Ben-DutkaAh, the holidays. They come around so fast and they're gone even faster. 🙁 Oh well, here's looking forward to an even better 2010!
Exclusivity still matters
While neither Sony or Microsoft seem to be overtly pursuing huge exclusives, in that they're continually approaching developers to create system-selling software…I almost think they should. Microsoft has been known to do this more in the past, but the idea of keeping a big title on only one console seems counterproductive from most every angle. This is a little frustrating from a gamer standpoint, too, just because exclusive titles tend to be the best games available for that particular platform. But look what a huge exclusive can do concerning hardware sales : FFXIII has caused PS3 sales in Japan to go through the roof and although FF is always big over there, we must also consider that FFXIII is not available for the Xbox 360 in that region. When the game launches here March, you can bet you won't see the same drastic PS3 sales spike. Sales may increase, of course, but nothing like a 216% surge.
This is why I'd like to think we'll see more PS3 exclusives in the future. The user base is to the point now where developers can still turn a healthy profit (plenty of potential consumers) and besides, they may wish to harness the power of the PS3. Uncharted 2 is a good example of something that must be on Sony's console and still manages to be a big success. As big as it would've been if it was multiplatform? Maybe not. But it might not be considered the best game of 2009, either, and PS3 sales would not have benefited as much. So yeah, if FFXIII has remained exclusive, Sony would be in a better position come March. That's all I'm saying.
I'm not sold on digital media
I'm just not. I'm not even sold on the supposed added convenience. I know you don't have to drive down to the store, I know you don't have to worry about a damaged disc, and I know you don't have to worry about losing said disc. But so what? I don't particularly like the idea of a game that stands at the mercy of a hard drive crash, and I constantly have to back everything up if I wish to keep my "collection" intact. At first, I just despised the idea of having my entire collection reduced to little electronic files on a screen – horrifying for a collector; the box art and being able to hold that disc in your hands is part of the collecting experience – but now I just dislike the entire idea. I certainly don't mind the concept of DLC and I also don't mind if some downloadable games are available. In all honestly, I'm satisfied with the way things are now. But it seems the inevitable shift will gain more momentum in 2010, and I'm a little worried that it all might happen before I'm ready.
I don't want to have to transfer a million tons of data every time I get a new console, even if that only means removing a hard drive. I'm not even sure how that's easier . Yes, it means we free up space in our homes but what does that really do to the gaming process? It doesn't speed anything up, unless you're talking about the 10 seconds saved by not having to insert a disc. Look, I don't care how stable it all is; anything can happen to that digital data. But my games are in cases and doin' just fine, thank you very much.
Personal gaming update
Well, as you may already know , I got Resident Evil 5 , Halo 3: ODST and Left 4 Dead 2 for Christmas so I'm good to go. However, you may find it humorous when I say I'm going to finish another play-through of Suikoden before I start on any of them. Thing is, I'm only about four or five hours from the end and I just want my 108 Stars of Destiny…as usual, it's an ongoing JRPG sickness that tends to kick in during the down times. But what should I play first when I'm done? I'm thinking Halo 3: ODST just because I think it's the shortest of the three and I can blow through it in a day or two. Then again, it annoys me that I've missed RE5 for this long…and I have to say, I've heard awesome things about L4D2. See the decisions I'm so often faced with? 😉
I'm still considering getting Bayonetta in a few weeks. It seems clear now that I need the 360 version and while I really love the game's style, I keep thinking it will turn into a chore. As in, more work then entertainment. But we'll see. It's not like I don't have anything else to play. 😉
I'm the same on digital media, things are just fine and my shelf is all pretty 🙂 But yeah, when you talk about keeping all your games in invisible form on some hard drive anything can and does happen, besides… that way lies madness.
I think you should go with your plan, blow through the short experiences first, you'll thank yourself later when you don't feel rushed.
L4D2 is neat but don't go looking for anything better than top-notch Wii graphics.
Exclusivity will matter again when FFVXIII releases, but for now we are mostly (aside from first party goodness) stuck with sub-par multiplats. What I'd like to see this year is more PS3 lead platform titles.
Is that you World???
I didn't know it's you until I looked at your name, come on World, the ninja was cooler!!!
CHELIOS!!!!!!!!!!
I don't wanna play ninja anymore, I wanna play Chelios 🙂
Last edited by WorldEndsWithMe on 12/26/2009 11:19:16 PM
i Think i have to go with you, we need more Lead support for the PS3,
yes, especially with the recent news that FF13 VS will pretty much be graphically better looking than FF13. I love hearing how good PS3's are selling or PS3 games are selling, because it will convince developers to think twice about Microsoft exclusivity. Also I notice how most of the games on the 360 that aren't on the PS3 are made by third-party developers… they have the rapid-selling PS3's as another reason 2 go multiplatform rather than Microsoft only.
Play RE5 first. It's the shortest and IN MY OPINION, would be the most fun. I'll even be Sheva for you! 😀 The game sucks single player haha.
There's no way it's shorter than ODST. That game (or maybe I should say, "expansion") can be taken down in only four or five hours.
Me and my Buddy conquered RE5 in 2 hours… On Easy… On about our 7th playthrough…
I'll tell you guys my experience with digital media. I had about 200 dollars worth of shows and movies on my first PS3 before a YLOD. Instead of sending it to Sony for a $150 dollar repair because I was afraid it would break down in a year and I would have to do it again, I decided to buy another system. After connecting to the network and restoring all of my backed up media…..none of it worked. NONE!!! To say the least…….I was PISSED!!!!!! After many, many, many repeated calls to Sony, they told me that there was nothing that they can do because the user contract that I agreed to states that media other than games are limited to one active system. Games can be on up to 5 activated systems, so that wasn't a problem. After hours of arguing with them because I couldn't deactivate a dead system in order to activate my new one, they did it remotely (it IS possible regardless of what they say). Even though my old system was deactivated and my new one activated for viewable media, my movies and shows STILL DIDN'T WORK!!!! Any of the files that I tried to play gave me a message that the copyright info was invalid. I have stressed to them that this needs to be changed NOW if they still want my business on PSN. According to them, it has to do with the TV/movie networks/companies and their media limitations. This stuff gets LOCKED to ONE hard drive and ONE system. Hear me people……THIS IS B F*****G S!!! What if my last system was tore to pieces by a large dog or ran over by a truck and really couldn't be replaced? Hmmm? Needles to say, I have stressed to them that I will NEVER purchase any other media than games from the PSN for as long as I live. Ben, if you know of a solution to this problem, then I would love to hear it because I am all out of ideas. I am out alot of money (alot to me at least) because of this "new age" of digital media. I got 3 words for ya: F**K YOUR BULLS**T!!!
Last edited by fatelementality on 12/26/2009 10:45:42 PM
The problems with such things as this is that companies that make as much money as Sony (God forbid we start talking about Microsoft on this topic)simply do not give a sh** about you, or your two hundred dollars. They don't even care about all future business that may have come from you, or any business that may come from all the friends you will rant about this too. If Sony owner, ChingChong had a pocket full of sh**, and you needed some sh** to save your child's life, he wouldn't give you any.
So, it seems that the average, or slightly above or below average, consumer is screwed. As far as this concerns me, I have been pissed off about this my entire life. Your problem is uncommon, which makes you part of a minority and the fact that minorities get ass-f*cked every second of every day is a part of life. So how can we stop this problem?
The only way that we are going to get Sony to make any sort of change for these kind of things is to get a large group of people to take action. By taking action, I mean that ideally, we have to find a way to cost them money. I can't think of any way to do that, but it would be nice to have some editorials written on the fact that, while most of us are not currently a part of said minorities, we may one day find ourselves screaming at a Sony phone operator. This might just get some people to come together and start brainstorming. COME ON, LETS FIGHT FOR THE LITTLE GUY. WE-ARE-DAVID!
lol.
*Text wall headache* Can't you just pull the hard drive?
Last edited by WorldEndsWithMe on 12/26/2009 11:22:03 PM
@ fatelementality – I really feel for you. Also, Sony has updated their agreement so that games can only be on three active systems at a time not five.
If you pull the hard drive and put it in another system, it requires a format before it will even work. No way around it that I know of. Thanks for the update on the console limitations Alienage. Hell, 3 systems are enough for a generation as far as games go. What's going to happen with all these restrictions when PS4 comes out? Are people going to be able to move their digital media over, or a they going to be SOL? I can't believe the Sony rep I was talking to when they said "Well, it was in the user agreement that your tv/movies can only be on one console." Oh yeah, you mean the 742 page agreement that NOBODY reads? Do they really expect a person to read through all of that legal jargon that contradicts itself so much that in the end you think you're going to be getting a ninja Furby in the mail? Get real. If you want people to read/understand your agreements, maybe you should put them in English. I've been a Playstation loyalist since the beginning, but this has really changed my views on the way Sony is handling (or rather, not handling) very important issues. Wait until this starts happening to more people. I'm sure that it will eventually change, but there will be plenty of victims along the way. The ONLY thing I can say that I like better about Microsoft than Sony is the fact that I can still use ALL of my media after going through 5 systems. Thank god that they were all replaced for free, or I would have lost all of those shows and movies too. I DO have to be connected online in order for any of it to work though. Technology is really starting to PISS ME OFF!!!!!!
Last edited by fatelementality on 12/27/2009 12:07:04 AM
I don't know about everything you wrote there, but am I to understand that I'm getting a ninja furbie in the mail?! Wow!
Fatel, what a pain in the ass. You spend all this money, then get d''cked around, spending hours on the phone. The whole time just knowing you are going to ultimately get the shaft when it is all said and done, but damn, you just have to try.
dude, the last thing i do if i want a problem solved is call sony. If i were you, i would just email them. It may take a little longer but its much less of a headache. Its not like you're going to want to watch all those downloadable content right away anyway. Heres what i did after my ps3 yellow lighted. emailed sony and told them that my ps3 died and got it replaced but the video service isnt working, next day its fixed. told them about the copy protected videos that i bought off the psn store didnt restore because it was a different system, they asked me for what content i purchased. i sent them the titles and if you want the reciept number since its probably going to be in your email anyway. next day, they gave me 1 free download of every video i bought. It took less than a week. now i got all the content i had before back in my ps3. but i still dont like digital downloads though. i hate the fact that you can only have your game data thing on 3 ps3s though. if your ps3 broke multiple times, then you should be able to activate and deactivate the ps3 for both the game AND video by using a computer instead of leaving such simple task to sony.
I tried everything that you just listed, even the emails. They simply refused to give me a refund or the ability to download everything again no matter what I did. I know that the old system was deactivated and the new one activated on my account because only one system can be at a time and it said it was active. The problem is that the videos register themselves to one HDD and one console, end of story. If you got your videos back, good for you. It needs to be this way for everyone. iTunes is actually really good about letting you download your purchased albums again. Best customer service I've ever had dealing with apple. Sony on the other hand…….NO.
@BEn & World,
On DL, I second(or third, in this thread) those emotions.
As a collector I foresee this being the death of all psychical media in the not too distant future. And believe me when I say it's a hell of a lot closer to happening than most think it is!!!!
FYI, there's already proof of that in my area.
It's already made a dire consequence on my 1 & only local used CD/DVD music & video store.
My beloved CD Exchange is closing up shop for good next month & the owner blames it on the creation of downloads, and the downturn in business when both, the Ipod, & Netflix came into being.
He stated that now, this generation is just staying home & DL'ing everything off the net instead of buying new, or trading in, physical media CD's & DVD's for others.
Look around your own locale, because he's not the only CD/DVD store that's closing up shop(if some haven't already shuttered their shops).
And now, because my store's closing, it's about to put a huge 95% crimp on getting any more used CD/DVD music & movies for my collections.
Just like the mighty oak that gets chain-sawed down, "all in the name of progress", the very same thing is slowly happening to the gamer nation too.
So beware, because one day in the future all discs & physical media itself, will go same the way as the dodo bird….."EXTINCT"!
Sooooo………one day in the future you want to take your grandchildren to see what games on a disc looked like way back in the 2000 to 2015 era, you'll have to be in real tight with one of the few & rare, private collectors still alive…..
…..or find out what the visiting hours are at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C.
That's a sad future. But perhaps it's even worse…they want to turn EVERYTHING into digital. Pretty soon, all quality human communication will just die and nothing physical and tangible will remain. 🙁
and "I Robot" will commence, i mean seems like that's what we're heading to, so it seems.
you cant play RE5 solo kills the fun as the AI is crap
ps I hate down loads why 3 things
1 if you get a bad game you cant resell
2 as some games are over 20 GB how big a harddrive do you need
3 i love my over 600 DVDs100 blu-rays and 30 PS3 games
Last edited by oldmike on 12/26/2009 11:15:23 PM
If you can't play it solo I don't play it.
I agree. Even with Terabyte HD's becoming the standard in the near future, games are getting larger, too. And even if we get to fit 10-20 games, there are the obvious backup/copyright issues that come along with that. So because of that, and the limitations of current global internet infrastructure and accessiblity, I don't think we will see a full switch in a long time. Maybe we'll start seeing larger and full games for download, but I think physical medium will still continue for another generation or two.
@fatelementality,
Sorry to hear it,
that "really bites the big one"!!!!!
See, this is just more proof for me, that going DL only is a very, very, bad idea!!!!
Especially because some of these moneymakers are only seeing the future of DL as $$$$ signs right now, and that the $$$$ is blinding them to the fact that they can't, won't, or don't, foresee the future consequences in the big picture of things.
Instead, they should've been totally focused on combating "Murphy's Law" & then have all contingencies for correcting the problem, along with all restoration processes for it already in place first.
It is not in their best interest to push physical media, they WANT you to download everything because they WANT it to be wiped out so you have to buy it again. Just like MS banning all those systems so people HAD to buy a new one. See "Planned obsolescence"
I've been thinking about it, I don't think i could ever get use to digital media distribution. If i have to adjust i will, but I still wouldn't feel comfortable. For me, as well as some others, it's about the experience. Ever since i was young, opening up my brand new game was just stellar. Ripping the plastic surrounding the box anxiously, carefully opening up the box or now the plastic boxing, and with a anxious heart pulsating from excitement, taking out the game and putting it in the system. I know it sounds cheesy, trust me, i do haha. I don't know, i guess i could never get over the transformation to digital media, there's just something about having it at the palm of your hands. It's physically there, it's at your grasp, it's there for you to look and and decide whether or not to play. I can go on forever, but i won't, i don't want to bore anyone hahah
As for the game selection you have going on during your break Ben, that's one pretty awesome predicament to be in. I've played all of them, i advise knocking down ODST first, you won't miss much =P haha Resident Evil was awesome, and LFD2 did surprise me a lot, a bunch of fun. Well whatever route you take, just kick some a**! haha I understand how you feel, RPGs are just that 😉
Well don't spend to much time around here, go take down the covenant and kick some zombie a**! haha
It isn't cheesy at all man, if you've been around more than a few years you get nostalgic every time you open a game. Like "man I remember when I cracked the plastic off Mario the first time"
@World,
Yup & that's just another reason I'm not down with DL.
BTW, I think that with banning all the kids with a modbox,
MS just thinks of it more as their own well conceived form of contraception, as in…..
"Planned Parenthood"
Last edited by BikerSaint on 12/26/2009 11:44:04 PM
Had a feeling some of you would agree 😉
Exclusivity is huge in the console market. Nintendo was fool enough to give away Final Fantasy to Sony back in the day and now Sony's let that exclusivity slide. Foolish. Every blockbuster exclusive game is a nail in the coffins of the competition.
As for digital downloads, they certainly have their place. There is a market for DLC and it is coming into it's own. Saying that DLC will replace physical media altogether though, is just foolishness. DLC is an option, not the new standard.
I think it has more to do with Sony being unable to compete against MS's $ in bidding for exclusivity, than it has to do with Sony letting things slide. Most likely, Sony decided their $ was better spent towards home-grown 1st/2nd party titles. And I gotta say, Sony exclusives rank as my favorites, without question.
Don't you think Sony should have signed Squeenix into a long term agreement back before MS threw money around? Who's to say what really happened. Squeenix could have just said, hey, we're big enough to do what we want. Beats me. As for Sony exclusives, yeah, hands down some of the best games available.
It is quite possible they threw in the towel in advance knowing what to expect. Sony hasn't been in the best financial condition it has been in years, so I'm sure they've been extra careful in choosing their battles. And in my gameplaying experience, they've come out as the ultimate victors having withstood the monopolistic pressure of MS.
I thinks it's obvious Nintendo is doing just fine without Final Fantasy.
Ok, so in regards to Digital versus Physical… Why oh why would I want Digital?
LimitedVertigo, please chime in on this and explain the benefits to this as you seem to be the PSXextreme champion for this movement. And please don't say because it saves shelf space. I have heard that one, and I just don't buy it. Games do not take up that much room. I have heard the argument that it is cheaper to have Digital versions of games. I will gladly pay a wee bit more for physical.
My sister in law just got a Wii for christmas. I loaned her 5 games to play. If these were in Digital form, I can't loan out anything. I can't take a game over to a friends house. I wish I could have bought Mushroom Wars and Pixel Junk Shooter on BluRay so I could loan them out to friends or take them with me to friends houses so we could play them.
Any added benefits for Digital form, would seem to be trumped by all the benefits of Physical.
You got it. And with digital only, NO ONE would have gotten any games for Christmas.
I love me some digital distribution for my PSP. I can carry dozens of digitally delivered games including PS1 classics on my PSP anytime, without having to lug discs around with me.
I don't really expect too many exclusives in the future, in fact I'm sure Insomniac will jump the shark sooner or later.I recently started playing RE5 and I don't really get why is gotten so much hate, then again I've never played any of the previous RE games so that may be why I'm enjoying the sh!t out of it.
@ the RE5 thing
That's probably it bro'.
Hexen, I dont also get the hate either, its generally coming from people who haven't played it.
@Alienange,
Mark my words in the future….they will try for DL only!
A couple scheming company's have already proved to be greedy bastards by stealing chapters from their game just so they can DL free cash from you.
So what's there to stop the chosen few, because if they're that unscrupulous, do you really think they'd even care what internet speed you might or might not have?
They're only in it to do a DL "hit & run" on your wallet
Mark my words….
You think? I don't know. With the wildly successful Wii and it's "no hard drive," I find it very hard to believe that DD is the future.
And for that to happen, publishers would all have to settle on a time frame to make the big switch. You think they'll try for that and just hope everyone goes for it? I don't see that happening.
BikerSaint, you never seem to reply to comments, even when you are replying to comments?? You always start a new comment to reply to someone. Is this just your thing, or do you need help?? =)
Often I will read your post, then realize, damn, he is responding to someone elses post, then I gotta figure out what post you are replying to. I might have to stop reading your comments, but I see that devil dog, and… I… must… read…
Last edited by MyWorstNightmar on 12/27/2009 12:18:11 AM
He needs help but I can't get anywhere near him with that dog around.
Saint, DL only wouldn't be so bad, imagine the solution that the folks trying to move to set top box gaming where the game is not only delivered digitally only, but streamed, so you don't even download a copy to your personal storage.
@Alienage,
Who knows what the next Wii will have, perhaps a 16 or 32GB flash storage module. Wii games are smaller than PS3/360 games anyway, there are less graphical and audio assets to take up the space. Either way, the Wii not having a local HDD isn't an issue once everything moves up to the cloud anyway.
@ TheHighlander – The day EVERYTHING goes to the cloud is the day I hook up my old PS2 to finish up a wild number of games I never even opened. To be forced to rely on the internet to get my games would be catastrophic to my gaming habits.
DW ben you have not missed out with anything when it comes to resident evil 5.
biggest disappointment since the beginning of time.
though i should of expected that, every series has gone down the sh*tter as of late.
especially with horror games.
now their either torture porn like SAW or crappy action games like resident evil 5 or fear 2.
FEAR completley blew me away, a brilliant game, i was so excited for fear 2 and o boy was i disappointed.
i cant think of one series that was on the ps1 that is now on the ps3 that i still like.
not one.
i guess insomniac and ND had a reason for ditching spyro and crash bandicoot after all.
ive had more fun playing pandemonium, oddworld ,point blank, doom, quake 2 and so on.
than playing every ps3 game this year.
@MyWorstNightmar,
I don't know what's wrong, I see the wide gap in posts too, & I alway hit the reply button(if & whenever it's still there to hit)unless I'm speaking to the masses instead of the individual.
And even then, the site seems to stick some of my replies way down far from my original intended spot.
I'm not tech savy so don't really know for sure, but I've come away with the assumption it's because if someone else replie to that same post'er, the site seems to throw their replies in between ours, which widens the gap of my reply even more so.
And if a bunch of people reply, my reply tends to wind up somewhere out there between East Jabbip & Lower Mongolia.
Also if the reply button has been already been used once by someone, it then disappears for good.
Now, with that said, there has been a few time I wanted to reply to a certain individual but couldn't put it right where I wanted too because their reply button was missing altogether. So then the only option I see then is to go down down to whoever has the closest "reply" button to my intended receiver, & reply from there. I don't likeit that way, but that's the only way I've been able to do it in those "missing reply button" circumstances.
Oh, another thought just occurred to me….
I'm a super-slow 2-finger keyboard-plucker, so maybe between the time I actually hit the reply button, get done finishing my post, & then hit the "submit" button, 53,498 other people have already got their posts in ahead of mine???????
So other than an amphetamine fix or a Evelyn Woods speed typing course, if anyone's got a better solution for me, please chime away,
I'm all ears…….I mean eyes.
That's weird that the Reply button is disappearing; it shouldn't. Your own Edit button disappears after you have made another posting or left the article for a while, but there should always be a Reply button on any original posting.
What device/browser are you using to visit the site?