http://www.pixelsocks.com Where games go to find out what they're worth Tue, 20 Dec 2011 05:54:53 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.1 http://www.pixelsocks.com/2011/08/17/an-open-letter-to-nintendo-re-3ds/ http://www.pixelsocks.com/2011/08/17/an-open-letter-to-nintendo-re-3ds/#comments Thu, 18 Aug 2011 03:32:35 +0000 pixelsocks http://www.pixelsocks.com/?p=5195 Angry Birds, or Infinity Blade, or Ms. Splosion Man. So you need to do two things. First you need a digital store for the 3DS that actually works. It needs to be shockingly easy to find, buy, and talk about games. That crazy user interface team that made the Wii? Find their software equivalent, and set them working on a way to make the store amazing. Don't say no when they suggest that you tie game purchases to some sort of account. Building the infrastructure will be difficult, costly, and dangerous, but you can't really get around it. I mean, unless they come up with some INSANE idea that does the job. Second, you need to choke on your hubris for a minute and start courting some smaller developers. They make small scale and relatively inexpensive projects that are perfect for digital distribution. There are a lot of small developers who share your outlook that premium game content is worth paying for, and they make projects to match. Most of the successful developers I've met make their games cheaply and fast, which is the pace you'll need to get the ball rolling. Best of all, indie developers know the digital market, which is a place where you sorely need some pointers. Most of the indies I've met make games that would be perfect for you. Both Brainpipe and Aaaaaa!! were practically made for 3D. Osmos is a perfect touch game. Whatever happened between you and Team Meat, maybe you can fix it. If it helps, I have Dejobaan on the record saying they'd love to port Aaaaaa!! to 3DS. Those are just the games from successful developers; right now somewhere there's an indie team that would sacrifice a goat for a little promotion and a platform with some name recognition. You don't need to swallow your pride with the hubris, though. Put the young hopefuls through the QA ringer until they meet your quality standards. Negotiate with the freelance pros. Do the work to make a store where it's easy to buy the best games on the market, and you'll find that the customers and eventually the big name third parties will come with it. Regardless of what you do, try to remember that you sell a console with its games. So get some games on the 3DS before it vanishes into irrelevance. There's still a holiday season before the console really strikes out, you can do this. Best, Pixelsocks.com Related posts:

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Stop Procrastinating and Buy Portal 2 Already Oh hey, did you hear they’re making a sequel to...

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Battleblock Theatre Intro The Behemoth doesn’t maintain the most breakneck release schedule, but...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> http://www.pixelsocks.com/2011/03/21/ea-sports-joins-ubisoft-with-paperless-manuals/feed/ 0 http://www.pixelsocks.com/2011/03/01/dragon-age-pushes-my-buttons/ http://www.pixelsocks.com/2011/03/01/dragon-age-pushes-my-buttons/#comments Wed, 02 Mar 2011 02:24:05 +0000 pixelsocks http://www.pixelsocks.com/?p=4839 Dragon Age. Bioware has been iterating the same basic formula for so long that they've made it a science. That's not colloquial, I mean they've worked out a principled rubric to replicate positive results. They have a transparent affection system for NPCs, skill-based dialog trees, strategic realtime combat, and a suite of other features that dispense good voice acting and even (sometimes) good writing. I like Dragon Age for all these reasons, and I have the 100-hour saved game to prove it. I just wish that I hadn't spent 40 of those hours browsing the damned menus. No related posts. Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> http://www.pixelsocks.com/2011/03/01/dragon-age-pushes-my-buttons/feed/ 0 http://www.pixelsocks.com/2011/01/03/the-best-games-of-2010-wisdom-of-crowds-edition/ http://www.pixelsocks.com/2011/01/03/the-best-games-of-2010-wisdom-of-crowds-edition/#comments Tue, 04 Jan 2011 06:27:57 +0000 pixelsocks http://www.pixelsocks.com/?p=4646 already familiar with the concept, it's that special time each year when I abuse the principles of descriptive statistics and a convenience sample of critical outlets to expose the one true game of the year. No related posts. Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> http://www.pixelsocks.com/2011/01/03/the-best-games-of-2010-wisdom-of-crowds-edition/feed/ 0 http://www.pixelsocks.com/2010/12/08/light-and-attrition-in-amnesia/ http://www.pixelsocks.com/2010/12/08/light-and-attrition-in-amnesia/#comments Wed, 08 Dec 2010 07:07:44 +0000 pixelsocks http://www.pixelsocks.com/?p=4601 Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> http://www.pixelsocks.com/2010/12/08/light-and-attrition-in-amnesia/feed/ 0 http://www.pixelsocks.com/2010/10/18/the-sacrifice-should-never-be-feedback/ http://www.pixelsocks.com/2010/10/18/the-sacrifice-should-never-be-feedback/#comments Tue, 19 Oct 2010 06:26:11 +0000 pixelsocks http://www.pixelsocks.com/?p=4431 The Sacrifice before running through it with my regular Left 4 Dead group (sorry guys). When a zombie apocalypse FPS promises to roll credits after you go out in a blaze of glory, it's worth some investigation. Games have been inching away from death as a punishment and toward death as a mechanic, and their progress and mistakes are fascinating. No related posts. Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> http://www.pixelsocks.com/2010/10/18/the-sacrifice-should-never-be-feedback/feed/ 3 http://www.pixelsocks.com/2010/10/11/torchlight-2-impressions/ http://www.pixelsocks.com/2010/10/11/torchlight-2-impressions/#comments Tue, 12 Oct 2010 06:34:32 +0000 pixelsocks http://www.pixelsocks.com/?p=4415 Torchlight 2 has plenty to offer for an early alpha, but most of the changes focus on strengths from the first game. No related posts. Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> http://www.pixelsocks.com/2010/10/11/torchlight-2-impressions/feed/ 0