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Old Jun 19th, 2009, 10:12 AM   #1
Faile
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The Ship of Lost Souls

Garrr me hearties (and other piratical exhortations*). Who is still with us here?
Being recklessly sentimental (and often just plain reckless), I've been drawn back to these forums a whole lot, but everyone seems to have taken up hibernation as a hobby! Who is still awake? Together we can reawaken the sleeping hedhehogs and forge something a little bit special again.

Who cares that the Playstation2 has been packed in to that last generation box, pc gaming is on its knees and we've all gotten a little older and busier?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ps2Fantasy.com
We strongly believe that we are living something similar to what happened more than a century ago with the advent of cinema. It changed the way we think, it introduced in our minds a new language that we learn, together with our first words, since our first years of life. In the next years, videogames will become more and more important. They'll merge with other arts ( and that's already happening ), and they'll involve all our senses. There are many dangers in this sort of "total" art that's arousing like a phoenix from the ashes of a burning century, and it's important to reflect upon it. But it's undeniable that videogames can give us new experiences, new sensations and create a different sense of beauty.
WE ARE STILL LIVING IN THIS TIME!

This idea brought us all together, even the silent sorts like myself. Now though, when economy fails and terror stalks us, art is all we have. I don't care that the media still considers videogames to be low art, and that they still attempt to solder together cinema and gaming but can't be bothered to get it right. All I care about is the beauty that does exist, buried under the piles of EA sports sequels and JRPG titles that will never rival the original experience of FFVII. Is anyone else out there still who believes? Lets bring it back together and rid ourselves of those who turn up here only to spam threads with adverts for nonsense. Come on kids, one last time!** A rush and a push...

So yes, so this topic isn't only full of idealistic nonsense, I'll list a few good things that I think are worth mentioning:


x. I think the Sega Dreamcast was the last classic gaming console. The PS2 was too mainstream to ever really hold a large amount of title that I wanted to own, though the highlights are admittedly very high indeed.

x. To me, the successor to the Dreamcast is the Xbox 360, which is a perfect console for me.

x. Is the sole purpose of games only to entertain? Should they not torment as say, David Lynch's Inland Empire did for me?

x. Will videogaming ever be in the position to hold relevance for all persons upon this world? Would you even want it to do so (cf. my problem withe the ps2)

x. Does any of this actually mean anything?

x. Is episodic gaming the future?

So yes. Feel free to add your own answers, or questions, or anything (excludes adverts)!!!!

Yo Ho!

*Feel free to use your own piratical exhortations here.
**Or not, it's up to you!
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Last edited by Faile; Jun 19th, 2009 at 10:14 AM..
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Old Jun 20th, 2009, 02:46 PM   #2
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Hey Faile,

First, congratulations for Catherine and the Owl. Not only the CD was great and crazy, but I just took a look at your website and you guys and gals look like a real band of hard, pure, and real musicians (I added the link to the ps2fantasy.com affiliate box - it won't do much, but ps2fantasy still has a decent google ranking).

Things did not go too well in the videogame industry in the past years, at least when it comes to the "big guys". New platforms are opening the market to small developers, and this is great and probably where the most interesting stuff is.

But a lot of big development teams have disappeared, even more have been purchased by EA - which produces technically good products, but that feel all exactly the same to me: without a soul. Even some of the series that were above anything else out there - even outside the game industry - have, in my book, gone in the wrong direction.

As you said, games have the power not only to "entertain", but to make you feel things that are difficult to achieve with other forms of communication and art. I still think of some "places" I have visited in old games as real places that have somehow shaped the way I think or the way I interact with the world. What I mean is that we are the first generation that was able to experience interactive 3D realities, and this necessarily shaped our way of thinking and changed the way we perceive the work. But lack of courage, crazy development costs (development of a lot of console games costs as much as movies in these days), and financial crisis seem to have filled the console gaming world with games that are technically incredible (and I mean it) and breathtaking, but often, soulless. There are of course exceptions, but these are 4-5 games for me, or little more. The "Wii revolution" is thankfully going against the high costs of game development, yet it is still a revolution that limits the power of games to just "entertainment".

Speaking of platforms, I do not see much differences in terms of software between the Xbox and the PS 3. The differences are in the hardware, with the PS3 being obviously made of higher quality components, but it is software that makes the console. Again, I love the WII, but its software line-up was a disappointement. I also hate the cocky way Microsoft and Sony handled their platforms, which in the end was one of the main causes of concentration of development teams in the hands of a few companies like EA.

Probably,episodic games are the way of the future, next to small development teams that can bring a lot of new ideas to an industry (see the iPhone platform) that, right now, seems scared of itself.

Anyhow, the above way of thinking has nothing to do with the current status of this website. I love videogames with all my hearth, and I believe they still are the art of the future.

I wanted to launch psfantasy.com (or vgfantasy.com, if we decided to go multi-platform) and I spent nearly 2 years of my life developing a CMS for a new network (we did not have the $30,000 necessary to buy the only software that at the time was able to support our project; things have changed a bit recently, with more frameworks making a project like this more doable), that was never completed because of all the things that happened in our team (I was alone developing it) and because of bad planning. I still want to open the website, in some different form that would make it still useful and able to maintain itself financially.

Lack of money was what caused the end of the ps2fantasy.com activity. With costs going as high as $400 per month and ads paying as little as $50 every month (yet, gaming companies liked to spam our forums a lot - so our ad spaces must have had some value, after all), we had to move to work as "mercenaries" for third parties. Making a profitable website is difficult but possible, even though we currently have other projects we will be working on that will force us to work on psfantasy.com as a side or sister project to the other things we want to do - because yeah, they are somehow related to video games

But we all know nothing is easy these days, and I am personally in a situation that leaves no easy way out of troubles, so I cannot guarantee or promise or anticipate anything right now - I am the first unsure about my future, and, in the end, about the future of this website. One thing is guaranteed: this forum will always be here, in a form, or in another for the funny lost souls still wandering it!
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Old Jun 22nd, 2009, 04:52 AM   #3
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Harry! Thankyou for taking the time to post. I wasn't sure if anyone would pick up on my mis-typed missive, and also if anyone would even think it worthwhile to reply to.
Trouble is I'm a lazy sentimentalist (or plain mentalist perhaps) who tends to pine for old things, and here we are.

Thankyou for your kind comments regarding c&to! We're trying hard and it tires me out a lot, but like you, we're a band of people who believe in art being of a high purpose. You're a lot more articulate than me, so I hope you understand that I'm not being bluntly pretentious, we just really care (4 real /m.s.p). Thankyou for the linkage too, it's really appreciated! When we finish the new cd (maybe this month), I'll send it your way. It's a lot better I think!
But I digress!

I really hope you don't think my comments and quoting of you was aimed at you, or a dig at your site. It wasn't at all. It's more a call to arms to various people, like me, who have been silent over the years, who maybe didn't do what they could have in the past to help move things. It was my love of the past that brought me across the quote above, and that lit a real fire in me because it shouldn't have been this way for this beautiful site, with its beautiful community. You deserved more from people like me I feel; the aforementioned lost souls. In many ways it is us that have driven you into problems! I apologise for this…

It's a curious world whereby a gamecube with a bluetooth controller and a very small n64 with a touch screen can rule, when you think back to the fanfare of playstation2 and the huge trailers for it, and everything else. Gaming went mainstream and then hopped back because the mass market just wanted plain old fun. I like this schadenfreude, but then I guess it's also responsible for curtailing vision. Then again, you get the other side of the drive at the mainstream – your gears of war 2 cinematic trailer, which pretends to be humanistic, but is really just a shooter after all (surprise!). Wolf in sheeps clothing, if you will. The old franchises like Resident Evil and Final Fantasy look a bit lost in amongst the new pretenders, and with spending on videogames going up and up on a year by year basis since 2004, you’ve got to wonder why we’re not living in an age where experimentation is welcomed. With a greater market share, surely there is more hope for the indie dreamers? Of course, as you say, the wii and iphone scenes welcome this (how ironic that apple, who resisted gaming for so long, would be the agents of grassroots development).

I’ve found it disappointing though that the indie developers who have had the success have done so without real innovation. Companies like Popcap have won acclaim for picking up non-gamers, but they’ve hardly done it with huge changes. How many times can you reinvent Tetris? Perhaps I’m being cruel. Perhaps for every 10 games that do well conservatively, you can make one off the wall game.

And of course, there is that other brand that has done very well over the last few years: Guitar Hero. I kick myself for not spotting it when I wrote the videogame & music articles all those years ago. GH has done amazingly well in picking up non gamers with such a simple gameplay angle. Perhaps if Sega had gone for the band angle over angling, they would still be making consoles today. For what it’s worth, I do enjoy the GH games. Great party and social games, and I love singing along. Of course I already play guitar so it’s not eating out of my potential musical development, though perhaps that isn’t true for everyone. I’d need to check the articles again, but I’m pretty sure I would have put my money on music and videogames being linked together a whole lot more, but I don’t think I would have imagined to the extent whereby Metallica and the Beatles get their own games...


Trouble is though, I’m as big a sucker as the rest of them. I still buy at leats one EA sports title every two years. I love soccer and Pro Evo doesn’t cut it anymore. And strangely, for my Britishness, I love Ice Hockey. They are polished titles, and good recently too. But you’re right, they’re soulless. This is why I still play an old Amiga title from the mid nineties for my major sports kicks, via xbox arcade. And here is where I think things get interesting. You make a good point that the ps3 is pretty similar to the xbox – however, with the xbox I feel something else is present. A willingness to be nostalgic and allow to get at old games via the arcade. Sure, the ps3 probably has this option and blu-ray, but it seems to be aiming at the elitist gaming crowd. The xbox is at a wonderfully low price point to the stage whereby Microsoft almost seems willing to subsidise the gaming community. The split here is interesting, and whilst both are good consoles (and I’d never argue for one or the other), I feel the successor to the dreamcast (as mentioned above) is the 360. Whether or not I’d have said that before I owned one though…

I really hope the forum does remain here, and we can fight back against the spam bots! Good things deserve to live for a long long time… To this end, if I can help beyond posting here, please let me know. If you need a regular donation, I can make this happen. Even if things go no further, you're still responsible for the upkeep of this forum for the silly people like me who were never grateful enough at the time. Let me know!
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Last edited by Faile; Jun 22nd, 2009 at 04:54 AM..
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Old Jun 22nd, 2009, 09:42 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Faile View Post

I really hope you don't think my comments and quoting of you was aimed at you, or a dig at your site. It wasn't at all. It's more a call to arms to various people, like me, who have been silent over the years, who maybe didn't do what they could have in the past to help move things. It was my love of the past that brought me across the quote above, and that lit a real fire in me because it shouldn't have been this way for this beautiful site, with its beautiful community. You deserved more from people like me I feel; the aforementioned lost souls. In many ways it is us that have driven you into problems! I apologise for this…
Hey Faile, absolutely not, I loved the post! I just added the note about the website as I know some will be wondering about it. And definitely, this website and community has been ONLY a good thing for us - and every single person that came and posted, and first of all those who contributed to the content of the website, is simply a joy. What drove us into problems was bad planning, lack of money, a lot of back luck in real life (we all have this at some point in our life), and (my) overambitious plans. At some point, I felt like being a much more pathetic Fitzcarraldo. The donations we got from a lot of people were already something we would have never asked (and that we will not ask anymore - we might have some VIP membership with some little added services if we ever manage to complete our work), but they kept us afloat for some months when we were already risking to close, 4 years ago.

I agree on the high PS3 price point. Please let me underline that we have all consoles of the current generation, and I was an early buyer of the Xbox 360, mostly for some of the games they were available on it. My criticism above was simply about the poor design of the console and hardware that is less polished than the PS3 - but as I said, this means nothing: software makes the difference.

Platforms promoting small developers' work are finally becoming a reality; access to WII development is still very expensive, access to iPhone development is probably too easy (even though generally quality products get rewarded by users of the App Store) and still plagued by miscommunication on Apple's side, but things are changing in that direction.

And finally, Catherine and the Owl: I understand perfectly what you mean, and I look forward for your new CD!
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Old Jun 22nd, 2009, 09:49 AM   #5
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I want new music! Don't forget to tell me when you have something ready! And if you have new merchandise, like stuffed owls and coloring books and new badges... I'm of course getting everything there is available!

...And please, give me your current address: I have to send you something one of these days!
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Old Jun 22nd, 2009, 10:57 AM   #6
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I have sent you an address! Please do not dispatch the elephants to get it, even if they do never forget! There shall be owl related things that are exciting sent out, as soon as we can finish them. Sadly, being nocturnal, it's hard to coax the owls out to sing. We need more mice! Colouring books are the future though! We'll have to get some made!

Harry, as someone who spent a good few years battling ill luck, I am sorry to hear that it has also blighted you! I can't think of anything that brings luck, but it never continues forever, right? I've never been a fan of planning myself, so I also have been a victim of its ill will. But like Indiana Jones said; "Plans, what plans? I'm making this up as I go along..."

I hope whatever happens from here on in is positive for you and your work!

I really wish apple would open up the iphone. I'd love to get scumm vm running on it for some top monkey island thrills. Sadly that would never happen. I'd quite like a psp for the modding potential though, so perhaps this is the future for portable monkey islanding! Do you find having a ps3 and 360 that there is enough to seperate the two? One day in the distant future, I might go for the ps3 (mainly for MGS4), but I'd like to think there would be enough between the two. I'm sad that world of warcraft seems to have finished pc gaming off too, as I always found pc games the easiest to play (housemates don't get in the way).
Are there any gaming auteurs left now? Perhaps that should be; where there ever any gaming auteurs?
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Old Jun 25th, 2009, 10:13 AM   #7
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Sorry for weaseling my way into this conversation but I just wanted to add my thoughts...not that it matters but oh well.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Faile View Post
x. I think the Sega Dreamcast was the last classic gaming console. The PS2 was too mainstream to ever really hold a large amount of title that I wanted to own, though the highlights are admittedly very high indeed.
I agree with you since the DC was really the first "next-gen" console on the market but somehow people just weren't into it. Perhaps it's as you said: it wasn't mainstream enough, although I thought there were a fair share of titles that really should've held the interest of many people at the time since the games essentially had the same plots, gameplay, and whatnot as the PS1/N64 just with better graphics and a bit of a twist.

BTW, Faile, have you ever managed to play ICO or Shadow of the Colossus? I know you said the PS2 was too mainstream for you but, to me, these two games had some of that grace and beauty that many people didn't appreciate; on the other hand, there are quite a number of people who love the games to pieces thereby almost making the games come off as mainstream...


Quote:
Originally Posted by Faile
x. To me, the successor to the Dreamcast is the Xbox 360, which is a perfect console for me.
I'm afraid I have to disagree with you on this one. I don't think any console currently can be considered a successor to the DC because the last and this gen's consoles (the latter much more so) are pretty similar: reaching out to a wide crowd. I can't think of any games on the 360 that can compare to the uniqueness of some DC games, like Omikron: The Last Nomad Soul, Space Channel 5, Jet Grind Radio, or, geez, even Toy Commander (don't laugh, the game was surprisingly fun even if I only played a few hours). There are a few games released on the PS2 and GC that I felt were along the same lines, like Okami and Viewtiful Joe but oh, whaddya know, the team that created these unique games is now defunct.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Faile
x. Is the sole purpose of games only to entertain?
I think games are equivalent to books and movies: they can be entertaining but they can also teach as well. You can learn a lot of things from games that you can learn from the other mediums except games are just a more immersive experience. The only problem is that all the people now that companies are trying to appeal to simply think gaming is mere entertainment like movies without thinking that hey, movies teach too! So developers take away important elements like story, character development, and so on in favor of fun and earning a few more dollars. But this so-called "fun" can only last about 4 hours without becoming insanely dull or gimmicky unless it's done properly.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Faile
x. Will videogaming ever be in the position to hold relevance for all persons upon this world? Would you even want it to do so (cf. my problem withe the ps2)
With what's going on now, I'm beginning to think and fear that gaming is going to eventually hold relevance with every person even if these persons considers it important or worthy for all the wrong reasons. For this, I'm going to target the Wii because, for what few good games it has, most of these games are just targeted for the family or casual crowd...causing them to think that OMG! Games are, like, so cool and, like, so fun and, like, they don't know why they've been missing it for all these years since they didn't realize it could be SO family-friendly! Please. Now you've got moms and dads thinking they are so unbelievably hip and trendy just because they own a Wii without realizing how gimmicky the console and the games are.

As for the second part of the question, well, no. My main issue with gaming being commonplace is very similar to the current movie trend: mainstream compromises quality. Sorry but when I watch films from the 40s up to the early to mid 90s, I get a sense of quality and care (not for all though). But when I look at the 'new releases' now, I feel my IQ dropping because most of it is just completely ridiculous stuff that's lining the shelves. I feel almost the same for games nowadays because I'm really sick and tired of hearing how great Halo, Killzone, Gears of War, Resistance, and whatever are when they are just similar games stamped with different titles to make people believe they're different. But, again, it's mostly when I see the Wii games. There is just no quality to a good portion of them, no matter what 'in-the-know' parent or driveling 12 year old says.

Even though, as Harry said, Wii games may not cost as much to develop as the others, I can't help but suspect that it doesn't matter in the end anyway because people eventually get lazy. But perhaps it's just my bitterness and lack of faith talking. Or perhaps, more than likely, it's not the games or consoles that are all that terrible but just the annoying consumers - aka the masses - who make it seem so unbearable.

Anyone can feel free to disagree or bash my thoughts considering that I'm not exactly the most knowledgeable when it comes to this area so much of what I said is probably just unreasonable and/or wrong.
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Old Jun 28th, 2009, 05:13 PM   #8
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Meryl, your post deserves a better reply than I can possibly grace it with right now! But this is a marker to ensure that I will be returning to reply!
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Old Jun 28th, 2009, 07:21 PM   #9
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Originally Posted by merylsilverburg View Post
Sorry for weaseling my way into this conversation but I just wanted to add my thoughts...not that it matters but oh well.



I agree with you since the DC was really the first "next-gen" console on the market but somehow people just weren't into it. Perhaps it's as you said: it wasn't mainstream enough, although I thought there were a fair share of titles that really should've held the interest of many people at the time since the games essentially had the same plots, gameplay, and whatnot as the PS1/N64 just with better graphics and a bit of a twist.

BTW, Faile, have you ever managed to play ICO or Shadow of the Colossus? I know you said the PS2 was too mainstream for you but, to me, these two games had some of that grace and beauty that many people didn't appreciate; on the other hand, there are quite a number of people who love the games to pieces thereby almost making the games come off as mainstream...




I'm afraid I have to disagree with you on this one. I don't think any console currently can be considered a successor to the DC because the last and this gen's consoles (the latter much more so) are pretty similar: reaching out to a wide crowd. I can't think of any games on the 360 that can compare to the uniqueness of some DC games, like Omikron: The Last Nomad Soul, Space Channel 5, Jet Grind Radio, or, geez, even Toy Commander (don't laugh, the game was surprisingly fun even if I only played a few hours). There are a few games released on the PS2 and GC that I felt were along the same lines, like Okami and Viewtiful Joe but oh, whaddya know, the team that created these unique games is now defunct.



I think games are equivalent to books and movies: they can be entertaining but they can also teach as well. You can learn a lot of things from games that you can learn from the other mediums except games are just a more immersive experience. The only problem is that all the people now that companies are trying to appeal to simply think gaming is mere entertainment like movies without thinking that hey, movies teach too! So developers take away important elements like story, character development, and so on in favor of fun and earning a few more dollars. But this so-called "fun" can only last about 4 hours without becoming insanely dull or gimmicky unless it's done properly.



With what's going on now, I'm beginning to think and fear that gaming is going to eventually hold relevance with every person even if these persons considers it important or worthy for all the wrong reasons. For this, I'm going to target the Wii because, for what few good games it has, most of these games are just targeted for the family or casual crowd...causing them to think that OMG! Games are, like, so cool and, like, so fun and, like, they don't know why they've been missing it for all these years since they didn't realize it could be SO family-friendly! Please. Now you've got moms and dads thinking they are so unbelievably hip and trendy just because they own a Wii without realizing how gimmicky the console and the games are.

As for the second part of the question, well, no. My main issue with gaming being commonplace is very similar to the current movie trend: mainstream compromises quality. Sorry but when I watch films from the 40s up to the early to mid 90s, I get a sense of quality and care (not for all though). But when I look at the 'new releases' now, I feel my IQ dropping because most of it is just completely ridiculous stuff that's lining the shelves. I feel almost the same for games nowadays because I'm really sick and tired of hearing how great Halo, Killzone, Gears of War, Resistance, and whatever are when they are just similar games stamped with different titles to make people believe they're different. But, again, it's mostly when I see the Wii games. There is just no quality to a good portion of them, no matter what 'in-the-know' parent or driveling 12 year old says.

Even though, as Harry said, Wii games may not cost as much to develop as the others, I can't help but suspect that it doesn't matter in the end anyway because people eventually get lazy. But perhaps it's just my bitterness and lack of faith talking. Or perhaps, more than likely, it's not the games or consoles that are all that terrible but just the annoying consumers - aka the masses - who make it seem so unbearable.

Anyone can feel free to disagree or bash my thoughts considering that I'm not exactly the most knowledgeable when it comes to this area so much of what I said is probably just unreasonable and/or wrong.
I cannot say anything else but that I agree with you on all points about the current status of the gaming industry and about the Xbox 360. The only thing I have never been too drawn into is the Dreamcast, even though I can understand why a lot of people loved it. For me, the original NES and the PlayStation 1 were the most important gaming consoles - other systems had very good points but failed to deliver completely when considered as a whole.

Quote:
Originally Posted by merylsilverburg
[color=black]With what's going on now, I'm beginning to think and fear that gaming is going to eventually hold relevance with every person even if these persons considers it important or worthy for all the wrong reasons. For this, I'm going to target the Wii because, for what few good games it has, most of these games are just targeted for the family or casual crowd...causing them to think that OMG! Games are, like, so cool and, like, so fun and, like, they don't know why they've been missing it for all these years since they didn't realize it could be SO family-friendly! Please. Now you've got moms and dads thinking they are so unbelievably hip and trendy just because they own a Wii without realizing how gimmicky the console and the games are.
Hahaha I could not agree more on this!
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Old Jul 2nd, 2009, 10:09 PM   #10
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Meryl, your post deserves a better reply than I can possibly grace it with right now! But this is a marker to ensure that I will be returning to reply!
Oh it's okay, you don't have to reply because I was actually just rambling - I forgot to mention I was rather incoherent when I wrote it due to my damn insomnia so I probably didn't make much sense. I also forgot to thank you for starting the thread because we've been seriously lacking in good conversations in a long time on here, so it was nice to see this. Thanks again!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Harry
The only thing I have never been too drawn into is the Dreamcast, even though I can understand why a lot of people loved it. For me, the original NES and the PlayStation 1 were the most important gaming consoles - other systems had very good points but failed to deliver completely when considered as a whole.
The DC is, to me, one of those "love-it-or-hate-it" consoles. The reason being is that I think the console's game line-up was rather unappealing or "confusing" to some, in that they offered quite a few mainstream-appealing games (Sonic, Dead or Alive, Soul Calibur, etc.) while having obscure and/or oddball titles (I think a lot of them were also arcade ports, right?) at the same time (Chu Chu Rocket, Dynamite Cop, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, etc.).

It's almost like the DC didn't know exactly which scene they wanted to enter in...but I felt the lineup was a good balance because it had many games in different genres and styles that could've and should've appealed to many people. Poor thing. But I do agree with you, Harry, that the DC isn't exactly a landmark console but I don't mind it. I miss it actually.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Harry
Hahaha I could not agree more on this!
Thank goodness because I was beginning to fear that I was the only one who couldn't stand the annoying parents wandering around with their WiiFit Boards and glaring and judging all those who, you know, are gamers.
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Old Aug 27th, 2009, 05:22 AM   #11
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Finally, I am able to reply!

It's a strange thing when you think about it; the mass takeover of gaming as an 'acceptable' (many definitions of what this can actually mean, but for now read this as accepted by mainstream society) social pursuit. I remember a time when gaming was only there at the outskirts of social spending. Everyone was surprised when the PSX managed to open up a larger market (clever marketing from Sony). I think perhaps that the Wii has merely gone the same way. However, if you were there for the PSX you can rightfully say that you've seen it all before - mass market gaming is nothing new for you, and you're quite right. However, you'll still remember the time when the art of game making was exactly that - an art. Sure, Crash Bandicoot isn't that groundbreaking, but man, that first time you played it, it seemed amazing didn't it? Thing is, by the end of the generation, the templates had been set. Playstation2 didn't really change anything there, either. Games made to templates, with a few stand out titles. But there was a time when the majority of available titles on the playstation felt like standout titles.

See, I think Nintendo learnt from this. During the PSX years, they tried to ensure that the N64 had only the very best of games - the result, the console was considered a failure. The mainstream can't handle this idea - they want to choose which games to play. They don't want critics to do it for them.

Playstation development meant that studios could produce games on the cheap, thus getting the units out there more quickly and with less risk. I think that Nintendo learnt from their mistakes here; hence the wii is cheap to develop for. Titles that lack the merit of 'greater' games are bought in better quantities. Mainstream gamers are appeased; they play for fun, not so much the experience. Weirdly, Sony (to me) has manufactured, marketed and priced the Playstation3 as an elite console. Perhaps Sony's hubris can be blamed here following years of Nintendo in the eighties/early nineties dominance. Hence, they have now made similar mistakes to Nintendo. Amusingly, Microsoft now adopts the original PSX stance and in my opinion, has done a good job of it. I play for fun, but with a good series of titles I can draw on if I dig them out (sure, they may also be available on PS3, but wouldn't it have been great if the best N64 games had been available on PSX?).

However, where is the art in this? Well, like Meryl alludes to, as cinema grew critical success became less important than financial success. Likewise, we've moved that way with gaming. Sadly there is no way back I fear. There are still amazing titles being released but they are lost in a sea of other games, fighting for attention. If you think that's bad, then think of the incredible shrinking PC market. This still upsets me, as I love PC gaming and find it more flexible than console gaming. However, it's in my mind a case of the FPS genre eating all others, and then Halo3 eating the PC-FPS genre. I sometimes wonder if I'll ever get a chance to play Half Life 2 Episode 3 on my PC. I think it's destined for Xbox now, and this is where Microsoft have won; PC gamers (like me) have simply jumped ship to Xbox. I bought my Xbox for £99 last year, it wasn't a great outlay, and my favourite franchises were all there (barring MGS). Low risk, but a great investment...
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Last edited by Faile; Aug 27th, 2009 at 05:24 AM..
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Old Sep 11th, 2009, 10:35 PM   #12
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I'll be replying to your post soon, Faile, because you brought up some interesting points that I'd like to discuss.
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