General Gaming Discussions

[Linkachu]

FFX port? The least they could've done is given us our long-awaited FF6 or FF7 remakes. FFX doesn't catch my interest much at all.

The only game on that list that interests me is Katamari. The game doesn't change much installment to installment, but it's still helluva fun. If I do end up buying Vita someday, I'll be picking that one up too.

Blah at Facebook integration. It already annoys me enough when I have to look at PSN-related updates spamming my feed. Being able to post to Facebook from the handheld is one thing, but I really wish they'd just leave it at that.

 

[Yoshimitsu]

I really don't understand the point of an FFX remake. Far, far more money could be made out of remaking 6, 7, 8 or 9. Just because it's a 10th anniversary isn't exactly an excuse, either. The PSX versions must be like a billion years old by now, and 7 was the only one to get anything extra (maybe because the original game was too goddamn confusing plot-wise without any extra help from other games/the internet).

If I want to play FFX, I'll play FFX, not buy this updated version.

 

[Fumanshu]

The thing with FF7 is that it would require work.
FF3 and 4 got the mini character treatment which was more or less ok for those games. FF6 might get that too. But FF7 is a different thing. SquareEnix are dead set on making all FF7 related games look like Advent Children or Crisis Core in their style. This style is relatively serious.

This obviously doesnt work for FF7 and is actually an alienization of the game itself. The game has many serious parts, but then again, its silly as hell.

Golden Saucer, Cloud dressing as a girl, Honey Bee inn scene, lets mosey, Tifas kung fu teacher etc.
None of that would work with that new emotion cloud that got introduced in Advent Children. They would most likely have to cut many scenes out and rewrite tons of dialogue.

The only obvious way to approach the game would be to keep most, if not all scenes intact and then use models that while being more detailed than the horrible mess we saw in FF7, should not be too "realistic".

The whole game would have to be remade from the ground up which wouldnt be as simple as with the SNES and NES games.
Many pre-rendered backgrounds in FF7 were actually very well made.
It would also need Voice acting.


Its expensive. Porting (or maybe even releasing an enhanced port) of FFX is a lot cheaper and guarantees tons of income.
Final Fantasy X is one of the most popular Final Fantasy titles. Especially in Japan. Its the cheapest way to cash in right now.

 

[KoL]

-FFX port for Vita for the 10th anniversary

Chee-ky. Sony must have known my PS2 broke down.

Whether this will be enough to make me get the Vita is another story entirely, but I'm no longer completely ignoring the thing now.

 

[Fumanshu]

Chee-ky. Sony must have known my PS2 broke down.

Yeah looks like sony completely thought of you when they prepared that conference. All we saw was ports and remakes of PS2 games.

Really frustrating if one already owns all those games.

This also shows that Sonys removal of backwards compatible functions for the PS3 was profitable as hell and done with that in mind.
Not cool.

PoP, God of War, Sly, FFX, MGS, Team Ico,Zone of Enders,Disgaea, Resident Evil, Persona and many more found their way to the Vita, PSP and PS3.

 

[Doctor Oak]

If Sony really wanted to get my attention with the Vita with cheap ports and remakes, they would have gotten GTA San Andreas on that baby, not some random Final Fantasy I've never played (not even FFVII? What?).

Then again, it's a Japanese conference and I guess it's just time for me to give up on anything coming from Japan being vaguely relevant to my interests any more.

Still haven't seen a single title that is making me believe the Vita will be a different story to the PSP. Until that day, I won't be getting one.

 

[Linkachu]

So, anyone who had worries regarding the PSVita's battery life can stop wondering. It's officially just as bad (or good) as we'd figured it would be. I don't think anyone understands what a "portable" gaming device is anymore.

Details from a Sony fact sheet regarding PSVita:

Vita will use a lithium ion battery. The battery life for Vita when gaming is 3-5 hours. Watching video will deplete your Vita's battery life in 5 hours. Using it to listen to music will allow Vita's battery to last 9 hours (if you listen to music while in standby mode). It will take you 2 hours and 40 minutes to charge Vita from a completely depleted state to 100% battery life

3-5 hours. That's even lower than the PSP, isn't it? I can't remember because my PSP tended to die so often that it needed to live permanently attached to its charger.

Anyone who even tries to argue that devices like PSVita "aren't meant to be played outside the home" needs to have one thrown at their head. Hopefully future models of the thing boost its battery life.

Also, for a of extra info:

In terms of file types Vita can handle, they are as follows. Music: MP3, MPEG 1/2, MP4, .WAV. Video: MPEG-4, AAC. Picture: JPEG, TIFF, BMP, GIF and PNG.

 

[Doctor Oak]

I dunno, are you really going to be in an environment where you're playing outside your home for more than 3-5 hours? Even the longest commute would only be about 1-2 hours each way.

So long as you can charge it via USB like you could the PSP, I'd be satisfied. The concept of being more than 5 hours away from a computer at any point is rather alien in and of itself.

 

[Fumanshu]

PSVita basically has a worse battery than the 3DS. You have to play with medium-light, headphones and no internet to get to those 3-5 hours.

Sony also now announced that they will allow you to change the battery now. How nice of them.

The thing is that hardware evolved faster than battery technology. We got those powerhouses with quad cores that of course drain a lot of power.
And because people actually expect this much power they have to pay the price (outside of paying the hardware price).

Its the same with phones nowadays. There was a time where I could charge my phone once a week and it was cool. Now I gotta hook it up about daily.

It personally doesnt matter all that much to me as I usually play with my handhelds at home anyways (I buy them for their exclusives).
I rarely bring them outside. And if I do I usually dont go for a long time without a power source. Even our trains got power sources.

What the Vita needs right now are games that I havent played already.

Also, I still think that they should go for Gamegear size with handhelds nowadays. Make them big and use 80% of the handheld for battery.
This would also enable huge screens and finally some grip on handhelds.

 

[Doctor Oak]

Ok, so the PSN is effectively dead.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14948701

To be able to continue using the PSN from now on, you have to agree to Sony that you have absolutely no consumer rights when their incompetency hands your personal and financial data over to the black hats and leaves you vulnerable as a result.

You can opt out, but only by jumping through a dozen hoops, and to be able to do that AND still use the PSN, you still need to agree to the TOS, giving them a nice little loophole down the line regardless. And that's not even taking into consideration that the vast, vast majority of users will just agree without knowing that their rights are being infringed upon.

So, yeah. Concerns about the Vita's battery life seem to be moot now, 'cos there's absolutely no reason to actually purchase one while Sony is taking the stance that they are above the law and that you are merely a resource to be mined for as much money as possible, not a valuable customer.

We were going to get a PS3 to get a new Blu-Ray Player, but now I'm not sure it's worth it if it means I have to give up basic consumer rights as a result.

 

[Linkachu]

Looks like I live a different life than you guys. I actively use my portable consoles on the go. Finding a place to charge the things doesn't happen as often as you'd think, nor should it be necessary really. Cords are restrictive and not what these things were meant for.

As of now I'm having troubles with my 3DS battery dying because it simply can't last long enough for my away-from-home uses (and that's at mid-lighting with powersave mode on). From the sound of it, PSVita is even worse than 3DS in this regard, which just makes me groan.
I can guarantee that if I bought one of this model it'd be dying on me on a regular basis, which completely defeats the purpose of carrying the thing around imo. Also considering that I already own a PS3 and can play it from my bed, and there's not really anything grabbing my attention on Vita's line-up, I really don't have a reason to get a Vita right now.

 

[Fumanshu]

This is a business practice that is getting more and more popular in America afaik. There have been more cases of that lately.

Its not really a rights issue as PSN is just a service that is being offered by them.

Valve can pull just the same thing with their Steam if they feel like that.They dont even need to state a reason.
People never read the fineprint.

Of course that is not holding up in court and if someone was to sue Sony then this shouldnt stop anyone.
I know that it wouldnt stop me.

I dont understand what they are thinking when they do that. This is nothing but negative publicity.
This is bad considering that investors are already wary of Nintendos and Sonys behaviour.
Its also bad that they try to use scare tactics to keep people from suing them.

 

[Doctor Oak]

I don't know. 5 hours of gaming a day in any situation is pretty high anyway. The idea of physically being outside away from all electrical sockets or computers for a gap of more than 5 hours in my day is pretty extreme for me either which way.

I think I've played the 3DS for a total of about 2 hours max on the charge before I had the opportunity to plug it back in. I can't see the Vita being that big an issue there either.

But, again, I won't be buying one so long as they have a total lack of respect for me as a customer and have an abysmal game library. The PS3 I can almost forgive for the games that have existed on it prior to this TOS bollocks and the fact I need a Blu-Ray player. The Vita has no such saving graces.

 

[Doctor Oak]

Its not really a rights issue as PSN is just a service that is being offered by them.

It's not a human rights issue, it's a consumer rights issue. As a customer, you are entitled to certain rights and expectations from the company you're purchasing from. This Sony TOS forces you to sign those rights away, which is disgraceful and should be fought with at any level possible.

The instant you stop caring about your consumer rights, the instant you open yourself to being screwed over by the companies that are meant to be respecting you as the source of their on-going existence.

 

[Linkachu]

I don't know. 5 hours of gaming a day in any situation is pretty high anyway. The idea of physically being outside away from all electrical sockets or computers for a gap of more than 5 hours in my day is pretty extreme for me either which way.

5 is the high end, mind. Chances are people won't be getting close to that on average. The idea of having to carry around my charge cable simply because my Vita can't make it through the day really doesn't appeal to me either.

Anyways, finally got to read that news report and I'm compleyly lulzing at it. Way to go, Sony. Because your security sucks you need to screw us over just to cover your own ass? Good show.

I'm going to agree to the terms personally because I still want to use the service, but I'll be sticking to pre-paid cards from now on. I haven't attached my new credit card to my account yet and I have no plans of ever doing so.

 

[Doctor Oak]

I don't think carrying a USB cable around is that much more cumbersome than carrying around the games themselves. You could probably carry both together in the same container/pocket/whatever. Of course that's only for the PSP (and I'd hope, Vita). The 3DS just wants to be as awkward as possible in true Nintendo fashion.

Plus, I think it's safe to say that neither Sony nor Nintendo really expect you to be carrying these things around with you all the time. That position has been filled by phones. You may carry the 3DS or Vita from one place to another to play it in that other place at some point, but chances are that when you're on the bus to work, you're browsing the internet or playing Angry Birds on your phone, not playing Pokemon or GTA on a handheld console.

 

[Linkachu]

Plus, I think it's safe to say that neither Sony nor Nintendo really expect you to be carrying these things around with you all the time

Probably true for Sony, but definitely not true for Nintendo. 3DS was built to be carried around on a daily basis thanks to SpotPass, StreetPass, and the pedometer. That said, you're probably not gaming on the 3DS when carrying it around like this and it's fine on sleep mode for hours.

But regarding everything else, I've already said that I do use my handhelds during those times (cars, buses, trains, planes, when sitting in waiting rooms, etc.), so even if that's not the norm it's still what I use them for. As far as I'm concerned, nobody can really convince me that 3 hours for a portable gaming device is "good". It's manageable, but it's still pretty crappy. :x

 

[Fumanshu]

This Sony TOS forces you to sign those rights away, which is disgraceful and should be fought with at any level possible.

Even in that case it really doesnt hold up in court. Its a bad way to approach it as it shows that they are only out for the money, but in the end it changes fuckall as they cant stop anyone from suing them should the need arise.
There is no way to defend that anyways. Its bad. And its becoming more and more popular as mentioned before. Steam does it, Origin is even worse afaik. Others will most likely follow.
Game consumer rights arent treated all that well lately.
Intrusive DRM, shutting down the 2nd hand market and now this.



Also, some news:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aAs-vZ4rZE
Ni No Kuni will make it over to the west. Its a studio gibli and level5 game. The makers of Anime like Princess Mononoke and Makers of Dragon Quest8 and Professor Layton.

Visually that game is astounding. Same for the Soundtrack. Dont know much about the gameplay. Only know that it involves Monster battling which might be cool.
The DS version (that isnt confirmed for western release) uses a spellbook addon for the DS that is a real book with informations and that actively interacts with the game. Pretty interesting stuff.

Oh. Also:
www.gamesradar.com/tgs-2011-professor-l ... ide-japan/
Not that I care but its something worth mentioning.

 

[Doctor Oak]

Hints /=/ confirmation. Goddamnit Gamesradar.

If this game doesn't come out here, I will actually murder people. That said, Level 5 have taken the inexplicable decision to not include the London Life part of the new Prof Layton in the UK edition of the game, but will include it in the US version. I think the chances of expecting a combination of that and Capcom, who have basically gone insane lately, to bring this game out here are probably pretty damned slim, whatever the 'hints' may be. :/

 

[Fumanshu]

Capcom has no plans of bringing it over. Its completely in level5s hands.
They might take the help of Xseed or Nintendo.

 

[Carmen Lopez]

So I know most of the people who follow Fire Emblem know that there is a new FE game coming to the 3DS...and it's spanking new as in it's not a remake. I can't tell you how excited I am and that's only having played Radiant Dawn. Here's the link if you want to see what little info there is and a couple of videos: http://www.nintendo.co.jp/n10/conferenc ... index.html

The game itself looks amazing though ♥ Considering that every FE since PoR has been released internationally, I'm pretty confident that we'll get to have it this time as well.

 

[Linkachu]

About bloody time! XP

New PSN Program Brings PS2 Downloads, Discounts

The discounts are interesting, but what's grabbed my attention most is the fact that they're finally bringing PS2 games to the PSN. I guess the PS2 sales have finally slowed down enough to make it worth their while. ;p

 

[KoL]

Definitely an interesting development, albeit a rather unsurprising one in hindsight given that the PS2 is definitely Sony's most successful games console (and that's no small feat either.)

 

[Fumanshu]

This is a big load of crap.
They take away the ability to emulate PS2 games from post-launch PS3s, then start releasing HD remakes of PS2 games, PSP and Vita ports of PS2 games and now finally bring unchanged PS2 titles to PSN. So now the PS3 is magically able to emulate PS2 games? Sony employs too many magicians.

Its obvious that Sony planned to cash in on that, because backwards compability means that people can just grab those old games used from gamestop instead of buying them new.

Its a good thing that games like Godhand are being made accessible to new players because Godhand is an amazing title that should be played by more people, but Sony again tries to cash in on people with methods that just arent cool at all. Especially since the first few PS3 models HAD PS2 emulation.
I even played Godhand with my cousin on his PS3 yesterday which makes me think that I'm a psychic or something.

 

[Linkachu]

I agree with you fully on principle, but the truth is that I haven't been able to buy every PS2 game that I ever wanted. Been searching for a couple of gems for ages, and if the PSN eventually gets them then I'm not too fussed. We already know Sony loves to screw people over, so I'm long past that (I have achieved apathy! ) and now I'm just wanting my games.

Being a gamer makes me feel dirty sometimes.

 

[Fumanshu]

Of course. It has positive aspects too. I was thinking about getting some of the games that I dont own yet on it too.
But really, PS2 emulation should have been part of it WHILE offering it on PSN.
Games like Godhand or Odin Sphere are rare anyways.

I'm more annoyed about the fact that I cant run those PS2 games on my PS3 now especially since I already own them.
Backwards compability is nice because it saves room. And I already have like 12 consoles. Just got myself a genesis/megadrive with sonic 1,2 &k. Have to look for 3 now and the other cool games.


Also, everybody got their free 4 swords game? I heard that it has a single player mode now which is cool.

 

[Linkachu]

I still can't get the forum's youtube tags to display properly for me. >=/

Anyways: Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3 - Phoenix Wright

I didn't even play the original, but this makes me laugh. xD

Thoughts from you guys?

 

[Fumanshu]

Very bad. Poor fighting game designers had to think of a way to make a character that shouldnt be a character work. So they went the silly route.
The move animations themselves are pretty good on the source material.
It also seems as if they planned for Phoenix to summon more helpers but because of time/money problems they kept it at mya.
Its not a character that should be, especially because way more fitting ones would be very easy to make.
But the fans have spoken (people that dont even play the fighting games often) and Capcom listened.

The character himself has a pretty set-up based gimmick playstyle.
You have 3 modes that you play in. Investigation, Courtroom and Turnabout Mode. Each is based on the parts of the regular phoenix games.
In investigation mode phoenix looks for clues, each clue can be used as a fireball like projectile. Thing is: The clues are random. You can also find evidence that just doesnt work which he has to toss away.He also has access to Mya in this mode Courtroom mode expands his offensive abilities and is more ranged based.
When he get the full evidence he can go into Turnabout mode which gives him access to his level 3 super and makes him stronger. He can use his objection finger in that mode nonstop which has a long range and is very strong.
All in all very gimmicky because you have to rely on luck until your somewhat crippled character turns into something decent. His normals seem to be slow too.
Interesting how Capcom pulled him off but I doubt that he will be effective.

From UMVC3 I so far like Ironfist:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wK0lW4hB8Dc
A Bruce Lee based superhero that translates very well into a fighting game. Will most likely have the move imputs like Fei Long from Street Fighter (another guy based on bruce lee)

and Vergil:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apYjRQ0DNbM
Made a great transformation into a fighting game character. Many feared that he would be a Dante clone but his moveset is extremely diverse (just like in the DmC3)

I most likely wont buy UMVC3 for the full price, I will wait for a price drop.

 

[Linkachu]

A new, original Legend of Zelda game has been confirmed for 3DS.

Apparently they're also considering a Majora's Mask 3DS remake but they would rather release a brand new Zelda game first. I'm thankful for that. Remakes can only get you so far.

 

[Fumanshu]

I dont know what to play. I have too many videogames. Too many new games came out.
This is a Dilemma.

Sonic Generations is magnificient, Dark Souls is amazing, the new Kirby looks promising, Zelda SS is day1 buy, new Mario looks exactly like what I want, StreetfighetXTekken looks cool and my backlog alone shrinks whole collections of Video game afficionados to insignificant piles in comparison.

To top it off I manage a Dwarf only guild in WoW which is quite successful, started playing Starcraft 2 with some people I know, uni began again.

I want to buy time.
But first, I will finish Sonic Generations.

 

[Linkachu]

Europe received confirmation of this bundle awhile ago, but it's now been confirmed for North America too. Get it while it's hot!

I really can't justify getting this. If the Ambassador Program didn't exist I'd trade up for it in a heartbeat, but at the end of the day it's still just a shiny new design... and I want my GBA games. ;x

 

[Doctor Oak]

Speaking of which, there are only about 5 weeks left of this year, where the hell are they?

How difficult is it to package some ROMs in with an emulator and send them out? Typical Nintendo slowness and half-arsedness. They're not doing much to endear me as a 3DS owner... The sooner they get a proper Pokemon game on this thing, the better...

 

[Fumanshu]

Nintendo most likely wants Mario Kart and 3DLand to take the spotlight right now.
I would generally prefer more actual new games. Good thing that at least a few are coming soon.

The addition of more multiplayer functionality is good. Still extremely retarded considering that stuff like that should have been out on launch.
Not that that many online games or games in general to begin with.

Mario3DLand convinced me that the 3DS was a good investment. Amazing games.
Some nice stuff is coming out on it soon. Though I doubt that I will buy those games directly as I'm lacking the money right now.

Sonic Generations 3DS kind of interests me, but even Sega said that the game was shit some time ago so I would prefer to see how that turns out before buying it blindly. The PC version of Sonic Gen. was just great.

There's generally more games out than you can talk about. 2011 shaped up to be a very good year for videogames.


Also from the looks of it the PSVita is shaping up to be the PSP all over again. Only bigger heaver with less battery and more known ports.
So far there isnt even one interesting announced game for it that wasnt out on another console before.
That thing is launching in Japan too, but who knows how well that thing will sell. Nintendo now has Dragon Quest,Pokemon and Monster Hunter. 3 of the best selling handheld titles over there.
It would be cool to see some new IPs that become super popular on the Vita in the future, but right now I wouldnt say that one exists.

 

[Magpie]

Finished Mario 3D Land the other day. The Special Crown level was evil. I really enjoyed it, and the use of 3D was lovely. I'm glad I bought it

I have Mario Kart 7 and Rumble on pre-order (Mario Kart 7 shipped today apparently!) so I'm looking forward to both of them. I know I'll love Mario Kart, but I never played the original Pokemon Rumble, so I'm looking froward to giving it a go.

 

[Demelza]

Finished Mario 3D Land the other day. The Special Crown level was evil. I really enjoyed it, and the use of 3D was lovely. I'm glad I bought it

I have Mario Kart 7 and Rumble on pre-order (Mario Kart 7 shipped today apparently!) so I'm looking forward to both of them. I know I'll love Mario Kart, but I never played the original Pokemon Rumble, so I'm looking froward to giving it a go.

Yeah Crown level was pretty evil but pleasing to beat at the same time. I went through the game with the 3D set on the sorta, 'coming out towards you' mode and I like the depth mode more. So, I'm running through it again with the different 3D mode.

Mum and dad have Mario Kart and pokemon Rumble ordered for me. Mario Kart sounds like it's set to be epic and one of the biggest releases this year. While Pokemon Rumble shall just be a fun little title

 

[Linkachu]

I can't wait for Mario Kart 7. Not too much longer now~

Pokecharms Community GOGOGO! 8D

 

[Coreysawrus]

We should all race each other Then again it could cause tensions if your anything like me I just shout 'you bitch' whenever I get hit on Mario Kart and other insults and swears xD

 

[Fumanshu]

http://www.metro.co.uk/tech/games/88337 ... for-europe

Its confirmed. Cant wait for that. Might wait for a 3rd party one though. WIth added battery life or somethin.

 

[Doctor Oak]

A waste of money for a tumour to strap onto your console and eradicate all possible portability for it just because Nintendo either didn't realise that you can't fucking play a three dimensional game using digital buttons, or realised that people would be stupid enough to buy this piece of crap, and then have to buy a new 3DS within a year of the original's release anyway when they put out a redesign with the correct amount of 'slide pads' already on board.

No retail software, no digital download software (we're just not getting those GBA games, then?), no clue about how to possibly manage an online system for their hardware and no clue how to ship hardware right the first time. The 3DS is looking like a worse and worse investment every month it drags on aimlessly.

 

[Fumanshu]

The 2nd slidepad still an improvement. No matter if they didnt include it on launch. The other option would be not getting those 3D games at all. And that would be a huge waste. The DS already lived with either fixed camera angles, 2D games or touchpad only games.
And while Nintendo knows how to dance around with that issue when its about games with clever angles like in Mario3DSLand, this would just further drive away big name developers and IPs.

And I really need something bigger or handier or bigger buttons or I dont even know. I'm breaking my fingers when I play on the 3DS and I cant tell why.
Why cant we go back to Brick gameboy buttons? Those were huuuuge and nice.

The 3DS is actually shaping up to be an amazing thing.
Games are actually getting released now. And the online capabilities got enhanced with the latest patch. Still needs more love though.

The system also surpassed original DS sales of the first year already.And its not one year old yet. Holiday sales arent over yet.
Its also getting more interesting titles than the PSP, the GBA and the DS got in their first year. At least in my opinion.

I kind of fear for the Vita right now.