I'm just imagining the way Microsoft could cross-communicate games, play words with friends from your phone to the 360, or Uno for that matter. They could even release that Halo console interface thing for the phone.
Whether or not any of this actually happens, I'm doubtful, but hopeful. It could be pretty awesome.
Activision Blizzard Inc. hasn't disclosed development costs for its "Starcraft II" videogame. A July 16 Technology article about the "Starcraft" sequel incorrectly said the company spent more than $100 million to develop the game; that figure referred to its "World of Warcraft" game.
A bit high for Starcraft, but for WoW that's nothing. They probably make that money back every couple of months.
To make this more on-topic, the XBox live integration didn't get great remarks in the last review I saw, but I'm sure they're scrambling to finish it up and get some games finalized for it, so it will be interesting if they really market that well if 360 owners will choose WP7 just to increase their gamerscore with phone games too. Finally get something like was mentioned in 2006:
Wait. So if I'm reading you right, games for Win7 mobile will have access to your Live account and count towards your achievements?
I used to be a Maccie. Not so much anymore. Main reason I wanted an iPhone was for games support and... that's pretty much it. if Win7 phones have similar support, I would definitely consider it.
It's still the tried-and-true turn-based DQ you know and love/hate, but outside of battles the game structure is pretty different. It's very dungeon crawl-y; you create all party members from scratch, hundreds of pieces of individual gear (all viewable on character) and a huge portion of the game/postgame content hinges on randomly generated dungeons with loot and pretty challenging bosses. It's also got a pretty complex job system that lets you switch at will and carry over skills/passive abilities between jobs, and there's an alchemy system that relies on items dropped by enemies and picked up from spawn points across the map. And there's local multiplayer, which lets you hop into another player's world, Fable II-style, but no online play.
Awesome. Thanks. Looks like I know what to get the wife next time she wants another DS game.
One of the most important events in the gaming calendar was dealt another blow today with publishing giant Capcom declining the chance to exhibit there.
And an official statement by Capcom shows that its absence from Gamescom is in part due to a controversial ban on action/horror title Dead Rising.
Capcom’s decision to skip Gamescom also comes after rival publisher Sega announced it won’t be attending the Cologne-based event.
While Sega’s decision to skip Gamescom was ‘commercial’, Capcom’s appears to have a political element.
As a statement on Capcom’s blog explains: “Right now we have confirmed two titles for release between August and the end of the year – Dead Rising 2 and Sengoku Basara Samurai Heroes.
“As you are probably aware the first Dead Rising was banned in Germany and - as we are still awaiting a verdict from the USK for Dead Rising 2 - it would be remiss of us to promote the sequel to consumers in Germany.”
Capcom measured its statement with an element of general praise for the event, saying that GamesCom “allows publishers and developers an excellent opportunity to promote their titles to both consumers and media”.
One of the most important events in the gaming calendar was dealt another blow today with publishing giant Capcom declining the chance to exhibit there.
And an official statement by Capcom shows that its absence from Gamescom is in part due to a controversial ban on action/horror title Dead Rising.
Capcom’s decision to skip Gamescom also comes after rival publisher Sega announced it won’t be attending the Cologne-based event.
While Sega’s decision to skip Gamescom was ‘commercial’, Capcom’s appears to have a political element.
As a statement on Capcom’s blog explains: “Right now we have confirmed two titles for release between August and the end of the year – Dead Rising 2 and Sengoku Basara Samurai Heroes.
“As you are probably aware the first Dead Rising was banned in Germany and - as we are still awaiting a verdict from the USK for Dead Rising 2 - it would be remiss of us to promote the sequel to consumers in Germany.”
Capcom measured its statement with an element of general praise for the event, saying that GamesCom “allows publishers and developers an excellent opportunity to promote their titles to both consumers and media”.
But like, that's what the ESRB ratings are there for right? It's not law but it's guideline that usually gets followed.
Unless there's more to the law than "you can't sell it to them," such as stuff about what you can demo to the public, etc.
I don't know. It's a knee jerk law. People always use the hoary GTA as the uber-example. That kids might get their hands on it. Are there places that sell it to kids? Almost certainly. But all this law really does is give parents the false sense that their kid is protected from inappropriate material. In the future, look for cigarette and alcohol style stings to catch stores selling games to kids.
The bigger problem with the fight is that it isn't tied in with ESRB ratings. It'd be almost acceptable if they said 'No M games to minors!' But the rules about what counts as violent can be applied to practically any game no matter what the rating is.
The defense that it's a First Amendment issue is a bit dodgy since everybody agrees that M games shouldn't be sold to kids. However, there really isn't much more that can be done. Plenty of laws are made and passed that restrict the sale of things to minors. However, those are usually more specific than this one. And that's a much harder case to win.
To make this more on-topic, the XBox live integration didn't get great remarks in the last review I saw, but I'm sure they're scrambling to finish it up and get some games finalized for it, so it will be interesting if they really market that well if 360 owners will choose WP7 just to increase their gamerscore with phone games too. Finally get something like was mentioned in 2006:
Wait. So if I'm reading you right, games for Win7 mobile will have access to your Live account and count towards your achievements?
I used to be a Maccie. Not so much anymore. Main reason I wanted an iPhone was for games support and... that's pretty much it. if Win7 phones have similar support, I would definitely consider it.
That stuff is the reason why I haven't gotten an Android phone yet. I really want to see what comes out for WP7 and then choose. I love it when stuff works together. Now MS just needs to get working on the 360 running Zune music as well, so it can read my subscription content on my home server.
Here's an interesting article that dredges up newsgroup posts from the NES era that are complaining about Nintendo being too casual/the NES being underpowered/etc. Nintendo's always been too casual/kiddy I guess.
Here's an interesting article that dredges up newsgroup posts from the NES era that are complaining about Nintendo being too casual/the NES being underpowered/etc. Nintendo's always been too casual/kiddy I guess.
That whole article was great to read, and the included articles from the past too.
It's hilarious. 1983 article talking about how Japanese/Nintendo games are too casual because they're cheery and linear and too easy and "made for novices," and that it's ushering in a decline in the industry for "hardcore gamers" who like the more serious, more challenging hardcore games involving blowing shit up (Robotron, Stargate, Defender). The guy he talked to in the article said that games like Donkey Kong and PacMan were designed for "novices", making games "too easy" for the casual gamer and "ripping off" the hardcore gamer. That these games are made for a "wider group of people," and how he derides these games as being "for Mom" and for girls.
And Dragon Quest, boy that game brought about the death of hardcore RPGs, with its cheery premise and utterly easy casual gameplay. Described as a "casual" iteration of gameplay from stuff like U ltima and Wizardry.
And now to quote the same quote from the article because it's hilarious:
Here is one message from a ‘hardcore gamer’ in 1989:
Personally, I think the Nintendo is a piece of right wing garbage akin to the
IBM PC. Slow, out of date, but heavily marketed so that mindless dweenies will
think it’s the hottest thing since Zelda had her first period. I have yet TO
SEE A SINGLE GAME ON THE THING SUBSTANTIALLY BETTER THAN STUFF I
PLAYED ON MY OLD ATARI 800 SEVEN YEARS AGO…..Yes, there are some nice games, but
they do not do anything extraordinary and in fact clearly show
the glaring limitations of the thing’s inferior pre-VLSI hardware.
On the subject of the Sega Genesis and the Turbografix 16. At least these guys
are using hardware invented after the Apple II, give ‘em credit! The graphics
in these games are NICE! I really can’t give a decent opinion as to which is
better, they’re both fantastic!
But now I get to stand on my soapbox and have some fun. Correct me if I am
wrong, but isn’t the Atari 7800 superior hardware wise to the NES? I heard
thing could manipulate 64 BIG sprites at once. It was developed right when
the slump hit the videogame industry, and two fantastic and innovative games
Rescue at fractalus and Ballblazer NEVER got the recognition they deserved.
I have yet to see ANYTHING on the NES half as good as these wondrous
creations from Lucasfilm. All I ever see are variations on the horizontal/
vertical scrolling find the magic trinket and or blow it up while a host of
randomly drawn stick figures get in your way theme. I’d rather pay 25 cents
in an arcade and at least get decent graphics and sound.
This gets us to another topic. Anyone who believes the Gamebody superior to
the Lynx is a complete loony. However, I think there is a good chance the
Lynx will fail simply because the Gameboy is saturing the market. I hope this
does not happen because I do not see anyone else creating truly innovative
software for home video games. Even the Sega and NEC systems are only offering
souped up versions of the aforementioned theme…
The only really nifty games are being written for Amigas and ST’s with sorry
adaptions made for befuddled PC users who gladly shuck out the bucks when they
see screenshots from the ST and Amiga versions (usually the Amiga version ),
and get the Nintendosized version of a formerly fantastic game. One could
probably write neat stuff for the Mac II, but who wants to pay $7000 for a
video game ? The saddest part about this tale is that the PC version by far
outshines the combined profits of Amiga and ST versions so now some programmers
are dropping the Amiga and ST and limiting their horizons simply for the bucks.
I’m writing what I hope is a truly innovative video game myself right now, I
am writing it on an Atari ST with plans for both Amiga and PC adaptations, but
the key word here IS adaptations. The Amiga version will certainly be a little
better with the nifty sound and blitter chip, but I will need to write the PC
adaptation to make the thing truly profitable and that will be by far the
hardest part. Anyone out there looking for games for the NEC or Genesis? This
game would be PERFECT! I already know the thing would crash and burn on an NES
In closing, this post rambled ALOT, but I have wanted to broadcast my views
on the NES monopoly and the general creative decline it has triggered for a
very long time…
It's not hardcore enough and the graphics aren't cutting edge enough!
There's more interesting musings in the article too.
Man this old 1992 message board is great. The talk about the SNES versus the Genesis sounds exactly like the kind of thing you hear these days between the 360 and PS3.
Also, that really sucks for Gamescon. But I mean... that's about the appropriate response Capcom could give, frankly.
We're meant to believe Capcom decided not to go to it based solely because one of their games might be banned? Really? The biggest gaming convention in Europe and Capcom aren't going because they don't want to mislead German gamers? Bullshit.
Never mind that it's probably pretty easy to import banned games, what the fuck about their other games? At Comic Con they're also showing Sengoku Basara, Marvel vs Capcom 3, Okamiden, RE5 Move, Bionic Commando Rearmed 2, Monster Hunter Tri and Megaman Universe. I guess they were worried about them getting banned as well?
The legal consequences of a work being listed on the Index are enumerated in § 15 Jugendschutzgesetz[2] (law for the protection of minors):
1. It must not be sold, provided or otherwise made accessible to minors.
2. It must not be displayed where it can be seen by minors. This would, for example, include playing an indexed game in the presence of minors.
3. It must be sold only within a shop. Basically selling indexed titles per mail order is illegal, however it is permissible if the package may only be handed over to a specified adult person, who has to present ID.
4. It must not be rented out, except in a shop inaccessible to minors. This is why most video rentals in Germany are not accessible for minors - otherwise they would not be allowed to rent out certain horror (and adult) films.
5. It must not be imported by mail order. In this case even an adult buyer is subject to penalty.
6. It must not be advertised or announced in a place where the announcement or advertisement could be seen by minors.
7. If it is for one of the above six causes, production, acquiring, and holding in store are subject to penalty too.
It is a matter of dispute whether criticism or discussion of indexed works is allowed in works that are accessible to young people. Public prosecutors have not been unanimous in this regard, but publishers tend to err on the side of safety: In the German version of Marc Saltzman's Game Design: Secret of the Sages, for example, the titles of indexed games were replaced by random strings matching only first letter and length.
To my English-language readers and co-bloggers: Dead Rising from Capcom is not banned in Germany. I know, the German system is complicated and unique, so you might get confused – but before you just take a news item for granted, how about asking somebody from Germany to get the facts straight?
USK, the equivalent to ESRB or PEGI, has decided to give Dead Rising no age rating at all because it might, and I need to stress might, get “banned” in the future due to its violent nature. For the time being that only means two things:
1. The game can not be sold to minors and can not be sold via mail order – but it still could be advertised and shown openly.
2. Microsoft does not allow software companies to publish “unrated” games on Xbox 360 (in the US, every 360 game has to have an ESRB rating) – and in Germany we have the unique situation that a game can be denied a rating by USK, making it technically an unrated game. So Dead Rising can not be published in Germany.
Now, what CAN happen is that the BPjM could “ban” the game (I’ll stick with the word “ban” although it is literally wrong, as it is not a real ban of the game but more a ban of the promotion of the game). It can do that with unrated games only. When this “ban” happens, the game still can legally be sold “under the counter” to adults but any kind of advertising, including just showing it in a store, is forbidden. To get such a “ban” though the game must be available on the german market first, then a youth organization can apply for such a “ban” and this whole process can take several weeks. There is no way to “ban” a title before it even is released.
The Catch-22 in this is that BPjM can not “ban” any rated games. So if USK gives the game a rating, it is out of BPjMs reach. This in the past has led to some heated discussions about games that politicians said should have been “banned” but couldn’t. Therefore USK is under the pressure of not rating a game if they see the possibility that somebody will ask for it to get “banned” in the future. And as this dilemma only happens to a minimal amount of games published (less then a handful a year out of several hundred releases), this problem is not high on the agenda.
So Dead Rising could be legally sold in Germany, but won’t be published. Yeah, I know this sucks. Tell our politicians please.
Xbox 360 with its unique parental control system would make titles like Dead Rising permissible even in a strict market like Germany. All it would need is an official age rating of any kind. The situation of a game having no age rating at all is weird and not very customer- or publisher-friendly. On the other hand, Microsoft (in my view) can not loosen the tight rule of requiring every game to carry a proper legal age rating – because that would immediately undermine the Family Settings feature and make the situation in the long term worse rather than better. The Family Settings in Xbox allow adult players to enjoy the content they want while protecting children from inappropriate content. And all that is tuned to the local standards by using the local age rating systems. Now we just need a legal rating for every game and we’re fine.
Activision Blizzard Inc. hasn't disclosed development costs for its "Starcraft II" videogame. A July 16 Technology article about the "Starcraft" sequel incorrectly said the company spent more than $100 million to develop the game; that figure referred to its "World of Warcraft" game.
A bit high for Starcraft, but for WoW that's nothing. They probably make that money back every couple of months.
Yeah, that makes a lot more sense knowing its for WOW. A lot more.
It's a really minor conference still. Very few new games that anyone cares about get announced here.
Last year Sony announced the PS3 Slim and Microsoft announced Fable 3. Have ComicCon and PAX had better game related announcements? I guess Capcom shouldn't bother turning up to those either? Should I point out that 245,000 people attended GamesCom last year, making it the best videogame event on the planet?
We have similar laws but that didn't stop people importing Manhunt when it was banned. No-one's going to chase down people just because they imported a violent videogame, unless they're ordering them in bulk and trying to distribute them anyway.
I also have no idea why Comic Con became a fake videogame event about 3-4 years ago. My guess is that it is the natural progression from being a fake tv/movie event of 6-7 years ago.
PAX is also really, really small right now.
I'm not saying that Europe doesn't need a big event or that this one isn't slowly becoming one, I'm just saying that the announcements so far have been less then spectacular. I'd put GDC above it and that's another lame event to announce stuff at.
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edited July 2010
So is it weird that Starcraft II doesn't cause even a glimmer of interest on my part? Because I love the original when I was younger, but since then I've also seen and played the 40k stuff (even the tabletop version). Now all I see is ripoff Space Marine, ripoff Tyranids, and ripoff Eldar.
I wonder how many other people feel this way now that 40k has gotten a lot more prominent?
Also, the easy solution to the Capcom thing is for the German government not to be stupid and to stop banning things. Slap as many warnings as they want on there, but banning games outright? Do they really think the entire population is a bunch of ten year-olds?
We have similar laws but that didn't stop people importing Manhunt when it was banned. No-one's going to chase down people just because they imported a violent videogame, unless they're ordering them in bulk and trying to distribute them anyway.
It prevents them from importing from pretty much any retailer except for things like eBay. Those few thousand copies that might make it in might as well be worthless to Capcom.
So is it weird that Starcraft II doesn't cause even a glimmer of interest on my part? Because I love the original when I was younger, but since then I've also seen and played the 40k stuff (even the tabletop version). Now all I see is ripoff Space Marine, ripoff Tyranids, and ripoff Eldar.
I wonder how many other people feel this way now that 40k has gotten a lot more prominent?
Also, the easy solution to the Capcom thing is for the German government not to be stupid and to stop banning things. Slap as many warnings as they want on there, but banning games outright? Do they really think the entire population is a bunch of ten year-olds?
You do realize that 40k is nothing but a mish mash of various borrowed sci-fi cliches, right?
So to answer your question; no, it's not weird to have no interest in something that fascinated you 13 odd years ago, but your reasons for not having interest aren't the best. If your pc can run it you might want to give any demo released a shot.
I don't care about Starcraft 2 because my tastes in rts' have shifted over the years. I hate that kind of frantic micro-heavy gameplay nowadays. I prefer more serene stuff that focuses on strategy and higher-level planning, not just apm.
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Whether or not any of this actually happens, I'm doubtful, but hopeful. It could be pretty awesome.
A bit high for Starcraft, but for WoW that's nothing. They probably make that money back every couple of months.
Wait. So if I'm reading you right, games for Win7 mobile will have access to your Live account and count towards your achievements?
You're not alone.
I used to be a Maccie. Not so much anymore. Main reason I wanted an iPhone was for games support and... that's pretty much it. if Win7 phones have similar support, I would definitely consider it.
Awesome. Thanks. Looks like I know what to get the wife next time she wants another DS game.
EDIT
Anyone played Soul of Darkness on the DSi?
Better than most Castlevania games.
Steam ID: slashx000______Twitter: @bill_at_zeboyd______ Facebook: Zeboyd Games
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unterhaltungssoftware_Selbstkontrolle
Wonder what happens to E3 if that California law passes.
Also, that really sucks for Gamescon. But I mean... that's about the appropriate response Capcom could give, frankly.
A few years ago, California tried to enact a law that banned the sale of violent video games to children. A noble cause, indeed. The Ninth Circuit upheld the law and the Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguments.
But like, that's what the ESRB ratings are there for right? It's not law but it's guideline that usually gets followed.
Unless there's more to the law than "you can't sell it to them," such as stuff about what you can demo to the public, etc.
I don't know. It's a knee jerk law. People always use the hoary GTA as the uber-example. That kids might get their hands on it. Are there places that sell it to kids? Almost certainly. But all this law really does is give parents the false sense that their kid is protected from inappropriate material. In the future, look for cigarette and alcohol style stings to catch stores selling games to kids.
The bigger problem with the fight is that it isn't tied in with ESRB ratings. It'd be almost acceptable if they said 'No M games to minors!' But the rules about what counts as violent can be applied to practically any game no matter what the rating is.
The defense that it's a First Amendment issue is a bit dodgy since everybody agrees that M games shouldn't be sold to kids. However, there really isn't much more that can be done. Plenty of laws are made and passed that restrict the sale of things to minors. However, those are usually more specific than this one. And that's a much harder case to win.
One of the cool things about ms unified live platform is that it can do things like this: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/06/microsoft-shows-off-single-game-running-on-windows-windows-phon/
If certain XBLA games can be played on a Win7 phone, then I'm sold.
That whole article was great to read, and the included articles from the past too.
It's hilarious. 1983 article talking about how Japanese/Nintendo games are too casual because they're cheery and linear and too easy and "made for novices," and that it's ushering in a decline in the industry for "hardcore gamers" who like the more serious, more challenging hardcore games involving blowing shit up (Robotron, Stargate, Defender). The guy he talked to in the article said that games like Donkey Kong and PacMan were designed for "novices", making games "too easy" for the casual gamer and "ripping off" the hardcore gamer. That these games are made for a "wider group of people," and how he derides these games as being "for Mom" and for girls.
And Dragon Quest, boy that game brought about the death of hardcore RPGs, with its cheery premise and utterly easy casual gameplay. Described as a "casual" iteration of gameplay from stuff like U ltima and Wizardry.
And now to quote the same quote from the article because it's hilarious:
It's not hardcore enough and the graphics aren't cutting edge enough!
There's more interesting musings in the article too.
Steam ID: slashx000______Twitter: @bill_at_zeboyd______ Facebook: Zeboyd Games
Steam ID: slashx000______Twitter: @bill_at_zeboyd______ Facebook: Zeboyd Games
I don't want better zombie AI in Dead Rising 2, just better human AI.
Zeboyd Games Development Blog
Steam ID : rwb36, Twitter : Werezompire, Facebook : Zeboyd Games
We're meant to believe Capcom decided not to go to it based solely because one of their games might be banned? Really? The biggest gaming convention in Europe and Capcom aren't going because they don't want to mislead German gamers? Bullshit.
Never mind that it's probably pretty easy to import banned games, what the fuck about their other games? At Comic Con they're also showing Sengoku Basara, Marvel vs Capcom 3, Okamiden, RE5 Move, Bionic Commando Rearmed 2, Monster Hunter Tri and Megaman Universe. I guess they were worried about them getting banned as well?
Shitty excuse and Capcom are assholes.
Rainbow!
http://www.cybercafe-software.com/indexlist.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bundespr%C3%BCfstelle_f%C3%BCr_jugendgef%C3%A4hrdende_Medien
http://www.dreisechzig.net/wp/archives/566
Yeah, outside of the hardcore, I doubt many people outside of Germany hear about it.
Yeah, that makes a lot more sense knowing its for WOW. A lot more.
Last year Sony announced the PS3 Slim and Microsoft announced Fable 3. Have ComicCon and PAX had better game related announcements? I guess Capcom shouldn't bother turning up to those either? Should I point out that 245,000 people attended GamesCom last year, making it the best videogame event on the planet?
We have similar laws but that didn't stop people importing Manhunt when it was banned. No-one's going to chase down people just because they imported a violent videogame, unless they're ordering them in bulk and trying to distribute them anyway.
Shock!
Awe!
I also have no idea why Comic Con became a fake videogame event about 3-4 years ago. My guess is that it is the natural progression from being a fake tv/movie event of 6-7 years ago.
PAX is also really, really small right now.
I'm not saying that Europe doesn't need a big event or that this one isn't slowly becoming one, I'm just saying that the announcements so far have been less then spectacular. I'd put GDC above it and that's another lame event to announce stuff at.
I wonder how many other people feel this way now that 40k has gotten a lot more prominent?
Also, the easy solution to the Capcom thing is for the German government not to be stupid and to stop banning things. Slap as many warnings as they want on there, but banning games outright? Do they really think the entire population is a bunch of ten year-olds?
You do realize that 40k is nothing but a mish mash of various borrowed sci-fi cliches, right?
So to answer your question; no, it's not weird to have no interest in something that fascinated you 13 odd years ago, but your reasons for not having interest aren't the best. If your pc can run it you might want to give any demo released a shot.
That's my thoughts. I mean seriously?
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