[Sundays with Sagat is a video series where a man named Sagat talks to you about videogames. This is serious business.]
In this week's video diary, Sagat takes on the "hardcore games don't sell on the Wii" misconception, and the problems developers face in trying to make a game that is both "hardcore" and "hilarious". Sagat meant to talk about Brütal Legend (a hardcore/comedy game that failed to sell more than a million copies worldwide per console, despite a huge marketing push and years of hype) instead of Wet (a game that is really more silly than funny), but he couldn't resist saying the word "wet" over and over again. It's such a gross and amusing sounding word, kind of like like "moist" or "hanky".
Try and say "wetwetwetwetwetwetwetwetwetwetwetwetwet" to yourself and not to crack a smile. Just try.
Making the viewer feel slightly uncomfortable while making a serious point seems to be how Sagat rolls these days. Every week that we do this, I see more and more of this weird, serious-but-silly, slightly passive-aggressive side to the manly mid-boss. He also doesn't seem to know how to shut up. Like all the Sundays with Sagat videos, this one was shot in one take, but that doesn't mean I didn't edit it down a bit. Sagat easily could have gone on for an hour about this crap. You wouldn't expect a bald, perpetually shirtless, multiply scared, one-eyed kick boxer to be such a chatterbox, but there you go. That's who "the real Sagat" is.
Accept no imitations.
Jonathan Holmes is the most lovable Associate Editor on Destructoid. Catch him on videos, original editorials, and on back episodes of the Destructoid Show and MTV's Road Rules. Jonathan is a retro gamer's gamer.
Likes
Mega Man 2, Resident Evil, Katamari Damacy, Bit.Trip, Metal Slug 3
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Contest:
2:00 PM on 06.06.2010
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Do I get a prize?
Really? I thought the best part of Mad World was the commentary. And God Hand just wouldn't be God Hand without the openly-gay midget Power Rangers.
Thanks for making Sundays something to look forward to for once!
He's a staff member on Destructoid. You may have seen his face on that site a few times.
good video holmes
I found that Madworld didnt undermine Jack, it was all about undermining the competition, so yeah you made a good point.. and is probably one of the reasons i have that game.
reason 2 & 3 being; action/style play & dominatrix lady *drool*
oh... and music... and..some other things... i really like that game.. but yer, ur point is well proven.
however.. the only reason i didnt get No More Heroes is because i have Killer7 and i dont really want a similar in style game....
i like to keep a tight collection...
but yer.. still u make a good point.
*blanka electric crouch attack* OUT
other than the fact that both NMH and K7 are outwardly weird they are nowhere near the same style.
Killer7 = psychological thriller first person on rail shooter with a giant mindfuck ending
No More Heroes = amazing parody of pop culture action game that focuses mostly on boss fights and over the top madness.
Granted there is more to both of them, but seriously reevalute man.
I promise you'll be making a great decision.
@Boomfasa: You're probably mistking him for Kratos from GoW, pic related
A hardcore game is a gamer's game, like Mario Galaxy 2 or God of War. They're not totally casual games, but they are something that a lot of people can get in on and still find a worthy, satisfying challenge in completing them or playing against friends.
I tend to think of really hard games as niche titles, which isn't totally a truism for "niche," but things like Sin and Punishment 2 or StarCraft 2 are going to cater to a very particular kind of gamer and they will not appeal to everyone. Not everyone can get into surviving bullet hell or managing a swarm of military units on-screen
@ Tray Ben- I disagree, but I think we can agree that Madworld, No More Heroes, HotD: Overkill are more about comedy than lets say, Super Mario Galaxy 2.
@ Daedhead8- The first five Sundays with Sagat were shot in one day, in less than two hours, with no second takes. If we do more, I'll see about amping up the comedy. Ideally, these videos will give everyone on Earth anything and everything they've ever want from a video series about Sagat talking about videogames.
@ trueb7ue- I think you're mixing me up with a young, skinny, bushy haired, good looking young Quadroon that was on the Mtv's Road Rules back when Silf and Olley was still on the air, before reality shows had really gotten shitty.
Your video somehow made me think back to the good old lucas art adventures. They are not hardcore in any way but they got the hilarious world/characters and main character/s right. The guy from MadWorld couldn't be any more boring I think.
But overall, if I understood your point right. You can't put hardcore and a style of dark humor like MadWorld, No more Heroes or Brütal Legend did in one game. (Btw. I'm thinking about a game that could break this argument but I can't think of any damnit! :D )
Keep up the good work with these videos!
Oh and Jonathan, Is this you in your avatar?
For the record, I miss the hell out of that Anthony. Also, he and Ashley Blavis got married today, so you should send them some money.
@ Enzi- Yep, that's me in my avatar. Lighting, a wig, and being 30 pounds lighter will do a lot for a guy.
And yeah, the Lucasarts games were awesome. They had excellent graphics, hilarious writing, but still let you feel like you were the funny one.
To me, the pinnacle of comedy in gaming is the sword fighting in Monkey Island. When you start out, you only know a few comebacks, which forces you to say "How appropriate, you fight like a cow" at times when you, and the guy you're sword fighting with, knows that it's ridiculous.
While this gag still relies on the game's excellent writing (it wouldn't be funny if you had the option to say something lame like "Thong, th-thong, thong thong"), it also relies on player participation. You are the one that makes the game funny, because you are the one that chooses to say "How appropriate, you fight like a cow". It's usually your choice that makes the SCUMM games funny. It just so happens that you're presented with some really clever, really funny choices in those games
I could go on and on about that though. Better shut my mouth before I get carried away.
And as for the comparison between these and Rev Rants: they fill a similar hole in my life, but I'm more inclined to get into these. Somewhat because Anthony always seemed to make the same points I would make about some things, thus propelling my paranoia that I am being watched by people who don't know who I am. But mostly because there's a certain charm that can't be quantified about Sagat talking to me about video games. It's that kind of thing where you combine the intense inspection of a topic that can come off sounding pretentious, but is so easy to swallow when the the person doing the critique is a wildly unexpected source (ex. RedLetterMedia doing movie reviews as a slurring, medicated psychopath).
In short, you've got a special thing here, and I want more of it.
Also, I figured these things were shot pretty quickly. But even if you aim to add more comedy in the future (more rehearsal is all that I could want, really), I still think the funniest things about these videos is how (especially in this one) there's just this slow descent into straight-faced orating from the mouth of a mad fighter. Perhaps unintended comedy, but it gets me so.
I *think* I see where you're getting at, and it makes a lot sense. After the fact, though.
See, it seems games like Dead Rising and the GTA get a lot of exposure because of a -large- word of mouth on top of aggressive marketing. If the games sucked it might have sold well, but it would carry a stigma.
OH! Just look at Chinatown Wars - a game that went back the root of the series (which has A LOT of dark humor) and took some elements from the newer titles. Now, Rockstar's expectations were a bit up there, but it still didn't sell as much as many have thought. That was a solid and fun game, as opposed to GTAIV.
No More Heroes is what's puzzling to me. Unlike Mad World or Overkill where the gameplay is a little more niche, NMH takes the basics of your average game, irons out the wrinkles and adds the charm-cherry on top. After all that it gets positive acclaim but it still doesn't spark that flame to keep it going because it stops there. That's where the people have to carry that word of mouth but for many reasons it just doesn't seem to happen.
Could be because of the humor doesn't carry well - just think of the conversation you have about the game when you don't think about writing it down. Still, if you loved and enjoyed the game for that reason it would require you "get it" at some point. If you miss it then it wouldn't matter to the player and it wouldn't help sell the game.
Should there be a balance? Have developers cut back a bit to to gain a wider audience? It seems like they have to if they expect to sell the game at all. I don't want to see any more cool games fail, but then that risking-taking, "breaking out of the mold" nature that made it fun and unique in the first place wouldn't be there - basically, what made it stand out in the first place.
I love how random it is listening to a guy making good points about games while looking like Saget.
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