Oh. Well Then.

Not too terribly long, I got all bent out of shape over Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, since it was reported that the PS4/XBone versions were going to be digital-only and that's kind of a bad thing.  For reasons that I went into with a lot of words that ended up boiling down to "The Gaming world just isn't ready for this nigh-evangelised 'Digital Future' but more importantly I'm most definitely not ready for it, goddamnit" because I really really want to play every single MGS game ever always.  All of that remains true, of course, because Internet Infrastructure has not magically become better in the weeks since, nor is it showing any signs of magically coming to ultimate power any time soon either.  Unfortunately and fortunately.  (Since even if Infrastructure got better, I'd probably still be fucking stuck)

Good news has come out for everyone, however, as not only does Ground Zeroes have a release date for North America, but it has pricing and release details that are a bit different than previously reported for good ol' Europe.  First off, the game comes out March 18th, 2014 across PS3 and 4, the 360 and the XBone.  PC players...get to keep waiting for REVENGEANCE, I assume.  (Please buy it when it comes out.)  Much like Europe, there's a bit of a price variance not only between current and last gen platforms, but physical and digital as well.  The PS3 and 360 versions retail at $30 for Physical and $20 Digital which is pretty much what I figured would happen in that it's exactly the same as the European price, except they switched denomination markers.  Sorry Europe!

The good bit comes in, however, when you see that, yes, the Digital Versions for the PS4 and XBone versions of Ground Zeroes are $30 for some reason, but there are actual physical versions of the game as well which will retail for $40, a full $20 more for a prettier version of the game on a disk instead of a digital PS3 purchase.  In another complete 180 from previous reportings, there's apparently going to be something extra in the Physical versions, though if that's just the Next-Gen ones, I don't even know.  Regardless, there's going to be a box with a PS4 disk in it that has Ground Zeroes on it that I am going to one day stare at and debate whether or not I should purchase it.  On the one hand, I'm very, very glad that it's going to be something I -can- buy and play, but on the other hand, it's a prologue that could be shorter than the Tanker section of MGS2, and it's $40 when a digital version of the PS3 version is half that for reasons, and while I -want- to play it in stunning visuals with the Dualshock 4 and all that, I'll need to convince myself a little more.  Also, I'll be concerned about a package deal for Ground Zeroes and Phantom Pain whenever that ends up coming out.  (Likely around a year later, I'm guessing)

Still, it's good to know that I have the option if I decided to go that route because I likely will because I have no will-power.  Though I have to wonder what the extra bit in the cases is going to be, because I highly doubt it's going to be the Exclusive DLCs mentioned for both systems.  The Deja Vu mission for Playstation and the Jamais Vu DLC for XBox both look great, even though I swing more towards the Jamais Vu one because REVENGEANCE, and it kills me to think that I -won't- get to play it.  It's...not the same as more REVENGEANCE, of course, but it's close.  At least Konami is still acknowledging the game and hopefully the hopes of a sequel will end up panning out, because I will buy the absolute fuck out of it.  On the other hand, more 'exclusive' DLC for the Boxed versions on top of platform-exclusive DLC?  That's...that's going a bit crazy with it.  Though we are not exactly surprised, I should think.

crazy conspiracy theory, "David Hayter Voicepack DLC" - it'll never happen, but goddamnit if we're not all hoping

Ohhhh, Makes Sense

So, while I have clearly had sort of an up-and-down couple of weeks as you've no doubt noticed by now, it's all been on the up for the last couple of days, yet I found that I was dreadfully tired yesterday (aside from a few hours when the Drakengard 3 semi-announcement made me so excited I nearly ran around the house cheering) and today (despite still being happy and also excited about Drakengard 3) even though I got a rather good bit of sleep last night.  You would think that I would be rather alert today, rather willing and able to do just about whatever, up to and including writing a rousing post tonight.  Yet, despite there being little bits of news, nothing too big, unfortunately, it was a bit of a hassle to actually sit down and attempt to think.  It's a bit worrying, really.

Then I realized something as I started feeling a bit off tonight.  Next week is the week in which Spring officially begins.  As long-time readers of mine would know, I hate Spring.  This is something that is well-documented.  The only reason that I hate it is because it's a time of ever-changing environments and allergies and unbearable heat, all of which conspire to make me as miserable and sickish as possible.  I'm not being the slightest bit unreasonable, I think.  We had our first bit of Spring weather this weekend, with temperatures 30 degrees higher than what the norm had been for the last month....which then dissolved right back into the normal temperatures.  With snow.  That's what's got me feeling icky currently - the drastic change between hot and cold, and that's something that'll just keep happening.  It's unfortunate, really.

Yet, in the spirit of trying to keep things moving, let's talk a little shop here.  As stated, there are a few bits of mini-news out there, so let's have an impromptu News Dump and see if any of it particularly interests you.

The first thing that is something that is of-note is that Minecraft is actually getting a disc-release...on XBox 360.  Of the XBLA version.  Which is multitudes of versions behind the actual PC version.  Yet it's still the only console version of the game and being that it'll be the same price as the digital version ($20), it is nice to have that option.  As someone who actually desires physical releases for my own convenience, my first instinct was "Yes, I might just buy this for when I buy myself a cheap 360" (or, in the unlikely event that the NeXtBox is fully backwards compatible), but then I went "Why?"  And it was actually kind of a horrifying moment.  I realized that Minecraft is one of those titles that you more or less -have- to have access to all the time, as in the downloadable version, since who knows when the desire to play will hit.  So I might even personally skip on this one for the inevitable day when I actually friggin' buy the PC version for my laptop that I swear I will someday own.  Or maybe other dreams will come true, and I'll be able to someday play a Vita version.

In news that is surprising everyone, I guess, the Vita Out-sold everything in Japan last week thanks in part to the release of Soul Sacrifice which sold somewhere in the neighborhood of 115,000+ copies (spread out across the stand-alone copy, the hardware bundle and the Double-Pack to spur the multiplayer-focus) which -technically- means it sold more than Hatsune Miku:  Project Diva F for PS3, the top-selling game on the list.  The gulf between the Vita sales and 3DS sales is a small one, around 2,500 units, but it's still damn impressive considering the 3DS and 3DS XL are counted as a single unit for sales.  The gulf between the Vita and the Wii U (mentioned because they are the two newest consoles out there, what don't you understand about that, Joystiq commentators) is considerable larger, however, with the Vita outselling it by a hefty 54,000 units and the gulf between the Vita and the 360 (the worst-selling console there) is hilarious considering the 360 managed to sell 738 units total.  Still, all in all, it's a great sign.  A lot of the sentiment seems to be "hurr durr, well it finally got a game" which is shamefully stupid as we know, but Soul Sacrifice looks pretty great, so it likely spurred a lot of purchases with that regardless.

Finally, the two bits of REVENGEANCE DLC that we know about now have a release window.  Sometime in April, we'll be able to buy the Jetstream Sam and Blade Wolf DLC packs which will, unsurprisingly, allow you to play as Jetstream Sam and Blade Wolf.  Both of them will have their own settings and such, telling expanded stories about the respective characters.  From the way it reads both packs will be $7, as in $7 individually which isn't bad at all.  Blade Wolf, at the very least, probably has to have an entirely different moveset and playstyle, and with both packs ensuring there will be hours of playtime there (likely dozens in replayability alone) there's an obvious value to it.  As someone who really liked REVENGEANCE and wants to funnel as much money into it as possible to increase the chances of a sequel, I know I'll be picking them up.  If they can bring in David Hayter to voice the "Soul of Snake" Sword DLC, I'll buy the hell out of that as well.

There's other little bits of info strewn about the internet and I might talk of them on another night, but that's good enough for tonight.  Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll just be over here ticking off the days til Fall.  Obsessively.