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Multi format games? 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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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?
Nice topic there, seeing that I've always had an issue with games being multi-formatted, mainly focusing on the PS2.
Call me greedy, but I don't like the idea that other consoles get to play the same game as the one I have - a PS2. I don't know what it is that makes me not like it but I just don't. But on the other hand, multi-formatting is a good thing when the game wasn't intended for the likes of say.. the PS2(my fave console), but for say ..the GameCube(my second fave console). If the game was intended for the GameCube and got moved its way onto the PS2 I would gladly accept it for the mere fact that I get to enjoy the same games as my rivals do.
Ok ok, gaming isn't about rivalry but we all have those feelings that can't be helped.
Scanning through what I have written, I do feel a bit greedy but what the heck!
Call me greedy, but I don't like the idea that other consoles get to play the same game as the one I have - a PS2. I don't know what it is that makes me not like it but I just don't. But on the other hand, multi-formatting is a good thing when the game wasn't intended for the likes of say.. the PS2(my fave console), but for say ..the GameCube(my second fave console). If the game was intended for the GameCube and got moved its way onto the PS2 I would gladly accept it for the mere fact that I get to enjoy the same games as my rivals do.
Ok ok, gaming isn't about rivalry but we all have those feelings that can't be helped.
Scanning through what I have written, I do feel a bit greedy but what the heck!
Multi format is good, for the simple reason that more gamers get to play the game.
Exclusive remain important as a way of attracting buyers for a console, but you don't want to many good exclusives because not everyone can afford 2, or 3 consoles.
On exclusives I think we are seeing a definite 'general' split in how the big 3 decide what will be exclusive to them (I'm ignoring PC versions);
Sony are concentrating mainly on more adult titles - Getaway, GTA Vice, Angel Of Darkness e.t.c. Games likely to get BBFX certificates. They do have stuff like Kingdom Hearts, Ratchet and Klank e.t.c but in general the focus is on adult themed games and serious games like GT3.
Nintendo are relying mainly on fun games - their own characters and things like that, alongside a few adult style titles like ED and Resident Evil.
Microsoft are slowly getting together a good lot of exclusive games that will play well online. Theyve got UT 2003, Ghost Recon, Operation Flashpoint, Halo 2, Moto GP Online and a ton more. This is alongside increasingly good looking and playing games such as Splinter Cell and Blinx.
Now you can all pick faults in this....
~~Belldandy~~
Exclusive remain important as a way of attracting buyers for a console, but you don't want to many good exclusives because not everyone can afford 2, or 3 consoles.
On exclusives I think we are seeing a definite 'general' split in how the big 3 decide what will be exclusive to them (I'm ignoring PC versions);
Sony are concentrating mainly on more adult titles - Getaway, GTA Vice, Angel Of Darkness e.t.c. Games likely to get BBFX certificates. They do have stuff like Kingdom Hearts, Ratchet and Klank e.t.c but in general the focus is on adult themed games and serious games like GT3.
Nintendo are relying mainly on fun games - their own characters and things like that, alongside a few adult style titles like ED and Resident Evil.
Microsoft are slowly getting together a good lot of exclusive games that will play well online. Theyve got UT 2003, Ghost Recon, Operation Flashpoint, Halo 2, Moto GP Online and a ton more. This is alongside increasingly good looking and playing games such as Splinter Cell and Blinx.
Now you can all pick faults in this....
~~Belldandy~~
Multi format games? 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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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?