53 replies to this topic

[Alex Atkin UK]

The 3DS is suffering this very problem, nobody is buying it due to the lack of games and nobody is making games for it due to the lack of people buying it. Basically, Nintendo have totally screwed themselves by having poor launch titles because third-party developers are not willing to commit a lot of money to making 3DS games until there is a large audience to buy the games. As such we end up with Ubisoft releasing shovelware and cancelling any games that actually have depth.

That said, while I would love to play NiGHTS in 3D I think the 3DS screen is less than ideal. Its going to be impossible to keep in the sweet spot while doing paraloops. So by all means convert it to stereoscopic 3D but release it on Xbox/PS3, like they have done with Sonic Generations. Although that being said, the 3DS version looks the best version of Generations because its a bit too pretty on the consoles causing major low frame rate and its really confusing to see what is going on. So maybe if Generations sells well on the 3DS it will increase the chance of NiGHTS being ported, it certainly seems SEGA are more keen on developing on 3DS than a lot of developers are.

As I said on Facebook though, if they released it on 3DS and Xbox I would likely buy it on both, because you can't have too much NiGHTS and with the 3DS its easier to let people have a go without them needing to own the console. Although if I end up getting PSVita I think I would prefer it on that for the extra screen size.

[DiGi Valentine]

I will say this. I honestly don't think NiGHTS should go to the 3DS. At least, not initially.

I'm willing to bet that a huge percentage of people who responded to SEGA's post on FaceBook and asked them for a 3DS game probably don't even own a 3DS themselves. They're just thinking it would be a 'cool idea' to see a NiGHTS game on it because of the 3D aspect of the system and the fact that the Circle-Pad would work similar to how the Saturn controller did it. The fact that the 3DS is not selling well either is another concern.

I strongly believe NiGHTS needs to be ported to modern home consoles first as that's where you will be likely to find most fans who filtered off from the Saturn and Dreamcast and may have played the original NiGHTS back in the 1990's. Plus, most homes tend to have one of the main consoles where as handhelds tend to vary a lot between owners. You don't want to put NiGHTS on a console where it won't be seen.

To me, a 3DS will get updated by another model a year down the line, leaving a game like NiGHTS stuck on a previous console that not many people owned or used. It happened with the Saturn and we don't want that again.

I say the best point of call is to bring NiGHTS to home consoles and then afterwards if demand is high then consider a 3DS port. But porting it to 3DS straight away is not a good idea at all and will pretty much defeat the point of this campaign to begin with.

[Veggie]

SEGA should put it on XBLA and PSN (Can it fit on Wii VC? If so, then there too) I don't see the point in them releasing it on a disc, I doubt they would go that route really but unless they significantly added to it, it would just be too "small" for a disc, people expect more from disc games these days. I do hope SEGA follow this up and don't just let it fizzle out into nothing, like that supposed Mega Drive game port a year (or more?) ago where people were voting for their favourite and nothing ever came of it.

[Noctourne Wonderland]

Maybe if the 3DS wasn't so bloody expensive, people would buy it. The demos are popular enough.

I agree that NiD should be ported to consoles first, but which home consoles? It's pretty much the universal opinion that it would only work on XBox and PS3, but that leaves out all Wii owners. I think that Wii markets itself more towards the people who would respond more warmly to a game like NiGHTS (specifically, fantasy and arcade types), whereas the HD consoles seem to be concerned mostly with FPS...es.

[Veggie]

XBLA at least (I can't say for PSN as I only own the Xbox 360) has plenty of retro titles, even old Dreamcast and Saturn titles, so I think it could be successful there just aswell as the Wii The PS2 code exists already so surely it's not that difficult to port it to the PS3 and 360? I completely forgot the awful Wii controller and how impractical that would probably be for NiGHTS, it seems to me at least it might be really difficult to control with the standard D-Pad, it looks uncomfortable to me.

[DiGi Valentine]

While i would love to say that i wish NiGHTS could come out on every console the fact of the matter is it can't and probably won't. The thing about this NiGHTS situation is we want SEGA to bring back NiGHTS into Dreams but we are willing to ask them to meet us half way. We know SEGA don't like wasting money on niche little cult fanbases but we have an opportunity to get NiD on modern consoles through digital downloads such as PSN and XBLA. The trouble with the Wii however is to get NiGHTS on there would mean a whole heap of trouble for SEGA and from my understanding it's not technically possible anyway due to one reason or another. To get NiGHTS back we have to play this campaign by SEGA's rules, we have to be realistic. A digital downloading service for the two main home consoles is a perfect place for SEGA to bring this game through as it saves them a load of money yet allows them to get the same if not more sales than if they done a physical release. And in turn, we win because we finally get a port of some kind.

I think that Wii markets itself more towards the people who would respond more warmly to a game like NiGHTS (specifically, fantasy and arcade types), whereas the HD consoles seem to be concerned mostly with FPS...es.

You'd be surprised, actually. Through XBLA and PSN i'm seeing a load of innovative titles come through. Sure, there's tons of FPS's and i don't like those games much either. But think about it like this. The people who play those kinds of games are adults and that generation of gamers grew up with the Saturn and Playstation. If you market a NiGHTS downloadable game to their systems they'll remember growing up during the 1990's and will recall the game. They'll want to play it after so long. Plus, as it's been said, a huge majority of the Saturn and Dreamcast owners went over to Sony or Microsoft after SEGA pulled out of the hardware industry so you're more likely to find a lot the old fans on those consoles than you would on the Wii.

While Wii owners would technically be missing out on this (and it would honestly be a case of 'win some, lose some' for them), we have to look at the area of the market where SEGA can make a port easily yet still reach a big enough audience for NiGHTS to make a good amount of sales. It's why we started the campaign, to show SEGA those numbers of interest and where they can direct their attention.

XBLA at least (I can't say for PSN as I only own the Xbox 360) has plenty of retro titles, even old Dreamcast and Saturn titles

Indeed! SEGA seem to be directing all their ports through these services. If it's working for them so far then bringing NiGHTS through the same door way would make the most sense. Besides, Guardian Heroes is coming through there too and that is a Saturn title. It seems like the best option for SEGA in the long run and the best option for a majority of the people who want to play NiGHTS again.

[Noctourne Wonderland]

To go off on another tangent, let's look at marketing. JoD's marketing (was there any? ) was awful, out of it being pretty much nonexistant. That's not good for a sequel to a cult game from a decade prior, so it's usually up there on the "Why JoD Got No Love" list. Looking at DLC, it's more or less the same case. It just shows up. Now NiD is lucky because it's easily one of the most iconic games ever for it's rarity. With a port, there it is for all to finally play, so you'd get the nostalgia crowd. But those are the same people who bought JoD for the most part; without the likelihood of winning over new fans, would Sega get enough of a response to warrant a port?

[Nemoide]

I know a lot of folks bash the JoD marketing campaign, but I remember seeing several advertisements in comic books. I don't think they played many ads on TV, but then, most games don't have heavy amounts of TV commercials, to my knowledge. I don't think it's fair to blame lack of marketing as the primary reason for NiGHTS' financial failure on Wii.

NiGHTS is not an unknown title, like Panzer Dragoon is (the last game of that series DID have TV ads and flopped regardless BTW). A lot of people in tune with gaming culture have heard of NiD, even if they haven't played it. I think a port for a current-generation system could be quite sucessful.

[viperxmns]

I just really hope they cover both XBLA and PSN. Sega has favored XBLA for many titles, and although the PS2 port of NiD was on... the PS2, I could still see Sega announcing the same kind of deal for NiD like with Guardian Heroes, despite the obvious similar outcry that would ensue. I'm sadly used to being frustrated by my favorite game developers.

At the very least I suppose there could be hope that PSN gets Guardian Heroes in the near future, like how Limbo just showed up on PSN a year after its XBLA release. Sega did ask for our feedback on that issue after all..

[Noctourne Wonderland]

I just really hope they cover both XBLA and PSN. Sega has favored XBLA for many titles, and although the PS2 port of NiD was on... the PS2, I could still see Sega announcing the same kind of deal for NiD like with Guardian Heroes, despite the obvious similar outcry that would ensue. I'm sadly used to being frustrated by my favorite game developers.

At the very least I suppose there could be hope that PSN gets Guardian Heroes in the near future, like how Limbo just showed up on PSN a year after its XBLA release. Sega did ask for our feedback on that issue after all..

At least you don't own only a Wii. Talk about being repeated frustrated by your favorite game developers...

[viperxmns]

At least you don't own only a Wii. Talk about being repeated frustrated by your favorite game developers...

I knew from day 1 I'd have to end up with a PS3 and a Wii (once I knew I was getting a Wii that is). Hope you can get your hands on another console.

It's still a bit different though, on a PS3 there's no real reason not to have the GH port and whatnot. It's in the same league as the 360, same market. However as we all know when it comes to the Wii it's a different story.. GH or NiD would have to be a disc release, never mind HD or network play. It's not so much being frustrated by developers as frustration at the console itself.

[Alex Atkin UK]

To me, a 3DS will get updated by another model a year down the line, leaving a game like NiGHTS stuck on a previous console that not many people owned or used. It happened with the Saturn and we don't want

Yes, but it will be upgraded to a 3DS XL, which will be functionally identical to the original 3DS just as the DSi and DSi XL are functionally identical apart from the obvious benefit of one being larger (larger screen, battery, etc).

The DS was an oddity, because it came out at a time when Nintendo had not really gotten to grips with the shift to Internet devices and WiFi was only just catching on. As such, it had fixed firmware and was stuck on WEP for WiFi security. That is why the DSi came out, to catch up for lost ground, allow anti-piracy measures through upgradeable firmware and add WPA WiFi security. Plus they added lots of things people now expected of an Internet able device.

The 3DS already has everything the DSi had, its not in the unusual situation the original DS/DSLite was in and so is highly unlikely to offer anything different to the original 3DS, other than better battery life, a larger screen with possibly better viewing angles, pretty much standard upgrades for a mid-generation overhaul. As such, there would be no benefit to porting NiGHTS to 3DS later rather than sooner, other than the obvious factor that more people will own one.

Personally if they only release it on one device I want it to be Xbox 360, because it has the most advanced gaming functionality and I do not like the PS3 control pad. But as I said before, I would happily buy it on 3DS and Xbox 360 if it was on both.

[EZEKiAL]

I like the idea of using Miis instead of the actual dreamers. I voted for 3DS on the Facebook comment.

[Chao Freak 1]

I'm pretty sure you guys have probably read this, but still. Puts my hopes a little higher.
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