B3yond the Report 09.30.08

Posted by Derek Robbins on 09.30.2008

This week on 411mania's Sony News Report Kojima talks MGS 5, Sony's Scott Steinberg claims to have the competition beat, and Bioshock on the PS3 goes gold. All of that plus this week's PSN releases this week on B3yond the Report

Hello and welcome to B3yond the Report. The Playoffs begin on Wednesday so you have to imagine I'm ready. Let's get this report done with so I can go back to thinking about beating those Dodgers, eh?



B3yond the News of the Week

Hideo Kojima talks what went wrong with MGS 4, has ideas for a fifth?

As you probably are well aware by now I am a pretty big fan of Hideo Kojima. Most every game he's produced, from Snatcher to Zone of the Enders to that one game featuring stealth action, I've enjoyed. So naturally the thing to lead off this edition of B3yond the Report would be some nice Kojima news.

Apparently the delays of Metal Gear Solid 4 were more due to the hardware than anything. The production of Metal Gear Solid 3 went along smoothly because Kojima's team already knew the Playstation 2 hardware pretty well…but the PS3? That was an entirely different beast and apparently caused a few issues, from the man himself:

MGS3 this wasn't so difficult -- we were working on the same platform as before, and I could pretty much just let the staff continue doing what they learned working on MGS2.
With MGS4, however, we were once again dealing with new hardware, and it really pushed us. [...] I let the staff work like it had on MGS3, and we came to a point where we had problems, which I should have recognized earlier.
Because of this, it was the first time we delayed a major game. This hadn't happened before with an MGS game, and it was all due to those problems.
There you have it that long wait we had to endure to play this high marquis file? IT'S OUR OWN DAMN FAULT FOR UPGRADING IN TECHNOLOGY! Damn you! Seriously though, that bit of news should surprise nobody. Developers have always complained about how hard it is to develop for the monolith so what makes this any different? Nothing, it's just that gaming's Da Vinci said it, that's all.

Remember reports earlier that said he was disappointed with MGS 4? He explains that a little bit here. The following quote is in response to why he was arguing with the game's technology director in some of MGS 4 collectors edition's bonus footage. It ties into what I said earlier:

The reason I got so frustrated wasn't necessarily about the technology but more about the mentality -- making the impossible possible. If you don't think you can do that, what are you doing making games?
If you only do what you think you can do, than you'll work on a normal schedule, using normal technology and nobody's going to be surprised with the end result. Some of the staff didn't make the big leap that I expected, and that was what I was frustrated with.
That makes sense. Often times art doesn't come out the way that you envision it. Perhaps his team can perfect it for the next game?

I have three concepts for MGS5 already. What would be ideal for me with MGS5, though, is that we don't do those. If the team picks one of those concepts, I have to get involved again, which I don't want to do.
There are already so many good ideas from the staff, so if we select one of those, that would be really good. At that point I could really rely on them and take the step back to be the producer, which is the ideal situation, I think.

So he has ideas for the next game but he won't share them because he doesn't want to be involved with designing the next game? Well, perhaps finally he is sticking by his ‘this is totally my last one guys, seriously' claim. I'll believe it when I see it, man.

Basically what has me so enthused about this quote is that, whether Kojima is involved or not, it confirms that there will be another Metal Gear Solid title. Obviously a game led by Kojima would be ideal because often times without the visionary at the helm…the project can fall flat. That said though, I'm sure a lot of us out there just want to run through another Metal Gear as Big Boss – the most likely option for MGS 5 – and I'd be willing to play it even without Kojima's input because I find Big Boss to be an especially enduring character. He would still be producing this game though, according to him at least, and I doubt he'd put his name on a title he'd consider subpar. You never can tell though.

If you wanted some insight on these ideas?

I want to create something new, and it's difficult to explain since no one's seen it before. I don't know if it would sell very well. I've been warming this up for a long time, and I keep thinking that I'll try this idea. But ideas always change, so I really don't know what the final outcome will be.

I am very curious to see what he thinks. I am hopeful that it is indeed "new". Perhaps when MGS 5 gets officially announced we can get some insight?

Source is an interview with 1up



Steinberg: We are the premiere video gaming console

It appears that Sony's Scott Steinberg either doesn't realize that Nintendo has already won whatever console race there is or…is intent on winning the battle for second place because this week he made some very interesting statements regarding the future of Sony. Some believe it was in response to Phil Spencer of Microsoft saying that their first party titles have enjoyed more success than Sony's.

In the next few years, you're going to start to see us separate from the herd. Some of the other platforms are going to look very dated because their life spans are so much shorter than ours.
And we're also offering more first-party exclusives. It's a major flaw in some of our competitors that they don't have the development resources to showcase on a global basis the diversity and the creativity of a development team that's a thousand strong.
[...] If you're a competitor I've got bad news for you because we've got some absolute blockbusters that are in the works, some of them new IP, some of them existing IP, that we're building specifically for the PS3.
From a competitive standpoint our competitors are going to have a tougher road now than even in 2008. But for PlayStation 3 consumers, it means more quality and more choice.

I'm not sure why he's saying things like this first of all. Any video game console EVER at one point in time can say: "We have some new IPs, but also some existing ones!" and "We have blockbusters on the way!" Well, yeah, I'm sure you do. As Playstation 3 consumers we have been promised nothing but quality from day-one and even though the delivery of said quality as been spaced out at best it has been there. So basically you are saying stuff is coming? Okay, thanks Steinberg.

I agree though that for a console to strive it needs strong first part titles. Third party titles are swell and all but often times they aren't as "fine-tuned" since they will be released on all three systems, so they don't have to worry about the quality of each particular one. Oh sure, there are some very HIGH profile multi-platform titles out there such as Grand Theft Auto 4, Call of Duty 4, and that new Prince of Persia game but for the most part when we think of Game of the Year caliber games we call to mind system exclusives. It seems that these exclusives have more care put into them in order to show off the console and make it more appealing to consumers.

Don't believe me? I certainly believe that Sony and Nintendo's highest profile games this year were exclusive titles. MGS 4 and Super Smash Brothers Brawl certainly had that feel at least. I can't say for certain what that game is for the 360 yet, but I'm sure Fable 2 will fill in that role quite nicely. Exclusives are important and I am glad that he is talking them up.

While I am glad that he is talking up the upcoming exclusives to the Playstation 3 library I am more skeptical than anything now. Until he provides proof of these upcoming blockbuster titles I really can't say that he has any room to talk. I suppose he could be talking about already announced exclusives such as LBP, Gran Turismo 5 (ugh), Killzone 2, Final Fantasy XIII and Resistance 2…but part of me feels that he has other things in mind. We'll see though.

EDGE is the source.

- That's him.

Playstation Store Update

As this is a slooooooooow news week on the Sony side, let's see what the PSN releases for last week were, shall we?

Downloadable Games
WipEout HD ($19.99)
Burnout Paradise PSN ($29.99)
GEON Emotions ($9.99)
Mega Man 9 (free demo, $9.99 to buy)

Add-on Game Content
BUZZ! QuizTV Question Pack, National Geographic: Safari ($7.99)
BUZZ! QuizTV Question Pack, Videogames ($5.99)
BUZZ! QuizTV Question Pack, Sci-Fi ($5.99)
Soul Calibur IV Customization Equipment 2 ($1.99)
Rock Band
• "Limelight (Original Version)" – Rush ($1.99)
• "Tom Sawyer (Original Version)" – Rush ($1.99)
• "Red Barchetta" – Rush ($1.99)
• "The Camera Eye" – Rush ($1.99)
• "Vital Signs" – Rush ($1.99)
• "Witch Hunt" – Rush ($1.99)
• "YYZ" – Rush ($1.99)
• "Moving Pictures (Album)" – Rush ($10.99) This pack includes "Tom Sawyer (Original Version)," "Red Barchetta," "YYZ," "Limelight (Original Version)," "The Camera Eye," "Witch Hunt," and "Vital Signs" by Rush.
• "Bandage" – Hot Hot Heat ($1.99)
• "Love Spreads" – Stone Roses ($1.99)
• "She Sells Sanctuary – The Cult ($1.99)
• "Shoot the Runner – Kasabian ($1.99)
• "Sorrow" – Bad Religion ($1.99)
• "You're No Rock n' Roll Fun" – Sleater Kinney ($1.99)
Game Demos (free)
NBA 09 The Inside Demo
NBA Live 09 Demo
Mega Man 9 Trial

Game Videos (free)
PAIN Amusement Park-New Characters Video
Resistance 2 Shattered History Video
Brothers in Arms: Hell' Highway Eyes Only Network Trailer
Burnout Paradise Bikes Network Trailer
Dead Space Animated Comic Issue #5 Network Trailer
Tomb Raider: Underworld Gameplay Network Trailer
88 Minutes Blu-ray Trailer
Made of Honor Blu-ray Trailer

PS3 Wallpaper (free)
Soul Calibur IV #5 Tira Witch
File size: 262 KB - 999 KB
Soul Calibur IV #6 Voldo Jack-O-Lantern
File sizes: 296 KB - 1.06 MB

PS3 Themes (free)
Buzz! Quiz TV
Wipeout HD Theme - All Teams #1

Wow, there sure was a lot released this week huh? Well, let's break it down. First, the downloadable games…as you can see it's been a pretty impressive week for PSN as they bust out not only Wipeout HD and a downloadable version of Burnout Paradise but also they unveil the best 9.99 game of all time. That's right boys and girls, Megaman 9! If you haven't played it yet for whatever reason, you should probably go and do so right now. I'm serious, move your mouse over to the minimize button, hop onto your Playstation 3 (preferably!) and download this. It's pretty awesome and a nice hit of nostalgia. To say it's a good week to use Sony's online service to download stuff is an under-statement. Of course, Wii owners got MM 9 a full three days before Sony owners so…take that?

The Add-on content for Buzz seems like it'd be…nice? I don't know, it's always good to have more trivia questions at your disposal I guess. They're not really my thing, though I would be interested in trying out the video game trivia. As for the Soul Calibur 4 stuff? I'm not a fan of all the DLC they have for that game so far and I am a pretty big fan of the game…so yeah. Also Rockband songs are…songs. I guess if you like them you'll pay the price to get them, won't you?

In the demos we have a couple of NBA games, neither of which are NBA 2K9 so to be frank I really don't care that much. Sorry guys. Also for your demo pleasure you can try out Megaman 9 if you are too cheap to put out the 9.99 for it.

Won't really touch the videos section because, well, you can probably go to Game Trailers and see these videos. To be quite honest, I don't know why they include these on PSN. I mean, do you get some sort of thrill from viewing these fancy videos on your Playstation 3 or something? I…just don't get it. It's just so much easier for me to go to a website, watch the video without downloading anything, and go about my merry way. But hey, if you DEMAND PS3 video usage, well…there you go.

The Soul Calibur 4 Wallpapers are nice, but I'm waiting for a decent theme from them. I still haven't seen anything that will usurp my Metal Gear Solid 4 theme and am beginning to feel doubts as to whether I really will. Also the themes this week are…well, I can't touch them because I honestly could care less about them.

So alright week for PSN this week, it was really bolstered by Megaman 9 and Wipeout though. Seriously guys, check that shit out.



B3yond the Tabloids

Lots of little news this week, let's see…

In case you got excited by Reuters claiming that you could just download Little Big Planet instead of going out and buying the Blu-Ray Sony served up a harsh dose of reality by stating that LBP would be available only on Blu-Ray. You probably will have to give up a large chunk of your HDD anyhow thanks to all the created content so it's best you make preparations regardless.

Australia's OFLC – the equivalent of the ESRB - refused to rate Silent Hill: Homecoming. It just seems like Australia REALLY hates these violent games, or perhaps they just hate the idea of pyramid-headed figures raping people.

So did you skip Rock Band 1 and just headed straight for Rockband 2 because you heard that all the DLC from the first would work with the second game? Noooot so fast Mister Hot Shot. Apparently in order to purchase these downloadable games you still need a copy of the first game in order to transfer these songs to the second game. On top of that, you need an additional five dollars to do the transfer. Call me cheap as hell, but I'll just switch out my disks thank you.

Bioshock for the Playstation 3 has gone gold and apparently will hit our beloved console on the 21st of October in the United States. If you aren't sure about one of the best games for this current console generation you may want to check out the demo which gets released on October 2nd. In my humble opine this was one of the BIG reasons to own a 360 so it's nice to see it finally come over to the PS3.

Apparently the Call of Duty: World at War beta will only be available to those who own 360s or PCs. No PS3 beta! I would mention that I really don't care but I'm sure a lot of you really like your shooters…so there you go. Oh well, it's not like the wait til' the actual release is that long.

According to OPM a "super-sexy secret new game" will be revealed next month at the Tokyo Game Show. I wonder what it'll be? I would say "TEAM ICO PROJECT", but I'm pretty sure those games didn't sell too well despite being fabulous…so I doubt that'd be the new "secret game". My guess is that they are just referring to Kingdom Hearts 3. Which, shockingly enough, I am looking forward to.

So apparently Blockbuster is cutting prices of their Playstation 3 units to 359.99. Not bad. So if you are thinking about jumping on the monolith bandwagon it may be a good idea to purchase your shiny new system at Blockbuster. Of course, I am referring to the 40 gig model and not the fancy higher-up versions.

SCEA plans to further expand the availability of their network cards. This is good news for those of us who happen to not like piling up our credit card debt. Expect to see these cards at Best Buy, Wal Mart, and Sam's Club by October and at Barne's and Noble's by November. Neat.

So want to play Wipeout HD? You better make sure you are up to health. As you will recall Wipeout HD had to be re-engineered as it failed epilepsy tests. Badly. It passed, seeing as it was actually released, but there are still risks. BEHOLD! THE HEALTH WARNING.

Always play in a well lit environment. Take regular breaks, 15 minutes every hour. Discontinue playing if you experience dizziness, nausea, fatigue or have a headache.
Some individuals are sensitive to flashing or flickering lights or geometric shapes and patterns, may have an undetected epileptic condition man may experience epileptic seizures when watching television or playing videogames.
Consult your doctor before playing videogames if you have an epileptic condition and immediately should you experience any of the following symptoms whilst playing; altered vision, muscle twitching, other involuntary movement, loss of awareness, confusion and / or convulsions.
Best be careful, guys.



B3yond the Cinema



Your weekly Street Fighter 4 gameplay! This week it is a match between Balrog and Blanka. If you were wondering, yes, every week until the console release of Street Fighter 4 there will be a video of the game in this section.

Anyhow, speaking of SF IV I hear Guile is the highest tier this time around. I honestly can't believe it…but I guess I'll just have to see for myself. I've been playing a bit of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure so I have an even bigger urge than previous to play Street Fighter IV. Curse Illinois for not having even one SF IV cabinet in the state.



This is the second time I've posted a PSP trailer in this section but I figured, eh, why not? It goes well with my 10th hour theme this week. This is a trailer for Square Enix's Dissidia, it pits one of the warriors of light against Garland. It looks pretty neat and I cannot wait to see it in action.



This is a story trailer for Mirror's Edge which is arguably one of the most anticipated multi-platform games out there. Even I, a cynical man un-willing to embrace the present, will admit that this title looks awesome.



Here's some tree beta gameplay from Little Big Planet for you to digest.



Second straight week of Fate/Unlimited Codes and third fighter of the week but I have to say it looks really cool. Plus I really enjoyed Fate/Stay Night so I have to give this some credit.

The One Man Water Cooler~!



Change, coming, etc. You'd be surprised how much college makes me not want to do photoshopping.

The other day I had my itunes on shuffle and all of a sudden a track came up that compelled me beyond belief. I immediately knew what track the game came from because the game has quite the distinctive soundtrack. Upon hearing these chords I decided that I absolutely must replay this game…because it's one that you can not only sit back and enjoy gameplay wise, but one that you can enjoy audibly. We often underestimate what role a game's audio can play for us.

The game I am talking about? Probably the game that I would argue is the single most under-rated JRPG of all time and is also holder of the title "best videogame original score of all time." Chrono Cross. That's right, the sequel to the much more heralded Chrono Trigger. The music from this game is such an invigorating thing that it can take an already solid fighting system combined with a fantastic story to make it one of the best games of all time. You can hear a track from the game and immediately remember where you were when you heard it.

Yes, sound…sound in a game is quite important and Chrono Cross goes to prove it. It also happens to be the thing that gets over-looked when you talk about how great a game is. Go read a good review, even if they explicitly say the soundtrack is spectacular they don't really delve into it for more than a sentence. It's something that we tend to just take for granted. I can assure you it's essential and not just something that's there. Do you want proof? Go play your favorite shooter and turn the volume all the way down and see if the experience is the same.

I tried it myself and I can assure you that it isn't. Oh sure, you get the same general experience but the feel of it is gone. When I was playing through Earthbound I wasn't being soothed by catchy beats…I was just playing a charming RPG, but it was MISSING something. Metal Gear Solid 4? Try playing that last boss fight with the volume down and tell me that it's still as interesting as it is. Without the music during that encounter it's just another boss fight…but when you add the audio it becomes a whole ‘nother experience entirely.

I love how I can hear a piece of music from Metal Gear Solid or Chrono Cross or even Disgaea and be able to pinpoint that it is indeed from that game. It just means that the developer has engrossed you in that world so much that you not only have a visual stimulus that you associate with the game but also an auditory one. Whenever I hear a piece from Chrono Cross I immediately feel at ease…and it has only helped to bolster my opinion of the game.

On the other hand, a bad soundtrack can absolutely devastate what would have been a good game. My primary example comes from the DS title Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood. The game comes out tomorrow and I can tell you that it's probably the best Sonic game to come out in…years. I thoroughly enjoyed every single minute I spent with the game but there was one problem that kept it from being a truly "great" title. Yes, it's good…but great? Well…

The Sonic series is renown for having good music. Even though the games have been pure shit for a few years now…we could always count on the music being decent. One of my favorite video game songs comes from Sonic 2006 for goodness sakes! It's interesting that Sonic Chronicles is the exact opposite of this. The game has music that probably could have been conducted by a grade schooler fooling around with a recorder. On top of this, you get annoying little boops and beeps every once in a while which isn't anything "good"...it's just annoying. I had to turn the volume on my DS off which takes you away from the immersion. I didn't feel attached to the game and even though I enjoyed it I struggled to motivate myself to play. It just lacked that special something.

A soundtrack can make a good game great or it can make a bad game awful…it's a very under-rated part of the gaming experience and something that people really should pay more attention to. Don't simply mute your games…turn up the volume and try to immerse yourself. I assure you, it may make a previously mediocre game something memorable.



B3yond the Mailbag!



Drew…doesn't know how to get on my good side.

I think the movie you are referring to is "Arthur," Toddo, where Dudley Moore plays a wise-cracking rich guy.

Oh and also, Pony? Step your game up, Liquid. I could troll better than you. Observe -

Disgaea sucks and if you disagree you are wrong

Someone just got trolled...somewhere.

That's terrible trolling. I know you love Disgaea. I once saw you eating Pockey while wearing cat ears while playing the game. You even said the game was the most "kawaiiest" thing that have ever played. Now that the truth is out…I don't think your readers can respect you.

Speaking of…weeaboos. We have a guest here.

awww, it's a damn shame that they just didn't recycle megaman legends. that game was awesome and it will now be lost to the sands of times as it doesn't even conjure up 'nostalgia'
i wonder why Square Enix doesn't just release FFXIII in japan with english subs as an option. takes no costly additional effort in terms of getting brand new voice actors, and that way, us ps3 owners who are anxious get first cracks at it when it releases in japan (since the ps3 is region free) and it spares us from any horrible voice acting that has effectively soured my experience for all RPGs with english dubbing. persona3 in japanese was awesome. english... not so much.

Agreed on Megaman Legends. We desperately need another version of that game. I believe MML2 was the last Megaman game that I truly enjoyed.

Now I don't agree with you on the voice acting bit. Whether you admit it or not, JRPGs today tend to have very good voice work. Persona 3 in particular has a rather strong vocal cast. Junpei, Mitsuru, and Yukari in particular were great. Why would they need to release an English subtitled version of the game in Japan? I know it could be an extra feature but the fact is they are releasing a Japanese game to a Japanese speaking audience, so why bother adding the subtitles?

I'm thinking the only reason people complain about American vocal work is because it's not Japanese. We do a better job sometimes, you know.

One final comment from Steve307

I'd forgotten about the Chrono Trigger remake. I'll probably get that if they didn't jack up the difficulty to infinity like they did with FF4. And I suppose Resistance 2 might be worth a look, if only for the epic online battles. But I have a feeling the Little Big Planet is going to be first and foremost on my buying/playing list.

I honestly didn't think the FF IV remake was that hard but I suppose I could see where you are coming from. It was a bit harder I guess, certainly harder than the neutered FF VI GBA. Resistance 2 is probably a game I'll skip but LBP is looking like a buy to me.

Thanks for the comments this week guys. Yes Toddo, you need to see Arthur.

The 411mania Empire~!



Joe Roche writes the Full Circle Report

Vincent Chiucchi writes the Select and Start News Report

Theo Fraser writes the Nintendophiles

Chris Evans writes the PC-Centric Extravaganza

Tommy Coloma brings us the final edition of the Negative Edge News Report. Make sure to check it out and show him your support.

I write the 10th Hour

Drew writes Coming Attractions

The brothers Minotti bring us the Exploding Barrel Podcast. AJ and Mike rule.

Well, that's it for this week.

Til' the Crossroads