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POST BY THIS AUTHOR (5)
COMMENTS BY THIS AUTHOR (21)
"Well as long as XBLA game prices trend upwards, my buying them will trend downwards. I've purchased NO summer of arcade games this year despite having interest in a couple of the titles. I'll just wait until they're on sale."
Friday, August 13, 2010
"I watched the live stream of the Konami conference, and the article pretty much sums up the experience. Though I would have to disagree on the attitude concerning Otomedius Excellent.
While I'm probably not picking up the title myself (getting Deathsmiles), the overall attitude of a game staying in a region because you're uncomfortable with it is bad for the industry. Until region protection is removed from all media, it is moves like this to allow gamers to get a taste for games that would otherwise never be experienced. Or should games like Dance Dance Revolution and Katamari Damacy have stayed in Japan as well for being 'different'?
Overall the conference had games to show, it was just the presentations that made it stand out. So maybe in the long run it was good for Konmai as it's certainly getting attention now."
Friday, June 18, 2010
"Vanillaware was just what I was hoping for when it came to the evolution of 2D games. While I have missed out on Princess Crown (why'd they go and lose the souce material for any potential remakes?), I have purchased and greatly enjoyed their other games. It is a testiment to their talent that a game like Muramasa on the Wii can match and exceed the visual fiedelity found on those of the HD consoles.
BlazBlue is another title I would point out as a direction for fighters in the 2D realm I'd like to see more of. Especially if the next fighter that uses a similar visual style is titled Darkstalkers ;)"
Thursday, June 03, 2010
"Ha ha ha, that's great! One of the great things about video games are the interesting bugs that make it out (kinda like bloopers for film/TV)."
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
"Excellent write-up, and I agree fully that multi-player achievements should be banned, though for additional reasons. I am mostly a single player type gamer, but also a completionist so it makes it hard for me to feel like I've completed a game; I am also in agreement with your reasonings as well.
Another poorly thought out achievement type are ones that are just variations of the same thing. Rumble Roses XX and Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 are horrible in this regard. I recently read a post on the xbox.com forums about a gamer who finally got all the achievements for DoAX2 - 387 hours later.
I still lament on the 1 measly point I'm missing in Infinite Undiscovery, where I would be required to beat the entire game, and then the optional Etheral Queen on the hardest difficulty. All that for 1 point. That's just plain evil.
Bioshocks achievements were fun to get and offered some challenge; Bioshock 2 fell into the multi-player achievement trap :( Dead Rising offered some interesting achivements, though a few of them are overly difficult, with one being a death trap for older Xbox 360s.
@Steven Escobar: To this day, having beat Final Fantasy VII on both the PC and the PS1 several times over, once with all characters at max level, I have yet to beat Ruby Weapon. A complete shame."
Thursday, May 20, 2010
"I'd be using Makoto due to the mind games she plays with her offensive moves. I'm not much of a defensive player, so her potential troubles wouldn't affect my play style much. Ultimately though I'm hoping the game is a bit more fun as SFIV, for me, would be fun until a certain fight and I'd hit a brick wall in difficulty. Xbox 360."
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
"Dead or Alive movie was great for how bad it was. It didn't take itself seriously, but still had some great fight sequences. Just wish they'd have picked some better actors for some of the chara"
Thursday, February 04, 2010
"igured as much and that you were playing devil's advocate; so the questions I posed are more toward the devil's advocate line of thinking. I will admit though that I am quite passionate about this subject as there are many experiences I feel I missed out on just because I don't live somewhere else.
On point of digital distribution I think I see where the confusion lies. Whereas you are describing a region-free DD model where a company just releases everything to every region, my thinking is more along the lines of what is currently in place - just region free.
You would be correct in that there would be confusion among consumers (especially if not marketed properly), should companies make everything available in every region. However, it need not be that cumbersome for the companies. Those who want DD titles from other regions would set up additional accounts for each region they would want to download/purchase from. Those people who import know there are extra steps involved for bringing in a title. Likewise those who want to import DD games would also have the extra step of creating different accounts. By following this model, regular customers would still only see titles available for their registered region.
And as I mentioned above concerning ratings, Microsoft Indie Games have a model where the user has to be online to play. While their reasoning may be different (I believe online is require so they can 'pull the plug' on a game if found inappropriate after release), a similar type model could still be implemented.
My main issue with movie studios is that HD-DVD was region free. It was Sony's push of Blu-ray and possible buy-in of certain movie studios that set back region free movies; Sony only gets brownie points for making their games region free.
I can understand your approach as to Sony's (and other publishers) reasoning, but at the same time understand that I was trying to talk their language as well: $$$. Exactly what they're not getting from me, which like I said is baffling to me because of the seemingly global nature of the companies. Like you, I'm trying to give reasons as to why companies are living in the past.
It is a good discussion though, t"
Thursday, February 04, 2010
"x, there are two different issues at hand here: region protection on physical media, and region protection on digital media.
Language [i]is [/i]a cop-out, for physical media at the least. For your example Tatsunoko vs. Capcom was thought to never make it over due to a different market, and due to licensing through multiple companies in NA. Capcom took the chance and was able to work out some issues, but take note that some characters were not able to make it over due to licensing (which is also another issue that needs to me modernized). Since this game was not available digitally and only physically, tell me this: why should I not be able to import and play this game on a non-modded Wii? Licensing shouldn't be an issue as the game was technically sold through a Japanese retailer (the import store). Language should not be an issue as it should be up to the consumer whether they want to deal with the language barrier.
I tire of the excuse of the dumb consumer as well. Why should I suffer due to their mistakes and this supposed shit storm for PR? It's basically catering to the lowest common denominator and a missed opportunity for a sale from someone who is interested in the product. YOU may think it a marketing shitstorm, but the reality is most people wouldn't even notice if marketing is doing their job. It's only the loudest voice usually heard, and that voice isn't necessarily the majority, nor is it always right.
For digital distribution I can see your points as valid for ratings and I did gloss over it through a simple warning message. However, Micosoft Indie games are able to circumvent the ESRB ratings by requiring the Xbox 360 be online while the game is in play. Any game released through the Indie Games channel can be released globally (where Indie Games are available) at once without the need for ratings in each region. A similar method could be used here for full digital releases as well.
As far as movie studios are concerned, perhaps they should start focusing on the global market? Blu-ray is better than DVD in having less regions, but why is it that HD-DVD was region free in its spec?
Microsoft has not banned people in the past for creating out of regions accounts. I have a Korean and Japanese account myself and most recently had downloaded the Bayonetta demo.
Finally, how can books and music have survived without region protection? I can import those without issues and they work. Region protection is something that was used in the past as a means of control of distribution as media was released at different times in different regions. As business become more global, archaic rules should be removed in favor of a more open business.
I highly doubt there would be a huge mass exodus of importers by making games or movies region free. Instead what would happen is the appeasement of enthusiasts, while the common consumer base would get the titles during normal release/marketing pe"
Wednesday, February 03, 2010
"x, language excuses are just a cop-out; let the people bitch. Those who want the content should be able to purchase it (even if they don't understand it). Those that want it in their language can wait to see if it will be made available (if it ever does become localized). A simple warning should be all that is necessary to warn the consumer that they are about to purchase content not made for their region, and as such may not adhere to ratings for their area. The key point in all of this is that the choice should be up to the consumer, not the publisher.
A business is in business to make money after all, and businesses aren't going to be getting my money if I can't run their content. Also, businesses lose even more potential sales of DLC for games that are region protected. Not to mention the possibilities of double-dipping should a game become localized.
Also, don't overplay the region-freeness of the PS3. Blu-ray movies and PSN content is still region protected (what exactly are they protecting?). It's a step forward to be sure, but it can easily be taken away if taken for granted - [i]See: Nintendo DSi[/i].
And just like the PSN store, the Xbox 360 does allow for downloading demos from different regions (this is not a ban-worthy offense). However, just like the PSN store some digital content is region protected.
It just boggles my mind. A developer makes a game to make money; a publisher releases a game with marketing support to make money; a consumer gives money to the publisher (usually through a third party) to get said game. Why break the chain by excluding people just because of geographic loc"
Wednesday, February 03, 2010
"at write up! This is my biggest peeve with the video game industry (and movie industry as well).
Many publishers *cough*Namco-Bandai*cough* have lost many a sales from me because the games I want are region protected; not only physically but digitally! These games will likely [i]never [/i]be released outside of Japan, and even if they were it's not like importers are going to drastically change market perception.
I'm thankful for companies like Atlus and Aksys who continually bring over titles; but they can only do so much. There are so many more titles I would like to play (even if I don't understand everything written).
It just makes no sense. [b]PUBLISHERS, do you not want my money? my support?[/b]
If possible, I would love the gaming press to start pushing the issue with publishers/developers. Interview them about their stances on region protection and keep asking why. Get past BS answers.
Also I'd like to point out that while the Sony gives the appearance of forward thinking with region-free games, the PSN store is still region protected, and Blu-ray is still region protected (HD-DVD was region free"
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Looking forward to Fable III, love the universe! Good luck all :)"