"Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower"

- Steve Jobs

When gamers hear "digital distribution" we as a community have varying responses. Some feel that the ability to digitally collect games that they may have missed out on in the past to be a great gift from the past, while others may feel that the lack of a tangible item makes for a hollow experience. This weeks chalk talk assignment is about Digital Distribution and the impact that it has on the gaming community. I have my own opinions on digital dramas but was having difficulties articulating my idea. So I prompted several of my close gaming friends to gather their feedback.

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Randy S. (Long-Time Friend and Gamer)
I agree with pretty much everything that was said here. At this point if you're not gearing your company toward some kind of digital release, then you're behind the times. If there's one thing that I've learned over the years its that you can never stop progress. You can direct it, but if you try to stand against it you risk losing everything. Not only that, but this is pretty much a win win situation for everyone involved. With lower manufacturing and shipping costs, more money can be spent on development and troubleshooting. It is sad to see a lot of retailers closing down, but if they were only making their money by distributing other peoples work then that's the fault of the company, not the direction of the gaming industry, and where those jobs are lost I think you will see an increase in customer service jobs for these larger production games.

Ben J. (Programmer, Character / Level Designer)
I have bought like 1 physical game a year for the last 3 or 4 years. Digital purchases aren't much slower when you compare broadband download vs traveling to a store. As above digital never runs out of stock, you get it the instant it's available, sometimes even preloading it on your machine. I've been playing games 8-10 hours ahead of friends who preordered physical copies, sometimes days if their local brick and mortar ran out and they forgot to preorder.
That and the physical experience is going downhill, especially for PC games. Best Buy/ Fry's has the top 20-40 PC Titles + shovelware and that's about it. Gamestop's selection and employee knowledge of PC titles ranges from small to laughably nonexistent. If you're not looking for the latest AAA shooter or epic time solitaire bundle there's not much there for you. Between Steam, Impulse, Origin and GOG almost anything I want to play is at my fingertips.
Buying a new computer? Forget juggling cases and CD keys. Downoload a few programs, que up a bunch of downloads before bed and you wake up to your entire game library painlessly restored.

David S. (Game Designer)
I've been doing digital distribution of most of my work since 1992. Hey, twenty years now! I have to say, I think it's totally awesome. Though 1992 and BBSes was a little too soon.
I also really like that digital distribution provides more and better opportunities for small indy developers. A hat I've worn as often as I've worn the "working at a big game company" hat.

"Monky" (Professional Cosplayer)
I feel digital distribution is great for the gaming industry. Although stores that sell games will take a big hit, I think overall it is for the better. I've purchased more games from XBL since I purchased my 360 than I have hard copies of games. It's not because the games are better or worse (although some will argue), but because it is convenient and I can try out a demo of the game before I purchase it most of the time. Whereas with hard copies of games, once you buy it, you're pretty much stuck. Sure you can sell it back to Gamestop for half the value, but then you just wasted $30 if the game was brand new, and a lot of games that come out now don't seem to have playable demos, which is really upsetting. Also, if an awesome game is coming out and you forget to pre-order it, it will cost you like $30 in gas and $75 in parking tickets to get it on release day whereas with digital copies, they don't run out. Furthermore, digital games are better for the environment because they don't use plastic cases or have printed instruction booklets. And if you want an older game from a previous generation, a lot of the classics are available to be played on newer consoles.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm a BIG fan of having my games on a shelf where I can see and diaplay them with a fat instruction booklet with tidbits and artwork (but most instruction booklets are very disappointing these days...). I also love being able to lend out my games. And if I don't want the game anymore, I like to have the option to sell it. I love being able to talk to the employees at gaming stores to get their input and shoot the **** are things that digital distribution doesn't really lend itself to. But these are really trivial in the long run. I also believe that game stores that allow people to buy and sell games, as awesome as that is for customers, is horrible for gaming companies because they aren't making nearly as much money on that single title as they would have if everyone bought new copies which leads to lower quality games that are rushed out to consumers to try and make up for lost profits.

Darby B. (Expert Game Tester)
It would seem we are entering into a sort of digital renaissance, where in the consumer is now getting a direct voice with developers, publishers, and each other. With a mixture of Digital distribution eliminating potential manufacturing overhead; forums and direct PR contacts allowing for instant opinions to be expressed en mass (effect 3); and systems like kick starter allowing for direct backing of, what can potentially be AAA titles. However there is a great potential for this all to come crashing down upon our heads. From the Big developers wanting to charge as much for a digital download as a boxed game, to always online DRM and day 1 DLC content. The freedom the gaming, and indeed all communities (I recently supported the creation and digital distribution of a book), have gained are being seen as a threat by the various corporate entities. Suddenly the consumer is able to give their money directly to whomever they want, for whatever they want. Decreasing the need for their large stockpiles of Capital that is traditionally relied upon to create the product sought. This combined with the loss of Tax revenue for local and federal governments, creates dangerous sea of political pressure. (though people are of course supposed to be reporting the purchases on their yearly tax reports). Already we have seen several ham-fisted attempts at regulating this new found world wide freedom. So we as consumers need to ensure we let the corporations know what they can do to keep our business. So that they don't run, frightened, away from the progress that we as a worldwide internet community have made, in the freedom of Funding, creating, and distributing art.

Peter B. (Video Games Guide Aficionado)
When I look at a physical copy of a game,be it a cartridge or cd/dvd case, it stirs up similar emotions to looking at a treasured photo. I immediately recall the people and places I experienced alongside said game. This is something that will be lost with titles that exist solely in digital form. Without a tangible object in actual-space, we are left with icons or banners to "represent" a game and our experiences with it. Distribution methods won't effect gameplay (much), and I suppose that is the critical element that defines a game's legitimacy in a market or our memories, but I'd rather have a physical copy of Super Metroid (or any now-classic-game) that I can't logistically play, vs a digital copy that I can. Eventually, that digital version will lose its distribution license, or worse, fade into non-existence. To misquote the all-knowing Yoda: "Source code does not a memory recall".

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If you have feelings or thoughts you wish to share on this topic please feel free to write up an editorial blog making sure to include some of the following points:

- Minimum 500 words
- An image to include as your cover shot for your blog
- No altered fonts or colors

I look forward to seeing all of your submissions!

When the term "video game novel" comes to mind, what is the first thing that you think of?

Personally for me, I cannot help but be reminded of many a night when taking that long Texas bus ride home from work while reading "The Well of Eternity" a tale about the cataclysmic battle of Mount Hyjal, when the demonic Burning Legion was "banished" from Azeroth. It was the first of the "War of the Ancients" books and it stared classic characters such as Malfurion, Tyrande, and Illidan. As well as Krasus and Rhonin.

Now before I go any further I fully admit that these books would normally be considered guilty pleasures at best. The writing isn't exactly on par with other great fantasy writings (R.A. Salvatore anyone?) but I digress, I found myself enjoying this book because I was so invested in the lore of Warcraft.

With that being said, I can't help but feel that video game books are often a critical part of any game that you wish to become truly invested in. Does this mean that your gaming experience will be greatly effected should the book be horrible. Of course it might! There have been rewrites for books where the lore specifically contradicted a critical moment during story telling, but it is still important to experience these pitfalls and blunders from time to time if for no other reason than to become better invested in the game in question.

I'm not the only one who feels this way as well, I asked a few of my co workers and while some of them have never picked up a video game novel, a few of them gave some delightful responses:

John Davidson I've read a bunch, I like the Mass Effect novels. Also, the Diablo III book wasn't bad and the Halo books weren't awful either.

Maxwell: I read the novelization of Resident Evil 3, as well as the first three StarCraft books when I was younger. I would suggest the Witcher novels, those are by far my favorite--though that series started with books and then was made into video games.

So what kinds of books are out there? Well by now most people are aware of the scores of Blizzard themed novels, but let us dig a little deeper,Bioshock Rapture, Gears of War, Mass Effect, and Halo are just a few that come to mind but there are fuller lists of games that can be found all over the internets.

But there is a darker side to the word of video game novels, for they are not all created equally. For example, let us look at StarCrafts Shadow of the Xel'Naga.. While many of the other books in the Star Craft series managed to hold their own this one. This book was horrible. If you played the game, and especially if you were a fan of the game you might expect this book to be an interesting look into the battle between the Protoss and the Zerg Swarm, expecting perhaps an epic tale of struggle and survival.

The books description even sets us up for great expectations saying: "Each species struggles to ensure its own survival among the stars in a war that will herald the beginning of mankind's greatest chapter -- or foretell its violent, bloody end."

Now, this book, does NO SUCH THING! If you were to look at some of the reviews for this particular chapter in the series you might feel compelled to run in fear and possibly refuse to ever pick up another video game novel again, I could honestly go on and on for some time but I'll spare you the rant.

Now I personally feel that these books, have a major impact on the games mythos and despite what blunders may occur should still be a large part of any fans gaming experience. I feel that ultimately their impact on the world and advancement of story is a positive one. Furthermore if a game wishes to delve deeply into a particular character or event this is an invaluable tool that should be utilized.

With that I feel that it is also important to make note of those books that should have adaptations created in honor of celebrating it's healthy lore, detailed characters, and amazing story. For example this is what Peter Brown had to say on what game he thought deserved a novel:

"The one I would read without pause would be an examination of Delita's character during the ending of Final Fantasy Tactics. He is such a conflicted and pivotal character in the grand scheme of the main story, and his conclusion during the epilogue was so dramatic, that it always bugged me to no end that the events in between are left to our imaginations. I've certainly come to my own conclusions/assumptions, but I would absolutely read a novelization of those events if it was penned by the game's director and scenario writer, Yasumi Matsuno."

Finally my dear readers, I would like to invite you and encourage you to take part in this weeks Chalk Talk, the theme is "The Art of Storytelling".



A great man once said that a mind needs a book as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge.

We want you to discuss video games in literature and its effect on the games mythos and history. If you are in need of some inspiration consider some of these points: do video game novels have a positive or negative impact? Do you feel that some games in desperate need of deeper explanation into the lore or are some books simply tools used to coarse fans into spending more on their beloved franchise.

When you have finished your blog be sure to mark it as editorial and send a PM to me so that I can see what you've written. As an added incentive, this week we will be gifting the featured users of this weeks chalk talk some little goodies from our video game novel library.

So I wrote this article this week:

http://www.gamespot.com/features/should-developers-protect-gamers-from-themselves-6387782/

which got about a 99.9% negative response. Then we recorded this Quoted for Truth episode:

http://www.gamespot.com/diablo-iii/videos/quoted-for-truth-diablo-iii-death-bf4-fez-patch-6388173/?tag=Topslot;FridayShows;IsGameAddictionAndCon

Which got a slightly better resposne. But it was this response above all that salvaged my weekend and made me think that maybe we, as gamers, have some hope after all:

Hirasugi

Capcomannounced the release date for Street Fighter X Tekken for PS Vita yesterday, along with plans to provide customers with up to three different downloadable codes to unlock content in the portable and PS3 editions of the game. This led to me asking for some clarification from Capcom PR, since their announcement didn't spell out every permutation of delivery method and incentive(s). The resulting Q&A is a peek at where we're headed, and what a pain current trends in the industry really are for people who just want to know exactly what they can expect when they make a purchasing decision.

- The 12 new VITA characters are playable right from the start in both the retail and digital VITA versions of the game. For the retail version: if you wish to play these characters on your PS3 as well, you simply need to enter the printed DLC download code that comes with the retail disc to redeem them on your PS3.

- If users buy a used retail copy of the game, they will still have access to the 12 DLC character on their VITA because they are available standard as mentioned. However, if the enclosed DLC codes have already been redeemed by the previous owner of the game, they will not be able to put the 12 new character DLC on their PS3, or the 38 alternate costume DLC content on their VITA or PS3.

- The digital VITA version comes with the 12 characters standard from the very beginning, just like the retail version. In addition, the purchase history of the 12 characters will be recorded on the user's PSN ID record, so they can redeem them for free on their PS3.

- The 38 character alternate costume DLC comes as a printed DLC download code for the VITA retail version. This DLC can be shared between the VITA and PS3. For the digital version, the purchase history of the 38 character alternate costume DLC will be recorded on the user's PSN ID, and thus can be redeemed for free on VITA and PS3.

- The alternate costume DLC is available as a pre-order bonus for the retail copy of the game. This DLC can be shared between the VITA and the PS3. The DLC will be available for other users later on.

What Is Chalk Talk?
We have wanted to put together an assignment style feature that would allow writers to get some special recognition. You might want to think of it as an offspring from TheHotSpot?s homework assignments and the Blog Bunker reports, we will be sharing this via our social networks like Twitter and Facebook.

Wait, so Chalk Talk is Replacing SoapBox?
Not by a long shot, SoapBox will still exist and continue to be updated with new contributors as a separate feature. Chalk Talk will have special guests contribute to the piece but most of the content will be provided by GameSpot?s community managers. The SoapBox will continue to be your source for editorial type of rants and raves about the game industry, posted by GameSpot staff and GameSpot members.

We plan on updating Chalk Talk once a week, that however isn't to say that we aren?t open to fabulous contributing editors creating a stunning feature. Don't be surprised if you see more than one Chalk Talk published in a given week!

Why should I care about this?
Quite simply if you care about seeing your blog or other blogs posted by excellent writers of the site Chalk Talk will be a way for you all to get additional recognition. Provided there is enough support, and possibly propel users blogs to the front page.

Okay, I'm on board. How do I get featured?
The first step is marking your blog as an editorial based on what we've assigned or create your own blog about anything on your mind for extra credit. Here's how to get recognized.

- Before you've clicked the "Submit" button make sure that you select "Editorial" in the field for category (see image).

Otherwise there are Rangers out there constantly on the hunt for high quality blogs, that being said you are welcome to reach out to anyone you see with a Ranger tag. You can also reach out to previous contributing editors as well as mods and admins.

At the end of each of the Chalk Talks there will be an "Assignment" for bloggers to complete in hopes of being featured in the next edition of the feature. Not interested in the assignment? There's still a chance to be featured as "Extra Credit"

What do you mean by Assignment and Extra Credit?
An Assignment is what will help allow users to be featured as a part of Chalk Talk. Assignments have an overlying theme to help mold the feature into a proper page. Here are a few examples of possible discussions:
Are New Endings Worth It, Feminism in Games, and Music in Video Games, Just to name a few.

So I have to write what you tell me?
Not exactly, the assignment has an overlying theme and will also include several tips for what we're looking for in the assignment for being featured.

Explain this "Extra Credit"
Extra Credit are blogs that don't meet the standards of the assignment but are fantastic blogs none the less. That way, everyone still has a chance of being featured!

Will ChalkTalk be on the front page?
That all depends on the community. We?re affording users the chance and the means to be featured, but the community needs to support the feature if we want to see it make the front page of the site. There will be coverage on our social networks; Twitter, Facebook, and G+ meaning a possible half a million eyes on this feature.

You keep saying "Contributing Editor" what is that?
Staff will select a contributing editor from GameSpot's community, and they will assist with the feature for the day. The Contributing Editor creates the assignment, collects the appropriate blogs, selects who to feature, and so forth. The Contributing Editor then passes the content to either CM?s to then be posted on the site. Why do you want to be a CE? A Legendary Emblem, a ?Powered By? credit on the page, as well as possible additional incentives which are still being determined are just a few reasons why you might want to try for being a Contributing Editor.

How do you pick what gets featured?
The decision is made by the Contributing Editor for the page, normally the Contributing Editor will be either Community Managers or other GameSpot staff members. However, we are giving GameSpot members a chance to volunteer as a "Contributing Editor" for Chalk Talk too.

Tips on how to get Featured
Here are a few quick tips to play by when posting blogs for Chalk Talk:
- Stay away from episodic Blog titles.By this we mean titles like "Synthia's Grab Bag of Gaming Goodies #1034".
- If you have pictures, please make them uniform. Similar sizes and displayed in a consistent fashion.
- No weird fonts or colors! We cannot stress this enough, you wouldn?t turn in an official form in pink or green ink.
- Swearing, keep it PG-13 guys and dolls. Yes the TOU states that you're welcome to swear, but to be featured on the site you'll need to keep verbiage tasteful (or appropriately censored).
- The blog should be a minimum of 500 words, which really isn't much when you think about it.

Want an example of some amazing blogs?
The Emotion Device - By: adam1808
Defending Jacob: Elaborated Book Review - By: pokecharm
Across the Universe - By: Pierst179


Wait, I still have questions!
Of course you do, that's what this blog is for. It's the introductory stage to Chalk Talk where we want your feedback, insights, questions, comments, or concerns. I'll be answering them periodically and the questions may be featured when the official announcement is posted at a later date.

In season five of Fox's medical drama House, the episode "Here Kitty" opens with the grouchy-yet-brilliant doctor playing with Hot Wheels set up around the body of a comatose patient, sending a car down a ramp to literally jump a toy shark. It was a winking nod to the TV trope invoked to mean that a show's writers have run out of ideas, a clever acknowledgement to the audience that while the show would carry on (for another three seasons, it turned out), it would likely do so as a creatively destitute shadow of its already formulaic former self.

At the time, I was a bit amazed at the honesty of the scene, as if the creators of what had until then been a largely excellent show were stepping outside the confines of the program for just a moment to communicate directly with me as a member of the audience. "Things are going to get bad," they seemed to say. "The realities of the marketplace and our need to put food on the table will keep this running for a while yet, but we just want you to know it's never going to be the same. We owe that much to you for your support all these years."

That moment in a TV show I saw in 2009 was the first thing I thought of when I heard that New Super Mario Bros. 2 would be the first Mario game to feature downloadable content. I already had reservations about the game. When Nintendo showed off a glimpse of it during its Electronic Entertainment Expo media briefing, I was struck by the coin-grabbing focus of the game. Sure, Mario has always picked up coins, but as Nintendo marketing exec Scott Moffit noted on stage, "What you can't help but notice is that this Mario is all about the gold." Coin-lust is a theme Nintendo has played with before, but only with Wario, a character created to represent the opposite of everything Mario embodies. Conveniently, Wario has also been used to satirize shamelessly greedy game publishers in the WarioWare series, essentially presenting such operations as the opposite of everything Nintendo stands for.

So a Mario game fixated on coins raised an eyebrow. But combined with the news of the DLC plan, it presents an irresistibly coherent picture of a creative team signaling a regretful epoch change to the faithful who happen to be paying attention. Well that's what I desperately want to believe, anyway. The truth of the matter is that I just don't think mainstream game developers put that much bigger picture thought into their work, and even when they do, they aren't bold enough to insert subversive candor into their titles. Especially not at Nintendo, proud home of corporate spokespeople with summer homes in the uncanny valley.

Given that, I expect New Super Mario Bros. 2 to be welcomed as a score attack-driven approach to the classic platforming formula. That could be great in and of itself, as I think there are plenty of interesting mechanics the game could crib from latter-day shoot-'em-ups to make for some engaging leaderboard competition. But if this is the beginning of Nintendo's transformation into just another shamelessly greedy game publisher, if the company forsakes the stubborn vision that makes it Nintendo for better and for worse, then we can look back on this and pinpoint New Super Mario Bros. 2 as the inflection point. And we can at least say we were warned.