I've been chatting with Jan Klose, creative directer on the upcoming RPG Venetica. If you don't know about Venetica, I'm not quite surprised. Despite looking really promising, the game has been met with only quiet appreciation from a handful of people. Still, Klose is pleased with the reception it's gotten so far, but admits that it's getting harder and harder for fresh IP to gain traction.
"Of course Venetica does not yet have a huge community compared to established RPG brands," admits Klose. "Still, most people who saw the trailers or even had the chance to play the game are very enthusiastic about it. Although media coverage for this title has not been huge compared to competing titles, we hope that players will become aware of this title and give it a try. I am sure they will be surprised to see what they'll get!
"... We were lucky to sign the contract years before the current crisis, and back then support for a new IP was not an issue. I agree that it would be much harder if we were to try the same this year."
It's a shame that Venetica had to "dodge a bullet" in order to get the green light, and if they'd have been a bit later in signing a contract, it may never have happened. Sadly that's the way things are at the moment. I do think responsibility lies with us gamers as much as publishers, however. We need to show companies that we want fresh games and new possibilities. Unfortunately, "sequel-itis" is something we as a demographic help to popularize.
Jim Sterling serves as reviews editor for Destructoid.com, head of the Podtoid podcast, and produces a number of news stories, original features, one-of-a-kind videos. With his passionate argumentative style, controversial opinions, harsh delivery, and dedication to brutal honesty Sterling is a name that you can't help but recognize.
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Contest:
10:40 AM on 10.02.2009
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Info Sterling! Educate the uninformed and ill minded masses!
Its like trying to get people to realize that Way of the Samurai 3 is coming out on Oct. 13th on 360 and PS3. I've got to believe nobody knows this yet, so i've gotta tell you.
Did you know, btw?
It sounds intriguing...
"Next page: More Xbox 360 stories"
So I guess it's for the 360.
I'm on the mobile site so I don't see that however I did just notice the 360 tag.
Just looked online..seems it only has been rleased in Germany...It was even released on the 360 in Germany....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venetica
It sounds intriguing..."
^^^This
It's out in Germany, PC release was Sep 4, XBox 360 release was today, rest of world to be announced.
No.
I just read the Wiki. The plot is interesting (very comic book like) but there's nothing in there about the gameplay I guess we'll either wait for more of the interview or until Sterling spills the beans.
Correction: Yes.
There will be a story detailing the gameplay today.
Cool. I'll be waitin'.
Do you consider the 360 and PC to be multiple platforms?
Yeah but being a console gamer I suppose I just miss the PC thing when I see it. My bad.
As customers, we show publishers and developers exactly how to make a new IP successful, and it is up to the developers and publishers to make games we want to buy. For some reason though, publishers and developers lack the imagination to follow the lead we send them on. We bought Mario because it was the best platformer, with the content of Alice in Wonderland that we could relate to. We bought Tetris because of it's inherently addictive gameplay and because of it's distinct Russianness - There was very little coming out of russia at the time. Heck, Pokemon is entirely based on the desire to be a pokemon trainer; I would venture to say it is largly in the theater of the mind, rather than any graphical capabilities that push the series. I would go so far as to say that every single milestone title presented us with content we could relate to and wanted to see, along with gameplay innovations to an old genre (or in some cases, a new genre made very well) that makes the new game overall better than the previous iterations. This goes for Wii Sports, Nintendogs, and Brain Age as well where the content is sports, dogs, and the desire to make yourself smarter.
I can read a book if I want an original story, so the only new IP I have any interest in must not just be different, but better than(, simpler to understand often,) and more enjoyable than what already exists and have content I wish to purchase. It's a high wall, but there's no reason to make a new IP if there's already an old IP that does what you're doing in a more enjoyable fashion.
I see where you're coming from, but I don't really think that's what Jim was mentioning.
Never in a million years did I think this would happen, but I agree with Jim that sometimes we are as buyers at fault. Sure, sometimes the games just slip through the cracks of the monolithic releases that come out.
I think we also have a tendency to gloss over them ourselves from time to time on our way to the next big thing. So you get reactions like today, where even I was like "huh? I've never even heard of this!"
It doesn't make us sh*theads, it just means we can't bitch about lack of originality in gaming if we ourselves aren't supporting it, causing the industry to not want to take the risk in creating something new.
Maybe 20 years ago there was more room for error on a new IP and there isn't now because we're all jaded. Maybe it was bound to happen anyway. At any rate... sorry if there were any holes in my theory or interpretation. I had 10 minutes to get to work when I wrote this :D
Remember your place. You and everyone who buys games are above the industry, and the industry exists to serve you and sell you stuff. If a good game slips through the cracks, it is either the publisher's fualt for failing to market his game properly or the designer's fault for failing to make a game you would want to play more than a major title. Your job is only to buy what you want to spend money on, and their job is to sell you stuff you will buy.
It is really annoying me how the industry blames the customer for having poor taste. Take Okami. Industry websites have always been annoyed that Okami wasn't more successful. But the title doesn't give customers content they are interested in. Most Americans find the Japanese folklore quirky and uninteresting and the style quirky and unappealing. Who wants to be a landscaping dog in feudal Japan? Okami's failure is entirely because of it's failure to deliver content people wanted to buy, and thus it was in no way the customers fault that the developer gave them something they did not want.
At least with a major IP, you know you're getting something you want.
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Thanks for giving this game some real coverage today. I was starting to worry that outside of Europe it would have no media footprints at all.