Video Game discussion

[Unbeliever]

Most videogames can only dream they're as “stalled” as SC II. The community is as huge as it gets for an RTS. There's so many high-money tournaments worldwide that you can literally make a living just out of playing SC II. The guys doing reports on the game reach super-star status in youtube. Most other games would kill for the coverage and hype  Heart of the Swarm beta is getting.

Not to completely rain on something you seem to feel passionately about, but I meant "stalled" as in the release schedule.  It's at present a year behind schedule, and at the current rate there will be nearly 10 years between Wings of Liberty and the Protoss game.  For many people, as in everyone I know who plays Starcraft 2 (which, admittedly, is a nonscientific survey) that is far too long given the way they divided the game. 

I happen to find the world of Diablo very interesting, but was very disappointed by D3. 

I happen to think that Blizzard has burned many bridges with its fan base in the past few years.  But, that's just one man's opinion.  I'll only add that there was a time that the amount of vitriol that the company/brand name has endured over the past year would have been unthinkable.  I think it's also not really debatable that the MMO market is saturated, and that the WoW numbers are certainly not great.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, financial analysts are debating whether they are "ok" or "catastrophic."  When there's that kind of debate then you're certainly not market dominant. 

But, it's all kind of besides the point.  I don't own Blizzard stock, and I'm not an analyst of the video game industry.  I'm just a consumer who makes judgments on brand names and the quality of games based on my experience. 

[linklord231]

I just noticed that at least 2 of the games currently part of the Humble Indie Bundle are also on Steam sale (Binding of Isaac and Legend of Grimrock).  Are people actually buying these on Steam?  If so, why?  With the Humble Bundle, you get them DRM free with the soundtracks, you pay what you want (can be cheaper than Steam, if that's what you're in to), and a portion of your purchase goes to charity.

[oslecamo]

Blizzard already tanked a lot of FPS/RPG developments for SC2. They're going to confine it to the RTS genre, because there's where it's at. Diablo, on the other hand, is already an RPG franchise. It's not that hard to push a MMO based on it. And i guarantee people will buy it. Hell, if it was as well developed as WoW, wouldn't you? For me, Diablo is a much more interesting world than Warcraft will ever be.

Wake up. D3 already is an MMO. You can only play it online. You're heavily pushed towards playing with other people. The auction house was made with online in mind from the start. What else do you need for it to be a  massive multiplayer online?

Most videogames can only dream they're as “stalled” as SC II. The community is as huge as it gets for an RTS. There's so many high-money tournaments worldwide that you can literally make a living just out of playing SC II. The guys doing reports on the game reach super-star status in youtube. Most other games would kill for the coverage and hype  Heart of the Swarm beta is getting.

Not to completely rain on something you seem to feel passionately about, but I meant "stalled" as in the release schedule.  It's at present a year behind schedule, and at the current rate there will be nearly 10 years between Wings of Liberty and the Protoss game.  For many people, as in everyone I know who plays Starcraft 2 (which, admittedly, is a nonscientific survey) that is far too long given the way they divided the game. 

Dude, Protoss was playable in WoL multiplayer even in beta, an there's like half a dozen protoss missions in the campaign. That's grasping at straws if anything, after all DoW I and II were all over-hyped despite only allowing you to play one race on the campaign, heck DoW II didn't even allow you to use all that race's units on the campaign!

Then there's the whole battle.net making countless fan mods readily available to use and I can't really complain at all.

I happen to think that Blizzard has burned many bridges with its fan base in the past few years.  But, that's just one man's opinion.  I'll only add that there was a time that the amount of vitriol that the company/brand name has endured over the past year would have been unthinkable.  I think it's also not really debatable that the MMO market is saturated, and that the WoW numbers are certainly not great.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, financial analysts are debating whether they are "ok" or "catastrophic."  When there's that kind of debate then you're certainly not market dominant. 

Those same "analysts" that have been decrying the inminent doom of Wow for half a dozen years now?

But, it's all kind of besides the point.  I don't own Blizzard stock, and I'm not an analyst of the video game industry.  I'm just a consumer who makes judgments on brand names and the quality of games based on my experience.

Indeed. And you'll excuse me for questioning your judgements when you claim "universally-aclaimed" games can't even keep their producer out from bankrupcy, while"catastrohhic" games keep filling Blizzard's coffers.

[Unbeliever]

Oh yeah, that's right!  I forgot!  The only measure of a game's quality is profit margin.  That's why all I have on my computer is Call of Duty, over and over again.  I mean, if it were otherwise we might be living in some golden age of indie game development or something.  But, that'd be weird.

Also, did I ever say that Dawn of War was "universally acclaimed?"  Was that me?  I usually reserve that kind of praise for Witcher 2 or Batman:  Arkham Asylum.  The cool thing about forums is that they're searchable. 

You're welcome to disagree with me.  But, if your'e going to do so, try and do it (a) without really tired arguments, and (b) without putting words in my mouth.  It shouldn't be that hard, I say stupid shit all the time. 

And, while you're at it, could you stow the fucking tone?  I make what is a straightforward, honest, qualified statement.  I make it clear that I'm referring to a limited subset of experiences.  I say that explicitly.  And, that is "grasping at straws."  I get the inescapable impression that you're not really talking to me, but railing against some ill-defined legion of Blizzard haters and I'm just a convenient proxy. 

Or, don't, just let me know so I can figure out if these boards have an "ignore" function.

[Jackinthegreen]

As for MMOs, yes the market's pretty saturated, but WoW's not only still the top dog after a decade, they're still the guys setting the standard in that enviroment.  Countless other MMOs claimed they would be “The WoW-killer” and now lay  at its feet feeding off scraps. Alas the reverse of the medal is that they won't release Warcraft IV while World of Warcraft is still going strong.

I remember when SWTOR was announced and everyone was like "Oh yeah now WoW will have a serious challenger"

And WoW might have had a challenger if Bioware hadn't fucked it up, sideways, and backwards.  They tried to do too much with it and made it so it couldn't be properly expanded with limited time and resources.

[Halinn]

But there are a lot of ARPG's kicking out there. Dark Souls made more success than Diablo 3 did, and it's a new franchise. They botched the release for that game. They surely expected much more profit from it than they got.

Dark souls got 1.19 million sales in the US and Europe^[1], whereas D3 got 6.3 million in the first week alone (including 1.2 m annual pass subscribers)^[2]. Comparatively, D2 had around 4 million units sold a year after release^[3].
The Blizzard games are selling at the same level as games in the CoD franchise^[4], even if they are on a slower release schedule.

Sales numbers are perhaps not the perfect measure of a game's quality, but they are indicative of general acceptance of those games. Dark Souls did not sell on even the level of Diablo 1^[3]. It might be one that you feel is a better RPG, but compared to the Diablo franchise, it's a niche product.

[Kuroimaken]

Call me an elitist or picky or whatever, but I'll take an underselling awesome game over the drek fanboys lust over any day.

[SorO_Lost]

This year Avengers high the highest ticket sales, fifteen years from now yet another stupid romantic comedy will sport those same numbers.

Why? Raw linear figures like that are misleading. The number of people going to the movies or buying video games increases each year as more and more stupid people are born. There is potentially another entire generation to draw off of since that '4mil' mark.

[Nicklance]

Just chill and waiting for The Elder Scrolls Online.

[Sinfire Titan]

Grifball is back!

In other news, Halo 4 is about as buggy as AS3. It gets really frustrating sometimes when the server decides to shrink the Covenant and make Spartan Ops nigh unplayable, never mind the all ready horrendous lag the server has.

[brujon]

Shouting out to any Planetside 2 gamers on these boards! brujon lives on Planetside 2 on the Helios server, playing as Vanu Sovereignty!

Really need people to team up with.

[Kuroimaken]

What kind of game is it?

Also, shouting out to PSO2 players on ship 7 (Geofu). Look for Matsuko/Houshin. =P

[Halinn]

Aside from the random disconnects (it's currently an open beta, but characters won't be wiped), I'm having a lot of fun with Path of Exile. It's a free to play action RPG.

[brujon]

What kind of game is it?

Also, shouting out to PSO2 players on ship 7 (Geofu). Look for Matsuko/Houshin. =P

It's an MMOFPS, kind of life Battlefield 2142, but MMO-style. Huge maps, with a lot of facilities that you have to capture and hold in order for them to produce resources for everyone of your race, which you can then use to buy vehicles/aircraft/infantry consumables. 6 classes. TF2 Style engineer, Jetpack Assault Trooper, Damage-Soaking Heavy Assault, Cloak & Dagger Infiltrator/Sniper, TF2 Style medic, and the MAX Class, which is actually a mech suit you equip on infantry stations, that can have anti infantry/vehicle/aircraft capabilities, or a mix of two of these (dual weapon wield).

pretty damn good.

EDIT: It's also free to play, but you can buy in-game items with real money (which would otherwise take a long ass time to obtain).

[littha]

Been playing a lot of the Dust 514 beta, feels a lot like planetside but has some definitely unique features that may just edge it out ahead. The capability to call down an orbital strike and have someone in EVE online deliver it from orbit is kinda cool.

[VennDygrem]

I've been getting back into SWTOR a lot lately. It's still got problems, but it's easy enough for me to solo and get through the story without having to rely on getting into a group. Because all I really wanted was KOTOR III.

Still, I really like the Imperial storylines. I've got a couple Republic characters to try out different builds while getting a taste of the other storylines, but so far it kind of feels kind of like a chore.
It would be nice to have people to play with sometimes, but I rarely seem to have much trouble with PUGs.

[linklord231]

Aside from the random disconnects (it's currently an open beta, but characters won't be wiped), I'm having a lot of fun with Path of Exile. It's a free to play action RPG.

I second this recommendation.  Anybody who was disappointed when D3 was not as close to Diablo 2 as he/she would have preferred, go play Path of Exile.

[Halinn]

Aside from the random disconnects (it's currently an open beta, but characters won't be wiped), I'm having a lot of fun with Path of Exile. It's a free to play action RPG.

I second this recommendation.  Anybody who was disappointed when D3 was not as close to Diablo 2 as he/she would have preferred, go play Path of Exile.

I play under the account name of Halinn on European default servers (though I think it might be split only between hardcore and default?)

[oslecamo]

Awesome X trailer is awesome.

[Nanshork]

Path of Exile looks amazing, I wish my laptop could run it.