The SNES was not dominant for 10 years. 1990 Japanese release, I'd say it had a good 6-year run until it lost developer support and the N64 was out. Not a bad amount of time by any means, but a decade is just straight BS.
I really don't see a problem with the game reviews I read. Now I know some of you may disagree with their ratings and opinions, but IGN has well-written reviews that cover just about every aspect of the game. A high profile game like Final Fantasy X-2 or Prince of Persia will usually be around 5 pages.
On the other hand, smaller fansites like Insert Credit have reviews that aren't based on the normal categories, but unfortunately the reviews are not timely enough to make the important purchasing decision on release day.
While on the subject, let me just say that print magazines are worthless now that GameFan is gone. EGM has gone downhill quite a bit, and is now trying to be Maxim for gamers.
And thanks for no goddamn Penny Arcade links, it's becoming the goatse.cx of the Games section and people are getting fucking modded up for it.
Zelda WW was a great example of this. Besides having an ocean instead of a overworld, the story/progression was pretty much the same as other Zelda titles. The tricky part is, if you take Link/Zelda/Gannondorf out of the game and replace them with generic fantasy characters, is the game as good? Personally, it would detract hugely from my enjoyment of the game.
Basically, it comes down to this. Great play mechanics are first and most important. But a good character can make up for other lacking areas, such as the plot. However, a bad character can ruin an otherwise good game. For example, that new game Tak for the major consoles. It got good reviews, and I bet it's fun to play, but I don't want to play some savage kid in a chicken suit. That doesn't appeal to me.
Among other things... -Improved graphics -Improved sound -Ability to save -Add many new levels with an E-Reader (yes it costs more, but expandability is never bad.)
Although it's moot if you have any other Super Mario Advance games, you also get the full version of the original Mario Bros. with multiplayer if you desire.
Do you really want to give Sony extra money? As far as I can tell, GT4 Prologue is basically Sony throwing a bone to the rabid Japanese fans who'll buy it and then buy GT4 when it really comes out. I don't know what the pricing is, but I'd bet it's not a sweet deal like the Zelda pre-order disc.
I'm sure GT4 will have enough content for almost anyone:)
I may just have to get the shiny Platinum 'Cube along with Zelda since it's only $99. I've had a black one from launch day, but it would be nice to have a 2nd GC for LAN titles. Who am I kidding... fucking Mario Kart!
Maybe Nintendo should do a reality show with 4 people living in a house with 4 rooms, 4 GameCubes and 4 GBA SPs.
I can take a pretty good guess at what happens. I've never read the books. I wish they hadn't shown Gandalf the White in the TTT trailer. I tried reading the books once, they were awfully boring.
Congratulations on reading a mainstream piece of literature. You are obviously superior and I should do everything you say. Thanks for putting me in my place.
I think this was probably a bad decision by EA to release the game ahead of the movie. As noted, there may be spoilers so that rules out playing it until the movie comes out.
Also, the hype and energy you get from the movie will translate very well into the game if they're released within days of each other. Yes, Enter The Matrix was bad but I managed to have a lot of fun with it since I was pumped up from seeing Reloaded.
I'll probably still buy/play it after I see the movie, but EA missed an excellent marketing opportunity with this one.
I bought that the day it came out, and it's a great game. But you're missing my point, it's not marketable. That's why it didn't sell nearly as well as it should've.
One thing that I think hurts Nintendo tremendously is their lack of creativity lately. How many original characters have come out of them recently, ignoring throwaway Mario Party/Kart/Golf/Tennis characters like Waluigi?
I think they need to create some sort of "adult" character. The game doesn't have to have tons of blood and carjackings and other GTA stuff, just a character that doesn't look like a cartoon. There is Samus, but yet again that character is about 15 years old at this point.
You would think Nintendo could create another awesome franchise, especially after all this time. Pikmin doesn't cut it.
I think Perfect Dark Zero will fit in the Xbox lineup perfectly. As for other titles, I hope they don't decide to put 500 blue things, 200 yellow things and 50 red things to find in each level. All that collecting nearly ruined some of their Nintendo 64 games, like the Banjo-Kazooie series, Jet Force Gemini, and of course Donkey Kong 64.
Rare has made some great stuff, but I want to see them do more with a 3D environment than hide a bunch of fucking coins or gems or dildos.
Can't say the same for all providers, but my Sprint plan with Vision includes unlimited 3G data. I can even use the phone as a modem without incurring any extra charges. And I can download at 10k/sec:)
I'm curious, what do you think the fatal flaws are?
For me, it's the goddamn overworld. Sailing the boat was fun for about 5 minutes. Yeah, you can warp with the Song of Gales. Yeah, the plot shows exactly why there's only islands. But it feels so tedious.
Also, I think the next Zelda should be something more evolved. Hit the switch, get the item, fight the boss. Am I jaded, or have we been playing the same game for over a decade?
I haven't been reading comics for quite a few years, although I do still buy two series, PVP and Liberty Meadows.
There was mature comics even a long time ago though. Don't you remember DC's Vertigo line? Titles like Sandman, Preacher, I remember in the back of some Sandman book, Death teaches you how to put on a condom using a banana to demonstrate. I think Marvel had a mature line too, don't recall the name but it had the mature book by Peter David called Sachs & Violens.
Fast forward to today, imagine my surprised when I picked up some title by Image (a mainstream comic company at this point) and found T&A, gratuitous use of "fuck", and other things that would probably garner an M rating in a video game. Mind you there was no warning of any kind on the cover, and it was sitting there right next to Superman and Hulk.
I'm coming to a point here. If you haven't noticed, the mainstream tolerance of "offensive" material has been growing rapidly over the last 5-10 years. How else could Eminem be one of the biggest musical acts today?
Games are slowly but surely getting to the same "art" level as other media, and I don't think extremely offensive content will change that. If the movie Kill Bill can open in nearly every theatre and be #1 at the box office, then video games will be no different.
Thanks for making some good points that I was thinking about posting about.
Unfortunately, I doubt MS will do much about that, due to the fact that everyone on XBL is a paying subscriber. I believe this was discussed previously, as Blizzard will ban battle.net jerks but that doesn't happen on EQ or other MMOs.
There's not much you can do about it except to find people on web forums or IRC to play against. I wish Microsoft would release a keyboard for Xbox, I have no desire to voice chat with random gamers. I doubt I'll be renewing my subscription.
Nintendo did sell soundtracks for awhile, it was through their merchandise department at Nintendo Power. It was a great place to get soundtracks, official players guides, and other random Nintendo schwag.
It's not the guy's fault, if his intentions are good. But a lot of guys are assholes, and girls realize that. Look at the Kobe Bryant case for a different scenario. Basically the bad guys ruin it for everyone else. You already have one strike against you, you're a guy.
Obviously, this is not always true. I'm just pointing out why guys aren't as "confident" like in the past.
The replies I've read so far have made me sick. Of course video games should be subject to the restrictions of movies and music. So far the general sentiment has been "let the parents take care of it", which I agree with, but the ratings system is a nice backup.
What's that you say? The kids will find a way to play it anyways? That's the way it should be. Every kid looks at a porno magazine or watches a bad movie etc. However, it shouldn't be right there for them to indulge. This is the same problem that casual piracy has run into, since p2p is a buffet of content. Notice how you probably didn't know the acronym "RIAA" before Napster and assorted clones showed up. Same thing here, if games are available to anyone, it will become a problem. And that requires legislation. Which will impede on my freedom most likely.
Another thing to consider is the content of games. What was violent and inappropriate during the first video game violence craze, e.g. Mortal Kombat, is much less graphic than the current central title, Grand Theft Auto. I'm not sure if that makes a difference, but it should.
Everyone says that video games are just as much of an artistic medium as anything else, so why shouldn't they be subject to the same restrictions?
Oh, everyone is right about parents. They should do more.
Is Miyamoto really about to bring us to the next level of gaming?
Possibly. The next Mario game, known as 100 Marios, is supposedly the next true Mario game. If that's the case, then you can expect a game that brings a lot of new ideas to the table.
Was Storm Lord the game with the naked fairies? That was pretty cool when I was 9 years old.
Think about this for a moment. Putting aside technical problems such as screen formatting and control, what if GameCube and GameBoy Advance used the same games? You see, it's all about market share. You get more developers and it's easier to get exclusivity to key games. Which in turn, makes a sound not unlike KA-CHING! I don't think that would happen for the next few generations of console, but when the technology is there, it'll be the standard.
I don't think 3D will make the same splash on portables as it did on the previous generation of consoles. The Sony PSP will most likely have 3D capability, and the N-Gage (which comes out this week) can do 3D as well. The problem is field of view. For now, the LCDs are too small and too low resolution to have decent 3D movement. I think trying to play something like Super Mario 64 on a tiny screen would be an exercise in frustration.
3D will be used, this I'm sure of, but it won't be for platform type games. I imagine you'll see 3D used in racing/flight games, and probably some psuedo-3D games such as Klonoa 1/2.
Let's not forget that portable games are generally played for shorter periods of time. It's much easier to pick up a 2D game and think "Ok I have to keep going right" than a 3D game where you have to orient yourself before you know where to go.
I think me and countless others look at the GBA as our 2D sanctuary. Let's hope that doesn't change anytime soon.
Slashdot Mirror
The SNES was not dominant for 10 years. 1990 Japanese release, I'd say it had a good 6-year run until it lost developer support and the N64 was out. Not a bad amount of time by any means, but a decade is just straight BS.
I really don't see a problem with the game reviews I read. Now I know some of you may disagree with their ratings and opinions, but IGN has well-written reviews that cover just about every aspect of the game. A high profile game like Final Fantasy X-2 or Prince of Persia will usually be around 5 pages.
On the other hand, smaller fansites like Insert Credit have reviews that aren't based on the normal categories, but unfortunately the reviews are not timely enough to make the important purchasing decision on release day.
While on the subject, let me just say that print magazines are worthless now that GameFan is gone. EGM has gone downhill quite a bit, and is now trying to be Maxim for gamers.
And thanks for no goddamn Penny Arcade links, it's becoming the goatse.cx of the Games section and people are getting fucking modded up for it.
Check this out!
Zelda WW was a great example of this. Besides having an ocean instead of a overworld, the story/progression was pretty much the same as other Zelda titles. The tricky part is, if you take Link/Zelda/Gannondorf out of the game and replace them with generic fantasy characters, is the game as good? Personally, it would detract hugely from my enjoyment of the game.
Basically, it comes down to this. Great play mechanics are first and most important. But a good character can make up for other lacking areas, such as the plot. However, a bad character can ruin an otherwise good game. For example, that new game Tak for the major consoles. It got good reviews, and I bet it's fun to play, but I don't want to play some savage kid in a chicken suit. That doesn't appeal to me.
It's not like you're paying $29 for the NES cart.
Among other things...
-Improved graphics
-Improved sound
-Ability to save
-Add many new levels with an E-Reader (yes it costs more, but expandability is never bad.)
Although it's moot if you have any other Super Mario Advance games, you also get the full version of the original Mario Bros. with multiplayer if you desire.
Do you really want to give Sony extra money? As far as I can tell, GT4 Prologue is basically Sony throwing a bone to the rabid Japanese fans who'll buy it and then buy GT4 when it really comes out. I don't know what the pricing is, but I'd bet it's not a sweet deal like the Zelda pre-order disc.
:)
I'm sure GT4 will have enough content for almost anyone
I may just have to get the shiny Platinum 'Cube along with Zelda since it's only $99. I've had a black one from launch day, but it would be nice to have a 2nd GC for LAN titles. Who am I kidding... fucking Mario Kart!
Maybe Nintendo should do a reality show with 4 people living in a house with 4 rooms, 4 GameCubes and 4 GBA SPs.
I can take a pretty good guess at what happens. I've never read the books. I wish they hadn't shown Gandalf the White in the TTT trailer. I tried reading the books once, they were awfully boring.
Congratulations on reading a mainstream piece of literature. You are obviously superior and I should do everything you say. Thanks for putting me in my place.
I think this was probably a bad decision by EA to release the game ahead of the movie. As noted, there may be spoilers so that rules out playing it until the movie comes out.
Also, the hype and energy you get from the movie will translate very well into the game if they're released within days of each other. Yes, Enter The Matrix was bad but I managed to have a lot of fun with it since I was pumped up from seeing Reloaded.
I'll probably still buy/play it after I see the movie, but EA missed an excellent marketing opportunity with this one.
I was a bit pissed off when I bought 4 new boards for $4000 and I found that I had bought a Element logo, 2 Stuff magazine logos, and a dnL logo.
I bought that the day it came out, and it's a great game. But you're missing my point, it's not marketable. That's why it didn't sell nearly as well as it should've.
One thing that I think hurts Nintendo tremendously is their lack of creativity lately. How many original characters have come out of them recently, ignoring throwaway Mario Party/Kart/Golf/Tennis characters like Waluigi?
I think they need to create some sort of "adult" character. The game doesn't have to have tons of blood and carjackings and other GTA stuff, just a character that doesn't look like a cartoon. There is Samus, but yet again that character is about 15 years old at this point.
You would think Nintendo could create another awesome franchise, especially after all this time. Pikmin doesn't cut it.
I think Perfect Dark Zero will fit in the Xbox lineup perfectly. As for other titles, I hope they don't decide to put 500 blue things, 200 yellow things and 50 red things to find in each level. All that collecting nearly ruined some of their Nintendo 64 games, like the Banjo-Kazooie series, Jet Force Gemini, and of course Donkey Kong 64.
Rare has made some great stuff, but I want to see them do more with a 3D environment than hide a bunch of fucking coins or gems or dildos.
Can't say the same for all providers, but my Sprint plan with Vision includes unlimited 3G data. I can even use the phone as a modem without incurring any extra charges. And I can download at 10k/sec :)
How about the Honda Civic Hybrid?
It starts at *gasp* $20,000!
I'm curious, what do you think the fatal flaws are?
For me, it's the goddamn overworld. Sailing the boat was fun for about 5 minutes. Yeah, you can warp with the Song of Gales. Yeah, the plot shows exactly why there's only islands. But it feels so tedious.
Also, I think the next Zelda should be something more evolved. Hit the switch, get the item, fight the boss. Am I jaded, or have we been playing the same game for over a decade?
Vertigo started in 1993. A lot happens in 10 years. Maybe I should've used "awhile ago". But then again, do I really care?
I haven't been reading comics for quite a few years, although I do still buy two series, PVP and Liberty Meadows.
There was mature comics even a long time ago though. Don't you remember DC's Vertigo line? Titles like Sandman, Preacher, I remember in the back of some Sandman book, Death teaches you how to put on a condom using a banana to demonstrate. I think Marvel had a mature line too, don't recall the name but it had the mature book by Peter David called Sachs & Violens.
Fast forward to today, imagine my surprised when I picked up some title by Image (a mainstream comic company at this point) and found T&A, gratuitous use of "fuck", and other things that would probably garner an M rating in a video game. Mind you there was no warning of any kind on the cover, and it was sitting there right next to Superman and Hulk.
I'm coming to a point here. If you haven't noticed, the mainstream tolerance of "offensive" material has been growing rapidly over the last 5-10 years. How else could Eminem be one of the biggest musical acts today?
Games are slowly but surely getting to the same "art" level as other media, and I don't think extremely offensive content will change that. If the movie Kill Bill can open in nearly every theatre and be #1 at the box office, then video games will be no different.
Thanks for making some good points that I was thinking about posting about.
Unfortunately, I doubt MS will do much about that, due to the fact that everyone on XBL is a paying subscriber. I believe this was discussed previously, as Blizzard will ban battle.net jerks but that doesn't happen on EQ or other MMOs.
There's not much you can do about it except to find people on web forums or IRC to play against. I wish Microsoft would release a keyboard for Xbox, I have no desire to voice chat with random gamers. I doubt I'll be renewing my subscription.
Nintendo did sell soundtracks for awhile, it was through their merchandise department at Nintendo Power. It was a great place to get soundtracks, official players guides, and other random Nintendo schwag.
It's not the guy's fault, if his intentions are good. But a lot of guys are assholes, and girls realize that. Look at the Kobe Bryant case for a different scenario. Basically the bad guys ruin it for everyone else. You already have one strike against you, you're a guy.
Obviously, this is not always true. I'm just pointing out why guys aren't as "confident" like in the past.
The replies I've read so far have made me sick. Of course video games should be subject to the restrictions of movies and music. So far the general sentiment has been "let the parents take care of it", which I agree with, but the ratings system is a nice backup.
What's that you say? The kids will find a way to play it anyways? That's the way it should be. Every kid looks at a porno magazine or watches a bad movie etc. However, it shouldn't be right there for them to indulge. This is the same problem that casual piracy has run into, since p2p is a buffet of content. Notice how you probably didn't know the acronym "RIAA" before Napster and assorted clones showed up. Same thing here, if games are available to anyone, it will become a problem. And that requires legislation. Which will impede on my freedom most likely.
Another thing to consider is the content of games. What was violent and inappropriate during the first video game violence craze, e.g. Mortal Kombat, is much less graphic than the current central title, Grand Theft Auto. I'm not sure if that makes a difference, but it should.
Everyone says that video games are just as much of an artistic medium as anything else, so why shouldn't they be subject to the same restrictions?
Oh, everyone is right about parents. They should do more.
Is Miyamoto really about to bring us to the next level of gaming?
Possibly. The next Mario game, known as 100 Marios, is supposedly the next true Mario game. If that's the case, then you can expect a game that brings a lot of new ideas to the table.
Was Storm Lord the game with the naked fairies? That was pretty cool when I was 9 years old.
potential revune loss
Think about this for a moment. Putting aside technical problems such as screen formatting and control, what if GameCube and GameBoy Advance used the same games? You see, it's all about market share. You get more developers and it's easier to get exclusivity to key games. Which in turn, makes a sound not unlike KA-CHING! I don't think that would happen for the next few generations of console, but when the technology is there, it'll be the standard.
It would be a most great revenue increase.
I don't think 3D will make the same splash on portables as it did on the previous generation of consoles. The Sony PSP will most likely have 3D capability, and the N-Gage (which comes out this week) can do 3D as well. The problem is field of view. For now, the LCDs are too small and too low resolution to have decent 3D movement. I think trying to play something like Super Mario 64 on a tiny screen would be an exercise in frustration.
3D will be used, this I'm sure of, but it won't be for platform type games. I imagine you'll see 3D used in racing/flight games, and probably some psuedo-3D games such as Klonoa 1/2.
Let's not forget that portable games are generally played for shorter periods of time. It's much easier to pick up a 2D game and think "Ok I have to keep going right" than a 3D game where you have to orient yourself before you know where to go.
I think me and countless others look at the GBA as our 2D sanctuary. Let's hope that doesn't change anytime soon.