Vita Thread

[MCD]

He really can't expect to save anyone with this gross concept.

[originalz]

Vita is getting a new Hatsune Miku game + white color Vita to launch with it in August.

On its own this doesn't mean much.  Maybe a 30-50k bump in hardware for a week.


But if Vita starts getting more titles like this in August/September/Oct, this is exactly what it needs to revive in Japan.  If other companies announce August titles, we might be looking at a "let's sweep the Vita under the rug and run a re-launch campaign" situation.

The 2ch thread for this was great, one of the posts was something like "they're still making the 3G model?"  Most people seem to think that the Hatsune Miku pack is too expensive as well.

[Takao]

Soul Sacrifice sounds crazy. It also sounds niche as fuck. I know SCEJ's mandate is throw whatever at the wall and see what sticks but for some reason I'm getting shades of the LocoRoco disaster here...

[Shaka Khan]

Is Soul Sacrifice Z-rating confirmed? It would be hilarious if true.

[Tasty]

And if they want to do sub-PS2 visuals they can make a 3DS game.

>_>

[Takao]

3DS has weird visuals. There's this weird shine effect on games that I don't like. It makes the aliasing stand out more and feels like everyone has a tan or something.

[JeanKujo]

Anyone knows the exact time the Soul Sacrifice  press conference is going to be held?

[maxy]

http://www.famitsu.com/news/201205/10014403.html

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=37705856&postcount=1

[Owl-faced Wizard]

Haha, awesome.

Soul Sacrifice sounds crazy. It also sounds niche as fuck. I know SCEJ's mandate is throw whatever at the wall and see what sticks but for some reason I'm getting shades of the LocoRoco disaster here...

I don't think it's a wacky out-there attempt to see what works but more of a deliberate attempt to target a particular audience - based on (what I think is) a misreading of that audience.
Anyway, this being a Marvelous/Inafune joint should stop anybody from getting their hopes up, but of course we know it won't.

Nomura had an interesting comment though when asked about the future of Kingdom Hearts and Vita.  He basically said "If we're going to put a ton of effort into making an PS3 quality game for Vita (and c'mon Japanese PS3 quality standards are pretty low for a lot of companies [we're talking about PS2 HD])....why would we release it on Vita and not the PS3?  The PS3 audience is bigger and those kind of games will appeal more to that audience."

It's a good point.  If a Japanese dev is going to make the effort to make a game that has above PS2 visuals, there is no incentive to not release it as a PS3 game.  And if they want to do sub-PS2 visuals they can make a 3DS game.  It does put Vita in a tough spot.

It would be nice if they at least made Vita versions of PS3 games and Vita versions of 3DS games, so that if you do want to play these games on the go (PS3 games) you can, and if you want a superior version to 3DS version (3DS games) you can play those. 

The Worst Person In The Universe says that the Vita is a pointless waste of time - something anybody with a lick of sense already knew - so now Bebpo sees the sense in it.

[bork]

Nomura had an interesting comment though when asked about the future of Kingdom Hearts and Vita.  He basically said "If we're going to put a ton of effort into making an PS3 quality game for Vita (and c'mon Japanese PS3 quality standards are pretty low for a lot of companies [we're talking about PS2 HD])....why would we release it on Vita and not the PS3?  The PS3 audience is bigger and those kind of games will appeal more to that audience."

It's a good point.  If a Japanese dev is going to make the effort to make a game that has above PS2 visuals, there is no incentive to not release it as a PS3 game.  And if they want to do sub-PS2 visuals they can make a 3DS game.  It does put Vita in a tough spot.

If that's the case, why not make the game for PS2 instead, since there's way more PS2 owners than PS3 owners?

[Eel O'Brian]

I dunno what this game is, but I am digging the art.

[Great Rumbler]

[Bebpo]

And if they want to do sub-PS2 visuals they can make a 3DS game.

>_>

Yeah, sorry it's not PS2 level.  PSP was nowhere near PS2 level either.  PSP was about PS1.5.  Small environments, low polygon count geometer, low resolution textures.  3DS is about as powerful as the PSP except the resolution and textures are even worse but it has fancy effects that hide some of the faults.  So it's still stuck in that PS1.5 era of small environments, low poly count, shitty textures.  But now it has pretty lighting and shiny bump effects!  3DS also has serious jaggy aliasing problems that PSP games had for the first 3-4 years until the late era smooth looking stuff.  3DS will probably get nicer image quality as time goes by, but right now it's still really rough and ugly.  If 3DS only had 1 screen that was 2d it probably has enough power to do PS2 quality.  But to make 3D games, you basically cut the power of the system in half.

Still waiting for that PS2 on the go portable that can run at 800x480 or whatever the widescreen 480p resolution is, with PS2 level environments, sharp textures, 60fps, and some AA.  Vita can problem do it, but Sony and Devs are too stupid to realize they have a perfect PS2 portable and are trying to make it a PS3-lite portable.  Vita would look much more impressive if it was PS2 ports & new games with PS2 graphics running at 60fps with 2x AA.

[Bebpo]

I don't think it's a wacky out-there attempt to see what works but more of a deliberate attempt to target a particular audience - based on (what I think is) a misreading of that audience.
Anyway, this being a Marvelous/Inafune joint should stop anybody from getting their hopes up, but of course we know it won't.

Nomura had an interesting comment though when asked about the future of Kingdom Hearts and Vita.  He basically said "If we're going to put a ton of effort into making an PS3 quality game for Vita (and c'mon Japanese PS3 quality standards are pretty low for a lot of companies [we're talking about PS2 HD])....why would we release it on Vita and not the PS3?  The PS3 audience is bigger and those kind of games will appeal more to that audience."

It's a good point.  If a Japanese dev is going to make the effort to make a game that has above PS2 visuals, there is no incentive to not release it as a PS3 game.  And if they want to do sub-PS2 visuals they can make a 3DS game.  It does put Vita in a tough spot.

It would be nice if they at least made Vita versions of PS3 games and Vita versions of 3DS games, so that if you do want to play these games on the go (PS3 games) you can, and if you want a superior version to 3DS version (3DS games) you can play those. 

The Worst Person In The Universe says that the Vita is a pointless waste of time - something anybody with a lick of sense already knew - so now Bebpo sees the sense in it.

What do you have against the Shadow Hearts, Lost Odyssey team + Inafune?  That is a pretty solid combination of staff, so the game itself may be quite good in quality.


And Nomura made one of the only games worth buying a 3DS for so you should stop insulting Nomura-sama.  And Vita is only a waste of time if developers try to make PS3 games on it.  If they try to make PS2 games on it, it serves a purpose.

[Owl-faced Wizard]

Shadow Hearts team has split from the hive apparently.

[MCD]

Game looks fugly mess of shit textures.

[Takao]

And Nomura made one of the only games worth buying a 3DS for so you should stop insulting Nomura-sama.

This is like me saying Toriyama creates Dragon Quest games.

Speaking of which, SCEJ so totally needs to make an Oda designed DQ clone. 

[Bebpo]

Inafune is an idiot who has yet to prove he can actually do anything on his own without stealing credit for other people's work, and the SH team is definitely not intact.

I'm not saying this will be bad.  Only that it probably will be.

Shadow Hearts team has split from the hive apparently.

Unless you guys have some other evidence, all evidence points to the Shadow Hearts team being more intact currently than it ever was since SH3.

duckroll has been following the staff over the years since Feel Plus was formed by checking the credit lists.  After SH2, the director of SH1&2 left the company.  He went on to make Arms Heart on PSP.

The rest of the SH team (including the SH3 director) became Feel Plus and did Lost Odyssey.  Then the SH1&2 director came back and re-joined the team so Feel Plus was almost the entire main staff of Shadow Hearts and they made N3-2 together.  Most of the SH staff was still present going by N3-2's credits.  Now they're making Soul Sacrifice.  There's no evidence the team has split apart.

And Nomura made one of the only games worth buying a 3DS for so you should stop insulting Nomura-sama.

This is like me saying Toriyama creates Dragon Quest games.

Speaking of which, SCEJ so totally needs to make an Oda designed DQ clone. 

Takao.  You don't know what you're talking about.  Nomura isn't just the artist for KH.  He directed KH1&2, wrote the actual script for 358/2 days, and has been heavily involved in creating the storylines, gameplay systems, and game design of every single KH title to date.  KH is his baby and he is responsible for the quality of all the KH titles.  He was also heavily involved in TWEWY. 

[Bebpo]

Maybe.  But it could be good.

I think they're a good set of staffers, but I also think they are good turn-based rpg designers.  So with stuff like N3-2 (which was just for a paycheck) and Soul Sacrifice (which might also just be for a paycheck) they're out of their expertise.

[Owl-faced Wizard]

I got this from reading duckroll's posts on gaf.  Maybe I misunderstood.  But I'm pretty sure I didn't.  It could be, however, that this game is bringing them back together?  It does look SH-y.

[Bebpo]

Apparently N3-2 brought them back together, for all the good that did on the game :\

[maxy]

looks almost like PSP game,but who cares

[Takao]

Takao.  You don't know what you're talking about.  Nomura isn't just the artist for KH.  He directed KH1&2, wrote the actual script for 358/2 days, and has been heavily involved in creating the storylines, gameplay systems, and game design of every single KH title to date.  KH is his baby and he is responsible for the quality of all the KH titles.  He was also heavily involved in TWEWY.

I think it's pretty disingenuous to credit Nomura for Dream Drop Distance over the team at Osaka. He acts as the series director and is a major part of the way that series is (for better or for worse) but I've never been given the impression he's working with the development team everyday to see that game through completion. His attention obviously is on Versus XIII, because if it wasn't a KH3 would've already been announced.

[Bebpo]

Why do you think Versus XIII has made no progress

[Takao]

Why do you think Versus XIII has made no progress

Because Square Enix's console teams clearly lack the ability to stay focused on delivering a good product.

[Bebpo]

And while the team futzes around, where do you think Nomura is?

hint: it's a series that keeps making new games

[bork]

And while the team futzes around, where do you think Nomura is?

Making drawings of men and boys with spiky hair and lots and lots of zippers.

[Shaka Khan]

I'm definitely interested in what I'm seeing, but the team behind it isn't one I normally associate or think are fit to deliver an AAA game. One that people hope will resuscitate the troubled Vita in Japan. And now couple that with the possible Z rating and LULZ.

At best I'm expecting a decent, albeit clunky, bomba.

[magus]

And while the team futzes around, where do you think Nomura is?

hint: it's a series that keeps making new games

is it the world ends with you?

[Owl-faced Wizard]

When a player dies, the remaining players vote whether to sacrifice him or not.

Sounds awesome as hell.

[Shaka Khan]

New media and news looks/sounds nice. I'm cautiously more optimistic.

[maxy]

I kinda like this sacrify body parts,grow monster part thing.Not sure how far they will push it though.

It would be awesome if at the end you became a boss like creature.

Great game design idea.

 

[cool breeze]

Is it just a grotesque, more action-y monster hunter?

[Takao]

It has online multiplayer so that makes it not MH by default.

[cool breeze]

It has online multiplayer so that makes it not MH by default.

No, I mean is it structured like Monster Hunter, PSO, or something else?

The reason Ragnarok Odyssey and PSO2 are interest is because they're closer to PSO style.  Monster Hunter became kinda stale after playing games that 'learned' from it (the bad-bad Peace Walker boss fights).  Also why that Monster Hunter 4 tease looked cool.

[Takao]

I was just trolling. I don't believe they've talked about mission structure and the like.

The game does look very good, though I hope there's a demo. I dislike Monster Hunter, but have had a lot of fun with the Phantasy Star Portable games.

[cool breeze]

How is Marvel vs Capcom 3 on the Vita?

I see it's $20 at Sony stores.  Does it include all the DLC and stuff? any big differences from the console version?

[MrAngryFace]

MvC3 is a great port- I traded in the console version

[cool breeze]

30 fps is a bit disappointing.  Don't really care about the backgrounds.  If the store has it in stock, I'll pick it up on the way home.

Only DLC I cared about were characters.  I only observed that situation from afar.  Characters like iron fist and jill have to be bought, right?

[MrAngryFace]

no, jill and err shuma- if you didnt buy them for a ps3 copy iirc

[cool breeze]

if they're the only two then I won't bother with DLC

[MrAngryFace]

Shuma is cool but not having them whot really matter. SOME of the costume DLC is kind of cool- X costume for Zero- for example

[Shaka Khan]

It's 30 fps, and some backgrounds that are supposed to move are static, but otherwise it's a pretty awesome port.  I think the DLC is shared with the PS3 version if you own it there already, otherwise, you gotta shell out all over again.

Are you serious?! Everyone has been telling me it's 60, hence the downgrades. SMHCAP, if true.

[Bebpo]

Everything I've read says its 60fps as well and the only downgrade is the static backgrounds.  I think Oscar is thinking of a different game.

[MrAngryFace]

doesnt look 30 to me but I dunno- great port is great

[Shaka Khan]

Are you thinking of NGS+, Oscar?

[Van Cruncheon]

mvc3 is 60. special effects are reduced to bitmaps in many cases, and the backgrounds are frozen.

[bork]

Yup, UMvC3 is 60FPS.  All of the fighting games on Vita are.  3DS too, for that matter (with 3D off), with the exception of SSF4 3D when played online.

You can't go wrong with UMvC3, BlazBlue, or Mortal Kombat.  They're all fantastic ports.

Street Fighter X Tekken will likely end up being the best of the bunch, since they're adding cross play for matches against PS3 players.

[cool breeze]

Mortal Kombat is another one I'm thinking about for the future.  I never got around to the console version but enjoyed the demo and heard nothing but positive talk.

and it'd be great of Sega puts VF5fs on it.  I'd actually double dip for that one.


another video of nayuta no kiseki



  I'm only letting myself down for looking forward to this.  I don't know who'll be willing to localize a PSP game in 2013.

[Takao]

Ubisoft is being legit and actually putting some sales:

Asphalt: Injection - $18.90 / $13.50 PS+

Dungeon Hunter Alliance - $25.20 / $18 PS+

Lumines Electronic Symphony - $25.20 / $18 PS+

Michael Jackson: The Experience - $25.20 / $18 PS+

Rayman Origins - $25.20 / $18 PS+

PSP:

Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines - $14 / $10 PS+

Brothers in Arms D-Day - $7 / $5 PS+

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs - $21 / $15 PS+

Driver '76 - $14 / $10 PS+

Avatar: The Game - $14 / $10 PS+

Michael Jackson: The Experience - $14 / $10 PS+

Mind Quiz - $7 / $5 PS+

Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands - $14 / $10 PS+

Prince of Persia Revelations - $7 / $5 PS+

Prince of Persia Rival Swords - $7 / $5 PS+

Tom Clancy's Endwar - $7 / $5 PS+

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 - $14 / $10 PS+

Tom Clancy's Recon Predator - $14 / $10 PS+

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas - $14 / $10 PS+

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Essentials - $7 / $5 PS+

Petz games also on sale but nobody gives a shit about those.

PSone:

Rayman - $4.20 / $3 PS+

Rayman 2: The Great Escape - $4.20 / $3 PS+

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six - $4.20 / $3 PS+

I'll pick up Rayman, maybe Lumines, and the Prince of Persia game based on the movie (it's a 2.5D platformer IIRC).

[Shaka Khan]

I'll probably pick up Rayman Vita.

In other news, the wait for better PSP and Mini compatibility, as well as PS1 support, is starting to piss me off. I've got a shitload of PS+ freebies that are just sitting around.

[Eel O'Brian]

Ubisoft is being legit and actually putting some sales:

Asphalt: Injection - $18.90 / $13.50 PS+

Dungeon Hunter Alliance - $25.20 / $18 PS+

Lumines Electronic Symphony - $25.20 / $18 PS+

Michael Jackson: The Experience - $25.20 / $18 PS+

Rayman Origins - $25.20 / $18 PS+

PSP:

Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines - $14 / $10 PS+

Brothers in Arms D-Day - $7 / $5 PS+

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs - $21 / $15 PS+

Driver '76 - $14 / $10 PS+

Avatar: The Game - $14 / $10 PS+

Michael Jackson: The Experience - $14 / $10 PS+

Mind Quiz - $7 / $5 PS+

Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands - $14 / $10 PS+

Prince of Persia Revelations - $7 / $5 PS+

Prince of Persia Rival Swords - $7 / $5 PS+

Tom Clancy's Endwar - $7 / $5 PS+

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 - $14 / $10 PS+

Tom Clancy's Recon Predator - $14 / $10 PS+

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas - $14 / $10 PS+

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Essentials - $7 / $5 PS+

Petz games also on sale but nobody gives a shit about those.

PSone:

Rayman - $4.20 / $3 PS+

Rayman 2: The Great Escape - $4.20 / $3 PS+

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six - $4.20 / $3 PS+

I'll pick up Rayman, maybe Lumines, and the Prince of Persia game based on the movie (it's a 2.5D platformer IIRC).

when is this magical event happening, they're all still full price on my psn

[Takao]

I'll probably pick up Rayman Vita.

In other news, the wait for better PSP and Mini compatibility, as well as PS1 support, is starting to piss me off. I've got a shitload of PS+ freebies that are just sitting around.

when is this magical event happening, they're all still full price on my psn

Tuesday. Which should also be the day that PSP compatibility is updated. Pixel Junk Monsters Deluxe becomes PSP compatible on that day, hopefully signaling more to come.

[bork]

Mortal Kombat is another one I'm thinking about for the future.  I never got around to the console version but enjoyed the demo and heard nothing but positive talk.

MK is the most accessible and the easiest to pick up and play out of the three Vita fighting games available.

and it'd be great of Sega puts VF5fs on it.  I'd actually double dip for that one.

I'd love to see this, but it won't happen.   

[MrAngryFace]

WHY CANT U LET US DREAM?!?!?!

[bork]

Ask Sega.   :'(

[Bebpo]

Cleared Wipeout 2048 campaign.

Good:
-Track design
-Zomg graphics
-Zomg Wipeout gameplay; great sense of speed

Bad:
-Combat races are still gimmicky
-"Forced" races where you have to use a certain ship type which is at a disadvantage to all the opponent ships
-Can't change ship without leaving a race and thus having to sit through the entire 40 second load again.  This especially sucks when you come from one type of event (combat for instance) and go to another (race for instance) forgetting to go to the GARAGE and change ships between.
-Loading.  I don't even care about the initial 40 second load, but the 5 second+ load on retries and the can't change ships on retries thing got a bit annoying on some tracks.

Middleground:
-Ship types add variety, yet shuffling ships that handle differently and throw you off is eh
-Splitting up powerups into offensive/defensive pads has ups & downs
-Single player campaign is ~6-8 hours short like every Wipeout campaign; why can't they make reverse versions of the tracks to at least double the track count (10 is solid, but not spectacular)
-Zone is less wow than it was when first introduced
-Control seemed a bit twitchy to me using the d-pad + L/R.  Felt like I had better control on the PSP Wipeouts and PS3 Wipeout. 
-30fps.  Honestly didn't even notice it, but 60fps would still be better!

[Bebpo]

I'm about halfway through my launch games now.  So far I'd rank the ones that I've finished:

Uncharted > Hot Shots > Wipeout > Escape Plan > Tales from Space > Katamari


Rest of my Vita backlog is: 

Lumines
Super Stardust Delta
999-2
Tales of Innocence R

[Shaka Khan]

My personal ranking, based on enjoyment and time spent playing, goes like this:

SSD Delta > Lumines > VT4 > Wipeout > HSG > Motorstorm > Tales from space > Hustle Kings

I enjoyed all of them for the most part, and don't regret buying any of them.

[Verdigris Murder]

Out of the Vita selection Disgaea 3 is my top game, bought MK. I'm not a
Fpsophile, and it looks like shit. Even when moving. Still fun though.

These highly original thoughts were brought to you by Vimto.