3DS Development / Test Hardware Revealed?

It seems that Nintendo have been testing out parts of their new 3DS handheld with the US Federal Communications Commission, reportedly aiming to get the system’s new Wi-Fi card approved for use in the United States.

Some images from the testing appeared on the FCC Filing website late last month before being quickly removed. However a single image was posted at WirelessGoodness before the entire batch disappeared, showing something being referred to as a "Nintendo CTR Target Board". Most likely this image is that of Nintendo’s NDS Successor, the tentatively titled 3DS.

The image below shows what looks like a 3DS test kit or early development system, with the Wi-Fi card and related parts being highlighted due to being involved in the FCC’s testing process. WirelessGoodness initially assumed that it could be a custom board to test out a new built-in Wi-Fi card for either the existing DS or an upgraded model. However this is very unlikely as the board on display has some very different defining characteristics compared to any of the existing NDS designs.


The test board clearly has two screens situated one above the other like the current DS, although the top screen is clearly in a widescreen format and the bottom is in the standard 4:3, whereas the existing DS’s feature a dual 4:3 set up. The new 3DS, if that indeed is what this board is based on, shows that only one of the two screens will be 3D compatible. It’s clear from the image that the top screen features Sharp's new auto-stereoscopic 3D tech, whilst the bottom screen is just a standard LCD display.

From the image it is also possible to point out the inclusion of both a DS cartridge slot, and a SD card port too. Both of these are currently standard in the DSi and DsiXL systems, but are also likely to be included in the new 3DS when that launches, as Nintendo have previously confirmed full compatibility with all DS and DSi software. There is no sign of any new type of cartridge slot or card port, meaning that games for the new 3DS are likely to appear on the same carts as current DS software, leaving the SD card support for something along the lines of multimedia application.

More interestingly, the board on show is listed with a three-letter codename, something that Nintendo has used for all versions of its NDS hardware. The DSi was referred to as TWL, and the DSi XL as UTL, much in the same way as the GameCube, which was internally referred to as the GCN (GameCube Nintendo) rather than the publicly abbreviated NGC. The codename CTR hasn’t been used by Nintendo before, so most likely refers to a brand new generation of handheld, which is also backed up by the images showing a completely different design to the one found in the current range of DS systems.

All evidence clearly points to this being a form of 3DS development hardware, or at least a testing kit for the new machine. With the system likely to be on show at E3 in some capacity, or at some point later in the year, it isn’t a stretch to assume that development kits are in first party hands at least. This test / dev kit shows that the design is being finalised, with some features being tested out for a final inclusion, and others yet to be put in or decided upon.

With only a few months to go until this new handheld makes its debut, it’s only likely that more information and leaks begin to surface. Maybe some prototype images of the new hardware will appear a little later down the line, or that Nintendo will have its hand forced once again into an early reveal? Either way today’s images clearly show that the DS’s successor is almost in sight, and that we probably shouldn’t have long to wait for more concrete information to arrive.

Review: Lost Planet 2 (360)

A giant insectoid-like beast busts up from the snowy ground with an almighty roar. Immediately it catches me in its sights and begins to charge. Armed with only a simple machine gun and a few paltry grenades, I engage the enemy, dodging its first attack before turning around and plugging it full of lead. Some of my shots bounce off its hardened shell but others directly hit its yellowy fleshy tail instead, resulting in another hollowed roar from the creature. At this point I make a hesitant dash for a nearby semi-destroyed building, hoping to gain at least momentary cover.

Inside awaits more of the vile Akrid parasites. It turns out that I’ve just entered this creature’s makeshift nest. Immediately, without fail, I begin to blast my way through swarms of smaller spider-like Akrid, and into the pulsating eggsacks, safe for a short while from the chaos outside – my team are busy getting slaughtered by the huge beast outside. After clearing out the half-standing structure of all its living inhabitants, I take my beef back outside with me. Guns in full blaze I throw everything at my disposal against the giant beast whilst its intently distracted – shooting mercilessly at its now red little tail - and after another roar, plus the obligatory pool of blood and puss, it finally comes crashing to the ground.

Looking around, there are wide-open spaces for miles, the view of snowy particles being blown throughout the air, and the sheen of the glistering white environment reflecting back the light given off by a obscured sun. The Akrid beast is dead, oozing puss and drenched in its own blood, before shattering into a thousand frozen pieces. It was remarkably beautiful and ugly at the same time. The hard exterior shell revealed its intricate markings, while its fleshy body is both soft, and solid at the same time, covered in sheen and detail. Everywhere you look there are wondrous sights full of character, all contained in and around some lovely white vistas.


Welcome to Lost Planet 2! An experience that starts off unsurprisingly like the first game. The stunning visuals, quite possibly some of the best seen on any console to date, along with the tried and testing third-person gameplay mechanics, are every bit as polished as they were the last time around, although now feeling a tad dated. In fact, for the first few minutes or so, Lost Planet 2 is nothing but a solidly made and pretty entertaining action game. Insanely large creatures, huge guns, and lovely environments combine to form a familiar but fun element of shooting action. Much of what was so good about LP1 is also still reasonably good here, and while many of the little niggles are still present too, there are larger issues that you’ll be complaining about.

However, shortly after things take a turn for the worst, as parts of this sequel’s poor design begin to break through the solid foundations built up by the original game. It’s pretty clear that Capcom were keen to have a different gimmick driving how LP2 works, and to this end two distinct elements have been shoehorned into the experience.

One being the multiplayer focused single player campaign, in which you are merely part of a four-man team. And the other, a revised continue and checkpoint system which bares more than a passing resemblance to the hardcore games of old, ill-suited for the gameplay on offer here. These two elements are inexplicably linked together in a way, in which on there own wouldn’t pose so much of a problem, but together they conspire to break the game on so many occasions, leading to numerous bouts of frustration and fist clenching anger.


Keeping things together is the return of the thermal energy meter from the first game. Unlike in LP1, your thermal energy (TE) gauge isn’t constantly depleting. Instead it continuously accumulates more TE as you kill and collect it from fallen foes and various data points scattered around your environment. When you take damage, and as your health bar begins to runs dangerously low, you have the option of using this TE to restore lost health, thus preventing you from loosing a precious life. You’ll certainly be needing this boost, as in LP2 most large enemies have almost ‘instant kill’ attacks which leave you very little time to escape for cover, or simply in many cases, regenerate your health.

To make matters worse, the game is always pushing you towards an offensive solution. Done mostly in order to recoup lost TE as you battle it out amongst the native wildlife and nomadic Snow Pirates, putting yourself in harms way during times in which a more carefully thought out approach would be preferable. TE however, is the least of your concerns later on in the game, with the lack of save points and temporary checkpoints making this part of the experience a frustrating and sometimes an unplayable one.

The checkpoint, life, progression, whatever you want to call it system in the game, centres on something called the Battle Gauge. You start off with 500 battle points, and receive 500 more for every checkpoint you reach (data points that you activate), or 1000 if you happen to be piloting a VS suit. Every time you die, you loose a certain amount of battle points, and are respawned from the nearest data point. Loosing all of your battle points however, means that you loose all of your checkpoints and instead have to replay the entire chapter all over gain.

Chapters can range from anything from 20 to 50 minutes to complete, depending on both their length and player skill level. Either way, it means that if you get stuck on a particular boss, or mission, and end up constantly dying, then you are gonna be replaying a vast amount of content again and again before you get it right.


It doesn’t help that the game isn’t exactly signposted when it comes to telling what to do. Especially I have to say, with regards to some of the boss battles, which not only require you to work out the correct solution of dealing with them, but also working as a team to bring them down. Unfortunately, the complete lack of CPU controlled AI makes this task an infuriating one. It’s all too common in LP2 to have certain parts of the game in which working as a team is essential to score a solid victory, without the frustration and hopelessness which occurs during solo play.

The boss battle at the end of chapter 3 is a good example of this. Set upon a speeding train, you are tasked with battling a giant sandworm whilst attempting to prevent the train from being obliterated. Right at the front of the carriage you are presented with a handful of giant ammunition shells lying around, and a huge gun-turret to load them into. Aiding you in this task, is a small, rather illegible diagram showing you where on the train to load these shells, and the also the position of the engineering room, required for fixing up the train as it sustains damage.

It is clear that the game wants one person to load in the shells, another to distract the boss, another to look after the engine room, and someone to take control of the gun turret. This is great if you’re playing with four other people, but by yourself, it’s a hopeless mess. The key here is teamwork, something that your AI buddies don’t have a clue about. They’ll simply stand around getting killed and leaving you to do all the work, making the challenge so much harder. And as you are running back and forth trying to load the shells you’ll be frequently attacked, being thrown off the train and forced to restart the whole encounter all over again.


With two or more people playing this doesn’t become so much of an issue, making finding a solution for dealing with a boss easier to find, and coordination almost second nature. Of course playing with friends is likely to yield better results. But either way, the multiplayer sessions allow the game to be far more playable than going it alone. It’s just a shame that the single player campaign seems to be completely tacked-on the end of the game, like LP2 was designed to be an online only experience.

During online play the battle points system still gets in the way, which is unfortunate. With all four players sharing the same battle gauge, each player can only afford to die two or three times at the most before the gauge runs out and everyone starts the entire chapter again. On your own you could afford to take a more few chances and die a handful – or two - of times before exhausting your battle gauge, even though the overall fight is made much harder without a coordinated team behind you.

That said Lost Planet 2 isn’t a bad game by any means, it’s actually pretty good at times. A potentially great experience, let down massively by Capcom’s insistence on shoehorning in new and unwanted gameplay mechanics to a system which didn’t require radical change. The return of the TE meter works in the game’s favour, and the core gameplay on offer is almost fun as it was in the first game. However, it’s just that the new elements that have been added really threaten to break apart the game, and on many occasions they do so almost effortlessly. When this happens, all of the hard work and solid gameplay mechanics built up by the original LP is completely overshadowed, leaving an experience which is an excise in frustration.

Visually the game can’t be faulted. It looks stunning! LP2 delivers some of the most detailed texture work seen in a videogame so far, along with splashes of intensely delivered particle and smoke effects. Again, being some of the best we’ve seen. The Arkrid creatures are all incredibly detailed; lots of impressive shader effects, bump mapping, sheen and reflections. The environments, like with the first game, are filled with wide-open sprawling vistas, packed full of personality and intricately crafted characteristics. Most of all, the entire game looks and feels distinctly organic, never looking like a fake plasticky resemblance of reality.


It’s rather unfortunate then, that the gameplay fails to live up to the technical heritage on offer, with the solid core experience broken down and compromised by the developer’s need on including new and gimmicky features. All Capcom had to do was to take what worked in the first Lost Planet, and then up the ante with this sequel. Being bigger and more bad-ass, doesn’t mean better, and although it is clear that Capcom wanted to have a scale that was so much wider than in the first game, they have failed to provide suitable gameplay and progression system to really back this up.

In the end, Lost Planet 2 is one of 2010’s biggest disappointments, failing to live up to the standards set by the original game, and placing too much emphasis on the multiplayer aspect. Not enough thought has being put into solo play, and it shows. That, along with the ridiculously outdated (for this style of game) save and continue system, makes this sequel a rather substandard experience for all those concerned.

The original Lost Planet, as it stands, is a much better choice if you want to experience some of the delights of E.D.N III, and although this sequel does still deliver some (very brief) flashes of brilliance, it also completely misses the mark most of the time.

VERDICT: 6/10

OnLive Gaming Service Comes To The UK

Last September OnLive began beta testing its brand new streaming video gaming service in the US, called unsurprisingly OnLive. The technology represented a whole new way of bringing videogames into the home. Rather than requiring a hardware box with specific processing components for rendering graphics, gameplay, etc, it acted more like a router or Internet connection device, instead delivering its content through the use of real-time streaming video.

Games aren’t downloaded onto a hard drive for play later on, instead they are instantly streamed on the fly, ready for the user as soon as the OnLive MicroConsole has started its download. During the beta controls were found to be fairly responsive, with some lag - much like the delayed responses to be found in many motion control titles on the Wii. The video stream was, at best, relatively serviceable, with evidence of macro blocking and a fare share of image break up. Detail had also been compromised as a result of the video compression scheme, lacking the same kind of intricacy found in a direct uncompressed HD source.

However, it did seem like a perfect compromise for the quality oblivious masses, in which around 50% still play their HD consoles in SD – some on a HDTV no less. I can see OnLive featuring as almost a games-on-demand rental service for most consumers, with the more serious of gamer types opting to buy a traditional console for maximum quality. Either way, the technology and idea represents a very different way of thinking when it comes to giving us a definitive gaming experience. There are upsides to the use of streaming video, mainly in the form of users not needing to have powerful hardware at their end, in a separate box powering the games. Instead, all the processing is done on high-end PC’s at OnLive and them streamed out through their array of data servers.

In ten years time, with broadband rapidly increasing in speed and reliability, we could be seeing a service such as this become the new face of traditional gaming. OnLive is in effect, in its current state, a big trial, a test to see not just how well the technology could work, but also if people are ready for such a business model so soon after the initial breakthrough.


For the United Kingdom OnLive are partnering with BT in rolling out a beta trial for sometime this summer, just after the final service goes live in the United States. Whilst no date has been set for the trial as of yet, we do know that it will be available through both a PC and MAC alongside the OnLive MicroConsole. Helping OnLive to pick up much needed market share in the territory is BT, who has purchased a 2.6 percent share in the company. This basically gives BT rights to bundle in the OnLive with its broadband packages increasing overall uptake compared to individual subscriptions.

Anyone not using BT will still be able to order the service directly through OnLive for use with their existing ISP. Users from all around Europe and the UK will be able to play against each other in online matches, along with community-based features such as Chat options, brag chips and profiles. Online play will be restricted between European and UK users only, although the community features will work regardless of region. So gamers can at least talk and compare profiles with their US counterparts.

So far various publishing companies, including the likes of Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Take-Two, Warner Bros. Interactive, THQ, Epic Games, Eidos, Atari Interactive, and Codemasters have already signed up to have their games available on the service. That’s a pretty large show of support and should allow most of the high-profile AAA release PC titles to make an appearance on the service, with other titles and publishers joining later down the line if it proves to be successful.


OnLive certainly looks promising, on paper at least. There is still some issues that need to be sorted out with control lag – which is pretty bad at this point – and with regards to the amount of compression used in the video stream, which at present is said to be somewhat blocky and unsuitable for fast motion. However, the service looks to provide the next step in videogame rentals at the very least, with a solid replacement for traditional retail games likely to come further in the future when high-end broadband speeds are available to most of the general public.

Either way, it will be interesting to see how well OnLive performs in the UK both technically, and from a consumer’s point of view, with the financials and quality of the tech being paramount to its success. The public must also be happy with how the service performs, along with having enough new content released each week to justify the entry fee each moth.

Nevertheless, what OnLive hopes to achieve could well revolutionise how the games playing public actually takes delivery of their gaming experiences. If done right, it could eventually replace the traditional consoles as the main source of gaming in the next ten to twenty years.

Review: Sin & Punishment 2 - SotS (Wii)

Ten years ago Treasure unleashed their little known but highly praised N64 classic, Sin & Punishment. It was a game that brought high-octane on-rails shooting to Nintendo’s failing 64bit system in a way not seen since the likes of Alien Solider on the Megadrive. Giant battles, continuous action, and challenging gameplay were all part and parcel of the experience, an experience though very well received, never made it anywhere outside of it’s native Japan.

Since the release of S&P Treasure has had only a few hits to their name. Outside the GameCube smash Ikaruga, and the commendable Astro Boy for GBA, there hasn’t been anything as iconic or sublimely brilliant at Radiant Silvergun, or even the original Sin & Punishment. Perhaps that’s because Treasure work best when investing in fresh new ideas, and not pandering around to its own rabid fanbase. It’s the main reason why, as a studio, they tend not to create sequels and only focus on new IP.

With this Wii sequel to the original S&P however, Treasure have delivered an experience that is in every way superior to the N64 original, featuring some of the most intensely fast-paced hardcore shooting action to be found on any console to date. If you like games that send wave upon wave of beautifully choreographed enemies your way, with some absolutely huge boss battles continuously emerging from the chaos, then you’ll love Sin & Punishment: Successor of the Skies (S&P2).


Like its predecessor S&P2 is an on-rails shooter. Guiding you along a fixed path, the game has you aiming and blasting your way through anything that stands in your way. Frequently your progress will be hampered by some show stopping gigantic creatures, in which the game mechanics and the on-rails nature briefly expands into something more free roaming, though still as tightly restrictive. In fact, right from the beginning it is clear that you have more control over your characters than in the original game, if only restricted to the view on screen. At the most, you can on occasion move inwards and outwards in addition to the standard left and right, giving you a brief moment of extra manoeuvrability.

The Nunchuck controls character movement, whilst the Wii Remote points and shoots at enemies across the screen. Camera movement is fixed, and your path is largely pre-determined, though you can move around the limited space given at any time. Two different characters are playable throughout the game, each with subtle differences adding some extra strategy to the game, and another excuse to play through the whole thing again once it’s finished.


Isa, the main one of the two and usual lead male protagonist, commands control of a jetpack and has the ability to unleash a charging shot of sorts, which explodes in a grenade-like fashion when it connects with enemies or the environment. Kachi, on the other hand, is a little different. The female of the bunch, she uses a hoverboard instead of a jetpack - yes, proper Back To The Future stylie - and features a lock-on charge shot that can target multiple enemies at once. Both characters can dodge, and also fight back with a standard melee attack, which can repel projectile attacks while still being the first choice for close-range combat.

Throughout most of S&P2 you will definitely need to use your entire arsenal, dodging and shooting your way past a multitude of foes, whilst making sure to keep that chain gauge going up. Later on in the game you’ll be faced with having to dodge through laser beams and constantly melee back projectile attacks, whilst at the same time trying to counter a gigantic boss creature’s main method of attack by firing off a well timed charged shot, disabling it for few seconds before repeating the whole process again. It’s pretty intense, and utterly exhilarating at the same time, being the most fun I’ve had with an arcade shooter in a long time.


It’s also a pretty tough ride all round. Though never unfair, the game requires you to simply learn enemy attack patterns and counter them effectively with the right set of moves. Most of the time, a well-planned dodge or some accurately positioned charge shots are all that is required. Whereas later on, you will need to mix it up using melee strikes and rapid gunfire in order to survive. That said there are a plentiful amount of checkpoints on offer, not least of all before every gigantic boss creature and end of level encounter, so you’re never far away from where you last died. Unlike Lost Planet 2, Sin & Punishment 2 absolutely nails down how old school progression should work, keeping things fair but challenging at all times.

The best part is that the entire game is filled with imaginative ideas, from the huge bosses and the smaller cannon fodder, to the level design and overall aesthetics. Sin & Punishment 2 is overflowing with an art style that is as original as it is bizarre, packed with a level of stylised beauty that could only have come from the minds at Treasure. Much of the game bares more than just a passing resemblance to Ikaruga, and at times it feels like this could almost be a spiritual successor to both Treasures much loved GCN shump and the Saturn classic Radiant Silvergun, though obviously unrelated to either.


Along with the unique art style and imaginative designs, the game also looks very pretty impressive from a graphical point of view. Visually, S&P2 is one of the best-looking Wii games, and doesn’t take its time to showcase its abilities. For one, the game runs at a buttery smooth sixty frames per-second almost constantly, with only minor drops in framerate. Bosses and the larger enemies are packed with detailed textures, bump mapping, and feature a liberal use of that next-generation sheen lacking in so many Wii games.

However, if there is one downside is that the game tends to look a little blocky, lacking consistantly high polygon counts, a result of having so much going on at any given time and keeping a smooth framerate. Also, despite featuring some of the sharpest, cleanest edges for a Wii game, S&P2 suffers from plenty of jagged edges, which means that playing this upscaled on a good flat panel HDTV is a painfully ugly process. Thankfully, any CRT owning folks out there can experience this in all its clear 480i/p glory, which really, is the best way to be playing S&P2.


With Sin & Punishment: Successor of the Skies there’s very little to complain about. Treasure have easily delivered one of their finest games of recent years, and one of the best arcade shooters to come out of any Japanese development studio in a long time. With it’s unique blend of imaginative ideas and art design, filled with unmistakably addictive on-rails action, S&P2 is not only an essential purchase, but also the best thing to come from the minds at Treasure since 2002’s Ikaruga. In many ways this deserves to be remembered as fondly as Radiant Silvergun, and maybe even some of their older 16bit hits as well.

What we have here is quite simply a modern classic, and perfect for anyone out there wanting some old-school action - something that you can dive in for a couple of minutes before getting lost into for several hours. Despite being a little short, it perfectly demonstrates what is missing in so many of today’s high profile titles, and shows that a tried and test formula can be equally refreshing as anything that attempts to push forward the boundaries of gaming.

VERDICT: 9/10

EA Locks Out Features From Used Games...

The battle against preowned games may have well and truly begun, as today EA announced the first title that would require an activation code to enable online play.

Maybe retailers should have thought about handing over some of those profits from used game sales back when they had the chance to make amends? Instead, they are now faced with potential reduction in preowned sales and a fall in the trade in price on certain titles due to the removal of multiplayer features.


Beginning with the release of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 on both PS3 and 360, EA will introduce a new ‘feature’ known as the Online Pass. This is a code which grants the user access to all the game’s online functionality along with any of the bonus features included. It is a one-time only registration option which allows the unlocked modes and extras to be available to just a single user, mostly likely being tied to their PSN or XBL accounts.

For people who purchased a used copy of the game, they will have to plunk down $10 for the Online Pass, or sign up for a 7-day free trial. Currently, there are plans to include the Online Pass in the company’s future sports line-up, which so far consists of NHL 11, Madden NFL 11, NCAA Football 11, NBA 11, FIFA 11, and EA Sports MMA. Each title will have different features unlocked when registering the Online Pass, although all titles will require the Pass to unlock any online functionality.

"This is an important inflection point in our business because it allows us to accelerate our commitment to enhance premium online services to the entire robust EA SPORTS online community," stated Peter Moore, President of EA SPORTS.

Though he failed to mention any link to retailers profiteering on used game sales and the fact that the publisher makes nothing on each used game sold, it is clear that this introduction of a registration code to unlock ‘standard game features’ is a direct reaction to that particular problem. The Online Pass it seems appears to be another main component in the company’s Project Ten Tollar plan, aiming to give gamers another reason to buy new.

US retailer GameStop looks to have welcomed the change, highlighting that it is inline with their newly directed focus towards expanding their operations in digital game sales and downloadable content.

"GameStop is excited to partner with such a forward-thinking publisher as Electronic Arts," said Dan DeMatteo, Chief Executive Officer of GameStop Corp. "This relationship allows us to capitalize on our investments to market and sell downloadable content online, as well as through our network of stores worldwide."

It is likely that EA’s Online Pass will be sold on the retailer’s website, and that the user will receive the code via an email much like how Amazon’s PSN downloads work. Either way, not all retailers are positioning this as a doom and gloom situation, instead opening up new opportunities for future profitability.

You can read our report about EA’s Project Ten Dollar here, and about the new face of videogame trade-ins here.

Feature: The Future Of Videogame Trade-Ins?

The notion of trading in your old games for new ones, or just simply buying the latest new releases in second hand form seems to be a thorn in the side of videogames publishers. Or so it may seem, especially when reading reports on how companies like EA and Sony are gearing up for a battle to salvage sales of brand new ‘mint’ games whilst putting a dent into preowned, both in terms of sales and the customer trading in. Many of these companies are tired of sitting back and watching whilst the retailer makes money over and over again on titles in which the publishers can only sell once.

However, what if retailers gave back a small percentage of the profits created by used game sales, what about then? Would publishers now be willing to ‘play ball’ with the retailers on the current situation they find themselves in, or would they still be gunning to drastically cut down all preowned transactions? Well, an answer may be here sooner than you think, as GreenManGaming.com attempts to put all the benefits of used game trade-ins and sales to customers, whilst at the same time giving publishers and developers the support they need.


I’ve been saying for years that retailers should be giving back a percentage of their preowned profits to the publishers, and that if they did do such a thing, then the development community wouldn’t have so much of a problem with people wanting to trade-in and save money whilst still obtaining the latest releases. That idea, it seems, is also very favourable to the development community, who with the service offered at GreenManGaming’s new online portal, seem to be strongly in favour for the notion of trading in, and seeing cheaper versions of their latest products available, if only because they finally see some of the return on these sales.

Online, it seems is the perfect testing ground for this idea, and the ailing PC market also lends itself nicely for such an experiment with users constantly expecting lower prices, and struggling against some particularly aggressive DRM measures. This is where GMG and their website comes in. It is at first, like any other website selling downloadable PC games. Create an account, add in your credit/debit card details, download your selected game, and away you go. However, the site unlike any other on the market, offers its users the option of trading back in their digitally downloaded games when they have finished with them.

So how does this work, how can some give back an existing download on their computer at home for a new download of another game? Well, you're not quite giving back the download itself.

When you purchase any software from GMG’s website you are given an activation code, just like with boxed PC games, and it’s this that you effectively trade back in. All you have to do once you want to trade back in a game, is click on the ‘trade in’ option below the box art on the game page and then that’s it, your game gets traded. Of course, you are given a trade in value for your title beforehand, and if you choose to accept, you are given credit to purchase further games from the GMG website. Your original code gets re-generated into a new one, and is then sold off at a cheaper price, depending of course on its market value.

This means that it is not only possible to trade in your old GMG website purchases for new ones, but also the ability to buy cheaper versions of other games which have been traded in. All of the games are new, there is nothing except for the price that could be considered preowned. In terms of pricing, everything is determined by market value, just like how actual bricks and mortar shops operate. So, the more people that are trying to buy one particular title will send both its trade and purchase prices right up. Whereas if a certain title is being constantly traded in, its purchase price drops accordingly, as does its trade price, just as you’d expect it would.

At the same time, highly popular or rarer titles will maintain there market value over longer periods of time, unlike in some regular retail stores in which some popular titles see both their trade and purchase prices reduced massively over time. GMG’s system should be fairer, with customers through their own buying and selling habits dictating the overall price of certain items. New releases however, are likely to be price protected for a short period, as you would expect.

Of course, for such a system to work securely, away from the hands of pirates whilst satisfying the publishers, there has to be some form of DRM involved. In this case, SecuROM. However, GMG’s implementation of this somewhat hated form of DRM isn’t quite as intrusive as the ones used in previous boxed retail copies of high profile titles. Instead, after installing the newly downloaded game onto your computer it will register itself with GMG’s online servers, verifying its authenticity and thus allowing you to play. This authentication needs to be done via an Internet connection every three days. Although if you are away for long periods of time it is still possible to activate the game again after the three-day period, it’s just that the game won’t work after three days unless you re-activate it.

The system may sound harsh, but looking at the increasing number of titles which require a continuous internet connection, it is a pretty fair compromise, especially if gamers are getting all the benefits of cheaper titles and the ongoing option to trade in old titles. For the PC market, this would actually be the first, as previously hardly any shops would take in PC games with their reliance of activation codes and online registration.

So far, a few companies including PlayLogic, JoWood Productions, Midas and Namco Bandai have signed up to have their games available on the site, and apparently GMG is in talks with the likes of Rockstar, THQ and Sega to see if they are interested in at least trying out the service.

If the security measures are good, and the overall service is popular enough, then I suspect many more will come on board, as there is very strong evidence to suggest that people who trade in more games, also buy a lot more games as a result. This seems to be the view held at GMG as well, so they are very positive that their service will offer gamers a new way to empower themselves by trading and buying new titles online. Certainly, the aim is to make things fairer for both the publishers and the gamers.

GMG’s service will be launching here in the UK first with a planned roll out into many other territories, starting with the United States in a few months time. Currently gamers anywhere in the world can use the site, however the prices and currency are all localised for users in the United Kingdom. Later on when you visit the site from other territories other than the UK, a specifically localised version will instead appear with the correct pricing and currency for that particular territory.

Other than having an eventual worldwide presence and new release game sales, GMG also are hopeful that their service will attract titles that have failed to garner a publishing deal, and that might have otherwise been left upon the scrap heap. Instead they hope that developers will release their gamers independently on the service fee of needing any kind of publishing deal. The likelihood of which, means that there is a high probability that titles featuring original ideas, or simply independent IP, will eventually appear on the site, giving gamers both choice and variety on the site.

Overall, GMG’s revolutionary service could well be the way forward for traditional retail outlets to maximise trade-ins and preowned software sales, whilst at the same time satisfying large publishers and developers, in addition to the smaller ones who struggle to break even, let alone make a solid profit these days. I imagine that traditional retail will be looking at how successful GMG’s service is, both in terms of profits and market penetration, before perhaps adopting a similar system further on down the line.

If the service is successful, then there is no reason why bricks and mortar retailers also couldn’t start giving back a percentage of profits made from their sales of preowned games. After all, in the long run it would benefit the entire industry, from the developers and publishers, to the gamers, and even the retailers themselves.

Of course, it has to be done at the right price, and it has to be fair on the consumer, fairer than the current retail system in which you pay near £40 for a preowned title, only to be given around half that when you trade it in days later. Personally, I think it’s pretty obvious that this change isn’t going to happen overnight, but a change is necessary, especially for the industry to continue to thrive and push forward the boundaries of interactive entertainment.

GreenManGaming’s site (greenmangaming.com) opened to the public earlier this week. We definitely suggest that you pop along and check it out, as it could well be the future in the making.