Problem is they don't need there games to be brought by large numbers of people with this system, they just need a few rich ones, or people willing to buy over a long period of time
Not so. I mean, look at the NEO-GEO. Most powerful for its time, greatly more expensive. Dead in it's tracks. Had a wonderful niche market with many dedicated supporters ($$$). Only the rich gamers had it. Well, they don't make consoles any more. Not saying Sony is cursed to that fate, but I am saying they're walking down the path.
I remember seeing this game at the skating rink I frequented about 10-12 years ago. It didn't get a lot of play time because, well, skates suck to put on and no one wants to take them off. But, from what I remember, it pretty much sucked anyway because, yes, it was on rails.
I'd say that's changing too. Now we use the right thumbstick (aside from Nintendo) for aiming in most FPS's and the left is simply for movement, which requires less precision. But I always preffered right stick movement and left for aim (like in the old Bond and Turok games).
And as a disclaimer, I am right-handed. But I do play hocky and eat left handed. Meh...
I wonder if Kutaragi's PR gaurd was there to keep him from accidentally 'adding' any features by answering questions. Which probably is what got Sony into a lot of this mess.
Your typical PR guys get the question, "Can your product do this?"
Then the answer, "Yes!" even though they have no clue.
Seriously, this doesn't really seem like a Sony game here. But I don't really know who's developing it either. So what if they want to make a game that's pure exploration. It'll probably look great, have descent controls, and very little need for AI in anything. I'm sure some one will enjoy it. But I don't see a lot of parents buying it for the kids (60-80 bucks).
This will suck balls. Any balls will do. I know it's redundant, but I've got a voice and I know nobody from MTV will ever hear this, but Guitar Hero is going to suck without music.
Oh, and not a chance in Hell will I play Hip-Hop Hero with turntables and "bootie" gauge instead of star power.
Yeah, the castle was mirrored on the horizontal plane, not the verticle like Twilight Princess. But only the map and areas you can access are mirrored. The art and sprites are all different. They've been doing this with pretty much every 2D Castlevania since SotN.
By the way, SotN is one of the top ten games of all time on my list. If it had more intense music, I'd say the Dawn of Sorrow on the DS was the better of the two. It runs smoother, has more animations and a lot more background 3D going on. Other than that, both amazing games. I really do wonder if the new DS version will top it.
I assume that the sword combat isn't so intense taht you would have to be a Wii-mote master of Beatrix Kiddo proportions just to win the game. Therefore, I don't see why it would be difficult to wield the sword left-handed. That, and I think having a mirrored charecter model would be a lot more difficult than most people think. Animations would be easy, but what about hit-detection and the like?
I've got a long ignore list in WoW of players who have accoused me of being many different things (dirty Jew, gay, and much much worse) because I would not give them money or politely requested that they keep their conversations in a party environment. I'm sure eventually these players will or have already been booted.
I've played a few MMORPGs in my time but, generally, my experience is that there are three player types. The offensive, who's lack of identifiability makes them think they can do what they want. The passive, who keep to themselves or their guild. They tend to accept people who accept them. The vast majority of people lie in this group. The aggresive. They are active. Tend to help people whenever they can. And they really do find ways to be involved.
The real reason people seem to 'get along' so well? There isn't even a fraction of lifes 'drama' running around in the virtual world. The worst thing that can happen to you within the confines of an MMORPG is that you miss out on some kind of loot, or you're late for/miss an event. If you can get worked up over that then you really must learn to chill out.
Honestly, how is that any different from Joe Sixpack and his family worshipping thier TV's as it is? Just makes it worse, I guess.
OTOH, a system like this would take away my extreme loathing of television, though. I don't watch because I don't have time. I refuse to alter my schedule to watch TV, or to buy a TIVO or something like that so I can record shows. And I destest most commercials. Though I'll put up with them if I want to watch sports or something.
But with an iPod... naw. I'm still not paying for TV. Heck, I've never bought a TV (I have bartered for a 10 year old TV, gave my cousin a bag of paintballs when he ran out, he couldn't pay me back, so he gave me his old 27", before that I had a 19" with dials on it that a lady gave me at work. Was playing Game Cube on that baby for months), and as much as I'd love to have a big hi-def set for the occational movie and playing video games I doubt I'll ever buy one.
Ahh! Good call on Pokemon and Fire Embelem. I've never been a big fan of Pokemon, but I've loved every Fire Embelem I've gotten my hands on. (except, perhaps, for the GCN version for being annoyingly short and without extra content) But, yes, Fire Embelem has a much more adult theme. In that it can often be too complex for a child's mind to understand some of its mechanics.
That brings up an excelent point. I'm not sure how many devices the Wii can connect to at the same time, but it would be a whole lot of fun if you had some sort of "Wii Jam Session" game. Bongos, Wiimotes, Guitars, and Wii-tamborine/trumpet/trombone!
The association problems aren't with the games as a whole, but the games that Nintendo themselves produce.
Mario and all his buddies's games do not have any adult atmosphere to them. Aside from Mario stealing the occational kiss from Peach... Mario's buddies aren't really attractive to the 'adult theme'.
Then there's Link and the Legend of Zelda series. With the last iteration on the GCN (which was still an absolutely amazing game) they did 'kiddie-ize' the poor sword slasher. But they will make up for that with Twilight Princess. Talk to anyone and they'll probably tell you that Ocarina of Time was the best in the series. I believe it was too.
Next up, Samus Aran. You want a bad-ass chick, you've got her. Lara Croft can play with Barbie dolls and shoot at whatever and the DOA chicks can go get the breasts enlarged all day long, they'll never equal the cool of Samus. There are very adult-themed games with the Metroid series. Ever actaully read the journal entries in Prime 1 and 2? They start to inspire a lot of fear and suspense. Hell, I hated running through the dark world on Prime 2 because it got my nerves frayed every time (the only problem I had was the slow regen in the 'safe' areas, took a bit away from the suspence if you could just find a safe refuge in a hallway and walk away from the game for a few minutes).
Starfox... Poor Fox... He's really gotten the shaft. Nintendo tries to make him great, but the formula was only good in the first couple of games. I picked up the DS version and though the strategy part was very intuitive, I still don't really enjoy the combat. Here's hoping for an excellent Wii iteration.
I believe those are Nintendo's main four. But feel free to correct me if I'm wrong or I've missed something. Or just add some comments about the rest (Kirby, Earthbound, Harvest Moon...)
I hear you on that. I felt the same way about trading in my mini discs for on cartridge-less device. Especially since the battery life on my mini disc player was 60+ hours on ONE AA battery (at high volumn). I had a disc for every artist for a long time, but after a while, I just couldn't stand carrying around 10 discs (I was putting in 12 hour shifts, so I needed something that I didn't have to switch carts every couple hours).
Yeah, Sonic Stage was the worst piece of music managing software I could find... well that and Real Player. But when I read a review of how durable the Nano was, I was sold. Thing takes a mighty beating (like the mini-disk player) but it's smaller. I don't ever have to worry about loading music for the day because I have all the music in my collection that I would ever want to listen to when I'm not at home. Not trying to convert. I would certainly like a system with 1Gb-4Gb carts that remained as small as the Nano. I've actually had one, but it ate two AA's in an hour and a half. Ran off Compact Flash II. (musicman, or Moveman or something like that.
From TFA: "Nintendo thinks its game consoles--the Wii and the Nintendo DS handheld--will appeal to a mass market of first-time game players, women, and older consumers not typically drawn to this form of interactive entertainment."
and more: "Though the Wii doesn't boast all the features and processing firepower of its rivals, Nintendo believes its easy-to-use controller will give it an edge."
And finally: "There's also a danger that the Wii could cannibalize sales of the DS, which has been a smash hit with casual gamers thanks to its user-friendly design and titles..."
Acording to Wikipedia, total sales of the DS and DS Lite are over 26 million world wide. This is equal to their Gamecube sales and that has been out since 01. I'd say we can call the DS and DS Lite both successful. Seeing as sales for the DS Lite are still hot, I don't expcect that comined number to sit under 30 million for long. The author is full of it, or a fanboy. He obviously hasn't done a lot of research. Nintendo is no longer hoping that the DS will appeal to anyone. Now they know.
As far as the Wii goes, I know plenty of people who wouldn't buy a Gamecube because of its lack of 3rd parties. Though I own many games that are frequently requeseted when we get together like Mario Kart and even Robotech Battlecry. Well, ever one of these people is positively raving about how much they want the Wii. We'll see what they (and I) think after release. But I haven't heard one person say they don't want it. Reasons? Cheap, looks like fun, and "My [significant other] actually wants one too."
Honestly, you don't need to carry around your WHOLE music selection, do you? I mean, my whole music library is just under 100 CDs, but I'd say that about 20-25 of them get played more than once a year. I've got them all backed up on one bit-per-bit CD, one MP3 CD and then on my hard drive. So they should always be safe. I carry a 4Gb Nano around and that serves me better than I thought it would (would LOVE a 2nd Gen with it's battery life). It's about 2/3 full and that's well over two days of constant play music if I was so inclined to listen to it. And if I had a power source to charge whenever I needed to (other reason I want a 2nd Gen, 2-3 times battery life....).
I used to carry a Mini-Disc player because it was small, durable, and the discs carried 4-5 CD's worth of music (crapy quality, but in a warehouse, who cares?)
That's why I almost never read/respond to AC comments. I Keep them at a -3 so that most of them are invisible unless modded very high. With the new comment system, they don't stay as filtered, but it's easier to see when an AC has something good to say from time to time.
Just want to let you know that I'm there with you. I'm from the same "blue" state, though my views tend to be conservative, and I am a Christian. But I have friends that are both Christian conservatives and embrace-everything bleeding liberals. All I can say is that if someone shouts in your face about not being open minded, but won't listen to you, forget 'em. I run into it all the time... people who think they'd do me a service by telling me my faith is a sham but won't even take the time to listen to why I believe it. Most of the time they haven't actually read a Bible passage, in essence these particular people don't even know what they're talking about or refusing to believe. Shake the dust off your feet and let them wallow in whatever their problems are. I'll listen to you if you're willing to listen to me. I'll even let you go first. My bleeding liberal friends have had this to say about me. "For a Republican and a Christian, he's pretty open-minded."
I don't want to start a religion flame war, but it's the best example I can give. AC's aren't typically worth responding to. And neither are people who don't care to listen.
Heck, everyone I know who owns a hi-def only has 720p capable TV's and they've paid their thousands of dollars on them. Haven't seen too many 40+ inch 1080p TV's that sit under $2000. I really would love to have one, but I can easily live without.
I know exactly how you feel about that. I work for a large health care company and we lease all our computers through Dell (we are non-profit). Therefore I do get the Employee Purchase Program discounts through work. Often times it's just another 12% off the cost of whatever I want (computers only) with coupons coming via email. On average... it's about 5% cheaper than the personal prices.
I'll pop on their site from time to time just to configure a desktop with a 20" widescreen just for fun and sometimes I'll get a pretty nice computer spec with that widescreen for under $800. But I don't even have a place to put it.
Point being, last year when I was in the market for a laptop (unfortunaly, just 4 months before dual-cores came out, kicking myself) I waited for three months for the configuration I wanted to be the "cheap configuration." IE, yeah, best graphics I could get with a gig of RAM so I could play some games on the go, but not break the bank. Three months of configuring and re-configuring and waiting for just the right coupon to come in the email. Ended up cutting the price almost in half, which was nice. I know they still made too much money off me for my taste, but I've used their laptops in the past and their support (read: Daytime) is generaly great (they've next-day aired anything I've needed for free).
I personally don't think that a KOTOR would be bad, or difficult to do. They would just have to realize that we would much rather have a steady framerate than put up with the XBox KOTORs. Just as long as not too much is fundamentally different if they sequel any of their IPs, I'm just fine. (wouldn't mind another Jade Empire)
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Not so. I mean, look at the NEO-GEO. Most powerful for its time, greatly more expensive. Dead in it's tracks. Had a wonderful niche market with many dedicated supporters ($$$). Only the rich gamers had it. Well, they don't make consoles any more. Not saying Sony is cursed to that fate, but I am saying they're walking down the path.
I remember seeing this game at the skating rink I frequented about 10-12 years ago. It didn't get a lot of play time because, well, skates suck to put on and no one wants to take them off. But, from what I remember, it pretty much sucked anyway because, yes, it was on rails.
And as a disclaimer, I am right-handed. But I do play hocky and eat left handed. Meh...
Your typical PR guys get the question, "Can your product do this?"
Then the answer, "Yes!" even though they have no clue.
Seriously, this doesn't really seem like a Sony game here. But I don't really know who's developing it either. So what if they want to make a game that's pure exploration. It'll probably look great, have descent controls, and very little need for AI in anything. I'm sure some one will enjoy it. But I don't see a lot of parents buying it for the kids (60-80 bucks).
Oh, and not a chance in Hell will I play Hip-Hop Hero with turntables and "bootie" gauge instead of star power.
By the way, SotN is one of the top ten games of all time on my list. If it had more intense music, I'd say the Dawn of Sorrow on the DS was the better of the two. It runs smoother, has more animations and a lot more background 3D going on. Other than that, both amazing games. I really do wonder if the new DS version will top it.
Does that mean I have to buy a PS3 now?
Said one of the hardware developers in a recent interview:
"Mongo like candy."
Don't forget the real-life battle with gargantuan crabs...
I assume that the sword combat isn't so intense taht you would have to be a Wii-mote master of Beatrix Kiddo proportions just to win the game. Therefore, I don't see why it would be difficult to wield the sword left-handed. That, and I think having a mirrored charecter model would be a lot more difficult than most people think. Animations would be easy, but what about hit-detection and the like?
I've played a few MMORPGs in my time but, generally, my experience is that there are three player types. The offensive, who's lack of identifiability makes them think they can do what they want.
The passive, who keep to themselves or their guild. They tend to accept people who accept them. The vast majority of people lie in this group.
The aggresive. They are active. Tend to help people whenever they can. And they really do find ways to be involved.
The real reason people seem to 'get along' so well? There isn't even a fraction of lifes 'drama' running around in the virtual world. The worst thing that can happen to you within the confines of an MMORPG is that you miss out on some kind of loot, or you're late for/miss an event. If you can get worked up over that then you really must learn to chill out.
OTOH, a system like this would take away my extreme loathing of television, though. I don't watch because I don't have time. I refuse to alter my schedule to watch TV, or to buy a TIVO or something like that so I can record shows. And I destest most commercials. Though I'll put up with them if I want to watch sports or something.
But with an iPod... naw. I'm still not paying for TV. Heck, I've never bought a TV (I have bartered for a 10 year old TV, gave my cousin a bag of paintballs when he ran out, he couldn't pay me back, so he gave me his old 27", before that I had a 19" with dials on it that a lady gave me at work. Was playing Game Cube on that baby for months), and as much as I'd love to have a big hi-def set for the occational movie and playing video games I doubt I'll ever buy one.
So, American airlines will probably never commit if people can't ever bring their laptops, PDAs, or phones on planes. Or has that changed?
Ahh! Good call on Pokemon and Fire Embelem. I've never been a big fan of Pokemon, but I've loved every Fire Embelem I've gotten my hands on. (except, perhaps, for the GCN version for being annoyingly short and without extra content) But, yes, Fire Embelem has a much more adult theme. In that it can often be too complex for a child's mind to understand some of its mechanics.
That brings up an excelent point. I'm not sure how many devices the Wii can connect to at the same time, but it would be a whole lot of fun if you had some sort of "Wii Jam Session" game. Bongos, Wiimotes, Guitars, and Wii-tamborine/trumpet/trombone!
Mario and all his buddies's games do not have any adult atmosphere to them. Aside from Mario stealing the occational kiss from Peach... Mario's buddies aren't really attractive to the 'adult theme'.
Then there's Link and the Legend of Zelda series. With the last iteration on the GCN (which was still an absolutely amazing game) they did 'kiddie-ize' the poor sword slasher. But they will make up for that with Twilight Princess. Talk to anyone and they'll probably tell you that Ocarina of Time was the best in the series. I believe it was too.
Next up, Samus Aran. You want a bad-ass chick, you've got her. Lara Croft can play with Barbie dolls and shoot at whatever and the DOA chicks can go get the breasts enlarged all day long, they'll never equal the cool of Samus. There are very adult-themed games with the Metroid series. Ever actaully read the journal entries in Prime 1 and 2? They start to inspire a lot of fear and suspense. Hell, I hated running through the dark world on Prime 2 because it got my nerves frayed every time (the only problem I had was the slow regen in the 'safe' areas, took a bit away from the suspence if you could just find a safe refuge in a hallway and walk away from the game for a few minutes).
Starfox... Poor Fox... He's really gotten the shaft. Nintendo tries to make him great, but the formula was only good in the first couple of games. I picked up the DS version and though the strategy part was very intuitive, I still don't really enjoy the combat. Here's hoping for an excellent Wii iteration.
I believe those are Nintendo's main four. But feel free to correct me if I'm wrong or I've missed something. Or just add some comments about the rest (Kirby, Earthbound, Harvest Moon...)
Yeah, Sonic Stage was the worst piece of music managing software I could find... well that and Real Player. But when I read a review of how durable the Nano was, I was sold. Thing takes a mighty beating (like the mini-disk player) but it's smaller. I don't ever have to worry about loading music for the day because I have all the music in my collection that I would ever want to listen to when I'm not at home. Not trying to convert. I would certainly like a system with 1Gb-4Gb carts that remained as small as the Nano. I've actually had one, but it ate two AA's in an hour and a half. Ran off Compact Flash II. (musicman, or Moveman or something like that.
and more: "Though the Wii doesn't boast all the features and processing firepower of its rivals, Nintendo believes its easy-to-use controller will give it an edge."
And finally: "There's also a danger that the Wii could cannibalize sales of the DS, which has been a smash hit with casual gamers thanks to its user-friendly design and titles..."
Acording to Wikipedia, total sales of the DS and DS Lite are over 26 million world wide. This is equal to their Gamecube sales and that has been out since 01. I'd say we can call the DS and DS Lite both successful. Seeing as sales for the DS Lite are still hot, I don't expcect that comined number to sit under 30 million for long. The author is full of it, or a fanboy. He obviously hasn't done a lot of research. Nintendo is no longer hoping that the DS will appeal to anyone. Now they know.
As far as the Wii goes, I know plenty of people who wouldn't buy a Gamecube because of its lack of 3rd parties. Though I own many games that are frequently requeseted when we get together like Mario Kart and even Robotech Battlecry. Well, ever one of these people is positively raving about how much they want the Wii. We'll see what they (and I) think after release. But I haven't heard one person say they don't want it. Reasons? Cheap, looks like fun, and "My [significant other] actually wants one too."
Nintendo won't have a problem with this gen.
I used to carry a Mini-Disc player because it was small, durable, and the discs carried 4-5 CD's worth of music (crapy quality, but in a warehouse, who cares?)
I couldn't ask for anything more than that.
Just want to let you know that I'm there with you. I'm from the same "blue" state, though my views tend to be conservative, and I am a Christian. But I have friends that are both Christian conservatives and embrace-everything bleeding liberals. All I can say is that if someone shouts in your face about not being open minded, but won't listen to you, forget 'em. I run into it all the time... people who think they'd do me a service by telling me my faith is a sham but won't even take the time to listen to why I believe it. Most of the time they haven't actually read a Bible passage, in essence these particular people don't even know what they're talking about or refusing to believe. Shake the dust off your feet and let them wallow in whatever their problems are. I'll listen to you if you're willing to listen to me. I'll even let you go first. My bleeding liberal friends have had this to say about me. "For a Republican and a Christian, he's pretty open-minded."
I don't want to start a religion flame war, but it's the best example I can give. AC's aren't typically worth responding to. And neither are people who don't care to listen.
Heck, everyone I know who owns a hi-def only has 720p capable TV's and they've paid their thousands of dollars on them. Haven't seen too many 40+ inch 1080p TV's that sit under $2000. I really would love to have one, but I can easily live without.
I'll pop on their site from time to time just to configure a desktop with a 20" widescreen just for fun and sometimes I'll get a pretty nice computer spec with that widescreen for under $800. But I don't even have a place to put it.
Point being, last year when I was in the market for a laptop (unfortunaly, just 4 months before dual-cores came out, kicking myself) I waited for three months for the configuration I wanted to be the "cheap configuration." IE, yeah, best graphics I could get with a gig of RAM so I could play some games on the go, but not break the bank. Three months of configuring and re-configuring and waiting for just the right coupon to come in the email. Ended up cutting the price almost in half, which was nice. I know they still made too much money off me for my taste, but I've used their laptops in the past and their support (read: Daytime) is generaly great (they've next-day aired anything I've needed for free).
I personally don't think that a KOTOR would be bad, or difficult to do. They would just have to realize that we would much rather have a steady framerate than put up with the XBox KOTORs. Just as long as not too much is fundamentally different if they sequel any of their IPs, I'm just fine. (wouldn't mind another Jade Empire)