By Torture

Again, it has been a while since my last piece, so a lot of stuff has happened and I'll just get right into it.

SNK and Atlus

In a sudden and surprising announcement, Atlus announced that they will be a developer for the Neo Geo Pocket. This is great news, as Atlus is a big name developer. Not only should NGP owners be getting good 3rd party software from Atlus, but a big developer like them might be a sign of change with other developers following. As it is, I believe Atlus has avoided portable gaming for quite a while, until the release of the Color Gameboy in late 1998. In fact, the Color Gameboy seemed to put some life back into portable gaming, by attracting more developers, and influencing some new competition. Thanks to this, Atlus is once again a handheld developer.

I found the announcement by Atlus to be a bit surprising, considering their relationship with SNK has not always been a pleasant one. Last year, the two companies were undergoing legal battles. Atlus sued SNK to prevent them from releasing the Neo Print coin-operated sticker machine in the United States, claiming SNK had infringed on a patent that Atlus held a lisence for. It turned out that SNK did not infrings on the patent in any way, and thus won the case. SNK intended to sue for damages because of the previous lawsuit, but I have not heard of any results of that.

Despite the history, Atlus sees the Neo geo Pocket as a viable platform to develop for, and I welcome their support very much. Atlus is definietly one of the developers I want on board. Fans of role playing games should benefit greatly from this, as Atlus can bring some traditional RPGs to NGP, strategy, as well as shooters, fighters.

Retail

As we speak, the Neo Geo Pocket is available at retail. It has been a long road, but it is finally there. Of course it did not go smoothly. The first snag according to reports was late shipments. Some stores did not have units available the day of the launch, and some did not have anything until days later. Store employees were not of help either, as they had no idea what was going on, what the Neo Geo Pocket was, and if their store would stock it. As it is, consumers were not all that well informed of things. Electronics Boutique has been selling the unit via their web site, so they are also carrying it at retail. Babbages on the other hand is instead selling the unit in some stores as a market test.

Unfortunately, SNK decided to change the packaging for Neo Geo Pocket software. This is probably the most disappointing thing that has happened since the Neo Geo Pocket launched. Importers and early adopters have all raved about the quality packaging of the software, so it is a shame it had to change, but there are reasons for everything. It is obviously a cost-cutting measure, and considering the low cost of the system itself, it is a justified one. We here at Sector: NGP have been told that retailers did not like the original packaging, and shelf space is important to retailers. While the new boxes are the same size and actual space isn’t an issue, if retailers wanted a change in packaging, SNK had no choice but to comply, or not get the product into enough stores. Shelf space is limited at stores with Playstation and N64 requiring so much space, the Dreamcast on the way, a constant stream of gameboy software, many peripherals, and even PC software already using that space. SNK doesn’t have the pull of Sega, Sony or Nintendo, so they are the ones who have to comprimise. It may be a shame that the packaging has changed, but we still pay for the software, and that hasn’t dipped in quality. Having bought Gameboy games in the past myself, I never considered any of what I paid to go to the packaging, as it is the software that is important. That’s not to say those who dislike it should not complain, but people must remember not to overreact, and to at least try to see all sides of the issue. A company like SNK thrives on loyal customers, so I am sure they’ll appreciate a polite reaction to the packaging.

The retail launch sounds so far like it is doing well. People have stated that their local Electronics Boutique stores are selling out of units and games despite little or no promotion within the store. This shows that SNK has done a good job raising awareness on the internet by promoting the unit to major videogame websites. Coverage at places like Gamecenter and Gamefan no doubt contributed to it, as their coverage has been very positive. Sites like those reach people not really interested in the unit specifically, but who might be willing to give it a shot based on good reaction. We do our part here, but those who come here generally already have the unit, or already think they want one. Hopefully these reports of good sales turn out to be true all over, and that it is long lasting.

System Advocacy

There is nothing wrong with preferring one game company over the other, or favoring a system. I am a big fan of SNK, and I think their fighting games are much better than Capcom’s, despite the hardware differences. That does not necessarily make me right. I do however admire Capcom for their work though, as they do make good games. We are all entitled to an opinion, but an opinion is only valid if it is based on the facts. It is a fact that the Gameboy Color is a bit on the weak side, especially directly compared to the NGP. If that causes the games to be unappealing to some, that’s fine. But if someone does like the gameboy, that doesn’t make them an idiot. What facts can back that up? Gameboy is an established system with many games, many are bad, but many are good. When a system reaches mass market success, there will be low quality games. It happened to Playstation, it happened to the Super Nintendo and the Genesis. The Gameboy has plenty of things going for it, so if some people prefer it, th ere are reasons for it.

That is not to say it just goes one way. Die hard Gameboy activists try to promote the superiority of Gameboy citing the size of the game library, and the fact that they can play Pokemon. Instead of making good points, they end up looking insecure about their choice. In fact, most times system advocacy causes people to look insecure. I’ve seen letters at another portable site about the Neo Geo Pocket and why it will fail. Sometimes people make valid points, but writing a letter saying why it will fail without even trying it out is just more of the same, and if people have that attitude, and spread their views to others, the NGP will not get the chance it deserves.

But it is all this advocacy that have caused the removal of this site’s forum for now, as of this writing.

Regardless of all that, the beauty of portable gaming is that the systems are cheap enough to buy two or three different ones. It is not cheap to buy more than one portable, but they are nto very expensive, and the price is low enough for many to buy whichever they like. I personally am happy with just my NGP, and cannot justify purchasing either a Gameboy or a Wonderswan, but that is me. I will give them both a chance in the future as the games appeal to me more. I have enjoyed the portable scene for a while because it did not have the fighting and bickering that console gaming seemed to generate, but lately that has been changing. There is nothing wrong with trying to show people how cool the portables are, but arguing and trying to force opinions onto people just ruin the whole thing. I personally have lots more fun playing my NGP than arguing with other people about why my NGP is much better than their gameboy. System preferences aside, the flaming of owners of rival systems is really inane since t he value of a system is totally subjective.

Well, that’s all I really feel like talking about. Things are good for NGP owners right now. SNK recently announced Sonic the Hedgehog then quickly followed that up with some impresive screens which are supposed to be early shots. I cannot wait for more on that. Also, Dive Alert is upon us at this time, which means that the wireless communications device is also coming. I really want to see what Sacnoth has done with this game, a game which I’ve followed for a very long time now. I also am really curious about the wireless link, and what it can really do. Anyway, I’m done, keep playing.