How Long Will It Last: Shmups Forum

[professor ganson]

Ten years ago there was a bit more going on in shmups chat, but I have to believe there's enough enthusiasm for shmups to justify another decade of discussion. I hesitate to forecast beyond that.

[system11]

Sony needs to bankroll some PS4 shmups in Japan, rescue those silly devs who got tricked by MS into developing for a stillborn platform. The XB1 sells 250 a week at the moment, it's hard to believe they're even covering marketing costs anymore or keeping the lights on in the Japan office.

[LSU]

Well, we still have 35+ years of great games to play and discuss, even if another new shmup is never again released. I know it's better to have the genre genuinely alive and well and seeing lots of new games being produced, but that's still a hell of a back catalogue of games to play.

[GaijinPunch]

[quote="BryanM"]I expect to still be trying to derail playstation threads into Phantasy Star threads just because the OPie had the hubris to refer to the Playstation as "PS" in the topic title for the next 30 years or so. But after that, you guys are on your own.

Fun factoid: I think Friendly was enraged when I said that Playstation should only be abbreviated as "PSX". I'm not 100% sure on this, don't quote me. : / Just, cautious cat wonders.

I call the the Playstation PS. Since that's what it's abbreviation is. PSX is an American thing, and we all know how fucked up Americans are.

[GaijinPunch]

Most internet forums have, at most, a decade before they become a moody wasteland... this forum seems to buck that trend, though when I see older threads get necro bumped, I don't recognize most of the original posters.

There was something magical when new games were coming out. There were (like now) a handful of expats in Japan that would go to shows and report on them. This was before you could hook up your balls to a live Twitter feed, so you had to go and take notes, then write that shit on a computer when you got home. Fun times... I lament.

[Acid King]

It's funny to read the "Is the genre dead?" threads that appeared in the beginning of this incarnation of the forum considering how many games we saw released in the following years. 2005 was a golden age compared to now. It's also been more than a little strange to see the forum activity increase and membership grow despite the genre being very much dead at this point. I suppose that just speaks to the wealth of info retained here. As long as new players discover those old games there will be people looking for the metric fuckton of accumulated knowledge this forum holds and if/when the forum does die I hope all the good shit from the strategy, hi score, and chat forums survives somewhere else.

[Captain]

These forums cannot die until Yagawa dies.

[Cata]

I'd hope for atleast for quite a while longer (ie 3-5 years)

I've been on multiple community boards over the years (as I'm sure others have) and have come to appreciate this one probably the most just in terms of the overall vibe and level of videogame appreciation that extends back into the "retro" days and not just what the latest game on the shelf is at any given moment. Some of the other sites I have been to exude this same kind of background history but tend to have been overrun by really shitty people in general which is sad when you realize that for some niche scenes theres really only one or two gathering places to discuss that kind of stuff so to have it be ruined by awful people hurts in weird way.

I know this forum has had its share of petty bickerings etc but it definitely seems to be a much more civil (and lively) place for discussion on a lot of the topics that I'm actually interested in than most other places.

The crazy thing is that I'm 23 years old and I know I'm quite young in terms of the userbase here but I think having an older community makes for a much more interesting place of discussion since people have had much more experience in lots of different areas of life, videogames or not. Being able to read peoples recounts of going to arcades back in the day when these games were big is sort of like reading a history book in a sense for an era that I was just a little bit to young to experience and I hope that that sense of communal history never goes away along with this site and others of its ilk.

Now do I see this place staying around for more than 3-5 years? I'm not entirely sure. I think it partly comes down to how the shmups scene turns out in regards to releases. Since its looking more and more like the era of physically released shmups is over I would wager that the scene will see somewhat of a dip compared to the last few years where the 360 reigned supreme. Without new shmups to talk about we will mostly be relegated to discussions of doujins titles (nothing wrong with that, just not nearly as much attention has been given to these in the past compared to the bigger guys) and high score strategies/routes. The positive side to this is that shmup players tend to be able to devote themselves longterm to a game and since these games are so deep in terms of scoring you could talk about some for years and years. Will this be enough to keep the site afloat? Only time will tell. I just hope that places like this, neo-geo, arcade otaku and others remain strong because they definitely give off a completely different feel than most other boards I've been to

::EDIT
Also, I'm relatively new here compared to others so my outlook is a bit skewed since I've only seen one iteration of this board

[Squire Grooktook]

Since its looking more and more like the era of physically released shmups is over I would wager that the scene will see somewhat of a dip compared to the last few years where the 360 reigned supreme. Without new shmups to talk about we will mostly be relegated to discussions of doujins titles (nothing wrong with that, just not nearly as much attention has been given to these in the past compared to the bigger guys) and high score strategies/routes.

I'm actually hoping that this has the opposite effect. If more quality shmups start materializing on popular digital distribution services, it might get the word out to more people world wide who have a mindset to enjoy the niche but don't know much about them or don't want to do scary stuff like importing to (legally) acquire games.

Otherwise yeah, agree with everything else you said. I'm 22 and I actually feel I have to tread carefully on this forum because I'm surrounded by honest and intelligent adults and not 15 year old weeaboo's like most forums (I mean that as affectionately as possible, heh).

[MJR]

I usually get sick of any internet forum pretty quickly, too much noise - but this forum has endured for me, for the simple reason that it has high score tables to all my old favourite games, and it is often the only source for news when it comes to old-school shoot'em ups. And here are some really awesome people, such as DEL and PC-engine fan XI who pretty much share my undying love for best of late 80's games.

Also, as long as people keep submitting high scores for Salamander, R-type, Saint Dragon, Hellfire and Dragon breed, I think I will keep staying here as I maintain those high score tables

This actually reminded me to update the hellfire score table again..

[KindGrind]

together we will live forever

This picture was my avatar for the longest time.

I'm also in OT most of the time myself, like johnny5 and GP.

I'm a member in other forums, and realized over the years that the great majority of people on here are decent compared to what I see in other places... Maybe because we're older?

[Ji-L87]

I'm also in OT most of the time myself, like johnny5 and GP.

I'm a member in other forums, and realized over the years that the great majority of people on here are decent compared to what I see in other places... Maybe because we're older?

Hmm......maybe this genre simply doesn't attract a lot of young people? Or rather, not the kind of young people that usually flood to other forums? The kind of young people which "check out my beast game collection, man!" simply translates to "check out my 360 & PS3 along with my assorted collection of CoD, Battlefield and Madden".

[BulletMagnet]

These forums cannot die until Yagawa dies.

Then we will immediately come back afterwards, with lower rank.

[Drachenherz]

Although I stopped gaming half a year ago, I'm still drawn to these boards on a regular basis.

I just like the general tone and interesting conversations on these shores.

Let's hope those boards stay for some time.

[drauch]

I'm also in OT most of the time myself, like johnny5 and GP.

I'm a member in other forums, and realized over the years that the great majority of people on here are decent compared to what I see in other places... Maybe because we're older?

Same here. I think we've got a pretty good group of people with a wide understanding of many hobbies, which is why I'm still here and have abandoned all other forums I used to visit. I dunno, I think we're just... lucky. I'm in some forums with people probably older than the average here and they act far worse. Even the people here that are still learning English do a much better job than the average internet user. Dunno if anyone still/ever uses Facebook, but older folks and small children have taken it over for the most part, and it's absolutely dreadful. There's so many potential groups on Facebook of interest, but whoahhhhhhh boy, it's rough.

[ZacharyB]

These games haven't changed much over their entire history, so, even the oldest are still relevant today. Now the interest can span generations, as new users sign up... Whether it were because they saw the HARDEST BOSS EVER video (which is now almost 8 years old) or because they downloaded Crimzon Clover on Steam, the continuity and consistency of shmup gameplay also ends up creating the continuity and consistency of this forum.

[BryanM]

and not 15 year old weeaboo's like most forums

We're just 35 year old weeaboos.

Maybe because we're older?

Nah. Old people are not better people.

It's kinda how niche communities work; you'll see similar types of vibes in other small ponds. Identifying people is possible, so individuals actually matter.

[Ed Oscuro]

These games haven't changed much over their entire history, so, even the oldest are still relevant today.

Spot on - if this wasn't true, it seems unlikely I would have blundered into this place!

[Tregard]

I've lurked here on and off since 2007, and even though I don't contribute much I really like the crowd here. I don't know of many gaming communities where the "what are you playing right now" thread regularly features games from across the entirety of the last three decades. As the industry becomes more cynical and games become increasingly predictable and shallow, this place always manages to remind me why gaming is and always will be my number one hobby. I hope this forum lives forever!

[scrilla4rella]

Been lurking since, like forever. This pace will always be one of my go to time-wasting sites. Seeing the old faces is what keeps me coming back. I feel lucky to have met some of the great folks her in the real world over the last few year.

I always check the main forum but mostly I post in OT. The people here have influenced me as a gamer more than any other community. I would have quit gaming a long time ago if it weren't for you people introducing me to my now favorite games. Learning about Battle Garegga here was a watershed moment for me back in 2002. Everything changed after that.

As we all know, message boards are dying left and right. The Internet has changed dramatically since 1995 but it's a comforting constant to log in and see the activity.

[ACSeraph]

As we all know, message boards are dying left and right. The Internet has changed dramatically since 1995 but it's a comforting constant to log in and see the activity.

There's probably some connection between our mutual love for near-extinction game genres and our holding on to an equally endangered internet social platform.

I doubt this place will ever go away totally, because this particular genre breeds fanaticism, and this forum provides a very important service to the fans found nowhere else on the internet. The reason people stick around in the community "post-STG" is probably because people with similar personalities are drawn towards the genre in the first place. I think the genre requires a lot more discipline and maturity to excel at than most, and those traits are reflected in the posters here.

[Ji-L87]

There's probably some connection between our mutual love for near-extinction game genres and our holding on to an equally endangered internet social platform.

Have to say, I really love writing on PHPBB-type forums and I would hate for those to go completely away.
I have no idea what the back-end looks like or how much of a swiss cheese it's security wise, it's an enjoyable interface to work with as an end user.

I visit sites like reddit daily but I never get a feel for the people posting. I almost never get to "know" anyone. It's like every day is my first day lurking. It's like riding a wave of information but few things really stick. I'm always surprised when someone manages to even remember another user's name, because the visual presentation doesn't particularly emphasize or focus on that.

And all the voting up and downs, popular comments etc can sometimes make me confused or make it hard to find stuff. And don't even get me started on the whole "karma" thing

[JBC]

I don't think this place is in any real danger of dying atm. Mobile phone shmups sort of open the doorway for new users, who in turn seek out and discover the real deal. The gameplay of the majority of shmups doesn't seem to age either, only presentation. I have two unassociated friends in their early 30's who are just now getting into the genre, having known about them since childhood.

I believe an attraction to the style is definetly tied closely to personality type. It doesn't mean everyone who likes them will always get along, but it does say something about the type of thinker that person is.

+1 for PC Engine Fan X!, my favorite poster here.

(I wanted to space the username right so I searched & found he has his own appreciation thread. Shmups forum Christ figure?)

[Weak Boson]

I don't post that often but I would be sad to see this forum go. Definitely thanks to system11 for keeping this going. I hope we can keep it going until the scene is well and truly dead (which would make a double sad) but I don't think there's a huge danger of that. It seems like a bit of a transition period for shmups now. The console platforms being refreshed and arcade releases finally stuttering to a halt mean I don't find shmups where I looked before. But there are still possibilities with digital distribution and indie developers. And as has been said, there's a lot of potential for reaching new players this way. The interest is definitely there: all the cool stuff various awesome people have done to showcase shmups at conventions proves it. This makes me optimistic that shmups can continue ticking along, mostly under the radar, but still with a strong community. It's what we make of it!