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GTA 5: Do Moving Release Dates Boost Sales?

Business

English: The Rockstar Games logo. Português: O...
English: The Rockstar Games logo. Português: O logotipo da Rockstar Games. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Grand Theft Auto 5 is the upcoming gaming title developed by Rockstar Games, set in the . Grand Theft Auto has been a perennial classic and the definitive gaming series for Rockstar Games, creating the modern urban sandbox game and similar gaming titles such as Saint’s Row. The release date for GTA 5 was originally planned at the beginning of the year in spring 2013, but was pushed back to September 17. Does moving release dates have any noticeable effect on the sales of video games?

One of the most important effects of moving release dates is to afford the studio and developers of the game more time to put finishing touches on the game. Two examples of games being rushed by developers, possibly in order to meet release dates by studios, are Dragon Age 2 and Mass Effect 3. In this case, moving the release date may appease anxious fans for a short amount of time, but the quality of the game may not hold up to expectations. This is particularly obvious in Mass Effect 3, where the lackluster ending stood out as an enormous drawback to the game and may even lower sales of future games planned in the Mass Effect universe. There was a huge divergence in the quality of the ending compared to the quality of the rest of the game that prompted many gamers to deduce that the ending to the game was rushed. This is particularly damaging to a game which has built up to the ending in the trilogy only to disappoint the gamers who have played through Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 to see the ending. The fiasco created by the ending even caused the studio to release another ending, although the damage may be permanent.
Otherwise, even late in the development cycle in a game, there are important stages for the game to go through such as bug testing, so that any potential bugs or glitches may be fixed before release. This is important particularly in AAA titles such as GTA 5, where fans have a great deal of expectations about the realism and immersion of the game itself, which can be broken by an abundance of bugs. In this case, it may be better for the studio to delay the release date instead of releasing a mediocre, or even worse, an unfinished product. It is particularly worthwhile for Rockstar Games to take their time considering that GTA 5 is one of their most important titles; it is of paramount importance for them to preserve the quality of the game rather than rush any part of the game’s release.
Finally, there is indication that moving the release date of games later can actually boost sales. If the delaying of the release date can result in a better product, the game can sell both on release and from pre-orders as well down the road, if it becomes critically acclaimed as a quality AAA game. One of the breakout success stories in gaming this year was Bioshock Infinite, released by Irrational Games which had its release date moved to February 26, 2013 from October 16, 2012. However, the ending of the game was almost universally regarded as one of the best in AAA titles, and it is conceivable that more games will be sold because of the higher quality.
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Is That The Best You Can Do?

Finance

If you are a typical, hard-working American, you probably feel that there are not enough hours in the day and not enough money in your pocket!

It seems life is busier and more expensive than ever before. In the midst of a global economic recession, the price of daily living is increasing, with higher utility bills and food prices.

It is difficult in these hectic times to be alert to other available options and yet with so much competition between rival companies, you may find a better deal elsewhere.

From mortgages to loans to gas suppliers and everything in between there are numerous options out there that could be highly beneficial for you.

So how do you go about finding the best deal for you? After all, your circumstances are totally unique and what works for you will not be the same as for someone else.

This is why taking advice from family or friends is not always the wisest move. Naturally their intentions are good, but the information they have maybe outdated or incompatible with your circumstances.

Comparison shopping can provide you with the details necessary to make an informed decision, whatever your circumstances. By researching the options available, you can find the perfect product or supplier.

Perhaps you are a young professional looking for your first mortgage, an older couple thinking about retirement funds or maybe you simply want to reduce your mobile phone bill.

Investigating the options available will help you clarify when you are being offered a great deal and what conditions or benefits may be attached to an agreement.

Mobile phone providers, for example, often try to tie you into a long-term contract by tempting you with the latest phone. Many consumers will find this offer irresistible and sign up without thinking the implication through.

It is financially more astute to calculate the cost of the contract against the cost of buying the phone outright and finding a lower priced tariff from another provider.

Credit card companies will offer 0% or lower interest rates on balance transfers, so spend a little time comparing providers to see how much you could shave off this debt.

Even if you have a low credit score it is worth comparing credit cards for bad credit to get the best deal for your circumstances.

Often, credit cards companies offer additional benefits when taking out one of their cards, such as discounts at certain stores or money-off vouchers, travel or car insurance and fraud protection.

If you are planning a family vacation with Disney for example, taking out a Disney credit card can provide additional benefits. Credit card holders benefit from 10% discount at their shops and $50 credit on cruises.

There may be other factors that influence your decision, such as the charitable ethos of a company. Many firms favor certain causes and will donate a percentage of profits to charity.

So invest some time in researching better deals to suit your circumstances or use a reputable price comparison site to do the research for you. Then all you have to do is to enjoy your savings!

Post by Moneysupermarket.

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Jobs I’ve Had

Finance

Shipwreck in his later uniform.
Image via Wikipedia

I’ve always worked.  From the time I was young, I knew that, if I wanted to feed my G.I. Joe addiction, I needed a way to make money.

So I got a job.

I was the only kid in first grade earning a steady paycheck.

In the years since, I’ve had a dozen or so jobs at 10 different companies.  The question has been asked, so this post is my answer: these are all of the jobs I’ve ever held.

  • Paper route.  Starting at age 6, I split a paper route with my brother.  Initially, I made about $6 per month, which was enough for 1 G.I. Joe.
  • Farm hand.  I spent a couple of summers in junior high and high school doing odd farm jobs outside of my home town.
  • Dishwasher.  Starting in 9th grade, I gave up a study hall to work in the school cafeteria, serving food and washing dishes.   It paid minimum wage for 1 hour per school day.
  • Construction.  For a couple of summers, I worked for my dad’s construction company.  He was easily the hardest boss I’ve ever had, which was great preparation for the rest of my working life.   The drunk bar owner who didn’t allow his employees a lunch break and got upset if they sat down on a smoke break was nothing by comparison.  Thanks, Dad.  Every employer since has been astonished by my work ethic, even when I’m having an off day.
  • Dishwasher, take 2.  Sixteen years old, thumped by the wisdom of “If you want a car, get a job to pay for it.”  So I did.   It paid a bit over minimum wage and gave me my first “Who the heck is FICA and why is he robbing me?” moment.   I eventually got promoted to cook, which came with better pay, worse hours, and more opportunities to flirt with waitresses.  It was grand.
  • Palletizer.  This is a fancy way of saying I stood at the end of a conveyor belt, picked up the 50 pound bags of powder as they came down the line, and stacked them neatly on a pallet.  Rinse and repeat.  1500 times per night.   By the time I left this job, I had arms that would make Popeye cry.
  • Cook, take 2.   I held this job at the same time as the palletizer position.   I’d work 8 hours stacking pallets, then head to job #2, 5 miles away.   My car was broken at the time, so I rode my bike.  In the winter.   In Minnesota.  I was working 14-16 hour days, lifting a total of 75,000 pounds, biking 10 miles per day.   I was in great shape and tough.   I wasn’t tough enough, though.  I could only maintain this schedule for a couple of months.
  • Machine operator.   During my stint with this company, I’d put a little piece of metal into a great big machine, push a button, then spend 15-20 minutes listening to the great big machine carve the little piece of metal into something worth selling.   This was about when I started shopping for books based primarily on thickness.    One night, I read The Stand in my spare time.   I’d also pass the night by burning scrap magnesium flakes in the parking lot.   What can I say?  Twelve hour graveyard shifts with 3 hours of actual work are boring.  I left a few months after my son was born, because I was missing too much of my family time.    I took a 30% pay-cut, before overtime, to be with my wife and kid.
  • Debt collector.  I worked my way through college by collecting on defaulted student loans.  I firmly believe that we should all live up to our obligations and responsibilities, including paying your bills, so I didn’t have a moral dilemma with the work.   There are some bad apples, but I don’t see collectors as pariahs.
  •  Systems Administrator.  After I graduated college, I got promoted and spent the rest of my time there managing the collection and auto-dialer software and the hodge-podge of other applications we needed, some of which, I wrote.
  • Software engineer.   This is where I am now.   I’ve written a medium-scale ecommerce application that handles the online sales for quite a few companies, mostly in the B2B arena.   The job also includes a large chunk of training, management, and even sales.    I don’t particularly enjoy sales, but a programmer geek who can manage other programmers, coordinate with sales & marketing, and talk to customers during a sales demo is a rare bird.

To recap: I’m 32 and I’ve had 1 month out of the last 26 years that didn’t come with a paycheck.  I’ve worked for 10 different companies and I start the job before this one when I was 20.

How many jobs have you had?  What was the most memorable, or the oddest?

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A Perfectly Maid Home

Finance, Life, Relationships

Last night, I got home after a 13 hour day at the office and found a spotlessly clean house.  The laundry was folded.  The dishes were done, and everything was put away.

It was great.

I work 80 hours a week, 90 if you count commuting time.

That’s about 50 hours at my day job, 10-15 hours working on this site, and 20-30 hours working on my other side hustles.   Some weeks, my volunteer geek skills get put to use for a local non-profit, too.

My wife works at least 40 hours every week.

We chase our kids around, plan or birthday parties, visit family, take care of the yard, and do everything else that every other family does.

The difference is that, if I take work in all of its forms out of the equation and give myself permission to get a full night’s sleep every night, I have a total of 20-30 hours per week to eat, socialize, and spend time with my family.   That not a lot.

I hate cleaning.

Between my work schedule and my cleaning aversion, I’m not always a lot of help around the house.

Half of my work time is spent at home.  It’s hardly fair to expect my wife to clean up after me.

This has been a huge point of contention between us.   She sees me on the computer and gets frustrated when I’m not helping her clean up.  I get frustrated because I’m trying to make us some extra money, but she’s complaining that I’m not cleaning.

About a month ago, we hired a housekeeper.   She comes every other week for a few hours and does a phenomenal job cleaning our house.    We pay her about $150 per month for the work.

It’s been great.

My wife is happy because the house is clean.   I’m happy because the complaining has stopped.   Our housekeeper is happy because it’s more money.  It’s a win/win/win scenario.

Now, $150 is a decent amount to add to our debt snowball, but paying for the cleaning services facilitates my side hustles, which bring in quite a bit more than $150 per month, so it’s even a good idea financially.

Even if it’s not, the peace of mind of knowing that I didn’t have to fold all of the laundry that was waiting for me yesterday makes it worthwhile.

How about you?  Would you consider hiring a maid?  Why?

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Net Worth Update – January 2014

Misc

This may be the most boring type of post I write, but it’s important to me to track my net worth so I can see my progress.  We are sliding smoothly from debt payoff mode to wealth building mode.

Our highlights right now are nothing to speak of.  We did let our credit card grow a little bit over the last couple of months, but paid it off completely at the end of December.  It grew mostly as a matter of not paying attention while we were doing our holiday shopping and dealing with some car repairs.

That’s it.  We haven’t remodeled our bathrooms yet, but we have the money sitting in a savings account, waiting for the contractor.  We haven’t bought a pony yet, but we did decide that a hobby farm wouldn’t be the right move for us.  We’ll be boarding the pony instead of moving, at least for the foreseeable future.

Our net worth is up $13,000 since September.  Our savings are up and our retirement accounts are down because there are two inherited IRAs that we need to slowly cash out and convert to regular IRAs.

Net Worth Jan 2014

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