What happened to the possibility of releasing TOMI on the Wii as a "normal" game you can buy in stores? Distributing too expensive or?
To me the quality of TOMI is just as good and in some cases better than many other Wii games ive seen in stores - and money-wise (if ppl think 30 bucks is too much to pay for a boxed episode 1 version) theres always options of including a "Free episode" voucher or two in the first TOMI box.
This way there would suddenly be a 4gb limit instead of 40mb. I figure its a LOT more common for PC users to buy/download online games whereas my experience is that Wii users go out in stores to buy their games mainly.
I did enjoy how the games people were citing as examples of well-done complex graphics, etc. on the Wii in the contentious (and now closed) Wii thread were all disc games, difficult to compare to downloadable games with a strict size limit. Sure it would be nice if Telltale had a whole DVD to work with, but I think you underestimate how much it costs to put a retail release out there. I'm sure the profit margin is a lot higher on a download sale than on a boxed retail sale--no separate publisher to pay, no cost for the actual disc/box/manual duplication.
Plus, I don't know if I'd want to wait that long after release for the disc version just to play it on the Wii. Look how long it's been taking for the Season 2 port to hit Wii. Would it be worth the year (or longer) wait to get slightly better performance?
We'll probably see a 360 XBLA version eventually for the 360 fans, but I think that's probably as far off as the disc version is at this point. Telltale clearly made the decision at some point that they could move more copies of individual episodes on Wii than on XBLA. They probably don't have the staff to port it to both consoles at the same time...
*end rampant speculation*
At least, those flaws are very minor. I've seen games from competitors which were unplayable or didn't even start, until some updates. Not good for the reputation. I've never had such problems with Telltale so far.
I wouldn't worry too much about those minor details. The other Monkey Island games aren't perfect either. In Monkey Island 1 for instance, Meathook's eyepatch switches the side when he talks, Guybrush's walking animation is a mess in the VGA version, Mancomb Seepgood is sitting in mid-air in the VGA version (and in the SE too!) while he's clearly sitting on a chair in other versions. Those never stopped the game from becoming the beginning of the best adventure series ever, though.
Huh. That is interesting. The Wii is fun, but it isn't very powerful. In fact, take a Wii apart and it is essentially a Gamecube. Almost the same parts. It just has a fancy motion sensor and slightly better graphics.
Actually the fact that "journalist" quote something said by a "TellTale Employee" on an internet "forum" bothers me for reasons, I'm not entirely sure of.
Another thing that bothers me is overuse of "quotation marks."
Actually the fact that "journalist" quote something said by a "TellTale Employee" on an internet "forum" bothers me for reasons, I'm not entirely sure of.
Another thing that bothers me is overuse of "quotation marks."
Haha, yes. It's unfortunate that so many tabloids decided to take a forum post out of context and run it as if it were an official press release.
This is why we can't have nice things!
Oh, I hope they haven't seen your other post. You know, the other post where you talk about the giant three headed monkey being more clever than a president.
Oh, come on. I agree that the whole thing was blown out of proportion, but is it really wise to call portals like The Escapist "tabloids"?
Maybe not? But taking an Internet forum post and running it as a news story to stir up controversy strikes me as the very definition of tabloid journalism. I personally find it very disappointing that the story could wind up on so many sites, and not a single one attempted to contact Telltale for comment/clarification.
Communication between most developers and their customers (and the media) already filters through (or is the exclusive domain of) PR precisely because they are afraid of the Internet doing something like this. Being able to have casual discussions with our fans is an important part of Telltale culture, but other developers will look at what happened here as an example of why they shouldn't interact with their customers.
What the video game media did was very unprofessional, and is only going to reinforce the stereotype that anything that has to do with video games is a joke. When I hear people say "They're using something said on an Internet forum as news?", my heart sinks a little bit.
Thats how internet works TTG. Once they have spotted something from a liable source (this case someone who works for a company), news site A post it on their site. Suddenly blogs and other forums picks it up and start spreading it even more. News site B,C,D etc copy the same article written from news site A.
Not many sites investigates the source or goes to other sites for second opinons. Today they ususally just copy/paste whatever they discover
Out of proportion or not, the comment produced a lot of hate and disappointment on certain sites. Hopefully lessons have been learned, and representatives won't represent poorly.
Out of proportion or not, the comment produced a lot of hate and disappointment on certain sites. Hopefully lessons have been learned, and representatives won't represent poorly.
I have to admit I can't really understand why TTG chose to compromise the quality of the entire ToMI game just so they could release it on Wii chapter by chapter. I can see why they would want to have the game on the Wii, family friendly and casual gaming based console... But if they really had their sights set on the Wii why not just release the whole game, all chapters together, when it's done? Then you can release it on the store shelves where casual family type gamers are more likely to buy their games anyways and not be limited by 40mb? Which lets face it 40mb is just ridiculous. I mean, obviously you could release it chapter by chapter for pc, and just let the Wii players wait till it's done. It's what us Xbox players are doing, assuming you do eventually port it over. Seemed to work for Sam & Max Save the World...
I mean, I love ToMI so far and it's all said and done now but this just makes me a little sad.
Maybe if there's ever another MI and you guys make it, you could go about things differently? Please?
Am I the only one who thinks this is all hilarious? News site ran with some off-hand quotes and turned it into a news story. Yare, I wouldn't go calling them tabloids, they might make an article about it.
I read Kotaku and Destructoid and unfortunately, this sort of thing happens a lot - forum posts getting turned into news. For some reason sites frequently do not contact anyone to confirm anything before posting a story. I think it has something to do with blogs becoming the "media" - Let's face it, the format isn't all that conducive to high journalistic standards.
Maybe not? But taking an Internet forum post and running it as a news story to stir up controversy strikes me as the very definition of tabloid journalism. I personally find it very disappointing that the story could wind up on so many sites, and not a single one attempted to contact Telltale for comment/clarification.
Honestly, this is a problem of internet media in general and the ad-driven business model. It's all based on this sort of short term sensationalism to generate hits, and there really isn't any interest in creating something that will last or hold up to scrutiny. There isn't any accountability because, frankly, people will click on it whether it's good or bad. Every single time.
With a subscription based model, you have an accountability to your readers to deliver something credible, or they won't pay for it. When it's just clicks, it turns into a "HAY LOOK AT THIS" circus.
This really hits close to home at me, since I am a game journalist and I have to deal with editors that know from experience that an thoughtful academically-minded article isn't going to generate as much traffic as the one that stirs up a schoolyard brawl in the comments. I could give you some examples that are outright depressing.
So if you run a business, what do you do? We all want to have integrity, but we all want our paychecks to clear, too. Ultimately, the best you can realistically hope for is a sort of balance. I think the IGNs and Gamespots of the internet by and large hit that balance, while some print publications like Retro Gamer and Edge get away with a lot of the kinds content that I just can't sell to websites.
The only solution is to pay for quality content, or resist the urge to click on poor content. And I hope you do.
It's funny to notice that we weren't THAT picky in the Amiga days.
I remember that the Amiga version of the first Monkey Island had A LOT of slowdowns (Scumm Bar, for example). And the Amiga version of Maniac Mansion accessed Disk #2 just to load the "I can't pick that up." sentence! Talk about optimization...
We still got something in exchange though, because the Amiga sound was far better than PC Speaker / Tandy / AdLib stuff.
My old PC used to crash 90% of the time when I would try to fire Guybrush from the cannon or cross the cable with the chicken.
For some reason, the industry thinks they can't put games out in the summer, and it'll work out for the best if they all launch between September and December.
For some reason, the industry thinks they can't put games out in the summer, and it'll work out for the best if they all launch between September and December.
Moms buy a lot of video games around the holidays, as it happens.
Moms buy a lot of video games around the holidays, as it happens.
Yeah, but moms aren't informed consumers, and they buy games with recognizable cartoon characters on them, or a handful of popular mainstream releases. They're not core gamers, and companies will consistently put out games in the fall that would absolutely sell better in the summer.
Beyond Good and Evil should have been a valuable lesson, but instead they try to blame the developers for having an artistic vision. It's never marketing's fault.
And the thing is, everyone is aware of this phenomenon, too. This year's fall lineup is as packed as anything I've ever seen and some games are going to be CRUSHED. You can ask these companies about it, and they'll be like "Yeah, it's a problem. Those other people should move their games, but ours is still going to come out in October."
Meanwhile, a game like GTA4, which targets an adult audience, can come out in April and smash sales records. It doesn't matter to the adult audience buying games for themselves. They're happy to buy stuff in April when they don't have to buy a million presents for their own kids.
I haven't attempted an industry survey or anything, but I will say at E3, almost every game I was assigned to cover was coming out in Q4, and virtually nothing in July and the first half of August. It's really ridiculous.
Comments
Most of the time, yeah. "Monkey Island" sounded better on PC though, this one was a PC Port to the Amiga.
To me the quality of TOMI is just as good and in some cases better than many other Wii games ive seen in stores - and money-wise (if ppl think 30 bucks is too much to pay for a boxed episode 1 version) theres always options of including a "Free episode" voucher or two in the first TOMI box.
This way there would suddenly be a 4gb limit instead of 40mb. I figure its a LOT more common for PC users to buy/download online games whereas my experience is that Wii users go out in stores to buy their games mainly.
Dunno...just some thoughts.
Plus, I don't know if I'd want to wait that long after release for the disc version just to play it on the Wii. Look how long it's been taking for the Season 2 port to hit Wii. Would it be worth the year (or longer) wait to get slightly better performance?
We'll probably see a 360 XBLA version eventually for the 360 fans, but I think that's probably as far off as the disc version is at this point. Telltale clearly made the decision at some point that they could move more copies of individual episodes on Wii than on XBLA. They probably don't have the staff to port it to both consoles at the same time...
*end rampant speculation*
I wouldn't worry too much about those minor details. The other Monkey Island games aren't perfect either. In Monkey Island 1 for instance, Meathook's eyepatch switches the side when he talks, Guybrush's walking animation is a mess in the VGA version, Mancomb Seepgood is sitting in mid-air in the VGA version (and in the SE too!) while he's clearly sitting on a chair in other versions. Those never stopped the game from becoming the beginning of the best adventure series ever, though.
Also Pocket Gamer, DESTRUCTOID, PC World, IGN, 1up, gamesindustry.biz, TG Daily, The Wiire, N4G, VG247, MCV and Video Gamer among others.
I thought the framerate issues were with Tales not Secret??
Huh. That is interesting. The Wii is fun, but it isn't very powerful. In fact, take a Wii apart and it is essentially a Gamecube. Almost the same parts. It just has a fancy motion sensor and slightly better graphics.
Yay for journalism!
Actually the fact that "journalist" quote something said by a "TellTale Employee" on an internet "forum" bothers me for reasons, I'm not entirely sure of.
Another thing that bothers me is overuse of "quotation marks."
I don't understand what you "mean"
The CD-rom version did, of course. The floppy may have sounded better, but certainly not with a soundblaster or adlib emulation.
Haha, yes. It's unfortunate that so many tabloids decided to take a forum post out of context and run it as if it were an official press release.
This is why we can't have nice things!
Wow! We have a famous developer right here.
Look out naughty kids! He's gonna get you!
Oh, I hope they haven't seen your other post. You know, the other post where you talk about the giant three headed monkey being more clever than a president.
Oh, come on. I agree that the whole thing was blown out of proportion, but is it really wise to call portals like The Escapist "tabloids"?
What do you mean?
They are watching us!!!
Maybe not? But taking an Internet forum post and running it as a news story to stir up controversy strikes me as the very definition of tabloid journalism. I personally find it very disappointing that the story could wind up on so many sites, and not a single one attempted to contact Telltale for comment/clarification.
Two things, really.
Communication between most developers and their customers (and the media) already filters through (or is the exclusive domain of) PR precisely because they are afraid of the Internet doing something like this. Being able to have casual discussions with our fans is an important part of Telltale culture, but other developers will look at what happened here as an example of why they shouldn't interact with their customers.
What the video game media did was very unprofessional, and is only going to reinforce the stereotype that anything that has to do with video games is a joke. When I hear people say "They're using something said on an Internet forum as news?", my heart sinks a little bit.
Not many sites investigates the source or goes to other sites for second opinons. Today they ususally just copy/paste whatever they discover
Noticed a couple spots in the jungle where the polys on the ground don't line up.
Nothing major.
What lesson? Yale only spoke the truth.
I mean, I love ToMI so far and it's all said and done now but this just makes me a little sad.
Maybe if there's ever another MI and you guys make it, you could go about things differently? Please?
Yale may have spoke the truth, but I don't really know him.
With a subscription based model, you have an accountability to your readers to deliver something credible, or they won't pay for it. When it's just clicks, it turns into a "HAY LOOK AT THIS" circus.
This really hits close to home at me, since I am a game journalist and I have to deal with editors that know from experience that an thoughtful academically-minded article isn't going to generate as much traffic as the one that stirs up a schoolyard brawl in the comments. I could give you some examples that are outright depressing.
So if you run a business, what do you do? We all want to have integrity, but we all want our paychecks to clear, too. Ultimately, the best you can realistically hope for is a sort of balance. I think the IGNs and Gamespots of the internet by and large hit that balance, while some print publications like Retro Gamer and Edge get away with a lot of the kinds content that I just can't sell to websites.
The only solution is to pay for quality content, or resist the urge to click on poor content. And I hope you do.
My old PC used to crash 90% of the time when I would try to fire Guybrush from the cannon or cross the cable with the chicken.
For some reason, the industry thinks they can't put games out in the summer, and it'll work out for the best if they all launch between September and December.
Moms buy a lot of video games around the holidays, as it happens.
Beyond Good and Evil should have been a valuable lesson, but instead they try to blame the developers for having an artistic vision. It's never marketing's fault.
And the thing is, everyone is aware of this phenomenon, too. This year's fall lineup is as packed as anything I've ever seen and some games are going to be CRUSHED. You can ask these companies about it, and they'll be like "Yeah, it's a problem. Those other people should move their games, but ours is still going to come out in October."
Meanwhile, a game like GTA4, which targets an adult audience, can come out in April and smash sales records. It doesn't matter to the adult audience buying games for themselves. They're happy to buy stuff in April when they don't have to buy a million presents for their own kids.