Digital revolution still some way off

Last week I sat down with Leo Cubbin and Phil Gaskell, two former Sony Producers and current Director's of Ripstone ltd, a digital only publisher.

Ripstone recently released their first title, Pure Chess via the Playstation Network, and whilst they are obviously keen to insist that eventually, video-game retail will be completely digital, Leo believes there are certain hurdles that will prevent the digital revolution from happening just yet.

Leo says that the video-game powerhouses need the retailers just as much as the retailers need their games.

Here's the exert from that particular interview.

The future's bright for GAME

Game may well be out of the worst of their recent problems, after OpCapita came in and rescued the company from collapse, but their future still remains uncertain. Game have significantly scaled back their high-street presence as the company looks ahead to the future.

Phil Gaskell, a Director at Ripstone Ltd, a publisher who specialises in digital distribution, says he always questioned Game's decision to have stores in such close proximity of each other.“The problem that Game had is that they acquired Gamestation, they almost sort of doubled their presence on the high street. And any high street you ever went to, you always had a Game and a Gamestation. You knew they were owned by the same company so you left thinking, why do you need two?”

The acquisition of Gamestation in 2007, and the level of debt that the merger incorporated, was a major factor in Game's woes. Whilst Game has seen the closure of nearly 300 stores, the Gamestation's have seen minimal closure's.“Interestingly the closed a lot of the Game’s closed, and not the Gamestation's, which I think is the stronger brand.” Said Phil.

Phil believes Game will still play a prominent role in video-game retail, but thinks the company needs to rethink its strategy. “I think there’ll be a strong future for Game, but I think they need to find a way to make their store’s destination points for people to discover games. They need to change, they need to embrace digital.”

Phil offers an interesting idea that could offer an insight into the future of vide-game retail. “Perhaps Game could have a very fast (broadband) pipe going into their store where I could get my download. I might pay 25p or a pound to get it there and then. I put my memory card in the pod, I browse the games, then ten minutes later it’s their and I’m on my way.”

Max Payne 3 scores go live

I'm a huge fan of the original Max Payne, so I've been eagerly anticipating the release of Max Payne 3.  Being a Rockstar game, I rather naively expected a slew of nines and tens from the gaming press. On the whole it's received overwhelming praise, but there are a couple of eights in there much to my surprise.

The general consensus seems to be that Max Payne 3 is a slick and action-packed shooter, but some of the journalists think it's a tad lacking in depth. That's a real shame, but still worth my hard-earned cash I think. Here's what the major players think.

• GamesRadar: 10 - Between its pacing, its presentation, and its excellent gunplay, Max Payne 3 has raised the bar for other action games to follow. Welcome back.

• G4: 5/5 - Max Payne 3 is a technological tour de force that will have you screaming "Dear lord!" more times than midnight mass. The performances are top notch, the action plays out with unrivaled fluidity, and the multiplayer is deep and rewarding. Silly distractions aside, Max Payne 3 is an action lover's wet dream that also happens to employ some of the slickest direction and transitional trickery this side of a David Fincher box set. Lock and load. It's bullet time...time.

• X360A: 93 - A true cinematic gaming masterpiece, Max Payne 3 is not just another triumph for Rockstar, but it's also testament to what the developer can do when it turns its hand to linear storytelling. Max Payne 3 might be a stylistic shift for the series, but it's also a raw and brutal portrait of a man pushed to the edge that deserves a place alongside Rockstar's superlative open-world efforts. Get ready to enter a world of Payne.

• IncGamers: 9/10 - An expert blend of cinematic storytelling and flamboyant action, weaved together by a team with a clear passion for the genre and the content. Payne never felt so good

• StrategyInformer: 9.0 - As with Rockstar's other franchises, Max Payne 3 is enveloped in love and a huge amount of dedication. This is a consistently thrilling and explosive tale that states its case as one of 2012's best. I'd be hard pushed to find a game that has made me scream with excitement on such a regular basis, as the compelling narrative and rewarding gunplay conglomerate into a truly spectacular product. Max Payne 3 lets you star in your favourite action movies, minus the Wahlberg.

• IGN: 9/10 - There are plenty of games which are celebrated for their gameplay but lack anything in way of story or character. Max Payne 3 is a different type of proposition. The gameplay is simple yet satisfying, but it's entirely in the service of a strongly-authored narrative. Players aren't at the liberty to roam, to explore, or to shake things up. Some might find this too controlling, but in return for your freedom, you're rewarded with a mature genre piece which is also a finely-realised character study. Action games continue to inch the dial towards 11, sometimes at the expense of their narrative integrity. Max Payne 3, however, has the conviction to reign in the action, imbue it with purpose - the spectacle still sparkles but it also makes sense.

• 1UP: A- - Although the gunplay may still have its roots planted firmly in the past, the way Max Payne 3 showcases its world is undeniably forward thinking. It's a bit strange to gain so much pleasure from Max's suffering, but I guess that's the true essence behind Rockstar's magic.

• GameReactor: 9/10 - Max Payne 3 is an accomplishment any way you look at it. The story may perhaps get a bit murky towards the end, but other than that it fires on all cylinders from beginning to end. The action will make your nose bleed, it's well directed, and refreshingly free of the conventions that often plague this genre. This is, simply put, the best shooter I've played in a long time. Don't let Payne's beer belly fool you, he's in the best shape of his career.

• VideoGamer: 8/10 - In Max Payne 3 the risk of death and restart is often too great. Why do something that makes you look and feel like an action hero, when holding back behind cover means you're more likely to survive? The shame, then, is that the difficulty encourages over-cautious play.

• GamesTM: 8/10 - Ultimately, none of the story beats or polish mask the fact that Max Payne 3 is very much a refinement of an old formula, and if you're looking for something brand new or revelatory it just isn't here. However, what is amazing is how Rockstar has fallen back on its trademark production values and sublime attention to detail to update the franchise in a compelling way. Factor in some impressive multiplayer offerings and it's still head-and-shoulders above most of its trigger-happy ilk. Which perhaps says as much about the state of the genre as it does Rockstar's obvious skill.

Sony would have passed on Minecraft, says former Producer

I had an interesting talk with Phil Gaskell, a former Senior Producer at Sony. Phil left Sony two years ago to set up a new publishing house, Ripstone LTD, with Leo Cubbin, who was also with Sony at the time. Phil primarily focused on PSN titles during his time with Sony, and to my surprise admitted that he would have dismissed the gaming sensation that is Minecraft.

The sandbox-building sim released on Xbox Live last week, becoming profitable within the first 24 hours of release, with 400,000 players online, breaking Xbox Live sales records.

Across all platforms, Minecraft has sold 5 million units to date. Not bad for a game that was originally built in Java scrip. This make's Phil's admission all the more surprising. Here's what he had to say below.

The Raspberry Pi

It's been a couple of months now since the world's smallest, and cheapest computer, the Raspberry Pi was unleashed upon the world. The £22 Linux operated device was launched by the charitable Raspberry Pi Foundation in March, with the aim of encouraging a whole generation to code.

The IT industry is thriving right now, but industry experts say that those coming through simply lack the skills to do the job effectively. David Cameron raised the issue recently, and has proposed scrapping the current IT curriculum in school's, in favour of teaching how to program, or code as it is more commonly known.

 It's still far too early to judge whether the Raspberry Pi has been a success, but I went and spoke to some computer science boffins at the University of Central Lancashire, to hear their

Video Game Tabboo Results

  The results are in from the rather small-scale survey I conducted in regards to video-game's and video-game violence.

The results weren't entirely shocking or surpirising, but did further highlight the stigma that is still attached to video-games in the UK.

As you can see from the pie chart below, 22% of the people surveyed did not believe that playing video-games is an acceptable hobby.

Hardly too surprising like I said, but what was a little bit more controversial was the 40% who thought that people who played videogames had less social skills than those who did not. Why ever would they think that?

Onlytwo people believed that violence in video-games was a real issue, although ten peole thought that it was an issue sometimes. Much to my surprise, only one of the people who think the opposite read the Daily Mail. Or maybe they are the ones will admit it.

Eight out of 28 people believed that there was strong evidence to support that there were proven links between violent video-games and violent behaviour. Undisputable proof that the media is doing its job.

20 out of 28 agreed that there is a fundamental problem when it comes to parents understanding video-game age restrictions. Here are some of the comments:

"Simply a lack of attention (there are BBFC ages attached so there's no excuse) and an archaic concept that games are still for children, not mainly for adults."

"they think games consoles are targeted so much to children so that adult aged games are just seen as kids toys still, many wont realise that the age restrictions are there for a reason the same with films etc"

"I think the parents that do are probably generally oblivious to things like that! I reakon most parents will just be generally aware of what their kids are playing on and will make their own decisions based on what they think it appropriate for their kid."

"They understand but are too scared to censor the games their children play."

"I think this because most parents don't seem to care about the age rating, they'll buy the game no matter what content's included."

And my favourite comment of them all, "Too busy getting pissed."

To see the results, click here.

Q. Is playing computer games an acceptable hobby?

Video Game Taboo's