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In this week's episode of the Mobcast, GameZone's Ben PerLee and Chemical Bun Productions' Carlos Rodela join Bitmob's Brett Bates and Demian Linn.
The crew discusses the newly launched 3DS, films that find inspiration in video games, the dangers of facile gameplay, and whether or not a realistic, present-day setting could make for an exciting experience.
Want to weigh in on next week's topics? Be sure to check twitter.com/Bitmob or facebook.com/Bitmob to find out how your voice can be heard.
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P.S. Because I was a jerk and forgot to highlight our Twitter and Facebook responses on the show, here they are for posterity! Thanks to Layton Shumway for collecting them.
Q1: Now that the 3DS is out, have you bought one? Are you going to? Why or why not?
@Msmith1337 (Matt Smith): A mobile gaming device has no place in my life. I sit in front of a PC 14 hours a day and PS3 the rest, not including 7 hours of sleep.
@NYCphilorican (Michael Sanchez): No 3DS for me. Bad economy, no killer title, and terrible battery life is keeping me away. 3D anything has not impressed me.
@akwinters (Chris Winters): Got one. I have HUGE faith in there being more Ace Attorney + Hotel Dusk-esque adventures in the near-ish future. Oh, and Pokémon.
@imbarkus: Going to take $250 and buy 2 DS Lites, so my family and I can play our GBA games without having to buy them again.
@_XcL_ _XcL_: Eventually picked up a DSi XL to take my first step into Nintendo DS gaming. By the time I'm caught up a new version of the 3DS will be out.
@Morinar (Nick Seegmiller): No. I feel that Nintendo/Sony handhelds are increasingly irrelevant in an age where I have a device in my pocket 24/7 that plays games.
@feitclub (Daniel Feit): Bought my 3DS at Japanese launch, mostly to replace my aged DS Lite. Love it, but eager for more games -- especially original titles.
@N3GAT1VE_CR33P (Keith Fiddelke): No, I have not purchased a 3DS. Why? They're too damn expensive, and Nintendo isn't worthy of my monetary support.
@crotchmaster (Michael Lacerna): I'm waiting on the 3DS for a year-- to see if there's a 3DS Lite or a price-drop following the NGP's release.
Ken Wesley Jr.: I got one and I'm digging all the built-in features. SpotPass and Face Raiders have been totally amazing.
Patrick A Crone: No. My vision is messed up just enough not to be able to see 3-D. Plus, at $250, it's too expensive for a handheld that's not also a phone.
Jason Lomberg: I don't plan on buying one unless the price hits a point where I can justify ignoring the 3D aspect (which clearly is driving up the price). I'm not impressed with the autostereoscopic effect--too much deviation in any direction breaks the illusion. I tend to get nauseous after watching a 3D movie for about an hour so I can't imagine gaming in 3D for any significant length of time.
Damon Wrona: Yes I purchased one. I like the tech even though it lacks the killer app I'd like to be playing. (Zelda, etc.) Steel Diver and Ghost Recon are still very entertaining.
Marcel Hoang : I haven't got one. I am legitimately interested but have no means of earning any money to justify the purchase. Also, I'd rather wait until more games are released. If I did get one now, my only ideas would be Pilotwings (meh) and SSFIV 3D (Already have the console version).
Rus McLaughlin: The real reasons to get a 3DS are, ironically, just about everything it brings to the table -- better graphics, revamped controls, connectivity -- ASIDE from the 3D features themselves. Make no mistake, the games look gorgeous on it and play just as well as you'd expect them to, if not better (Ocarina even takes advantage of the new gyroscope, for example). The 3D is certainly implemented well, but it's that slightly misspelled, red gelatin "Happy Birfhday" handwriting on top of the delicious birthday cake's frosting. Yeah, you'll eat it, but only because it's on the slice they handed to you.
Daniel Mark Neil II: I have not bought a 3DS, and I probably won't buy one for quite some time. I'm a college student and that doesn't leave a lot of time for games and quite frankly, there aren't any games out at launch that I am interested in. I'm not the type that has to have the new tech just because it's new and cool. That's not to say that there won't be a game that comes out that makes the 3DS a must-buy.
Edgar Mena: currently job hunting, so my budget is mostly for food, shelter, buses, and City of Heroes. if i had more disposable cash, i would wait until more rpgs and strategy games (ff tactics) hit the 3ds.
A.J. Minotti: Got my 3DS and loving it. I went with SSFIV, Pilotwings, and Ghost Recon. SSFIV let's me play a game I already know and love in a new, portable form. Pilotwings is a great chill game, and it nicely harkens back to the old ones (which I loved). Ghost Recon is a fantastic, new game that I'm really enjoying.
Patrick Garlotte: I really love the 3D effect more than expected. After just a couple days I already feel something missing when I watch normal TV. I'm not about to go out and buy a 3D TV, but I am certainly more receptive to it now.
Q2: Why aren't there more video games that take place in the real world during the present day?
@NYCphilorican (Michael Sanchez): games are a form of escapism. CNN: The Game just does not sound appealing. Also, familiarity breeds even more critiques.
@AndElectTheDead (Kevin Wallace): Setting in the real word requires intense technology and power only major players have. GTA4, Battlefield 3, etc.
@BadoorSNK (Badr Alomair): In the Yakuza games, you're an ordinary person in realistic Japan doing a lot of mundane things. Some people find it boring (not me).
@KimNaRae: For me, video games are like an escape/relax from "present day" RL so more like that would be unappealing and pointless to gamers like me :)
@NutsoJohn: Because I wouldn't want to play a game about answering gaming questions from Bitmob on Twitter…whoa.
@coreymotley (Corey Motley): I think people expect real world games to be set more in realism than others so they come down on them harder when they're not.
@feitclub (Daniel Feit): Since video games rely so heavily on mass murder, the present day affords few opportunities to kill and no wild, sci-fi weaponry.
@realbobmcmahon (Bob McMahon) Because by bending reality or eliminating modern technology is conducive to "explaining" gameplay in terms of story. Easier to buy Master Chief's recharging armor because of Halo's setting than it is to buy a CoD character's regenerating health.
@PROPER_JAZZ (Jazz English): This world sucks. Realistic titles must be so much harder to sale than ones taking place in mythical dragon worlds of happiness.
@chickdigger802 (Jeffrey Zhang): Because those ideas get shut down by company investors.
@usfhbomb (Harold Price): Because the present day real world sucks. War in the middle east, earthquakes, tsunamis, idiot politicians who hate teachers...
@acronkyoung (Alex Cronk-Young): Escapism maybe? Or that it's harder to nail a real world/present day setting without being cheesy.
Seth Christmus: I feel like a video game that takes place in the present day would have to tackle some kind of real world issue to be relevant. A game that did that would inevitably rub some people the wrong way; Six Days in Fallujah is a great example.
Ken Wesley Jr.: I wouldn't know. I'm not a developer. I think sports games count for modern day games.
Patrick A Crone: Games are made for an escape. Keeping things grounded in the present world limits narrative.
Jason Lomberg: Video games are escapism. So while there are "reality" type games (The Sims, among others), most people want to experience situations and worlds that remove one from the tedium of everyday life.
Jennifer Dremmers Taylor-Foster: Controversy, simple. Many topics that are covered by the news are touchy at best, and it would be difficult (I think) for a development team to be entirely objective or fair, especially with things like Libya going on. Though a survival game set during and after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan may work, mechanics-wise, if not ethically.
Damon Wrona: What's current today simply isn't after a game's dev cycle is complete, AND I think many people enjoy the fact that gaming takes us out of what's going on. CNN is there 24 hours a day if you need it...it doesn't need to infiltrate my game space.
Eddie Montero: More video games that come out in futuristic times are more easy for developers and writers to create, they can expand their imagination to whatever they want. For example Halo they could create the covenant and flood, In Mass Effect they could create the geth, and all the races they want. Games that take place in the present and the past, developers use more or less what we have on Earth. Games like CoD they cant really expand too far. AC2...well, let's say it was good until the ending...more or less
Marcel Hoang: Real world, present day? Six Days in Fallujah was brought up. If it's controversial it'll be interested but face opposition. If it's not controversial, what's left to help it drum up buzz?
Edgar Mena: umm... most games are works of fiction, although there could be a market for games based on real world scenarios. Would cooking mama and nintendogs + cats count as real world games? People cook and they own pets, right? How about a strategy game where you're rebels in libya? Or Cops: The Game, based on the Fox TV series?
Andrew Mehta: Current events move quickly (in comparison to AAA console development lead times) - you're more likely to find web games based on current events, be it news, politics or celebs, =). I'm off to go google for a Rebecca Black game and see what I find, ^_^. We, we, we, so excited, =D...
Louis Garcia: There are some good ones that take place present day, but maybe getting too real worldish brings on heat from politicians if the game has killing or the real world is just too boring?
AJ Minotti: I live in the real world. It's not that exciting. Red Dead > GTA, Halo > CoD, MvC3 > Fight Night, and NBA Jam > NBA Live.
Scott Haveman: Present day real world is too colorful. Greens and blues and so on. If developers went with what they see out their windows, they wouldn't be able to fill the world with nothing but grays and browns. What fun would that be?
