Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this column are those of the participants and the moderator, and do not necessarily reflect those of the GIA. There is coarse language and potentially offensive material afoot. And keep your foot off that blasted samoflange...! Don't say we didn't warn you.

Well, not a lot of bites on this topic so tonight's col is going to be unusually brief.

My only guess is that my whole "Ultimate Evil" schpiel was putting things too vaguely - either that or my intentions for the discussion were misconstrued and everyone thinks I'm pitting WD against the whole of the mainstream industry. Or, perhaps, all of WD fandom thinks I - God forbid - have no faith in Vic to keep WD afloat where it belongs and are boycotting my sacreligious column.

All I wanted was to talk about this niche-driven Little Engine That Could's place in the market and maybe get into what they've overcome and will have continue to overcome in keeping their heads above water over in Redding ... was that too much to ask?

...

Oh well. Let's go.

First thing's first: the requisite off-topic rant about some minor point 3 columns back

...Hallo... I don't write in to Q&A/Letters/etc. sections much, mostly because i'm on a shared pentium 166 with outlook express as the defualt client. Not my account, so i've got to load up yahoo or hotmail and switch pages to send emails. Takes a while. (we do have a cable modem, but...... don't ask) But this is cause for inconvenience. I hope it gets printed as a worthy addendum. What the hell? We're given a fantastic topic for conversation, and all you get are half-assed responses from gamers who don't care to think further than fucking Chrono Trigger or Mario as examples of lasting appeal? Who the fuck didn't know these games had it? What are you thinking, guys? That it wasn't obvious enough by now to anyone who's ever held a controller that these titles are staples? After the first few letters, things started to blur together. Yadda-yadda, such-and-such theory on Crono's blushing sprite, blah blah Freudian impulse to fuck geometrical phallices...Jesus, people, you're making good points, but why must you all point to the givens? You surely knew that someone else would cover them, and if not, who cares? Like i said....we all know already. Tetris was awesome and influential, and it holds up well... Fucking DUH. Now.. i apologize, none of the letters were bad in and of themselves, just uninspired. Did it not occur to anyone that bringing your own unique experience with a unique game that no one else would be likely to mention might compliment the column and inform others who take the easy way out (um... Pong!) that there are, indeed, games outside of common knowledge that deserve to be touted in place of the umpteen reiterations of the euphoria of FF or the "uh... the totally incredible way that like, i keep playing Chrono even though the graphics are all old and shit, 'cause it's all addictive and stuff, man" that we got. So i'll try. Thinking... thinking... My pick? Ys Books I and II, for the Duo. 1989. YES, IT'S A 13 YEAR OLD GAME, AND IT WILL ROCK YOUR ASS OFF. Play this game. Do it. Then play just about anything else from that year you were or still are creaming over. I've shown this game to people who started with Zelda. FF6. FF7. Even one who never owned a system until the PS2. What did they have to say? "They had shit like this back then? That's impossible!".....Hardly. Maybe you couldn't afford a Duo ($400), or maybe you plead ignorance on account of being young. That's cool, but it's no excuse to not check it out now, especially since a certain online company still has them available, NEW, for $200. If you know or want to learn Japanese, you either have one or need one, NOW. There's a reason this is still a popular system in Japan, tho' official software support ended in 1999 with the super cool Dead of The Brain 1 and 2 (yeah, over a decade.) Even if you don't, there are a good number of great english TG-16/CD that deserve attention on the system. Even if only for this one, it's worth the price of admission. Still some of the best voice-acting (you'll recognize at least one of the actors from cartoons and newer games), Translation work (The story isn't complex, but it's told beautifully.) gameplay (it's awkward at first, but it grows on you until you love it against your will, like a mix of zelda and tackle football... without a ball) and MUSIC (OH MY FUCKING GOD... THE MUSIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) that games have ever seen. It's a testament to loving design and production that this ancient mofo still brings tears to my eyes when i turn it on or listen to it (yep!) in my cd player. ...This is what i'm talking about. A classic, that continues to breathe with astounding life, and it doesn't get one nod from you lazy bastards (i mean that in the nicest way ...) Think outside the box, folks. Square, Enix, Pajitnov, Nintendo... They have and will continue to bask in the success and praise of their legacies by critics and fans. They've gotten and will continue to get their due. But there are 2+ decades that make up modern videogaming, and obviously a good chunk of that was missed by many of us. No worries, but please, look back, and dig deeper. SNK (someone did mention Neo Geo), Nihon Falcom, Hudson Soft (in Japan, they were the gods of the Turbo) etc... Just a handful. These are well known, but not well-recognized by most newer gamers. Read up on them, and others. You'll be all the wiser, and it'll help to ensure a brighter future for all of us, especially if it means i won't have to scream at my monitor again. This got long, so i'm stopping. hope i said the right thing, the right way. Love, Adam Duke, who's not really a jerk. I promise.

Actually, the original MSRP on the Turbo Duo was closer to an ungodly $500, if I'm not mistaken. So, no, I was regretfully unable as a 10 yr-old to pursuade my parents to shell out for a system with so relatively few titles available, and I'd reckon I'm not alone in that excuse.

Nonetheless, Ys, from what I've heard, deserves mention. That, and, uh ... I was starved for letters and impressed by your wanton obscenity.

... Ed Fries isn't under your bed, is he?

Erin, My ultimate evil is Hiroshi Yamauchi! He's big and mean and makes fun of my clothes! ;_; Mommy says he's not real, but I can hear him in the dead of night, firing off anti-Square announcements from my closet! One time I sprayed my closet with two whole cans of Raid, but this just made mommy mad. What do I do! - Alex

What's more bizarre than Alex's letter is the fact that it's one of several...

Pure Funk... er ... I mean, "Art."

Ultimate Evil? If the world were an RPG, the Shin-Ra corporation would have bought Sephiroth and given him a phat beach-house and a job as a "technical advisor" ("...drugs and money, money and drugs, mo' drugs and money, and some girls and their sisters"), or something, while they carried out his evil plans for world distruction in exchange for exclusive marketing rights, or something. Honestly, I am surprised the govornment isn't auctioning off exclusive media coverage rights to the "war" in Afganistan. You know they would get bricks of cash... The Ultimate Evil is Big Money! We're talking Sony and Electronic Arts and Microsoft. To a lesser degree, that includes Square, Nintendo and Namco. The frustrating thing about Big Money is that their primary goal is to get more money. They aren't interested in Pure Art, they want cash, and if they just so happen to create art in the process of getting cash, then lucky for the customer. I am sure this is fine, because you have to feed your kids somehow, but I still don't like it. I prefer the Pure Art. As goofy and annoying as Vic Ireland and his pet company are, I have more respect for them than anyone else because they create Pure Art. They aren't concerned with the bottom line, they just want to get the games out there. I mean, they published Magic Knight Rayearth! That game was five years old on a dead system, and they published it! And it rocked! Besides, any company who cares enough to print a FULL COLOR manual deserves my love. But until they get their business sense down, they will never be a Square, or Nintendo, or Sega. These boys know art, but they also know how to squeeze the people for cash. I guarantee you, if Nintendo hadn't ridden Pokemon like a dog there would be a sight fewer Smash Bro.s and Miyamoto games. Vic Ireland needs to learn this trick. "You need the common people, Vic. They have more money than us fans!" And quit with the ten pound deluxe packages! Cloth maps?! We don't need all that crap, give us the games! TokyoNeon, who will definitely buy that Arc Collection.

Well, uh, seeing as how Square, Nintendo and Sega are also developers with a lot more to lose than a smallish American publisher handling a few localizations, drawing comparisons between these "Big Money" companies and WD is sort of inaccurate.

Nonetheless, your underlying point is that WD exists to turn out quality products, not rake in the cash - though I think dubbing their work "Pure Art" borders a tad on the zealous side of care, my man - and it's a sentiment echoed by most fans of what the company's all about: catering to its audience.

The Audience is Listening

Hello Erin, I hope you get this before it's too late. I don't get to read DA regularly, and when I do, it's in the morning and I never know when the update comes. Working Designs has earned their legion of fanboys (I count myself as one even if I can't afford to get half the stuff they've put out over the last ten years) because not only do they put a lot of quality into their games, but they also LISTEN TO THEIR FANS. I remember back in the dark ages -- 1994 -- and using my computer account at school to read the usenet newsgroups. I religiously read the Sega newsgroup -- 'cause I had a Sega. Anyway, you'd find posts on the newsgroup from Vic here and there. I think I also got some personal e-mail from him once, and so did a friend of mine. I can't think of another videogame publisher that gives as much of a flip about their customers as WD does. So, that brings us to your question -- what is the ultimate evil of the videogaming industry that stalwart types like Victor Ireland stand against? Well, I'd have to say the enemy is the corporate, lowest-common-denomiator mindset. You know -- companies that won't release games that they think are too NICHE to sell a million copies or too. Companies that think that great packaging is full-color printing on the top of the CD, or maybe putting ONE disc into a TWO disc package. You know what I'm talking about, here. I mean, how many companies actually take risks like that? BTW I'm giving props to Atlus for doing this even though I didn't have the conjones to cough up $50 for Rhapsody. Anyway, that's how I stand on the issue. Hey, wish me luck somebody! I'm going back to school for the first time in five years to try and finish my degree. Lucas

In the spirit of my other "DA" role - Devil's Advocate - I'm obligated to pose the question of whether or not WD really is taking all that great a risk with what they do. As you've pointed out, they're well aware of what their fan base wants, and they've historically turned out just that - with conservative releases that cover the cost of including all those infamous extras without a hideous surplus gathering dust on store shelves after their target market's been glutted....

Well And Truly Doomed

People have been saying Working Designs is in trouble for a very, very long time. The most recent incident I can think of being about a year ago (immediately after the release of Lunar 2) when there was a great deal of silence from the company's PR machine and Victor Ireland stopped posting on USENET - scurrulous rumors burst into being that the company was Well And Truly Doomed, and that Ireland's silence should be taken as reticence to admit the company was about to close down. When he got back from his post-Lunar vacation a week later, of course, he dispelled those rumors. It's true they manage their business in a rather unconventional manner, but the simple (and welcome) truth is that not every company has to crap out as many games as possible in rapid succession to stay alive. That's the business model for Acclaim and THQ, but not for WD. And they're not alone. Look at Blizzard - how long have they quietly been working on Warcraft III? Yet who thinks they're about to shut down and go bankrupt? Yeah, you have companies like Square who frequently announce "We're sorta screwed," but that's what happens when you have hundreds of employees, invest hundreds of millions in projects which a fraction of their cost, and have to account to those pesky, inquisitive beings called shareholders. WD, on the other hand, has dozens of employees, produces a small number of high-quality niche titles in safe quantities (with expenses incurred only for publishing and reprogramming, not development), and is privately owned. Which means they could be doomed and no one would know it; but they're actually more likely to be able to survive lean times in the industry than so many other companies which take the slash-and-burn approach to publishing. So the Ultimate Evil? I guess that would be the notion that every company has to be some sort of massive, betentacled beast of a high-stakes player. Remember, when the meteors crashed to earth, it was the giant dinosaurs who died, and the tiny nimble mammals who inherited the planet. Wait, I think I just compared WD to timid scavengers. Ah well. JP

Simply by virtue of being that rare, timid little scavenger amidst the thunder lizards, WD inspires so many people to root for them that they've sort of created a secure little place for themselves in the industry, haven't they...?

Sources less nefarious

Erin, I may not have some nefarious "source" like Nij does, but I've hung around WD's official board everyday for the past 3+ years, so I think its pretty safe to say I'm probably more familiar with what WD does than most people. Now, Vic may not be someone that everyone is going to like, and WD's games are most certainly not for everyone, but I can tell you right now that WD is not in any sort of trouble. Think about for a second: this is the company that survived on nothing but TurboGrafx-16 and Sega CD games for years. WD know's what they're doing from a business sense. The simple formula here is WD has a lot of fervent fans, and Vic and co. are pretty good at catering to, and interacting with these people. They don't go around overspending to acquire games they can't sell to their niche, and they know how to market their games to their customers. Do they always make a profit? No. Go ask Vic anytime, and he'll tell you their Spaz titles didn't turn profits--ever. I really don't think WD is "fighting" against anything, either. From what I can gather, Vic doesn't exactly hate "new" games, and he's not out to stick it to some larger corporations. Quite simply, Vic likes games, and he's pretty sure he can exploit a market that very few companies do. The fact that WD has done it for so long has given them a reputation, and a rather large amount of loyal fans. In short, if Vegas would let me, I'd put a substantial amount of money on WD staying where they are for a long time. I'm sure a bunch of other people are going to write to you with this, but here's some stuff straight from Vic's mouth in relation to this topic: "Of course, if the letter writer's 'informant closer to the source' was better informed, they would have known that the next three games we're announcing will blow people's minds. A fair number of people are going to be seriously freaked out, but our fans will be amazed and very happy." Works for me. -Justin Freeman

And me as well.

Incidentally, I suppose it's worth noting that the man himself had this to say about my nebulous concept of an Ultimate Evil:

"I would say the ultimate industry evil is of a creeping nature and borne out in things like the EGM "review" of Arc the Lad Collection. Reviewers who simply don't have the time to PLAY the games they are reviewing to any point remotely close to completion, then issue a verdict implying or flat out lying and saying they played the whole game before deciding it wasn't to their taste. In the long run, that behavior will hurt the mag or industry's cred, but in the short run, it just means that good reviews can and do go to the highest bidder. Fortunately, we've aquired a fair amount of fans that can see through the bull..."

Which just goes to show, I suppose, that Vic ... will always be Vic.

Closing Comments:

Well, the Xbox's trial by fire is just over a month away. In light of its American showing, why don't you tell Drew if you think Gates' Godzilla can tackle Tokyo.

-Erin Mehlos