State of the Shoot "Em Up

[lotekindustries]

This is an EDGE magazine article I thought you’d all be interested in:

http://www.edge-online.com/magazine/sta ... 80%98em-up

Have Fun!

[Doctor Fugue]

Hmmm...he does mention the state of shooters is not as bad as it seems, but I think it is quite a bit better than most of the article implies. There are more arcade releases of shooters in the past few years than there were in the early 2000s. And if you count the massive amount of doujins, there are way more games being released now.

I also would have liked more on the relationship between declining arcades and shooters, since shooters belong in arcades, and only an arcade mentality will see their glory.

It is interesting that at least one developer believes digital services are getting in the way of games being released. I would certainly rather there be ONLY retail releases, and at full price. Perhaps then we wouldn't get the glut of half-assed remakes and new games that plainly suck.

Of course tastes have changed, but I think we should be thankful that STG have survived at all...and relatively intact. I thought the plague that is known as FPS would kill shooters forever.

And another thing: I would hope that current developers realize that shooter fans are completely devoted and willing to pay through the nose to play them. The people who enjoy them only once in a while will never be able to sustain development of quality titles. So, if you alienate the core audience by making them more accessible, the genre will die. Look at Star Trek: Enterprise. They wanted to make it more accessible, and the core audience was mainly alienated; but also the people who never really liked Trek wouldn't watch either since they couldn't get past the Trek stigma.

Know your audience, and make it for them! You will only rarely convert an STG into the really popular stream of games.

[RemyC]

I believe the future of Shmups on next-gen consoles is in a hybrid of genres.
For example:
-Sonic the Hedgehog does his usual platforming thing, then turns into Super sonic and starts flying around, bullet hell commences.
-Some starwars game: Youre some kind of rebel commander, blast your way through levels, tell your troops what to do, its time to go to space. (if you dont know what comes next your not a shooter fan)
-ECO THE DOLPHIN (yes i went there): Robots have taken over the world, and its up to Eco to save the day. Do your usual eco thing, but now robots with lasers are firing at you.
-Metroid. Samus blasts around space in her newly found First person action. Whats that? time to go to another planet? OH NO WE'RE UNDER ATTACK? thats cool, cause this is a SHMUP game aswell and the person controlling me can handle it.

So many popular titles can easily adapt some kind of Shmup action, in a variety of different ways, and styles.

[Hatta]

What does STG stand for?

[timewarpgamer]

lotekindustries, thanks for bringing that article to my attention. Great read, and excellent ammunition for debate.

IMHO, the future of the shoot 'em up appears to be at a turning point. On one level, you've got the repacking and re-release of so many classic franchises (i.e. Ikaruga and Rez on Xbox Live Arcade, and Lords of Thunder and Gate of Thunder for the Wii Virtual console) -- definitely a promising development. Most importantly, these games can be downloaded outside of Japan, giving the shooter market a chance to expand. At the same time, though, virtually no one is creating new (non-franchise) shoot 'em ups, and those new titles that do appear can't stand up to the legendary releases of the golden era of shooters. Hardcore fans and developers will always keep the genre on life support, but if the recent revivals and re-releases of some of the best shoot 'em ups don't spark new interest in the genre and expand the market, I fear that my favorite style of game will become little more prevalent than beat 'em ups.

Now when's Radiant Silvergun getting rereleased?

[Doctor Fugue]

What does STG stand for?

ShooTing Game

[ZenLogikos]

Now when's Radiant Silvergun getting rereleased?

99.9% likely to NEVER be rereleased. I'd say a remade version is more likely, but not by much.

The cost and time to develop a port would most likely never be recouped for a company like Treasure. Ikaruga was much more mainstream and didn't sell that well on XBLA. Add to that recent statements from Treasure about projects for 360 being put on hold...and, well...there are many more reasons why it won't happen, but I can't think of even one reason why it would.

That's why I finally broke down and paid through the nose for one.

[RackGaki]

Ikaruga sold more copies on Xbox Live Arcade than it did on the Dreamcast or Gamecube, didn't it? I have to check the online leaderboards again to be certain, but I think it hit six digits.

[ZenLogikos]

The DC print run was only 50k, and the Cube wasn't the best-selling console, so I wouldn't be surprised if the XBLA version sold the most. Keep in mind though, that's at only $10 a pop. Also, the leaderboards are worldwide, so whatever the number is - that's everyone. Nothing else to be added.

The point is, Ikaruga was very easily ported to Cube, and probably even easier to port to 360 (that's why JP developers love it, over PS3), but RS is on Saturn hardware; notoriously difficult to work with, and no other port yet exists. That's why I say a remake is more likely.

[RackGaki]

It's a shame that the arcade board it was on is so similar to the Sega Saturn, too. Otherwise that could be a feasible route, should they ever decide to remake it.

A big upside on the Ikaruga port, though, is the high profit margins developers get. Even at $10, if they are getting 33% (the minimum developer's cut on XBLA) it could be $300,000+ dollars. Still not shabby for a port.

However, I agree with the fundamentals of what you are talking about - RS would not get these numbers.