The game is afoot. Will Sony turn around and say how they had better sales? Will they say they were pleased with impressive sales that were not as good as Nintendo? Will they grumble begrudgingly because they were not as strong as they should have been with post price cut momentum?
@Black-Dog-Howls: According to VGcharts, (going on their 3rd update for numbers) Nintendo is the big winner, but PS3 has sold 500k for last week, with 360 around 325K, with 360 and PSP down 35% from last year. These numbers are NA only though.
Edited by Foxstar is in love with Kotaku's two Brians. at 10/20/09 5:21 PM
Foxstar is in love with Kotaku's two Brians. was starred
Foxstar is in love with Kotaku's two Brians. was unstarred
So, how many people are still playing this, and how many have given up in sheer frustration at the controls? They really are the only down-point of the game, and yet they're quite a large one.
Losing a level multiple times because I've missed touching a wiggling rope and sent my character running into a shark-infested pool really isn't much fun at all.
Hopefully 5th Cell will take on board the feedback about the stylus-control, and give us D-Pad control in a sequel. #scribblenauts
@Menome: I wouldn't say that they're the only down-point of the game - there's also the lack of integration of actions from the things you summon (it'd be cool if you could distract things with cubs or mates, for example).
Still, I don't regret my purchase. It's a great idea and good sales will encourage development of a sequel that irons out the kinks, like you said. #scribblenauts
@Ackers thanks Brian Ashcraft: I'm pretty sure it just makes a picture frame appear. The frame has a picture of Max inside of it. It would've been funnier if they made it so that typing "Scribblenauts" initiated some animation that made the whole world get sucked into a black hole or something. #scribblenauts
Plan for profit.
1.Wait a year
2.Triple the dictionary, the art, and the levels.
3.Add manual movement controls
4.Dual release it for the DS and on Steam.
5.???
6.Profit #scribblenauts
@null_unit: No, I heard it was more mediocre in that the main character steers like a blind man trying to drive a tank up the side of Mount Everest. #scribblenauts
@Archaotic: Sounds pretty accurate. I got bored of it pretty fast. It's a good idea and a good game for a short time but it was executed poorly. #scribblenauts
That being said, I'm not judging Scribblenauts here, I haven't played it and at the moment I need to save my money up for other, non gaming-related things so it won't be rectified any time soon. The creativity angle is quite intriguing, but from what I hear the controls are just painful.
@Archaotic: He takes some getting used to. Your guy (Maxwell?) doesn't really walk... when you click some other location he has a force applied to him in the direction of the point you clicked. This force also seems to depend on the distance so if you've clicked on a ledge or the edge of something from a more than half-a-screen away he'll grossly overshoot it and then try to bungee back. This can lead to frustration if you've just leapt into a shark-infested pool. #scribblenauts
@Archaotic:
You are quite the negative Nancy lately, Arch. First your Halo comment saying that it isn't worthy of the sales it's gotten and now this. From the sound of it you didn't actually play the game, which would render your statement completely moot. Is it flawed? Sure, but it's still a fantastic experience that rivals just about anything else on the platform. #scribblenauts
@(Human) Gyaruson: I have openly stated that I've not played Scribblenauts, and as such I'm going only on hearsay here. The controls seem like they would mar the experience to unplayability, that's all.
Don't get me wrong here, I like the idea of the word bank and the summoning power; I think that's awesome and I'm glad someone finally came up with an idea like that...but if I keep dying because I'm fighting with the controls that's not an entertaining experience. Is that not a fair opinion to have? If it were easier to RENT DS games, I'd give it a look. I can't afford any non-essential purchases of ANY KIND nowadays because I'm broke and six months jobless. #scribblenauts
Listen. "Mass Market" by definition means "sells to everyone, INCLUDING the moronic rabble". Don't take it as a personal insult. If I had something specifically against anyone here I would say that. #scribblenauts
@Trygle12 is back! Still has trouble reading 70% of posts. ;_;: I don't hate everything. My tastes are very specific, and unfortunately, the things I like are being choked out by the increased focus on over-corporate, safe, multiplayer-focused, mass-market, dumbed down, simplified, focus-grouped-to-hell entertainment that American publishers, particularly Activision, seem to thrive on. It just so happens that that seems to be what SELLS right now.
I have nothing particularly against Scribblenauts because I haven't played it yet. I'm just assuming, thanks to hands-on impressions from people I trust, that the controls would mar the experience for me personally. Other people could get around it, but given my carpal tunnel syndrome and my lack of patience for unresponsive control mechanisms, it's just not something I'm willing to risk losing $30-40 on. Is that fair? #scribblenauts
@Archaotic:
All of your qualms with the game are 100% accurate - even though you haven't played it. It really does suck creating this elaborate scheme to reach your goal only to have the stylus not detect you tapping the object and forcing Maxwell to run off a cliff, or having an NPC trip and fall ruining your whole work. That completely blows. But the times that it works flawlessly is super rewarding, and I think worth the price of admission. When times are better (and I honestly hope that they get better soon) I think you should give it a go.
I also agree with you (to a certain degree) about the mass market inability to take risks on games anymore. People only buy a "sure-thing" and limit themselves to such a vast portion of the market, yet still call themselves core gamers. It's kind of insulting. On the other hand, games like Halo and Call of Duty are million-sellers for a reason: they're damn fun. Sure Halo may be an idiots guide to shooters and Activision is just milking every franchise they can get, but does that take away their fun factor? I don't think so.
All-or-nothing thinking is no way to look at the games industry. Some will miss out on a lot of great titles because they are too afraid to take risks, and the others will miss out because they're too afraid to "conform". The most important part of gaming is having fun. However one achieves that fun is completely up to oneself. It shouldn't be shameful to admit having fun with Halo. If it makes you happy then just do it.
@(Human) Gyaruson: As I said before, I enjoyed the hell out of the original Halo trilogy; the problem I have is that Bungie has a great team of writers that work on the comics, the novels, and their supplementary material...but somehow, that level of depth, complexity, and characterization never makes it into the games themselves, likely because either Bungie or Microsoft is afraid of scaring off more casual or "simple" gamers with anything too complex.
ODST is a special case because, from the beginning, it's been portrayed as an expansion pack...being retailed at $60. I just can't justify that cost when I already have all the map packs. I burned out on Halo 3's multiplayer last year and haven't felt any real desire to play it again aside from the occasional Grifball match.
I'd LIKE to think Reach will be better off, considering it's based on the best of the Halo novels...but if they're slapping it together in less than a year, that worries me. I don't wanna just buy Halo 3 again with a new skin, they gotta upgrade the engine and change things up, y'know? I really hope that my fears end up being unfounded here.
As for Scribblenauts, yeah, I don't usually believe Yahtzee, which is where I first heard of the control issues (the dude's just a comedian, you can't take anything he says as fact), but after other people I know started playing the game and expressing frustration over the controls, that was the last straw for me.
I just want the industry to start taking risks again; creative risks in narrative, design, AI, and other things. Nowadays, it seems the only risk any publisher is willing to take is shoehorning their game into a motion control format, or forcing multiplayer into something that doesn't need it. =/ #scribblenauts
@Archaotic:
That is the sad state of the industry today, but we do get glimmers of hope in titles like Okami, Bioshock, No More Heroes, Heavy Rain and The Last Guardian. There are developers willing to take risks. Some pay off (Bioshock, Braid) others not as well (Okami, Madworld). You can't blame the publishers for only backing what they no to be a sure thing. It's butthole gamers who say, "Yeah, Okami looks cool but I'll wait til it goes cheap before I pick it up" and then they never do. That's actually why I've been playing my Wii a lot lately because the WiiWare titles have been amazingly good and wholly original. I'm hoping that the smaller, yet creative, WiiWare/PSN/XBLA games will get good sales to convince publishers to bigger risks with their 60 dollar games.
If you live in the UK, they do something called smart water.
Go to a police station and ask for some, you dab a bit on your console and it put tiny barcodes on it, if its ever found you can get it back fairly easy.
Happend to my phone, I never thought i'd see it again but it worked like a treat. #npdgroup
@Blore07: That's actually pretty brilliant. Would be awesome if the states would adopt something like that. God knows I would have trouble proving that my system is actually mine unless I opened it up and showed the the marks from when I repaired my Blu-Ray Drive. #npdgroup
08:19 PM
05:21 PM
Who knows? The game knows, and the game is afoot!
05:33 PM
05:06 PM
05:02 PM
Say what you want about the wii, but the DS deserves all the praise it gets.
It is simply just a fantastic device!
04:51 PM
Mwhahahahahahahahaha
04:55 PM
05:03 PM
05:12 PM
man, i think he will bite me if it aint
10/20/09
10/20/09
10/20/09
Losing a level multiple times because I've missed touching a wiggling rope and sent my character running into a shark-infested pool really isn't much fun at all.
Hopefully 5th Cell will take on board the feedback about the stylus-control, and give us D-Pad control in a sequel. #scribblenauts
10/20/09
Still, I don't regret my purchase. It's a great idea and good sales will encourage development of a sequel that irons out the kinks, like you said. #scribblenauts
10/20/09
Would the game mindfuck itself? #scribblenauts
10/20/09
10/20/09
But seriously, try it out. It's a weird-looking guy in a red uniform and helmet. #scribblenauts
10/20/09
You get the same result typing doppelganger. #scribblenauts
10/20/09
"Scribblenaut" gets you a character dressed in red and a star on his chest. Go try it out, right now! #scribblenauts
10/20/09
10/20/09
There is an advert before this video plays -YOUTUBE WTF! #scribblenauts
10/20/09
1.Wait a year
2.Triple the dictionary, the art, and the levels.
3.Add manual movement controls
4.Dual release it for the DS and on Steam.
5.???
6.Profit #scribblenauts
10/20/09
10/20/09
10/20/09
10/20/09
10/20/09
10/20/09
:P #scribblenauts
10/20/09
Then again, this generation it seems that the more mediocre a game is, the better it sells... #scribblenauts
10/20/09
10/20/09
10/20/09
Stop being so self-centered and accept your status as a niche gamer with different tastes. #scribblenauts
10/20/09
10/20/09
That being said, I'm not judging Scribblenauts here, I haven't played it and at the moment I need to save my money up for other, non gaming-related things so it won't be rectified any time soon. The creativity angle is quite intriguing, but from what I hear the controls are just painful.
10/20/09
10/20/09
Hopefully the controls aren't QUITE that bad. #scribblenauts
10/20/09
But both games are also good, if you enjoy what the game is. #scribblenauts
10/20/09
10/20/09
10/20/09
I *knew* there was a reason for halo's popularity! #scribblenauts
10/20/09
You are quite the negative Nancy lately, Arch. First your Halo comment saying that it isn't worthy of the sales it's gotten and now this. From the sound of it you didn't actually play the game, which would render your statement completely moot. Is it flawed? Sure, but it's still a fantastic experience that rivals just about anything else on the platform. #scribblenauts
10/20/09
10/20/09
Don't get me wrong here, I like the idea of the word bank and the summoning power; I think that's awesome and I'm glad someone finally came up with an idea like that...but if I keep dying because I'm fighting with the controls that's not an entertaining experience. Is that not a fair opinion to have? If it were easier to RENT DS games, I'd give it a look. I can't afford any non-essential purchases of ANY KIND nowadays because I'm broke and six months jobless. #scribblenauts
10/20/09
Maybe they prefer a simpler game experience?
You are not the only gamer. Get over yourself.
10/20/09
They're idiots. If you can't even pronounce the game's title right, you're a moron.
10/20/09
You are FULL of it. #scribblenauts
10/20/09
Listen. "Mass Market" by definition means "sells to everyone, INCLUDING the moronic rabble". Don't take it as a personal insult. If I had something specifically against anyone here I would say that. #scribblenauts
10/20/09
I'm calling you out Archaotic. :/ #scribblenauts
10/20/09
I have nothing particularly against Scribblenauts because I haven't played it yet. I'm just assuming, thanks to hands-on impressions from people I trust, that the controls would mar the experience for me personally. Other people could get around it, but given my carpal tunnel syndrome and my lack of patience for unresponsive control mechanisms, it's just not something I'm willing to risk losing $30-40 on. Is that fair? #scribblenauts
10/20/09
Simple as that, and you save us your bitching. #scribblenauts
10/20/09
All of your qualms with the game are 100% accurate - even though you haven't played it. It really does suck creating this elaborate scheme to reach your goal only to have the stylus not detect you tapping the object and forcing Maxwell to run off a cliff, or having an NPC trip and fall ruining your whole work. That completely blows. But the times that it works flawlessly is super rewarding, and I think worth the price of admission. When times are better (and I honestly hope that they get better soon) I think you should give it a go.
I also agree with you (to a certain degree) about the mass market inability to take risks on games anymore. People only buy a "sure-thing" and limit themselves to such a vast portion of the market, yet still call themselves core gamers. It's kind of insulting. On the other hand, games like Halo and Call of Duty are million-sellers for a reason: they're damn fun. Sure Halo may be an idiots guide to shooters and Activision is just milking every franchise they can get, but does that take away their fun factor? I don't think so.
All-or-nothing thinking is no way to look at the games industry. Some will miss out on a lot of great titles because they are too afraid to take risks, and the others will miss out because they're too afraid to "conform". The most important part of gaming is having fun. However one achieves that fun is completely up to oneself. It shouldn't be shameful to admit having fun with Halo. If it makes you happy then just do it.
:) #scribblenauts
10/20/09
ODST is a special case because, from the beginning, it's been portrayed as an expansion pack...being retailed at $60. I just can't justify that cost when I already have all the map packs. I burned out on Halo 3's multiplayer last year and haven't felt any real desire to play it again aside from the occasional Grifball match.
I'd LIKE to think Reach will be better off, considering it's based on the best of the Halo novels...but if they're slapping it together in less than a year, that worries me. I don't wanna just buy Halo 3 again with a new skin, they gotta upgrade the engine and change things up, y'know? I really hope that my fears end up being unfounded here.
As for Scribblenauts, yeah, I don't usually believe Yahtzee, which is where I first heard of the control issues (the dude's just a comedian, you can't take anything he says as fact), but after other people I know started playing the game and expressing frustration over the controls, that was the last straw for me.
I just want the industry to start taking risks again; creative risks in narrative, design, AI, and other things. Nowadays, it seems the only risk any publisher is willing to take is shoehorning their game into a motion control format, or forcing multiplayer into something that doesn't need it. =/ #scribblenauts
10/20/09
That is the sad state of the industry today, but we do get glimmers of hope in titles like Okami, Bioshock, No More Heroes, Heavy Rain and The Last Guardian. There are developers willing to take risks. Some pay off (Bioshock, Braid) others not as well (Okami, Madworld). You can't blame the publishers for only backing what they no to be a sure thing. It's butthole gamers who say, "Yeah, Okami looks cool but I'll wait til it goes cheap before I pick it up" and then they never do. That's actually why I've been playing my Wii a lot lately because the WiiWare titles have been amazingly good and wholly original. I'm hoping that the smaller, yet creative, WiiWare/PSN/XBLA games will get good sales to convince publishers to bigger risks with their 60 dollar games.
*FINGERS CROSSED* #scribblenauts
10/20/09
10/20/09
If you live in the UK, they do something called smart water.
Go to a police station and ask for some, you dab a bit on your console and it put tiny barcodes on it, if its ever found you can get it back fairly easy.
Happend to my phone, I never thought i'd see it again but it worked like a treat. #npdgroup
10/20/09