Jimquisition: Launch Splooge

Silentpony_v1legacy

Alleged Feather-Rustler
Jun 5, 2013
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I'd go one step further than Jim. Who cares what the system is doing 6+ months from release? If I'm forking over $400 bucks and paying monthly subscriptions I want to know what its doing 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 YEARS down the road. Granted its unrealistic to ask what games will be made half a decade from now, but a console is an investment. I played my PS2 well into the next generation and I imagine I'll be playing my 360 well into the upcoming one. I want a console that developers are excited about for longer than a year. I want Sony to say 'don't worry, we have a dozen amazing games slated for release over the next few years." that's more reassuring to me than buying it out of pocket and hoping they stick with it long enough for a good game. Consoles aren't like PCs where the instant you buy one its out of date. The PS4/Xbone will be around for YEARS, not months or weeks. They need to show of they're thinking long term and short term. Good launch titles and even better games down the road. That's called an investment. Bring us in with a few launch titles, sure, but offer us something for sticking with the console and shelling out so much money for it in the first place.
Have a new COD on launch day, I don't care. I won't play it, but I'll get the system if you show Mass Effect 4 or a Battletech game. Hell, make a sequel to Space Marine and I'll probably get the console.
Buying a console for the launch titles is like buying a new tv for the free DVDs that come in the box.
 

mike1921

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Oct 17, 2008
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I don't understand why it matters how much they shoot their load originally. Yes of course they shouldn't give games a stupid launch dead line if the game's not fucking ready but I normally buy games that are months to years old anyway so they're cheaper. If they were the same game I'd prefer all the games out at once, that way I can play the games I really want now and the games I want but not enough to pay $60 for will be available for a price I'm willing to play when I want them.

Of course cook the games to perfection, but they're not food, they don't rot over time. If people are too dumb to not buy a game for $30 because it was released months ago, when they'd pay $60 if it was released now, I blame them. People are too obsessed with new-ness. Like besides a few titles (bioshock, dishonored, any new tales game) I mostly play triple A games on a 6-18 month lag.
 

Dragonbums

Indulge in it's whiffy sensation
May 9, 2013
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But like you just said Jim, It's a catch 22.

If Nintendo released a WiiU launchup that consisted of Pikmin3, Zombie U, Wonderful 101, and Super Mario U, and that's all people heard the console is going to have at start, people will whine that it has no games.

Similarly, if they went and had a "huge" lineup of games and it turns out that most either ditched or were just ports...then...yeah we would say the WiiU has no games.

While Nintendo E3 did show a host of released games, I was excited and upset at those titles.
Excited because many of those games are coming to the 3DS or are cross platforms.
Upset because many of those games are for the 3DS and cross platforms.
WiiU NEEDS EXCLUSIVES. It needs them so bad right now. Because if one has to choose between a 3DS version of the game and the WiiU version of the game- one look at the software lineup and they will go for the 3DS one. Make the ports much later. Your 3DS is now one fat happy pig with their game lineups you can relax on that front a bit.

For the Vita- game launch titles are the smallest of the problems the Vita hasn't conquered yet. Sorry Sony, but your going to have to take the painful bullet Nintendo did, and drop the price of your hardware and memory cards. Especially the memory cards. You were still losing to the 3DS when the Nintendo hardware was at it's worse. No your just some forgotten ghost on your single shelf display at Gamestop while the 3DS section gets bigger by the minute.

The 3DS stigma of having no games has all but gone with the wind. As I said earlier they really fattened up that bank this year. Along with the price cut, it's a pretty rad deal.
The WiiU can do the same, but they are going to really have to step it up next year.
At the moment they are literally fighting themselves. They want more people to buy WiiU's, but they keep displaying the 3DS as the better deal.
It's literally a win-lose situation with themselves, and...it's quite a bit embarrassing to watch.
 

medv4380

The Crazy One
Feb 26, 2010
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Wilco86 said:
There's no way in hell any future console ever will be a dead ringer for the consistent strength of PS2's library (as the generation cycle probably gets shorter and shorter, and people start to look for the next gen earlier), but one can always hope.

Oh, and we do praise you, Jim.
We can only hope that the cycle gets shorter, but that's unlikely. The cycle was a consistent 5 year cycle up until this cycle. We're starting to hit an upper bound of the hardware curve so you shouldn't expect exponential growth anymore. The moment the systems went to multicore it was a death sentence for the short cycles. Expect a long nearly unending cycles sometime in the future.
 

Merklyn236

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Jun 21, 2013
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Haven't they pushed themselves into this corner though? Sony with the PS3 abandoned backward compatibility (well, not ENTIRELY, but close enough) meaning that with the exception of launch titles, you had no games to play if you went out and purchased the console on launch day. MS did a little better with the Xbox 360, but still only had backward compatibility for the more popular titles (and even then with problems from what I understand).

But with both the Sony and MS refusing to allow you to keep your existing library (assuming that you trade-in your current system in favor of the newest one, which considering the economy will likely be at least, what, 50% of all launch time purchases?), there would be a twisted logic in thinking that the only way to do that would be to give you a huge launch day library to ease the pain for you - as opposed to making you remember that you traded in the 20-30 titles you had for your old system for your new console and one or two games.

Of course they could have done the better idea and included backward compatibility...but then users might have not splurged on a ton of titles in the first year of having their new shiny console, and where's the profit in that?

Bitter? You bet I am.
 

Xisin

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Sep 1, 2009
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WaitWHAT said:
It's, uh, good to see that Jim's really celebrating the repeal of DOMA in this video. Especially in some of the....images.
Lmao I'm glad I wasn't the only one to notice. I was just waiting for the next time Jim said an equivalent word to release...

I couldn't agree more. I think the consoles should launch with a handful of great titles and have a steady release schedule. It's not like most people can buy the new console and all twenty games.
 

tardcore

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Jan 15, 2011
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Well Jim I agree that a company shooting its whole load at launch and then leaving the rest of the year empty is a bad idea. BUT I think the true heart of the issue you speak of what gamers truly want and what the gaming industry really needs is LESS SHIT GAMES. Now I know you addressed this saying that companies trying to launch a console with tons of games available leads to shoddy games, and I do think there is a nugget of truth to that, however I think the real issue of gaming libraries being mostly crap is more down to publisher apathy than publisher ability, or their publishing schedule.

The line from the song Not Now John comes to mind "Who cares what its about as long as the kids go". It seems these days that any publisher be it either PC, Console, Handheld, whatever has a small core of cherished IPs and then a huge stable of filler crap games. Publishers seem to be banking on their main titles to pull the weight of the sales and then let all the little crap titles fill in any missing spots. So I feel that until these companies start paying more attention to quality control and stop green lighting games that they know are pointless mindwank (well and spending the brunt of their budgets on a handful of titles) we the gamers are damned to a library of games that are mostly shit regardless of what release schedule we get.
 

Catfood220

Elite Member
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Dec 21, 2010
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And that is why I am not buying a PS4 until at least a year and a half after launch, by that time it should have enough games that I want to play. The only console I've brought at launch was the Gamecube and it was torturous having to wait for games to play on it.
 

Tono Makt

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Mar 24, 2012
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So in other words, Jim is advising that instead of a Friday night with a large number of ladies of negotiable affection, we should instead inquire as to whether or not several of those ladies of negotiable affection would be able to provide a more enjoyable (and perhaps even higher quality) service if they were given a day or two of rest? Hmmm...

I suppose if we were to gently nudge the market in that manner, they would perhaps provide their services for slightly longer periods of time and may not have trouble with day one performance nor may not decide to retire early after attempting to perform the deeds sometimes described in a telling of (in)famous "The Aristocrats" joke in order to differentiate herself from the rest of the ladies. (While Ms. Spore's services may not have been the most popular, I do imagine that there are many who are quite miffed that her services are no longer available. Particularly those who continue to pay for her services even though her employer is well aware of her retirement.)

I fear, however, that the lower quarterly returns may cause their employers to forsake such a plan and continue on with business as usual. Alas, long term growth and survival is not often found in their cunning plans.
 

piclemaniscool

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Dec 19, 2008
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The problem, which Jim touches upon as well, is that launch games are usually shit. The reason companies now want to shovel out as many launch games as possible is because it will give them a higher chance of hitting a mark above mediocrity. Would you rather have 20 launch titles with 2 good games and then nothing for a couple of months, or no good games for the same span of time? Jim's plan only works if you assume every game is GOOD. I'd say that's even more delusional than the companies' mindsets.
 

Yuuki

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Mar 19, 2013
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And yet I can't help but think that shooting backwards compatibility in the foot continues to be a fucking retarded practice that could greatly help alleviate launch issues. Don't like launch games? No problem, just play an older game without having to constantly switch between consoles!
 

Mr. Q

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Apr 30, 2013
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Well said, Jim. I'd be more happy if the titles for a new system were spread out to give both the players and the developers more breathing space. It's time for the industry to focus more on quality and less on quantity.
 

Jimothy Sterling

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Apr 18, 2011
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Oh yeah, definitely...
It's a bit silly what they try to do but I can't help but understand their efforts for showing: Hey we have someone for everyone in DAY 1! As to attract as many possible buyers. It is a stupid thing, but I think its hard to deny how many of us crave the new even when it might not be the best.. I lash myself for that.. but it still happens..

Also.. as someone else noted, I noticed a rather odd fixation with David Boreanaz and some ...suspiciously gay porn imagery... hey no problem with that but it caught me a bit off-guard.

Merklyn236 said:
Haven't they pushed themselves into this corner though? Sony with the PS3 abandoned backward compatibility (well, not ENTIRELY, but close enough) meaning that with the exception of launch titles, you had no games to play if you went out and purchased the console on launch day....
I don't understand what you mean by that, the first ps3 models had HARDWARE backwards compatibility... It was one of the reasons I bought a 60gb model day one... It still works great up to date.

anyhow!
thank dog for Jim.
 

Terramax

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Jan 11, 2008
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Well said Jim. Don't always agree with you dude, but this one was spot on.

I love my Vita, but I'll admit that with 30+ games available to me soon after launch, I felt overwhelmed by the games available, and in the next coming months, besides Gravity Rush, there was nothing being released for the system for about 2-3 months.

Now, the Vita is getting at least one good game released every other week (usually download only, sadly), and that's good enough for me.

Kudos for adding Shinobido 2 footage also, a game which I LOVE on the Vita. However, I worry you've added footage of that game in there as an example of a shoddy title (?)
 

chiefohara

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Sep 4, 2009
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This is why id wait 6 months to buy a console, more games and the launch titles are cheaper. You also have the benefit of reviews and public feedback so you can cherry pick your initial library
 

Mahoshonen

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Jul 28, 2008
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Another important point, a consistent release schedule allows less-than-sterling games to get exposure. I was an N64 owner, and had a lot of fun with games like Turok and Shadows of the Empire. Had these been launched right along side GoldenEye, I probably would have either ignored them or been resentful for wasting my money on them.