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Game Informer: " Why Xenoblade Chronicles Makes Me Want To Punch a Kitten"

snesfreak

Banned
haters21.jpg
Ha!
You're gonna fit in perfectly here.
 

Kard8p3

Member
Where, at any point, did I say graphics was the only thing that mattered? I suppose I'll have to lump you in with the rest of the people that need reading comprehension lessons. What I said, was that Xenoblade is an amazing game that is hampered by the technical limitations forced upon it by the Wii. In every aspect EXCEPT graphics Xenoblade is awesome. However, the visual vision (alliteration!) the developers tried to realize is severely restricted by what the Wii simply cannot do, and it's frustrating because the game deserves better. When I see mouths moving like fish, it pulls me out of the immersion of the game. When I see the titans fighting during the opening sequence, it fails to instill the grandeur of just how large they really are that you get later on in the game because the Wii flat out sucks at portraying it. When I see fuzzy blurry characters I feel like I need to get my eyes checked because technology has progressed to the point where I'm accustomed to a certain level of visual quality. And all current reports on the Wii U indicate that Nintendo is going to go right on doing the same thing.

As for why did I write the article? Well, it's because I'm tired of Nintendo relying on Mario and Link to sell outdated hardware, and if no one speaks up, nothing ever gets changed. You're free to disagree with me. By all means do so. But at least try to comprehend what I've written instead of jumping on the "LOL GRAFIX HORE" bandwagon.

All reports we've gotten from insiders here at gaf imply that the WiiU will be more powerful than the current gen systems even if by just a little. It'll definitely have more RAM.
 

ThatObviousUser

ὁ αἴσχιστος παῖς εἶ

How old are you reeeeeeeeaaaaaally?

I'm sorry you interpret general, well-meaning advice as "hating." I was under the impression you didn't appreciate those calling the article extremely poorly-written, but maybe I was mistaken.
 
I can greatly understand the desire for games to be better than they are visually. It's why PC port delays bother me so much. It's basically just like any other delay.

But despite my copy of Assassin's Creed Whatever on 360 not being the best it could be, I don't actually think about that when playing the game. If you do, that's fine. But not everyone has that same...prioritization, I guess.

To put it another way, I really loved Kid Icarus. I was not intensely bothered that it did not have Vita graphics.
Well said.
 

Spoo

Member
It's not like it would be a different game.

The expectations would be a LOT higher than what people are willing to allow for in the Wii's version. Let's face it; visually, though it's "great for Wii" (why is that okay?) it just kind of reeks when compared to the visuals of, I don't know, say Dragon's Dogma.

Those animations wouldn't fly for a 60 dollar game on Xbox 360, or PS3. Those models wouldn't. The trees wouldn't. Just about the only things that would, are the core concept, battle system, and story.

For the game to make the proper transition to HD, you'd be looking at a shitload of money, and that is why the question is irrelevant: You wouldn't get this game in HD systems with just a straight port of what's there, and nobody would fund it with those production values.
 
Welcome to the forum Chris. I haven't followed your writing, but I can only assume you spent all of last generation lamenting the fact that every great PS2 exclusive wasn't on Xbox in 720P.
 

ThatObviousUser

ὁ αἴσχιστος παῖς εἶ
As far as people have been saying he isn't even an actual writer, just a NFL player that wrote an article.

It's a fine article for a free blogspot.com post, I guess I should take more issue with Game Informer actually letting it through without any kind of editor combover.

So much for NeoGAF not being a hivemind...

He was addressing an audience, and I was answering as the voice of the audience. :p Feel free to disagree if you want~

Nope, that's my writing style. Here's another article I've written that Andrex will probably have to take a quick lie-down after reading so as not to be overly offended.

http://deadspin.com/5823788/chris-kluwe-responds-can-i-kick-it-yes-i-can

Being on a Gawker blog doesn't really invalidate any of my advice... I'm also not nearly as invested in this as you seem to think I am.
 

Shion

Member
@Venfayth - My overall point is that I love Xenoblade. I think it's an amazing game. It just hurts me to see these landscapes and ideas and KNOW that the technological capability exists to realize them even more epically. For me, Xenoblade is a 9.5 out of 10. With current gen graphics it would be an 11 out of 10.
I'm also sad at what Nintendo has turned into. I grew up with the NES and SNES, and I remember when Nintendo was a pioneer not just in gaming, but in gaming hardware. In my personal opinion, and again it's just my opinion, it seems they've sold out when it comes to pushing that hardware envelope in order to focus on a different demographic, and quite a few games have suffered as a result. Has it worked for them as a business? Undoubtedly. Doesn't mean I have to like it.

@Y2Kev - The marriage of a traditional JRPG along with what they managed to accomplish with the storyline and short story sequences made it (again, to me) a triumph of storytelling. This was a world that I legitimately cared about, much as I care about what happens to the people in Xenoblade. I also highly enjoyed the combat and party mechanics, again like Xenoblade.

@MYE - 42.

@Game-Biz - Because from everything I've seen, Nintendo is putting current-gen graphics capabilities in what is supposed to be a next-gen system. I don't like it, and I don't think it's going to work out for them. Sure you'll have the people that stick around for the first party titles (and I'll probably be one of them), but it's a lot harder to sell a tablet to grandma than it is a waggle-stick. If grandma wants a tablet, she can get an iPad. It may be too late in the development process to change it, and if so that's a shame, because Nintendo owns a lot of IP's that deserve better visual realizations of their universe than they're going to get.

@nucklett - You missed the point. I'm well aware of the graphics limitations of the Wii. That doesn't mean I have to like them, and I would prefer if future games were able to take advantage of technology that already exists and can make the gaming experience better. Will I play a good game despite inferior graphics? Of course. A good game is a good game. It's just frustrating to know that it could have been a *better* game; especially when it's a game with the kind of scope like Xenoblade, and I think after a long enough time, enough people will become fed up with it that Nintendo as a company will suffer as a result.

Where, at any point, did I say graphics was the only thing that mattered? I suppose I'll have to lump you in with the rest of the people that need reading comprehension lessons. What I said, was that Xenoblade is an amazing game that is hampered by the technical limitations forced upon it by the Wii. In every aspect EXCEPT graphics Xenoblade is awesome. However, the visual vision (alliteration!) the developers tried to realize is severely restricted by what the Wii simply cannot do, and it's frustrating because the game deserves better. When I see mouths moving like fish, it pulls me out of the immersion of the game. When I see the titans fighting during the opening sequence, it fails to instill the grandeur of just how large they really are that you get later on in the game because the Wii flat out sucks at portraying it. When I see fuzzy blurry characters I feel like I need to get my eyes checked because technology has progressed to the point where I'm accustomed to a certain level of visual quality. And all current reports on the Wii U indicate that Nintendo is going to go right on doing the same thing.

As for why did I write the article? Well, it's because I'm tired of Nintendo relying on Mario and Link to sell outdated hardware, and if no one speaks up, nothing ever gets changed. You're free to disagree with me. By all means do so. But at least try to comprehend what I've written instead of jumping on the "LOL GRAFIX HORE" bandwagon.
I agree with everything you said.
 

ChrisWarcraft

Neo Member
How old are you reeeeeeeeaaaaaally?

I'm sorry you interpret general, well-meaning advice as "hating." I was under the impression you didn't appreciate those calling the article extremely poorly-written, but maybe I was mistaken.

Funny, I was under the impression you were trolling and responded accordingly.
 

ThatObviousUser

ὁ αἴσχιστος παῖς εἶ
Funny, I was under the impression you were trolling and responded accordingly.

I wasn't, but even if I was... why would that make any of it not applicable? It seemed like you just saw a long post offering (constructive) criticism, didn't read it, and replied with a meme picture.

I should have been easier with that opening line, I admit. But I didn't know you had a GAF account and figured my post would only stick out if I opened harshly. :p
 

Derrick01

Banned
This is going about as well as I expected it to already. It's like a train wreck you can see happening 20 miles before it happens.

edit: For the record chris I agreed with your overall premise about Nintendo being so cheap with the hardware that it detracts from their games. Graphics are important to an extent and like I said earlier I have mistaken this game for FF12 many times in screenshots. But even though the way it was presented in the article wasn't great, your premise is going to piss a lot of nintendo fans off and I would have advised you to not bother at all debating it.

But it's too late for that.
 

ChrisWarcraft

Neo Member
I wasn't, but even if I was... why would that make any of it not applicable? It seemed like you just saw a long post offering (constructive) criticism, didn't read it, and replied with a meme picture.

I should have been easier with that opening line, I admit. But I didn't know you had a GAF account and figured my post would only stick out if I opened harshly. :p

I'm sorry that I'm smarter than you, able to read faster, and carry on multiple conversations at once. I read everyone's responses, just as you clearly did not read the other article I linked and merely dismissed it as a "gawker blog piece" as evidenced by your response time to the original post. Perhaps some time for reflection may cause you to see the error of your ways?
 
What a goddamned idiot. Chances are that the scope of the game would have never been possible on an HD system with the budget they had or the budget they were willing to spend. I'll take an SD game with amazing scope over the on rails experience that HD RPGs tend to be this gen.

Moreover, I played some Dragon's Dogma last night and Xenoblade being all SD looks and runs so much better. I don't know what kind of people can put up with that framerate. It's seriously 3rd party N64 level shit.
 

Levyne

Banned
I'm sorry that I'm smarter than you, able to read faster, and carry on multiple conversations at once. I read everyone's responses, just as you clearly did not read the other article I linked and merely dismissed it as a "gawker blog piece" as evidenced by your response time to the original post. Perhaps some time for reflection may cause you to see the error of your ways?

ahahaha
 

Riposte

Member
I disagree with the idea that people who are only trying to appeal to a young audience swear in their writing. Adults like swears too.
 

Seda

Member
What a goddamned idiot. Chances are that the scope of the game would have never been possible on an HD system with the budget they had or the budget they were willing to spend. I'll take an SD game with amazing scope over the on rails experience that HD RPGs tend to be this gen.

The counterargument to this is that the game's visuals are quite improved on Dolphin.
 

90sRobots

Member
Myron Cope was a great broadcaster. What made him great is that he realized that football was a sport, a game. With that, he never took his job as a commentator and a writer too seriously. All his football-related work was laced with irreverence as a result.

Chris is doing the same thing. Go to Ars Technica if you want fantastic insights on gaming; there will always be a place for that. On the other hand, you can write about gaming with an air of levity without risking the integrity of the argument. People STILL bitch about Nintendo's shitty Virtual Console release schedule 5 1/2 years after its inception. It's still a valid complaint, as is Wii's poopy graphics. Posting Dolphin screenshots of Xenoblade is missing the point of the article.

So when you are about to climb on your soapbox filled with copies of Heavy Rain and Bioshock, ask yourself WHAT WOULD MYRON DO

Rest in peace, buddy.

Cope.jpg
 

Dany

Banned
I disagree with the idea that people who are only trying to appeal to a young audience swear in their writing. Adults like swears too.

Adults also like to read articles, not some blog entry on livejournal. The only thing that was missing were pics representing his mood.
 

Unicorn

Member
He's blatantly blinded to the fact that they are making the dollars. Who's he to dictate what they do? They are doing what gets them money.
 

DCX

DCX
I'm sorry that I'm smarter than you, able to read faster, and carry on multiple conversations at once. I read everyone's responses, just as you clearly did not read the other article I linked and merely dismissed it as a "gawker blog piece" as evidenced by your response time to the original post. Perhaps some time for reflection may cause you to see the error of your ways?
Do you play Madden? I hear the Seahawks are free for our franchise next season.

DCX
 
Adults also like to read articles, not some blog entry on livejournal. The only thing that was missing were pics representing his mood.

Adults also like to read neogaf which includes blog like entrys, swearing and pics representing peoples moods.
 

Dany

Banned
Adults also like to read neogaf which includes blog like entrys, swearing and pics representing peoples moods.

This is a forum. Not an Op-ed for a magazine. Quality of the publication aside, the style of the article made me want to barf.
 

ThatObviousUser

ὁ αἴσχιστος παῖς εἶ
I'm sorry that I'm smarter than you, able to read faster, and carry on multiple conversations at once. I read everyone's responses, just as you clearly did not read the other article I linked and merely dismissed it as a "gawker blog piece" as evidenced by your response time to the original post. Perhaps some time for reflection may cause you to see the error of your ways?

No need to apologize, I mistook you as someone willing to learn from his mistakes.

I did read about half of that other blog post, for the record. I don't know what that was supposed to teach me, all it did was confirm my advice.

Regardless, you don't really seem like the kind of person I'd get along with, so I'm bailing out now before things get ugly. I will say it's neat someone in the NFL enjoys something as niche as Xenoblade, but seriously, don't quit your day job. You might have a future in clairvoyancy as someone who can know a person's conversation-carrying skills over the internet, though.
 
This is a forum. Not an Op-ed for a magazine.

While I could be wrong, I don't think he actually works for game informer. The post or article or whatever it is were going to call it never gave me the impression he was trying to make a living off of it or anything, just a way of venting some frustration.
 

ChrisWarcraft

Neo Member
No need to apologize, I mistook you as someone willing to learn from his mistakes.

I did read about half of that other blog post, for the record. I don't know what that was supposed to teach me, all it did was confirm my advice.

Regardless, you don't really seem like the kind of person I'd get along with, so I'm bailing out now before things get ugly. I will say it's neat someone in the NFL enjoys something as niche as Xenoblade, but seriously, don't quit your day job. You might have a future in clairvoyancy as someone who can know someone's conversation-carrying skills over the internet, though.

And here I was looking forward to an entire evening's worth of entertainment watching you offer half-assed generalizations on writing style based on Martha's Manners. Pity. Now I'll have to find something else to do.
 

Seda

Member
While I could be wrong, I don't think he actually works for game informer. The post or article or whatever it is were going to call it never gave me the impression he was trying to make a living off of it or anything, just a way of venting some frustration.

He's the punter for the Vikings who guest-wrote an opinion piece for GI.
 

AniHawk

Member
Wow, never figured an NFL player would ever be interested in a niche as hell JRPG. Thats surprising and also awesome.

eh, a first-party nintendo game isn't ever going to be that unknown. this isn't infinite space or soul nomad or anything.
 

Doorman

Member
He's blatantly blinded to the fact that they are making the dollars. Who's he to dictate what they do? They are doing what gets them money.

In fairness, he's not trying to make the claim that Nintendo would necessarily be more financially successful by taking a different, more HD-centric route. Just that he would have personally enjoyed the game more had it been that way. I agree with him on that front, too, the repetitive animations in cutscenes and such have gotten on my nerves just a little bit, not that it stops me from playing or enjoying the game.

On the other hand, I agree with the people saying that had the Wii been full HD with all the bells and whistles--and accompanying budgets--that Xenoblade probably wouldn't have existed in this form at all. Especially given that it's an untested IP made for a system not exactly known to have a large market of JRPG customers. Still, the groundwork has been laid with this game that I'm left very curious and excited to see what Monolith Soft has to show for their first major Wii U game. In the end, I think that Xenoblade just happened to fit into an impossibly-shaped niche, a game with a style that lends itself well to HD but made in a scope that would make such a game unfeasible in the current market.
 

DCharlie

And even i am moderately surprised
Wow, never figured an NFL player would ever be interested in a niche as hell JRPG. Thats surprising and also awesome.

but he's complaining about one aspect of it ARGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHHGHGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

eh, a first-party nintendo game isn't ever going to be that unknown

is it actually a Nintendo first party if it's published by X-Seed or am i getting my games mixed up? Regardless - it's a late in cycle JRPG coming to the Wii. Anyone picking it up and playing it now isn't likely to be a , for want of a better phrase, "casual" player.
 
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