I loved SC2, played it a lot on PS2 and GC, and am looking forward to this one despite their single-system stubbornness. But, where are the online modes? The majority of other fighters have an online mode in at least one of their incarnations, so doing the same for arguably the best 3D fighting series around should be a no-brainer.
The character creation mode looks pretty fun. I just hope they can maintain the previous games's balance. Having online battles would have made the custom characters so much sweeter, though...
Well, Rare does have job openings for people willing to help with DS development. I doubt they still have the Bond license, so Goldeneye might be out of the question. Perfect Dark, on the other hand, could definately be a system-seller. You wouldn't have (as big of) framerate drops in multiplayer (one of PD's biggest problems) because it's not split-screen, so it definately could be a fun romp. And I could see a single-cart multiplayer with similar amount of things accessible as the N64 version sans-expansion pak.
...I really think that a "Greatest Hits" line should be done for the GBA. Not much is coming out for it anymore (other than a new Gunstar Heroes) and the DS is doing well enough on its own. Plus, a lot of the better games for the system (like the Castlevanias) are really hard to find, let alone at a price that isn't HIGHER than what they started out at. It'd definately help keep GBA system sales stable while all of those DS games come out in the fall. It'd also help just because GBA games disappear off of the store shelves so soon after release date; unless you pick up a game within 3 months of it coming out, you'll have to settle with finding a used copy somewhere.
The Controller Family Tree site is WAY more informative than the ergonomics one. The ergonomics site is just some guy's opinions on the most popular game controllers (which, as we can see already, are quite debateable), while the Family Tree shows many more controllers and lets you see where they draw their inspiration from. Plus, the photos of prototype controllers are pretty interesting (like a PS1 controller with 6 face buttons, and a GC controller WITHOUT a d-pad).
At most stores when you buy a DS now it comes with Super Mario 64 DS for free, which is a $30 game. So, in some respects, the DS has already dropped in price to $120.
For the PSP, there have been talks that they'll soon sell the system by itself (no memory stick, etc.) for $200, about the price it goes for in Japan right now. Though you'll have to go out and buy your own memory stick, this is likely to draw in more potential buyers, especially those who don't really like all of the stuff in the Value Pack.
As far as the perception of good system with good games, I believe Nintendo did a pretty good job of portraying that at this year's E3. A lot of big games are coming out for the DS (Castlevania, Mario Kart, new Super Mario, etc.), plus they announced their plans to have online play with the system. All of this commotion helped draw people away from the PSP's showing at E3. Not only that, but Sony presented the image that they were a lot more focused on their upcoming PS3 than on the PSP right now with their announcements, so people will probably feel less confident about the PSP's future. You're likely to have more people picking up a DS than a PSP this fall.
I also think that many will choose only one of the two to buy rather than both. They aren't like consoles where you can have your XBox, PS2, and GC all hooked up to the same TV and switch between them easily; you're most likely carrying these around in your pocket or whatever. Having two different portable systems would be much more of a hassle and be more costly, unless you were to start treating one of the two less like a portable (by, say, only playing your DS at home and taking your PSP with you on trips).
I really hope that the games have the gameplay perfectly intact. I also found the All-Stars versions of the old Mario games feeling a bit sluggish compared to the originals, which was weird because to my understanding they made All-Stars by taking the NES games and just changing the sound and graphics code. Nonetheless, gameplay should come first.
As far as the presentation, I feel that developers should really go one way or the other with the ports: either pixel-perfect, or redone very nicely. I was a bit disappointed with the Mega Man Anniversary Collection, because not only did they add some extra weird sub menu junk to it, they also put a interpolation filter on all of the games that blurred everything together; a filter which can't be turned off. I would have preferred that, if they were gonna change the old NES Mega Mans at all, that they go all out and upgrade the graphics to those of Mega Man 7 or 8. Afterall, I'm pretty sure the games on that disc weren't even being emulated anyway: they were reconstructed (which wasn't even done very effectively: for example, all of the NES games' music was recorded!)
As far as going all-out, such things that would be nice include:
Bumping the resolution up: 512x448 for NES+SNES games, 640x480 for N64. Don't mess with the screen ratio AT ALL.
Graphics redrawn in 32-bit color.
Smoother framerates on N64 games. Fixing slowdown on older games is up for debate since sometimes it was so common that it became a part of the gameplay.
Maybe higher polygon counts too, but only for big-name games (such as Zelda 64), since that would obviously kick up the cost a bit.
Upgraded music on the older games would be nice; I wouldn't mind NES+SNES games having their music upgraded to N64-level or beyond.
Adding new levels I wouldn't mind either, as long as they aren't really out-there or terrible. It gives incentive for people who played the original games to death to try them again.
I mean, I'd be willing to pay a decent amount to download an upgraded version of Mario 3 with high-res graphics, remixed music, and 12 worlds instead of 8 (especially if Kurbio's shoe saw more action). Just remember that some games are ripe for enhancement (the Zeldas, Final Fantasies) while others are best kept as they are due to overwhelming nostalgia. My guess is very few people want a truecolor remake of Duck Hunt, complete with orchestrated soundtrack.
Slashdot Mirror
I loved SC2, played it a lot on PS2 and GC, and am looking forward to this one despite their single-system stubbornness. But, where are the online modes? The majority of other fighters have an online mode in at least one of their incarnations, so doing the same for arguably the best 3D fighting series around should be a no-brainer. The character creation mode looks pretty fun. I just hope they can maintain the previous games's balance. Having online battles would have made the custom characters so much sweeter, though...
Well, Rare does have job openings for people willing to help with DS development. I doubt they still have the Bond license, so Goldeneye might be out of the question. Perfect Dark, on the other hand, could definately be a system-seller. You wouldn't have (as big of) framerate drops in multiplayer (one of PD's biggest problems) because it's not split-screen, so it definately could be a fun romp. And I could see a single-cart multiplayer with similar amount of things accessible as the N64 version sans-expansion pak.
...I really think that a "Greatest Hits" line should be done for the GBA. Not much is coming out for it anymore (other than a new Gunstar Heroes) and the DS is doing well enough on its own. Plus, a lot of the better games for the system (like the Castlevanias) are really hard to find, let alone at a price that isn't HIGHER than what they started out at. It'd definately help keep GBA system sales stable while all of those DS games come out in the fall. It'd also help just because GBA games disappear off of the store shelves so soon after release date; unless you pick up a game within 3 months of it coming out, you'll have to settle with finding a used copy somewhere.
The Controller Family Tree site is WAY more informative than the ergonomics one. The ergonomics site is just some guy's opinions on the most popular game controllers (which, as we can see already, are quite debateable), while the Family Tree shows many more controllers and lets you see where they draw their inspiration from. Plus, the photos of prototype controllers are pretty interesting (like a PS1 controller with 6 face buttons, and a GC controller WITHOUT a d-pad).
At most stores when you buy a DS now it comes with Super Mario 64 DS for free, which is a $30 game. So, in some respects, the DS has already dropped in price to $120.
For the PSP, there have been talks that they'll soon sell the system by itself (no memory stick, etc.) for $200, about the price it goes for in Japan right now. Though you'll have to go out and buy your own memory stick, this is likely to draw in more potential buyers, especially those who don't really like all of the stuff in the Value Pack.
As far as the perception of good system with good games, I believe Nintendo did a pretty good job of portraying that at this year's E3. A lot of big games are coming out for the DS (Castlevania, Mario Kart, new Super Mario, etc.), plus they announced their plans to have online play with the system. All of this commotion helped draw people away from the PSP's showing at E3. Not only that, but Sony presented the image that they were a lot more focused on their upcoming PS3 than on the PSP right now with their announcements, so people will probably feel less confident about the PSP's future. You're likely to have more people picking up a DS than a PSP this fall.
I also think that many will choose only one of the two to buy rather than both. They aren't like consoles where you can have your XBox, PS2, and GC all hooked up to the same TV and switch between them easily; you're most likely carrying these around in your pocket or whatever. Having two different portable systems would be much more of a hassle and be more costly, unless you were to start treating one of the two less like a portable (by, say, only playing your DS at home and taking your PSP with you on trips).
As far as the presentation, I feel that developers should really go one way or the other with the ports: either pixel-perfect, or redone very nicely. I was a bit disappointed with the Mega Man Anniversary Collection, because not only did they add some extra weird sub menu junk to it, they also put a interpolation filter on all of the games that blurred everything together; a filter which can't be turned off. I would have preferred that, if they were gonna change the old NES Mega Mans at all, that they go all out and upgrade the graphics to those of Mega Man 7 or 8. Afterall, I'm pretty sure the games on that disc weren't even being emulated anyway: they were reconstructed (which wasn't even done very effectively: for example, all of the NES games' music was recorded!)
As far as going all-out, such things that would be nice include:
- Bumping the resolution up: 512x448 for NES+SNES games, 640x480 for N64. Don't mess with the screen ratio AT ALL.
- Graphics redrawn in 32-bit color.
- Smoother framerates on N64 games. Fixing slowdown on older games is up for debate since sometimes it was so common that it became a part of the gameplay.
- Maybe higher polygon counts too, but only for big-name games (such as Zelda 64), since that would obviously kick up the cost a bit.
- Upgraded music on the older games would be nice; I wouldn't mind NES+SNES games having their music upgraded to N64-level or beyond.
- Adding new levels I wouldn't mind either, as long as they aren't really out-there or terrible. It gives incentive for people who played the original games to death to try them again.
I mean, I'd be willing to pay a decent amount to download an upgraded version of Mario 3 with high-res graphics, remixed music, and 12 worlds instead of 8 (especially if Kurbio's shoe saw more action). Just remember that some games are ripe for enhancement (the Zeldas, Final Fantasies) while others are best kept as they are due to overwhelming nostalgia. My guess is very few people want a truecolor remake of Duck Hunt, complete with orchestrated soundtrack.Though it does sound inticing...