FPS Gaming Goodness: Quake Live and Team Fortress 2 Scout Update

The Quake Live beta has started and I can be found getting fragged repeatedly as heartlessgamer. Just to note: there are queues to get logged into the beta website, so get in line now if you want to get your frag on!

Actually the queues have subsided to just a couple of minutes now, but last night they were swollen with tens of thousands of people trying to log on to the new service. Apart from being over-subscribed and the verification emails taking a while to turn up, the browser-launched Quake 3 is looking good. The front end system, with its rankings and insta-matching systems, appears remarkably solid and easy to navigate. Why not go and have a look? It’s completely free, after all.

Next on the schedule for FPS fans: Team Fortress 2 has released the Scout Update.

Baseball pre-season begins. And the Scout Update goes live. After the vote to see in which order the unlocks should be added, the order is announced. It’s Force-A-Nature first, then The Sandman, then finally the Bonk Energy Drink. You can read all the details of all the updates with this handy link.

Also to note: Team Fortress 2 is on sale for a mere $10 until this Friday. Get it while its hot. Oh, and apparently games work just like taxes, lower them and more revenue is made. Or I mean to say: lower game prices and more revenue is made.

The holiday sales lead to interesting numbers. A 10% reduction lead to 35% increase in amount of money which came in (i.e. Not just sales). 25% lead to a 245% increase. 50% lead to 320% increase. And 75% lead to 1470%. Which is an interesting one to interpret in a few ways.

A great one-two punch. A free, web-based FPS that plays great on almost any PC. And a game developer delivering digital downloads at a reasonable price making money hand over fist. Take that you stupid, overpaid fucking twats running 90% of the game development industry.