This blog will look at how it really IS possible to revive extinct video game series, so long as there is a will on part of the gamers. Shadow Hearts is a video game series which ended in 2006 due to the publisher who owns the Shadow Hearts Intellectual Property going bankrupt. Dark Cloud and Suikoden are other series which have virtually become extinct as the publishers have shown no interest in investing in those series.
Take Mortal Kombat for example. This series would have been heading for the grave, never to return due to the bankruptcy of its publisher and developer Midway. But had it not been for Warner Bros which purchased all its assets back in 2009 Mortal Kombat would have ended FOREVER [source: Kotaku 5312018]
The Shadow Hearts IP was owned by Aruze Corp (which went bankrupt), but is now owned by Universal Entertainment Corporation which is still in Business. In 2009 they got back into the Video Game industry with a DS game called "Aoi Don: Hanabi no Kiwami & Hanabi no Takumi" [source: destructoid 169989]. Since then they haven't made any games.
As the company is not bankrupt I think there is still hope in seeing a Shadow Hearts 3. We have seen how successful social media campaigns can be, and how in this day and age it is now possible for games like you and me to communicate with our favourite developers on twitter.
My proposition is that gamers should contact the publisher urging them to firstly release a Shadow Hearts HD collection. Then depending on the sales they can decide for themselves if their is enough interest and demand for a sequel.
This kind of litmus test of releasing a HD collection for extinct video game series to determine if there is enough demand should be the norm and I would love for Level5 to do it as well with the Dark Cloud series. But its up to the gamers to contact the companies on social media to push them to try it. We have seen developers like Konami responding to requests such as putting "Suikoden 2 on PSN" positively. So anything is possible if gamers just have the will. "Where there is a will, there is a way"
Mountains can be moved, opinions too… paradise has never been so presidential in Tropico 7.
Starting today, Game Pass Ultimate drops from $29.99 to $22.99 a month. PC Game Pass will also drop from $16.49 to $13.99 a month. Prices may vary by region.
Beginning this year, future Call of Duty titles won’t join Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass at launch. New Call of Duty games will be added to Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass during the following holiday season (about a year later), while existing Call of Duty titles already in the library will continue to be available.
Its nice there is some kind of drop... but is that all they really value CoD to be, a lousy $7 a month?
I was hoping it would drop by $10.
That $7 equates to $84 per year - which is more than COD new ($69.99 + tax).
So - you can get the exact same thing - and save a few bucks - or you can skip COD and pocket the savings or use toward another game - or games if on sale.
That’s how I’m taking it - and is enough for me to sign back up after canceling the day it went to $29.99.
It's unlikely that COD is going to be the only title they stop offering day one, but we'll see how they play their hand.
Can’t wait to hear how this will be spun extremely positive. 🤣
I wonder why knowing Microsoft thick head something must has happened in the background in the levels of Xbox one and Kinect 🤷🏿
Any price cut is a good thing in this day and age, but it also reveals a flaw in GamePass' design that we've all been calling out for years... it's unsustainable, especially with day and date releases on new games. COD won't be the only game they exclude, they're setting a precedent with it that they'll likely expand upon in the future.
At least they're being realistic about it now. I bet in the future we're going to start seeing them try to subsidize the high price of new consoles by making you buy 2-3 years of gamepass with it to get the console cheaper. I'm still not sure that'll be enough to save either the hardware or gamepass, but we'll see.
price cuts are good, the removal of Call of Duty is clearly something they are planning to leverage. But considering everyone around N4G claims Call of Duty sucks, it's not a big loss now is it?
Well, they're removing their biggest game from being Day 1 on the service so GamePass users can buy it instead. That's the intention.
They increased the price to $30, then removed COD and dropped it to still be above the old price.
It's an understandable compromise but the consumer Ultimately is getting less.
Think the calculation is that *most* COD users don't play that many games and aren't interested in GamePass. The GamePass users who do like COD would just buy it anyway. MS reportedly lost out a lot of money last year putting COD on GamePass.
Well Call of duty could just be the beginning. What other games can they trim from the service to get the price down? How long before it's just the Xbox core first party studio games and not the one to everquired?
Create an interesting scenario with Call of duty as well. Will people wait a year to play it? Does that split the fan base? Will it hurt to Call of duty more than a benefits Game pass? These are all legitimate questions which we will find the answers to in the coming years
And I don't consider my post negative spin just realistic observation. At the very least this backtracking can be seen as an admittance that the previous strategy of gamepass was not sustainable as most of us said.
I'd get rid of the EA and Ubisoft+ too. That should bring the price down more. The only game from either of those parts of the service i played was jedi Fallen order / survivor. both of which i also bought on disc so it was more of a convenience i didnt have to put the disc in to play when i was playing them via remote play. And really that is why i still use GPU and PS+. its the convenience of having the games ready to play from a remote location. I havent picked up my consoles controllers in at least a few years. I guess that makes me a bad gamer, but so what. i'm still playing the games, just not physically on the machines themselves. GCloud and Portal are my go to now.
They’ll say no one is buying game pass so they had to drop the price , even though it’s been extremely profitable.
In my region, it’s still more expensive than it was before the last price hike, but it’s a far more viable price point.
Losing Call of Duty from the service, honestly, has zero effect on me, and given they chose to make it so, it’s probably not the big seller they originally thought. Overall, it’s really good news, but I still think they have work to do on the tier structure, having Premium and PC at the same price point with different features feels odd.
Yep take COD out. Them waiting a year is interesting but it make sense. They don't want certain ppl waiting 4 to 6 months they want fomo and maximum sales. Wait a year while the new one releases.
Ok so far so good.
Today, Team Coreupt officially announced its next title in development, an action and hack-and-slash game called Kirk Mephisto.
That Shadow Hearts HD Collection.... *Droooooolll*
If they go back to the old model of making rpg's it could be very possible of seeing a lot of these older franchises coming back. But that won't happen under the current model of developing games.
There are so very many franchises that we would love to see come back. But doubt that very many if any at all will.
I just recently purchased Suikoden I and II for PS3 and I am playing it now over some of the more recent gen titles.
There is just something really charming about a JRPG without the use of CG or cutscenes and still being able to convey the story using the sprites and the limited animations available.
I think there is a place for RPG's to come back through digital on today's consoles. With digital release only, there's no expectation of high end graphics, CG scenes or anything AAA that the bigger franchises like FF always do.
I always thought that maybe these Japanese devs should go that route because there is a market for it. I would love a new Suikoden, and I would not care if it wasn't in 1080p with huge cutscenes and a million dollar marketing budget.
Just give me a good story, some good sprite art and some excellent gameplay.
And hey, retro seems to be the new fad...maybe old school RPG will be the next for that.