Come on Down Microsoft The Price is... err... Wrong?

'Adidas 4 stripe' trainers, Nicks bag and le shark T - shirts! to say I was sponsored by a market stall in my youth was an understatement! You see for my mum it was value for her money and while this may be true; being asked if I sold the Big issue by countless classmates didn't help to reassure me that I'd been wearing 'quality' You see price, value and quality are so concretely linked, that depending on your definition of each, your level of satisfaction is based... For some reason Microsoft have seemingly forgotten this.


Microsoft's prize Bull of this holiday season has been the 'Summer of Arcade', with game quality each week being sublime - ranging from the guts and glory bionic commando through to the psychedelic genocide offered up by Galaga. Microsoft though has inadvertently thrown a spanner into its own machine; Namely through the nonsensical pricing policy!

400 points, 800 points, even the dreaded 1200 points, what is it really? £3 - £10.50, what does that actually buy you outside of Live Arcade? KitKat chunky, Bottle of Lucozade and a magazine perhaps. I know the world's in financial peril nowadays, but I'm also sure Wall Street won't crash anytime soon over such sums.


The problem for Microsoft is that they've created the proverbial rod for their own back! Years have gone by and like gaming sheep we've grown accustomed to 'Arcade Wednesday' and what it means - new game, cheap, disposable... Thank you very much.

Part of the problem with this mindset is that points are different from pennies and pounds, their value is different, not in literal terms, but rather what those points represent; especially when attached to an item.

I am sure there are people out there totally unaware of how much actual money 800 points equates to, and instead it just means they can get a good quality game like Pac Man Championship Edition for it. Microsoft obviously intended some level of vagueness so that people would spend more, all the while feeling they were getting a 'bargain'. Such decisions have been extremely lucrative thus far with over 13,000,000 paid downloads, so to some degree their pricing has worked... until now.

The problem with this is that the gamer has become used to this pricing, maybe naively, and now demands that Live arcade adheres to this code of ethics Microsoft created. Rather than a monetary value the gamer is more attached to the vague 'worth' of the points. Just look at the recent posts on countless game forums and you can witness the backlash first hand "I'm not buying this it's way too much!" or worse "what a rip off!"

To further complicate this, the recent releases have fueled the outcry - Geometry Wars 2 (800 points), Then Braid (1200 points. Had this been it; with the subsequent games following Braid's same price point, then I like many would have assumed this was the new pricing structure for Game titles. What in fact happened was the direct opposite with Bionic Commando and Galaga both undercutting Braid making it seem to the consumer even more 'expensive'


It's interesting to mention that the Playstation 3 doesn't suffer from this stigma at all. Why? because they haven't used 'mythical money' you don't have to trade virtual carrots for the CGI Goat, instead you pay with something quite popular in this modern world... Money!

There's no price 'standard' Like there is within Microsoft's Live Arcade, and while Elefunk is £4.99, Siren: The Blood Curse in its fullest form is £19.99. The buyer instantly understands these values, and is therefore inherently more educated as to the game's 'worth' Another strength to the Playstation Store is that prices change, allowing for their own 'Bargain Bin' moments, but perhaps more crucially not allowing the consumer to grow falsely attached to an assumed cost of a game.

Playstation Store definitely needs more content ... and maybe Microsoft saw this as a pitfall they wanted to avoid with their service. Live arcade has become synonymous with masses of content, updated regularly; sure it turns heads, but inadvertently Microsoft has created a stereotype of what downloadable content is - making it almost comparable to mobile gaming. They have created an Ogre like shadow which truly great games find inescapable, not due to a flaw in the gameplay, but because the community somehow feel cheated on price.

The recent pricing storm isn't entirely all of Microsoft's own making though, When commenting on Braid's official blog, Jonathan Blow Braid creator said the pricing was to "guard against... the Space Giraffe problem" (Space Giraffe received a mere 19,000 downloads) Can this possibly be true that a more expensive pricing somehow equates to it being a more legitimate game? If Jonathan Blow considers Space giraffe's main flaw its price point then I can only suggest he replays the at best 'mediocre' game!

Ultimately we as gamers are left with only one question " What do we base value on?" Game hours clocked up? Graphics? Multi player options, is it solely price?

Microsoft must change its pricing of Arcade titles to become less uniform. Old Arcade titles should become cheaper, full titles varying in price depending on developer, games available as episodic content. This much needed variety will re - educate gamers as to what the Live Arcade service 'means'

Currently Live Arcade lies trapped within its own myth - that it offers cheap, dispensable, 5 minute 'pick up and play' games; while this idea surrounds Live arcade like a smog, inventive games such as Braid will continue to be viewed as 'costly'

Microsoft needs to understand, as do the consumers of Live Arcade, that a 'Marketplace' might well sell crappy imitations, but it can also offer vintage quality goods that you pay more for. Maybe Marketplace should be re branded ' Live Boutique'... Then again maybe not.

Braid Review

Individuality, bit of a mixed bag really; for all that applaud such 'special' qualities, there's the stick waving mob ready to roast the Ogre. Think about it Gandhi, JFK, Martin Luther King heck even Jesus! I'm sure you've noticed the common pattern; and gaming too has its own fair share of gaming casualties, Psi - Ops, Beyond Good and Evil, Ico, to name but three, all sporting the 'individuality' badge. Braid almost aware of this, treads an uneasy path between freak or unique within the gaming world.

Braid instantly shocks the gamer through the visual style and the lack of a traditional start screen, instead placing the gamer into a Lowry come Vangough inspired Landscape, dark and foreboding with a rich tapestry of smog illuminating the solitary silhouette of Town house. As you go right towards the house you immediately realise that this it the game hub , with each room intricately detailed offering a portal to the game 'world' - all the while daubed with the artists ominous brush!

This is a stark contrast to the graphics depicting the levels themselves, which are bright, almost impressionistic in style, with several layers of colour swirling whirlpool like within the game objects such as clouds.


Graphically though Braid is a mixed bag, with the in game characters not sharing the same level of charm and appeal as the levels they occupy. The hero of the piece, Tim who is the character the gamer controls for the duration of Braid, is hampered by a limited set of animations. Jump sequences look very similar to walking, he shows little or no emotion when reaching the 'Barneyesque' end of level Dinosaur, which unless living on Sesame street you might find a slight bit odd!

The same criticism can be levelled at the in game enemies, all of which lack the variety and personality of a Mario or Zelda adventure. This is especially odd considering the level Environment designer David Hellman redrew these to "Better match the now-predominant style of the backgrounds"

Such feelings are largely offset by the sublime in game music. Braid's orchestral tones beautifully contrasts with the gamers expectations of a Platformer; its Celtic Violin melodies brilliantly reflecting the melancholy tone of the game narrative.

Had Braid solely been a Platformer in the traditional sense, then the game would have floundered; massively. Simply keep going right, opening the subsequent doors and you will reach the final world with relative ease... Braid though is anything but traditional! Each level serves as a logic puzzle, taxing the gamer and providing some genuine 'Scratch your head and think' moments. The real task of Braid is not that you reach the end of the level, but rather that you are able to collect every Jigsaw piece within the various worlds.


Rewinding time, slow motion, creating a deathly double of yourself all become skills the gamer needs to acquire in order to gain the illusive jigsaw pieces, and while puzzles increase in their complexity, Braid subtly introduces new skills ensuring that the gamer never feels lost at sea.

Within the Puzzle solving, Braid strikes a wonderful balance between taxing gameplay and the need to have 'Just one more go!' The puzzles, when conquered offer enough 'Eureka' moments to instantly make the gamer feel as though Einstein and Hawking were their equals (albeit without the need to love quantum physics!)


As a Puzzle game Braid works fluidly allowing for an easy comparison between gaming greats within that genre such as Chu Chu Rocket and Echochrome.

The only marring of Braid's puzzle credentials is that at times the platform jumping ( a necessary part to completing many puzzles) can be extremely fiddly, resulting in countless attempts - not due to the gamer not understanding how to solve the puzzle, but more due to a slight flaw in the game mechanics.

So where does Braid rest on the arc of individuality? Is it Zen like in its thinking? or rather just a bit wacky and awaiting the playground bully to 'sort 'im out' Braid certainly is bold as a concept, almost frighteningly so; fighting at times to contain all the ideas it intends to offer the gamer. While the platforming is hit and miss, and Braid's hero Tim is largely unremarkable; level design, sense of atmosphere and the ingenuity of the puzzles counter balance any negative feelings, helping it remain a rich gaming experience.

Longevity comes through revisiting the levels rather than any additional extras, and while 1,200 point price tag seems steep - especially when compared to recent releases such as Geometry Wars 2 and Bionic Commando - Braid still commands attention making it a more unique than a freakish experience, and one that is certainly uncommon within Xbox360 marketplace.

Playstation 3 Home Beta Invites

Myspace, Twitter, Facebook you'd have to be a caveman living under the very world itself not to realise that social networking is big business. The Internet has done its very best to shrink the world and it seems that with that achievement, users of the net now want the proverbial garden fence to gossip over.

Gaming has largely remained free of this - much to the annoyance of its community, but with the growth in popularity in the Xbox Live service, it has allowed a community to grow. Enter Sony; the new boy of Internet community, offering the 'Home' experience that doesn't just give you the metaphorical garden fence to chat over, but instead a gargantuan of a town to explore and enjoy!

For lucky members of the Sony community, a closed beta version of Home (version 00.97.3 when going to print) has been released. There has been some speculation as to how members obtained an Invite, with US customers having the option of being on the 'waiting list' by downloading and installing the Home Theme, while others received emails From Sony, That read as follows

"PlayStation®Home is a 3D, interactive, evolving service, exclusive to PLAYSTATION®3. It's free to download and easy to use. Home is the place to be if you want to deepen your gaming experience - the place where you can meet, chat, plan, and launch games together. Also, you can fully customise your avatar, decorate your own Home apartment, play mini-games, watch videos, take part in events, and much more - it's all part of the Home experience.

We've chosen to offer access to Home to a select number of PLAYSTATION®3 owners, and as a valued member of PLAYSTATION®Network, you have been selected to be amongst the first to try this exciting new service.

To take part, and play an important role in helping us evolve and grow the service over the coming months, please redeem your unique promotional code below using your PLAYSTATION®3 and join us in Home...

Please remember that Home is currently in a restricted testing phase, which means that we'll be constantly adding new features and content, and testing the service, over the coming months. As part of your participation, we'll also occasionally ask you about your experiences, and gather feedback, so we can continually improve the service.

Also please understand that this is a closed and confidential beta and your participation is subject to our Terms of Use which will be presented to you the first time you connect to Home. Please keep all discussion of your experiences within Home confidential and limit them to our private Home Beta Forum...

Welcome to PlayStation®Home.

Yours,

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe"


As you'll gather from the above correspondence there's very little else we can say, due to the confidentiality of the Beta, but once it goes to a Public beta or general release... we'll be first with a guide on how it all works!