[:plant:] E3 2013: "Xbox, turn on PS4 so I can actually play games"

Spartan Assault is Microsoft's attempt to get anyone interested in Windows Phone. And maybe I'll care about Phantom Pain when we see something substantive about the gameplay besides writhing on hospital floors.

Supposedly Nintendo is recalling the Wii U Basic during the middle of the month. Potentially eliminating that model and dropping the price of the Deluxe. Would be something they would talk about at their special E3 Nintendo Direct. If so, bring on the Wii U Ambassadorship. I'll take free games for a console that I have (inexplicably) been very happy with so far.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Scent of a Grundle

Not sure what games they'd give out, though - the Virtual Console list of games is still pretty small.

Kind of moot since the whole point of the 3DS Ambassador program was that we were getting new Virtual Console games for free before they even hit the Shop (if at all).

There's nowhere I can't reach.

It's official: The next Super Smash Bros. will be shown off at Nintendo Direct E3 in a little less than five days. Copy and paste that bitch into Google Translate if you're unsure.

One thing to look forward to, at least. So now to reignite years-long speculation on what third-party characters will make it in.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Fluffykitten McGrundlepuss

Konami seem almost ashamed of the Suikoden series now

I will eat my hat if they ever announce a new numbered Suikoden, and to be honest I wouldn't be hugely shocked if we never saw another game period. Konami has admitted that the team that made the original games were broken up years ago, and I recall someone there saying that they "don't know how to make RPGs anymore," which has required them to hire outside teams to work on their projects.

Konami's business is surprisingly diverse outside of video gaming, and they honestly seem uninterested in expanding much beyond their core franchises (Metal Gear, Castlevania, Yu-Gi-Oh!; two of which have seen recent games outsourced). And with its sales consistently middling, it's a really bad situation for Suikoden to be in.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by SailorDaravon

The head guy responsible for the story and direction of the Suikoden games left partway through development on Suikoden 3; it's why everything after that was either a prequel or other dimension bullshit. Unless they get him back I don't want a Suikoden 6, because I'm confident they'll fuck it up. Hell, they'd probably fuck it up anyway, but I'd at least be willing to give it a shot if he came back I guess.

Yoshitaka Murayama, and he actually left very late into development of Suikoden III (possibly under more amicable circumstances than originally believed). He's actually been out of the video game industry for a while as far as anyone can tell; he started a company called Blue Moon Studio and did a game called 10,000 Bullets for PS2, and that was about it. Pretty much been off the radar since. He seems like (a far less important) Shigesato Itoi, in the sense that video games were just a medium for him to tell a story. But for him, when it became too difficult to use it as a medium, he stopped telling stories that way. It's a shame.

Suikoden V did try its hand at an intricate story (tying in to Suikoden II and even Suikogaiden at one point), and got it done... acceptably. I wouldn't be against Suikoden VI, but they seem to insist that the only way to get new fans is to free themselves of the tremendous amount of background history. Which reminds me, I still need to buy the Gensou Suikoden Encyclopedia. I wonder if they've updated it recently?

I was speaking idiomatically.

Just finished preordering it as well, though it's mainly just insurance in case something baller is coming out at launch. Not doing another wait outside. Gotta admit, I did not see Sony actually learning from the turribad PS3. Microsoft better be seriously reconsidering some things after tonight.

Now then, let's see what Nintendo has in store in the morning. C'mooooon Ambassador Program and X confirmed for 2013.

Originally Posted by SimDaddyGT

Have you considered sucking all the dicks?

Alright, Skills.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by BucPride

Confirmed for 2014

FELIPE NO

Really surprised with how well Sony came out of this. They've definitely got my interest piqued. My Live Gold doesn't expire until March or May, which might work out well. Should everyone transition over to PSN at or near release, I can use Live still for any games that might launch after that point. Though, yeah, once I get a PS4, I am not renewing my Gold membership.

As long as PSN chat is systemwide like Live chat, I will be okay with moving over.

Originally Posted by SailorDaravon

Nintendo has solidified the Wii U as a Gamecube 2 - they have a small selection of titles that look great, but that's pretty much it.

If that's how you're qualifying it, then it's not the Gamecube 2, it's like... the Nintendo 64 4. "Excellent first-party games but a small selection of third-party stuff that's any good" has been par for the course for a long time. The Wii was just the only one to smash sales records despite it.

To be honest, the Wii U could be a dedicated X player and I would probably be content. God damn, why is it not 2014 yet? Probably because we still need to get the Wonderful 101.

YouTube Video

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Certainly, this does eliminate some of the biggest issues I had with the device. It leaves me torn a little bit, actually. I honestly don't think the spec differences Daravon mentioned are gonna mean a damn thing in the end-- publishers on the whole are going to develop multiplatform, so games are going to be remarkably similar. The controller looks great, which is a big deal to me.

I do like a lot of the non-gaming features of the Xbone, but honestly, that Kinect is killing me. I have no space for Kinect gaming in the bedroom, and speaking/gesturing commands is not going to warrant a hundred-dollar premium over the PS4. I think the cost and that, ultimately, I am a JRPG faggot are still gonna steer me toward a PS4 over a Bone for now. Maybe I can be convinced before launch with something impressive, but for now... Eh.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Mystery Priest Hits Romantic Dunk

This is what I've been saying for ages. On a PC the DRM is not that big of a deal as you have options to bypass it if you ever have problems with, say, a legit bought copy refusing to start or something. You can try a game (illegally) before deciding for yourself whether you think the developer deserves your money for it or not.

I dunno man, the argument "It's not a good feature list because I can't pirate to test the waters or when I don't like the DRM" is kind of a flimsy one. Don't get me wrong though, I agree that there were some genuinely neat features that were overshadowed by user-hostile regulations that made it unpalatable.

I wonder if Microsoft could have struck a better balance between what they were going to do and what they're doing now? To be honest, I was only genuinely offended by forced check-ins. I try not to buy used games for the usual reasons you hear (the developers of good games see none of the profit; Gamestop is a shitty, parasitic company), so I'm not sure if I would have cared much about the licenses that had to be transferred when selling a game.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I'm not sure how that makes things any better. He just told us what reasonable people already knew-- Microsoft wasn't stomping on our balls for the sake of stomping on them; they were stomping on our balls because they don't trust us to not share our one purchased game with 20 friends.

Doesn't change the fact that they were stomping on our balls.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by SailorDaravon

Also it turns out that from multiple reliable sources (MS will never verify either way, because they have no reason to) that the 10 person family game sharing thing was only for 60 minute demos and not the full game. It's been hilarious how for a day or so there was this subset of the internet and press (Gizmondo I think in particular) that was blaming everyone saying that we destroyed the best feature of the system and were holding back innovation...and it turns out all that we were holding back was demos. This continues to be good times.

If by "multiple reliable sources," you mean "one guy on Pastebin claiming to be a disgruntled engineer." I don't buy it. Besides the goddamn absurdity of this source, why would this guy who's mad about us pissing away the future let slip that Family Sharing is that fucking weak?

EDIT: Just did a bit of digging. Aaron Greenberg and Marc Whitten (two high-level Xbox executives at Microsoft) have said on Twitter that the Pastebin writer is full of shit. Could be lying. I get the feeling they probably aren't though.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Christ, I forgot how much of a fucking hippie you are. Stick it to those executive fat cats, man.

"Microsoft won't confirm or deny it, since they have no reason to."
"They just denied it."
"Well you can't trust them anyway since they're corporate talking heads, so I'm going to place my trust in PEOPLE OF THE INTERNET

End quote.

I don't really care either way seeing as Family Sharing is gone regardless and none of us were going to Bone this next generation (...wait.). In fact, I hope you guys are right. Would be much happier knowing that this is a lame feature dropped to return full rights to the user again. But this sourcing is so beyond retarded and unprofessional that I just can't get behind it.

EDIT: Upon rereading my initial response to Daravon, I sounded pretty condescending. I apologize for that Daravon; that wasn't my intention.

I was speaking idiomatically.