It’s not easy to be a video game company today. It seems like a studio is closing its doors every week; doesn’t matter if you’re big or small, no one is safe. With the budgets that are needed to create top-tier games growing every year, it becomes an even greater risk when these games don’t sell as well as hoped. Look no further than THQ, who is reeling from a lackluster holiday performance (personally, I loved Saints Row The Third, but I guess not enough people did). So if a game company is going to have to survive, they might have to make choices about what features they choose to support. Considering the development time and cost needed to create a unified single player and multiplayer experience, I would not be at all surprised to see games that traditionally featured robust options in both now start to favor one over the other. The question is:

If the developers of a game you were looking forward to buying had to cut features, would you rather have a more robust single player experience, or more multiplayer options?

(You may need to refresh the page to see the poll)

Keep in mind that I’m asking you what you prefer, not what is more likely to happen. My knee-jerk reaction to this would be to say multiplayer; I would like to think that I am always online playing with my friends in whatever game we all have. But in reality, I have been heavily reliant on quality single player games as of late.  The last real multiplayer game I’ve played was Black Ops (not counting Rock Band, which I do with co-workers monthly, and a dabbling of Assassin’s Creed Revelations, which none of my friends had anyway). So in considering what my playing habits actually are, I think I’d like to see more single-player variety if a company had to make a choice. Besides, with the way things are going with online codes being needed for multiplayer access, having a quality single-player experience ensures I’m getting my money’s worth no matter how I purchase my game.

What do you think? Vote above, and drop some comments below!

View previous ASQ: Difficulty Settings - View next ASQ: Sequel Before Prequel

A Simple Question (ASQ) is a weekly segment for Platform Nation.  Give a response and let the world know what you think; there is no right or wrong answer here. If you have a suggestion for a question, hit me up on twitter @vttym.

Unfortunately I’m not a huge fan of Nickelback like most people, so I don’t know half of these songs. I do think “How You Remind Me” and “Someday” are… bearable though. Also, three Red Hot Chilli Peppers tracks are getting updated to add Pro Guitar/Bass so at least something good is coming from this weeks update. Check out the list below:

Available on Xbox 360, Wii™ and PlayStation®3 system (November 22st, 2011):
• Nickelback – “How You Remind Me”
• Nickelback – “Someday”
• Nickelback – “Animals”
• Nickelback – “If Today Was Your Last Day” (w/ Keys)
• Nickelback – “This Means War” (w/ Keys)

The following Pro Upgrades will also be available:
• Red Hot Chili Peppers – “Under the Bridge” (Pro G/B)
• Red Hot Chili Peppers – “By the Way” (Pro G/B)
• Red Hot Chili Peppers – “The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie” (Pro G/B)

Enjoy!

Call it what you want, Players Edition, Collector’s Edition, Hardened Edition: some big profile games get the special treatment, with special packaging, bonus materials, and a higher price tag.  You can check this list to see if your favorite game was a collector’s edition at one point. With some upcoming AAA titles featuring some rather robust Special Edition bundles, including Modern Warfare 3 and Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, it got me thinking about why people buy these special editions.

What feature most appeals to you when purchasing a game’s Collector’s Edition?

(You may need to refresh the page to see the poll)

There’s a lot of options to choose from, so pick the one that typically most influences your decision to purchase these types of games (and yes, I know that influence can vary based on the game).  Me personally, I honestly can’t remember the last time I picked up a Collector’s Edition version of a game; I certainly have not done so with any current generation consoles.  I don’t really count Rock Band, since you need the instruments to play, but if I had to give a driving reason behind purchasing a collector’s edition, it would probably be for bonus major physical items.  It would take something major to upsell me to spend sometimes more than double the original cost of a game.  But that’s just me.

What do you think? Vote above, and comment below!

View previous ASQ: Gears of War Exclusivity (With Recap) — View next ASQ: Gear Of War 3 Week 1 Sales

A Simple Question (ASQ) is a weekly segment for Platform Nation. Each week on Monday, I’ll ask a question on Twitter at #PNASQ. Give a response and let the world know what you think; there is no right or wrong answer here. If you have a suggestion for a question, hit me up on twitter @vttym.

On September 23rd 2011 Harmonix announced a new 4 pack from fan favourites Slipknot will be released in the Rock Band 3 music store for DLC from September 27th. Players will find these on the 360, PS3 and Wii.

These tracks are in celebration of the 10 year anniversary reissue of the band’s modern classic IOWA album which will come on a 2 cd / DVD format.

As all Rock Band players will know, the game has a huge and arguably the best selection of songs, albums and artists of any other rhythm-em-up game. In fact, it now boasts over 900 artists and more than 3000 tracks available via disc and DLC. Find the complete list at www.rockband.com/songs

The new tracks, which come bundled in the “Celebrating Nirvana Pack“, are sure to please said band’s enthusiasts:

• Heart-Shaped Box
• All Apologies
• Rape Me
• You Know You’re Right

Nirvana has traditionally been a fun band to play on the Rock Band iterations; albeit somewhat easy to perform, their songs remain alternative rock classics.

The tracks will be available on all current generation platforms on September 20th, at a price of $6.99, 560MSP and 700 Wii Points for the whole pack, and $1.99, 160MSP and 200 Wii Points for any single song. It’s worth mentioning Heart-Shaped Box can be upgraded for Pro Guitar and Bass for an additional dollar.

The Pro instrument tracks can only be played on Rock Band 3 with compatible controllers.

Source: IGN

Available on Xbox 360, Wii and PlayStation 3 systems (September 6th, 2011):

• Cheap Trick – “I Want You to Want Me (Live)”
• Cheap Trick – “Surrender (Live)” X
• Cheap Trick – “Dream Police”
• EMF –“Unbelievable (Re-Record)”

(These tracks will be available in Europe on PlayStation 3 system September 7th)

The Cheap Trick tracks will be available as “Cheap Trick Pack 01” and all tracks will be available for purchase individually on Xbox 360, PlayStation®3 system and Wii. Tracks marked with “X” will include Pro Guitar and Pro Bass expansions for $0.99 per song.

Price:
$5.49, £2.49 UK, €3.99 EU (440 Microsoft Points, 550 Wii Points™) for “Cheap Trick Pack 01”
$1.99 USD, £.99 UK, €1.49 EU (160 Microsoft Points) per song
$2.00USD (200 Wii Points™) per song
$0.99 USD (100 Wii Points/80 Microsoft Points), £0.59 UK, €0.79 EU per song for eligible Pro Guitar/Pro Bass upgrade

This weeks offering of Rock Band tracks are sure to please a wide range of people as this time we don’t have any specific albums, we just have a wide range of songs from Beastie Boys, Heart, James Brown and Rufus.

Hopefully Harmonix aren’t scraping the bottom of the barrel quite yet in the constant quest to release every song ever as DLC. Check out the songs that are coming to Rock Band this week below.

Individual songs

• “Make Some Noise” – Beastie Boys (160 MSP / 200 WP / $1.99)
• “No Sleep till Brooklyn” – Beastie Boys (160 MSP / 200 WP / $1.99)
• “Barracuda” – Heart (160 MSP / 200 WP / $1.99)*
• “Super Bad, Pts. 1 & 2″ – James Brown (160 MSP / 200 WP / $1.99)*
• “Tell Me Something Good” – Rufus (ft. Chaka Khan) (160 MSP / 200 WP / $1.99)

*Pro Guitar/Bass expansion available (80 MSP / 100 WP / $0.99)
Source: Joystiq

So I placed my pre-order for Elder Scrolls: Skyrim this weekend, using up the last of some Best Buy giftcards I had lying around.  I would have done it sooner, but I kept waiting to see if the Bethesda would be offering Pre-Order bonuses for certain retailers, as has been the case with many other large game releases over the last couple of years.  Settling in for my cloth map, which I will happily take, I know I would have probably pre-ordered Skyrim even without getting anything in addition.  However, for the most part I am waiting longer to buy games, often 6 months or more, simply because I know the price will drop on many titles (I wish I had applied this logic to Rock Band 3 which, while I love, I was sad to see drop to $20 so soon after release – I paid full price the day it released).  It made me wonder:

Have bonuses that come with some pre-orders (DLC, cloth maps) ever been the main reason you pre-order instead of waiting for the release date?  

(You may need to refresh the page to see the poll)

Keep in mind that I’m looking for whether your pre-order was PRIMARILY because of bonus offers.  It wasn’t securing your copy for release, or trying to avoid lines; it was for the bonuses.  Would you really have pre-ordered LA Noire if it wasn’t for the DLC offered? Free songs for Rock band 3 make you pull the trigger sooner?  I’d be curious to know what you’re best (and worst) pre-order decision was.  I know Rock Band 3 would be my worst (3 songs that were later released as DLC wasn’t worth the $40 I ended up overpaying).  My best pre-order bonus might be Red Faction: Armageddon for Onlive, in which I picked up Red Faction: Guerrilla and an Onlive Microconsole for free with the pre-order.

No responses this week on Twitter – I suppose this one needed a little more explanation than 140 characters offered.

Keep an eye out in #PNASQ on Monday when I’ll pose next week’s question. Want to sound off? Vote above, and comment below!

A Simple Question (ASQ) is a weekly segment for Platform Nation. Each week on Monday, I’ll ask a question on Twitter at #PNASQ. Give a response and let the world know what you think; there is no right or wrong answer here. If you have a suggestion for a question, hit me up on twitter @vttym.

Rock Band fan’s rejoice, new music will be available for download July 12^th from artists: P.O.D., Frankie Goes to Hollywood and Erasure on the Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii’s online market place. As with all tracks in Rock Band 3, new songs will feature five-button guitar and bass parts, drums, Pro Drums, keys, Pro Keys and harmonies, where applicable. Some songs also feature Pro Guitar and Pro Bass upgrades for an additional $0.99. So finally, you can sing “WE ARE, WE ARE!” like a drunken fool, in tune with P.O.D.’s ‘Youth of the Nation’, as your friends rock out on their plastic controllers just behind you (and on lookers try their best not to laugh at a volume you are able to hear). Just what you always wanted!

Other songs include “A Little Respect” by Erasure, which might not have been the best choice considering the target audience, but I could be wrong. Perhaps there are more 80′s music lovers in the Rock Band fan base than I was aware of. But then again, I wouldn’t consider Rock Band to be one of my key interests in the first place. But for those of you who can’t seem to get enough of Rock Band, take a look bellow for a list of what you can expect to see this upcoming Friday.

Available on Xbox 360, Wii and PlayStation®3 system (July 12):

• Erasure – “A Little Respect”
• Frankie Goes to Hollywood – “Relax (Come Fighting)”
• P.O.D. – “Boom” ^X
• P.O.D. – “Youth of the Nation”

Price:

• $1.99 USD, £.99 UK, €1.49 EU (160 Microsoft Points) per song
• $2.00 USD (200 Wii Points™) per song
• $0.99 USD (100 Wii Points/80 Microsoft Points), £0.59 UK, €0.79 EU per song for eligible Pro Guitar/Pro Bass upgrade

I like the folks at Harmonix.  I follow many of them on Twitter, I enjoy what they say (working with them must be a treat), and get introduced to wonderful new things through them.  Most importantly, of course, I love the games they produce, particularly Rock Band.  That they continue to pump out DLC week after week is a testament to their commitment and love of the game, and I look forward to the announcements each Friday of what’s coming next. Running a weekly Rock Band event after work, I try my best to stay on top of all of the DLC to keep things fresh and interesting, but it’s difficult to do so from a monetary standpoint sometimes.  Then I started to think how intimidating the number of downloads must be to a person completely new to Rock Band.  It made me wonder:

If Harmonix did a subscription fee that granted access to all DLC (songs), would you pay?

(You may need to refresh the page to see the poll)

The subscription plan I am envisioning would be a flat monthly fee that would grant access to all Harmonix songs (Dance Central / Rock Band).  Perhaps there are different plans for different games.  I think this would get a lot of people paying for DLC via monthly fee at first, and then forcing them to purchase ones they really like to keep forever.  Or, go the route the Zune does, and allow players to download-to-keep a couple of songs a month, to make the fee easier to swallow (and perhaps even justify).  Allowing you to listen to the music through your computer (ad-free) wouldn’t hurt as well.  That’s just my vision; for the sake of the question, would you be willing to pay a fee to get access to all the songs?  In the comments below, feel free to elaborate with what kind of plan you think might work and, more importantly, how much you’d pay for such a service.  Based on what I described above, I’d be willing to pay up to $30 a month (if it included free songs to keep each month – $25 or $20 if not).

Some commentary this week from the Twitter-verse.  Let’s see what was said:

@pseudopseudo: No, only because I don’t play those games enough to justify paying for a subscription. It’s not a bad idea. I would think something like bonus content and subscription-exclusive songs might sway some people.

@IncreaseBlue: Heck yeah. Those DLC packs can get expensive after awhile, I’d throw down 20 bucks or something if I got all-access

Thanks to those that responded this week. Keep an eye out in #PNASQ on Monday when I’ll pose next week’s question. Want to sound off? Vote above, and comment below!

A Simple Question (ASQ) is a weekly segment for Platform Nation. Each week on Monday, I’ll ask a question on Twitter at #PNASQ. Give a response and let the world know what you think; there is no right or wrong answer here. If you have a suggestion for a question, hit me up on twitter @vttym.