If you live in the Netherlands then you’ve just lost a possible place to buy a PSPgo when it’s released in October. Eurogamer reports that the Dutch retailer Nedgame – the country’s largest specialist games retailer – are refusing to stock and sell Sony’s new product.

There are a number of reasons why this is happening, one of them being that Nedgame believes that the PSPgo is too expensive priced at €249.99, and they certainly have a point as it’s €80 more than the PSP-3000 that is currently on the market. Apparently the cost isn’t justified, with the smaller screen being one example of why it isn’t worth the asking price. However, this is not the main reason for the ‘boycott’.

The lack of a UMD drive on the PSPgo is putting retailers like Nedgame off selling the product. Retailers make the most profit off software, and not hardware, when it comes to games; so this means that they’re about to lose out on the majority of the profit from a section of the video game market (plus the pre-owned market, which is a huge slice of income for retailers such as the American Gamestop), and with Nedgame being a specialist retailer they’ll be even more worried as the video game market moves ever closer to full digital distribution.

Of course, retailers have tried to gain from digital distribution by selling downloadable games through their website, or selling, for example, Xbox Live points cards in-store. However, the PSPgo is different in that Sony is effectively creating a monopoly on the software for the console by making them only available on the Playstation Store; which, in my mind, is pretty bad from a consumer viewpoint. No competition means that Sony can price however they want, but I suppose you do get the added bonus of all your games being easily accessible from one PSN account.

Eurogamer Holland says that other Dutch retailers are starting to grumble too, and it probably won’t be long before retailers in other countries start to have their say (apparently Spanish retailers are considering following suit). At least you can be sure that your local supermarket will be selling them come launch day, but have we really go to the point where specialist game retailers don’t really matter anymore? I know I haven’t bought a game in one for ages, unless it was off their website, largely because the prices are more expensive than the Internet.

Personally I’m just going to keep my old PSP and use SD cards to store downloadable games, just like I did with Final Fantasy VII a few months back.

Rockstar announced today that the second downloadable episode for Grand Theft Auto IV - “The Ballad of Gay Tony” - will release worldwide on the Xbox 360 on 29th October.

The downloadable content will sell for 1600 Microsoft points, which is around £13. If you don’t want to download it, or you haven’t played the previous episode “The Lost and Damned“, Rockstar is releasing both episodes on a disc packaged as Grand Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty City.

As I mentioned previously the DLC will concentrate on the “glitzy high-end night life” of Liberty City. That doesn’t mean you’ll be the dancing the night away as you will be doing all the dirty work for Tony “Gay Tony” Prince.

I STILL haven’t played “The Lost and Damned“, but let me tell you a short story surrounding that. I recently bought 2100 Microsoft Points so I could buy Fallout 3’s “Broken Steel“. After buying that I went to look at how much I had left so I could possibly buy “The Lost and Damned“, since I already had some from a previous purchase. I had 1550 points, and the content was 1600, which was highly annoying. It seems that Microsoft structures the point system in a way in which you have to buy another big chunk just so you can get 50 extra points.

I wish they would just use real money like PSN, but of course that would mean that Microsoft couldn’t easily overcharge us.

(Image source: Kotaku)

Related posts:

• GTA: IV’s Next DLC - The Ballad of Gay Tony

Speaking to Bethesda’s Jeff Gardiner MTV Multiplayer was curious as to whether or not the level cap in the upcoming Fallout 3 DLC ‘Mothership Zeta’ would again be raised. ‘Broken Steel’, one of the previous DLC releases, raised the level cap from 20 to 30 due to player demand; but would this be happening again, or is there no actual need for it?

“I know from the outside this seems like a fairly simple proposition, but doing this could unbalance the game in a variety of ways.” - MTV Multiplayer

Gardiner says that the game was meant to be played with a variety of different character set-ups, so if someone really wanted to continue their Fallout 3 experience they should think about starting from scratch and creating a new character. However, he does say that future games may change their approach.

When I hit level 20 I immediately downloaded ‘Broken Steel’ (I had periods where I wouldn’t play Fallout 3 for a long while, which explains why I was only reaching level 20 after ‘Broken Steel’ was released) so I would continue gaining experience from the tonnes of things I still had to do in the Capital Wasteland. When you reach 30, however, there’s no real need to continue gaining experience because you’re pretty much set to overcome any challenge the game throws at you. I don’t believe another increased cap would add anything to the game, because it’s all about the experience of new content than being allocated a two number level that has ceased to mean anything. I’d rather just enjoy the new quests, stories and characters than worry about where my experience is going. It just doesn’t really matter like it did when I first stepped out of Vault 101 as a relative n00b.

Fallout 3 is more than a level cap, it is one of the best experiences I’ve had in a video game. I loved the setting and the stories, so ‘Mothership Zeta’ just means more of what I love regardless of whether or not I gain another level

‘Mothership Zeta’ is set for release 3 August on PC and Xbox 360.

Back at E3 2008 Microsoft announced that the ‘New Xbox Experience’ would be coming to the Xbox 360 the following November. Along with the dashboard re-design and a raft of other features Microsoft also announced a feature called ‘Xbox Live Primetime’. The idea of ‘Primetime’ was to bring the experience of a live gameshow to the console, with scheduled shows, live hosts and the ability to win prizes. The first of these shows was Endemol’s 1 Vs 100.

I’m sure most of you are familiar with the concept of 1 Vs 100, given that there are many different versions of the show around the world (here in the UK it’s hosted by the National Lottery) but I’ll explain it for the benefit of those that don’t know. Basically there are 100 people in what is called the ‘mob’ (at least on this version anyway, as the UK TV version simply calls them the ‘100′) and one person is picked from here to face off against the 100. The ‘one’ and the ‘mob’ is then asked a question, with a choice of three answers, and if the ‘one’ gets this question correct they can then see how many people they have eliminated from the ‘mob’ (those that got the question wrong).  The more they eliminate, the bigger the prize gets.

In the Xbox 360 version the prizes are gamer points, arcade games and, every week, physical prizes including a camera and a car. If the ‘one’ gets a question wrong the mob get a small amount of gamer points or a free Arcade game and the ‘one’ is eliminated. The ‘one’ can also choose to walk away a certain points of the game, taking with them the points that they have earned so far. Unfortunately the prizes weren’t available from the first night of the beta, meaning that some people chose to walk away when they weren’t actually winning anything. It’s still not certain when the prizes will start being up for grabs, but popular opinion is next week.

Of course, with the vast amounts of people playing at the same time (80,000+ on the first night alone) not everyone will get the chance to be the ‘one’ or be in the ‘mob’. Everyone else is put into the ‘crowd’, where they can still answer questions and compete against each other in groups of four. These sessions, as well as the ‘extended play’ sessions (which I’ll get to in a moment), help to increase accuracy and speed at answering questions, which in turn gives you a better chance of getting into the ‘mob’. So, Microsoft says that the more ‘extended play’ sessions you take part in the better chance you have at winning a prize when it comes to the live shows. You won’t get any prizes in ‘extended play’, as there are only 30 minute rounds of 37 questions with no ‘one’. It is basically everyone sat in the ‘mob’ answering questions and competing against each other. If you get the question correct you also get a bonus of points based on how many people got it wrong, and as in the live game you also get a small bonus for how fast you answered the question (even if you get it wrong). The problem with the speed thing is that some people have an impossible response time of ‘0′ seconds simply because they are constantly bashing the ‘x’ button. I don’t know how this could possibly be fun for them , plus it drives their accuracy way down, but I suppose some people just have to flatter their incredibly large ego’s to appear at the top of the speed rankings. Thankfully the speed bonuses aren’t that big, so they can’t rack up a large score just by button bashing.

As for other problems I haven’t encountered many so far, but there has been talk of random disconnections and crashes which are always going to get with a beta. The biggest problem I’ve had is not being able to hear the live host (James McCourt does live commentary on the ‘ones’ performance and the stats during short breaks) on the first live show last Friday. Checking the Xbox forums shows that I’m not in the minority and, although it’s not a major problem,  the breaks can be a bit dull when there’s nothing but silence.

So far the game has been really fun; although the questions can be really hard at times (that’s part of the challenge!). The ‘extended play’ sessions are nowhere near as fun as the live shows, but if you ever want to get a chance at winning a prize (when they become available) you’re going to have to play them. The chances of that ever happening are pretty low, but at least you can enjoy the game for what it is - good old trivia fun!

1 Vs 100 is available for free to all gold members. You can set yourself reminders for upcoming live and ‘extended play’ shows through the Primetime channel which should now be available on your dashboard.

BioWare have continued to dodge an official announcement regarding the next piece of Mass Effect DLC, and unfortunately this still remains the case. Lets recap for a second; Bioware let slip that more DLC was on the way through their Twitter account late last month, saying that further details were imminent. Shortly after that we were told we would have to wait for more information, and now we’re getting teased a little bit more.

BioWare head Ray Muzyka has told IGN that the DLC will emerge soon and is “fun” to play. So basically he stated the obvious of what fans are expecting, because we wouldn’t want to play it if it wasn’t fun, would we?

“We haven’t announced it formally yet but I think you can expect something in the next little while,” he said. “Probably some kind of announcement about [the ME DLC]. It’s pretty cool. I’ve been playing what we’re working on there and fans will find it fun.” - IGN

It has been over a year since the only piece of Mass Effect DLC, “Bring Down the Sky”, was released. I was a little disappointed at the DLC, and I felt that it didn’t delve deeper into the background of Mass Effect’s fascinating universe like I wanted it to. Plus, it didn’t help that you had to control that god awful Mako vehicle for part of the DLC.

Hopefully the upcoming DLC will have a little more substance, but we won’t actually know if it will be worth the money until we hear some more information about it. At least it will help plug the hole in my heart that continues to exist until Mass Effect 2 is released.

We love a good deal here at ButtonSmasher (we even have a ‘Bargain Bin’ series dedicated to cheap games) so imagine my jaw dropping to the floor and doing a little dance when I discovered that Steam currently has one of the best gaming deals I’ve ever seen.

2k Games is offering the “2K Huge Game Pack” right now on Steam. The pack includes games like Bioshock, five Civilization games, five X-Com games and nine others. The best part? It’s only £35.99!

Here’s the full list of the games in the pack:

Sid Meier’s Civilization IV
Sid Meier’s Civilization III Complete
Sid Meier’s Pirates!
Shattered Union
Prey
CivCity: Rome
Civilization IV: Warlords
Sid Meier’s Railroads!
Railroad Tycoon 3
Railroad Tycoon II Platinum
X-COM: Terror From the Deep
X-COM: Apocalypse
BioShock
X-COM: Interceptor
X-COM: UFO Defense
X-COM: Enforcer
Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword
Freedom Force
Freedom Force vs. the Third Reich
Sid Meier’s Civilization IV: Colonization

If you bought all those games individually it would empty your pockets of £141.80, which is a massive saving of £105.81. You can’t really go wrong with this deal, unless you have most or all of the games already.

The pack normally costs £39.99, but a 10% discount is in effect until July 7. This means the pack is now £35.99, so if you want to save £4 get it before Tuesday.

You can purchase the pack here. Alternatively you can just load the Steam program on your desktop and buy it through there.

Eurogamer brings word that developer Croteam have been working on a re-imagining of Serious Sam: The First Encounter using a new version of their CroTech Engine.

The original developer of the game is said to be using the power of the Xbox 360 to upgrade the first entry in the hilariously over-the-top first-person shooter series with full HD graphics, along with four-player co-operative play over Xbox Live. The price is rumoured to be 1,200 Microsoft points.

“We are really excited to update our hero and recreate Sam in stunning high definition for Xbox LIVE Arcade players,” said Roman Ribaric, CEO of Croteam. “The fans have lobbied us hard to do this, so we are stoked about bringing Sam back as big, bold and bad as he ever was.” - Kotaku

The image at the top of the page shows what the game will look like upon its release this summer, while the image below shows what the original version looked like (as always you can click on each image to see a larger version). As you can see it’s a pretty drastic change, but it’s also looking all the more better. The hilarious fun of the original combined with a graphics upgrade may just make this one hell of a decent download for Xbox Live. I have fond memories of playing this with one of my friends while growing up (especially the gigantic monster that appears near the end of the game, making my jaw literally drop open), so if one of the best co-op experiences I’ve ever had can be successfully re-created on the Xbox 360 then I’m putting down the cash for it right now.

The game is also said to be coming back to its birthplace, the PC, but what about the Playstation 3? Croteam CEO Roman Ribaric told G4 that a PS3 version was originally planned but was shelved because the developer didn’t have enough time or money to release the game on PSN at the same time as the Xbox Live version. Realistically the game could still come to PSN somewhere down the line, but Ribaric doesn’t think it’s that likely unless demand from PS3 owners becomes high.

(Images source: Eurogamer)

LucasArts, creators of classic games such as the Monkey Island series and Full Throttle (which gave me an excuse to post the glorious gif above), believes that the increase in developers using digital distribution to release games has also increased consumer interest in retro games.

Craig Derrick, producer on the upcoming download only Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition, told Destructoid that LucasArts decided to update the title due to fan demand, and also because making new IP is “very difficult”.

“We’re experiencing a remarkable increase in retro gaming and nostalgia thanks in part to the digital distribution of games on Xbox Live Arcade, PSN, Wiiware, Steam and iTunes, he said. “We’re seeing that gamers are looking for new experiences, even if they’re found in classic games.

“The age range of the average gamer has significantly broadened and people are open now more than ever to different types of game genres.” - Destructoid

The beauty of releasing old games on any digital distribution platform means that not only those that grew up playing them can relive the good old days, but it also means that quality games are exposed to a new generation. Some gamers may like hunting down dusty copies of old games, but I just prefer easy access on modern platforms. That doesn’t mean I think they should be updated though, and to be honest I prefer the original visuals in Secret of Monkey Island rather than the new HD update on PC and Xbox Live Arcade (thankfully you can switch between the two). However, there are other options available such as the excellent Good Old Games website. Not only does GoG provide a large stable of classic games, but it’s also extremely cheap to boot!

Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition lands 7 July on PC and Xbox Live.

The guys at Media Molecule have been flooding PSN with new LittleBigPlanet content as of late (such as these Monsters, Norse Mythology and Rag Doll Kung Fu costume packs), but anyone who doesn’t want some time in the cubes needs to know that nothing beats the law. The law sometimes goes by another name, and that name is Judge Dredd.

Yes, Media Molecule have conquered the seemingly impossible task of making Judge Dredd and some of his 2000AD compatriots cute in the form of loveable Sackboys. Joining Judge Dredd’s trademark frown are Judge Anderson, Johnny Alpha, Hammerstein and Rogue Trooper. The pack also features a set of stickers, which in total sets you back £4.79 (although each character can be bought individually at £1.59 each, but Judge Dredd and Judge Anderson are counted together) and should be available on the UK PSN Store right now.

Since I don’t own a PS3 I can only sadly admire this from afar, but at least I can be content in the knowledge that the worlds of 2000AD are being highlighted to the masses. Sure, most people know who Judge Dredd is (unfortunately most people outside of the UK will know the character based off Stallone’s awful interpretation of him) but other characters such as Johnny Alpha aren’t as widely known.

You can check out more images of the DLC on Media Molecule’s Flickr feed.

While we all knew that Rockstar had another downloadable Grand Theft Auto IV episode in the works the popular opinion was that Microsoft would announce it at their press conference at the upcoming E3. Instead Rockstar chose yesterday to announce their next episode, which is titled The Ballad of Gay Tony.

Moving away from The Lost and Damned’s seedy biker gang The Ballad of Gay Tony focuses on the glitzy “high-end night life” of Liberty City. You will play the role of Luis Lopez, who does the dirty work for the impresario Tony “Gay Tony” Prince.

Rockstar says that “players will struggle with the competing loyalties of family and friends, and with the uncertainty about who is real and who is fake in a world in which everyone has a price.”

The next episode is slated for an autumn release and will be priced at 1600 Microsoft points through Xbox Live.

I have yet to play The Lost and Damned, but that’s mainly due to sheer laziness because Xbox Live doesn’t accept my credit card so I have to buy those points cards through Amazon (I’ve come across a few instant-by-email sites but I’m yet to try them, apart from one that I use for my monthly subscriptions).