Xbox 360

[Alexisonfire]

Some say repetitive gameplay.

I say Killer Ap.

Also, I agree with everything Gunner said.

[The Sneak]

I say no online co-op and it isn't worth 800 points.

[Stephen Stills]

I say no online co-op and =/= 800 points.

Yeah, when this was announced I was all ready to celebrate that local multiplayer hasn't been forgotten. And then I was like, "Wait- no online? Uh..."

[Sonic the Werewolf.]

I like Braid and all, but I'm not sure if I'm ready to make a $15 commitment yet, especially if rumors about its length are true.

[The Sneak]

Braid is a fantastic game, I think it's the second best game on XBLA, but I can totally understand not buying it at $15.

[Alexisonfire]

I like Braid and all, but I'm not sure if I'm ready to make a $15 commitment yet, especially if rumors about its length are true.

I agree wholeheartedly.

It's the worst thing the developers could have done to the game. Especially since 1200 points is nearly an entire card here in Canada.

[The Sneak]

Just for the record, the guy who made the game wanted it to be 800 points, but he didn't think it was worth arguing with Microsoft.

[Alexisonfire]

A little of Column A, a little of Column B.

[Alexisonfire]

Upon thinking about this "Braid Pricing" issue a little harder, I'd like to bring up a few concerns that I have. First off, even though the Canadian dollar has been on par with the US dollar for almost a year, we still pay more for microsoft points. 17% more. Doesn't sound like a lot. We have 1400 MS points cards, while the US has 1600. Except you factor in that A) You barely ever find the points for less than $25 a card and B) We have higher sales tax on the games (depending on the province, of course. But my province sure does). Assuming that we do find the card for $20, this brings Braid to about $21 when you factor in tax. That is the just over the price that people lashed out at in the States with Penny Arcade Adventures. The games are the same length even. Now, I'm not going to get into how outrageous PAA's price here is or comparing the quality of the two games, but if you want both games, those are the prices you need to pay. And let me just... enlighten you all with a short list of games I have found and/or bought for a smaller price point than Braid is being offered in Canada:

Jet Set Radio Future
Chrono Cross
Portal
Metroid Prime
Gunstar Super Heroes
Beyond Good & Evil
Disgaea: Hour of Darkness
Boktai 2: Solar Boy Django
Sonic Rush
Viva Pinata
Makai Kingdom
Okami
Shadow of the Colossus.
Psychonauts
Every single LoZ title except for Twilight Princess on Wii.
Odin Sphere
Final Fantasy Tactics
Advance Wars: Days of Ruin
Drill Dozer
All the Jak games (Almost combined, with the lowest pricing for each totaling about $25)
Gears of War

Sure, most of these games are last gen titles. But I am someone who waits until a game's price will drop before buying . I would rather wait a year, play other games, and then buy three or more games instead of one.  There are usually some exceptions, like rare titles or ones that i cannot wait for, but I tend to get as much as i can for my dollar's worth. Call me cheap if you will, but its something I've learned to do with a low personal income.

And this is why the change to digital distribution is worrying me. I've always expressed concerns over the lack of having physical copies of games, which I find to be more durable than the system itself. Sure, you don't see most systems dying left and right (Well, you haven't since the Red Rings of Death have been fixed and the slim PS2). But what about 10 years from now? I doubt time will be kind to these systems. And when that happens, what will become of these titles we purchase? There are already horror stories of people losing all their wiiware and VC games when they send their wii's to Nintendo for repairs. I believe that XBLA titles are tied to gamertags, but that doesn't necessarily guarantee them for (console) generations to come.

But the issue that is having more attention casted upon it is Pricing. Think of the Xbox originals. All of those titles can easily be found for much cheaper out in the wild. But the same will never be said for these XBOX LIVE arcade games. Or PSN games. Or WiiWare games. Why? Because you only have one outlet to buy them. And the three companies know that. Downloadable content is becoming a big boost to them and by implementing a sort of "my way or they highway" style of selling their products, why would they ever drop the price unless the game sell horribly (which MS is resorting to just removing them from the service altogether rather than dropping their price)? There won't ever be bargain pricing. The only way to get games cheaper is to somehow find cheaper points cards, but that is harder than finding a used copy of Earthbound. And that can't even work with PSN games.

I'm not saying that the whole service should be done away with. There are many, many upsides to DLC. But I just wanted to express my concerns over the services and get it off my chest.

Oh, and congratulations to those that actually made it to the end.

[Depressio]

I definitely appreciate many of your concerns AoF. I too am worried about the rise of digital distribution. It would be nice if all DLC adopts forward-compatibility, but yeah, I highly doubt that will happen. I have quite a few XBLA and Virtual Console titles, and it kind of sucks to know that those will likely disappear in a matter of years. 

[Stephen Stills]

Well, on just that one point:

How many of you guys have thrown out your SNES? When a new system comes out, the old ones don't just vanish. So while I agree that DLC is a bit scary and unfair, I don't have any problem with the lack of forwards compatibility.

And I keep saying "I want to buy Braid," but like Alexisonfire, I remember all the games that I could buy instead. Without even logging of the XBL marketplace, I could get Soul Calibur (amazing fighting game), Symphony of the Night (amazing platformer/exploration game), Fable (massive adventure game), Ikaruga (amazing shooter game), Doom or Marathon (old skool FPSs) and indigo Prophecy (well... I like it!)! As an incredibly stingy person, there's no way I can see myself buying Braid.

(sorry AoF for stealing the listing off games thing. I had already been talking about this w/ people earlier and was listing games like this. sorry.)

[Alexisonfire]

I don't throw old systems, like my N64, SNES, and Genesis . But the fact of the matter is, they are both starting to age and will probably be joining my NES sooner or later in game console heaven, along with most of the games, as the batteries will die in them. But, in their defence, they are between 12-17 years. But they lasted that long because they are different than today's consoles, which are made with a heck of a lot of moving parts within them. For anyone who knows a thing about gadgets and machinery, that always means a shorter lifespan. This worries me with DLC, for after my 360's warranty ends, all of my games will be lost if something happens.

Probably a lot of people will not care by the time their console dies. They will either have moved on from gaming or are playing their new Xbox 5 or P6 or Nin Ten. But I do and will. I will go back and play all of the games I own eventually, or else i would have gotten rid of them long ago. That's why all of the new consoles are worrying me so much. Like, how long will it be before I will have to buy a replacement Wii or 360 when mine kicks the bucket? Will I be able to if it becomes commonplace?

It may sound a bit paranoid, but longevity is something we aren't really holding highly in today's consoles.

And BTW, I have gotten rid of two of my consoles: My GBA and my Gamecube. Both were passed to my sister. That is because Backwards Compatibility is a very, very good thing. Something I am sad to see only fully endorsed by Nintendo this gen.

[The Sneak]

tl;dr

But I'm assuming that that WALL OF TEXT was similar to your "I'm not going to buy Lost Winds because it is ten dollars and very short" thing, which I still disagree with.

[Alexisonfire]

But I'm assuming that that WALL OF TEXT was similar to your "I'm not going to buy Lost Winds because it is ten dollars and very short" thing, which I still disagree with.

No, that is a different matter altogether. That is dealing with several issues that worry me of DLC as a whole, not necessarily about Braid.

And for the record, Braid I have great interest in. LostWinds I do not. And if I did, I have don't have it anymore. I can see how it could be a good game, just not one I'm looking to play.

Although I will stand behind it being the best WiiWare has to offer. Sadly.

And it was not a Wall of text.*

*Not the best site for the lil kiddies. Be warned.

EDIT: A little tidbit I learned over the weekend:

Lost Planet. It's not a good game. At all.

[Sonic the Werewolf.]

I hope there's some confirmation on the Elite getting a price drop in September eventually. I kinda want one now that my premium 360 is making horrible grinding/clicking noises all the time, and I need more space for Rock Band downloads.

Sure, the price dropped $30 recently, but it would be nice to see it included in the September price drop along with the other consoles.

Oh, and Microsoft Points are on sale at Target for $5 off. I got three to catch up on some Rock Band songs and Arcade games (Puzzle Quest!)

EDIT: A little tidbit I learned over the weekend:

Lost Planet. It's not a good game. At all.

Ugh, yeah. That's one of the games I wouldn't even buy for $20.
Walking on the ground is painfully slow, everything knocks you down and sends you into a "stunned" state forever, mech controls are ridiculous, and online gameplay is just a fight to see who can get the mechs first and spam the crap out of them. That game was awful.