SEGAbits Forums
Gaming => General Gaming Discussion => Topic started by: Aki-at on January 11, 2012, 09:46:59 am
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceTpSrIBNC0
No it's not a boss battle trailer unfortunately! But it's still a very good and fantastic trailer, with only a month till launch, I suppose SEGA is going to start ramping up the marketing for this game, which this title needs.
So yes, fantastic but still no hoping giant robot spiders in the trailer.
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Just a comment about the box art: if you look well, the dude in the back of Dan has a injury in the leg. i am sorry if i am the only one that only saw this now lol, or others people didnt saw too?
I dont change my opinion about being a bad box art, but, after seeing this injury, i think the idea of the box is that, Dan is running from the battle to save a injuried friend and shooting in the robots standing in the way. And the 2 others characters are protecting his back. I think this is the spirit of the game, the teamwork.
I am sorry if i am being too obvious, but i only get this idea now.
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Well glad to see Sega of Europe, at least, acting like this game exists. If only Sega of America would do the same.
Edit; Ah, good, they did, it's up on Sega Blog.
It is a great trailer. If they do end up advertising the game on TV (which they'd better) they should feature this song in it.
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It is a great trailer. If they do end up advertising the game on TV (which they'd better) they should feature this song in it.
TV advertising is hugely expensive and it's not a silver bullet to get sales. Binary Domain is a new franchise and is pretty hardcore-centric which leads me to think they would be better off targeting hardcore gamers through magazines, websites etc rather than going for mass-market by throwing money into TV. TV money would be better spent on stuff like Sonic and... Football manager in the UK I guess.
I know this is going to open a can of beans, but I felt the need to put my 2c in here.
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Gears of War is a hardcore-centric title, but then again with Microsoft's budget...
This trailer is another nice mix of cutscenes(which I have no doubt that we'll be looking at plenty of those during this game) with actual gameplay.
It's curious, because the game is coming out close to another major Nagoshi project, Yakuza: Dead Souls.
Two Nagoshi titles in less than a month apart.
January barely saw any released titles, which is weird. But Febuary is going to be a tough month.
There's Final Fantasy XIII-2, which I bet people will buy, despite the negative flack the first one got, they are hyping up this game as an apology of sorts. Then Neverdead, the MGS HD Collection and Catherine.
Gonna be a tough one.
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Does the game include hubs where you walk around and interact with stuff? Like non-combat locals with more interact with the environment sort of stuff? Or is it combat + cutscenes? I'm cool if it's just that, but I'd love to explore places within the world they created in a non-combat mode every so often. Yakuza does that sort of thing.
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It's curious, because the game is coming out close to another major Nagoshi project, Yakuza: Dead Souls.
Two Nagoshi titles in less than a month apart.
My body is ready.
Does the game include hubs where you walk around and interact with stuff? Like non-combat locals with more interact with the environment sort of stuff? Or is it combat + cutscenes? I'm cool if it's just that, but I'd love to explore places within the world they created in a non-combat mode every so often. Yakuza does that sort of thing.
Walk around town, find a robot in a hoodie
"Hey pal, you're real lucky... lucky in that you get to give me your microchips!"
VS
Street Thug Robots
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Does the game include hubs where you walk around and interact with stuff? Like non-combat locals with more interact with the environment sort of stuff? Or is it combat + cutscenes? I'm cool if it's just that, but I'd love to explore places within the world they created in a non-combat mode every so often. Yakuza does that sort of thing.
Does that sort of thing? It's exactly what Yakuza does! But no, SEGA have not said anything about an open world or hub areas but this video on the 4 minute 40 mark shows an area where the character can interact with other NPCs and go round town.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACWv10vi4Ps
Walk around town, find a robot in a hoodie
"Hey pal, you're real lucky... lucky in that you get to give me your microchips!"
VS
Street Thug Robots
Yakuza in the Shell?! Ghost in the Yakuza?!
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Does that sort of thing? It's exactly what Yakuza does! But no, SEGA have not said anything about an open world or hub areas but this video on the 4 minute 40 mark shows an area where the character can interact with other NPCs and go round town.
Thanks for the link! That's pretty cool. The game gives off such a Snatcher vibe that I guess I'm just jonesing for a little exploring. Talking to folks, etc.
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TV advertising is hugely expensive and it's not a silver bullet to get sales. Binary Domain is a new franchise and is pretty hardcore-centric which leads me to think they would be better off targeting hardcore gamers through magazines, websites etc rather than going for mass-market by throwing money into TV. TV money would be better spent on stuff like Sonic and... Football manager in the UK I guess.
I know this is going to open a can of beans, but I felt the need to put my 2c in here.
This is a game looking like it's catering to shooter fans. Shooter fans are the types of people who sit around their TVs watching football and wrestling and all that jazz. You want a cool-looking commercial in there.
New IP need to spread their wings wide in order to become successful. Narrowing down the marketing reach to the increasingly small group who reads video game magazines won't do anything to get a new brand off the ground. Website ads I think get ignored by most people.
If you want to see how an incredible TV ad campaign has helped get new IP off the ground, look no further than Gears of War.
Sega's "let's not do TV" strategy didn't work well for Vanquish in North America, I don't see why they'd try that again.
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This is a game looking like it's catering to shooter fans. Shooter fans are the types of people who sit around their TVs watching football and wrestling and all that jazz. You want a cool-looking commercial in there.
New IP need to spread their wings wide in order to become successful. Narrowing down the marketing reach to the increasingly small group who reads video game magazines won't do anything to get a new brand off the ground. Website ads I think get ignored by most people.
If you want to see how an incredible TV ad campaign has helped get new IP off the ground, look no further than Gears of War.
Sega's "let's not do TV" strategy didn't work well for Vanquish in North America, I don't see why they'd try that again.
And those people watching football etc already have Call of Duty, Battlefield 3, Halo and Gears of War, which is what they will be playing and buying. They probably only buy 2 or 3 games a year and they'll get the ones that they can play with all their friends and that they know they like (because they played the last 4 COD gams for example). Binary Domain TV ads might reach some of those people but I think Sega is better off not throwing huge amounts of money at TV ads and spending it on getting awareness with gamers more open-minded to trying out new games. Gamers who know what Yakuza is, who Nagoshi is, and will understand the finer details of the game that they can push. And I'm talking about using Magazines and internet as in getting interviews and articles in there, where they can actually showcase the features of the game.
I'm not saying TV isn't a great tool, but at the end of the day you can't just put something on TV and expect people to pay attention to it.
I understand that new IPs need to get off the ground, but that doesn't mean that they have budgets that can support massive investments into marketing, which is what TV would require. At the end of the day they need to see a return on investment and new IPs are always risky, especially with the mass market.
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Gamers who know what Yakuza is, who Nagoshi is, and will understand the finer details of the game that they can push. And I'm talking about using Magazines and internet as in getting interviews and articles in there, where they can actually showcase the features of the game.
There are plenty of CoD fans who buy more than 2-3 games a year....there are some who play CoD exclusively of course but not all. Probably not the majority, in fact.
Anyway, if you want to market it to Yakuza fans you're talking about 100,000-200,000 people, at most. Not a big number. Saying it's a shooter from the director of Super Monkey Ball is also going to trigger more of a "wtf" reaction than anything else, I think, lol.
I'm not saying we need a media blitz but a basic TV campaign (Bayonetta had one, MadWorld had one,) would work wonders.
Here's the thing. This is a game people need to see in motion. The name is bland, the boxart is bland, the characters look bland. Print ads will not sell this game. You will need to show it in motion.
Look at Vanquish...game had an amazing gameplay mechanic (the low HP slow-mo) that was later copied for games like Mass Effect 2, as well as its awesome slides. Sega of America refused to do TV ads, so people never got to see these ideas in motion, thereefore, had no idea what was so distinct about the game. Vanquish was one of Sega's biggest missed opportunities this gen.
Sega Europe advertised Vanquish;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_dlj5MYI5M
Something like that would have really been awesome in America. Binary Domain should have something like that.
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Look at Vanquish...game had an amazing gameplay mechanic (the low HP slow-mo) that was later copied for games like Mass Effect 2
Don't you mean Mass Effect 3?
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Yakuza in the Shell?! Ghost in the Yakuza?!
I would be all over this this if it happens!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACWv10vi4Ps
Great!
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Don't you mean Mass Effect 3?
Mass Effect 2 had it too; your character went into bullet time mode when he was low on HP.
Great!
Indeed.
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Mass Effect 2 had it too; your character went into bullet time mode when he was low on HP.
But didn't ME2 come before Vanquish?
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Hm....haha; indeed, it looks like it did!
Well, either way, my point is that the feature (as was used in Vanquish) was one that needed to be seen in motion to have proved why it was so distinctive.
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You know what? I honestly forget how different the US market is to the Australian one. I think I agree with you now on the TV advertising. I'm thinking of the Australian market where we have one single TV show about gaming on TV and it's on a public station during the graveyard shift. I see ads for games so rarely on Australian TV it's only the blockbuster titles that actually get any air-time and even then it's on very late at night that the ads are aired. (with the exception of Nintendo ads which are everywhere and filled with Australian celebs waggling things).
So you know what, I actually agree with you and they would do well to put some good TV spots on during gaming shows and the like!
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haha yeah I mean I'm not saying they need to spend billions on it but commercials to let people know the game's out there and show why it's so distinct would I think really help it.
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Sega Europe advertised Vanquish;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_dlj5MYI5M
Something like that would have really been awesome in America. Binary Domain should have something like that.
It bombed here too, it bombed terribly, it lasted in the UK charts for only two weeks and did not even enter the French charts. Vanquish is a poor example to use because it is not the type of game that people will get anyway, its like modern Sonic, it's just not the cup of tea for everyone. So I do not really agree it was a missed opportunity.
That being said I would hope they would invest in marketing on Binary Domain, but television ads is not the only means to getting a game to be a big success (Just watch how poorly certain titles, like Home Front, Sonic Generations etc have performed despite having ads) they have to make sure there are other things that compliment the television adverts. Though this short delay is more to do with the marketing rather than the development of the actual game.
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It bombed here too, it bombed terribly, it lasted in the UK charts for only two weeks and did not even enter the French charts. Vanquish is a poor example to use because it is not the type of game that people will get anyway, its like modern Sonic, it's just not the cup of tea for everyone. So I do not really agree it was a missed opportunity.
That being said I would hope they would invest in marketing on Binary Domain, but television ads is not the only means to getting a game to be a big success (Just watch how poorly certain titles, like Home Front, Sonic Generations etc have performed despite having ads) they have to make sure there are other things that compliment the television adverts. Though this short delay is more to do with the marketing rather than the development of the actual game.
I'm not sure how Vanquish is "not everyone's cup of tea" yet Binary Domain is a different scenario, to be honest. I guess Binary Domain might follow the lines of a more standard Third Person shooter but then again, it has likely gigantic and incredibly long cutscenes, which some probably won't like.
Sonic Generations performed poorly because Sega neglected to release a Wii version, therefore missing out on a giant portion of the fanbase. I called that one months ago. Homefront got mediocre reviews and was short.
I agree TV commercials are not a "be-all-end-all" but in the case of action games, I feel that they're a necessity, a necessary part of a bigger marketing plan.
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I'm not sure how Vanquish is "not everyone's cup of tea" yet Binary Domain is a different scenario, to be honest. I guess Binary Domain might follow the lines of a more standard Third Person shooter but then again, it has likely gigantic and incredibly long cutscenes, which some probably won't like.
Most people would not enjoy boosting around an arena at such fast speed plus dying so very easily is, as shown by Sonic the Hedgehog, hardly an accessible type of game and to some people not very enjoyable either.
And Binary Domain will have cutscenes, plenty, this is not so much an issue now considering how many games have such lengthy storylines now. Though it should be noted, the longer the game, the more acceptible one is to the length of the cutscenes. If Binary Domain is only 6 hours of gameplay but has 4 hours of cutscenes, this will be offputting. If the game has 16 hours of gameplay but 4 hours of cutscenes, most would be fine with that.
Sonic Generations performed poorly because Sega neglected to release a Wii version, therefore missing out on a giant portion of the fanbase. I called that one months ago.
Sonic Generations is selling faster than Sonic Colours and Sonic Unleashed. The lack of a Wii version is not the reason why it intially did so poorly. The Xbox 360 version of Sonic Generations is selling faster than the Nintendo Wii version of Sonic Colours.
Homefront got mediocre reviews and was short.
I will give you the mediocre part but not the short part, most of the big first person shooters in recent years can be completed in a short amount of time, the focus for them is on multiplayer.
I agree TV commercials are not a "be-all-end-all" but in the case of action games, I feel that they're a necessity, a necessary part of a bigger marketing plan.
I did not argue that, I am just saying showing ads will not be enough to sustain/build hype, they need to ensure a good demo that shows off the game and multiplayer. Add to that developer interviews (Especially saying that the director of Yakuza 3, a man involved in F-Zero, Monkey Ball, Yakuza and Daytona and the man behind Jet Set Radio and worked on Panzer Dragoon, are all part of this project) plus various trailers and the game will be a success.
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Sonic Generations is selling faster than Sonic Colours and Sonic Unleashed. The lack of a Wii version is not the reason why it intially did so poorly. The Xbox 360 version of Sonic Generations is selling faster than the Nintendo Wii version of Sonic Colours.
Well, Sonic Generations was also much better promoted than Colors....Colors was advertised exclusively as a kids game; at first people thought it was a "Storybook Series" game. Generations was given a massive fan push and a much larger marketing campaign.
The Xbox 360 version of Sonic Generations is selling faster than the Nintendo Wii version of Sonic Colours.
Source? Just curious.
I did not argue that, I am just saying showing ads will not be enough to sustain/build hype, they need to ensure a good demo that shows off the game and multiplayer. Add to that developer interviews (Especially saying that the director of Yakuza 3, a man involved in F-Zero, Monkey Ball, Yakuza and Daytona and the man behind Jet Set Radio and worked on Panzer Dragoon, are all part of this project) plus various trailers and the game will be a success.
Well, I certainly agree with that. A commercial alone is never enough, that's why I was getting on Sega's case all this time for lack of media coverage for the game until rather recently.
As far as saying that the director of "Yakuza 3, Monkey Ball, Daytona, and someone who worked on JSR and Panzer Dragon,"................that's going to do nothing to sell the game, lol. Most people don't know what any of those games are and Monkey Ball will be more than a little off-putting to most action game fans. I doubt Sega can hype the F-Zero thing, that being a Nintendo franchise.
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Well, Sonic Generations was also much better promoted than Colors....Colors was advertised exclusively as a kids game; at first people thought it was a "Storybook Series" game. Generations was given a massive fan push and a much larger marketing campaign.
People who thought that only thought that on concept. But it cannot be both ways, effectively Generations 360 has proven that SEGA does not need just a Nintendo version of the game to sell so well. The problem was not marketing, but a wide range of issues (Bad demo, for one, completely misrepresented modern Sonic)
Source? Just curious.
European charts. America may swing favour to the way of Sonic Colours but I highly doubt that.
Well, I certainly agree with that. A commercial alone is never enough, that's why I was getting on Sega's case all this time for lack of media coverage for the game until rather recently.
I think the lack of media from late October to mid-December was understandble. The fact is no one is going to pay too much attention to a game when 20 other big AAA games are about to hit. That they have picked up the slack and delayed the game for marketing is good indication in my books.
As far as saying that the director of "Yakuza 3, Monkey Ball, Daytona, and someone who worked on JSR and Panzer Dragon,"................that's going to do nothing to sell the game, lol. Most people don't know what any of those games are and Monkey Ball will be more than a little off-putting to most action game fans. I doubt Sega can hype the F-Zero thing, that being a Nintendo franchise.
It is how SEGA of Japan marketed Nagoshi. He is now on the same level as Kojima in Japan.
But most people would know Panzer Dragoon and Jet Set Radio (The most recent title, Orta & Future, sold over 200,000 and 100,000 in America respectively if I recall correctly) Daytona was the biggest arcade success in history, it is/was bigger than most series today. There was a lot of hype for Binary Domain before the first trailer, mainly because of Nagoshi's pedigree, I do not see why they should not use that again.
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I did not argue that, I am just saying showing ads will not be enough to sustain/build hype, they need to ensure a good demo that shows off the game and multiplayer. Add to that developer interviews (Especially saying that the director of Yakuza 3, a man involved in F-Zero, Monkey Ball, Yakuza and Daytona and the man behind Jet Set Radio and worked on Panzer Dragoon, are all part of this project) plus various trailers and the game will be a success.
That will really mean nothing to the Mass market people for lots of reasons but mainly that Panzer Dragoon, JSR, F-Zero (Cube) and even Daytona USA on both the Saturn and DC did not sell well that well and in the West in the West Yakuza, Panzer Dragoon mean very very little.
SEGA needed to learn the lessons on what Capcom did for it's new IP and that's a nice big early demo like Capcom did with Last Planet and Dead Rising, Then that backed that up with a 2 week TV campaign (like Capcom did with LP) when the game hit retail
So SEGA needs to get a demo out very soon-ish and then spend a bit of money on a TV adv . Just run this add with the final build footage, its simply ace
http://youtu.be/0v9pt8obwsE?t=42s
There are plenty of CoD fans who buy more than 2-3 games a year....there are some who play CoD exclusively of course but not all. Probably not the majority, in fact.
Spot on these are the Die hard games and not the casuals who bring their Wii out very Christmas when the family come over . These are the very gamers SEGA needs with this game and the likes of Alien Marines
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That will really mean nothing to the Mass market people for lots of reasons but mainly that Panzer Dragoon, JSR, F-Zero (Cube) and even Daytona USA on both the Saturn and DC did not sell well that well and in the West in the West Yakuza, Panzer Dragoon mean very very little.
I am not going to bother responding to that claim on F-Zero and more so on Daytona.
SEGA is expecting only a million out of this, clearly not aiming for the mass market with that target and I believe that is how they should aim for with a new IP, its the sequel that should demostrate any level of growth towards that market.
But again, I think both of you and nSEGA have missed the point I was making, the point was not to ensure that this is the only thing SEGA markets, the point was SEGA markets everything possible with this title ranging from adverts, demos, hands-on, interviews, trailers, developer diaries etc a complete marketing blitz. I do not see what harm this will do to the title for getting the faces of Nagoshi, Kikuchi or Sato to be presented to the public.
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I am not going to bother responding to that claim on F-Zero and more so on Daytona.
I don't know why . F-Zero didn't do that great on the Cube and Daytona USA on the Saturn and Dreamcst was a complete flop -more so for the DC version.
SEGA is expecting only a million out of this
? That is mass Market and what most developers hope for that a selling a million plus full price copies and if you don't sell a million copies in today's High Def world its very hard to get a sequel green light
the point was SEGA markets everything possible with this title ranging from adverts, demos, hands-on, interviews, trailers, developer diaries etc a complete marketing blitz.
That is more or less what every developer and publisher does and we've let to get a demo of the game. Now SEGA needs to get a demo out and ready a BIG TV push for the game come next month . If it doesn't it have a hard time selling a new IP today's market .Just look at Saints Row for the one time laughing stock that was THQ- Early demo and massive TV ad blits for a couple of weeks , or less what Capcom, Ubisoft and most the rest do anytime they're bring out a new IP . SEGA really needs to do the same , because this looks a quality production.
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I don't know why . F-Zero didn't do that great on the Cube and Daytona USA on the Saturn and Dreamcst was a complete flop -more so for the DC version.
Because there is no need to, but if you want me to respond, fine. F-Zero got player's choice in Europe and America. 250,000 units in each area for the Gamecube is a great figure and likely it sold more. It sold a further 100,000 in Japan. The least it did was 600,000 units. That is being kind and saying it stopped selling a year after release.
Daytona is the most successful arcade game ever, the fact it was on a dead on arrival console and then on a less dead on arrival but later it was dead too console is not an indication of anything. I might as well say Yakuza is as big as Shenmue considering the sales of Yakuza 1 and 2 are over a million. Daytona still has a lot of great memories for people, the fact that the PSN/XBLA did so well without marketing and SEGA did SEGA Racing Classic shows that people still enjoy that series.
? That is mass Market and what most developers hope for that a selling a million plus full price copies and if you don't sell a million copies in today's High Def world its very hard to get a sequel green light
Sure, selling a million back in 1999, that was an accomplishment. The market however is now so big that a million seller is not seen as a mass market title anymore, something closer to 3 million would be considered mass market.
The fact that Alpha Protocol can sell 700,000 with minimal hype shows how big the market has become.
That is more or less what every developer and publisher does and we've let to get a demo of the game. Now SEGA needs to get a demo out and ready a BIG TV push for the game come next month . If it doesn't it have a hard time selling a new IP today's market .Just look at Saints Row for the one time laughing stock that was THQ- Early demo and massive TV ad blits for a couple of weeks , or less what Capcom, Ubisoft and most the rest do anytime they're bring out a new IP . SEGA really needs to do the same , because this looks a quality production.
I never said otherwise? Why are you pointing out one particular comment when it was just an ADDITION to a full marketing campaign? Did I say SEGA should not use adverts? No, did I say they should only use developer interviews? No. What I said is they cannot rely on one form of marketing, they need to ensure they do everything from adverts, good demos, developer interviews, trailers, the whole works.
So what are you getting at with me here?
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People who thought that only thought that on concept. But it cannot be both ways, effectively Generations 360 has proven that SEGA does not need just a Nintendo version of the game to sell so well. The problem was not marketing, but a wide range of issues (Bad demo, for one, completely misrepresented modern Sonic)
Huh? The demo was great! I'm not sure why that would be an issue. Sonic Unleashed (which was given a Sonic Generations-sized marketing push) sold by far better on Wii than the competing platforms. Generations, I'm sure, would have been the same way.
I actually wasn't aware that Generations even did poorly, to be honest, until you pointed it out here. But the fact is, a game that's being made to honor Sonic's history and his fanbase skipping out on the fanbase who helped define Sonic's success off of a Sega platform was just a bad decision to me, and a Wii version would have at least helped with the sales, as platforms (especially kids games) tend to sell better on Nintendo hardware.
That they have picked up the slack and delayed the game for marketing is good indication in my books.
Yeah except they moved it from a slow month right into a busier month. Now it will be competing with the likes of Mass Effect 2 and Twisted Metal.
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Huh? The demo was great! I'm not sure why that would be an issue. Sonic Unleashed (which was given a Sonic Generations-sized marketing push) sold by far better on Wii than the competing platforms. Generations, I'm sure, would have been the same way.
But Sonic Unleashed was a terrible game for the most part and critics slammed it. The Wii version of Unleashed sold better than the other versions, but most people considered that the good version.
As for the demo, it pretty much proved the boost to win mindset was right, level design was absolutely simplistic and terrible, not representative of the final product. Should have picked City Escape or Sky Sanctuary instead.
I actually wasn't aware that Generations even did poorly, to be honest, until you pointed it out here.
It did very well intially and was the first Sonic game to enter in a number of charts at top 10 since Sonic Heroes, after that it dramatically fell out of the charts.
It should be noted, it did poorly after a few weeks, right now it is doing very good (Having managed to stay in certain charts since release) my point was not that it was doing poorly despite the ad campaign, I believe a number of reasons contributed to this.
But the fact is, a game that's being made to honor Sonic's history and his fanbase skipping out on the fanbase who helped define Sonic's success off of a Sega platform was just a bad decision to me, and a Wii version would have at least helped with the sales, as platforms (especially kids games) tend to sell better on Nintendo hardware.
?
Sonic Heroes, Sonic Gems Collection and Sonic Mega Collection all sold the best on the Playstation 2. Incorrect information there.
And Nintendo did have their version, it was the Nintendo 3DS version.
Yeah except they moved it from a slow month right into a busier month. Now it will be competing with the likes of Mass Effect 2 and Twisted Metal.
Mass Effect has become a time traveling franchise?!?
In all honesty, they moved it away from Final Fantasy XIII-2 and Soul Calibur V whilst getting it closer to Mass Effect 3, so its a bit of a double edged sword. More so why marketing is important now.
But I doubt Twisted Metal will be a success personal, in any case it's original release date had it launch at the same time as that game.
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Daytona is the most successful arcade game ever, the fact it was on a dead on arrival console and then on a less dead on arrival but later it was dead too console is not an indication of anything
Stop going on about the Arcades , that means next to nothing to the home user now and didn't mean much to in the last generation too for full price retail games . Daytona USA was the most successful Arcade game ever, but in the home market it was anything but sadly .
Yakuza is way bigger than Shenmue , and look OutRun was a Huge Coin up and so many people had found memories but that never helped with sales of OutRun II on the X-Box/PSP
People have moved on and Arcade games are not the draw they once were on the consoles
250,000 units in each area for the Gamecube is a great figure and likely it sold more. It sold a further 100,000 in Japan.
Look in NCL own world they said both F-Zero on the Cube and indeed the N64 did not sell as well as they hoped
The market however is now so big that a million seller is not seen as a mass market title anymore, something closer to 3 million would be considered mass market.
The market really isn't that much bigger and any title that sells over a million at launch at full price can be considered a nice seller . There was some massive sellers in the N64, PS and PS2 generations
The fact that Alpha Protocol can sell 700,000 with minimal hype shows how big the market has become
Most of the were sold at rock bottom prices . In the N64 days the likes of Golden Eye can sell over 8 million copies and the like of Final Fantasy can sell over 7 million copies , GT over 10 million copies in the PS days, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas over 15 million . The market isn't that much bigger, it's just more evenly split now
What I said is they cannot rely on one form of marketing, they need to ensure they do everything from adverts, good demos, developer interviews, trailers, the whole works.
Demo and good TV adverts are yet to be done on Binary Domain - and SEGA needs to sort out a demo soon and hopefully get some prime time TV ads ready . The rest is what any developer/publisher does
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More stuff for Pao and Barry, another hub location it seems;
(http://www.binarydomaingame.jp/images/battle/image_ripplrlink_003.png)
(http://www.binarydomaingame.jp/images/battle/image_ripplrlink_004.png)
To point out, bunch of people on the chairs and all that, so this is not a shooting segment.
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As for the demo, it pretty much proved the boost to win mindset was right, level design was absolutely simplistic and terrible, not representative of the final product. Should have picked City Escape or Sky Sanctuary instead.
But nobody cares about the "boost mindset" thing except die-hard Sonic fans, and they were going to buy the game anyway. I disagree with you entirely about the level design, I thought Green Hill was incredible the first time I played it at Sonic Boom and really don't think it would turn anybody away from the game. Sky Sanctuary would be a little too challenging/frustrating for a demo level, IMO.
And Nintendo did have their version, it was the Nintendo 3DS version.
The 3DS is a new system and is not the same thing as a console release. The handheld version is great for fans of the handheld titles. Not people who still consider Sonic Adventure 2: Battle as one of the most memorable platformers on the GC (as many Nintendo fans do, believe it or not.)
Sonic Heroes, Sonic Gems Collection and Sonic Mega Collection all sold the best on the Playstation 2. Incorrect information there.
Heroes sold better on the GC (at least, in North America, I don't know about Europe, where the GC did notoriously poorly) for the VAST majority of its lifespan, if not its entirety. I understand things changed by the very end of the generation, but that's kind of what happens when one system discontinues support (GC) and one continues for another couple years. (PS2.)
Mass Effect has become a time traveling franchise?!?
In all honesty, they moved it away from Final Fantasy XIII-2 and Soul Calibur V whilst getting it closer to Mass Effect 3, so its a bit of a double edged sword. More so why marketing is important now.
But I doubt Twisted Metal will be a success personal, in any case it's original release date had it launch at the same time as that game.
FF13-2 would have come out after Binary Domain, and Mass Effect 3 serves as more of a competition because it is a Third Person Shooter with RPG elements, kind of similar to Binary Domain in some ways. Either way, they're 2 games with futuristic settings and guns. Obviously....2 very different games otherwise but definitely closer in demographic than a Japanese RPG with semi anime-inspired characters.
Aki; I doubt Binary Domain will have giant explorable (non-shooting) areas. I imagine it'll be like Final Fantasy 13 where there are tiny little breaks in the action where you can walk around without combat in a very tiny area but they won't play a big role in the game, I don't think.
Anyway, Binary Domain will need TV to be successful. And a demo. Sega needs to get on this.
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But nobody cares about the "boost mindset" thing except die-hard Sonic fans, and they were going to buy the game anyway. I disagree with you entirely about the level design, I thought Green Hill was incredible the first time I played it at Sonic Boom and really don't think it would turn anybody away from the game. Sky Sanctuary would be a little too challenging/frustrating for a demo level, IMO.
I would say speaking from experience most people dislike how fast Sonic has become and find it a pain to play. Green Hill Zone is such a poor level, it is just one straight line with minimal amount of alternate routes or interesting gimmicks. It does not show the game off well at all. As for Sky Sanctuary being hard, it could be, but it is also better than Green Hill Zone. City Escape in that case. This is my worry with Binary Domain, you even complained about corridors, give a level full of corridors and people will get the wrong idea!
The 3DS is a new system and is not the same thing as a console release. The handheld version is great for fans of the handheld titles. Not people who still consider Sonic Adventure 2: Battle as one of the most memorable platformers on the GC (as many Nintendo fans do, believe it or not.)
SEGA has no reason to carter to every demograph if they cannot do so. If Sonic Team could not handle a third version (Which was the case) then they would have to outsource development of the other version. Unfortunately sacrifices had to be made but the overall product paid off. Anyway this is going a bit offtopic and we can always continue this in PM!
Heroes sold better on the GC (at least, in North America, I don't know about Europe, where the GC did notoriously poorly) for the VAST majority of its lifespan, if not its entirety. I understand things changed by the very end of the generation, but that's kind of what happens when one system discontinues support (GC) and one continues for another couple years. (PS2.)
The best selling version has and always was the Playstation 2 version. Even in North America.
FF13-2 would have come out after Binary Domain, and Mass Effect 3 serves as more of a competition because it is a Third Person Shooter with RPG elements, kind of similar to Binary Domain in some ways. Either way, they're 2 games with futuristic settings and guns. Obviously....2 very different games otherwise but definitely closer in demographic than a Japanese RPG with semi anime-inspired characters.
There is probably a large amount of crossover in the demographs who buy Final Fantasy and go on to buy Binary Domain or Mass Effect, even though it is declining, Final Fantasy is still a mega-franchise. Even if the entire game is something totally different.
Aki; I doubt Binary Domain will have giant explorable (non-shooting) areas. I imagine it'll be like Final Fantasy 13 where there are tiny little breaks in the action where you can walk around without combat in a very tiny area but they won't play a big role in the game, I don't think.
I agree, but both Barry and Pao were interested in those sections so I just pointed it out for them.
Anyway, Binary Domain will need TV to be successful. And a demo. Sega needs to get on this.
I agreed with you! Anyway they have already said a demo is in the works and will be out before the game is. I am sure that SEGA America will market it for TV, the game has a 15 second ad already airing on Japanese TV from yesterday.
I mean if SEGA of Japan is doing that and West is not, I am pretty sure Nagoshi killed Mike Hayes' dog and is out to spite him, or something.
Demo and good TV adverts are yet to be done on Binary Domain - and SEGA needs to sort out a demo soon and hopefully get some prime time TV ads ready . The rest is what any developer/publisher does
I am not going to respond to any of that since you seem to have, again, missed my point and going to start to seriously dislodge this topic.
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Regarding the hubs, very cool! Reminds me of the downtime in Sakura Wars where you walk about chatting with the NPCs, trying to influence them. Of course, in that it was for love and in this it's for combat. But combat did come into play in Sakura Wars.
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I would say speaking from experience most people dislike how fast Sonic has become and find it a pain to play. Green Hill Zone is such a poor level, it is just one straight line with minimal amount of alternate routes or interesting gimmicks. It does not show the game off well at all. As for Sky Sanctuary being hard, it could be, but it is also better than Green Hill Zone. City Escape in that case. This is my worry with Binary Domain, you even complained about corridors, give a level full of corridors and people will get the wrong idea!
Hahaha we just won't agree on this, dude. City Escape I suppose would have been a good choice but I really doubt the demo was the issue.
The Giant Fish Chase scene in Green Hill alone would have sold me on the game if I were on the fence about it.
There is probably a large amount of crossover in the demographs who buy Final Fantasy and go on to buy Binary Domain or Mass Effect, even though it is declining, Final Fantasy is still a mega-franchise. Even if the entire game is something totally different.
Binary Domain was developed for a "Western Crowd." It wasn't made specifically for the Yakuza demographic, it was Nagoshi trying to develop a "Western game." I think Mass Effect is more targeting that demo, though I agree that there may be *some* crossover with FF, I don't think it was a delay that'll help the game *UNLESS* it's to develop a TV campaign.
I mean if SEGA of Japan is doing that and West is not, I am pretty sure Nagoshi killed Mike Hayes' dog and is out to spite him, or something.
Hahahah well it wouldn't be the first time. Vanquish had advertising everywhere but America, it seemed. Actually, most of Sega's new IP did (Yakuza, Resonance of Fate, Valkyria Chronicles, etc.)
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Hahaha we just won't agree on this, dude. City Escape I suppose would have been a good choice but I really doubt the demo was the issue.
The Giant Fish Chase scene in Green Hill alone would have sold me on the game if I were on the fence about it.
I think we will have to agree to disagree, I know a bunch of people who complained it was linear, boring and felt they hardly played the level. When you have competition from both Rayman and Mario, putting out a demo like that gave too many bad impressions I feel.
Green Hill Zone for classic Sonic was good, Green Hill Zone for modern Sonic was terrible, which is funny considering the first level is always the strongest for Sonic Team.
Binary Domain was developed for a "Western Crowd." It wasn't made specifically for the Yakuza demographic, it was Nagoshi trying to develop a "Western game." I think Mass Effect is more targeting that demo, though I agree that there may be *some* crossover with FF, I don't think it was a delay that'll help the game *UNLESS* it's to develop a TV campaign.
Binary Domain was developed for a global audience, SEGA/Nagoshi has said a number of time the idea was to create a brand that is a globally successful series.
The game has been delayed for two weeks even though its completed (Japanese version has not been delayed) this is to pick up the slack from October to mid-December. And seems they certainly have.
But whilst Mass Effect is a similar setting and style of game, its nothing more than a 2 million seller, Final Fantasy XIII-2 has all the attributes to be a 5 million plus seller! That can knock the wind out of anything (Especially with Soul Calibur V releasing too) like I said, they move it away from two heavy hitters but closer to another big, but not quite so heavy, hitter.
Hahahah well it wouldn't be the first time. Vanquish had advertising everywhere but America, it seemed. Actually, most of Sega's new IP did (Yakuza, Resonance of Fate, Valkyria Chronicles, etc.)
Yakuza was marketed badly by SEGA America, they just pretended it was another Grand Theft Auto which completely destroyed its chances. I can understand why Valkyria Chronicles was ignored, same with Resonance of Fate, jRPGs just do not have the followings they use to, strangely. I suppose the majority of the fanbase just moved to the Nintendo DS.
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I posted a few of these videos on the other thread, but I think a few people (Like Pao) only just saw them, so here are a bunch of Japanese people playing Binary Domain (Also techno music for train level confirmed! Yay)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACWv10vi4Ps&
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwxWNu0-q0E&
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71Psjt9-DHg&
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHUPSlDW8es&
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And wouldn't you know it, as soon as I posted that, I came across this! Seems like the five that SEGA have shown are not your only team mates through out the game, SEGA's shown off two more characters (And a boss character) just now, well SEGA Japan has anyway!
http://gameyoutube.blog74.fc2.com/blog-entry-4575.html
(http://blog-imgs-36-origin.fc2.com/g/a/m/gameyoutube/1d7976f4.jpg)
Few more images through the link.
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The link above seems to be down, but here is the direct source for anyone interested.
http://www.4gamer.net/games/125/G012513/20120112012/
Was sure that 5 members was all there was, but seems SEGA has kept a nice amount underwraps!
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Green Hill Zone for classic Sonic was good, Green Hill Zone for modern Sonic was terrible, which is funny considering the first level is always the strongest for Sonic Team.
And Modern Green Hill was pretty great, I thought. :]
But whilst Mass Effect is a similar setting and style of game, its nothing more than a 2 million seller, Final Fantasy XIII-2 has all the attributes to be a 5 million plus seller! That can knock the wind out of anything (Especially with Soul Calibur V releasing too) like I said, they move it away from two heavy hitters but closer to another big, but not quite so heavy, hitter.
Mass Effect 2 was much bigger sales-wise and was better-received than Mass Effect 1, Mass Effect 3 will likely be an even bigger deal when it comes out. I wouldn't brush the series off, it's doing very well for itself, and time will tell if Sega effed up by moving Binary Domain to that slot.
Anyway, I think this topic's been de-railed enough. If you want, I can shut up now. ;)
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I am not going to respond to any of that since you seem to have, again, missed my point and going to start
What ?. All I said is SEGA needs to get a demo out and ready big TV push if it wants to sell a new IP in the west, to which you replied about interviews ECT- That is only what all other corps do anyway.
But whilst Mass Effect is a similar setting and style of game, its nothing more than a 2 million seller
To a small point but Mass Effect is more a RPG - Binary Domain is more an action shooter likes Gears, GRAW mould
Yakuza was marketed badly by SEGA America, they just pretended it was another Grand Theft Auto which completely destroyed its chances.
Lets be fair it was the likes of Press and Magicbox that tried to make out this was SEGA answer to GTA before the game had even come out in Japan . SEGA did not make out this was a GTA game at all not SOA or SOA I felt that was the press sadly that done that . If people did feel it was another a GTA game it may have sold millions ;) :P
I can understand why Valkyria Chronicles was ignored, same with Resonance of Fate, jRPGs just do not have the followings they use to, strangely. I suppose the majority of the fanbase just moved to the Nintendo DS.
SRPG's was never going to sell well in the west , but SEGA's big problem with most of it's games is a complete lack of a Big push or a TV 2week blts when a game is out for all but a Sonic Title . It's really been a problem for years, hell we even have topics started about I've seen a SEGA advert on TV.
It is an area that SEGA simple must do better in and I hope it's got some big style TV and press pushes ready for BD, Alien Marines and CA new massive action console game
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And Modern Green Hill was pretty great, I thought. :]
To each his own I suppose.
Mass Effect 2 was much bigger sales-wise and was better-received than Mass Effect 1, Mass Effect 3 will likely be an even bigger deal when it comes out. I wouldn't brush the series off, it's doing very well for itself, and time will tell if Sega effed up by moving Binary Domain to that slot.
Mass Effect 2 was not much bigger sales-wise and its critical acclaim increase was minimal (The original was highly regarded in itself) sales may seem bigger for Mass Effect 2, but the fact is the series has become much much more front loaded. That's not to say its a big seller, but it is no Final Fantasy, Batman, Metal Gear or any other series that does 5 million, its a clear 2 to 3 million seller. So whilst it can eat into Binary Domain's sales, I do not think it will suck the life out of everything else.
What ?. All I said is SEGA needs to get a demo out and ready big TV push if it wants to sell a new IP in the west, to which you replied about interviews ECT- That is only what all other corps do anyway.
I replied to your whole quote with that one bit, we could discuss the rest, about Daytona and how I think you are wrong and how you can try and counter my position, or how I can talk about how expanded the market has now become and you can counter that too, but it would stop releating to Binary Domain and start discussing the wider gaming market. Which I am not willing to do, as it distracts from the topic itself. If you want to continue that debate, you can always start it in general gaming, but for me I think we ought to keep our own beliefs seperate.
Now moving on...
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http://www.destructoid.com/meet-the-heroes-of-binary-domain-the-rust-crew-219971.phtml
Another developer diary is up on Destructoid, this time talking about the characters, members of the Rust Crew. My favourite bit was;
Mid-way through the game, you’ll also have Cain join the Rust Crew. He is a special ops robot from France, a sleek character with a French accent. He’s also capable of showing some “artificial humor”, but his jokes aren’t always great and don’t always come at the right time. But when it comes to battle, Cain will show great talent. His combat skills and technical skills (he can hack into enemy AI!) are so awesome, even the robot-hater Dan gets impressed. I’m sure you’ll love Cain for his humorous actions!
Cain to be the best member of the group confirmed.
http://www.oxmonline.com/binary-domain-preview
Another interesting thing I found that Barry might enjoy, in regards to the voice commends, comes from this preview released way back in December from Official Xbox Magazine;
Dan Marshall and his partner Big Bo have some big problems. They’ve been sent into militarized Japan to hunt down brilliant inventor and robotics expert Yoji Amada. Unfortunately, the robots that Amada helped to create stand in their way. Along with their multinational Rust Crew, they’re on a mission to arrest Amada for ignoring Clause 21 of the New Geneva convention, which bans the use of the terrifyingly humanlike android Hollow Children for any purpose. Amada used one to commit a massacre in the labs of his biggest competitors, multinational corporation Bergen Advanced Robotics Technology.
Sound complicated? Well let’s summarize third-person shooter Binary Domain like this: You get to shoot robots. Lots of them. Those robots explode, and then you smile. It’s pretty simple, and very satisfying. And when you kill those robots, you get money that you can spend on new guns and upgrades for you and your team. Eventually, you’ll become a robot wrecking machine capable of taking on hordes of the metal guys. Of course, you can upgrade to your preference. Love some sniper action? Get your range and accuracy stats up. Prefer close and personal? That shotgun of yours looks like it could use a damage upgrade.
No one man can take on an entire army, however. That’s where Dan’s teammates come in. Depending on your style of play, you’ll have the choice of taking a combination of the juggernaut Big Bo, the explosives expert Charlie, the rocket launcher-toting Rachel, or the tactical sniper Faye into battle. Utilizing the crew to their fullest potential is pretty simple, especially with the extensive use of voice commands that Binary Domain features. Yelling “CHARGE” into an Xbox Live headset microphone feels a bit silly at first, but when you realize that you don’t have to take your thumb off the right stick to do so, it becomes second nature.
Perhaps the most interesting part about the voice commands, however, is the fact that you can it in non-combat scenarios. Deep in the slums below the Shibuya district of Tokyo, we had several conversations with citizens, where we were occasionally given a choice of dialogue options. Quickly, we realized that we could go off-script and say whatever we wanted, and the game would allow for that. Sort of like a poor man’s version of Siri for iPhone. Imagine the surprise of a hapless merchant when we cursed him out for no apparent reason. It wasn’t terribly pretty. In our preview build, the voice recognition wasn’t perfect, but we’re certainly intrigued by the possibilities.
With a complex plot, crazy man-on-robot violence, and an intriguing voice command system, Binary Domain certainly looks ready to make itself known on the third-person shooter front.
Ryan and George are going to have a field day with this game...
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Wow! That is very awesome! So you can talk to NPCs, cuss them out, say happy things to them and they react? That sounds like fun! And being in a future Shibuya, you're sure to bump into some JSRF characters... okay, probably not. But Goji Rokkaku was in Yakuza. So never say never.
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about Daytona and how I think you are wrong and how you can try and counter my position,
In the home only the AM#2 sold in decent numbers the CE sold quite poor and Daytona USA 2001 couldn't didn't even enter the Japanese top 50 best selling games of 2000 (so it sold way less than 100,000 copies) , never entered the UK top 20 on its release for 2001 and I didn't sell great in USA either Daytona USA did not sell that well at on consoles at all sadly
I can talk about how expanded the market has now become and you can counter that too
Its forum we debate, if the market has expanded so much, why can only a few IP can ever hope sell over a million copies these days ? and you looked over some of the multi million sellers in the 90's ect. Goldeneye on a single system sold over 8 million copies (that's way above Gears of War 2) or what GTA SA sold just on the PS2 some 15 million copies plus (insane numbers on a single platform)
These days its very hard to launch a new IP and SEGA needs to pull out all the stops to make sure BD sales well , which is what we all want . That to me mean some decent TV ads on prime time TV something which SEGA has not done well for years , and it really needs to for this game and the upcoming Aliens Marine .
These 2 games can really bring SEGA back into the BIG time if handled and done right, mind you the games need to be good too, granted
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In the home only the AM#2 sold in decent numbers the CE sold quite poor and Daytona USA 2001 couldn't didn't even enter the Japanese top 50 best selling games of 2000 (so it sold way less than 100,000 copies) , never entered the UK top 20 on its release for 2001 and I didn't sell great in USA either Daytona USA did not sell that well at on consoles at all sadly
Why are you mentioning Japan, I never spoke of Japan? My point originally clearly stated to put Toshihiro Nagoshi (And other members) out there for Western gamers and get them associated with them, in Japan they are already well known. Why are you using the UK as an example? Between October 99 - May 00 the Dreamcast managed only a tiny 280,000 in sales, compared to the Plyastation 1 which managed 1.2 million in the same period and the Gameboy Colour that did 660,000. Of course it was not going to enter the top 20, it would have to have one of the best attach ratio in the industry.
So you are clearly missing the market conditions I have continually stressed, Sonic Adventure was the only title from SEGA that did over 100,000 in sales. But this is besides the point, getting these people out there will not harm the publicity of Binary Domain, it will not do anything bad towards the title, it will however allow SEGA to show off the world that they have other producers. It will not take away from the other forms of marketing (Such as demos, trailers, ad campaigns) all it is is an addition
Its forum we debate, if the market has expanded so much, why can only a few IP can ever hope sell over a million copies these days ?
How is that an indication of anything? We have more million sellers this generation than any other generation, we also have more consoles sold to consumers this generation than any other generation, clearly shows the market has expanded. If new IPs are not a success, it does not mean the market has not expanded, it shows nothing but people not either willing to try the title or the publisher failing to advertise the new franchise well.
and you looked over some of the multi million sellers in the 90's ect. Goldeneye on a single system sold over 8 million copies (that's way above Gears of War 2) or what GTA SA sold just on the PS2 some 15
million copies plus (insane numbers on a single platform)
I pointed out 1999, not 2004. Neither did I never said there was no big sellers, I said selling a million is not as impressive these days. We have had big big sellers before, but we have never had as many big sellers as we do now. Off the top of my head Resident Evil, Uncharted, Gears of War, Saint's Row, Batman, Bioshock and are all over 5 million+ sellers, this is without me talking about FIFA, Halo, Assassin's Creed, Battlefield or even Call of Duty (I have not even talked about any of Nintendo's major titles either)
These days its very hard to launch a new IP and SEGA needs to pull out all the stops to make sure BD sales well , which is what we all want . That to me mean some decent TV ads on prime time TV something which SEGA has not done well for years , and it really needs to for this game and the upcoming Aliens Marine .
I never said SEGA should do none of that, if I was SEGA I would pay for I-Robot and Bladerunner on TV for Britain and air Binary Domain adverts between them. Perhaps advertise it with SyFy channel, you get the idea. My point was SEGA need to go with a complete attack on all fronts in the media with this game and not rely on one form of marketing.
These 2 games can really bring SEGA back into the BIG time if handled and done right, mind you the games need to be good too, granted
Not sure about the big time with Binary Domain, maybe if they were aiming for multi-million seller. I want Binary Domain to do well so more funds can be allocated to Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio to be able to make better games.
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Just reposting it on this page incase anyone misses it;
http://www.destructoid.com/meet-the-heroes-of-binary-domain-the-rust-crew-219971.phtml
Another developer diary is up on Destructoid, this time talking about the characters, members of the Rust Crew. My favourite bit was;
Mid-way through the game, you’ll also have Cain join the Rust Crew. He is a special ops robot from France, a sleek character with a French accent. He’s also capable of showing some “artificial humor”, but his jokes aren’t always great and don’t always come at the right time. But when it comes to battle, Cain will show great talent. His combat skills and technical skills (he can hack into enemy AI!) are so awesome, even the robot-hater Dan gets impressed. I’m sure you’ll love Cain for his humorous actions!
Cain to be the best member of the group confirmed.
http://www.oxmonline.com/binary-domain-preview
Another interesting thing I found that Barry might enjoy, in regards to the voice commends, comes from this preview released way back in December from Official Xbox Magazine;
Dan Marshall and his partner Big Bo have some big problems. They’ve been sent into militarized Japan to hunt down brilliant inventor and robotics expert Yoji Amada. Unfortunately, the robots that Amada helped to create stand in their way. Along with their multinational Rust Crew, they’re on a mission to arrest Amada for ignoring Clause 21 of the New Geneva convention, which bans the use of the terrifyingly humanlike android Hollow Children for any purpose. Amada used one to commit a massacre in the labs of his biggest competitors, multinational corporation Bergen Advanced Robotics Technology.
Sound complicated? Well let’s summarize third-person shooter Binary Domain like this: You get to shoot robots. Lots of them. Those robots explode, and then you smile. It’s pretty simple, and very satisfying. And when you kill those robots, you get money that you can spend on new guns and upgrades for you and your team. Eventually, you’ll become a robot wrecking machine capable of taking on hordes of the metal guys. Of course, you can upgrade to your preference. Love some sniper action? Get your range and accuracy stats up. Prefer close and personal? That shotgun of yours looks like it could use a damage upgrade.
No one man can take on an entire army, however. That’s where Dan’s teammates come in. Depending on your style of play, you’ll have the choice of taking a combination of the juggernaut Big Bo, the explosives expert Charlie, the rocket launcher-toting Rachel, or the tactical sniper Faye into battle. Utilizing the crew to their fullest potential is pretty simple, especially with the extensive use of voice commands that Binary Domain features. Yelling “CHARGE” into an Xbox Live headset microphone feels a bit silly at first, but when you realize that you don’t have to take your thumb off the right stick to do so, it becomes second nature.
Perhaps the most interesting part about the voice commands, however, is the fact that you can it in non-combat scenarios. Deep in the slums below the Shibuya district of Tokyo, we had several conversations with citizens, where we were occasionally given a choice of dialogue options. Quickly, we realized that we could go off-script and say whatever we wanted, and the game would allow for that. Sort of like a poor man’s version of Siri for iPhone. Imagine the surprise of a hapless merchant when we cursed him out for no apparent reason. It wasn’t terribly pretty. In our preview build, the voice recognition wasn’t perfect, but we’re certainly intrigued by the possibilities.
With a complex plot, crazy man-on-robot violence, and an intriguing voice command system, Binary Domain certainly looks ready to make itself known on the third-person shooter front.
Ryan and George are going to have a field day with this game...
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Why are you mentioning Japan, I never spoke of Japan? My point originally clearly stated to put Toshihiro Nagoshi (And other members) out there for Western gamers and get them associated with them
I'm not just on about about Japan( though Japan was Saturn number 1 market the onlt market where Panzer Dragoon did well and where Nagoshi-san enjoy's the best sales on the consoles currently). Daytona 2001/Daytona CE didn't sell great in any part of the world ,those are simple facts.
Why are you using the UK as an example? Between October 99 - May 00 the Dreamcast managed only a tiny 280,000 in sales, compared to the Plyastation 1 which managed 1.2 million in the same period and the Gameboy Colour that did 660,000. Of course it was not going to enter the top 20, it would have to have one of the best attach ratio in the industry.
I'm not just using the UK, I use the USA and Japan too. You're at odds with your posts on the one had saying Daytona USA is a brilliant seller and then making out the DC sold low numbers. I'm just saying that Daytona USA in the home is not a good seller at all, be that the DC or Saturn - Only the Saturn AM#2 port sold in decent numbers and there were far from anything that special
So like I said , saying from the team that gave you Daytona, JSRF, Panzer Dragoon and Yakuza won't mean much in the west - due the games not selling well in the home . Sure given that pedigree it get coverage in the press , hype and us gamers talking and looking forward to the game, but SEGA needs to sell this to the masses and sadly the likes of Panzer Dragoon, Yakuza don't mean much to them .
So what SEGA needs is a kick ass demo and a really good PR and TV campaign to generate interest for this new IP.
How is that an indication of anything? We have more million sellers this generation than any other generation, we also have more consoles sold to consumers this generation than any other generation, clearly shows the market has expanded
That is really up for debate - It one counts up the million plus sellers on the Cube, X-Box and PS 2 to the million sellers on the 360 , PS3 and Wii its a lot closer than what people think
You tried to make out games sold more these day's than in generations before GoldenEye did not come out in 2004, neither did the likes of Mario 64, Mario Kart 64 , FF 7, GT , Tomb Raider II , MGS, Zelda OOT, Super Smash Bro, MGS, HALO , DOA III, PGR and host of other multi million selling IP
And also remember than in the older days tracking sales of software was a bit more patchy and would not include sales from the likes of Amazon and other retailers that are now included . Look the market is huge now, but there was plenty on multi million selling IP in the old days , all I will say its with the high costs and the limited genre's that sell today, its now harder than ever to lauch a new IP and I hope SEGA pulls out all the stops or we could have another classic SEGA game that goes overlooked and I'm getting sick of that happing these days and feel part of that is down to SEGA's terrible and lacking promotions on TV in the west .
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Ryan and George are going to have a field day with this game...
XD indeed
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The role of consequences article
http://www.destructoid.com/the-role-of-consequence-in-binary-domain-220416.phtml
Daisuke Sato – Director
Today we’re talking about the “Consequence System”, one of the most outstanding features in Binary Domain.
The Consequence System was developed in order to make our way into the highly competitive third person shooter genre. By using it, you can change the battle situation, using voice commands like, “Charge!” through the microphone to move ally NPCs. Or you can say, “Cover me!” to ask them for help when running into difficult situations that you cannot handle by yourself. You can also use many other squad tactics throughout the game.
In many games, the main characters and ally NPCs just act however they want, but such NPCs just work like mob characters that are there to make scenes look more exciting. Binary Domain will allow you to actively reach out to these characters because we’re focusing on the meaning of their existence.
However, you’ll be using only one controller so it’s impossible to control the NPCs while moving your own character. This is why we came up with the Consequence System, where you can give action orders to NPCs using voice input. You can move the ally NPCs just by talking to the microphone while you have your gun pointed at other enemies.
This feature changed the AI from “ally NPCs that just follow you around” to “ally NPCs that fight together with you”. Furthermore, we combined that with the “trust level” system, which allows situations such as your team members disobeying your orders. For example, if you’re a careless player that keeps shooting your comrades instead of the enemies, then your allies will naturally refuse your orders. You’ll always need to act to gain their trust and show them how much of an awesome soldier you are. This tension will make the battlefield feel more realistic.
Ally NPCs can sometimes talk to you just for a chat outside of combat. Your replies there can also change their trust level. You can give various replies like “I love you” or “You idiot” and their reactions will vary accordingly, so you can create your own drama depending on how you communicate with them. The trust level can also affect the main scenario, so there could be multiple paths for Binary Domain’s ending.
Now in order to make this system work, the game needs to recognize the player’s answers in various situations as well as the NPC’s answers to them. This meant the system needed to work on top of a huge database of voice patterns. We recorded loads and loads of dialogues, and Binary Domain required more dialogue and recordings than any of our previous games, in order to make it compatible for six languages!