Why I changed my mind when it comes to Emulators !

So let me start off with some text I captured from the Playstation store website 

Valkyria Chronicles™

Sega of America Inc.

Disc Only

 I won't even get into how stupid the listing is, okay maybe a tick " Why list something you can not buy if you wanted to! " It however does not stop there do the same search but for Heavenly Sword, Different developer but will get the same result, DISK ONLY. You can rent the movie, or buy it even off the store, hell you can watch it on Netflix, god help ya actually want the game though. I own the game but it is simply to make a point, Developers and Publishers alike often complain how hard it is to make money nowadays, I say we need to save them from themselves.

 A bit of backstory I feel is in order here, if you will indulge me for a little bit, I promise it has a point to it. I had for the longest time considered using emulators, downloading ROMS/ISO's etc akin to theft or piracy. It just for whatever reason never set well with me, and was never at ease with those who did it.  So what made me change my mind, you maybe surprised it started with a Picture posted in a Final Fantasy community on Google+. I was browsing the posts that happened overnight and there was a picture of one of my favorite characters, over coffee FRAN from FF XII appeared on my screen. I remembered buying Final Fantasy XII back in the day and thinking damn I really should play that game again!

I was fully prepared to do just that till I remembered my PS2 was broken and I had never gotten around to fixing it, also that I had lost/lent or sold the original disk. Needless to say I was ticked off, but thought I will just buy it again from the Playstation store, I have a PS3. That was wishful thinking if you browsed the store it is like the game never existed, Steam maybe has it, good luck. 

 I searched Greenmangaming, GOG, Humble Bundle, even the Square Enix store nope. The game vanished as far as all of them were concerned into the Ether, I could not buy it legally. You can buy damn near every other Final Fantasy game on Steam or Playstation store, etc but not XII

 This brings me to the second reason I changed my mind, I posted how I was pissed I could not buy a copy from anywhere, someone said " Just emulate it, get the iso and emulator and play it on your PC "

 I replied I don't feel like that is right it was akin to theft, they said in what way? well i can buy it from Ebay or craigslist, flea market, etc,  the reply back was and how does that benefit Sony or Square in anyway? The only person making money is the seller, the people who made the game see not a cent

Square or Sony only made money off the initial sale. Needless to say I had no smart response back and in that moment my thoughts on it did a complete 180. 

 Could I go buy a replacement PS2 and a copy of the game, sure I could but not everybody can. Perhaps they do not have the disposable cash, or are like me no room too. Not to mention the cost of some of these original game disks/cartridges and systems.

 I did download a emulator and did go to a site they mentioned and downloaded the ISO, and felt none the worse for it. I had spent hours trying to find a way to buy the game so it benefited those who created/published the game and could not, I was left with no other option.  

 So Developers, Publishers, IP/Platformer owners you have only yourself to blame for my change of heart on the issue, why is FF XII not at least in PS2 classics on the store. I played the game emulated though using a 360 controller was weird, and I was in heaven once again. All the magic returned the first time I laid eyes on that magical world and Fran and I enjoyed it to death. I have since deleted the ISO from my HD but do have it saved in the cloud should I wish to revisit that magical world/story. 

 I have a better idea though make it so I can buy the game legally digitally at the very least, so those who created it benefit, not some kid on ebay. I not only would buy it but would do a live twitch and YouTube stream showing me deleting the ISO from my cloud and the emulator I used. I understand making a physical re-release would be risky as heck, but digital cost you nothing but disk-space and listing fee should you do it. Be it a PC port onto steam or on the Playstation Store as a PS2 classic playable on the PS3 I would perhaps buy both even. The main thing is I WOULD at least buy one of them and in a sense the game again all these years later.

I could easily mention other devs, platforms, etc but you get the point, just look at what Microsoft and rare did with Rare Replay earlier this year. it is one of their best selling games of the year, so much so they had to do second printings. You know why because a lot of people do not own their original xboxes, or where not born when the games game out. Their parents remember though, and have shared their love of games with their children, and now they get to experience that same joy.

Conclusion 

Build it and they will come, they will buy your games legally but you have to make them available first, Nintendo knows this they make a lot of classics available. Not every game but atleast they realise people do want to be able to play older games on their current devices, and the rest of the industry needs to follow what they started.

  In a lot of ways it is not the Consumer/Gamer that is the problem it is the Rights holders themselves that are there own worst enemies. Stop shooting yourself in the foot and complaining we are the problem, let us buy it and we will come. Will some people still pirate games of course they will, piracy has been around for decades, and will never go away. But that does not mean you should not celebrate your old IP's and capitalize on that library. Ohh and a little side note if your sitting on a IP and have no interest in ever revisiting it, then sell the rights to it for heaven's sake. Let someone else who does care do something with it, maybe just ask for a small royalty on the sales, but stop hoarding.

I will leave you as always

Play nice with each other

David

D

My thoughts on Sony's press conference at PGW

I am not going to list every game that Sony showed as that would be a 10 page blog post, and nobody wants that, even me. I had to re-watch the press conference as twitch was acting up for me yesterday, so thought it only fair I re-watch it on  Sony Playstation Youtube page. 

 So where to start there was Soooooooooooo many games, most were exclusive to PS4 or Playstation VR, or at the least console first on PS4. Unless I counted wrong there was like 25 games showcased at the event, an amount to rival their E3 2015 show.

Things I did not like, yes I don't drool everything Playstation:)

I am going to start with something Sony had no control over, and that was the audience, my lord I thought I was at a funeral. I don't know what they put in the water there in France, but it had to be Valium, or Xanax or something. Holy crap they were a quiet bunch, it was like they all wished they were anywhere but at this event, it was damn near depressing.  I can only imagine how most of the presenters felt having to go up on that stage, it could not have been easy.

Now onto things Sony could control, stop showcasing that hideous Black Ops III PS4 console, it is freaking ugly as sin. I would not even have that thing in my house if Yoshida-san himself gave me one for free, I am serious.

I understand Street Fighter V is a console exclusive, I get it but it did not deserve almost 15 minutes of the show. What was with that awkward exchange between Harada-san and the S.F guys it was cringe worthy to watch.  If ya want to have him on stage then bring him out alone to talk Tekken 7, was no need for what transpired. I get the tie in he is a character in Street Fighter 5, but was no real need to have him here.

Now onto things I liked, loved, drooled over.

I am not going to go into great detail on a lot of the games, and there was a lot, you can watch the media briefing for that. They started the show with Black Ops III and Star Wars battlefront, no surprise there, Sony is really tied into those two games. They also are coming out soon so was smart they showcased them right from the get go, that Darth Vader PS4 looks awesome I might add.

 The the whole Street fighter 5/ Tekken debacle as I refer to it as, you can see my feelings above so not going to dwell on it in any detail. Battleborn I am not into MOBA like games so it held no interest me for myself, though can see some really digging it. Vector again a game I could care a less about as I am not Rythm game fan, if I was I would own Persona Dancing all night long before Vector. A lingering theme of the show was most are 2016 games and beyond, that will come as no surprise to anyone.  Sony has been pretty up front that this holiday season is kind sparse other than Third party partnerships.

Then we come to No Man's Sky, and I have a prediction on this one, it was announced it is a June 2016 release. I predict that at E3 2016 it comes out with Playstation VR after the conference. I would not even be surprised if ya could buy Playstation VR get the game for free or at the least exclusive content.

Matterfall House Marque's new ip intrigued me, would be awesome if it had VR support but who knows time will tell. After was the new Ratchet and Clank PS4 exclusive game March 2016, I am a Jak and Daxter fan so was not interested myself. I think I refilled my Sake cup during it to be honest that is how little it interested me.

Horizon; Zero Dawn ohhhhhhhhhhhhh how do I love thee let me count the ways!!! I adore this game from what has been shown so far this year, I can not wait for this and may have to buy a PS4 for it I am that stoked. The more I see the more I am just fascinated by this world Guerrilla games has created, I can see this being Sony's next huge franchise. 

 Let's not forget Uncharted is done as we know it, and this as the next big franchise only makes sense, if this has VR support holy crap, that could be a Console and VR seller right there. The only thing that would be right up there on my hype tree is if Hellblade got announced, with VR support, but I don't expect that till 2017.

Bloodborne DLC add on/expansion that was known for ages, Driveclub adding Bikes that was interesting. The game has such a notorious past due to its massive delay, and launch day issues, but glad it is not abandoned. Sony stuck with it and the studio, the game runs excellent now. The fact they are going to expand on the base of the game is welcome news. Was also nice they mentioned it is standalone or who can buy it as an expansion if you own DriveClub. The cherry on top was that it was available to buy right after the show on the Playstation store, that I did not see coming at all.

 I will skip Gravity Rush 2 because I am still pissed another Vita title has migrated to PS4 thats all I will say.

Uncharted 4 saw the MP and a Beta will be playable starting Dec 4-13 2015, they say March release date I will believe it when I see it.

Dreams I have to be honest looks cool, it is imaginative and Media Molecule has a lot of Imagination, but it is not a game for me.

Then we got into Playstation VR and boy we got quite a lot of info, surprised most was not saved for PSX in December. Rigs I think sony is banking on becoming MLG Esport game time will tell though but I liked what I saw.

Until Dawn Rush of Blood okay this I probably should have put up top under things I hated, this game makes no sense as named. Colin Moriarty from kindafunnygames said exactly what I was thinking when watching this. The game has NOTHING to do with Until Dawn, why tarnish that games reputation with that title. It just makes no logical sense to me whatsoever but you know they will stick with the name, it has cache. 

Crytek showed their new game ( I'll be honest I thought they went under ) and ceased to exist as a studio. It is a VR game so who knows where it goes, VR is still unproven as to being widely adopted my most gamers. I will say this though a demo called " The Walk " looked bloody awesome and showcased the highlights of VR very well.

 I also caught a glimpse in a sizzle reel that Final Fantasy XIV: HeavensWard will be Playstation VR compatible. 

One of the loudest applause was for Polyphony logo as people new we were going to see Gran Turismo.though it is not called 7. Gran Turismo Sport is the new title, and will have a early Beta out in early 2016,. it also no surprise really will have VR support when the full game is out, be you like racing games or not they are huge in Europe.

Now we come to a game that has me really excited, and divides a lot of the Playstation community, more so the Studio. Detroit: Become Human is Quantic Dreams new game and I have to say I had never heard of Kara before. Now hate on David cage all ya like, I like their games, from heavy rain up to Beyond 2 Souls, yes I liked B2S.  They showed actual in engine game capture, so I am assuming the game is pretty far along in development. We did not get a release date I assume Holiday 2016 at the very earliest, but time will tell.

All in all I enjoyed the show and thought Sony showcased one of their strengths, Games, Games and more games. Also they showcased their tight relationship with both their First party studios, Third Party and Indies. All in all even with all the awkward moments of presenters, and the comatose audience I thought the show was well done. Myself I can not wait till PSX in San Francisco come Dec and what will be showcased there.

I will leave you as always Play nice with each other

David

Why timed exclusives are DEAD!!!!!!

So a lot of news of late has surrounded some aspects of games having timed exclusivity, which is a waste of money and time IMHO to any gamer.  A few examples are Destiny a lot of the DLC granted is timed exclusive, as are some guns and maps etc, FOR A YEAR from the games release date. Now does Xbox get a bone thrown here or there yeah they do, but it is not the point. I exclude some games like Bayonetta 2 because without Nintendo that game never gets made. Call Of Duty(COD)  is another example that applies in the following text.

 The Fact as a gamer you pay full price for in the case of Destiny, get a crippled game is unacceptable. Yes I said Crippled, because as a Xbox gamer you are paying the exact same price as the PlayStation gamer but either getting less or having to wait for a year in some cases for the same game. Now most who follow me on Google+ and Twitter know I prefer PlayStation and PC for gaming, PC for Multi-plats and yes I also talk about things other then gaming on Twitter.

 I offer this to the developers and Publishers out there, as a gamer myself your cash grabs are dead. If you think because Microsoft roll up with a truck load of money, and others have to wait we will switch your nuts. Those days if they ever existed are long dead, you really think we will switch consoles or device because you get a toy first on this one. THINK AGAIN, This is not the 80's we as gamers are not stupid, we will wait out your money play and buy the game on our preferred platform.

 So here is some advice Devs. pubs, and console makers. SAVE YOUR $ we are not stupid we will wait you out and your money was spent for NOT. AGAIN Save your money, invest in your internal studios and platforms like PSN and Xbox Live. The days of someone changing their mind because this game is coming out first on X console or platform are over.

  I will leave you with one last point, Do you honestly think a single PC gamer said Screw it, I am getting a Xbox or PlayStation console because GTA V is not out for a year on PC? I need to change platform and buy a Xbox or PlayStation, same goes for Nintendo. NOT going to happen we will wait you out, and believe me I was seriously tempted to buy a Wii U when I saw Bayonetta 2. That is one I just won't get to play in the near future but I can live with that as they did pay to make it.

So in conclusion Pubs/Devs Console makers wake up we are not stupid, we will wait you out as gamers. You need to sell your game more then we need to buy them or your console, We have options out the ying-yang, you have but a single choice to make, make the smart one and don't allow exclusivity in your games.
As a side note do not tell me timed exclusivity sells consoles because that is utter bullshit. First party games sell consoles nothing more, nothing less. You love uncharted your gonna buy a PlayStation device,. You love Halo your going to buy a Xbox, Mario a Nintendo device.

No gamer is switching loyalties because you get a gun for 6 months before me, that crap is dead to most gamers. Adapt Developers/Publisher/Rights owners we have grown up, we are device agnostic and I am 55yrs old, Give us what we want, where we want on the device we want when we want, or we will just wait you out

+Dave Mckee TheCyclingNut
Be nice to each other chow