Gamer's Outpost Press (archived)

by Maya Mayfield

We are counting down the days towards the official launch of Destiny and unless you have been living in a cave with your eyes and ears closed, you may be wandering what all this Destiny hype is all about. So before the big launch, here is everything you need to know about Destiny to get you ready for battle.

Our Future Foretold in The Stars

Destiny is a first view shooter developed by Bungie, makers of the Halo series. The game is set to launch this coming Tuesday September 9th 2014. The history of Destiny starts seven hundred years into the future, on Earth’s last surviving city, housing the few remains of our golden era.

A gigantic, mysterious alien known as the Traveler looms above our planet, its origins are unknown, but what we have learned is the Traveler has been our protector since the invasion began. Its mysterious power and knowledge has helped us fight against a ruthless intergalactic force bent on eradicating our race.

Guardians are the last form of defense against these alien aggressors. Tasked with defending the few remaining humans left on Earth, Guardians must seek to find the mysterious power source of these cruel monsters and save the entire galaxy in the process.

Destiny is the first game in its kind to feature a shared world action adventure, shooter experience. The game puts you both in the seat of story narrator and main character. As one of three Guardian classes, (Hunter, Titan and Warlock) you will travel the galaxy battling to stop our extinction.

What makes Destiny such a unique and thrilling experience is that you don’t have to save the entire galaxy alone. Just like the recent Guardians of the Galaxy Movie by Marvel, working as a team with friends or other Guardians that appear in your games timeline is the true recipe for success – and although you can of course go it alone, Chuck Norris style. The added fun of taking down an alien strong hold as part of a 3 man fire team would be so much more fun and rewarding.

While you explore the outer-worlds of Mars, Venus and even the moon, Destiny’s online servers will seamlessly match your skill level with others who can help you conquer the invading forces. The game will also feature exclusive public events which you can choose to either join or not. Destiny will also include loads of co-op and multiplayer modes like, Clash, Skirmish, Salvage, Rumble Iron Banner, Combined Arms and Control.

Stay tuned for a full review of Destiny on our official website and Godspeed Guardians, Earth is counting on you.

http://www.gamersoutpost.net/

by Sam Mattera

“[It’s just] a bigger iPod touch,” said Satoru Iwata, Nintendo’s CEO, in response to Apple’s unveiling of the first-generation iPad back in 2010.

Iwata wasn’t necessarily wrong, but Apple has clearly had the last laugh: The explosion of mobile gaming, led in large part by Apple’s iPad, has had a devastating effect on Nintendo’s business. Nintendo’s handheld DS and Wii living room video game consoles, released in 2004 and 2006, respectively (long before the iPad), were somewhat of a popular phenomenon, moving a combined total of over 250 million units.

But their successors, the 3DS and Wii U, have been far less successful. The Wii U, in particular, has fallen short of Nintendo’s expectations, while the 3DS is on track to sell barely a third as well as its predecessor. As of Nintendo’s last report, the two systems have combined for just over 50 million units sold.

With its hardware rejected by the market, some investors have called on Nintendo to shift its focus to established mobile platforms, bringing its legendary franchises like Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda to Apple’s iOS.

But Shigeru Miyamoto, Nintendo board member and creator of both franchises, has some harsh words for mobile gamers. In a recent interview with Edge magazine, Miyamoto derided the casual approach these platforms endear.

“Pathetic”

“In the days of the DS and Wii,” Miyamoto told Edge, “Nintendo tried its best to expand the gaming population.”

The DS, and to a much greater extent the Wii, sold well because of their appeal to consumers who had traditionally avoided video games. During the Wii’s heyday, in 2006 and 2007, the mainstream press was flooded with articles marveling at the Wii’s widespread appeal. Nintendo found willing consumers in unusual places — even nursing homes.

But times have clearly changed — many of these consumers have moved on. More adult women now play video games than teenage boys (the traditional video game market), but only because of the rise of mobile platforms — where women spend more time and money on games than men.

“Because of the spread of [smartphones and tablets], people take games for granted now,” Miyamoto quipped to Edge. “The sort of people who, for example, might want to watch a movie. They might want to go to Disneyland. Their attitude is, ‘OK, I am the customer. You are supposed to entertain me.’ It’s kind of a passive attitude they’re taking, and to me it’s kind of a pathetic thing.”

Miyamoto’s status in the video game industry is unparalleled, but his comments to Edge reek of sour grapes. Now that these casual gamers have moved on to other platforms, Miyamoto insists that Nintendo is happy to see them go.

“It’s a good thing for us, because we do not have to worry about making games something that are relevant to general people’s daily lives.”

Nintendo refuses to change its strategy

Unlike other operating systems, Apple’s iOS and OS X are only available to buyers of Apple-made products. Similarly, Nintendo has long kept its games confined to its own hardware, and if Miyamoto’s comments are any indication, that strategy does not seem likely to change anytime in the near future.

“There are always people who really want to get deeply into a game … We want to create, and they want to experience, something unprecedented all the time. For us to meet these goals, we needed dedicated hardware that is designed to cater to the needs of these avoid gamers … That’s why I believe that Nintendo … will be sticking to these dedicated game machines.”

There’s already evidence that Nintendo is beginning to embrace this new, enthusiast-focused strategy.

The Wii’s remote was notable for its relative lack of buttons — just four, compared to nearly a dozen on other controllers. But the buttons are back: Last week, Nintendo unveiled an update to its 3DS — a new version of the handheld packs two additional shoulder buttons and a second analog stick. The new 3DS also offers swappable faceplates and connectivity with its forthcoming Amiibo figurines — initiatives that should generate additional revenue from its most committed customers.

Nintendo’s stubbornness could guarantee future losses
Although Nintendo has a sizable cash hoard — about $7.5 billion as of the end of June — the company has struggled to remain profitable in recent quarters, posting a more than $200 million loss last fiscal year. While it was courting a casual audience, core gamers have largely migrated to the PlayStation and Xbox brands, leaving Nintendo with far fewer customers with which to sell its games to.

Without the support of third party publishers, and their popular franchises like Call of Duty, Madden and Grand Theft Auto, it’s difficult to imagine Nintendo succeeding in this new endeavor.

http://www.gamersoutpost.net/

by Brian Crecente

Gearbox Software studio head Randy Pitchford did “whatever the fuck he likes” when it came to the marketing and promotion of Aliens: Colonial Marines, according to documents filed this week in the class-action lawsuit claiming the game was falsely advertised at trade shows.

The Sept. 2 filing by Sega of America details the publisher’s take on why Gearbox is just as culpable in the case as Sega. The company’s attorney writes that despite Gearbox’s claims that they weren’t involved in marketing, Gearbox participated equally, sometimes overstepping bounds or keeping Sega in the dark about promotional decisions.

Aliens: Colonial Marines was released Feb. 12, 2013, to harsh criticism and low review scores. Some players and reviewers noted that the game’s visuals didn’t match what Sega and developer Gearbox showed off of the game prior to release at fan and press events.

These demos, which Gearbox co-founder Randy Pitchford called “actual gameplay,” according to the filing, were criticized after the game’s launch for featuring graphical fidelity, AI behavior and even entire levels not featured in the game. Our review of Aliens: Colonial Marines featured a gallery highlighting some of the differences between a 2012 video walkthrough of the title, and the same level in the final version of the game.

In August, Sega and the plaintiffs reached a tentative agreement for $1.25 million, much of which was to be paid out to people who had purchased the game before Feb. 13, 2013. According to court documents, Gearbox attorneys were told they could be included in the settlement if they agreed to pay an additional $750,000 into the settlement. But instead, Gearbox filed a motion to throw out the case. Gearbox argued it shouldn’t be included in the suit because it operated as a contractor, and that Sega had final say on the game and its marketing.

Gearbox Software is fighting to have the tentative agreement thrown out, saying that the settlement with Sega would leave Gearbox “holding the bag” in future lawsuits despite being a contractor, that they weren’t a part of the settlement negotiations and that it isn’t a fair deal for gamers.

In the motion filed this week, Sega notes that it was initially given “absolute discretion” with regard to marketing decisions, but that the publisher was contractually required to discuss and consult Gearbox on all marketing activities.

“The parties had to mutually agree to the ‘precise particulars of marketing assets’ delivered by Gearbox,” according to the motion. “Gearbox’s participation — Randy Pitchford’s, in particular — was a key element in the ACM marketing strategy from the beginning.”

An enclosed proposition document noted that Pitchford is a “respected development celebrity and is guaranteed to be headline material in worldwide press coverage.”

The motion goes on to say that the E3 2011 demo, which many point to as the crux of the misleading advertising, was created entirely by Gearbox.

Following the presentation, Gearbox officials told Sega officials that the demo was the bar the game should be held to, according to an internal email.

“During one of my conversations with Gearbox today I verified that the E3 Demo is indeed the bar that we should use to determine where the entire game will be,” Matt Powers, senior producer at Sega of America, wrote to a handful of other Sega employees. “That is Gearbox’s plan and what they believe in. I just wanted to double-check with them and since I did I figured I would pass that along to you.”

The filing lists eight other examples of times when Sega says Gearbox made announcements to the press and public without Sega’s approval, sometimes despite specific requests not to, according to the motion.

That includes E3 2011, when Sega officials noted that Pitchford went well beyond the bounds of a prepared questions and answers document Sega provided and “talked a LOT beyond what was in there.”

Other examples included posts to the game’s website, announcements at a community day event and releasing an unapproved screenshot. This seemed to culminate in October 2012, when a member of the Sega PR team spoke with a Gearbox official in person about what they called “leaks.”

“I spoke face to face to [Gearbox’s Steve] Gibson about their persistent panel leaking,” Matt Eyre wrote in an email to other company officials. “Effectively — it’s Randy [Pitchford] doing whatever the fuck he likes. Apparently he did it twice on [Borderlands 2] also, against, against all plans and despite the fact they asked him not to. I think our best result here is that we have no more panel sessions …”

The filing also refutes Gearbox’s earlier claims that they never received any payments tied to the sales of Aliens. According to the filing, Sega paid Gearbox millions of dollars in advance royalties in the form of milestone payments. These were payments tied to the timed completion of things like a demo.

“If and when Sega recoups the royalties advanced to Gearbox in the form of milestone payments, Gearbox will receive a percentage of the net receipts for each sale of ACM,” according to the motion.

The motion, which asks the court to ignore Gearbox’s request to block the settlement with Sega, does not address earlier claims by Gearbox that it paid millions of its own money to finish the game.

The next hearing is being held on Oct. 29.

http://www.gamersoutpost.net/

by Brian Crecente

Sega of America will pay out $1.25 million to settle a class-action suit brought against it and Gearbox Software that claimed the two companies falsely advertised Aliens: Colonial Marines by using faked demos of the game at E3 and other trade shows, under a settlement plan filed with the court today.

If approved, the settlement will clear Sega of America of any further litigation, but not Gearbox Software, which recently filed a request to have claims against it dropped.

In the motion for preliminary approval of class action settlement agreement, filed with the Northern District of California court on Monday, attorneys for plaintiff John Locke said they expect to request the court to grant approval of the suit on Sept. 17.

If approved by the court, Sega will pay $1.25 million into a settlement fund. Of that fund, $312,500 will be used to cover attorney fees for the plaintiffs, $200,000 will be used to cover the cost of adminstration, $2,500 will go to the plaintiff and the rest will be used to pay to those eligible customers who purchased the game. Payments to customers who fill out a three question claim form, purchased the game before Feb. 13, 2013 and are approved, will not exceed the amount paid for the game. The amount each customer receives back will be dependent on how many people submit claims. No money will be returned to Sega.

“In exchange for the relief described above, Sega — but not Gearbox — will receive a full release of all claims related to Aliens: Colonial Marines, including claims relating to the design, marketing, operation of, or warranties provided in connection with the game,” according to the filing. “Quite importantly, the settlement only releases claims against Sega — not Gearbox — so the litigation will continue as to that defendant with the prospect of further recovery.”

Specifically, according to the filing, the plaintiffs expect another chance to “recover” in this suit against Gearbox.

The settlement is not an admission of guilt, according to court papers. Despite agreeing to the settlement, Sega has denied and continues to deny any wrongdoing whatsoever. Company officials agreed to settle, according to the filing, because of the cost of fighting the suit and uncertainty inherent in any litigation.

Aliens: Colonial Marines was released on Feb. 12, 2013 to harsh criticism and low reviews. Some players and reviewers noted that the game’s visuals didn’t match what Sega and developer Gearbox showed off of the game prior to release at fan and press events.

The suit, filed in April 2013 by Roger Damion Perrine and John Locke on behalf of a class, claimed that Gearbox and Sega falsely advertised Aliens: Colonial Marines by showing demos at trade shows like PAX and E3 that didn’t end up being accurate representations of the final product.

These demos, which Gearbox co-founder Randy Pitchford called “actual gameplay,” according to the filing, were criticized after the game’s launch for featuring graphical fidelity, AI behavior and even entire levels not featured in the game. Our review of Aliens: Colonial Marines featured a gallery highlighting some of the differences between a 2012 video walkthrough of the title, and the same level in the final version of the game.

“Each of the ‘actual gameplay’ demonstrations purported to show consumers exactly what they would be buying: a cutting edge video game with very specific features and qualities,” the claim reads. “Unfortunately for their fans, Defendants never told anyone — consumers, industry critics, reviewers, or reporters — that their ‘actual gameplay’ demonstration advertising campaign bore little resemblance to the retail product that would eventually be sold to a large community of unwitting purchasers.”

In January, attorneys for those involved in the suit spent a day in mediation but couldn’t reach an agreement. In March, the parties reached a basic compromise, but the judge overseeing the case rejected it in June saying there were some concerns about the terms.

In July, attorneys for Gearbox filed requests to be dropped from the case and refused to take part in any further negotiations, so they are not a part of this new settlement agreement. In that filing, Gearbox attorneys said the developer was a contractor and that it sunk millions of its own money into finishing the game.

“Gearbox never belonged in this lawsuit,” according to the motion. “Gearbox is a video game software developer. It was neither the publisher nor seller of the video game at issue. For more than a year, Gearbox has quietly abided the plaintiffs’ claims so that Sega, the game’s publisher and the party responsible for the game’s marketing and sale, could assume the defense of this lawsuit. Gearbox has honored its publisher’s request in spite of plaintiffs’ highly-publicized-and highly-misplaced-claims against Gearbox. At this point, however, Gearbox is obligated to pursue its rightful departure from this case.”

A day earlier, the plaintiffs filed a motion to remove Perrine from the suit, noting that Perrine is “presently incarcerated in Pennsylvania.” The attorneys discovered his incarceration after hiring a private detective to find Perrine, according to the documents. According to Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania court records, Perrine is in jail awaiting trial on three charges including simple assault and terroristic threats with intent to terrorize another.

Under the terms of today’s proposed agreement, class members may file a claim form with their name, email address, date and location where the game was purchased and amount paid on or before Feb. 12, 2013. Further details about filing a claim will be posted on a certain websites and in print in Guns & Ammo, ESPN and Rolling Stone magazines.

Separately today, attorneys for the plaintiff filed a request with the court asking for more time to respond to Gearbox’s request to have the suit against them dropped.

We have reached out to officials with Sega, Gearbox and the plaintiff and will update this story if they respond.

http://www.gamersoutpost.net/

by Zarmena Khan

Release of Grand Theft Auto V for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC has not been delayed, Rockstar confirmed in response to recent rumors that surfaced the internet. Apparently, the source of the rumor was a video posted by VG247, with the website claiming that “there was plenty of chatter of a next-gen slip of GTA V at gamescom.”

When a PC player contacted Rockstar Support to seek clarification, the developer responded by assuring him that the rumor was not true.

I’m also looking forward to the PC release, however this release date has not changed. Please see our support article, “Grand Theft Auto V Release Date on PlayStation®4, Xbox One, and PC” for the most recent information on this topic.

Although the response was to a fan who specifically asked about the PC version, do note that its being released alongside the PS4 and Xbox One versions. As suggested by the response, the answer applies to all platforms.

A few days ago, UK retailer GAME announced a release date of November 1 for GTA V on Twitter, but later apologized for the mistake. It remains to be seen whether GAME actually got it wrong or let the date slip. But at least we can relax and keep GTA V on our Christmas wishlist.

http://www.gamersoutpost.net/

by Rashid Sayed

Ever since the release of Xbox One’s June SDK update, more and more developers have been able to run their games at 1080p. For developers who have not been able to ramp up the resolution, they were able to add more visual effects. The SDK update has bought nothing but good news for game developers so one can be hopeful that things will further improve in the next year or so.

Ever since the launch of the first wave of new games, there has been some sort of a consensus that achieving 1080p/60fps is easier on the PlayStation 4 compared to the Xbox One. After all, several games have ran better on the PlayStation 4. However, that is not the case for all the developers out there. Zen Studios who have worked on Pinball FX 2 for the Xbox One and Zen Pinball 2 for the PlayStation 4, have been able to achieve the golden standard for both of their titles.

Granted that their games are not resource intensive but its intriguing to know their opinion on the new consoles, specifically which hardware made it easier for them to achieve 1080p and 60fps.

“It was just as much work on both PS4 and Xbox One to get the desired result,” Mel Kirk, Vice President of Publishing at Zen Studios told us.

Mel did however acknowledged that there are nuances and challenges with each consoles but they were ready for it. “The tables feel fresh, have a new level of polish, and play better than ever before. There are nuances and challenges with development on each console, but this is our third console generation and we are pretty accustomed to these challenges.”

What do you think about Mel’s comments? Let us know below.

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by Damian Seeto

Respawn Entertainment released Titanfall earlier this year and it was well received by most people at the time. Now the developer will be “moving on”.

Titanfall released in March for the PC and Xbox One. The game came out a few weeks later for the Xbox 360 as well. Since its release, Respawn Entertainment released three DLC packs and supported the game for a good six months. However, things are winding down for the game as the developer will be moving on to bigger things soon.

OXM had a chance to speak with Titanfall’s Community Manager Abbie Heppe recently. She explained some cool new modes are coming to the game very soon. She also promised the game won’t be entirely abandoned, but there is a “certain point” where you need to step back and move on to “do other things”.

There had been some concern with gamers that Titanfall had already been abandoned by its own players. People have expressed on NeoGAF and other forums that they’re having a hard time finding other players online. The game’s community is okay on the Xbox 360 and Xbox One, but the PC community has been quiet so far.

With Respawn Entertainment now moving on to possibly develop Titanfall 2, it will be interesting to see how many players are left still enjoying the original game.

http://www.gamersoutpost.net

by Kyle Hanson

While Respawn may be moving on from Titanfall soon, they are still making some amazing additions and changes through their constant game updates. The latest, Update 6, adds a very interesting new game mode along with Burn Card improvements and some more stuff just for fun. Let’s take a look at everything that is changed in Titanfall Update 6.

First up is the new Featured Game Mode, Pilot Skirmish. This mode ups the maximum number of players from 12 to 16, creating an 8-on-8 match that is Pilots only. No Titans, no AI drones, just humans killing other humans. This takes away some of the more interesting and unique elements of Titanfall, but for those seeking a more familiar experience it will be a godsend. And for those of us who enjoy Titanfall’s current gameplay, it can serve as a nice diversion when we grow weary of duking it out in our Titans. Due to the special elements of Pilot Skirmish it will not be included when playing in the Variety Pack playlist, you will have to choose it specifically in order to play.

The last Featured Game Mode, Marked For Death, was such a hit that it will now be its own permanent option. This mode had you hunting down one particular player on the opposing team, while defending your own “marked” player. The first team to eliminate the other’s “marked” player scored. You can choose Marked For Death specifically via its own playlist, or wait for it to come up during Variety Pack games.

The last Featured Game Mode, Marked For Death, was such a hit that it will now be its own permanent option. This mode had you hunting down one particular player on the opposing team, while defending your own “marked” player. The first team to eliminate the other’s “marked” player scored. You can choose Marked For Death specifically via its own playlist, or wait for it to come up during Variety Pack games.

Other smaller features have been added which include new colorblind options for “protanopia, deuteranopia, and tritanopia”. Burn Cards received heavy focus giving you the ability to purchase individual Burn Cards from a limited and ever changing stock, along with a new ultra-rare Burn Card called “Roll the Dice” which lets you choose cards from your main deck during a match. You will also be able to select a Burn Card Auto Fill option which will make sure you never go into a match with an empty hand again. Finally, there is no longer a penalty for joining a game late. “If you join a match that is more than half way over and your team is not winning, a loss will not be counted on your record. If the match is a win for your team, we’ll count it as one.”

A few other changes, such as bug fixes and gameplay alterations are included as well. To see the full list click here or check out the full list below.

Improvements include:
◾FX Optimizations – Optimizing effects processing and moving more effects rendering work onto additional CPU cores is a good thing. So we did that.
◾Matchmaking – Faster searching, improved team balancing, increasing the likelihood of being in full games, and drastically lowering the chance of having lopsided (e.g. 6v3) matches.
◾The score is now shown in the center of the screen at the end of each Last Titan Standing round.
◾New HUD Icons for team Titan counts and players using Burn Cards have been added. Last Titan Standing now shows the number of Pilots left alive on each team.
◾New voiceover for Round Won and Round Lost events as well as noting whether the gap between the teams’ scores is increasing or decreasing.

Bug fixes on all platforms:
◾For the Black Market we slightly reduced the chance to get rare cards in the Standard Pack, and increased the number of rare cards in the Premium Pack from 4 to 5.
◾The Auto-Titan vortex effect should no longer orient incorrectly.
◾Fixed the shotgun, vortex fireback, and arc cannon bypassing Titan shields when used against a Pilot doing a friendly rodeo.
◾The map Export no longer contains areas where you can shoot through covered windows.
◾Grenades should now be better at predicting their movement at high frame rates.
◾Fixed a rare crash bug on Demeter in Campaign mode.

Bug fixes on Xbox One:
◾Fixed issue where a user couldn’t sign in to Titanfall if there is a second account on the system which has access to Titanfall DLC content which the first user doesn’t.
◾Fixed incorrect leave game dialog behavior when in a party.
◾Connecting a SmartGlass device to the X1 while Titanfall is running should no longer cause a crash.
◾You should no longer be able to get behind walls when rodeoing a Titan that is ejecting on Relic.
◾Titan OS no longer says that you are being attacked by an Enemy Pilot when you are inside an enemy Dome Shield.

Bug fixes on PC:
◾Fixed incorrect leave game dialog behavior when in a party.

http://www.gamersoutpost.net

by William Usher

Two of gaming’s biggest websites have decided to alter their policies about how writers and journalists are allowed to interact with developers within the gaming industry field. The change follows from a very strong outburst from the gaming community for more transparency.

A Reddit moderator in the /r/Games section was contacted and asked if a very neutral, informative piece could be published regarding what the gaming community felt was a conflict of interests being exhibited by Kotaku and Polygon. The moderator, going by the handle of Piemonkey, acquiesced after a back and forth discussion with user F1renze. Eventually, this thread was allowed to go up, causing a lot of gamers to react very strongly to the information, as it helped add some concrete evidence to a far larger and more salacious incident taking place within the industry.

Following the Reddit post, as well as lots, and lots, and lots of feedback from gamers demanding explanations from Polygon and Kotaku, both sites decided to post public messages about how they will handle disclosure between the relationships of journalists and developers from now on.

Kotaku’s editor-in-chief Stephen Totilo posted the following blog post on Kotaku, stating…

“The last week has been, if nothing else, a good warning to all of us about the pitfalls of cliquishness in the indie dev scene and among the reporters who cover it. We’ve absorbed those lessons and assure you that, moving ahead, we’ll err on the side of consistent transparency on that front, too.”

“We’ve also agreed that funding any developers through services such as Patreon introduce needless potential conflicts of interest and are therefore nixing any such contributions by our writers.”

Patreon is a service that enables users to support creators across the creative art field, from writing to music to video games to comic books and everything else in between.

Editor-in-chief Christopher Grant also made a post on Polygon, making it clear where his writers stand on the issues of supporting developers through charities, crowd-funding or other means, noting that…

“While I disagree that contributing to a game developer without holding an actual financial stake in their success is a violation of the spirit of that principle, I also think that disclosure is the best medicine in these circumstances. So starting immediately, I’ve asked everyone on staff to disclose on their staff pages any outstanding Patreon contributions and, additionally, to disclose the same on any coverage related to those contributions under that staff member’s byline. We’ll retroactively update any stories published in the duration of that support to reflect that, and I’ll note those updates here.”

Opposite of Kotaku, Polygon will not be shutting down their writers’ ability to contribute financially to those working within the gaming industry while also writing about their projects.

Gamers, at the very least, saw this as a very small step and a very small victory, given the media blackout surrounding the larger issue at hand.

In fact, the blackout includes another charity that suffered at the hands of a far more vicious scandal, The Fine Young Capitalists.

The game jam is all about helping bring more games to the industry and games made or created by female game designers. Unfortunately, major gaming media outlets refuse to report on The Fine Young Capitalists, why their were doxxed, why 4chan had to help revive the campaign (and donated $5,000 the first day the campaign started) or how The Fine Young Capitalists and 4chan came up with Vivian James, a new female protagonist for the gaming industry to celebrate. All I can do is point you to their IndieGoGo campaign here.

Inquiring minds would be keen to follow the rabbit hole on Google by searching up The Fine Young Capitalists and the ties that bind larger gaming websites from doing a full story on the incident.

http://www.gamersoutpost.net/

by Ashley King

Earlier this week we told you that Edge Magazine would have a big feature on Miyamoto in next month’s issue, discussing several of the franchises he helped create, as well as his opinions on the current game industry. It’s not surprising to see a few of these quotes leak from the magazine and one that is particularly fascinating is one in which Miyamoto says that he finds the passive attitude of casual gamers as “pathetic.” Here’s the full quote:

“[These are] the sort of people who, for example, might want to watch a movie. They might want to go to Disneyland

Their attitude is, ‘okay, I am the customer. You are supposed to entertain me.’ It’s kind of a passive attitude they’re taking, and to me it’s kind of a pathetic thing. They do not know how interesting it is if you move one step further and try to challenge yourself [with more advanced games].”

Of course, the magazine does make mention that this is the first time any Nintendo executive has stated their thoughts on the casual gamer and it could potentially hint at a shift from pleasing casual gamers to the more well-rounded gaming audience. Nintendo has always gotten flak for being perceived as casual-friendly, when really their image is more about maintaining a family-friendly vibe. Anyone who has played Donkey Kong Country Returns or Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze can tell you just how hardcore some of those levels can be.

The interview in the magazine goes further, with Miyamoto stating that smartphone gaming has taken some of the pressure off of Nintendo to create games that appeal to a mass audience:

“In the days of DS and Wii, Nintendo tried its best to expand the gaming population.”

“Fortunately, because of the spread of smart devices, people take games for granted now. It’s a good thing for us, because we do not have to worry about making games something that are relevant to general people’s daily lives.”

Does this mark a turning point for Nintendo? Will we see more games that are focused on the experience, rather than accessibility as in the past? We certainly hope so, since it could mean the return of games like Fatal Frame to the West.

http://www.gamersoutpost.net/