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Games across the formats are multi-format games, are they good or bad or infact just plain evil?
Well maybe not as far as evil but with every thing gaming these days it seems that something maybe going very wrong for the gamer.
I was just browsing away on the site, looking for new games I should look out for in the future and ones to avoid. Many of the games were multi format, on either the PS2, Gamecube and/or Xbox, at first thought I think 'hey thats a good idea, means a lot more people can experience the game' and in a way that is so very true, the same game on all formats, developers happy and we are happy. In a perfect world maybe but we are far from that.
You see this isn't a perfect world. So whats the problem? Well to me it is a case of make money fast for some of the developers. For the one reason that it is exactly the same game on each console. Some may argue what's wrong with that, well let me explain.....
Every console is different, we already knew that of course but due to the fact they are different means that the programmers can make use of certain features to boost performance and make a game run 'as best as it can' on the certain console'. But with multi format this is not always the case and in fact in most cases very little in way of change between format versions has occured. Sometimes you will be lucky in that the developer has taken time and effort to make sure each game runs as best it can on each of the consoles or that the performance of the game is so high that without the added techniques the gameplay, graphics ect doesn't suffer. Sadly this isn't always the case.
Just from reading posts on this site from what people like and dislike about games it is obvious to see that in most cases views of multi format games vary. Some versions seem to run great on a certain console but suffer on another. I also remember just after turok came out walking into GAME in glasgow and playing the XBox and Gamecube version. Was it just me or was the Gamecube version better? As if the game was designed solely for the gamecube and then ported to the XBox and PS2 without much care into how well it could run on these consoles with a few tweaks and changes.
So is this fair?
For me it isn't. For me every developer should work their hardest and make each game run as best as it can on which ever console they decided to release it for. Sadly though this probably would be the perfect world, with peace, no wars, no polution, no crappy pop music and no blatent money grabbing going on around us.
So back to reality..
Is this just developers or more so publishers trying to make a quick buck, advertise the game, make people want it then give them something which to me could be deemed as incomplete in some aspect.
How much does the average new game cost today? £44 or there abouts depending on where you get it from, usually within the range of £32 to £50 anyway. So where does the money from the game go? Well for us in the UK there is the VAT cost added to the final price, the added cost the retailers add to it, the cost to produce for the specific hardware(Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft charge to allow developers to release games for their console, usually a set price for each copy), then the costs to release the game(advertise, production of final copies etc) and lastly the money for the publisher of the game.
The average game today costs millions, usually around the £3 million mark after all the production, marketing and advertising costs are added up.
One thing to note here is the fact that all games differ in cost to produce yet all seem to be released at the same price, much in the same way with DVD's and albums no matter how much they cost to make and record they still get a normal standard price. We know there is a very high demand for certain consoles (Sony are now producing a greater number of PS2's than originally planned to supply the demand) and also for certain games (GTA VC selling out withing the first few weeks), now you can't honestly say that with a lower price you wouldn't expect even more people to become interested in either a console and/or more games they would have overlooked at todays prices.
One thing I can't help think is that we are being ripped off in a big way, and it sadly seems like the retailer is getting the biggest slice of the money cake. But I can't help think that if the cost of games went down then surely people would buy more games. Therfore if the price of a game was to half then you would naturally buy more games so the loss of money to those who gain from each sale would be very low possibly even more. The reason games cost so much is because the publishers think they can get away with charging that much and they are right, nobody seems to do anyhting about it.
You could argue that the cost of game effects the games we see, so many sequels and unorigial ideas because the risk is so high, this is why developers produce games they know are similar in a way to those who have sold well. So to release a new original idea you have to to take a risk and also get lucky. Unless people know enough about a game it is unlikely they are going to buy it, with a lower cost it could well be that not only will you buy more games but also buy games that you may never consider buying before. So this is where the multi format aspect comes into play. Maximise money by offering almost the same product to a much larger fanbase, its fair business until you realise at these prices we are being ripped off.
But with all this I still see multi format games as a good idea, but they could be a lot better, offer something different for each version and make each run as best they can and it may well be that we see things being done more fairly. It gives every gamer a lot more variety, certain developers who in the past have only ever developed for one company are now developing on a multi format level which means that PS2 owners, Xbox and Gamecube owners all get similar games and the developers make more money from it all.
Also the multi format games offer new discussions as fanboys complain about their beloved developers now producing for rival consoles while others just enjoy the game, also gives us a chance to compare how each console compares to it's rivals (Of course attention has to be paid to how well the game was produced on each console so that only the games that maximise the best bits of each console are selected to compare the consoles).
Sega now produce multi format, how long before others like Nintendo and Sony allow their own developers to create games for other formats? At first it seems like an odd idea, why help the oposition but could it be possible that the make profit from it all and also attract others to their console? It could happen.
So whats your views on the sudden increase in multi format titles? Good thing or bad thing? An easy way to make money and rip us off or just a sign of things to come?
Well maybe not as far as evil but with every thing gaming these days it seems that something maybe going very wrong for the gamer.
I was just browsing away on the site, looking for new games I should look out for in the future and ones to avoid. Many of the games were multi format, on either the PS2, Gamecube and/or Xbox, at first thought I think 'hey thats a good idea, means a lot more people can experience the game' and in a way that is so very true, the same game on all formats, developers happy and we are happy. In a perfect world maybe but we are far from that.
You see this isn't a perfect world. So whats the problem? Well to me it is a case of make money fast for some of the developers. For the one reason that it is exactly the same game on each console. Some may argue what's wrong with that, well let me explain.....
Every console is different, we already knew that of course but due to the fact they are different means that the programmers can make use of certain features to boost performance and make a game run 'as best as it can' on the certain console'. But with multi format this is not always the case and in fact in most cases very little in way of change between format versions has occured. Sometimes you will be lucky in that the developer has taken time and effort to make sure each game runs as best it can on each of the consoles or that the performance of the game is so high that without the added techniques the gameplay, graphics ect doesn't suffer. Sadly this isn't always the case.
Just from reading posts on this site from what people like and dislike about games it is obvious to see that in most cases views of multi format games vary. Some versions seem to run great on a certain console but suffer on another. I also remember just after turok came out walking into GAME in glasgow and playing the XBox and Gamecube version. Was it just me or was the Gamecube version better? As if the game was designed solely for the gamecube and then ported to the XBox and PS2 without much care into how well it could run on these consoles with a few tweaks and changes.
So is this fair?
For me it isn't. For me every developer should work their hardest and make each game run as best as it can on which ever console they decided to release it for. Sadly though this probably would be the perfect world, with peace, no wars, no polution, no crappy pop music and no blatent money grabbing going on around us.
So back to reality..
Is this just developers or more so publishers trying to make a quick buck, advertise the game, make people want it then give them something which to me could be deemed as incomplete in some aspect.
How much does the average new game cost today? £44 or there abouts depending on where you get it from, usually within the range of £32 to £50 anyway. So where does the money from the game go? Well for us in the UK there is the VAT cost added to the final price, the added cost the retailers add to it, the cost to produce for the specific hardware(Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft charge to allow developers to release games for their console, usually a set price for each copy), then the costs to release the game(advertise, production of final copies etc) and lastly the money for the publisher of the game.
The average game today costs millions, usually around the £3 million mark after all the production, marketing and advertising costs are added up.
One thing to note here is the fact that all games differ in cost to produce yet all seem to be released at the same price, much in the same way with DVD's and albums no matter how much they cost to make and record they still get a normal standard price. We know there is a very high demand for certain consoles (Sony are now producing a greater number of PS2's than originally planned to supply the demand) and also for certain games (GTA VC selling out withing the first few weeks), now you can't honestly say that with a lower price you wouldn't expect even more people to become interested in either a console and/or more games they would have overlooked at todays prices.
One thing I can't help think is that we are being ripped off in a big way, and it sadly seems like the retailer is getting the biggest slice of the money cake. But I can't help think that if the cost of games went down then surely people would buy more games. Therfore if the price of a game was to half then you would naturally buy more games so the loss of money to those who gain from each sale would be very low possibly even more. The reason games cost so much is because the publishers think they can get away with charging that much and they are right, nobody seems to do anyhting about it.
You could argue that the cost of game effects the games we see, so many sequels and unorigial ideas because the risk is so high, this is why developers produce games they know are similar in a way to those who have sold well. So to release a new original idea you have to to take a risk and also get lucky. Unless people know enough about a game it is unlikely they are going to buy it, with a lower cost it could well be that not only will you buy more games but also buy games that you may never consider buying before. So this is where the multi format aspect comes into play. Maximise money by offering almost the same product to a much larger fanbase, its fair business until you realise at these prices we are being ripped off.
But with all this I still see multi format games as a good idea, but they could be a lot better, offer something different for each version and make each run as best they can and it may well be that we see things being done more fairly. It gives every gamer a lot more variety, certain developers who in the past have only ever developed for one company are now developing on a multi format level which means that PS2 owners, Xbox and Gamecube owners all get similar games and the developers make more money from it all.
Also the multi format games offer new discussions as fanboys complain about their beloved developers now producing for rival consoles while others just enjoy the game, also gives us a chance to compare how each console compares to it's rivals (Of course attention has to be paid to how well the game was produced on each console so that only the games that maximise the best bits of each console are selected to compare the consoles).
Sega now produce multi format, how long before others like Nintendo and Sony allow their own developers to create games for other formats? At first it seems like an odd idea, why help the oposition but could it be possible that the make profit from it all and also attract others to their console? It could happen.
So whats your views on the sudden increase in multi format titles? Good thing or bad thing? An easy way to make money and rip us off or just a sign of things to come?
I quite like the trend of third-party multi-platform titles and certain one console exclusives. It lessens my need to have all three consoles. I'm not going to buy an X-Box purely for Halo and Splinter Cell - but if a bunch of stuff like Rocky had been exclusive then I would have been sorely tempted.
Games across the formats are multi-format games, are they good or bad or infact just plain evil?
Well maybe not as far as evil but with every thing gaming these days it seems that something maybe going very wrong for the gamer.
I was just browsing away on the site, looking for new games I should look out for in the future and ones to avoid. Many of the games were multi format, on either the PS2, Gamecube and/or Xbox, at first thought I think 'hey thats a good idea, means a lot more people can experience the game' and in a way that is so very true, the same game on all formats, developers happy and we are happy. In a perfect world maybe but we are far from that.
You see this isn't a perfect world. So whats the problem? Well to me it is a case of make money fast for some of the developers. For the one reason that it is exactly the same game on each console. Some may argue what's wrong with that, well let me explain.....
Every console is different, we already knew that of course but due to the fact they are different means that the programmers can make use of certain features to boost performance and make a game run 'as best as it can' on the certain console'. But with multi format this is not always the case and in fact in most cases very little in way of change between format versions has occured. Sometimes you will be lucky in that the developer has taken time and effort to make sure each game runs as best it can on each of the consoles or that the performance of the game is so high that without the added techniques the gameplay, graphics ect doesn't suffer. Sadly this isn't always the case.
Just from reading posts on this site from what people like and dislike about games it is obvious to see that in most cases views of multi format games vary. Some versions seem to run great on a certain console but suffer on another. I also remember just after turok came out walking into GAME in glasgow and playing the XBox and Gamecube version. Was it just me or was the Gamecube version better? As if the game was designed solely for the gamecube and then ported to the XBox and PS2 without much care into how well it could run on these consoles with a few tweaks and changes.
So is this fair?
For me it isn't. For me every developer should work their hardest and make each game run as best as it can on which ever console they decided to release it for. Sadly though this probably would be the perfect world, with peace, no wars, no polution, no crappy pop music and no blatent money grabbing going on around us.
So back to reality..
Is this just developers or more so publishers trying to make a quick buck, advertise the game, make people want it then give them something which to me could be deemed as incomplete in some aspect.
How much does the average new game cost today? £44 or there abouts depending on where you get it from, usually within the range of £32 to £50 anyway. So where does the money from the game go? Well for us in the UK there is the VAT cost added to the final price, the added cost the retailers add to it, the cost to produce for the specific hardware(Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft charge to allow developers to release games for their console, usually a set price for each copy), then the costs to release the game(advertise, production of final copies etc) and lastly the money for the publisher of the game.
The average game today costs millions, usually around the £3 million mark after all the production, marketing and advertising costs are added up.
One thing to note here is the fact that all games differ in cost to produce yet all seem to be released at the same price, much in the same way with DVD's and albums no matter how much they cost to make and record they still get a normal standard price. We know there is a very high demand for certain consoles (Sony are now producing a greater number of PS2's than originally planned to supply the demand) and also for certain games (GTA VC selling out withing the first few weeks), now you can't honestly say that with a lower price you wouldn't expect even more people to become interested in either a console and/or more games they would have overlooked at todays prices.
One thing I can't help think is that we are being ripped off in a big way, and it sadly seems like the retailer is getting the biggest slice of the money cake. But I can't help think that if the cost of games went down then surely people would buy more games. Therfore if the price of a game was to half then you would naturally buy more games so the loss of money to those who gain from each sale would be very low possibly even more. The reason games cost so much is because the publishers think they can get away with charging that much and they are right, nobody seems to do anyhting about it.
You could argue that the cost of game effects the games we see, so many sequels and unorigial ideas because the risk is so high, this is why developers produce games they know are similar in a way to those who have sold well. So to release a new original idea you have to to take a risk and also get lucky. Unless people know enough about a game it is unlikely they are going to buy it, with a lower cost it could well be that not only will you buy more games but also buy games that you may never consider buying before. So this is where the multi format aspect comes into play. Maximise money by offering almost the same product to a much larger fanbase, its fair business until you realise at these prices we are being ripped off.
But with all this I still see multi format games as a good idea, but they could be a lot better, offer something different for each version and make each run as best they can and it may well be that we see things being done more fairly. It gives every gamer a lot more variety, certain developers who in the past have only ever developed for one company are now developing on a multi format level which means that PS2 owners, Xbox and Gamecube owners all get similar games and the developers make more money from it all.
Also the multi format games offer new discussions as fanboys complain about their beloved developers now producing for rival consoles while others just enjoy the game, also gives us a chance to compare how each console compares to it's rivals (Of course attention has to be paid to how well the game was produced on each console so that only the games that maximise the best bits of each console are selected to compare the consoles).
Sega now produce multi format, how long before others like Nintendo and Sony allow their own developers to create games for other formats? At first it seems like an odd idea, why help the oposition but could it be possible that the make profit from it all and also attract others to their console? It could happen.
So whats your views on the sudden increase in multi format titles? Good thing or bad thing? An easy way to make money and rip us off or just a sign of things to come?
Well maybe not as far as evil but with every thing gaming these days it seems that something maybe going very wrong for the gamer.
I was just browsing away on the site, looking for new games I should look out for in the future and ones to avoid. Many of the games were multi format, on either the PS2, Gamecube and/or Xbox, at first thought I think 'hey thats a good idea, means a lot more people can experience the game' and in a way that is so very true, the same game on all formats, developers happy and we are happy. In a perfect world maybe but we are far from that.
You see this isn't a perfect world. So whats the problem? Well to me it is a case of make money fast for some of the developers. For the one reason that it is exactly the same game on each console. Some may argue what's wrong with that, well let me explain.....
Every console is different, we already knew that of course but due to the fact they are different means that the programmers can make use of certain features to boost performance and make a game run 'as best as it can' on the certain console'. But with multi format this is not always the case and in fact in most cases very little in way of change between format versions has occured. Sometimes you will be lucky in that the developer has taken time and effort to make sure each game runs as best it can on each of the consoles or that the performance of the game is so high that without the added techniques the gameplay, graphics ect doesn't suffer. Sadly this isn't always the case.
Just from reading posts on this site from what people like and dislike about games it is obvious to see that in most cases views of multi format games vary. Some versions seem to run great on a certain console but suffer on another. I also remember just after turok came out walking into GAME in glasgow and playing the XBox and Gamecube version. Was it just me or was the Gamecube version better? As if the game was designed solely for the gamecube and then ported to the XBox and PS2 without much care into how well it could run on these consoles with a few tweaks and changes.
So is this fair?
For me it isn't. For me every developer should work their hardest and make each game run as best as it can on which ever console they decided to release it for. Sadly though this probably would be the perfect world, with peace, no wars, no polution, no crappy pop music and no blatent money grabbing going on around us.
So back to reality..
Is this just developers or more so publishers trying to make a quick buck, advertise the game, make people want it then give them something which to me could be deemed as incomplete in some aspect.
How much does the average new game cost today? £44 or there abouts depending on where you get it from, usually within the range of £32 to £50 anyway. So where does the money from the game go? Well for us in the UK there is the VAT cost added to the final price, the added cost the retailers add to it, the cost to produce for the specific hardware(Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft charge to allow developers to release games for their console, usually a set price for each copy), then the costs to release the game(advertise, production of final copies etc) and lastly the money for the publisher of the game.
The average game today costs millions, usually around the £3 million mark after all the production, marketing and advertising costs are added up.
One thing to note here is the fact that all games differ in cost to produce yet all seem to be released at the same price, much in the same way with DVD's and albums no matter how much they cost to make and record they still get a normal standard price. We know there is a very high demand for certain consoles (Sony are now producing a greater number of PS2's than originally planned to supply the demand) and also for certain games (GTA VC selling out withing the first few weeks), now you can't honestly say that with a lower price you wouldn't expect even more people to become interested in either a console and/or more games they would have overlooked at todays prices.
One thing I can't help think is that we are being ripped off in a big way, and it sadly seems like the retailer is getting the biggest slice of the money cake. But I can't help think that if the cost of games went down then surely people would buy more games. Therfore if the price of a game was to half then you would naturally buy more games so the loss of money to those who gain from each sale would be very low possibly even more. The reason games cost so much is because the publishers think they can get away with charging that much and they are right, nobody seems to do anyhting about it.
You could argue that the cost of game effects the games we see, so many sequels and unorigial ideas because the risk is so high, this is why developers produce games they know are similar in a way to those who have sold well. So to release a new original idea you have to to take a risk and also get lucky. Unless people know enough about a game it is unlikely they are going to buy it, with a lower cost it could well be that not only will you buy more games but also buy games that you may never consider buying before. So this is where the multi format aspect comes into play. Maximise money by offering almost the same product to a much larger fanbase, its fair business until you realise at these prices we are being ripped off.
But with all this I still see multi format games as a good idea, but they could be a lot better, offer something different for each version and make each run as best they can and it may well be that we see things being done more fairly. It gives every gamer a lot more variety, certain developers who in the past have only ever developed for one company are now developing on a multi format level which means that PS2 owners, Xbox and Gamecube owners all get similar games and the developers make more money from it all.
Also the multi format games offer new discussions as fanboys complain about their beloved developers now producing for rival consoles while others just enjoy the game, also gives us a chance to compare how each console compares to it's rivals (Of course attention has to be paid to how well the game was produced on each console so that only the games that maximise the best bits of each console are selected to compare the consoles).
Sega now produce multi format, how long before others like Nintendo and Sony allow their own developers to create games for other formats? At first it seems like an odd idea, why help the oposition but could it be possible that the make profit from it all and also attract others to their console? It could happen.
So whats your views on the sudden increase in multi format titles? Good thing or bad thing? An easy way to make money and rip us off or just a sign of things to come?