I have never really been a big PC gamer. Other than some SimCity 2000 and Castles II: Siege and Conquest back in the Mac OS 7 days and a little bit of the first Sims, I have been almost exclusively a console-based gamer (including portable systems) my whole life. I suppose the only “reason” was that I never really got into FPS games (as detailed here and here on the blog), and that was all I saw on other folks’ PCs all throughout college (specifically Unreal and Counter-Strike).
It was not until 2007 that I suddenly had even the faintest hints of interest in gaming on a computer again. Working with computers all day for work-work and hobby-work, it was generally not my preferred location to game, but I could not avoid the growing hype surrounding The Orange Box. Sure, the Team Fortress 2 character introduction videos were hilarious and I might as well test that out… and sure, Half-Life 2 was apparently some hugely-loved game that now had two extra “episodes”…
It really was just Portal that pulled me in, all on its own. Ignoring the humor and ignoring the setting, the idea of a puzzle game veiled behind the appearance of a first-person shooter intrigued me beyond belief. I have talked at length about my experience with that game on the podcast and here on the blog, so let us fast-forward to today’s random PC gaming fascination.
After hearing it get endlessly praised on podcasts like Gamers With Jobs, and even from my buddy Bryce, a half-price $10 Torchlight steal on Steam sounded like a good idea.
Based on how I began this entry, it probably goes without saying that I have absolutely zero familiarity with any kind of Diablo game, clone or otherwise. The entire genre of the action/adventure/RPG “click-fest” is entirely foreign to me. You may remember my first attempt at playing an MMO lasting all of five minutes or so. Even knowing that going in, I figured that with people whose opinions I respected and resonated with all enjoying the game, I should at least give it the ol’ college try.
I have put just under two hours into the game, and my most recent achievement is “Over The Brink“… there was something about some guy being turned into an evil monster by some other guy down underground and returning to town to talk with some woman about me being corrupted. I think. I’m not entirely sure. I think I’m at level five…? And opened up a bigger (permanent?) portal back to town…?
It has taken me this entire play time to figure out most of what is going on, how to change character attributes, how to enchant items, and how that all fits together. Some of it I picked up on quickly — the number keys correspond to items to use such as refilling my health or mana, for example. Click somewhere to go there. Click something to attack it. All of that is pretty simple. Other aspects have been hidden away, waiting for my mind to wrap itself around the game as a whole before I can even begin to understand what they mean. I am successfully sending my dog to town to sell off extra items. I am upgrading my strength and special attacks. I am identifying items I find underground and having that wizard in town enchant them (at a cost, of course!) to allow for better statistics and open slots. I am talking to the horse at the front of the town every time I return in hopes that it will bestow some sort of wisdom upon me.
There is just a lot of “stuff” to click on; it is a little overwhelming. It is certainly not the most complex game ever (higher numbers are generally better than lower numbers), but there is a lot to take in, especially so if the entire genre and presentation is entirely new to you, as it is to me.
I am enjoying myself so far, though. My character (Hagrid) is a “Destroyer” class, and he has a dog (Fang). I am still figuring out this whole “fame” thing, all the extra techniques, skills, and items that are available to me, not hoarding items since I have a limited number of slots in my inventory (even with the chest in town)…
There is a lot going on, but so far it seems to have the perfect balance of drop-in/drop-out game play that I am looking for while at the PC (the floors of the dungeon are just the right length), and the single-player experience is what I crave for this type of universe (though I hear an MMO is in the works). Have you tried out the game? Do you have any familiarity with this type of game at all, and how has it shaped your experience? Do you know of any resources for a newbie like me to read up on it all?
Posted on 30 December '09 by Mike, under Blog Entries. 4 Comments.
I know, I know! It’s a rare review for us and rare Andrew sighting.
First up, some background may be in order. As you may already know, the Silent Hill series is one of my all time favorites. As is often the case with even a franchise of its age, after a while, the series has lost some luster. The original Silent Hill was a fantastic game and then Silent Hill 2 made all the right decisions everywhere possible in improving the game. Silent Hill 3 held its own and was enjoyable, but was not invigorating as 2. After that, the games declined steeply. Silent Hill: The Room didn’t feel like Silent Hill to me. The PSP entry (which I have not played) is supposedly pretty bad. Homecoming came out and I made a post, mostly singing its praises. I did not follow up on it, though; the game was promising and I thought it might be the kick in the pants the series needed, but I was wrong. Graphically, it was beautiful. Unfortunately, the flaws did end up being too numerous. The game was far too heavily combat-based, an annoying companion was added, and all this ended up making it too frustrating to finish. Maybe I’ll return to it, but I’m not too motivated.
When I first heard about a Silent Hill game on the Wii, I was very skeptical. Controls could potentially be a problem, the Wii has weaker graphics, Nintendo’s family-friendly reputation might make the developers hold back some content, and then there’s the whole recent history of sucky Silent Hill sequels. Then I heard there is no combat. What the hell? Is this going to be Myst on the Wii?? However, ALL of these preconceived notions ended up being false.
Well, Mike and company seemed to have more faith in the series than I had, myself, and actually picked it up for me as a birthday present. Of course, I played right away… and actually played all the way through. That may not sound like a big deal to you, but I rarely finish games, even ones I love. How far am I in Shenmue 2, again? I’m excited about Yakuza 3 coming to the PS3; have I even beaten the first one yet? No. But I digress.
This is a different type of Silent Hill game. It plays differently than the others and adds in a lot of new mechanics, many of which utilize Wii-specific aspects. Perhaps the very first thing you notice about the game are the graphics – they were pleasantly surprising. In fact, for a Wii, damned good, I’d say. Let’s be realistic, though; they are not better than, say, Homecoming. Close-ups on characters are well detailed with expressive facial features. The developers minimized the number of things on screen at once and add lots and lots of snow and fog. This allowed them a decent amount of detail on certain objects and eliminated pop-ups. There are a few cases of slow down, usually going through doors or during a chase. At the same time, this was pretty minimal and not much to complain about. Some of the shadows/lighting effects could have been improved too. Overall, for a Wii game, it’s pretty impressive.
One of the most impressive things, however, is the narrative. The game is actually a retelling of the original Silent Hill story. Harry Mason gets in a car accident and when he finally regains consciousness, notices his daughter is missing and then searches for her in this strange town called Silent Hill. This game’s story is this same basic premise and most of the game you are wandering Silent Hill searching for your daughter, meeting strangers, and trying to stay alive. However, the game does not take you right to the car accident. Instead, you begin in some kind of therapy session. Various portions of the game switch from third to first person perspectives. This in itself is interesting, like a novel switching between first and third person writing. All of these therapy sessions (though not exclusively) are in the first person.
Our psychologist starts off giving us a personality test. The questionnaire will tell you right away that this game is not your typical family-friendly Wii game. The questions ranged from simple, “Do you make friends easily?” to way too personal, so much that I actually felt embarrassed answering questions about my sex life while some friends watched me play. There is a surprisingly large amount of mature content in the game – actual mature content, not bouncing breasts ala DOA or GTA’s “Hot Coffee”, but intelligent, mature conversation in the context of relationships and realistic intimate encounters, some of it sexual.
The therapy sessions run intermittently between game play, and gets stranger and more intense between you and the psychiatrist as he tests and then lectures you. It appears he’s coaxing you into recalling flashbacks, which is where the game continues in the hopes of finally getting to some kind of admission out of you. This turns out to be a grand revelation at the end of the game.
For the main part of the game, you use the Wiimote to point at a direction as a flashlight and use the nunchuck to move forward or back or to the side. It’s very basic for the most part. The goals are mainly to go from point A to B and discover clues along the way. There is no combat, so for most of the game, you can take your time and explore. There are plenty of macabre and disturbing things. But unlike its “next-gen” console predecessors, it’s far more subtle. Instead of multiple dead bodies hanging from the ceiling on the first level, there might be a dead rabbit in a drawer you open. It doesn’t hit you right away with the heavy stuff. Instead it builds, so when you do discover an actual corpse, it’s more shocking and holds greater significance.
Even though you know there is no combat, it is still creepy with lots of loud noises and events to keep you on your toes. One of the most interesting features is the use of the Wiimote as Harry’s phone. This isn’t the first time I’ve seen this – No More Heroes did this. However, it is the first time I’ve seen used as an integral part of the game. No More Heroes used it stylistically but with no real practical purpose. It is used stylistically here but it’s also integral to solving certain puzzles.
One of the things that Homecoming failed to realize is that it wasn’t the fighting of scary demons in Silent Hill that made it scary. It was NOT fighting the scary monsters that evoked this feeling. Our anticipation of danger helped frighten us. Instead, Homecoming crammed the game packed with monsters to the point that it was more frustrating than scary with its constant combat. Shattered Memories went with a complete 180 degree approach, having no combat at all. I was very skeptical of this. Although there wasn’t nearly as much combat in the original, there was SOME. The potential of encountering a monster at any corner was terrifying.
Although there is no combat, Shattered Memories does not turn out to be Myst. There are monsters. Yes, they can kill you. No, you can’t kill them. Instead, the game uses a series of chase sequences where you run away from the demons. To my surprise, the approach works for the most part. The first few chases are very exhilarating and terrifying. The monsters try to grab you and you must find your way through the nightmare world labyrinth of ice and doors that seem to take you in circles. In fact, most of the doors actually do take you in circles! As exciting as they are, after a while, they get more difficult and frustrating. You actually wish you could fight back, and the chases become more annoying than frightening. Thankfully, the game does not go overboard with them. There are about eight chases or so in total. This is maybe one or two too many, but not too many to actually make me quit (which I am prone to do).
Many will complain that the game is too short. As per usual, I leisurely took my time, exploring most of the game environments. I beat it within about 10 hours of game play. I thought the length of the game was perfect. The game has a story and told it, without bothering with too many pointless side-quests, or extending the plot so that it no longer made any coherent sense. There is also the fact that I don’t have time or the patience for 30+ hour games anymore
Lastly, when you load up the game, it starts with a disturbing, yet dubious warning that the game will psychologically analyze you to better frighten you in the game. As far as I can tell and from what I’ve read, the psychoanalysis the game performs changes the ending, but not much else. There are a few superficial cosmetic changes I could tell were obvious from my choices on these tests. The demons in the game changed their appearance in the game, I assume, based on my answers. They began looking more female towards the later stage in the game, as opposed to rather the blank and sexless hellspawn in the beginning. When I started playing the warning itself had a psychological effect and I kept wondering if what I saw was based on the psychological profiling. Probably not in retrospect and knowing what I know, but if you don’t know better, I could see it having an effect, in the same was as the way the Blair Witch Project announced itself a documentary, or Fargo stating it was based on a true story.
The game is not perfect. The chases get frustrating, some of scare tactics lose their effect, and I even ran into a serious glitch that forced me to reset. It is also not as good as Silent Hill 2. Nonetheless, this is a very worthy addition to the series, especially in comparison to more recent efforts. You have to appreciate the effort and the creativity the Climax team pushed. It is not a sequel, nor a straight remake, but an inventive and clever reimagining of the first with original game play and original narrative structure. They went above what was a tried and true formula to give you a new experience, while retaining the feel and atmosphere of the series and managed to get most of it right. They deserve serious kudos for that.
Posted on 28 December '09 by Andrew, under Uncategorized. 3 Comments.
It was Christmas 1998. I was a junior in high school. While I had a semi-part-time job, I was not raking in much of my own cash and could not purchase every single game I wanted. That’s OK, though. Ocarina of Time would have only been out for a month, so I could wait until Christmas for it.
The last game in the series had been Link’s Awakening, which by now you know well is one of my favorite games of all time. Also adoring Super Mario 64, I was beside myself with excitement over the latest game in the series coming into the world of 3D.
And there it was, ready to be unwrapped under that glorious tree on Christmas Day in 1998. Not only that, but it was the golden cartridge version, a limited-edition version that could only have been obtained with a pre-order, and a toss-back to ye’ olden NES days of golden Legend of Zelda and Adventure of Link cartridges.
I later heard the hilarious tale from my mother. She fought through a crowd of people at Toys ‘R Us to get up to the front. Somehow she learned or overheard that there was a golden-cartridge version, which is the version she asked for at the desk. The person behind the desk asked her if she pre-ordered. She said she did. My mother lied; she had done no such thing. The goal was clear, and she would accept no other outcome. She walked out of the store that day with the limited-edition golden cartridge version.
We are greedy and clueless as children, and have no understanding of the nonsense our parents go through. I can reflect on that now and try to put myself in her place. I wonder if and when I have children if I will ever fight a crowd of equally-annoying parents for the golden-boxed virtual reality car flying simulation kit as a gift. Knowing me, I’ll make up a wonderful story about how the clerk put my pre-order under someone else’s name, and I will be victorious.
The real shame here is that Ocarina of Time never truly captivated me. In fact, I was completely lost as to what to do for a couple hours after first starting it. To this day, I have never made it past the Water Temple. I have made many valiant efforts over the years, but I simply get bored earlier and earlier in the game each time. I appreciate the game for what it is, love many of its elements to death, and certainly hold it in the highest regard and with fond memories. Thankfully I found a wife who prefers and has essentially mastered all of the 3D Zelda games, so her 3D Triforce of Power matches up well with my 2D Triforce of Widsom.
I guess we’ll need a kid one day with their Virtual Reality Triforce of Courage.
Posted on 23 December '09 by Mike, under Blog Entries. 1 Comment.
Despite having no PS2 backward compatibility in my particular model, all PS3s at least have full PS1 backward compatibility. Of course, the problem that complicates that so much is the lack of support for the “PSone Classics” area of the Playstation Store in North America while the PS3/PSP transfer and full compatibility teases in the background. There are definitely still a few great games that I have never played and intend to pick up soon (Silent Hill) and classics that I will want to have sitting around for no particular reason (Final Fantasy VII), but compared to the Japanese store? Totally barren.
I love the idea of playing some older games up on the big TV, though, so I decided that with a lack of downloadable support, I would at least go after some of the bigger-profile PS1 games that will probably take a while to show up (if at all) for download. My PS1 game collection is not especially huge, and it is never a bad time to flesh it out.
I checked out the list of best-selling PS1 games on Wikipedia, and wandered on over to eBay to see what I could get for cheap. My goal was not to pay any more than about $3 (shipped) for a game, making all efforts to get it for 99-cents. If a PSN download is typically $5.99 (with some at $9.99), about half that cost and not being able to transfer it to the PSP (legally, anyway…) seemed about right. So far I have picked up two:
Ridge Racer Type 4
I had always been a fan of the first two games, and even rented the fourth quite a bit… but never actually owned it. I have a Japanese copy of V which was packed in when I bought my JP PS2, but I have never really dipped beyond the PS1 originals. I know the fourth is considered by many to be the best in the series, so it seemed like a solid purchase.
SHIPPED PRICE: $3.98
CONDITION: Some decent scratches, but overall good condition and came with its bonus disc.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Having recently gotten into the series (read the first five books and have seen the corresponding movies), seeing it up on the best-selling list gave me even more incentive to grab it on the cheap. It sounds like the game for the first book/movie was different across many platforms, so it might be interesting to grab some of the others for comparison’s sake. I really have no idea how any of them play or even if certain games are any good, so I am looking forward to dipping into this world a little bit.
SHIPPED PRICE: $3.96
CONDITION: Some decent scratches, but overall good condition.
North American PS1 Games I Actually Own:
Bushido Blade 2
Dance Dance Revolution
Dance Dance Revolution Konamix
DragonBall GT: Final Bout
DragonBall Z: Ultimate Battle 22
Driver
Final Fantasy Anthology
Final Fantasy VII
Final Fantasy VIII
Final Fantasy IX
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Marvel Comics X-Men vs. Street Fighter
Mortal Kombat Trilogy
Parappa the Rapper
Ridge Racer
Ridge Racer Type 4
Street Sk8er
Tomb Raider
Tomb Raider 2
X-Men: Mutant Academy
Japanese PS1 Games I Actually Own:
Dance Dance Revolution 3rd Mix
Dance Dance Revolution 5th Mix
Dance Dance Revolution Best Hits
DragonBall: Final Bout
DragonBall Z: Idainaru Doragonbooru Densetsu
DragonBall Z: Ultimate Battle 22
Rurouni Kenshin: Ishin Gekitou-hen
Street Fighter EX plus alpha
Tobal 2
Huh. Looks like I have lost some games over the years, and many of my favorite rentals never ended up in the “own it!” category. Again, my preference would be to just download the games on PSN since I could then either play the game right there on the TV or take it on-the-go with the PSP. However, until the “PSone Classics” support in North America rivals its Japanese counterpart, I may just keep going with the actual discs for cheap. What other games should I look into, assuming I can get them for ~$3-4, and assuming they are not high-profile enough to just come to PSN sooner than later?
Posted on 24 October '09 by Mike, under Blog Entries. 1 Comment.
Over the weekend I decided to load up my download of Castlevania Chronicles on the PS3. I have always been a very casual player of the series (and all pre-Symphony of the Night), and while I love it to death, I am absolutely terrible at it. I rarely get beyond the second stage in the first game, and I had a breakthrough play session a couple weeks ago when I beat the third stage in Super Castlevania IV. This was another case of exceptional playing on my part… until I realized that “Arrange Mode” had a lower difficulty, which completely drained any sense of self-satisfaction I had.
This is not a blog entry about the difficulty of the games or their awesome music. No, no, good sir and/or ma’am. This is about the absolutely horrifying enemy designs present in these games. I don’t know what that thing is supposed to be, but it scrunches up and down and jets out to the top of the screen as you get closer to it.
I’ll say it again: horrifying.
Posted on 21 September '09 by Mike, under Blog Entries. 1 Comment.
I’ve spoken on the podcast and blog before about the Sega Channel. When I was in middle school living up Maine, our local cable provider offered the service… which I jumped all over. Long before PSN and Xbox Live, long before great collections of demos packed in with gaming magazines, and long before emulators let you get your ten-second-jollies out of old games, a little piece of hardware that you plugged into your system and let you play around 40 different games a month was futuristically-amazingly-awesome.
One of my most vivid memories of the service (beyond playing Shining Force II all the time) was a special promotion and contest run for the home port of Primal Rage. For those who don’t remember, Primal Rage was basically Mortal Kombat with prehistoric beasts. Most were dinosaurs, but there were also some giant palette-swap monkeys. You could even perform fatalities! The gameplay mechanics were what really set the game apart… in theory, anyway. While it mostly played the same as any other digitized fighter of the time, the special moves were performed by holding down certain action buttons, then performing a twist of the joystick, and then letting go of the buttons.
To promote this upcoming port of the game, the Sega Channel hosted a month-long demo in August 1995 that culminated with a 24-hour window with the full game (which coincided with its physical home release), and then a contest (open to all subscribers) to see who could beat the game the fastest. From what I remember, the first 100 to beat the game and call the secret 1-800-number that appeared at the end would win a special prize.
The demo that was open from the 1st of the month to the 24th had three of the seven total characters available for use: Sauron, Armadon, and Blizzard. Being a Sub-Zero player over on the Mortal Kombat side of things, I naturally went with and practiced the Hell out of Blizzard.
I made the right choice. When the contest version came around, despite the demo having three characters (and also having played the full version with all seven characters for a day), only Sauron and Blizzard were available for use, which you didn’t even know until you hit the character-select screen.
My gameplan was to, obviously, beat the game as fast as I could, in cheap a way as I could, and win that darn prize! Part of my strategy was that I would not use any fatalities; I had timed out how much extra time was added to my completion of the game when using fatalities, and figured the spectacle wasn’t worth it if I just wanted to beat the game as fast as possible. I remember telling this to my dad ahead of time, and having him be impressed with my strategy for winning… regardless of the fact that it was just a terrible fighting game with violent, digitized dinosaurs.
From what I remember, I ended up losing one match during my playthrough (and therefore had to continue the one time). This is probably what cost me the win, since by the time I beat the game and called the number, I was informed that all slots had been awarded. My little 13-year-old heart was broken!
I was able to track down an official press release from Time Warner and Sega about the contest. It sounds like it was quite successful for them, and led to other initiatives and experiments in what little time the Sega Channel was around (I definitely remember playing that special Earthworm Jim 2 demo earlier than its home release).
MILIPITAS, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Sept. 11, 1995–The numbers are in for the Primal Rage(TM) “Show Down” Promotion on Sega Channel(SM/TM) which Time Warner Interactive (TWi) announced today.
Estimates indicate that an overwhelming 24% of the Sega Channel subscriber base participated in the event. An exclusive advance opportunity to play a limited version of TWi’s hotly anticipated coin-op translation, Primal Rage, was offered on Sega Channel from Aug. 1 through Aug. 24. The activities built as Primal Rage Day approached on Aug. 25 and a full version of the Sega Genesis(TM) game was available over the Channel for 24 hours. The culminating event was the Primal Rage contest on Aug. 26 in which a special version of the game could be accessed by Sega Channel subscribers for a chance to play and win prizes.
Tens of thousands of Sega Channel subscribers completed the game. The company estimates that an additional 15-20% played the game and didn’t get all the way through to the hidden 800 number and special code. “These are terrific numbers and indicate a real enthusiasm for the game and the contest we were able to develop,” commented Michael Shorrock, vice president of programming for Sega Channel. The overwhelming participation built on Sega Channel’s successful game promotion with EA SPORTS Triple Play ’96, in which over 10,000 customers participated. Sega Channel plans more major promotions with hit videogames for this Fall, including Earthworm Jim 2 from Playmates Interactive Entertainment Inc., as well as other action and sports titles.
TWi shipped over one million initial units of Primal Rage for release worldwide on Aug. 25. Mark Beaumont, senior vice president of marketing and product development, reports, that, “We are extremely pleased with early sales figures from around the country. Our international offices report solid sell-through as well. We’re certain we have one of the top selling videogames of the year.”
TWi is supporting the launch of Primal Rage with an $8 million marketing campaign. Media buys include two flights of TV ads on national prime time, syndication and cable channels; top 15 metro market radio promotions and contests; four-color half page spread and full-page print ad campaigns breaking in all major video and personal computer publications; and consumer promotions such as in-pack discount coupons, player strategy guides, demo discs and trading cards.
Primal Rage is a head-to-head fighting game with an original look that features seven fantasy, pre-historic characters in a battle for supremacy. The first wave of product was released on Aug. 25 for Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo Entertainment System(R), Sega Game Gear(TM), Nintendo(R) Game Boy(TM) and PC-CD-ROM systems. November 14 is the date for the second wave of software on new gaming systems including the Sega Saturn(TM), Sega 32X(TM), 3DO(R), Sony(R) Playstation(TM) and Atari(R) Jaguar(TM), as well as the Macintosh(R) CD-ROM.
Time Warner Interactive Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Time Warner Inc. develops and publishes interactive consumer entertainment products for video arcade games, videogame consoles and computer platforms. All product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
Sega Channel, which began its national rollout in December 1994, was developed by Sega of America Inc., Tele-Communications Inc. and Time Warner Entertainment Co. L.P. and is the industry’s first interactive service, providing videogames on demand, 24 hours a day. Sega Channel subscribers can choose from a wide selection of popular Sega Genesis games such as Comix Zone and Primal Rage, special versions of soon-to-be-released titles, gameplay tips, news, contests and promotions. Sega Channel is priced in the range of most premium subscription services. The programming is updated monthly.
So how about you all? Did any others of you actually have the Sega Channel where you lived back in 1995? Was it as awesome as I remember it being? Did you participate in any contests? Or, if you’re one of our younger readers/listeners… does this sound like the lamest, most antiquated thing you’ve ever heard of and can’t even begin to understand how or why this would be exciting to us?
And have any other of you actually played Primal Rage? It was pretty terrible. Even though the arcade version had much larger sprites, it didn’t help the game much.
I personally own it on the 32X. Yep.
Posted on 17 September '09 by Mike, under Blog Entries. 6 Comments.
It feels like we could go on endlessly about 9/9/09. It was the tenth anniversary of the Dreamcast, the tenth anniversary of Final Fantasy VIII, Harmonix’s The Beatles: Rock Band came out, and… Apple randomly decided that it’s the market leader in handheld gaming.
Apple held a press event on that date announcing new developments in their iPhone and iPod line of products. Many were expecting an announcement of The Beatles finally coming to digital distribution (and exclusively through the iTunes Store), but a huge focus of the presentation ended up being on video games. Apple has dabbled in this before (particularly with their “funnest iPod ever” claims), but this time around they went for blood.
This would be entirely fine, except for the fact that they were misleading, occasionally flat-out wrong, and they deserve to be put in their place. Sure, I’m just some tool on the internet with a part-time video game blog. I even own every single system in question (DS, PSP, iPhone), so it doesn’t particularly affect me in any significant way. Still, I have a huge problem with intentionally misleading and misinforming people.
The entirety of the presentation is up for download from Apple as a video podcast in the iTunes Store. Any quotes and images used below are taken from this freely-available video.
When you think about it, the companies that have come before us… Nintendo and Sony with devices like the PSP and the DS… when these things came out, they seemed so cool. But once you play a game on the iPod Touch, you know… they don’t really stack up anymore!
Came before you? They’re a part of the same generation. I suppose they came “first”, sure, but they are continuing with hardware revisions (DSi, PSPgo) and software upgrades at the same time Apple is continuing with the same thing. Hell, you could twist it around and say that the PSPgo is a newer system than the first-generation iPhone. What is that actually saying, though…? Not much.
And really? They don’t stack up anymore? It will be interesting to see how the iPhone version of Madden 10 does, especially when the PSP version is still getting pretty good reviews. While I hate to use it as a reference, the MetaCritic list of “best” DS games sure has a few that still “stack up”. Most notably is the power of Mario Kart DS, which sold another bazillion copies in July 2009… nearly four years after its original release.
One thing Apple conveniently forgot to mention is how games typically seen as “iPhone Games” are suddenly jumping ship to other platforms. Fieldrunners, one of the first, great tower-defense iPhone games, is hopping over to the PSP Mini catalog. In fact, the process of porting it over was “easy” according to the developer! Expect to see more from-the-iPhone ports in the future as developers build a base product and then turn their eyes elsewhere. You can easily argue that they build a significant and loyal audience on the iPhone with the original versions of the games, but there is an equally-important audience elsewhere they can cash in on, too.
They don’t have this amazing multitouch user interface.
Certainly not false. Apple is absolutely right; neither the Nintendo DS or the PSP (or any hardware variation thereof) have a multitouch user interface. At the same time, let’s not forget who spearheaded most of the input schemes for controlling games, as well as feedback from those controls, into home console and portable gaming. Sure, they didn’t develop these technologies, but things like force-feedback (rumble packs), touch control (DS), motion control (Wii), system interoperability and connection (Gamecube+GBA, Wii+DS)… all pioneered and usually perfected by Nintendo.
I’m with ya’ on the PSP, though. The analog nub is pretty terrible.
Their games are kind of expensive.
…
Now when I say they’re expensive, we’re talking about 25, 30, 40 dollars for a title. A lot of kids can’t afford a lot of titles. I mean, you give one of those, you’re giving a need to spend a lot of money on those titles.
Yes, an at-launch retail game for the DS or PSP is going to be more expensive than the bottomed-out $0.99 price range for most “game and entertainment titles” (a phrase we’ll revisit) in Apple’s App Store. I don’t think too many people will dispute this. Of course, things like development costs, hardware manufacturing, licensing, etc. all contribute to the price. A physical product will typically cost more than a digital-distribution product. Again, not really lying, but certainly misleading.
By the way… how is giving someone an iPod Touch and telling them they can’t have any more games or apps any different from giving someone a DS and telling them they can’t have (or can’t afford) any more games? You’re somehow enabling and forcing someone to spend more money…? I… guess…? I don’t buy this argument for a second. It’s fluff, it’s ridiculous, and if anything, it shows that it takes far more products (more and more apps and games) to satiate their own iPod Touch gamer than it would a DS or PSP gamer.
They don’t even have anything like the App Store for finding great games and titles.
Here’s where things are changing, though, and where Apple is outright lying. Digital distribution helps to bring costs down. We’re not there yet, but many of the DSiware games and upcoming PSP Minis are not and will not be the same as a Tiger Woods game, either in content or cost.
Furthermore, the PSP has had a store since launch. It may not always have been as tightly integrated as it is now (requiring either a PS3 or a computer to purchase and manage software), but the PlayStation Store has certainly been there. The DSi launched with its own version of the Shop Channel, itself also included at launch with the Wii. DSiware games were available immediately, with a growing catalog of at least one game per week.
But worse isn’t the price, it’s the BUYING experience! Having to go a store and try to find the hot new game for one of those devices is not a lot of fun.
The buying experience on an iPod Touch is incredible; it’s truly breakthrough. Built into every iPod Touch is the App Store… can find access to all these 75,000 titles. It’s just incredible. If you look JUST at the gaming and entertainment category ALONE, you’re going to see a big difference.
Let’s play a little game called, “How confusing is it to find something in the iTunes Store?”
First thing I did was go to the iTunes Store main page. I’m thinking, “OK, self… we want to buy a game. I own an iPod Touch. Surely, I will click ‘iPod Games’, right…?”
Of course not. That brings you to the iPod Click Wheel Games section, intended for the Nano and Classic series of iPods. Those of us who follow this kind of material know what it all means, sure… but picture someone who doesn’t.
All right, fine; let’s go to App Store, instead.
I’m struggling to understand how this looks like anything other than a digital version of the same GameStop store shelf Apple shows in their presentation. It’s overwhelming, it’s clunky, and it needs a lot of improvement. Sure, the iTunes Store has undergone some upgrades and clean-up since this particular version (shown through iTunes 8), but it’s hardly a convincing argument.
And they certainly don’t deliver a media experience like the iPod that’s built into the iPod Touch.
While it’s true that if you want to listen to music on the DS, it has always involved hacking the system and loading homebrew software. The PSP, on the other hand, has had integrated music and video support from the very start. RSS feeds can be added, allowing for podcast streaming right from the device. On top of all that, a web browser is included. The cross-media bar (XMB) isn’t always the most intuitive and streamlined interface, but for a while Sony actually marketed the device as a portable media device and a gaming console.
So I’m going to bring up a chart of the gaming and entertainment titles available on the Sony PSP, Nintendo DS, and iPhone OS. And here’s what it looks like:
Sony PSP: 607 titles. Nintendo DS: 3,680. iPhone OS: 21,178. It’s absolutely incredible, the amount of work developers are doing to bring AMAZING content to the iPod Touch and the iPhone.
Whoa, whoa, whoa. Really? Did they seriously just try and spin this number in a positive light?
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see Sturgeon’s Law come into full effect here. If I stop to think about it, I will probably come up with a better ratio of “good” to “crap” games on the PSP than I would on the DS, and similarly from the DS to the iPhone OS. Of those 21K+ titles, how many are actually worth anything…? By “worth”, I don’t even necessarily mean “money”… I mean “time”. How many of them are worth even the time it takes to download them?
Here is where the “Game & Entertainment” moniker comes under fire. Apple is clearly piling anything and everything from fart soundboards to Madden under this sub-heading. The DS may have a ton of horrible shovelware, but I don’t see “iFart” on anything other than the iPhone OS. If you look at this statistic in any way other than a heat-of-the-moment, Apple-fanboy (or stockholder), mid-event set of beer goggles, you see just how ridiculous it is.
Now don’t get me wrong. I love my iPhone 3G, and I can’t get enough of Harbor Master (I just did 152 cargo deliveries on Cannon Beach, and am quite proud of myself). The games continue to get better and better, and I have been happy to even spend my money on a few of them.
Apple’s ego is getting a little too big, but that might be a good thing. Nintendo’s own ego has gone essentially unmatched in the handheld market since 1989, and it has only recently been under the force of genuine competition that all of the hardware manufacturers (Nintendo, Sony, and now Apple) have had to step up their game and innovate. Hopefully that means that everyone wins; games get better, hardware gets better, everything gets cheaper, and the variety of highly-engaging content on the “casual” and “hardcore” sides continue to grow.
But seriously, Apple…? You’re not there yet. You can wipe that shit-eating grin off your face.
Posted on 16 September '09 by Mike, under Blog Entries. 1 Comment.
While the Sega Dreamcast‘s launch on 9/9/99 was a major event in North American entertainment history (and was the sole subject of episode eight of our podcast), there was another big item that came out that day. It came approximately two years after its predecessor, which itself opened up the North American gaming market in a new way. Sure, RPGs (and specifically Japanese-created RPGs) had been around for years and years, including ones from this same series, but it wasn’t until Final Fantasy VII and its immense marketing from Sony and Squaresoft that the North American market for the games blew wide open.
So how about that Final Fantasy VIII…?
The game launched the same day as the Dreamcast in North America, and while it did not receive as major an advertising campaign as VII, and it may have primarily been the VII crowd (as opposed to the VI-and-prior crowd) looking forward to it, gamers certainly knew it was coming. VIII took things even further than its predecessor in a variety of ways, thanks to the lessons learned during development. Characters were portrayed as “full-scale” at all times (CG or otherwise), as opposed to VII‘s mix of “super-deformed” polygons and “realistic” cut-scenes. The ATB system was carried forward, but combined with the new “Draw” system for magic, it was an entirely new battle experience.
While I picked up VII at launch, I did not get around to picking up and playing VIII until PS1 games were just about gone from retailers. I grabbed the game for $15 at Best Buy (“Greatest Hits”, of course) whenever this was, and played the game shortly after moving into our apartment, which must have been 2004.
It ended up being one of the three Final Fantasy games I dropped midway through (VI, VIII, X; for reference’s sake, I’ve completed III, IV, VII). I don’t really know what about it caused me to drop it. Since it was at least five years ago, I remember very little about the game and my time with it. I remember enjoying it, but there must have been a reason I stopped.
I loaded up my save file to see just how much time I spent with the game and where I stopped playing.
OK, so I put a bit over 15 hours into the game. Not too shabby. Definitely more than enough to get a good idea of how I feel about the game. Looks like I’m in “Galbadia – Dingo Desert”. I definitely remembered leaving off with some type of vehicle (that may or may not have run out of gas…?) and then not having any clue where to go. My other very specific memory was being down in some semi-maze-like sewers, but I have no idea where that was in relation to where I left it.
How about you all? Have you ever played Final Fantasy VIII, and where do you fall in the argument? Was it one of the best love stories ever told, or was it a needlessly-complicated mess of game design? Did Faye Wong’s “Eyes On Me” move you to tears, or did you just want to punch Squall in the face to make him dance properly? Did Nomura’s character design evolution make you want to drop everything and learn how to sew in order to cosplay, or were you longing for the days of a simple knight in armor yearning to save his homeland?
Posted on 15 September '09 by Mike, under Blog Entries. 10 Comments.
Thanks to Junk Loen‘s excellent reply to episode eight of our podcast, I figured it might be worth our while to explain our completely unscientific Top 10 decision process. Those of you who tuned in to the live stream before the episode got a little sneak-peak at it, but for the rest of you, here goes…!
Well before recording, I ask each individual host and guest to bring their own well-thought-out Top 10 list to the table. The games on the list are to be placed in order of preference. I may request that people bring more than just ten on a list, especially in the case of the first list we ever did (since the eligible games were ridiculously numerous). Number 1 gets ten points, number 2 gets nine points, and so on. Each of us reads the list while someone tallies up the titles and the points. Once every game and point is accounted for, we count them all up and order them based on the cumulative totals.
This is how a game like the first arcade version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles can make the number three slot on our mutual list without necessarily being in any individual person’s top ten, and how Virtua Tennis can end up as our number one Dreamcast game without it necessarily being everyone’s number one Dreamcast game. The Top 10 lists represent the groups as a whole, rather than the single viewpoint of any particular host. Sure, it’s a completely unscientific method (and we make it entirely un-open to debate and shifting around after the numbers are totaled), but it’s more about the fun and collaboration than anything else.
Get the bunch of us together, put both Virtua Tennis and Rez in front of us… and it would appear that we’re collectively more likely to play Virtua Tennis.
Also, it’s really fun making you all squirm in your seats and type up responses.
Look for some more regular blog posts coming soon…!
Posted on 14 September '09 by Mike, under Blog Entries. No Comments.
Can you believe it’s been ten years? Neither can we.
Marking the system’s tenth anniversary, we are all incredibly happy to bring you a new podcast episode looking back on the little system that could… well, it couldn’t in the end, but it sure did its best. We will probably be busy playing The Beatles: Rock Band tonight, but it makes sense to light a candle to remember the Sega Dreamcast. In this case, the “candle” is a new podcast episode. Work with me here, folks.
Our buddy Bryce was aching to join us for this one, but although he couldn’t make it, prior guest Meri stepped up to fill in. The usual cast of Mike, Andrew, and Jeff fleshes out the cast to talk a little Dreamcast. What made it so special of a system? How was the launch compared to prior and more recent hardware launches? How did the games compare to others of the time? Which still hold up to this day, if any?
With so many games released, it would be impossible to cover them all. None-the-less, we feel we did the system justice in our conversation, and round it all out with our Top 10 Dreamcast Games. You can read it now if you want, but it’s way more fun not to spoil it for yourself!
A couple extra notes:
- No, Soul Calibur in the arcade did not run on the Naomi hardware (as much as we may have indirectly said it did). It ran on the System 12 board, which was essentially a beefed-up PlayStation.
- Never see the NiGHTS analog controller for the Saturn before? Here is the Japanese controller next to the American Dreamcast controller. Unless you’re blind, the relation should be quite clear.
- Each of us still has a Dreamcast hooked up somewhere. Here’s my little buddy, right next to his daddy.
Thanks go out to everyone who joined us for the live recording, and even more thanks to all of you sticking it out with us and patiently waiting for another podcast episode! Hopefully the couple blog posts every now and then are keeping you busy! Enjoy!
Posted on 9 September '09 by Mike, under Podcast Episode. 5 Comments.
