Yeah, kinda surprised Prototype 2 did so well. Not surprised Star Wars Kinect did well.
The Wii's definitely on its last legs, though the HD twins didn't really fare all that well either. 240,000 is pretty damn weak for the top-seller. Considering we've had a few months of this, I'd guess Sony and Microsoft will feel their hands are forced to do new systems next year.
Why all the crap sales? It looks like we've finally reached the limits of how long a generation can be stretched out. I'm starting to wonder if there's some pent-up demand for next-gen stuff that will counteract the big question of what a new generation could even offer to get people excited.
Vita continues to do really damn badly. Remember, the things that saved the 3DS were games, a massive price drop and the lack of a same-gen competitor. Vita doesn't have the third aspect obviously, so Sony desperately needs to introduce the other two at E3 or they could be relegated to being an afterthought... in the west and the east this time. Let's see if Sony can pull this off.
Yeah, kinda surprised Prototype 2 did so well. Not surprised Star Wars Kinect did well.
The Wii's definitely on its last legs, though the HD twins didn't really fare all that well either. 240,000 is pretty damn weak for the top-seller. Considering we've had a few months of this, I'd guess Sony and Microsoft will feel their hands are forced to do new systems next year.
Why all the crap sales? It looks like we've finally reached the limits of how long a generation can be stretched out. I'm starting to wonder if there's some pent-up demand for next-gen stuff that will counteract the big question of what a new generation could even offer to get people excited.
Vita continues to do really damn badly. Remember, the things that saved the 3DS was games, a massive price drop and the lack of a same-gen competitor. Vita doesn't have the third aspect obviously, so Sony desperately needs to introduce the other two at E3 or they could be relegated to being an afterthought... in the west and the east this time. Let's see if Sony can pull this off.
From what I remember, the first Prototype did pretty well itself.
Sold about 2 million probably a bit over.
Only reason those were considered crap numbers was because you know...Activision.
I do remember that the original Prototype did well, though it got next to no coverage in the gaming press and I haven't bumped into too many TV ads for it. Guess a lot of people remember the name.
Rovio is preparing to launch a new game to follow its wildly popular Angry Birds franchise.
The company's CEO Mikael Hed said in an interview today with Finland's YLE breakfast television show that Rovio will be launching Amazing Alex in two months. The game will feature an educational element as players control a young boy named Alex who enjoys building things.
Rovio's announcement comes after the company acquired the intellectual property rights to Casey's Contraptions, a title developed by Snappy Touch and Mystery Coconut. When users surf to Casey's Contraption's Web site now, they'll find a single image saying Amazing Alex is coming soon. A Facebook page says the same.
When Amazing Alex launches, it'll have some awfully big shoes to fill. Just yesterday, Rovio announced that its Angry Birds games had reached 1 billion downloads. All of that success, in addition to help from sales of Angry Birds merchandise and advertising, helped Rovio generate over $106.3 million in revenue and a $67.6 million profit last year.
Look for more details on Amazing Alex to emerge as Rovio inches closer to the launch of its new game.
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Dark Raven XLaugh hard, run fast,be kindRegistered Userregular
A couple pages back, people were talking about Prototype 2's media saturation. I only ran into it on Youtube, but apparently it was all over TV too. That's probably a bigger factor than it's heritage, since IIRC the general opinion at the time was that InFamous was better. :P
I P2 deserves the sales, to be honest. It's not game of the year, but it is well made, an improvement over the original in every way, and it is fun! That's more than can be said for some other stuff that rocked charts lately. Resi: ORC. >.>
Net income up 80 per cent as social network titles boom, but console game revenue slips
Konami
www.konami.co.uk
Konami full-year profits were boosted by the growth of its social games, far outpacing revenue growth.
For the year ended March 31 2012, Konami posted revenues of ¥265.8 billion ($3.3b/£2b/€2.6b), up 3 per cent year-on-year. However, net profits increased by almost 80 per cent year-on-year to ¥23 billion ($288m/£178m/€222m).
This marks an impressive turnaround for Konami, given that FY2011's profits were down 2.9 per over the previous year.
The driving force was Konami's solid performance in social gaming. The company's games - which are distributed by both GREE and Mobage - now have 20 million registered users, with Dragon Collection (6 million) and Sengoku Collection (3 million) leading the pack.
Revenues for the company's Digital Entertainment division were up 5 per cent to ¥140.4 billion, though operating income almost doubled to ¥33 billion. That gives the division an operating margin of 23.5 per cent for FY2012, a huge increase over 12.8 per cent for FY2011.
And consumer games (console, handheld, PC) contributed very little to the division's success, with revenues slipping year-on-year from ¥65.7 billion to ¥50.4 billion. By contrast, Konami's sales from social network games rocketed from ¥15.8 billion to ¥36.7 billion.
An accompanying statement released by Konami asserted its belief in social as a key driver of future success, despite the recent problems caused by the controversial "Kompu Gacha" mechanic found in many of its games.
However, while the company remains committed to consumer game development, the statement noted that its AAA development would be "narrowed down" to increase the chances of creating hit titles.
Net income up 80 per cent as social network titles boom, but console game revenue slips
Konami
www.konami.co.uk
Konami full-year profits were boosted by the growth of its social games, far outpacing revenue growth.
For the year ended March 31 2012, Konami posted revenues of ¥265.8 billion ($3.3b/£2b/€2.6b), up 3 per cent year-on-year. However, net profits increased by almost 80 per cent year-on-year to ¥23 billion ($288m/£178m/€222m).
This marks an impressive turnaround for Konami, given that FY2011's profits were down 2.9 per over the previous year.
The driving force was Konami's solid performance in social gaming. The company's games - which are distributed by both GREE and Mobage - now have 20 million registered users, with Dragon Collection (6 million) and Sengoku Collection (3 million) leading the pack.
Revenues for the company's Digital Entertainment division were up 5 per cent to ¥140.4 billion, though operating income almost doubled to ¥33 billion. That gives the division an operating margin of 23.5 per cent for FY2012, a huge increase over 12.8 per cent for FY2011.
And consumer games (console, handheld, PC) contributed very little to the division's success, with revenues slipping year-on-year from ¥65.7 billion to ¥50.4 billion. By contrast, Konami's sales from social network games rocketed from ¥15.8 billion to ¥36.7 billion.
An accompanying statement released by Konami asserted its belief in social as a key driver of future success, despite the recent problems caused by the controversial "Kompu Gacha" mechanic found in many of its games.
However, while the company remains committed to consumer game development, the statement noted that its AAA development would be "narrowed down" to increase the chances of creating hit titles.
Well, fuck.
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Net income up 80 per cent as social network titles boom, but console game revenue slips
Konami
www.konami.co.uk
Konami full-year profits were boosted by the growth of its social games, far outpacing revenue growth.
For the year ended March 31 2012, Konami posted revenues of ¥265.8 billion ($3.3b/£2b/€2.6b), up 3 per cent year-on-year. However, net profits increased by almost 80 per cent year-on-year to ¥23 billion ($288m/£178m/€222m).
This marks an impressive turnaround for Konami, given that FY2011's profits were down 2.9 per over the previous year.
The driving force was Konami's solid performance in social gaming. The company's games - which are distributed by both GREE and Mobage - now have 20 million registered users, with Dragon Collection (6 million) and Sengoku Collection (3 million) leading the pack.
Revenues for the company's Digital Entertainment division were up 5 per cent to ¥140.4 billion, though operating income almost doubled to ¥33 billion. That gives the division an operating margin of 23.5 per cent for FY2012, a huge increase over 12.8 per cent for FY2011.
And consumer games (console, handheld, PC) contributed very little to the division's success, with revenues slipping year-on-year from ¥65.7 billion to ¥50.4 billion. By contrast, Konami's sales from social network games rocketed from ¥15.8 billion to ¥36.7 billion.
An accompanying statement released by Konami asserted its belief in social as a key driver of future success, despite the recent problems caused by the controversial "Kompu Gacha" mechanic found in many of its games.
However, while the company remains committed to consumer game development, the statement noted that its AAA development would be "narrowed down" to increase the chances of creating hit titles.
Net income up 80 per cent as social network titles boom, but console game revenue slips
Konami
www.konami.co.uk
Konami full-year profits were boosted by the growth of its social games, far outpacing revenue growth.
For the year ended March 31 2012, Konami posted revenues of ¥265.8 billion ($3.3b/£2b/€2.6b), up 3 per cent year-on-year. However, net profits increased by almost 80 per cent year-on-year to ¥23 billion ($288m/£178m/€222m).
This marks an impressive turnaround for Konami, given that FY2011's profits were down 2.9 per over the previous year.
The driving force was Konami's solid performance in social gaming. The company's games - which are distributed by both GREE and Mobage - now have 20 million registered users, with Dragon Collection (6 million) and Sengoku Collection (3 million) leading the pack.
Revenues for the company's Digital Entertainment division were up 5 per cent to ¥140.4 billion, though operating income almost doubled to ¥33 billion. That gives the division an operating margin of 23.5 per cent for FY2012, a huge increase over 12.8 per cent for FY2011.
And consumer games (console, handheld, PC) contributed very little to the division's success, with revenues slipping year-on-year from ¥65.7 billion to ¥50.4 billion. By contrast, Konami's sales from social network games rocketed from ¥15.8 billion to ¥36.7 billion.
An accompanying statement released by Konami asserted its belief in social as a key driver of future success, despite the recent problems caused by the controversial "Kompu Gacha" mechanic found in many of its games.
However, while the company remains committed to consumer game development, the statement noted that its AAA development would be "narrowed down" to increase the chances of creating hit titles.
Well, fuck.
The main method Konami used to make money in the social sector is now considered illegal. Don't expect them to continue to boom in the social sector, at least not at this level.
Net income up 80 per cent as social network titles boom, but console game revenue slips
Konami
www.konami.co.uk
Konami full-year profits were boosted by the growth of its social games, far outpacing revenue growth.
For the year ended March 31 2012, Konami posted revenues of ¥265.8 billion ($3.3b/£2b/€2.6b), up 3 per cent year-on-year. However, net profits increased by almost 80 per cent year-on-year to ¥23 billion ($288m/£178m/€222m).
This marks an impressive turnaround for Konami, given that FY2011's profits were down 2.9 per over the previous year.
The driving force was Konami's solid performance in social gaming. The company's games - which are distributed by both GREE and Mobage - now have 20 million registered users, with Dragon Collection (6 million) and Sengoku Collection (3 million) leading the pack.
Revenues for the company's Digital Entertainment division were up 5 per cent to ¥140.4 billion, though operating income almost doubled to ¥33 billion. That gives the division an operating margin of 23.5 per cent for FY2012, a huge increase over 12.8 per cent for FY2011.
And consumer games (console, handheld, PC) contributed very little to the division's success, with revenues slipping year-on-year from ¥65.7 billion to ¥50.4 billion. By contrast, Konami's sales from social network games rocketed from ¥15.8 billion to ¥36.7 billion.
An accompanying statement released by Konami asserted its belief in social as a key driver of future success, despite the recent problems caused by the controversial "Kompu Gacha" mechanic found in many of its games.
However, while the company remains committed to consumer game development, the statement noted that its AAA development would be "narrowed down" to increase the chances of creating hit titles.
Well, fuck.
The main method Konami used to make money in the social sector is now considered illegal. Don't expect them to continue to boom in the social sector, at least not at this level.
Is that the Kompu Gacha that was mentioned? What is it?
Social gaming in Japan is following a similar trajectory to what it's done here, just a few years behind. I expect Japanese consumers to begin tiring of the social gaming formula just as North American consumers appear to be doing.
Want to find me on a gaming service? I'm SwashbucklerXX everywhere.
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Dark Raven XLaugh hard, run fast,be kindRegistered Userregular
If the name means what I think it means, it's a random reward for pay thing? Like a blind bag toy, only virtual and for in game rewards, I guess.
Social gaming in Japan is following a similar trajectory to what it's done here, just a few years behind. I expect Japanese consumers to begin tiring of the social gaming formula just as North American consumers appear to be doing.
Meanwhile, mobile gaming has been prevalent in Japan first by a good few years. Yet, it's also seems to be the only market where dedicated handheld gaming machines are as, if not more relevant than mobile gaming.
Perhaps the same phenomenon will repeat in the west? I'm not holding my breath though.
If the name means what I think it means, it's a random reward for pay thing? Like a blind bag toy, only virtual and for in game rewards, I guess.
It's a little more than that. Let's say you could earn four different random awards, plus one extremely rare award. With Gacha, the rare award only starts showing up after you've already collected all four of the regular awards.
Apparently the gripe isn't with awarding random items, it's the fact that you're required to get a complete set to get the really good reward.
Kinda. Kompu Gatcha is short for Complete gatcha. it's a method where you pay money for a random item, and if you collect all the random items in a set, you can combine them to buy one super rare item.
This method can cost tons, and tons of money. I saw an example someone posted where it showed how much money it would cost for someone to win a prize that required like 10 different random prizes (which is about the number normally required) with equal weight put to all prizes. The average cost of the single prize in this simulation came out to the US equivalent of about $2000. Again, thats when each random prize has an equal chance of occurring - which isn't how it normally works. Usually one or two of the components required to win the big prize are much more rare.
In short, think the monopoly game at McDonalds. You want to win a ker-jillion dollars? You need boardwalk and park place. There are 7 million boardwalks and 2 park places. you need to buy a $5 meal to get a chance to play. Think of how much money you'd have to pay to win, if you even could win in the first place. That's exactly how Kompu Gatcha works.
It's now considered a malicious form of gambling in japan.
If the name means what I think it means, it's a random reward for pay thing? Like a blind bag toy, only virtual and for in game rewards, I guess.
You pay money and get a random reward. That's still legal. You get a special reward for getting all of the random rewards. That's the part they made illegal.
If the name means what I think it means, it's a random reward for pay thing? Like a blind bag toy, only virtual and for in game rewards, I guess.
You pay money and get a random reward. That's still legal. You get a special reward for getting all of the random rewards. That's the part they made illegal.
It needs to be stressed just how huge a portion of several companies revenue this system is, especially Konami and Namco. Konami's stock dropped almost 20 percent yesterday upon this announcement.
Ok, so imagine Skylanders, except you don't just buy figurines in stores, you buy a random character capsule digitally with a 1/10 chance of getting a rare character, and there are 10 rare characters, and when you collect them all you get the rarest character of all. That's what kompu gacha is, which has now come under fire in Japan for being very similar to gambling.
No, this form of it hasn't been declared illegal yet, but Japan's Consumer Affairs Agency seems to think it falls into that realm and plans on asking companies to stop. It'll be up to them to appeal if they don't feel what they're doing is illegal.
TOKYO -- The Consumer Affairs Agency in Japan has concluded that a system used by some online game operators on social networking service (SNS) websites constitutes a violation of a law that bans certain types of sales methods, according to sources close to the agency.
In such online games, known as "kompu gacha" (complete gacha), players can win a grand prize, a rare virtual item, after purchasing a certain number of required items.
The agency began investigating the game services after receiving complaints about extremely high charges imposed on players of such games on SNS websites such as Gree and Mobage.
The agency will soon release its views on the issue, the sources said.
The agency also plans to ask companies that offer such games to stop using the questionable sales method. If companies fail to comply with the request, the agency will issue a correction order with punitive measures in line with the law against unjustifiable premiums and misleading representation.
The market for online mobile-phone games is worth about 250 billion yen (1 billion yen is equal to $12.52 million), with kompu gacha games having become the main revenue source for SNS operators of such services.
However, the kompu gacha games have often been criticized for taking advantage of users' gambling spirit. Some parents complained their children had become addicted and were billed for exorbitant charges.
The original gacha games were inspired by automatic vending machines that sell capsules containing toys. However, instead of buying real items, online gacha players purchase virtual items for hundreds of yen, which they then use for various purposes.
The players do not know in advance which item they will get, giving the game the feel of a lottery.
In kompu gacha, an advanced form of gacha, players can obtain rare items once they collect a certain combination of items available in gacha games.
This system was introduced in online games by SNS website operators around last year.
Popular kompu gacha games include Mobage's "The Idolm(at symbol)ster Cinderella Girls," and Gree's "Tanken Dori Rando."
According to the agency and other sources, there were only five complaints or inquiries concerning the high charges for gacha games in fiscal 2010. However, the number surged to 58 in fiscal 2011.
In one case, a middle school boy was charged more than 400,000 yen in just one month, while a primary school boy racked up 120,000 yen in charges over three days playing the games.
The law on unjustifiable premiums prohibits a sales method called "cards combination" for systems that offer prizes by lottery. Under this method, a business sells cards whose content is unknown at the time of purchase. After the consumer collects designated cards, they can trade them in for a prize.
The agency concluded that kompu gacha games employ this business method.
The agency plans to ask Social Game Platform Renraku Kyogikai, a liaison council of six social game makers, including Gree and DeNA Co., which operates the Mobage site, to stop offering kompu gacha games.
"We'll give an appropriate response after receiving an official request," a Gree spokesperson said. A DeNA spokesperson declined to comment.
Social games are provided to members of SNS websites, on which people interact with their friends and others via the Internet. In many of these types of games, players can choose to cooperate with or compete against each other.
Though the games are free, in principle, aside from Internet access fees, users have the option to purchase such items as virtual weapons and clothing if they want to have an advantage in the game.
Also I think it's funny how in Japan, "complete gacha" is named as such because you have to win a complete set of items to get the biggest item of all, and gachapon is onomatopoeia for the sound of the vending machine...whereas in english, we can see that the practice is a complete "gotcha."
Also I think it's funny how in Japan, "complete gacha" is named as such because you have to win a complete set of items to get the biggest item of all, and gachapon is onomatopoeia for the sound of the vending machine...whereas in english, we can see that the practice is a complete "gotcha."
If you were still holding out for those 3D-erific videos of cute dogs and sumo wrestlers for your American 3DS via Nintendo's "Itsu no Ma ni Terebi" service, bad news just got badder. In short, it's not coming. Ever. In fact, worse than that, the service will take its last look at the rising sun on the 20th of June, as Nintendo has announced that it's shuttering the service one day short of a year since it launched. There is mention of occasional content coming to both 2D and 3D devices via the Nintendo Video service, but if we didn't know better, we'd suggest this is Kyoto's way of saying "I'll call you".
Nintendo Console Codes
Switch (JeffConser): SW-3353-5433-5137 Wii U: Skeldare - 3DS: 1848-1663-9345
PM Me if you add me!
Mortal Kombat is a piece of shit port with low PSP level graphics compared to the amazing 90-95% par UMvC3 and Blazblue: CSExtend ports.
ITT graphics whores
It shouldn' be held to the exact same standards of every single competitor in the same genre on the system?
Capcom and Ark System Works have ha no problems releasing PS360 level content on the platform in graphics, features, and framerate. Why should NetherRealm get a pass when they fall comically short?
The money generated from overall game sales in the US during April has been estimated at a whopping $1bn.
This figure from The NPD Group includes sales of hardware, accessories, new and used physical games at retail, rentals, digital downloads, add-on content, subscriptions, mobile games and social network titles.
It’s the first time the entire US games market has been taken into account during a single month. Previously, the data only included sales of boxed product.
Prototype 2 was the best-selling game in the US last month, and boxed sales made up $630.4m. Read the April 2012 NPD sales news story for more specific details.
NPD industry analyst Anita Frazier said: “I think the new physical retail content sales reflect a very light release schedule in terms of the amount of compelling new games.
“Last April, the top seven titles outsold the top-selling title this year, and, simply stated, there were notably fewer new market introductions. I think it’s a simple as that because when we see compelling content come into the market, the games are still selling as well as ever – we just saw a lot less this April as compared to last.
“For some insight into digital purchasing of content, we can look at the performance of points and subscription cards which were up 75 per cent in units over last April. These could very well have been last minute additions to Easter baskets early in the month."
Sony Corporation’s share price has fallen to its lowest position in a generation in both Japan and the United States.
One day after Sony reported a £3.5bn loss for the financial year, Sony’s shares on the Tokyo Stock exchange hit a 31-year low, while its price on the New York Stock Exchange closed at the worst position since 1993.
A terrible trading day in Japan had Sony’s price fall by about seven per cent to 1,135 Yen. In America it fell by two per cent to close at $15.37.
Currently, Apple’s share price is about forty times larger than Sony’s in the US.
Mortal Kombat is a piece of shit port with low PSP level graphics compared to the amazing 90-95% par UMvC3 and Blazblue: CSExtend ports.
ITT graphics whores
It shouldn' be held to the exact same standards of every single competitor in the same genre on the system?
Capcom and Ark System Works have ha no problems releasing PS360 level content on the platform in graphics, features, and framerate. Why should NetherRealm get a pass when they fall comically short?
Doesn't change the fact that the game is still good.
Nintendo Console Codes
Switch (JeffConser): SW-3353-5433-5137 Wii U: Skeldare - 3DS: 1848-1663-9345
PM Me if you add me!
Mortal Kombat is a piece of shit port with low PSP level graphics compared to the amazing 90-95% par UMvC3 and Blazblue: CSExtend ports.
ITT graphics whores
It shouldn' be held to the exact same standards of every single competitor in the same genre on the system?
Capcom and Ark System Works have ha no problems releasing PS360 level content on the platform in graphics, features, and framerate. Why should NetherRealm get a pass when they fall comically short?
Doesn't change the fact that the game is still good.
Mortal Kombat is a piece of shit port with low PSP level graphics compared to the amazing 90-95% par UMvC3 and Blazblue: CSExtend ports.
ITT graphics whores
It shouldn' be held to the exact same standards of every single competitor in the same genre on the system?
Capcom and Ark System Works have ha no problems releasing PS360 level content on the platform in graphics, features, and framerate. Why should NetherRealm get a pass when they fall comically short?
Doesn't change the fact that the game is still good.
The console version is, yes.
o_O And I can say with first hand knowledge that the Vita version is too.
Edit: But this is not the place to argue.
skeldare on
Nintendo Console Codes
Switch (JeffConser): SW-3353-5433-5137 Wii U: Skeldare - 3DS: 1848-1663-9345
PM Me if you add me!
Mortal Kombat is a piece of shit port with low PSP level graphics compared to the amazing 90-95% par UMvC3 and Blazblue: CSExtend ports.
ITT graphics whores
It shouldn' be held to the exact same standards of every single competitor in the same genre on the system?
Capcom and Ark System Works have ha no problems releasing PS360 level content on the platform in graphics, features, and framerate. Why should NetherRealm get a pass when they fall comically short?
Because while the graphics might be subpar, the important part - the GAMEPLAY - is MORE than what the consoles have to offer.
You said it's a "piece of shit port." Explain why, without mentioning graphics once.
Mortal Kombat is a piece of shit port with low PSP level graphics compared to the amazing 90-95% par UMvC3 and Blazblue: CSExtend ports.
ITT graphics whores
It shouldn' be held to the exact same standards of every single competitor in the same genre on the system?
Capcom and Ark System Works have ha no problems releasing PS360 level content on the platform in graphics, features, and framerate. Why should NetherRealm get a pass when they fall comically short?
Because while the graphics might be subpar, the important part - the GAMEPLAY - is MORE than what the consoles have to offer.
You said it's a "piece of shit port." Explain why, without mentioning graphics once.
Arguably, a port should represent the best of the original product. This can include graphics. I'm not sure it's out-of-line to decry a port because it doesn't match one aspect of the original product, when similar products have been of better quality.
That said, I can't speak on MK Vita, as I haven't paid any attention to the game.
Shrinking release slates fuelling U.S. retail video game market decline - analysts
The U.S. retail video game decline is simply down to a severe lack of game releases compared to previous years, analysts have said, as publishers continue to aggressively slash title output.
Data from the NPD Group this week showed that video game sales at U.S. retail suffered a significant drop in April, adding to the industry's continuing declines at retail over the last several months.
Cowen and Company analyst Doug Creutz noted that the year-over-year decline is not surprising, given that only nine new titles were released at retail during April, compared to 28 new releases in April 2011. This echoes a similar situation seen in January, when six new titles were released compared to 16 new titles year-over-year.
"The lack of depth in the release slate is significantly impacting overall sales," he added. "While smaller titles may not individually contribute significant sales, in aggregate they do have a meaningful impact. Crucially, the major publishers have geared their expense structures for more limited release slates.
"Thus, while the lower overall sales figures are a negative for game retailers and hardware manufacturers (who collect software royalties), we believe the U.S. publishers can continue to grow earnings despite declining industry sales. We believe that reduced industry competition is likely to be a positive for incumbent publishers when the next hardware cycle begins."
Michael Olson and Andrew Connor, analysts from PiperJaffray, noted that the top 10 games during April generated revenues that totaled less than half of the revenues taken from the top 10 games during April 2011. In particular, the duo said that six of the top 10 best-selling games during April 2011 outsold this April's top selling game, Prototype 2.
I didn't think about publishers going for a small amount of huge games rather than more medium or biggish games these days.
Mortal Kombat is a piece of shit port with low PSP level graphics compared to the amazing 90-95% par UMvC3 and Blazblue: CSExtend ports.
ITT graphics whores
It shouldn' be held to the exact same standards of every single competitor in the same genre on the system?
Capcom and Ark System Works have ha no problems releasing PS360 level content on the platform in graphics, features, and framerate. Why should NetherRealm get a pass when they fall comically short?
MvC has like, no actual content and BlazBlue is 2D. MK is a 3D fighter with a ton of content. People who actually have the game say it looks fine in motion, and the framerate, gameplay, and massive amount of content is all there.
It sucks that the graphics are downgraded but it's still a game worth getting.
Mortal Kombat is a piece of shit port with low PSP level graphics compared to the amazing 90-95% par UMvC3 and Blazblue: CSExtend ports.
ITT graphics whores
It shouldn' be held to the exact same standards of every single competitor in the same genre on the system?
Capcom and Ark System Works have ha no problems releasing PS360 level content on the platform in graphics, features, and framerate. Why should NetherRealm get a pass when they fall comically short?
Because while the graphics might be subpar, the important part - the GAMEPLAY - is MORE than what the consoles have to offer.
You said it's a "piece of shit port." Explain why, without mentioning graphics once.
Arguably, a port should represent the best of the original product. This can include graphics. I'm not sure it's out-of-line to decry a port because it doesn't match one aspect of the original product, when similar products have been of better quality.
That said, I can't speak on MK Vita, as I haven't paid any attention to the game.
The best part of MK is not the graphics. It never was. The best part is the gameplay, and the MK Vita port has everything from the console version, and more. It has every single feature from it's big brother, plus an entire vita-exclusive campaign that is just as long as the console content. It's literally twice the game that the console version is.
The only thing that is worse than the console version is that the graphics are worse when zoomed in. So, you know, the 5 second cutscene before fights. What else do you call someone who calls such an awesome port, "a piece of shit" when the only thing worse is a couple of 5 second cutscenes having poorer models?
The actual game part of MK Vita is well above UMvC3. And I have both, on both the PS3 and the Vita.
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I write about video games and stuff. It is fun. Sometimes.
Yeah, kinda surprised Prototype 2 did so well. Not surprised Star Wars Kinect did well.
The Wii's definitely on its last legs, though the HD twins didn't really fare all that well either. 240,000 is pretty damn weak for the top-seller. Considering we've had a few months of this, I'd guess Sony and Microsoft will feel their hands are forced to do new systems next year.
Why all the crap sales? It looks like we've finally reached the limits of how long a generation can be stretched out. I'm starting to wonder if there's some pent-up demand for next-gen stuff that will counteract the big question of what a new generation could even offer to get people excited.
Vita continues to do really damn badly. Remember, the things that saved the 3DS were games, a massive price drop and the lack of a same-gen competitor. Vita doesn't have the third aspect obviously, so Sony desperately needs to introduce the other two at E3 or they could be relegated to being an afterthought... in the west and the east this time. Let's see if Sony can pull this off.
There needs to be a 2D fighter where the graphics consist entirely of hitboxes.
Confirmed: Street Fighter V will be a Zork style text adventure.
Close enough.
From what I remember, the first Prototype did pretty well itself.
Sold about 2 million probably a bit over.
Only reason those were considered crap numbers was because you know...Activision.
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I P2 deserves the sales, to be honest. It's not game of the year, but it is well made, an improvement over the original in every way, and it is fun! That's more than can be said for some other stuff that rocked charts lately. Resi: ORC. >.>
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Well, fuck.
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All hail social gaming.
The main method Konami used to make money in the social sector is now considered illegal. Don't expect them to continue to boom in the social sector, at least not at this level.
Is that the Kompu Gacha that was mentioned? What is it?
Meanwhile, mobile gaming has been prevalent in Japan first by a good few years. Yet, it's also seems to be the only market where dedicated handheld gaming machines are as, if not more relevant than mobile gaming.
Perhaps the same phenomenon will repeat in the west? I'm not holding my breath though.
It's a little more than that. Let's say you could earn four different random awards, plus one extremely rare award. With Gacha, the rare award only starts showing up after you've already collected all four of the regular awards.
Apparently the gripe isn't with awarding random items, it's the fact that you're required to get a complete set to get the really good reward.
http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2012/05/gree-dena-complete-gacha-removed/#more-45493
This method can cost tons, and tons of money. I saw an example someone posted where it showed how much money it would cost for someone to win a prize that required like 10 different random prizes (which is about the number normally required) with equal weight put to all prizes. The average cost of the single prize in this simulation came out to the US equivalent of about $2000. Again, thats when each random prize has an equal chance of occurring - which isn't how it normally works. Usually one or two of the components required to win the big prize are much more rare.
In short, think the monopoly game at McDonalds. You want to win a ker-jillion dollars? You need boardwalk and park place. There are 7 million boardwalks and 2 park places. you need to buy a $5 meal to get a chance to play. Think of how much money you'd have to pay to win, if you even could win in the first place. That's exactly how Kompu Gatcha works.
It's now considered a malicious form of gambling in japan.
EDIT: Beat'd
You pay money and get a random reward. That's still legal. You get a special reward for getting all of the random rewards. That's the part they made illegal.
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It needs to be stressed just how huge a portion of several companies revenue this system is, especially Konami and Namco. Konami's stock dropped almost 20 percent yesterday upon this announcement.
No, this form of it hasn't been declared illegal yet, but Japan's Consumer Affairs Agency seems to think it falls into that realm and plans on asking companies to stop. It'll be up to them to appeal if they don't feel what they're doing is illegal.
EDIT: why is everyone so fast.
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/05/05/4468510/kompu-gacha-online-games-with.html
Nintendo's discontinuing the Aqua Blue 3DS, at least in Japan. http://kotaku.com/5909465/nintendo-is-killing-off-the-aqua-blue-3ds
Gamestop's pulling PSP stuff from a quarter of their stores. http://kotaku.com/5909579/gamestop-no-longer-selling-psp-games-in-25-of-us-stores
Haha I was thinking about that yesterday.
http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/11/nintendo-to-cancel-3d-tv-service-in-japan/
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Those Gamestops now have a whole 6ft of extra shelf space now.
It shouldn' be held to the exact same standards of every single competitor in the same genre on the system?
Capcom and Ark System Works have ha no problems releasing PS360 level content on the platform in graphics, features, and framerate. Why should NetherRealm get a pass when they fall comically short?
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http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/sony-shares-fall-to-31-year-low-in-japan/095929
Doesn't change the fact that the game is still good.
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The console version is, yes.
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o_O And I can say with first hand knowledge that the Vita version is too.
Edit: But this is not the place to argue.
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Or:
<200k
Uncharted: GA
< 100k
Ultimate MvC3
Unit 13
MLB
Wipeout 2048
Modnation Racers :RT
<50k
FIFA
Rayman Origins
Hot Shots Golf
Ninja Gaiden Sigma+
Because while the graphics might be subpar, the important part - the GAMEPLAY - is MORE than what the consoles have to offer.
You said it's a "piece of shit port." Explain why, without mentioning graphics once.
Arguably, a port should represent the best of the original product. This can include graphics. I'm not sure it's out-of-line to decry a port because it doesn't match one aspect of the original product, when similar products have been of better quality.
That said, I can't speak on MK Vita, as I haven't paid any attention to the game.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/
I write about video games and stuff. It is fun. Sometimes.
http://gamasutra.com/view/news/170211/Shrinking_release_slates_fuelling_US_retail_video_game_market_decline__analysts.php I didn't think about publishers going for a small amount of huge games rather than more medium or biggish games these days.
MvC has like, no actual content and BlazBlue is 2D. MK is a 3D fighter with a ton of content. People who actually have the game say it looks fine in motion, and the framerate, gameplay, and massive amount of content is all there.
It sucks that the graphics are downgraded but it's still a game worth getting.
My Let's Play Channel: https://youtube.com/channel/UC2go70QLfwGq-hW4nvUqmog
The best part of MK is not the graphics. It never was. The best part is the gameplay, and the MK Vita port has everything from the console version, and more. It has every single feature from it's big brother, plus an entire vita-exclusive campaign that is just as long as the console content. It's literally twice the game that the console version is.
The only thing that is worse than the console version is that the graphics are worse when zoomed in. So, you know, the 5 second cutscene before fights. What else do you call someone who calls such an awesome port, "a piece of shit" when the only thing worse is a couple of 5 second cutscenes having poorer models?
The actual game part of MK Vita is well above UMvC3. And I have both, on both the PS3 and the Vita.