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Asinine Mutterings About the PS2
07.30.06 / 09:00PM / Joe / all entries in Slashdot Comment History
Background: Some gamers have the completely ridiculous notion that the PS2 has so many JRPGs (Japanese Role Playing Games, like Final Fantasy) that it therefore doesn't have enough games from other genres. I have no idea what crazy evidence makes them think this, because I debunked their prime theories in this Slashdot comment war. The thread begins with an entertaining tete-a-tete between me and some guy. Complete original discussion here.
Games...
by Serapth (Score: -1, Flamebait)
Its funny that one of the biggest reasons for XBox's failure ( and most likely true ), is one of the biggest reason its my favorite console of this generation... Japanese RPG's.
To this day, I still dont understand the obsession with these games and how they manage to sell consoles. The most lauded console RPG in the last decade has to be FFVII, which I personally couldnt bring myself to finish. I played a handful of other J-RPG's on my PS2, and always came to the same conclussion, its always the same story/characters across different settings with random and mind numbingly boring combat throw into the mix.
Im sorry, maybe its my age coming into play here ( im 30 ), but the dialogue and especially romantic interests in theses games seem to be written to target a 12 year old. Plots from the games I played were well... um.... I suppose unique is a nice way to say it... non-sensical is probrably a more accurate way to put it. Then again, maybe its because I was raised playing mostly PC based RPGs so I have developed a different mindset and expectations then most console RPG gamers. Then again... I found dragon warrior fun on the Nes/SNES... but hey wait... I was what, 12 at the time? Makes sense.
So, as I said, I choose the XBox exactly because I prefer games outside the JRPG mode. Yet, I know im the minority here.
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Re:Games...
by StocDred (Score:3, Funny)
Its funny that one of the biggest reasons for XBox's success( and most likely true ), is one of the biggest reason its my least favorite console of this generation... FPS's.
To this day, I still dont understand the obsession with these games and how they manage to sell consoles. The most lauded console FPS in the last decade has to be Halo, which I personally couldnt bring myself to finish. I played a handful of other FPS's on my PS2, and always came to the same conclussion, its always the same story/characters across different settings with random and mind numbingly boring combat throw into the mix.
Im sorry, maybe its my age coming into play here ( im 30 ), but the dialogue and especially violence in theses games seem to be written to target a 12 year old. Plots from the games I played were well... um.... I suppose unique is a nice way to say it... non-sensical is probrably a more accurate way to put it. Then again, maybe its because I was raised playing mostly PC based FPSs so I have developed a different mindset and expectations then most console RPG gamers. Then again... I found Duke Nukem fun... but hey wait... I was what, 12 at the time? Makes sense.
So, as I said, I avoid the XBox exactly because I prefer games outside the FPS mode. Yet, I know im the minority here.
/Irony
I trust you see my point.
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Re:Games...
by Serapth (Score: 0)
Um... not really irony, just a really bad typo :)
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Re:Games...
by Anonymous Coward (Score: 0)
I trust you see my point.
You have honestly no taste in games?
Try playing games where you can play against other people, instead of games where your enemies moves are literally chosen at random. Then maybe you'll understand why FPSes will always be FAR superior to JRPGs.
And if not, just remember, you can't even actually ROLEPLAY in a JRPG. There's literally no point to playing them, ever.!
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Re:Games...
by StocDred (Score:1)
You have honestly no taste in games?
I actually don't particularly care for either genre, RPG or FPS. My point was that any old wanker can show up and pontificate about his or her favorite/least favorite genre using almost exactly the same reasoning.
My point was to inspire you bottom-feeding troglodytes to avoid posting your crap opinions, but as your post proves, I was unsuccessful. |
Re:Games...
by bigman2003 (Score: 1)
I agree with Serapth on this entire thread-
I too am very happy that the Xbox was NOT a home for many Japanese RPGs. It made a difference in the culture of the two consoles, and I also think it may have led developers to target a console based on the perceived clientele.
Games like Top Spin, Crimson Skies, Splinter Cell, Rainbow Six...those games interested me. And I think they did well on the Xbox, because of types of games they were, and the type of person who chose Xbox as their primary console.
Very rarely did I see a PS2 exclusive that interested me. But I saw a bunch of RPGs that were crowding the game space with titles I was not interested in. And yes, I think it makes a difference. Developers need to decide what platform to develop for (if not all platforms) and they kindof crowd together. And the ones I liked, crowded together on the Xbox.
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Re:Games...
by StocDred (Score:1)
This thread is absolutely crazy batshit nuts.
First of all, the games Splinter Cell and Rainbow Six were released for every gaming system under the sun, including PC, GBA and fucking cell phones, so they're hardly some kind of high-concept Xbox exclusive that gave people a reason to buy an Xbox above and beyond anything else. Top Spin was also released on PS2 (according to IGN's database) and Crimson Skies originally was a PC title! Are all Xbox owners so blinded to the Xbox's Obvious Brilliance that they don't even know that these games are literally everywhere?
Secondly, this is not a zero-sum system. If the PS2 has more RPGs, that doesn't mean it will have less games of another genre. The PS2 library is massive; there are plenty of games covering all genres. I have never heard anyone (aside from you lot) complain that the PS2 is a success primarily due to Japanese RPGs. The fact that Sony has the largest installed user base and therefore the biggest money pit to dive into is what kept developers making games for it. Nobody shied away from the PS2 because of all the JRPGs. If the Xbox had PS2-level sales, you would have seen a ton more RPGs released for it.
What you guys are dancing around isn't genre at all, it's online play. The Xbox has the best online setup and that is clearly the common demoninator in every Xbox game you mention. And, yeah, that could be a reason why a consumer or a developer chose Xbox over PS2 or GameCube. It wasn't because of JRPGs "crowding the game space."
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Re:Games...
by bigman2003 (Score: 1)
If you want to play Grand Theft Auto- which console do you buy?
All the games have come out on the Xbox...but they are always on the PS2 first. If you want GTA- you buy a PS2.
Now go check your release dates for Splinter Cell and Top Spin on the Xbox and compare them to the PS2...then check the ratings of each game at GameRankings.com. You will see that the dates, and the rankings, aren't even close. Xbox is the superior platform for those games.
Then go look at the PC version of Crimson Skies...and compare it to the Xbox version. Totally different games.
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Re:Games...
by StocDred (Score:1)
Now wait a minute... it's okay to buy a PS2 (inferior version) for GTA because it comes out there first instead of Xbox (superior version). And it's also okay to buy an Xbox (superior version) for Splinter Cell because it comes out there first instead of PS2 (inferior version). So your chief concern really isn't the quality of the game, it's which console gets it first.
And let's look at those release dates. Splinter Cell Xbox: 11/02. PS2: 04/03. GameCube: 04/03. That's pretty close, in my book, around 6 months. (And if I remember correctly, the PS2 version had an exclusive level and the GameCube version had GBA interactivity.) It sounds to me like this is the result of Microsoft's disengenous "exclusivity" marketing. Some people still think of Splinter Cell as an "Xbox game." Splinter Cell was marketed as an Xbox exclusive - and I heard of people who bought an Xbox specifically for SC - even though everyone who reads the press knew that the game was coming to PS2 and GameCube in a few months. Disgustingly, now we have accepted this practice under the label of "timed exclusives," which is probably this generation's most reprehensible addition to the marketing bag of tricks (although faked screenshots is a close second, also an Xbox innovation).
The release gaps for Pandora Tomorrow are similar to SC, and Chaos Theory was released for all three on the same day. And IGN really doesn't show much of a point difference in their review scores... not that they're the most trusted source in games journalism but at least that's one major player who didn't see much disparity across the versions. Rainbow Six is also awfully close among all the various iterations.
Top Spin, yeah, it came out 2 years later on PS2. Yes, that one is not even close. And yeah, same story with Crimson Skies.
But even with a big release gap, that wasn't really the point of the original commentary. The idea put forth was that "those types of games" were typical of Xbox and nothing else, and people who liked "those type of games" preferred Xbox over the others, especially given the JRPGs that typified the PS2 shelf stock (which is a false point anyway). My point was that "those type of games" are available for other systems, along with many other types of games, and that the Xbox really wasn't unique in that regard. Out of the four games quoted, only one is an Xbox exclusive (Crimson Skies) and that wasn't a wholly original IP anyway... nobody has listed any pure Xbox exclusives that truly defined, differentiated and sold the system. That's probably because there isn't that many of them, and most of them start with "Halo."
I also question what kind of Xbox Fanboy parameters unify a stealth action game, an airplane dogfighting game, a military simulation shooting game, and a tennis game... but, as I said, I think the true unifier for Xbox fans isn't genre preference at all, it's online play. People who preferred online play bought an Xbox... but having JRPGs on PS2 did not encourage developers to avoid releasing certain games on the system because they didn't think their games would cater to JRPG fans. That's absurd. The PS2 has the widest game library covering the most amount of genres simply because it is the better selling system and therefore has more consumers ready to throw money at it.
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Re:Games...
by bigman2003 (Score: 1)
Wait...do you really want to mention Rainbow Six?
At Gamerankings.com:
Rainbow Six 3 Xbox- 88% (pretty good)
Rainbow Six 3 PS2 - 72.1% (even lower if you take out the PS2 fanzines)
Rainbow Six 3 was another game that was essentially Xbox only (for the consoles).
And another game I liked.
Sure...go buy the PS2 version...it just isn't the same. Here is what Gamespot had to say about the PS2 version:
Unfortunately, the online multiplayer mode is stripped down from the Xbox version. It supports up to six players in a match (down from the Xbox's 16 players) and offers just three modes of play (down from the Xbox's five), all of which are variations on the deathmatch.
So if you want to play Rainbow Six (a multi-platform game) you are just getting ripped off if you go with the PS2 version. No...all things are not equal.
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Re:Games...
by StocDred (Score:1)
You're ignoring my point, yet you still manage to prove it.
Once again, it is the enhanced online play that differentiates the Xbox, not the game's genre.
The original posting suggested that "these types of games" - of which Rainbow Six was mentioned - were indicative of the Xbox's game library and people who liked those types of games tended to stick with the Xbox rather than the PS2. Several people in this thread were complaining about "all the JRPGs" available for PS2 and seem to think that the larger number of JRPGs scared away developers and gamers who did not make/like JRPGs. My point was that "these types of games" are all available for the PS2 in near-enough form (come on, the difference between 72% and 88% is not all that much, especially in the world of game reviews!) and that it's not genre that distinguished the Xbox library, it's online play. Because the genres mentioned as being Super Awesome on Xbox are readily available everywhere else. There is no genre available on Xbox that PS2 does not have... and if there is, it certainly isn't among the games yet mentioned.
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My conclusion is that most Xbox fanboys cannot read and that their parents still pay for their internet. |
