All Things Videogame Related: EXTREME VS!!

[Duke Togo]

it seems that way. unlike american companies aside from indies, it's about making a FPS for huge profits and if you're not getting it done they close down the studio bc american companies it's all about investments and greed. just seems like a lot of Japanese companies and becoming more like these american companies being less about creativity and more about huge profits.

It's always been about profits. How exactly is it that you think businesses work?

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

It's always been about profits. How exactly is it that you think businesses work?

not sure if you're being a troll or overly simplistic in your thinking but without stating the obvious, there's a difference in maximizing profits with slash and burn economics vs. actually caring about the art form.

[JB0]

not sure if you're being a troll or overly simplistic in your thinking but without stating the obvious, there's a difference in maximizing profits with slash and burn economics vs. actually caring about the art form.

See: Guitar Hero vs Rock Band. One company actually liked making music games, the other flooded the market with so many sequels, spinoffs, and "standalone expansion packs" that they pretty much killed the genre single-handedly.

[Duke Togo]

Both set out maximize profits. If you think they weren't you're seriously out of touch. With Rock Band they sought to offer a superior product to Guitar Hero in the hopes of drawing away that user base and making money.

If you also think Japanese devs have some great artistic integrity that Western devs don't, you also have no clue about what their game market is like. At all. I find this conversation almost laughable considering we're in a forum focused on Japanese entertainment.

Just thinking about how great Japaneae devs are makes me want to rush home to play Dynasty Warriors Extreme Legends 28 or Monster Hunter Super Zeta 13. On a 3 inch portable screen. Or whatever. Please, take the rose-colored glasses off.

Edited May 2, 2015 by Duke Togo

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

If you also think Japanese devs have some great artistic integrity that Western devs don't, you also have no clue about what their game market is like.

if you look at the joke about Konami become like Capcom, you'll realize you're saying the same thing as us.

not sure why you're so stuck on proving an overly simplistic statement that both are set to maximize profits and can't see the difference between killing off long beloved franchises bc it doesn't make a billion bucks vs. nurturing a game even if it doesn't make millions.

[JB0]

Both set out maximize profits. If you think they weren't you're seriously out of touch. With Rock Band they sought to offer a superior product to Guitar Hero in the hopes of drawing away that user base and making money.

I very much was not saying that Rock Band was intended to be unprofitable, or that profit was not a concern.

I was saying the guys in charge with Rock Band genuinely LIKE video games, and wanted a quality product, whereas the Hero folks were following corporate mandates to milk as much money out of people as possible as fast as possible.

I don't understand why it has to be "for the love of the game" OR "to make money". It's possible to do both.

And yes, in the old days, there was far more room among the "big names" for creativity and making a game just to see if it was viable.

Rising costs of high-quality development have made "experimental" games more risky, since the odds of a game turning a profit are much lower. And increasingly bloated management with no connection to the product makes it much harder to get a game through that does anything unique or interesting, because they have their idea of what makes a hit, and it's constructed in the Hollywood tradition of making a checklist of superficial things the LAST big hit did.

If you also think Japanese devs have some great artistic integrity that Western devs don't, you also have no clue about what their game market is like. At all.

I think it's a difference between large developers and small developers. And yes, there is a difference. Ask Falcom why they don't outsource parts of the game production to save money, and your response will be "but that's the fun part!", regardless of which part it is. Not making this up, that actually happened.

Japanese developers have a certain reputation because they were on the Nintendo.

It's really that simple. People old enough to remember the Nintendo want to maintain the narrative that the West killed games and Japan, Nintendo especially, saved us from the incompetence of stuffy western developers that didn't know fun from a wet paper sack.

It's an absurdly simplistic view that requires glasses that aren't so much rose-tinted as solidly opaque with rose paint, and ignores the vast majority of video game history. But it's very prevalent. It may die off as the XBox generation takes over.

But I suspect it's too late to preserve a realistic portrayal of video game history in the public eye.

The new generation will learn from Wikipedia, which bends over backwards to preserve the illusion that all the important things happened after the NES and that there's a proud history of lock-step console generations. .

[Duke Togo]

Here's the thing, JB: Rock Band is pretty much just another Guitar Hero, but with more stuff. Yes, I know, same devs in a new studio, but still they made a like game because the original was selling like gangbusters. I don't find it as interesting as Rocksmith, purely in terms of what they were trying to do with the game.

And yes, the cost of game development has certainly impacted the variety of games we see. 100% on that. With costs being what they are companies are far more likely to follow trends and take less risks. But this doesn't mean it hasn't always been about the money, it just means it's harder for new ideas or different game types to find their way to the mass market.

Edited May 3, 2015 by Duke Togo

[JB0]

I don't deny that money's always been a goal. Otherwise you give it away free, or for the cost of media, or encourage people to copy it for their friends.

I just dispute that it has to be SOLELY about the money.

[Duke Togo]

My point, JB, is that people have always invested money in video game development in the hopes of making a profit when it's released. Even the devs themselves, who are doing the creating while investing their time and hard work, are doing so because they were paid for it or hoping to be paid for it.

Look, I feel the same way a lot of us older games do about mainstream gaming, but I also have a lot more gaming options than I did when I was a kid but with less time to put into it.

[McFly!!]

soooo... anyone pick up the star wars battlefront deluxe edition?

[Duke Togo]

soooo... anyone pick up the star wars battlefront deluxe edition?

Generally speaking, I don't believe in ore-ordering or buying expansion passes. If the game is that good I can afford to buy DLC as it comes without the discount.

[azrael]

Given how game releases have been for the past few years, pre-ordering isn't advisable. Especially on big titles.

[Black Valkyrie]

Rumour: Koji Igarashi's Castlevania Successor Could Rise From The Grave This Week.

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

Rumour: Koji Igarashi's Castlevania Successor Could Rise From The Grave This Week.

that would be hot!!!

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

My point, JB, is that people have always invested money in video game development in the hopes of making a profit when it's released. Even the devs themselves, who are doing the creating while investing their time and hard work, are doing so because they were paid for it or hoping to be paid for it.

lol, now i know you're not trolling on purpose. but it's pretty funny the way it comes out.

[Duke Togo]

lol, now i know you're not trolling on purpose. but it's pretty funny the way it comes out.

I wasn't trolling at all, with any of it. I stand by everything I said.

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

I wasn't trolling at all, with any of it. I stand by everything I said.

alright, good to know it's not on purpose. i'm just sayin it sounds something like "everyone needs to feed themselves."

i haven't opened bloodborne, i regret not being able to play it but my new job mentally drains me by the time i get home, i want to just start playing some retro gaming.

if castlevania like game becomes a kickstarter i'm in.

i threw down money for mighty no. 9

[Duke Togo]

alright, good to know it's not on purpose. i'm just sayin it sounds something like "everyone needs to feed themselves."

Um, no? We're talking about video games and how businesses operate.

[mikeszekely]

I haven't loved a Castlevania game since Order of Ecclesia (I liked, but not loved, Lords of Shadow as a game, but hated the changes to the Castlevania mythos, kind of thought Mirror of Fate was mediocre, and didn't even bother with LoS 2).

As long as it's a Metroidvania game about a character who can collect new gear and level up as he/she explores a large map full of monsters in an attempt to defeat some kind of bigger monster, I'm in.

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

too funny i know its not on purpose... but i do like gaming banter regardless, as it's great to be passionate about gaming

one of my friends used to work at THQ as a programmer, when they were hot, since they were head quartered in NYC at that time. but the gaming industry is tough, the way those guys were set up... glad he was able to find work elsewhere. he asked if i wanted to come in as a tester but i couldn't do it at the time bc of work conflict. he said it's pretty tedious anyways. he was the one who pretty much told me what's happening on the inside early on. but i think one of the gaming editorials put out a piece on THQ's crash a few years after. i highly recommend reading up on it to get a broader perspective.

talking about metroidvania, i hope the 3ds has a metroid coming out soon!!! i'll go bonkers over that one..

[Duke Togo]

Working in gaming on the development side is murderous.

[Black Valkyrie]

Sorry it was a mistake, forgot to edit. So whats gonna happen to Konami now, since they cancelled Silent Hill 4 and pulled out from the Stock exchange.

[Duke Togo]

Sorry it was a mistake, forgot to edit. So whats gonna happen to Konami now, since they cancelled Silent Hill 4 and pulled out from the Stock exchange.

Business as usual, minus Kojima. The stock exchange thing really isn't news at all.

[dizman]

Sorry it was a mistake, forgot to edit. So whats gonna happen to Konami now, since they cancelled Silent Hill 4 and pulled out from the Stock exchange.

Probably nothing big, they will continue to make games. If MGSV flops, then Konami may have a problem but I doubt that will happen.

[McFly!!]

Generally speaking, I don't believe in ore-ordering or buying expansion passes. If the game is that good I can afford to buy DLC as it comes without the discount.

I passed on it as well, dlc pack wasn't compelling and no other real incentive for me (not even a poster or calendar?). I think I'll adopt that general stance on dlcs though, thanks!

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

i never finished the first silent hill. i'm curious what happens to harry and sherry.

[Black Valkyrie]

IGA Castlevania successor update ! Possible teaser.

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

Hey guys, i got this today from amazon fr.

Hey looks better in person.

Im playing fire emblem awakening before i go to sleep. I'm going to put this figure by my lamp stand while i play.

[Einherjar]

For those who didn't watch, it's pretty much what happened.

Worst $100 bucks ever.

[McFly!!]

Nice pickup, David! Funny how the drawing on the page kinda looks like the eye of sauron!

[Black Valkyrie]

IGA's Castlevania successor teased by Comcept, set for 11th May reveal !

[JB0]

IGA's Castlevania successor teased by Comcept, set for 11th May reveal !

I quite like the pixellated Iga look. He makes a rather dashing vampiric european noble for a japanese guy.

[Black Valkyrie]

Really it`s a shame that Konami killed most of their beloved franchises. I hope someone makes a successor to Gradius and Contra.

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

Really it`s a shame that Konami killed most of their beloved franchises. I hope someone makes a successor to Gradius and Contra.

yes

[JB0]

Gradius was terrible. Gradius V fixed the biggest problems.

Speed powerups in that range from just fast enough to survive to just slow enough you won't careen all over the map before you crash into a wall. As opposed to "literally too slow to survive" and "almost literally too fast to control".

And options maintain onscreen for recollection from a same-spot respawn, just like they did in Salamander, which was WAY BETTER than Gradius in every way.

So of course people hated Gradius V because there weren't moai heads in it.

Meanwhile, R-Type just gave you a user-controlled throttle and called it a day. Because that made SENSE.

But the Gradius powerup system is a sacred and inviolable game mechanism that can never be altered in even the smallest of ways. Except when needed to shoehorn it into games that weren't even designed for it because you decided to ruin Salamander.

But Contra's cool.