Death Smiles: Countdown to North America Invasion

[Acid King]

History teaches us otherwise. Look at Mushi Futari 1.0. It was way too difficult for normal play and had it's barrages greatly reduced in Ver 1.5. The version the shmups community adores. Yes, the community always prefers an arcade accurate port and 1.5 was an update at the Arcade level, but it still shows balance changes are not always frowned upon.

I don't know that that one game (which was actually the first balance change to a Cave game outside of a black label version, right?) constitutes history. I don't know that that's a valid comparison because 1.0 didn't last very long in the arcades so it never became the standard version of the game and it also had, if i recall correctly, patterns that were literally impossible. The US localization of Deathsmiles, to my knowledge, doesn't change any patterns so while a pattern might be more difficult without slowdown, doesn't mean it's literally impossible like the patterns people grumbled about in Futari 1.0. Balance tweaks in either direction in ports are pretty much always scorned simply because they're deviations from the arcade standard.

[dan76]

Balance tweaks in either direction in ports are pretty much always scorned simply because they're deviations from the arcade standard.

That's reason enough.

[Acid King]

Balance tweaks in either direction in ports are pretty much always scorned simply because they're deviations from the arcade standard.

That's reason enough.

Right, but thats related to the quality of the port, not the game itself. An inaccurate port can still be a good game.

[Matsunaga]

The PSX port of DDP isn't quite accurate, but I prefer it over playing on mame. The PCB would still be the best option, however.

[CStarFlare]

Fan expectations are the main issue here. No one expected Futari 1.0 and 1.5 to be the same game or even comparable for competitive purposes; people (justifiably?) expected the US Deathsmiles release to be more or less exactly the same as the JP version.

[BulletMagnet]

Fan expectations are the main issue here. No one expected Futari 1.0 and 1.5 to be the same game or even comparable for competitive purposes; people (justifiably?) expected the US Deathsmiles release to be more or less exactly the same as the JP version.

So if Cave/Aksys had announced beforehand that the slowdown would be deliberately reduced, in line with what the developer originally intended, everyone would have been okay with it? It's not a matter of "expectations" - it's just a matter of players not wanting to have to change what they've already been doing, being able to remain in the rut they're currently in.

[NR777]

Fan expectations are the main issue here. No one expected Futari 1.0 and 1.5 to be the same game or even comparable for competitive purposes; people (justifiably?) expected the US Deathsmiles release to be more or less exactly the same as the JP version.

So if Cave/Aksys had announced beforehand that the slowdown would be deliberately reduced, in line with what the developer originally intended, everyone would have been okay with it? It's not a matter of "expectations" - it's just a matter of players not wanting to have to change what they've already been doing, being able to remain in the rut they're currently in.

Well, what I think sucks about it is that scores aren't comparable between the two releases. I don't own a J360 or the PCB (and haven't played either) so I can't do a direct comparison, but it's more than a little disappointing to learn that scoring potential has changed so drastically that the NA version needs it's own scoreboard. Even if they announced it beforehand I would be a little perturbed. It's like George Lucas announcing that he is going to edit the original Star Wars trilogy and replace R2D2 with Jar-Jar Binks. Maybe this is a completely irrational rant, but I really wish Cave had simply let the port be instead of fucking with it before releasing it in a new territory.

[nZero]

It's pretty dumb that the Arcade mode for DS and MBL got adjusted. Especially DS since the game speed was apparently pretty spot-on to the PCB. Even though there was never an arcade release in NA, those should still be made to be comparable to the original version of the game. After all they've got the 360 mode and the 1.1 arrange modes to screw with if they really wanted to make some kind of Death Smiles Perfect System. Thank god for separate leaderboards.

[Exarion]

4626 third week sales. People are reporting that the game is becoming hard to find. I think vgchartz has it within 5%.

[Aru-san]

4626 third week sales. People are reporting that the game is becoming hard to find. I think vgchartz has it within 5%.

Hopes to a print run without the fancy trinkets? If the game's becoming hard to find, then that means consumers have almost sucked the first print run dry which should be a good thing.

[njiska]

4626 third week sales. People are reporting that the game is becoming hard to find. I think vgchartz has it within 5%.

Hopes to a print run without the fancy trinkets? If the game's becoming hard to find, then that means consumers have almost sucked the first print run dry which should be a good thing.

It's normally about a month before non-LE Aksys releases flood the market so I'd hope we'd see something announced soon. What will really be interesting is if the game continues to sell without the LE stuff.

[njiska]

Latest Nerfnow is full of win:

[subcons]

It's normally about a month before non-LE Aksys releases flood the market so I'd hope we'd see something announced soon. What will really be interesting is if the game continues to sell without the LE stuff.

I would have actually preferred just the game personally, and I still would have payed $50 for it. I generally don't listen to game soundtracks and the box and faceplate are just sitting in my closet. All I really care about is the playing the game.

If they drop the price on a bare bones version, I think some people on the fence about the game may be more inclined to check it out.

[NR777]

4626 third week sales. People are reporting that the game is becoming hard to find. I think vgchartz has it within 5%.

If those numbers are accurate, that puts Deathsmiles well within range of selling out the required 50K NA print run. Good news.

[Vectorman0]

4626 third week sales. People are reporting that the game is becoming hard to find. I think vgchartz has it within 5%.

If those numbers are accurate, that puts Deathsmiles well within range of selling out the required 50K NA print run. Good news.

Do you have a source for that 50K minimum number? I've been led to believe the minimum print for 360 games is higher than that. (However, manufacturers can produce as few LE's with extra content as they please)

[Zeether]

Would it be possible for Aksys to patch the game and add a slowdown/wait option?

[MachineAres 1CC]

4626 third week sales. People are reporting that the game is becoming hard to find. I think vgchartz has it within 5%.

Thanks for introducing me to a site that I'm NEVER going to again in my entire life! The discussions linked to that site are so fucking irritating and fanboy-rage-fueled it blows my mind.

[njiska]

Would it be possible for Aksys to patch the game and add a slowdown/wait option?

Cave has to make that call. They're doing all development on the US release.

[NR777]

4626 third week sales. People are reporting that the game is becoming hard to find. I think vgchartz has it within 5%.

If those numbers are accurate, that puts Deathsmiles well within range of selling out the required 50K NA print run. Good news.

Do you have a source for that 50K minimum number? I've been led to believe the minimum print for 360 games is higher than that. (However, manufacturers can produce as few LE's with extra content as they please)

To be honest, I heard the number from a friend in the industry, so I very well could be wrong or I might have misheard him. I'm looking for an official source right now and I'm actually slightly embarrassed...when (and if) I find something substantial I'll let you know. Until then, disregard that figure as hearsay.

[CStarFlare]

Thanks for introducing me to a site that I'm NEVER going to again in my entire life! The discussions linked to that site are so fucking irritating and fanboy-rage-fueled it blows my mind.

seeing this posted on shmups makes me terrified of clicking that link

[MachineAres 1CC]

Thanks for introducing me to a site that I'm NEVER going to again in my entire life! The discussions linked to that site are so fucking irritating and fanboy-rage-fueled it blows my mind.

seeing this posted on shmups makes me terrified of clicking that link

Its a different kind, though, since it all has to do with the childish "console wars" bullshit, not just whether you like a certain shmup or not.

[hail good sir]

the

[njiska]

It blows my mind that there's only 600some on the biggest NA leaderboard out of 40k sales. Is it the same with the JP leaderboards?

I'm willing to bet a lot of people just aren't playing Score Attack. Causals might have no interest in it and to be honest I don't think i've done score attack either.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

The LE first-print edition of DS is being sold at Fry's as well. Same asking price of $49.99 but with an obligatory anti-theft device strapped to the outer shrink-wrapped box, of course. Saw that the Fremont, CA based Fry's store had gotten two of the LE DS sets and were ripe for the taking...so it ain't hard to find these days despite reports of folks being turned away due to other speciality gaming stores and/or big speciality A/V chains not having it in stock. Just gotta call around & confirm that they got it in stock (that is, if you're a last minute procastinator when it comes to buying U.S. region released console based shmup titles).

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Octopod]

If you live in the Northeast and have a Bull Moose near you they are selling it as well and for $44.99. Bull Moose tends to always sell below MSRP though. I guess it is there way of competing with larger chains.

[CStarFlare]

So if Cave/Aksys had announced beforehand that the slowdown would be deliberately reduced, in line with what the developer originally intended, everyone would have been okay with it? It's not a matter of "expectations" - it's just a matter of players not wanting to have to change what they've already been doing, being able to remain in the rut they're currently in.

People develop general expectations for games before they're even announced - arcade ports should be somewhat arcade accurate, Solid Snake should be the main character in an MGS game, localizations should be faithful to the original release, etc. If they had announced it beforehand it would have taken away some of the sting that comes with buying a $50 game only to find that someone had tampered with the brakes, but it wouldn't make the decision to remove one of the genre's trakemarks any less disappointing.

[evil_ash_xero]

So if Cave/Aksys had announced beforehand that the slowdown would be deliberately reduced, in line with what the developer originally intended, everyone would have been okay with it? It's not a matter of "expectations" - it's just a matter of players not wanting to have to change what they've already been doing, being able to remain in the rut they're currently in.

People develop general expectations for games before they're even announced - arcade ports should be somewhat arcade accurate, Solid Snake should be the main character in an MGS game, localizations should be faithful to the original release, etc. If they had announced it beforehand it would have taken away some of the sting that comes with buying a $50 game only to find that someone had tampered with the brakes, but it wouldn't make the decision to remove one of the genre's trakemarks any less disappointing.

Are you trying to tell me that Raiden wasn't welcomed with open arms to the MGS franchise?....oh wait...

Well, he did get the lead role in the upcoming game.

No one ever did answer my question about the slowdown in MBL 1.1. The JP version was way too slow. Did they speed it up in the U.S. one? I have it, but my U.S. system is in need of repair.

[CStarFlare]

I'm pretty sure MBL 1.1 speed up at certain (bullet heavy) points.

On the plus side, I'm pretty sure the graphical glitches are gone because there's not as much stuff on the screen at once.

[GaijinPunch]

To be honest, I heard the number from a friend in the industry, so I very well could be wrong or I might have misheard him. I'm looking for an official source right now and I'm actually slightly embarrassed...when (and if) I find something substantial I'll let you know. Until then, disregard that figure as hearsay.

Actually, I believe that number is right for NA. It's something micro for Japan (like 10k) since buying a 360 here is like buying a gigantic genital wart.

[BulletMagnet]

It's something micro for Japan (like 10k) since buying a 360 here is like buying a gigantic genital wart.

I hate myself for laughing at this, but I am once again helpless against The Power of Gaijin Punch.