 Malik
(12/31/04)
The end of the
year is upon us. Today, the final day of 2004, seems like a
perfect time to touch off about some of the biggest complaints I've
had in the past year. Those being the state of what quality
means to the gaming industry (with one company in particular) and
the fact that the gaming industry seems to be completely unaware of
what changes should be in sequels (and what changes are merely
"changes for the sake of change"). So, with these
two issues being the highest complaints I've had in the last year, I
figure it's a good time to remember where this year had brought
us. As always, I'm Malik and these are my Bitchings.
How Can Consumer
Satisfaction and Quality Not Coexist (or: A Brief History of Sony's
Gaming Life)
Sony has been in
the forefront of consumer electrons for longer than most of us geeks
can remember. They helped to pioneer the introduction of the
CD, the DVD, the mini-disk, and they even helped to revolutionize
the video game industry at a time when Nintendo and Sega had both
ran stagnant. Yes, I mean the Playstation. The one
system that helped to bring the game world from being an underground
and kid-friendly hobby to being a mainstream phenomenon. So,
with so much customer satisfaction, having a name that is a
household word, with having the single most popular console of this
(and last) generation, and with a brave jump into the realm of
handhelds, how could Sony go wrong?
It's simple.
They have been going wrong for far longer than any of us can
remember. Just keeping this in the geek realm of gaming, let's
start at the beginning (usually the best place to start) with the PS
(I'd say PSX, but that phrase may make a different
appearance...). I know I was not alone in planning, after
having this system for a year, on where to get the money to annually
buy a new PS. For those who complain about the short time it
takes between the default warranty of the PS2 voiding and the PS2
voiding it's existence, you know nothing of the pain of the
PS. I literally went through 4 Playstations during the four
years I was living in that generation of consoles.
It all started one
day when I noticed a FMV sequence on FFVII running a bit slowly and
looking like streaming video over a 36k modem. That was only
the beginning of the downfall. Within a week, my PS was
toast. I could have repaired it, via Sony's customer service,
but considering it would cost only $10 more to buy a refurbished
system (and that wouldn't take a week or more of shipping), I went
with that solution. After all, I needed my PS, and I needed it
quick. So, I bought a new one.
Then, about a year
later, I started to see the FMVs on Saga Frontiers go to crap in the
same way. On one hand, this could be seen as a blessing since
SF was such a bad pile of shit. However, it also meant my PS
was going, once again, to crap. So, I bought another system (a
new one this time). Then about 9 months later, the same shit
happened on Xenogears. So, I bought another. For a while
I figured I just had bad luck, but then I started to become a
die-hard message board surfer and found how many threads existed on
the low quality of the PS. Sony also eventually fired out the
PSOne. Basically it was the same system, but with a prettier
shell, and all the same problems.
So, I eventually
put the PS behind me with the PS2. A new generation, a new set
of technology, and a new standard. Plus, hopefully, a new
start for Sony in terms of quality. My hope was soon dashed
when there were no good games at launch. However, the system
was really cool as a DVD player, at least. Until I got
Princess Mononoke about 3 months later for Christmas. Some of
the chapters wouldn't play. So, I tried some more movies, and
came across numerous other titles that would only play for about 80%
of the actual film. So, I learned quickly that Sony, who can
make a fully capable DVD player, cannot make an built-in DVD player
for their own console. Then I started to see the FAQs on what
DVDs would, and what DVDs wouldn't, play on the PS2...a list of this
sort shouldn't be so damned long.
So, I bought a
separate DVD player, and gave up on my hope that Sony's PS2 could
solve several issues at once...at least it was backwards compatible
to play PS games...as long as it wasn't a game on another list (of
about 50 games). So, while I waited for a new bunch of PS2
games to be released (the launch titles sucked...except SSX) I
played my newly acquired Grandia (for the PS) on the PS since the
PS2 can't play it. I also played Xenogears on the PS2...until
a certain scene, in which it will usually freeze on the PS2, but
will run on the PS.
Then I finally got
some new PS2 titles, and started to enjoy the new system...for about
a month. By now, my PS2 was over a year old, and I had only
played real PS2 titles for a month when I started to find the
initial loading of the system was slowing down. Before long, I
would not find any game automatically loading and would have to
manually load the games from the browser menu. At least the
games worked...for another 6 months. Then the PS2 would get
DREs if I had the system 100% horizontal (if I just placed two DVD
cases under the system, then it would work). I also started to
read the FAQs that people had made on how to tackle the DREs.
They were so common that FAQs were being made in force for how to
solve the problem yourself and avoid paying Sony about $100.
In fact, it was being estimated that over a quarter of all PS2s were
suffering DREs.
At the same time,
as the PS2s were suffering DREs, Sony decided to release the brand
new PSX (that's why I avoided the original Playstation abbreviation
earlier). This was supposed to be the be-all-end-all home
entertainment device for PS2 fans. It was not just a PS2, but
it was a PS2 with a DVD-R drive for recording TV (so it was like a
DVD TiVo), it looked pretty in a yuppie entertainment center, and it
would have amazing new media abilities...which were never
delivered. So, in the end, it was a TiVo and a PS2 that ran
for an astounding price that was more than those two components put
together, and you still needed blank DVDs to use the TiVo
function. If you don't recognize the name "PSX",
don't worry. It was supposed to be a worldwide phenomenon, but
it failed so miserably in Japan that only empty promises of upgrades
came, rather than a mass release.
So, while the PSX
suffered a fate worse than 32X (as in: Sega 32X) and the PS2s were
dying, some lawsuits were brought forward. The most important
one being a not too loudly spoken class-action lawsuit about the low
quality of the PS2 and the high frequency of the DRE. A judge
found in favor of the class, and announced that Sony would have to
repair all PS2 DRE problems for free. However, those of us who
are fans of importing are, naturally, exempt since we would void
this service via a MOD chip installation. So, with time, Sony
kept this news on the down low, and according to some message board
posts, would still charge people for repairing their DRE issues if
the settlement was not brought up while dealing with Sony customer
support.
With time, Sony
started to look forward again. This came in two unique
steps...unique would mean that both concepts have been done before
and would lead to obvious screwing of the consumer by Sony.
The first of which was the announcement of the PSP around E3.
This would be the most revolutionary handheld gaming system with the
use of massive storage media (UMDs) and PS quality visuals.
The other change was another system redesign. This time the
PS2 would be made prettier, with a smaller (75% smaller) case but
rumors would soon surface of the "over-heating
problem". It's been too soon to find out the reality of
what this problem can do, but the basic idea is that these prettier
PS2s get hot as hell in a hurry.
Then, soon after
the slim PS2 hit the market, Japan saw the release of another flawed
system; the PSP. This handheld looked like the perfect
competition for the DS and the GBA when Sony first announced
it. However, that hope soon turned into a flawed idea that
looks like it's more doomed than one would've ever thought possible
in such a bad market area.
The doomed aspects
were first heard of when Sony announced the add-on battery
packs. These seemed a bit unusual in their own right, but when
Sony announced that these $45 packs would only give enough play time
for a single UMD movie, it looked like the unusual was actually the
crappy. Then, it was announced why such great game concepts as
a portable Metal Gear (Acid) would be not true to the original game
play style. The reason was simple; to access the disk, the
battery would be drained, so action games with high end sound tracks
and constant disk access (found in video cut-scenes) would only
further drain the limited power supply. Thus, the portable PSP
becomes as portable as an Atari Lynx or a Virtual Boy. In
other words, it's portable as long as you constantly can access a
power outlet.
Throw in the bonus
features of the flying
UMD of doom and destruction, the fact that only Sony has access
to a UMD burning facility (meaning all games have to pass through
Sony...which raises game prices..., and the fact that UMD disks are
completely unique (so, if you want a movie disk for your PSP, it
will probably never play on a home entertainment system and will
only go to waste once your PSP is collecting dust on a shelf), and
you can see the future of the PSP is bleak. Even the
supposed experts, the game industry analysts, are calling the PSP
prospects bleak. Then, if you assume the PSP has the same
level of quality as the earlier Sony game systems, then you can see
more doom in the form of DREs in the future.
Solution
The solution in
this case is simple in theory and quite tedious in execution.
Since Sony has a good record of making quality entertainment
electronics, it seems out of the question that the game consoles
they develop could be so shortly lived...not the generation life
span, but the life of each actual console. So, the solution is
the simple matter of Sony needing to have their home electronics
people talk with their SCEA (the game group) division about
quality. This is a simple issue, but in terms of a massive
entertainment and electronics giant, it could be quite costly for
Sony.
However, the other
possible solutions, which are out of Sony's direct control, are far
more costly in the long run. The first of these includes the
consumers getting tired of this poor quality and just abandoning
Sony's Playstation line for a more stable piece of hardware, like
something Nintendo made. It's not that I'm trying to give
total biased love for Nintendo, but they do know how to make a
sturdy console. Or even Microsoft could receive some more
consumer love with their more stable XBox line-up. Especially
if Sony is going to take the time to try something new like a
handheld, maybe the solution is for the consumer to, now of all
times, tell Sony how we actually feel. However, this solution
is unlikely since Sony has the best game library in the industry.
The final solution
is for things to continue as they have been going. This is
actually the most likely case, and it involves just that;
cases. As in legal cases or lawsuits. If Sony keeps
making flawed hardware, the number of class-action lawsuits will
only continue to grow. Hopefully Sony could pull out of this
current strategy of making poorly built consoles before the consumer
must wait for a class-action lawsuit to feel protected. This
type of behavior is not fair to the consumers and it only clogs the
US legal system with needed, but still unnecessary, lawsuits.
I'm still left
with the same question I've had since my first Playstation died (as
my much older Sony stereo still played perfectly); Why can Sony make
such high quality electronics and not apply any of that know-how
into making a good functional game system?
Innovation Just
Keeps Hitting
This year we saw a
good number of popular franchise games receive major sequels.
In fact, some of these sequels are what made these singular games
into marketable franchises. We saw this with Metroid Prime
becoming it's own franchise separate from Metroid, Half-Life became
a true franchise with HL2, Halo did the same, and KOTOR was the
final game of the year to make a marketable franchise from a
singular hit title.
With most of these
games, some major upgrades were seen over the previous games.
In HL2 the entire engine, weapon system, and plot were brought out
of the 1990's and into some time that still seems like it must be in
the future. With Doom 3, we saw a real 3D engine for the first
time as Mars and Hell returned to our PCs. Plus, despite how
subtle the changes were, KOTOR2 even brought about new concepts to
console RPGs with a new use of classic D20 skills being used in item
construction and the ability to use influence to not just interact
with your party, but to manipulate and alter your NPCs.
At the same time,
we saw games like MP2 and H2 that boasted wonderful new mechanics
and concepts, but ultimately delivered nothing of these
promises. In MP2, we were promised a brand new world with
wonderful new weapons and abilities. However, while we had
some beautiful new worlds, they felt just like the lands of
MP. The weapons were nothing more than ammo burning versions
of the same weapons from MP (dark=ice, light=plasma, blah, blah),
and the new abilities were actually singular in the form of screw
attack (which isn't even really new, now is it?). Then there
was Halo 2, with it's...ummm...bigger weapons in split-screen
multiplayer that blocked the view of everything important. Oh,
and there was that amazing demo level that we all saw for over a
year before the release that made everyone want to play the game all
so badly...that was cut before the game was release, and without any
explanation. Ummm...yeah. However, at least these games
still held true to the principals that made the first games they
came from.
On the other hand,
there are some games we learned of this year that seem to have
forgotten that they are actually sequels and not new franchises in
their own rights. Yep, I'm talking about the games that make
us say, "WHAT?!". Like the next Wild Arms game
(slated for release in Japan within the next few months) that is
based off of more action while out of combat, and a hell of a lot
less action in combat. That means it's a strategy or tactical
RPG engine for combats. On a game being called a true sequel
to classical style RPG series, tactical doesn't make any sense and
will only turn off the players who have come to know and love this
series so well. The series always continues, in one way or
another, the basic principals of the plot from WA1. The world
is the same, and only the passage of time, with plenty of back story,
makes it feel fresh and new, yet familiar, with each new
outing. However, with the corruption of the basic
combat engine, the next Wild Arms game will only serve to isolate
itself from the fans that have followed the series for so
long.
So, why would this
type of crap happen? Because innovation is now, and always
will be, a major buzz word in the gaming world. In other
words, to help sell the game to a new set of fans, while trying to
hold the old fans in their place (and hoping they don't listen to
how the game is being corrupted). This type of marketing is
what turned some games into the giants they are today (like you can
see in the step from GTA2 to GTA3). However, it's also led to
as many failures, like it did when Driver started to veer away from
a driving game and tried to change into a really bad GTA
clone...especially in the severely flawed Driv3r.
On top of this
innovation for the sake of being innovative, we can also see some
developers and legends not pay enough attention to anything beyond
their potential income as Metal Gear Acid was announced around the
time the PSP was announced. However, the story on this game is
a little deeper than just making changes for the purpose of making
changes. In fact, this game actually suffers from my previous
Bitching (about Sony...look above). Due to the battery issues
of the PSP and how massive battery drain comes about from constant
disk access, Mr. Kojima ("Mr. Metal Gear") of Konami
decided to make MGA into a card game. Yup...a spy game about
stealthy take downs, subtle and quick decisions, and constant danger
is being made into a card game. All in the name of keeping UMD
drive access times to a minimum.
Solution
So, in the end, we
saw quite clearly how a lack of innovations, or at least a lack of
in-your-face innovations, can still make a great sequel. I
mean MP2 did quite well without any innovation or changes (beyond
renaming the weapons, adding ammo, and bringing back the screw
attack). Then you can see how a lack of changes, but also a
removal of quality can be destructive, as seen in the butchering of
split-screen on Halo 2. However, despite all of this, in the
end it comes down to bringing a game that we all remember fondly
into a slightly new era to make a good sequel.
However, when a
game is as much about the plot (in most cases) as it is about the
game engine, the solution is to never corrupt either of these.
So, when a game like Wild Arms 4 is announced to not only radically
change the adventure (non-combat portion of the game) engine, but to
radically alter the combat engine too, the plot being similar (or
not) is no longer important. The game has been corrupted and
the feel that the fans of the previous 3 (4 if you count the remake
of WA1) games will not immediately be drawn to. The only
excuse for this is to let this game to be an excuse for some under talented
project leads to stretch their limbs and take an attempt at the
unproven...that a radical departure from a prior game engine will
draw in new fans while keeping the old. It rarely works and
usually leads to the downfall of an entire franchise.
As for Metal Gear
the card game...well, Kojima should have just decided to skip on
making a Metal Gear game for the PSP. If the PSP cannot handle
Metal Gear, then just let it slip. Card games and Metal Gear
style espionage are about as far apart as an E and an AO rated
game. This will not win over Metal Gear fans, and it will only
serve to be another black eye to the Metal Gear legacy (just like
the plot of Metal Gear Solid 2).
So, in the end,
the true solution is for games to just be kept true to the originals
if they will be given the title of "sequel". If a
game cannot be properly handled by a current system, then it just
wasn't meant to be. Also, if a game is going to be corrupted
in a new incarnation, at least make it a spin off like FF did with
FF Tactics. It's simple, easy, and will save the problems that
can come from loyal customers feeling dissatisfied.
Conclusion
So, another year
is drawing to a close. It's been an unusual year with the Fall
of insanity with too many games and too little time and money to go
around. It also was a year of Sony once again doing their best
to do their worst. In the end, things were pretty good, but
some lessons need to be learned.
So, as this year draws to an end, so does this issue of Malik's
Bitchings. Happy New Years to all, and if you have the need,
you can write
me or put your thoughts to the forums.
Safe and happy New Years adventures to all of us.
Malik
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