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Forums - Sony Discussion - Yoshida: I don't understand people who only want AAA

naruball on 03 July 2014
UltimateUnknown said:
Torillian said:
It's a pretty common thought process unfortunately and isn't just thrown against Indie titles. Often I hear in the staff chat that there aren't enough JRPGs and it was such a lame generation for them. I then toss out smaller games like the Atelier series to show that there are great games out there if you're willing to step outside of their standard comfort zone and then they'll scoff at the idea of playing a game with below 8 on metacritic. In some ways I can understand the idea of not having all the time in the world and only wanting to play games of a certain quality, but don't complain to me about not having enough games of a specific genre to play if you ignore the great games that already are releasing for that genre.

You know, I felt the same way about JRPGs being very lacking last gen both in quality and quantity.

So I decided to take a step out and try Dust: An Elysian Tale. My mind was literally blown by how amazing this game was and it opened my mind to indie games. It gave me a very old school JRPG feeling with the story, characters, art, music, etc. And the amazing part is that I believe this game was mainly made by one dude. That just blew my mind at how one person or small teams could make such fulfilling and fun experiences.

Some people dismiss indies WAY too easily. Sure there are a lot of them but if you look around there are some really amazing games out there that can provide just as much fun as AAA games. And that's the key point, FUN. That should be the only thing that matters, not how much money or time was spent making it.

The rate at which people want AAA games is just unsustainable. They cost way too much and its just companies going back to their tried and tested cash cows to make sure they get profits. So many devs have been shut down last gen because they just couldn't stay alive in this highly risky AAA environment. I see indies filling in the role of the smaller sized mid-tier games and I'm glad to see bigger companies such as Ubisoft start to see potential in this approach as well with games like Child of Light.

Though I strongly agree with your last paragraph, I have to somewhat disagree with the bolded.

I guess most people do play video games for fun. But videogames are not just about that. Not any more anyway. Some videogames, like Demon's Souls are more of a challenge rather than anything else. Some people see a challenge as something fun, while others see it as a sort of accomplishement. Games have evolved over the years and a fun game is not necessarily enough at this point. And there's nothing wrong with that. There's an audience for indies/fun games with low budgets and an audience for more polished and realistic experiences. Child of Light, Guacamelee and Mutant Blobs are some of the most fun games I've played the last couple of years, but I appreciate games like Ni no Kuni more because they have a story and the graphics are so good (for me at least) that they add tremendously to the experience. I've also noticed that 16-bit games don't do it for me any more. I just can't enjoy playing games with bad graphics any more.

Also, take games like Heavy Rain into account. Is the word "fun" what you'd use to describe them? I think they're more experiences rather than anything else. And it's a bit like movies and tv-series. There are comedies and actions movies that are fun to watch but then why do we watch drama? It's more for the experience and what they make us feel. And in order to relate to the characters you need good graphics and voice acting among other things, in other words, a big budget. I personally find it hard to relate to chracters that don't look realistic. I still remember the voice acting in Heavenly Sword. There were moments that were so powerful that they gave me chills.



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AshKetchum1992 on 03 July 2014

I'm glad that Yoshida could see how games like LittleBigPlanet are also well received among people.



Dr.Henry_Killinger on 03 July 2014
naruball said:
UltimateUnknown said:
Torillian said:
It's a pretty common thought process unfortunately and isn't just thrown against Indie titles. Often I hear in the staff chat that there aren't enough JRPGs and it was such a lame generation for them. I then toss out smaller games like the Atelier series to show that there are great games out there if you're willing to step outside of their standard comfort zone and then they'll scoff at the idea of playing a game with below 8 on metacritic. In some ways I can understand the idea of not having all the time in the world and only wanting to play games of a certain quality, but don't complain to me about not having enough games of a specific genre to play if you ignore the great games that already are releasing for that genre.

You know, I felt the same way about JRPGs being very lacking last gen both in quality and quantity.

So I decided to take a step out and try Dust: An Elysian Tale. My mind was literally blown by how amazing this game was and it opened my mind to indie games. It gave me a very old school JRPG feeling with the story, characters, art, music, etc. And the amazing part is that I believe this game was mainly made by one dude. That just blew my mind at how one person or small teams could make such fulfilling and fun experiences.

Some people dismiss indies WAY too easily. Sure there are a lot of them but if you look around there are some really amazing games out there that can provide just as much fun as AAA games. And that's the key point, FUN. That should be the only thing that matters, not how much money or time was spent making it.

The rate at which people want AAA games is just unsustainable. They cost way too much and its just companies going back to their tried and tested cash cows to make sure they get profits. So many devs have been shut down last gen because they just couldn't stay alive in this highly risky AAA environment. I see indies filling in the role of the smaller sized mid-tier games and I'm glad to see bigger companies such as Ubisoft start to see potential in this approach as well with games like Child of Light.

Though I strongly agree with your last paragraph, I have to somewhat disagree with the bolded.

I guess most people do play video games for fun. But videogames are not just about that. Not any more anyway. Some videogames, like Demon's Souls are more of a challenge rather than anything else. Some people see a challenge as something fun, while others see it as a sort of accomplishement. Games have evolved over the years and a fun game is not necessarily enough at this point. And there's nothing wrong with that. There's an audience for indies/fun games with low budgets and an audience for more polished and realistic experiences. Child of Light, Guacamelee and Mutant Blobs are some of the most fun games I've played the last couple of years, but I appreciate games like Ni no Kuni more because they have a story and the graphics are so good (for me at least) that they add tremendously to the experience. I've also noticed that 16-bit games don't do it for me any more. I just can't enjoy playing games with bad graphics any more.

Also, take games like Heavy Rain into account. Is the word "fun" what you'd use to describe them? I think they're more experiences rather than anything else. And it's a bit like movies and tv-series. There are comedies and actions movies that are fun to watch but then why do we watch drama? It's more for the experience and what they make us feel. And in order to relate to the characters you need good graphics and voice acting among other things, in other words, a big budget. I personally find it hard to relate to chracters that don't look realistic. I still remember the voice acting in Heavenly Sword. There were moments that were so powerful that they gave me chills.

I don't know about you but I buy games for the express purpose of funding developers and publishers. That's why I strongly disagree with the trading and reselling of games, GameStop in general, or renting games, let alone pirating them.

Thats why I bought ME twice, ME 4 times, ME3 3 times, KH1 twice, and KH2 3 times.



In this day and age, with the Internet, ignorance is a choice! And they're still choosing Ignorance! - Dr. Filthy Frank

naruball on 03 July 2014
Dr.Henry_Killinger said:
 

I don't know about you but I buy games for the express purpose of funding developers and publishers. That's why I strongly disagree with the trading and reselling of games, GameStop in general, or renting games, let alone pirating them.

Thats why I bought ME twice, ME 4 times, ME3 3 times, KH1 twice, and KH2 3 times.


Me too to an extent. I bought Child of Light for ps3/ps4 and I'm buying it again on psvita a) because it's a great game that I wanna play on the psvita and b) to reward the developers for a great game and encourage them to make sequels or similar games. I bought the Guacamelee and Gravity Rush dlc for the same reason.

I also almost never resell any of my games and only buy used games that are very old (though I haven't done that in ages).



UltimateUnknown on 03 July 2014
naruball said:

Though I strongly agree with your last paragraph, I have to somewhat disagree with the bolded.

I guess most people do play video games for fun. But videogames are not just about that. Not any more anyway. Some videogames, like Demon's Souls are more of a challenge rather than anything else. Some people see a challenge as something fun, while others see it as a sort of accomplishement. Games have evolved over the years and a fun game is not necessarily enough at this point. And there's nothing wrong with that. There's an audience for indies/fun games with low budgets and an audience for more polished and realistic experiences. Child of Light, Guacamelee and Mutant Blobs are some of the most fun games I've played the last couple of years, but I appreciate games like Ni no Kuni more because they have a story and the graphics are so good (for me at least) that they add tremendously to the experience. I've also noticed that 16-bit games don't do it for me any more. I just can't enjoy playing games with bad graphics any more.

Also, take games like Heavy Rain into account. Is the word "fun" what you'd use to describe them? I think they're more experiences rather than anything else. And it's a bit like movies and tv-series. There are comedies and actions movies that are fun to watch but then why do we watch drama? It's more for the experience and what they make us feel. And in order to relate to the characters you need good graphics and voice acting among other things, in other words, a big budget. I personally find it hard to relate to chracters that don't look realistic. I still remember the voice acting in Heavenly Sword. There were moments that were so powerful that they gave me chills.

Perhaps "enjoyment" is more of the word we're looking for. I think we can all agree that whatever reason we play video games, whether that be to just have a fun time, or to accomplish something, or to watch a captivating story, we really are doing what we enjoy. I doubt someone would play games they hate, unless you're AVGN or something in which case it's your job lol.

That being said I'll agree with your other post. I gave child of light a chance because I wanted to support Ubisoft for making a small yet unique game. And I was pleasantly surprised just by how good it was.



 

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pokoko on 03 July 2014
nitekrawler1285 said:
pokoko said:

Well, yeah, but it still doesn't make any sense.  There seems to be a disconnect between what you think he's saying and what I think he's saying.

Sony wants you to buy a PS4.  They want you to buy AAA games.  They want you to buy some downloadable titles off PSN, too.  No where is he saying not to buy AAA games.  AT ALL.  He is simply saying that he does not understand those who complain that there aren't enough games to play while passing over games that aren't AAA.  He's talking about people who ONLY WANT AAA TITLES.  


So you are saying he doesn't understand people whom chose not to play games that don't appeal to them.  That doesn't sound terribly hard to understand unless he simply isn't trying. 

I don't even ...

I've already explained this.  What you are saying is not what he is saying so I can only conclude that you're doing this on purpose.  He's talking about a mind-set that he does not share, one that he does not understand, where people judge a game by budget instead of quality.  Personally, I can't understand that, either.  It would be like someone watching Ishtar, a bad film with a high budget, but skipping Clerks because it was funded on a shoe-string.  I don't know why you're trying to twist this into something else or what you're trying to gain from it.

Now I'm done with this.  I feel bad for trying.



Aerys on 03 July 2014

Every gamer should think like him, it's sad to see close minded people who only want AAA ( Phoenix Wright, the BGE on DS for most of us is a AA, just to remind you )



Predictions for end of 2014 HW sales:

 PS4: 17m   XB1: 10m    WiiU: 10m   Vita: 10m

 

Brii on 03 July 2014

I miss the PS2 era of mid-tier games. Games that had middling budgets and could afford not to sell millions and still be a success. Games that, because they didn't need to appeal to a huge audience, had the freedom to explore gameplay, aesthetics, and narrative in unique ways that most people wouldn't like or want.

One of my all time favorite games is Shadow Hearts, a rather niche and bizarre rpg. No amount of money would have helped it appeal to a huge audience. To have broad appeal, it would have had to lose everything that made it unique and interesting to me.

Bigger budgets require bigger sales. Bigger sales require broader appeal. Broader appeal requires watering down aspects that would turn off John Doe from the game and relying on what is already known to get John Doe to fork over cash. The AAA industry kills creativity and freedom.



Dr.Henry_Killinger on 03 July 2014
the-pi-guy said:
Dr.Henry_Killinger said:

AAA quality

AAA refers to budget technically, and quality colloquially

I am quite aware.  

There is almost certainly a correlation between budget and quality, but a correlation isn't absolute.  

A weak and fairly subjective correlation.



In this day and age, with the Internet, ignorance is a choice! And they're still choosing Ignorance! - Dr. Filthy Frank

Xxain on 03 July 2014

I cant stand when industry people complain about the industry they helped to create. Fans have that belief because they're trained to think that way.