@Damo "You don't need GenAI to make your talent shine through - the past has proven that beyond doubt"
I'd like to rephrase this.
@LordBritish you don't need AI because you actually have talent. Most people using AI for stuff like game dev are doing so precisely because they lack the thing that you have, and even with the aid of AI their "creations" don't come anywhere close to what you were able to accomplish all by yourself decades ago.
These posts are annoying because the comment section always turns out like this:
People who don't like AI: "Video games are a creative medium so I wish that developers would innovate and introduce new ideas and mechanics rather than automating the creation of the game with a machine that just recycles what already exists and doesn't do a good job at it. Also it's not good for the environment."
People who like AI or just don't like people who don't like AI: "POLITICS! POLITICS! POLITICS! Everyone who doesn't like AI is a COMMUNIST!!! AI IS ACTUALLY REALLY GOOD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT BY THE WAY!! Nothing original has ever been produced before!"
@axelhander I didn't tell him to cater to any specific group, I said he needs to know who his audience is and cater to that audience. Learn how to read.
@LordBritish there's nothing wrong with experimenting with new technologies, but as a person trying to sell a product you also have to know who your audience is and cater to them a little bit. If your audience doesn't like generative AI then don't use it, it's that simple. This should be good advice regardless of anyone's views on AI. Know your customer.
@81632bit literally everyone is wired to learn languages. You brought up math and science, but those topics can be reduced to critical thinking and logical reasoning, which everyone is wired for. Outcomes will differ based on various factors such as the quality of the educational material, the ability (or lack thereof) of the teacher, and even seemingly unrelated factors like if the student got enough sleep the night prior or ate a good breakfast. But the sinole fact is, with the exception of people who have legitimate mental disorders or deficiencies, everyone is wired for critical thinking and logical reasoning.
But language is neither critical thinking nor logical reasoning. In fact, it's much easier, and linguists insist that not only is everyone wired for it but also that everyone learns it the same way.
I'd let to see Mega Man get a proper return. I know they're making a new game, but I hope they don't abandoned the series for nearly a decade again after it releases like they did with MM11.
I'm in my thirties and have been living in Japan since I was a teenager, and I play games exclusively in Japanese (except for the rare occasion where I might play a Western game). There is some good information in this article.
Speaking from my own personal experience, I think modern games are better for learning. Something like the Famicom Detective Club remake, Dragon Quest HD2D remake, or any of the plethora of visual novels released over the past 20 years will be infinitely more helpful to a new learner than something like an old SNES RPG. Those retro games are absolutely worth it when you reach that level, and it's highly rewarding to be able to play them in Japanese, but if you're still figuring things out it's better to play newer stuff (in my opinion) because it's much easier. That is to say, maybe let your first few games in Japanese be something relatively modern.
That being said, I think you should treat games as a supplement and nothing more. It's much better to learn from books, and then use games (along with TV) as a fun way to relax in the language when you're not reading a book. But reading novels should be your absolute top priority as that's where most of your gains will come from. You CAN use games as your main learning material (lots of people do this with visual novels), but learning is much faster with novels, and then you can use games purely for enjoyment.
Also don't get hooked on Anki. It's a helpful tool but it's not something to obess over and it can easily burn you out and ruin learning for you. Do not waste your time on vocab mining.
All of that being said, I can't agree enough on Game Center CX, as well as the many manga and anime based on games and other media. Just as I love playing games in Japanese, I'm always looking forward to the latest episode of GCCX, and I have manga based on various games in my collection like Zelda and Rockman EXE. Reading old issues of Famitsu is a lot of fun, and I also really enjoy all of the retro gaming related mook's being published these days, such as the Perfect Catalog series that's mentioned in the article. This week I just picked up a book on the history of fighting games which is from the same author. Like the author of this article, I also have a collection of guidebooks sitting beside my MOOK collection. I also like some anime based on old games, like the Sonic OVA from Studio Piero. Consuming all of that media, as well as playing games, was very beneficial for my learning.
If you want an easy (retro) RPG for a beginner, check out Rockman EXE.
@axelhander it goes way deeper than just dithering. For example the intro Wood Man's stage in Mega Man 2 has an animation effect in the background that's only possible on a CRT and is created by the NES' noisy video signal. You're not getting that animation with sharp pixels and it detracts from the scene.
@axelhander those games were designed for the blurry image produced by CRTs and most games use visual effects that can only be recreated by that blur and simply don't work on modern displays.
@Damo if they were in competition with each other Microsoft wouldn't be releasing games for Nintendo's platform or allowing Nintendo to include characters they own in their games like Smash Bros, or license their games for NSO.
@Damo Microsoft and Nintendo both make home consoles and they're not in competition with each other. Just because they both make a device that plays games doesn't mean there's any competition there. playdate's competition is Chinese emulator slop handhelds.
I REALLY want to play this, but unfortunately one of the devs confirmed on Reddit that it doesn't support the Japanese version of the game so I guess I'm SOL. That seems to be a common trend with these recompilations.
If we're going to throw shade at Nintendo over this ***** then we might as well throw it at every other gaming company while we're at it. This story would hardly get any clicks if it didn't have Nintendo's name in the title.
I can't wait for the Mega Drive version to finally release. I already picked up the game on Steam to support Yuzo Koshiro and his team, but there's no way I'm going to spoil myself and play it before the Mega Drive version releases. The delays are killing me.
@Arcadia_Official they played Steel Battalion with the full cockpit control panel and they rented out a theater so that Arino could feel like he was piloting a real mech while he played.
The show "ignores" Xbox because nobody in Japan owns (or owned) an Xbox and it's a TV show focused on nostalgic games that people played in their youth.
The show has so much "ultra-Japanese sentiment" that they film specials where they visit other countries to show what the retro gaming scene is like there. Cool it with the racism.
@gmar it's on Fuji's CS channel just as it has always been. It's also on FOD, but idk if that includes new episodes or if it's just older content, I've never subscribed to that so idk how it works. And of course there's the DVD sets too. Recently they also put some content on TVer which is free. During the anniversary they did a YouTube channel too, it's not super active anymore but they did keep it around in some capacity because it was popular.
@gmar GCCX predates those consoles by a few years. PS2 and Gamecube were the latest consoles when the show started. Not sure what you mean about the show being a relic of the past though, it's pretty popular and they routinely fill entire stadiums for live events. Every time they have an event they have to get a bigger stadium because the show is that popular. The original even at Nippon Budokan only drew 7000 people, but the 2023 even at Saitama Super Stadium drew 15,000 people. I was there, it was packed, every seat was full and tickets were sold via lottery. Lots of fans traveled from across the country just to attend. To say that a show which can pull those kinds of crowds is a relic of the past that's in danger of getting cancelled is just out of touch.
As for the game, why would a game based on a Japanese TV show be released in other countries where the show doesn't air, or on platforms that aren't popular in the country where the show does air? If you want it released overseas then petition for a company to pick up the rights and localize it like what happened with the original DS game 20 years ago. Bandai certainly isn't going to do it today, just as they didn't do it at that time.
@Arcadia_Official what's up with the racism? Xbox isn't popular anywhere in the world and has never been popular in Japan because Microsoft didn't built strong enough relationships with local developers and never did anything to appeal to the local market. They built a small niche in the 360 era because of a minor attempt at providing software that appeals to the Japanese market, but their hardware was garbage and it ruined that attempt. And none of their consoles after that were popular anywhere.
@Penguinpengy no that makes a lot of sense actually. Things didn't just change overnight, it took a generation. 5th gen is the last gen where arcade games were still prevalent and had an influence on game design, the last gen where it was expected by default that the people you play with were in the same room as you, and the last gen where games were fully offline.
7th gen is the first gen where online was not only normal but being connected online was the default. Arcades were long dead and their influence on game design had long since passed, and it was now expected that the people were were playing with were in another location.
6th gen was a weird period of transition. Arcade games dropped off in popularity, the last game console based on arcade hardware came and went, and every console in that generation introduced modems and online play, but not everyone had one and not everyone went online. DLC became a thing, as did patches (on console) which started to change how games are developed, etc.
Comments 136
Re: "Terrible Marketing Hid A Great Show" - First Reviews Of Paramount's Golden Axe TV Series Are In
You're never going to convince me to watch this
Re: Official Nintendo HORI Arcade Classic Pro Features Swappable Sticks, Paddle, And Even A Trackball
@Razieluigi because games that used that for inputs often used two of them, like Ikari Warriors. Are you new to arcade games or something?
Re: "He Was Giddy" - Even Lord British Has Succumbed To The Allure Of GenAI
@axelhander nobody wants to look at your links bro. Its like when a flat earther spams you with Instagram videos to try and prove his delusions.
Re: Official Nintendo HORI Arcade Classic Pro Features Swappable Sticks, Paddle, And Even A Trackball
This needs to have two of those yellow knobs and also an empty plate for when nothing extra is installed on the right side.
Re: "He Was Giddy" - Even Lord British Has Succumbed To The Allure Of GenAI
@Damo
"You don't need GenAI to make your talent shine through - the past has proven that beyond doubt"
I'd like to rephrase this.
@LordBritish you don't need AI because you actually have talent. Most people using AI for stuff like game dev are doing so precisely because they lack the thing that you have, and even with the aid of AI their "creations" don't come anywhere close to what you were able to accomplish all by yourself decades ago.
Re: "He Was Giddy" - Even Lord British Has Succumbed To The Allure Of GenAI
@dodgykebaab what's CP? Chinese police?
Re: "He Was Giddy" - Even Lord British Has Succumbed To The Allure Of GenAI
@axelhander next you're going to call me a communist, right?
Re: "He Was Giddy" - Even Lord British Has Succumbed To The Allure Of GenAI
These posts are annoying because the comment section always turns out like this:
People who don't like AI: "Video games are a creative medium so I wish that developers would innovate and introduce new ideas and mechanics rather than automating the creation of the game with a machine that just recycles what already exists and doesn't do a good job at it. Also it's not good for the environment."
People who like AI or just don't like people who don't like AI: "POLITICS! POLITICS! POLITICS! Everyone who doesn't like AI is a COMMUNIST!!! AI IS ACTUALLY REALLY GOOD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT BY THE WAY!! Nothing original has ever been produced before!"
Re: "He Was Giddy" - Even Lord British Has Succumbed To The Allure Of GenAI
@axelhander clearly you don't
Re: "He Was Giddy" - Even Lord British Has Succumbed To The Allure Of GenAI
@axelhander I didn't tell him to cater to any specific group, I said he needs to know who his audience is and cater to that audience. Learn how to read.
Re: "He Was Giddy" - Even Lord British Has Succumbed To The Allure Of GenAI
@vicmackey why do you assume that anyone who is against AI is a communist? Do you have brain worms?
Re: "He Was Giddy" - Even Lord British Has Succumbed To The Allure Of GenAI
@LordBritish there's nothing wrong with experimenting with new technologies, but as a person trying to sell a product you also have to know who your audience is and cater to them a little bit. If your audience doesn't like generative AI then don't use it, it's that simple. This should be good advice regardless of anyone's views on AI. Know your customer.
Re: Sega CD Shadowrun's English Translation Was Developed Using AI
@81632bit literally everyone is wired to learn languages. You brought up math and science, but those topics can be reduced to critical thinking and logical reasoning, which everyone is wired for. Outcomes will differ based on various factors such as the quality of the educational material, the ability (or lack thereof) of the teacher, and even seemingly unrelated factors like if the student got enough sleep the night prior or ate a good breakfast. But the sinole fact is, with the exception of people who have legitimate mental disorders or deficiencies, everyone is wired for critical thinking and logical reasoning.
But language is neither critical thinking nor logical reasoning. In fact, it's much easier, and linguists insist that not only is everyone wired for it but also that everyone learns it the same way.
Re: Review: TrimUI Brick Pro - Same Power In A Larger Frame (And Dual Analogue, Too)
Putting sticks on it in this form factor makes it look like cheap garbage
Re: Sega CD Shadowrun's English Translation Was Developed Using AI
@81632bit language learning has nothing to do with intelligence
Re: Sega CD Shadowrun's English Translation Was Developed Using AI
@Sketcz everyone is wired for language learning. I'm sorry you had such a hard time with it, but it's not impossible for you. Best of luck.
Re: Sega CD Shadowrun's English Translation Was Developed Using AI
@Sketcz just learn Japanese at that point.
Re: Yuji Horii's Hugely Influential 1983 Adventure Game 'Portopia Serial Murder Case' Is Getting A Remake
This was one of the top announcements in the Direct for me but I hope it doesn't get localized because that always ruins games like this.
Re: Sunsoft's Second Retro Game Collection Includes Original 'Kusoge' Ikki And Obscure RPG Maharaja
They just released Ikki again a few years ago, how many times do they expect people to buy it???
Re: "We're Genuinely Sorry" - The Neo Geo AES+ Has Been Delayed
@Zeebor15 there's an endless amount of reasons to hate that guy.
Re: "We're Genuinely Sorry" - The Neo Geo AES+ Has Been Delayed
AN ENTIRE YEAR????
Re: "I Haven't Been Paid In A While" Admits Amico CEO While Insisting That Tommy Tallarico Is Still "Active" In Raising Funds
This company is an example if a revival gone completely wrong. The other end of the spectrum would be Commodore I guess.
Re: Experience A "First Taste" Of The Ninja Gaiden-Inspired Platformer 'Eclipse Blade' With This Epic New Steam Demo
I'd rather just play Ninja Gaiden.
Re: Following Onimusha, Capcom Is Looking At 'Re-Activating' Dormant Franchises - What Would You Like To See Return?
I'd let to see Mega Man get a proper return. I know they're making a new game, but I hope they don't abandoned the series for nearly a decade again after it releases like they did with MM11.
Re: Want To Learn Japanese? Retro Games Are Your Friend
I'm in my thirties and have been living in Japan since I was a teenager, and I play games exclusively in Japanese (except for the rare occasion where I might play a Western game). There is some good information in this article.
Speaking from my own personal experience, I think modern games are better for learning. Something like the Famicom Detective Club remake, Dragon Quest HD2D remake, or any of the plethora of visual novels released over the past 20 years will be infinitely more helpful to a new learner than something like an old SNES RPG. Those retro games are absolutely worth it when you reach that level, and it's highly rewarding to be able to play them in Japanese, but if you're still figuring things out it's better to play newer stuff (in my opinion) because it's much easier. That is to say, maybe let your first few games in Japanese be something relatively modern.
That being said, I think you should treat games as a supplement and nothing more. It's much better to learn from books, and then use games (along with TV) as a fun way to relax in the language when you're not reading a book. But reading novels should be your absolute top priority as that's where most of your gains will come from. You CAN use games as your main learning material (lots of people do this with visual novels), but learning is much faster with novels, and then you can use games purely for enjoyment.
Also don't get hooked on Anki. It's a helpful tool but it's not something to obess over and it can easily burn you out and ruin learning for you. Do not waste your time on vocab mining.
All of that being said, I can't agree enough on Game Center CX, as well as the many manga and anime based on games and other media. Just as I love playing games in Japanese, I'm always looking forward to the latest episode of GCCX, and I have manga based on various games in my collection like Zelda and Rockman EXE. Reading old issues of Famitsu is a lot of fun, and I also really enjoy all of the retro gaming related mook's being published these days, such as the Perfect Catalog series that's mentioned in the article. This week I just picked up a book on the history of fighting games which is from the same author. Like the author of this article, I also have a collection of guidebooks sitting beside my MOOK collection. I also like some anime based on old games, like the Sonic OVA from Studio Piero. Consuming all of that media, as well as playing games, was very beneficial for my learning.
If you want an easy (retro) RPG for a beginner, check out Rockman EXE.
Re: The $179.99 LEGO PlayStation Might Be The Closest We'll Get To A New Ape Escape
Buying this means giving money to Sony, which is a mortal sin right now.
Re: "A Pathetic And Shameful Moment In American History" - Trump Turns Human Suffering Into Retro Games To The Tune Of Sonic The Hedgehog
The US government just took a big fat dooky all over the hobby that has been the center of my life since I was a kid.
Re: "The Work Of The Machine Will Never Match That Done By Humans" - Sunlit Cuts Ties With KandoWontu Over AI Use
Can we get less stories like this? These posts are just as annoying as AI or anything else related to it.
Re: Be Honest, Did You Know About This Mushroom-Saving Super Mario Bros. Trick?
I want to see more posts like this and less about AI slop and Chinese handheld e-waste.
Re: Release Date Finally Confirmed For My Arcade's Gamestation Retro Go Handheld
That thing looks like garbage
Re: "Relive The Glory Days Of Console Gaming" - New 4:3 Monitor Takes Aim At Retro Players
@axelhander it goes way deeper than just dithering. For example the intro Wood Man's stage in Mega Man 2 has an animation effect in the background that's only possible on a CRT and is created by the NES' noisy video signal. You're not getting that animation with sharp pixels and it detracts from the scene.
Re: "Relive The Glory Days Of Console Gaming" - New 4:3 Monitor Takes Aim At Retro Players
@axelhander those games were designed for the blurry image produced by CRTs and most games use visual effects that can only be recreated by that blur and simply don't work on modern displays.
Re: Anbernic's Next Handheld Does A Great Impression Of Nintendo's Switch Lite
Another day, another crappy Chinese emulator handheld that's going to wind up in a landfill within 5 years.
Re: Unlike Nintendo, Playdate Maker Panic Is Doing The Right Thing With Tariff Refunds
@romanista pico-8 isn't even a physical product, and it's more for programmers.
Re: "Utterly Disappointing" - Early Reactions To Cave's Latest Bullet Hell Revival Aren't Exactly Positive
Should probably pick up the older version before it gets delisted
Re: Unlike Nintendo, Playdate Maker Panic Is Doing The Right Thing With Tariff Refunds
@Damo if they were in competition with each other Microsoft wouldn't be releasing games for Nintendo's platform or allowing Nintendo to include characters they own in their games like Smash Bros, or license their games for NSO.
Re: Unlike Nintendo, Playdate Maker Panic Is Doing The Right Thing With Tariff Refunds
@Damo Microsoft and Nintendo both make home consoles and they're not in competition with each other. Just because they both make a device that plays games doesn't mean there's any competition there. playdate's competition is Chinese emulator slop handhelds.
Re: Unlike Nintendo, Playdate Maker Panic Is Doing The Right Thing With Tariff Refunds
@Damo Nintendo and Playdate are not competitors any more than Nintendo and FIIO are competitors.
Re: Trapped On Xbox For Almost Two Decades, Mistwalker's 'Blue Dragon' Is Getting An Unofficial PC Port This Week
I REALLY want to play this, but unfortunately one of the devs confirmed on Reddit that it doesn't support the Japanese version of the game so I guess I'm SOL. That seems to be a common trend with these recompilations.
Re: Unlike Nintendo, Playdate Maker Panic Is Doing The Right Thing With Tariff Refunds
If we're going to throw shade at Nintendo over this ***** then we might as well throw it at every other gaming company while we're at it. This story would hardly get any clicks if it didn't have Nintendo's name in the title.
@-wc- respectfully, I doubt that.
Re: Commodore And CD Projekt Red Reveal Cyberpunk 2077-Branded C64, Coming Next Year
Well that certainly wasn't on my bingo card
Re: Earthion Is Getting Its Own Hand-Made Sega Genesis Arcade Stick, But What's Going On With That Trailer?
I can't wait for the Mega Drive version to finally release. I already picked up the game on Steam to support Yuzo Koshiro and his team, but there's no way I'm going to spoil myself and play it before the Mega Drive version releases. The delays are killing me.
Re: "I've Never Been One To Play It Safe" - Segagaga Director Goes All-In On GenAI On His Latest Project
At least he's honest about it, but I'm not paying money for AI slop.
Re: Castlevania: Belmont's Curse Is Set To Feature Some Familiar Voices For Fans Of The Netflix Show
Oh look, more reasons not to play it! š¤£
Re: Popular Retro Gaming Variety Show, Game Center CX, Lifts Ban On PS3 & Nintendo Wii Games
@xzacutor I don't think they could do a DS challenge since they don't have any way to record the game footage from the device.
Re: Popular Retro Gaming Variety Show, Game Center CX, Lifts Ban On PS3 & Nintendo Wii Games
@Arcadia_Official they played Steel Battalion with the full cockpit control panel and they rented out a theater so that Arino could feel like he was piloting a real mech while he played.
The show "ignores" Xbox because nobody in Japan owns (or owned) an Xbox and it's a TV show focused on nostalgic games that people played in their youth.
The show has so much "ultra-Japanese sentiment" that they film specials where they visit other countries to show what the retro gaming scene is like there. Cool it with the racism.
Re: Popular Retro Gaming Variety Show, Game Center CX, Lifts Ban On PS3 & Nintendo Wii Games
@gmar it's on Fuji's CS channel just as it has always been. It's also on FOD, but idk if that includes new episodes or if it's just older content, I've never subscribed to that so idk how it works. And of course there's the DVD sets too. Recently they also put some content on TVer which is free. During the anniversary they did a YouTube channel too, it's not super active anymore but they did keep it around in some capacity because it was popular.
Re: N64 Racer 'Extreme-G' Just Got An Unofficial PC Port With Increased Frame Rates & So Much More
I think Extreme-G 2 is the one that I had as a kid. It was a lot of fun.
Re: Popular Retro Gaming Variety Show, Game Center CX, Lifts Ban On PS3 & Nintendo Wii Games
@gmar GCCX predates those consoles by a few years. PS2 and Gamecube were the latest consoles when the show started. Not sure what you mean about the show being a relic of the past though, it's pretty popular and they routinely fill entire stadiums for live events. Every time they have an event they have to get a bigger stadium because the show is that popular. The original even at Nippon Budokan only drew 7000 people, but the 2023 even at Saitama Super Stadium drew 15,000 people. I was there, it was packed, every seat was full and tickets were sold via lottery. Lots of fans traveled from across the country just to attend. To say that a show which can pull those kinds of crowds is a relic of the past that's in danger of getting cancelled is just out of touch.
As for the game, why would a game based on a Japanese TV show be released in other countries where the show doesn't air, or on platforms that aren't popular in the country where the show does air? If you want it released overseas then petition for a company to pick up the rights and localize it like what happened with the original DS game 20 years ago. Bandai certainly isn't going to do it today, just as they didn't do it at that time.
@Arcadia_Official what's up with the racism? Xbox isn't popular anywhere in the world and has never been popular in Japan because Microsoft didn't built strong enough relationships with local developers and never did anything to appeal to the local market. They built a small niche in the 360 era because of a minor attempt at providing software that appeals to the Japanese market, but their hardware was garbage and it ruined that attempt. And none of their consoles after that were popular anywhere.
Re: Popular Retro Gaming Variety Show, Game Center CX, Lifts Ban On PS3 & Nintendo Wii Games
@Penguinpengy no that makes a lot of sense actually. Things didn't just change overnight, it took a generation. 5th gen is the last gen where arcade games were still prevalent and had an influence on game design, the last gen where it was expected by default that the people you play with were in the same room as you, and the last gen where games were fully offline.
7th gen is the first gen where online was not only normal but being connected online was the default. Arcades were long dead and their influence on game design had long since passed, and it was now expected that the people were were playing with were in another location.
6th gen was a weird period of transition. Arcade games dropped off in popularity, the last game console based on arcade hardware came and went, and every console in that generation introduced modems and online play, but not everyone had one and not everyone went online. DLC became a thing, as did patches (on console) which started to change how games are developed, etc.
What you said makes absolutely perfect sense.