Possible TGS suprise games leaked.

[Sharky]

PSO has changed with the times. All anime is this now... It's a shame I agree but whatever. PSO2 is great fun.

[Radrappy]

PSO has changed with the times. All anime is this now... It's a shame I agree but whatever. PSO2 is great fun.

Edit: I feel bad being so negative so I'm editing this.


I'll just instead say that PSO didn't appeal to the lowest common denominator in the way that PSO2 clearly does.  Gameplay is all that matters though so I'm glad PSO2's combat is such a blast.  I do wish they could raise other aspects of its game design to a similarly high quality.   

[Aki-at]

PSO has changed with the times. All anime is this now... It's a shame I agree but whatever. PSO2 is great fun.

Phantasy Star changed with the times.

Let's remember the difference between Phantasy Star 4 to Phantasy Star Online is bigger than the difference between PSO1 and PSO2.

[Happy Cat]

PSO being fan-servicy is not just a SEGA thing, really. It's how all anime is now. SEGA just keeping up with the times, gotta go with what makes the money.

Even Nintendo has gone down this route. So please don't just blame SEGA.

Here is a cutscene from one of the latest fire emblem games:

[Bit,]

well.. that happened, we know SEGA is going to announce a non Yakuza game to us at TGS 2015 because Nagoshi said this months ago. The problem is knowing what game it is going to be, Lexus could be that but I highly doubt that it is a code name for the new Yakuza game but we will have to wait and see. They probably have more unannounced projects they are waiting to reveal at TGS but i could be wrong.

[Pao]

Like MGSV.

MGSV was announced in what, 2013?  The time for cross-gen is over.  By the time this game release we'd be more than two years into the new generation, if Nagoshi's new game is cross-gen I'll be really disappointed.  I'm really tired of seeing devs being held back by the old generation... If it's a studio like FALCOM I wouldn't be upset because they are not technically competent.   But RGG Studios have some great tech and they make beautiful games, it would suck to see them hampered by old tech.

[Radrappy]

Phantasy Star changed with the times.

Let's remember the difference between Phantasy Star 4 to Phantasy Star Online is bigger than the difference between PSO1 and PSO2.

Indeed. Except the change from Ps4 to PSO was imo for the better.  PSO had a unique art style and voice, it wasn't just anime at all.  In truth we have regressed.  I actually shouldn't blame PSO2, PSU was the transition stage to the now generic and pandering art.  I was similarly outraged by the OST cover art which starred two of the game's strong female protagonists lying on a bed together looking all "come hither-y"

[Radrappy]

Even Nintendo has gone down this route. So please don't just blame SEGA.

Here is a cutscene from one of the latest fire emblem games:

I'm not a huge fire emblem fan but if I was, rest assured, this would enrage me as well. 

[Phantasos]

Indeed. Except the change from Ps4 to PSO was imo for the better.  PSO had a unique art style and voice, it wasn't just anime at all.

So an obviously anime inspired artistic direction isn't "anime"?

Phantasy Star has been nothing but the "anime" roleplaying series of Sega long before PSO, all of them with main inspiration from an established style of the industry. The original Phantasy Stars looked like your every day typical fantasy anime from the late 80s and early-mid nineties. The one thing that made PSO stand out in the series was that Satoshi Sakai had more freedom in developing the artstyle style and personalize it to his tastes but one glance at it and you see the obvious source that inspired the art. It's anime, no pussyfooting around it. This whole forum seems to have an adversity to "anime" with bloated generalizations about how it's like and how it looks like, which is ironic considering this is a Sega forum.   

[Radrappy]

So an obviously anime inspired artistic direction isn't "anime"?

Phantasy Star has been nothing but the "anime" roleplaying series of Sega long before PSO, all of them with main inspiration from an established style of the industry. The original Phantasy Stars looked like your every day typical fantasy anime from the late 80s and early-mid nineties. The one thing that made PSO stand out in the series was that Satoshi Sakai had more freedom in developing the artstyle style and personalize it to his tastes but one glance at it and you see the obvious source that inspired the art. It's anime, no pussyfooting around it. This whole forum seems to have an adversity to "anime" with bloated generalizations about how it's like and how it looks like, which is ironic considering this is a Sega forum.   

PSO is definitely anime inspired, I won't argue that.  But it had a unique style that was instantly recognizable apart from any other franchise.  Just the variety in facial structure the characters had was enough to make it feel like its own thing.  The HUnewearl especially was portrayed in a way that never felt overly sexualized despite her attire.  I think there's a clear difference between artwork like this and the girl in a swimsuit with a blobby face crawling towards you on all fours in that PSO2 promo.  Heck it's not even just changing with the times, the original PSO looked NOTHING like the anime that was airing on TV at the time.  It went out of its way to look unique.  PSO2 just elects to do the opposite, which is disappointing. 


Also, the original 4 phantasy star games were anime-styled through and through.  I have never argued otherwise. 

[George]

I think that's a bit disingenuous, saying that 'this merch compared to this promo art'. Isn't it more comparable to this?


 

[Radrappy]

I think that's a bit disingenuous, saying that 'this merch compared to this promo art'. Isn't it more comparable to this?


 

You're missing the point.  Look how they've chosen to represent PSO1 vs PSO2 on the same piece of merch. 

Times have changed.  Understood.  Sex sells.  Understood.  But this piece of merch is especially emblematic of how far off into the deep-end things have gone.  I don't mean to be so morbid but PSO1 is probably my favorite game of all time.  I've invested over 300 hours into the sequel and nearly everything about it save for the combat is busted.  Their priorities are completely misplaced.         

[George]

I think your feeling this 'being out of touch' with whats popular. I used to hear the same stuff about how trashy anime and comics got in the 90's compared to what they where in the 80's etc.

I do agree, video game art in Japan was better during late 90's/00's and its not just SEGA that is changing, something like Alpha 3's art style is superior in my opinion to Street Fighter V, but will I dismiss a game due to them changing the art style over time? No.

[Centrale]

The thing I think is odd about 'LEXUS' potentially being a code name is that the word is specifically a brand name. It's not an actual word, aside from the car make. So I would expect it to actually be related to cars, and specifically the Lexus brand. Otherwise, it would be like having a code name like 'Pepsi' or 'Hewlett Packard' or something. It's not only unusual but could potential draw unwanted legal action.

[Sharky]

I do have a feeling it's going to be a car game... Which I think is a mistake.