Asura's Outrage

It was so full of adrenalin, even if it was a glorified Dragon Slayer

Just now, I had begun watching my hulu playlist which consisted mostly of video game trailers and other such content. At the top of that playlist was a trailer for upcoming DLC content of the game Asura's Wrath, an action video game that has caught my eye. Here is a link to the following trailer that I saw on hulu as seen on youtube.

When I was watching the trailer I found that included in the upcoming DLC were full animation episodes or OVAs which was an interesting add-on that would make the experience that is Asura's Wrath all the more....."Gar" for lack of a better word.

And then this little notation came up about 32 seconds into the video.

My first reaction to that little revelation of the original game was the internet famed WTF, and I am sure that many of you would agree that my outburst was well called for. The "true" ending of the game is not on the disk? The real ending is sold separately?!

My friends, I have feared that such a day had come ever since I heard of the controversy behind Mass Effect 3's ending and the indoctrination theory and the day of doom had arrived. How dare video game developers such as Capcom do such a thing to their customers, their fans, to force them to buy extra content on a story that they paid full price in the first place. Side missions and side quests independent/complimentary to the main story I can understand, but the ending?!

This is an outrage that I simply cannot stand any longer, and I was looking forward to adding the game to my library just for Capcom to pull a move such as this. It may be highly praised but such business tactics must be boycotted, to show these greedy interactive entertainment companies that we are not okay with the idea that we have to pay full price for a game only for them to withhold the conclusion to the game for ransom. Show them that we are not amused by the very idea that crucial portions of the game that we have sunk as much as sixty USD that is, in effect, incomplete.

Capcom has had poor public relations to its business model and tactics, but this is just taking it too far. We must cry out with one voice and with the revenues that they have lost that enough is enough and we will not tolerate such stupidity any more. We must unite against this affront to show them that such actions will not go unpunished.

Yet even if Capcom somehow learned from this debacle, I fear the future of video games, that this is but a sample of things to come in the coming decades....and oh how I wish I was wrong on that note.

Image provided by Geek Spire.com, video provided by gamespot channel on youtube.


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Mass Marketing Infinity (Formerly Known as Mass Effect 3)

*Sigh* And I was looking forward to buying it and Mass Effect 2 for the Playstaion 3 too....

Lately I have been hearing much outrage concerning Bioware's choice for how to conclude the ending, not only that but the attempt by some fans to explain the ending using the Indoctrination Theory. There are many arguments for the indoctrination theory on youtube alone, but I'll leave you, my few loyal readers, a Cliff's Notes version from the Angry Joe website.

I'll wait for you to watch it in its entirety before I continue with my own thoughts....

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Alright, now that everyone is back from that little lesson, allow me to lay in my own two cents on the matter. If what the Indoctrination Theory is true, than Bioware/EA is highly likely to have an Epilogue DLC (The Downloadable Content version, not the controversial Disk-Locked Content) to be released for whatever reason. Though it is also likely that Bioware would reason that they need to calculate the possible choices based upon previous saved data in order to deliver the satisfying ending many fellow fans have expected since the first game was published on the Xbox 360 console and PC in 2007. It can also be plausible that due to development stress to have the game arrive on store shelves in a timely manner or perhaps even earlier due to a certain publisher, Bioware was unable to implement the planned ending algorithms in time for EA's deadline.

Now let's make one thing clear: I have not played this franchise beyond the demos that were available on the Playstation Network so I do not have such a strong stake in the game series as many would have, but I can feel your pain (assuming that those who are reading it are fans of Mass Effect). The very idea that Bioware would do such a tactic, even if it was to buy lost development time, is atrocious, appalling. This is a business decision that should not be encouraged by the players and fans at all, that we should pay up to $60 dollars (or whatever currency equivalent to those who are not within the United States) for an incomplete game and only view the true ending if we pay for it separately.

What I predict is that for those who purchased/preordered the Collectors Edition of the game would be able to get the Epilogue DLC once it is finally released at no additional cost, while for everyone else it must be purchased separately. Somehow I doubt that there would be a "Game of the Year" edition where all of the DLC and other such bonus content to be burned onto the disk like Fallout 3 for example.

Bioware/EA has possibly heard of these complaints by now, though it'll be some time such as the release of the Epilogue DLC, before the public at large is made aware of how those companies would respond to the outrage. Still, whatever the truth may be there is one undeniable fact: The controversy of Mass Effect 3's ending alone illustrated a poorly calculated and judged business move that will do more harm than good for the franchise and the companies involved in the long run. They will have to do something drastic to even begin to gain back the trust and confidence from the fans that they used to have. Assuming that there was much to begin with that is.....

Anyway, feel free to discuss this issue in the comments below.

Image curtsy from holytaco.com

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Dante Vs. Dante: The Economics of Video Game Demand

Now that's how a demon slayer's suppose to look like.

Just the other day, as I browse the latest issue of the official playstation magazine, I saw as one of the monthly "Big 10" articles one which detailed one of the more recent outcomes of Ninja Theory's reboot of the Devil May Cry series dubbed "DmC". Death threat's to the developers in the form of not only letters, but also comics and death metal songs.

Now, let me put this straight. Ever since I saw the very first trailer of Ninja Theory's DmC, I was not pleased by how far the design had come from the silver-haired demon hunter and paranormal "investigator" that many fans have fallen for ever since the son of Sparda premiered back in 2001 or what many would refer to as "The Naughties" with the exemption of the first sequel "Devil May Cry 2". Ninja Theory should have used that game as a lesson in how NOT to do a Devil May Cry game. The story was just not up to par with later games and its then immediate predecessor, but the most important thing was that the new team behind Devil May Cry 2 had done was remove the fun-loving trickster personality that so characterized Dante, citing that he has "Matured" from such antics that many fans found enduring. So much so that subsequent games didn't just take place in the time period before Devil May Cry 2 took place, but also to remove nearly all references to the game beyond certain gameplay mechanics. From what I can see so far from the videos and developer commentary so far is that Ninja Theory is doing the exact same thing with the DmC reboot. This version of Dante looked too punkish, too emo. Did we not learn the lesson of Spiderman 3 that emo does not make a character endearing of the anti-hero persona to the fans, but rather that it was an opposite effect which potentially was one of the factors that lead to the reboot of the film franchise?

However, that's not what I wanted to talk about. You see, these fellow fans who have spent their free time in the creation of such anti-DmC statements are actually doing an very improper reaction to the, dare I say "blasphemous", changes Ninja Theory had made upon our beloved demon slayer. But it is not the reason many of you may think.

The real reason is that these actions are actually giving Ninja Theory's DmC free publicity, much like how the media outcry of the many Grand Theft Auto games have given free publicity to Rockstar Games. It makes the uninformed curious of the game enough to look it up and potentially buy a copy of the game. That action equates to the executives and developers to continue with their game creation strategy due to the amount of profit each copy sold gave to them. Even a developer on Ninja Theory had stated that they appreciated the free publicity the fans have generated unknowingly.

If you don't like a product, don't just make an outcry that only draws free publicity to the product for the uninformed to purchase it. Rather organize and promote a boycott against it to show the executives that their decisions are not what the public wants. Those fans of the original Devil May Cry franchise, and by extension many game franchises in general, must adopt a tactic in which it will hit such corporations where it matters the most and where it will hurt the most dramatic: their coffers.

Video games, like many other consumer products, is a market demand item whose future lies in the wants of the individual consumer en mass. If there is no profit made in the item in questions, then changes are made or else dropped entirely. It's almost basic economics. Many internet reviewers of such interactive entertainment media have stated that the video game developers will continue to pursue the current video game trends as long as consumers purchase their products and the less they have to spend on advertisement in the form of the outcry of the media and the loyal franchise fans, the better. They will not change their stance and development decisions if they perceive that their choices, their gambles, were the correct ones and the only true indicator is the profit made in each copy sold. So if the fans of the original Dante, such as myself, dislike the changes then the easiest tactic is to simply get other people to not purchase DmC when it is released later this year. It would be best if such individuals were to utilize more "civil" approaches mind you. Still, the point stands that these game developers will not learn of the ire of the loyal franchise fans of the old Dante if the new DmC game generates high enough sales to cover the development costs. Say "No" by not buying a single copy is the best weapon an individual can ever have and it is time that people started using that weapon. We are more powerful together than we give ourselves credit.

On a side note, a picture above the magazine article featured both versions of Dante the demonslayer has a caption which stated "You've got to admit, his hair looks less like blond Justin Bieber now". Personally, I find that incredibly insulting.

Anyway, discuss if you wish.

Image courtesy of  the devil may cry wiki

 


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