I thought the answer was pretty obvious. Do you think an RPG/adventure game/any other type of large-scale game can be developed and made profitable on less than a 100,000 person following?
As for the platform, we’ll see. In 2006, Xbox 2 will more than likely be out, and Xbox 1 will potentially have lost all its momentum, but it will still have a good install base. Each has its pros and cons. It’s a tough call. But, not mine to make.
Well you ensure that you MAKE the decision callers realise that most fans wont want to buy another console for the game, thus limiting the fanbase even less =)
So whatcha your saying Abadd, is that you should dumb down quality (makinng shooters instead of RPGS;RPG’s are better and deepper IMO) so you can buyers?
Where do you get off implying that shooters are “dumb”?
I think he means that the story is less deep than RPG’s. Gehn has a different way of stating things to most of us.
The problem with the panzer universe is I think it only appeals to the hardcore gamer, the mystery was the games biggest catch. To the casual gamer panzer may appear weird however you try to sell it.
Gehn: I have no idea how you arrived at your conclusions based on what I said. If you read my post, I actually said that in order for a game to be successful, it needs to have a greater sense of freedom (meaning, more gameplay options, etc.). Never did I say that you needed to “dumb down” games. Never did I say that RPGs were bad (however, as far as Japanese style RPGs go, FF series is the only one that sells). Also, if you reference back to my post, I make comments about RPG/adventure games (as that is the direction I personally feel the game should go in), not to shooters.
My point was that the game needs to be able to appeal to MORE than 100,000 people, not that we need to reduce development costs to cater to those 100,000. The point here is to expand the series, not keep it at its current hardcore status.
And to the others, I agree that the current way Panzer is set up appeals only to hardcore, primarily because in order to fully enjoy a Panzer game, you need to know the entirety of the history. Which is what makes things difficult.
Also, as far as the platform goes… well, people are going to be buying Xbox 2’s anyway. I’m not saying either way is better, but are you suggesting that Sega just ignore the next generation of consoles to appeal to the 100,000 people who played PDO on Xbox 1?
Abadd i agree that sega needs to stick with the currect console but the point is that panzer will start losing its current hardcore base of fans if they are forced to buy a console everytime a game comes out. Most of us fans are from the age that bought a saturn and might not necessarily buy the next gen consoles.
There needs to be another xbox game to satisy the existing fans and the make the new fans more sure of the series.
Good man.
And the answer to this is to make a Panzer Dragoon collection featuring all the games in the series so far bundled with the next one.
No no, of course not. I’m saying theres no way to satisfy us all here. Unfortunatly.
I understand that the fans of the series may not wish to buy another console, however, such is the nature of the game industry. Whether it be PC games or console games, when new hardware comes out, you either move on, or you relegate yourself to the bargain bin crowds that hold onto the older hardware well past its lifespan.
The “early adopters” (read: the people who are most likely to be spending money on your products) are going to be the ones moving onto the new hardware first, and they’re also going to be the ones determining the over “feel” and momentum of each console. If there is a Pazner game, say, at the launch of any next gen console, and it’s the only RPG/adventure game on that console, it will reach an audience that it would never have before. And imagine what that would do to the popularity of the series?
But, on the other hand, releasing it on the current generation of consoles would allow Panzer to try and reach a larger user base… but the risk there is large. Tons of competition, and a “dying” platform (by the time the game would potentially be finished) would all hinder sales efforts.
'Tis not an easy question, my friends.
[quote]My point was that the game needs to be able to appeal to MORE than 100,000 people, not that we need to reduce development costs to cater to those 100,000. The point here is to expand the series, not keep it at its current hardcore status.
[/quote]
Yes but waht were you trying to say?What was the much needed change in order for people to actually buy it?
You’re speaking in the past tense. I am speaking about the future. I said that changes need to be made in future iterations of Panzer in order for the series to succeed. These changes have not been put into effect yet.
So, in essence, PDO was a means to re-introduce the Panzer series to a wider install-base than Sega users. It succeeded to a small degree. The next step would be to take the series to new heights (gameplay-wise), while keeping in full view the current trends of the gaming industry and gamers themselves.
I totally agree. Putting the next game on Xbox 2 or Playstation 3 might actually make the game even better than it could be on Xbox 1 - just think of the potential of what could be done with these machines. The size and complexity of the game world would be on a much greater scale. So I wouldn’t find it at all bad shelling out for another console in a few years time for the next Panzer game. By then gamers will be ready for a step forward in hardware anyway.
I would seriously hope that Panzer Dragoon would never lose it’s “movie feeling” of storytelling, or at least still be able to tell the story in a way with great characters and events. Often in games with large amounts of freedom, they lack a good linear story to drive them forward. I’m not saying it couldn’t be done, but from what I’ve seen of other games it can be difficult to get the balance right between story and freedom.
I think a great example of a game that accomplishes both a great sense of freedom with more traditional linear storytelling is Star Wars: KOTOR. It has a very strong central storyline, but has enough subplots and whatnot to really flesh out the rest of the world. Fantastic game.
I’m not talking to a guy from Sega.I’m askinf gor your personal opnion.What do you think, is needed for the next chapter to sell more?You meantioned gameplay issues;examples?
And I am giving you my personal opinion 
A shooter is as far from mainstream as it gets, in the current market.
In terms of what I think the game needs to be more like, take a look at my above post.
A PD game could never be like KOTOR cause of the type of plot.
And I don’t think a shooter is far from mainstream…
…not at all!
[quote=“GehnTheBerserker”]A PD game could never be like KOTOR cause of the type of plot.
And I don’t think a shooter is far from mainstream…
…not at all![/quote]
Huh? Explain. How does “the type of plot” of a game (nevermind the fact that the plot doesn’t even exist yet, therefore cannot be confined to any specific genre, or game type, for that matter) limit what kind of game it is? You could take PDS and turn it into a KOTOR style game if you wanted to. You could do the same for FF. You’d just have to flesh out the world more, add more side stories, etc. It’s a different style of storytelling, sure, but it’s not an alien format.
As for shooters, name one shooter (I’m not talking about FPS, etc.) that is popular nowadays.
Why not?
Just imagine if PD Saga had side quests you could do after talking with certain people in the cities…how could that be bad? Just more things to do if you wanted… It could work just great…
They could even incorporate the branching paths thing, imagine playing as the Craymen type character and depending on the choices you do throughout the game you end up Evil (Empire’s side perhaps), Good (Dragon Rider perhaps), Neutral (Kinda like Craymen ended up in PD, as he wasn’t really with the empire anymore…)
Obviously this is very rough but if you think it through a PD rpg could easily work with added side quests and branching paths.
(however im not fond of multiple endings as when a sequel comes i’d go “hey why did they make the story end with this ending to continue it? I had liked the other ending more and was hoping they’d do that”, and other such problems)
Edit I wrote this before seeing Abadd’s last post, and yeah you are right Abadd
Abadd is comepletely right. Most A+ titles are costing + 7million, who knows if the next gen will be much more. If you aren’t going to be selling a half-million, you will lose money and it isn’t worth it. If Sega can’t appeal to 500,000- 250000 people, there is no point in them making a game, unless they are interested in being in the red.
Small, cult followings are nice, but they don’t supply you with money to keep your company alive.