SEGAbits Forums
Gaming => General Gaming Discussion => Topic started by: max_cady on July 28, 2012, 09:05:44 am
-
(http://i46.tinypic.com/vjsk6.jpg)
(Picture semi-related)
Hey, guys, I decided to make this little rant topic to discuss some of the things that make me very annoyed as a consumer. Particularly as a long time gamer.
There a few major issues I have and I'll try to spend as little time as possible as I can on each and every one of them:
Sequels, sequels, sequels...
It's bad enough that we get Call of Duty/Battlefield games every single year. It's further complicated by the notion that many games companies are taking the Activision route. By simply having three or four barely discernable IPs (Action Shooter, for the most part). It's taxing to say the least, when I look at game releases and barely see anything worth taking a second glance. And here's the crappy part, the new consoles, should they arrive within 2 or 3 years, they are not going to change anything.
DRM
It's the sole reason I don't play games on the PC, period.
Microsoft
I can't get mad at Nintendo anymore. They basically launched the Wii and stop giving a damn after Wii Fit. Now, Microsoft was, at least, for the better part of 2006-2011, the premier console for HD Gaming. But ever since Microsoft found itself at the top of the games industry, they also stopped caring.
Was it about being at the top of the mountain that makes a hardware dev turn into a sedentary, non-chalant and smug venture? Their Press Conferences have been dismal, too much focus on trying to turn a games console into a fancy set-up box. No discernable exclusives, no games barely worth a mention. It just depresses me.
So... what grinds your gears?
-
It bothers me when good games aren't localized in english.
Valkyria Chronicles 3 and Ace Attorney Investigations 2 pop to mind :(.
-
It bothers me when good games aren't localized in english.
Valkyria Chronicles 3 and Ace Attorney Investigations 2 pop to mind :(.
I second this. I am still upset that Fatal Frame IV never got a Western release.
-
Typing on a phone so forgive if its weird...
I want to adress some of Max's points first:
Sequels: the industry is shrinking at an alarming rate. The companies are ' holding onto their balls' so to speak. In any industry based around consumer entertainment its the sequels that make the most money and have the biggest audience you can't blame them. Look at this forum, we lose our shit as soon as there is a whiff of a new sonic game, and w are supposed to be more open minded and hardcore than the average consumer. Thee post above mine is complaining there are'nt more sequels for him to buy. My most loved game this year has bern virtual fighter which is probably the eleventh in the series or something. We all want more off games we like.
DRM: worst thing to happen in gaming in a while. Everyone should buy from gog.com whenever possible.
MS: Again see my first point, they need to concentrate on their guaranteed hitters and want to gimmick that xbox until non-gamers will buy it, because the market is drying up.
Now for my rant: its actualy a rant about the gamers themselves
1) People who complain about sequels but refuse to try something new: (this is NOT aimed at max our soup because I know they do play new stuff). It shits me no end to hear about how theres nothing new in games.
"EA does nothing but crappy sequels".
Really? Did you play shadows of the damned (one of the best games of 2011 imo)?
"Whats that?".
Well what about the utterly brilliant Brutal Legend a few years back?
"That game in the $10 bin at gamestop? I got fifa 10 instead...
And people wonder why companies go to ground with sequels? I don't mind if you just buy two games a year, but don't act l like theres nothing new out there and you had no choice
theres more but I can't remember them now...probably stuff about people complaining about not advertising niche titles
-
@MadeMang:
I'm right there with you on people not supporting the new IPs that the bigger studios will sometimes take chances on. It kills me when great and original games completely bomb at retail :(. Child of Eden and Shadows of the Damned pop into mind right away.
On the flip side of that, Catherine sold quite well, so there's still hope :D.
-
@MadeMan
All good points, dude. And I understand exactly where you're coming from. But understand this, even though, all of those big money making franchises are garanteed hits(though I think in the long run sales are going to dry up), it starts getting very difficult to sell or generate excitement over something like this...
Say you're having a conversation at a bar with some friends about games, it's hard to talk about something that will generate a ton of debate and/or excitement:
Guy number 1: "Hey, have you heard about Black Ops 2?"
Guy number 2: "Whoa, so soon... So what's so special about this one?"
Guy number 1: "Uhhhh... So... w-who won the match last night?"
To be fair, a new IP is a huge risk and most of the times, it's likely to fail. Dead Space and Mirror's Edge were two prime examples. Both of 'em sold poorly but EA decided to push Dead Space and leave ME in the dust. I never felt the need to badmouth the industry over the feeling that there is nothing new, or rather nothing to get excited for. But 2012 has been the exception to the rule.
True, I can't fault Microsoft too much for sticking to their big guns, but have you noticed just how little we hear of franchises outside of: Halo and... Gears of War? That's about it. Fable is getting a Kinect spin-off. And the obligatory Forza expansion.
-
One thing that does annoy me is hearing potty-mouthed kids using mics when I'm playing multiplayer games. It has happened to me several times when I play AVP. :-\
-
Hmm, the only games I play online now are fighters, and nobody ever seems to have microphones connected when we play.
-
I've been lucky thus far with online gaming. The only time I got called an idiot was when I was playing the a multiplayer match. It was a Condemned 2 match. I missed my target when I was attempting to lob a molotov cocktail into an enemy.
Spiral Knights ocasionally features some odd balls here and there.
-
I tried the online beta for Ghost Recon: Future Soldier and got all kinds of grief for getting killed a bunch of times :(.
-
DRM is stupid.
I love sequels, because they give me more of the same, which usually is a pretty safe bet when I'm spending my money. I've spent 70 euros before on new IPs and got burned bad. And 70 euros are fucking hard to come by when budget is super-thight. So yeah, fuck me for not buying new IPs at full price.
In fact, fuck full price games.
I can understand games like FIFA, or Forza, or even COD, which have unlimited replay value. But paying 60 bucks for Catherine? . . . I loved the game. But it lasts about 10-15 hours. That's 6 bucks/hour for entertainment. I spend less per hour at the Hard Rock Cafe in 4/5 hours and still get dinner.
Also, "entitled gamers".
The bunch that made Bioware make a new ending.
It's okay to dislike an ending to a game series. It's a whole different thing to SUE THE CREATORS. This is bullshit and must stop. Also, people who complain about games and then buy them anyway. I don't like COD, I don't buy it! What's so difficult in that?
Pre-order bonuses.
These piss me off. On-disc DLC as well.
I may be coming off sounding like a "dumb videogame illiterate" but people need to start enjoying gaming more. The Internet is filled with gamer rage against games. I know dudes who actually buy games to look for flaws and get pissed off. That is NOT cool.
Simply put, games should cost less, I should have access to everything on the disc I'm buying, and people need to chill out.
And bring back cheat codes. Big-head mode should not be DLC you sick bastards.
-
@crackdude
I've had some converstations a with few buddies of mine about why there are no actual cheats in video games, but I'm still playin' devil's advocate on this and to a certain degree it's true... Remember those PC games in which you do a little "hack"(and by hack I mean add one line of code on the .exe file so you could unlock a ton of cheats like invincibility and being able to go through walls)? It was cool back then, but at the same time, the game would become just super-easy and I'd get bored with pretty quickly (Quake 2 and Theme Hospital are two examples). And I think that's the rationale with some developers in which allowing to cheat your way into the game would result in cheapening the experience. To some extent, cheating is seriously bad on multiplayer games.
Now in something like single player campaigns... I'm still on the dev's side, but to a much lesser degree, because if I'm cheating on a particularly frustrating single-player campaign, who cares?
Who cares if I cheat in Red Dead Redemption? Or Binary Domain? Or Final Fantasy XIII-2? What I do in my campaign doesn't hurt anyone else so, why be so stingy about it?
I'm also with you on game bashing, you are free to take apart any game, just try to be creative, like Spill.com's The Loading Bar.
-
exactly my thoughts max ;)
Forgot to add this:
I think people shouldn't complain about games that aren't for them. I already said that I don't like COD, but I don't bash it. Some people love it.
I notice this with FIFA. I get the feel that the only people that complain about it being an annual series are the ones that don't care about the game that much. It's not like they are forcing people to buy it every year. I love it and only get it once every 2-3 years.
-
When fun isn't in the games any more.
Nintendo is supposed to be fun, but sometimes some of the things bug me about their games...
Kirby, for example has this weird "Collect everything before moving on" level which always stops me from beating the games...
DLC doesn't annoy me that much as I buy whatever DLC that appeals to me.
Otherwise, I stress at certain parts of a game which makes playing the game so frustrating to try and surpass that I don't bother playing it and go back to it months later.
-
I may be coming off sounding like a "dumb videogame illiterate" but people need to start enjoying gaming more. The Internet is filled with gamer rage against games. I know dudes who actually buy games to look for flaws and get pissed off. That is NOT cool.
I wholeheartedly agree with this. It saddens me how much of a negative attitude there is among gamers in general. Video games are all about having fun and I wish people on game websites would remember that and stop having hateful and cynical outlooks.
On a similar note, I wish some gamers would be more respectful towards video games another person may enjoy. Everyone's taste in video games are different so you shouldn't insult and belittle someone for liking a game you personally don't find entertaining.
-
With regards to cheats being in games, they were originally only in there for testing purposes. So if you had your QA guys wanting to check a certain level they could punch in the 'Level Select' code and fly straight there. Or if they needed to explore and check a certain bit of the game, they could unlock infinite health so they could get there with ease.
I guess nowadays with more comprehensive beta/alpha code and testing they don't need to have these shortcuts hard-coded into the game.
-
@mademan
what about bighead modes? and using other character models as the main guy? Those used to be added in for fun. Now you have to pay for that kind of stuff.
-
^That's true, big head modes and some secret characters (like Bill Clinton in NBA Jam) would have been in there as easter eggs, I forgot about those.
To be fair though, how often do you see Big Head mode as DLC? Which game had that? I do agree that charging for big head mode is pretty low. The worst was when EA charged for in-game cash cheats, or Namco charging to level up characters instantly for Star Ocean or something like that.
-
I blame that type of thing on Achievements.
They are the reason why they can't add cheats in any more.
They usually give you a set of achievements to complete by completing a level and the like, so if you used Level Select, you could unlock every single one without any effort.
Although they should be able to get around this by letting the code know to NOT unlock it via cheating...developers will use this as an excuse, sadly.
-
To be fair, SEGA is also guilty of doing stuff like this, so we can't leave 'em out. Remember when they charged something like 400 MSP to unlock everything on the original Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing?
Granted that on harder games it's would actually be a welcomed option (namely JRPGs), but something like this is kinda cheap.
Nevertheless, when we talk about games like Red Dead Redemption and Grand Theft Auto IV, it sucks that the achievements get blocked as a result of using cheats.
I do agree with you on that, Nameless 24. In theory, achievements are a great incentive to prolongue your enjoyment of the game, but in the back of my mind I think: "What the heck am I going to do with these gamerpoints?". There's something odd about having this controlled enviroment that we see in a lot of stuff like Xbox Live, iTunes, Steam,etc.
-
To be fair, SEGA is also guilty of doing stuff like this, so we can't leave 'em out. Remember when they charged something like 400 MSP to unlock everything on the original Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing?
I agree with you there, although I think that was for gamers who didn't want to spend time actually playing the game. Cheat codes would have worked in that sense.
Granted that on harder games it's would actually be a welcomed option (namely JRPGs), but something like this is kinda cheap.
I am not so sure, an JRPG isn't that difficult unless you are under-leveled or the best strategy hasn't been discovered yet. Maybe they should add unlockables to RPGs just to see how it works, but I can't see it being very beneficial.
Nevertheless, when we talk about games like Red Dead Redemption and Grand Theft Auto IV, it sucks that the achievements get blocked as a result of using cheats.
Eh? Isn't it better we earn those achievements without cheating though? Granted I would use a cheat to do something I could never do anyway, but I wouldn't want an achievement for using the codes.
I do agree with you on that, Nameless 24. In theory, achievements are a great incentive to prolongue your enjoyment of the game, but in the back of my mind I think: "What the heck am I going to do with these gamerpoints?". There's something odd about having this controlled enviroment that we see in a lot of stuff like Xbox Live, iTunes, Steam,etc.
I used to think that you converted them to Microsoft Points and use them on other games, but it turns out they do nothing but it's another way to grow your e-peen. :(
-
On a similar note, I wish some gamers would be more respectful towards video games another person may enjoy. Everyone's taste in video games are different so you shouldn't insult and belittle someone for liking a game you personally don't find entertaining.
I'd second this one.
-
@Nameless 24
There are at least two examples of really great DLC for JRPGs.
Magnacarta 2: There was one spot in the game where I am forced to fight several bosses in the game. Sadly, however, the boss is overpowered almost to the point of broken. Thankfully, there was a DLC in there that allowed me to use special weapons and beat said boss. The weapons made it into easy mode, but can't say that it was a walk in the park.
Tales of Vesperia: The best one thus far. 10 levels Ups, extra items and a couple of other things that really helped.
Final Fantasy XIII-2, however, SquareEnix made some very questionable decisions about their DLC.
-
Interesting examples there...
I didn't buy any of the FFXIII-2 DLC even though I have an LE edition of the game itself...I just didn't think that I'd max myself out to try the DLC, and from what I heard about a DLC ending, I was even more disappointed in how the DLC was treated for that game.
-
Interesting examples there...
I didn't buy any of the FFXIII-2 DLC even though I have an LE edition of the game itself...I just didn't think that I'd max myself out to try the DLC, and from what I heard about a DLC ending, I was even more disappointed in how the DLC was treated for that game.
I liked the idea of being able to recruit characters from the first game, but the prices were a little too high.
-
Yep, that's true. Plus, it has little to no consequence in the actual game. You can have Snow on the team, but he's there taking the position of a monster's slot. Nothing more, nothing less.
I was curious about trying out other DLC there but... I simply changed my mind on the whole matter.
-
Another thing I'm not a huge fan of are online passes. Particularly those that lock out significant parts of a game. My biggest beef was in Batman: Arkham City, the Catwoman sections are said to take up 10% of the game, but if you bought the game used you don't get to play as Catwoman at all unless you buy the online pass. I guess I can understand the logic of online passes from a business standpoint, but locking out large sections of the game for those who don't buy it new seems really unfair to players.
-
Another thing I'm not a huge fan of are online passes. Particularly those that lock out significant parts of a game. My biggest beef was in Batman: Arkham City, the Catwoman sections are said to take up 10% of the game, but if you bought the game used you don't get to play as Catwoman at all unless you buy the online pass. I guess I can understand the logic of online passes from a business standpoint, but locking out large sections of the game for those who don't buy it new seems really unfair to players.
I can also understand why they do it, they want to drive more day-one sales. I think it's the wrong way to go about it though, they really should focus on dropping prices to drive sales IMO. Having said that, I understand the cost of games is very high, but I think sales will stagnate if they don't drop prices.
To their credit though, most publishers are dropping their prices, just very slowly.
-
I think sadly that SEGA are doing it the best way in providing DLC Day One which doesn't really effect those who haven't bought it day one but making it available later on.
Capcpom seems to release the extras as an additional release for stupid, anti-consumer reasons. (I don't like Capcom but they are the worse devs this gen).