It annoys me how with the current economic climate, that Sony and Microsoft can't ever show when or what games are dropping each week. I don't know about you but I like to plan out my spending each month so I know what I can afford. Knowing what games or DLC is coming out when helps!!

The playstation blog tends to list an exclusive the day before release (wed. usually PSN updates on thurs.), with little to no information with it. This is compounded by the fact that sony does not force developer to put a demo with every game. That makes me not purchase many games for it. With the industry going more and more towards digital distrbution, I need more information on every purchase. Demos NEED to be put out with every game.

Don't get me wrong, mircrosoft is far from perfect. they announce titles sun. or mon. of that week. Though there are demos with every arcade release. and the fact that they use space bucks (sorry. "microsoft points" ) is kind of arbitrary( 800 pts = $10.00 ). At least sony uses dollar amounts, and the wii's point system just removes the decimal point ( $10.00=1000 pts.) [not that the money or points is terribly relevent I felt it needed mentioning]

I almost never use the wii so I can't say to much about it, but typically the same week by week problem exist there as well.

I don't get why they can't go at least month by month, even the fall & spring promotions they have been doing just give a list of future games but still no release dates!!

Maybe it sounds like I'm blowing this out of proportion, but I needed to get it off my chest. and to see if i'm alone with this problem or not. So what say you? What have I missed? Any thoughts

Yet another once great developer dies before christmas. Good luck to the displaced team members,I  hope they can either restructure the company or find new jobs soon.....

I have been craving a Meaty Coop game for a long while now, and leave it to Valve to nail it!! 

I love how valve made a bunch of design decisions throught the game to make all of players work together. Like getting slowed down when you are hit, needing every team member the helpful in game character chat (like when they shout out weapon caches, or when thay are realoading-beleve it or not that helps!), and curbing the "lone wolf" syndrome that plagues most online shooters.

They were able to make a creative versus mode that is not only creative & fun, but unique as well. As an infected I have had to make up stratagies on the fly that I never thought I would in a game. Each of the infected has a unique playing style with the hulk-like tank taking the cake in terms of being a riot to play.

Only downside is hoping that Valve can get DLC on the 360 quickly.

--Far Cry 2 is a good game hampered by frustrating enemy checkpoints (drive half a click, fight, repeat) it's worth playing but hair pulling situations keep popping up.... Also it is very tedious

---Fable lives up to most of what Peter Molyneux promised in Fable 1. It proved that an accessible game can be made and be fun for the "hardcore" as well----until the end that is... my final choice got glitched! and I couldn't finish the final quest because of it. Essentially killing my game.  So that went off to gamestop!

---Castlevania: OoE is not only a long title but another great installment of this great series. Seriously if you own a DS and dont have any castlvania games on it... What are you waiting for?!

Now on to Fallout 3, GoW 2, Left 4 Dead, Chrono Trigger (DS)---- ARRGGHH!!! TOO MANY GAMES!!!

Will game publishers EVER work together and put stuff throughout the year?! summer needs some of these games. Well, at least my wallet needs a break....

After Braid & Castle Crashers were listed as 1200 microsoft points (or $15.00), these prices have gotten people uneasy about future games on the service. Hopefully these won't become the norm (most games on the service seemed to hover around 800 pts.-$10.00) but I won't mind if the developers put enough things in the game to warrant a larger price. Just as long as they dont forget that this is a cheaper alternative to full retail games, and not jack up the prices just because they can.

In Braid's defense they are a small indie developer and, (as the devs have stated) it was so that they break even on the cost of the game - they even cited the problems space giraffe had with its low price (400 pts.- $5.00) and the low amounts sold. Basically saying that if he charged 1200 pts. in case the game wasn't a hit, he may have broke even instead of being in the hole. Personally I think if Space Giraffe didn't feel like a Tempest clone smashed together with an epilectic fit it may have sold more (but that's just my personal opinion...). On Castle Crashers from everything on the developers blog they are cramming a ton into the game and they too are an indie developer. 

Though the other side of the issue is that Jonathan Blow (creator/ lead devloper of Braid) said that microsoft nudged him to a higher price point. Though the extent of that pressure is unknown. It's quite possible that they did it with the intent to help him avoid the aformentioned problems Jeff Minter (Space Giraffe lead dev.) had. Or it could be everyone's fear of a XBLA new release price raise- although it is only $5.00 and it seems like a small issue- $5.00 here or their can quickly add up.

I hope that this it much ado about nothing.

P. S. this is my take on the issue brought up by Jeff about the Castle Crashers price listing- giving credit where it's due.

Thanks for your time - and give me some of your thought or somthing that i may have missed...