Random Gaming Thoughts Thread *NO NEWS ITEMS*

Yeah when we were selling them in ASDA , entertainment colleagues were telling people it was a updated Wii.  

Yeah looks back that the xbox one has all ready nearly out sold it in UK, can see PS4 passing it this weekend.  

Anyone that asks me what console to get I always tell them wii u now and one of the others in the future.

Also why the dig at LEGO Marvel it's supposed to be great okay not very next gen.

The Cappuccino Kid wrote:

JayMoyles wrote:

I think the lack of marketing was the real issue.

I had read in an interview elsewhere than Nintendo UK had their marketing budget obliterated a couple of years ago. Wish I could remember where. If you're wondering why we're not seeing adverts for Wii Fit U around the clock, that's apparently why.

That's a daft move if that's the case. Marketing is integral - Ninty fans like us lot will be aware of releases and general goings-on, but Joe Casual and his gran won't have a clue what was going on with Nintendo unless they saw an ad for it on TV, or on the side of a bus.

Having said that, I did see an ad for Super Mario 3D World on TV this weekend, so there's a plus.

EDIT: It was this ad - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zlGLVrhs0U

That explains a lot.

Maybe we should start a grass roots campaign on Nintendo's behalf. Run around town screaming "Wii U" at strangers. Like this.

"FUCKING PLAY MARIO YOU TWATS", he screamed, spittle rocketing out of his drunken gob as the group of schoolkids he directed his abuse towards all burst into tears simultaneously.

"Nintendo power", he thought, satisfied with his endeavours.

The People Versus Buskalilly the Child-Frightener?

JayMoyles wrote:

"FUCKING PLAY MARIO YOU TWATS", he screamed, spittle rocketing out of his drunken gob as the group of schoolkids he directed his abuse towards all burst into tears simultaneously.

"Nintendo power", he thought, satisfied with his endeavours.

That, my friends, is the post of the year. Outstanding.

I did nearly run over some school kids doing that, so you're not far off the mark...

Those folks who were disappointed by today's Shenmue III hoax won't have been a tenth as gutted as I was after I found out that Hogs of War 2 was announced just for Atari's amusement.

Cheaters in video games are the worst.

As I trudged up to my Wii U room to fire up Legends (a splendid game, I may add), the realisation of just what a handheld gamer I've become hit me. Even if I enjoy it when I'm actually playing Legends, I have to make myself go up to play what is by almost any metric a better game than Picross e3, which I couldn't keep myself away from. I don't think it's just the different genres of game either. I think I've gone portable for these reasons:

• The obvious: 3DS software I like has outnumbered Wii U software I like drastically in the last year or so;
  
• Ability to pick up the 3DS from my table, or bag, anywhere I want. Even climbing one floor to get to the Wii U is, simply, more effort;
  
• Loading. From starting up the Wii U to getting into the actual gameplay of Legends takes what seems like a minute and a half. Azran Legacy, which has all the tedious "The Story So Far" rubbish and quite a long loading screen, takes about half a minute;
  
• Wii U games tend to favour longer sessions of play, partly because of the loading. As somebody who likes to be able to dip in and dip out of games, that's a real black mark for me.

Anyone else feel the same? Or has anyone gravitated away from portables recently?

I've been handhelding the hell out of gaming recently, but then that's because my commute is two hours each way, but I have been consoling when I get the chance.

I think it helps that I spend much of my time on my PC which uses the same monitor as my consoles which is my main TV- that might be different if my consoles were in a different room to the main TV.

I'm gradually becoming more of a handheld gamer too. It's been a hell of a year for the handhelds.

~

I was tidying up my front room for the first time in a few years, and I've come across a Gamestation bag. Inside: an unused Wii Points Card that I bought on October 8th 2007.  

I'm quite the opposite, the fact I've yet to complete Pokemon proves this although that's also down to Animal Crossing pulling rank. If I'm at home I'd much rather boot up the Wii U, my 3DS games are great and all but Wii U still edges ahead.

I didn't know whether to put this in the news thread or here because it's partially news, but the massive rant I'm about to go on probably means it should go here.

This is fucking stupid and really grinds my gears: Gran Turismo 6 has microtransactions in order to reduce the time it takes to grind out in-game credits to unlock cars. To buy the hardest to unlock car straight out - £119.95

Having microtransactions in a paid product is fucking stupid. I can fully understand in F2P gaming, but in a game which has already set you back £50, there shouldn't be any system in place that facilitates microtransactions. Reduce the bloody grind and don't expect consumers to cave and spend £40 on virtual money. I know the new Forza did something very similar, and it's a worrying trend.

Tacking on a system like this damages how games are designed. Yes, the top rewards should take a bit of time to get, but adding microtransactions means that getting that reward takes longer than it should, because the publishers/developers have to extend the grind in order to "justify" putting in microtransactions. For example, Forza 5's hardest-to-unlock car would take around 3 YEARS to unlock normally, to unlock the "free" way, but the "free" way has already required you to drop £50 on the game. What's to say RPGs won't make getting to a suitable level to face the final boss a 70 hour grind, but have a system in place where you can drop a tenner to advance a few levels?

Really worried about this becoming the norm for games.

Jolly Smurf wrote:

I'm quite the opposite,  the fact I've yet to complete Pokemon proves this although that's also down to Animal Crossing pulling rank. If I'm at home I'd much rather boot up the Wii U, my 3DS games are great and all but Wii U still edges ahead.

Same here. Ever since I finished link between worlds I'm back to "nothing much I want to play on 3ds" mode.

That's bloody ridiculous Jay. Am tempted to post the relevant Jimquisition video. Well, any one of them.

Jolly Smurf wrote:

I'm quite the opposite,  the fact I've yet to complete Pokemon proves this although that's also down to Animal Crossing pulling rank. If I'm at home I'd much rather boot up the Wii U, my 3DS games are great and all but Wii U still edges ahead.

Can I ask why? I understand if it's because of the games (like it is for Jas), but it doesn't seem to be for you, Smurf.

JayMoyles wrote:

This is fucking stupid and really grinds my gears: Gran Turismo 6 has microtransactions in order to reduce the time it takes to grind out in-game credits to unlock cars. To buy the hardest to unlock car straight out - £119.95

There's one very important part of that article:

Quote :

Eurogamer's Martin Robinson has been playing the game and tells me GT6's economy works exactly the same as GT5's, with progression, payouts and car prices very similar.

If it doesn't affect the game, I don't see the problem.

As far as I'm concerned as long as stuff is unlockable I don't care if people want to pay money to skip ahead.

As for handheld vs home consoles I much prefer home consoles. It just feels wrong playing handheld games at home. Plus there's far less games that interest me.

Cube wrote:

JayMoyles wrote:

This is fucking stupid and really grinds my gears: Gran Turismo 6 has microtransactions in order to reduce the time it takes to grind out in-game credits to unlock cars. To buy the hardest to unlock car straight out - £119.95

There's one very important part of that article:

Quote :

Eurogamer's Martin Robinson has been playing the game and tells me GT6's economy works exactly the same as GT5's, with progression, payouts and car prices very similar.

If it doesn't affect the game, I don't see the problem.

The problem is that SCEE are charging almost £120 for it. Read that again. £120. Does it affect the game? Nah, unless you want to turn it upside down and do the easiest races with the best car. Is it a complete scadge? Too right it is. How the hell do SCEE wind up with that figure? It's bare-arsed cheek.

I don't see the problem with GT6, you can still unlock the car in the game. If you want to have the car right away by paying £119 you can but if you do that what's the point of doing the career mode if your going to pay for the cars right away. To me the whole point of doing career mode in a racer is to unlock new cars etc

Forza 5's microtransactions are much worse as the only way to get the Bugatti Veryon Super Sport is to buy it with real money, there's no way to get it in game by any means. This is the thing that is wrong with downloads not what GT6 is doing.

Also on the Handheld V Console, I'm still 80% console only time I've been playing handheld over console is Fire Emblem and Pokemon this year. I've barely touched Link Between Worlds due to WiiU & PS4. It's one of the reasons I've just sold about half of my 3DS collection as they don't get played unless it's more of a traditional rpg it seems.

The Cappuccino Kid wrote:

The problem is that SCEE are charging almost £120 for it. Read that again. £120. Does it affect the game? Nah, unless you want to turn it upside down and do the easiest races with the best car. Is it a complete scadge? Too right it is. How the hell do SCEE wind up with that figure? It's bare-arsed cheek.

You're looking at it the wrong way. You don't buy the car, you buy in-game credits (the same stuff you earn for winning races).

These cars have always required a lot of time to unlock them, as they're essentially "end-game" cars as a reward for people who have stuck with the game for a long timer. However, the credit purchases are balanced for early-mid cars.

Due to how many credits you have to save up for these cars, the end-game cars come to a ridiculous price. They don't intend for anyone to buy the car at that price - it's just that they also can't tell you that you can't spend purchased credits on it.

Having played Gran Turismo, yeah, I acknowledge all that, but why don't SCEE charge us £2billion for the disc and tell everyone to f**k off while they're at it? Yes, it's purely optional, but not everyone will have the time to grind out 20 million credits in Gran Turismo 6 to afford the best car. If it really is "an alternative path for busy people", how do they equate that this is worth £120?!?

Maybe they don't intend for anyone to buy it, but that's besides the point: it's still £119.95 for a car in a computer game. You can buy an actual car - albiet a particularly clapped-out one - for less than that.

Do you have to buy all $120 worth of credits or can you earn $60 worth and buy the rest?

Cube wrote:

Quote :

Eurogamer's Martin Robinson has been playing the game and tells me GT6's economy works exactly the same as GT5's, with progression, payouts and car prices very similar.

If it doesn't affect the game, I don't see the problem.

I'm waiting to hear how long it takes to unlock these end-game cars before I pass judgement. If it's anything like the 3 years ridiculousness that Forza's running with then there's real issues here.

Regardless, it's still harming the game's design by making it pay-to-win, and by putting in microtransactions it's paving the way for future games to include them. If just one sap buys that end-game car straight out - and someone probably will because people are stupid - then it's a win for the publisher, and it's likely we'll see more microtransactions to come.

DLC - I'm fine with, so long as it isn't locked on the disc. This though is making features in games tougher to unlock just to try and squeeze a few quid out of their already-paying customers.