Tonight I was researching a return to Rift. Right away I would want to spend $35 to buy the new Ascended Soul pack, which only contains one soul I want for my mage.
So that’s one skill tree for $35. Trion hasn’t ever broken up the packs, since that would be less moneys.
Speaking of money, I noticed you can also buy artifacts now in Rift. Just click a button and spend your store credits for spin-the-wheel to get an artifact you’re missing. What a deal.
What I’m missing is any desire to hunt artifacts ever again, which has been one of my main activities and enjoyments, and the main reason to have a patron account.
I’m also missing any interest in returning to Rift, which looks like it’s going the same way as LotRO, just throwing shiny things out and trying to hook a few fish. And forcing players to use the cash shop (source of the comment in the image) for things that previously didn’t need a cash shop.
It’s nice they are finally doing something about the poor game engine performance, which sort of doomed them from day one, and made their advertised challenge to WoW into a non-starter. WoW actually looked and ran better at higher FPS than Rift’s lowest settings on my old computer.
This week I’m playing some Saint’s Row 2, but it’s really hard to look at. Last night I played a mini-game where I prostituted myself in the public restroom, getting guys off for money. That’s a new one.
I really like the hispanic voice-over of Rebecca Sanabria for the main character in Saint’s Row 2. I like the respect system. And of course, the playable female main character. F**k you, Rockstar.
I just wish Saint’s Row 2 wasn’t the Morrowind of the Saint’s Row games. While the production values were gorgeous with The Third and IV, the franchise sort of lost its soul. Who wanted an alien invasion and outer space?
Unlike Rift, Saint’s Row was a legitimate rival and contender against the thousand pound gorilla in the genre – the GTA franchise. Like Rift, questionable creative design leadership squandered the opportunity.
Gaming Stocks
Today I took a 12% profit in Blizzard’s stock with the U.S. stock market perilously close to a record high, and companies reporting dismal results to start off earnings season. I plan to buy Sony at an opportune moment between now and E3, and buy back into Blizzard as soon as it sells off significantly, for any reason.
The GAMR ETF is basically soaring, but so are overall markets, so that doesn’t mean so much. The volume seems to be picking up. When the U.S. market swoons again, I might look into a GAMR long term position, especially if I miss a big up move in Blizzard.
That seems unlikely (which, along with the overall irrationally exuberant market, is the other half of my urge to take profits), but it’s really hard to say how well Blizzard is doing in Asia.
This last quarter was supposedly a stronger, more upbeat quarter in Asia than the one previously. I say “supposedly” because you can’t trust the Chinese government, who just happens to have a huge stake in its own stock market.
Anyway, Blizzard could easily surprise on an Asia basis, and probably will since the kitty is almost always wrong to sell stocks. I don’t really care at the moment. I’m really, really tired. For a few nights, I just want to play a game.
Rift: Game Is In Great Shape, Announcement Coming (+ Gaming Stock Commentary)
In response to player concerns today about the future of Rift, community manager Ocho had this to say in the forums:
“So let’s get to some facts:
– Ocho
This is great news, since this kitty has also been a little worried.
This week I capped my rogue alt, and I continue close to picking up a few pieces of raid gear earned for my main by weeklies and dailies instead of raiding. I’m also enjoying the creative and quirky nightmare saga story.
The second act released yesterday. The return of old classic characters doesn’t bring much life to them (so far), and we mostly see them as generic quest-advancers. The third act of the saga also supposedly forces you to do a lot of PvP and NTE dungeons.
I disagree with this design, even if it’s to justify the epic weapon you can theoretically get when it’s all over. There are two main types of players:
Just doesn’t seem like a winning scheme to me.
Video Game Stocks
Electronic Arts (EA) and Microsoft (MSFT) both had solid earnings reports this week, so hopefully these will be long term for my paltry little portfolio, and I can ease up on my nine-month quest (right before the stock market goes off a cliff, possibly.)
How can Microsoft compete with Apple and Google? By uniting your PC in an ecosystem with your other devices and monetizing by applying what they’ve learned from Free-To-Play video games. I plan to buy a Lumia soon. My Samsung tablet completely fails to recognize my Windows 7 PC.
You’ll also be able to stream XBOX to PC with Windows 10, or stream console-quality games to your PC without an XBOX using the cloud, which Microsoft demonstrated yesterday.
If you need any more good news for Microsoft, China announced this week that it will now allow game consoles to be sold in China after a 15 year ban. This is probably more better for Sony and Nintendo.
My third tech pick is still Equinix (EQIX), a cloud pipeline and data center owner. They are allied with Microsoft’s Azure cloud services, which I hope will eventually win against Amazon’s huge cloud. Who wants to trust Amazon with their entire corporate business and security if the other choice is the Microsoft on your PCs?
I also still hold AT&T (T), which is now FCC-approved to merge with DirectTV, with an expectation of leveraging their scale to produce their own competitive over-the-top video streaming service like everyone else.
Nvidia’s (NVDA) stock continues to head into the abyss with PCs and chips, although the stock is super tempting as it dips below $20. The future of virtual reality in video games and in general might see Nvidia as a big player.
As TAGN reported, Blizzard (ATVI) announces results next week on 8/4, followed by an announcement of a new expansion a few days later on 8/6. Interesting.
In the last two quarters, Blizzard reported strong results and the stock popped. Both times I sold and took small profits. The stock might pop again, but right now Wall Street seems to be in a mood to sell any stocks after their results hit print.
Especially if a stock ran up into its earnings announcement.
I would not be betting on Blizzard’s stock to be higher the day after it reports. If ATVI sells off hard, it might be a buying opportunity, especially if the Wall Street boys aren’t completely up to speed with the expansion deal.
Also, if Blizzard is announcing their expansion earlier than normal at Gamescom, then maybe they are saving something even bigger for Blizzcon in November?
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