There seems to be more and more developers and publishers giving their 2 cents on the used gaming market and how it affects their bottom line. From that stand point, yes I see that someone buying a used copy of Grand Theft Auto IV instead of a new copy would deny TakeTwo some chunk of change. What I don't get is why are these folks complaining when other companies in other markets rarely make a peep?

Let's take a few examples. I buy a shirt from Target at $20. I wear it for a while but I lose interest in the design and how it fit. I can't take it back of course but there are some stores that buy clothes for resale. I take it to one of those stores and probably get a few bucks if I am lucky and they in turn sell it for probably double what they paid me. Does the maker of the clothing complain these used clothing stores are eating into their profits?

A local home construction company builds a house and sells it for $175,000. The owners decide they don't want the house after a few years, puts it on the market, and manages to sell it. The original home construction company doesn't come back and lament over the loss of revenue with someone buying their past used house from the owner rather than a brand new one they built down the street.

I pick up a movie and a CD from Best Buy for $30 and decide after a few viewings and listenings I didn't want them anymore. No problem as I can go to my local trade in place and drop off the movie and CD in return for different ones or cash back. I haven't seen a big rash of complaints from the movie studios, music companies, or Best Buy saying they are losing money because I traded in something I purchased for something else in the same industry.

I can go on and on about other examples that include vehicles, applicances, and toys but the bottom line is the buying and selling of used goods is nothing new and software companies shouldn't think they are special enough to be above this practice. If games weren't priced so outrageously expensive these days maybe you'd have more folks buying a copy of your game instead of buying it off the local used games place.  Maybe if you offered some online incentives like an extra 20 songs that Rock Band 2 is giving out,  people would purchase your product as new more. 

Well John, you may say,  you just develop applications that aren't being sold to the general public and you'd be upset if you saw someone buying a used copy of your application over purchasing it straight from you. Personally, I would try to actually price the application at a reasonable price that I think would be accessible to more people. I'd also include incentives, support, and free additions so that people wouold be more inclined to keep the application and also feel they purchased something of sustained value. Even if someone picked up a used copy of my product, I'd count that as a potential future customer who might really like the product they picked up used and pick up my next one when it comes out rather than waiting for a used copy.

Games, like most other purchased goods through a B&M or online store, shouldn't be treated with any special provisions preventing people from reselling them for other games. If you want more people buying from you instead of used places, create high quality products, don't overprice them, and think of ways for the consumer to feel like they need to keep the game. Expect a portion of your revenue to be lost to the used gaming market, deal with it, move on, and concentrate on creating quality games.

I really enjoy Seth MacFarlane and both Family Guy and American Dad. American Dad's really done a lot better since the first season. Well, Seth's trying his hand at some shorts and his first one is about our favorite plumber and high maintenance princess.

Thanks Kotaku.

[Sean Nack's a good guy.  He doesn't mean to show me up as much as he does.  But when I came out with "Alternative Theme Songs For Winter Games" (two of which was eaten by internet ether) he devised a Top 5 list of his own.  Here it is. - Randy]

There are a lot of lists. Especially in our community, everyone has their "Top 5" lists, or their "Best Ever" lists. All that's well and good, but how many times can you read "Top 5 Hottest Characters" or "Most Influential", or the ever popular "Coolest"?

I have nothing against lists in general, but what about we try a list that might actually help you out a little bit? How about a list that might change your perspectives, alter your perceptions, and maybe, just maybe, help you get in the proper frame-of-mind for a few of the most anticipated games of the year? Prepare yourself for the next contender for the "Best Lists List": the Top 5 Books to Get You In The Mood…wait for it…For New Games.

Yes, you read that correctly. I said books. I'm an old-fashioned guy, ladies and gentlemen, and I firmly believe in the power of the written word to transform a person, and even to prepare you for the types of situations you'll encounter in the next few months. So grab a book (they're square-ish, made largely of paper, you may be familiar), curl up on the couch (honestly, what else do you have to do this month?) and get your literature on:

1. Game: Far Cry 2

    Book: The Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad

With as much remorseless violence as you've no doubt dealt out throughout your  videogame career, you surely consider yourself a hardened killer, completely prepared for whatever the African savannah has to dish out. My friends, I  encourage you to e-shoot and e-burn and e-bomb to your heart's content, but  know this: in the real world, violence not only has physical consequences, it  corrodes the soul. In Joseph Conrad's classic tale, based on his actual adventures  in the then-Belgian Congo, the author demonstrates the incredible toll that  violence and the degradation of humanity takes on a man, when his boat is  assigned to head hundreds of miles up-river to retrieve a company rubber  collector who has gone completely insane and set himself up as a god-king in the  African jungle. When  the man is finally overcome by his illnesses, both mental  and physical, his final words are a reflection of his actions, and his own  heart:  all he can see is "the horror…the horror." You may also recognize this plot,  modified quite a bit, in the classic film "Apocalypse Now." After you read this  book, you may find yourself questioning your own actions in the game: how far  into your own heart of darkness are you willing to go?

2. Game: Spore

    Book: Origin of Species, Charles Darwin.

While obviously not as inspired as the previous selection, and certainly tougher to  read, where better to get a strategy for creating and leading your own organism to success than from the man who is most closely associated with evolution? This  book may have ushered in some morally-questionable science, such as that old misconception about "nature, red in tooth and claw", but if reading about  Galapagos finches gives you that one great idea for your creature that makes you  the dominant force in the universe…like I've always said, as of about right now,  there's no place for a great fictional idea than the real world. 

3. Game: Fable 2

    Book: The Black Cauldron, Lloyd Alexander

Thought you saw LOTR coming, didn't you? This one is a personal choice for me,  because, well, I'll put it this way: I hate sword and sorcerer crap. I'm way more interested in the sci-fi end of the business, for one thing, but for another, I read  this book when I was about seven years old, and nothing ever stacked up against  it. What I should say is that this is actually the second of a five part series, and  that the Cauldron creates armies of the undead, blah-blah, but what caused me to  pair the two is the series inimitable hero: Taran, Assistant Pig-Keeper. Much like  your faceless, nameless hero, he was nothing until adventure came along and  claimed him. The tenor of the series is also much different from LOTR, as it takes  itself far, far less seriously, though is still inspired by Welsh mythology, and it's  this mix of the grand and the humorous that makes it a perfect lead-in to Fable 2.

4. Game: Left 4 Dead

    Book: Zombie Survival Guide, Max Brooks.

Ok, so this one is pretty much a gimme. Max Brooks' equally fantastic World War Z is also a valid choice, but the survival guide makes you think  strategically, question the efficacy of your surroundings, and most importantly in  a zombie apocalypse scenario, act defensively. As a person who is actively and  seriously preparing for the zombie apocalypse, the defensive considerations  are paramount in the initial stages, and while you can't change Valve's plan or  weapon load-outs, you can learn to manage your surroundings to your  advantage. Attacked in a two story house? Run up the stairs, create a choke-point,  and plink away. Learn which weapons are most effective in what environments,  and most importantly, take away from your time spent in the imaginary  apocalypse some lessons for the real world.

5. Game: Fallout 3

    Book: Lord of the Flies, William Golding.

I know what you're thinking: where're the nukes, the zombies, the irradiated  monstrosities? Where's my apocalypse? All those things are important to the  scenario, but the theme is paramount, and Lord of the Flies is thematically about  as apocalyptic as anything ever written. William Golding's tale of British  schoolboys trapped on a desert island illustrates perfectly how that most delicate  construction of man, society, fails in the face of our greatest enemy: man. What  keeps us from killing and eating each other, what element is removed when you  have such infamous incidents as Rwanda, the Holocaust, or My Lai? Society's  restrictions on killing. Society and the fickle goodwill of your neighbors are the  only things that keep us recognizably human. What better definition of apocalypse  is there, on a small scale like Lord or a large scale like a post-nuclear wasteland,  than mankind's' loss of humanity?

Being a bit of a recovering CCG-aholic, I couldn’t resist wandering by Konami’s booth to check out their latest collectable “Role-Playing Card Game”, Blue Dragon.  Based on the Xbox 360 title and subsequent animated series of the same name, this tabletop game is (like many of the games I checked out this year) targeted toward the younger set, hoping to peel away some of that disposable allowance income. 

I sat down to a quick half-game to get a feel for how everything plays out, and I had a fun time (while losing rather badly).  Players must tailor their decks around a “Shadow”, the central attacking unit in the game.  This creature begins the game in play, and as the game winds on the Shadow can level up, replacing itself with more powerful versions found in the deck.  In addition to Shadow cards, players also can round out their armies with up to three “partners”, companion units that can aid in attack or defense.   Players attack each other with their units, trying to break through the defenses and whittle down the hit points.  These attacks and defenses can be aided with various special cards called Command and Skill cards, which tack on bonuses or special abilities.

The cards are also the resources of the game, and running out means losing the game.  When cards are used, they don’t usually go into a discard pile, as with most CCGs.  Instead, they fall into an Experience pool, each card having a given Experience point value.  These Experience points are required both as prerequisites for certain cards and Shadow leveling, and as payment for bringing in certain cards and abilities.  Many times it’s beneficial to simply discard a powerful card in order to gain the experience from it, rather than keep it in the hand where it doesn’t necessarily do any good. 

The game played fairly quickly, with a half-game (starting with lower hit-point levels) took only 10 minutes or so.  I played with a pre-constructed deck, but there was a decent mix of cards and some combo ideas leaped out at me even with a simple first play.  All in all, Blue Dragon looks to be a serious contender in the crowded card game market.  Look for a full release later this fall.

If I asked you to recall that one Gears of War trailer whereMarcus Phenix runs down a narrow street and shoots at an alien withspidery eyes, you might not have any idea of what I'm talking about. But if I asked you to recall that one trailer with the Donnie Darko version of "Mad World" playing, then I bet you'd know.

If I asked you to remember that one Assassin's Creedvideo where Altair is flicking out his wrist dagger and leaping acrosssome rooftops in slow motion ... that could be anybody's guess.  But ifI asked you to remember that one video scored by UNKLE's "God Knows Your Lonely Souls," then I bet you'd know that one too.

Akiller soundtrack can go a long ways -- longer than its typical 3minutes and 30 seconds during some fleeting cinematic presentation. Here's five games coming out in the next several weeks that couldbenefit from having a memorable song scoring a GameTrailers video. These recommendations are probably only half as apt as Assassin's Creed's, and nowhere even close to as brilliant as Gears of War's.  Nevertheless:

Spore -- "Into the Ocean" from Foiled, by Blue October

Samplelyrics:  "With envy for the solid ground // I'm reaching for the lifewithin me // How can one man stop his ending // I thought of just yourface // Relaxed, and floated into space."

Starting off withpresumably a lightning flash in a mud puddle, your little spore will"flOw" its way up the food chain, eating and evading its way throughthe evolutionary cycle.  Blue October's "Into The Ocean" draws onimagery reaching from the ocean depths to outer space, carrying yourspore from one cradle of life to the next.

Fallout 3 -- "Consoler Of The Lonely" from Consolers Of The Lonely, by The Raconteurs

Samplelyrics:  "Haven't seen the sun in weeks // My skin is getting pale //Haven't got a mind left to speak // And I'm skinny as a rail // Lightbulbs are getting dim // My interests are starting to wane // I'm toldit's everything a man could want // And  I shouldn't complain."

Withmankind bombed back into the Stone Age -- or at least the 1950s -- yourcharacter will emerge from Valut 101 into a Wild West stage setting. The Raconteurs' "Consolers Of The Lonely" has an eagle-eye fortumbleweed details, sung from a bone-dry throat choked withclaustrophobia.

 Left 4 Dead -- "Believe [Moon Version]" from The Sun And The Moon Complete, by The Bravery

Samplelyrics:  "The faces all around me they don't smile they just crack //Waiting for our ship to come but our ship's not coming back // ...Something's always coming you can hear it in the ground // It swellsinto the air with the rising, rising sound // And never comes butshakes the boards and rattles all the doors // What are we waiting for?"

"Believe"engages minor tonalities that stretch heavy-hearted shadows across theground, while the vampiric organ pulls undead clouds across a groaningsky.  And the Bravery's metaphorical tie-ins with the sedentary and thezombified can't be ignored.  Left 4 Dead looks mighty grim, alone inthe dark.

[EDIT:  Urk.  Due to technical difficulties, the Far Cry 2 entry has been chewed up and spit out into the internet ether.  I dunno either.] 

While strolling by the Atari booth on my first hour of the convention, my attention was immediately drawn to what turns out to be my biggest surprise of Gen Con—King’s Bounty: The Legend.  I had no idea this was even in the works, I’m ashamed to say, but now that I’m aware I’m as excited as can be.  Being a huge fan of the original and its spin-off series, Heroes of Might and Magic, I could barely contain myself when I saw that brightly-colored fantasy game staring me in the face.  I quickly set myself up for a quick run-down of the game.

Turns out that King’s Bounty: The Legend has already been available in European markets for some time, and it’s been gathering award after award with its addictive game play.  Those familiar with the original or the HoMM series will instantly recognize the game style, although King’s Bounty is much more an RPG than a strategy.

Players take control of one of three Hero types, and set across the map in real-time action, acquiring quests and goodies as they go.  Heroes also gather forces for their armies, much as in the HoMM series, building up stacks of various forces and critters.  When confronted with an enemy, game play drops into a turn-based tactical mode, very similar to the predecessor games.  Here stacks of units battle it out, moving about the hex map and jockeying for that perfect attack position.  There is a nice assortment of units to choose from, many with some fairly nifty abilities.  To round things out, the Hero units can influence battle with spells and powers, either fueled by Magic or a force called Rage.  Heroes gain experience and levels as they quest about the land, and in typical RPG fashion they gain special abilities as they grow.  Given about 30 levels to attain, players can tailor their Heroes with some impressive abilities as fits their play style.

Graphically, King’s Bounty: The Legend looks great.  From the brightly-colored setting, to the detailed units and spell effects, to the background detail, there’s a constant treat for the eyes.  I didn’t get a lot of time hands-on, but the interface seemed smooth and easily navigable.   I can’t wait to get my grubby little hands on this one, which is currently slated for English-language release sometime this fall. 

Gen Con was full of both collectable card games and electronic offerings, and a few games that bridged that gap.  Chaotic is one of the latest titles to make the leap between tabletop and online play, this time targeted at the 6-to-14-year-old audience.  

As a card game, Chaotic is pretty solid.  It’s not terribly deep, but there seems to be plenty of room for creative deck building.  Those familiar with CCGs in general will have no problem dropping right in, since Chaotic features the usual menagerie of monsters and magic (or “mugic”, in this case).  Players set up their creatures to batter their opponents, trying to break through the enemy armies with tactics and various special cards.  Creatures have elemental alliances and a simple set of stats.  One thing that sets Chaotic apart from most games I’ve seen is the fact that few creatures, even of the same name, have the exact same stats.  So even if I and my opponent have the exact same deck build, card for card we may have enough differences to keep things interesting.  

Where Chaotic leaps to the electronic front is through a code on the bottom of each card.  This card can be entered into the online portion of the game to generate an exact virtual copy of the card for use against online foes.  So players can have mirror copies of both cardboard and virtual decks, allowing them to play with friends next door or opponents across the globe.  The online portion is a straightforward virtual game table, with the requisite chat rooms, ranking system, and match-finding areas.  The interface looked clean, and it was quite simple to call out a challenge and dive into a quick match.  They’re still working on spiffing up portions of the game, as they had just implemented some new graphics and sound effects to heighten the game a bit.  All in all, it looks like a neat little CCG. 

In addition, Chaotic also sports a weekend animated TV show to entertain and educate the kiddies about the new cards and some possible strategies.  I haven’t had a chance to check out the show itself, so I don’t know if there’s any quality there or if it’s just a half-hour infomercial in disguise.  Regardless, Chaotic looks to be an interesting CCG for the younger set, who probably already know much more about this title than I ever will.  

For more details, head over to www.chaoticgame.com