VF: Final Tuned info

Sounds good to me. Can't wait to see some footage and info this summer.

 

sega doesn't care about it's fans? you're absolutely right! i mean, they released vf4e in the states for full price, and the only features it had was a VS mode and an arcade mode. i mean at least they could have put a training mode or something in it, and in japan they have this cool thing called "vf.net" where you can customize your character with items and stuff, and they didn't even put that into the home conversion either.

ohwaitaminute...

 

Cry me a river so I can paddle in it in my small Canoe

Has anyone, ever been in contact with a pc / consol game where there hasn't been one of these "Bu-hu the company doesn't listen to us!" / "My love is unanswered!!!" whine threads which happen to get a small following? If so please privmsg me cause I'll be thinking about playing that game just cause I'm so tired ot these shitty things...Thanks in advance.

/KiwE (Stop the drama is yes thx Shang~).

 

Oh fucking please you twit, they cared that we laid down the money, and thats that. If they cared even half as much as namco, they would sponser events, advertise the hell out of the product and promote its communities.

 

i just got an idea for final tuned. you know those katas they had in sc 2? they should have something like that for vf. i heard they're not adding new characters as well. if this is the case they should make ryo hazuki a secret character. /versus/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[ QUOTE ]
AmunRa said:
i heard they're not adding new characters as well. if this is the case they should make ryo hazuki a secret character.

[/ QUOTE ]

/versus/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

Do not expect Ryo Hazuki to be a secret character in vf because am2 is no longer associated with Shenmue. there's always dural as secret character. /versus/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

Re: Cry me a river so I can paddle in it in my small Canoe

[ QUOTE ]
Has anyone, ever been in contact with a pc / consol game where there hasn't been one of these "Bu-hu the company doesn't listen to us!" / "My love is unanswered!!!" whine threads which happen to get a small following? If so please privmsg me cause I'll be thinking about playing that game just cause I'm so tired ot these shitty things...

[/ QUOTE ]

KwiE, I know this is really sudden and all, but... I love you. Let's elope.

...

OK, maybe not.

BTW, some people don't seem to realize that the reason WHY VF is able to be so heavily promoted in Japan is because the arcade scene hasn't been on life support for the past 7 years like it has here in the States. The promotions, tourneys, contests, etc. are ALL based around arcade play. Go to your local place, win the tourney there, advance to the regionals of all the winners in your area...
This poses two problems:
a. US arcade operators just have zero interest in buying VF4 for a multitude of reasons. I don't think any amount of marketing's going to affect this much. VF.net actually wouldn't even be much of an incentive - if anything, it'd scare several operators away.
b. No arcade VF4 scene means console-based tourneys, which are a LOT more difficult to coordinate on an official basis. All the big console-based tourneys here in the US have been run by fangroups like SRK.

I've probably explained this badly, but I'm only semi-coherent at the moment from a splitting headache.

Basically, it boils down to the fact that you can't promote VF in the States like you can in Japan, because the way you play VF there is a completely different beast. Without any arcade scene, you can't hold the types of extravanganzas that go on overseas. It's not as much lack of Sega caring as it is fundamental differences in the play environment.

Oh yeah, and those whining about Evo not getting any promotion: Why the fuck would you spend money advertising a title Sony America is FORCING you to release at $20? Seriously, you'd be better off throwing your cash into a furnace. My marketing professor had an entire class based around "the best form of cheap, effective advertising is word of mouth", and that's certainly what Evo has.

 

Re: Cry me a river so I can paddle in it in my small Canoe

[ QUOTE ]
a. US arcade operators just have zero interest in buying VF4 for a multitude of reasons. I don't think any amount of marketing's going to affect this much. VF.net actually wouldn't even be much of an incentive - if anything, it'd scare several operators away.

[/ QUOTE ]

I certainly agree with this, however I can't fully agree primarily because there has never been a strong drive to promote the VF series in the past. That's not to say it could not be done. I think that marketing VF could be very effective in NA - if it was actually done.

Case in point - I watch SportsCentre on TSN almost every morning. I can't count how many times SportsCentre "has been brought to you by Soul Calibur II". I must see at least 3 or 4 SC2 commercials during that time slot. That's marketing. The only VF4 commercials I have ever seen are the ones I downloaded off the net.

And which game is being played more in North America? Arcade, console, whatever - SC2 has a player base far greater than VF4 Evo. I think marketing the game has contributed to that success.

And with regards to VF.net - it's not about scaring arcade operators away, it's about attracting players in. At this point in the industry, arcade operators should (not necessarily are) be looking to innovative ideas to help attract people to their arcades. VF.net is such a thing. Operators should be welcoming the idea.

<font color="yellow">.cheers.</font>

 

Re: Cry me a river so I can paddle in it in my small Canoe

[ QUOTE ]
Llanfair said:
And with regards to VF.net - it's not about scaring arcade operators away, it's about attracting players in. At this point in the industry, arcade operators should (not necessarily are) be looking to innovative ideas to help attract people to their arcades. VF.net is such a thing. Operators should be welcoming the idea.


[/ QUOTE ]

SHOULD being the operative term - the industry is in such shitty shape that nobody can afford to take chances. And that's just what VF.net would be: A rather expensive gamble on something that may or may not draw more people in. It costs money to set up and maintain servers, to wire all the arcades, to pay an ISP for an ethernet connection AND pay Sega to be able to run VF.net. Arcades nowadays are't keen on doing anything that won't guarantee a good ROI. A DDR Extreme imported from Asia for a few thousand will probably make back the money spent on it because it has strong mass appeal, but a $2000 VF4 setup with a connection that costs about $150 a month to maintain...

 

Re: Cry me a river so I can paddle in it in my small Canoe

That all sounds reasonable and well argued, but I can't help think that more risks need to be taken if the US/Euro arcade industry is going to improve (or even grow).

If anything I think arcades are becoming more appealing as people tire of being couped up at home playing the same old rehashed shit on consoles. Trouble is the infrustracture is knackered after years of slumping sales and neglect.

The big operators like Sega need to spend some serious cash building new arcade centres and investing in hardware and game concepts people can't get at home. Screw easy ports and arcade/home synergy, that's not gong to get people to head into town and enter an arcade. Something like VF net is exactly the sort of concept Sega should be taking a risk with and implementing.

 

Re: Cry me a river so I can paddle in it in my small Canoe

After writing a lengthy response, I realize it's pointless to argue.
So here's the bottomline:
Fisher and Onny are fucking retards, and Zero-chan has some serious Japanese penis envy.

 

Re: Cry me a river so I can paddle in it in my small Canoe

I guess my post wasn't good enough to merit an insult... /versus/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Game on,
Cuz

 

Re: Cry me a river so I can paddle in it in my small Canoe

I think your overlooking the largest reason why you can't do VF in N.A as you can in Japan - the physical size of the country. In Japan, in one day, you can be back and forth over the entire main-land. You can't do that economically in America. Japan has a very clustered population where as America's is a lot more disperesed.
There are still no reasons why Sega could not sponser at least coastal tournaments.

 

Re: Cry me a river so I can paddle in it in my small Canoe

I disagree. I don't think land mass has anything to do with it. If you look at the US East Coast, there are enough major cities clustered in and around each other to negate any effects of proximity, or lack thereof. Japan has a population of just under 130 million (2001) and the states has a population of over 280 million. Looking just at the northeast US, the population is over 60 million. Think about how far Namflow has to travel to find a decent arcade with Evo: 45 minutes. Distance for him to travel to Toyko? 9 hours by bus. This is the same time it takes for me to get to NYC from Toronto by bus. A 9 hour radius around NYC is huge and covers off the vast majority of the Northeast US.

How is this really all that different from the US scene? Slightly, sure, but it's not a significant change.

I think the major difference over there is that the culture supports an arcade scene. The culture in the US and North America unfortunately does not.

<font color="yellow">.cheers.</font>

 

Re: Cry me a river so I can paddle in it in my small Canoe

Please, the density of the population is no where near what it is in Japan.
On a second note, arcades are more or less dying out. To find anything that could qualify as an arcade, within at least 100 miles of my house, is a hard thing to do indeed. Rt. 45 or something has a few machines and an arcade in the ghetto part of N. Maryland has an arcade with maybe 50% of the machines working.
The layout of the land does play a role.
45 minutes is nothing to bitch about, but at least that is an option in Japan, to have an arcade within about an hours drive. In America, it simply is not.

 

Could you even gather 50 paying people without qualifiers?

How many would actually show up on those coastal tournaments then Shadowdean? It seems hard enough getting enough players just to a free gathering right? Hell even buying a stick seems to much of a hazzle for many.

I don't know about the US scene at all but I can speak out of experience from here up the North. We recently had a nordic minievent (that I couldnt attend to) and we actually got Sega sponsored. They saw the fansite etc that Lau runs and gave 10th ani discs (and yes it's something) etc based on that out of basicly nowwhere so that atleast felt positive considering the pretty small hc following we have here and ofc has coloured a pretty positive feeling.

On the other hand I believe alot of frustration is grown out of many feeling that this is the best fightinggame (not just according to those on this site but to every reviewer etc aswell) out there and so few people play it. Why?, you cry yourself to sleep asking and then PR gets the blame. Is there enough PR for it? Probably not actually. But if magazines etc keep giving it a "must buy!" stamp all the time and people still don't pick it up... You know, alot of games sell well / grow a following without TV spots. It's not as if the game hasn't been on demo discs (I remember my panic once I got a UK mag with it) or that people haven't had an opportunity to play it on the arcades...

It's the chicken and egg - did poor PR make a small following or does a small following give almost no PR? If I remember correctly Sega didn't even expect Evo to do aswell as it did in the west but sure, everybody would like a small commercial or something as some sort of releasing / upplifting factor for playing this game - but is it for recognicion on your part or to attract new players? I believe it's the former mentioned and then it's not really PR but a pat on your back you're after. Don't you think you can for example measure how popular / how sought the game is for the home consolmarket based on how it went in the arcades (and that PR is adjusted after that)? I do.

Btw; sorry Zero-Chan, you're not my type and Fishie would beat me up if I came near you (and my GF would fuck you up) but yeah, it's always like this. Alteast VF doesn't have alot of patches like PC games (and most are actually ignorant to what's changed between versions in VF) otherwise the entire board would be "Why do they hate Wolf this much when they gave Aki +1 on gaurd?!!"

So bottom line is; everybody would like, say, an official national tournament etc but would it really attract new players? It's arguable ofc but I highly doubt it. If you're a fightinggame player and you have a PS2 you will have gotten into contact with the game at somepoint during the 2 years it's been out - specially cause of reviews / arcade exposures / demodiscs etc - then it's up to you if you want to stick with it. Sadly enough mostly don't as it's not as instant gratificating as some other games but if you're looking to be a part of a great following or whine about not new characters being added go and play Tekken - it has 35+ and you can Be a bear.
See if I care.
I'm out of here.
Cheer(s).

/KiwE (We're not in Japan you Queers).

 

Re: Cry me a river so I can paddle in it in my small Canoe

A Vfnet system that is similar to Initial D's card system would work. Los Angeles arcades ( Im not counting infinity) are doing pretty good business with Initial D.
Here is a question to think about. Everyone here knows that Tekken is popular in America. What if Tekken came out with a VFnet system. Do you think operators would pay for it. I believe they would. VF on the other hand would be a huge risk, but I do believe that PS2 has opened the eyes of even the most jaded fighting game fan...not all but some

 

Re: Could you even gather 50 paying people without qualifiers?

Well, I think a good PR campaign can solve most problems. That and substantial cash rewards /versus/images/graemlins/laugh.gif (especially non-taxable...)

 

I'd like to see a change in VF:FT

You know what I'd like to see sega add in VF:FT?

Give Vanessa some real frame advantage after OS ++. Make the opponent struggle, give her +8, SOMETHING. This +4 is pretty worthless, atm you're better off just doin the ++ or tackin on some damage when you cause a crumple.