-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Why portable gaming is an abomination
- Thread starter Neutron Night
- Start date
- Status
TAJ
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
>>>Although the hardware's theoretically capable of more, in the hands of most developers the GBA SP's effectively a handheld SNES. Since I still like to play quite a few SNES games semi-regularly, I don't think this is a bad thing. Super Nintendo-quality visuals and audio are still enough to create involving and aesthetically-pleasing games, even in this age of dual-layer DVD's and bump-mapped polygons.<<<
In theory, sound on GBA can be great. In practice it's usually well below SNES quality.
And, GBA is hamstrung by a screen that's only two-thirds the resolution of the lowest-res SNES games.
PSP, while lower res than Xbox games, has twice the resolution of all but a handful of PSone, Saturn and N64 games.
In theory, sound on GBA can be great. In practice it's usually well below SNES quality.
And, GBA is hamstrung by a screen that's only two-thirds the resolution of the lowest-res SNES games.
PSP, while lower res than Xbox games, has twice the resolution of all but a handful of PSone, Saturn and N64 games.
Spiritreaver
Member
Newbie said:
IAWTP
Also, wait, I always thought that handheld gaming was meant to be about having the same fun from that you get from consoles in a portable format. Isn't that whole point? I sure as hell am not lugging any of the consoles new or old with me just to play games on the go. Plus there are games meant for handhelds like Wario Ware, Pokemon, Tetris, and so on where would we be without those?
Also, this just seems like you're just mad that Castlevania disappointed you. Honestly, I don't see the big deal as none of games suck because of their on the GBA. Hell the only reason I don't njoy Harmony of Dissonance is because Konami slacked a bit on the powerup system. Christ, how the fuck do you get the idea that all consoles games are grand and glorious and they're all handheld games suck and if they were on the consoles they'd be just orgasmic?
How many GBA titles have you played anyways? How many GBC? GB?
Again remember the word PORTABLE. Christ, that's the whole reason these things exist. I certainly don't like staring at the TV for hours on end especially when I can go outside and enjoy gaming while being out in the sun and having some fresh air.
portable gaming was cool when WE were young. but thats part of the problem WE who had the original gameboy arent young anymore. Back then we could bring the GB to school, on trips while our parents drove...i cant bring my GBA to work. I cant play my GBA whle driving. If i'm at home, i'd rather play on my HDTV with 5.1 sound. the GBA isnt marketed at older gamers. nor will the DS be. Nintendo isnt re-releasing old games for US. they are releasing them for the newer generation as a history lesson.
Spiritreaver
Member
dog$ said:
I would disagree with portable gaming, there are some jewels that I just couldn't understand how no one can understand the point of or enjoy like the games meant for handhelds I mentioned in the earlier post. Plus majority of handheld games are the same or similar to console titles. You're bound to find something you like if you can get passed the dense portion of your head that hates them.
This myth applies with things like specific genres or a certain game series (FF), but I don't think it can apply to such a broad section of gaming.
JackFrost2012
Banned
explodet said:
I recommend you pick up Boktai!
StrikerObi
Member
GhaleonEB said:
You are awere that there are tons of original games on Game Boy right? It's not all ports.
And what if somebody never played Mario Bros and they wanted to? They certainly can't find a good working copy on NES easily.
Spiritreaver
Member
JackFrost2012 said:
Oh I forgot about Boktai, again only something a handheld can really pull off well. Can't wait for the sequel. Gosh I need to replay through that.
BeOnEdge said:
I recommend you stop judging whether or not something's worth playing based on how much gear it can support at any given time. Some of the best games in the past couple of years have come out, that's right, on the GBA. Portable != teh kiddi e. If you're so hellbent on playing it on the TV, Nintendo has a $30-$40 solution for you.
DarthWufei said:
A couple of years back, I remember spending most of my days off in the backyard, lounging around playing Advance Wars and SotN on my GBA.
Having an excuse to get outside was nice, and playing in the sun beat the crap out of trying to see the screen indoors with my fluorescent snap-on light . (I'm really glad Nintendo added a built-in light to the SP... ^^; )xsarien said:
its not the just the gear. back when we fell in love with the old spinach green GB, it was almost like being able to take something equal or better than the NES on the road. The sound IMO was better(or so i thought at the time), the graphics, although green, just looked like it was doing more although it wasnt. Fast forward 15 years and we have the GBASP. Compared to the home systems, its kinda lacking. I want to be able to take a similar experience on the road. just like i did when i was younger. hell, stereo sound out of the famous GB earbuds was enough to wanna play on the GB.
By the way, i OWN a GBASP. i do play it every now and then. Look at it like this though. Before the GB, we had either game n watch or those tiger electronic handhelds. once the GB hit, who wanted anything lesser than nintendo quality? the GB in my ming MATCHED the home experience. Portables dont do that now. I believe THATS what sony has figured out and THATS just what they are aiming for. with the right price they WILL bring older gamers back into the portable market.
BeOnEdge said:
You're half right. It's about taking games "on the road." Not equal to this, that, the other, or what's currently under your TV. Railing against the GBA because of its technical inadequacies is shallow at best, damn near irrelevent at worst; the system was designed to balance cost and power, to make it affordable to damn near anyone who'd like one (while making Nintendo money.)
Tetris made the Game Boy, and there were certainly much more elaborate games on the NES.
i was never railing against the GBA. i was just replying to the first post in the thread. and xarien, if it wasnt about being equal to, why did nintendo bother making the original GB so good? why did the gamegear and TG express try to bring that home experience to their portables? IT IS about bringing the home experience on the road or altleast IT WAS until the shift to 3d.
Neutron Night
Banned
Hmm, for once I agree with you completely. Yes, that's essentially what I was saying.
So says the guy who can't count. Maybe your brain has been effected by the incessent beeping of GBA games.
This is NOT about 2D vs. 3D. I like 2D games. SOTN is one of my favorite games ever, and still is. 2D, like everything else, would be better on hardware that would be considered impressive later than 1993.
Better graphics? Than what? I don't remember developers obsessing over the limitations of a single screen. I repeat, I don't give a fuck about 2 shitty screens. The current way of playing games is FINE.
Better hardware allows better gaming to be possible. The GBA does not.
Uh huh. What are you favorite kinds of games, may I ask? Do polygons scare you? Did a texture map insult your mother? Did per-pixel lighting run over your dog? I understand technology is scary, that's why I stay away from the Flashing Traffic Light That Burns My Soul, and the Magical Automatic Door That Lets Lucifer In. It's better just to stay indoors.
So you're saying, in essence, that gameplay has gotten worse in the last decade. Ok, that's your opinion. You're wrong.
Who are you, and why should I care? And I'm pretty sure it should actually be, "The spelling and grammer ARE shit."
Are you saying....you disagree????
Shit, there goes my reason for existing. And I was really hanging on to it, too.That assessment might actually mean something if you could point out actual flaws in my post.
Actually, the games are worse. Which, if my knowledge of English is correct, is somewhat the opposite of better. They're antonyms, or something. One of those words.
Thank you.
StrikerObi
Member
You know, if you don't want to buy Mario Bros for $20 you don't have to. Nobody is forcing you. If you don't want any part of portable gaming why even waste your fucking time with this thread?
Semjaza Azazel
Member
I'm pretty against the whole idea of $20 NES games myself (especially with Mario and Pacman... just rerelease Super Mario Bros. DX for christ's sake). But that doesn't completely nullify the good times I've managed to have with the GBA anyway. It's just something I personally won't spend my money on. If you don't want it, don't buy it. Your money counts more to these companies than a long rant on GAF.
In some ways, I like seeing what various developers can do on a limited platform like the GBA. It's kind of like when someone does a really detailed picture on MS Paint. Sure you know it could look better if they used Photoshop or Open Canvas, but the fact that the artist was so limited by the technology that was offered makes it that much more impressive. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't impressed by some GBA games I own in a production or graphical standpoint. Surely not to the same level as a PS2 or Xbox or GCN, but it's all relative anyway.
That's how I think about it anyway. I don't expect anyone else to lol.
In some ways, I like seeing what various developers can do on a limited platform like the GBA. It's kind of like when someone does a really detailed picture on MS Paint. Sure you know it could look better if they used Photoshop or Open Canvas, but the fact that the artist was so limited by the technology that was offered makes it that much more impressive. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't impressed by some GBA games I own in a production or graphical standpoint. Surely not to the same level as a PS2 or Xbox or GCN, but it's all relative anyway.
That's how I think about it anyway. I don't expect anyone else to lol.
JackFrost2012
Banned
aperfectt00l
Member
so does this mean that we have to blame nintendo for you not being able to get laid by anything better than your fucking a: drive?......'im going to rip your balls off so you can not contaminate the rest of the world.'
Portable gaming is getting huge because devices can support games without much additional cost. As far as PSP and DS. I really don't know how much more they'll offer over a laptop/cell phone combination other than exclusive content with better graphics. I can watch DVDs and mp3s on my laptop during plane trips and have more access to tons more point an click games than what's coming to DS. If I'm into wireless multiplayer action, the cellphone can handle it.
So, really the only reason to get a dedicated gaming device is for exclusive games like Pokemon and FF. That's enough for fans of those games, but I think for most PC and cell phone owners, it won't be enough to justify another device.
So, really the only reason to get a dedicated gaming device is for exclusive games like Pokemon and FF. That's enough for fans of those games, but I think for most PC and cell phone owners, it won't be enough to justify another device.
StrikerObi
Member
BeOnEdge said:
You mean like Super Mario Bros DS?
Mike Works
Member
So just to get this straight...
You bash the rehash/remake/ports coming from Nintendo (and I assume other companies). As others have pointed out, you don't have to buy them.
You admit that there are some great games on the GBA. But you hate the system and portable gaming as a whole because those games could've been even better on a console.
Here's a fucking newsflash for you, Billy.
Those games WOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED on a console.
You know those great Castlevania GBA games? Mario Kart Advance Tour? Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour?
Do you notice how ALL of those games/franchises had sequels on the console, and ALL of them were high production 3D games? Do you really think, with the SMALL possible acception of Castlevania, that companies who made great GBA software would've released those games on the PS2, XBOX, or GC if the GBA never existed?
You shouldn't view the Game Boy Advance (nor the DS/PSP or previous Game Boy incarnations) as a system which held games back. You should view it as a system which made games possible.
Use your fucking head instead of a thesaurus.
You bash the rehash/remake/ports coming from Nintendo (and I assume other companies). As others have pointed out, you don't have to buy them.
You admit that there are some great games on the GBA. But you hate the system and portable gaming as a whole because those games could've been even better on a console.
Here's a fucking newsflash for you, Billy.
Those games WOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED on a console.
You know those great Castlevania GBA games? Mario Kart Advance Tour? Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour?
Do you notice how ALL of those games/franchises had sequels on the console, and ALL of them were high production 3D games? Do you really think, with the SMALL possible acception of Castlevania, that companies who made great GBA software would've released those games on the PS2, XBOX, or GC if the GBA never existed?
You shouldn't view the Game Boy Advance (nor the DS/PSP or previous Game Boy incarnations) as a system which held games back. You should view it as a system which made games possible.
Use your fucking head instead of a thesaurus.
Mike Works said:So just to get this straight...
You bash the rehash/remake/ports coming from Nintendo (and I assume other companies). As others have pointed out, you don't have to buy them.
You admit that there are some great games on the GBA. But you hate the system and portable gaming as a whole because those games could've been even better on a console.
Here's a fucking newsflash for you, Billy.
Those games WOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED on a console.
You know those great Castlevania GBA games? Mario Kart Advance Tour? Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour?
Do you notice how ALL of those games/franchises had sequels on the console, and ALL of them were high production 3D games? Do you really think, with the SMALL possible acception of Castlevania, that companies who made great GBA software would've released those games on the PS2, XBOX, or GC if the GBA never existed?
You shouldn't view the Game Boy Advance (nor the DS/PSP or previous Game Boy incarnations) as a system which held games back. You should view it as a system which made games possible.
Use your fucking head instead of a thesaurus.
Bluemercury
Member
BeOnEdge said:
The fact is no other company will change this, as cool as the hardware may look like, gaming still is considered by many a waste of time and childish whether is GBSP, DS or PSP......
Oh okay, I see. It's pointless arguing with you then if you're going by that mindset. All the games on Gameboy are worse are they? Why are they worse? Worse than what? I've had more fun with Advance Wars 2, Yoshi's Island (a SNES port! AW NOES! How dare I enjoy an old game!), Pokemon and Wario Ware than every console game this gen except Metroid Prime. So, i'd consider them better.
Dagless M.D.
Member
Mike Works said:
Be careful, he'll tear you apart for misspelling 'exception'
Semjaza Azazel
Member
Newbie said:
Eh, he already misspelled parallax, dollar, incessant, definition, affected and existent.
It's a fucking message board. As long as you get your message across, who cares if basic words and grammar are a bit off. If you want to be that picky about things, don't mess up yourself lol. I never got that.
Anyway, back to games.
Kobun Heat
Member
Which is what our very special friend here forgets.Deguello said:
- Status