730°

Game Producer Eric Fong: "Blu-ray allows us to...not cutting corners"

In a recent interview Producer Eric Fong explains the need for Blu-ray in video games.

Eric Fong: "Blu-ray allows us to provide a high-def audio and video experience without cutting corners or inconveniencing users with disc swaps."

Premonition6116d ago

This is one benefit of having a good amount of space, no need to cut corners or as I call it letting it all hang out lol, just put games or movie how they are suppose to look uncompressed etc.

s8anicslayer6116d ago

changing discs is so old school, this is supposed to be next gen, from the internals to the encasings of these new consoles, blue ray allows dev alot of space for for their games, plus you don't need an add on that looks like my wifes make box to watch hi def movies if you don't have a stand alone player no matter if it's hddvd or blue ray

Scrooge6115d ago

Disk swapping has not been an issue, it's purely speculation. Blue Dragon is the only game on mulitple disks, even Mass Effect fits on one disk. Saying that "no space" will be an issue in the future is reasonable, but fanboys have been saying that since 360's release in 2005, still not an issue. Blue Ray is deffinitley future proof, but so far the DVD9 hasn't officially limited the 360.

Kratos126115d ago

@Scrooge: You say the space has not limited the 360 so far. But you forget that the 360 is itself limited from doing what the PS3 does. Look at LAIR, HS, KZ2, etc etc. Do you think the 360 can handle those and if it does can it do it on one disc?? So yes the 360 is not limited by space because thats the best the 360 can do!!!

Vavoom6115d ago

I mean man, the 360 has done just fine with the disk format that it is currently using. Besides, in most cases before all of this more space bandwagon was being ridden the same game release on both systems dvd9 for the 360 and blu-ray for the PS3 has shown NO advantage for the PS3 as a matter of fact in most cases the 360 version looked better and played smoother. You guys are overplaying the hell out of this more space crap.

Although nothing could ever be wrong with having the extra space, it can also make developers lazy and complacent, they could start not to clean up their code and leave a bunch of crap in the game that would have otherwise made the game leaner and more efficient. All I see the extra space adding to the game is more cut scenes, and more addon bullsh!t that most people wouldn't want anyway.

A bigger concern for me is not how much space blu-ray vs dvd9 or HDDVD has, but WHY does everything being released on the PS3 have to always be delayed or limited to 30 FPS. That is a bigger concern for me. Why don't the developer create these games with less features on the 360 if this is a problem for them. (PS3 version has 50 levels and the 360 has 18 or something like that.)

Bottom line, when you have more space to spread out, one tends to use it; whether they need it or not, or at least feel compelled to use it. If you had an extra room in your house that you really aren't using, you will furnish it anyway wouldn't you, and who wouldn't.

All I'm trying to say is stop making the disc space issue bigger than it actually is.

Kratos126115d ago

"I mean man, the 360 has done just fine with the disk format that it is currently using. Besides, in most cases before all of this more space bandwagon was being ridden the same game release on both systems dvd9 for the 360 and blu-ray for the PS3 has shown NO advantage for the PS3 as a matter of fact in most cases the 360 version looked better and played smoother."

You are right. So far no games have showed why a BluRay is better than a conventional DVD. But then again this does not mean the games coming out in the future will not show the diff. As for games playing smoother on a 360 or running only @ 30 fps then blame the devs. The PS3 or the Blu Ray has nothing to do with that. If the PS3 first party games can run at 60 fps then there is definitely something wrong with the devs who say it cant be done.

"Although nothing could ever be wrong with having the extra space, it can also make developers lazy and complacent, they could start not to clean up their code and leave a bunch of crap in the game that would have otherwise made the game leaner and more efficient. All I see the extra space adding to the game is more cut scenes, and more addon bullsh!t that most people wouldn't want anyway."

If the devs leave out a bunch of crap and do not optimise the code then again its the fault of the devs. Going by your logic we shouldve never moved on from cartridges to a CD --> DVD --> BluRay format. With extra space and good developers you can have more levels in a game. Uncompressed video and audio.

Bottomline the PS3 looked into the future. Hell Sony always looks into the future. And sony doesnt forget the ppl who support it. Otherwise they would have deserted the 110 million PS2 owners just like MS abandoned the 20 million XBOX owners. I feel for those ppl who bought an XBOX a month or a week or a day ago only to learn that the XBOX will not have any developer support. Who knows they might come up with a new console in another couple of yrs and backstab the 10-20 million 360 users.

Scrooge6115d ago

Good point. All those games claim 50 gigs or more, but compression can also be used to make them fit on one DVD. All 360 games are compressed, so maybe those 50 gig games could fit on one DVD. Like I said, the space is still not an issue.

nasim6115d ago

already ps3 has overtaken x360 in terms of sales and things would just get bad for x360 and HD DVD camp
www.eproductwars.com/dvd

www.amazon.com

www.vgcharts.org

poor x360 and HD DVD

risk6115d ago

i will comment on one thing.

using multiple discs you make the game ever bigger then it needs to be.

lets say you use the pallet "xyz" for levels 1,2,3 that are on disc 1
now you need to use the same pallets for lets say a part of the last level 9. you would have to add that pallet into disc 2/3/4 or w.e just to get that pallet visible thus "wasting" space. where as if it were all to fit in one disc it would acctually save more space.

+ Show (5) more repliesLast reply 6115d ago
beardtm6116d ago

2 discs aint that big a deal really.

warfed6116d ago

yeah it isn't the end of the world, but it's annoying and most developers won't do it they'll just cut corners...

6116d ago
Fisher3396116d ago

Wired controllers, They seem too last gen to stay around.

Is playing with a wired controller bad? no
Is having to change discs bad? no

But both are inconviences that should no longer be an issue anymore.

6116d ago
Vavoom6115d ago

Just because some xbox 360 doesn't have HDs, doesn't mean no caching. A line of code could easily be added to states that if the HD is present that these things will be cached. Result, both systems can play the game, the one with the HD has a more efficient experience. This is a choice made by the person what didn't want the HD. PC games with is minimum requirements vs recommended components.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 6115d ago
Maddens Raiders6116d ago (Edited 6116d ago )

-- "No wait a minute...change the title. Blu-ray is a trojan horse and it sux...." --

Ha - beardtm beat me to the 2nd one!lol

cheers

WaggleLOL6116d ago

Atari 2600
NES -> More storage space than previous consoles
Genesis -> More storage space than previous consoles
N64 -> More storage space than previous consoles
Playstation -> More storage space than previous consoles
PS2 -> More storage space than previous consoles
PS3 -> More storage space than previous consoles

Dreamcast 360 -> 1 gig LESS storage space than previous gen. That is so pathetic it is funny(shouldn't laugh since developers like Rockstar are having a nightmare and delaying games because of it).

The 360 is the first console EVER to actually come out with LESS storage space than a previous gen.

So either we have every single console maker in the history of the console market and every single console developer who has made games that used that increasing storage are lazy idiots

or

Microsoft are the idiots to try to sell such a joke of a system.

25/50 gig BluRay for the win and nothing but sympathy for those developers forced to support the gimped at 7 gig Dreamcast 360. Don't worry guys, Microsoft won't be around much longer in the console market.

Marceles6116d ago

N64 came out after playstation...N64 is the first system ever since they chose to stay with the cartridge format and they lost a majority of Squaresoft games because of it. Also, the Gamecube still had less storage. Gamecube disks only hold 1.5 gb which is only 300 mb more than Dreamcast, but less than a DVD still and the gamecube came out after the PS2. Right now, the 360 and Wii are tied in disc storage since they both hold 4.7 gb of space on each game disc. Just wanted to keep the facts straight since you clearly hate the 360 when you should hate Nintendo when it comes to disc space after all these years...

johnnywit6116d ago (Edited 6116d ago )

Nintendo lost nearly all of there third party support with the N64 because of storage space. The biggest loss was when square left but they made the best game ever(FF7)on playstation. I think SNES had more storage than Genesis. Snes had the largest 16 bit game, tales of phantasia which was a whopping 48 megs!!! WOW!!!

@drewdrakes

Get a life man. I was commmenting on his post about the N64 and genesis.I didn't say one thing about PS3 or 360. I could care less about the 2.

drewdrakes6116d ago

johnnywit - Sony lost nearly all its 3rd party support with the PS3, so?

In response to this article, procedural programming reduces the amount of space required. Perhaps they wouldnt have to cut corners if they pulled their socks up and made some nice algorithms to dynamically create textures. That would in fact be productive, and efficient. It would reduce space AND could be used to reduce dev time of future games. Because if they did it correctly algorithms could be re-used.

PS-Wii-606116d ago

N64 was released a cartridge based system because Nintendo and Sony had a falling out of sorts.

In case you didn't know, Sony was developing the cd technology for what was to become Nintendo's next generation console.
For reasons that still aren't clear to this day, Nintendo and Sony broke their relations.

Sony was stuck with the technology they had invested years in.
Instead of scraping the tech and in an attempt to get a return from their R&D investment, they decided to enter the gaming market and release it for themselves under the Sony brand.

And the PlayStation was born.

Since Nintendo was falling way behind in the release of their next gen console they decided to stay with cartridges.
That marked the beginning of the end for Nintendo's console market dominance.

Not that it matters now since they are once again on the verge of taking it all back.

peksi6116d ago

You're suggesting that environments are created dynamically? Sure that's possible but coders aren't very good artists.

A big process of making such a game is when artists create the environment and make it look real. They store it in vector format with texture maps etc.

But it becomes a huge process if it would be done dynamically. You'd have to include the artists' creations into the dynamic creation process. Modeling and implementing it would be a real pain in the ass. And because you cannot cache the dynamically stored geometry to the HDD it would have to reside in the memory or would have to be created in real time. This would take a heavy toll when considering performance.

sa739176116d ago

Whilst I don't agree procedurally generated content is 100% the answer it is possible to produce exceptionally good looking game assets using this method.. Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wik... (even better download it and play it).. There are plenty of games where sections of the content displayed on the screen could be happily populated using this method whilst still allowing for the artists to draw up the more "critical to the game" content..

Mu5afir6115d ago

I think he was talking about the respective console, not an evolution off all consoles together. Nintendo < SNES < N64 < Game Cube < Wii in terms of storage evolution, each console had more storage space then it's predecessor. However, the 360 still has the same DVD9 format it did, when it was first implemented on the original Xbox.

Primetimebt6115d ago

I wouldn't call the Nintendo & Sony deal a falling out it was more of Nintendo backstabbing. The truth is Nintendo and Sony were working on a console that would have had cartridge and CD slots for games which was too be called "Nintendo Playstation." Nintendo got nervous and felt CD were the way of the future and since the technology was produced by Sony, Sony would be getting the largest share from the console. So with out telling Sony they workout a secret deal with phillips they announced it to the world.

+ Show (5) more repliesLast reply 6115d ago
BIadestarX6116d ago

define "not cutting corners"... does this mean, developers don't need to bother on optimising their code... after all it's not like blu-ray is 10X faster than standard DVD... data still need to be read from disk... compression and reducing code... it's not only good for storage but for loading and disk->memory transfer....
Game assets need to be transfer to memory before they can be use on the game... just becase blu-ray can hold 20 Maps each one of them 2GB of uncompressed game assets does not mean the console can run it... the PS3 have less available memory for developers than the xbox 360...

as a lead developer in the company I work for... "cutting corners" is something that developers better not use in any of my projects...

cutting corners = Lazy development.... that probably explains all those cheap ports the PS3 being getting....

Marceles6116d ago

No more room being on a disk means developers can't go all out on a game. If anything cutting corners = disappointed developers who have more ideas for a game but they can't be fulfilled because a lack of, in this case, disc space and hi def audio and video capabilities. Some developers are just saying "oh well we'll make it do what we can with what we have", but now some devs are starting to want the challenge to create a bigger game and not settle for less

SofaKingReetodded6116d ago

so how many layers and passovers of code do you force into the dev cycle before you start running out of money? Time better spent on just developing game content than thinking of ways to squeeze onto 9 yr old tech.

I smell HUGE bs here.

Mu5afir6115d ago

Cutting corners means, PGR not being able to have a new set of texture for night effects. So, they had to make "dawn" and dark weather effects to cover up the limitations.

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200°

Remembering the Best JRPGs on the PS3

Get ready to embark on a journey filled with monsters, magic, and overpowered haircuts, because this list features the best JRPGs on the PS3.

Read Full Story >>
altarofgaming.com
shinoff2183272d ago (Edited 272d ago )

There wasn't that many. Thanks to the west's criticism. It was definitely lacking compared to every other ps system. Dont get me wrong there were a few good ones i know that.

jznrpg272d ago

Nier, Valkyrie Chronciles, Tales games , Ni No Kuni, Resonance of Fate, FF13’s, Ys8 just a few off the top of my head and there were a lot more.

CrimsonWing69272d ago (Edited 272d ago )

Not nearly to the degree of PS1 and PS2.

@shinoff2183 makes a good point that around the PS3/Xbox 360 gen is when the genre wasn’t as prevalent and began to shy away from turn-based. There’s some standouts for sure, but look at the PS1 and PS2 JRPG library and then compare that to the PS3 and PS4’s.

Theres definitely a decline in a selection of titles. Even worse was the quality seemed to take a massive hit as well. I think Lost Odyssey was a huge standout for that gen when you look at production values, then you look at something like Fairy Fencer on the PS3 and it’s kind of depressing.

But by that generation there was a shift from western developed games overtaking Japanese developed games. Back from the NES to PS2 Japanese games were the cream of the crop… I don’t know what happened but like midway into the PS3/360 life-time they became less so.

shinoff2183272d ago (Edited 272d ago )

Compared to the ps1 ps2 and he'll even ps4 ps3 doesn't hold a candle to either imo. It's also when turn based damn near disappeared. Again thanks to the west's criticism

Crimson I'd put money on the west being at fault, guys like Phil phish, and numerous others at that time were attacking jrpg and Japanese games in general pretty hard.

Ni no kuni was probably my fav jrpg back then , and the blue dragon

GameBoyColor272d ago

Tales got kinda lucky here. When they took a chance and finally brought tales of graces f over west it sold like 250k lmao a lot of jrpgs did 500k or below. Disgaea was worse i think. Bamco decided to keep bringing more games over though.

Tapani272d ago (Edited 272d ago )

Demon's Souls, Dark Souls and Dark Souls II were the best RPGs on PS3 made by Japanese developers. Everything else just fell short always. Ni No Kuni was a full package, an okayish game as well. Nier and Drakengard III had superb writing, setting and voice acting, however, the performance was a real drag on the gameplay. Traditional RPG-wise I'd actually say 360 had better JRPGs, and think that Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon were the best traditional JRPGs of the era. PS3 Valkyria Chronicles was okay, but it is closer to an SRPG.

Ryu Ga Gotoku games were also solid, they were still finding their footing and breaking new ground with new cities and formats.

PS3 was the era that almost made me quit gaming and I started playing on PC because I could not find good performance nor games on the system. PS4 got me back into it, and now PS5 is a mix in and between, I just play my PS4 library on the PS5 and rest on PC, just like during the PS3 era. The only new exclusive Sony JRPG is pretty much FFXVI and it is so streamlined and simplified from the normal RPG experience that I can't fit it into the genre anymore. Dragon Quest XII hopefully remedies all of this, but it is just one game.

These new games will all be on PC (while it does take 2-3 years to wait, and 6-12 months from launch to have them patched + fixed by modders) and they perform better on it. The only point in owning a PS5 is to play games a couple of years earlier, but for a hard-working family man like me, the quality of the experience is more important than playing it as soon as possible. And I can't do modern games at 30fps 720p after playing 120fps at 4K. For older games, that's okay.

PSX and PS2 though, those were the days...Still have a massive collections of classic RPGs in CD and DVD format and a phat PS3 to play them!

FinalFantasyFanatic272d ago

It's kinda like that, the PS3 generation was a bad time for JRPGs, especially with the Japanese feeling the need to westernize their games, shooters dominating that gen, the racism from western game journalists (it was bad, between G4, Phill Fish, and a slew of others), and the higher development costs...

It really made me miss the PS1/PS2 days of JRPGs, even the quality of half of those games during the 7th gen weren't as good. The 360 tried, but Microsoft's consoles weren't popular in Japan and no body in the West bought a Xbox for JRPGs (despite Xbox having Vesperia, Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey).

on_line_forever272d ago

" It's kinda like that, the PS3 generation was a bad time for JRPGs, especially with the Japanese feeling the need to westernize their games "

This is when everything fall down and games looks not fun to play anymore except for few games like demon and dark souls for example

-Foxtrot272d ago (Edited 272d ago )

Nah. It's a bad trilogy of games

The only reason XIII-2 stands out is because XIII was so bad

When the bar is so low, anything after feels better.

goldwyncq272d ago

The monster catching mechanic was nice.

Eonjay272d ago

Don't understand the hate for it at all. Seems forced.

shinoff2183272d ago

Watching the credits roll on ff16 now it is good but , I'd really like to re try ff13 least it's turn based and would fill that gap for me.

FinalFantasyFanatic272d ago

They got better after the first one in the trilogy, not outstanding game though.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 272d ago
CS7272d ago

Honestly, I played FFXIII a few years after release and maybe because it was after the hype cycle and I knew the flaws of the game, it actually became my favorite FF after VII.

I took off the mini map and never used auto battle and the stuff that mattered to me in an FF was just so well done.

The art and graphics were insane at the time
The music is still special
The story still lingers in memory more than a decade later
The RPG systems were decent

I never really got the hate for it, still have a soft spot for that game inside me.

goldwyncq272d ago

Still better than XV and XVI.

Yui_Suzumiya272d ago

Drakengard 3 goes for a small fortune nowadays

Knightofelemia272d ago (Edited 272d ago )

Only gripe I have with Ar Tonelico 3 is that Saki is annoying as hell whether English or in Japanese. Then Saki's English voice actor became Ionasal on Ar Nosurge she was a little annoying but not as bad. Johnny Young Bosch voicing Tatsumi I thought he did a great job. And Akiko Shikata with her vocals and the music from the games just went hand and hand.

DarkZane272d ago

I wish Ar No Surge and Ar Tonelico 3 would be remastered on PS4/PS5.

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829d ago
Jiub829d ago

Legend of Dragoon was amazing

290°

These PS3 Games are Going to get Really Expensive

Could you get rich by investing in PS3 games? Almost definitely not. Can you make a few bucks by flipping PS3 games over the years? Yeah, sure! It wouldn’t even be that difficult. But let’s face it: Once these games are in your collection, you’re probably keeping them forever.

Read Full Story >>
ghettogamer.net
CDbiggen968d ago

There's a reason I didn't buy most of these when they came out.

MadLad968d ago

After a game's multiple generations old, and can't be had new at a reasonable price, that's when I see nothing wrong with emulation.

What's the point of paying someone scalper prices when the dev/publisher isn't even benefiting from it?

mkis007968d ago

Emulation doesn't stop a games physical box from becoming collectible.

Knightofelemia968d ago

I paid $30 for SH Downpour on PS3 now it's around $70-$85 Canadian Lolipop Chainsaw I paid $15 and it has really gone up in price. I wonder if Transformers War and Fall of Cybertron will go up in price two of the best Transformers games every made.

neutralgamer1992968d ago

In 5 years time all those games will be worth at least $150 to $200 that you listed

968d ago
neutralgamer1992968d ago

Ever since Sony announced that they would shut down PS3 store these prices have skyrocketed and even though Sony backtracked now most gamers realize that it's a matter of time before the PlayStation 3 store is shut down. If you want these games get them while you can even if digital because once that story shut down the physical prices will just go crazy high we saw that already

And many of these games did not sell like crazy amounts so they are limited number of copies available for sale at any given time

MadLad968d ago

Folklore is a game I've always really wanted to play, but I got a PS3 late in the generation, and it was already really expensive to find, being it didn't exactly sell well, therefore was already kind of a collector's item.

Kept hoping I'd find a cheap copy randomly at stores and flea markets, but never happened.

franwex968d ago

I got mine for $5 at Walmart like 10 years ago. I have yet to play it.

neutralgamer1992968d ago

It was available at GameStop for a while for under $20. Don't know har happened but GameStop started to sell their used games based on ebay prices it seems

You can still find it for around $60-70 and which in my opinion is a good price for a game that will be worth double if not triple that in next 5 years

Mr Logic968d ago

Have you considered modding your PS3? Neither Sony or the dev would be getting money from that Folklore purchase. Kind of a victimless crime at that point.

MadLad968d ago (Edited 968d ago )

@neutral

Honestly, I just want to actually give the experience a try. I'm not someone who would buy it at a premium just to potentially rip someone off down the road.
I mean, there are collectors out there and if paying a couple hundred dollars is worth it to them then more power to them, but I'm not one to be on either end of that exchange.

I know it's taboo, but I might dig in and see the state of PS3 emulation on PC. I have a good PC, so it might be able to power through the often times poor performance, being PS3 is known to be hard to emulate.

I've never emulated anything past the PS2/Dreamcast but, as I said in my first post, I don't see anything wrong with emulation if the game you want to play can only be had used, with no money going to the creators.

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