Hey guys...just when I thought I was out...they pull me back in!
Here's context:
Ok, so this hits on Joystiq today:
http://www.joystiq.com/2006/10/26/david-jaffe-compares-xbox-live-to-ashlee-simpson/
It's basically a summary from an article I did with N'gai, the longtime tech reporter (and all around nice guy) from Newsweek. I really appreciate they failed to put a link to the actual article on their site. At least I think they did, I may have missed it.
Either way:
...here's the ACTUAL article, not an out of context rehash of it:http://ncroal.talk.newsweek.com/default.asp?item=243757
And here is my response to the whole thing, if you care about such things:
Wow...I just can't win. But that's cool. I can appreciate how I may have come off as an ass, especially in this somewhat out of context verson of what I actually said to N'gai (and what N'gai actually printed)....for what it's worth (and you can see proof of this by clicking the link to the newsweek site), the gist of it was:
I think BIG epic games (besides mentioning GOW, I also mentioned FALL OF MAN, GT, and one other one) are LIKE Operas (story; music; spectacle; special fx;etc) COMPARED to these smaller games for XBOX LIVE and SONY PS3...to me, the smaller games are LIKE pop songs. And then I explained that there are great pop songs and there are shit pop songs. The great pop songs are from bands like THE BEATLES and ROLLING STONES and the shit ones tend to come from folks like Ashlee Simpson. I then made a CORRECT comparison saying XBOX LIVE ARCADE (which- by the way- I said I LOVED) was more like an oldies station. And it is...I pay my cash/year for the service, I deserve the right to have an opinion. And my opinion is that the VAST majority of games on the service are OLDIES, classics from the arcade days long gone by. Doesn't make them bad but they ARE OLDIES. And I was explaining how Sony downloadable games are putting the focus on NEW games AND older games.
I DID kinda take a jab at some of the newer games on XBLA and say they are like ASHLEE SIMPSON. That was just me mouthing off and cracking a joke and not realizing how shitty and petty it sounded until I saw it in print. I dig castle crashers (and I've played it as we had an early version in the office); I LOVE UNO; and GEO WARS is one of the best games of last year. So yeah, sorry to those folks on those teams who took offense. But my oldie comment still stands as so many of the games we get on Wednesdays tend to be old games. Hard to say that is not true.
And no, I don't think my games are as good as the Beatles, I don't think GOD OF WAR is perfect (I said that in the N'gai interview), and I don't think I'm the shit. I am just a guy doing the best work he can who has enough of a self-esteem to feel that my opinion is worth expressing when asked for it.
So there you go. Hope that helps some of you rational folks get a sense of where I'm coming from. If not, I guess we will never see eye to eye. Please continue to hate me. At least we gave it a shot.
For you irrational folks who are just a bunch of asses, I invite you to go down to the nearest corner and fuck yourself.
Peace!
David
My feelings regarding your analogy is that it is explicitly backwards. Older, classic, tried and true games that are still fun today, would be more likened to the Beatles and such.
ReplyDeleteLike the Beatles, they were wildly popular back in the day. They were heralded as some of the best games of that era. And today, the gameplay hasn't aged, they are still quite fun.
Whereas newer, trendy games could be compared to Ashley Simpson. They built themselves (read: ripped off) of older tried and true gameplay mechanics, with a makeover to make them appealing to the current generation of gamers. They don't take too many risks, but rather stick to the same old. These newer games are inconsistant in quality...
Whereas the older games were all gems, filtered through time, through years of critical acclaim and play.
I think that if you viewed your words through that point of view, you can see why people are scratching their heads about that comment in particular.
I totally agree that you have to defend your words as a result of a biased media source that attempted to vilify you...but to be honest, your explanation regarding your analogy really doesn't explain your logic well (to me, anyways).
nrXic
So does that make us Ashlee Simpson? :\
ReplyDeleteNR: I never said MY games were like the pop songs of the Beatles. I said that there were GOOD pop songs (BEATLES) and BAD pop songs (Simpson). And I said I wanted us to make GOOD pop songs (i.e. GOOD arcade games).
ReplyDeleteI also never bitched about old games; I said I loved and played them. But I said XBLA is like an oldies station that tends to play mostly older songs/games.
I would never compare my talents to those of the Beatles. I was just saying that I aspired to games with that level of quality and resonance.
As for gas: why would that make you Ashlee Simposon? Do you make games for XBLA or SONY EDI?
David
Glad to see you clear that up Jaffe. But seriously does this mean we won't get a Jaffe God of War 3 on the PS3 in the future, because that would suck. :(
ReplyDeleteDear David Jaffe,
ReplyDeletePlease please please remake Twisted Metal 2 for download.
-Add 4-player co-op,
-fix the framerate, and
-leave everything else the same.
k thx bye
P.S: Your interview was crystal clear to me, I don't see how people seem to chronically misunderstand what you say.
"Not everything is suited to a 50-megabyte Blu-Ray disc. "-from Newsweek interview
ReplyDeleteLOL zomg downgrade total!
Is E-distribution initiative the offical name of the service? It sounds really technical and boring, ie not fun.
Hi Dave,
ReplyDeleteYou said you're not good at analogy then just shove it.
Not everybody is good at everything. I know what you mean but sometimes your analogies get a little messy you know.
Haven't you noticed that you're always taken out of context? Its ridiculous. But I understood what you meant and you have a point.
ReplyDeleteDavid, you have to chill. It's journalism and their slant that frags ya. Journalists have their own context, especially Gaming ones. I think most gaming bloggers and so-called journalists know they can push your buttons and they do so to get you to react. Fuck 'em. The people who read the real article instead of the article about the real article are the ones that matter and they get it.
ReplyDeleteYour points were valid. You want to make quality games instead of fluff.
Please stay that course.
And Thank you for your fine, kick ass contributions so far.
"And my opinion is that the VAST majority of games on the service are OLDIES, classics from the arcade days long gone by."
ReplyDeleteNot quite, out of 34 XBLA games currently available to us Westerners, only 14 could be characterized as oldies, and that's including Doom, UMK3 and SF2. So not the VAST majority - not even the majority.
Don't get me wrong, I think you're one of the nice guys, but maybe sometimes you should think twice before saying something.
But if Jaffe ever thinked twice, he wouldn't be Jaffe anymore!
ReplyDeleteDavid! Hey man this is Aggort! You may remmeber me from ModBlog... you might not. Regardless, how are you doing. Hey could you email me sometime soon. I got a big question to ask you and I hope you'll reach me! My email is Aggort@gmail.com I know your not working the same on GOW2 but hey because of GOW I am waiting for the sequel!
ReplyDelete