Actually, the game's merchandising seems to be directed more at kids here in the States. From what I remember, the game itself is fairly age-independent. I mean, yeah your character is like a pre-teen, but honestly it's doesn't throw kiddie stuff in your face. The core games are fairly fun regardless of what age you are.
I was just using it as an example of a game that was scrapped entirely and was brought back up in a different style but with the writing and scenario intact. Which was something that another responder pointed out: RPGs are 90% scenario / story.
For some reason I think Versus would be a more compelling choice for the Wii since after playing Twilight Princess, I can easily see them doing a Kingdom Hearts (pretty analogous to Versus from what I've heard) or similar action RPG on the system with motion sensing for sword swinging, etc. However, seeing as how Versus is being touted as more of a side-story/spinoff/densetsu, I'm guessing they're expecting lesser sales for it anyways. So a port of Versus would be a lesser choice compared to the main game.
I think I speak for a lot of people when I say that the Square Enix party is gonna be covered like mad by the gaming press. I think a lot of people are waiting with bated breath to hear a definitive news report on the fate of FF13 before they decide to get a PS3. Also, I think the KH community is waiting big time to hear what's next in that series at this event. Anyone know if there's plans for hands-on demonstrations of DQIX?
I thought they said that Final Fantasy XIII wasn't going to be exclusive to PS3. This can easily mean a couple of things:
a) Outright port of Final Fantasy XIII or XIII Versus to XBox360, PC or Wii b) Another game in the set of games they're releasing under the FFXIII project umbrella for another system. A good bet would be DS, followed by Wii or XBox360.
In my mind, b is most likely because they are already advertising that at the Square-Enix Party this year they will be unveiling a brand new FF game that no one knows about. An outright port to the 360 or PC would be possible if PS3 sales continue to lag to the point where the current install base + new customers just for FF13 will not recoup the loss from development (which is supposed to be offset by numerous ports/remakes released this year). If the cost:benefit ratio for a port to a different platform will help them at least break even on the entire project then it's inevitable and good business sense. Square has already gone on record stating that this generation is going to be expensive, so if they drop the cross-platform FF13 hammer, I'm not going to be surprised at all.
A Wii port could be done if they were smart about it. They would be smart to scale back the real-time rendering to FFXII standards and they can still keep the FMVs at high poly counts, just re-sized to 480p. Redoing a game but keeping the same plot, etc. isn't impossible. They scrapped Mother 3 for the N64 and remade it from the ground up as a GBA game. Also, Namco was working on a Xenosaga Episode 1+2 game for the DS as well at one point.
I think your prediction is on target if the current trends stay the course. They did a poll on GameFaqs a day or two ago asking who owned what "next-gen" system. The ranking (from top pick decresing) goes: None, Wii, XBox360, Xbox360 + Wii, PS3, All 3, PS3 + Wii, and finally PS3 + Xbox360. I'm not going even going to suggest that this is the most accurate polling system ever to grace mankind. Here's the poll results: http://www.gamefaqs.com/poll/index.html?poll=2722
That said, I would not classify GameFaqs as a casual gamer's haven. Most of the traffic is going to be generated by Hardcore gamers looking for info. Maybe casual players looking for info on Zelda or Final Fantasy, but if you look at the Top 10 lists, this isn't casual corner.
So, the Wii is making inroads on the hardcore gamer. Actually, I'm surprised that the system is the only next-gen system in almost 25% of the responses. With 17% dual-booting with the Wii60 combo and about 12% going it alone with the 360, I think it's very very understandable why there have been a large number of PS3 exclusives going multi-platform. Sony has, for lack of a better word, been shunned big time by the community at large.
However, it's still to early to tell if we're truly in the middle of a paradigm shift. Nintendo's strategy of appealing to a large audience with a cheaper system is obviously working. MS is holding their own, and Sony can easily get back into the game if they want to. This is still too close to call.
Oh man. I totally forgot about that saying after I got done with high school.
S5 was a good interesting read. Highly recommended. Kinda saddening realizing that Vonnegut and Hunter S Thompson have both died in the past year. I'm just wondering who's the next author to die from my senior year of High School reading list?
Do most people here forget that there's a thing called a safe in most physical banks? You know, the place where they hold the money, the thing the crooks try to crack into?
Everyone is either taking this way out of context (why should this be used to whitelist sites instead of the.xxx domain or other blacklist approaches?) or there's a lot of funny going on in this topic that no one is picking up on.
Maybe.vault or.yourmoneygoeshere or.weholdyourmoney would be a lot clearer? Can we also get a.mattress mirror to entice people from the US depression era to use the 'net?
While hardcore gamers might not flip for this. I'm betting that the new class of gamers that they're trying to attract might be somewhat interested in this. $30 for one of the better GCN games is a good thing for those who never got it the first time around.
I do not understand why people flip out whenever stuff like this happens. This is a growing trend in gaming in the last 5 years. Getting updated revisions of games is little different than movie re-releases, new editions of books, updated editions of board games, new car models, etc. Look at IGN's GBA Top 25 List. I believe at least 1/5 of the games on there were from the FF Advance and Super Mario Advance lines. There are plenty of good examples of how quality remakes can be done: Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence, Super Mario Advance 4, Kingdom Hearts 2: Final Mix+, etc.
People say "why don't you do a sequel" but these are the same people who will complain and whine when the sequel finally lands and say "why didn't you keep features x,y, and z from the last game?" If all people want to play is a souped up version of the previous iteration, shouldn't remakes like this keep them happy? Shouldn't we be happy that companies are willing to hear our cries and give us what we want? Saving them millions that would otherwise be spent on new engines, etc, which are passed onto us in a rehash for $20 less than the original?
Sounds like the short rules souped up a notch. I believe the short rules are 2 properties handed out in the same way, and the game ends when the second player gets bankrupted. I've heard from people that if you don't do any house rules and follow the short rules the game goes a lot quicker.
For a game that is supposed to focus on trading, handing out properties at random is a nice way of priming the pump. Ending the game after 1 or 2 players is good since at that point the snowball of dominance starts rolling.
Ummm... Right Sony. Way to be come out and say gamers making the content is the future. Maxis has been providing a central repository for user content since Simcity 3000 and The Sims with their Exchanges. Spore is the next evolution in that.
Even before Maxis got into user content, we had people modding Quake, Doom & Wolf3D. Before that MUDs, MUSHes, etc. And even before that, homemade D&D campaigns.
C'mon Sony. Quit taking credit for other's people's work. Thanks for pointing out the future, but that's a beacon of light everyone has seen for a while now.
Except for the fact that the hard drive capacity is a lot less than the standard iPods.
Yes it looks sleek. I can justify merging two devices and making something just as functional as the two of them already. But, can I justify $600 for a phone and smaller drive iPod? Seeing how I can get the basic cell phone for free, and a larger iPod for $300...
The iPhone is a nice solution, but I don't know how many people are willing to pay for it.
I really want to say after watching the PS3 crash and burn at $600, I'm afraid of the same happening here, but I have a little more faith in Apple pulling this off.
After Asheron's Call 2 dive bombed they were working on this and D&D Online. I wasn't impressed by Asheron's Call 2, especially when they put out an expansion to inject some new life into the game and then announced they were shutting it down about 2-3 months after the EPs release. But hey, if they couldn't get people to play after an EP I guess they had good reason to cut bait and run.
I've heard mixed stuff about D&D Online as well. Not sure how well that's doing. Personally, I think they're trying desperately to recreate the success they had with the original Asheron's Call. Trying everything but making an updated clone of it that is.
Why include the HD-DVD when it's not even being used by the games? Especially when the future of that format isn't even guaranteed? Why add a $100 feature that you have no guarantee people are going to use in the long term?
How does this number compare with the standard def sales of Casino Royale? Does this in any way show that Blu-ray is actually catching on? Could it just be that Bond has a larger appeal to everyone who already owns a Blu-ray player? How many people are purchasing the movie along with a player (which would indicate that the movie is drawing new customers)?
Could it just be that people finally have a compelling reason to actually purchase a hi-def format movie?
Regardless, I know Nintendo has been making attempts to give Europeans a fairer treatment by giving them first dibs on some game titles occasionally. Of all the divisions to let slip a Final Fantasy departure, the Europeans are in the best position of the group. Being last in line to get the PS3 they knew what the ultimate result was going to be having seen the launch go less than smooth both in Japan and in the US. Whether or not Final Fantasy was an exclusive, they knew the launch wasn't going to be a smashing success. Especially when you couple in the recent revelation about software emulation for backwards compatibility and the European media sunk their teeth into that asking if people were still going to keep their pre-orders. Sony managed to save some face on that by saying that they would be shipping the same revised PS3s to the rest of the world anyways, so it's not just them singling out the Europeans.
The PS3 is a sinking battleship with a bunch of holes. In the grand scheme of things, Final Fantasy losing exclusivity is just another hole in the bulkhead.
I get what you're saying. It just seems like a lot of the news I've heard lately about Sony or Nintendo is coming out of their Euro branches, even when the product under question doesn't directly pertain to those regions. Case in point was the DS Headset which was confirmed for US release by NOE. Maybe there's a power play going on with the Euro branches for more respect from the North American and Japanese divisions?
Regardless, the timing of this rumor is good. This is hot on the heels of the Ace Combat and Devil May Cry exodus, which only adds to the growing list of crossplatform games. Also, there's the Square-Enix Party 2007 which is happening in under 2 months, with lots of S-E and FF news items to drop. Unless this is clarified in the near future, that's going to be a big event to watch in May.
Because right now it's still in the rumor incubator. This is a post regarding a translation from a French Sony executive speaking about Final Fantasy XIII. If it was coming from someone in Square-Enix or Sony Japan it'd be a bigger news item. This rumor has been floating around since before yesterday.
Slashdot Mirror
Actually, the game's merchandising seems to be directed more at kids here in the States. From what I remember, the game itself is fairly age-independent. I mean, yeah your character is like a pre-teen, but honestly it's doesn't throw kiddie stuff in your face. The core games are fairly fun regardless of what age you are.
You don't say? Jeez I did not know that.
I was just using it as an example of a game that was scrapped entirely and was brought back up in a different style but with the writing and scenario intact. Which was something that another responder pointed out: RPGs are 90% scenario / story.
For some reason I think Versus would be a more compelling choice for the Wii since after playing Twilight Princess, I can easily see them doing a Kingdom Hearts (pretty analogous to Versus from what I've heard) or similar action RPG on the system with motion sensing for sword swinging, etc. However, seeing as how Versus is being touted as more of a side-story/spinoff/densetsu, I'm guessing they're expecting lesser sales for it anyways. So a port of Versus would be a lesser choice compared to the main game.
I think I speak for a lot of people when I say that the Square Enix party is gonna be covered like mad by the gaming press. I think a lot of people are waiting with bated breath to hear a definitive news report on the fate of FF13 before they decide to get a PS3. Also, I think the KH community is waiting big time to hear what's next in that series at this event. Anyone know if there's plans for hands-on demonstrations of DQIX?
I thought they said that Final Fantasy XIII wasn't going to be exclusive to PS3. This can easily mean a couple of things:
a) Outright port of Final Fantasy XIII or XIII Versus to XBox360, PC or Wii
b) Another game in the set of games they're releasing under the FFXIII project umbrella for another system. A good bet would be DS, followed by Wii or XBox360.
In my mind, b is most likely because they are already advertising that at the Square-Enix Party this year they will be unveiling a brand new FF game that no one knows about. An outright port to the 360 or PC would be possible if PS3 sales continue to lag to the point where the current install base + new customers just for FF13 will not recoup the loss from development (which is supposed to be offset by numerous ports/remakes released this year). If the cost:benefit ratio for a port to a different platform will help them at least break even on the entire project then it's inevitable and good business sense. Square has already gone on record stating that this generation is going to be expensive, so if they drop the cross-platform FF13 hammer, I'm not going to be surprised at all.
A Wii port could be done if they were smart about it. They would be smart to scale back the real-time rendering to FFXII standards and they can still keep the FMVs at high poly counts, just re-sized to 480p. Redoing a game but keeping the same plot, etc. isn't impossible. They scrapped Mother 3 for the N64 and remade it from the ground up as a GBA game. Also, Namco was working on a Xenosaga Episode 1+2 game for the DS as well at one point.
[unrealtournament]
WICKED SICK
{/unrealtournament]
(Sorry. Couldn't resist)
I'd highly recommend Excite Truck to them as well, since they seem to like the racing games.
Trauma Center is pretty good on the DS. Haven't tried the Wii version yet.
GTA Liberty City Stories and Vice City Stories have both been released for PSP and PS2 in the last 2 years.
I think your prediction is on target if the current trends stay the course. They did a poll on GameFaqs a day or two ago asking who owned what "next-gen" system. The ranking (from top pick decresing) goes: None, Wii, XBox360, Xbox360 + Wii, PS3, All 3, PS3 + Wii, and finally PS3 + Xbox360. I'm not going even going to suggest that this is the most accurate polling system ever to grace mankind. Here's the poll results: http://www.gamefaqs.com/poll/index.html?poll=2722
That said, I would not classify GameFaqs as a casual gamer's haven. Most of the traffic is going to be generated by Hardcore gamers looking for info. Maybe casual players looking for info on Zelda or Final Fantasy, but if you look at the Top 10 lists, this isn't casual corner.
So, the Wii is making inroads on the hardcore gamer. Actually, I'm surprised that the system is the only next-gen system in almost 25% of the responses. With 17% dual-booting with the Wii60 combo and about 12% going it alone with the 360, I think it's very very understandable why there have been a large number of PS3 exclusives going multi-platform. Sony has, for lack of a better word, been shunned big time by the community at large.
However, it's still to early to tell if we're truly in the middle of a paradigm shift. Nintendo's strategy of appealing to a large audience with a cheaper system is obviously working. MS is holding their own, and Sony can easily get back into the game if they want to. This is still too close to call.
*inserts "It Prints Money" image macro*
Oh man. I totally forgot about that saying after I got done with high school.
S5 was a good interesting read. Highly recommended. Kinda saddening realizing that Vonnegut and Hunter S Thompson have both died in the past year. I'm just wondering who's the next author to die from my senior year of High School reading list?
Do most people here forget that there's a thing called a safe in most physical banks? You know, the place where they hold the money, the thing the crooks try to crack into?
.xxx domain or other blacklist approaches?) or there's a lot of funny going on in this topic that no one is picking up on.
.vault or .yourmoneygoeshere or .weholdyourmoney would be a lot clearer? Can we also get a .mattress mirror to entice people from the US depression era to use the 'net?
Everyone is either taking this way out of context (why should this be used to whitelist sites instead of the
Maybe
Not to mention the billboard ads when they were announcing the white PSP...
Because targeting it at the 20 something crowd who actually could afford it did wonders for sales?
I can see this move if this was October and XMas was looming. But early April? "Mommy I want a PSP for Easter. Pwetty pwease? How about Memorial Day?"
I smell pre-whatever-the-hell-e3-is-this-year-hype... Or a quick attempt to keep their product relevant and on the shelves.
*Waits to see if Nintendo fires back by dropping the DS Lite to $149 or $129 (could kill both the PS2 and PSP in one shot lol)*
While hardcore gamers might not flip for this. I'm betting that the new class of gamers that they're trying to attract might be somewhat interested in this. $30 for one of the better GCN games is a good thing for those who never got it the first time around.
I do not understand why people flip out whenever stuff like this happens. This is a growing trend in gaming in the last 5 years. Getting updated revisions of games is little different than movie re-releases, new editions of books, updated editions of board games, new car models, etc. Look at IGN's GBA Top 25 List. I believe at least 1/5 of the games on there were from the FF Advance and Super Mario Advance lines. There are plenty of good examples of how quality remakes can be done: Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence, Super Mario Advance 4, Kingdom Hearts 2: Final Mix+, etc.
People say "why don't you do a sequel" but these are the same people who will complain and whine when the sequel finally lands and say "why didn't you keep features x,y, and z from the last game?" If all people want to play is a souped up version of the previous iteration, shouldn't remakes like this keep them happy? Shouldn't we be happy that companies are willing to hear our cries and give us what we want? Saving them millions that would otherwise be spent on new engines, etc, which are passed onto us in a rehash for $20 less than the original?
Sounds like the short rules souped up a notch. I believe the short rules are 2 properties handed out in the same way, and the game ends when the second player gets bankrupted. I've heard from people that if you don't do any house rules and follow the short rules the game goes a lot quicker.
For a game that is supposed to focus on trading, handing out properties at random is a nice way of priming the pump. Ending the game after 1 or 2 players is good since at that point the snowball of dominance starts rolling.
Ummm... Right Sony. Way to be come out and say gamers making the content is the future. Maxis has been providing a central repository for user content since Simcity 3000 and The Sims with their Exchanges. Spore is the next evolution in that.
Even before Maxis got into user content, we had people modding Quake, Doom & Wolf3D. Before that MUDs, MUSHes, etc. And even before that, homemade D&D campaigns.
C'mon Sony. Quit taking credit for other's people's work. Thanks for pointing out the future, but that's a beacon of light everyone has seen for a while now.
Except for the fact that the hard drive capacity is a lot less than the standard iPods.
Yes it looks sleek. I can justify merging two devices and making something just as functional as the two of them already. But, can I justify $600 for a phone and smaller drive iPod? Seeing how I can get the basic cell phone for free, and a larger iPod for $300...
The iPhone is a nice solution, but I don't know how many people are willing to pay for it.
I really want to say after watching the PS3 crash and burn at $600, I'm afraid of the same happening here, but I have a little more faith in Apple pulling this off.
After Asheron's Call 2 dive bombed they were working on this and D&D Online. I wasn't impressed by Asheron's Call 2, especially when they put out an expansion to inject some new life into the game and then announced they were shutting it down about 2-3 months after the EPs release. But hey, if they couldn't get people to play after an EP I guess they had good reason to cut bait and run.
I've heard mixed stuff about D&D Online as well. Not sure how well that's doing. Personally, I think they're trying desperately to recreate the success they had with the original Asheron's Call. Trying everything but making an updated clone of it that is.
To paraphrase good ol' Ken: Suck it up and work more!
Why include the HD-DVD when it's not even being used by the games? Especially when the future of that format isn't even guaranteed? Why add a $100 feature that you have no guarantee people are going to use in the long term?
How does this number compare with the standard def sales of Casino Royale? Does this in any way show that Blu-ray is actually catching on? Could it just be that Bond has a larger appeal to everyone who already owns a Blu-ray player? How many people are purchasing the movie along with a player (which would indicate that the movie is drawing new customers)?
Could it just be that people finally have a compelling reason to actually purchase a hi-def format movie?
I thought the Wii IS region locked?
Regardless, I know Nintendo has been making attempts to give Europeans a fairer treatment by giving them first dibs on some game titles occasionally. Of all the divisions to let slip a Final Fantasy departure, the Europeans are in the best position of the group. Being last in line to get the PS3 they knew what the ultimate result was going to be having seen the launch go less than smooth both in Japan and in the US. Whether or not Final Fantasy was an exclusive, they knew the launch wasn't going to be a smashing success. Especially when you couple in the recent revelation about software emulation for backwards compatibility and the European media sunk their teeth into that asking if people were still going to keep their pre-orders. Sony managed to save some face on that by saying that they would be shipping the same revised PS3s to the rest of the world anyways, so it's not just them singling out the Europeans.
The PS3 is a sinking battleship with a bunch of holes. In the grand scheme of things, Final Fantasy losing exclusivity is just another hole in the bulkhead.
I get what you're saying. It just seems like a lot of the news I've heard lately about Sony or Nintendo is coming out of their Euro branches, even when the product under question doesn't directly pertain to those regions. Case in point was the DS Headset which was confirmed for US release by NOE. Maybe there's a power play going on with the Euro branches for more respect from the North American and Japanese divisions?
Regardless, the timing of this rumor is good. This is hot on the heels of the Ace Combat and Devil May Cry exodus, which only adds to the growing list of crossplatform games. Also, there's the Square-Enix Party 2007 which is happening in under 2 months, with lots of S-E and FF news items to drop. Unless this is clarified in the near future, that's going to be a big event to watch in May.
Because right now it's still in the rumor incubator. This is a post regarding a translation from a French Sony executive speaking about Final Fantasy XIII. If it was coming from someone in Square-Enix or Sony Japan it'd be a bigger news item. This rumor has been floating around since before yesterday.
VS is an MMO? Everything I've read has suggested it's an action-RPG much like Kingdom Hearts.