Phantasy Star Universe screens
Apparently the nondisclosure agreement on the closed PC beta of Phantasy Star Universe has lapsed, and someone has posted a shit-ton of screen shots in an open directory. The character customization looks awesome; the graphics are pretty, the art direction is gorgeous, and the areas look quite a bit more expansive than in Phantasy Star Online.
I am a HUGE PSO fan-- it's one of my favorite games ever, and something I put hundreds of hours into across different platforms. This looks like a nice evolution of the gameplay, with a nice new style. Also apparently the single-player game will be more fleshed out, with its own 40+ hour story.
I'm super excited about this one.
posted by JC! @ 11:02 PM
2 Comments:
Dunno. Convince me.
Okay, now that I got 'round to it, here's my take on the Wiik:
As far as marketing is concerned, Nintendo doesn't give a damn about the hardcore gamer. Branding is about image, not substance, and Nintendo is very consciously crafting its image to appeal to people not us.
It's a calculated gamble. In the end, you, JC, are going to buy, or not buy, the Wii based not on its name or color or attitude or any other touchy-feely brand issue. Oh no. You are going to buy it, or not buy it, based entirely on gameplay issues, including how well this wiimote works out (and I can't help but smile when I write that, so there's at least one positive here), pricing, quality of games, etc.
What I'm saying is this: Though Nintendo marketing has now abandoned you entirely in search of other people, not you, the quality of their gaming perhaps has not.
And it's this "perhaps" that's the big issue, yes. It does seem stupid for them to turn their heavily filtrated advertising wordage away from the gamer, the person who buys games and plays games and loves games, and toward the person who has not yet spent money on games, all in the hopes that that non-game-playing person will, at some undisclosed point in the future, see the word "Wii" and think, "Wow".
It's disheartening, but I must believe that the play will remain fun despite the marketing gimmicks that are designed for not-me. I will buy the Wii if it's affordable and fun, and Nintendo marketers would be stupid if they didn't know this.
Like I said, it's a gamble. Nintendo has made enough bad decisions in the past that they can't be totally trusted. But still... I do.
I trust them.
It is entirely possible that I'm being an idiot, though.
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