what improvements will the 360 version have

That is a myth--movies are FAR bigger than games. Game sales are larger only compared to Hollywood box office receipts but the movie business is more than just box office. I.e. ironically you are comparing all of gaming to movies' focal point.

 

Man i just want this game to come out....



Strider what do you mean by support what they do...


arent they doing that by buying th game. IF sega wants theyre game to sell thy should advertise it better...not the players. Any way thats not the main promblem. The main promblem is that the fighting game genre is a nciche within a niche. The main promblem with fighting games is it takes time to get good....americans dont wat to work to get good unlike other games.

 

The business model that VF has in Japan allows AM2/SoJ to maintain itself and hopefully profit in an ongoing basis. (Arcades)

Releasing a home version is actually just a way to maintain interest in the arcades and otherwise attempting to introduce new players to the game. This is why we won't ever see the best arcade features make it into the home version. Think of the WHOLE PS3 release as a big training mode for the arcade version.

In the US, no such business model can exist. SoA can only treat this game as any other game like Sonic or whatever Sega puts out nowadays. The profit model is nonexistent since once the player gets the game in their hands, it's a done deal.

Like what someone else has said, it's not the player's job to advertise for them. At the same time, however, the popularity of the game really depends on the player's attitude about the game. Look at the way halo players organize lan parties, competitions, online playtime, website access, etc. These are all venues that will dictate how much profit opportunity there is for a game, even for companies outside of the original publisher of the game.

If you look at the PC industry, it's in the tech company's favor to sponsor gaming tournaments and events. Because in turn, gamers are the biggest market in cutting edge PC parts and technology. You do not have this setting with console gaming.

In the very end, the game is simply not compelling enough for a large number of players to create a feverish atmosphere about VF. This affects every thing industry wide. Low interest means low traffic concerning VF5 for game websites, which means there won't be as much content or shorter duration of content about VF5. Low sales means less likely hood for peripherals/licensed product/etc. Low attendance at events such as Evo/Buy.com means less likelihood of sponsorship or possibility of the game returning next year. etc.etc.etc... It's a downward spiral that begins at low interest in the game.

Even within the VF community, interest in the game is low. We can look at the turnout at events, contents on this website, number of posts, etc.

Quality really does not matter in this world where money is of the main concern. The problem is half and half, on both the players and AM2/SoA. VF needs an infrastructure in the US that will allow the game to display it's most compelling features, which is community oriented features like customization/PR message etc. Something that will make things easier for the players to keep the interest alive, and hopefully expand it to everyone else. On the other hand, the players need to take advantage of such a thing, hopefully because they really enjoy it, and not just because they think it's their duty as a fan.

VF is now becoming such a chore to play, and this post only adds to that negative ambiance. I hope the 360 version would have some kind of online connectivity that makes the game actually fun to play with friends, and provide some kind of competitive drive among the players. This is the biggest weakness the VF has always suffered from, that there is no incentive to get good or even play the game at all. Without it, any improvement to training mode, gfx, gameplay, is just something for the fanboys to beatoff to. It won't help out the scene whatsoever.

The gameplay should already stand for itself, but incentive to play, that is the most necessary ingredient.

 

im sure sega is making a decent amount of money in the console versions of VF5. the arcade version of VF5 is also a great way to advertise the console version of VF5. think about it this way remember when SF2 first came out on SNES. everyone went nuts when it was released on SNES. why? because they know how great the game was in arcades.

the big part why VF5 is dead hear in the U.S is because the arcade scene is dead. fighting games in general arent as popular as they use to be. the best way for a game like VF5 (a fighting game) to advertise would be to showcase the game in arcades. when arcades died, fighting games started dying off too. one way DOA countered this was making a fighting game online. i guarantee you that helped the sells of DOA4 because it definently wasnt the graphics or gameplay.

ive had friends play VF5 in japan and they tell me the arcade scene there is so much more respectful. the real reasons why VF5 isnt as popular as it should be is because its not online for one. every damn game that comes out nowadays has some online component to it. even if the game doesnt play online. the second reason is its not really a great one player game. to really realize how good VF5 is you have to play a human opponent. so you either better have a friend that plays VF5 or find one. the last reason is the arcades scene is dead. why? because arcades became places where people loved to compete but hated to lose. so of course people got pissed off at each other and it was just easier to play games at homes with friends.

 

Two words: online play. Regardless of how the hardcore segment feels (a segment that is too small anyway to support VF outside of Japan), AM2 should just implement online play to attract a bigger audience.

 

no way! so the people who do play it online will like it for a couple of months. while the people who really enjoy VF will buy and support the game even if it isnt online. fighting games in the united states in general are dying. the reason is lack of arcades. do you think sf2 wouldve sold so well on snes if it wasnt in the arcades.

when the arcade scene died so did alot of fighting games. so if the arcades are dead what other means is there too compete on video games? online gaming. i love online gaming but not at the expense of ruining character balance and gameplay. i do believe believe however there should be an online component like srider said that would keep the consumer happy. sega doesnt necessarily have to make the game play online but at least make some downloadable content.

what wouldve been smart on sega's part wouldve been making quest mode online. not the fighting but by location of city, country and state. so everyone with a ps3 or 360 could set up matches with there console. it could also show a record of your win loss totals from your console. this wouldve been a great way to make the game last longer and build rivalries. this is the PS3 and 360 were talking about sega get with the times. almost every game that is released now for these next gen consoles has some sort of online content.

 

One thing that I don't get is why no developer has thought of trying to design a fighting game around online play from the ground up.

It's one thing to shoehorn existing games online, and they tend to be perfectly playable but I'm sure it's possible to create an engine that provides more consistency if you took into account the environment from the get-go.

 

When I got VF4 and saw that you could create a character that played like you, I said "What a great idea"

Of course, in VF4, this feature was a half way done experiment. Now imagine this, making this learning process a lot better so the character could really fight using your style.

Then, if one could publish the character in a huge online data base (by country). Making that way, the "Quest" an unlimited challenge. In other words, the best next thing to online fighting is having a replica of you fighting and with stats and everything. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/laugh.gif

Not long ago, I saw the PSP version of Tekken DR, they took this same idea and called it "Ghost". Too late for my bright idea. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/cry.gif

I still need to see how popular is this, but I am very sure that with SEGA skills, something like this could promote VF a little better.



Heta Akira

 

Six Words: Online Play and Proper Match-Making

And the match-making should probably be based not on the current console ranking system, but a non-displayed ranking system that averages the "online rank" of each profile on the system (or at least of each profile that has existed).

Won't completely stop bullying, but at least you'd have to move your system file away (easy to do) to go out of your way to bully online players

Online play would be a potential big boost and provide something that would be marketable (if they would actually market it). It could also make the game feel a bit more random...

I just don't want to see it destroy the gathering community, not that we always have gatherings, but it's one of my favorite things about being an insane VF fan in the West.

 

Developers were talking about compromising the highly frame based gameplay of VF if they went online (due to delays and such). They should just set a high minimum connection requirement or something. That would solve the problem right?

 

Not really. Even with the fastest internet connection you still have at least a couple of frames missing at even distances from Texas to Illinois, before accounting for server lag and network traffic. Imagine what it would be like for a distance twice that: from the east to west coast?

The only solution in that range would be to limit online play to a specific area with a specific ping or let you do whatever but CHOOSE which area/ping you want to see in lists, so as to filter out anybody too far away.

But even then, you'd still lose enough frames to make it not work 100%.

 

may i suggest a "ghost" system? seems more plausible to me.

 

exactly a ghost system minimum. sega did a great thing with quest mode. there was so much potential with it. every PS3 or 360 couldve been considered an arcade. everyone could even make there own teams too. that wouldve been great. another thing that would be nice is to be able to download fights from other VF players that were recorded.

ill say it again VF5 is known for its gameplay and character balance. if you water down the gameplay and character balance then all you have is a bad DOA clone. DOA is a fighting game thats meant to be played online and its gameplay and character balance to me isnt as tight as i would like it to be. an online quest mode would be great. sega instead of messing up the gameplay by putting VF online should find a way where its fun and easy to meet other people and play VF.

why sega didnt expand upon quest mode is beyond me. especially for VF fans outside of asia. hello arcades are virtually dead sega besides japan and other parts of asia. we cant enjoy the game like everyone else can in japan. sega at least let us have our own virtual arcades its not hard. to be able to create a name for your own arcade and to be able to display your records and the name of your team isnt hard. its not like the game needs to be online just as long as theres a way to compare and set up matches with your PS3 and 360.

damnit sega you really dropped the ball with quest mode. it couldve been a place where people saw who was online. checked there rankings and found other VF5 players to compete and play with. these are the basic things that most online games have anyway. i dont want however a stripped down version of VF5 or any other VF game. so if it means the game itself cant be experienced the way it was intended id rather the game not be playable online. quest mode however shouldve had some online component.

 

i hope that sega does implement an online quest mode. i have a feeling if sega doesnt offer some online feature for the next VF game this might be one of the last VF games thats released outside of asia. its cool to import when games are region free but its a pain to be forced to import.

 

what improvements will the 420 have

420, thanks for using paragraphs. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif

Next stop, punctuations beyond the dot!

And yes, a ghost mode would be a plus at least ^_^

 

Re: what improvements will the 420 have

Yep frames are the part of the game that would suffer the most. But I think because the maths behind what's going on is one of the only tangible things that can be broken down, it almost gets too much recognition for being the deciding factor in a fight.

It seems like all the mind games, baiting and other human factors get forgotten to a certain degree, certainly not talked about, it's like when someone discusses a match they've seen, they tend to sum up 90% of the guys play with something like 'Oh your Akira s evil man' then talk for hours about unsafe/safe because that can be quantified I guess?

Think as long as you accept that you're going to lose energy unfairly, but that statistically it will average out there isn't a problem really for strictly casual play.

But it would probably have a fairly big impact on their arcade market.

 

Re: what improvements will the 420 have

Well, I think it wouldn't be appreciated by the fans because like the poor AI, ruining the frames would be something that you couldn't train with to take to gatherings..

other than that though, i totally agree with you

 

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2004/12/18/MNGUOAE36I1.DTL
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Mainstream press quoting a lie doesnt make it any less a lie.

I know those headlines and bullet points all too well, they have NEVER been correct and wont be for quite a while still.

The 10 billion dollar quoted is the size of the ENTIRE videogame industry in the US and it is MARGINALLY bigger then US Box Office.

See thats where it all falls apart.
In the game industry quote the price of hardware is calculated as well while the Hollywood quote only factors in Cinema ticket revenue.
After a movie had its run in theatres we get the DVD, rentals, pay per view and then general TV showings oh and irony of ironies we get the Videogame as well.

Box office is just a start for movies, for games the sales are IT.
Licensing comes nowhere near the levels Hollywood enjoys(how many videogames get their own fast food deal?) and again hardware is factored into the 10 billion as well.

If you start adding up the income Hollywood generates from movies excluding even the licensing deals and the sales(hahahaha) of DVD players the figure comes closer to 40 billion dollars for the US.

Face it dude, we are shrimps in a sea of sharks yet for some reason we delude ourselves and take pleasure in thinking we are the big fish in a little pond.

 

No its not

 

QFT