This is a response to the 9/18/09 article "Old Republic dev discusses massively multiplayer loners":

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6228707.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;4

This article actually articulated the problem with all those failed MMO's out there, the idea that solo play is ironic and borderline deviant. My wife and I have alot of experience in MMO's, from AC1 Beta through a dozen titles to several lvl 80s in WOW. No matter how many friends you make or what organization you join, in the beginning and in the end your going to be alone; and when alone isn't fun you move on to another game.
When we fired up the Beta to AC1, we both were thrilled. For that time it offered alot of new stuff that we'd never seen in a game. There weren't any open world GTA types. We'd played everything from platformers and RTS to JRPs, action and fighting games. This was unique in that it offered a massive world to explore with all different dungeons and enemies that we could tackle however and whenever we wanted. You weren't stuck on a path, you could get out of almost any problem with minimal penalty and if something was too hard or not fun, you just went somewhere else. The MMO part meant that it felt like a real world, there were people milling about in towns selling thier stuff and telling stories of the things they'd seen and done, suggesting places to go and stuff to search for. We read the lore, soaked up the atmosphere and headed off. Sometimes we met up with people that asked for help, sometimes we hunted and fished in the same areas and competed for the respawns; all stuff that made it feel much more alive and real then any AI or game world we'd ever played. Somewhere along the line though, some developer wrote a rule that said those things don't matter, this is a multiplayer party game and if you don't make friends and schedule your life around the impracticallity of getting 20-30-50 adults with lives and schedules together at the same time to complete the next task then you can't play our game. Not only that, but the developers decieded that instead of spending their resources on advancing the game world, quests and story; they were going to do everything they could to force the players to team up to the point of making thier paying customers feel ostracized, in a VIDEO-GAME.
The irony isn't that some people may want to play a game solo that includes millions of people, it's that these game designers don't believe in thier product enough that they can't see value beyond one narrow way of playing.

Dear Gamespot,

Your business has endured and prospered in a volatile industry for many years, staying afloat as tons of competing sites have sprung up and those in print are on the verge of cancellation. This isn't by chance, it's the result of sticking to a plan. Detailed reviews and a structured scoring system has seperated you from the other gaming outlets which seem to conjure up a score and review every game as a "3 out of 5".Detail and telling the truth has set you apart from these others. Standing above the fray, sticking to the system and maintaining consistency has been the formula; but no longer.

For anyone else reading this, if you haven't already read the news, check this out.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/show_blog_entry.php?topic_id=25721552

Read the explination of the changes. Read about the new formula and reasoning behind it.

Why? Why move from a definitive formula to an arbitrary one? Why replace reasoned explinations of quality differences with badges?

1. The very nature of reviews requires a standard and easy to understand means of measurement. I'm sorry, but I can't see where "new math" stars and butterflys could possibly make a review more accurate or easier to understand then good old english. If writing a descriptive sentence that quickly communicates the message isn't your strong suit, then try another profession.
If we wanted blurbs, we would go to Yahoo.

2. Why would you change the format to make things easier when you have a listing called "tilt"? The purpose of tilt was to consider the little differences that come into play. Add all the stars, bells and flare you want, but when you dumb down the number system to half points, that screams of something else. Changing the formula doesn't require changing to a half pt. system. The only reasons to change would be either: a) to make it easier on the reviewer (sorry, but I have no sympathy for people who take this on as a profession), or b) to pander to the game manufacturers. I can see where the reps from one company are pissed at you because you put there game as a 8.3 and the equivalent competition at 8.5. Is there some advertising dollars or special consideration at work here?

I know the concept of "journalistic integrity" is a joke in this industry, but c'mon guys. This was almost the last bastion of honesty out there. When the number one publication is GameInformer (an advertisment for Gamestop passed off as a magazine) the situation is grim, and the value of your unbiased reviews has made you the many fans you enjoy and benefit from. Do them right, add to the information to better round out the review, give more importance to the tilt, but don't "dumb down" your numerical ratings system to appease your advertisers. We don't deserve that.

As an ending thought, just a quick suggestion. In most businesses, before changing the formula for how your product is made, you may want to test it with your consumers first. After reading the forums and comments for the blog and news listing, this new format should be nicknamed "New Coke".

The future of consoles will probably rest in the most unexpected of hands, Capcom. 
Remember, it was Code Veronica that sold alot of people on the Dreamcast.  It was Devil May Cry that made PS2's jump off of shelves.  They've pumped out many of the best and most memorable titles in history, and especially on these last 2 generations of machines.  Plus, did anyone do as much for the Gamecube as they did?  RE remake was amazing when it was released, and did anyone dispute RE4 as the best game of '05?  Its arguable that it may be the best game of this generation.  Either way, it's DMC4 that's most looked to for the PS3.  Dead Rising has been a huge hit for the 360.  Now the Wii with it's unique first person control scheme will get a unique RE?  Graphics important?  Sure.  But give me RE4 in 480p with alot more memory and I'll be just fine; and if it plays like the last one with the Wiimote?  Spectacular. 
Why am I saying this is so important?  Rumor has it that Microsoft may just buy Capcom.  May not happen, but if it does, picture all these franchises exclusive to the 360.  We've seen exclusive from them before, and how well did DMC and RE4 sell on the PS2?  After the way Rare has panned out, I'd understand if they're not sure about it.  Capcom isn't Rare, and considering how well MS's other studios are doing, this could be the telling blow of this generation, before the other 2 even get their feet under them.

I've got a thirteen year old daughter who's a pretty avid gamer.  There are some games we both play, and some that are more for one of us than the other.  Anyway, we're talking the other day about the stupid behavior of some of the boys in her class.  She's interested in boys, but they're still playing "mine's bigger than yours".  I'm standing there trying to explain that they'll grow out of it, etc etc, when the Sony press conference started.  We both sat down and watched it, and I started to realize, not only do boys not grow out of it, but evidently neither do major corporations.

The progress of technology like all science is based on expanding the ideas that have come before.  However I find a funny trend in the way Sony has done that with thier game consoles.  First, Nintendo designed their game pad after the Intellivision pad, but with the SNES they put triggers on top.  Sony brings out the PSX with controllers that have...2 triggers on each side.  Nintendo introduces an analog stick for acurate 3D control.  Sony responds with... 2 analog sticks!  Nintendo brings out the rumble pack, and the Playstation gets... 2 rumble mechanisms in each controller.

Fast-Forward past the unfulfilled hype of the PS2 (the emotion engine+network adaptor+HDD never equalled the promises I read and was told by SCEA reps in '99 of a X-box Live type game experience plus the promised downloadable movies and music at the touch of a button, all on the PS2!!).  No, lets get to '05, when Microsoft is promising an HD game experience.  Sony says not only will the HD world only start when they say it will, but it can only be done with 1080p (twice the instant scan lines shown on screen), and even better, only when your machine has 2 hdmi ports so you can use 2 HDTVs at the same time (I'm still struggling with my DS, and those are...never mind).  The Playstation 3 will have... twice the power of the 360!  The only thing they said the wouldn't have twice of was the sku's, because 2 versions of a console with different features would be confusing.  Don't worry though, I'm sure the network they offer will be just like Microsofts, but twice as good, and just as free as the one I'm using on my PS2.  Plus, with the new controller thats twice as good because it can do all that the 360's can do, plus what the Nintendo can do, twice the controller in one!

Sure, and with all that extra money you have left over after spending the price of 2 other consoles in order to get your PS3, I've got a beautiful bridge to sell you!

It just seems strange to me.  Everything I read leading up to Christmas, reguardless of your stance on the 360, was that the PS3 was going to be awesome.  Was the 360 going to be able to compete once the Playstation was released?  Would shortages of PS3's be M$ saving grace as 360's will finally be available everywhere?  Would 2nd gen 360 titles match the first batch of PS3 games?

Now everything is the other way around.  Blogs and posts, analysis by pro developers and business guru's are all touting trouble for Sony and Microsofts widening advantage.  All this in about a month.  We'll see.

As for Sony and the PS3, I'm hoping for the best, but I'll believe it when I see it.  Just like Microsoft, they're only goal is to be the dominant "set-top box" in your living room.  The source of all of your networked media entertainment, and the cut of the revenue from all those movie, music and game downloads everyone has to have.  Maybe Sony will show some smarts and realize that in the long run the 360 is hobbled.  Not in the game front, although DVD9 may or may not work out.  No I mean from the media content angle.  If the future is all about "micro-transactions", then requiring people to buy a new PC with XPmedia center to use the multimedia features of the HD living room sort of puts the overall cost of using them in the stratusphere, and makes the PS3's expected price seem like a bargin in comparison.

As for Sony's plans, let me tell you about something cool.  I was privileged to see a great presentation by some SCEA reps on the future of gaming in the next gen. It detailed all the usual stuff on increased processing power and what that will do to make unbelievable new graphics as well as bring new life to the game characters, pulling us into these worlds like never before. The big attraction was how we would be able to use one simple online interface to sample, use and save movies, music and games. It very much sounded like what LIVE on the 360 with a connected XP media center PC can do, but from one machine and one online location from the press of one button. I was amazed, and every one of my fellow Babbage's and Software ETC managers was abuzz for the rest of the night. Problem is... that was in Atlanta, 1999! For Sony I guess it worked well enough. Sales for thier small white box competition suffered as word of mouth on the amazing abilities of the "emotion engine" and the all-in-one network adaptor hard drive helped to encourage people to save their money for the next spring. I guess I'm just stupid since I'm skeptical of their promises of everything and the kitchen sink for the "cell" powered PS3. Well, with a "spring" launch I guess I'm only a few weeks away from playing that awesome Killzone 2!