Its been too long since I last did one of these. I want to go into detail with how busy I've been with work and stuff like that, but if I did that, every single of these posts would have the same introduction.

BLAH BLAH I'm busy BLAH BLAH I'll be better about posting more often BLAH

So I'll just stop there.

Welcome back to another edition of Dtoid Community Discusses (DCD)! If you are new to this concept, the idea is that I choose a topic related to gaming and then ask community members to discuss this topic in a roundtable format moderating along the way. After about a week or so of enthralling email discussion, I take the nuggets of gold, edit slightly for grammar (never content :P) and post it up here with pretty pictures!

I'm really stoked that I'm at part 19. Thats a lot of discussion! Soon, DCD will be old enough to buy liquor without the need of a fake ID! <3

I apologize...I just realized how scrappy I am tonight. I'll just cut to the chase. This edition of DCD focuses on digital distribution. There have been loads of stories covering the future of digital distribution ever since the PSPGo was released. I was curious to find out what some of our community members thought of this, so our panel this week consists of Joshhest, Gatsby, and Kauza! Here is the prompt as presented to them:

Digital distribution

""With the launch of the PSPGo, a lot of thought has been given towards the concept of digital distribution of videogames. Basically, from many critics' ideas, PSPGo is doing it completely wrong. The launch of a system which focuses solely on digital distribution as a means of releasing games seems to be having some of problems being accepted by gamers in general.

So my main question: is digital distribution the way of the future? What is holding it back from being more popular for gaming as opposed to, say, the iTunes model of buying songs? When has digital distribution been successful? (Steam?)"

Read on to find out what they had to say!



Kauza

I think a main problem right now with digital distribution on the PSP Go is a lack of choice on the part of the consumer. Originally, a long time ago, it was thought that Sony would be pushing digital distribution for the PSP2, which would have been a brand new console. It sounded like a decent idea. Then even after the PSP Go was introduced, people figured "Oh, I'll be able to play all of my old games because of license transfers." But neither of these options exist now. It's either "buy the PSP Go and abandon your existing library" or "Don't buy the PSP Go at all." I suppose you could own both, but what's the point?

I don't think Sony's totally failing here, and I don't think a push toward digital distribution on a handheld is a totally terrible idea. But any consumer will feel discouraged when purchasing choices are taken away. The iPhone, for instance, never had physical games, so there are no false expectations. But the PSP Go, since it is not an entirely new product, has to carry all the baggage from the original PSP, and that includes what gamers have come to expect from it. If some gamers have come to expect the ability to play their existing libraries, they're understandably going to be upset when the new version of the console takes it away. That was Sony's main failure on the console side, but aside from a lack of certain games, I'm pretty happy with the actual games side of PSN's PSP offerings...only I'm enjoying them on my good ol' PSP-3000, and I have no plans to change this.

Gatsby

I don't think that the main issue is lack of choice, but lack of demand rather. While I'm not going to pretend to know the perfect statistics behind everything, I can say with confidence that most people will not opt to buy something through digital distribution when hard copies are readily available. For me, the strengths of digital distribution doesn’t entail the ability to get all the latest and greatest titles downloaded. The difference between downloading a game on Steam Day 1 versus driving to Gamestop to buy it is pretty minimal for me.

I feel that the two main services that Digital Distribution is good for right now are, making out-of-production games available for sale again and allowing indie Game Devs the ability to get their games out to the general public. The popularity of games like Braid or even Run Man would be totally impossible in a generation without digital distribution. Knowing what a classic Braid has become, think of all the possible games we may have missed out on last gen or the gen before that due to the inability for indie Game Devs to really get their product out to anyone.

There'll be a time when Digital Distribution can start to rival the popularity of hard copies, but that time isn't now. There's still a pretty large demand for hard copies and there's been a trend of retailers not supporting the PSP-GO because it's existence is counterproductive to their own. And on top of that, I think Digital Distribution is about convenience. There's nothing that's convenient about a system that limits current options, doesn't offer anything knew, and costs two hundred and fifty fucking dollars. Like usual, Sony seems to be catering to a market that doesn't seem to exist.

Joshhest

I realized the other day when Direct2Drive (which I usually hate) was running a massive anniversary sale that I am much more likely to make impulse buys through a digital marketplace than when I hit up the local GameStop.

Not entirely sure why, but I would guess that it has something to do with me not letting my brain have enough time to actually go through the decision-making math that normally runs when I'm trying to weigh costs versus my benefits for a given game...

This may be silly, but the real value of digital distribution to the market as a whole is that it can make games really cheap in certain cases, so the premium you normally place on getting box, DVD, etc. can be brushed aside by the OHMYGODONLYFIVEDOLLARS part of the brain.

But then again I still love looking at CD art, so physical media still has some life left in it. Especially for the hardcore who really love games for their inherent game-ness and just don't want to give it up. Maybe soon Special Edition will mean "with instruction book and DVD".


You can't beat the fresh smell of a new instruction manual :D

Tactix

I wonder what you guys think about the flipside of the coin. When Street Fighter 4 came out, there was quickly talk about the possibility of new kinds of DLC. Sure there were costume options, but for the longest time, it seemed that people expected the characters of Dee Jay and T Hawk to be DLC characters. However, when Capcom announced that it would be a separate disc with lots of new options, some (not all) people cried foul, saying this should have been digitally distributed.

What do you think about Capcom's decision to NOT distribute the new characters and all digitally, but to bring about a second disc?

Joshhest

I have a little bit of trouble with this example because many of us (myself included) saw it coming. From the very beginning, I had an inkling there would be a "Street Fighter IV Hyper Championship Edition SE" and no new-fangled DLC was going to get in Capcom's way if they wanted to toss a whole new disc into the wild.

In a lot of ways I actually appreciate not being nickeled-and-dimed to death on this: I picture myself hugely pissed about spending $5 in Microsoft Moon Money just to buy T-Hawk or Dee Jay. Instead, I look at it as a reasonable value from a company whose business model is to bring out multiple, incremental versions of what is really the same base game.

Let Capcom be Capcom!

Kauza

Yeah, I subscribe to the idea that companies, Capcom included, should do what they want to do, even if it seems blatantly stupid to us (I don't feel that's the case here). To me, it'll eventually lead to a sense of balance in what companies can and can't do with digital distribution. If Capcom wants to do a new disc, they can certainly try it, and if it fails miserably, the company and other companies will learn that they can't do that sort of thing and expect players to let them get away with it. If it does turn out to be what people want, then everyone gets to be happy.

It's similar in some ways to Horse Armor or the Bandai/Namco DLC, which quickly become industry jokes about just how bad digital content distribution can be. While the latter doesn't seem to learn from any of its mistakes, I think other companies have. It's a process that the industry needs to go through: experiment with digital distribution vs. traditional distribution to find a model that is most beneficial to the consumer and the company alike, and the great thing is that we players don't assume the risk. If a company does something stupid, we cry foul by passing on a product.

I think all we can do is continue to take a critical look at things like Super Street Fighter 4, Halo 3: ODST, downloadable episodic content, and so on before making our purchases. Personally, I'll remain indifferent to Capcom's decision until I see just what they offer, and at that point, it'll be easier to decide whether it was a decision that other companies should admire or avoid.



Gatsby

Well, that brings up an interesting point. Is it really profitable for companies to employ digital distribution at this point? There are a lot of things to consider. First off, let's say that Street Fighter went along and decided to distribute each of their characters digitally. If you're a person like me, and only play characters based on how they look, then here's what you're going to do. You're going to say "Well, Juri looks awesome, but I pretty much have zero interest in T Hawk and Dee Jay, so I'm only going to buy Juri." So overall, they may have put work into three different characters, only to have people pick and choose as to which parts of their work are paid for. To a developer, I could see why that type of situation doesn't appeal to them. They're creating a lot of new content, and they want you to help fund ALL of it.

And then there's another thing to consider. Does every single person who bought Street Fighter 4 own a credit card? Street Fighter is rated T for teen, which means that there'll likely be people who can legally buy Super Street Fighter IV in stores, but might not be old enough to buy characters online with their own credit or debit card. If they go a digital only route, they're limiting the amount of people who can buy it. On the other hand, anybody can get cash and waltz into their local Gamestop or Walmart and buy it.

It's interesting to note how games that generally have more Mature ratings tend to shift towards digital distribution first off. Look at Dragon Age and Mass Effect. Has any of Mass Effects DLC ever been sold separately in physical form? Is any of Dragon Age's DLC being sold in physical form? Nope, because there's pretty much no reason why anybody old enough to buy these games shouldn't have access to AT LEAST a debit card.


Horse Armor. Lulz.

Kauza

I don't know if the credit card thing is a main factor in that decision, but it's definitely interesting to think about. I imagine that most parents would probably be hesitant to connect their own credit cards to an Xbox account. But I imagine that for younger kids, DLC isn't even a thought in their minds. And I do think that digital distribution is pretty profitable, if only for the savings in manufacturing costs. Of course, I don't have figures in front of me to support that; it just seems like it would make sense.

I guess it's just up to companies to see what works, but I think a great product is going to sell no matter what. If you've got some great expansion that no one can live without, I really don't care whether it's put out in physical format, digital downloads, or both. The way things are going, it seems to me that employing both is going to be the safest option. I think some people are going to get pissed no matter what some companies do, but that can be minimized by offering as many options as monetarily possible.

----------------------------------------------------------------

And with that, so ends another edition of Dtoid Community discusses. I hope you enjoyed your time with reading this blog! If you'd like to get involved with a future Dtoid Community Discusses, send me a PM here on dtoid, or find me on IRC so we can exchange emails.

Tune in sometime for my 20th DCD posts in the near future! Later!

I promised I'd do something with the Team Fedora pics, so here it is! I totally learned how to use iMovie, and made a youtube video!

Watch below!



Music: "These are the Days" by Jaime Cullum

Post Pax 09

As I lie in bed, fever and all, I decided to try to get my post-PAX thoughts in a blog. It took nearly 20 minutes of thinking (and chatting on irc) to even know where to begin. I decided to begin here:

Start:

I was really excited for this PAX, because as you may have read last year, PAX was a life changing experience. (To read that again, click here). I knew that this PAX was going to be something completely different. This time, I had already met TONS of you, gone to a couple of industry events, so even knew the Capcom guys, and had gotten some props for starting the Dtoid Community Discusses and the DtoidSF google group. So this time, there were people there that were actually really excited to meet me!

Another reason I was totally excited was that I had been given the opportunity to BE Mr Destructoid for an hour. That experience was one that I wont ever forget. Last years PAX I was just amazed to meet the man, Niero, himself. This year I was able to assume his character. It was so mindboggling how receptive people were to Mr. Destructoid. Some merely wanted to take a picture with the guy in the robot head, but one girl ran pretty much across the hall saying. “I’m sorry….I just really want to shake your hand and say thanks.” That was in itself pretty amazing, and so true for my feeling to Mr. Dtoid himself.



The next highlight I think would have to be the Dtoid panel. Seeing the group that was there, all to support our website, was amazing (same goes with the HAWP panel) And if you haven’t seen it yet, the performance by Chad and the community was AMAZING! I was pretty much bouncing in my seat the whole time :D

The show floor! I don’t know what to say about the show floor other than I cant say I was there very often. I played a couple of games (which I’ll talk about on the DCD), but more than anything the show floor was just a collection of all the things that make me happy. Videogames, TCG’s cosplayers, gaming tournaments, etc. I made a point to even make it to the freeplay area, to beat Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers! (Best game of all time :D)



I made this PAX trip not knowing what to expect, but I also made this trip with my best friend from college, Joshhest. From the moment I introduced you guys, it was exactly what I expected. Everyone in the community welcomed him as if he had been on the site forever, and I just want to say thanks to you all for being such an awesome community.



I wanted to give personal thanks here, but that would be impossible. I KNOW I’d forget someone and feel horrible. So if I talked to you at all this weekend then I love you more than words can describe. I do want to give a special shoutout to Team Fedora however. I was amazed at how many of you joined the good cause, and although we didn’t get like a group pic, I’ll try to put something together celebrating us all :D



Anyway, I need to take a nap to sleep off this stupid flu that I got (that we ALL got) so that’s about it. I don’t know how to end this either, so I’ll just do it here.

End:

I LOVE YOU ALL!

CHECK OUT MY PAX PICS!

You get me on rides I dont want to get on.



I get to go to cool events.



I hang out with the most amazing people regularly



And I know its been shown before, but really it goes without saying...



I love you guys.

Hey guys! Have you missed me? It’s been so freaking long since I last did a DCD, and for that I apologize. Research has been really busy as of late, but its all for good reason, since I’ve pretty much achieved a total synthesis of my target compound! (YAYAYAY!) Hopefully I’ll get to publish a paper on this fairly soon and I can start a new project. The more projects I complete in grad school, the better!

Also, I’m not going to lie….I’ve been spending ALL my free time engulfed by two games titled BlazBlue and Marvel vs Capcom 2. Thanks to Suff0cat, I have an arcade stick and can’t stop playing. Dexter345 even asked me if we will EVER play games together again, and I want to say that we will…but I’m not too sure :P

Which brings me to this week’s topic. FIGHTING GAMES!

Here is the prompt that I send out to our panel

Tactix

"Its the year of the fighting game....SFIIHD Remix, followed by SF4, BlazBlue, KoF12, MvC2, and Tekken 6. You could say that fighting games are making a comeback, and I personally think that’s awesome. Fighting games are my favorite type of videogames, so I definitely have tons to be excited for.

This week, I decided we could just talk about what we think of fighting games? Which are you the most excited to play? What do you like in a fighting game? If you are good at fighting games, what advice would you give to those just getting into it?"

This week’s panel consists of deBLOO, Detry, Zserv, and Nikmonroe. Read on to find out their thoughts!



deBLOO

I think a good fighting game depends solely on the player. After the revolution from Street Fighter 2, developers had the winning formula: responsive controls, great visuals and allowing players to face each other. If a fighting game had those present, a community and loyal following was almost always born. Another great thing about the genre is the player’s influence on a games direction. When Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo dropped a lot of game mechanics sprung from the players. Things like Kara canceling and Chain (Renda) canceling, never planned by devs, became a norm in the way you played. And obviously, the social aspect makes the genre shine. Nothing beats showing clear dominance over another player while they are standing right next to you in an arcade or at home on a console. I grew up in a richly diverse neighborhood full of so many cultures, but none of that mattered when the quarters were in, or the 2P pressed start, and the select fighter screen was on. Fighting games really gave me something to relate to with other people- people I normally wouldn't socialize with. I was able to create many relationships and experience many cultures that I have carried with me to this day as a result.

As for being "good" at fighting games...A lot of things can mean that. I consider myself a patient player. It gives me an advantage, I wait till my opponent makes a mistake then capitalize. Other Dtoiders like KD_Alpha are more technical about it and get a better understanding of the games we play to get an advantage; he also has a great reaction time. Cataract has the wonderful ability to read (download as the slang goes) the opponent and adapt on the fly. Senisan is an aggressive and relentless player, he doesn't give his opponent much time to react and implement strategy. I say identify where you excel and work on the things you don't. Also, you must be willing to spend A LOT of time learning the match ups. Playing with other people constantly will give you a fresh look on your game. I suggest visiting great websites like eventhubs.com and shoryuken.com that provide a lot of useful information like tips and strategies. Going to youtube and watching top players can help you on how to handle certain situations as well as how certain characters are played efficiently. Don't forget to practice either.

At the moment I'm trying to get my hands on BlazBlue and waiting on news of a fabled "Street Fighter IV Dash (Championship Edition)". I'm excited to play MvC 2 soon; it will be my first time playing that.

Nikmonroe

I've haven't really played enough fighting games to go as in depth as some of you guys but there have been a couple that I have enjoyed over the years. The first one I really got into was Tekken 3 on the PSOne. For some reason, something about that game really clicked with me and I ended up wasting hours on it with my friends trying to unlock everything in the game. Soul Caliber 2 on the Dreamcast was another one that took up a lot of my time. There was just so much to unlock and it was such a joy to play, both alone and with friends. For some reason though, I've never managed to get into the Street Fighter series, it's just always come across as too technical and competitive of a game for somebody who just wants to play casually.

Zserv

I just have grown to appreciate fighting games, simply because they're one of the most skill based game genre's out there. You have to be able to think and react instantly, come up with a strategy, and have the means to pull off aforementioned strategy. It's like super-chess, man.

Tactix

deBloo..I cant wait to play you so you can tell me what kind of player I am :D

Anyway, I've been a fighting game fan for as far back as I can remember. For me, I didn’t play much SFII in the arcades, but I devoured Super Street Fighter II Turbo on my Super Nintendo. I don’t know if that necessarily came first, but around the same time I was also so into Killer Instinct for the consoles, and even played lots of Primal Rage at the local pizza parlor. After those games you could say I was hooked on the genre and played almost every fighting game I could get my hands on :D


Yeeesssss! Primal Rage. One of the games that started it all.

Zserv

Honestly, I didn't get into fighters until very recently; Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix. I'm very new to the genre, so I'm still getting my knowledge on the different series etc. Without a doubt, if 2007 was the year of the shooter, 2009 is the year of the fighter. Why? Street Fighter IV, man. We've had a steady release of new fighting games for years; but with SSFIITHDR, you had to know it would bring in both old and new players. Then, you bring in Street Fighter IV, that surge alone drastically changed how many people you'd see at competitions. If you've seen "I Got Next”, they even talk about how a competition with normally 50 or so people had well over 300. With the ability to just buy an arcade stick, and play your fighters at home, now the east coast (which was predominantly the weaker coast for fighters) has just as much chance at getting good as the west. Now, if you KNOW a games going to be big, like Street Fighter IV, you're gonna try to release soon after it. Why? People just bought an 80 or 150-dollar arcade stick dude. You think they want it for just one game? If you release a game that can be used with it near the same time, the consumer doesn't think "Oh, great, another fighting game." They think "more chance to use my fightstick!" The producer still gets their dough, and we get great games. :)

Tactix

When it comes to fighting games...what kind of fighter would you say you are? Are you the type of fighter that likes to choose the fast characters, or do you like to play as the big heavy hitters? Personally I like to play as the characters that people hardly play as (for instance, El Fuerte, Amingo, or Carl Clover from SF4, MvC2 and BlazBlue respectively). Sometimes this gives me an edge on people who have hardly played against these characters :D. I've received tons of compliments on my abilities to play these characters well, and that makes me feel good :D

Also, did you guys get the chance to watch any of the EVO coverage? If so, what did you think of the way it was handled and what did you think about the caliber of gameplay?

ZServ

I play weird. On SFIITHDR, I started with Ryu, and about 3 matches in switched to Chun-Li. She's now my main for HD Remix. SFIV, however, I play Sakura and Balrog. MVC2 it goes Sakura, Cable, and Iron Man. Sometimes Mega Man.

(I suck with Sakura on SFIV, fyi)

On EVO? I loved what I saw of it; the caliber of gameplay was at a level I can only hope to ever come close to. It actually inspired me to buy my TE stick.

Detry

My gameplay varies on my mood and how drunk I am. It also depends on how YOU play. I tend to not play 'cheap', but if I feel you are being cheap then ILL CHEAP YOUR MOTHERFUCKING ASS RIGHT BACK. HOW YOU LIKE IT?! HOW YOU LIKE IT NOW?! YEA MOTHERFUCKER DIDN'T FEEL SO GOOD DID IT?!

DICK.

But I want to see your best game. Sometimes I'll even show mercy just to try and get your best game. Good sportsmanship is a virtue. I don't mind losing because I learn something from it. I also don't want to totally dominate you because then I learn nothing; I want to be able to take something constructive away from each match I play.

deBLOO

I'm always attracted to the fast, damaging characters. Ever since I first started playing SF, Ken was just always my main. But Akuma has become my main in SF:IV. He's a bit hard to play with (since he has very low health and a very hard ultra and super to work with) but he is a powerhouse with a lot of tools to generate offense and bring the pain. On MvC2 I have yet to find my "definitive team" but I'm having the most success with Cyclops/Ken/Venom at the moment. Of course I trade Ken's spot for Akuma to mix things up once in a while.

EVO was amazing this year. The level of play was amazing as always. Street Fighter IV, being the most popular game these days (BlazBlue is looking like it will top it), brought ALOT of new people. And that really broke the mold of seeing the same people in top 8. The 5 on 5 SF:IV Regional brought, the first for the time ever, a Wildcard team to pass the first round. They went on to the final match losing to East Coast. The only thing negative I see from this year was how SNK was nowhere to be found. I don't really like SNK fighter all that much, but I know lots of Dtoiders that do and since EVO is the place to compete I was really hoping to see some top level play. Hopefully with the release of KoFXII on consoles next year will have this.

Zserv

I hate to become topic master here, but what are everyone’s stances on 'playing cheap'? Does it exist? To me, being beaten isn’t a matter of the other person having more skill or being better; but rather them having better execution. If a Ryu who did nothing but Hadouken and Shoryuken me kills me, does it mean he beat me cheaply? No, because I had every chance to dodge those moves elsewhere. A fault in execution on my part gave him room to work with, allowing him to execute. I LET him beat me, by failing to meet the standards he set for me.

What's your guys' take on it?


Playing cheap does exist....its Cable

Nikmonroe

Well, I hate it when people play cheap. It reminds me of playing with a child who's found the one move they know and spam it over and over until they win, then they won't shut up about it. I had a friend that always played as Nightmare and would always do a move where he would just swing his sword side to side knocking me to the ground making it hard for me to get a shot in to retaliate. If I'm going to lose when I'm playing a fighting game I'd rather lose against somebody who is playing properly than somebody smacking buttons and repeating move over and over.

-------------------------------------------------------

Thats all for this week! Hope you enjoyed it, and if you want to get your ass handed to you by Carl or Iron Tager in BlazBlue or by Amingo, BBHood, and Tron Bonne in MvC2, send me a game invite (GT: Tactixpimp)

I will be playing. :D

A Very Special Birthday Story.....by Tactix

One day there was a guy named Ben PerLee. He got dressed all fancy pants like this:



But then his umbrella broke...



and it made Ben like this:



And he decided to take a nap in sadness, but his friends came over to surprise him like this!



and this!



HAPPY BIRTHDAY! They said, and made him a funfetti cake like this:



The END


------------------------

Happy Birthday goes out to one of my best friends on Destructoid, Mr. Ben PerLee. He is turning 22 today so make sure to wish him a happy birthday and post as many chicken pictures in the comments.

Trust me. He will love it.

<3