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The Corner of Randomness: When Should DLC Arrive

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DLC, for better or worse, is here to stay. It used to be a pretty dirty word, but after some time it seems most companies have figured out how to make DLC attractive to gamers. Then again, we now have season passes that usually allow us to have access to DLC as well as a small discount on it. There is also always just waiting around for the Game of the Year version to arrive as those almost always include all the DLC. Yeah, I’m looking at you Borderlands: The Handsome Collection.

The other day some friends were chatting about when is it appropriate to release DLC. I agree that day-one DLC is rubbish. I get that the game has to be sent off for pressing, and development can continue on new content. Yet, day-one DLC feels more like it should be a patch than anything else. Let’s face it, we are all pretty used to day-one patches now.

Now if you wait for months to release DLC, most gamers have moved on to other game. Well, unless it’s a shooter, MOBA, fighting game, or MMO of some sort. For single-player games, there is certainly a window to keep gamers engaged with the game. For example, I loved Horizon Zero Dawn. I really wanted more content for that game as there really isn’t a lot of replayability there. DLC right now would be great as my interest in the game still exists. Yet, if new content isn’t released for a few more months, I’ll have moved on to something new and the new content might interest me, but it won’t be a day one purchase. Then again, I might never buy the new content as the game just isn’t on my interest list anymore.

So where is the sweet spot when it comes to releasing DLC? I’d argue that it depends on the game. Games with heavy multiplayer components can generally go a few months before releasing more content. The same applies to fighting games. A single-player game really can’t go that long. Maybe two or three months tops. Anything after that and most people have moved on to some form of new hotness.

DLC is a great thing when executed well. It adds more content, keeps gamers engaged with the title, and often closes out various aspects of the story. However, if that content doesn’t arrive at an appropriate time, it either comes across as a cash grab or too little too late.

We gamers are certainly a finicky bunch.

The Corner of Randomness: Come on Nintendo

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Nintendo is a very strange company. They are notorious for blaming console shortages on manufacturing issues. Sure, when a new console hits the market, I expect supply to be limited. Yet, Sony and Microsoft get stock to meet demand relatively quickly and we soon see their consoles consistently on store shelves. Hell, even the PSVR is now somewhat readily available at stores around me. Yet Nintendo magically can’t produce consoles to meet the demand. BS!

In the last two weeks, we’ve received news that Nintendo was no longer making the NES Classic Edition. You know, because they hate money. Many of us will never get our hands on that fun piece of nostalgia. Well, that is unless we cave to the scalpers and pay their stupidly inflated price for it on eBay. Well, now there is rumor that Big N will be releasing an SNES Mini. It is just rumor at this point.

The SNES is still my favorite console. It got me though some pretty rough times in my life. I’ve spent countless hours with good friends playing various games on that system. I’d be bluffing if I said this rumor didn’t get me excited. However, that excitement is quickly crushed when I remember that Nintendo hates money and will probably only make like five of these systems. Grrr!

Really, come the eff on Nintendo. If this rumor is true, meet the demand for the SNES Mini. Don’t blame low stock on manufacturing issues. Keeping stock low just so you can ride the demand wave is infuriating. The only people who benefit from this crap are the scalpers who ultimately just sell the system for a profit. Yet, you will most likely keep the scalpers in business while the rest of us sit and wonder wtf happened to you.

Nintendo, it might be time to put the sake down and sober up. That is about the only real explanation behind what you’ve been the last few years.

The Corner of Randomness: WTF Nintendo

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NES ClassicYesterday, news struck that Nintendo was no longer going to offer the NES Classic Edition for sale. That’s right. One of Nintendo’s cash cows at the moment is obviously making waaaaay too much money, and they just can’t have that. I am both shocked and bummed by this news.

I’m bummed because I really wanted to snag this console, but it’s been consistently sold out. Even when a small stock does arrive at a store here, it is basically sold out within seconds. I know this is nothing more than an emulator. I can easily play the games that come with it via other methods. Yet, I really wanted the NES Classic Edition because of nostalgia. Now, I’ll probably never get my hands on one. Let’s face it, the value on this thing just went through the roof.

I am shocked that Nintendo would do this because of how well the system was doing. No store was capable of keeping these consoles in stock. It’s almost like Nintendo just doesn’t like money. I get that they are wanting to push the Switch, but this news doesn’t stack well with the issues the Switch has. Last weekend I got to play a friend’s Switch and experienced the left Joycon disconnecting. Thankfully, their Switch doesn’t have the warping issue…yet.

I just don’t get why Nintendo felt it was necessary to kill off the NES Classic. With news of the Switch having various issues, this feels a bit like a low blow. So seriously Nintendo, WTF?

The Corner of Randomness: Hello Travel Season

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This weekend I travel to Wisconsin to teach a photography class. This is the first step in a long process of hopefully establishing myself as a photography instructor. It’s also a stepping stone in building a new photography group in the Madison, Wisconsin area.

As I prepared my class notes, I was doing the multitasking thing and making a list of items I needed to bring with me. Camera, check. Lenses, check. PS Vita, check. Oh crap, I need to charge the 3DS and get both systems updated. Well, there are a few more tasks added to this ever growing list of things that need doing before I hit the road.

It then hit me that this is pretty much the official start to my travel season. At the end of the month I head to Michigan to meet with some friends for a weekend of board gaming. Some family members in Chicago are asking for senior photos to be done before the end of the month. After that, a few trips to Wisconsin, Michigan, Colorado, Massachusetts, maybe Georgia, Montana, and Arizona. Through all of those countless miles of travelling, my trusty 3DS and PS Vita will be with me. They will be keeping me company on long lonely flights, nights of insomnia, and general down time.

I almost wish I could say I’d have a Nintendo Switch with me, but Zelda can only keep you engaged for so long. I mean, once you get that one hundred percent completion, what else is there to really do? So I’ll stick to my Vita and 3DS, along with their horribly long lists of games I’ve yet to complete.

Well, time to go get these things charging and check to see if they need any sort of updating. Then packing. I swear, I said I would slow down in the nicer months. So much for that. Well, time to go build a business!

The Corner of Randomness: Goodbye Souls

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The final DLC for Dark Souls III dropped this week. With the launch of The Ringed City, the Souls games are now at an end. From Software, or more accurately Hidetaka Miyazaki, have said that they are done with this series and are moving on to other projects. This makes me both very happy and also pretty sad.

I’ve loved the Souls games right from the beginning. I remember when Demon’s Souls was announced. I was intrigued by the setting. My interest grew even more when I found out the game was going to be punishingly difficult. The game was not going to hold your hand. You had to figure stuff out on your own. If you killed a vital NPC, too bad. Yeah, I preordered that bitch so hard.

On my first romp through Demon’s Souls I was hooked. Heck, even my wife got into the game. We had to take turns playing our characters. She would go research some aspect of the game she was working on and I’d sit and farm some item I needed for my bow. It was a great time.

Then Dark Souls was announced and I already knew I’d be buying that game as well. With this game, I even got my brother-in-law hooked on the series. I bragged about how good the strategy guide was and convinced him to snag the guide as well. This would happen once again with Dark Souls II. Sadly, he doesn’t have a PS4 and thus it’ll be a bit of time before I can get him to bite on Dark Souls III.

From Software has crafted a wonderful series with these four games. The Souls games will always be one of my favorite gaming experiences. Hell, I’ve purchased Dark Souls I and Dark Souls II twice. All I need now is a good Steam sale on the third game and I’ll have bought that one twice as well. I don’t have a problem. Nope. Not at all.

Thank you From Software for these games. I’m excited to see what you come up with next. If the next project is anything like Bloodborne, I’m confident we’ll be graced with yet another marvelous experience. Still, it’s sad to see the Souls series come to an end. There is still lore left unexplored and unexplained. Yet, I find that fitting to the style of this series. I guess it’s time to put out this bonfire and wait to see what happens next.

 

YOU DIED

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