In The Groove coming to PCs and Macs

arnoct · Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2005 8:26 am Post subject:

Meh, I'll warez it.

_________________

/robodex two thousand and five
/#bemani on irc.dynastynet.net -- talk about bemani stuff.

yyr · Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2005 9:25 am Post subject:

PedanticOmbudsman · Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2005 9:41 am Post subject:

El Mullet · Trick Member Joined: 24 Jan 2002

Okay, LEGALITY ISSUES ASIDE...

I'm personaly trying to figure out what is prompting Roxor to do this. Granted this is a largely untapped market. Granted its getting at least ONE exclusive feature outside of the PS2 release, and maybe more. But I'm still confused...

(1) Konami released DDR for the PC over three years ago. It was based off of 4th Mix, but had unique interface tweaks, song debuts never before seen on consoles up to that point, and the option to download American-exclusive characters. Despite all this, it never really took off. (Now the music games category HAS grown in popularity since then, but there's still no telling how successful a new PC dance game would fair.)

(2) ITG fans who had already bought the PS2 version could very well feel gyped having to buy the game AGAIN for the step editor features, with possibly more unique songs/steps/whatever thrown into the mix. Now that there's an ITG2 game within driving distance of my house, I certainly would feel gyped about having to buy a second copy just to make and play my own edits in the arcade. Especially since there's no freakin' room to put a dance pad in my current computer set-up.

(3) Again, the difference between legal and illegal is large. But it won't stop those who've already obtained the illegal step files (probably a lot of ITG fans, really) from passing the PC version up. Much like those waiting for DDR simfiles rather than buying the new home installments, its going to happen and impact sales. Whether its just a little or by a lot remains to be seen.

In the end, I'm just trying to figure out WHO this PC version is being made for. The PS2 version was obvious: fans of the arcade game and potential fans across America who didn't have access to it. The PC version, however, looks to cater to a MUCH smaller audience. A niche within a niche within a niche!

I can't imagine this going beyond a small print run to start with. 5,000 copies, maybe 10,000. If demand is high enough, more can be made. But as of now, its too early to tell.
_________________

UCTIONS!

Uiru · Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2005 11:23 am Post subject:

I'm fairly certain that nobody is kept up at night by having all the DDR song bumper packs on their computer... remember, the DWI logic is that if you own the game/soundtrack the song is from, you can use it in DWI. The same goes for ITG; and aren't the bumpers for that on ITGFreak anyway? Having these songs on your computer hasn't bothered Roxor so far.

Or maybe Roxor is going to clamp down on bumper packs, which I'm sure people will love. Or maybe fans will simply bend over and take it, who knows. ITG fans are weird. I know I'd feel unimpressed if Konami said "here, have all these songs for free" and a few months later said "well you've had your fun; $40 please!".

As for Edit Mode, I thought you could do that with SM. But then, I can't say I'm an expert on the topic. Regardless, it SHOULD have been in the first home release, except that they rushed it so they could cash in as soon as possible... hmm, cashing in... a theme appears!

And you should consider the legality issues just for a second, because they're hilarious. Consider the wisdom of Metroid Prime 2: "Space Pirates, strangely, dislike theft." So it's okay for Roxor to steal from Konami, just not for anyone else to steal from Roxor, including fans who have had the OK to do it thus far. Makes perfect sense to me!

On a final note, there IS hope for my little brother, the ITG cocksucker... told him about this last night, and he actually agreed that it was retarded. So he's not entirely gone, just yet. He's got his SM dressed up like ITG, though. I suppose the only interesting thing to keep an eye on for this release will be whether or not the game is as stupid as the first one in terms of censorship and loading times. (And we get to keep an eye on bloat, too. Is this going to be a multiple-gig affair, or will they simply rename all the StepMania files?)
~Uiru
_________________

Uiru's Stepfiles - Uiru vs ITG - Bemani on Wii?

"I just think everytime [Uiru] touches a keyboard, something epic comes out." ~Î©

Hellacious · Trick Member Joined: 02 Nov 2002 Location: Michigan

As far as Roxor needing money, that's a load of crap. It costs Andamiro around $2,500 to make a Dedicated Cabinet. They then sell the ITG2 Dedicab to Roxor for $5,000. Roxor then sells the ITG2 Dedicab to an arcade or Distributor for $10,000. That's right around $5,000 profit for every Dedicated Cabinet in the US. Konami is sueing them because they are bringing in fat profits. You don't see Konami sueing Dance Praise. As far as ITG for PC and OSX, its just to make more money because they know people will buy it because if you read on the itgfreak forums, people doggy because something is 110% arcade perfect. So until someone can recreate a 100% arcade perfect theme of ITG2 and all the simfiles, marathon mode, and survival mode, then ROXOR knows that people will absolutely buy this. Bonus content that they add into it is completely up to them. Roxor is out for your money but so is every other company out there so what else is new? That's all.

Synaesthesia · Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2005 11:50 am Post subject:

My guess is that the load times won't be like the PS2 ones, since they shouldn't have to mess with any coding porting it from the PC to the PC. I'm not going to offer any explanation for Edit Mode, since all they said was "removed at the last minute," which could be any number of things. Frankly, I don't care, since I never "got into" making edits.

As for the "logic" of DWI/SM, that of course is what they "have" to say. But honestly, how many people own the soundtracks for every song in the simulator? This is, of course, an issue with the end user, but if any of the simfile database sites would ONLY let you download the chart files, I guarantee that DWI and SM would not be nearly as popular as they are now. The difference between ITG sims and DDR sims is that a lot of ITG music is already available for perfectly legal download made available by the artists.

As El Mullet mentioned, the PC release of DDR didn't really make a splash. All it made Konami do was say "LOL that didn't work." My somewhat uneducated guess tells me that it doesn't cost a lot of money to put ITG out for PC compared to PS2. So, if this doesn't do much, it's probably not the end of the world for Roxor. I only know one person who plays SM passively enough that having the theme and all the little bells and whistles for sale would be enough to make him buy it rather than do it himself. Even so, I doubt he would spend more than $30 on it. I still think this is more about publicity and advertising than anything, and it may have the bonus effect of giving Plaguefox & Co. some more pizza money.
_________________

im a lasagna whale

G_G

PedanticOmbudsman · Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2005 12:45 pm Post subject:

Synaesthesia · Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2005 1:23 pm Post subject:

Maybe I'm not taking this seriously enough, but I don't think the lawsuit over arrow-smashy video games is going to be monumental in regards to how the government handles copyrights.
_________________

im a lasagna whale

G_G

Yeehaw McKickass · Contributor Joined: 06 Oct 2002 Location: Chicago Area

NEWS FLASH: COMPANIES LIKE TO MAKE HEAPS AND GOBS OF MONEY! Film at 11.

Wait, when did this turn into a battle over legalities? Isn't there a sticky at the top of the subforum that says not to do that?

ITG on OSX? I'll stick with PS2 and arcade for any 4 panel games I want to play.
_________________

Houou Don't You Want Me · Trick Member Joined: 18 Dec 2004

Resident Lune · Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2005 2:37 pm Post subject:

Uiru · Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2005 2:39 pm Post subject:

Synaesthesia · Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2005 3:27 pm Post subject:

But the "SPOILERS: Innovation dies in the end" argument is too extreme on the other end of the spectrum. Basically, no one except for us forum jockeys gives two shits about this lawsuit, if they've even HEARD of it in the first place. I am 100% certain that this (dispute) is not even a blip on the nexrad of the people who will actually end up mattering in the business world. And I'm even more certain that such "property thefts" have occurred MANY times in the past, ones more clear-cut than KvR, and it certainly hasn't "killed innovation as we know it" yet.
_________________

im a lasagna whale

G_G

sherl0k · Maniac Member Joined: 27 Jan 2002 Location: the internet

The point of the matter is that yes, anyone can download the game, and yes, anyone can get simfiles for it. But here is the point to end all points, read closely.

http://www.stepmania.com
hi we can download stepmania here

http://www.itgfreak.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=6
hi we can download an ITG theme and simfiles for ITG here

RoXoR knows damn well that they're being passed around, and they ALLOW it. Now they're going to SELL it? The point is not what's legal and what is not, it's what is going on right now and what they plan on doing. one involves a price tag, one does not.
_________________

[quote:ed1f6848c5=\\\"jaeness\\\"]get your change from obama, he apparently has tons of it.[/quote]

yagsimit69 · Trick Member Joined: 05 Jan 2004 Location: rochester

yyr- the point isnt that free software is easier but that stepmania has always been free,charging for itg would be like selling air, of course people will still do it but its pointless, and as far as simfile making goes, it only takes about 15 seconds to make a .sm file into a itg .edit file

Marvel627 · Trick Member Joined: 07 Jun 2003

Well, I just bought a ps2(largely influenced by ITG) and I dont care if they release this for pc. I already had ITG simfiles on my pc anyways, i hate clearing out poopy in my computer room to get my AFterburner to fit and then playing on a 17inch display.

Synaesthesia · Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2005 6:32 pm Post subject:

Well, people DID say that selling bottled water would never catch on.... of course, that's dealing with a different demographic of people. I'd guess that the average arrow-smashy fan is technically inclined enough to use SM, but if people would rather spend money than work a tad, go right ahead. People buy pads even though it's clearly not difficult to make one, so I suppose this is in a similar vein. (This is another of those things in which I'd be interested to see sales figures.)
_________________

im a lasagna whale

G_G

JJK · Trick Member Joined: 27 Feb 2005 Location: Fullerton, CA