C2C

Some MMO's already kind of do that. I dunno if they still do this in WoW, if you don't rest (log out) in a tavern you don't get an XP boost. Then you have food in a lot of MMO's that give you buffs and stuff. Instead of debuffs/penalties though, most games frame "needs" like food and rest as things you do for rewards.

I think swinging too far into a "needs" system just wouldn't fit into a typical MMO though. That "dump" system, while pretty funny, would be a pain to manage. Even if we were to make a Survival-MMO to make the needs system fit, I don't see that appealing to too many people. It is a pretty interesting concept, but putting such a hardcore mechanic into an already niche genre doesn't seem like the best idea.

I had to confirm with BRYN over twitter that Chang is not actually dead after that :P

I feel sorry for whoever eventually beats Terra. That is essentially going to make them a heel given how much support she currently gets.

They actually say it in the trailer; Xrd = icks-ard. The Japanese would probably pronounce it ikuso-arudo.

It's hard for me to get hyped up for this game just off the trailer. They took too long to bring a proper sequel out, and what they did put out (Isuka and Overture) squandered most of the good will they had from me. Though I will be looking forward to the OST.

People also always forget the hot garbage that was the King of Fighters movie.

@darji: I still remain unsympathetic. I may just not the target audience for video reviews/previews on youtube since I get that from Giant Bomb, and I don't believe that they monetize through youtube. I also have not heard the speed running community getting too bent out of shape over this as they typically don't get too much ad revenue in the first place compared to LPs.

I agree that Nintendo is probably well within their rights to do this. I also agree that this was probably not the best move for Nintendo to do, considering LPers are naturally a very vocal group. However, I have a couple of opinions on this situation.

LP'ing always involves a work somebody else created by its nature. While there is a lot of work with commenting and editing the video, the underlying game under all of that was authored by somebody else. It's really hard for me to rationalize that Lets Players have complete ownership of everything they produced. It's also hard for me to rationalize that the developer can deprive a Lets Player from profiting off of his commentary and editing. So then we are left with a real hard question, "How much ownership does each have over the contents of a let's play as far as money is involved?" I don't have a good answer for this, and I haven't heard a good one yet.

I am also fairly unsympathetic to the career LPlayers that are outraged that they are losing money. I don't think that any of what I would call a "good" LP was from anybody who made a living from doing them. I am not saying that nobody enjoys these LPs, they obviously get view counts, but the more popular the LPlayer becomes the less it is about showcasing the game and the more it becomes about just the LPlayer's personality. After a certain point, I question their inability to profit from just their personalities.

I would really like to know what Nintendo was thinking here. I don't think Nintendo meant this as a way to get back at LPlayers for ruining their games. Is Nintendo hurting so much financially that they would consider this as a viable way to get money? I don't think Nintendo is that desperate. I also don't think that it could be that much money for Nintendo in the grand scheme of things. This can't be about control either, Nintendo is not shutting down LP's just profiting from them. A person can still produce crappy Nintendo LPs, they just can't profit from them. Did Nintendo really not expect the outrage? Given how Nintendo seems out of touch with the internet in general, this really wouldn't surprise me.

My 2 cents

It really depends. It can't be just video game music with light/no explanation as a regular online video game station would then suffice. Something I would listen to would be a podcast focusing on a game or specific composer and what was the thought process in arranging the score the way it was. An example would be something like prefacing the Mass Effect 2 Galaxy Map theme with some thoughts the composer had while writing the piece. That way I get something more out of the song instead of just listening to it again. The rest of the podcast would then either Mass Effect themed, composer themed, or maybe genre themed.

I'm sorry, the irony is too sweet not to point out.

All kidding aside, I do agree that if Jeff were to make it to the VGCW, it would be a little on the nose.

Very good write up.

The thing about deviating from just the typical 1v1 fighting format for single player is that you are now introducing mechanics which are not compatible with fighting games. Beat em up mechanics are really hit or miss. I have fond memories of the Tekken 3's beat em up mode, but start foaming at the mouth when I remember Guilty Gear Isuka's attempt at it.

The pure mechanics of a fighting game even make interesting narratives somewhat difficult to pull off. You have to write around the fact that character will fight because of the game mechanics. While Acsys have figured out how to pull off that type narrative, they can't really make the actual fighting gameplay speak to anything other than dude beats up other dude. I would like to speak more to what the new MK and Injustice have done, but I have yet to play those games and have no access to consoles right now.

However, I think the more interesting single player modes will integrate fighting game mechanics in weird new ways with the narrative. I would find it hilarious if some developer found a way to integrate the car smashing minigame into the narrative. Or imagine a narrative that tries to make sense of the tekken ball minigame in Tekken 3.

@sparky_buzzsaw:

All the content you unlocked remains available once you have unlocked it. While some of it requires you being at a certain point in the game to access the missions, the game does not have a "point of no return" where bonus content cannot be accessed. The only way content cannot be accessed is by having specific characters killed off before unlocking the missions. So once a paralogue shows up on the map or a map is available in the outrealm gate, it stays there for good.

There is only particular set of bonus content I would suggest holding off on. The DLC clearly made for grinding may make the game too easy though, especially if your playing on normal difficulty. I suggest holding off on purchasing the grinding DLC until a second playthrough.

The rest of the bonus content has a pretty good difficulty for the rewards they give out. I'd say tackle most of the bonus stuff as soon as it shows up/you are at a good level to tackle it.