Today on
Headline RePLAY: Patches are costly, Nintendo’s eShop prints money and Zynga
get sued!
When it
comes to patches, we always thought they were minimal in cost. On the contrary,
they’re expensive.
In an interview
with Hookshot, Double Fine’s Time Schafer said the cost of a patch on a modern
console is $40,000.
“You have
to jump through a lot of hoops, even for important stuff like patching and
supporting your game. Those are things we really want to do, but we can't do it
on these systems,” said Schafer. “I mean, it costs $40,000 to put up a patch –
we can't afford that!”
No wonder
gameplay fixes and balance changes are so uncommon!
According
to analysts, the Nintendo 3DS eShop is already proving its worth by
yielding an estimated total income of $11.1 million in 2011. The statistic
includes the 3DS Virtual Console, 3D Classics and original downloadable games.
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
DX, a Game Boy Color title, contributed
to nearly one-quarter of the staggering $11.1 million figure. Also of note,
eight of the ten bestselling titles are all first-party Nintendo titles.
However,
the eShop launched on June 6th of last year, so the report only comprise
of a seven month sales period. FADE LLC, a digital analysis firm that’s in the
business of reporting digital sales figures and revenues, is responsible for
the report.
A word of
caution on the numbers: these are estimated figures and provided by FADE, which
may not be entirely accurate.
Estimated Top Selling Titles, by Gross
Revenues (Annual, 2011)
1. The
Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX (Nintendo) - 338,700 Units / $2.3
Million USD (VC)
2. 3D
Classics: Excitebike (Nintendo) - 481,100 Units / $1.3 Million USD (eShop)
3. Super
Mario Land (Nintendo) - 230,500 Units / $1.1 Million USD (VC)
4. Freakyforms:
Your Creations, Alive! (Nintendo) - 112,700 Units / $969,000 USD (eShop)
5. Pushmo
(Nintendo) - 93,300 Units / $634,000 USD (eShop)
6. Kirby's
Dream Land (Nintendo) - 84,500 Units / $384,000 USD (VC)
7. Let's Golf! 3D (Gameloft) - 43,200 Units / $356,000 USD (eShop)
8. Donkey
Kong (Nintendo) - 82,800 Units / $348,000 USD (VC)
9. 3D
Classics: Xevious (Nintendo) - 47,900 Units / $301,000 USD (eShop)
10. Hyu Stone (Poisoft) - 50,300 Units
/ $293,000 USD
*Source: Nintendo Life via Destructoid
Of all the things that Zynga could be sued for, it’s for patent charges. Personalized Media Communications has filed a suit alleging that a variety of Zynga’s games like Words with Friends, CityVille and Farmville uses PMC’s patented technology.
The four
patents cited cover a wide array of uses such as the “controlled access of
media content”, “network management” and “management of downloading
technologies.”
It’s all
vague and can cover the entirety of the internet. However, PMC stands firm in
their allegations:
“Many
years of time and labor went into developing our inventions and securing the
patents that permit their practice,” explained PMC founder John C. Harvey, “It
wouldn’t be right to sit by and allow them to be infringed.”
*Source:
Gamasutra
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