Yeah, adding to that the server issues they're having it's a pretty sad launch. Plus, we all know we're going to have SUPER HYPER STREET FIGHTER V SECOND BASE STRIKEOUT by June or so. This release was purely for the hardcore tourney-fans that want to git gud asap in a new system.
Video Game News and Miscellany
- Thread starter figmentPez
- Start date
Yeah pretty much. Here's the scoop fellers. Street Fighter 5 was just released.
Currently it has no arcade mode, no way to change keybindings, support for only one kind of controller input, no story mode and is kind of a technical mess.
They promise a lot of features in March and story mode in June.
The game is a fucking unfinished beta.
Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck you.
Currently it has no arcade mode, no way to change keybindings, support for only one kind of controller input, no story mode and is kind of a technical mess.
They promise a lot of features in March and story mode in June.
The game is a fucking unfinished beta.
Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck you.
Also, they let people beta test it for months, and this was the result.
Hi-larious.
Hi-larious.
That's the thing, though. All things considered SF is still top dog. The opinions around here might say one thing, but the FG community still plays multiple versions of SF in most competitions.
Now that, I can agree on.
It's sad that the two biggest fighting franchises - Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat - are both being shit to their customers these days. MKX was apparently a mess on Steam. Plus, now they're screwing over Steam by not releasing the next update or whatever it is.
How is it almost every big name company that made the games we love are all fucking up these days? Konami, Capcom, EA, WB, Ubisoft, Square-Enix. All kings in their respective fields at one time or another. And yet all of them seem incapable of not garnering negative press these days.
It's any wonder indie games have risen like they have.
How is it almost every big name company that made the games we love are all fucking up these days? Konami, Capcom, EA, WB, Ubisoft, Square-Enix. All kings in their respective fields at one time or another. And yet all of them seem incapable of not garnering negative press these days.
It's any wonder indie games have risen like they have.
Square-Enix never had my love.
Squaresoft did.
Squaresoft did.
Eh, they were starting to lose me around 8 & 9. Which I believe was before the merger. I don't know when the merger happened. After FFX, I think?
The merger was in 2003. I didn't care for 8 and 9 was just okay either, but keep in mind that Squaresoft was more than just those games. Pre-Enix merger, you've got Secret of Mana, Final Fantasy IV, V, VI, VII, Final Fantasy Tactics, Vagrant Story, Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross, Super Mario RPG, Secret of Evermore, Saga Frontier, Bushido Blade, Brave Fencer Musashi, Front Mission 3, Parasite Eve, Xenogears ... I'm not a fan of a couple of these, but they were pumping out greatness at a steady flow.
Final Fantasy X and the original Kingdom Hearts were among the last few games they put out before the merger, and while I would gladly list those as great games with the above, you can see within them the start of where Square has gotten itself today. I don't think Enix worsened Square, it just so happened that Square's descent began around the time of the merger. It makes a convenient marking off point.
FFXI, yes (according to Wikipedia)
also, don't forget that the servers for the PS2 and 360 versions of FFXI are still slated to shut down next month.
--Patrick
It happened sometime after 2001. Part of the reason the merger happened was because of the failure of Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, which was released in 2001.
I can't really blame them for shutting down the console servers, the game has its die-hards but I can't imagine those being worth the upkeep, and the game itself is so cheap and low-spec moving to PC wouldn't be difficult.
I've always felt the reason for the decline has to do with two of Japan's biggest JRPG machines merging, thus removing any real form of competition to innovate and out-sell the other's flagship (FF and Dragon Quest). Granted, other niche titles from companies like Atlus and the like are still there, but I can't imagine anything comparing to the beast of DQ/FF being in the same house, basically.
FFXI was a mess in itself, but those were the wild days of MMOs, before World of Warcraft was there to be imitated.
I wish Atlus was bigger so they could make Square-Enix nervous, but even when underperforming, most flashy Square-Enix games will make more money than a solid Atlus RPG. Square-Enix runs into issues because their games are for more expensive to make than Atlus ones, but they don't make the kind of money back to make that flashy stuff worth it, hence we get FFXIII-2, and FFXIII-3 to try and recover funds.
Part of the XIII fiasco was SE dropping a boatload of cash on a new engine that, from what I gather, was difficult to work with and then XIII itself didn't sell as well as they'd hoped. On top of that, the director of the game was weirdly obsessed with Lightning as a character, and we ended up with two more games in the series.
Seriously, this is what happens when a 2D-is-superior otaku gets to make his own games.
It's worth mentioning that Lightning is currently modeling for Louis Vuitton. Yes, a fictional video game character is selling expensive clothes.
Not surprising, I think XIII-2 and Lightning Returns had DLC costumes that were branded as designer labels.
Warren Spector is now studio director at OtherSide Entertainment. This means he will have a hand in System Shock 3 and Underworld Ascendent (a spiritual successor to Ultima Underworld). You may rejoice, @Jay.
GasBandit
Staff member
Every time somebody mentions Warren Spector I think they meant Arlen Specter, and I'm all, "didn't he die in 2011?" Or sometimes it's Warren Chistopher, for some reason.
HOLY SHIT
3DS and Wii U owners: new Nintendo account system open for registration
Nintendo is getting with the times-ish, so this'll be the replacement for NNID and Club Nintendo. Supposedly it'll keep track of your games so it won't all be tied to the hardware, and also offer sales, connection with social media, etc. I'm mainly interested in my games being tied to an online account instead of a piece of hardware. As it is, none of these features are yet available, but I think Nintendo wants to get people registering now so there won't be a flood of people later when the features go live (especially if there's a compatibility update for 3DS/Wii U).
Nintendo is getting with the times-ish, so this'll be the replacement for NNID and Club Nintendo. Supposedly it'll keep track of your games so it won't all be tied to the hardware, and also offer sales, connection with social media, etc. I'm mainly interested in my games being tied to an online account instead of a piece of hardware. As it is, none of these features are yet available, but I think Nintendo wants to get people registering now so there won't be a flood of people later when the features go live (especially if there's a compatibility update for 3DS/Wii U).
It's almost like they are well known artists who've made a name for themselves over decades of work and can dictate terms to the people they make money for. Crazy, right?
A lot of indie companies have work rates like this too. It's a cultural problem that may have started with publishers, but it is built into the mindset of a lot of indie companies as well that are larger than 5 people.
True. But at least most indies have the good sense to let their programmers get a finished product out the door.
That's not necessarily true anymore, especially given how both the indie PC market and the mobile app market in at large have become so focused on attention-winning as a primary driver of daily active users. Simply put, you need a big splash to get attention and then you need to make a serious effort at retention to sustain that attention to make any money. A lot of indies are turning to outside funding vehicles with media/PR connections to help them get the word out, and while VCs are prepared to lose money on non-performing ventures, they expect you to work with other forms of help they provide. Like interviews/articles they wrangle for you.
When TheVerge (for example) does a developer interview with you, not being able to capitalize on it somehow can be considered a lost opportunity and a sunk cost. Now, they're still VCs, so they're not going to get too pissed at that, they're used to it. But when you need to do another round of funding to finance your dream game, all of a sudden that part gets a lot harder if they're not sure you're ready, and when an ace lead designer starts feeling that pressure he or she starts thinking a lot like the publisher, but often without the experience in how to manage it.
I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if Specter has literally zero to do with any creative decisions around the games at this studio at all and is instead entirely focused on just managing the business. Which is as it should be. As a longtime veteran at both sides, he can run the studio portion while also keeping the creative folks in check and in sync. (Full disclosure: I went to a talk he gave at NYU a few years ago where he discussed the importance of this)
Konami continues to Konami it up:
Konami puts an expiration date on MB Coins in Metal Gear Solid 5
Konami puts an expiration date on MB Coins in Metal Gear Solid 5
Since Konami has largely discontinued AAA gaming, and there is very little we as consumers can do to counter-influence their behavior, I ardently hope that Japan does not repeal it's gambling laws. That would put a dry stick right up Konami's ass.
Konami has a hand in so many things in Japan, losing their gaming division would be a pretty paltry loss. Pachinko machines could probably keep them alive for decades alone, with or without gambling laws, and that's not even counting things like spas and gyms.
Enter the Konami code into the weights machine and you get to log 30 free reps for that session.
They're going to suck dry what's already been made of their properties without putting anything more into development, and don't expect them to sell the dried husks.
In other words, say goodbye to Silent Hill and Metal Gear Solid, and accept Bloodstained as the replacement for Castlevania.
At least Capcom is making a new Mega Man game and licensing him out for a new TV show, plus they still make good on the Monster Hunter series. They're fucking up Street Fighter right now (how does a fighting game have no arcade mode, no story, and shitty servers--just what does it even have?!) but it's not like they're doing nothing right.
In other words, say goodbye to Silent Hill and Metal Gear Solid, and accept Bloodstained as the replacement for Castlevania.
At least Capcom is making a new Mega Man game and licensing him out for a new TV show, plus they still make good on the Monster Hunter series. They're fucking up Street Fighter right now (how does a fighting game have no arcade mode, no story, and shitty servers--just what does it even have?!) but it's not like they're doing nothing right.