Raven10

@pallante: Let me clarify because it seems there is some confusion. When you say the game’s characters resemble Metal Slug prisoners I would assume you mean the game is 2D with pixel art graphics, like seen in Metal Slug. If that is the case, the game would be technically similar to games from 95-00, not 00-05. Put another way, we are looking for something with PS1 or Saturn era visuals not something with PS2 or Xbox era visuals. Am I accurate in these statements? You also used the word “arcade” when describing the game. Do you mean that this was literally a game played in arcades or do you mean it was arcade style over simulation style? I had assumed the former which is why I suggested the Neo Geo games, as there are not a ton of football/soccer arcade games from that era.

@pallante: Well then, here is the site’s list of soccer games. Probably will be on it somewhere.

https://www.giantbomb.com/soccer-player/3015-1286/games/

@pallante: Since you mention Metal Slug, SNK made a soccer game series for its Neo Geo Arcade hardware called Super Sidekicks. Could be one of them.

@joojer: Do you remember if this was set in the real world or was it fantasy? Also if you can remember any specific details about units, factions, objectives, story, or anything else that could help.

I think part of the problem is that Square employs some of the best concept artists in the world. Going from the frankly brilliant concept to the 3D models is always disappointing when you have a fantastic concept team. It took them 40 years to get in game Dragon Quest to look as good as the concept art and that was a huge investment. So, yea, it sucks, but it’s not the end of the world. I prefer the look of Octopath Traveler to this.

So I know GB had just a “best graphics” category in GOTY for much of the last generation so this question isn’t exactly impossible to answer, but I feel like not separating graphics into art and tech kind of makes this a lost cause. Like from a technical standpoint I will second GTA5 as being maybe the most ambitious and successful technical achievement of that generation. The scope and complexity of that open world working on a system like the PS3 which had 256 MB of VRAM is kind of mind blowing. As far as raw rendering chops are concerned, Crysis 3 is the clear winner, with many features that would not be included in most games until the following generation. Then I would probably cite Naughty Dog’s incredible animation blending systems as the highlight of animation that generation (In Uncharted 3 and The Last of Us).

The art side is far more subjective but Journey is definitely a highlight.

This is what I am thinking as well. Either that or a game that was never released. There are racist dwarf characters in some rpgs. The Witcher series is full of them, as is Dragon Age. I'm trying to remember if any of the dwarf companions in the Dragon Age games fit your description but can't remember. Beyond that, though, I can't think of any adventure game or narrative game that has that premise.

@gundato: Something I can say as someone who has been in gaming retail for many years at this point, is that Nintendo has had two key advantages over the competition since the Wii era. First off, the multiplayer is largely offline and even when it is online there is limited voice chat. For a lot of parents their main concern when choosing a game console is how the experience will effect their child's development. And for a lot, the thought of them getting on Xbox Live and hearing the hatred spewed by kids on there is reason enough to go with Nintendo. The second most common reason is that Nintendo systems are usually a fair bit cheaper than their competitors. I know a lot of parents who would get the 3DS for their kid as a first system because it was fairly cheap and was played mostly offline.

Now the fact that they were familiar with the games also played a role oftentimes. I think they felt more comfortable buying Mario and Zelda and such as opposed to some newer games series they didn't play as much or at all. So local multiplayer is a big selling point. For the Switch the portability is a huge selling point. I've sold plenty of Switches off the idea that their kid can take the system with them on a road trip and then keep playing it on the screen in a hotel and then keep playing it when they get back home. Or that they can bring it to a friend's house and connect it to their TV. The entire portability concept is a major selling point for a parent, especially because you can also then have your older kids or teens use it in docked mode to play the likes of Fortnite and Apex Legends. The value proposition, basically, is really incomparable. It is something the whole family can use and enjoy both at home and on the go and it limits childrens' exposure to trolls online. The familiarity of the characters is maybe 10% of the argument. Basically if a parent comes in saying that they have no idea what games to get, I point out that the Switch has all the games they would have played as children. I point to Mario and Zelda and Kirby and Donkey Kong and that usually makes them feel more confident in making a purchase, but I would describe it as a fairly minor component of the overall pitch.

@senorsucks2suck: You are aware that there are used game retailers other than Gamestop, right? I think there are two or three within 10 miles of where I am sitting. Every other retailer of used games uses the standard national database for resale value when determining the price of a game. I can go to my local used game retailer and receive far more money for the game than I would have at Gamestop. They will then sell that used copy for less money than Gamestop would charge, despite paying me more for it. That was literally the point of my post. That Gamestop's prices sucked. Sorry I used the Steam sale as an example. It was the sale happening at the time. I can get your anger over physical gaming retail disappearing. I cannot get why you would support a company that short changes consumers and screws over developers on a regular basis. There are better options for game resale. Hell, I could get more selling my used copy on Ebay than I get from Gamestop, and again, I could purchase a used copy for less as well.

As to your comment about pricing trends, it ignores a key element of the discussion. One of the key reasons games have continued to increase in price is because of the sales lost from used game sales. As a developer I get $0 from a used game sale. Meanwhile, Gamestop gives me, the consumer, $10 for a game that they then sell for $65, making a profit of $55, while as the actual developer, I make less than half of that off the sale of a new copy from Gamestop. That is simply unsustainable. The cost of making games are too high for the retailer to be making such a huge portion of income. On Steam, as a developer, I don't even need a publisher. I get over 70% of the sale directly into my coffers. On Epic that number is something like 85%. And guess what? On Steam I get 10% off the price of most brand new games on day one. That's a brand new copy with proceeds going directly to the developer. And yet I am paying less than what Gamestop will charge me in 6 months for a used copy.

As far as having to wait for a sale, yes I do have to wait. Although in your example you are happy to wait five years to play a game so surely waiting a couple extra months shouldn't matter, right? And Steam has sales on the same weeks every year, and they put close to every game on the storefront on sale. So just save your money and purchase all the games you want during that one sale and play them over a period of time. Again, it will cost you less money than buying the same game used at Gamestop, even after 5 years. That most recent sale had numerous games for under $1. That includes games that normally cost $20 or more. You literally will never see that at Gamestop. Never. Lower prices are better for consumers. Direct sales means the money I spend goes to the people who make the game and not a bunch of executives whose workforce makes less money in a day than the cost of one of the games they sell.

And lastly, in regards to your attempts to incite me to anger by claiming I am a child or have a childlike view of the world, I am in my 30s. I work in gaming retail, and have worked in game development and journalism. I have bills to pay. I lived in the slums on the border to Tajuana. I lived on the South Side of Chicago. I have seen the worst poverty this country has to offer. I've lived not knowing whether or not I would have a job because there were so few buses coming to my neighborhood that I might miss work if they filled up. I have seen my income collapse during this pandemic just like many others. During that time I have been able to afford 0 game purchases, but for $15 a month, Gamepass has given my steady access to new games to play. No, not all of them would have been my first choice, but I could go to Gamestop and buy one old game for $15, or I could get a dozen or more games including the latest releases on Gamepass. Yea, I would prefer to own them, but I simply can't afford to purchase them, and considering how my work hours have been dramatically reduced and I'm limited in where I can go when I leave the home, Gamepass has helped keep me sane for a fraction of the cost of buying games, physical or digital, used or new. That is what being an adult means. Accepting the imperfections of our world and focusing my limited resources on things more important than these types of arguments.

GameStop made their money by paying gamers pennies for games that they then turned around and sold for $50. Meanwhile the local store down the street would give you 5-10x the money for the game and not try to convince you to spend that money on a magazine subscription. Simply put, they were bad for consumers and bad for gamers. You would spend more in the long run because their prices sucked. Look at the ongoing Steam sale. Compare those prices to GameStop’s President’s Day sale prices. Do you see hundreds of games for 75-90% off at GameStop? I own over 1500 games on Steam. I likely paid more money for the 50 or so PS2 games I bought mostly used at GameStop 15 years ago.