Random Gaming Thoughts

[BogusMeatFactory]

I don't even know what Mega Man Legends is.

WHAAA??! Mega Man Legends was a 3-D Third Person Sandbox style Action-RPG. You play as Mega Man, who is an archeologist of sorts, exploring ruins of an ancient civilization trying to learn the whereabouts of his parents. You can buy new weapons and equipment, upgrade them with salvaged parts have a Good/Evil Morality system and tons of extra mini-games and activities hidden away in the games. The first game had some severely flawed controls, but the game itself was incredibly fun to play and there was a lot to see and do. Tons of replayability in the New Game Plus mode and really was ahead of its times.

The second game improves dramatically with better controls and a lot more content. People poo-poo on the series because it isn't traditional Mega-Man, but I found its story, art style and sandbox really enjoyable. Definitely one of my all time favorite game series!

[Exhuminator]

Forget it Ack and Bogus. The game came out after 1997*. It simply doesn't exist in Bone's world.



*In the USA anyway.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Hey man I'm playing Ys I & II Chronicles+ - that's only a couple of years old!

I actually have a Mega Man Legends strategy guide but not the game. My brother must have owned it at one point. I will check it out someday.

[Exhuminator]

Considering how much you liked Threads Of Fate and Gurumin, I honestly believe the Legends games would be right up your alley.

[Gunstar Green]

Unless Mighty No. 9 is going to be terrible and they want the money in advance of that fallout. I do have to say I'm feeling a little anxious, none of the gameplay videos have really impressed me.

I've played the demo, and it does play like classic Mega Man to me. I don't think you should be too worried.

Good to hear.

It's also bad timing, I think people are fatigued by all these high-profile gaming Kickstarters recently. It's also puzzling that they're doing it before Mighty No. 9 is out since surely a completed, released product would give people more confidence to back future projects.

The inXile guys started the Torment KS before Wasteland 2 was out and then Bard's Tale IV before Torment is out. They made a point of explaining why they were doing such a thing specifically because of the concerns you're raising. From a resource perspective it makes sense to start the next project before the first project is finished; not every position has a role throughout the development of a single game. So you either need to pipeline your work so that you keep everyone busy or go through cycles of hiring and firing (which is miserable for everyone).

That all makes perfect sense.

[RCBH928]

I wonder what Sony did to get so much support

They treated third party developers with respect and offered a low financial barrier to entry on their new platform.

but if you were a developer, would you really risk something like FF VII on the newcomer over the dominant Nintendo and the second most popular Sega? Its kind of like Google releasing a new home console to compete against 360/PS4 and Square just gave them exclusivity.

it worked, but it took a lot of courage from Square and others.

In other words they ate the cost and the Playstation brand functioned at a loss for many years.

I always heard Microsoft and Sony lost and never made money on PS and Xbox. I just don't believe it. Why would you compete so hard and drain resources on a non-profitable business?

Maybe they lost on hardware sales but they made a ton from royalties

[Snatch1414]

I always heard Microsoft and Sony lost and never made money on PS and Xbox. I just don't believe it. Why would you compete so hard and drain resources on a non-profitable business?

Maybe they lost on hardware sales but they made a ton from royalties

Yeah I can buy that they weren't making money off the hardware but they were making money SOMEwhere.

[Exhuminator]

but if you were a developer, would you really risk something like FF VII on the newcomer over the dominant Nintendo and the second most popular Sega?

If said developer was Squaresoft and they had just had a major falling out with Nintendo, while simultaneously being courted by Sony, then the answer was yes. I'm not so sure it was courage as much as it was spite.

[prfsnl_gmr]

I always heard Microsoft and Sony lost and never made money on PS and Xbox. I just don't believe it. Why would you compete so hard and drain resources on a non-profitable business?

Maybe they lost on hardware sales but they made a ton from royalties

This. They sold the consoles at a loss (for a while), but they more than made up their losses with revenue from game sales, licensing, etc. (They made a tremendous amount of money, in fact.) It is also likely that they eventually made money on console sales by decreasing the cost of production. (Parts that were expensive in 1995 were not that expensive by 1999.)

From what I have read, this has been the business model for video game consoles for some time.

[MrPopo]

Except for Nintendo, which until very recently used older parts to sell consoles and handhelds at a profit. The other benefit there is that people were more familiar with the peculiarities of the older hardware and could make it dance to their tune more easily.