Support NeoGAF

[D-Back]

Teamxbox

Some interesting stuff, sounds like it could lead to the rumored x-pod

 

[Azih]

Wouldn't be needed if there was a hard drive. I mean a new game could just look at a completed save game file on the harddrive.

 

[Ghost]

Reads like they are planning to do "Find the secret skull in Halo 3 to unlock MC as a playable character in brute force 2" kinda thing, games communicating between eachother to encourage you to go back and play older games when newer ones come out.

 

[PhatSaqs]

Cartridges? WTF?

 

[The Bookerman]

it's the n64 all over again.

Maybe Rare won't be a failure on the Xbox 2 after all.

 

[GhaleonEB]

Cartridges? WTF?

I read that as being flash cards, but we'll see.

 

[StoOgE]

Reads like they are planning to do "Find the secret skull in Halo 3 to unlock MC as a playable character in brute force 2" kinda thing, games communicating between eachother to encourage you to go back and play older games when newer ones come out.

not only that.. maybe you can only access a certain multiplayer Halo map by beating Brute Force 2. Its more likely they could force you to do things in less popular games in order to unlock stuff in the popular game.. and if they are really truly evil they will make you do something very hard in the less popular game so that it would be hard to do in a rental period.

However, they could also kill off the used game market... which Im sure they would love to do. Imagine a game where you have to go through 3 complete games to get a key that opens a door to a dungeon back in the first game. That dungeon has some really cool items that you could use in the online mode to kick some serious ass. That means people would hang on to their old games in order to unlock stuff in it later.. forcing people who want to do well in the online mode of game 3 to have also purchased the first two games...

Some stuff sounds like it could be fun for the gamer, but also good for the bottom line.

 

[human5892]

not only that.. maybe you can only access a certain multiplayer Halo map by beating Brute Force 2. Its more likely they could force you to do things in less popular games in order to unlock stuff in the popular game.. and if they are really truly evil they will make you do something very hard in the less popular game so that it would be hard to do in a rental period.

However, they could also kill off the used game market... which Im sure they would love to do. Imagine a game where you have to go through 3 complete games to get a key that opens a door to a dungeon back in the first game. That dungeon has some really cool items that you could use in the online mode to kick some serious ass. That means people would hang on to their old games in order to unlock stuff in it later.. forcing people who want to do well in the online mode of game 3 to have also purchased the first two games...

Some stuff sounds like it could be fun for the gamer, but also good for the bottom line.

Eh, sounds like connectivity redux to me...making gamers jump through a lot of hoops just to get the maximum enjoyment out of a product they paid for. If it's just small things like an extra character costume or something I wouldn't mind, but it would suck to give online players a tactical advantage or an entire extra level just because they beat some extra stuff and owned some extra games.

 

[StoOgE]

Eh, sounds like connectivity redux to me...making gamers jump through a lot of hoops just to get the maximum enjoyment out of a product they paid for. If it's just small things like an extra character costume or something I wouldn't mind, but it would suck to give online players a tactical advantage or an entire extra level just because they beat some extra stuff and owned some extra games.

yeah, but if they are trying to generate cross game sales its gonna have to be stuff you really really want. Not just "oh, thats kinda nifty' sorta stuff.

Most likely this is nothing, MS files patents all the time and nothing comes out of most of them..

 

[Ghost]

Well it'll be down to the developers to decide how fiddly things get, really this is just like the guy in metal gear who knows what games you've played but with a lot more information.


Basically it means Xenon Action replay will sell in the millions

 

[Sean]

It's kind of like connectivity, but done much better IMO. You don't even really have to buy anything this way, just rent the games if you want. Or copy a friends game save off his memory card or something.

I could see this being pretty cool in an RPG. If you played KOTOR3 on the dark side, and then KOTOR4 looks at your game save to see what you did and changes the story accordingly (references what actions you did in KOTOR3 etc). I think that would be pretty neat, anyway...

 

[Arcticfox]

How is this different than saving a game onto a memory card and then using the data in a future game, such as the Suikoden and Golden Sun series' have been doing for years?

 

[Joe]

How is this different than saving a game onto a memory card and then using the data in a future game, such as the Suikoden and Golden Sun series' have been doing for years?

microsoft owns the patent now, so you can kiss those days goodbye!

:HIGH FIVES MICROSOFT:

 

[lexi]

MS never actively defends patents so I wouldn't worry about their traditional 'Stop the competition from competing' tactics.

 

[StoOgE]

How is this different than saving a game onto a memory card and then using the data in a future game, such as the Suikoden and Golden Sun series' have been doing for years?

It could be a universal format so that you could do it more easily.. more importantly there could be some sort of security involved in this.. i.e. you cant copy the data.. its hard to fake (i.e. hack it)..

 

[Ghost]

I dont think this is anything 'new' its just obviously something Xbox didnt have that xenon will.

After the rumble pad fiasco i guess MS will patent everything remotely important.

 

[Spider_Jerusalem]

Today Xbox games can already share data: EA for examples does it with FIFA and TCM allowing players to export teams from one game to the other. Maybe they simply felt the need to patent this mechanic, but why?

 

[mr2mike]

Or maybe they could mean something deeper, like, hang on for a far fetched idea, supposed beating PGR2 and Forza2 unlocked the possibility to use cars or track from one in the other?

Or maybe not making making games interdependant, but doing things like making games fowards compatible, with new games in a series patching their predecessor with some of their sequel-born enhancements?

That surely would need patenting, since sharing actual game content between titles isn't something you could do on a memory card... well do it well anyway, what with their MASSIVE 8 MB capacity...

With that said, the ideas that have been thrown in so far, like doing things in game A to get something in game B, I'm not sure I like... I'm of the school of thought that thinks I shouldn't have to play Perfect dark zero to get extra stuff in Halo3...

 

[Spider_Jerusalem]

Reading it better, it seems it isn't related do the games save data, but to the games data and assets themselves. Infact they never mention memory cards but only "Cartridges" or other media, and the word "cartridge" is commonly used for describing a game media, not a games saves unit. Maybe they really want to allow the games to read other games data from their disks, like you suggested. ie, Forza 2 could permit you to insert PGR3 game disk and play on the games courses... it would be quite an interesting thing, if well done... even if I can't find an useful usage of it outside of sports and racing games.