Missing The Point

**cmotd** · 08-18-2004

PS3 DOESN'T mean better gaming. Increasing the complexity of a system WITHOUT making it easier to use simply puts greater pressure on the developers to rush their work. Think of it this way:

One group of sculptors has to make a statue of a horse while another has to make a statue of an entire mounted battle, both have one month. The group making the horse finishes in a week and can then spend three weeks polishing, refining and detailing so that their sculpture is perfect. The other group doesn't finish. They have to take short cuts and rush to get everything done. They are forced to stop after a month and release their work as-is.

So increasing the complexity of your hardware simply means that development budgets have to be bigger to get the games finished on time. Which in turn means that publishers will take less risks and games become ever more boring.

What the games industry needs far more than new consoles and 3D hardware is a way of reducing the complexity of development so game designers can start using their imaginations again

But of course all Sony and Microsoft care about is bamboozling the public into thinking that they need a new console (even though their TV's won't show any better graphics than with the current generation consoles anyway)

Instead of obssessing over new consoles you guys should be putting your energy into lobbying publishers to make better games. Who cares about PS3 if all it's going to do is 'FIFA 2006 featuring extra dirt textures on the ball and surround sound player flatulance!" Big Deal, WooHoo

**Blake** · 08-18-2004

That was an outstanding post cmotd, what took you so long to find these boards?

Welcome anyways. Let me ask you a question though, what about middle ware programs? Various middleware programs will problly be developed to speed up development and ease it all at the same time. Also Sony is coming up with an answer to XNA which in turn will also make PS3 much easier to develop for than it would be originally. So I believe even with the complexity of the PS3 we'll still see some oustanding games, even from the developers on low budgets.

**watashi** · 08-18-2004

PS3 DOESN'T mean better gaming.

PS3 "doesn't" but do we wish it will? Yes, basically everyone is hoping that it'll be the console of an evolution, though that was a very good post, I forgot half of it after I read it, lol...to compete against computer designed chips is very hard for Sony, maybe we'll see a Sony XP one day, to beat all of Microsoft, lol

-

**Seb** · 08-18-2004

I can see your point cmotd, but I think your over looking the steps, both Sony and Microsoft, are taking to make their Next Generation systems as easy to develop for as possible.

Sony have endorsed an Open graphics format for PS3 called Collada, which will be used across middleware programs for Next Generation game development. They have also hinted at the possibility of utilising a standardised Open GL API to make it easier to develop for the CELL, which includes all the other technologies that will use the CELL technology. On top of this Sony are making their development platform even easier to use and thus are countering the criticism they've had for making the PlayStation 2 so incredibly difficult to program for.

Microsoft hopes that their XNA initiative will help alleviate some of the development overhead, hence costs, allowing developers to focus on making the game compelling. Microsoft are aiming for XNA to encompass as much as 80% of the code required to develop a title.

I also agree with what Blake said about current console graphics getting a bit boring. I still get impressed now and then, but nothing is making me excited but the Next Generation. Both PS2 and XB2 are moving into decline and it's only natural to start thinking about the future and the next generation. So overall if anything these Next Gen consoles will be easier to develop for and with far more Hardware power than their current console counterparts.

**cmotd** · 08-24-2004

'Middleware' is definately a step in the right direction on the development side of things, up to now developers have still not been able to afford the luxury of having full time employees who are there purely for their creative skills. Most game backstory's for example are usually written by one of the programmers. Anything that allows more room for imagination is a good thing! There are plenty of good sci-fi and fantasy writers around why do we never see them involved in game development? Another important factor in opening up game development is distribution. Why are all indie games made for PC? Distribution. PC games can be distributed on the net so anyone can start a company and make games. To sell console stuff however you have to have a distribution deal. If the new machines will allow for online distribution of titles (doubtful due to piracy paranoia) then we could see some niche market, innovative stuff coming out.

**gaming ultima** · 08-24-2004

for now I’m going to stay out of this but i want to make a few points cmotd

(even though their TV's won't show any better graphics than with the current generation consoles anyway)

watch TV on your TV and then play a game, see a difference, yes you do, TV looks all but like real life and a game on the next gen console doesn’t, so your wrong, current TV's are capable of showing graphics far past what the current gen consoles are pushing out. and besides the next generation is going to be right in the middle of the take off of HDTV's (high definition TV's) in the US and Europe

up to now developers have still not been able to afford the luxury of having full time employees who are there purely for their creative skills.

before you come out with these comments I surest you do some research into games development because you might just find that your wrong

Most game backstory's for example are usually written by one of the programmers

do you know what a 'games designer' is?

There are plenty of good sci-fi and fantasy writers around why do we never see them involved in game development?

this is something EA are doing, bringing 'talent' from the movie industry to work on their games, but as a old thing on gamesindustry.biz pointed out this wont necessarily work at first as movies and tv etc are a very different medium to video games

Another important factor in opening up game development is distribution. Why are all indie games made for PC? Distribution. PC games can be distributed on the net so anyone can start a company and make games.

well you have a point to-do with budget titles but with full priced titles upon release (which are the only things worth thinking about really) what platform they come out on is more to do with a company's current employee's (most importantly if they have ps2 programmers or pc programmers and how many etc) and business decisions as its easier (and cheaper) to make a killer title on one platform only and killer titles will also sell better if they are exclusive to something if they have enough hype. games that are multi platform from release are usually pretty medicore (that’s a matter of opinion of course though)
good post though, welcome to the boreds

**xtasy_** · 08-25-2004

Originally Posted by cmotd

PS3 DOESN'T mean better gaming. Increasing the complexity of a system WITHOUT making it easier to use simply puts greater pressure on the developers to rush their work. Think of it this way:

One group of sculptors has to make a statue of a horse while another has to make a statue of an entire mounted battle, both have one month. The group making the horse finishes in a week and can then spend three weeks polishing, refining and detailing so that their sculpture is perfect. The other group doesn't finish. They have to take short cuts and rush to get everything done. They are forced to stop after a month and release their work as-is.

So increasing the complexity of your hardware simply means that development budgets have to be bigger to get the games finished on time. Which in turn means that publishers will take less risks and games become ever more boring.

What the games industry needs far more than new consoles and 3D hardware is a way of reducing the complexity of development so game designers can start using their imaginations again

But of course all Sony and Microsoft care about is bamboozling the public into thinking that they need a new console (even though their TV's won't show any better graphics than with the current generation consoles anyway)

Instead of obssessing over new consoles you guys should be putting your energy into lobbying publishers to make better games. Who cares about PS3 if all it's going to do is 'FIFA 2006 featuring extra dirt textures on the ball and surround sound player flatulance!" Big Deal, WooHoo

It does make better gameplay because game companies have alot more stuff to add on the game. More detail, Better GFX, more memory which means bigger cities for games like GTA with good GFX at the same time.
Imagine how much they can fit on that PS3 Disc (25-50GB).
How much does our PS2 disc hold?

**Cody** · 08-25-2004

Yah but the game developers will have to use all that room on the disk which I doubt they will and as for how many gigs ps2 disk's hold it is 4.7 for a single lair

**luxurys** · 05-26-2006

Thank you for contacting Square Enix Customer Support,

We hope this letter answers your questions.

Our parent company, SQUARE ENIX Co., Ltd. of Japan, has no current plans to
re-release that particular title at this time. This is not to say that it will
never happen, it's just that SQUARE ENIX of Japan is currently focusing on numerous
other projects.

We hope that this information has been of some assistance, and we apologize for any
inconvenience.

Thanks,
Square Enix Customer Support
www.square-enix.com

-----Original Message-----
From: jpinter@ps3land.com
Sent: May 23, 2006 11:49:44 PM
Subject: Final Fantasy VII

Hello,

My name is Justin and I work for PS3land.com and I was wondering who I
would contact about Final Fantasy VII and the rumors being confirmed of
its developement for the PS3.

thank you

**luxurys** · 05-26-2006

Should we add this to our Final Fantasy Article or make a new one?

**ps3 Wanna be** · 05-26-2006

Good job of getting a direct response to PS3Land...only problem is that it does say what we've reported: that they're not working it, but that doesn't mean they'll never work on it.

I dunno...what's everyone else's opinion on this?

**luxurys** · 05-26-2006

I could email them back asking what are all the titles they are working on and if they plan to make any special announcements at TGS this year. Like they dont have to be specific but is there something BIG to look forward to at TGS.

**heerokenshin** · 05-26-2006

They wouldn't say anything about what they would be announcing, I dunno, I don't really think we need to add this...

**luxurys** · 05-26-2006

too late I already sent another email asking about their current titles and whether or not they will unvail anything new at TGS....a simple yes or no is all I aksed. So maybe with their next responce plus this info I can write up a whole article.

This is also nice because it a direct confirmation from Square Enix to PS3land.com....so if anything we can just add it to the other Final Fantasy VII article.

**heerokenshin** · 05-26-2006

Either way, not like it's gonna hurt us, so go for it dude.

**ps3 Wanna be** · 05-26-2006

Yeah Dusty is right...any direct communication with PS3Land is good, so if you get some interesting info, be sure to get it typed up!

**Rebon** · 05-27-2006

I think we should add in a line saying we confirmed this, and they said:

"[quote]"

Just to show we do our own research =)

**luxurys** · 05-28-2006

Sqaure ENix contacted me again saying this:

Thank you for contacting Square Enix Customer Support,

We hope this letter answers your questions.

Thank you for taking the time to write to us. We regret to inform you that we do
not have any kind of access to any of the information you have requested at this
time. Nor do we have any information on what other resources might have that
information. You can get updated information on our latest & upcoming releases from
the "Latest News" portion of our website, www.square-enix.com.

We hope this information has been of assistance.

Thanks,
Square Enix Customer Support
www.square-enix.com

So I guess there is nothing more other than Sqaure saying to PS3land.com that FInal Fantasy VII is not under development and that it may be remade but nothing final yet.

So unless you guys want to just update the already written article or have me just write up a new one about Square Contacting PS3land....there really isn't anything new.

**ps3 Wanna be** · 05-28-2006

Yeah I think we should wait for something more solid...that email didn't really give away much eh?

But a great effort Justin. Hopefully if we all try to contact companies once in a while, we'll get something juicy

**tommylj** · 11-13-2008

Cmotd you make some great points, but you make it sound as though Sony and MS have created two powerhouse consoles capable of displaying amazing graphics, but due to that have had to sacrifice fun and innovation. Correct me if i'm wrong, but that's how I interpret it

I have to disagree though. I think that this console generation is showing tonnes of innovation even with low-budget games, made by few people, heck even made by just one single person. Look at the masterpiece that is Braid! This game focuses purely on gameplay and not graphics. Also everyday shooter was made by one single guy! The pixeljunk series is also a great example, and if you ask me PJ Monsters is currently the best game available on PSN. With the current console technology and online possibilities I think that there are both room for the big Blockbuster titles like Killzone, Gears, Halo and MGS etc., But there are also room for the smaller and more quirky titles like the PJ series and Braid.
LittleBigPlanet and Home also shows that you can easily combine innovation with great graphics.
If you ask me this console generation has so far been the one with the greatest possibilities. The sky is the limit

**tommylj** · 11-13-2008

Ooops I hadn't seen that this was actually a 4 year old thread:-s
Twinkle-toes if you want to have enough posts to be able to make a new thread, then you can post proper comments to people's threads!! The s*** you are doing now will only get you banned!!