Look! Shiny...

I know it was last month when this information came out, but it bears discussion. The Wii U's launch line-up has been announced and so has the price tag.

For $300 you get the Wii U console with an 8 GB hard drive and a gamepad. The $350 Premium Bundle comes with a console, a controller, an HDMI cable, power cradles for your gamepad, a 32 GB HDD and a subscription to Nintendo Network Premium, which offers 10% discounts on downloadable software, according to G4's article.

Not only that, but the system launch date has also been revealed. November 18th, 2012 will be what I call "The Big Show." Nintendo will have to put up or shut up at this point, and to be honest, I'm not entirely sure how it's going to do.

After playing with the Wii U twice, at PAX and E3, I've decided that I rather like the system. I've enjoyed everything I've played on it, and I admit that the novelty of playing on a controller directly is appealing since I live in a home where the TV is used by multiple people.

But, the entire industry isn't enamored with the system. They might be impressed, but some are still skeptical.

Check out this quote from Adam Sessler that was strung out over several of his tweets during September following the announcements about the Wii U:

"The novelty of playing on the gamepad screen is way too overstated. This 'assurance' on the launch line-up is deadly. This is their chance to make the best case for themselves. If they were so willing to show a substance-free trailer for 'Bayonetta 2' why not do the same for Zelda? Right now their best angle with the hardcore are promises, they needed more. The pricing makes the casual market much harder. I realize they didn't price the gamepad stand-alone. But is there any reason to have a second one? To clarify: I have great affection for Nintendo. my observations come from a place of concern. $350 is a fine price for core gamers, but Nintendo isn't making a strong case."

To an extent, he's correct. The price tag is high, even for Nintendo, which flaunted it's $250 price tag years ago with the Wii. That was part of the selling point and the mass appeal of the system.

If they are going to promise good things for hardcore gamers, they are digging themselves into a hole if they don't deliver after launch. Take a look at the titles that are slotted for release:

• 007 Legends
• Aliens: Colonial Marines
• Assassin's Creed 3
• Batman: Arkham City - Armored Edition
• Ben 10: Omniverse
• Cabela's Dangerous Hunts 2013
• Call of Duty: Black Ops II
• Darksiders 2
• Disney Epic Mickey 2: Power of Two
• EA Sports FIFA Soccer 13
• Family Party: 30 Great Games
• Funky Barn
• Game & Wario
• Game Party Champions
• Jeopardy
• Jett Tailfin
• Just Dance 4
• Lego City Undercover
• Madden NFL 13
• Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth
• Mass Effect 3
• Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate
• Nano Assault Neo
• NBA 2K13
• New Super Mario Bros. U
• Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge
• Nintendo Land
• Pikmin 3
• Rabbids Land
• Rapala Pro Bass Fishing
• Rayman Legends
• Rise of the Guardians: The Video Game
• Runner 2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien
• Scribblenauts Unlimited
• Sing Party
• Skylanders Giants
• Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
• Sports Connection
• Tank! Tank! Tank!
• Tekken Tag Tournament 2
• Toki Tori 2
• Transformers Prime
• Trine 2 Director's Cut
• Warrios Orochi 3 Hyper
• Wheel of Fortune
• Wii Fit U
• WipeOut 3
• The Wonderful 101
• Your Shape Fitness Evolved
• ZombiU
• Zumba Fitness Core 

That's a lot of games. Even for Nintendo. If you remember the Wii release, there were hardly any games to choose from. It seems like they're trying to pull out all of the stops to get hype for the system, especially since Sony and Microsoft are still behind on releasing their next-gen consoles.

The speed at which Nintendo is doing this could hurt them in the end. There's nothing wrong with perfecting things so that they perform well at launch.

What do you think about the launch titles and the price tag? Is this Nintendo's way of competing against the hardcore market that Sony and Microsoft have taken from them so long ago? Or is this a literal cost-of-living adjustment for Nintendo considering the amount of new tech and work they've put into the system and games?

Well those price tags are bright enough, but are they too high?

Valve uses Steam to show players Big Picture

Valve, the creators of the "Half-Life" and "Portal" series, recently released a new view mode for their digital distribution application, Steam, called Big Picture which allows the interface to be displayed on larger screens like those normally found in living rooms.

It wasn't impossible to hook up a PC or Mac to your big-screen TV before Big Picture was introduced, but the layout of an application made for small computer screens didn't translate well to a display that was between five and ten feet away from players.

Big Picture mode changes the entire Steam interface, and does away with all the tiny details normally displayed to users in favor of highly-simplified, large buttons and a virtual keyboard.

All of these new features make gaming through Steam with a gamepad much more accessible than ever before.

Big Picture's virtual keyboard is mapped to gamepads for simple text input

Using a gamepad to play video games on a large TV in the living room. That sounds a lot like console gaming. 

Steam's Big Picture mode is a major step into the home gaming console market, and it only requires players to connect their PC to their TV with and HDMI cable. All of these things are most likely already owned by most gamers, so the initial investment for this pseudo-console is arguably $0.

Not all of the people who play games have a computer capable of running "Skyrim" or "Crysis 2" on even medium settings, but, in the long run, investing a little bit more money into a new computer than a new gaming console is a better investment because computers can be used for more than consoles.

We may be entering an era where Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo have to take on Valve in the console wars, but the features of the Playstation 3 and the next Xbox have yet to be seen.

Big Picture mode also includes a web browser that is also navigable by gamepad.

It could turn out that PCs will remain the go-to devices for more dedicated players and home consoles make the transition to all-in-one entertainment boxes geared toward families and casual players. The technical specs of the next generation of video game consoles has yet to be seen, though, so it's anybody's guess what the next few years will bring for the industry.

Your gaming past is coming back for your money

SNK Playmore has recently revealed that there will be a large sale including NEOGEO titles (up to 50% off on certain games) on the PlayStation Network. So, if you've got a hankering to relive your past years of gaming on your current-generation handhelds, you're in luck from August 28 to September 25.

NEOGEO games were the cornerstone of many people growing up in the floundering game industry of the late 90s. Video games had established themselves as a hobby and pastime for many in their basements or in arcades shut away from the world. Pizza joints and laundromats soon became high-traffic areas that proudly displayed "The King of Fighters" or "Samurai Showdown."

I remember that near my house there was a Lampost Pizza that had at least two NEOGEO machines that had all of the sports and fighting games that the company offered. There was something so simplistic and easy about the titles that they really were worth a couple of quarters, but you always wanted to play them if you had time.

C'mon, you guys recognize this game.

Soccer, or for our European readers we shall call it football, is a foreign sport to me. Every night in the pizza place though, I owned at "Super Sidekicks." Italy was never trounced by Brazil in my perfect little NEOGEO universe.

This is an interesting move by SNK Playmore. The Japanese-based company might be on to something without realizing it at this juncture of the gaming industry, or maybe they're just that smart. The current generation of games are very recycled and the industry is indeed hearing and feeling the backlash from consumers.

Bringing back past hits like "Metal Slug" and "Fatal Fury" is an easy way to capitalize on nostalgia and will certainly sell well. Whether or not people will play the games is another question altogether. I have the entire "Metal Slug Collection" on my Wii, but I can't remember the last time I played it. Though I do remember that when I did play it, it dominated the same amount of time as a session of "Skyrim."

If this sale goes well, it definitely signifies that the industry is in need of some very hardcore thinking and reworkings. Perhaps it's time to go back to basics rather than sticking with what makes money and what is easiest to fund. The money machine is starting to lose its shine, and gamers are tired of the product.

For those interested in the NEOGEO titles now available on the PlayStation Network, here is the list of games:

"ALPHA MISSION II"

"ART OF FIGHTING"

"BASEBALL STARS 2"

"BASEBALL STARS PROFESSIONAL"

"FATAL FURY"

"LEAGUE BOWLING"

"MAGICIAN LORD"

"METAL SLUG"

"METAL SLUG 2"

"SAMURAI SHODOWN"

"SHOCK TROOPERS"

"SUPER SIDEKICKS"

"THE KING OF FIGHTERS '94"

"THE KING OF FIGHTERS '95"

"THE KING OF FIGHTERS '96"

"WORLD HEROES"

NVIDIA GeForce GRID moves the console out of your home

Every company seems to be breaking in to the cloud-gaming market with a different strategy. NVIDIA is doing this by taking the console hardware out of the picture completely with its GeForce GRID technology.

GeForce GRID is essentially the idea of moving your graphics card to a server farm and sending those images back to you over a standard Internet connection. In gaming applications, you have a controller that is hooked up directly to your TV or other device that sends your input to NVIDIA’s servers where the graphics are rendered and then streamed back to you in real-time.

The advantages of doing this are that you don’t have to continually upgrade your PC to stay on the bleeding edge of gaming technology. As cloud technologies and networks continue to grow faster, your gaming experience auto-magically gets better without hitting your wallet as much as getting a new graphics card would.

GRID is competing with OnLive's existing streaming service by claiming faster response times and significantly improved graphics using their own Kepler-architecture graphics cards.

NVIDIA claims the latency when compared to a standard console is nearly matched, but in my opinion there is still work to be done.

NVIDIA demoed the technology at E3 2012, and while I was intrigued in a technological, nerdy kind of way, I was underwhelmed as a gamer. The idea of moving the graphics processing power to a server farm miles away from me and transmitting high quality images at a decent frame rate in almost-real time directly to my TV is nothing short of impressive, but as a gamer, the abysmal response time for any little input is pretty pitiful.

Hawken's graphics were impressive, but maybe not the best
demo choice because of the response time.

The demo I played was mech-themed first-person shooter "Hawken" using the Gaikai online gaming app on a Samsung Smart TV. The decent graphics on screen and the absence of a console was what caught my attention. I started to play, getting a feel for the shooting and navigation controls and one of the first things I noticed was the lag.

NVIDIA says they’ve been able to get the lag down to 10ms, a time that my friend didn’t even notice but was incredibly debilitating for me.

The whole idea reminds me of those days when I would stay at a hotel that had an N64 controller in the room. I could use the remote to browse through a bunch of titles and pay some price to play on demand without the console actually sitting right in front of me.

NVIDIA’s GRID technology itself is pretty amazing, but it’s going to take some time before the supporting technologies like network speeds are going to be able to support an experience to compete with standard consoles.

Possible teaser websites for two popular Square Enix franchises appear

A few days ago some new teasers from Square Enix went live on the web. Speculations are running wild about then, but it's pretty safe to assume we can be sure of what they are.

Could this be a tease for the finale of the "Lightning saga.

The first being a screen shot on Square Enix's Facebook wall that shows stormy clouds and the words "A Storm Gathers." This could be a possible teaser for "Final Fantasy XIII-3" seeing as we were left with a cliffhanger in "XIII-2." The font is very in tune with the kind of text you'd see in "Final Fantasy XIII."

Square Enix is also holding a conference in Tokyo Sept. 1 in regards to "Final Fantasy's" 25th anniversary and has stated that members of "FF:XIII's" development team will hold a conference about whats next in what it referred to as the Lightning saga (named after the games' protagonist). For more about this, we'll just have to wait until Sept. 1, but that's not too far away.

The other piece of teasing goodness is the new website http://www.square-enix.co.jp/subaseka/, which displays a timer with (at the time of this article post) has roughly three days until zero. Other than the timer, the only things shown are a silhouette of a city skyline line and credits given to Tetsuya Nomura and Gen Kobayashi.

This screen captures the same stylistic feel of "The World Ends With You."

The font on the timer is very similar to "The World Ends With You's" font style, and the buildings in the background are very reminiscent in the style of art used in the game's box art. Tetsuya Nomura and Gen Kobayashi were also the artists on "The World Ends With You," so that can be a huge hint.

The dead give away is when you visit the site background music starts to play.

 The music playing is very similar to the main theme of "TWEWY," "Twister." A trick that people have been talking about is that when you move the date on your computer closer to the date the song changes to a remixed version of "Twister" and "Calling," both of which were in the original "TWEWY" game. At the time of this article being posted the song is "Calling." The date scheduled for the timer to end is Monday, Aug. 27, so check back with us then to see what this turns out to be.

PS Vita sales disappoint at 2.2 million units worldwide

I can't think of a single person who was actually excited about it.

According to a recent article from Edge, the PS Vita is being outsold by its predecessor, the PSP, by almost two units to one.

This really isn't a surprise to anyone since the portable system has been abysmally received in Japan and had one of the worst releases in America compared to any other handheld. Granted, the Vita probably had more commercials than the 3DS, and is more versatile and technically impressive, but something just doesn't seem to sit right with consumers.

In my article reviewing the Vita I stated that there really isn't anything wrong with the system per say. Really, the issue becomes the purpose and need for use of it. For the price tag, $250 new (I'm sure you can go to any game store and buy a used one), it makes sense. There is a whole lot going on inside of a PS Vita. The dual touch pads, high powered graphics, game types, music capabilities, movie capabilities, camera and WiFi connectability are all equally impressive and functional.

The problem arises from need. Gamers are really having to ask themselves if they really need this device. After all, it's literally a portable PlayStation 3 system and one of the big draws is being able to continue playing games off of your PS3 onto your Vita should you have to leave the house. Obviously, there aren't enough people interested in doing that at all.

When it comes down to it, a handheld system's strengths are in the ability to entertain for a few minutes up to an hour or so, then be put down. That's how Nintendo has done it for years and continues to succeed. The games on a GameBoy or DS were always ones that were easy to pick up, but satisfied you enough after putting them down a few minutes later. "Pokemon's" entire appeal is that it has the combat and adventure feel of "Final Fantasy" with a lower level of involvement. Sure you could spend hours on the game training and whatnot, but you didn't have to in order to have fun.

I mean, it looks fun.

The games so far on the Vita (we've done at least three reviews so far) have been good games. However, the best of them were the fighting games because really, that's the best example of the Vita as a handheld. "Uncharted: Golden Abyss" was an amazing game. However, the amount of attention and invested time to play it is too great for it to be a game you play on the go. So if you're not playing it out and about, but rather at home, there's no reason to play a PS Vita on a couch when a PS3 is there with all three "Uncharted" games.

Then there are the multimedia aspects like the camera, videos and such. With all the portable technology that is at the disposal of consumers in regards to tablets and even phones, there's no need to buy another gadget that has the capabilities that previously owned tech possesses.

The fact is that the Vita came too late to the party. Much like that friend who brings a six-pack of beer when everyone's already moved on to mixed drinks and hard alcohol, Sony brought something useful and competitive to the table, but consumers have just moved on. And for the price tag, it just doesn't seem worth it to even try it out.

GameStop enters the cloud, leaves consoles in the rain

GameStop has bet big on the cloud-gaming market, but has decided to leave consoles out of their game streaming service in favor of tablets, PCs and TVs.

In 2011, GameStop acquired two companies, Spawn Labs and Impulse, and announced that they had plans to create a cloud-based gaming service similar to OnLive that would be used to “compete fiercely” with Steam. The service would allow customers to purchase a game and instantly start playing it on any of their supported devices. It would even allow them to sample games using free trials.

GameStop has demonstrated how their cloud service
might work on their website.

OnLive, an existing on-demand game-streaming service for all Internet connected devices, including consoles, has been rumored to be struggling financially. Could this leave room for GameStop in the market, or does it mean they will also struggle for success?

The service, which is slated for release next year was originally thought to have support for consoles, but GameStop says that their decision to drop support for consoles was due to customer feedback during a closed beta and their success in selling mobile devices like the Nexus 7 tablet and iPad.

Those interested should also look out for a public beta later this year.

The market for console games is still huge and GameStop's choice to omit them from their service could mark a disadvantage compared to possible competitors. Even while the tablet-gaming market is growing, the decision would limit access to games from the major players. 

GameStop has recently begun selling tablets and have stated they may even expand further into the market by creating their own tablet. I’m wondering what else GameStop has in store on their path to “becoming a technology company” instead of just being a games retailer. 

Assassin's Creed: Liberation sneaks onto the PS Vita

I am beyond excited about this because it has me all excited about my PS Vita for once. "Assassin's Creed: Liberation" is the first game to come to a Sony handheld that is a story about a character that is not the focus of a major console game. Of course, the social games and phone games weaved in and out of the stories and other characters, but "Liberation" follows Aveline de Grandpre, a French/African woman from New Orleans.

That is a serious machete...

Based on the trailer, it appears that there are several uses of the Vita's touch mechanics being featured in this game.

The "Touch to Kill" demonstration was especially interesting. I'm not sure how it's activated or how one would pause mid fight like that, but that seems like it would make the game much less difficult than having to actually fight and press buttons to react.

Of course, the fighting system was made easier when the "Instant Kill" was added in the most recent "AC" games, letting you string several killing moves together. But, this fighting system seems to eliminate that completely and provide a more cinematic experience rather than immersive gameplay. That could bode ill for the franchise since it has previously heavily relied on reactionary combat mechanics. However, if executed properly, this could be a fun feature for someone weary of pressing the small buttons on the handheld.

The "Touch to Move" system is familiar to those who played "Uncharted: Golden Abyss," and as we see in the video it is used for things like rowing a canoe.

The rear touchpad on the Vita is probably my least favorite thing attached to the system. Every time it gets activated, I'm unaware of it and all of a sudden things start going haywire as my fingers are all over it and the Vita begins to freak out with too many digits on its back like a spastic cat. You really have to work at doing stuff with the rear touchpad, but once you get it down it works fine.

Graphically, "Liberation" seems to be pretty impressive overal,l but in the trailer you can somewhat see blocky figures and less-than-detailed character models. I'll definitely be judging this harshly since I loved the way "Uncharted: Golden Abyss" looked on the Vita. However, since this game is made specifically for the handheld, I have a strong feeling they'll be up to par with the power of the system.

Blow darts. Nice.

Plot-wise I'm not too concerned about what this has to do with the overall story of "AC," but the scuttlebutt is that Aveline will indeed interact with Connor either in this game or in "ACIII" at some point. What their relationship is and how it plays out will either be really cool, or just a passing lame cameo. Hopefully, events will cross over in both games that either explain a plot point in one, or solve a plot point in another.

Ubisoft is quickly becoming a powerhouse developer since the level of work they put into their games is almost second-to-none. The success of their franchises is obvious, even though most of their games don't really translate to FPS or RTS crowds. Even their press conference was heralded as probably the best of all of E3 this year due to their lineup on the Wii U and other systems. Some big things are coming from this company, and "Assassin's Creed: Liberation" definitely appears to be one of them.

Making faces in EverQuest 2

How many of you still play "EverQuest 2?" Honestly, I was unaware that it still had a population until the Vault went to E3 and the Sony Online Entertainment booth had several stations devoted to it. It's nice to see that the child of a historic game like "EverQuest" is still around and it definitely means that the community is keeping it alive. Well done, everyone.

What was more surprising to us all was that they're still developing new technology for the game over there at SOE.

Introducing the SOEmote technology. This tech allows the player to make their in game character's facial expressions match their own. Neat huh? Take a look.

Slippy the Frog looks happy.

Maybe he's angry about that hairstyle.

I think he's a little too impressed with the SOEmote tech.

Yes, they all look a little silly and even staged. We know that it does seem as if the characters are making these faces and the people could just be mimicking them (the Frog guy is a little suspect), but honestly and truly we saw this work at E3, so this is a real thing.

Of course, this is a huge leap forward for facial recognition technology in games, but outside of MMOs there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of practical use. Social games are really where the expression of emotion shines. First we had text conversation, then voice, now you can even video chat while you play online.

This level of communication and expression is the kind of thing that multipalyer games strive to achieve. How hilarious would it be to see someone in "Call of Duty" sticking their tongue out in deep concentration as they fire off round after round at the enemy? If you used the SOEmote tech along with programs like Ventrillo or Skype, you could have the person's voice along with their character's facial movement right in front of you to even make it look like the character itself is talking to you. Of course, the in-game Voice Fonts that accompany SOEmote will even change the voice of your in-game character to make it sound like you're from the world if you don't want your everyday voice over Skype or Vent.

What we saw at E3 doesn't necessarily mean that the program will work perfectly all the time. What does? It's almost a guarantee that people's camera's will not be compatible with this tech and that some of the recognition software will have a hard time keeping up with speed of facial change. These bugs are to be expected.

There are tons of possibilities that this tech brings to the table and we are pretty impressed with SOEmote and SOE's work with it. Well done, folks. Now to wait for the criticism from the "EQ2" fans to really hear how it works all the time, and not just a showfloor model.

Star Wars: The Old Republic goes free-to-play

Well, it's official. The LucasArts massively-multiplayer online giant "Star Wars: The Old Republic" is now making its way to the consumer friendly model of free-to-play.

Is this a surprise? Yes and no. Partly because of the interview that the Vault did this past San Diego Comic Con with someone very in the loop about the company's goings on. Another reason this is such a surprise is that "SW:TOR" had one of the most successful launches of any MMO, rivaling that of "World of Warcraft."

But it's not the first game to go free-to-play within a year of launching. "DC Universe: Online" went that way around half a year and "Lord of the Rings Online" did the same at around the same time in its life span.

Maybe it's because they always make you go to Tatooine...

Strangely enough, "World of Warcraft" remains with its high subscription rate and large player population despite the general feeling of indifference from fans at the new "Mists of Pandaria" expansion coming. "WoW" has some of its game free-to-play, up to the first twenty levels actually, but the other sixty are for subscribers only.

Not to mention that "Wow" has lived longer than any other MMO - save for some of the first ones like "Everquest." Of its generation, "World of Warcraft" is the lone survivor with no major graphical overhauls and strictly gameplay and story updates only.

With Azeroth still going strong, why would the Lucas universe need to go free-to-play?

For starters, the game has dropped below one million subscribers. This could be due to several factors compounding one another. Many players have spoken out about the lack of endgame content once the max level is reached, while others declare that the game itself is just not original enough for them, copying other games user interfacess and methods of gameplay. Some say that the game just isn't "Star Wars" enough for them and it just doesn't grab their attention.

MMO gamers will always complain about the lack of endgame content. That's just a rule. Like the "Call of Duty" multiplayer aces who mope about the lack of more multipalyer content and maps or the RPG enthusiasts who gripe about the inability to play past the end of the game. It is inevitable that someone will complain about it.

The game itself has not been out for a year and already there is an outcry about not enough to do. There have only been three updates so far, all of which you can read about in our previous article, but most have dealt with gameplay issues and the need for smoother gameplay. Of course there have been missions and flashpoints added for players to enjoy at max level, but really there hasn't been enough time for there to be any endgame content released.

I bet my life that people complained about the same thing for "WoW," and they have been around for some ungodly amount of time despite it.

Honestly, if Bioware and LucasArts didn't do the patches and updates that they have done, someone would complain that the game hasn't been improved since launch. The point is, there's just no pleasing everyone when it comes to MMOs.

Originality does seem to be lacking in the game industry, but one place people can't be picky is in the MMO realm. There has been a proven and time-tested gameplay style that has endured for decades now, and for people to say that the gameplay is not original enough for them is a little absurd.

Taking the "WoW" gameplay style was smart for Bioware and LucasArts because if they had spent time investing in a unique gameplay system, they probably would have lost more subscribers just on the unfamiliarity of players alone. Using a well-known gameplay style and mechanics was their way of ensuring that the game would be accessible to current gamers in the market.

Honestly, I'm glad it's on-rails. I would have no idea how to fly this thing.

Then there were those who complained that the on-rails space combat system was too lame for them.

Again, the game had just been released and while those missions become repetitive and mind-numbing at some point, there is no reason why they can't be improved over time, and to assume they won't be is a little absurd on gamers' part this early in the game.

As for the game not being "Star Wars" enough for some people, there really is no fighting this. As a "Star Wars" fan myself, I actually enjoyed this fresh and new locale to play in that wasn't part of Galactic Civil War of the original trilogy or the Clone Wars from the prequel trilogy.

Taking on a large gap in Star Wars history, one with plenty of Jedi, Sith and regular people fighting each other, was probably the smartest thing to do for the developers. There would be people who complained they couldn't be Jedi or Sith if they didn't do a time period where this was possible. And then there would be people complaining about wanting to be something other than those two classes and they would be unhappy too. Since the prequels were released, there has been absolutely nothing that anybody at LucasArts and Lucas Film can do to make people happy with anything "Star Wars related" aside from "Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic."

I don't care if the game is good or not, I really want a holocommunicator.

While no one can turn back the tide now on the model changing, I think this is a very important example of the current market to look at and examine. Is this is a sign that gamers don't have patience anymore to wait for things to get better and progress? That they want immediate gratification for their concerns and displeasure?

Possibly.

This mindset hurts MMOs the most as their entire model is built off of the marathon idea, not the sprint. There are so many people who rush to finish a game and get on to the next one, that the idea of waiting a game out for the long haul might seem silly.

This could have to do with anything from interest in the game to the financial constraints of the player. Not everyone is able to afford a subscription to an MMO these days, and if someone was to get into a game like that, they have to be convinced it's worth the money.

Does this mean that game companies aren't giving us games with staying power that catch our interest?

That is entirely possible, but with a "Star Wars" game there is such a large fan base that it is almost guaranteed there will be a lot of people buying it. Clearly, that doesn't mean they'll stick with it.

As Bioware and LucasArts prepare for the shift to free-to-play, gamers and aspiring developerss alike should take this as a lesson and really take a good hard look at the industry, and just what exactly is causing a once-successful game model of subscription-based gaming become obsolete and unsustainable.

Star Wars 1313 lurks in the shadows

"Star Wars: 1313."  Don't bother going to the game's site right now, there's nothing there. That's just how under-wraps this game is. LucasArts, working closely with Industrial Light and Magic, is striving to bring fans the first M-rated expedition into the "Star Wars" universe.

Unfortunately the Vault was not able to get a look at this game during E3, but Adam Sessler did mention it when he met with us on the show floor. His take: "'Uncharted' and 'Star Wars' in a gritty M-Rated game? Yes, I'll take it if it's derivative, I'll take that derivation."

No one really knows anything about the game other than what we've seen as we creep through the internet, seeing an article here and picture there. If you do your homework though, you can see the trailer above compiled with some actual gameplay too. Oh, what's that? Don't want to do the work? Well that's why we're here, because we love you.

So what we see first off is the amazing graphics. It's as if they took the best of "Force Unleashed" and added the facial software from "L.A. Noire."

Well that might be exactly what they did, as reports have that LucasArts and ILM worked on using that technology to give a very realistic look to their newest project

Gameplay shows us a third-person shooting mechanic a la "Uncharted," or "Jedi Knight" if you were fond of the old school Kyle Katarn games where you could switch from first and third-person. However, the way the mechanic moves makes it look more like "Uncharted" and "Mafia 2" than anything else.

Thank heavens for a cover system too, because if this was another "Star Wars" game without a cover system a million voices would have cried out in pain and then would been suddenly silenced. I couldn't resist the Alderaan joke. I'm sorry.

The main character hiding in the shadows, just like the game he's in.

As for story, little has be revealed except the premise. You play as a bounty hunter traveling to one of the worst crime-ridden slums of the city-world Coruscant, level 1313. Other than that, we don't have much to go on, but when we do, you'll be the first to know.

LucasArts seems to be getting darker and darker as the years progress. From "Republic Commando" to "The Force Unleashed," their content has ranged from gritty warfare to wanton destruction. Even "The Old Republic," the MMO collaboration with Bioware, has some fairly intense choices that deal with torture and outright murder. Could it be that "Star Wars" might be growing up to fit it's older fan base? Does that mean we can expect gore and grit and well-scripted storylines? "1313" will hopefully deliver both and here's hoping it's not heavy-handed with either.

Despite rumor, Final Fantasy Versus XIII still in development

A couple of days ago, Kotaku had reported that the long-in-development "Final Fantasy Versus XIII" had been cancelled and that Square Enix had not made it public so it would not make their stock prices drop.

Well, all the fanboys and fangirls can breathe a sigh of relief because t turns out that the rumor is just that - a rumor.

"Theres someone making a false rumor that Versus was cancelled, Haha....Just a minute ago the regular Versus meeting had ended. If you saw the presentation of the city, it'd knock you off your feet," Yoichi Wada, president of Sqare Enix, said on Twitter.

All this was based on a rumor from an anonymous tip. It was reported that Square Enix wanted the game to die out in a whisper and just fade away.

This sent an uproar in "FF" community because a lot of people wanted this game to come out, myself included. The trailers were amazing and the gameplay shown made it seem like this game could be an instant hit whenever it came out.

"Final Fantasy Versus XIII" was first announced at E3 in 2006, but after that it was rarely heard of. We're being kept in the dark about specifics of the story, but it from what we've seen and what Wada had said, it looks to be a good one.