140°

What Defines A Classic?

OnlySP.com writes:
'The current console generation is home to a number of initiatives that see earlier games lumped under the prestigious banner of Classics. The respective online stores of the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 feature subsections for the games on their predecessors, while the HD Remaster efforts (at least on the PS3 in PAL regions) carry the title of Classics HD. Most consumers see it as convenient branding to better distinguish them from more modern products, but when you consider the nature of what has historically been termed ‘Classic’, one might begin to consider this mass cataloguing, irrespective of quality, as sacrilegious. With this feeling at the forefront, the question coalesced: “What defines a Classic?”'

OnlySP explores the question as it applies to video games and whether the classification should be granted as indiscriminately as it has been to date.

Thatguy-3104189d ago

Originality and the experience one has through the first play through.

bubblebeam4189d ago

Agreed. There are so many excellent games that have come out this gen. I can't imagine even half of them will earn the "classic" status (not the Xbox platinum/ classic badge).

I think it is mostly story oriented games. As graphics and gameplay show their age, but story doesn't.

I'm talking about Bioshock, Heavy Rain, The Darkness, Alan Wake etc. Those will definitely be remembered as classics. Although, I'm not sure how long after the games release it can be called a 'classic' lol. I'm a bit confused on that front.

Picnic4188d ago (Edited 4188d ago )

That 'sounds' good and loads of people will agree with you on it. But some arcade games don't tend to have great stories. One of my favourite recollections is playing Outrun 2 on the Xbox. And when you're talking about Sega, they make graphics that don't really age anyway.
Techs specs may improve but it doesn't make old Sega games seem hideous, it just makes some other developers seem hideous, whether they have a great story in them or not.

As for gameplay, that depends on how the original compared to different genres of the time in the first place.

For me it nearly always comes down to who made the game - and if they created it especially for one console, preferably their own, that probably gives them extra points as well.

For my personality a classic is always a bit quirky in some way- but probably not in a self consciously pretentious way unless it is done with a wink.

It is almost certainly to do with the personality/history of the people or studio making the game and, in some cases, the console that they are making it for. I'll give it to Bioshock, for at least the first game, Heavy Rain - OK. Alan Wake- Probably at least the hallmarks of something classic there, from the makers of another classic series Max Payne 1 and 2 (but 3 is not quite the same kind of classic to me). Little Big Planet, yes. Jet Set Radio Future on Xbox. Paper Mario- The Thousand Year Door. Luigi's Mansion was a classic to me - something different. Silent Hill 3. Metroid Prime... I can go on.

What most of them have in common is a belief in exploring quirky situations, chnaging you a bit and putting you through the mill. They're all Alice in Wonderland remade really.

bubblebeam4188d ago

@Picnic

I completely agree with you. I didn't want to write too much in my first post, but I think in general it is games with epic stories.

It isn't exclusive to that though. It could be that the game-play was wacky and imaginative, or just over the top fun. Portal for instance. Quirky, funny and original.

It's too hard to say which games are more deserving of this 'classic' status, as everyone will have different opinions.

I'd suggest Beyond Good and Evil myself. Love that game.

HarryMasonHerpderp4188d ago (Edited 4188d ago )

"what defines a classic?"
The Little Mermaid 2 if you go by the EU store on PSN.
-_-

majiebeast4189d ago (Edited 4189d ago )

90% of the fps coming out this generation will never be classic's in my opinion. For me Dishonored and Bioshock are classics of the fps genre because they dont rely on multiplayer.

I dont know what it is with this generation, but there is not much i would call a classic. Maybe its because i grew up on the Snes/ps1/ps2 or the severe lack of good quality Jrpg's especially from Square enix. Or the over saturation of fps games.

KrisButtar4189d ago

i agree. i started gaming on the nes,i can name a ton of classics from then till now but this gen does seem to be lacking. even though i own a ton of games most of them had their roots from the earlier gens

godofboobees4189d ago (Edited 4189d ago )

The market is flooded with fps' I can count with two fingers that are classics. This generation barely has anything that defines classic and honestly the ps3 has more classics this generation than any other console this gen

Canary4189d ago

The same thing that defines a classic for any artistic medium: the test of time.

That's all that matters. That's why can appreciate art that's thousands of years old. For games? I'd say anything 10 or more years older that people still play and love qualifies as a classic.

Picnic4188d ago (Edited 4188d ago )

The test of time, if it doesn't happen very quickly, has a habit of being of little or no use to the poor dead soul who waited all their life not to be regarded as irrelevant though. Vincent Van Gogh's torture and financial dire staits no doubt keeps on turning every few years in to somebody more comfortable's new yacht.

I hope that everybody who has made all the videogames that have given me so much pleasure can feel how relevant they remain to me and others, no matter what sales they got.

Y_51504189d ago

I can name games like Uncharted and inFamous being classics someday in the future.

tweet754189d ago

if the game stands the test of time well .....is it still as enjoyable to play 20 plus years in the future?

Show all comments (21)
210°

Microsoft once tried to nab LittleBigPlanet from Sony after a few drinks

It turns out that many moons ago, Microsoft once had its eye on the Sony published LittleBigPlanet series.

Read Full Story >>
eurogamer.net
XiNatsuDragnel4d ago

Microsoft had a good idea but fumbled it again.

Cacabunga3d ago (Edited 3d ago )

Project Spark idea was decent but they quickly gave up ..
LBP was wonderful

ApocalypseShadow4d ago

Microsoft in a nutshell. Always tried to poach Sony employees, games, 3rd party games and devices like the depth camera that was turned into Kinect but was running on PS2 before Xbox 360. Wouldn't be surprised they wanted LBP. Just like they worked behind the scenes pushing the MLB to bring Sony's baseball game to Xbox instead of making their own.
https://www.playstationlife...

They didn't spend years trying to develop their own baseball game. They wanted Sony's game.

They're scum.

Zachmo1823d ago

Microsoft didn't force MLB on Xbox. MLB gave Sony 2 options either go multiplat or risk losing the license.

Rynxie2d ago

And why do you think MLB said that? I believe Ms approached MLB.

ApocalypseShadow2d ago (Edited 2d ago )

Totally ridiculous comment.

The only exclusivity Sony had was to their own creation of The Show. Microsoft could have paid the MLB for the license just like Sony did and made their own baseball game.

Microsoft instead, groomed MLB for years in trying to poach Sony's game and bring it to Xbox. They're worth 3 TRILLION dollars. You think that's not enough money to make their own baseball game? Don't be delusional.

Microsoft spun it like they always do and told the media that they had to trust Sony with their hardware. After they put Sony in that position of not having a choice. Either go multiplatform or stop making one of their successful games. That's a no win scenario.

And what did Microsoft do? They didn't try to sell the game to the Xbox community. They put it on game pass to hurt Sony. Pushing the idea of why buy games that are $70 when you can play them in their cheap service for $10. It was a dirty tactic.

You fell for the Kool aid drink Microsoft served you instead of spitting it out. Hope it tasted good because you were fooled by Phil and the gang.

2d ago
Hereandthere2d ago

Xbox executive Sara Bond has told Axios that Microsoft spent a number of years trying to get MLB The Show onto Xbox consoles. And when it finally succeeded in breaking off PlayStation’s long-held exclusivity, the company had to “trust” Sony with pre-release Xbox Series X/S consoles.

Bond revealed that MLB The Show “always came up” in conversations between Microsoft and the Major League Baseball organization. “We always said, ‘We love this game. It would be a huge opportunity to bring it to Xbox.'” she recalled. However, when Microsoft’s efforts materialized, it put the company in an awkward situation where it had to send in pre-release consoles to a rival company.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 2d ago
Notellin2d ago

"Microsoft instead, groomed MLB for years in trying to poach Sony's game and bring it to Xbox."

Take a nap, conspiracies are rotting your brain.

2d ago
Hereandthere2d ago

Xbox executive Sara Bond has told Axios that Microsoft spent a number of years trying to get MLB The Show onto Xbox consoles. And when it finally succeeded in breaking off PlayStation’s long-held exclusivity, the company had to “trust” Sony with pre-release Xbox Series X/S consoles.

ApocalypseShadow1d 21h ago

Lying to yourself is unbecoming.

Article link tells you all you need to know in Sarah Bond's own words.

Hereandthere2d ago

They were too cheap/inept/lazy to develop their own mlb game, so they port begged for years and bribed the mlb to make the show multiplatform. Like i said many times, xbox brought nothing to the table their 24 years, ZERO.

ApocalypseShadow1d 22h ago

At least you and others get it. Note drank the Kool aid and asked for seconds thinking it was refreshing.

Most don't even know how it all played out but it's there in black and white for all to see. Microsoft brought it up for years until the MLB forced Sony's hand. It was a win win for Microsoft. Kill one reason to buy a PlayStation or kill the game by dropping it in a cheap service to kill Sony's sales numbers on PlayStation.

OtterX3d ago

"However, Healey said Media Molecule wouldn't have felt right doing that, adding it would have been "morally corrupt"."

Major kudos to Media Molecule for being an upright studio with principles.

Cockney1d 16h ago

They chose well, Sony gave them the backing to pursue their dreams with no restrictions even tho their games especially dreams have very niche appeal. Media molecule and Sony deserve respect for this in an age of risk averse publishing.

RNTody3d ago (Edited 3d ago )

Great, more stories like this please. Show the last of the zombies holding the line what we've been saying for years: Microsoft is anti competition, anti industry and has no interest in making games at all.

But hey, at least there's an Xbox Games Showcase to look forward to, right?

Inverno3d ago

Well considering SONY just killed the series, LBP would've been dead by now either way. Though MM probably wouldn't exist by now either, so I'm glad they stayed with SONY, hopefully they don't get shut down any time soon or ever honestly.

Inverno3d ago

They shut down the servers, that's millions of user created levels gone. That and dead are pretty much the same, it's also been years since 3 and they cancelled HUB soooo.

2d ago
fsfsxii2d ago

They shutdown the servers because no one was playing, no one in the community cared about the user created levels so why keep them up? Wtf you guys would never succeed in running a business.

Inverno2d ago

Yea dood no one was playing so they shut off the servers. Cause people with enough common sense can't just Google why they were actually shut of, right?

Show all comments (29)
110°

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Understands That A Tonberry Is The Scariest Thing In The World

The tiny green slasher villain returns in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, and is as frightening as ever.

Read Full Story >>
thegamer.com
MeteorPanda8d ago

The way it was handled was so dumb. One shots in melee...your teammates are to ostupid to get away from its attack. So you most often end up alone in a certain fight.

Hofstaderman8d ago

Two words, one accessory....Safety Bit

MeteorPanda8d ago

Needing an accessory to keep a.i from dying and only one of them isnt great.

50°

Why MW 2019 is still the best looking Call of Duty to date

MW 2019 is five years old at this point and on previous gen hardware, but it is still the best looking Call of Duty game to date.

Read Full Story >>
videogamer.com
EazyC25d ago

MW was an excellent videogame. They messed up Spec Ops big time, but aside from this it was a huge step in the right direction initially. Most notably, at launch it seemed to come from a very cohesive creative vision that was felt across gameplay, to story to art style/visual direction. It was also very notably written by prominent ex-Naughty Dog guys that quit almost immediately before release.

That COMPLETELY dissolved through post-launch content and the full pivot to a "cross-mode" narrative that completely obliterated the cohesion in overall story direction. Warzone then "became" the new face of Call of Duty and the franchise completely removed itself from anything remotely creatively "good". It is a pure money machine, so I kinda get why they're doing it....but I personally completely lost interest.

I would love to see Infinity Ward move off CoD and get to make their own product with full control. They clearly have some massive talent in their ranks but it's perverted by Activision's corporate interests.