Let's face it: Marketing is a huge problem for many video games, especially with game development costs increasing (not helped by the fact that many have expectations of their games selling like the next Mass Effect or Call of Duty game if they dump enough money into it).
However, many video game commercials these days seem quite forgettable. It wasn't like this years ago, when some companies took themselves less seriously and just, well, had fun with their commercials.
A prime example? Ones like these:
While it's hard to pin down exact numbers, at least as of 1997, the Saturn had sold around 7.6 million units worldwide, with about 5 million coming from Japan. Huh, I wonder why it did so poorly in America.
I'm sure we can attribute a lot of things to differences in gaming cultures across the globe, but I think one lasting Segata Sanshiro left with us is this: Having a mascot that will threaten to beat you up if you go outside to play instead of playing video games can be very effective.
If nothing else, it'd sure be funny to air right after a commercial for The Biggest Loser.
Lately, as I combed through my gaming library, I've been thinking about games that just don't receive a lot of love. While I could list off countless titles (instead, I'll opt to write about them at a later date), let's focus on one for now: Resonance of Fate, one of Sega's creations for both the XBox and PS3. Truthfully, I finished this game quite some time ago (and even made a gift of it to my good friend Nick), but oddly never got around to writing it.
Well, it's about time to remedy that, don't you think?
Ayn has already touched briefly on the passing of E3, which gave a
decidedly underwhelming performance this year. Gaming's biggest show
seemed to elicit a resounding "that's it?" from the fans. While some of
it was justified, one thing jumped out at me after Ayn linked me to the
presentation for it. Sony's new peripheral, the Wonderbook.
Wonderbook
is, in appearance, a physical book that will be used in conjunction
with the Playstation Eye (remember the Playstation Eye?) and the Move
controller. Utilizing the same Augmented Reality technology we've seen
cropping up on other systems and even comic books these days, you'll be
able to actually interact with stories as you flip each virtual page.
Here's the official trailer;
And here's the tech demo from E3:
Go ahead and watch that until at least five minutes in to find out what Wonderbook has in store for us first.
Now, a brief sidebar. Here was my reaction when Ayn first told me about this new innovation.
David
Oh yeah.
This'll revolutionize the industry.
Aw man.
I just realized that if this were 20 years ago, I would think this was the coolest thing EVER.
Aw man.
I just realized that it can be 20 years ago and I'll still be a person.
Ayn
And sadly, unlike Bruce Wayne in Batman Beyond, you can never be 20 years younger and still be the goddamn Batman.
David
Aw maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan
My first reaction was to write this off as a cheap gimmick for kids and
another bid by Sony to make the Move relevant in an era where the Wii
dominates console sales and the Kinect lets you do everything the Move
can without a controller. Then I realized, quickly as you can see from
the IMs above, that my younger self would be in vehement disagreement
with the me of today about what would and wouldn't be fun to play with.
"Sure, I don't need the magic book, I'll just keep playing my favorite game; Shoe."
E3 is in its concluding days, and while I wish that I could say me, David, and Kyle were important enough to go, sadly that's not the case (alright, well maybe not for Kyle: He's been there a few times, if I recall correctly). Anyway, as I perused the images and stories of E3, I came across this:
What is this I don't even.
Naturally, I decided to show the image to my best friend, Nick, who had this to say:
Nick2:32 pm ................. Fuck this Gen.
If I'm grateful for anything this E3, it's that few things looked exciting enough to create more of a backlog for me in the future, which means you'll be seeing some more activity around here.
What are your thoughts? Share your impressions, satisfactions, or dissatisfaction with us in the comments section.
Until next time (which I promise will be sooner), keep playing.
Hi there, my name is Kyle, but I'm pretty much known as "dropslash" around the internets. I was invited a while to take part in writing for The Backlog, but I'm just now getting around to it. Hey, I was busy! Anyway, I've been involved in the video game industry for about 12 years now and some of what I'll be writing here won't be exactly about playing video games as much as it will be about games and the industry in general. Such is true for the post you'll find below. Enjoy!
Ok, so this is a post I’ve been meaning to write for a while now. It’s going to be long and it’s going to be about a topic that is both generally universal and intensely personal. Music. Specifically, video game music, both original and inspired by, some of which will be included along the way. So feel free to fire up some of your favorite tunes, or jam on some of the ones here, grab a snack, and let's jump in.
I know I said that Tales of Graces f was too good to play, but after making a poor attempt to go back to Tales of Vesperia, as well as hearing about the Enabler's adventures in the game, I decided that I'd pick Graces back up.
You know what one of the best things about this game has been so far, aside from the combat system?
The win quotes.
I'll keep my post short this week and leave you with these these gems, while I go back to playing:
In the context of this post, that has a dual meaning: Radiant Historia, which recently saw a reprint, is a game that, in spite of utilizing time-travel as a central story mechanic, does not try to beat you over the head with overly complex combat systems, or a robust cast of characters with overly complicated storylines, daddy issues, or focus on vengeance. In trying to do less than many of the RPGs out there do, it manages to be a thoroughly engrossing game from start to finish that feels like one of the old "Choose Your Own Adventure" books.
The other meaning? Rather than spend an entire post telling you about how much I loved the game and my experience with it, I'll put it this way:
This blog is about decent, and even excellent games that are pushed into the abyss of unfinished games for a variety of reasons.
Radiant Historia is a game that never made it to my backlog. I picked it up, and within a week, clocked about 40 hours and completed it.
