s0mmie

@mrmobius "If you want a good gaming show, get Yahtzee Croshaw to host a 30 minute slot on a mainstream tv channel."

You'd think so, wouldn't you? Doesn't work though. Did you ever catch the Game Damage pilot? The less said about it, the better.

When it comes to gaming television in the UK, there is only one show that stands out and that's Videogaiden. It was only aired on BBC Scotland, and in the latest, most obscure timeslot the BBC had available.

It was based on an internet show called Consolevania.

Seriously, Consolevania and Videogaiden are the best examples of videogame television yet made. No bullshit, not trying to be edgy or cool, just two genuine, passionate gamers, thoughtful reviews and great comedy skits.

Here is the Videogaiden take on the debate surrounding video game violence:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnqLyYeyOCs

If you are making games television and you aren't using Videogaiden as a benchmark, then you're a fool.

@motopsycho I enjoyed this game a bit more than Bioshock 1, personally. Sure, the storyline wasn't quite as good, but the gameplay had been tightened and improved in so many ways. Hacking, for instance, was a chore in the first game but a joy in the second.

Never bothered much with the multiplayer. I don't really enjoy competitive multiplayer online, much prefer co-op.

I don't get the problem with games disc-spanning. If you have to change disc once every six hours of play, who cares?

With episodic content, I suppose it could be more frustrating, but in general, it's an issue that is blown out of all proportion.

@TreyIM2 Are you joking? I honestly can't tell.

It doesn't matter how much video games cost to develop, you're either missing the point or trying to deploy a red herring. Either way, it doesn't affect the validity of my argument.

The cost of development is irrelevant. The retail prices are what matter, and the cost of a pre-owned item, be it a car, book or game, is relative to it's cost new, depending on age, availability and condition. In that sense it is quite reasonable to compared a pre-owned book to a pre-owned game.

@serge808 Exactly. Restricting certain functionality to the first owner only reduces the overall value of the product. It is worth less to the original owner, because some of the features will be effectively disabled upon resale, and it's worth less to any potential buyers because they'd have to spend extra money to re-enable said features.

Seems the only party this benefits is the publisher.

@TheUndyingWanderer If he is, it's pretty cheap heat.

@Maxx the Slasher "Do they really expect to make $60 every time someone buys the same copy of a game?"

A cynic might argue that is one of the main reasons behind digital distribution, that it has nothing to do with convenience or value for the consumer, and everything to do with control over pricing and the prevention of resale.

Who knows?

@TreyIM2 You seem to be of the opinion that the video game industry is in dire straits or something. It isn't. 2009 was a tough year, sure, it was for everyone, but the industry is not on the verge of collapse.

Why do you think second hand video game sales will affect the games industry any more than second hand book sales affect the publishing industry?

Last year in the UK, pre-owned book sales massively increased.
(source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/4208828/Second-hand-book-sales-up.html)

As a result, new book sales took a hit. Even with that hit, publishers in the UK still sold an estimated 763 million books, valued at £3,053m. The overall value of the industry remained level, however.
(source: http://www.publishers.org.uk/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=177&Itemid=)

So, the second-hand market thrived, had a direct impact on new sales, yet the value of the industry remained level.

Why should the video game industry be any different?

@TreyIM2 It has nothing to do with the economy. Publishers just want to make more profit. The second hand market didn't destroy the book, furniture, housing, music or movie industry. It will not destroy the game industry.

The second hand market does nothing but help the industry. When I was a kid, I couldn't afford new games. I had two choices, buying them second hand or buying pirate games. I bought games second hand. Are publishers really trying to say that's "cheating"?

Bullshit.

The pre-owned market is an important part of the industry and trying to cut it out of the loop is myopic at best.

@Copland People have pirated games for decades. It isn't killing the games industry. Devs are not losing their jobs because kids are torrenting rips of their games.

I'm not saying piracy is acceptable, I'm saying piracy is here. It's always been here. It will always be here. People who are going to pirate will do so regardless of whether Joystiq publish articles on it or not.

This device is a very interesting one with real world, legitimate, uses.

Let the people who want to use it for piracy get on with it. Let's not punish legitimate consumers for the actions of a minority.