what improvements will the 360 version have

Geez, just keeps bouncing around. I was hoping for that July date so that would mean that it would be out for when I get back from Japan at the start of August. On the OTHER hand, it could mean that they decided they wanted to put VERSION C on the 360, so wanted some more time to test stuff out with it. =) I mean version C definitely means a repurchase for a lot of the VF hardcore fans if what was said about SEGA not going for any game patches over PSN was true.

 

yes, if it comes out in October, then it better be version C.
There still hasn't been an official release date announced yet either, just the rumor of august and then the dates in July and now October that gamestop has posted(which are both probably guesses).

 

I think this is simply ridiculous.....

Sega really screwed it up. I mean, I still care about VF and Sega in general, but they are doing a disservice to fans by keeping them waiting this long.

By the time American gamers see VF5 on 360, they would be dazzled by Tekken6's debut in the arcades or maybe even on PS3 already. Good job Sega at missing another prime opportunity.

The scene for VF in general has mostly died now due to lack of support. Even if the 360 version does indeed bring in a new crowd, without the vets, a new version would suffer from an even quicker death.

I'm sorry to say this, but the 360 version might as well not come out now. A fighting game is not going to be able to stand up to the likes of Halo3, or other random pretty action/platformers due out later this year.

 

^Its sad cause its true.

 

Too true, and it's very indicative of the growing divide between Japan and US in terms of console preference. Japan chose the Japanese console, despite any real evidence of success, and the X360's almost an afterthought for most retailers. It's increasingly difficult for Japanese 360 owners to find the games that really make the system worth it.

Even so, Sega needs to step up the release of VF5 at least out here, because this is where people are still incredibly into the VF5 scene, and it is almost infeasible to imagine they would release this as a strictly foreign release.

 

What if they just wait till the inevitable VF5 Evolution comes out. Or maybe the delay means they are

 

There's no way Sega will release Evo for home this soon. It's suicidal for their arcade business since console gaming is now a global market. Don't forget that Japan remains the #1 priority. SOA is just a publisher in the US, and it's not SOJ or AM2.

In fact, I'm starting to think that fighting games as a home-only release like the US is starting to become commercial suicide no matter how you try to sell it. The evolution that took place with fighting games is the customization and focus on personal interaction through things like VF.TV/VF.net/PR message etc.

At least in the US, releasing these games in the arcade still somewhat preserves that aspect of the game.

With VF5 for PS3, we are stagnant, and maybe even a step backwards by eliminating all the things that make the game a better/new/more fun experience.

Without any kind of official support or motivation to get any better at the game, VF5 is nothing but a pretty and generally awkward mash fest to waste time. This is the reason why vets are essential to the survival of the game, which the 360 version will probably suffer from as a result of people moving on due to dying interest.

I'm not going to blame people at AM2/Sega or the players for the way things are. I'm sure everyone is doing what they can. I just think though, that if you want to bother at all, at least put in some effort to try something different or new.

How about giving the players what they really want like portable profiles. Load times are not an excuse now. If even this little bit of service can't be done, it's a huge disservice to the people who've waited out so long for the 360 version.

Disappointment after disappointment, there is only so much the players can take. SOA should realize by now that you can't sell a fighting game to casuals, so like what I said just now, you might as well try something new/different if you want to bother. Otherwise it's simply an embarrassment that those players who held out so long for the 360 version should feel insulted with if they really care about the game, putting system biases aside.

I can't help but feel sorry for those who've waited for the 360 version due to animosity to Sony or some stupid system bias. In the end, the one party that's most responsible for this situation turns out to be Sega after all.

 

well said

 

Srider's thoughts echo exactly what I've been saying for months.. The sad thing is nobody is listening in that building...

VF may die a slow and horrible death[For some its probably already happened]

 

I've stopped advocating for any action on any party, because unfortunately, it's been tried and failed.

 

Don't you think though because the US is such a big open plan country any competitive game that doesn't support network functionality is never going to rise above cult?

Kind of Ironic that you guys are probably more hardcore than the Japanese players because Japan is such a condensed place, social multiplayer games are pretty much a mainstream demographic.


I think it would be difficult to come up with any strategy that would raise the game above it's niche market.

 

I don't disagree with that, but maintaining the niche market is something that should be done at the very very least.

It's one thing to do things wrong the first time, it's another thing to do things wrong after you are given the answer.

 

To be fair, Quest mode was hugely popular so I found it odd they didn't expand on it...

Adding fluff as some people call it may make it popular..

The hardcore get their VS game, the casuals get their fluff!. I know it's not as simple as that but at least its worth trying?

 

The problem with VF is even in fighting games, its a very small, niche market. Sega created this niche market with a marquee product but then does everything possible after 3 to try and destroy it. I wish I could understand their reasoning. Is it Japanese xenophobia? Hell, the only time I saw a vf 5 commercial was during The Ultimate Fighter show on spike t.v. Even then, the commercial looked like it was done by 13 year olds messing around in windows video editor. You expect them to care about 360?

 

The fact is that console and videogaming as an industry, are responsible for more financial transactions than most other entertainment industries including movies and music. If you want to talk about 'niche' markets, well the Japanese arcade scene is the real niche market, not consoles. The potential for VF to do well in the arcades internationally is extremely limited. The potential for VF to do well on consoles is basically unlimited. Fighting games in the US are hardly suicide, Tekken, Dead or Alive, Soul Calibur, and Street Fighter, as well as many other series continue to sell quite well.

Sega didn't put anything new in VF5 for the PS3, the game was a step backwards in nearly concept that VF4/Evo had introduced for the PS2. Poor A.I., decrease in options, game modes, tutorials, etc. It's not that Sega didn't put anything new in...they took old, good, stuff out also.

There was a pretty good amount of fluff/extras between VF4 and Evo for the PS2. Training your own A.I., and the Battle mode or whatever (like Iron Man, Knockdown Clash tournaments etc.). Even Quest mode having little missions to complete during the match added something new. Sega even included the VF10th Ann. game in the U.S. version of Evo....

I knew VF5 was going to suck when Sega didn't even release VF4:FT.

I just don't see how fighting games are a small market. And Sega did a good job with VF4 and Evo of trying to push the game, while they didn't go everything possible to promote them I would say they did "everything possible to try and destroy" the fighting game market for VF.

 

It's just hard to maintain that level of excitement without the proverbial carrot dangling in front of you. I mean, literally, since THE DAY they announced a 360 release of VF5 I've been watching Ogi's youtube clips, lurking forums, and just generally immersing myself in all things VF.

If they push it to October, that'll be 10 months of waiting. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/frown.gif

For the love of god, give me that carrot! I can only play so much 3S.

 

Buying the game is one thing though. The niche market is the people that are prepared to invest the amount of time it takes to properly learn them, and then travel for them.

[EDIT] Guess this doesn't affect Sega to any great degree, other than the demographic of people prepared to complain is likely to be mostly the hardcore, which is much smaller, and they can probably live with upsetting.

Streetfighter is a good example, year after year, same names at tournaments.

I'd love to be able to compare response times as these guys move into there 30's with old ass reflexes /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/laugh.gif j/k

 

i have a bad feeling we might have to import VF games in the future. that would suck if they made region restrictions. i have to say i love VF5 but damn if your not going to promote one of your flagship titles the way its suppose to be then your only shooting yourself in the foot. im sorry but what other franchise titles does sega have left. sorry to say it but the sonic series for example is dead. for sega's sake i hope they offer some sort of online feature for the 360 version. the chances are also higher that this version will be version c. you also have to remember VF5 wasnt even going to be on xbox 360. this is terrible news for 360 owners but im hoping sega will at least try to make this version of the game the best it can be. id rather wait longer for a game knowing that the game will be the best it can be. the thing that sucks to me is the way segas promoting VF5. i know it costs money to advertise but c'mon sega this is a great game and franchise. for example this game always had next gen gameplay compared to other fighters but now it has the graphics to match. to me VF5 has the best gameplay and balance of any fighter. its like chess for fighting game fans. oh well it sucks but i guess its up to us who really love this franchise to promote this game by word of mouth.

 

/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/cry.gif Too many truths in this thread.. and they hurt /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/cry.gif

 

Empnova, don't say things like "oh Sega chose to not release VF4:FT so they screwed themselves."

No company is in the business to screw themself. That's an ignorant thing to say. There are many factors that play into what ends up happening. Just because you think this and that reason is why FT didn't come out for home, doesn't mean that's all the reasons. A game release is not as simple as "oh let's press a bunch of copies and send them out to stored."

The only thing that a company would do wrong is taking the wrong strategy and the wrong execution, or simply making a product that is not compelling enough for their target market.

Training mode, new characters, all the fluffy BS that evo had over VF5 doesn't make it a newer experience for the user. You guys act like those things sell a game, but they don't. Sure you might sell 100 more copies to stubborn hardcores who would boycott a game for stupid reasons like this, but do you think a company like Sega is going to care about selling just 100 more copies? The innovation of VF4 to VF5 is the social aspect through the enhanced connectivity. This is the key component that should have been translated over, but that we didn't get in the home conversion. To the average joe, VF5 is just another masher fighting game no matter how comprehensive a tutorial it may have, or how pretty you make the graphics. It's just one guy beating the crap out of another guy on the screen, and nothing new to his gameplay experience outside of that.

Games is a niche market no matter what BS the game industry feed you trying to empower you or make you feel better about yourself as a gamer. I'm sorry but you need to face reality. This is an entirely unrelated subject that I'm not going to get into.