PixlBit

It's hard to believe that a company that can be so innovative and creative can also at times be so archaic and stubborn in some of their policies. As you said, Youtube Let's Plays are free advertising, and instead of thinking "This is a wildly popular phenomenon that showcases people enjoying watching others play and enjoy our games, we need to support this and reward this kind of loyalty", Nintendo has one of their "Big N Panic Attacks" and tries to earn a buck while doing so.

I've been a big Nintendo fan since the NES/SNES days, and it saddens me to see them kicking themselves in the nads with illogical business practices. In these regards, they are certainly their own worst enemy. They need to bring someone onboard that could see how lucrative the evolution of gaming media and tactile inclusion of your fanbase can be, rather than act as an overprotective parent with their IP.

This is a seriously awesome compilation! My god does Secret of Mana have a truly beautiful soundtrack, and Symphony of The Night's atmosphere is incredible.

The music of the Elder Scrolls series never disappoints; I got the 4-disc Skyrim soundtrack this past Christmas, and it is amazing.

If anything, this trailer actually got me more excited for the prospects of Next Gen's Red Dead Redemption follow-up. While there is certainly an impressive amount of content within GTA V, I don't know how much of it strikes me as particularly interesting - that is a matter of personal taste, as I find exploration of a world not entirely like our own to be more intriguing. 

While I firmly stand behind publishers/developers giving value to their fan base by offering tons of content, I can't help but wonder if there is an element that seems almost like 'digital busy work', especially considering that the world of GTA is more or less a reflection of our own. Personally, I'm more excited to explore the world of The Witcher 3 than to try on sneakers and play the stock market of GTA V.

I personally find this to be both terrifying, and bat shit insane. While I will certainly agree the joke was in poor taste, it was just that, a joke. Considering this kid is looking at doing more time than rapists or people who have actually taken a life, I think it points to the huge gaping lack of logic and due process in our judicial system.

And i can guarantee that any number of the morons that are responsible for this bitch on a regular basis about things they deem "unconstitutiminal" because they have never read the damn thing. The First Amendment is kind of hard to miss on that one.

Very well said, Jesse. While certain publishers have certainly made themselves out to be asses, I don't believe it to be worth condemning them as a whole; I think better business practice, and us voting on that with our dollars, is the wiser route - imagine how many titles wouldn't get made without publishers. Because of the voice given to gamer's via the internet, which changes policies and business models (Microsoft would attest to this), I think we can hold publishers and developers alike to a higher standard, and that would prove more positive for everyone rather than a call to remove publishers from the equation altogether.

Agreed 100%! Red Dead Redemption is an instant-classic, and certainly a strong contender for 'Game of The Generation' for me. From the quests, to the massive, beautiful world, to great soundtrack, and a strong narrative that NEVER wrenches control away from the player, I seriously am dying for a sequel on next-gen systems!

Absolutely, man. People that feel that video games need to be vindicated as an art form have their priorities ass backwards - games have as broad a spectrum of styles and experiences for whatever fits your mood at a given time as film does, probably moreso. I love that gaming encourages you to joyously delve into the zany mini-golf of Kirby's Dream Course, then switch gears to be borderline shitting in your pants while you traverse 'Blight Town', and experience everything inbetween.

In other news, I'm annoyed that Michelangelo's David has no soundtrack, I'm furious that I can't fight crime with Batman in The Dark Knight, and I just threw a temper tantrum because Darkest Hour's latest album didn't show me any pictures.

I agree with you 100% man; I love having game experiences with a great narrative like Red Dead Redemption and Arkham City, but I also love Kirby's Dream Course and Super Mario All Stars for the pure, gameplay driven approach. And the reason that I love all of them is because of how much I actually enjoy the gameplay itself. A game can spin me an epic tale for the ages, but if the gameplay sucks then it really doesn't matter.

What's their next article ? "The New Yoshi's Island has great gameplay, lots of things to do, and is generally a fantastic experience, but features no existential dilemma in it's narrative, so our glasses are all foggy and we are put out about it." Get over yourselves IGN, don't act all high-and-mighty intellectually when you are more or less the Perez Hilton of gaming journalism.

To me, the issue of retro gaming comes from a philosophical place in terms of game design; I enjoy a game that knows it's a video game, and uses that to its strength. In my mind, it has nothing to do with the past, but approach; I prefer a game that embraces its medium as opposed to trying to ape film (in other words, I'm not the biggest David Cage fan). Not to say that all games today are made in that philosophy at all - some of my favorites of all time come from this current gen, but I'm rather sick of the whole ignorant "When is someone going to make the Citizen Kane of video games" question. As far as I'm concerned, we have Citizen Kane(s) of gaming - they're called Super Mario World, Castlevania: Symphony of The Night, Red Dead Redemption etc - masterpieces of their art form. When a band goes in to record an album, no one says "We need to make this sound more like the Mona Lisa", because that would make no fucking sense. I chalk it up to growing pains, which every technology and art form have.

For me, it's not about those games being old, but a specific quality they have that I love, and that quality isn't nostalgia. My philosophy is: realize why you love something, have standards for things, and always look for NEW things that make you feel the way those formative experiences did/continue to do. Embrace your individual tastes, but never cease to grow. There are a ton of great gaming experiences available today, and one of the best aspects of gaming today is the voice given to indie developers, which will only grow moving forward.

BIG TIME agreement with #5 - people with repressed sexuality are like the one's who like to pretend they and everything in their life is perfect; you know there is some real dark, unhealthy shit going on behind closed doors.

I was unaware about the $10K patch system until I read about Phil Fish's plan to leave Fez unpatched, and it truly is a disgusting business practice. A fee for patches in general is poor form, let alone one that charges indie developers the same fee as a publisher like Activision. I think the reason for this is Microsoft most likely sees indie development as a growing and thriving culture of the industry, and most like the future due to how many developers are shutting down due to bloated AAA budget costs. They are covering their asses for next gen in case the AAA gaming world suffers a crash.

It's a step in the right direction for sure, but a retraction doesn't completely forgive draconian business ethics. Being an independent artist myself, I can't imagine being slammed by such a fee simply for wanting to correct a bug that was unbeknowst to me at the time of launch. A lot of indie developers make little to no money for YEARS while they work to complete a title, and to see M$ bank off of their financial hardship by charging them an unjust fee to keep their title in the marketplace so they can earn a living is complete bullshit. Sorry Microsoft, you've lost me for next gen.