I'm pretty sleepy today, as I had a long day and didn't really sleep all that well. It doesn't help that there's really not a whole lot of exciting news out there to really energize me, though there's a lot of news out there. It's just that it's so basic, I can't really say a whole lot of it. So I figured, "Well, I've done this type of thing before, so I can do it again" and I'll just throw out all the news that I've seen lately and let you decide. I can't get too in-depth in a lot of it because there's honestly not a -lot- of stuff to cover on these bits. You'll see what I mean, I guess, rather than me just reiterating that point.
First off, something that did manage to spark my vitriol is stupid Jonathan Blow (you know, the Braid guy) talking about his stupid new game "The Witness" which will likely be as fucking sub-standard, preachy and nonsensical as Braid. If you can't tell, I am not a fan of Braid; I got it for half-price on PSN and honestly wish I could get that money back to put to something, anything better than it. Like those stupid, cheesy premium themes that are $3 for no particular reason. Or dozens of avatars for games I don't even like. The point is, the $7.50 or so that I spent on Braid is something I really, really regret.
Anyways, Blow says "The Witness" is only coming to PC and iOS devices because consoles are too old and it's not worth it because he doesn't want to have to 'do tricks' to put it on consoles and pay for certification. He's more than willing to 'do tricks' to put it on the iPad, however, which means he's a fair-weather cockwit and the last time we hear about him and his stupid games will be a time too many. If there's one thing I just can't stand, it's a PC Gaming Elitist, and if there's another I can't stand, it's a Phone Gaming Elitist. Having both as the same person is just too much.
Speaking of embarrassments and people who should learn when to shut up, Yoichi Wada went on record lately saying Final Fantasy 14 'greatly damaged' the Final Fantasy branding. Which....let's be honest; it did. It really really did. But this.....well, this is not something you say. We appreciate honesty from the top folks, we really do, but this is a prime moment for some good PR-Spin. Don't say "Final Fantasy really, really screwed up", say "With the latest features we're implementing in Final Fantasy 14 (materia, chocobos, etc.), we feel it's quickly becoming the experience we envisioned when we decided to make it". Because by many fans standards, Final Fantasy isn't even that strong of a brand anymore (especially after 13) and could honestly use all the rhetoric money could buy. But that's just me and my opinion, I suppose.
And in other Squeenix news, (I've got a really good flow going here, huh?) Yosuke Saito, who was the producer of Nier (which you all know I loved) just tweeted something that suggests an announcement about Nier in some form is inbound this Friday. (Which, I think is, well...-now- in Japan. I guess it's a matter of hours, honestly) "Will there be an amazing announcement on Friday? Perhaps," says he, with the tag of #nier that denotes, yes, it's about Nier unless he's a fantastic troll. Which....wouldn't surprise me, given Drakengard and Nier.
I'm a little worried and a lot excited about this, perhaps inordinate amounts of both, if simply because the last time anyone who isn't the Cavia team worked on a project in the Drakengard template (which I'm including Nier in for....reasons. I mean, I've said it's a spiritual successor a few times) we got Drakengard 2 which was crap. Every shade of crap, aside from the inclusion (and how he was included) of Caim from Drakengard 1. I'm still not sure how that whole thing resolved, Cavia being folded into this company and this and that, so I can only assume key members of Cavia are not, in fact, with Squeenix as Saito clearly is, being the director of Dragon Quest X and all. I guess we'll just have to see what the project is and how it's being handled, I suppose.
Finally, keeping with the Winter theme (you'd have to play Nier to get it, but trust me, I have perfected flow in this post), Ubisoft just recently announced the oft-mentioned, never-elaborated title of "I Am Alive" for a 'Winter' release. Interestingly enough, for anyone looking at the game, it's actually a PSN/XBLA title. I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest it's not going to be your typical PSN/XBLA title in that it'll be $15, take about 10 hours of your time (if that) and generally leave you satisfied, but rather a "Skipping the disk entirely" release. This isn't to say PSN/XBLA titles can't look -this good-, just that I'm suspect such a game can honestly be put out for the same price as everything else around. I'm expecting a $30-40 pricetag, personally, but I can't say one way or another if it will or won't be worth it. I just know that it looks fairly interesting and I'll be keeping an eye out for news, if only because it looks as close to Disaster Report 4 as we'll ever get.
Update!: As predicted, the news just took a little bit longer. It's a Nier concert. For Japan.
Sigh.
No comments:
Post a Comment