Anyone wanna buy my box of used SNES/Dreamcast gear before it's illegal and punishable by death penalty? (also have a box of used condoms I'll throw in free).
If PSN or the Xbox Marketplace followed Steam's lead, then I would still give them my money. The key is that I will rarely pay more than $5 for a digitally distributed game that I cannot resell. I've bought all kinds of games on Steam that I would much rather have on one of my consoles, but there is no way I am paying 4x the price (or more) for the exact same thing.
Steam has done it right: lower the price substantially, provide non-invasive DRM (can't resell, essentially), and you'll get my money.
I bought the hype on that game, unfortunately, my first FF in many years and definitely the last. Japan just can't make an RPG to save its friggin life, though. It's been this way for a long time. Some people love these kinds of "RPG"s (term used loosely because they are so linear). They aren't my thing. There are still great RPGs, better than anything the SNES ever had. Fallout 3 and Skyrim (I personally prefer Fallout3), for example. Fallout 3 really is a masterpiece, nice open world and just a great game.
I just want to echo that I LOVE Steam as well. I think it's a great service, but no, their prices are rarely that great. The sales are where it's at.
I just built a new gaming system and thought about playing through the Mass Effects again in anticipation for ME3, and both ME1 and 2 are $20 each on Steam. That's ridiculous.
I can say this as someone who plays and loves both styles of RPGs (western and Japanese), but you can't really compare them, at all, beyond just saying which you personally prefer. Their strengths are very distinct.
Clearly you prefer the open world freedom of western RPGs. The thing is though, generally when the world and freedom are massive, the actual story, character development, plot exposition, and dialogue greatly suffer. Comparing, say, Fallout's plot, character depth, and exposition to Chrono Trigger or another great JRPG, there's really no contest. You're going to sacrifice that for the open, expansive world. It might be "good enough" for you, but it's clearly a trade-off. Nothing in FO 3 or those true open-world RPGs is anywhere close to the great FFs and JRPGs in terms of character development and dialogue. They just can't be. There are too many options and variables for an extremely tight narrative.
OTOH, the better the narrative, usually the less freedom and exploration there is as well. Western companies are starting to narrow this gap; giving great freedom and improving dialogue, plot, and character development, while Japanese developers actually seem to be moving backwards (ala FFXIII), not improving freedom and exploration, and not really improving narrative either.
I can say this as someone who plays and loves both styles of RPGs (western and Japanese), but you can't really compare them, at all, beyond just saying which you personally prefer. Their strengths are very distinct.
Clearly you prefer the open world freedom of western RPGs. The thing is though, generally when the world and freedom are massive, the actual story, character development, plot exposition, and dialogue greatly suffer. Comparing, say, Fallout's plot, character depth, and exposition to Chrono Trigger or another great JRPG, there's really no contest. You're going to sacrifice that for the open, expansive world. It might be "good enough" for you, but it's clearly a trade-off. Nothing in FO 3 or those true open-world RPGs is anywhere close to the great FFs and JRPGs in terms of character development and dialogue. They just can't be. There are too many options and variables for an extremely tight narrative.
OTOH, the better the narrative, usually the less freedom and exploration there is as well. Western companies are starting to narrow this gap; giving great freedom and improving dialogue, plot, and character development, while Japanese developers actually seem to be moving backwards (ala FFXIII), not improving freedom and exploration, and not really improving narrative either.
Yeah...I think there's def a wide open gap there. I'm not sure who that western developer would be that could really break through on storytelling, but the Japanese are clearly not up to the task.
The stick figures from the NES/SNES era didn't seem so alien because the art was so primitive that your mind could fill in the gaps however you pleased. But within 10 minutes of ff13 I just couldn't stomach the weirdness of it.
The thing is, STEAM really hasn't lowered the price "substantially". STEAM hasn't really lowered the price at all. This seems to be a common misconception, but what people are thinking of are the (usually awesome) STEAM Sales. BIG difference.
Just a few examples from 2011's most popular games, STEAM's price first, then lowest (new) price on Amazon:
Skyrim: $59.99......vs.......$47.98
Dead Island: $39.99......vs.......$16.99
RAGE $29.99......vs.......$13.29
Deus Ex HR $29.99......vs.......$12.51
Batman Arkham City $49.99......vs.......$33.99
MW 3 $59.99......vs.......$28.50
L.A. Noire $39.99.......vs......$28.49
The everyday prices on STEAM for non-sale software are fair-to-average-to-poor, rarely ever a steal, sometimes flatout bad. Especially when cross-shopped with other, usually physical copy retailers.
I love STEAM. The sales are terrific, the DRM is the best out there, and I've purchased countless games through it and will continue to do so. But those who long for a single, monopolistic digital service on consoles, even if the same quality as STEAM, are being foolish or naive or both. Losing competition and consumer options is not a good thing, no matter how streamlined it makes everything.
This x 1000.
I find games like Oblivion that are TOO open are just a flat out borefest. They aren't RPGS but more like "real life simulators".
Most people think RPG = "I am the character and I can do whatever I want whenever I want", but I think of RPG as *role* playing, playing the *fixed* role of another person in another life, place, and time, and this invariably involves constriction for the purposes of narration and story telling that is severely lacking in western games.
I loved Fallout 3, GTA 4, etc, but they are really play to 100% completion and forget titles. They don't leave the lasting impact that a well told story, loveable characters, and incredible story climax and end game revalation leave behind. I wasn't exactly stunned or holding back tears when the Fallout 3 credits rolled.
There is one problem, those Steam sales happen so frequently that its almost a non-issue, especially since you can buy games elsewhere and tie them to Steam, so Amazon for instance is another source of cheap games. I would not expect either of those to happen on a Microsoft/Sony/Nintendo controlled marketplace.
Yeah, when was the last time you saw a "sale" on the Xbox 360 marketplace? They're infrequent, they usually apply to games no one cares about, and the discounts aren't significant. They never mark down the prices on games because there's no competition and MS controls everything.
With Steam, Valve may own the mall, but individual developers still have their own shops, and they compete with each other. Hence the sales. Actually, setting their non-sale prices artificially high is genius, because people who want the quick fix pay extra, and it makes sales seem that much better.
If MS controlled the marketplace, all games would be $60 until at least one year after launch, at which point they'd drop to $40 and stay there forever.
Yeah, when was the last time you saw a "sale" on the Xbox 360 marketplace? They're infrequent, they usually apply to games no one cares about, and the discounts aren't significant. They never mark down the prices on games because there's no competition and MS controls everything.
With Steam, Valve may own the mall, but individual developers still have their own shops, and they compete with each other. Hence the sales. Actually, setting their non-sale prices artificially high is genius, because people who want the quick fix pay extra, and it makes sales seem that much better.
If MS controlled the marketplace, all games would be $60 until at least one year after launch, at which point they'd drop to $40 and stay there forever.
MS does a new sale every week. Usually like 50% off a handful of assorted XBLA games, DLC and avatar crap. Most of my XBLA games were bought on sale.
Still almost certainly priced more than they would be in an open market if people could resell their XBLA games.
As much as it makes me look like a brainless consumer (I'm not) Steam's marketing model has simply extracted money from me almost against my will, and I don't resent them for it. That's pure marketing genius.
Anyone wanna buy my box of used SNES/Dreamcast gear before it's illegal and punishable by death penalty? (also have a box of used condoms I'll throw in free).