“A Night at the Movies”: A Look at Changing Trends at the Domestic Box Office in the Blockbuster Age of Film

And now for something completely different.

While I normally focus on video games on this blog, they are not my only interest. I’m also an avid movie-goer. I’ve seen several hundred movies in theaters since I was a kid (I currently average about 15 trips to the cinema each year) and many hundreds more on home video and TV. All in all I’ve probably seen at least 1500 films, maybe more. I’m not really too picky about what kind of films I enjoy, either. But when there’s a movie that sufficiently interests me, I try to go see it in theaters. I just love the big-screen experience. The size of the screen. The big hi-fi sound systems. The smell of freshly-buttered popcorn. So, I decided to make a digression from video games and talk about the movies. Specifically, I wanted to take a look at the recent history and current state of the domestic (U.S. & Canada) box office, focusing on the the so-called “Blockbuster Era” of film, complete with all sorts of charts like the ones from my video game sales post.

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Are Used Games Harmful To the Game Industry?

(UPDATE: The article has been edited to take into account information on the XBO and PS4 revealed prior to and during E3.)

(UPDATE 2: The article has been edited to take into account news that Microsoft has rescinded their policy on second-hand XBO games.)

In my article “Do Video Games Cost Too Much?” I defended the video game industry’s current pricing practices, specifically the standard $60 price point for console games. I argued that the common complaints some gamers offer in regards to pricing practices — “Games cost more than ever,” “We’re getting less value for our dollar,” etc. — were false. But I did mention in that article that there are many legitimate complaints gamers have regarding the games industry, and in this article, I’ll be focusing on one of those, namely, used games and industry antagonism towards them.

Review: “Halo 4”

“Well Enough Alone”

It has been over two years since Bungie’s final Halo title debuted, the reigns of the series having since been handed over to Microsoft’s 343 Industries. While Bungie’s next project “Destiny” is still a ways off, 343I has just released their first Halo title. Halo 4 is the much-anticipated direct sequel to 2007’s Halo 3, bringing us back to the story of Master Chief and Cortana after Bungie’s last two games took a detour by telling us the story of a squad of ODSTs during the beginning of the Battle of Earth and a retelling of the Fall of Reach from the perspective of a squad of Spartan-IIIs.

So, how goes 343I’s first attempt at making a Halo game? Are they worthy successors to Bungie’s legacy, or has the franchised suffered a blow because of Halo 4? Read on to find out.

A hero returns. But is his latest adventure up to snuff with the series in the hands of a new developer?