My Anime choices for this month

So I have to be honest Summer when it comes to Anime or Manga for that matter is always a tough slog for me, finish spring, start summer. You get the picture it always comes down to which do I choose finish ones I was watching from last year/Spring, or take in the glorious new summer season of a new anime. Boy is there some great anime this summer I will list of a few I am watching in case your bored, these are in no particular order I hate ratings for the most part. :)

 1) I could not resist finishing The Flying Witch plain, simple, slice of life really anime that started late spring IIRC. For some reason as you will see as we progress summer I don'.t want heavy. I did finish Your Lie in April and have ordered the blu-ray of it, yes it was that damn good for me, flying Witch I may but not sold on buying it yet.

2) 91 Days: All ya need to know is slick storytelling and Mafia myth inspired series, sorry this one does it for me where GANGSTA did not, so far of course. Either way is worth a hour or two of your time. The writing in this really is well done done compared to a lot of recent anime.

3) Love Live Sunshine: Yes I know I trashed it on Google + based on first 3 episodes, but it has gotten better, it still is a somewhat clone of Love Live the original though. Yes it is almost a re-telling of the original series with CHIBI characters substituting for Honoka, NICO and MAKI etc.
 That said it by the 5th episode still invoked tears in me at some of the scenarios and songs, perhaps was me thinking back to High school Idol Project. Either way it made me shed a tear, by the way making a single male who is 56 yrs old shed a tear is accomplishment in and of itself!!!

4) Orange: Okay is this Steins gate no it is not but it ain't bad either. send a letter to yourself from the future and read it in present day. seriously what is not to love it breaks up my typical somber mood anime wise during the summer


Other then that I am mostly re-watching anime I have seen like Black Lagoon ( must watch by the way ) or finishing past ones I had started like Our Fox'es home Deity and re-watching Claymore and xxHolic for the 100th time. So those are just some ideas if your looking for something to watch before school starts back up in September.

As always Play nice, it is just a game

David

FF XV delay, No mans sky.

Well it has been awhile since I last wrote anything here, health issues had me down and well the summer gaming wise is boring for the most part, I did miss fall 2015 sorry.

SO what is on my mind this summer

Well summer is starting to wind down, bigger games are coming out, though bigger is a relative term really, we have No mans Sky, Final Fantasy XV delay. Two games I think suffer from the same affliction in the long wrong, let me explain. No mans sky debuted in 2012/13 IIRC and Sony put it front of stage/show over the coming years. despite having a studio head clearly un-comfortable on stage and in public they kept pushing him out. That in and of itself does not make a bad game in consumers minds, many people have issues with crowds, hell just watch anime :)

This is where we get to the similarity's between it and Final Fantasy XV ( FF XV ) and No Mans Sky and wait for it,,,,,,,,,, another game I feel the same way. What games could they be other then the first two I mentioned, for one of them I will speak from experience yet another Sony hyped game " DESTINY sorry no way you can say it matched most gamer's expectations. "

See where this is going, I will just direct quote a post I made on Google + to save typing and time.

My thoughts on the Final Fantasy XV delay

I have to be honest I could care a less, yes I love FF but gave up on this game what feels like a decade ago. I truly am to the point if it never came out I would not shed a tear, don't get me wrong. I hope it sells tens of millions and revitalises the series I just don't see that coming to pass. I have written on my blog a few times my thoughts of Square Enix today compared to say 15 years ago.


There was a time I saw Squaresoft on a box it was a must buy, could care a less what the game was about it is Square so it is gonna be good. Those days passed long ago, ATLUS now occupy's that place in my wallet. I also do not see it getting dis-logged anytime soon based on Squares previous works.

Yes XIV is a fun game I have it but it is subscriber based so they have to keep putting out to keep gamer's paying the fees. The problem I have with Square is they constantly announce new projects like FF VII remake yet have never finished Kingdom Hearts 3. They keep making announcements, movies, anime's and so on yet to finish what they start.

 Who the hell asked for a movie based on FF XV, anyone.......???? didn't think so not to mention it is animated, time that could have been spent releasing games they announced over a decade ago. So am I concerned or upset NO I am not as I gave up caring about this game a decade ago damn near, along with some of their other " Announcements." < end the quote >

 Now we enter the third game I feel is going to suffer from the same malaise from the public, that is get ready for it..... " The Last Guardian." Yet another game announced long before it should have ever been, hyped to the heavens and can never meet those expectations. Josh asked what I wanted for a present this birthday I said nothing, I will let ya know, months past and he asked me again and he mentioned he had ordered No Mans Sky and was going to for me, I said no. Not because I knew it would be a bad game or a great game, but because there was no way it could match the hype.


 This also holds true for those FF XV fans and those who are interested in the Last Guardian, it could be 7 yrs ago GOTY candidate or winner. Today there is NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO possible way it could ever match the vision gamer's have in their minds to it's final incarnation. It I believe like No Mans Sky and what will eventually be FF XV will be a disappointment to all those who pre-order it, because it does not match our vision.

The difference is Hello Games had no past track record with us, what was Team ICO is long since gone but Square Enix we know very well, a legacy of disappointment the past 10+ years. So am I upset 15 is delayed hell no, I will pick it up 3 yrs from now like " The Last Guardian " from the bargain bin like most over hyped games.

Till next time remember it's only a game, play nice with each other.

David

Don't be so dismissive of Cloud coming to Super Smash Brothers

So a lot of people are laughing on Twitter and the like about the ending to the Nintendo Direct today, Cloud in SSB what a joke. Do not be so dismissive of it and here is why, granted call it my conspiracy theory but here goes.

When a Platform owner is making a new console and we all know NX is coming, Nintendo themselves said we will talk about it at E3 2016. I am not going to get into the rumours Nintendo has already started manufacturing them and is just waiting to release it, not going to happen. Events like that have months and months of leadup promotion etc, but here is where my conspiracy comes in.

 Long before they are  showcased and announced they give large Developers and publishers prototype kits of what they are thinking will be the final product. This is to allow devs to get hands on with the new console and see if they can program for it. It may not be set in stone but all the main guts of their new device are in place, and devs are free to create.  Final Fantasy for the longest time since VII has been associated with Playstation, yes there is now PC ports etc, but people assc it with Playstation.

 Now I can not see them abandoning that tradition anytime soon, they have benefited to much from that partnership. How about this though, they do have a NX prototype and said yeah we can work with this. Let's do something with Wii U to get interest back in Final Fantasy on Nintendo and we will make games for your NX. Not exclusive but yeah we will support your new console with games and content, and who knows the odd exclusive game for it.

 I do not think that announcement was just thrown in to fill out the Direct I think there is something brewing in the background none of us has a clue about.

Say I watched the X-files to much or should stop watching A&E but I think there maybe more to this than meets the eye.

I will leave you as always, Play nice with each other

David 

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 PS4 sales numbers

Sony tomorrow Oct 29th/2015 if I recall correctly is scheduled to release their earnings report. and it could be interesting to read. Development and production costs I have to believe have been fully recovered for the PS4, hence we got the price cut earlier this month. Some are thinking 25 Million PS4 units SOLD not shipped I think it maybe higher, like 26 Million sold. PS4 is a massive success by any consoles sales standards. It is out pacing everything on the market and even the Legendary PS2 ( The best selling Game console in History ) I do not expect that to change.

 While it is true that Sony does not have that blockbuster Holiday exclusive this holiday season they have a solid lineup. If they could have had Uncharted 4: A Thief's End I am sure they would have pressured Naughty Dog to do it, to their credit they did not. They realize it is a legendary franchise and this is probably its last hurrah, so they let Naughty Dog do their thing. Despite not having a Halo Killer, a Tomb Raider rival to offer this holiday the console still sells exceedingly well, even on Xbox home turf.

 What scares me is how poorly Sony's other divisions maybe doing, for a few years now Playstation has been the only profitable thing in their stable. You can not maintain a company of Sony's size with only 1 division firing on all cylinders, it is just not sustainable for any organization.

Some have said Sony will at some point spin off Playstation and make it a separate company I don't see it happening anytime soon. Perhaps in the future say 5 yrs from now they make make it a separate Publicly traded company, with Sony being the major shareholder. I just do not see why they would do it unless they shed a lot of divisions under their umbrella and Sony is Playstation. I am sure that day will come if Sony's other divisions continue to bleed money as they have been the past number of years.

 This maybe one earnings report even those who are not into business in any form wants to read in detail.

 I will leave you as always " Play nice with each other " :)

David

Sony and name changing

Okay I came across this very disheartening post on gamespot website about the ability to change our usernames. I am sorry Yoshida-san this is not acceptable, and just reinforces the idea even Sony does not know how their infrastructure works on PSN. You need to address this and fast it is becoming the number 1 issue fans like me have of Playstation, we don't care how just make it so #1

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