Yeah, I agree; thing is, the majority (read: not all) of American-made games have been shit since the 8-bit era, it's just that nowadays gaming has finally become more socially acceptable, and 'gamers' are playing a lot of the American stuff.Blade wrote:rant
Am I missing something? Because those things that you ranted about describe Japan as much as the US. Remember the Famitsu reader's top 100; it's not all rosy there either.Blade wrote:There is no challenge anymore. Not even in RPGs. It's all a big movie to people. They censor plotlines because nobody wants to hear the storyline to a shmup...even an epic War Drama like Ikaruga.
They cut things, they use the same logo on two completely different games, they use big explosion artwork to attract people and guns, they use artwork of busty women that isn't featured in the game. They use quotes from magazines and slap them on game boxes as though people want an opinion of the game. They poorly translate stories...they make games that Tate Clockwise and DON'T Tate Counter-clockwise.
They make games that look like they were made with 4 year old kids in mind who'd just assume eat a controller as use it to play games with.
They crank out the SAME SPORTS GAMES EVERY YEAR, WITH THE SAME ANNOUNCERS, GAMEPLAYS, GRAPHICS, WITH ONLY THE STATS SWAPPED OR NAMES ADDED.
All warrior types are uber buff, Ninjas look like they're taking steroids, women look like they have inflateable breasts...
This country needs a Videogame Enema.
[snip]
If this keeps up I'm moving to Japan for good.
*smacks you in the earhole*MSZ wrote: Mainstream sucks.
That is the dumbest thing I've ever read on here. 90% of EVERYTHING is crap, INCLUDING games made in other countries. The only reason you don't hear about the shitty Japanese games is because they never get released here. For every Katamari there are 2,785,936,903,479,349 mahjong games that will never see this shore.LoneSage wrote: Yeah, I agree; thing is, the majority (read: not all) of American-made games have been shit since the 8-bit era, it's just that nowadays gaming has finally become more socially acceptable, and 'gamers' are playing a lot of the American stuff.
Compare the US media coverage of say, the Halo series to Ibara. One gets a few special articles and a two page review, while the other gets a tiny blurb. I think all Blade is saying is that shmups need more exposure.So what you're saying is that you want people to play crappy games in a genre you like instead of playing non-crappy games in a genre you don't like.
I have to disagree at least on this guy Shane Bettenhausen from what I've heard out of him. Have you listened to the most recent 1up podcast? I had it on a couple of days ago, and this guy just made me embarrassed for him with his unmovable confidence in the greatness of the ps3. He was already absolutely confident that their online thing would be just as good as xbox's, games will look so much better, etc. without having seen any of it (you know, all the standard ps3 fanboy stuff) that I was actually questioning how this clown actually calls himself a journalist. Even the rest of the editors were trying to calm his enthusiasm down, but he didn't hear any of it.Dylan1CC wrote:There are indeed good reviewers at EGM who I enjoy reading. Shane Bettenhausen and Jonathan Dudlak to name a few. If one of those two were EOC I think the mag would be better than it is now.
Yeah, I pretty much stopped being a fan not too long after the 16-bit gen. It still had some enjoyability when SushiX was still on board, when he left and their old import section was dissolved, that was kinda "it" for me.Nah, I lost interest in EGM a long, long time ago, from when i was a kid and they had the crappy spelling mistakes and bad art and all that stuff
I think the closest people got to identifying Sushi was looking at an old EGM staff picture which had everyone on then staff caricatured, but the caricatures were unlabeled so it was still unclear who in the pic was Sushi.
Well, it's a good thing that I have good memory. Here you go!Arvandor wrote:Best gaming magazine I've read in a long time is Hardcore Gamer. I don't remember the URL, I'll have to go home and ask my roommate what it is, assuming no body else posts it up before then.
Only domestic games get reviewed these days. While it doesn't help that pretty much all US PS2 shooter releases suck, even a good shooter would get ignored because people don't understand the way the games should be played and don't want to. Check out the thread about the crappy Gigawing 2 review for a case in point.AFXisatwin wrote:Well, I think it at least deserves a regular review.
That's pretty harsh, if I understand properly. For those who enjoy Raizing-style gameplay it introduces some new ideas that make it worth a purchase. Admittedly I've only put time into the crappy PC port, but Halo has a pretty corny story, multiplayer is average at best. Not much strategy involved, just point and click your mouse as fast as you can. A bit more balanced and imaginative than say Battlefield 1942, but not as good as DOD classic in terms of having to think. We're kind of going off topic here but I'd be interested for you to elaborate on this a bit.Ibara doesn't deserve as much coverage as Halo.
You have to realize that in the American Market, Exposure means Availability. No exposure means the game doesn't get looked at and nobody buys the game, and nothing gets Imported.nem wrote:No, it doesn't. It would deserve one if it were to be released in the US, but that's not the case. Would Famitsu review Deer Hunter 11? I don't think so.AFXisatwin wrote:Well, I think it at least deserves a regular review.
It's not whether or not I like a specific genre that makes the difference to me. What makes the difference to me is that all games should be available to the public, regardless of popularity or whether or not I like them. There is no INSTEAD.heurhface wrote: So what you're saying is that you want people to play crappy games in a genre you like instead of playing non-crappy games in a genre you don't like.
Yep, that's a minority amongst a minority. It's kind of like Rolling Stone reviewing an obscure black metal band from Hungary or something. It's already been pointed out, but it's import only as well. It's basically not for this market, while FPSs are huge here and a big release like Halo is very much relevant. Even if I cared about game magazines I would not be bothered if Ibara was not mentioned at all.Neon wrote:That's pretty harsh, if I understand properly. For those who enjoy Raizing-style gameplay it introduces some new ideas that make it worth a purchase.Ibara doesn't deserve as much coverage as Halo.
More importantly, if nobody gives a shit about a game it doesn't get to market. There has to be an interest before there's a market. It's blindingly obvious that what few shmup fans there are in this country are content to import, making a full-scale release here absolutely needless.Blade wrote: You have to realize that in the American Market, Exposure means Availability. No exposure means the game doesn't get looked at and nobody buys the game, and nothing gets Imported.
If nobody buys the game it doesn't get a market. The main reason I know about even HALF of the shmups I've played so far is because I visit this Website regularly. Outside of the Internet, you'd be hard pressed to find a game store that knew what Castle Shikigami 2 was...let alone that Mobilie Light Force 2 was it's prequel and that Mobile Light Force for PSone was actually GUNBIRD.
Then you're delusional. This is a niche market. Deal with it, and quit whining.Blade wrote: I really don't think fans of SHMUPS are really that fringe...
When you eat do you have to move your colon out of the way? You seem to have your head about that far up your ass. I'm sorry I have to burst your vision of mattering... but you don't. Shmups don't matter here and no amount of whining is going to change the opinion of the other 350 million people that live in this country.Blade wrote: I personally don't like the idea of being in the Minority with regards to gaming. If you think that Ibara doesn't deserve at least as much exposure to the gaming public as Halo then that simple opinion ALONE is detrimental to Ibara's SALES POTENTIAL.
It's because people don't believe SHMUPS are all that great when compared to other genres that they are TREATED as such. Which is a wrong way of thinking. Shmups are good games in their own right, and they have lots of positive points to them.
Why can't YOU figure out that shooters aren't imported because nobody BUYS them? For fuck's sake, Shikigami 2 had a $10 price point and still didn't sell 1/400th of what Halo sold. Do you think it's purely about marketing? Do you really? Then why did Daikatana bomb? Why do SO MANY heavily hyped games bomb? Because they SUCK. Games that suck fail. Games that people DON'T WANT fail.Blade wrote: The thing that bugs me is when one game genre is compared to another game genre and the two are expected to stack up. YOU CANNOT COMPARE HALO TO IBARA. Halo is an FPS, it is a different game. Ibara is a Shmup, it is also a different game. Why can't people figure this out?
Nice wish there, Aladdin. Got a magic lamp to rub? No? Sorry, you're fucked. Maybe one day you'll grow up and learn some basic economics but until that time, just accept it as a FACT that people in this country don't care about shooters. Shooters DO NOT sell well. PERIOD. It has nothing to do with marketing and everything to do with the fact that they are a NICHE PRODUCT. Deal with it.Blade wrote: It's not whether or not I like a specific genre that makes the difference to me. What makes the difference to me is that all games should be available to the public, regardless of popularity or whether or not I like them. There is no INSTEAD.
