"Gamer Entitlement": Current state of gaming journalism and industry

[GloatingSwine]

For all practicality how do we then judge this?

If I have played the brand before and like the new one, but 3 others dont from the same situation?

We going to have a true IP definition written in stone first?

Wouldn't the logically thing be to find reasonable complaints against the game as of why it doesn't fit the brand quality mark? And if so how are we going to judge what is reasonable? Are we going to have it written in stone judge by jury? Is my opinion that some of the reactions to the new Dante was unjustified invalid and theirs valid then?

It's fairly easy to come up with a list of the things that DMC fans liked about the series that have changed in the new game, but foremost among them is challenge. Old DMC games had a persistent level of challenge inherent in the combat mechanics which went beyond surviving a given fight. The point wasn't just to live through the fight, but to defeat the enemies whilst maintaining the style meter as high as you could get it to get more red orbs and higher ratings, and the way you had to do that was through consistent aggression and variation. Aggression because you had to keep hitting things to keep the style meter going, variation because the more you used the same move the less it would add to the style meter. So in order to meet the challenge of the game you had to get good at it, and it actively rewarded imagination and variation.

In the new game, the weapon colour mechanic means that you are punished for variation. If your only red weapon is the axe, guess what you're gonna use? And the style meter now only functionally resets when you are damaged and goes up linearly with the amount of damage you do, so it is trivial to build and maintain it.

It's all very well for the game to have multiple difficulties, but in the old DMCs the ethos of "challenge the player, reward them for skill and knowledge" was a foundation on which the difficulty level built, rather than difficulty levels just being there because people expect them now.

Challenging combat which rewarded skill and imagination was the core of what Devil May Cry was about. Don't have that in your game but call it Devil May Cry? Expect your IP value to decrease.

 

[GloatingSwine]

snip

He doesn't fit there at the end of the game...

That's not what's on all the promotional material. What is is a character who could be dropped into literally any other videogame of the last two generations and no-one would bat an eye, so generic is his design.

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

In all honesty, ME3 for me (read the previous two words before you freak out) was fine. DmC I couldn't give the time of day since I haven't liked the game since the first one and even then I wasn't THAT impressed with it.
And the state of gaming isn't decided by Capcom, nor Bioware. Its decided by the whims of the public who are a fickle lot and tend to go wherever the hell they feel like.
Great games also have a tendency to fall by the wayside (see Psychonauts) and even then those games are subject to opinion. Tea comes in many forms too, not everyone likes them... some people don't even like tea period.

 

[Vegosiux]

So it is fair to judge a book by its cover or rather a game by its promo material?

Completely fair. That old saying was created long before mass advertising times of today. It's obsolete. With the availability and mass production and mass media, you'd have to be a complete nincompoop to expect people to take time to read every book before deciding whether or not it's worth their time. A day only has 24 hours and all.

Also, what's the point of an advertisement if it doesn't offer a reasonable conclusion of what is likely inside?

 

[lapan]

So when people started complaints before they had an ability to determined the challenge they were being unreasonable?

And if they were to choose to keep those unreasonable complaints and dmg the IP as a result of it would that be fair?

There are tons of reasonable complaints about the game, multiple of them being mentioned in this very thread (for example http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.400302.16456012), even in the very post you are quoting. But sure, keep lumping the rest of the fanbase in with the "OMG THE HAIR" strawman.

 

[lapan]

So when people started complaints before they had an ability to determined the challenge they were being unreasonable?

And if they were to choose to keep those unreasonable complaints and dmg the IP as a result of it would that be fair?

There are tons of reasonable complaints about the game, multiple of them being mentioned in this very thread (for example http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.400302.16456012), even in the very post you are quoting. But sure, keep lumping the rest of the fanbase in with the "OMG THE HAIR" strawman.

Like I have pointed out already.

Multitple times

I do not have a problem with reasonable complaints. I have a problem with not acknowledging that there is an unreasonable chapter of the fanbase and they do more than cause a single lost sale.

Fair enough them, you still did choose a weord post to quote to make your point then.

I'm sure there are some that didnt buy it because of unreasonable complaints, i just doubt that it's that much higher than the people who didn't buy it based on reasonable arguments.

Ultimately, Capcom took a risk with DmC and it didn't pay off.

 

[ultramarine486]

Like I have pointed out already.

Multitple times

I do not have a problem with reasonable complaints. I have a problem with not acknowledging that there is an unreasonable chapter of the fanbase and they do more than cause a single lost sale.

I suppose they could cause a multi page thread with every other post being a rant about how much X person hates the game and that they destroyed the franchise with it? Right or wrong the thread has been made, people have looked at the arguments and formed opinions based on those arguments, opinions like whether or not it's worth it to buy the game. Reasonable or not the complaints are there and they spread in this day and age influencing people who chose to read the complaints.

 

[Vegosiux]

Tone of voice is hard to tell over the internet. Cannot tell if srs.

Address my post or don't, but I'll file this retort under "not clever".

 

[Vegosiux]

I found the statement to be so wrong I thought "you must be joking". To make a full opinion on a movie based on a trailer? To make a full opinion of a play based on a poster?

It is poorly informed to say the least. Utterly ridicules.

If you see a trailer for a movie; or a book on display, do you go watch or read it respectively just to be sure your first impression was correct, or do you walk on if it doesn't look particularly interesting?

Stones and glass houses, buddy, stones and glass houses. You judge things by its covers all the time without even realizing it, so quit acting so obnoxiously above it all.

"Full opinion"? Yeah, nice try shifting the goalposts, but I'm going to call this one to the ref.

 

[GloatingSwine]

snip

He doesn't fit there at the end of the game...

That's not what's on all the promotional material. What is is a character who could be dropped into literally any other videogame of the last two generations and no-one would bat an eye, so generic is his design.

So it is fair to judge a book by its cover or rather a game by its promo material?

And New Dante still isn't a gruff brown haired man in his 30s in any of the promo material.

Yes, that's what you're doing when you're deciding whether to purchase something or not. The point of promotional material is to convince you to buy the product. If it convinces you that the product is horribly generic (and really, nitpicking because the new Dante is younger than the average brown haired white male protagonist is really not the strong argument you think it is, on sight he's just That Guy who is in all them videogames) then why would you want to buy it?