It’s still fun, though. It’s entertainment. It’s not goofy, but if you get enjoyment out of it, it’s fun. I like strategy, economics, deep plots, and silliness all equally. I got as much of a charge out of Battlefield as I did out of EVE Online, as I did out of Planescape: Torment, as I do out of Brawl.
After all, why do you play Halo 3? You don’t get paid for scoring points. You’re not trying to save a buddy’s life. You do it because you get a kick out of it. Even competitive tournaments and ladders exist because they’re fun and provide entertainment, even if it feels like work sometimes.
Entertainment might be something different from “fun”, but I think we’re veering into a conversation that might take us away from what we’re talking about.
Fair enough. I suppose the point I was trying to make is just that it’s only a perception that the Wii’s games are more frivolous than the 360’s or PS3’s, a perception based on one’s own preferences. In the end, no matter what you choose to play, you’re just killing time and increasing your hand-eye coordination.
I hate to tell you this, but that deep, multimedia experience that you enjoy so much is called having fun.
I like my share of the gritty, grownup games too, but I’m not going to pretend that I’m doing more than just playing a game that I think is a lot of fun. I’m a huge fan of the Fatal Frame series, and I’m really looking forward to seeing the new game when it comes out for the wii.
Then what are you doing with a console? Build a gaming PC.
I’m amused by the people that talk about getting the most advanced, graphically intense, realistic experiences and being all elitist and condescending towards others… and they’re talking about a console.
Tell me about it. What’s worse is some of the better games are being screwed by the limitations of the 360. Mass Effect and Deus Ex’s loading issues… (Okay, plain X-Box for Deus)
Won’t help, it’s the lack of hard drive the base unit has that’s the problem. And when that Blu-Ray comes out, come Christmas season, they won’t be going on all the models. Penetration issues, again. Can’t write a game for such a small segment.
I know I’m pulling this up from the front page, but if you’re gonna say something like this, you wanna point out what the 360 has that fits the JRPG model? That’s one of my favorite genres, and it seems to be pretty lacking among all three current consoles. Say what you want, but I don’t care what system a game is on, just if the game interests me, which the Wii seems to be best at for me. And it’s way too damn hard to find a good RPG these days.
Graphics do not make a game. Gameplay makes a game. I would play many SNES games over the newer, more graphically intense games in a heartbeat.
I think it’s also assumed that there won’t be a “base unit” available after that.
Jayn_Newell: Check out Blue Dragon. It’s incredibly JRPG and anime, which I loathe as a general rule, but it’s done very very well and it’s a great game.
Blue Dragon and Eternal Sonata were very fun (though Eternal Sonata does have a non menu based battle system, but in general the battles and game itself is the same as every other JRPG).
Lost Odyssey is the big one, and then to a lesser extent Eternal Sonata and Blue Dragon. But the undoubted king of JRPG’s is the Nintendo DS. Atlus seems to have moved almost all of their primary efforts to the DS, and there are copious remakes and reissues of the Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest games on the way, as well as new efforts (in fact, Dragon Quest IX, the next true installment in the series, is going to be DS-only). There are something like 50 JRPG’s coming out for the DS in the next few months alone. I’m a massive JRPG fan, and I’ve never really liked the portable gaming format for RPG’s, but I can’t complain.
LOUNE: So, what, there will be nobody out there who owns the non-Blu-Ray X-Box 360 come fall? Just make all those consoles equal to junk, force everybody to buy a new one?
Any Blu-Ray drive for the Xbox 360 will only play movies, just like the HD-DVD drive. Microsoft does not want to segment the 360 userbase. That’s why they forbid developers from requiring the hard drive. Although they do make exceptions (Final Fantasy XI) and will no doubt do so in the future.