VS Node 8: What Are Ya Buyin, Stranger?

Eddie Inzauto, Jason Fanelli, and GamerNode contributor Kyle Stallock cover a number of topics ranging from racism, to Twitter, to console price wars and the business of videogames, finally settling into a discussion of the various methods of video-game distribution, their importance and implications, and the future of videogame sales. 00:00 - Welcome! Introductions. 01:19 - What we've been playing. Wolfenstein. Street Fighter IV. BlazBlue. Electronic masturbation. The Beatles: Rock Band. Scribblenauts. 04:46 - Scribblenauts word list. 5th Cell response. "Sambo" racism. 06:46 - Twitter in Uncharted 2. 07:37 - Mag Beta. "OMG, it's LIKE CALL OF DUTY, BUT MORE PEOPLE!" 08:26 - Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Xbox 360 bundle. 09:12 - Forza 3 and Halo 3: ODST Xbox 360 bundles. 10:02 - Kyle's tales of the Red Rings of Death and other Xbox 360 problems. 11:32 - Wii price cut confirmed(?) by Toys R Us ad. "The day the toys died." 13:09 - Tatsunoko vs. Capcom new characters confirmed. "I've covered wars, you know." 14:40 - Bobby Kotick the a-hole, Activision, and the business of games. 20:04 - Kurt Cobain in Guitar Hero 5. 20:41 - Blockbuster closing stores. 21:00 - Adult film industry pushing to be in PlayStation Store. 22:09 - Dumb Batman: Arkham Asylum pirates and dev response. "...a bug in your moral code." 24:23 - Videogame sales and distribution discussion. Retail, resale, digital. 24:44 - How/where do you buy your games? 30:37 - Game store employees. The government agent/military medic GameStop associate. 38:23 - Have most/many gamers made a switch to digital? 39:45 - Who won't change? Why? 42:22 - How the casual shift creates divergent sales trends? 43:07 - Digital downloads and bank accounts. Retail cards for digital products. 48:52 - Are preowned sales hurting the videogame industry? Should this change? 53:38 - Apple's game sales model. Inexpensive. Reaching a mass market vs. hitting sales goals. 55:00 - Videogames following music? Spreading the wealth within the industry. 58:01 - Kyle's elegant and low-cost "a la carte" solution. Eddie's sliding price scale. 59:57 - Is the consumer the problem? 61:42 - Budget differences and return on investment. 64:29 - Passion vs. profits. Franchise investments vs. short-term strategy. 65:53 - The future of videogame distribution. Our models. 72:37 - Forward-thinking. Remember broadband's infancy. 73:45 - Kanye West chimes in. Thanks and outro. Intro music, Main Theme from 5th Cell's Scribblenauts, 2009. "Come Together" by The Beatles, 1969. Links: GamerNode: http://www.gamernode.com Kyle Stallock's Ludic Dreams - http://www.ludicdreams.com Eddie's Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/EddieInzauto Jason's Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/bigmanfanelli Kyle's Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/coyotegrey