Looking at the current ratio of PS2:Gamecube games I have, I'd say that the quantity:quality ratio for the PS2 is about the same as for the other two.
This all depends on your preferences, of course. I play RPGs, and Sony's platforms have been the place for RPGs (outside of the Zeldas and the occasional odd Fable or KOTOR) since Final Fanatasy 7.
Honestly, though, this isn't "Sony's flooding the market with games". This is "Developers decide to go with PS2 because it has the largest user base." Also, the 120 games thing is probably a MASSIVE overestimation. It also probably involves counting new releases worldwide, which could easily make something close to that number without flooding American retail shelves too badly.
The PSOne remodel corresponded with a price drop; however, Sony dropped the price to $150 not too long ago. This doesn't rule out the probability of a price drop, it just makes it a little less likely.
Originally, you needed an adaptor that attached to the back of the system to access the internet on your PS2. A year or two back Sony started bundling this with the console for $20 more (the adaptor by itself cost $40). The PStwo has a port integrated into the system, no adaptor required.
Except in KOTOR, the choices you made only affected your character's complexion/force point costs, and some of the events on the very minor level- even at then end, you're stuck doing basically the same things regardless of whether or not you act like a good light jedi or a total asshole. They gave you the illusion of choice, but in the end you were basically just altering the scenery along the rail.
Fable seems like it will be different in this regard. How well it does at it remains to be seen.
He's not the only one. I personally know someone who dressed up as Sailor Moon (actually, he alternted between that and (Card Captor) Sakura) at Anime Mid-Atlantic 2004. Big fat black guy with a very effeminate voice. He's a good man, if a little too into his fandom of choice.
Precisely. If it's starting to get attention now, three months before its release, just think of how much bitching will be happening when it finally comes out.
Those who missed it then can shell out $40 for it at their local Gamestop if it has it in stock. Still better price/stuff ratio, though that doesn't include the value of portability.
That is, of course, the first reaction you'd have to such a question.
Of course, the question then becomes... will the PS3 be powerful enough so that we won't need FMV? At least, not of the pre-rendered CG kind that Square has been doing since FF7? If the PS2 is capable of doing graphics that are close enough to the quality of FFX's FMVs, there won't be much of a need for HD video, which would be a MASSIVE space-saver.
So, the question remains: what DO you do with 25-50 GB? The answer from a lot of companies will be nothing. Most PS3 games will probably use less than a DVD's worth of space, and so, if given the option, will be printed on DVDs.
Honestly, this does make me think of a rather significant point- do games really NEED this much space? Unlike the PS1, where the upgrade to DVD for PS2 was seen as needed since a number of games needed 2-4 discs for all the data they contained, the only multi-disc PS2 game I know of is the upcoming Final Fantasy 12. Hopefully Sony will allow publishers to put their PS3 games on DVDs or even CDs should they desire to.
Sqeenix(more specifically, the Square side) has recently started making games for Nintendo consoles again, yes; however, the only GC game they have made is Final Fantasy: Chrystal Chronicles, a game that could not have been done in quite the same way on the PS2. Aside from that, all of Squeenix's non-portable titles have been PS(2) exclusive.
...from what it seems, Square (this was pre-merger, remember) was mostly interested in the GBA, not the GC (since they realized that with the death of the WSC it was the only viable portable system availible at the time). Until we see Squeenix porting Final Fantasy X to the Cube and/or XBox (unlikely, seeing as anyone who wanted it has a PS2 already) it'll be safe to say that they are still in Sony's camp.
They could charge $80 for it at release if they wanted to. The people who want it that bad are going to pay however much it takes, and the people who don't want it as much will hold off until the price goes down, and the people who don't want to pay for it at all will fire up their BitTorrent clients and pirate the motherfucker.
In their defense, aside from a few unique ways of doing things, it(Paladin's Quest) was basically a (crappy)generic console RPG. Part of what made it bad was its constant demanding of you to stop and walk around in circles to gain levels every step of the way. One of the few things that made it unique was that instead of having an MP stat, you basically spent HP to cast spells. Woo. Any number of unique ideas in it were crushed by the fact that the story, graphics, and music seemed to all be conspiring to lull you to sleep. In fact, that's probably why they forget most of PQ's specifics- they fell asleep and forgot it all before they could get anything down.
Speaking of powerful, why were the high level light side powers so lame?
It's more of a comparison thing, really. You can't get much more awesome than the high-level dark side powers (HELL YEAH FORCE LIGHTNING) without getting into powers that would be very un-light side-ish.
Given that they're re-using the game engine, it shouldn't be too hard. It's basically just new force powers and a new campaign, if I recall correctly. That's not too hard to fuck up, is it?
remember king kong and the one with the 'walking' jaws and vines you had to climb in a green case?
That's Donkey Kong- DK Jr, if I recall correctly.
Somewhat off topic, a company sued Nintendo back in the 80s claiming that DK was a rip off of King Kong. (Monkey kidnaps girl, etc etc) If I recall correctly, the lawsuit ended when it turned out the company didn't even own the rights to King Kong in the first place.
And the resemblance to the G&W system is probably a coincidence, but given the recent surge in old school Nintendo stuff, you probably are right with the fashion comparison.
First off, the PS2 and GC games you speak of are probably fairly old (like, around a year). GBA games at that age are probably the same age, even less if you head to Gamestop and get 'em used. New PS2/GC games actually go for around $40-50 a pop, for the most part.
And more than half of games for every system are utter crap. That's why you read reviews in the first place, no?
Take this further- the winning system in a given generation is almost always the weakest. It's purely luck, yes, but still, note that the PS2 is slightly less powerful than the GC and Xbox and winning by a landslide, and the PS1 was significantly more powerful than the N64 (the optical storage medium was its only advantage) and kicked its ass easily.
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This all depends on your preferences, of course. I play RPGs, and Sony's platforms have been the place for RPGs (outside of the Zeldas and the occasional odd Fable or KOTOR) since Final Fanatasy 7.
Honestly, though, this isn't "Sony's flooding the market with games". This is "Developers decide to go with PS2 because it has the largest user base." Also, the 120 games thing is probably a MASSIVE overestimation. It also probably involves counting new releases worldwide, which could easily make something close to that number without flooding American retail shelves too badly.
The PSOne remodel corresponded with a price drop; however, Sony dropped the price to $150 not too long ago. This doesn't rule out the probability of a price drop, it just makes it a little less likely.
Originally, you needed an adaptor that attached to the back of the system to access the internet on your PS2. A year or two back Sony started bundling this with the console for $20 more (the adaptor by itself cost $40). The PStwo has a port integrated into the system, no adaptor required.
I think they improved that with the model I got (December 2003), actually. They also removed the firewire port in that one.
Admittedly, this could only be because changing to an image from a more current Final Fantasy would result in massive flamewars.
Fable seems like it will be different in this regard. How well it does at it remains to be seen.
He's not the only one. I personally know someone who dressed up as Sailor Moon (actually, he alternted between that and (Card Captor) Sakura) at Anime Mid-Atlantic 2004. Big fat black guy with a very effeminate voice. He's a good man, if a little too into his fandom of choice.
That seems rather interesting, given Nintendo's current online policy.
Precisely. If it's starting to get attention now, three months before its release, just think of how much bitching will be happening when it finally comes out.
Those who missed it then can shell out $40 for it at their local Gamestop if it has it in stock. Still better price/stuff ratio, though that doesn't include the value of portability.
Alright, if you're going to make fun of a game for having a ridiculous cutscene:game ratio, you should really pick a better target.
Of course, the question then becomes... will the PS3 be powerful enough so that we won't need FMV? At least, not of the pre-rendered CG kind that Square has been doing since FF7? If the PS2 is capable of doing graphics that are close enough to the quality of FFX's FMVs, there won't be much of a need for HD video, which would be a MASSIVE space-saver.
So, the question remains: what DO you do with 25-50 GB? The answer from a lot of companies will be nothing. Most PS3 games will probably use less than a DVD's worth of space, and so, if given the option, will be printed on DVDs.
Honestly, this does make me think of a rather significant point- do games really NEED this much space? Unlike the PS1, where the upgrade to DVD for PS2 was seen as needed since a number of games needed 2-4 discs for all the data they contained, the only multi-disc PS2 game I know of is the upcoming Final Fantasy 12. Hopefully Sony will allow publishers to put their PS3 games on DVDs or even CDs should they desire to.
It's no secret that the Xbox is not doing very well in the Japanese market. In fact, their desire to buy Nintendo is probably partly because of this.
They could charge $80 for it at release if they wanted to. The people who want it that bad are going to pay however much it takes, and the people who don't want it as much will hold off until the price goes down, and the people who don't want to pay for it at all will fire up their BitTorrent clients and pirate the motherfucker.
In their defense, aside from a few unique ways of doing things, it(Paladin's Quest) was basically a (crappy)generic console RPG. Part of what made it bad was its constant demanding of you to stop and walk around in circles to gain levels every step of the way. One of the few things that made it unique was that instead of having an MP stat, you basically spent HP to cast spells. Woo. Any number of unique ideas in it were crushed by the fact that the story, graphics, and music seemed to all be conspiring to lull you to sleep. In fact, that's probably why they forget most of PQ's specifics- they fell asleep and forgot it all before they could get anything down.
Well, Parish has already given Xenosaga enough abuse. I'd also link his review of it on his personal site, but it was taken down quite a while ago.
It's more of a comparison thing, really. You can't get much more awesome than the high-level dark side powers (HELL YEAH FORCE LIGHTNING) without getting into powers that would be very un-light side-ish.
Given that they're re-using the game engine, it shouldn't be too hard. It's basically just new force powers and a new campaign, if I recall correctly. That's not too hard to fuck up, is it?
I meant that the PS1 was significantly less powerful, yes.
That's Donkey Kong- DK Jr, if I recall correctly.
Somewhat off topic, a company sued Nintendo back in the 80s claiming that DK was a rip off of King Kong. (Monkey kidnaps girl, etc etc) If I recall correctly, the lawsuit ended when it turned out the company didn't even own the rights to King Kong in the first place.
And the resemblance to the G&W system is probably a coincidence, but given the recent surge in old school Nintendo stuff, you probably are right with the fashion comparison.
And more than half of games for every system are utter crap. That's why you read reviews in the first place, no?
Hm. I should do that to my platinum Gamecube controller. It was a steal at Gamestop at just $18 used.
Take this further- the winning system in a given generation is almost always the weakest. It's purely luck, yes, but still, note that the PS2 is slightly less powerful than the GC and Xbox and winning by a landslide, and the PS1 was significantly more powerful than the N64 (the optical storage medium was its only advantage) and kicked its ass easily.