These sorts of awards are about who paid for the recognition, not whether it was deserved.
Nah, Deadly Premonition was on the list. Though that could have just been a token one thrown in to make it look like they weren't doing anything evil like that.
It's just on there for indie cred. We all know Minecraft is taking that award.
What? Mass Effect 2 is not the first game to allow importing a save from a previous game. Off the top of my head I can think of .hack for PS2 and Golden Sun for GBA.
I am sure I'd see other silly things if I read the entire list.
Well, I think the innovation is that it's not just importing the save - it's importing the decisions you made as well. Considering the number of decisions you can make in ME1, I think it's fairly impressive that ME2 can theoretically operate in such a way as to take those decisions into account (note: I haven't actually played ME2, waiting for a Steam sale, so I don't know how well it's actually implemented). Most other save imports I've seen have been bonuses to start the game, or simply keeping some of the custom characters you had in the previous game. Though if you're talking about simply bringing character names / appearances over and general save importing, Magic Candle 2 beat out Mass Effect 2 by about 20 years. :P
ME1 -> ME2 carried over and acknowledged quite a lot of choices. More than you'd think if you sat down and cataloged them.
As to how many of them actually affected the plot? Next to fucking none. A line here, a quest giver there, and so on. You extracted more out of the events if you imported, but those events didn't change one single bit.
Which while kinda crappy, is realistically the only way they could have handled things. If I remember right, they said that for the third game, since it's the finale, they now have the freedom to go hogwild with choices/consequences.
I personally found the emails that boiled down to "Look at us, we're totally reading your save bits!" a bit silly. They can make a half dozen promotional sets of armor for retailer pre-orders or purchase DLC, but can't spare a single quantifiable bonus for any of your decisions, not even some money?
I'd have more faith that they'd actually be able to do something useful if they were able to actually give worthwhile choice and consequences in a single game in the first place. Rather than what amounts to the same extra lines of dialogue (with no real impact on anything else) for your binary good/evil choice, except in the middle of the next game, as opposed to in the epilogue.
It's somewhat ironic that you were able to make choices in the first game that were so meaningful that they had to shift the focus of the sequel so as to not have the consequences mess up everything.
Anyway, Gamasutra listed off their top five industry developments this year. They are:
5. Activision Signs 10-Year Deal With Halo House Bungie
4. Infinity Ward Reboots
3. Nintendo Unveils The 3DS
2. New Motion Controllers Arrive
1. Supreme Court Reviews Violent Video Game Law
Star Wars: The Old Republic has the potential to keep running for at least ten years.
That’s according to Electronic Arts’ CFO Eric Brown, who also claims the BioWare-developed MMO won’t depend on the millions of subscribers engaged by titles such as World of Warcraft.
Speaking at the UBS Annual Media and Communications Conference in New York, he said: “Our assumptions for break-even and profitability are not seven-digit subscribers. We think we can run and operate a very successful and profitable MMO at different levels.
“The key thing here is to really perfect the product. We’re shooting for an extremely high quality game experience. We view this as a ten-year opportunity.”
I want a developer to say the game will last an amazingly specific time. "We expect the game to last six years, three months, twenty-one days, twelve hours, five minutes, and two seconds."
Homosexuals are forbidden to donate blood in the US. Because we're all filthy.
This idiocy prevails in Australia too.
At least they could drop the double standard and not take blood from anyone who has buttsex.
It's not idiocy, it's safety. They are excluding a group that has a significantly higher chance of being infected with HIV/AIDS (by about 5,000% in the United States), end of story. I'm pretty sure no one at the plasma bank really cares where you put your dick. If it makes you feel better, heterosexuals get a thorough grilling on their sexual history as well.
The PSN price drops reminds me one of my big problems with nintendo's online store - they never, ever have goddam sales or price drops.
This. Nintendo never has price drops in general. Mario Kart DS has been out for five years and the MSRP has dropped by a whopping five bucks. Smash Brothers Brawl has been out for almost three years and it's still $45.
I guess this is something that you can do from a business standpoint when you're still seeing so much growth in DS and Wii ownership (continual influx of new owners means continual demand for mascot games means continual high prices), but it's still pretty ridiculous.
Star Wars: The Old Republic has the potential to keep running for at least ten years.
That’s according to Electronic Arts’ CFO Eric Brown, who also claims the BioWare-developed MMO won’t depend on the millions of subscribers engaged by titles such as World of Warcraft.
Speaking at the UBS Annual Media and Communications Conference in New York, he said: “Our assumptions for break-even and profitability are not seven-digit subscribers. We think we can run and operate a very successful and profitable MMO at different levels.
“The key thing here is to really perfect the product. We’re shooting for an extremely high quality game experience. We view this as a ten-year opportunity.”
I want a developer to say the game will last an amazingly specific time. "We expect the game to last six years, three months, twenty-one days, twelve hours, five minutes, and two seconds."
Even better is the reaction when the servers are shut off on that deadline and everybody gets pissed about it.
Today is the anniversary of John Lennon's death, so Yahoo posted a very tasteful and accurate picture of Yoko Ono.
snip
Also seen: Wrong date, photoshop.
Eh, that could be due to Yahoo posting stuff early or someone accessing it from the west coast.
Neither story is available now. Plus the 'bonus' content matches the Warcraft tab that's highlighted instead of relating to Lennon, Yoko, or anything close to it. I take anything hosted by gawker with a salt lick.
Today is the anniversary of John Lennon's death, so Yahoo posted a very tasteful and accurate picture of Yoko Ono.
snip
Also seen: Wrong date, photoshop.
Eh, that could be due to Yahoo posting stuff early or someone accessing it from the west coast.
Neither story is available now. Plus the 'bonus' content matches the Warcraft tab that's highlighted instead of relating to Lennon, Yoko, or anything close to it. I take anything hosted by gawker with a salt lick.
Besides, I work for a reputable newspaper that once had to literally stop the presses because the phrase "pubic schools" snuck in. Hilarious mistakes sometimes do happen.
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HedgethornAssociate Professor of Historical Hobby HorsesIn the Lions' DenRegistered Userregular
Besides, I work for a reputable newspaper that once had to literally stop the presses because the phrase "pubic schools" snuck in. Hilarious mistakes sometimes do happen.
Besides, I work for a reputable newspaper that once had to literally stop the presses because the phrase "pubic schools" snuck in. Hilarious mistakes sometimes do happen.
Besides, I work for a reputable newspaper that once had to literally stop the presses because the phrase "pubic schools" snuck in. Hilarious mistakes sometimes do happen.
Besides, I work for a reputable newspaper that once had to literally stop the presses because the phrase "pubic schools" snuck in. Hilarious mistakes sometimes do happen.
man i've wanted to pick up endless ocean for awhile. too bad i'm super broke.
that's right, not just broke. SUPER broke. like 16-bit and everything
You should be able to get it used for less than $10. If you pimp yourself out to 10 fat.... just do whatever it takes. You won't regret it.
i'm actually goin in today to donate my plasma for money so i can pay bills
Be glad you even can. I'm not allowed to even do that.
Too much time in Europe, or during the wrong time frame? Thats why I can't. I was there for 10 years, during the hoof and mouth epidemic. Thats a problem for blood takers here in the US.
Same here thanks to being an army brat. I went to donate blood and they said I'm deffered until around 2278.
man i've wanted to pick up endless ocean for awhile. too bad i'm super broke.
that's right, not just broke. SUPER broke. like 16-bit and everything
You should be able to get it used for less than $10. If you pimp yourself out to 10 fat.... just do whatever it takes. You won't regret it.
i'm actually goin in today to donate my plasma for money so i can pay bills
Be glad you even can. I'm not allowed to even do that.
Too much time in Europe, or during the wrong time frame? Thats why I can't. I was there for 10 years, during the hoof and mouth epidemic. Thats a problem for blood takers here in the US.
Same here thanks to being an army brat. I went to donate blood and they said I'm deffered until around 2278.
Ha ha EA I quit giving you money years ago anyway.
Your loss, you've missed out on some damn good games. Mirror's Edge, Dead Space, Burnout Paradise, Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age just off the top of my head.
I find the 'must be online' thing stupid but EA's hardly the only one doing it. Sony, Take 2 and Ubisoft have all added multiplayer modes in to previously single player only franchises (Uncharted, Bioshock and AssBro respectively). I have faith publishers will eventually learn that people will still trade in their multiplayer games, especially if the online community is dead.
As would be expected, the PSP 2, like the PSPgo, lacks a UMD drive and will run downloadable or expandable memory-based games.
Hm, another digital-distro attempt eh? Well I guess we'll see how well it turns out launching this way, rather than trying to shift digital mid-life cycle.
You're not reading that properly. "Expandable memory-based" == Flash memory cards.
It's another feature along the lines of "hey! You can stream the video from your PS3 to your PSP and control the game remotely!" that had all of, what, one game actually support it? Two?
Axing PS2 compatibility didn't bode well for that. Did the service extend to PS1 games--i.e. stick a PS1 game into the PS3, play it on a PSP?
Yeah, it did. Though you're obviously not going to want to play fast paced action games because there's a half-second input lag. There are also far more than one or two games that support Remote Play, Wiki says there's 26.
PS2 compatibility with Remote Play probably wouldn't have worked so well anyway. Controls were still fairly simple back on the PS1 and few games really made extensive use of the second analog stick or even the L2/R2 buttons. The PS2 on the other hand had a ton of games that used them extensively, which would make playing them impossible on the PSP.
Bioshock 2 was actually considered a really good shooter?
I never played Bioshock 2 but I was under the impression that the shooting was the one area where they vastly improved upon the original.
Oh and Undead Scottsman, I may have been wrong on the new Gears announcement at the VGA's bit. Apparently two of the remaining three announcements are Portal 2 and Mortal Kombat. I'm wondering if Spike relented to new trailers for already announced games because they didn't receive enough new game announcements. But regardless, I guess it's up in the air whether the Gears announcement is for Gears 3 or Gears Kinect Sports.
The MK announcement by the way, will probably be Kratos appearing in the PS3 version. The full character roster might be unveiled too.
Ha ha EA I quit giving you money years ago anyway.
Your loss, you've missed out on some damn good games. Mirror's Edge, Dead Space, Burnout Paradise, Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age just off the top of my head.
I find the 'must be online' thing stupid but EA's hardly the only one doing it. Sony, Take 2 and Ubisoft have all added multiplayer modes in to previously single player only franchises (Uncharted, Bioshock and AssBro respectively). I have faith publishers will eventually learn that people will still trade in their multiplayer games, especially if the online community is dead.
This is truth.
In fact Burnout Paradise has probably the most time I've clocked into any one game last year...not sure how long but it's over 100 hours.
On top of that Mirror's Edge is one of the most interesting and outright beautiful games to look at ever.
Ninja Snarl PMy helmet is my burden.Ninja Snarl: Gone, but not forgotten.Registered Userregular
edited December 2010
I'm OK with buying EA games now that they basically kicked the shit out of themselves enough to start making good games again and not universally treat their employees like garbage. Activision is really the only game company I actively revile as a matter of actual principle and I think they're showing every sign possible of turning the company into an irrecoverable fireball streaking across the game publishing sky.
But EA really has turned things around and has made a stack of good games in the last couple of years.
Oh and Undead Scottsman, I may have been wrong on the new Gears announcement at the VGA's bit. Apparently two of the remaining three announcements are Portal 2 and Mortal Kombat. I'm wondering if Spike relented to new trailers for already announced games because they didn't receive enough new game announcements. But regardless, I guess it's up in the air whether the Gears announcement is for Gears 3 or Gears Kinect Sports.
Level-5 sent Ni no Kuni off yesterday night in typical fashion, with a premier event that was attended by celebrities and a few lucky fans.
Famitsu.com, in its coverage of the event, reported that Level-5 CEO Akihiro Hino greeted the crowd by revealing an initial order number of 600,000 units for the game. This is the highest initial order for any new Level-5 property, said Hino.
He added that the staff hopes to build Ni no Kuni into a title that sells one million or two million copies. "We consider Ni no Kuni to be Level-5's next big title to follow Professor Layton and Inazuma Eleven."
DS version only. The PS3 version isn't coming out until sometime next year. I wouldn't really worry about seeing them localised, Level 5 didn't open US and UK offices for nothing.
Edit: Those aren't Ninokuni's sales numbers by the way, they're the number ordered by Japanese retailers.
It's another feature along the lines of "hey! You can stream the video from your PS3 to your PSP and control the game remotely!" that had all of, what, one game actually support it? Two?
Axing PS2 compatibility didn't bode well for that. Did the service extend to PS1 games--i.e. stick a PS1 game into the PS3, play it on a PSP?
Yeah, it did. Though you're obviously not going to want to play fast paced action games because there's a half-second input lag. There are also far more than one or two games that support Remote Play, Wiki says there's 26.
This isn't the PSP we're talking about, 26 games is still in the region of fuck-all when it comes to the PS3 library. Also, how the fuck do you play SingStar on a PSP...
Yeah they're meant to be different, though I don't think the story is changing too much between the two. The game mechanics and areas are probably the things that will be changed the most. As for the name, they have different subtitles to differentiate them.
It's another feature along the lines of "hey! You can stream the video from your PS3 to your PSP and control the game remotely!" that had all of, what, one game actually support it? Two?
Axing PS2 compatibility didn't bode well for that. Did the service extend to PS1 games--i.e. stick a PS1 game into the PS3, play it on a PSP?
Yeah, it did. Though you're obviously not going to want to play fast paced action games because there's a half-second input lag. There are also far more than one or two games that support Remote Play, Wiki says there's 26.
This isn't the PSP we're talking about, 26 games is still in the region of fuck-all when it comes to the PS3 library. Also, how the fuck do you play SingStar on a PSP...
Uh, I was just pointing out the number of PS3 games that support it. Add PS1 games and it goes to 2000+.
At least they could drop the double standard and not take blood from anyone who has buttsex.
That's what the US is. But it's still a stupid rule as the Red Cross confirms that the testing we have now is more then adequate to keep HIV out of donated blood.
Ha ha EA I quit giving you money years ago anyway.
Your loss, you've missed out on some damn good games. Mirror's Edge, Dead Space, Burnout Paradise, Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age just off the top of my head.
My gain, you mean. Dragon Age and Mirror's Edge were awful. Mass Effect is just offensive. I've never even heard of Burnout Paradise. I have to admit I liked Dead Space for about 6 hours tho. Happily, I only borrowed all of them so EA still didn't get any of me precious zenny.
EA is focusing way too much on trying to make cool stories (yet failing) and letting gameplay just sort of fill in some gaps.
The PSN price drops reminds me one of my big problems with nintendo's online store - they never, ever have goddam sales or price drops.
And the shit is IMPOSSIBLE to find anyway! Jeeze, I cannot convey how much I loathe the Wiiware store.
Ugh, it is the worst. Slow, only a small number of games per page, no simple "text only" list, terrible information for each game (more often than not, I'd read it and think "so uh.. what type of game is this"), and no goddam video, just two tiny screenshots.
The rumours of the PSP2 being "capable of graphics equal to early PS3 games" is just ludicrous. Clearly sony is going to pack as much power into it as they can, there is no way it is going to be cheap.
3DS can get away with the $300 price point, I am sure. The PSP2 is going to cost at least that much, and will not launch until afterward.
Ha ha EA I quit giving you money years ago anyway.
Your loss, you've missed out on some damn good games. Mirror's Edge, Dead Space, Burnout Paradise, Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age just off the top of my head.
My gain, you mean. Dragon Age and Mirror's Edge were awful. Mass Effect is just offensive. I've never even heard of Burnout Paradise. I have to admit I liked Dead Space for about 6 hours tho. Happily, I only borrowed all of them so EA still didn't get any of me precious zenny.
EA is focusing way too much on trying to make cool stories (yet failing) and letting gameplay just sort of fill in some gaps.
It's another feature along the lines of "hey! You can stream the video from your PS3 to your PSP and control the game remotely!" that had all of, what, one game actually support it? Two?
Axing PS2 compatibility didn't bode well for that. Did the service extend to PS1 games--i.e. stick a PS1 game into the PS3, play it on a PSP?
Yeah, it did. Though you're obviously not going to want to play fast paced action games because there's a half-second input lag. There are also far more than one or two games that support Remote Play, Wiki says there's 26.
This isn't the PSP we're talking about, 26 games is still in the region of fuck-all when it comes to the PS3 library. Also, how the fuck do you play SingStar on a PSP...
Uh, I was just pointing out the number of PS3 games that support it.
I was reacting to the "far more" part of your comment, which made it sound like the feature was actually relevant. I imagine most people just tried it once for kicks and moved on.
[edit] Burnout Paradise is sublime. ME1 is 9 for effort, 5 for execution, but ME2 is great.
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It's just on there for indie cred. We all know Minecraft is taking that award.
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It's somewhat ironic that you were able to make choices in the first game that were so meaningful that they had to shift the focus of the sequel so as to not have the consequences mess up everything.
This idiocy prevails in Australia too.
At least they could drop the double standard and not take blood from anyone who has buttsex.
The PSN price drops reminds me one of my big problems with nintendo's online store - they never, ever have goddam sales or price drops.
Explosions. Big, flaming explosions.
3DS FC: 0817-3759-2788
Anyway, Gamasutra listed off their top five industry developments this year. They are:
5. Activision Signs 10-Year Deal With Halo House Bungie
4. Infinity Ward Reboots
3. Nintendo Unveils The 3DS
2. New Motion Controllers Arrive
1. Supreme Court Reviews Violent Video Game Law
Seems reasonable to me.
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/31870/Gamasutras_Best_Of_2010_Top_5_Major_Industry_Events.php
It's not idiocy, it's safety. They are excluding a group that has a significantly higher chance of being infected with HIV/AIDS (by about 5,000% in the United States), end of story. I'm pretty sure no one at the plasma bank really cares where you put your dick. If it makes you feel better, heterosexuals get a thorough grilling on their sexual history as well.
This. Nintendo never has price drops in general. Mario Kart DS has been out for five years and the MSRP has dropped by a whopping five bucks. Smash Brothers Brawl has been out for almost three years and it's still $45.
I guess this is something that you can do from a business standpoint when you're still seeing so much growth in DS and Wii ownership (continual influx of new owners means continual demand for mascot games means continual high prices), but it's still pretty ridiculous.
Even better is the reaction when the servers are shut off on that deadline and everybody gets pissed about it.
Also seen: Wrong date, photoshop.
http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2010/12/08/vote-on-your-favorite-games-of-2010.aspx
My GOTY; ME2.
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Eh, that could be due to Yahoo posting stuff early or someone accessing it from the west coast.
Neither story is available now. Plus the 'bonus' content matches the Warcraft tab that's highlighted instead of relating to Lennon, Yoko, or anything close to it. I take anything hosted by gawker with a salt lick.
Actually, they're still very available:
http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/stopthepresses/333181/checking-in-on-john-lennons-friends-familyand-assassin-30-years-on/
http://blog.games.yahoo.com/blog/243-cataclysm-hits-world-of-warcraft
Besides, I work for a reputable newspaper that once had to literally stop the presses because the phrase "pubic schools" snuck in. Hilarious mistakes sometimes do happen.
Good thing you weren't posting a billboard.
That was just down the road from my house.
Hey, me too.
Hi neighbor.
Hedgethorn, we've traced his posts...They're coming from inside the house!
Same here thanks to being an army brat. I went to donate blood and they said I'm deffered until around 2278.
Your blood is like a very fine wine.
Your loss, you've missed out on some damn good games. Mirror's Edge, Dead Space, Burnout Paradise, Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age just off the top of my head.
I find the 'must be online' thing stupid but EA's hardly the only one doing it. Sony, Take 2 and Ubisoft have all added multiplayer modes in to previously single player only franchises (Uncharted, Bioshock and AssBro respectively). I have faith publishers will eventually learn that people will still trade in their multiplayer games, especially if the online community is dead.
You're not reading that properly. "Expandable memory-based" == Flash memory cards.
Yeah, it did. Though you're obviously not going to want to play fast paced action games because there's a half-second input lag. There are also far more than one or two games that support Remote Play, Wiki says there's 26.
PS2 compatibility with Remote Play probably wouldn't have worked so well anyway. Controls were still fairly simple back on the PS1 and few games really made extensive use of the second analog stick or even the L2/R2 buttons. The PS2 on the other hand had a ton of games that used them extensively, which would make playing them impossible on the PSP.
I never played Bioshock 2 but I was under the impression that the shooting was the one area where they vastly improved upon the original.
Oh and Undead Scottsman, I may have been wrong on the new Gears announcement at the VGA's bit. Apparently two of the remaining three announcements are Portal 2 and Mortal Kombat. I'm wondering if Spike relented to new trailers for already announced games because they didn't receive enough new game announcements. But regardless, I guess it's up in the air whether the Gears announcement is for Gears 3 or Gears Kinect Sports.
The MK announcement by the way, will probably be Kratos appearing in the PS3 version. The full character roster might be unveiled too.
This is truth.
In fact Burnout Paradise has probably the most time I've clocked into any one game last year...not sure how long but it's over 100 hours.
On top of that Mirror's Edge is one of the most interesting and outright beautiful games to look at ever.
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Add me!
But EA really has turned things around and has made a stack of good games in the last couple of years.
I've got my eyes on you.... Both of them....
Either way, hoping we see both localised.
Edit: Those aren't Ninokuni's sales numbers by the way, they're the number ordered by Japanese retailers.
And I wonder how much Studio Ghibli gets paid in royalties.
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Uh, I was just pointing out the number of PS3 games that support it. Add PS1 games and it goes to 2000+.
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And the shit is IMPOSSIBLE to find anyway! Jeeze, I cannot convey how much I loathe the Wiiware store.
Uh...
There are several games missing from that PS3 Exclusive list.
My gain, you mean. Dragon Age and Mirror's Edge were awful. Mass Effect is just offensive. I've never even heard of Burnout Paradise. I have to admit I liked Dead Space for about 6 hours tho. Happily, I only borrowed all of them so EA still didn't get any of me precious zenny.
EA is focusing way too much on trying to make cool stories (yet failing) and letting gameplay just sort of fill in some gaps.
Ugh, it is the worst. Slow, only a small number of games per page, no simple "text only" list, terrible information for each game (more often than not, I'd read it and think "so uh.. what type of game is this"), and no goddam video, just two tiny screenshots.
The rumours of the PSP2 being "capable of graphics equal to early PS3 games" is just ludicrous. Clearly sony is going to pack as much power into it as they can, there is no way it is going to be cheap.
3DS can get away with the $300 price point, I am sure. The PSP2 is going to cost at least that much, and will not launch until afterward.
They should change it to: Most Popular Game Awards.
Unless you've played all the games in each category how can you really say which is the "best"?
I loved Mass Effect 2, but was it the best RPG? I played maybe 1 other RPG on that list, so I don't know.
Also, Fighters Uncaged was not one of the choices for fighting games. What gives!?
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BlazBlue wasn't on Fighting Games either.
What'd you gain exactly? Horrible taste?
[edit] Burnout Paradise is sublime. ME1 is 9 for effort, 5 for execution, but ME2 is great.