Looking And Waiting For Something Special?

1. If you release it direct to console and want to patch, get ready for mass spam emails on how to improve the game.
(i.e. Can you give (insert character) a tracking mid that's safe and breaks the gauge in 4?)

2. Closed beta would be good but a true observation of the arcade in Japan (they do have stuff like VF.Net, why not SoulCalibur.net) would help determine what's hot, what's not, what's messed up.

3. It would be wise to tap on the ideas of the community. But it's really hard to dig up a diamond from a beach so it would be wiser to enlist the Japan SC community for suggestions. And they don't really favor playing SC on console due to the space constraints of their homes.

4. If I'm not wrong, Asian countries prefer arcade. So unless they are catering strictly to American and European audience, they should release Arcade version.

So yeah, don't just think about your own country, think about the big picture.

Personally, I'm fine with it either way as long as they got good training mode and patch accordingly.
 
The arcades should be used primarily to beta-test for the console version. On consoles you are limited to two patches, so it would be better to get the balance right first. Having a good arcade port will also generate buzz for console sales, like what happened with SF4. Arcades are in a decline, even in Japan though, so they shouldn't be the main focus. You can also make money through DLC on console with costume parts like you did with SC4. I was sort of disappointed that they didn't make more outfits.

I think the important thing with SCV gameplay is to make it good without making it like every other fighter. Soul Calibur's core features are manuevering, guard impact, and simple execution for the most part. I don't think everyone will agree with this- but I think a large part of SC's appeal, is that you don't really have a large memorization or execution component (outside of just frames and a couple of overhard moves such as Summon Suffering) before you get to the strategic side of the game.

I know Namco isn't going to listen to a random scrub, but if I was going to direct a Soul Calibur game, this approach is how I'd do it.

- Single player would have its main focus be on customizations. I would keep how it was done with SC4, but I would make more, much more, and that would be my DLC focus. I would make sure that the custom souls would be IDENTICAL to the real characters, so they would be tourney legal without problems.

- Instead of guest characters, I would have guest artists designing costumes/characters. Those would be DLC. Costume DLC that can be used on all characters should sell well, and doesn't offend DLC-haters. I wouldn't put it on the disk though, even if it was designed beforehand.

- Gameplay: I would go on the general principles of manuevering (8WR would be good), balance, GI (make it more effective), and simplicity (I'd ease the execution on the hardest moves such as Summon Suffering, balancing them out in different ways). With 8WR and GI being good, I could see turtling becoming an issue , so I'd buff throws slightly by giving them some tracking, having more delayable moves, and by giving grappler chars like Rock G+K throws that need a K break.
Balance would be the tricky part, and the public beta test that is an arcade version is how I'd handle that if I was designing things. The arcade version would have none of the single-player stuff though

- I'd make netcode the best I could. SF4 quality at worst, VF5 quality would be my goal. I'd try to have longish input buffers to help the netcode out, as some of the problem SC4 had with netcode was short input buffers.
 
Super SF4 was released directly to console and was a huge success... I bought the game but just for one thing: excellent online play. If you want to improve in a game you have to be a genius or have a lot of people to play with, and a lot of players doesn't have the chance to use their houses to make gatherings; so focus SC5 in improve the netcode will be very important. I hope they release patches to improve online play in SC4 (and a Broken Destiny for PS3)
 
see above post...arcade release necessary? *points at SSF4*

there is a ton of delusion in this thread. first of all, this is all VERY EARLY speculation.

arcades are dying or dead everywhere in the USA. i can't speak for europe or asia, but i suspect i'd find similar decline worldwide. there is absolutely no way to justify saying that releasing a game to 1/100th of possible buyers/players/investors is a wise decision. financially it is retarded.

as far as beta testing...well like i said, nothing against japanese players, but they have all but abandoned this series. is it because of the lack of release? maybe. but they refuse to adapt to the current climate of gaming worldwide. i do not want them to be the sole testers looking for balance. i want americans and europeans doing it...you know, the people who play and understand the game the best.

how can releasing the game only to people who have long since abandoned the series...exclusively for months or perhaps a year...be a good thing? it can't. simultaneous release? sure, but please oh please stop pushing for arcade as the primary medium for beta testing.

and there WAS a closed sc4 beta and it was hugely helpful and many people from here were part of it. get informed please before spouting off against something.

of course we cannot shrug off tournaments such as SBO and others, but we should not hope for a game adapted to fit them either. i do not know the numbers but i doubt SBO is even bigger than evo, and if it is i KNOW it gets less viewers. hell...do they even stream it at all?

i could go on and on about game features that i would like to see, modes i'd like to see implemented, characters i want etc. etc., but there is no point at this juncture. all we can hope for at this point is that they look only at the volume of support and not at the details or requests of fans.

oh, and.....

HWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANG
 
With me, it's not about just thinking about my own country, but suggestions need to make business sense. Everybody has things that they want to see happen, and I'm not opposed to an arcade release, I just don't see what sense it makes when Calibur is not as popular in Japan and when the largest markets for Soul Calibur are in America and Europe. There's a reason why they went directly to console with the last two games.

I would love the Japanese to be all up on Calibur, but it would have to be exclusive to arcades for a while so operators could turn a profit. You would also need to convince arcade operators to actually buy it. For a game that hasn't seen an arcade release in a long time, that's going to be difficult. You couldn't do something like release the game on console in America and Europe and release in arcades for Asia because people would just go get the console game. And both versions would need to be identical or else people would just play the console version.

If the only reason to release the game for arcades is to patch it, then you can just do that for the console. But what sense does it make to conform an entire game for a market that's not interested in it?

And in the end, it's not up to me. It's up to those who are making and trying to market the game. But the important thing right now is that the next project is a go!
 
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