General Discussion

I've only played Beat Hazard and Solar 2 from that bundle, but I think Solar 2 alone is worth it. Reminds me of flOw, but in space, with pseudo-sim behaviors (e.g. Habitable planets that develop defense systems), evolving from Big Bang to Big Crunch. Quite fun!

That's a nice bundle of fabrics, by the way, Travis. Has there ever been discussion of building a Cheerful Ghost community quilt? It could even be virtual! User avatars joined to make a quilted mosaic?! Eh?

Another aspect of these bundles, which gets lost in the amazing deals, is that it's designed to be a donation/charity as much as it is a retail opportunity. The money collected is dispersed to the recipient of your choosing, be it developer, site admin, or often a charity (like Child's Play). The games/movies/soundtracks are the draw, but really they are a bonus. The creators of the bundled projects are essentially donating their creations, not really expecting a specific return, rather trying to help a good cause, spread the joy of gaming, and if they make money in the process, so be it. If a game in the bundle is something you already have, give it as a gift to someone you think might enjoy that experience.

This is just a reminder, not a judgement by any means, as I'm certainly one that has, in the past, decided which bundle to give to, based on the kinds of content in it.

Travis, I think it is!

mmm.... the spirits grow stronger...

I'm really glad to have stumbled onto this site :)

I'm with scrypt. Glad I stumbled on the site. I just need to start making more time each day to visit, add Android & Linux titles to the list.

Also, big thumbs up to giving the interviews their own category. There have been several wonderful interviews here that have no parallel at other sites. They're down-to-earth, very open discussions with people who haven't yet lost their passion for making fun games.

Do want! I needs me some CG swag. :)

Funny that you posted a Slashdot link! I haven't been to that site in years, and almost forgot it existed. Trippy.

I'm disappointed in the singularity of Gaikai/PSN. Cloud gaming doesn't make any sense to me. Maybe if I were a more casual gamer, otherwise I don't get it as a serious option. I mean, I get it as a means of avoiding emulation or installing excess hardware, but latency and connectivity issues make it unappealing to me. Downloading and playing from a local library makes more sense.

The only thing that I really liked was the "share" feature. The games were cool enough, but they were cool before this announcement (Destiny, Watch Dogs, the idea of Blizzard possibly revisiting Starcraft: Ghost, and The Witness).

The emphasis of "immediacy" as an expectation was totally lost on me. Efficiency and ease of access, yes, but immediacy? Brian Regan has a joke about the microwave instructions on Pop-tart boxes, as if toasting it took way too long, "Listen, if you need to zap-fry your Pop-tart before you head out of the door, you might want to loosen up your schedule." Sony created the problem with installing games, installing trophies, updating, etc, all before you could even see the game. Just fix those problems, and we're good!

Don't get me wrong, I'll buy one, and it will be for the exclusives (cursed exclusives). I don't know when, but I'll buy one. Sony will drip more information in the coming months, and all will solidify. One thing about Sony, though, is that they are fond of promising, and not delivering. At least they are focusing on games. That's a nice change from the last system launch. I really want to be excited, but I'm not there yet. I'm just that much more excited about the Steam box and Ouya.

No PSN content transferable from PS3 to PS4? This will hurt Sony, badly. Even less of a reason to jump over sooner rather than later. I was watching the IGN post show on Twitch, and one of the guys was talking about how developers and hardware makers are the only ones anxious to get this next gen started, while the consumers, namely gamers, are fairly content with what we have.

When we were kids (I'm assuming most of us here are around a certain age) and the idea of home consoles were being birthed, we didn't have issues like legacy content, or backwards compatibility. When the Super Nintendo came out, I certainly don't remember thinking "God, I wish I could play NES games on this system." Our beginnings were not buried in the past at that point. Nostalgia was in the present. Now, on the other hand, one of the things we want the most is to revisit the adventures and challenges of our youth, and it's the one thing that keeps getting pushed further away, more and more difficult to grasp. The cloud could very well be the answer, as much as I hate the idea. It's one answer, at least. I suppose my fear of "losing control of my content" is a false fear. I don't seem to have much control over my content as it is.

I'm not trying to be a downer, or rain on the parade of new technology. I'm just expressing concerns and the types of things I fantasize about as a gamer. In the 90's, I always thought they would release some sort of CD changer attachment to store games in, allowing you to shuffle through your library and play your title of choice without having to leave the couch. If the Ps4 allows you to rip games to the hard drive and allow you to play them without a disc inserted, that's a day one purchase for me, cloud be damned. Probably won't happen, but it is possible...

I like hearing the different perspectives here. Seems a good group with open minds and the want to discuss!

A typical "launch window" is, what, up to 4-5 months following the system launch? We won't know what the Ps4 launch games will be until maybe December/January of this coming holiday season. I mean, we'll know most of them by around October at the latest, but the few that they've announced so far are mostly current-gen games that will see next-gen versions. They really don't need to do much to improve on the Playstation family of launch games. To be fair, though, most launch games tend to be pretty weak sauce; developers familiarizing with their new playground. Not all, but most.

I'm certainly curious.

I found the Killzone's to be boring as hell. I'm a big Halo fan, in the FPS respect, so I tend to be picky. Resistance is a nice series, though I haven't played enough of the third one. I loved the Uncharted games (except for the Vita title). That Indiana Jones vibe really comes through, and the characters are really engaging. Looking forward to The Last of Us for that reason.

Good foresight on your part about the downloadable games, at least regarding moving forward onto the new systems (as far as we've heard)!

The only PSN title that I'm eternally grateful for, is Journey, which is a moot point now, because it's on disc. In fact, the two games that impacted me the most in this current generation are Portal and Journey. Brilliant, brilliant games. Journey even brought me to tears. Both relatively short, but I'd bypass a number of titles to have those types of experiences again, no matter which platform they are on, and that's the rub, right? You never know where that next moment will occur, and so you prepare for it (at least I do) by investing in the real estate, the many consoles and platforms that give us access to these things, these creative visions. It's the blessing and the curse of being a gamer.

The experience I had with Journey, the first time through, was with one other player joining in sometime around the second area, and we stuck together the entire rest of the game. Each moment was a discovery for both of us, and developing our own "morse code" for communication... the whole experience felt so satisfying. I actually felt for that individual as we struggled through the drama, and felt uplifted at their/our mutual accomplishments. So much so, that when the game ended, I messaged him/her on PSN, proclaiming how that was one of the definitive moments in gaming for me. Not more than a few seconds went by, and I had received the same message from them. They must have been typing just as I was typing. I don't know if that kind of experience could ever be recreated in any other game. I treasure it deeply.

Maybe :)

As long as they can keep advertisements off of the pages outside of the store, I'll be happy. Oh, and allow us to sort downloaded games and content alphabetically. Seriously.

Interesting stuff, even if it ran a bit on the long side. I enjoyed the banter regarding Aliens: Colonial Marines. I've heard the same from a friend who bought on day one, huge fan of the series, and was equally disappointed. Will definitely tune in, or at least watch at some point, the next broadcast!