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FEATURE STEAM Report Card Electronic Arts MASS EFFECT 2 Comments: EA is one of the biggest games publishers in the world, and next to 2K and Activision, one of the worst performers when it comes to pricing. Almost every single major release is overpriced or has a significant AU levy sitting on top. For example, before the recent sales, Dragon Age, which came out almost a year ago, and Mass Effect 2, which came out in January, both included a $40US levy, same with C&C4 and Bad Company 2. Most of these games have dropped in price <strong>now</strong>, so it pays to be patient, but still, you shouldn’t have to wait so long to see depreciation seep through to the digital storefront. Grade: A B C D E F STEAM Report Card Sega Comments: Almost all of Sega’s steam catalogue, from their console releases to their PC published fare, are subject to a price premium for AU. As with EA, there existed quite a few higher priced titles before the 2010 sale – Aliens Vs Predator smacked you with a $15 levy, Napoleon: Total War a chunky $30, while the slew of old MegaDrive games had a small but still irritating 50c increase. Prices have dropped slightly in the new year, but the cycle is likely to repeat for their 2011 releases. Grade: A B C D E F STEAM Report Card NCSoft Comments: This MMORPG powerhouse, publishers of Guild Wars, Aion and City of Heroes, have always been very straightforward and upfront with their releases. Worldwide unlock dates, fair and equitable pricing, great pre-order incentives and regular discounts. If only a few other of the big boys followed their example. Grade: A B C D E F STEAM Report Card Square Enix & Eidos Interactive Comments: Another publisher that has recently undergone some changes, this strange coalition has introduced price and catalogue parity across their AU and US stores. Let’s hope this stays in place with the upcoming release of the next Batman title. Grade: A B C D E F STEAM Report Card Ubisoft Comments: Ubisoft’s case is surprisingly positive, considering the performance of the other major developers. Assassin’s Creed 2,Prince of Persia: TFS, R.U.S.E, Settler’s 7, H.A.W.X 2, and Splinter Cell Conviction all carry price parity with the US store. They’ve been pretty good with lowering the price of older titles and tend to not separate release dates between regions. Well done for bucking the trend, Ubisoft. Grade: A B C D E F 14 www.pixelhunt.com.au JANUARY 2011
STEAM Report Card Paradox Interactive Comments: A strategy behemoth, Paradox pumps out the deeply detailed software that their legions of fans crave. They also don’t discriminate on pricing, all of their titles have pricing parity, fair release dates and there are a number of well priced packages available. Grade: A B C D E F STEAM Report Card Valve Comments: The company behind Steam has always, and probably will always, stick to pure price parity and worldwide releases. Shame about the whole Left 4 Dead 2 censored thing, though. Grade: A B C D E F LEFT4DEAD2 STEAM Report Card THQ Comments: Another giant willing to finally drop some of its 2010 mark-ups. Darksiders, Metro 2033, and the Dawn Of War II expansion pack all came with a $20-30 levy, but have fallen to quite acceptable price points <strong>now</strong>. Surprisingly, some games were LOWER in price than on the US store, such as Saints Row 2, Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor and Titan Quest Gold. These strange price discrepancies are pretty confusing, but it’s encouraging to see lower prices in any case. Grade: A B C D E F STEAM Report Card Warner Bros. Comments: Our last candidate is one of the worst performers of the lot. Not only are almost all of their games more expensive, but by such a significant amount, considering their age. F.E.A.R. 2, Terminator Salvation and Wanted: Weapons of Fate all released over a year ago but sit at $44.99, $25 more than the US store. While the dollar levy figure isn’t significant, other developers are selling titles that old for almost half the price. Grade: A B C D E F ... & The Rest 1C Company, Big Fish Games, City Interactive, Epic Games, Focus Home Interactive, Her Interactive, Id Software, Interplay, iWin, JoWood/ Dreamcatcher, Kalipso, Majesco, Meridian 4, MumboJumbo, NovaLogic, Prima Games, Popcap, PlayFirst, RailSimulator.com, Sandlot Games, SouthPeak Games, Strategy First, Tilted Mill, Topware. While the companies listed here are generally casual, indie or back catalogue based (no new titles, just a depot of their Good Old Games), all of them share the same principles: price, release date and catalogue parity. Good prices, packages and extras provided by this bunch show that you don’t need to rip off a vulnerable section of the market to make money. Grade: A JAMES PINNELL Australia’s best gaming -zine www.PIXELHUNT.com.AU 15
Page 1 and 2: PS3 360 Wii PC MOBILE OPINIONS FEAT
Page 3 and 4: contents ISSUE 13 JANUARY 2011 Publ
Page 5 and 6: Garbage Tips Around the World Appea
Page 7 and 8: NIER Developer Cavia Publisher Squa
Page 9 and 10: YORDA If the player is to care abou
Page 11 and 12: like Cortana in Halo, the dependabl
Page 13: TRANSFORMERS: WAR FOR CYBERTRON STE
Page 17 and 18: Always call ‘shotgun’ in MAFIA
Page 19 and 20: Only Nintendo got it right, offerin
Page 21 and 22: For our money, this console generat
Page 23 and 24: ASSASSIN’S CREED BROTHERHOOD Deve
Page 25 and 26: QUESTIONS & ANSWERS PROFESSOR PIXEL
Page 27 and 28: ON THE HUNT PATRICK LANG Deadly Pre
Page 29 and 30: it was enough to make me fling a hi
Page 31 and 32: ASSASSIN’S CREED BROTHERHOOD MEDA
Page 33 and 34: When I say that games are getting l

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