The new year looks to be another record breaker for gaming and downloadable content will continue to be an important part of the industry's success. While 2008 was a great year for downloadable games and content, the staff here at GPArcade Castle knows there is plenty of room for improvement.
Last week Sean and Andrew threw their two bits into the moat, today Ian and I get our turn.
The Top 10 Games, Trends and Content We'd Like to See in the New Year.
Consistent and Timely DLC - Downloadable content for GTA IV is coming out in February, but is anybody really excited about it? No, because we've had to wait almost a year after the game's release to get it. Fable 2? Your game was too short for your DLC to come out this late. Mass Effect? Your DLC was enjoyable but what have you done for me lately? Rock Band (which releases new songs weekly) and Fallout 3 (which is releasing new DLC once a month for the next three months starting in January) get it right. If a game has consistent DLC that comes out shortly after its release it'll have a longer shelf life, which is a good thing for both gamers and game companies. - Terry Terrones
A New South Park Arcade Game - Rumor has it that a downloadable South Park arcade game is on its way. Sweet! The tentatively titled "Suck My Balls" (although "Giant Douche vs Turd Sandwich" and "Professor Chaos and General Disarray Take Over the World" would work just fine as well) reeks of bad boy Eric Cartman, which any South Park game should. Here's hoping this is one of those rumors that proves to be true. - TT
No more track pack exclusives - In 2008, an AC/DC track pack was released exclusively to Walmart. I have no problem with releasing DLC in disk form, but there is no reason for it to not be available for download as well. Harmonix's Beatles game is scheduled to be released this year and it would be great if the tracks (minus whatever bells and whistles they choose to include to spice up the gameplay) are available for download and playable in Rock Band.- Ian Guss
Allow customers to purchase any amount of Microsoft Points - Gamers are already getting screwed with the fake currency, Microsoft should be decent enough to offer a variety of amounts of virtual points to meet the purchase price amount exactly. - I.G.
More games with NXE Avatars - With a Kingdom for Keflings, the New Xbox Experience has given 360 owners a taste of what it would be like to use our avatars in games just like a Wii owner. Unlike other Microsoft ideas that sounded good at the time and then never had any follow through (Xbox Live Vision camera, 360 vs PC gaming on XBL) we hope this isn't just a fad. New IPs using NXE avatars or classic titles with avatars as playable characters could add new life and humor (GTAIV with avatars anyone?) to a game. - TT
More quality downloadable sports games - We have seen a few, but sports arcade titles are usually the worst of the bunch i.e. MLB Stickball. In the past, great games like NFL Blitz and MLB Slugfest have excited gamers. There is no reason EA or 2K Sports can't release a downloadable gem.- I.G.
Guitar Hero and Rock Band Song Cross Compatibility - Recently the whole "you can play your plastic instruments on my game if we can play our plastic instruments on yours" argument between Guitar Hero and Rock Band has been settled. Good, glad we got that out of the way. Now its time they did gamers another favor, make their downloadable songs playable on each others games. We all understand exclusivity is important for each franchise, that's fine, keep those songs on the disc. But GH and RB are not making any friends when we can only get certain songs on certain titles. They charge twice what iTunes charges us for a single song, yet give us less flexibility. But if they'd share DLC with each other, they would probably see an even bigger increase in download sales. - TT
Less is more - Microsoft has kept up its end of the bargain with weekly arcade releases but do we really need it? In the past two weeks we saw a jigsaw puzzle and crossword game. These genres are better left in the physical world. Quality over quantity should be the goal of the marketplace. - I.G.
Classic Arcade Ports - There are some absolutely brilliant original IP's out there for download (Braid, Echochrome, Strong Bad to name just a few) but classic titles, with their high nostalgia factor and name recognition, still carry a lot of clout with gamers who like their titles to come in downloadable form. Some titles we'd like to see made available in 2009? Donkey Kong 64, Sunset Riders, GoldenEye, NHL 94 and any Madden more than 5 years old would be a good start. - TT
Find a solution to limited downloadable space - With the early adopters of XBOX 360 stuck with a 20GB HDD, Microsoft needs to offer a trade in solution to deflect the cost of upgrading to a larger unit. A plethora of content has flooded the marketplace and without constantly deleting demos, trials and even full releases, it is impossible to keep space free. Microsoft owes it to its hardcore fans to help out with the outrageous $160 list price of the 150GB HDD. - I.G.
What We Hope We Don't See in 2009:
Terry - Microtransactions to dress up my Xbox Avatar, more country music DLC on Rock Band and Guitar Hero
Ian- More patches, give us complete games from the start. Hopefully there will be no Castle Crashers-like problems in 2009. The online mode was completely broken and not patched until four months after the game's release! Charging for PSN. Now that the PS3 has almost caught up with the 360 in terms of games and video downloads, Sony is likely tempted to charge for their services. Gamers should sound a resounding NO to any attempt.
Related Links: The latest Rock Band DLC, The Best Selling XBLA Games of 2008, This week's downloadable games
