2011 TGS stuff thread

[Armando]

Re: 2011 TGS stuff thread

Not only is hardcore PC gaming as widespread and accessible as console gaming, but our culture of piracy can make it difficult to make a buck.

I don't think think piracy is the real issue. Once a console gets hacked practically every game is available to you hassle-free, often from one single site. On PC you have to snoop around the net trying to find keygens or unlocked versions of every game or program you want to pirate. On the DS you don't even have to hack anything, you just shell out $15 for a flash cart and you're golden.

I think it's more the general lack of affordable gaming laptops and the higher technical knowledge needed to know what to buy and how to deal with driver problems. Anyone can buy an X-Box and hook it up to the TV, and it's easier to afford too.

[Raydeus]

Re: 2011 TGS stuff thread

Consoles are where the money's made, so it's partially our fault that this is the way it is. Not only is hardcore PC gaming as widespread and accessible as console gaming, but our culture of piracy can make it difficult to make a buck.

Sad but true, although a lot has to do with developers trying to control their PC games in a console way (probably learned that from Nintendo) when that just doesn't work for PC gamers.

Only Valve seems to be able to understand the differences, but then again I have no idea how much their games are pirated compared to others.

One thing is certain though, the more restrictions you try to put in place the easier it will be for people to turn to piracy. Where I live regional restrictions are a dime a dozen, and you know what happens when game companies don't want to take your latin-american money? Pirates will. No questions asked and no Secululz involved.

People are already looking for excuses to save some money, so treating your paying costumers as thieves isn't helping your case.

[Malacite]

Re: 2011 TGS stuff thread

But you are right, releases on multiple platforms are killing the quality of games.

Unfortunately the production costs of games is so damned high now that devs have no choice but to go multi-platform (unless they're getting paid extra by Sony/MS - Nintendo is exempt from this since, well, their 1st party stuff is what generates the most cash anyway)

[Raydeus]

Re: 2011 TGS stuff thread

Costs are high for HD assets, yes. But the worse of it comes from developers who were purchased by other companies to squeeze their popular IPs.

That's when they become 100% cash cows and start with yearly-low budget multiplatform incarnations of their franchises.

[Icemage]

Re: 2011 TGS stuff thread

Seems like Sony's already on top of the 3-5 hour battery issue with an official optional external battery.

PSVita external battery’s capacity to be 5000mAh, 9 – 15h of playtime in total

This will probably be extreme wallet rape for pricing (like all gaming accessories), but at least it offers some options, and I would certainly be OK with three times the battery life. I'm sure Nyko or someone else will come along with a cheaper alternative, too.


Icemage

[Raydeus]

Re: 2011 TGS stuff thread

I'm kinda glad I'm never away from my car when I actually use a portable as a portable (charger ftw), but for the most part my PSP is usually competing with my PC and PS3 for game time after work.

Which is very sad. orz


PS >

[Kailea]

Re: 2011 TGS stuff thread

Seems like Sony's already on top of the 3-5 hour battery issue with an official optional external battery.

PSVita external battery’s capacity to be 5000mAh, 9 – 15h of playtime in total

This will probably be extreme wallet rape for pricing (like all gaming accessories), but at least it offers some options, and I would certainly be OK with three times the battery life. I'm sure Nyko or someone else will come along with a cheaper alternative, too.


Icemage

mmm just like Companies these days..... "oh its ok, we don't have to fix the problem, we will just make the customer buy something extra to "fix" it"

-.- god I hope the PSV has video out like the PSP has, or I might wait a good bit to get one, maybe when model 2 comes out.

[Malacite]

Re: 2011 TGS stuff thread

Costs are high for HD assets, yes. But the worse of it comes from developers who were purchased by other companies to squeeze their popular IPs.

Eh, the two go hand in hand really...

Activision doesn't just shit out a new CoD every year for the hell of it - an average game these days needs to sell 2 million copies just to break even. That's just insanity.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: 2011 TGS stuff thread

Eh, the two go hand in hand really...

Activision doesn't just shit out a new CoD every year for the hell of it - an average game these days needs to sell 2 million copies just to break even. That's just insanity.

Bullshit. It all comes down to production costs and when you aim as high as Activision costs the break even number rises with it. The estimate you are throwing around applies more to a handful of holiday blockbuster releases and even then I'm inclined to exclude games like Dark Souls and Zelda: Skyward Sword from needing to hit that number for success.

Not all developers blow their budget on high end graphics and big name Hollywood actors. Its all about efficient design and spending. Does Infinity Ward or DICE know such things? Probably not, but it doesn't mean another developer can save money on development and be more profitable.

-------------------------
Vita's launch is starting to look ugly:.

Basically, Sony wants you to pay out the nose to mitigate the $250 Vita price tag.

TGS: Vita's Battery Life isn't Great, Memory Cards are Pricey

Here's some disturbing facts:

- Although the games come on flash cards like 3DS and DS, a memory card is required for game saves for certain games which really just defies decades of sensible design.
- Worse: Vita has no on-board flash memory.
- Vita will not be coming with a memory card of any kind, you'll have to buy your own. 3DS presently comes with a 2GB card which, while small, is more than adequate for the downloadable games 3DS gets and 3DS does have on-board memory.
- 4GB memory card retails at $29, 16GB is like $72, 32 is $124. This is based off the yen value, but still, its not looking good in terms of US retail.
- Vita's charging cradle sold separately. 3DS comes with one as part of its package..

Just for the record, a 32GB SD card runs you $45 on Amazon or even a rather regular Radio Shack sale. Sony had the choice to pick the superior option in SD cards, they clearly opted for pure greed in proprietary media instead.

I just don't know if I can cope with that level of ineptitude. It makes all Nintendo's mishandlings of the 3DS look like a minor fumble.

I'll get the HD collections, but i'm going to have to wait for a hardware revision on this one and just get a new PSP in the meantime. Not even getting a larger HDD for my PS3 would help mitigate a lot of these issues, it would just create extra hassle instead.

It kind makes me sad, as I really would have liked to play my PSP games on that larger screen, but I'd rather invest in a tablet than waste my money on something so incomplete and shamelessly so.

[Kailea]

Re: 2011 TGS stuff thread

Here's some disturbing facts:

- Although the games come on flash cards like 3DS and DS, a memory card is required for game saves for certain games which really just defies decades of sensible design.
- Worse: Vita has no on-board flash memory.
- Vita will not be coming with a memory card of any kind, you'll have to buy your own. 3DS presently comes with a 2GB card which, while small, is more than adequate for the downloadable games 3DS gets and 3DS does have on-board memory.
- 4GB memory card retails at $29, 16GB is like $72, 32 is $124. This is based off the yen value, but still, its not looking good in terms of US retail.
- Vita's charging cradle sold separately. 3DS comes with one as part of its package..

Just for the record, a 32GB SD card runs you $45 on Amazon or even a rather regular Radio Shack sale. Sony had the choice to pick the superior option in SD cards, they clearly opted for pure greed in proprietary media instead.

I just don't know if I can cope with that level of ineptitude. It makes all Nintendo's mishandlings of the 3DS look like a minor fumble.

I'll get the HD collections, but i'm going to have to wait for a hardware revision on this one and just get a new PSP in the meantime. Not even getting a larger HDD for my PS3 would help mitigate a lot of these issues, it would just create extra hassle instead.

It kind makes me sad, as I really would have liked to play my PSP games on that larger screen, but I'd rather invest in a tablet than waste my money on something so incomplete and shamelessly so.
__________________

Yeah at first I was going to get this thing on launch day, but the more I looked at it, for one there where no launch games (yet I need to check again later) that interested me, and second all the points you just made, I mean really Sony? -.-

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: 2011 TGS stuff thread

I just don't know where they get off launching something in this fashion. For all the complaints about 3DS being rushed and incomplete, it came with a memory card, charging cradle and on-board memory. When game releases were slow, they compensated with the Ambassador programs.

Even if Vita had five games I wanted at launch, this still wouldn't be worth it the cash I'd have to drop on it because all of these expected features are notably absent.

And to think I could forgive two of those points if only Sony swallowed their pride and made it compatible with SD cards. That is seriously all it would take for me.

[Icemage]

Re: 2011 TGS stuff thread

I can only surmise that the proprietary memory cards are to discourage piracy (since Vita games are both downloadable or retail). Not including one with the system is silly, however; at the very least Sony should toss in a 2GB card or some on-board memory. It wouldn't demonstrably increase the cost, and would reduce confusion. Still a questionable choice, but I can at least see the reasoning behind it, given the PSP's checkered past with piracy.

On a personal level, it doesn't bug me "that" much, as I was expecting the unit to be like $350 anyway, so I just chalk that up to the reduced cost of the unit itself, but that's not a value proposition that's going to go over well with every consumer.

External storage doesn't bug me too much, as I've got a USB/Mini-USB SDHC card reader, so as long as I can do something with that, I'll be ok.


Icemage

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: 2011 TGS stuff thread

Icemage, when they say anything is a measure against piracy its NEVER a measure against piracy.

This is a cash grab and nothing more than that. Its the only reason there's a proprietary memory format, because we all know how well PSP and ProDuo prevented piracy.

You can't really rag on the 2nd nub for 3DS if you think this is in any way acceptable. At least the 3DS nub is optional. The things Vita is leaving out are very much needed, to say nothing of being features that should be part of the package.

[Icemage]

Re: 2011 TGS stuff thread

Icemage, when they say anything is a measure against piracy its NEVER a measure against piracy.

This is a cash grab and nothing more than that. Its the only reason there's a proprietary memory format, because we all know how well PSP and ProDuo prevented piracy.

You can't really rag on the 2nd nub for 3DS if you think this is in any way acceptable. At least the 3DS nub is optional. The things Vita is leaving out are very much needed, to say nothing of being features that should be part of the package.

Where in my post do you get the "memory card missing is acceptable"? I went out of my way to say that they really do need to include some form of reasonable storage as standard with the unit, since you basically can't play ANY game without some sort of storage.

It's stupid, as is the 3DS Slide Pad; less immediately visible, but forcing consumers to buy an overpriced proprietary product is lame. The 3DS Slide Pad splits the install base and makes life unpleasant for developers, and reduces the convenience factor of the 3DS. Not having an included memory card makes life unpleasant (once) for the consumer in terms of cost, but it doesn't affect the form factor nor how the games themselves play, but the price factor is way higher. Which of the two is worse, I have no idea, but they both suck.

As for the piracy thing, I don't think Sony have come out and said it's an anti-piracy measure: that's simply speculation on my part. I don't quite see it being primarily a greed issue - while I'm sure the potential of making a bit of money on the side on these cards isn't lost on Sony, I doubt it's the main reason. Certainly if the content can be placed on a SD or SDHC card which everyone has these days, it's probably only a matter of time before someone releases a hack that can distribute pirated software. Not that that will stop really dedicated hackers or pirates, but there's a spectrum of ease of use beyond which piracy is more trouble than it's worth (see: Blu-ray disc replication or iTunes for divergent examples), and having your content just sitting on an SD card that any Tom, Dick, or Harry can plug into their PC is just asking for trouble, particularly for a system that is trying to live or die by the strength of its downloadable games library.


Icemage

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: 2011 TGS stuff thread

Here's another pile of WTF from TGS, this time from Konami:

Remember how MGS3D: Snake Eater was going to be a full remake with addtions and improvements. Well, it still has some of the features from before, but its now pretty much a PS2 port, so forget about the improved graphics and gameplay. borrowed from MGS Peacewalker.

But wait! Theres more!

The MGS HD collection for PS3 in Japan will include MGS2, MGS3 and Peacewalker with a PSN voucher for both MGS and the PSP version of Peacewalker.

The PS3 version for the western release? MGS2, MGS3 Subsistence and Peacewalker, no vouchers for anything.

Oh, and transfarring? None of that! Why push the innovative feature they were pushing for Vita when they can just make a port and sell it separately!

360 version is otherwise the same as the PS3 Version.

So basically, Konami pulled a downgrade on 3DS, PS3 and Vita so they could save money, but they'll probably try to spin it as otherwise. They may as well downgrade the PS3 and 360 from getting Subsistence in the US, just for consistency's sake.

My question is why make all these promises and present these ambitious features upfront, much less have your man Kojima advocating them when you're not fully committed to it as his boss?

Konami just Capcomed on a level even Capcom couldn't pull off. I was actually really excited for the PS3 and 3DS versions, the Vita was just a bonus, but I guess we can't have nice things anywhere, eh? Really, just when I thought it was Sony that hit the level of irrevocably stupid decisions today, Konami goes and tops that.