The Bus

No one besides Microsoft has pricing information on their next systems.

Outlaw

That might be true, but most people are saying that the PS3 will be close to the price to the 360 (if not more which were the rumors earlier this year). Nintendo has always said they will try to be more affordable like what they did with the Gamecube and DS being less expensive.

Josh H

Yeah, no official prices, but it's all but set in stone that the PS3 will be at least as much as the 360 and the Revolution will probably be $200 and at most $250.

Puzznic

I agree with the OP to a point but I really like playing console games online, and that not something i can get going retro.

I also have to strongly disagree with the jab at Resident Evil 4 in the first sentence. The game is a classic and it controls great.

kakihara1

That being the case it's a good move by Nintendo, I know that I'll probably spend the $200-250 on a revolution first then buy a PS3 when they become more readily available a few months after launch. if they came in at the same pricepoint I would probably be preordering a PS3.

Edit* if these systems come out virtually simultaneously, it makes me think that Nintendo may be just as much in the running as the other consoles this time around. Last time Nintendo came out with an unproven MS console, this time it's coming out with the Big Dog and at a much more attractive price.

boredsilly

While I do like current gen games fine and the price doesn't bother me so much, this point hits home for me. There is something to be said for mastering complicated controls, but I like a game whose challenge lies in the actual game (not in if I can pull of crazy button combos). Also it's not that I can't master games, it's just that I have no desire to anymore. I just wan to play. Some console games today are just TOO much for me and try my patience quickly. If I want a complicated game I'll go PC and RTS or a console turn based game so that I can take my time to work it out. Hate it or love it, thats one good thing about the first Halo 1. The controls were intuitive and easy to pick up. That's also why I have so much love for Nintendo games. They are all of them almost too simple to play - but easy to play, tough to master.

PixyJunket

I agree about control and game complexity as well. I'd also like to point out as well that it's not a matter of it being too difficult, but just unnecessary. I think games that exude in polished simplicity are the best. My favorite two RPGs of this generation, Paper Mario 2 and Dragon Quest VIII are prime examples of this. No matching armor to grids or aligning weapons to lunar cycles or crap like that.. just old fashioned gaming with new fashioned graphics and music.

Michael Corvin

Just like to point out here that the controls in Halo were nothing new to anyone who played the first Turok 5 years prior.

chess

Pix, you and I apparently have very similar tastes. I never met a Metroid or Zelda I didn't love, and I was going to post a Compile appreciation thread, and did a search beforehand. Threads started by you were all over the search results.

I'm on an NES kick the past couple of weeks, and games like Gun*Nac, Guardian Legend and Zanac are occupying my time more than anything else. Twin Bee 1 + 2 (not Compile, but still good) are kind of cool too just for sheer wierdness. I think Compile really perfected their style with Space Megaforce.

two buttons...reflexes...strategy...artful presentation...fun...period.

If you have any more japanese top-down shooter recommendations, I'm all ears.

kakihara1

100% correct, virtually Identical if I recall.

chess

Glad somebody else is like me. I never read manuals for games before starting them up, and if it takes me more than a few minutes to do what I need to do in a fluid way, I just lose interest.

Along with Halo, I think Metroid Prime really nailed the complicated yet intuitive thing. You use every button on the controller, but only in ways that feel natural and not constantly...for the most part it's just jump and shoot. A button...B button.

PixyJunket

Screw Space Megaforce, if you can play imports on your PS1 you NEED to play Zanac Neo (aka Zanac x Zanac), Compile's swan song before they closed their doors. If you can play PS2 imports look into Cave games for some of the best manic shooting these days, Espgaluda is my personal favorite but Mushi Hime-Sama and the new DoDonPachi are great too.. and they've got a new one, Ibara, coming out at the end of this month.

Apparently, some of Complie's member reformed to a company called Milestone. They released a shooter on GameCube called Chaos Field but I didn't really enjoy it that much. Their next effort comes out this week for the Dreamcast in Japan called Rajirugi, a cel-shaded shooter. My friend is getting it so I'll be able to see if it's any better than Chaos Field.

http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-...n-70-14o0.html

chess

unfortunately, i don't currently have the capability of playing PS imports, but NES/SNES I can do. I saw your thread on Chaos Field and was kind of wondering what the follow up was...guess it never grew on you...too bad. I may check it out anyway if I can get it cheap.

The only current gen shooter I own (other than GBA) is Ikaruga, which is awesome, but wicked hard...at least for me. I had a really hard time getting used to the analog stick. You're probably a lot more skilled than me though...which might be why I find Space Megaforce to be just about the perfect shooter where you might not find it challenging enough. I actually paid $30 for a boxed copy of it...the most I've paid for a game in a long long time. Definitely top ten for me.

I own just about every shooter on the SNES, and I must've checked out 20 NES shooters in the past month or two...found some real pleasant surprises...and some real turds.

Edit to add: Thanks for the recommendations!!!

chess

just saw and did some reading on the Revolution's controller...



I think I might be on a bandwagon after all.

Tarantino

I recently pulled out my N64 for some gaming. I also play my XBox all the time. I won't be picking up the XBox 360 or any other new systems for that matter until developers realize that no matter how pretty a game is, if the gameplay sucks, the game sucks. I tried Madden 360 at work and it's worthless compared to my XBox version. Oh well.

= J

boredsilly

See that's just the thing though, I really don't think that will ever happen. Developers are so damn worried about games being the new "motion pictures" that graphics are going to rule all. Historically whenever the power presented itself game makers have strived to produce better graphics - it just seems to be more important now than ever before, what with the industry trying to be taken "seriously". Sure some developers realize the importance of gameplay above all else (the guy, I think, behind Ratchet & Clank is always talking about this very thing), but I think we're in for a load more of Doom 3s - games with lots of flash and not so much substance.

That isn't to say I'm against cinematic games (or beautiful ones) - Riddick, Beyond Good and Evil, and RE4 show how this can be done well, but I just like some actual game in my games. It's almost like the studio's have too much new stuff to focus on these days. Back in the 8-16 bit era a game probably had one composer and maybe a few guys on sound fx and now they use entire orchestras, hollywood voice actors, folley artists, etc...and thats just sound. I'm just rambling now and sound like that old dude on the porch talking about the good old days so hows about I shut up now.

Josh H

Except for Nintendo. They've already said the Revolution will be well below the PS3 and 360 in graphical capabilities.

I think that console will be the last hope for us old school gamers that haven't been happy with the direction mainstream gaming has went in recent years.

boredsilly

But do you think for a second that the games won't be able to stand up against what the 360 and ps3 are offering for the systems life span? Graphically I'm sure the system will more than hold it's own (like the GC is and the N64 did). I think we won't even notice even if it is "well below" because some of the bells in whistles that get thrown into console don't even get utilized to their potential. 'Tis why we still have X-Box (the most powerful console of this gen) games that look like ass.

I agree with you 100% though that the Rev might be old school gamers (hollow) bastion of goodness (along with the DS , GBA, and X-Box live).

Blitz6Speed

I'm patiently awaiting the rev and its release myself. I will be purchasing it for sure. That said....

Nintendo hasnt satisfied people with the 64 and the GC for old school gamers, imo. On the GC, I disliked zelda, metroid became a FPS game and mario was another repetative 3d game. N64 didnt have a single title i liked. As for the rev, I truely hope it IS a revolution, but the #1 selling point of the Rev is the virtual console to me. Not the new gen of games. Of course, i hope to be truely shocked and surpised come E3 =) Bring back 2-D metroid!!!

Josh H

Not at all. Nintendo has said repeatedly not to expect graphics much beyond the Gamecube's level. They're not trying to match the PS3 and 360 in that area. They're trying to gain marketshare by having a cheaper consoles with an innovative way to play games and hopefully new types of games to draw in non-gamers.

boredsilly

Huh, that's pretty interesting. I haven't been following the news so I'm not up on the Rev news, but I can certainly see it being possible. Pretty much following the DS model, except for a home console then? Either way, GC graphics are more than enough for me.

Josh H

Yep. More than enough for me as well.

GreenMonkey

I own all three current gen systems (xbox picked up January of last year).

I'm sitting out the new consoles, except the Revolution. I've got too many backlogged PS2/GC/Xbox games as it is. Along with a handful of DC games.

I find myself powering up my SNES just as often as my PS2.

No way I'm paying $400 for a new console. I've got better uses for that kind of cash (an SVS subwoofer, for example).

$400 spent on ebay could buy you waaaay more gaming goodness in oldschool games. Pick up a SNES, NES, Genesis and load up on games. Guaranteed more gaming value for the dollar.

chess

Now, here is a man with priorities.

GreenMonkey

The price on SVS subwoofers won't drop nearly as much in 2 years as the newgen consoles will drop