Patreon Podcast Q&A December! Have Video Games Been Disney-fied
Added 2021-12-15 11:08:19 +0000 UTC
Comments
excellent analysis my dude! Yeah the loss of sega's style and cool factor has been a real tough one for the medium. :-( I miss you, SEGA.
The Electric Underground
2022-10-29 01:53:03 +0000 UTCVery interesting thoughts about the Disney-fication of video games. I think we owe Sega a lot for this “edgy” past you talked about. To differentiate themselves from Nintendo, Sega used to target teenagers and young adults, basically telling them “Nintendo is for kids, we at Sega have the dark underground games for big bad boys”. It’s also why they went all out in the arcades and Nintendon’t. Sony had a different approach. Sony entertainments were into CDs, musics, TVs, phones… Their goal was to expand the market, to blur the division between video games and the more mainstream medias. And Microsoft had a very nerdy image, much more than the other ones. Playing on PC was the nerdiest thing back then. They knew it was pointless to get rid of that image, so they didn’t try, instead hoping to please a more mature audience interested in getting the most bang for their buck. That’s how I see things.
Kriegor
2022-10-27 07:36:20 +0000 UTCHELL YES! Love when people do this and roll through the eps marathon style :-)
The Electric Underground
2022-07-07 18:07:49 +0000 UTC5. As yet another summer rolls around I have a lab job where I can listen to podcasts while doing stuff, so I'm just catching up on all the ones since I left off
legless
2022-07-07 14:40:20 +0000 UTCyes seeing a shmup pull off a really compelling melee mechanic would be amazing!
The Electric Underground
2022-01-03 05:02:23 +0000 UTC5, took me a bit to get to this. > appeal of simplicity I totally get the simplicity, something like DOJ probably wouldn't benefit from more mechanics. There's room for both though, it's good when different styles exist. Even something established like Garegga is easy to pick up and shoot enemies in, but has wild stuff going on under the hood when you dig into it. > melee I totally agree, this would be awesome to see someone really nail. ZeroRanger, Hellsinker, and Akashicverse all have pretty robust melee systems, and I think a lot can be done to build on them. One of the key things about ZR and HS melee (and AV kinda) is that you don't die instantly by touching enemies. That alone solves a lot of problems, so there is definitely a lot of untapped potential.
HotPocketHPE
2021-12-30 03:11:52 +0000 UTCHi!
The Electric Underground
2021-12-29 17:47:58 +0000 UTChello!!
The Electric Underground
2021-12-29 17:47:44 +0000 UTC5
broken1394
2021-12-29 12:28:55 +0000 UTC5
PC03
2021-12-28 19:14:08 +0000 UTCNice!
The Electric Underground
2021-12-27 19:00:38 +0000 UTCGreat breakdown!
Michiel Kroder
2021-12-23 10:24:39 +0000 UTC5
ArrowViper
2021-12-22 15:31:21 +0000 UTCha that is great, I love when metaphor becomes literal
The Electric Underground
2021-12-22 03:09:58 +0000 UTCvery insightful stuff! That is very true about us basically being desensitized to edgy content over the years to the point where it was shocking and interesting to just cliche ha. I like your comparison of Sony and Nintendo to news stations ha, they def feel that way these days. Poor Sega, went from the cool kid in the class to kind of the washed up old guy from high school.
The Electric Underground
2021-12-22 03:09:15 +0000 UTCI do concur with that statement, but it may also be that the initial hype of anything being novel has worn down from constant repeats of on surface elements for shock. Therefore, the good games made today will aim for a particular niche rather than trying to appeal as many audiences first.
JBRPG
2021-12-22 02:28:53 +0000 UTC五五五五五 Looking back, I don’t think it’s that games got less edgy, it’s that mainstream games absorbed so much of what used to be shocking and made those things commonplace. Look at Mortal Kombat I & II compared to AAA games these days - enemies gushing blood, gruesome kills, you’ll see this in the Witcher, Assassin’s Creed, God of War, The Last of Us, Souls games, CoD, all sorts of things. MK itself has long since gone into snuff film territory to stay edgy. Heck, look at Taki’s pokey chest vs. the Night Trap controversy that got Sega & Nintendo hauled before a Senate hearing (you could see a sports bra!). As far as sexuality in games now, the big shift has been that it’s not a male dominated medium anymore. Women make up 45% of gamers in the US (Statista 2021), and gaming is the largest medium in the world now. We’ve also just gone through a decade + of powerful social movements advocating for changes that weren’t on the radar in the 90s, which was the era of Maxim magazine, Stone Cold Steve Austin & Fight Club. The smart phone revolution putting an online computer in everyone’s hands allowed a lot of cultural movements to grow that were impossible before. I think it also comes down to platform curation. Sony & Nintendo are basically the NBC & CBS of gaming. They keep things relatively tame for the sake of branding and reach. Just like with visual broadcast media, the sketchy stuff is relegated to the wild west of the internet. Music & literature leave much more up to the imagination.
Philip Mason
2021-12-21 10:00:38 +0000 UTCOH NO!!! The Warner Bros vs Disney-fication battle royale is real! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6QSkg9EOoQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdHw0uZ8QJo Who does corporate conglomerate battle royales better: Warner Bros or Disney?
JBRPG
2021-12-20 04:06:45 +0000 UTCright yes I'll think about maybe doing this once in a while but not every month :-)
The Electric Underground
2021-12-20 03:38:58 +0000 UTC5ive I think this episode was a bit hit or miss, but that's because some of the topics/questions asked didn't hold interest for me personally. I guess that's the nature of having a grab-bag of topics all stuck together though.
Ben Bishop
2021-12-19 20:27:50 +0000 UTC5
Joe Torre
2021-12-18 14:02:27 +0000 UTCNot only those, but also touch games, light guns, driving, and even flight / ride simulator games. If you want the best vintage arcade game collection to play, then go take a flight to Galloping Ghost in Bolingbroke, Illinois. I went there a few times and can be quite overwhelming with lots of arcade video games packed.
JBRPG
2021-12-17 01:15:01 +0000 UTCCome to think of it, arcades full of ticket games that are overpriced is asking for every FEC arcade to be compared to Disney Land! LOLOL'D!!!!!
JBRPG
2021-12-16 23:58:28 +0000 UTCOh yes ticket games are the worst. You know I was thinking about this a lot post episode and another idea could be maybe bringing in more arcade machines that are rhythm game based/ dance based, I could see that potentially being a thing among the younger crowd maybe?
The Electric Underground
2021-12-16 23:41:08 +0000 UTCthat's 15! so you must have listened to the ep three times ;-)
The Electric Underground
2021-12-16 23:38:34 +0000 UTCnice!
The Electric Underground
2021-12-16 23:38:10 +0000 UTCI remember arcade video games aplenty throughout my life. The 2000s felt like the pinnacle due to presence of joystick arcade games, including Ultracade, even after growing out of ticket games, that I can play as much as desired by quarters. As the years have gone by, and more arcade game compilations became available to home consoles, there became less of a reason to be at the arcades since they are heavily dominated by family entertainment centers and public amusement spots with the short play ticket games that can be priced high. At least some areas have better likelihood of vintage arcade video games plus a few new ones, which happen to be cities and places with dense populations, with San Francisco, San Jose, and East Bay of California being some examples. Examples are Round 1 with mechanically unique games and recently Exa Arcadia at the Round 1 location test. It is pretty much games that are either exclusive or that the arcade exclusive features are superior to the home / consumer counterpart is what can trigger more arcade games. I spoke with some arcade fans and operators and they like having games that are not available for home consoles / pc. Also, I am somewhat a tightwad on paying for games since I would stay away from FECs and their prize games since they cost too much for little play and tickets for some cheap prizes and don't get me started on big ticket items costing more money than buying the real thing in stores.
JBRPG
2021-12-16 20:38:45 +0000 UTC5 five fiiiiiiiiiive
BrotherBodhi
2021-12-16 10:50:21 +0000 UTC5
Michiel Kroder
2021-12-16 09:07:42 +0000 UTCyour blowing my mind!
The Electric Underground
2021-12-16 06:46:22 +0000 UTCYeah rip the good old days ha! It's really funny to see how the humor of the show was back then.
The Electric Underground
2021-12-16 06:46:07 +0000 UTC10 / 2 = ??
JBRPG
2021-12-16 04:59:52 +0000 UTCYou should put the code closer to the end of the podcast so that it's clearer who listened to more of it. But I did listen to it all and thanks for answering all the questions. The part about gaming being a secret club made sense when thinking of just the aesthetic of old E3 videos. I don't think it's necessarily better or worse though. Maybe in 10 years things will be different.
Kikoman589
2021-12-16 01:22:40 +0000 UTC5 That G4 intro makes me feel old, and I was already old for that channel amen it was a big thing.
Josh Dieckmann
2021-12-15 23:59:02 +0000 UTCI'm really glad to hear it! They are fun to record :-)
The Electric Underground
2021-12-15 20:21:12 +0000 UTCno problem! Great questions!
The Electric Underground
2021-12-15 20:19:51 +0000 UTC(5) p.s. cheers for answering my questions!
RiffMason
2021-12-15 19:37:51 +0000 UTC5 always love these
morsalty
2021-12-15 17:55:06 +0000 UTCHell yeah! Yes I def do need to pick up a ps2 hard drive! Yes I think you're def right on about the pg 13 style thing, where because the cost of making game is so inflated they can't really afford to make bold decisions, they need to constantly play things safe - though that also reduces the chances of making something great ha. It would be really cool if ArcSys made a shmup, even if he gameplay is meh, because the visuals could really push things and inspire people to check out the genre, I'd hope :-D Also agreed on sc6, jeez it was an ugly mess.
The Electric Underground
2021-12-15 17:31:20 +0000 UTCNailed it!!! I'm relieved ha.
The Electric Underground
2021-12-15 17:24:07 +0000 UTC5 Good stuff Mark! Some thoughts: PS2 Modding: check out the 3rd party ethernet/HDD adapters, or if you have an OEM ethernet adapter, check out the SATA PCB that replaces the IDE PCB. PS2 reads from that connection way faster than from USB. Games going Disney: I think this is analogous to the "PG-13 movie" phenomenon. Gaming has gotten so big, and more and more suits have gotten involved. Large studios are working to please "The Board" by making big profit (not gamers!), so they have to develop something suitable to as large an audience as possible. Pretty shmups: I think Lord Daisuke has mentioned wanting to make a STG in an interview. I have faith; ArcSys made my favorite Contra game! Old 3D FGs: Ogre was broken good in Tekken 3; inescapable Waning Moon => death. Soul Caliber 2 was great, SC6 is garbage. Namco is trying to pull in too many ideas from successful Anime fighters, and making hot messes.
Mitch Ly
2021-12-15 16:43:52 +0000 UTCHoly shit you said my name right the first time... Literally never happens
Asa Davis
2021-12-15 16:09:10 +0000 UTC5
Asa Davis
2021-12-15 16:08:13 +0000 UTCnice!!!
The Electric Underground
2021-12-15 16:02:45 +0000 UTCoh no kidding XD! yeah psikyo tried but ... it turned out kinda crazy.
The Electric Underground
2021-12-15 16:02:30 +0000 UTC4+1
Kikoman589
2021-12-15 15:03:23 +0000 UTCFive (5) Check out Sol-Divide from Psikyo to see an "attempt" at melee combat in a shmup. Amazing idea with bad execution imo, I wish it was good lol.
Chinopolis
2021-12-15 14:44:47 +0000 UTC
