I've been told the opposite ofwhat this article indicates.
Some jobs may be better suited (if they have the skills mentioned in the artile) but I have heard of horror stories that some individuals actually skip work or end up playing the game late into the night and call in sick excessively to the point it is a very common issue affecting overall job performance.
I wouldn't read too much into what researchers say in these kind of studies...you always see a lot of correlations in results and then a new study counter a previous one though.
@y3ivan @WantYouBad When I mentioned the 80-90% off that was based on an entire catalogue of games (ie the mega indie pack, the Bethesda Pack etc). I was not referring to a single game.
For someone who doesnt own any of the games in said packs get huge savings. Albeit the publisher packs have been reduced overall in terms of total games in them. 2 years ago you could get a publisher pack worth $600 for under $100 (also the overall value of the older titles has diminished over time)
A few notable AAA titles on sale recently:
75 % off Max Payne 3 ($15)
50% off Borderlands 2 ($30) -> Total of atleast 4 or 5 times.
50% off Dishonored ($30)
50% off Hitman Absolution 50-75% off entire Elder scrolls series.
When people buy used games they dont always go after current year AAA titles either.
Amazing games for last year or prior were still dirt cheap (Witcher 1/2)
(I will confirm this years sales overall have been a bit of a disappointment). Years previous you had 1 or 2 times max to get a really great deal on lots of AAA games, this year more indie games have the spotlight and the same AAA games keep appearing on sale.
How does Amazon's policy work if you've bought a collection of games and say reinstall windows. Without a backup of the downloads are you still able to get them back?
@WantYouBad You don't use steam often? This particular holiday sale may not have been as good as previous ones (more indie games and older stuff on sale) but in general steam constantly has sales. The summer and winter sales are discounts of up to 75% off brand new releases.
For anyone new to PC gaming or Steam, the winter/summer sales are perfect times to pick up a publisher pack for 80-90% off retail price of a large portion of games.
As several others have already said...people need to speak with their wallets (and also have to be wiser and smarter when it comes to making decisions before purchasing a game.
It should be worth noting the the used gaming industry will eventually die out completely on a new console (whether next-gen or the next after). You can't deny that.
The future of gaming looks to be DRM and digital distribution. Some will argue that services like steam are bad because you only lease a software agreement and don't physically own the games. But the biggest advantage of a service like steam is the increased profit margins games make by eliminating manufacturing and transportation costs and allowing for insanely cheap prices (look at Borderlands 2, its been on sale atleast 5 times this holiday sale at 50% off). Sure steam stills a portion of the sales too, but overall the profit margins are still better for developers.
You can already see the transformation happening on Xbox and PS3 with direct download games, and it will only grow further.
If the next-gen consoles opt not to take the full digital distribution method, then they are alienating a significant portion of the customer-base as well as retail outlets. It will be hard for brick and mortar stores to accept selling products that will lose them money in the long run.
People will eventually have to face this reality. This will mean you will need to be smarter shoppers and do research before shelling out money for a game you may have doubts about.
But, as long as consoles offer the option for physical media they should always allow used games. Without the used game market, there would be a ton of average gamers who will never get into gaming again without the option to 'try before you buy'. For a lot of people, renting a game is the best way to determine if the game is worth getting (atleast it use to be). This will also force developers to put more effort into games to add replay value to games or risk losing a sale completely.
@DrKill09 Hold on just a little longer...you may still get the option to play on both console and PC.
2013 could be the year we see the Steam Box set foot and show the console makers how to probably treat loyal fanbases.
I'd still prefer playing on my PC with max settings...but with the dangerous trend Microsoft is settings with Windows 8 (closing the ecosystem), the future of PC gaming may be in jeopardy too.
@Gr3gSolidus @FSgamer Somehow I doubt the greed of the publishers and the executives will allow increased revenue to be redistributed back to the development teams.
What I can see happening is another increase to the base cost of all games simply because they care 'next-gen'
You have to realize that the gaming business today is not just about making games, its more about capitalizing on successful games and milking the same formulas repeatedly for the sake of profit.
If Sony blocks used games and Microsoft doesn't, you can guarentee Sony will loose customers and as a result the developers will not find incentive to put the extra effort into the platform as much.
@Ratatoskr321 @pathosfire A little while back I'd still play Sims 2 but have since stopped completely.
I will never buy another Sims game every again.
Sims 3 is milked dry of the same rehashes of expansion packs of the second plus garbage sellout stuff like Katy Perry crap and home decor packs. Worse, Pets/Seasons/Vacations... some of which are similar to Sims1 expansions...
EA and the newest SIMs game is the pinnacle of lame DLC, and sadly it seems the future of the gaming industry.
There was a huge collection of modders in Sims 2 making custom content to download. I worry you will never see that kind of mod support every again in an EA game.
Exactly H0rizon, they had to release the DLC on the other platforms or else they would have alienated their entire fanbase.
Bethesda by no means is happy with their situation but are still showing they care to their customers and are trying to resolve the problem.
They have to have a balance of maintaining their promise on delivering DLC across all platforms in a timely manner as well as fix the issues with the PS3.
I watched a 15 minute video of it on Youtube, and from what I notice is that they try to make it look and feel similiar to pokemon, but deviate the origins of the monsters to attempt to make it look unique.
I mean no disrespect for Nintendo, its not an insult to say it takes the basic principles of Pokemon. For obvious reasons, Zynga dumbed it down.
In my honest opinion, it does feel similiar to pokemon (while complete garbage at the same time). This is a mobile game that likely didnt have the same amount of development time as pokemon so for obvious reasons it looks like a dumbed down version of pokemons core gameplay and mechanics.
It looks so bad I don't see it really doing well, but if it does, I'm sure Nintendo would sue (only to protect their IP and not have money be a motive.)
I'm sure Nintendo's first reaction when they first heard about this game was laughter at just how bad it is. And it it fails miserably I'm sure they won't sue :)
It may not be a fully copy, but still a knock-off. I think Zygna made the attept to make it look and feel simliar to Pokemon to target that consumer group.
So in a way, when they first thought of the idea of this game, they didn't introduce anything unique into the IP. All aspects of this game are dumbed down mechanics of the basics of Pokemon without all the strategy (cause Zygna can't make complicated games themselves).
I dislike EA very much (for how the push garbage dlc and treat their customers - especially Origin), but I support them too on this case.
Zynga has a history of creating knock-off games and their is absolutely nothing anti-competive when you literally steal the entire game concept and mechanics of another game and try to sue them for copying.
(I think Montopia is more of a Pokemon knockoff than their SIM Social clone, but I still think they should be sued for both copies.)
This is a rare time where I would like to see the Big Company crush a smaller one for simply trying to plagiarize for profit whose history shows them have no real talent to develop unique IPs.
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