Shmups on Xbox 1 or PS4?

[DrMattBuckets]

Hey guys just wanted to get some opinions on which next generation consoles (or both) you think will carry shmups? Since it's easy to say that the Xbox 360 dominated on shmups, will that trend continue to the Xbox one? Or will studios (Cave, G-rev, ect) move to the PS4? Or will it be split. Just wanted to get some input and see what you guys think.

[Ed Oscuro]

Man, I'm never going to get used to "Xbox 1." I was wondering for a moment why you were asking about playing games on a 2001 console (~'99 tech) versus a 2013 one.

Japan and the whole of Asia are getting the Xbox a year after the US release, and the previous Xbox systems have done poorly in Japan. This time around, the Xbox appears to have worse hardware from the development standpoint as well as the consumer one. Finally, the Xbox One digital distribution system doesn't seem to hold amazing benefits for developers over PSN, and of course the previous plans for the Xbox One have hurt its reputation in many places.

[trap15]

Considering Xbone isn't coming out in Japan until about a year after the US launch, and the PS4 is launching worldwide at the same time... Also considering Japanese stigma against Xbox and the PS4 being Japanese...

I think it's almost certain PS4 will be the STG platform of choice, unless MS money-hats developers again.

[PAPER/ARTILLERY]

Sony seem to be making a point of supporting indie developers too, so we might see some interesting doujin stuff on PS4 if we're lucky.

[BulletMagnet]

unless MS money-hats developers again.

Even if they did, I doubt it'd work a second time.

[dcharlieJP]

It would be interesting to see if Vita / 3DS becomes the home to a load of shmups - not ideal, but they seem to be a good avenue.

Or - i guess - if Cave were to patch in controller support to their ipad games then there's always that route.

I am sure we'll see -someone- try a shooter on the next gen but i'd have thought cheaper dev platforms would have been more likely (though there's always PSN/XBLA)

[gameoverDude]

It would be interesting to see if Vita / 3DS becomes the home to a load of shmups - not ideal, but they seem to be a good avenue.

Or - i guess - if Cave were to patch in controller support to their ipad games then there's always that route.

I am sure we'll see -someone- try a shooter on the next gen but i'd have thought cheaper dev platforms would have been more likely (though there's always PSN/XBLA)

Hopefully Cave gets more of their stuff on Android and adds Xperia Play joypad and/or iCade support. Battle Squadron works very well with touch screen, but that may be due to the Amiga version supporting mouse control. Cave games weren't made with analog in mind though. It's harder to play DDPR on a smartphone than the 360.

I'm with PS4 this time and probably won't get Xbone. Should Cave get back to console, PS4 is probably their choice if Sony trumps MS in Japan.

[DrMattBuckets]

ya, i am with you. I am hoping that they are brought out on the PS4. After the red ring of death and Microsofts new (changed) policy's with the next Xbox I won't be getting one anytime soon. I am hoping the shmups genre will swing back to Sony like the PS2 was.

[MathU]

I don't really think it's set to go one way or another yet. Shooter developers don't really play favorites with console manufacturers so it'll probably come down to whoever provides the cheapest/easiest console to develop for at first. But if we've learned anything from last generation, it won't be decided until one console builds a "critical mass" of shooters from developers like CAVE and Seibu.

I'm really hoping it's the Wii U this time. Neither of the other two look very appealing for this.

[Ed Oscuro]

You want to play shmups on the Wii U gamepad controller?

As far as who's got the critical mass, that's obviously going to be PS4. No way Microsoft is going to capture a bunch of shmup exclusives from people who won't even be getting the console in their home regions for a year. Might take a while before development is cheap enough for shmup developers, but the AAA studios are going to lead the way here.

[Cuilan]

Neither.

Shmups are going to stay on the 360, or at best, move to the PS3. The only way you'll see shmups on the PS4 or Xbox One is if they're money-hatted. Almost everyone in Japan who cares about shmups already owns a 360 and the PS3 has a very large userbase, so there's no reason for shmup developers to move their games to next gen consoles, especially when you consider that the 360 and PS3 offer way more power than what practically every shmup developer out there can effectively use.

[Zerst]

especially when you consider that the 360 and PS3 offer way more power than what practically every shmup developer out there can effectively use

i don't know man just think of the audio quality we could get from the seiyuu singing their intro scenes and talking over everything if they could devote twice as much processing power to that than the game itself

[ciox]

PS4 might seem a clear winner but XBone still has an edge by not requiring an expensive dev kit, as far as I can see it will be as easy to develop for it as it was for 360, and that was mentioned by some shmup devs as a reason for sticking with Microsoft... if they were being honest anyway.

especially when you consider that the 360 and PS3 offer way more power than what practically every shmup developer out there can effectively use

I wouldn't bet on that, Cave has no trouble bringing the 360 to its knees since DFK, and Under Defeat HD has some performance problems especially on PS3. The systems' lives are far from over though, won't argue with that.

[Cuilan]

I wouldn't bet on that, Cave has no trouble bringing the 360 to its knees since DFK, and Under Defeat HD has some performance problems especially on PS3.

I'd say that has more to do with the developers than the systems. I could be wrong though.

[Ed Oscuro]

PS4 might seem a clear winner but XBone still has an edge by not requiring an expensive dev kit

Factoring in the use of Kinect is going to make things difficult. Both are X86 systems, and why wouldn't the PS4 be easy to develop for? Especially when you consider its design is much less dependent on caching tricks than the Xbox One will be.

I don't know about the dev kit prices but that's a one-time cost.

I also wouldn't see moving shmups from the 360 to the PS3 as a win, and not just because I don't have a PS3. There's that extra frame of lag, remember?

[Gmintyfresh]

I've got every confidence we'll see more new shmups on the DC than either the new consoles next generation.

[Darksakul]

I've got every confidence we'll see more new shmups on the DC than either the new consoles next generation.

I agree with this, Dreamcast and even some NEO GEO MVS (mostly fan made) development seems to as strong as ever.

Considering both systems have been thoroughly documented. I wouldn't be surprised if we get even more Dreamcast games

[hirounder]

For some reason the only developers still supporting 360 in Japan with exclusives in 2013 seemed to be shmup ones (Moss, Triangle S., Qute and well Cave). So I'm kinda thinking most of them will stick with Xbox platform. Also don't think XB1 is coming that late in Japan, I'm guessing early 2014...anyway we'll know more at TGS.

[Cuilan]

Also don't think XB1 is coming that late in Japan, I'm guessing early 2014...anyway we'll know more at TGS.

My guess would be: December at the earliest, Golden Week at the latest.

[trap15]

For some reason the only developers still supporting 360 in Japan with exclusives in 2013 seemed to be shmup ones (Moss, Triangle S., Qute and well Cave). So I'm kinda thinking most of them will stick with Xbox platform.

In an interview with Toshiaki Fujino (Pres. of Triangle Service), he said the only reason he has done 360 and not PS3 is because that's where all the STG players are, because that's where all the other STG are. Xbone won't have that advantage, so I doubt Xbone will take the title this time.

[Jeneki]

Niche genres are slow at moving to next gen consoles. It'll be a few more years before we need to worry about which console gets more shmups.

[Bonus!]

I don't know about the dev kit prices but that's a one-time cost.

There have been reports that Sony loans out dev kits, and is highly welcoming towards smaller studios/indies as well.

[Lord Satori]

Xbox 1 or PS4?

I say PS4 because they know how to properly name their consoles.

[Ed Oscuro]

That's just part of Microsoft's culture. It's a shame there wasn't a Rowland Hanson to convince Microsoft that "Xbox One" was just as bad a name as "Interface Manager" was for Windows, or a Seamus Blackley or Kevin Bachus to parade these lists out there again to instill some shame in the executives.

Even IBM mainframe computer names were more fun than calling the third Xbox the "One."

[DMC]

I think the names are repsentative of the times. Just numbers, no fantasy. SEGA at least knew how to name their consoles; Master System, Mega Drive, Saturn and Dreamcast.

the remaining of our lives will be:
xbox 1 - ps4
xbox 2 - ps5
xbox 3 - ps6
xbox 4 - ps7
xbox 5 - ps8
xbox 6 - ps9

/bitter troll.

[Ed Oscuro]

Nintendo - one-dimensional
Super Nintendo - 2D
Nintendo 64 - three dee
GameCube - HYPERCUBE
Wii - transcendent

...sort of

Who knows if Microsoft will be around for many more generations - after all, Nintendo's barely here and Sega is gone from that business, for now; so are all the historical American players unless you count the barely-relevant TV console manufacturers.

But I think if you look at Xbox -> 360 -> One, it's clear that their next systems won't be nearly as neatly named as that list, unless their plan is to go with a 720 next, then an Xbox Two, then a 1280, then an Xbox Three, or using some other multiplier

Honest to goodness, though, I don't know why they didn't go for 720 (or maybe 1080? lol) and just tie it in with a skate / snowboarding / biking theme. Or is that too passe by now?

[Lord Satori]

That's just part of Microsoft's culture. It's a shame there wasn't a Rowland Hanson to convince Microsoft that "Xbox One" was just as bad a name as "Interface Manager" was for Windows, or a Seamus Blackley or Kevin Bachus to parade these lists out there again to instill some shame in the executives.

Even IBM mainframe computer names were more fun than calling the third Xbox the "One."

lol, they should've called it the FACE. "I'm gonna go play Halo on my FACE."

[BPzeBanshee]

lol, they should've called it the FACE. "I'm gonna go play Halo on my FACE."

What's what on your FACE?

*headshot and teabag on Call of Duty Black Ops 9001*

It was PAIN!

[Jeneki]

But if it becomes the FACE, we'd get ports of Nostradamus and Metal Stoker.

[Bonus!]

Honest to goodness, though, I don't know why they didn't go for 720 (or maybe 1080? lol) and just tie it in with a skate / snowboarding / biking theme. Or is that too passe by now?

They could just have skipped a "version number" like they recently did with MS Office and release an Xbox 4 to have parity with Sony.