In Other News...September 29

[DoctorFinger]

- Let the turntable peripheral wars begin! The DJ Hero controller will not be compatible (http://www.joystiq.com/2009/09/29/dj-hero-turntables-wont-be-compatible-with-any-other-game/) with any other titles, meaning bad news for Scratch: The Ultimate DJ.

- Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning is getting a Mac Client (http://www.warhammeronline.com/mac/) October 28th, 2009. Existing PC players can participate in the Mac Client Beta now. New accounts can participate (http://news.ea.com/portal/site/ea/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&ndmConfigId=1012492&newsId=20090929005156&newsLang=en) in a Mac Client Beta 10-day trial.

- Nintendo has confirmed that games purchased on DSiWare cannot be transferred to a new system (http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3176279). Better keep a really good grip on that DSi unit.

- The next Lord of the Rings Online expansion, The Siege of Mirkwood will launch on December 1 (http://ve3d.ign.com/articles/news/50578/The-Lord-of-the-Rings-Online-Expansion-Gets-A-Date).

- Bioware has opened beta signups (http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=12483) for Star Wars: The Old Republic. Get your application in soon.

[Adam Blue]

- Nintendo has confirmed that games purchased on DSiWare cannot be transferred to a new system (http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3176279). Better keep a really good grip on that DSi unit.

This is something that I was afraid of. Tie this shit to an account!

EDIT: They also need a better editor for such a big site...

[Camel]

The DSi stuff is apparently just confirmed in Australia for now, and Nintendo can transfer stuff over if they have the broken AND new system (which sounds like a colossal hassle). All the same, I definitely agree with Adam Blue.

[Sandman]

Aside from the crappy games that's another reason I don't even want to use the DSiWare store. What happens when you trade the system to Gamestop or sell it? This is just confusing as hell.

[Lon Lon Rabbit]

I'm really getting worried about how future proof Nintendo's digital distribution is.

I have a lot of VC games and I will be incredibly pissed if when I buy Nintendo's next system (which I assume will have some form of DD) I just lose all that stuff, or have to keep the Wii plugged in to play them.

I REALLY hope it's possible for them to set up some kind of migration scheme so all of this can be locked in to an account.

I don't have the same feeling of security that I do with my steam or Live accounts.

[Adam Blue]

I'm really getting worried about how future proof Nintendo's digital distribution is.

I have a lot of VC games and I will be incredibly pissed if when I buy Nintendo's next system (which I assume will have some form of DD) I just lose all that stuff, or have to keep the Wii plugged in to play them.

I REALLY hope it's possible for them to set up some kind of migration scheme so all of this can be locked in to an account.

I don't have the same feeling of security that I do with my steam or Live accounts.

Exactly. Not this will help any, but I vented about it at my site (http://www.bluegamer.net/2009/09/14/console-digital-downloads/).

[TheEpicOfTyler]

I love the way Sony does DD, it's painless, and it's very easy to re-download even if you have another system you want them on. Now I know that if I ever get a DSi (which would be my third purchase of the DS variety thanks to out of warranty hardware problems), I will never buy anything from DSiWare. Thanks for making those decisions easy for me Nintendo!

[ElektroDragon]

Well, since Wii doesn't tie anything to an account, will everything I've purchased on my Wii just "go away" for Wii HD or what have you? I know what I can expect from the next Xbox and Playstation with regards to DLC, because it is tied to an account... but how does Nintendo know?

[Savok]

Bad form Nintendo,

[Kelegacy]

This is something that I was afraid of. Tie this shit to an account!

EDIT: They also need a better editor for such a big site...

Yeah, lame as hell. This is one of the horrors of Digital Distribution, though it's not as common.

But Nintendo...they're backwards in some ways. Like the friends codes bullcrap.

[boratika]

It's like the DSi and PSP Go are competing.

[MagGnome]

Hopefully MS and Sony will "allow" us to transfer our DD content to their next systems, although it wouldn't surprise me if they didn't. It would, however, send me into a nerd rage the likes of which the world has never seen.

[Gorvi]

No transfer on DSi games is pretty lame, but it's the same way with the Wii, so it shouldn't be surprising.

[Narradisall]

I thought they learned to make things cross game compatible from the previous guitar and band crap.

[JayVe]

I don't have the same feeling of security that I do with my steam or Live accounts.

My wife lost her Live account due to a Microsoft problem. She lost her account, all the purchases she had made with the account and had to create a new gamertag... which means she needed to start her score over again. All Microsoft could say was, "sorry."

Microsoft's solution is FAR from ideal, and I worry that another screw-up ion their end could wipe out several hundreds of dollars of XBLA purchases and Rock Band tracks

Steam is another story. I hadn't logged into Steam for almost 5 years. When I came back, all my downloads were there... waiting for me.

[JayVe]

Well, since Wii doesn't tie anything to an account, will everything I've purchased on my Wii just "go away" for Wii HD or what have you? I know what I can expect from the next Xbox and Playstation with regards to DLC, because it is tied to an account... but how does Nintendo know?

I tied my Wii to my Nintendo.com login. When I buy a game on my Wii, it shows up in my Nintendo.com account as a registered game. I don't think they transfer over to a new Wii though if I were to buy one.

Some DSi software, such as Flipnote Studio, allow you to export all of your user data to the SD card. This way, when you get a new DSi and re-download Flipnote Studio, you can import all of your flipnotes and continue your work.

[Kelegacy]

My wife lost her Live account due to a Microsoft problem. She lost her account, all the purchases she had made with the account and had to create a new gamertag... which means she needed to start her score over again. All they could say was, "sorry."

Microsoft's solution is FAR from ideal.


That sounds like an extremely rare problem. That is not the norm.

Did she get her purchases back at least? If not, I'd throw a fit on the phone. That isn't right.

[JayVe]

That sounds like an extremely rare problem. That is not the norm.

Did she get her purchases back at least? If not, I'd throw a fit on the phone. That isn't right.

It isn't as rare as you'd expect, but it isn't the norm. And no, she didn't get her purchases back. Thank goodness that most purchases were on my account.

So, if Geilah is on your friends list, remove her and add Arzura instead.

[Kelegacy]

Hopefully MS and Sony will "allow" us to transfer our DD content to their next systems, although it wouldn't surprise me if they didn't. It would, however, send me into a nerd rage the likes of which the world has never seen.

This is why I haven't embraced DD on the consoles (not to mention beyond arcade titles it isn't terribly affordable). On PC it's fine, and cheap. DD...well, we've seen the prices of Microsoft's Games on Demand. Heh.

I won't buy Fallout DLC either. I'll buy it on disc like I did with Shivering Isles. I sort of regret getting the Lost and Damned on DD for GTA. I could have waited and got that and the upcoming game from Amazon on disc for cheaper. Grrr.

[Adam Blue]

Wait....so there was a screw up that lost XBLA purchases and they didn't give them back? Couldn't you dispute that with the credit card on file? Or is this something else entirely...?

[JayVe]

Wait....so there was a screw up that lost XBLA purchases and they didn't give them back? Couldn't you dispute that with the credit card on file? Or is this something else entirely...?

Not exactly sure what happened. Microsoft changed something with how they structured their accounts on the back-end. My wife's email address on file bounced, so they closed the account. I'm sure we could have bitched to someone about it, but like I said, most purchases were on my account. She could login to Live just fine, until it came time to add another year of Live... then it simply wouldn't work. We tried with a credit card, and with one of those codes you can buy at the store for another year of Live. Had to spend a few hours with Microsoft on the phone, and ended up with no guarantee that it couldn't happen again.

It was a royal screw up on Microsoft's part, and enough to make me realize I don't want Microsoft holding the basket with all my eggs in it.

[blademonkey]

I had a similar issue. I think it was related to my (unused) hotmail account. Apparently, i had to fix it by reactivating the account through from crazy process. i took a while to fix because the account kept getting "flagged" since the correct department wasn't changing the status in one of their system settings which kept flagging my account.

on a related note, my xbox e74 is still going on even after 2 reflows (both temporarily successful). Should i try to get MS to fix it eventhough the warranty is voided?

[Adam Blue]

Not exactly sure what happened. Microsoft changed something with how they structured their accounts on the back-end. My wife's email address on file bounced, so they closed the account. I'm sure we could have bitched to someone about it, but like I said, most purchases were on my account. She could login to Live just fine, until it came time to add another year of Live... then it simply wouldn't work. We tried with a credit card, and with one of those codes you can buy at the store for another year of Live. Had to spend a few hours with Microsoft on the phone, and ended up with no guarantee that it couldn't happen again.

It was a royal screw up on Microsoft's part, and enough to make me realize I don't want Microsoft holding the basket with all my eggs in it.

So, did you lose money on the lost XBLA games? That's where I'm confused....was there any money lost at all?

[JayVe]

So, did you lose money on the lost XBLA games? That's where I'm confused....was there any money lost at all?

Yes. I think around $20 of points were lost. Not much was purchased, but Microsoft didn't have a plan for reimbursement.

[Savok]

Then you blow hell through them until they do.

This shit will not stand.

[Adam Blue]

Then you blow hell through them until they do.

This shit will not stand.

Exactly. Show them the credit card purchase.

[TheBrainKills]

It would probably take about 2 hours worth of hassle and I don't know about you but my time is worth a hellava lot more than 10 bucks an hour. Maybe you can hire some 10 year old to go after them, hehe.

[JayVe]

It would probably take about 2 hours worth of hassle and I don't know about you but my time is worth a hellava lot more than 10 bucks an hour. Maybe you can hire some 10 year old to go after them, hehe.

I already spent more than three hours with them on the phone, over three sessions. I told the Mrs. I'm willing to fight it as long as she wanted. Eventually, she gave in and created a new account.

I really despise how it locks content to an account instead of the machine. With the Fable expansions, she has to sign me into a second controller just to be able to load her save game.

[MagGnome]

My wife lost her Live account due to a Microsoft problem. She lost her account, all the purchases she had made with the account and had to create a new gamertag... which means she needed to start her score over again. All Microsoft could say was, "sorry."

Microsoft's solution is FAR from ideal, and I worry that another screw-up ion their end could wipe out several hundreds of dollars of XBLA purchases and Rock Band tracks

Steam is another story. I hadn't logged into Steam for almost 5 years. When I came back, all my downloads were there... waiting for me.

That sucks! I would be furious, and I doubt I'd buy anything else on Live after that. I'm hesitant to spend too much there as it is.

I have absolutely no qualms about buying things on Steam. I figure that if the service ever goes down for good, I can always re-download the games I've bought through other means. Xbox Live has no such security.