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Post by Ike on Nov 6, 2010 23:28:17 GMT -5
That Final Fantasy 7 was on the N64. God I argued with this retard for like an hour about it
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Post by kitten on Nov 6, 2010 23:35:05 GMT -5
Uhh, as an industry rep, I can actually tell you this IS true... sort of. I've heard other industry reps, including the guy who made Sins of a Solar Empire (iirc this was the first or second best selling pc game the year it was released a few years ago? It should be easy to find the article written by this person online about piracy, it was very popular) and the guys who made World of Goo (it had an 80-90% piracy rate, iirc, yet the developers argued against it harming sales) argue the contrary. There doesn't seem to be any real, solid evidence to support piracy numbers indicating lost sales, just conjecture. People seem to blame it when sales don't reach estimates. I've even seem some developers argue that it has increased exposure (which could certainly be the case with something like Ys, which is considered by westerners to be relatively obscure), which has in turn contributed to higher sales. I've also run into almost no one who pirated a game, then didn't buy it when they otherwise would have. I mean, look at the music industry, and how easily available they've made most of their music and how rampant piracy is. I can go to YouTube and get the full Lady Gaga experience for free, yet she's still make freaking billions of dollars off of selling exactly what I can get for free. I'm not trying to be overly optimistic or bank all my faith in humanity, but it seems as though if people want to buy something, they'll generally buy it. |
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Post by America Young Fusion on Nov 6, 2010 23:37:37 GMT -5
That Final Fantasy 7 was on the N64. I remember this happening being hyped up when it was still called Ultra 64 on these mail-only gaming store ads on Game Players. They also had Castlevania 64 and Mega Man 64 listed. |
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Post by Sac (a.k.a Icaras) on Nov 7, 2010 0:35:14 GMT -5
Call of Duty/Halo/World of Warcraft are the worst games ever and you are a heretic for liking them
Funnily enough, I tend to find you also come across the complete opposite of the point MegaWeasle raised earlier in the thread. As despite how many fans the above games, and those like them, attract (and I count myself among them, being a WoW player) it amazes me how many people you'll come across that will despise them just because they're well known or popular.
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Post by wyrdwad on Nov 7, 2010 0:57:54 GMT -5
Uhh, as an industry rep, I can actually tell you this IS true... sort of. I've heard other industry reps, including the guy who made Sins of a Solar Empire (iirc this was the first or second best selling pc game the year it was released a few years ago? It should be easy to find the article written by this person online about piracy, it was very popular) and the guys who made World of Goo (it had an 80-90% piracy rate, iirc, yet the developers argued against it harming sales) argue the contrary. There doesn't seem to be any real, solid evidence to support piracy numbers indicating lost sales, just conjecture. People seem to blame it when sales don't reach estimates. I've even seem some developers argue that it has increased exposure (which could certainly be the case with something like Ys, which is considered by westerners to be relatively obscure), which has in turn contributed to higher sales. I've also run into almost no one who pirated a game, then didn't buy it when they otherwise would have. I mean, look at the music industry, and how easily available they've made most of their music and how rampant piracy is. I can go to YouTube and get the full Lady Gaga experience for free, yet she's still make freaking billions of dollars off of selling exactly what I can get for free. I'm not trying to be overly optimistic or bank all my faith in humanity, but it seems as though if people want to buy something, they'll generally buy it. Yeah, that's why I said it's not ENTIRELY true... and in many ways, I actually think used game sales and game rentals are hurting the industry even MORE than piracy. But I DO know people who never, ever buy games -- they only ever download them, and figure that they're not hurting anyone in the process. It can be argued that they wouldn't have bought the game in the first place... but that, too, is just conjecture. If there were absolutely no way to play a game illegally for free, I think a lot of these "habitual pirates" probably WOULD scrounge together the money to buy the ones they really, really wanted to play (or rent them, or buy them used... sigh!). (: In short, I think what's really killing the industry -- at least for small publishers -- is the economy. People don't have as much money as they used to, so they're much more inclined to buy used, or rent a game from Gamefly, or pirate... and game companies are hurting for money, so of course they're charging more per game to try and make up for that, which discourages customers EVEN MORE from buying new... It's a vicious cycle. And ultimately, it all comes back to the economy going to pot. The lesson is, if there's a publisher you really want to support, buy their games new. Even if you CAN get them cheaper, or rent them, or pirate them... don't. Buy them new instead, to show your support for their products. -Tom |
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Post by Weasel on Nov 7, 2010 1:35:48 GMT -5
Call of Duty/Halo/World of Warcraft are the worst games ever and you are a heretic for liking themFunnily enough, I tend to find you also come across the complete opposite of the point MegaWeasle raised earlier in the thread. As despite how many fans the above games, and those like them, attract (and I count myself among them, being a WoW player) it amazes me how many people you'll come across that will despise them just because they're well known or popular. Yeah, I find that the devotees tend to be more irritating than the haters, honestly. |
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Post by Ryu the Grappler on Nov 7, 2010 3:05:26 GMT -5
A few misconceptions that bothers me includes.
Myth: "Snake's Revenge was an American-made cash-in to the original Metal Gear when Konami couldn't port the real Metal Gear 2."
Fact: This one has been dying out in recent years thanks to various online interviews with Kojima, but it's still gets repeated by ignorant people that should know better. Snake's Revenge was made by a Japanese staff specifically for the overseas market. Konami's Japanese team did a lot of stuff for the overseas market that they never intended to release domestically and SR. Also, SR was made before MG2 and it was the game's very existence that inspired Kojima to make the real MG2. "Ultra Games" was never a separate developer from Konami, but simply a different label for the same company.
Myth: "Japan always get the harder versions of their games."
Fact: Not always. This misconception can be blamed on stuff like Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels and Final Fantasy IV Easytype. Some games are made easier for the overseas market, but there are quite a few that had been made harder. Contra: Hard Corps, Streets of Rage 3, Bayou Billy and Bionic Commando are perfect examples of games that were harder than their Japanese counterparts. It really depends on the game and genre. RPGs are usually made easier, while action games are made harder. Also, a lot of people neglect to mention the fact that the other reason why Lost Levels did not get overseas release was also the fact that it was a less-fun rehash of the original.
Myth: "Ansatsuken is the name of Ryu and Ken's martial art school in the Street Fighter."
Fact: This is more plot-related than a real life one, but it's still a big pet peeve of mine. The term is basically a generic classification for any form of hand-to-hand combat with the capability of causing an opponent's death, and not the specific martial art that Ryu and Ken uses. It can easily be translated as "assassin's art". Gen's martial art is unrelated to the one Ryu and Ken practices, but it's too classified as an "Ansatsuken". The style used by Ryu and Ken is not even a real assassination art, but a sublimation of the original style learned by Gouken."
Myth: "Contra's allusion to the Iran-Contra scandal was accidental."
Fact: The Database mode in Contra 4 has quite a few mistakes in it (some of which were fixed in the Japanese localization), but this one always bothered me the most, just for the fact that the ending theme happened to be titled "Sandinista". Contra 4 was a good game, but stuff like these from a supposedly official installment made it felt more like a glorified fangame. The other mistake that bothered me is that they listed "Gryzor" as the Japanese title of the original arcade game.
Myth: "Most of the stuff written online about the plot Street Fighter EX series (Kairi killed Akuma,
Blair is Sharon's sister, Hayate is Hokuto's fiancee, and so on)"
Fact: This can be blamed on Arika and Capcom, for not bothering to localize the endings of the EX series for the overseas releases. Someone took advantage of the lack of endings in the English version of the series and made up their own character bios while claiming that they were official, leading to many of the bogus crap that is spread around on the internet. Again plot-related, but still a bit of a pet-peeve.
Myth: "The full name of Alfred from Fatal Fury: Dominated Mind is "Alfred Airhawk"."
Fact: No one has bothered to give me an official citation for this and every official material I've seen simply calls him "Alfred".
Myth: "Vampire Killer for the MSX2 was made before the NES Castlevania."
Fact: This one has also died out in recent years, but it still gets repeated a lot. Dracula for the Disk System came out a month before the MSX2 version.
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Post by TheGunheart on Nov 7, 2010 3:33:33 GMT -5
On the plot angle, there are two Sonic ones that really annoy me. Namely, the idea that Tails being a genius inventor and Eggman not being an ultra-evil overlord incarnate were introduced in Sonic Adventure.
Nope, they've been around in the Japanese supplemental materials since the Genesis era. Hell, even without it, it's not hard to notice how Tails straped a rocket to a biplane, not to mention the entirety of Tails' Adventure. And Eggman was never particularly scary. I mean, just look at that silly way he runs when you beat him.
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Post by Sac (a.k.a Icaras) on Nov 7, 2010 3:54:23 GMT -5
Call of Duty/Halo/World of Warcraft are the worst games ever and you are a heretic for liking themFunnily enough, I tend to find you also come across the complete opposite of the point MegaWeasle raised earlier in the thread. As despite how many fans the above games, and those like them, attract (and I count myself among them, being a WoW player) it amazes me how many people you'll come across that will despise them just because they're well known or popular. Yeah, I find that the devotees tend to be more irritating than the haters, honestly. It really depends on your perspective, as I'm pretty sure you wouldn't be too happy if I posted a thread bashing a game you happen to consider your favourite. Both (People TOO devoted, or haters that hate too much) are just as bad as each other (IMO  ) Oh yes, and on an unrelated note to the above, but related to thread: The myth that Ryu's has the surname "Hoshi". I think he might have had that surname in the film (Don't have my DVD to check) but he doesn't in the games. |
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Post by Atma on Nov 7, 2010 4:53:00 GMT -5
No, I don't want a pink DS. No, I don't want the Hannah Montana PSP. No, I don't want a pink or purple anything. No, I don't want a Barbie game, especially any with horses. No, Bayonetta is not for my "boyfriend" or "husband" or "brother" or "dad" it's for me goddammit. Yes, I'll try out Cooking Mama, but that's because I'm genuinely interested in cooking and food in general. Please get Imagine: Babyz away from me. No, I won't play Halo with you in my bra while I giggle and ask for stuff off my Amazon Wishlist.
I could go on but I think we all get the point. I know it's a general misconception and not a specific one, but it's the one that bothers me the most.
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Post by kitten on Nov 7, 2010 4:56:47 GMT -5
The lesson is, if there's a publisher you really want to support, buy their games new. Even if you CAN get them cheaper, or rent them, or pirate them... don't. Buy them new instead, to show your support for their products. For someone unemployed, I spend enough money on new games, trust me lol. Anyway, shouldn't piracy be more likely to help small developers rather than large ones? Doesn't that give the game more exposure? I mean, I've pirated quite a few Virtual Console games before buying their VC version (or buying a cartridge). Having pirated them first is what got me interested enough to buy them. I only pirate games now to try them, and only bother with ROMs. Not really for moral reasons, just because if I play too much I get overloaded (well, partially for moral reasons, because I don't want to potentially finish a game I wouldn't buy after finishing just because I didn't have anything left to do). Bionic Commando are perfect examples of games that were harder than their Japanese counterparts. How was Bionic Commando more difficult? I never heard about that one. Also, Ninja Gaiden 3 is a really good example. It took me hours to beat the US version, where I was able to finish the Japanese version (before finishing the US version) without continuing almost immediately and with little practice on the US version beforehand. |
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Post by wyrdwad on Nov 7, 2010 5:27:16 GMT -5
That is one theory, yes. It's all armchair theory, though -- I don't think anyone's ever actually done a study to determine what effects piracy actually has on sales. And after seeing the things I've seen and learning the things I've learned during this past year especially, I'm willing to bet its effects are either nil, or slightly on the negative side.
-Tom
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Post by pkt on Nov 7, 2010 6:13:40 GMT -5
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Post by derboo on Nov 7, 2010 7:57:28 GMT -5
But I DO know people who never, ever buy games -- they only ever download them, and figure that they're not hurting anyone in the process. It can be argued that they wouldn't have bought the game in the first place... but that, too, is just conjecture. If there were absolutely no way to play a game illegally for free, I think a lot of these "habitual pirates" probably WOULD scrounge together the money to buy the ones they really, really wanted to play (or rent them, or buy them used... sigh!). (: It would be my guess that especially small and low-profile developers would be the last to gain any profit from the end of piracy, as I'd say most people who suddenly can only buy one game instead of pirating ten, would tend to stick with the big names, as those who only pirate and never buy games are people without loyalties (in that area), anyway. Games need to be funMight as well say that all movies and novels should strive for is entertainment. That's not the case. QFT. I've been on and off writing an essay about that idea. Dunno if I ever finish it, though. |
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Post by muteKi on Nov 7, 2010 8:47:15 GMT -5
Yeah, that's why I said it's not ENTIRELY true... and in many ways, I actually think used game sales and game rentals are hurting the industry even MORE than piracy. Honestly, most "anti-piracy" measures rarely make even a lick of sense unless you actually read them as really being "anti-resale" measures. Of course, resale is fully legal, so they have to make it seem like they're fighting something OTHER than that market. Piracy is a delightfully easy target. Which is why when you run out of installation counts on some games you can usually contact the publisher and they'll give you more of them. |
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