Gaming isn't as simple as it used to be. Back in the days of my youth we didn't have to deal with online connections and constant game updates, you just plugged that shit in and went. Some PC games required patches to be downloaded or expansion packs to be bought but that was about as complex as it got and for your average youth, we were rockin' the consoles anyway.
Today is vastly different, you cant even start a game up anymore without the system prompting you to update something or sign up/log into some other 3rd party service. Hell, this is an age where some games, even single player ones, require an internet connection to be played at all. So while I was shopping for old games today I started thinking about something.
I wonder what retro gaming will be like in the far future? When I'm long dead and the Playstation is up to its 8 or 9th iteration and the idea of 16 bit being "cutting edge" is laughable. Kind of like how we view shit like that Atari now.
Right now, retro gaming is easy since it was a much simpler time. If you can get your hands on a system and a few cartridges/discs then all you have to do is hook that shit up, flick the switch and BOOM you're playing your old favorites. But will things be that simple in the future? Will retro gaming even exist in the same way that we know it today?
Think about it, plenty of games have mandatory updates that require internet connections or servers that they need to check with before you can start playing. What happens in the future when these servers don't exist and there is no update server for your game to connect to? Will some punter in a used game shop be able to buy used games and just pop them in and have a grand old time? I don't think so. Things right now are OK I guess, I can totally see PS3 or 4 games still working in the far flung future but with internet connections and digital distribution maybe the joy of picking up a dusty old game in a used book store will be long gone.
What I fear is that in the future the idea of buying retro games will be dead and companies will charge stupid amounts of money for the back catalogs of games. Half the reason I don't use things like the Wii virtual console or the classics collection on PSN is because I can go round the corner and pick up the original disc versions of the games for about half the money. When you think about that, in a way it's already happening.
Still, I'm just rambling and I'll be long dead before anything like this happens so it's whatever
Gaming is a pretty expensive hobby, or at least it can be if you want to stay completely up to date with the latest stuff. To offset the strain on ones wallet, people like to buy games used rather than new since the used price is obviously going to be a bit cheaper than brand new.
What I'm basically trying to say in a really long winded way is that I have bought a lot of used games over the years. A lot of those used games in the last couple have been from Japanese stores that sell retro stuff like NES and Super NES games. Since coming here and dealing with the used game market in Japan, it's quite clear that Japanese people (generally speaking) take WAYYYY better care of their shit than they do in the UK.
I bought so much shit in the UK that didn't work that I almost developed a fucking phobia of buying games used from GAME or CEX, the condition of some of those discs was fucking atrocious. I still remember one time during my teenage years I bought a used copy of Shadow of Memories on PS2
I took that shit home, opened up the box and I shit you not, the fucking bottom of the disc was fucking COVERED in Jam (that's Jelly for you Americans). I mean how the fuck did that even get taken by the store in that condition and HOW THE FUCK did no one in the store think to clean/test the disc before they took it?!
Needless to say I cleaned the shit out of that disc but even when I took the jam off it, it still didn't function. What makes this story even worse is that I swear to God I know the guy who traded it in because he is the only guy on earth that has the capacity to smear a game in jam and not give a fuck about it when he goes to trade it in.
There have been other examples of this shit too, like when I bought a copy of Kingdom Hearts new and GAME tried to fob me off with a used copy. When I took it home the game would fucking freeze when leaving the first island so I had to take that shit back and get it traded for an actual new copy like I fucking paid for.
Then there was that one time I bought a old PC game from a Gamestation in Manchester called Pool of Radiance. I got home and opened the box and there was a different fucking game in there called P.O.D
The icing on the shit cake with that one was that when I took it back to the store, they didn't have any copies of Pool of Radiance left! Of course I didn't want to just give up on that damn game so I ended up spending £10 more getting another copy from a different shop and when I eventually did get to play it, I remember thinking that it was a bit shit. Still though, I wasn't very good at DnD style RPGs back then, so I'd like to hunt it down and try again at least.
Let's contrast this with Japan
That is a copy of Metal Gear Solid for PS1 that my friend got from a used book store. The discs were immaculate, not a single blemish on them at all. The demo of Suikoden on the bottom there was also immaculate. Just to top it all off, it even came with a sheet of fucking stickers in PERFECT condition, it's as if the previous owner didn't even open the fucking thing the condition was so good.
Hell, just take another look at my new retro haul video
In that video I show a copy of a game called Sangokushi 4. The game is fucking boxed with all the little pamphlets and the manual in absolute perfect condition. On top of that the game came with the original fucking map that looked like it hadn't even been touched and this thing only cost me like 200 fucking yen. If something in that kind of condition was available in a UK store it would be priced out the arse.
On top of that, in my local retro store I have seen the staff taking the old cartridges off the shelf so that they can clean them and put them in new plastic wrapping. When I say clean, I don't just mean they give the underside a blow and then re-wrap them, I mean they properly get the fuck in there and give them a good clean and test before putting them back on the shelf.
I mean Japan isn't perfect, they do tend to overprice on a lot of shit, especially in these specialist retro stores. Like the other day I found Silent Hill for 1500 yen, but a few months prior my friend had found another copy in a different store for 500 yen. You really have to be careful not to get totally ripped off when buying retro games in Japan.
Still though, Japan is way better than England when it comes to dealing with and purchasing used games. Fucking sort your shit out England
So everyone is flipping their shit over Xbox One not supporting used games and needing to phone home every 24 hours and other shit like that. At the same time Cliff Bleszinski, the games industries uber twat, went on twitter and said that it's basically impossible for used games to exist with development costs being so high.
But then I went and found an article on Polygon. This was an interview with Reggie from Nintendo and he basically said that if developers are worried about used game sales, then they should make better games.
I fucking love that Reggie stood up and said that. I'm no Ninendo fanboy but Reggie absolutely hit the nail on the head here. The reason games are getting traded in so often and people are buying shit used is because the "AAA" games that get pumped out nowadays are all fucking garbage. Six hour cover based corridor shooters with tacked on multiplayer is not something your average person wants to keep in their collection for any longer than they have to.
There are probably shit tons of used Nintedo games flying around. In fact, there were so many Wii games being traded in at my local game stores that about 90% of my Wii games were used. But what's nice to see is that Nintendo is saying that if there is a problem with used games, it's because they are producing shit games, rather than just blaming the gamers or retail or lying about production costs. Hell, you could probably cut costs by just taking your time and producing something of quality rather than breaking the bank on advertising for your shitty game.
So well done Reggie, well done for taking responsibility for the shit you produce. I hope other people start to think like he does and not just start blaming customers when your shit game doesn't do very well.
Don't freak your shit! I'm not against used games or anything like that, in fact I'm super happy the PS4 is supporting used games, in fact I was happy with pretty much all of those announcements they made at that press conference.
But the reaction to that news struck a nerve with me and while it was good news the crowd reaction to it made me a little upset.
Think about it, used games have been a thing since gaming was a thing, people sharing their collections and enjoying games together or trading in old titles to play the latest ones, it was great. But it has now gotten to a point where companies have gotten so greedy that they don't want us to do that anymore and they are willing to force any amount of bullshit on us to make us shell out top dollar just to play their games.
The PS4 supporting used games shouldn't have been applauded because it's fucking STANDARD and it's a shame that the industry has got to the point where something as normal as used games has become big news. You don't see the movie industry desperately trying to stop used DVDs like the games industry tries to stop used games and it's sad.
So good job Sony, not doing this whole used game DRM dogshit, and hopefully the reaction at E3 painted a good picture to the rest of the industry of how that crap will not fly. Looks like the WiiU, PS4 and PC are the ways to go for this coming generation.
I'm sorry, I should not be doing three posts on the same fucking topic, but this shit, THIS FUCKING SHIT, is getting stupid.
Before I left for work today I made a post about how stupid the whole used games fee thing was. Well disregarding that for a moment, one thing people were happy to hear was that the Xbox One did not require a constant internet connection to function.
Well, for you people with not so great internet who were happy about this, Microsoft have given you the middle finger because while it doesn't need a constant internet connection, it needs to connect at least once every 24 hours or you are locked out of you're fucking games.
Oh my god, it's like Microsoft are just asking people to hate them.
So you may be thinking "who in this day and age doesn't have a constant internet connection?" right? Well it's a lot more than you might think. There are also a great deal of people with really shaky connections as well, way more than you would expect.
But let's make this personal for a second, how does this affect me? Well I travel a lot, and constantly moving in and out of new places in new bits of the world means that I don't always have access to the internet right away.
When I moved to Japan in May of last year, I didn't have an internet connection for about 2 or 3 weeks. So if I was an Xbox One user, that would be 2 or 3 weeks that I couldn't play my games because the damn thing couldn't call its mum for 5 seconds.
That. Is some fucking bullshit! If I shell out top price for a fucking video game, or no fuck that, if I shell out any money at all for a fucking video game, I expect to be able to play the fucking thing. Why am I not allowed access to games that I fucking paid for just because my I don't have the internet for a while?! Why is Microsoft staffed almost entirely by complete fucking MORONS?!
Even Steam doesn't pull this shit and people moan about that all the fucking time. But at least then if I install a single player game I can fucking play it when I take my laptop to places with no connection.
Fuck you Microsoft, I hope your shitty TV box crashes and burns and the people who made these decisions get forever imprisoned at the bottom of the fucking ocean.
When there were all these rumours flying around about how the next gen systems will blocked used games I was laughing at people. I was like "There is no way you can possibly believe that right, that would be the dumbest shit!"
But I have been thoroughly told to shut the fuck up and had my chops slapped about by a news story on IGN with the headline "Microsoft Details Used Game Fees, Installation Requirements" You can read the thing for yourself just here
What planet doe these people live on?! At what point in time did anyone think this was a good idea?!
Now, I know what people are going to say when people moan about this. They are going to be saying stuff like "yeah, but you use Steam and that's basically the same thing!" or "You've not been able to do that with PC gaming for fucking years" etc. etc.
Well guess what shit biscuit, I've NEVER been able to do that with PC games, even before I started using steam. In the UK, GAME wouldn't take used PC games, and my experience of buying used PC titles from other stores like Gamestation has pretty much ALWAYS ended up in tragedy.
I remember buying fucking Half Life 1, used and the damn thing not having a CD key, then me having to ask my friends dad to give me HIS fucking CD key so I could play the damn thing. Plus the thing about Steam is that while there are games on there for full price, the vast majority of my steam library has been purchased on the cheap. Steam make up for the whole 1 account thing by offering shit like Game X + All DLC for like £2.50.
Hell, after selling some items on the Steam Marketplace I picked up Dragon Age: Origins + all the DLC and expansions and what have you FOR NOTHING. £0, $0! It was paid for totally with TF2 items that I obtained FOR FREE ANYWAY. Thank you Steam! I could have bought some other stuff too if I didn't get curious about DotA keys....bad move....
But you know what? I'm not even all that mad. PS4 seems to be focusing on games and isn't doing it. Wii U, once it picks up some steam will probably end up pretty strong and THAT doesn't do it. 3DS and Vita don't do it. So you know what Xbox One? Go and fuck yourself, if you want to implement your little money grubbing used game fee, go ahead, but all you're doing is shooting yourself in the foot and basically handing this entire generation over to Sony and Nintendo.
I've had some bad experiences buying used games in the UK. For example I once bought a copy of Pool of Radiance, and when I got it home there was a completely different game in the box. Another time I once bought a copy of Shadow of Memories on the PS2 only to take it home and discover fucking Jam on the CD and despite my best cleaning efforts, that shit just would not work.
In Japan however, I've had the reverse of that. Every used game I have bought has come in pristine condition with all inlays and extra bits and bobs that came with it when it was new. I have a friend who got the PS1 version of Metal Gear Solid that came with a load of collectors stickers or something, it was pretty neat.
It also had a Suikoden Demo
So while I was up in Kawagoe doing a bit of a retro game hunt with previously mentioned friend, we came across a copy of Final Fantasy 2 and 3 in a junk pile in a Hard Off. Book Off is a used book store type deal in Japan that also takes stuff like Video Games and DVDs, Hard Off is like that but for things like old VHS players and TVs, but Hard Off also stocks games.
So for about 200 yen each we took these things back to my buddies place, slammed them in his Famulator and turned it on. First it didn't work and got a load of gunk inside his system, which we had to clean out before trying again, and then when we did make it work, the sound was a bit.....off. Take a look!
This is the first time I have ever seen this happen, but it was pretty funny. Usually used games on carts come with all its save slots full of 100% completed games, this one was just messed up. Still, for only 200 yen it's not like you can really complain.
