You missed the point that the parent made - you can't just buy a videogame and play it. For a computer game, you need an appropriate computer, monitor, keyboard, speakers/headphones, and so on. For a console game, you need the console, controller, memory card, and monitor/television.
For a novel, you just need the book itself. And a light - I hear the sun works nicely.
A better way to categorize the various consoles is like this:
1 - Pongs and other non-cartridge systems
2 - Fairchild Channel F, Atari 2600, Magnavox Odyssey 2 (the very first generation with interchangable games)
2.5 - Vectrex, Intellivision, Colecovision, Atari 5200, Emerson Arcadia 2001, Sega SG1000, god knows what else (Nothing radically different from the previous generation except for slightly better graphics and those awful keypad controllers. The crash of 1984 killed them off before they had a real chance to defeat the 2600, so they can't really be considered a whole new generation)
3 - NES, Sega Master System, Atari 7800 (Post-crash 8-bit systems)
4 - Turbografx 16, Genesis, SNES (16-bit systems. Yes, I know the TG16 used an 8-bit CPU, but it's still definitely part of this generation)
4.5 - Amiga CD32, 3DO, CDI, Atari Jaguar, Neo-Geo (The in-between generation with early 3D graphics and CD media. The Neo-Geo is in here because it's much more powerful than the 16-bit generation)
5 - PSX, Saturn, N64 (32-bit generation)
5.5 - Dreamcast, NUON (Another pair of in-between systems. Dreamcast diehards might want to put the DC in with the following generation)
6 - PS2, Xbox, Gamecube ("Current" generation)
7 - Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, Phantom(?) ("Next" generation)
There are a few PS1 games that don't work properly on PS2. I plan to pick up a Japanese PSone soon because of that. I'd like to play Gradius Gaiden (which has a level that runs in slow motion on a PS2), Toaplan Shooting Battle (two of the games included don't work on a PS2), and Metal Gear Solid Integral (which checks for modchips. I have a modded PS2, mainly for imports).
Yes! I was just about to post something about this. Why can't people understand that Rockstar is a publishing label? DMA Design became Rockstar North and did the GTA series. Rockstar Toronto did The Warriors. Rockstar Vancouver is working on Bully. Rockstar Leeds did GTA on PSP.
It's like attributing every game published by Capcom to the same development staff. Which is amusing, if you consider that Capcom published GTA in Japan.
The problem is that they advertised the real $399 price and didn't honour it. This is a classic bait-and-switch.
There were also rumours that some EBs and GameStops were fiddling with the pre-order wait list based on how many games and peripherals were also pre-ordered. Does anyone have more information on that?
I wouldn't worry about this. Interplay was originally going to publish the first (modern) Neverwinter Nights, but got into a dispute with BioWare. Interplay has since basically gone out of business. Similarly, I presume that the death of Infogrames won't kill the Obsidian-developed NWN2.
Try games from this side of the pond, too. You must play Planescape: Torment. I think it's the best story-focussed RPG ever. Yes, even trouncing Final Fantasy 6.
What can change the nature of a man? You'll find out if you play the game.
I find it rather amusing that you mention Zuma, which is itself a direct clone (gameplay-wise) of Puzz Loop, which already had home ports on Playstation and Nuon(!) as Ballistic, and a PC port under the original name.
I've always loved handhelds. Due to the whole idea that a handheld system is designed both for quick sessions (on a bus, for instance) and long playing periods (such as on a plane or in a hotel room), I think handhelds force developers to adhere to what I consider the ideals of video gaming: both instant playability and depth that inspires replay.
Obviously, puzzle games are the perfect match for this. I don't quite agree with some of 1up's puzzle game highlights. Tetris and Klax are true classics, but I'm not convinced that Meteos and Lumines are of the same calibre. Meteos times every game mode except for one, tilting it far in favour of quick sessions. It just isn't that enjoyable for a long period. Lumines falls victim to the exact opposite - the time attack modes aren't much fun but the normal mode is very addictive. The only problem with normal mode is that a typical single session often lasts more than half an hour!
Puzzle games aside, some of their choices and omissions are quite odd.
Donkey Kong on Game Boy is an expanded version of the arcade original, with 100 puzzle-heavy levels. It turns a classic arcade game into an even better home game. I think it's one of the finest games ever made. Mario vs Donkey Kong is a pseudo-sequel to the Game Boy one, but it doesn't quite live up to its predecessor. It's decent but far from being a true classic.
Final Fantasy Adventure, also on Game Boy, is Seiken Densetsu 1 renamed to cash in on the Final Fantasy name. Seiken Densetsu was also renamed for the western market, to Secret of Mana. Yes, Secret of Mana is a sequel to this Game Boy game. And this Game Boy game is the best action/rpg the system has to offer - edging out even The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (which is also a fantastic game and a must-own). Too bad the GBA remake, Sword of Mana, was awful.
Besides Klax, the Atari Lynx had quite a few other arcade ports. Roadblasters is a lot of fun. Robotron 2084 isn't perfect (due to the Lynx lacking a way to duplicate the original dual-joystick control system) but is still decent. S.T.U.N. Runner looks fantastic on the handheld and is the best home port of the game we ever received, even if it does use sprite scaling instead of polygons. Speaking of sprite scaling, Blue Lightning is an Afterburner clone with better graphics than any of the pre-32X home ports of Afterburner. The gameplay measures up, too. Chip's Challenge, another original design for the system (though it was ported to plenty of other systems eventually) is a very fun action/puzzle game like The Adventures of Lolo. It also has a geeky love story plot that I'm sure most Slashdotters will appreciate:)
The Game Gear was perhaps the most lacking of all mainstream handhelds (ignoring utter shit like the Gamate and Watara Supervision), but even it had some very good games. Crystal Warriors and Shining Force II: The Sword of Hajya are an excellent pair of strategy-RPGs with amazing depth for 8-bit handheld games. Bubble Bobble had a great port on GG (not
Well, to be really picky, Lemmings was only published by Psygnosis. The developers were DMA Designs, now known as... Rockstar North.
Yup, the developers that created Lemmings are also responsible for the GTA series.
And I do remember Tubular Worlds. I found the demo on one of those shovelware shareware CDs way back in the 90s. I enjoyed it, but not enough to actually buy the registered version.
What, no mention of the internal Sony studio that was once the major developer/publisher Psygnosis?
They're responsible for the only game worth buying a PSP for - Wipeout Pure. Looking at the credits, most of the people who worked on Wipeout Pure also worked on the previous Wipeout games while still under the Psygnosis name.
Ubisoft is French, but that doesn't mean their developers are.
Well, most of Ubisoft's internal studios are French (or in French-speaking areas). The Montpellier studio (headed up by Michel Ancel) did Beyond Good & Evil and most of the work on King Kong. The Annecy studio did the multiplayer parts of the Splinter Cell series and is working on Splinter Cell 4. The Montreal studio (in Quebec, of course) did the rest of the Splinter Cell series and Prince of Persia. The Casablanca studio (and French is pretty much an unofficial language in Morocco) did some work in the latest Prince of Persia game, as well as work on Rainbow Six 3 and some random casual games. About the only Ubisoft studio that isn't in a French area is the Shanghai one, which did Splinter Cell 2 and ports of the first Splinter Cell game to PS2 and GameCube.
I collect games, so console and computer compilations tend not to interest me - I'd much rather have the original version (or, in the case of arcade games, a port from the timeframe of the original game) than a re-release.
My favourite compilations tend to be portable versions. I like being able to take several different games along with me without having to carry multiple cartridges.
By far, the best portable compilation I've ever seen is Konami Collector's Series: Arcade Advanced for GBA. It contains six arcade games that aren't emulated, but reprogrammed specifically for GBA. You'd be hard-pressed to find the difference. Also, each game is of a different genre (unlike compilations such as Pac-Man Museum). And finally, you can use the 'Konami Code' to unlock hidden features and updated graphics in each game.
Another fine compilation for GBA is Atari Anniversary Advance. It contains, like the Konami one, six arcade games. Unlike the Konami compilation, the games are emulated. There are some problems like slowdown and sound issues, but it really feels like you're playing MAME on the go. Another issue is that nearly all of the games used nonstandard controls (like a spinner for Tempest, trackball for Missile Command, dual sticks for Battlezone, etc) so that the GBA controls don't quite match the arcade ones. Still, it is an excellent compilation with several true classics.
Bridging the gap between handhelds and consoles, the recent trend of dedicated direct-to-tv devices is interesting, and has resulted in several that definitely count as compilations.
In particular, the Commodore 64 DTV stands above all others. It has 30 C64 games ranging from merely tolerable filler to true classics. But what makes it absolutely incredible is the dedication and love poured into it. It has lots of hidden secrets, and can be hacked to add real C64 hardware like disk drives so that you can play (or code) original games on it!
The Atari Flashback 2.0 is also great for similar reasons. It has a larger and better library than the C64 DTV, but also less hacking potential. You can add a cartridge port from an original Atari 2600, allowing it to play real 2600 games, but it has no major secrets and the homebrew possibilities are limited by the cartridge medium of the original system. It is as much a labour of love as the C64 stick, though, as is made obvious by the newly manufactured 2600 joysticks that have the proper connectors, allowing them to be used on the original system!
The Namco II 5-in-1 joystick is also worth a look. It has less games and no additional potential, but the games themselves are great. The joystick feels a little loose, making the controls a tad difficult on some of the games. This is (almost) made up for by an innovation that results in the best home version of Pole Position ever: the knob on the joystick twists and acts as a steering wheel, which gives the game absolutely FLAWLESS control. This is a must-buy if you love Pole Position, and well worth looking into if you like any of the other gamesonthestick.
Despite what I said at the beginning, there are some compilations available for PC and consoles that are worth investigating.
There were plenty of excellent games this year. Maybe the profits are down because the sales are distributed throughout the large amount of fantastic games, rather than 2004's handful of great games in a sea of crap. 2005 was one of the best years for gaming I've ever seen. Take a look at all of these superb titles:
PS2:
Dragon Quest 8
God Of War
Guitar Hero
Mushihimesama
Shadow of the Colossus
We (Heart) Katamari
Xbox:
Forza Motorsport
Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath
GameCube:
Battalion Wars
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
Multiplatform:
Indigo Prophecy
King Kong (I especially suggest the amazing-looking 360 version)
Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks
Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones
Psychonauts
Resident Evil 4
PSP:
Lumines
Wipeout Pure
DS:
Animal Crossing: Wild World
Kirby: Canvas Curse
Mario Kart DS
Meteos
Trauma Center
Gameboy:
Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
WarioWare Twisted
I have a standard TV. I actually rented both the Xbox and 360 versions of the game to see the graphical differences. I ended up buying the 360 version. The graphics are night and day - this is THE game I suggest to show off the graphical power of the 360. I don't think the game is too dark. Granted, it IS a tad darker, but nothing that affects gameplay. In fact, the slightly darker graphics bring out the brighter effects like fire and sunlight much better. The Xbox version is a bit lighter but has a washed-out look compared to the more saturated colours of the 360 version. The framerate is also considerably worse in the Xbox version.
Why just use Japanese game music for your example? By doing so, you're ignoring the fantastic soundtracks by people such as Jesper Kyd (Hitman series and Freedom Fighters), Chris Huelsbeck (Turrican series and Apidya), George A Sanger (Wing Commander and tons of others), and Christophe Heral (Beyond Good & Evil).
Don't go placing the Japanese on a pedestal. There's plenty of horrible licenced jpop and generic techno in their games.
Ignoring the faults of one game developer culture while praising the triumphs of another creates a distorted worldview, which only serves to dampen your own experiences.
I'm not going to accuse you of being a Luddite. I'm going to accuse you of having no idea what you're talking about. The original gameboy is the best selling videogame system of all time, the DS is currently outselling the ps2, and over 150 million of the various types of game boy have been sold. Nintendo makes plenty of money on handhelds. (Hence the occasional speculation that Nintendo will go handheld-only)
You can be playing a game on DS or GBA in less than 5 seconds . (Not having played with the PSP for any length of time, I don't know exactly how long it takes to be playing a game on that system. Anyone know?)
There are games of varying complexity, just like on any other system. The Warioware series is one of the best pick-up-and-play games I've ever seen: you can enjoy it for 60 seconds, or spend 2 hours playing the various minigames. On the other end of the spectrum are games like Advance Wars or Fire Emblem. Strategy games may not seem like ideal handheld games, but they work very well. Both of these save after every move, which lets you easily play them on a bus or something and not worry about losing any progress.
First, I'm not American. Second, those were two distinct items in a list. I'm aware of the differences between visual novels and dating sims. The term "visual novel" momentarily eluded me, hence the clumsy "text adventure" description.
I dislike the vast majority of dating sims because they tend to boil down to trial-and-error. You select a conversation option and see the character's reaction. Repeat until you find the appropriate ones to achieve your goal. I realize this description can be applied to adventure game puzzles as well, but I've found that the vast majority of dating sims do not really allow for logical deduction. You can rarely figure out the optimal choice without repeated attempts. This isn't acceptable in adventure games, and shouldn't be acceptable in any other genre. All that said, I did enjoy Tokimeki Memorial on SNES. Still, the vast majority of the games in the genre are crap.
As with dating sims, I've enjoyed a few visual novels. Snatcher is one of my favourite games. I also rather liked Nostalgia 1907. Still, the entire genre has some flaws: selecting objects to examine and manipulate through a text menu in the bottom third of the screen is rather limiting when the rest of the screen is taken up by an image of the scene. Some games (like Policenauts) have turned to a much more efficient and interactive point-and-click interface, but many games still only allow interactivity through text.
I didn't mean to say that both of these genres are nothing but crap, but I still stand by the opinion that the vast majority of these types of games are just not worth playing. Perhaps my point that there is a lot of crap in Japan that isn't released here would've been better illustrated by picking specific examples of games rather than entire genres. In that case, I'm very glad that Baldr Force and Project Altered Beast didn't get released here.
I used examples of upcoming games because the article itself is about an innovative upcoming game. Your (very valid) criticism of my use of upcoming games as examples can be directly applied to Shadow of the Colossus, neatly negating this whole issue of which developers innovate more.
A brief list of western developers with recent or upcoming innovative games:
Introversion (Darwinia)
Maxis (Spore, despite the best efforts of EA)
Quantic Dream (Fahrenheit)
Funcom (Dreamfall)
Rockstar North (Bully)
Neversoft (Gun)
Innovative games by western developers are out there, as are plenty of unoriginal games by Japanese developers. Neither nationality has an advantage. Perhaps the only reason some people adore Japanese games is because a great deal of the crap (like dating games, text adventures where choices are confined to minimal conversation options, or - get this - stag beetle pet sims) doesn't get released on this side of the pond. I wonder whether Japanese games have the opposite perspective - that the best games come from developers outside their country. At any rate, ignoring the triumphs and failures of either type of developer is sheer folly. Play games for fun. Appreciate the innovative ones. Don't simply ignore a game because of where its developed.
Slashdot Mirror
Heh. I used to play baseball with brothers named, no joke, Bing and Buzz.
You missed the point that the parent made - you can't just buy a videogame and play it. For a computer game, you need an appropriate computer, monitor, keyboard, speakers/headphones, and so on. For a console game, you need the console, controller, memory card, and monitor/television.
For a novel, you just need the book itself. And a light - I hear the sun works nicely.
A better way to categorize the various consoles is like this:
1 - Pongs and other non-cartridge systems
2 - Fairchild Channel F, Atari 2600, Magnavox Odyssey 2 (the very first generation with interchangable games)
2.5 - Vectrex, Intellivision, Colecovision, Atari 5200, Emerson Arcadia 2001, Sega SG1000, god knows what else (Nothing radically different from the previous generation except for slightly better graphics and those awful keypad controllers. The crash of 1984 killed them off before they had a real chance to defeat the 2600, so they can't really be considered a whole new generation)
3 - NES, Sega Master System, Atari 7800 (Post-crash 8-bit systems)
4 - Turbografx 16, Genesis, SNES (16-bit systems. Yes, I know the TG16 used an 8-bit CPU, but it's still definitely part of this generation)
4.5 - Amiga CD32, 3DO, CDI, Atari Jaguar, Neo-Geo (The in-between generation with early 3D graphics and CD media. The Neo-Geo is in here because it's much more powerful than the 16-bit generation)
5 - PSX, Saturn, N64 (32-bit generation)
5.5 - Dreamcast, NUON (Another pair of in-between systems. Dreamcast diehards might want to put the DC in with the following generation)
6 - PS2, Xbox, Gamecube ("Current" generation)
7 - Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, Phantom(?) ("Next" generation)
I'd really like to know which companies pulled this scam.
I found one of them. Dotster is the one behind a whole bunch of Vancouver-based registrars.
Has anyone else had any luck tracking down the other companies behind this?
There are a few PS1 games that don't work properly on PS2. I plan to pick up a Japanese PSone soon because of that. I'd like to play Gradius Gaiden (which has a level that runs in slow motion on a PS2), Toaplan Shooting Battle (two of the games included don't work on a PS2), and Metal Gear Solid Integral (which checks for modchips. I have a modded PS2, mainly for imports).
RIGHT ON COMMANDER!
Yes! I was just about to post something about this. Why can't people understand that Rockstar is a publishing label? DMA Design became Rockstar North and did the GTA series. Rockstar Toronto did The Warriors. Rockstar Vancouver is working on Bully. Rockstar Leeds did GTA on PSP.
It's like attributing every game published by Capcom to the same development staff. Which is amusing, if you consider that Capcom published GTA in Japan.
Screw mirrors and semi-unknown blogs... the videos were originally posted here: Nintendo's own website.
The problem is that they advertised the real $399 price and didn't honour it. This is a classic bait-and-switch.
There were also rumours that some EBs and GameStops were fiddling with the pre-order wait list based on how many games and peripherals were also pre-ordered. Does anyone have more information on that?
I wouldn't worry about this. Interplay was originally going to publish the first (modern) Neverwinter Nights, but got into a dispute with BioWare. Interplay has since basically gone out of business. Similarly, I presume that the death of Infogrames won't kill the Obsidian-developed NWN2.
Try games from this side of the pond, too. You must play Planescape: Torment. I think it's the best story-focussed RPG ever. Yes, even trouncing Final Fantasy 6.
What can change the nature of a man? You'll find out if you play the game.
I find it rather amusing that you mention Zuma, which is itself a direct clone (gameplay-wise) of Puzz Loop, which already had home ports on Playstation and Nuon(!) as Ballistic, and a PC port under the original name.
I've always loved handhelds. Due to the whole idea that a handheld system is designed both for quick sessions (on a bus, for instance) and long playing periods (such as on a plane or in a hotel room), I think handhelds force developers to adhere to what I consider the ideals of video gaming: both instant playability and depth that inspires replay.
:)
Obviously, puzzle games are the perfect match for this. I don't quite agree with some of 1up's puzzle game highlights. Tetris and Klax are true classics, but I'm not convinced that Meteos and Lumines are of the same calibre. Meteos times every game mode except for one, tilting it far in favour of quick sessions. It just isn't that enjoyable for a long period. Lumines falls victim to the exact opposite - the time attack modes aren't much fun but the normal mode is very addictive. The only problem with normal mode is that a typical single session often lasts more than half an hour!
Puzzle games aside, some of their choices and omissions are quite odd.
Donkey Kong on Game Boy is an expanded version of the arcade original, with 100 puzzle-heavy levels. It turns a classic arcade game into an even better home game. I think it's one of the finest games ever made. Mario vs Donkey Kong is a pseudo-sequel to the Game Boy one, but it doesn't quite live up to its predecessor. It's decent but far from being a true classic.
Final Fantasy Adventure, also on Game Boy, is Seiken Densetsu 1 renamed to cash in on the Final Fantasy name. Seiken Densetsu was also renamed for the western market, to Secret of Mana. Yes, Secret of Mana is a sequel to this Game Boy game. And this Game Boy game is the best action/rpg the system has to offer - edging out even The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (which is also a fantastic game and a must-own). Too bad the GBA remake, Sword of Mana, was awful.
Besides Klax, the Atari Lynx had quite a few other arcade ports. Roadblasters is a lot of fun. Robotron 2084 isn't perfect (due to the Lynx lacking a way to duplicate the original dual-joystick control system) but is still decent. S.T.U.N. Runner looks fantastic on the handheld and is the best home port of the game we ever received, even if it does use sprite scaling instead of polygons. Speaking of sprite scaling, Blue Lightning is an Afterburner clone with better graphics than any of the pre-32X home ports of Afterburner. The gameplay measures up, too. Chip's Challenge, another original design for the system (though it was ported to plenty of other systems eventually) is a very fun action/puzzle game like The Adventures of Lolo. It also has a geeky love story plot that I'm sure most Slashdotters will appreciate
The Game Gear was perhaps the most lacking of all mainstream handhelds (ignoring utter shit like the Gamate and Watara Supervision), but even it had some very good games. Crystal Warriors and Shining Force II: The Sword of Hajya are an excellent pair of strategy-RPGs with amazing depth for 8-bit handheld games. Bubble Bobble had a great port on GG (not
Well, to be really picky, Lemmings was only published by Psygnosis. The developers were DMA Designs, now known as... Rockstar North.
Yup, the developers that created Lemmings are also responsible for the GTA series.
And I do remember Tubular Worlds. I found the demo on one of those shovelware shareware CDs way back in the 90s. I enjoyed it, but not enough to actually buy the registered version.
What, no mention of the internal Sony studio that was once the major developer/publisher Psygnosis?
They're responsible for the only game worth buying a PSP for - Wipeout Pure. Looking at the credits, most of the people who worked on Wipeout Pure also worked on the previous Wipeout games while still under the Psygnosis name.
Ubisoft is French, but that doesn't mean their developers are.
Well, most of Ubisoft's internal studios are French (or in French-speaking areas). The Montpellier studio (headed up by Michel Ancel) did Beyond Good & Evil and most of the work on King Kong. The Annecy studio did the multiplayer parts of the Splinter Cell series and is working on Splinter Cell 4. The Montreal studio (in Quebec, of course) did the rest of the Splinter Cell series and Prince of Persia. The Casablanca studio (and French is pretty much an unofficial language in Morocco) did some work in the latest Prince of Persia game, as well as work on Rainbow Six 3 and some random casual games. About the only Ubisoft studio that isn't in a French area is the Shanghai one, which did Splinter Cell 2 and ports of the first Splinter Cell game to PS2 and GameCube.
I collect games, so console and computer compilations tend not to interest me - I'd much rather have the original version (or, in the case of arcade games, a port from the timeframe of the original game) than a re-release.
My favourite compilations tend to be portable versions. I like being able to take several different games along with me without having to carry multiple cartridges.
By far, the best portable compilation I've ever seen is Konami Collector's Series: Arcade Advanced for GBA. It contains six arcade games that aren't emulated, but reprogrammed specifically for GBA. You'd be hard-pressed to find the difference. Also, each game is of a different genre (unlike compilations such as Pac-Man Museum). And finally, you can use the 'Konami Code' to unlock hidden features and updated graphics in each game.
Another fine compilation for GBA is Atari Anniversary Advance. It contains, like the Konami one, six arcade games. Unlike the Konami compilation, the games are emulated. There are some problems like slowdown and sound issues, but it really feels like you're playing MAME on the go. Another issue is that nearly all of the games used nonstandard controls (like a spinner for Tempest, trackball for Missile Command, dual sticks for Battlezone, etc) so that the GBA controls don't quite match the arcade ones. Still, it is an excellent compilation with several true classics.
Bridging the gap between handhelds and consoles, the recent trend of dedicated direct-to-tv devices is interesting, and has resulted in several that definitely count as compilations.
In particular, the Commodore 64 DTV stands above all others. It has 30 C64 games ranging from merely tolerable filler to true classics. But what makes it absolutely incredible is the dedication and love poured into it. It has lots of hidden secrets, and can be hacked to add real C64 hardware like disk drives so that you can play (or code) original games on it!
The Atari Flashback 2.0 is also great for similar reasons. It has a larger and better library than the C64 DTV, but also less hacking potential. You can add a cartridge port from an original Atari 2600, allowing it to play real 2600 games, but it has no major secrets and the homebrew possibilities are limited by the cartridge medium of the original system. It is as much a labour of love as the C64 stick, though, as is made obvious by the newly manufactured 2600 joysticks that have the proper connectors, allowing them to be used on the original system!
The Namco II 5-in-1 joystick is also worth a look. It has less games and no additional potential, but the games themselves are great. The joystick feels a little loose, making the controls a tad difficult on some of the games. This is (almost) made up for by an innovation that results in the best home version of Pole Position ever: the knob on the joystick twists and acts as a steering wheel, which gives the game absolutely FLAWLESS control. This is a must-buy if you love Pole Position, and well worth looking into if you like any of the other games on the stick.
Despite what I said at the beginning, there are some compilations available for PC and consoles that are worth investigating.
On PC, the Ultima Collection
There were plenty of excellent games this year. Maybe the profits are down because the sales are distributed throughout the large amount of fantastic games, rather than 2004's handful of great games in a sea of crap. 2005 was one of the best years for gaming I've ever seen. Take a look at all of these superb titles:
PS2:
Dragon Quest 8
God Of War
Guitar Hero
Mushihimesama
Shadow of the Colossus
We (Heart) Katamari
Xbox:
Forza Motorsport
Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath
GameCube:
Battalion Wars
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
Multiplatform:
Indigo Prophecy
King Kong (I especially suggest the amazing-looking 360 version)
Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks
Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones
Psychonauts
Resident Evil 4
PSP:
Lumines
Wipeout Pure
DS:
Animal Crossing: Wild World
Kirby: Canvas Curse
Mario Kart DS
Meteos
Trauma Center
Gameboy:
Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
WarioWare Twisted
Dreamcast:
Trizeal
I have a standard TV. I actually rented both the Xbox and 360 versions of the game to see the graphical differences. I ended up buying the 360 version. The graphics are night and day - this is THE game I suggest to show off the graphical power of the 360. I don't think the game is too dark. Granted, it IS a tad darker, but nothing that affects gameplay. In fact, the slightly darker graphics bring out the brighter effects like fire and sunlight much better. The Xbox version is a bit lighter but has a washed-out look compared to the more saturated colours of the 360 version. The framerate is also considerably worse in the Xbox version.
All art is entertainment, but not all entertainment is art.
Why just use Japanese game music for your example? By doing so, you're ignoring the fantastic soundtracks by people such as Jesper Kyd (Hitman series and Freedom Fighters), Chris Huelsbeck (Turrican series and Apidya), George A Sanger (Wing Commander and tons of others), and Christophe Heral (Beyond Good & Evil).
Don't go placing the Japanese on a pedestal. There's plenty of horrible licenced jpop and generic techno in their games.
Ignoring the faults of one game developer culture while praising the triumphs of another creates a distorted worldview, which only serves to dampen your own experiences.
I'm not going to accuse you of being a Luddite. I'm going to accuse you of having no idea what you're talking about. The original gameboy is the best selling videogame system of all time, the DS is currently outselling the ps2, and over 150 million of the various types of game boy have been sold. Nintendo makes plenty of money on handhelds. (Hence the occasional speculation that Nintendo will go handheld-only)
You can be playing a game on DS or GBA in less than 5 seconds . (Not having played with the PSP for any length of time, I don't know exactly how long it takes to be playing a game on that system. Anyone know?)
There are games of varying complexity, just like on any other system. The Warioware series is one of the best pick-up-and-play games I've ever seen: you can enjoy it for 60 seconds, or spend 2 hours playing the various minigames. On the other end of the spectrum are games like Advance Wars or Fire Emblem. Strategy games may not seem like ideal handheld games, but they work very well. Both of these save after every move, which lets you easily play them on a bus or something and not worry about losing any progress.
First, I'm not American. Second, those were two distinct items in a list. I'm aware of the differences between visual novels and dating sims. The term "visual novel" momentarily eluded me, hence the clumsy "text adventure" description.
I dislike the vast majority of dating sims because they tend to boil down to trial-and-error. You select a conversation option and see the character's reaction. Repeat until you find the appropriate ones to achieve your goal. I realize this description can be applied to adventure game puzzles as well, but I've found that the vast majority of dating sims do not really allow for logical deduction. You can rarely figure out the optimal choice without repeated attempts. This isn't acceptable in adventure games, and shouldn't be acceptable in any other genre. All that said, I did enjoy Tokimeki Memorial on SNES. Still, the vast majority of the games in the genre are crap.
As with dating sims, I've enjoyed a few visual novels. Snatcher is one of my favourite games. I also rather liked Nostalgia 1907. Still, the entire genre has some flaws: selecting objects to examine and manipulate through a text menu in the bottom third of the screen is rather limiting when the rest of the screen is taken up by an image of the scene. Some games (like Policenauts) have turned to a much more efficient and interactive point-and-click interface, but many games still only allow interactivity through text.
I didn't mean to say that both of these genres are nothing but crap, but I still stand by the opinion that the vast majority of these types of games are just not worth playing. Perhaps my point that there is a lot of crap in Japan that isn't released here would've been better illustrated by picking specific examples of games rather than entire genres. In that case, I'm very glad that Baldr Force and Project Altered Beast didn't get released here.
I used examples of upcoming games because the article itself is about an innovative upcoming game. Your (very valid) criticism of my use of upcoming games as examples can be directly applied to Shadow of the Colossus, neatly negating this whole issue of which developers innovate more.
A brief list of western developers with recent or upcoming innovative games:
Introversion (Darwinia)
Maxis (Spore, despite the best efforts of EA)
Quantic Dream (Fahrenheit)
Funcom (Dreamfall)
Rockstar North (Bully)
Neversoft (Gun)
Innovative games by western developers are out there, as are plenty of unoriginal games by Japanese developers. Neither nationality has an advantage. Perhaps the only reason some people adore Japanese games is because a great deal of the crap (like dating games, text adventures where choices are confined to minimal conversation options, or - get this - stag beetle pet sims) doesn't get released on this side of the pond. I wonder whether Japanese games have the opposite perspective - that the best games come from developers outside their country. At any rate, ignoring the triumphs and failures of either type of developer is sheer folly. Play games for fun. Appreciate the innovative ones. Don't simply ignore a game because of where its developed.