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Post by Ganelon on May 20, 2011 17:30:13 GMT -5
I believe you can expect at least a decent portion of the recent glut of Japanese PSP releases to make its way to our shores. Again, a lot of titles may be digital-only -- but they'll still come! It'd be nice if localizers can announce before JP versions come out. You have to wonder how many sales SNK USA lost because folks would just buy the JP originals. RPGs have more of a language boundary and you can gauge JP sales by waiting but still, there seems to be no point risking sales in an already niche market if you can avoid it. |
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Post by wyrdwad on May 20, 2011 17:59:06 GMT -5
That is a very good point. I don't think it applies as much to RPGs as it does to platformers, fighting games, etc., but it's still something that we should keep in mind!
-Tom
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Post by Super Orbus on May 20, 2011 19:26:50 GMT -5
XSEED (and other companies like us) aren't about to drop support for the PSP, so I wouldn't worry about that. The only thing that *might* happen over the next few years is you might end up seeing more digital-only PSP titles due to declining UMD sales -- which is unfortunate, but not entirely unexpected in a gaming system's "twilight years." But yeah, the PSP ain't dead yet, no matter what its critics may say. There's still plenty of money to be made with it, and plenty of great games to release. (: -Tom Digital only's a pretty tough sell for me. If it's digital-only Zero no Kiseki vs. no Zero no Kiseki at all, I'll probably grit my teeth and do it, but I'm resisting the all digital distribution future as hard as I can. I mostly base my judgements on the PSP's relative health on the amount of shelf space devoted to it in stores. Toys R Us seems to have largely abandoned the system. Target only gives it a small section. Gamestop seems to still carry a fair number of games, but they seem intent on cramming them all into as small a space as possible. None of this is particularly encouraging. Of course, B&M retail's not the only place to buy games anymore, so this is an incomplete picture. On that note, one alternative to consider if retail goes belly up is still doing physical sales but only through online. Online stores don't have the shelf space limitations of a physical store, so they can keep selling PSP games pretty much as long as anyone is willing to buy them at all. Of course, you still have to pay to press the discs, but I'd imagine distribution costs would be reduced if you were only selling them through (for example) Amazon. Oh, and no MHP 3rd is lame, but not that surprising. I know I started seeing Monster Hunter Freedom Unite (MHP 2nd G for those outside the US) on clearance racks in record time. Suggests it didn't do particularly well here. But knowing Capcom a MHP 3rd G is probably right around the corner. Never know - maybe we'll get that one instead. |
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Post by Feynman on May 20, 2011 19:32:36 GMT -5
Man, I love digital distribution. I like fancy physical releases too, but I have zero qualms about buying a digital-only title. I have several titles that exist on my PSP purely in digital form for the sheer convenience of it. If I want to play Strider, I can load the relevant Capcom Classics collection off my memory stick and play Strider, no need to get up and find the UMD.
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Post by Super Orbus on May 20, 2011 20:02:53 GMT -5
Allowing a situation where game distribution for a console is monopolized by a single entity (which is where this is ultimately heading) seems like a bad idea for a host of reasons. We're not there yet, but I don't want to encourage it, so I'm voting with my dollars. The same way I won't purchase DLC.
There's a number of reasons, but the biggest one is that I can't stand the idea that I can buy a game, and at some point in the future some company can just take it away from me. People on this board regularly play games from 15, 20, 25 years ago. How long do we expect Sony to continue supporting PSP PSN downloads? 5 years? 10? I'll be fairly surprised if you can still download PSN games for your PSP in 10 years. I'll be shocked if you can in 20. Even allowing that the NGP is backwards compatible, which will give them some incentive to keep it up longer than they might otherwise. At some point they'll cut off support because it's not cost effective to run it anymore. Or Sony will implode and go out of business. Either way, you're left with no (legal) recourse if you want to continue playing the games you paid for. That's what digital distribution ultimately gets you.
And I think that future is coming, whether I like it or not. But I sure don't have to support it with my money. So yeah, digital only distribution is a tough sell.
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Post by wyrdwad on May 20, 2011 20:40:54 GMT -5
Except backing up your digital title to your computer, and burning it to disc. Then, it'll still be playable for as long as you own that particular PSP. And I'm sure by the time PSN goes the way of the dodo, SOMEONE will have found a way to re-license old products so they'll work on newer machines.
Also, I don't think there's even a chance of things going digital-only for all future Sony consoles and handhelds. PSPgo flopped for exactly that reason. The NGP has physical media, and I'm sure the majority of games will be sold on it. And blu-ray discs certainly aren't going anywhere, for PS3!
The only reason you might be seeing more PSP titles go digital-only in the near future is because UMDs, cases, manuals, etc. are expensive. If you have none of those, your overhead costs are MUCH, MUCH LOWER, meaning you can get by with selling fewer copies.
Also, there are fewer restrictions placed on digital titles than on physical ones. I can't really go into detail, but trust me when I say that if you want to publish a game you're not expecting to sell gangbusters, releasing it digital-only is a MAJOR plus... and we're entering a time where it's SO major, it may even become the deciding factor. The straw that breaks the camel's back. The difference between an English release and NO English release.
I don't like it any more than anyone else, but if it means new PSP games getting released in my country even in two or three years' time... then so be it. It's a small price to pay.
-Tom
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Post by Feynman on May 20, 2011 20:44:27 GMT -5
As long as the digital software doesn't require you to log into a central server in order to activate them every time you play, I don't think the "you no longer own your game" argument holds up. A pack of games on a storage device such as a hard drive or memory stick will last a long, long time. and you can always keep backing them up to new media if you're worried about your storage failing. It's really no less safe or secure than risking a fatally scratched or lost disc or cartridge... those mediums can fail over a long enough period of time as well!
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Post by susanismyalias on May 21, 2011 7:21:53 GMT -5
But you don't really own the game as in, you can't just hop on craigslist and sell it the way you normally would. And also, as far as having the games on your memstick, you coulda just done that with any game via cfw  |
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Post by Super Orbus on May 21, 2011 8:59:14 GMT -5
Except backing up your digital title to your computer, and burning it to disc. Isn't a downloaded copy (depending on the system) generally locked to a specific console? If your system fails, you're still hosed. Maybe on the PSP you can do this, but I don't think the PS3 and 360 make things that easy. Unless we're talking about hacked consoles and breaking encryption, which is where we get back into issues of legality. With a digital copy of a game, I can basically think of two ways they can prevent you from just making a copy and putting it up online for everyone. One way is to tie it to a specific hardware device. The other way is to require you to be signed into an online service and tie it to your account. Pick your poison. I suppose my beef is less with digital distribution per se, and more with the DRM schemes that accompany it. If you remove DRM from the equation, then it just starts to look more like publishers trying to pass more costs on to consumers. "We won't give you a disc anymore - that's your problem now." Which also kind of sucks, but I wouldn't complain as much. It's not really a valid distinction anyway, since we're never going to get digital distribution with no DRM on consoles. Well, not legally anyway. Also, I don't think there's even a chance of things going digital-only for all future Sony consoles and handhelds. PSPgo flopped for exactly that reason. The NGP has physical media, and I'm sure the majority of games will be sold on it. And blu-ray discs certainly aren't going anywhere, for PS3! I have to disagree on this. I think digital-only is inevitable. Probably not next generation. And maybe not even the generation after that. But I'm pretty sure it's coming. And anyway, a fair number of games are digital-only already. Which means the problem is already here. PSPgo flopped because Sony did it in a monumentally stupid way. They tried to push digital-only onto a console that already had a large installed base of people that had been buying physical media. Furthermore, the existing hardware could already handle digital distribution just fine and it could play physical media. The Go didn't really bring anything new to the table except being smaller, and it took things away. And then to add insult to injury they turned around and asked substantially more money for it. The experience may have soured Sony on digital-only. But if so, I think they learned the wrong lesson. I'm opposed to digital distribution because I think it's bad for consumers, and probably also bad for publishers in the long run. It would probably be fantastic for Sony. At least, assuming they can keep their network up long enough for people to actually buy games.  The only reason you might be seeing more PSP titles go digital-only in the near future is because UMDs, cases, manuals, etc. are expensive. If you have none of those, your overhead costs are MUCH, MUCH LOWER, meaning you can get by with selling fewer copies. Also, there are fewer restrictions placed on digital titles than on physical ones. I can't really go into detail, but trust me when I say that if you want to publish a game you're not expecting to sell gangbusters, releasing it digital-only is a MAJOR plus... and we're entering a time where it's SO major, it may even become the deciding factor. The straw that breaks the camel's back. The difference between an English release and NO English release. I don't like it any more than anyone else, but if it means new PSP games getting released in my country even in two or three years' time... then so be it. It's a small price to pay. I think where we differ is mostly in our value judgement on this. I don't think it's a small price at all. I recognize there are economic realities at work in the market. But a line has to be drawn somewhere, and for me, I think this is it. On the other hand, I'm not made of stone. For the right game I might turn hypocrite.  EDIT: I don't want to derail the Falcom thread with this discussion. We can do another thread about this sometime if people want to. Getting back to Falcom, have there been any hints about what they're doing after Ao no Kiseki? |
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salsacaek
Full Member
Your fists of evil are about to meet my steel wall of niceness
Posts: 113
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Post by salsacaek on May 21, 2011 10:52:34 GMT -5
But knowing Capcom a MHP 3rd G is probably right around the corner. Never know - maybe we'll get that one instead. Supposedly they have that coming to the PSP2 (I really don't like the NGP name... D: ) already. Guess we'll see how that launches. If it's really expensive, I don't see it taking off here either. MH picked up here a bit thanks to Tri, too. |
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Post by wyrdwad on May 21, 2011 11:37:25 GMT -5
Orbus: You're correct that downloaded PSP games are console-locked, but again, I think if Sony ever took down PSN permanently or anything, they'd probably release some means of transferring the license for old PSN titles to newer systems. I see no reason why they wouldn't, in fact. And if THEY didn't, you know SOMEONE would, and I for one would have no qualms about taking advantage of it -- questionable legality or no, it's not like you'd be pirating anything. (:
And back on topic:
Another Ys game is currently in development, and according to Falcom's president, "it may surprise people." (: Also, an unknown NGP game is in development, which may or may not be that Ys game.
-Tom
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Post by lanceboyle94 on May 21, 2011 18:13:08 GMT -5
In Falcom-related news, I got (read: downloaded) Ys Strategy for my DS yesterday. Haven't tried it out yet, although judging by the screenshots it may be an SRPG a la Shining Force, or Onimusha Tactics and Front Mission.
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Post by Ganelon on May 21, 2011 18:14:40 GMT -5
It's an RTS and there's a very good reason it's been forgotten...
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Post by wyrdwad on May 21, 2011 18:49:00 GMT -5
Yeah, I haven't played it myself, but I do know that it's been dubbed "Ys Tragedy" by all the members of the Ancient Land of Ys forum. (:
Happens a lot when third-party companies try their hand at making games using a Falcom license. I think only Hudson has ever really had success with that.
-Tom
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Post by lanceboyle94 on May 21, 2011 18:49:23 GMT -5
It's an RTS and there's a very good reason it's been forgotten... Aw, shit... Maybe I'll just stick with Front Mission for my DS SRPG fix. |
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