Violence and video games is a topic almost as old as time itself, and we’re all getting tired of hearing people discuss whether or not violent video games are a stimulant for violence & aggression. While the entire gaming community will probably answer that query with a resounding, unanimous “NO”, many analysts and therapists alike disagree. The comedic, critical duo of Penn & Teller recently tackled this topic in the latest episode of Showtime’s Penn & Teller: Bullshit!, and the outcomes of the so-called “investigation” might surprise you.

The first part of the episode is embedded above, courtesy of Kotaku, and the second & third parts are embedded after the jump. Everyone’s favorite Floridian makes an appearance in the episode, but unfortunately, they made him out to some sort of game-hating misanthrope, rather than the forthright, but misguided man he seemed to be when I heard him speak at SGC last week. While I enjoyed the episode, and thought they made a lot of good points, I could’ve done without the crying kid at the end. Luckily, no one at his age probably watches or even gets Showtime, or the kid would be teased for life.
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A few days ago I published an article talking about the impact of used game sales and rentals on developers. The piece revolved around comments made by Frontier Developments’ founder, David Braben and his idea to create two price points/versions of a game — a model he compares to the film industry.

I really disagreed with the idea as well as the notion that the used game market is the root of the problem. Instead, I discussed an alternative solution which involved DLC content or “additional incentive” to buy a game new. That said, never in a million years did I think devs would be willing to consider making a vital part of a game — such as a final boss fight — accessible only via DLC.

Well, if you believe the comment made by Epic Games president, Dr Michael Capps, it seems that this concept has its share of supporters: Read more…

Look, I’ve been reading a heap of articles lately citing both the Eurogamer and GI.biz sit down with Frontier Developments’ founder, David Braben, and I simply couldn’t take it anymore.

For those of you that missed the hoopla, Braben’s gripe is that the used game market will eventually kill the single player aspect of games and force all developers to focus instead on multiplayer due to its high replay factor. While I agree that multiplayer does offer a much higher replay value, I certainly don’t agree with his proposed fix.

My argument is that for every game there are two versions. One is personal, not for resale and it’s made abundantly clear you can’t sell it. And it’s made available for something like GBP 25 [$40]. And a resale and rental copy, which in film is actually about GBP 80 [$130].

Huh? That has got to be the most ass backwards solution I’ve ever heard of. I understand the need for a developer to generate higher revenue, but handcuffing a consumer to their product is not the answer. Read more…