Random Gaming Thoughts

[Exhuminator]

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.

[pepharytheworm]

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.

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

[the7k]

Nintendo had pissed off a lot of companies with their BS back in those days. They were perfectly ready to hop off. Add to that the N64 going cartridge format which limited devs ability to do certain things (video cut scenes, higher quality audio) as well as increased the price of manufacturing games compared to CDs, it was just the perfect time for third parties to leave Nintendo behind.

[Exhuminator]

the Playstation brand functioned at a loss for many years

I know this was true for the beginning of the PS2 era. But was the PS1 era also unprofitable for the company? I had read that in the year 2000, 70% of the company's profits were coming from its gaming division.

As for the PS1 era and third parties; Sony offered profit-sharing arrangements for third parties, as well as tons of developer tools, the possibility of mature rated games to target an older demographic not being courted by Nintendo, and all the benefits of the CD-ROM format. These were important factors in attracting third party developers to their platform versus the N64.

[Kidpanda]

Nintendo flat out pissed the two companies that held the OG rights for CDs. Sony and Philips? Yea, you're not using any optical media guys till Panasonic comes along and creates the mini DVD standard. Hell, they couldn't even get DVDs back during the GC era...same people owned the rights to that too. Nintendo really shot themselves in the foot.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

If I haven't played Mass Effect 1 and 2 can I jump into 3 and have a good time with it?

[BogusMeatFactory]

If I haven't played Mass Effect 1 and 2 can I jump into 3 and have a good time with it?

The wii u version has a big synopsis of the other 2 games and asks you the big decisions that shape the game. If you are not playing on the wii u then you need to play the first two. Still think playing the first two would be a good idea.

[Sload Soap]

If I haven't played Mass Effect 1 and 2 can I jump into 3 and have a good time with it?

I wouldn't myself. ME3 starts kind of in media res and a lot of the story points will be close to meaningless for someone unfamiliar with the previous games. You might also get a nasty shock should you want to go back to Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 by how differently (read: worse) the combat feels.

To be sure you'd have a good time though as ME3 is still a blast gameplay wise. It's just you might spend a lot of time being confused and disconnected from a decent amount of the story and it is a very story driven series.

Put it this way: would you watch Return of the Jedi first?

[Gunstar Green]

If you're interested in a new Mega Man Legends game, this is about as close as we're going to get for a while:

Not feeling this one. Most people who wanted Legends 3 wanted to see the conclusion of that story not an alternate dimension reboot. Stuff like Mighty No. 9 and Bloodstained work because those expy characters are perfectly fine stand-ins since the games they're copying weren't really about story.

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.

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.

[Ack]

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.