It's not just culture, it's also other things like shorter dev cycles with more expected. It's the turmoil of dlc, drm, piracy in the internet age, public invasion of privacy on a scale never seen before, troubles negotiating with a publisher, expectations of extreme profit instead of extreme success (good games produced), formulaic non interesting projects, people who do not know wtf they are making being involved in command positions. In my opinion it's more than culture and more than what I have listed.

* REMOVED *
This comment was deleted on Aug 26, 2009, 13:23.

I strongly believe they were responsible for what happened to Ensemble too. To me MS are the destroyers, rarely create, always consume, barrow, copy, or forcefully take over. It's apparent to me in everything they do. Just one more reason why I dislike the thought of them having any market share in gaming, console included. I don't want to see more good studios, swayed by more money, end up getting obliterated. Sony for the most part does the opposite, one of the reasons I am supportive.

Re: Getting the *better* PS3 version of Batman...

And lesser graphics.
Or did you miss that in every review that compared the two versions?

http://www.lazygamer.co.za/xbox-360/batman-arkham-asylum-xbox-360-vs-ps3

Tells a different story... Maybe you have a link to support your unfounded claim?

Lens of Truth poll (not that I condone L.O.T., they seem Xbox skewed...)

Which version of Batman: Arkham Asylum wins Head2Head?

PS3 1,939 votes
Xbox 680 votes
Tie 219 votes.

http://www.lensoftruth.com/?p=14110

So it seems you are very wrong Beamer... Wii exclusive gamers need to stick to Mario stuff and leave real games and reviews to people that actually play them.

PS3 version also contains exclusive content (Play the Joker and a map, maybe more) which I am opposed to seeing happen as a standard. Hopefully this will be the last game that does this (but it's doubtful).

who would've imagined?

Verno (or should I say Dades? I've lost count, you have more personalities than Sybil), you and your multiple alias's fool very few people...

This comment was edited on Aug 26, 2009, 10:15.

I found a good web site for you:

http://www.goroadachi.com/etemenanki/

Speaks your kind of logic.

it's like being that smelly kid that no one wants to be around in school

I think it's more like a man crush, you guys can't get enough of me, following me around, always posting where I post, and to me as well. I am married, sorry!

Don't forget to buy Batman for PS3 in order to get all the exclusive extras.

This comment was edited on Aug 25, 2009, 23:21.

You seem to lack even basic knowledge about the system

Do you really want to go there again? The last time we went down this path you got hit with a 2"x4" of knowledge about the PS3 bus speed, design, and how it compares to the PC. You then conveniently disappeared. Sorry but you were weighed, measured and found wanting then, and bring far worse now...

Wow Verno, 4 posts already in a 9 post thread. You really like to hear yourself type don't you... SPAM! If you want to make direct lies up and parade them around like an idiot, you have my permission.

nin, here's a dog biscuit... Beamer, go play with you Wii or something kid.

Summer of Fail on Xbox isn't going to change anything. LOL sub 720p...

If you guys want to get a kick out of what I presume to be Batman's marketing schtick. Go to www.gamestop.com. You will know it right away.

I have been having fun with it single player. But it doesn't hold my attention long. I have been playing it a little each day. Thee are some cheap shot places where the game spawns a group on you from behind, and the save system sucks big time... But I am having fun otherwise. Good game to play after seeing Inglorious Basterds.

"a portion of the revenue" from premium maps will go to their creators.

This is the only problem I have with this... A small portion of the revenue should go to Blizzard every download (a publishing cut), and the creator should be the one rewarded. To do anything else is to condone piracy in my opinion (i.e. profiting from someone else's software development, be it free use or actual monetary gain). The percentage on this will directly determine my entire perspective of Blizzard in totality as they apparently continue to deviate from the business practices that made them such a success in the hearts and minds of gamers.

here we are, with nary a Blizzard console game in sight.

I own the PS1 Diablo. It's a bit clunky on controls with no options to change them but it still plays like Diablo 1. I would like D2 to get ported as well and already expect 3 to be.

There was mention of "all character achievements" being carried over. Do these give bonuses and perks to players? Or are they just a notch in the belt for bragging rights?

I was in beta and maxed out a character with the initial game, pretty much did all the things you could do then wandered off to other games. Haven't played since then so I do not know what they added, or what it does.

Ok, found out what I was concerned with...

Copy and paste from a Wiki:

Heroes are born in the crucible of conflict and tempered in the flames of battle. Their deeds shine throughout history as a beacon of hope to those who must rise to defend the world in ages to come, becoming part of the legend of the land. The legends forged within Prophecies, Factions, Nightfall, and the Eye of the North will not be forgotten in the future world of Guild Wars 2.

Your deeds from the original Guild Wars campaigns will be commemorated in the Eye of the North expansion in your Hall of Monuments. The Hall of Monuments will reflect the achievements you earn in Eye of the North as well as those earned in Prophecies, Factions, and Nightfall. You will even be able to show off your hall to friends. Then, when Guild Wars 2 arrives, each of these monuments will correspond to special features your Guild Wars 2 characters can "inherit" from your own legendary past, giving you access to exclusive titles, companions , weapons, attire, and miniatures. These inherited items are unique: there is no other way within Guild Wars 2 to acquire them.

Hmmmm

This comment was edited on Aug 21, 2009, 14:27.

I was pretty interested in GW2 until I found out some stuff would be imported to 2, from 1... To me this is not really Guild Wars 2 if you can carry over things from 1. It is just a new coat of paint on an old game where if you have played it all these years get the advantage of that. Not giving people a fresh start may be a mistake. I know I am less excited about this game seeing things carried over from GW1. I need to be convinced it's "no big deal, really" in a factual manner. Then I will argue that if it's no big deal, why put it in at all? Then hear those arguements.

I can see the industry did not learn from DRM and is destined to continue to harm itself. Oh well, glad this affects me less than DRM in the short term. I have already accepted the fact I will be giving this hobby up as far as new purchases at some point.

I'm still getting Borderlands day 1 preorder. I don't think the games of today are crap... The problem is there is less variety. We are playing the same stuff over and over and it is wearing thin. Borderlands is trying the random loot drops system seen in Diablo and Hellgate London. I wish more games did this kind of thing.

This comment was edited on Aug 21, 2009, 06:32.

Your only choice to get BC anymore through hardware is ebay and the prices are ridiculous.

In the last year I have supplied links to 60 gig systems that had 500 gig HDs, Ubantu installed, and were priced below retail. There are still places you can get them if you have a library that you wish to use those with. If you really cared about PS2 BC, odds are you already own one. But I get the strong feeling you don't own much of any of these things talked about on Blues and just troll, a lot...

Based on what exactly?

Based on the fact you are more inaccurate than accurate at your guesses. Since most of your posting spam, and it is spam, are guesses and pure unsupported opinions, I am just making an educated extrapolation that this one is inaccurate as well.

Creston is closer to the truth of the matter. They are promoting PS2 still and don't want to introduce anything new that will upset that. I think they didn't come to this conclusion until well after PS3 launch after realizing PS2 was still selling strong and they could cut costs on the PS3 system too. But I am more than sure that one day PS2 games will be enabled to play on all PS3 systems (Rock solid sure). The only questions are when, and will it support disc based PS2 games. To think otherwise is being naive.

@Cutter - I love Syndicate... as nostalgia... I doubt anyone would do it justice with budget or innovation, much less be able to create the same verve Syndicate had due to the times, and it being something fresh.

I haven't messed with Multiplayer at all yet so really have no idea, sorry.

The hub is a multilevel town that is maze like in a good way. The story is told through encounters with "resistance" and other nuetral NPCs. You get missions assigned which unlock the mission areas. The intelligence documents you find along the way also tell the story along with cut scenes.

As you do more on these missions and encounter the NPCs, doors previously locked in the city open and you also get new powers which allow for alternative routes (like rooftops) to explore the town. The hub/town itself has 9 power books, a ton of gold items (44ish) and lots of intel items (so the hub/town is a large adventure area) but small enough to be learned quickly and traversed when needed.

Stuff you get from the missions are key to unlocking specific weapon upgrades and the gold is for purchasing them.

When you are using your medallion to shift to the other dimension, there are "Lovecraftian" critters that you can actually kill to AOE the enemy (Reminds me a lot of the Jeffery Combs movie "From Beyond"). I am not that far in the game so I am guessing there are other creatures later on.

Gore is decent enough and am looking forward to how they do rockets and flamethrowers.

This comment was edited on Aug 19, 2009, 15:01.

I've heard they've had significant difficulty achieving the compatibility percentages they want in-house so it's a ways off and will probably cost money on the PSN when it does come out. Right now though according to Sony, BC is off the table period for the foreseeable future.

It's never off the table as long as hardware exists that does offer it. But as for the software portion, it's highly unlikely that your statement is accurate.

Linux and yes it's unique to the Slim.

Slim doesn't support the "installation of other OS" according to Kotaku which is an XMB feature on current models.