December 3rd, 2009 by The Grey Ghost
I was doing some online window shopping with a craving for FLCL. I enjoyed watching the show when it was on Cartoon Network, but never got around to buying the series on DVD. This is mostly due to the series being split into three $30 volumes, with two episodes per volume. Surely by now the box set will be available at a discounted price, as with most other anime.
Alas, no. FLCL’s been out of print for a few years now; its box set (new or used) selling for upward to $150. Maybe I should have bought it when I had the chance… And a few extra copies to profit from later!
After some research, I’ve learned that the company that holds the FLCL distribution license in the USA has pulled out of American distribution. This leaves the possibility of future releases of FLCL in limbo.
So here’s my plea: Could someone please get on that? It’s perfectly obvious that the previous print runs of FLCL were insufficient in meeting demand since there is a large enough market willing to throw down a C-note or more to get a hold of one of the remaining copies. FLCL is a valuable property and would be well worth some other distributor’s effort to acquire its license.
The key, of course, is that once an American distributor possesses its license, they mustn’t sell the complete series set for more than $20. $60-75 for a 6-episode series ain’t gonna fly. But selling a highly acclaimed product for $15-20 a piece and it will sell through the roof.
Square-Enix figured this out with Final Fantasy Tactics and Chrono Trigger. Capcom figured this out with Marvel Vs. Capcom 2.
If this can’t be sorted out, it only encourages anime piracy. Publishers can’t honestly cry foul on piracy for costing them DVD sales when they refuse to produce DVDs to sell.
I make similar arguments for downloading old video games. I’ll illustrate using Red Earth (aka Warzard) as an example:
Me: Hey, Capcom… I want to legitimately play Red Earth. Let me buy an arcade cabinet from you. I could buy a used one, but you might still moan about not making money from that.
Capcom: We can’t. We don’t make them anymore.
Me: Fair enough… Well, how about you produce a port of the game that I can play on a modern console? I would gladly pay the standard retail price for it. Or a cheaper, download-only version will do. I know a large community that would join me.
Capcom: Nah, we’d rather not bother with the expense of producing it. Sorry.
Me: Okay, now who is really keeping you from selling this game? Me or you?
I always discourage piracy of existing products. I like for people to profit from a good product with the hopes they invest that toward more good products in the future. But if a company refuses to sell a product then I call abusing previous releases to be fair game.
Otherwise it would be like your neighbor charging you with theft for pulling an old bicycle out of their dumpster. He wasn’t doing anything with it (in fact he pretty much abandoned it!), so you’d might as well use it. But if he wants to sell the bike and you ride off with it, then it’s stealing and preventing a sale.
Posted in Business, Games, anime, rants | 2 Comments »
December 2nd, 2009 by The Grey Ghost
Back in September, I blogged about my initial hunches about the Entertainment Consumers Association, and then again with a follow-up.
At the time, I’d attempted to sign up for my own membership under the promotion of one free year, care of a coupon code provided in a Game Informer article. Because of some technical issues with their website, I was unable to successfully set up a membership account. I’d made a mental note to re-apply some time later, but never got around to it.
It looks like I’d dodged a bullet.
Reports are coming in that the ECA has removed a member’s ability to cancel their membership and disable automatic renewal. The ECA will continue to charge you for your annual membership fee and you are forbidden from turning it off. That is, unless you write a letter and pray it’s processed within 30 days of your next dues collection.
As explained by ECA Chapter Manager, Daniela “Gypsyfly PMS” Lao, the reason why the organization has had to implement this method of detouring members wanting to cancel is because the organization has “grown too large to handle the volume”. (Screencap below.)
My question then becomes, if you have a sufficient automated system for managing membership accounts, where is the need for manpower to handle the volume?
While researching the ECA and its related branches (GamePolitics, GameJobs, and GameCulture), I became frustrated with the frequent roadblocks in site navigation. The sites had multiple broken links or generic FAQs. It appears that in the past couple months, much has been fixed, hopefully with the enlistment of competent web developers. Though in hindsight, a blessing in disguise considering that’s what prevented my own membership.
I would be more sympathetic with the ECA if their policy were closer to this: A member signs up and pays for their first year up front. They can cancel long-term membership at any time and disable any automatic payments. Meanwhile, the current year of their membership is non-refundable and the member is entitled to all the benefits of the organization until that year expires. That sounds fair for both parties. I saw even before trying to redeem my offered free year that the cards were stacked in the ECA’s favor.
I fully support the spirit of consumer advocacy that the ECA represents. However, it’s situations like this that keep me suspicious of the organization’s motives and methods. There are non-profit groups younger than the ECA and its directors that exercise a firmer sense of organization. I look forward to reading Jason Anderson’s press release on the subject and seeing how Ms. Gypsyfly’s role in the organization is affected.
UPDATE 12-02-2009 8:15pm EST
ECA President, Hal Halpin issued a response to the press that erupted this morning around this issue. He states that the membership cancellation issue is the result of a group of people taking advantage of an exploit related to the coupon code I mentioned above. Essentially, they patched a flaw with another flaw. They attacked the symptom instead of developing a cure.
But since Halpin mentions implementing more automation in its infrastructure, I now put him and the ECA to task. Come on, guys… We can do this. Let’s get this worked out. With all the layoffs that went down this year, I’m sure you can scratch up a few competent IT cyberninjas to set up your websites.
Above all, don’t punish the legitimate members for the actions of a few criminals. That’s what the publishers that you guys are supposed to protect consumers from are doing.
Posted in Business, Games | No Comments »
October 2nd, 2009 by The Grey Ghost
Last week, following my article on GotGame.com regarding Scribblenauts’ EULA, I assembled another article here exploring the Entertainment Consumer Association. In that article, I noted my suspicions that the ECA might be in cahoots with retailers; looking out for their best interests over those of the consumer.
Shortly after it’s posting, I received an email from Jason Anderson, the public relations director for the ECA.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Business, interviews | 1 Comment »
September 30th, 2009 by The Grey Ghost
Ever since the announcement of Super Street Fighter IV, I’ve been surprised to hear the Street Fighter community rife with complaint. The bulk of them by jaded gamers aggravated by the idea that Capcom has found a way to dupe us into paying full price a second time for little more than an expansion on a game they already own.
Destructoid published an article very close to my own response.
Here’s the facts on Super Street Fighter IV: The game will be released to disc with a price tag leaning toward $35. In addition to new characters on the roster, there was enough changes to the game’s mechanics and new bonus features that Capcom felt a separate release was in order, rather than a downloadable add-on.
Initially, it’s understandable that loyal fans and early adopters might feel swindled. However, newcomers that may not have bought the original release of Street Fighter IV will be able to take advantage of a sweet deal; a $25 drop in shelf price on a superior product. This will continue to draw in new blood to the fighting game community, which has dwindled to near-extinction prior to Street Fighter IV’s introduction.
Those who bought the first release are perfectly able to sell or trade in their original game to pick up “Super” for next to nothing (and should consider the past year of fun, challenging play experience a bonus). Capcom also took into consideration their loyal fanbase and plans to show gratitude for that support. According to a GameSpot interview with Yoshinori Ono, the developers have added content in Super SF4 that will interact with the original release, making it worth keeping SF4 disc.
You know who should be pissed? Competitive players who won’t see an arcade release of Super SF4. This makes it more difficult to meet new players outside of the tournament scene.
Posted in Business, Games, Street Fighter, rants | No Comments »
September 27th, 2009 by The Grey Ghost
This past Friday, an article of mine was published on GotGame.com, expressing some of my views on consumer ownership in the video game industry. I’d placed Scribblenauts in center spotlight for the piece, since it’s not only the hottest new title but also because it has one of the most offensive end user license agreements I’ve ever read.
Within hours of its publication, a reader posted a comment suggesting I’d plagiarized a similar article in the October 2009 issue of Game Informer, which had hit shelves just days before.
I wasn’t offended–I get my video game industry news almost exclusively online and I can prove that I’d written the article weeks ago, should the gauntlet be thrown down. Though it did spark my curiosity to pick up said issue of Game Informer, in the relief that I might have a kindred spirit.
Lo and behold, on page 38, there’s an article about consumer ownership rights by Hal Halpin, president of the Entertainment Consumers Association. The ECA is an organization devoted to spreading awareness about consumer rights and the dangers of industry trends that threaten them.
While drafting my “You Don’t Own Scribblenauts“ article, I’d searched around for such an organization to give my audience further reading options (and to provide credence to my otherwise ravings from a paranoid lunatic). Unfortunately I could not find a group in time for publishing, having exhausted all the variations of “consumer”, “ownership”, and “rights” I could imagine into a search engine.
The organization sounds good and I support any other group cut from the same cloth. You can sign up for membership at the ECA website, but there is a catch. In order to claim independence from corporate influence, the organization requires annual dues paid by its members. If that turns you off, the article in Game Informer does offer a coupon code good for one year’s membership for free.
At the time of this writing, I’ve had difficulty establishing my own membership with the ECA, due to security red flags triggered in my web browser. I get the feeling that this is due to poor website design, but I’ve contacted their tech support for clarification.
I will offer my hunch… At first, it made sense to me that this type of article was published in Game Informer, GameStop’s proprietary video game rag. After all, GameStop’s entire business model depends on the secondhand market providing more than half of their revenue. Of course their publication is going to spotlight an article forewarning the dangers of digital distribution over tangible media. Nevertheless, I was happy that someone is covering this topic and that there’s an organization devoted to the cause.
As I investigate further, I’m beginning to suspect that the ECA may have even been founded, if not heavily backed by GameStop as an unofficial branch of their corporation. This implies that the ECA (who, by the way, also controls GamePolitics.com) is a subversive public relations device whose true priorities are geared toward sustaining the interests of retailers, rather than consumers.
What’s worse, if this is true, that means that the organization is a facade, with its membership fees being just another channel of income for GameStop.
Whatever your political view regarding GameStop, you may want to seek out an alternative organization with similar goals. Count on me providing updates regarding the ECA, as they come to me.
Posted in Business, Games | 1 Comment »
September 10th, 2009 by The Grey Ghost
Just in time for the launch of the PSP Go, several Nippon Ichi Software of America titles will be available for download via PlayStation Network. These titles include fan-favorites Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness, Prinny: Can I really be the hero?, with other titles hinted to join them. As a special promotion, the games will be priced for “half off” (that is, $12.99 and under) starting October 1st and extending through that week.
Hold on a second.
This means that once the promotion ends, these games return to their normal price of about $25.99, correct? As I write this, I can buy hard copies of those games for the same price at retail. As I asked in my Secondhand Rant, isn’t the main selling point of digital distribution passing the savings of production costs on to the consumers? If the digital copy is priced the same as the physical copy, where’s the incentive? What am I missing?
Of course PSP Go owners aren’t able to play the UMD versions of the games, but then that’s the whole idea. If the entertainment industries can transition digital distribution from a low-cost alternative to the standard, they can go back to charging whatever they want. Worse, they’ll be able to justify it if they can eliminate the secondhand market, since they’ll then gain a monopoly over access to multimedia.
I do give big props to NIS America and Sony for finally having some kind of sale on the PlayStation Store. I can only hope that they learn the same lesson as Valve–that being if you discount the price, sales will greatly increase. Weekly sales would be welcomed by their consumer base and God knows I might just use the service myself more often.
Posted in Business, Games, RPGs, rants | No Comments »
September 2nd, 2009 by The Grey Ghost
This past Monday, an official announcement was made that Disney has acquired Marvel Entertainment for approximately $4 billion. That feels…weird.
The knee-jerk reaction to this news is one of heartbreak. For the past couple of decades, Disney has had the reputation for focusing their empire into the ruling class of family-friendly entertainment. It’s been hard to find anything that’s come out of the Magic Kingdom™’s merchandise machine that hasn’t been goofy-grinned cartoon animals or pop star tweens. What will this wholesome gestalt for nuclear family values do with characters like Wolverine, Deadpool, and The Punisher?
If this had happened a few years ago, while Disney was under Michael Eisner, I’d immediately begin mourning. That era saw the acquisition of Jim Henson’s company, which we can now thank for turning the Muppets into an endangered species, teetering on the brink of extinction. Now that Eisner is gone and Pixar’s John Lasseter is Disney’s chief creative officer, we may be able to breath easier in how Marvel will be handled.
Stan Lee has already given the deal his blessing.
In their announcement, Disney assured us that while they will own and take advantage of Marvel’s gigantic catalog of intellectual properties, they’ll let the company manage itself. They noted that Marvel already has a sharp staff and system of operation, so they’ll be left alone to continue doing what they do best. All previous license deals for movies, video games, etc, will be respected and Disney will wait until they’ve expired to reclaim control over them.
This is where I get a little paranoid. The greater sources of Marvel’s income over the past decade have come from movies, video games, and other forms of media. Many of the licenses that are currently in play don’t expire until 2019. It’s suspicious that Disney would jump to acquire a property that they won’t be able to fully capitalize upon for another decade. Especially since there’s no telling how viable the Marvel brand will be in 5-10 years.
I wonder if it wasn’t the brand or the characters that Disney wanted from Marvel as much as something from their infrastructure. Maybe Marvel has other assets that Disney found valuable. Publishing facilities? Business relationships? Creative resources? It’s just a thought.
Posted in Business, comics | No Comments »
August 26th, 2009 by The Grey Ghost
There’s an item of controversy that’s infected the video game industry: The idea that buying used games somehow steals bread from the mouths of starving developers. This, of course, is lunacy.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Business, Games, rants | 2 Comments »
August 19th, 2009 by The Grey Ghost
At the Gamescom convention yesterday, Sony officially announced–I hope you’re sitting down for this, kids–that they will be releasing a
PS3 Slim model, due out in September. What a shock. You could have knocked me over with a feather.
Sony has proven that they’re terrible at keeping secrets. Rumors of a slim model emerged as early as this past February, as reported by T3. Sony denied any such plans. Then in May, photos leaked out of the PS3 Slim in production, including what became proven to be its packaged design. Sony continued to deny it, even though many publications that posted the photos were sent cease & desist letters from the Taiwanese factory’s lawyers.
With the evidence mounting, everyone hoped to see the PS3 Slim appear at this year’s E3. It remained absent, but we were introduced to Sony’s other worst-kept secret, the PSP-Go. After hearing tips from developers and a slip of the tongue during an episode of 1UP’s @1UP podcast, and a leaked video displaying the new design, it was hard to deny its existence. Sony denied away… That is, until its official debut at E3.
PSP Go Artist's Concept (aka, 'Wow, that's a really good guess!')
This rained doubt over whether or not what we’d been seeing about the PS3 Slim was a hoax afterall. But as a close industry insider predicted, Sony was holding off just a little longer before unveiling the new design. His explanation made sense: Sony wanted to liquidate existing stock of current versions of the PS3 in order to make room on store shelves for the Slim. If people knew too soon about a newer, potentially cheaper model, those in the market for a PS3 might hold off until its release, leaving older PS3 models to collect dust in inventory.
I understand the method to this madness, but there are wiser ways to handle the situation. Sony’s method of denial may save some sales in the short-term, but in the long run it does damage to their already-struggling reputation. They remind me of Muhammad Saeed al-Sahhaf, Iraq’s Information Minister during the 2003 invasion. The man denied that America had any presence in Iraq, even as soldiers and tanks could be seen behind him.
If you can keep your secrets secure, then congratulations on a successful plan. But once the cat’s out of the bag, you
have to alter your strategy. Accept that what we’ve seen/heard is true, correct whatever mistakes were made to prevent future leaks, and come up with a new incentive for consumers to buy up your old stock.
It’s long been my hope to get my own PS3 sometime this year (I’ve already picked up Street Fighter IV). I’m happy to have my first PS3 be the sexy new Slim model. But what’s bringing that dream closer to reality is the price cut. Current models of PS3 have already been reduced in price, with the Slim debuting at $299. Despite months of cries from developers, Sony not just denied, but flat out refused to budge on the PS3’s high price points.
Given the current state of PS3 sales, I’m glad Sony has finally seen the light.
Posted in Business, Games, Tech | No Comments »
July 2nd, 2009 by The Grey Ghost
I’d thought that the biggest benefit of digital distribution for consumers was that games could be sold for a lower price, since there’s no cost for a physical product. Yet I keep seeing PSP Legacy games by Capcom posted on PSN for the same price as their physical counterpart.
The latest example is Capcom Classics Collection Remixed, which comes out this week. It’s priced on PSN at $19.99, which is the same price I can buy it new in any store. For instance, here’s the listing for Amazon.
Where’s the incentive, then, to buy the digital version?
Plus, these are older PSP titles whose peak sales were met years ago. It makes sense to put it up for download for gamers that may not have discovered it before. But if they aren’t inclined to buy it in the store for $19.99, why would they be any more motivated to buy the download, also for $19.99?
I’d buy it for $14.99, especially since that also beats the average price of a pre-owned copy. Given the options, I think I’ll buy it used…
Posted in Business, Games, rants | No Comments »
