I very much agree with your comment about Square's lack of focus. I was just IMing the author of this article when I pitched the idea to him and we agreed that Square isn't putting out the quality they once were. In fact, while I love the world of Ivalice (I've replayed FF Tactics on the PS about 3 times), I never played through FFXII. That's pretty big since a lot of people consider me an "FF whore."

I think they are trying hard to push a Western initiative while they haven't shored up their core offerings. Odds are they are spreading their teams too thin on too many projects. There seems to be a shortage of creativity and writing ability too.

For all of the debate about the quality of Final Fantasy VII, and my own admission that I haven't played it since in about 9 years, I remember there being something magical about the game. There were a ton of memorable moments that I can recite by memory and have a lengthy discussion about with someone who also experienced the game. I don't really have those memories from FFX though, despite mostly liking that game.

I can't even recall a single thing from FFXII, though I didn't beat it anyway.

Also, their non FF properties suffered as well. They still haven't produced a non-FF game as good as Xenogears and Vagrant Story.

Hell I'd even play the original Brave Fencer Musashi over some of their most recent work. View

It's not surprising. North America is becoming increasingly important, but at the same time western design themes are kind of making a pretty big impact in even traditionally Eastern developers. Square very much showed its interest with the changed battle system in FFXII and by even developing FFXI.

We discussed a lot of this here: "The Rise of Western Game Design" http://www.gamer20.com/feat... View

Yeah, the embargo was lifted today so we in the press finally have the opportunity to share with the world. The question is, what else do we know that you don't... View

The badges system sounds like a very interesting take on the classes, particularly the ability to mix and match two classes. View

@Jenzo

We also didn't quote anyone from Microsoft or Nintendo. Additionally, we were only referencing quotes from 2008. Perhaps every gaming discussion must ignite some kind of flame war, but we don't feel that way. View

Circus clowns? Don't you think that's a bit harsh? I love the Blezinski quote about betas though. View

Well story is a main focus of Old Republic. They've written more story for it than all of their previous games combined (according to them in an interview with GameSpot), so I think it'll pretty hard not to get too involved with the story. View

And it justifies their purchase of BioWare so much. The MMO business, if successful is disgustingly profitable because of subscriptions. For example, 10 million subscribers at $15/month is $150 million per month in revenue. That's just disgusting. View

I run a somewhat successful web publication, I freelance for GameSpot and AOL's Propeller.com. I'm about to graduate with honors from St. John's University, and I have a part-time job at an advertising agency.

I have enough jobs actually. View

For quite possibly the first time in my game journo career, I've been called the voice of reason. That makes my hearts smile. It makes me feel like the guy in the cartoon I've attached. View

PimpHandStrong-

When discussing the game industry, the term software is synonymous with "games." It's just a different word for games. I'm not talking software in the traditional sense, which would be computer programs like MS Word or iTunes.

Also, your assertion that I am in anyway a fanboy is misguided. Anyone that knows me can back up my objectivity.

The problem with "media bias" is that people tend to take disagreements as bias. There was a great line in a movie called "Good Night and Good Luck" in which Edward R. Murrow, one of the most respected newsmen ever, says something along the lines of "I have searched my conscious and I find it illogical that there are two and equally correct sides to every issue."

Sometimes you just have to call something what it is, and that will rile the emotions of supporters of that opposing position.

What's funny is that fanboyism isn't exclusive to games. Hell, politics has some of the biggest fanboys imaginable: blind republicans and blind democrats. View

Actually, I am the co-publisher and founder of another gaming site (Gamer 2.0: www.gamer20.com). I've written what some people would call anti-Sony articles, but it isn't because I dislike the PS3.

In fact, I will admit that in my pre-press years I was a Sony fanboy and Xbox hater. I thought the Xbox was big and clunky (much like Microsoft's still terrible OS and productivity programs), focused too much on graphics, and thought they had no real business being in the videogame industry.

Over time, I matured and grew much more objective. I finally bought an Xbox when I fell in love with a friend's copy of Max Payne, and gave the console an honest opportunity at impressing me. In all, I certainly had more PlayStation 2 games and memories, but I actually grew to like the Xbox quite a bit.

This generation, I think Microsoft has done a phenomenal job. They're biggest hiccup has obviously been the RROD issue, which actually choked out my launch unit after it had been going strong for about 2 years. Otherwise, they've put out some great software while the PS3 is still trying to find its place.

I think the PS3 will get there though. While the 360 can still do some impressive things, it's starting to become obvious that the PS3 does indeed have more muscle and in the final years of this generation we will definitely see a gap in the visual output of both. I could be wrong, and it may just be because the 360 is loud as hell, but it does seem like it struggles harder than the PS3 does.

Actually, it's totally plausible that the PS3's best years will be the last ones before the PS4. It'll probably be pushing better visuals at a more reasonable price. The problem will be with their exclusives. They dominated the last gen because they had so many games that just wouldn't appear on the Xbox. Now we're seeing WAY too many simultaneous release. The PS3 no longer dominates the global games market, and - while still down big time - the 360 has been making strides in Japan with sales up 157% so far this year. Though being up 157% from practically nothing isn't all that much.

I talked a lot about these issues back in August:

http://www.gamer20.com/feat... View

CliffyB is still young though. He has to wait a little longer, do a few more things :-P. We can't put Lebron James in the Hall of Fame yet either...I suppose lol. View

Bill already gets a lot of credit for starting Microsoft even though he practically stole everything he needed (DOS on the cheap; the faux partnership with Apple that kind of spurred the interface for Windows) for his success.

Gates was a hustla View

I also feel the expanse of the West encroaching on the East. It's welcome for me though. I do like Japan's penchant for fantasy, but I'm finding myself a lot more engaged with games rooted more so in realistic settings like Mass Effect or BioShock. View

I like the choices, and I have an additional recommendation. Foo Fighters cover of Fade to Black by Metallica. View

That was a hell of a good read. I would consider myself a low-ego, high task gamer. View

I'm torn on this one. Gearbox is good, but Bungie not doing a Halo feels very unnatural. I'm sure they'll do an admiral job, but it wasn't exactly their baby.

It's all a bit disconcerting. View

I also hope his mother does well and that he lands on his feet. Perhaps he can start working independently. Maybe he'll make the next Braid.

Do you guys know if he has a blog? View

I definitely agree with the comments, hell, I wrote the article.

Look, games may have some effect on kids, just as TV, music, and movies can have an effect on some kids, but to find porn and alcohol consumption among teens less objectionable than playing a game like Grand Theft Auto IV is preposterous.

I attack porn in this article as a way to show you can demonize everything, but even porn isn't all that bad if the person subjected to it can handle the content.

In fact, one of the biggest side effects to overexposure to porn is the inability to get sexually aroused by normal, everyday sexual encounters. It has been shown that some people, men in particular, have can have a hard time getting it up without dirty talk, costumes, etc if they watch porn or whack it too much.

But hey, masturbation has its upsides too (outside of the obvious)

Masturbation 'cuts cancer risk'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/... View