Super Meat Boy is a downloadable Xbox Live Arcade title about a bleeding hunk of meat. This hunk of meat must brave several dozen hazardous puzzles in order to rescue his lady-meat friend. The game has since become a huge hit on XBLA, and people have called for a release on the Wii as a WiiWare title. The dev team, Team Meat, says a Wii release for Super Meat Boy is not forthcoming because of memory limitations. When fans suggested an episodic release, Team Meat retaliated angrily through its Twitter feed:
“Dear Internets: Super Meat Boy on Wii will NOT be Episodic. That’s retarded and we won’t do it. I’d rather kill myself.”
A bit of a base response on Team Meat’s part (it began developing games on flash depot Newgrounds.com), but passionate, nonetheless. When the Team was asked why it loathed episodic releases, the answer quickly popped up on Twitter:
“It’s a way for companies to trick you into paying more for a game. Sonic f***ing 4.”
Sonic the Hedgehog 4 by Sega is a multi-episode release distributed over WiiWare, Xbox Live Arcade, Playstation Network, and the App Store. The first episode went on sale on October 7. Sales numbers for the console releases are currently pending, but the game didn’t make a huge impression on the App Store. Its $9.99 price tag may have been a factor, but a Halloween price drop didn’t bring the hedgehog’s fans running, either.
Sonic 4‘s high price tag and episodic release schedule is what has Team Meat riled up, and it’s not alone. Professional and fan reviews are mixed on Sonic 4, but there is one constant complaint: Too little game for too high of a price. The console release of Sonic 4: Episode 1 is about $15. The game is approximately the length of Sonic the Hedgehog 3, which retailed for $50 USD or so back in the day–but what was acceptable in the past isn’t easily brushed off today. Downloadable titles mean that developers are making fun, innovative games that are also affordable. If a game is priced at $15, gamers will obviously want a reason to part with their cash. “It’s a Sonic game!” isn’t the reason.
Team Meat is right: There comes a point when a company is going to be called out on its pricing if we feel we’re getting ripped off. It’s not inherently a bad thing that Sonic 4 is short, or that it costs more than most downloadable games, or that it’s episodic. The problem is that Sonic 4 is expensive, and short, and episodic–and we have no idea how long Sega will milk us for $15 every few months.
However–and maybe Team Meat couldn’t make this point within the limits of Twitter–not every episodic game series is a ripoff. Telltale Games’ excellent Sam & Max titles don’t lack for fans, and the series simply works best as a multi-episode download. Telltale’s preferred means of distribution seems to reflect in the finished product with a more relaxed sense of humor, and more time for the fans. The point needs to be emphasized: Downloadable, episodic games should never automatically be dismissed as a screwjob.
Buyers are wary creatures, though, and rightly so. To Sega’s credit, it seems to know where it went wrong in the first episode of Sonic 4, and is calling for fan input to help with the next. Here we see another benefit, even in the shadow of a rip: Sega has a chance to fix its mistakes and make fans happy, whereas a full release would have been far harder to alter.
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Scott Steinberg is the CEO of video game consulting firm TechSavvy Global, and founder of GameExec magazine and Game Industry TV. Hailed as a top technology and video game expert by dozens of publications from USA Today to Forbes and NPR, he’s covered the field for 400+ outlets from Playboy to Rolling Stone. A frequent on-air analyst for networks like ABC, CBS, NBC and CNN, he’s also the author of Video Game Marketing and PR.
I’ve no interest in Sonic, but I enjoyed the Penny Arcade and Deathspank episodic games, and felt they were good value for money.
Doubtless the episodic format could be used for shovelware– although as far as I can see, there was no shortage of companies shoveling boring content into existing engines before digital distribution.
Technologies that are “good enough” get thrown over too easily and too quickly by companies in their race towards photorealism, when, technology-wise, “more of the same”– with new content– might be preferable.
For instance, I’d sooner have Half-Life Episode 3 now, in the same engine used for Half-Life 2 (or at least the previous two Episodes) then wait for the next revision of the engine.