Hey everyone! It's time for a new installment of the NegativeWorld podcast. This episode, GelatinousEncore, NinSage, and DrFinkelstein discuss games that aren't just about gameplay, what video game stores have become, and the Miiverse.
As usual, the theme music comes from Negative World's owner and dictator, Zero. The interlude's musics are taken from MadWorld for the Wii.
Comment on the topics, the podcast, the guests, hosts, etc. on Negative World! You can also reach us through Facebook or Twitter.
It was a bit late getting this thing out there, BUT, I do hope that you all listen to it, despite we talk about the Wii U like it wasn't coming out tomorrow.
I hope that you will not forget this little ol' podcast while you're all busy Wii Uing.
Yeah, maybe I'm off here (gotta admit I haven't listened to every podcast, not even close) but I thought this one was pretty fun. Aside from the parts where I speak, obviously. lol
Personally, this was IMO one of the best podcasts in a while. Such great discussion and topics. People would be fools to miss out on this because they're so into their new consoles. Make room for both people!
I'm listening to it, it's great! It makes for a good listen during my commute to work. Gelatinous said a lot of good stuff about MadWorld, and I have to agree! Awesome game full of style. I'll post more when I'm done listening.
My positive attitude towards Nintendo and my friendly rapport with the host leads to a controversy-free program that doesn't bait enough flames or troll enough of the audience. And as we know, trolling and flame bait are the life-blood of online game discussion =P
I listen to and love the podcast. I don't think I commented on the last couple cause I'm a lazy jerk. I can't wait to listen to this one. I appreciate the heck out of all you guys that put as much time as you do into the podcast.
Thank You Koovaps! We appreciate your listenership!
I guess the lack of replies makes me think that nobody is listening to it... but that's a silly thought. This thing is on iTunes and I'm sure people are listening who either A.) can but aren't commenting or B.) can't comment because they don't join us on Negative World...
Okay, you guys killed on this episode. Great top to bottom. I always have a million things to say as I'm listening, but then I sit to write about it and my mind is a muddled mess about what I wanted to say. Here's some of what I remember.
1. Greg Proops is great and was really fun in Madworld.
2. Gelatinous' topic is almost too big to comment on, because it could go so many different ways. I think a lot of people appreciate games for a whole host of reasons. Many people can look past gameplay if there are other elements to enjoy. The recent Elder Scroll games get a ton of love, though many say the gameplay is nothing to write home about. ZombiU is a new example of some people disliking the game for the tedious combat, while others seem to love it for its atmosphere and relative difficultly. So, I guess I'm saying people seem to pick and choose when to apply certain standards to certain games. And I also think some people only come to games for their gameplay. For other experiences, they look elsewhere. Still, I appreciate those who want to see the medium do more.
3. The game store situation is interesting. I'm one of those that has no problem at all with Gamestop. I used to stop in a local one pretty regularly and really liked it. It obviously all depends on the employees. A little more flavor would certainly be nice. I actually really like the suggestion of showcasing smaller games with manager's choices, or something like that. There's a smaller chain, Play-n-Trade, that seems to go the extra mile with strong community support with regular game tournaments and the like. Not a bad place to buy games. They also stock retro systems and games, which is great.
4. Finally, miiverse. Well, as several of us already know, it is spectacular. Nuff said.
I'm glad you enjoyed the show Koovaps! And I think it's only appropriate that your comments on my topic are "nuff said" cause... I'm pretty damn happy so far with the miiverse and it seems to pretty much be adhering to the hype we were having for it. Bravo to Nintendo.
I don't know if I said it in the podcast but I too don't hate on my Gamestop as many others do. But man it would be cool for them to go the extra mile. I know they don't push it on me, and probably not so much on others, but most Gamestops are just GameInformer/Used Titles pushers. It's a shame.
There's no Play-n-Trades near me by my girlfriend lives near a Disc Replay which, while they don't do tournaments or anything, they sell used games and dvds and more and seem to have a much more approachable attitude. Too bad it's so damn far from me or I'd stop in from time to time. I nabbed Bioshock 1 and 2 for under 20 bucks total, excellent condition!
Joe's topic about GameStop and what they've become pretty much sums up why I'm generally not a fan of GameStop. Even putting aside their shoddy customer service and their gutting of brand new games, I just don't see what they offer that any big box store or online retailer doesn't.
When I think of a game store, it should be a place to go and get those hard to find gems -- games like Zack & Wiki, Tank Tank Tank, 999, Radiant Historia, etc. Or, since they take trade-ins, it should be a place to find games that are maybe a little older, and aren't available anywhere else. But the fact is, the number of copies GameStop gets of the games I mentioned earlier is based on the number of preorders, so we're lucky if they end up getting a single copy that isn't reserved. As for older games, I guess you can find older stuff from the current generation, but considering they stopped selling GameCube, Xbox and GBA games two years ago or something, older games are pretty unlikely to find too. On the flip side, shortly after Metroid Prime came out, they still sold NES games in GameStop. I saw a copy of Metroid 1 in GS shortly after that, and bought my very own copy of Super Metroid. They didn't have many, but they did have some.
Since places like Best Buy, Target and Walmart have started taking preorders, there's not much reason for me to go into GameStop. Most of the games they're pushing can be found elsewhere, and often at better prices, either on day 1 due to sales -- see TRU's Wii U game sale on Sunday -- or due to GS jacking their prices up -- MotionPluses used to be $24.99 there and a lot of first party DS games were $34.99 even though they were $19.99 and $29.99 respectively everywhere else.
They just don't seem to offer what I look for in a place that specifically bills themselves as a game store. I will occasionally shop there when they have a deal, or to preorder a system, or to find a used current-gen game, but that's about it. (And again, that's not even considering the really bad stuff, like the bad customer service and gutting games.)
My positive attitude towards Nintendo and my friendly rapport with the host leads to a controversy-free program that doesn't bait enough flames or troll enough of the audience. And as we know, trolling and flame bait are the life-blood of online game discussion =P
Amen! Haha.
I've often said that I'll know I "made it" when I receive my first hate mail.
I just listened to Gelatinous's topic and it was an interesting conversation, but I've got to say I disagree with the entire premise of the discussion. I would say the video game industry since going 3D has been moving away from valuing gameplay. More and more games, particularly single-player games, are about cinematics and experiences. Take the Call of Duty campaign. I don't think anyone is playing through it because it's evolving first person gameplay in any way. Instead, it's about seeing the cool situations they put you in.
I'd say the same for games like God of War, Resident Evil, Batman, and I've heard similar things for games I haven't played like Uncharted, Assassin's Creed, etc. People might differ on how fun the core gameplay is, but I think most everyone would agree that what makes the games popular is something other than the actual gameplay mechanics.
I'm not saying that's always a bad thing. Ocarina of Time is still one of my favorite games of all time and, for me, it's strength is definitely in things other than gameplay. The puzzles are OK, but the combat is just not very satisfying. What sets the game apart is the presentation, the atmosphere, the music, the progression, etc. And although I'm not as big a fan, Metroid Prime is similar to me, with ho hum gunplay and platforming. If you put that in an ugly, boring world I don't think anyone would appreciate it very much.
Tht's why I find 3D Marios so refreshing. They're the rare 3D games where gameplay is still the bread and butter.
Finished listening, the three of you made for a great podcast group, and I enjoyed the entire episode. (Man, that MadWorld music is legitimately cool). Santiago, you seem very natural for this podcast stuff, good job!
You guys definitely nailed it with the Miiverse discussion. I still didn't grasp the concept fully until I actually experienced it for myself, and it completely lives up to the hype. I'm genuinely excited to see where this is heading and am stunned Nintendo made it work so well.
