The list of nominees is actually pretty well-rounded. It would be nice to see Okami win an award or two, especially in light of Clover getting shut down.
Oh, I agree that's certainly part of it. The way companies were were setting themselves up with booth babes, rediculously loud music, increasingly opulant booths, and so forth, it was really getting out of hand at E3. When things at these sorts of shows become more spectacle than anything remotely useful, the blame still falls on the companies that agree to fork out all the extra dough. They get to the point where, whether they realize it or not, they're following the old saying, "Don't sell the steak, sell the sizzle." A lot gets lost in the mix when this happens, some games don't get the attention that they might otherwise if they weren't being showcased in a madhouse. When things fall apart, the companies simply claim that the show has lost its relevance, when their own shortsightedness is the problem.
There seems to be a lot of conventions in flux recently. It makes me wonder what will next to hit the chopping block, and what will be slapped together at the last minute and get called a convention in a desperate, last minute attempt to fill the vacuum left by yet another shut down show.:\
It also brings up the question, at least in my mind, of whether it's just the current climate of the shows that has shut them down, or if it's a convenient scapegoat to hide behind when poor planning is the real culprit. In the case of E3, I certainly feel that was the case. Organizers could have done a lot more to overhaul the show and stop it from being a circus, but they didn't. Now it's gone.
Allowing for downloadable original content for the Wii always seemed more a matter of "When" rather than a matter of "If". I wonder how accessible development kits will be for those interested in getting involved with this stuff. Moreover, I'd be interested to see what sort of breakdown pops up in indie games between traditional control schemes, and going the motion-sensitive route. In any case, I'm pretty excited to see what sort of fresh projects start popping up on the Wii in the future, and how they will compare and contrast to that available for download on the Xbox 360 and PS3.
For all of the popularity these social networking sites have right now, are they all that profitable yet, or are they still largely dependent on venture capital? I've yet to figure out how these sites can demand any meaningful amount of money from advertisers. The subject matter is extremely broad, is often times used as a promotional tool for other sites or businesses, and it seems that the demographic who most enjoys these sites is in an age group that doesn't / can't buy things online. If someone can explain how and if these sites are running under their own steam (and doing well), as opposed to being propped up by investors, that would be fabulous.
I can't help but wonder if the boat has already sailed for the PSP. A lot of what these articles discuss as being a boon to the handheld will take a fair bit of time to implement before any beneficial results will be seen. In the meantime, the DS is doing extremely well for itself, and has a number of highly anticipated games in the pipes in comparison to the PSP. Even if these steps by Sony do help the PSP improve its market share, will it put a dent in development costs for the system? That there could remain a major impetus to publishers supporting the handheld. Why make a game that could very likely have a PS2-esque development budget when you can make a DS game for a fraction of the cost/risk? It makes me wonder how much the userbase for the PSP will need to expand in order for game publishers to feel that they'll get a decent ROI from supporting the handheld.
I can't see how they think this Lapboard is more worthwhile than a standard keyboard. I've been perfectly fine with the keyboard on the coffee table when playing online console games, and see little reason to change this. Given that most console games that necessitate a keyboard to a degree try to avoid making too much use of the peripheral, with the exception of MMOs, it's difficult to justify paying for a specialized device like this. Maybe if people were surfing the web, but most people are just as happy to walk to their computer than insist on keeping their butt firmly attached to the sofa on that matter.
Personally, I don't think I would miss narrative being removed from games, as much of the time the stories in games just aren't very good. Maybe it's simply that I'm getting older (dangerously close to 30), but I have much greater expectations from the sorts of stories that games present now. However, much of what is released comes across as something intended for a gamer in their late teens or early 20s. That's all well and good, and if gamers in that age bracket are enjoying these narratives, kudos to them.
Nonetheless, with all of this talk about "graying gamers" I have to wonder how much of it is just lip service from publishers' spin doctors. If we're such an integral part of the future plans of the industry, as some pundits claim, why aren't there more stories that older gamers can get into? It seems that for every Planescape Torment that is released, there are a dozen games that feature banal, emo tales revolving around angsty teeny boppers.
Considering the state of most stories in games, I for one wouldn't necessarily miss them if they went away, as I have little faith that we're going to see a noticeable shift to better crafted stories in the foreseeable future. Sex and violence does not a mature story make, and I really wish people would abandon this 15-year-old, high school kid mentality on the matter.
Ah, I see. I haven't tried the new expansion yet. It's good to see that these classes are able to go out and have some fun now, instead of sitting around whistling dixie. Reading what you have to say, I'm starting to think maybe I should try the new expansion out. I'm curious as to how the battle mechanics work in these new PT setups. I reckon that there must be some pretty interesting skill chains going on.
If Square is indeed thinking about making a new FF MMORPG, hopefully they'll do something so that players aren't stuck waiting in a central city for an eternity, so we don't see what happened in FFXI with armies of damage dealers kicking around Jeuno for hours at a time waiting for a group. People were fine if they had lots of friends playing, or were in a large guild, but trying to make a quick pick-up group is tough the higher the level one is (unless you're a healer), since so many in the community are so picky about their party make up, and don't realize how much time they're wasting trying to create the perfect group. Hopefully Square will take note of dynamics that are more friendly to duos and trios in the future, not to mention more solo-friendly content (BST was fun, but more soloing classes would have been nice).
Keifer Sutherland smokes? I didn't know that. I wonder what his dad thinks about it. Donald Sutherland has a reputation for being very anti-smoking (maybe because Keifer smokes?).
I have a lot of trouble putting Sutherland and Raistlan together. It's probably just the whole Jack Bower thing, but Keifer Sutherland has built such a tough-as-nails, show no mercy personna around himself thanks to 24 that I'm having a lot of trouble picturing him as the sickly, yet sinister Raistlan. Granted it's a voice acting gig, so hopefully that will help with any potential suspension of disbelief issues some may have with this casting choice.:\
It's funny that these opinion pieces continue to crop up, where all they do is criticize what is wrong with the industry. Sure there are tons of sequels, certain games are going to cost more in the future, and there are plenty of other far from pleasant possibilities on the horizon, but there can be plenty of positives too. However, most magazines would rather A) focus on Big Game Franchise X cover stories, and B) complain instead of showcasing things that are interesting.
At the end of the day, magazines and web sites are conduits to much of the game info that is out there, thusly helping to shape a lot of its readers' tastes, as well as often indirectly instilling interest in new areas of gaming. On the rare occasion, there'll be an interesting bit in a mag or on a site that focuses on aspects of the industry that could rejuvenate, or at least provide an acceptable alternative to, what this op-ed chastizes, but often times these mags simply don't go that route.
One could argue that they do this because they are just giving their readers what they want, but if readers aren't exposed to obscure game / trend X, how do they know if they want it or not in the first place?
Haha, looking at the guy's comments on 1Up, it's hilarious the way he thinks it's somehow okay for an individual to be arrogant simply because they're successful. That just defies logic. Someone should stick him in a room with a dozen highly successful people that get to treat him like crap for an hour, then we can see what sort of tune he's singing after.
Hidden debugs are usually pretty fun. I just wish that they were still readily accessible via button combinations on the controller, like during the 16-bit days. Now it seems that more often than not one needs a cheat device to gain access to these sorts of things.
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The list of nominees is actually pretty well-rounded. It would be nice to see Okami win an award or two, especially in light of Clover getting shut down.
Oh, I agree that's certainly part of it. The way companies were were setting themselves up with booth babes, rediculously loud music, increasingly opulant booths, and so forth, it was really getting out of hand at E3. When things at these sorts of shows become more spectacle than anything remotely useful, the blame still falls on the companies that agree to fork out all the extra dough. They get to the point where, whether they realize it or not, they're following the old saying, "Don't sell the steak, sell the sizzle." A lot gets lost in the mix when this happens, some games don't get the attention that they might otherwise if they weren't being showcased in a madhouse. When things fall apart, the companies simply claim that the show has lost its relevance, when their own shortsightedness is the problem.
There seems to be a lot of conventions in flux recently. It makes me wonder what will next to hit the chopping block, and what will be slapped together at the last minute and get called a convention in a desperate, last minute attempt to fill the vacuum left by yet another shut down show. :\
It also brings up the question, at least in my mind, of whether it's just the current climate of the shows that has shut them down, or if it's a convenient scapegoat to hide behind when poor planning is the real culprit. In the case of E3, I certainly feel that was the case. Organizers could have done a lot more to overhaul the show and stop it from being a circus, but they didn't. Now it's gone.
Allowing for downloadable original content for the Wii always seemed more a matter of "When" rather than a matter of "If". I wonder how accessible development kits will be for those interested in getting involved with this stuff. Moreover, I'd be interested to see what sort of breakdown pops up in indie games between traditional control schemes, and going the motion-sensitive route. In any case, I'm pretty excited to see what sort of fresh projects start popping up on the Wii in the future, and how they will compare and contrast to that available for download on the Xbox 360 and PS3.
For all of the popularity these social networking sites have right now, are they all that profitable yet, or are they still largely dependent on venture capital? I've yet to figure out how these sites can demand any meaningful amount of money from advertisers. The subject matter is extremely broad, is often times used as a promotional tool for other sites or businesses, and it seems that the demographic who most enjoys these sites is in an age group that doesn't / can't buy things online. If someone can explain how and if these sites are running under their own steam (and doing well), as opposed to being propped up by investors, that would be fabulous.
Indeed, heaven forbid we try some of that human interaction stuff that people have been raving about. :p
I can't help but wonder if the boat has already sailed for the PSP. A lot of what these articles discuss as being a boon to the handheld will take a fair bit of time to implement before any beneficial results will be seen. In the meantime, the DS is doing extremely well for itself, and has a number of highly anticipated games in the pipes in comparison to the PSP. Even if these steps by Sony do help the PSP improve its market share, will it put a dent in development costs for the system? That there could remain a major impetus to publishers supporting the handheld. Why make a game that could very likely have a PS2-esque development budget when you can make a DS game for a fraction of the cost/risk? It makes me wonder how much the userbase for the PSP will need to expand in order for game publishers to feel that they'll get a decent ROI from supporting the handheld.
I can't see how they think this Lapboard is more worthwhile than a standard keyboard. I've been perfectly fine with the keyboard on the coffee table when playing online console games, and see little reason to change this. Given that most console games that necessitate a keyboard to a degree try to avoid making too much use of the peripheral, with the exception of MMOs, it's difficult to justify paying for a specialized device like this. Maybe if people were surfing the web, but most people are just as happy to walk to their computer than insist on keeping their butt firmly attached to the sofa on that matter.
Personally, I don't think I would miss narrative being removed from games, as much of the time the stories in games just aren't very good. Maybe it's simply that I'm getting older (dangerously close to 30), but I have much greater expectations from the sorts of stories that games present now. However, much of what is released comes across as something intended for a gamer in their late teens or early 20s. That's all well and good, and if gamers in that age bracket are enjoying these narratives, kudos to them.
Nonetheless, with all of this talk about "graying gamers" I have to wonder how much of it is just lip service from publishers' spin doctors. If we're such an integral part of the future plans of the industry, as some pundits claim, why aren't there more stories that older gamers can get into? It seems that for every Planescape Torment that is released, there are a dozen games that feature banal, emo tales revolving around angsty teeny boppers.
Considering the state of most stories in games, I for one wouldn't necessarily miss them if they went away, as I have little faith that we're going to see a noticeable shift to better crafted stories in the foreseeable future. Sex and violence does not a mature story make, and I really wish people would abandon this 15-year-old, high school kid mentality on the matter.
Ah, I see. I haven't tried the new expansion yet. It's good to see that these classes are able to go out and have some fun now, instead of sitting around whistling dixie. Reading what you have to say, I'm starting to think maybe I should try the new expansion out. I'm curious as to how the battle mechanics work in these new PT setups. I reckon that there must be some pretty interesting skill chains going on.
If Square is indeed thinking about making a new FF MMORPG, hopefully they'll do something so that players aren't stuck waiting in a central city for an eternity, so we don't see what happened in FFXI with armies of damage dealers kicking around Jeuno for hours at a time waiting for a group. People were fine if they had lots of friends playing, or were in a large guild, but trying to make a quick pick-up group is tough the higher the level one is (unless you're a healer), since so many in the community are so picky about their party make up, and don't realize how much time they're wasting trying to create the perfect group. Hopefully Square will take note of dynamics that are more friendly to duos and trios in the future, not to mention more solo-friendly content (BST was fun, but more soloing classes would have been nice).
I guess this is somehow more affective than playing a game of "Pick a number between one and ten"..."Seven".."OMG! You're we're telepathic! Yay!" :p
Keifer Sutherland smokes? I didn't know that. I wonder what his dad thinks about it. Donald Sutherland has a reputation for being very anti-smoking (maybe because Keifer smokes?).
I have a lot of trouble putting Sutherland and Raistlan together. It's probably just the whole Jack Bower thing, but Keifer Sutherland has built such a tough-as-nails, show no mercy personna around himself thanks to 24 that I'm having a lot of trouble picturing him as the sickly, yet sinister Raistlan. Granted it's a voice acting gig, so hopefully that will help with any potential suspension of disbelief issues some may have with this casting choice. :\
It's funny that these opinion pieces continue to crop up, where all they do is criticize what is wrong with the industry. Sure there are tons of sequels, certain games are going to cost more in the future, and there are plenty of other far from pleasant possibilities on the horizon, but there can be plenty of positives too. However, most magazines would rather A) focus on Big Game Franchise X cover stories, and B) complain instead of showcasing things that are interesting.
At the end of the day, magazines and web sites are conduits to much of the game info that is out there, thusly helping to shape a lot of its readers' tastes, as well as often indirectly instilling interest in new areas of gaming. On the rare occasion, there'll be an interesting bit in a mag or on a site that focuses on aspects of the industry that could rejuvenate, or at least provide an acceptable alternative to, what this op-ed chastizes, but often times these mags simply don't go that route.
One could argue that they do this because they are just giving their readers what they want, but if readers aren't exposed to obscure game / trend X, how do they know if they want it or not in the first place?
Haha, looking at the guy's comments on 1Up, it's hilarious the way he thinks it's somehow okay for an individual to be arrogant simply because they're successful. That just defies logic. Someone should stick him in a room with a dozen highly successful people that get to treat him like crap for an hour, then we can see what sort of tune he's singing after.
Hidden debugs are usually pretty fun. I just wish that they were still readily accessible via button combinations on the controller, like during the 16-bit days. Now it seems that more often than not one needs a cheat device to gain access to these sorts of things.