NPD October 2002 TRSTS
- Thread starter Vince
- Start date
Laa-yosh,
Actually, that's assuming that the developer and publisher are one in the same. Still, it can be suited for publisher/develoepr arrangements.
That depends how much advertising the game has. The average game doesn't have a lot of advertising and usually sticks to something like magazine print ads/internet banner ads, which is usually pretty cheap.
Not bad from a group that never develoeped a console game in house before
Actually, that's assuming that the developer and publisher are one in the same. Still, it can be suited for publisher/develoepr arrangements.
That depends how much advertising the game has. The average game doesn't have a lot of advertising and usually sticks to something like magazine print ads/internet banner ads, which is usually pretty cheap.
Not bad from a group that never develoeped a console game in house before
Microsoft was supposed to back Shenmue II Xbox with a pretty big advertising campaign. As the rights to that release is officially theirs, however, they possibly decided to cut back from their original ambitious advertising plans when the game failed to build hype in the gaming media and momentum at retail among mass consumers before release. It was their hope when they purchased the rights back in 2001 that the title would be seen as a major release on the horizon for this holiday season, but it didn't work out that way unfortunately.
Still, I don't think Microsoft has started the bulk of their holiday advertising campaign for Xbox yet. They may yet still run television commercials and/or give more exposure for noteable Microsoft Xbox titles released this year like Shenmue II when they start their Christmas Xbox games push. So, the main advertising for the game may just be waiting for the start of the holiday compaign. At least, that's a hope of mine; it would be a shame not to give such an amazing and marketable game the push it deserves.
On the plus side, this Xbox release has at least given the Shenmue series another chance. SEGA management didn't want anything more to do with the series as it had already cost them tens of millions of dollars in losses. SEGA possibly wasn't about to fund more development on it by bringing it to new platforms by themselves, so Microsoft stepping in and buying the rights when no one else would gave the Shenmue series another chance at life. It's not like the 150,000 copies maximum it would've sold on the Dreamcast in the US in late 2001 would've been enough to convice SEGA it was a success. Even if the Xbox release doesn't go on to outsell what a Dreamcast release would have, Microsoft allowed the series to continue on for this new release by being the only party interested and funding a port.
Still, I don't think Microsoft has started the bulk of their holiday advertising campaign for Xbox yet. They may yet still run television commercials and/or give more exposure for noteable Microsoft Xbox titles released this year like Shenmue II when they start their Christmas Xbox games push. So, the main advertising for the game may just be waiting for the start of the holiday compaign. At least, that's a hope of mine; it would be a shame not to give such an amazing and marketable game the push it deserves.
On the plus side, this Xbox release has at least given the Shenmue series another chance. SEGA management didn't want anything more to do with the series as it had already cost them tens of millions of dollars in losses. SEGA possibly wasn't about to fund more development on it by bringing it to new platforms by themselves, so Microsoft stepping in and buying the rights when no one else would gave the Shenmue series another chance at life. It's not like the 150,000 copies maximum it would've sold on the Dreamcast in the US in late 2001 would've been enough to convice SEGA it was a success. Even if the Xbox release doesn't go on to outsell what a Dreamcast release would have, Microsoft allowed the series to continue on for this new release by being the only party interested and funding a port.
Logan Leonhart
Newcomer
So, is Sega still intending to continue developing Shenmue games based on part 2´s sales? In any case, I´m glad it got those sales. The game is so inherently flawed and is terribly executed, trying to be so much, yet failing at everything it sets out to do.
archie4oz said:
What subtitles too difficult?
In a game like Shenmue, I'd actually preffer Japanese voice tracks. The language is pretty neat sounding (unlike Chinese, sorry, no offence, I just dislike the sound of it, personal opinion here!!), and a lot of games like Onimusha could do well with it.
I'm glad MS let Tecmo keep the Japanese voice tracks for DoA3, as the english dub in DoA2 was beyond horrid. In some cases, like FF X, english voice tracks can be done well, but thats rare.
Anyhow, any Anime lover will agree that Japanese is a cool langage and should not attempt to be replaced!! (look at Dragon Ball Z, shudder)
ps: Sorry for the mishmash grammar and writing, I just came in from sub zero weather and my brain isn't really working.
Johnny Awesome
Veteran
Wow - 19 of the top 25 titles were made in North America and Europe, including 8 of the top 10 titles. We're seeing the end of Japanese title dominance in a big way, as Ben and I have been predicting.
In Novemember, the sales will probably be dominated by the likes of Metroid, Vice City, Splinter Cell, MechAssault, Unreal, and some multi-platform titles. Most of which are of Western origin...
In Novemember, the sales will probably be dominated by the likes of Metroid, Vice City, Splinter Cell, MechAssault, Unreal, and some multi-platform titles. Most of which are of Western origin...
Logan Leonhart:
In Shenmue, you can battle lots of opponents at once using a modified Virtua Fighter engine. Its surprisingly deep, too, allowing for reversals, counters, cancels and parries. Ryo's move list is stunningly large, and the timing for stringing his combos is very similar to Akira from the Virtua Fighter series.
Ryo has a ton of Akira-styled moves, but he has also has access to so many others that he gets the ability to swap them out for new ones and assign them to certain button-command inputs. This allows you to mold Ryo's fighting style to your liking, as your repertiore of over fifty fighting moves come from a variety of fighting styles which you can mix and match to some extent for a uniquely tailored character. It's a lot like a build-your-own Virtua Fighter, and it allows you to customize Ryo's abilities to a specific opponent and to your liking.
I also like how characters teach him these moves. They explain the history and philosophy behind their usage in combat, and they make you learn how to execute it by breaking it down into its components like "take two steps forward" and "strike by shifting your weight on both your arms and legs". This helps the player to understand the control and make it intuitive in battle as you translate "two steps forward" into "pushing forward twice" and "striking with arms and legs" into "pushing punch and kick simultaneously".
Ryo draws from a wide variety of fighting styles, many that are from Virtua Fighter 4 and many that haven't yet even appeared in any of SEGA's fighting games. You can take long-range Kage like moves and mix them with Ryo's Akira-like short and powerful attacks for interesting results. Ryo learns from a quite a few Chinese martial arts and incorporates strategies from them as his quest progresses.
I also think the Shenmue's QTE's (Dragon Lair sequences) are a big improvement over traditional non-interactive FMV CG cut-scenes. When your watching a story segment unfold, you have to pay close attention to clues and progression to be ready in case you're called upon to hit a button. It makes those usually non-interactive scenes much more involving.
You didn't like the beat-em-up Free Battle engine? I thought it was executed remarkably well. The depth of control for battling your enemies in games like Streets of Rage, Double Dragon, and Final Fight is almost non-existent compared to Shenmue.
In Shenmue, you can battle lots of opponents at once using a modified Virtua Fighter engine. Its surprisingly deep, too, allowing for reversals, counters, cancels and parries. Ryo's move list is stunningly large, and the timing for stringing his combos is very similar to Akira from the Virtua Fighter series.
Ryo has a ton of Akira-styled moves, but he has also has access to so many others that he gets the ability to swap them out for new ones and assign them to certain button-command inputs. This allows you to mold Ryo's fighting style to your liking, as your repertiore of over fifty fighting moves come from a variety of fighting styles which you can mix and match to some extent for a uniquely tailored character. It's a lot like a build-your-own Virtua Fighter, and it allows you to customize Ryo's abilities to a specific opponent and to your liking.
I also like how characters teach him these moves. They explain the history and philosophy behind their usage in combat, and they make you learn how to execute it by breaking it down into its components like "take two steps forward" and "strike by shifting your weight on both your arms and legs". This helps the player to understand the control and make it intuitive in battle as you translate "two steps forward" into "pushing forward twice" and "striking with arms and legs" into "pushing punch and kick simultaneously".
Ryo draws from a wide variety of fighting styles, many that are from Virtua Fighter 4 and many that haven't yet even appeared in any of SEGA's fighting games. You can take long-range Kage like moves and mix them with Ryo's Akira-like short and powerful attacks for interesting results. Ryo learns from a quite a few Chinese martial arts and incorporates strategies from them as his quest progresses.
I also think the Shenmue's QTE's (Dragon Lair sequences) are a big improvement over traditional non-interactive FMV CG cut-scenes. When your watching a story segment unfold, you have to pay close attention to clues and progression to be ready in case you're called upon to hit a button. It makes those usually non-interactive scenes much more involving.
Logan Leonhart
Newcomer
Well, to be completely honest, I got fed up with Shenmue after wasting my time with the first version and hearing fanboys go on and on about how great it was.
I´ll concede in regards to the underused fighting engine. For what it was supposed to do, it was cool.
As for the QTE´s, I couldn´t disagree more. They take away the attention of the player from the action to the flashing buttons on screen. A cinema is supposed to show dramatic, artistic situations and motions. They are supposed to be about the player enjoying a cutscene, (as long as it is done right). Adding a gimmick that only adds frustration (in some cases), that only draws your attention away from the action that is supposed to be portrayed is just wrong. It could have been done in a much better way.
I´ll concede in regards to the underused fighting engine. For what it was supposed to do, it was cool.
As for the QTE´s, I couldn´t disagree more. They take away the attention of the player from the action to the flashing buttons on screen. A cinema is supposed to show dramatic, artistic situations and motions. They are supposed to be about the player enjoying a cutscene, (as long as it is done right). Adding a gimmick that only adds frustration (in some cases), that only draws your attention away from the action that is supposed to be portrayed is just wrong. It could have been done in a much better way.
Logan Leonhart:
There are cut-scenes in the Shenmue games which are there to show these dramatic, artistic situations and motions without you having to worry about the distraction of a QTE. The nature of these cut-scenes are clearly evident when you first see them - the game's incredible musical score starts to swell in the background, the camera shots are generally sweeping, panoramic views of the vast environments, and Ryo isn't even included as a focus of the cinema.
The series doesn't go overboard with excessive amounts of dramatic cinema, and it usually uses them when Ryo is entering a new area for the first time. For instance, when Ryo first takes the bus from his neighborhood to the Harbor, you are treated to a sweeping fly-by of the entire harbor environment. From a perspective overlooking all the warehouses and the ocean, you can see workers welding the steel on the gigantic rig, sea gulls swooping underneath its arches, cars driving along the adjacent roads, and just the general activity of the people working about the harbor. The camera then flies down among the warehouses, showing the forklift traffic scattering the pigeons pacing about for food scraps. After being treated to this dramatic cinema, you see the camera finally settle on your approaching bus, just then arriving at the docks. Ryo was never a subject in the cut-scene, so there was no worry present that an unexpected QTE might distract your attention from the emotion or artistry of the unfolding scene.
The game uses these kind of cut-scenes effectively when it wants to set the mood for a turning point in your adventure and to evoke feeling for the context of your journey. When Ryo first leaves his house and ventures in to his neighborhood of Sakuragoaka, we get a sweeping shot of the neighborhood from high up. We get several segments showing the bustling pedestrian activity of Dobuita that don't even involve Ryo. As Ryo arrives in Hong Kong, we get shots of the vast ocean house boats crowding the waters. We gets similar cinematic cut-scenes of Aberdeen, Wan Chai, an especially dramatic approach scene of the countryside leading to Kowloon, etc.
AM2 just decided to spice up the other types of cut-scenes in the game with a potential for QTE - the rather comparatively ordinary story sequences where Ryo's actually interacting with potentially dangerous characters or situations. You know these are coming because a thug will approach Ryo with hostile intent, or perhaps knock a stack of crates into his way. Instead of just inactively watching the choreography and situation unfold, the QTE gives you a chance to be a part of it and influence it. There is definitely a distraction factor here like you mentioned, so that's why it's good that AM2 didn't totally do away with that other type of cut-scene - the artistic situations and cinematic ones that are often vital for setting mood and letting the user enjoy the beautiful or compelling artistry.
I can understand this perspective, but AM2 actually handled this in the series.
There are cut-scenes in the Shenmue games which are there to show these dramatic, artistic situations and motions without you having to worry about the distraction of a QTE. The nature of these cut-scenes are clearly evident when you first see them - the game's incredible musical score starts to swell in the background, the camera shots are generally sweeping, panoramic views of the vast environments, and Ryo isn't even included as a focus of the cinema.
The series doesn't go overboard with excessive amounts of dramatic cinema, and it usually uses them when Ryo is entering a new area for the first time. For instance, when Ryo first takes the bus from his neighborhood to the Harbor, you are treated to a sweeping fly-by of the entire harbor environment. From a perspective overlooking all the warehouses and the ocean, you can see workers welding the steel on the gigantic rig, sea gulls swooping underneath its arches, cars driving along the adjacent roads, and just the general activity of the people working about the harbor. The camera then flies down among the warehouses, showing the forklift traffic scattering the pigeons pacing about for food scraps. After being treated to this dramatic cinema, you see the camera finally settle on your approaching bus, just then arriving at the docks. Ryo was never a subject in the cut-scene, so there was no worry present that an unexpected QTE might distract your attention from the emotion or artistry of the unfolding scene.
The game uses these kind of cut-scenes effectively when it wants to set the mood for a turning point in your adventure and to evoke feeling for the context of your journey. When Ryo first leaves his house and ventures in to his neighborhood of Sakuragoaka, we get a sweeping shot of the neighborhood from high up. We get several segments showing the bustling pedestrian activity of Dobuita that don't even involve Ryo. As Ryo arrives in Hong Kong, we get shots of the vast ocean house boats crowding the waters. We gets similar cinematic cut-scenes of Aberdeen, Wan Chai, an especially dramatic approach scene of the countryside leading to Kowloon, etc.
AM2 just decided to spice up the other types of cut-scenes in the game with a potential for QTE - the rather comparatively ordinary story sequences where Ryo's actually interacting with potentially dangerous characters or situations. You know these are coming because a thug will approach Ryo with hostile intent, or perhaps knock a stack of crates into his way. Instead of just inactively watching the choreography and situation unfold, the QTE gives you a chance to be a part of it and influence it. There is definitely a distraction factor here like you mentioned, so that's why it's good that AM2 didn't totally do away with that other type of cut-scene - the artistic situations and cinematic ones that are often vital for setting mood and letting the user enjoy the beautiful or compelling artistry.
