Nobody Wants to Pay & Play, Nintendo

So, yesterday, in a brilliant move to further piss on the hardcore gamer, Nintendo announced that it will start charging for certain games using a “Pay & Play” service that will extend to some online services. Yes, you heard that correctly, Nintendo is going to start charging people to use their “online services” on specific games. I’m sorry I just have to say that one more time: Nintendo. . . is going to start charging people to use their online services.

Before I begin with the rest of my article, I just want to be really clear with you guys. I love Nintendo. I am a huge fan of their products, and I have owned every single system they ever made including the Wii on the first day it came out. They are one of the best, if not the best, development company in the world. Finally, they are a shrewd business and one that, no matter what they do, I can usually find the business sense behind it to justify the action. So please, be calm and don’t flame me.

Back in 2002, Microsoft first announced their online services for their first console, the Xbox. They were pretty much the first console to offer an integrated online service out of any of the major competition (Nintendo, Sony). I say “pretty much” because the Sega Dreamcast did have a pretty neat online service when they first launched in 1998. Anyways, the Xbox Live system wasn’t spectacular, but it was something, and despite being billed yearly for the service at least it was revolutionary for console gaming. Nobody could argue that the same, or a better service could be found elsewhere.

Nintendo, on the other hand, was the last major console company to introduce an online system. In fact, it actually didn’t even really come out until a few months after the system launched (the first game to use the service was Pokemon Battle Revolution which got released June 25th here in the U.S.). In addition to being last to offer the service, Nintendo had also seen fit to offer us a gimped-up kid version of the internet. Unlike the PSN and Xbox Live, we do not get ID names and a friend list. No, instead we get “friend codes” which consists of 16 numbers that are console specific. If that wasn’t enough, however, those don’t really matter because each online game has its’ own friend code too! To top this all off, Nintendo deemed it unnecessary to provide any sort of means to communicate internally with other players while in online. Pretty messed up internet gameplay if you ask me.

Now, I am giving you a refresher-course on Nintendo’s online service mainly because I want to re-iterate how silly it is for them to start charging on a “Pay & Play” basis. All of these problems and faults with their system never really mattered because it was free. I can put up with all of those things very easily when I know that it’s not costing me a dime to use. However, now that they will start charging. . . that’s just no good. They don’t have a system that is worth paying for, and, as such, I will not pay for it. I can only hope that Super Smash Bros. Brawl comes minus this new “model” as I will not even pay for it to play that online, which is something I am really really looking forward too. . .

Feel free to read more HERE.

The Consolization of PC Gaming

With the recent crop of consoles storming the video game market, it has come to my attention that PC gaming is reaching a sort of impasse. Game companies are beginning to falter in their support for the waning platform as sales for the equivalent console games, namely the Xbox 360 and PS3, reach into the millions of units sold in a matter of months. So where does the platform head to now?

According to this article Microsoft, AMD, Intel, and Nvidia are all banding together in an alliance in order to save PC gaming from going into extinction. What does this mean? Well right now I don’t know for sure. Nobody does except for those four companies. There is supposedly going to be a planned press conference about it at GDC this week, but nothing has come to fruition yet. Despite not knowing what this means, I can still take an educated guess at what will happen with PC gaming through these four companies. Consolization. . .

Now, when I say consolization I don’t mean these companies are going to give up on the PC and work exclusively with consoles now, nor do I necessarily mean that PC games, from here on out, will start playing like console games. What I am talking about with that specific term is that, like consoles, there will be a “brand” of gaming PCs that you can buy at an electronics store. This will make it so that PC gaming has a set standard of graphics and processing power. It will also make it so that developers working on games don’t have to worry so much about minimum and recommended specs, this will, in turn, make it easier for consumers who just want to buy a game and play it without having to worry about poor performance.

Another thing to note about consolization of PC gaming is what exactly will these games be running of off? Well there is a chance that these “alliance” branded PCs will come equipped with Vista, or XP but I seriously doubt it. If you are trying to keep costs down and simply want to establish the PC as a gaming system why bother with either of those OS’s when you don’t need all the extra utilities they offer? My best guess is that Microsoft (one of the four members) is developing a new OS specifically for these gaming PCs. They will be designed to work with nearly every recent game, however, classic gamers should be wary. This will be done for a number of reasons:

1. With XP or Vista, you need a system with much more RAM for handling background utilities like virus scanners. A new OS means less virus’.
2. Microsoft likes developing new software, don’t kid yourself, they love it. When they see a chance to monopolize another market through software, they take it. . . aggressively if need be.
3. With a new system you need a new, fresh design. One that stands out from the rest of the PCs, something that appeals to younger, “hipper”, people. Expect it to look very sleek like the Xbox 360’s interface.

Of course, this leads to variables in my little equation such as internet usage, or word processing. Well don’t worry to much. I’d say, if this does come to happen, there will be IE7 (or some equivalent thereof) on these machines. A word processing program might also be installed so as to keep the thing a PC, instead of just a game console, but don’t expect much beyond those two things. With this new “alliance” PC gaming comes first, everything else comes second.

With a new PC system being designed with a new gaming OS, what comes next? Well, right now you are probably wondering what kind of control it will have. Naturally not everybody who plays video games today understands the unique system most of us have come to know as WASD. To put it simply it is a very awkward system that we use to game on our PCs. Does this mean you should expect a re-branded 360 controller with every PC? No, I would highly doubt it. Not only would that completely squelch the PC aspect of this system, but it would also enable internet usage and any sort of word processing as clumsy and irritating. With these new PCs you can expect a traditional mouse, however, the keyboard will be different. I would expect that this “alliance” would tap into the market that the Z-board makers have been trying to tap into for years. Expect a keyboard, but with some additional buttons and keys located somewhere on it to enable easy-gaming. Control is very important for any gaming platform, the PC is no different.

So, that’s pretty much it. My theory on where PC gaming is headed is now out in the open. Is it right? I have no clue. I also have no idea if it would even work. A lot of the appeal to PC gamers now is that they get to customize their own PCs and make them stronger, faster, and better at almost anytime they want. However, while I am on that subject, this new PC platform most certainly would not be designed with those people in mind. This new “PC” will be designed with the PS3, Wii, and 360 gamer in mind. I’m not sure if the world is ready for this type of PC gaming, and I’m not even sure if I am ready for this. However, that said, the consolization of PC gaming is coming. . . one way or another it’s coming.

Lost Odyssey, First Impressions.

So, as many of you probably know, I am a huge fan and a strong critic of Japanese RPG games. I love them, but at the same time I feel that they need to live up to certain expectations regarding storyline, character development, and gameplay. In my opinion a true JRPG can not be without turn based fighting. Call me crazy, but that is my opinion. Anyways, that was just some food for thought before reading. On to my first impressions of the latest JRPG to hit American shores:

I picked up this game yesterday as I have been waiting for a good JRPG for a while. First of all, let me start by saying that my initial impressions are very good. The game is BEAUTIFUL, despite some awkward character positioning at times. The graphics are top-notch and the facial expressions add a lot to the game. I am very impressed with what Mystwalker has given to us, especially after their first game Blue Dragon, which had arguably very kid-ish graphics.

The storyline is also shaping up very nice with multiple nations, a war, and all that good stuff that makes epic RPGs awesome. Seriously, the opening cut-scene is one of the best I have ever seen, better than even Final Fantasy VII’s opening cutscene (which is still one of my favorite by the way). For those curious about the storyline I urge you to read the review over at IGN. It will give you a bit of information. I won’t be spoiling anything here. I will say one thing though: prepare for a world much like Final Fantasy VI, and VII where everything is infused with a “magic” like substance for energy.There is no world map *tear*, which sucks. I have always been a huge fan of being able to travel freely across the world and explore around a bit, especially when you get your first airship. Oh well, it’s not a deal breaker. The way you move from place to place is via a list and map where you get to highlight and select where you want to go, then it automatically travels you there. While I was hoping for a world map to explore and enjoy, this alternative method is fairly nice as well.

The characters are very well developed. When you first meet a particular character, that shall remain nameless at this time, your first thoughts are going to be “my god, this guy is annoying,” and he is. But his character does get fleshed out and you’ll begin to understand him more, as such, he will not be as annoying as before.

While on the topic of characters I think this would be a good time to go over the “dreams” you’ll be encountering at random periods of time. Every once in a while when you stumble upon something that triggers a memory in our main character, Kaim you’ll get the option to relive this dream. These are completely optional by the way. Anyways, these dreams are stories that you get to read. They are masterfully written and an excellent dose of storyline for the world. Some of you may find them a chore, but others, like myself, have found them to be one of the best parts of the game. From what I can tell, reading them or skipping them has no adverse affect on the world/storyline, but I highly recommend reading at least the first one. They are very good.

Back to the game, it’s very traditional. Random battles are back, along with turn based fighting. To a lot of the newer fans of RPGs this will probably seem like an ancient form of gaming. To those of us who played Dragon Warrior 1 on the NES this is going to feel traditional. I love random battles, and I love turn based fighting. Quick note: the radom battles are actually spaced out a bit far from each other. I have gone 5+ minutes before witout getting into a fight. It’s almost too spaced apart.

Finally, this game is hard. I mean H-A-R-D. I have not played an RPG this difficult in a long time. To put it in perspective, I had no trouble with Final Fantasy VII, VIII, or IX. I beat nearly all of the U.S. released Dragon Quests/Warriors, and Blue Dragon was a cake-walk. I have even played/beat all of the Tales series of RPGs fairly easily. No, this game is harder than all of them in my opinion. Don’t expect to have your hand held through the first few hours of the game. The first boss I fought (a giant bird/gryphon) I died 4 times on before nailing down a nice strategy on beating him. Those of you looking for something difficult, this game is for you.

Well that’s it for now. I am still on the first disc and only about 6 hours into what is said to be 40-50 hour long game. There are 4 discs so hopefully that will be some indication as to the length of the game. Blue Dragon was 3 discs long and I beat that one at about 40 hours, so here’s hoping.

If you have any particular questions about the game leave em in the comments below and I’ll try to answer them as best as I can. Thanks for reading!

Why Final Fantasy is no longer the final fantasy

When you think of the RPG genre for console games, and more specifically, the Playstation brand of consoles, one of the first games to pop into your head will be, no doubt, Final Fantasy. There is a very good reason for this, after spawning more than a dozen direct numerical “sequels” and countless offshoots, Final Fantasy has certainly made it big amongst the genre. You’d be hard pressed to find any other RPG series as long lasting or as well founded as the Final Fantasy series. However, that said, what has once been considered the staple of the RPG genre, and more specifically the JRPG genre, is beginning to lose ground to an onslaught of newer and, arguably, better RPGs from both Japanese and American developers. Just a bit of history before I fully delve into my reasons for my argument:

Throughout the 1990s, Final Fantasy was a relatively obscure game. Focusing solely on the Super Nintendo for it’s primary games, SquareSoft (the developer) made three games for the U.S. market (Japan always got more Final Fantasy games than America at this time). Two of the games were critically acclaimed RPGs in the forms of Final Fantasy IV (II in the U.S.) and VI (III in the U.S.). Both of these games were very well liked amongst those that enjoyed RPGs, but, unfortunately, neither really received the financial credit that was due in America as they both went largely ignored by the mainstream gaming populace. It wouldn’t be until 1997 that the Final Fantasy series would really break out into the mainstay of videogames in the Western culture.

Final Fantasy VII was, and still is, probably one of the best RPGs of all time. It was the first ever Final Fantasy game to be released in Europe, and it was a smash hit in the U.S. which some claim to even help the Playstation brand overtake the Nintendo 64. It was during this “Playstation” era that I believe Final Fantasy had it’s reign. During the Playstation 1 era Square-Enix successfully launched 2 more critically acclaimed games as Final Fantasy VIII and IX. All three of these games were a marvel to the RPG franchise, each boasting unique worlds and fantastic stories that were as diversified as the teams who worked on them. Then the PS2 came out. . .

Now, I am not sure what relevance the PS2 actually had on the Final Fantasy series, if any at all. However, this is definitely when the series began a noticeable difference in storyline changes, and basic functionality changes. Starting with Final Fantasy X the series began to abandon it’s more traditional routes in order to generally appease a more global audience. This, of course, meant doing away with certain amenities and adding more customization. One quick look at the Final Fantasy X leveling system and it was very easily noticeable that changes were underfoot. As somebody who loved Final Fantasy VI (SNES) and Final Fantasy VII, this game was a stark contrast. While the storyline was still solid, the changes in leveling and the lack of a world map to explore was definitely a turn-off for me. It made my RPG experience feel overwhelmingly hollow. Of course the same can be said for FFX-2, which was, in my honest opinion, the worst Final Fantasy game ever. It was made for the fanboys of the series so they could oggle the digital beauties in the game. With FFX-2, the series had definitely hit a low point.

Final Fantasy XI, on the other hand, was truly a departure from the series. In fact, it was so much of a departure from the series that I’d argue tooth and nail that the game isn’t actually a Final Fantasy game at all were it not for the FF icons that littered the world in the shape of black mages, chocobos, etc. FFXI was an MMORPG. This, in of itself, makes the game completely unlike the others as, with an MMO, you can’t have a persistent storyline. Persistent storylines are what make the Final Fantasy series so great. Without those storylines there really isn’t a whole lot of reasons to play the game, and I didn’t.

Finally, we have Final Fantasy XII. This was the one FF game on the PS2 I had very high hopes for. After going through a considerable drought on the PS2 for Final Fantasy games I honestly believed that this one would knock my socks off. It did not. Upon receiving my copy and playing it I was soarly disappointed. Although the leveling system returned to a more traditional setting than the previous 3 games, the game still lacked a world map to explore. In addition to this the storyline was not as great as past renditions. It felt very hackneyed and the main character wasn’t at all likable. If this wasn’t enough, though, the simple fact that they turned the combat into more of an MMO type system as opposed to the oft used turn based combat was a complete deal closer. Never, at any time during my play session, did I think that the new combat system was better than the previous systems of the yester-games. It was a mockery of Final Fantasy games and every time I see the review scores ranging in the high 9’s I always find myself asking “How?”

So that’s it. There is, in my opinion, the decline of the Final Fantasy series lumped into a few paragraphs. I don’t have enough information on Final Fantasy XIII to accurately judge it, however, that said, I will be much more wary of it than I would be if the PS2 era had not been such a horrible generation for Final Fantasy. Of course, I guess this all leads back to my title, and I suppose you must be asking, “why is Final Fantasy no longer the final fantasy?” Well if you hadn’t noticed during the exact period of time as the Final Fantasy era was coming to a close was also the same era that hundreds, if not thousands, of other RPGs got their start. This can probably be attributed to the weakening of the Final Fantasy domain. Disgaia, the Tales series, Suikoden, Wild Arms, even other Square-Enix games such as Dragon Quest and Star Ocean gained dominance on the PS2. While none of them single handedly overthrew Final Fantasy brand name they did carve out niche markets for themselves out of what used to be Final Fantasy territory. Because of this Final Fantasy could disappear altogether, but it won’t be the last fantasy RPG. There are far too many household brand names of RPGs now. Of course, this goes without saying, that the reasons I highlighted in my article might not have anything to do with the actual Final Fantasy decline. Those are my personal reasons for disowning the franchise, and nothing more.

Thanks for reading.

HD Format War Conspiracy!

So, this is mainly just for fun. It’s been something that I have been thinking about for a while now, since late July actually. I don’t really believe this is what happened but it makes for an interesting read anyways. Also, it’s not totally out of the picture that this could happen. Anyways onto the conspiracy:

Was the format war all a manipulated plan to subvert the consumer into buying a new product they didn’t need? Over the course of the format war (which continues to rage on today) a few semi-major events cropped up that suggests that Sony, Toshiba, Microsoft, and all movie studios were actually manipulating the format war from the beginning in order in ensure that the HD format would succeed and not flounder. Let’s start with the beginning:

Back in 2005 Toshiba and Sony had both agreed that a format war was not good and that they needed to combine their technology to avoid one.

The media (owned primarily by the movie studios) picked up this story and ran with it citing that a “format war” (over exaggerated mumbo jumbo) would be the worst possible thing for consumers with constant references to the VHS-Beta war. These were reassurances so that the populace would know exactly what would happen in the event of a “war”. In the end, the talks between Sony and Toshiba broke down citing that each one had wanted different things to be included in the disc.

Sony announced that the PS3 would carry a Blu-ray player inside. Microsoft also announced exclusive support for the HD DVD format, thus sealing the videogame crowd into the market. Gamers are one of the few consumers who buy into this kind of crap. . . to many, loyalty is everything.

The 360 launched in 2005, securing a win over the PS3, but without an HD DVD player securing an underdog status for HD DVD.

Both HD DVD and Blu-ray officially launched (HD DVD first) in mid 2006. HD DVD is backed by Weinstein and Universal exclusively and by Warner, Paramount, and Magnolia unexclusively. Blu-ray is backed by Fox, Disney, Sony, Lionsgate, and MGM exclusively as well as Warner, Paramount, and Magnolia unexclusively. HD DVD’s underdog status is officially achieved but it was given enough power so as to present a “challenge” to Blu-ray.

From Summer 2006-Nov 2006 HD DVD is firmly winning the format war due to it’s obvious price advantage, another advantage given to the underdog format. This is done to show that HD DVD actually might be able to win. . .

The PS3 launches, and although it boosts Blu-ray to a 2-1 sales lead in software, it flounders horribly as a video game machine. Perhaps this was in the deal the whole time. Sony gets to have the next gen format but has to secede the video game market to Microsoft (nobody expected Nintendo to do so well at this point).

In order to stave off any consumer overthrow of the Blu-ray format (and it’s very expensive prices) the HD DVD studios are told not to release anything for about 3 months after the PS3 launches. This gives the consumer the idea that Blu-ray has already won.

Weinstein drops out of the HD race. This appears to have not been part of the plan at all. They shut up, step back, and refuse to comment on anything regarding HD or Blu-ray. Perhaps they thought manipulating a war was bad and feared that if consumers found out about what was happening all parties involved would suffer a severe backlash, something a smaller studio like Weinstein couldn’t afford.

July of 2007, HD DVD seems to be very near the brink of death. With only one studio supporting it exclusively the consumers are beginning to waive in their support for the format. Something needs to be done since the war hasn’t gained enough publicity yet. By August, Paramount/Dreamworks are told to release movies exclusively on HD DVD. The media is a riot. They rave on and on and on about how HD DVD was about to die and how this may have saved them. Reports of a “buy-out” swirl in the weeks ahead.

Reports that Microsoft and Toshiba are currently trying to buy Warner circle the rumour parts of media conglomerates for at least 2 months after the Paramount/DreamWorks announcement.

Rumours of an HD DVD equipped Xbox 360 start to crop up, but each time they are firmly dashed with no question on the matter. It’s not part of the deal that Microsoft’s console is to have a built in HD DVD player, which would cause severe headaches for the PS3. Remember: Microsoft gets gaming, Sony gets the next media format.

Sony sells off it’s chip processing to Toshiba, which is now actively making the cell processors for the PS3, their largest “competition” in the format war. Maybe this is payment to Toshiba for wasting so much money on helping to fuel a fraudulent war?

Warner comes out and says that it has to choose a side, after canceling their THD disc program. Citing that stand alone players matter most, they give hope to the consumer that HD DVD will win over Warner exclusivity. After all, at this point HD DVD players were much cheaper than Blu-ray’s, one of the key aspects that made it “consumer friendly.”

HD DVD needs to secure in people’s minds that Warner will go HD DVD exclusively (more publicity) so they launch a deal with Wal-Mart to sell cheap $99 players. 90,000 are sold in one weekend. The consumer is convinced that, based off of Warner’s statements, they will go HD DVD exclusive and HD DVD will win. The media reports all the positive news surrounding HD DVD.

Transformer’s releases to the general public on DVD and HD DVD. Not realizing what a huge flick it would be the companies quickly organize a “Buy One Get One Free” sale for Blu-ray titles. After all, HD DVD can’t win one single week or the consumer might see a shift in the war.

Paramount declares it sold 190,000 HD DVDs in the first week for Transformers, which are disputed by the BDA and Neilson’s Videoscan. Another media shitfest hits, providing more and more publicity to the growing format war.

Every major HD DVD title from then on has a Blu-ray BOGO attached to it just to ensure the master plan does not get thwarted. This includes both Shrek the Third and the Bourne Ultimatum.

Mid-December; HD DVD begins launching it’s own BOGO sales to begin “clearing stock” Warner knows that it’s time to shift to Blu-ray is almost here and thus many of the BOGO sales surround Warner’s titles.

Friday, 2 days before CES 2008 starts Warner is told to go Blu-ray exclusive. A media craze is struck up again. Most touting that Blu-ray has won the “war”.

Toshiba is told to issue a press release hinting at possible legal issues between them and Warner.

Toshiba cancels it’s 2 hour event at CES due to them “not knowing” that Warner was going to make the switch. . .

Is there gonna be more to this conspiracy tale? Universal and P/DW are still exclusive to HD DVD. They could ride this media circus for at least 3-4 more months.

My main point in all of this is that the whole war was manipulated from the beginning so that the HDM wouldn’t flounder like Laserdisc did. It is common knowledge that revolutionary products take hold very fast, evolutionary products often do not. HDM is very much an evolutionary product that builds off the DVD format. Without all the loyalty and bickering in forums and stores would HDM have gotten this far? Is it an interesting enough product that consumers would have been interested if the media didn’t tell us to be interested in it?

Is this a legit conspiracy? Who knows. . . I don’t necessarily believe that this did happen. What I do believe is that this could happen. Hollywood is losing more and more money each year. It’ll only be so long until that they try something as dramatic as this. . .

Anyways, take this for what it is: a fun read. That’s why I wrote it. This is not a bash on Blu-ray or HD DVD. Just a harmless conspiracy theory.

Thanks for reading.

Hillary Wants to Take My Money?

So, take this news with the tiniest bit of salt, but according to WorldNetDaily if Hillary becomes the next President of the United State (a very real possibility at this point) she may impose “mechanisms. . . going after people’s wages, [and] automatic enrollment” for health insurance. Essentially she may, at some point, wish to begin garnishing the wages of people who can’t willingly afford health insurance themselves. Eek. . .

Now before I continue, there are a few things I should note:

1. WorldNetDaily is an arguably conservative journalist website. They even have banner ads on their page smearing Hillary Clinton.
2. The exact phrases being quoted in this article are cut and edited in such a way as to leave out very meaningful information.
3. There isn’t really enough information as pertaining to pricing and amount of insurance to justify any sort of real opposition to this plan just yet.
4. I am neither a Democrat or a Republican, so please don’t label me as such for my speculations (you see what I just did there?) on this particular topic.

Ok, so back onto the subject at hand: Hillary wants to take my money to give me health insurance. If you think about it in passing, it makes a lot of sense. The government needs healthy people, healthy people need medical attention, medical attention requires money (i.e. insurance). However, if you were to look at the people in our country who essentially can’t afford health insurance now, I think you’d also see how disastrous it would be to begin garnishing their wages to give them it. I have first hand experience at being poorer than poor. Every single penny counts when you are living on a tight budget and sometimes you just have to rely on home remedies and hope when you get sick. It’s a sad state, and as a socialist (my political affiliation, please don’t burn me at the cross) I fully believe in universal healthcare being paid with taxes. Anyways, I digress. Again, let me reiterate, as coming from somebody who has been in this situation, garnishing the wages of the poor is not the right answer to this problem.

Like I said above, I don’t have all the information concerning the proposed solution to healthcare for Americans. This plan may very well be the best solution to keep the conservatives happy while at the same time giving most citizens healthcare. However, when looking at the equation right now, there are still far too many variables that would make this solution viable, and were they to hand it off to me I’d throw the entire idea out the window. I just don’t see any realistic way of getting this plan to work. . .

Prove me wrong, Hillary.