Double Agent
Making a price point - November 17th, 2001 - Drew Cosner

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this column are those of the participants and the moderator, and do not neccessarily reflect those of the GIA. There is coarse language and potentially offensive material afoot. I think in keys like Z. Don't say we didn't warn you.


I think the first thing I want to do is compliment Erin on a great first week as DA. Anyone who does it for a while can attest to what a brutal, thankless job it can be, and she's handled it with style, and, of course, bitter sarcasm. What more could you possibly ask for?

So there, despite my ceaseless negativity, let it never be said that I don't give props where they are do. Except to Eugene Jarvis; I don't care if he is the father of Defender, I'm never going to let that time he pushed me out in front of a car go.

With that out of the way, let's get this show on the road.

Can't escape the Gear

I think I won't be getting a PS2 this year. That's what I think.

I also think the next mention of MGS2 I see, hear, or otherwise sense, will result in someone getting a dull shiv between their ribs.

~Ian P.


Ah yes, MGS2. The buzz that has managed a stranglehold on the gaming industry is certainly understandable. After all, this is the title touted as the first real demonstration of next generation power that scored two Game of Show awards in as many years at E3. So it's really know wonder that people can't stop talking about it except to eat and take breaths, if they even bother to do that. Which, I might note, several GIA staffers have not. Nich claims the ending is way better when your brain is beleaguered by oxygen starvation, anyhow.

However, yes, as a poor college student who probably won't get around to playing the title until winter break, having it rubbed in my face is starting to suck. So, gaming sites, for the sake of Ian and myself, please stop attracting tons of visitors with media of the most anticipated title of the year. We're not asking too much here.

Bestest RPG of the year

Drew -

So the PS2 will not drop in price? Big shit, I wasn't buying one anyway. Magical Vacation and Breath of Fire 1, here I come!!!

Peace,

Ray Stryker, who thinks Golden Sun has a shot at best RPG of the year. Screw paying 300 bux to sit at a desk when you can go anywhere for 100.


...and then we have the dissidents. While the GBA is certainly a nifty little machine, I'm not sure I'd place it at a higher priority of ownership than the PS2. Then again, I am just a graphics whore, I've been told, so what would I know? Many polygonal building blocks structured into 3-dimensional objects and environments are all I care about.

Okay, well, I figured we may as well both just be facetious.

His hatred is real: he is not

Whoever the heck is DA this hour:

I don't really care that PS2 is sticking with it's $299 price tag, since I've already bought mine. The hardware is quite expensive and Sony is trying to make up for recent losses, so it's completely forgivable. What I AM upset about is the price tag of the upcoming PS2 Hard Drive and Modem. This is the area where Gates' unholy progeny is likely to kick some major behind, since X-Box already comes equipped with both for the same price as the basic PS2 unit. If Sony made these add-ons more useful (No saving games on the hard drive?! *Kills nearest small furry animal*) and dropped the price a chunk, they could have Bill Gates homeless and dying of exposure within the year. *Gets preoccupied with the imagery conjured up and stares off into space, grinning and giggling*

...

...

Where was I?

Oh yeah, keep your dog the hell off of my lawn.

- Atae Taka, his hate is real, but his name is not. [I'm always glad to see a reader with his/her priorities straight - Ed.]


While there's certainly a part of me that balks at the notion of paying 300 bucks for a lousy videogame box, I suppose you are getting a DVD player for free. You can't beat that. Especially when you didn't even have a VCR before.

As for the add-ons, I would highly recommend saving your cash for now. Make sure games come out that both use these devices, and use them creatively, before spending tons of dough on the next 64DDs, I say.

I'll admit that it's a catch-22, however; if people don't buy the add-ons, developers won't support them, and if developers don't support them, people won't buy them. Personally, I'm content to let the burden of making add-ons worth owning rest on the shoulders of the publishers. You know, the ones with several million more dollars in the bank than I can even dream of hiding under a mattress in my cardboard box, to be found by a bunch of bag ladies after I'm found dead in a gutter clutching a bottle of scotch.

S'good topic

Blame/credit Erin for sticking you with/giving you this topic...

For me, Sony's lack of price drop is why I'm not going to be buying a PS2 this Christmas. (Or any next gen game system, for that matter, but PS2 is at the top of my list.)

-Cecil


I have to wonder if this sentiment actually will end up generating tons of revenue for Nintendo this Holiday season. Especially when you consider that Nintendo's crammed most of its point-of-presence power into more standard retail outlets like Toys R Us and Walmart. At least the lingering notion that game boxes are kids' toys is helping somebody out.

I suck

Hyeas Drew,

First things first, might wanna casually remind Erin to have the link to yer name somewhere at the bottom, I predict a slew of e-mails to her on the subject cause she forgot to link to you cept in the side menu.

That aside, I think Sony did a good thing with keeping the price high. Even though its more than a year later, but I mean, how long was the origional GB like 90 bucks? and the NES like 100? This sets a nice standard to the intelligence factor of game buyers if you will.

With high prices, if people buy the PS2 more than the X-box (open launch hysteria aside), that shows that they care about the games and make intelligent decisions... untested power or tried and true awesomeness (as per software). If the figures bend the other way it goes to show that MS is as evil as always spewing there stuff everyone one can see, hear or smell it, and it goes to show that most console buyers are just in for the shiney and new thingie that has awesome potential but no extraodinary titles, though "new and innovative" FPS's *snicker* always sell. We have 3 decent titles at launch, DoA3, Halo, and Munch's Oddessy of I remember right, and the promise of shenmue 2 in the US though no shenmue 1 stuff as of yet can be used. That isn't a lot of power. Sounds awfully like the 3-DO which had NBA Jam as a killer title. We know how that went.

If people stay with Sony (as they should cause MS is evvvvviiiilll in a bad way), then the big dogs can be assured that the games are important and focus there, if not, then we go to console power which ina way scatters a lot of potentially daring titles. I know its kinda extreme, but hey, the NSABE is an extremist.

Efrate, rambling strangly after being at work for 16 or so hours in one day.


Wow, this is the most elitist argument I've seen in a while: that the price barrier keeps out the people who don't really care about the industry, and would prefer to mire it down by purchasing the latest WWF title, quality be damned. I'd like to say that I'm above that sort of argument, but it still amazes me when I run into people who make their console-purchasing decisions based on which system has the most wrestling games they like.

Now, you could certainly argue that when crap games get all of the cash, it forces the genuinely good stuff out of the market, and we get set on a course for another wonderful crash like that of the early '80s. On the other hand, more revenue poured into publishing companies means they can afford to make risky endeavors, hedging their bets with another sure-fire hit. To paraphrase Jeremy Parish, the Tekkens pay for the Klonoas. Of course, fighting fans would probably argue that Tekken is a great series, but you get the idea. (Well, except for T4. That's not getting much love, from what I've seen and read.)

As it stands, I think the gaming industry has a good balance going. More people buying games that may stink means more revenue for the industry. More revenue means more great games. Considering how well MGS2 is doing, I think the industry is doing peachy-keen right now. As long as that balance can be maintained, we'll be fine.

Those bastards!

I was waiting for the 'inevitable' holiday price drop to buy a PS2. And yet, even though there won't be one, I'll probably buy a system within the next couple of weeks anyway (and I strongly doubt I'm the only disappointed bargain-sniper about to pay his 50% "playing MGS2 sometime before February" tax). Obviously Sony thinks that the strength of their software is a good match for the hyped-up newness factor of the GC and Xbox.

This all adds up to a really obnoxious bit of irony.

Ever since the early 90's advent of the console wars, most [insert non-obnoxious synonym for "hardcore"] gamers have been hoping that one day a quality game selection -- and not extreme-hardcore-glitz- factor -- would determine game sales. And now that things are *finally* starting to slide in that direction, guess what happens? Sony immediately uses it as an excuse to cheat everyone out a hundred bucks each.

Those horrible, thieving geniuses.


Irony certainly stings with the needles of an angry hornet that got a bunch of lemonade on its stinger so it hurts even more when it stings you. Then again, the people you cite tend to run out and buy every console as soon as it hits the streets, so I guess it's not much of a loss to them.

Closing comments:

I wanted to have a MGS2 topic for tomorrow, but two things stopped me from doing so. One, I haven't played the game yet, and I don't want it spoiled for me. My needs eclipse those of your own. Second, even most of the people who slept under cars the night before the release to ensure they got a copy haven't even beaten it. So maybe next weekend. Unless, of course, Erin beats me to it, but such are the woes of being weekend DA.

So, instead, here's your substantially less interesting topic: are you anxious enough to follow the story of Raziel that you'll pick up the latest Soul Reaver title, despite its flaws? Why or why not? And what could have been changed to make you think differently? Just let me know, because it's always fun when I get some mail actually addressed to me personally, rather than me and my closest 2 million strangers I've never met.

-Drew Cosner, SPAM black hole

 
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