Tecmo Upgrades Ninja Gaiden Via Xbox Live

joinder writes "IGN is reporting at that Tecmo will be releasing an freely downloadable upgrade of Ninja Gaiden via Xbox Live, including 'improved AI' and 'full 360 degree control of the [in-game] camera', as well as new enemies, bosses, and weapons. As far as I know, this is the first time such wholesale gameplay and content changes have been made on a console title - fortunately, the Ninja Gaiden upgrade is free if you have Xbox Live. Could this be a symbol of a positive trend to come, or a negative one that would equate to the bugfix/patch crazy world of the PC gaming world?"

Comments

Isn't this a change in MS' patch policy?

[empaler]

I thought Microsoft would only allow patches that directly influenced online gaming perfomance?

(Of course, I could be wrong)
(Though very unlikely, I rule!) ;)

Re:Isn't this a change in MS' patch policy?

[musikit]

it isnt a patch this classifies as extra downloadable content. like extra boards, enemies. they just happened to include extra functionality at the same time to scapegoat the no patch policy

Re:Isn't this a change in MS' patch policy?

[Niobium-41]

Actually.. since this patch is being used in Phase 2 of the MasterNinja Tournament. It directly affects online play for the people in the tournament.

It also just happens to be available to people not participating in the tournament.

downhill, for x-box anyway

[dfenstrate]

The reason why console games are so vigourously play tested is because once you make a playable disc or cartridge on a system, there's no such thing as a do over.

This will probably only encourage laziness on the part of some x-box designers.

Re:downhill, for x-box anyway

[BrickM]

Maybe it's just the marketing-speak, but this doesn't seem like a bugfix to me, just like the extra tracks and cars in PGR2 weren't a bugfix. This content adds all sorts of new stuff(enemies, weapons, etc), and a few enhancements to the actual gameplay (camera and gamespeed), but none of those things are bugs. At least, no more than leaving CTF out of MechAssault when it launched (and including it in a download over Live 6 months later) was a "bug".

Re:downhill, for x-box anyway

[MarkPNeyer]

If "things going downhill" as a result of "laziness on the part of some x-xbox designers" means me getting awesome new content for a great game with a few flaws, I can only hope things go further downhill in the future.

Re:downhill, for x-box anyway

[Radix37]

once you make a playable disc or cartridge on a system, there's no such thing as a do over

Pokemon GBA proves otherwise.

Re:downhill, for x-box anyway

[bigman2003]

I'm not sure what your actual take on this is, so If I'm mis-reading you- sorry about that.

Ninja Gaiden is a very highly rated game- most sites give it well over 90%. (Gamerankings total is like 91.5%). This NOT a game that 'needs updating'. This is a case of refining an already great game.

Adding camera control, and new enemies is a great idea. Kinda like Diablo II LOD adding 800x600 support and that entire 5th act. Did the 'fix' the graphics? Now..they just 'improved' the graphics. Because the game was great beforehand, and they just made it better. (But still...the resolution was pretty bad before, and after the update)

Downloadable content is one of the strong points on the Xbox. Microsoft knows this (they push it all the time) so they next Xbox will definetly have some sort of mass storage that can handle large downloads. We just don't know what it is yet.

Back in 1983-1985 I ran a BBS. I had an awesome array of 6 Apple II floppy drives. At that time I didn't wish for a hard-drive (because I wasn't really familiar with them) I wished for MORE FLOPPIES! Just imagine if they could read on BOTH SIDES without flipping them over...during this time, forward thinking companies were trying to figure out how to squeeze a hard-drive into PC's..but I was thinking of making floppies better.

Well, while we all sit around thinking that Microsoft is a bunch of dummies, because we really want our hard-drive..they've probably got something up their sleeves that will be much, much better.

After all, they were the first to include the hard-drive, and the other manufacturers hadn't seen the necessity. Now that we see it as a necessity, the might just be going to the next level. I'm waiting to see what the next Xbox mass storage will look like...I'm guessing it will be even better.

Re:downhill, for x-box anyway

[bigman2003]

Well, that's the cool thing about Gamerankings.com

Shinobi was rated a 74%, by 68 media outlets and is the number 1,439 ranked game by gamers.

Ninja Gaiden was rated a 92%, by 85 media outlets and is the number 46 ranked game by gamers.

Okay- I am not going to say that these numbers have any hard-core science behind them, but they really are the best numbers we can use for a comparison.

So, depending on how you value a 92% rating vs. a 74% rating- a large part of the world thinks that Ninja Gaiden is THAT much better than Shinobi.

Of course, they rank Zelda Ocarina of Time as the number 1 game, and guys in little green costumes give me the creeps. So I didn't like it at all.

Camera control

[secolactico]

'full 360 degree control of the [in-game] camera'

Dear god... make it so, make it so!

The funky camera in Ninja Gaiden is perhaps the hardest aspect of the game for me (admitely, I haven't got very far in the game) and I constantly wish for "Super Mario Sunshine"-like camera control. Screw the first person view, it's not that useful anyway.

Can Thief do the same thing, then?

[Blackwulf]

Thief had a problem with their difficulty settings and they were able to patch it on the PC, but not for Xbox. Why? Because Microsoft wouldn't allow them to patch something that does not affect Xbox Live play.

However, here comes Ninja Gaiden patching something that does not affect Xbox Live play, but bundling it in with new content.

Could the creators of Thief just make new content and then just put the difficulty patch in with it, to get Microsoft's approval? Or did they perhaps not code the game with additional content in mind?

Re:Can Thief do the same thing, then?

[Gaijin42]

Microsoft does not allow patches for non xbox-live games. It has nothing to do with what type of content the update is.

Ninja Gaiden has an XBox Live portion already (head to head battles) even tho nobody uses it. That is the loophole that gets them their update.

If Thief had a "vs" mode, or a level download feature, then they could fix the difficulty bug, even if nothing about "live" was modified.

Re:Can Thief do the same thing, then?

[Hassman]

Since when is this a patch for NG? A patch implies that the game is flawed somehow, which is not the case.

This looks like additional content like other games release. Some realease maps, others new mechs, even others new weapons.

This is a perk, not a patch.

Re:Can Thief do the same thing, then?

[Gaijin42]

I used the wrong terminology, but the game does have a competetive mode (see below):

In any case, my point is still valid, the game had a pre-existing live component that was being used.

Xbox Live compatible: Tecmo's revered development team, Team Ninja, has created a unique Xbox Live feature within Ninja Gaiden. The Master Ninja Tournament, developed specifically for the game, will allow players to participate in a nationwide competition. Here, players will put their honed ninja skills to the test to determine the top Ninja Gaiden player in the country. Participants will compete in downloadable trial missions made available only through Xbox Live. Top-ranked players will win special prizes and be included in the Ninja Gaiden Hall of Fame.

http://www.xbox.com/en-us/ninjagaiden/default.ht m

Re:Can Thief do the same thing, then?

[Gaijin42]

this is a duplicate, I replied the same thing to the AC. but since he was an AC, the conversation stops!

I used the wrong terminology, but the game does have a competetive mode (see below):

In any case, my point is still valid, the game had a pre-existing live component that was being used.

Xbox Live compatible: Tecmo's revered development team, Team Ninja, has created a unique Xbox Live feature within Ninja Gaiden. The Master Ninja Tournament, developed specifically for the game, will allow players to participate in a nationwide competition. Here, players will put their honed ninja skills to the test to determine the top Ninja Gaiden player in the country. Participants will compete in downloadable trial missions made available only through Xbox Live. Top-ranked players will win special prizes and be included in the Ninja Gaiden Hall of Fame.

http://www.xbox.com/en-us/ninjagaiden/default.ht m

Fishy

[netfool]

Maybe this part of MS's long arm:

1) Developers make a great game
2) Have developers not include all the features
3) After the game has been released and sold well, have developer release the extra features and levels etc which are only available through XBox Live
4) People will want those extras and will get XBox Live
5) Profit

GENIUS!
[/conspiracy theory]

Horrible precedent

[Anonymous Coward]

If the network were free, I'd have less of a problem with this. But XBL isn't free.

People without paid network access have no means of obtaining these patches. Tecmo sure ain't shipping patch CDs. Even Microsoft themselves provide multiple distribution formats for their countless Windows and Office patches, but not here. And all of a sudden, Xbox owners without XBL are second-class citizens who are missing out on more than just network access by foregoing the monthly MS tithe. Bad precedent, but miraculously, nobody will ever notice.

Put another way, the application of XBL changes. The application of Xbox is to play games. The app of the remote control is to enable DVD playback. The app of XBL is to provide online competition, cooperation, and communication. But now, XBL is a patch delivery system as well. And what happens when Xbox owners who don't have XBL (and weren't previously interested) start to see it as such? They get XBL. What does that make this? Paid patching, that's what. Now, what happens when Microsoft starts seeing paid patching as a revenue stream (thereby making its use as a selling point to publishers quite attractive to MS)? QA goes down, because both pubs and MS will see post-shipment bugfixing as nothing but a good thing - MS gets XBL subs, pubs can be lazier and can meet ship dates by shipping buggier code. Welcome to Windows gaming, console fans. How stupid we've been these nigh 20-30 years.

Re:Horrible precedent

[AzraelKans]

[i]People without network access, dont have access to patches... [/i]
Er... these are not patches they are extra features (for real not like those in windows) since they are not solving any problem with the game (camera spinning maybe cool but its not needed, extra AI, believe me, you really dont need it or want it), several games have access to extra levels and features via xbox live. so er.. get a grip.

Re:Horrible precedent

[rufo]

Actually, the PS2 is starting to have patches also. From what I understand SOCOM 2 has required updates that it will store on your memory card, and of course FFXI requires the hard drive and will download content/updates onto the drive. I'm sure more games will come out that will use the HD, and of course what better use is there for a hard drive then changing, constantly updated content? (Obviously game storage, but as the PS2 usually uses memory cards for that purpose I understand the HD isn't typically used for game saves.)

Also, it's not unheard of to update console games once they've been released. 007: Agent Under Fire and MechAssault both had buffer-overrun problems that let hackers ultimately run unsigned code on the Xbox (something I've recently taken advantage of) that were fixed in later versions. The first version of Ocarina of Time for N64 had red blood when you killed Ganondorf, which was changed to green blood in later versions (along with other minor fixes) due to ratings concerns. The first pressings of Gran Turismo 2 had numerous bugs which caused Sony to offer a recall for any disc exhibiting problems. I'm sure there are many other examples of console games being updated after release. It would not surprise me in the least if Ninja Gaiden's Platinum Hits version (for it will be a Platinum Hits game eventually, I'll bet my life on it) had the patch already incorporated, and perhaps they'll even include the patch starting with the next batch of CDs they press.

Another option would be for Microsoft to release discs avaliable for little or no charge with just content updates on them once they decide to discontinue Xbox Live. That way the content and patches are still available, and they still get to collect additional revenue from Xbox Live while the service is up.

Re:It is a cool thing

[wibs]

Here's a solution: charge developers a hefty fee for doing any of these patches. A very hefty fee. It'll still be cheaper and easier than a recall, but it won't encourage anyone to release a bajillion patches per game.

Wow

[Peteloaf]

I absolutly cannot believe all the negativity. Tecmo, in an effort to both add replay value to an extremely popular title & address user complaints (camera mostly), is releasing a free add on for Ninja Gaiden and all that everybody can do is insult both Tecmo & Microsoft? I don't uderstand. What should Tecmo have done? "Fixed" the "problems" before release? How are new enemies & weapons a problem? The camera, maybe, but I dare any user on this board to name 1 third person action game that has a flawless camera - especially a game that moves as fast as Ninja Gaiden already does. Had Tecmo offered to give every body who owned Ninja Gaiden $100 would you all still cry foul? What do you people want?

Re:Wow

[drinkypoo]

What should Tecmo have done? "Fixed" the "problems" before release?

Yes, they should have fixed the problems before release - no quotes, either. Namely, errors in AI, and the crappy camera, both things they're sneaking into this update, too. The extra content costs them money and probably won't really make them any so in order for there to be any significant return on that investment it has to have another purpose, and that purpose is probably distracting gamers from the fact that they're patching bugs in a console game. Console games ARE supposed to be fixed before release.

This might be a bright day for Ninja Gaiden players, but it implies a dark future for all console games and gamers, the beginning of the end.

Are they serious?

[AzraelKans]

Better AI for Ninja Gaiden enemies?

For god sake's! those damn thing's are hard as nails as it is! what are they going to do now? trace me up in every corner of the map? steal my credit card number? lookup my home address?

(please link the obligated penny arcade reference)

Tecmo at it again

[hiroshi912681]

Well, if ANYONE remembers, Dead or Alive 3 was upgraded via the Official Xbox Magazine (before Xbox Live was in place). I still have the disc, I paid $10 for the mag just to get the upgrade. I hope there's a way to upgrade Ninja Gaiden via the magazine, too, cause I don't have Live (nor will I ever get Live).