I don't think this is a normal case. This is a game that they have slaved over and that they KNOW everyone is waiting for and will like. I'd say this is about a bunch of guys who are damned PROUD of their game and actually truly do want everyone to experience it, seems they can't even stand to think someone who wants to play it (and has paid for it) can't. Frankly, I think it's a breath of fresh air to see guys so proud of their game work and truly caring about their audience.
I practically had Valve guys fighting over who could help me fix the problem first.
Valve's next press release: Valve regretfully announces that Team Fortress 2 has again been delayed due to injuries sustained by our techs during a massive free-for-all brawl. "Bob totally knew that glitch that guy was experiencing with his Gefore 6400 was mine, man. He already got the one with the problem that guy in Iowa had with the crashing during installation, and that was one sweet bug to fix. Bastard."
Working in games? Negotiate your pay as if you'll be working 12 hours, seven days a week when you are behind schedule.
Except the problem is that it seemed EA was expecting its employees to work 12 hour days 7 days a week even when they WEREN'T behind schedule... I think their argument that other game companies will also have to pay overtime isn't all that valid. Everyone expects some crunch time. That's a basic part of game development. The problem comes when the crunch schedule is considered the norm all the way throughout the entire project, as it seems to be at EA.
OH SHIT! I listed Tom Hall as lead designer on DX: IW, whereas you correctly pointed out that it was Harvey Smith. A terrible brain cramp on my part... But you're right that without Warren Spector and Harvey Smith, Ion Austin is pretty much moot.
I am wondering if it was mainly Ion Austin's last 2 games' inability to really break through on the consoles (Xbox and to a lesser extent PS2) that really sealed it.
Deus Ex was ported to PS2, and I STILL see copies of it around in the bargain bin. Warren talked about how he had learned lessons on interface design because of the more limited controls of consoles and that they would implement these in future games. Certainly Deus Ex: Invisible War had a much less complicated interface. It also didn't have a tenth of the creativity, functionality or story of the original. And it didn't sell at all on the Xbox. Designing around the limits of the Xbox (32 MB RAM) meant tiny, tiny levels that didn't go over well at all with the PC crowd (the crowd that made Deus Ex a massive hit). Tom Hall was lead designer on DX: IW and he left shortly after it flopped.
Next Thief 3 had hype built up for it. It was designed, like DX: IW for an engine made for the xbox and then ported to PC. I didn't suffer nearly as much as DX: IW did from technical limitations. It got very good reviews. And sold only moderately well. DX: IW and Thief 3 both still did ok on the PC. But it seems obvious to me that Eidos was pushing them to put the games on the consoles (where the big numbers tend to be, as the number of hits in the PC market keep shrinking to a very few that sell very well). I really would have liked to have seen how good DX: IW and Thief 3 might have been if they had designed it for the PC first... maybe this wouldn't have happened and I could've looked forward to a DX 3 that did justice to the original. Sigh...
If this isn't a Soviet Russia troll then why does "Are you ready to for gaming on an LCD display?" sound suspiciously right when said in a thick Russian accent?
"She should ask them if she can have that Super Famicom CD ROM prototype I drooled about in Nintendo Power when I was 9."
Wouldn't that be the CD add-on that Sony developed, which Nintendo spurned (in a surprise public announcement because they felt Sony wanted too much control). IIRC, this led to Sony getting really pissed off and going solo with the project, eventually culminating in the Sony Playstation....
Maybe he remembered the birthday as a result of looking for anything that might get in the way of his getting and playing HL2.
"Alright! November 16th! I'm gonna call in sick to work, hoard snacks and drinks, buy a portable toilet or have a bucket ready... Hmmmm... I seem to recall something about severe head trauma around this time last year... What was that about... OH SHIT! Her birthday!"
I have seen quite a few people unhappy about the idea of ads in videogames (and especially the monitoring of how these ads are viewed). Now obviously low sales are going to send a message, but it is MUCH better to let them know EXPLICITLY that the reason you are not buying or are not satisfied with a game is because of the ads. Let them know it damages your opinion of the brand (Tony Hawk games), and also your opinion of the publisher. It says in the article that Lionhead's next game "The Movies" will be a continuation of Chrysler's ads in Activision games, and Activision apparently did a study that told them that gamers had a positive opinion of ads in games. Go to Activision's and/or Chrysler's website and fire off an e-mail, or if you can manage to find a mailing address, send them a dead tree complaint or two and let them know different.
The anonymous coward responding before me is right, that study is about ACTUAL violence. Against the child and also against their parent(s) and relatives. Grandparent asked: "Just point me to a study, just a link is fine, that shows that "when the average child is allowed to view violent material from a very young age, it can affect them" and I'll be happy.
Even your examples of your messed up friends are examples of ACTUAL violence against them, having NOTHING to do with violent media. The only portion of the article you linked to that had anything to do with violent media is this:
Direct experience has more of an impact on children than indirect experience. Although watching TV violence influences values about violence and perceptions of how often it occurs, it is an indirect experience and "less meaningful in promoting violence than witnessing real life violence." (1)
In other words, it would seem stopping people from beating their kids and each other in front of their kids would seem a whole lot more important than preventing them from playing GTA, unless you want to imply that GTA makes the adults initiate the violence.
"The looks we got whilst trying to demonstrate light sabres were priceless."
Ummm... I can think of maybe 3 ways this could have gone: 1) You (and whoever else was with you to make it "we") always carry your lightsaber replicas around with you, in which case their "looks" are understandable.
2) You have actually created and were using real lightsabers, in which case their "looks" are understandable.
3) You were using breadsticks and kept saying, 'now imagine a glowing blade of light coming out of the end here', and making the whooshing, humming, and crackling sounds, in which case their "looks" are nderstandable.
Ghyslain got a whole hell of a lot of attention for his lightsaber demonstration. I can only imagine you looked at least half as amusing as he did...
It's not like police are some high and mighty upper class that rises above the rest of the world in importance simply becuase of the authority they wieild over citizens.
Ahh... but you see that is where you are wrong. Disobeying or attacking/killing police is particularly useful to use as an example of videogames making kids anti-social (whether or not it holds any merit). This is because police represent clear AUTHORITY figures, which adults are also expected to respect. Since many older adults believe that only children (and immature adults) play games, the idea that a game for children not only allows you but requires you to defy authority figures (police and by extension, them) allows them to go "tut, tut. That is what is wrong with the youth of today, no respect for authority."
Part of it is also the implicit degree of approval of the child for the act. For example, when watching a TV show showing cops getting killed, if the child were to express his approval for the act, it would not go well at all with many people. Similarly, if you buy many CDs with many examples of singing about killing cops, this would also reflect poorly, because you CHOOSE to listen about cops being killed. When they see a kid playing a game, because the kid chooses his actions in the game, it seems as if he is clearly agreeing with the act. Otherwise why do it? Indeed as has been pointed out above, it is possible to get through the mission WITHOUT killing cops (fighting them makes the mission ludicrously difficult). If you have the choice (not everyone will figure out how to do it without fighting) and choose to attack cops, that reflects poorly. Personally, while forcing the player into that kind of a situation makes observers uncomfortable, I think most players should be smart enough to know the difference between fantasy and reality and see the mission as simply another set of obstacles to overcome.
How happy are you going to be to lug a PSP around in your pocket, when you know that you'll only be able to use it for about 3-4 hours before having to recharge it for 2+ hours? There has been a lot of noise from people asking what the battery life is going to be like under actual gaming conditions, and Sony has let it go on this long without even TRYING to quell the rumours of poor battery life. That says to me that: a) The battery situation is at least as bad as suspected (under 4-5 hours of gameplay on one charge), or b) Sony itself doesn't know yet and are still working on (or re-working) the hardware/battery. Neither case is good in my opinion.
Not exactly work/school safe, but here's what's apparently worth ¥2 million.
Actually, those shots are from DOA Xtreme Beach Volleyball, for the Xbox. The lawsuit was about the PS2 version of DOA 2. Also, IIRC, all they did was alter the memory card data a bit to tell the game to mess with the costume system a bit. If you've ever played DOA games, they all feature changeable costumes for the characters (some as unlockable bonuses). I think that the change in the memory card data just unlocked something that was ALREADY ON THE DISC, just substituting a skin that is on the disc for one of the costume options or something. There is a scene in the opening cinematic of some versions of DOA2 that have a nude, nippleless Kasumi. I am not sure if that is what was unlocked by the changed memory card data.
I have occasionally used examples from videogames in my essays for college. Sometimes it is just to mention a particular game scenario, sometimes I quote a line from the game, and none of the standards we are told to use to write our essays seem to have any guidelines on how to properly reference a videogame.
I just use the name of the developing studio as the author and the publishing company as the publisher. I haven't encountered any problems yet for this practice, but that may just be because I have lenient profs or they are just as unsure about how this is supposed to be done. (BTW I reference comics too, and who am I supposed to list as the author? Comics is usually seen as a collaborative movement, and so I usually list both the writer and the penciller.)
For those who don't know (and the article doesn't seem to explain), RCMP stands for Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Y'know the mounties, with the red uniforms. I believe they are roughly equivalent to the FBI, though I am sure someone else can explain exactly what their duties are.
If your kid drops the ds, you're out $150. I hope this thing comes with a parent's guide because: -it has a touch lcd screen which kids seem to love to hammer on. -kids tend to want to use a regular writing device on a touch pad, like a pen or crayon.
Yeah, except Nintendo has always paid attention to what kids would do with their products. They have already nixed some game ideas because they cause too much rapid rubbing on the touchscreen. And all GBA screens thus far have been protected behind a plastic shield, that in recent systems has been replaceable. Unless you are getting the system for a child under 4, most are bright enough to learn not to draw on the screen.
Nintendo systems have always been more solid than anything the competition makes. NES, SNES, N64, GC, GB, GBC, GBA, GBA SP, and the only problems I've had was scratching the plastic cover over the screen of the GBA a bit. I've read and would love to hear more of other people's stories about how solid GB (especially original GB) systems are. I am much more worried that I would break the PSP by sitting on it than the DS, but that's just me.
Yup, it seems that Nintendo is much more comfortable underhyping the capabilities of its systems. You can also see this back when they presented the Gamecube, they didn't use the inflated possible poly per sec stats and instead noted what they thought it could reasonably put out under game conditions (numbers which have been bettered in actual games since then).
Frankly, with Sony refusing to properly clarify how many hours the PSP can be played on a charge with an actual game, I'm guessing that the DS is gonna last significantly longer than the PSP. And that has been a key factor in the Gameboy systems beating all of its technologically superior competitors. Sony can talk all it wants about the PSP's capabilities but if I am charging for 2-3 hours to play less than 4-5 hours...
I wonder if this time they will actually give battery life estimates for actual gaming conditions (eg not in power saving mode). Every time they've been pressed, they have refused to clarify it. Of course, based on this comment ("It's pretty close to the retail version."), the system's design might not even be finalized yet, and they might still be re-designing it to try get a decent number of gaming hours off one charge.
Back to the games listed... it just seems to be mostly what many people thought would happen: ports, re-designs or sequels to games already on PS/PS2. It still looks like a neat piece of hardware. But I have concerns over its battery life and durability.
It seems to me that the core competency of GDW is the content- the 40K universe, characters, vehicles, weapons, aliens, etc- and their sustainable profitability comes from regular additions to that universe. Gameplay on the tabletop seems secondary (though still important), and perhaps model fabrication comes in to play- the point is any and all forms of electronic games should be able to exist and not detract from the original.
Games Workshop has learned the lesson that it is the models/figures that have the high profit margins that they need in order to be able to support the wide variety of things necessary to maintain/increase the popularity of this hobby. (e.g. Chain of stores, mail order network, paints and tools, magazine etc.)
Which is why the designers of the games specifically state that they have the MODELS first and foremost in mind when they design the rules and background for the game. They take whatever cool design a modeller may come up with and then create rules/background for it. Occasionally, they may come up with a concept first (as I believe was the case with the Tau, when they needed an almost totally shooty army in the game), but they would only take the concept to fruition if the modellers can make enough cool models. The heavy focus on the models and figures is really what separates Warhammer/40k from most other games, and that is what has sustained Games Workshop all these years. I doubt the license for the games really amounts to much overall (and any profits GW might get from trying to develop/publish videogames themselves or from licensing its universe out in other ways would be a less predictable revenue stream than the sales of its figures).
Anyway, as to Fire Warrior it is pretty terrible in my opinion. Lasguns are supposed to fire a split-second beam of light, but in the game it fires more like how energy weapons usually fire in videogames (as a 'ball' or small 'bolts' of relatively slow moving energy. Why exactly do bullets hit instantaneously, but energy has to travel along so slowly that it can be dodged?). It takes WAY too many hits to kill simple guardsmen (at least with the early weapons). It sounded like a perfect setup for an FPS using a Fire Warrior as the hero, since Tau are all about shooting and no close combat, and then you could progress thru the ranks and maybe get different suits for different gameplay (e.g. Stealth or Crisis or Broadside Suits would all play totally differently) but the game never takes advantage of all these possiblities. With all the advances made in FPS games, Fire Warrior was mediocre at best when it came out and is hopelessly outdated now, IMHO. It still surprises the hell out of me that the developer, Kuju Entertainment, is still being approached by other developers to continue making games (such as by Nintendo, to make a Gamecube version of Advance Wars).
"I'd rather see WH40k developed into a turn-based tactical game, much as the tabletop game was."
And why exactly would Games Workshop (the company behind Warhammer 40k) want that? They make their money selling the tabletop game. Why sell a videogame version that would dilute the market for the original, and more sustainably profitable game?
It is much smarter to make games that COMPLEMENT the core product of the W40k tabletop game. If you want to play something like the W40k tabletop, then play the tabletop. But they can allow videogames that let you experience the universe in different ways (and possibly increase interest in the tabletop game) without cannibalizing their own market. I mean, I wish they would make another (good, as in not Fire Warrior) FPS that could make you feel how terrifying confronting a Carnifex or Hive Tyrant or Bloodthirster is supposed to be.
I think that flies are attracted to shit and rotting carcasses because it is a place to lay their young, as maggots eat bacteria. I don't know if flies eat any of it themselves.
They seem to be so hot on Amazing CGI Scenes and SUPER HUGE MONDO MONSTER SPELLS that take (I kid you not) 2 minutes a pop to pull off, that they leave the gameplay and the richness behind.
Well, how about that it was the success of FF7 in the first place that set Square on this path? Let's face it, one of the big reasons why FF7 did so well beyond the existing market for RPGs at the time is that it had very pretty graphics (for the time). In some ways, this is a very big problem because since then, Square has focussed on ensuring that the graphics are good before anything else (see games such as The Bouncer or Driving Emotion Type S). It was FF7 in the first place that added super long damned flashy attacks (Limit breaks and summons. My god, Knights of the Round took FOREVER to cast and was necessary to defeat the "Omega Weapon" boss)
The next final fantasy will be a continuation of the FF7 story. That has never happened before (the revisit of an older universe to tell a continuating tale). This alone tells the power it had not only on gamers, but on SquareEnix as well.
Uhhh.... What? The next Final Fantasy (game) would be FF 12, which is NOT based on FF 7. FF7: Advent Children is an animated MOVIE. You could be referring to the Before Crisis game, but that is for cell phones in Japan (no word on North American or Euro release yet), and it is a PREQUEL (using the Turks as the main characters). Also, FFX-2 was a continuation of FFX. So this would be considered the first "sequel" as in a return to one of the universes of the core Final Fantasy games.
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I don't think this is a normal case. This is a game that they have slaved over and that they KNOW everyone is waiting for and will like. I'd say this is about a bunch of guys who are damned PROUD of their game and actually truly do want everyone to experience it, seems they can't even stand to think someone who wants to play it (and has paid for it) can't. Frankly, I think it's a breath of fresh air to see guys so proud of their game work and truly caring about their audience.
I practically had Valve guys fighting over who could help me fix the problem first.
Valve's next press release: Valve regretfully announces that Team Fortress 2 has again been delayed due to injuries sustained by our techs during a massive free-for-all brawl. "Bob totally knew that glitch that guy was experiencing with his Gefore 6400 was mine, man. He already got the one with the problem that guy in Iowa had with the crashing during installation, and that was one sweet bug to fix. Bastard."
Working in games? Negotiate your pay as if you'll be working 12 hours, seven days a week when you are behind schedule.
Except the problem is that it seemed EA was expecting its employees to work 12 hour days 7 days a week even when they WEREN'T behind schedule... I think their argument that other game companies will also have to pay overtime isn't all that valid. Everyone expects some crunch time. That's a basic part of game development. The problem comes when the crunch schedule is considered the norm all the way throughout the entire project, as it seems to be at EA.
OH SHIT! I listed Tom Hall as lead designer on DX: IW, whereas you correctly pointed out that it was Harvey Smith. A terrible brain cramp on my part... But you're right that without Warren Spector and Harvey Smith, Ion Austin is pretty much moot.
I am wondering if it was mainly Ion Austin's last 2 games' inability to really break through on the consoles (Xbox and to a lesser extent PS2) that really sealed it.
Deus Ex was ported to PS2, and I STILL see copies of it around in the bargain bin. Warren talked about how he had learned lessons on interface design because of the more limited controls of consoles and that they would implement these in future games. Certainly Deus Ex: Invisible War had a much less complicated interface. It also didn't have a tenth of the creativity, functionality or story of the original. And it didn't sell at all on the Xbox. Designing around the limits of the Xbox (32 MB RAM) meant tiny, tiny levels that didn't go over well at all with the PC crowd (the crowd that made Deus Ex a massive hit). Tom Hall was lead designer on DX: IW and he left shortly after it flopped.
Next Thief 3 had hype built up for it. It was designed, like DX: IW for an engine made for the xbox and then ported to PC. I didn't suffer nearly as much as DX: IW did from technical limitations. It got very good reviews. And sold only moderately well. DX: IW and Thief 3 both still did ok on the PC. But it seems obvious to me that Eidos was pushing them to put the games on the consoles (where the big numbers tend to be, as the number of hits in the PC market keep shrinking to a very few that sell very well). I really would have liked to have seen how good DX: IW and Thief 3 might have been if they had designed it for the PC first... maybe this wouldn't have happened and I could've looked forward to a DX 3 that did justice to the original. Sigh...
So... if I started "smoking" these things around girls... would they evetnually become addicted to my presence?
"I don't know what it is, but I feel calm around you, and all anxious when I am not..."
Finally, an equalizer for the geeks!
If this isn't a Soviet Russia troll then why does "Are you ready to for gaming on an LCD display?" sound suspiciously right when said in a thick Russian accent?
Try it. It's fun.
"She should ask them if she can have that Super Famicom CD ROM prototype I drooled about in Nintendo Power when I was 9."
Wouldn't that be the CD add-on that Sony developed, which Nintendo spurned (in a surprise public announcement because they felt Sony wanted too much control). IIRC, this led to Sony getting really pissed off and going solo with the project, eventually culminating in the Sony Playstation....
Maybe he remembered the birthday as a result of looking for anything that might get in the way of his getting and playing HL2.
"Alright! November 16th! I'm gonna call in sick to work, hoard snacks and drinks, buy a portable toilet or have a bucket ready... Hmmmm... I seem to recall something about severe head trauma around this time last year... What was that about... OH SHIT! Her birthday!"
I have seen quite a few people unhappy about the idea of ads in videogames (and especially the monitoring of how these ads are viewed). Now obviously low sales are going to send a message, but it is MUCH better to let them know EXPLICITLY that the reason you are not buying or are not satisfied with a game is because of the ads. Let them know it damages your opinion of the brand (Tony Hawk games), and also your opinion of the publisher. It says in the article that Lionhead's next game "The Movies" will be a continuation of Chrysler's ads in Activision games, and Activision apparently did a study that told them that gamers had a positive opinion of ads in games. Go to Activision's and/or Chrysler's website and fire off an e-mail, or if you can manage to find a mailing address, send them a dead tree complaint or two and let them know different.
The anonymous coward responding before me is right, that study is about ACTUAL violence. Against the child and also against their parent(s) and relatives. Grandparent asked: "Just point me to a study, just a link is fine, that shows that "when the average child is allowed to view violent material from a very young age, it can affect them" and I'll be happy.
Even your examples of your messed up friends are examples of ACTUAL violence against them, having NOTHING to do with violent media. The only portion of the article you linked to that had anything to do with violent media is this:
Direct experience has more of an impact on children than indirect experience. Although watching TV violence influences values about violence and perceptions of how often it occurs, it is an indirect experience and "less meaningful in promoting violence than witnessing real life violence." (1)
In other words, it would seem stopping people from beating their kids and each other in front of their kids would seem a whole lot more important than preventing them from playing GTA, unless you want to imply that GTA makes the adults initiate the violence.
"The looks we got whilst trying to demonstrate light sabres were priceless."
Ummm... I can think of maybe 3 ways this could have gone:
1) You (and whoever else was with you to make it "we") always carry your lightsaber replicas around with you, in which case their "looks" are understandable.
2) You have actually created and were using real lightsabers, in which case their "looks" are understandable.
3) You were using breadsticks and kept saying, 'now imagine a glowing blade of light coming out of the end here', and making the whooshing, humming, and crackling sounds, in which case their "looks" are nderstandable.
Ghyslain got a whole hell of a lot of attention for his lightsaber demonstration. I can only imagine you looked at least half as amusing as he did...
It's not like police are some high and mighty upper class that rises above the rest of the world in importance simply becuase of the authority they wieild over citizens.
Ahh... but you see that is where you are wrong. Disobeying or attacking/killing police is particularly useful to use as an example of videogames making kids anti-social (whether or not it holds any merit). This is because police represent clear AUTHORITY figures, which adults are also expected to respect. Since many older adults believe that only children (and immature adults) play games, the idea that a game for children not only allows you but requires you to defy authority figures (police and by extension, them) allows them to go "tut, tut. That is what is wrong with the youth of today, no respect for authority."
Part of it is also the implicit degree of approval of the child for the act. For example, when watching a TV show showing cops getting killed, if the child were to express his approval for the act, it would not go well at all with many people. Similarly, if you buy many CDs with many examples of singing about killing cops, this would also reflect poorly, because you CHOOSE to listen about cops being killed. When they see a kid playing a game, because the kid chooses his actions in the game, it seems as if he is clearly agreeing with the act. Otherwise why do it? Indeed as has been pointed out above, it is possible to get through the mission WITHOUT killing cops (fighting them makes the mission ludicrously difficult). If you have the choice (not everyone will figure out how to do it without fighting) and choose to attack cops, that reflects poorly. Personally, while forcing the player into that kind of a situation makes observers uncomfortable, I think most players should be smart enough to know the difference between fantasy and reality and see the mission as simply another set of obstacles to overcome.
How happy are you going to be to lug a PSP around in your pocket, when you know that you'll only be able to use it for about 3-4 hours before having to recharge it for 2+ hours? There has been a lot of noise from people asking what the battery life is going to be like under actual gaming conditions, and Sony has let it go on this long without even TRYING to quell the rumours of poor battery life. That says to me that: a) The battery situation is at least as bad as suspected (under 4-5 hours of gameplay on one charge), or b) Sony itself doesn't know yet and are still working on (or re-working) the hardware/battery. Neither case is good in my opinion.
Not exactly work/school safe, but here's what's apparently worth ¥2 million.
Actually, those shots are from DOA Xtreme Beach Volleyball, for the Xbox. The lawsuit was about the PS2 version of DOA 2. Also, IIRC, all they did was alter the memory card data a bit to tell the game to mess with the costume system a bit. If you've ever played DOA games, they all feature changeable costumes for the characters (some as unlockable bonuses). I think that the change in the memory card data just unlocked something that was ALREADY ON THE DISC, just substituting a skin that is on the disc for one of the costume options or something. There is a scene in the opening cinematic of some versions of DOA2 that have a nude, nippleless Kasumi. I am not sure if that is what was unlocked by the changed memory card data.
I have occasionally used examples from videogames in my essays for college. Sometimes it is just to mention a particular game scenario, sometimes I quote a line from the game, and none of the standards we are told to use to write our essays seem to have any guidelines on how to properly reference a videogame.
I just use the name of the developing studio as the author and the publishing company as the publisher. I haven't encountered any problems yet for this practice, but that may just be because I have lenient profs or they are just as unsure about how this is supposed to be done. (BTW I reference comics too, and who am I supposed to list as the author? Comics is usually seen as a collaborative movement, and so I usually list both the writer and the penciller.)
For those who don't know (and the article doesn't seem to explain), RCMP stands for Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Y'know the mounties, with the red uniforms. I believe they are roughly equivalent to the FBI, though I am sure someone else can explain exactly what their duties are.
If your kid drops the ds, you're out $150. I hope this thing comes with a parent's guide because: -it has a touch lcd screen which kids seem to love to hammer on. -kids tend to want to use a regular writing device on a touch pad, like a pen or crayon.
Yeah, except Nintendo has always paid attention to what kids would do with their products. They have already nixed some game ideas because they cause too much rapid rubbing on the touchscreen. And all GBA screens thus far have been protected behind a plastic shield, that in recent systems has been replaceable. Unless you are getting the system for a child under 4, most are bright enough to learn not to draw on the screen.
Nintendo systems have always been more solid than anything the competition makes. NES, SNES, N64, GC, GB, GBC, GBA, GBA SP, and the only problems I've had was scratching the plastic cover over the screen of the GBA a bit. I've read and would love to hear more of other people's stories about how solid GB (especially original GB) systems are. I am much more worried that I would break the PSP by sitting on it than the DS, but that's just me.
Yup, it seems that Nintendo is much more comfortable underhyping the capabilities of its systems. You can also see this back when they presented the Gamecube, they didn't use the inflated possible poly per sec stats and instead noted what they thought it could reasonably put out under game conditions (numbers which have been bettered in actual games since then).
Frankly, with Sony refusing to properly clarify how many hours the PSP can be played on a charge with an actual game, I'm guessing that the DS is gonna last significantly longer than the PSP. And that has been a key factor in the Gameboy systems beating all of its technologically superior competitors. Sony can talk all it wants about the PSP's capabilities but if I am charging for 2-3 hours to play less than 4-5 hours...
I wonder if this time they will actually give battery life estimates for actual gaming conditions (eg not in power saving mode). Every time they've been pressed, they have refused to clarify it. Of course, based on this comment ("It's pretty close to the retail version."), the system's design might not even be finalized yet, and they might still be re-designing it to try get a decent number of gaming hours off one charge.
Back to the games listed... it just seems to be mostly what many people thought would happen: ports, re-designs or sequels to games already on PS/PS2. It still looks like a neat piece of hardware. But I have concerns over its battery life and durability.
It seems to me that the core competency of GDW is the content- the 40K universe, characters, vehicles, weapons, aliens, etc- and their sustainable profitability comes from regular additions to that universe. Gameplay on the tabletop seems secondary (though still important), and perhaps model fabrication comes in to play- the point is any and all forms of electronic games should be able to exist and not detract from the original.
Games Workshop has learned the lesson that it is the models/figures that have the high profit margins that they need in order to be able to support the wide variety of things necessary to maintain/increase the popularity of this hobby. (e.g. Chain of stores, mail order network, paints and tools, magazine etc.)
Which is why the designers of the games specifically state that they have the MODELS first and foremost in mind when they design the rules and background for the game. They take whatever cool design a modeller may come up with and then create rules/background for it. Occasionally, they may come up with a concept first (as I believe was the case with the Tau, when they needed an almost totally shooty army in the game), but they would only take the concept to fruition if the modellers can make enough cool models. The heavy focus on the models and figures is really what separates Warhammer/40k from most other games, and that is what has sustained Games Workshop all these years. I doubt the license for the games really amounts to much overall (and any profits GW might get from trying to develop/publish videogames themselves or from licensing its universe out in other ways would be a less predictable revenue stream than the sales of its figures).
Anyway, as to Fire Warrior it is pretty terrible in my opinion. Lasguns are supposed to fire a split-second beam of light, but in the game it fires more like how energy weapons usually fire in videogames (as a 'ball' or small 'bolts' of relatively slow moving energy. Why exactly do bullets hit instantaneously, but energy has to travel along so slowly that it can be dodged?). It takes WAY too many hits to kill simple guardsmen (at least with the early weapons). It sounded like a perfect setup for an FPS using a Fire Warrior as the hero, since Tau are all about shooting and no close combat, and then you could progress thru the ranks and maybe get different suits for different gameplay (e.g. Stealth or Crisis or Broadside Suits would all play totally differently) but the game never takes advantage of all these possiblities. With all the advances made in FPS games, Fire Warrior was mediocre at best when it came out and is hopelessly outdated now, IMHO. It still surprises the hell out of me that the developer, Kuju Entertainment, is still being approached by other developers to continue making games (such as by Nintendo, to make a Gamecube version of Advance Wars).
"I'd rather see WH40k developed into a turn-based tactical game, much as the tabletop game was."
And why exactly would Games Workshop (the company behind Warhammer 40k) want that? They make their money selling the tabletop game. Why sell a videogame version that would dilute the market for the original, and more sustainably profitable game?
It is much smarter to make games that COMPLEMENT the core product of the W40k tabletop game. If you want to play something like the W40k tabletop, then play the tabletop. But they can allow videogames that let you experience the universe in different ways (and possibly increase interest in the tabletop game) without cannibalizing their own market. I mean, I wish they would make another (good, as in not Fire Warrior) FPS that could make you feel how terrifying confronting a Carnifex or Hive Tyrant or Bloodthirster is supposed to be.
Because Infinium believes unwaveringly in naive consumers.
And/or naive investors. Hopefully there aren't enough of the latter that Infinium can fuck over the former.
I think that flies are attracted to shit and rotting carcasses because it is a place to lay their young, as maggots eat bacteria. I don't know if flies eat any of it themselves.
They seem to be so hot on Amazing CGI Scenes and SUPER HUGE MONDO MONSTER SPELLS that take (I kid you not) 2 minutes a pop to pull off, that they leave the gameplay and the richness behind.
Well, how about that it was the success of FF7 in the first place that set Square on this path? Let's face it, one of the big reasons why FF7 did so well beyond the existing market for RPGs at the time is that it had very pretty graphics (for the time). In some ways, this is a very big problem because since then, Square has focussed on ensuring that the graphics are good before anything else (see games such as The Bouncer or Driving Emotion Type S). It was FF7 in the first place that added super long damned flashy attacks (Limit breaks and summons. My god, Knights of the Round took FOREVER to cast and was necessary to defeat the "Omega Weapon" boss)
The next final fantasy will be a continuation of the FF7 story. That has never happened before (the revisit of an older universe to tell a continuating tale). This alone tells the power it had not only on gamers, but on SquareEnix as well.
Uhhh.... What? The next Final Fantasy (game) would be FF 12, which is NOT based on FF 7. FF7: Advent Children is an animated MOVIE. You could be referring to the Before Crisis game, but that is for cell phones in Japan (no word on North American or Euro release yet), and it is a PREQUEL (using the Turks as the main characters). Also, FFX-2 was a continuation of FFX. So this would be considered the first "sequel" as in a return to one of the universes of the core Final Fantasy games.