I seriously think George is one of the few legitimate journalists in the game industry (which isn't surprising, since he actually has a background in journalism). Most popular gaming news sites online merely regurgitate the news (either from publisher newsletters or social media), or provide opinion pieces which are probably better suited for personal blogs. Meanwhile, George actually gets into the nitty-gritty, pulling up his sleeves and following leads. Like here, he doesn't merely repeat "new pachislot regulations" like Destructoid; he actually does some investigative research. He doesn't just make baseless speculations, but rather puts together evidence and tries to reach out to people before coming to a conclusion.
+LexHollow It also doesn't hurt that he publishes on his own schedule and doesn't use games journalism as his primary employment means. A lot of those game news sites put up that content for the same reason Fox and MSNBC fill their airtime with opinion shows and pundits: it's cheap and easy to produce, keeps consumers coming, and you need to have news to report if you're a news business. The fact that George only feels the need to publish once a week and has other employment is a big part of why he can take the time and effort to do investigative work: investigation takes time and resources with no guarantee of a good story coming out of it, which is why it's a risky venture for major news outlets too.
+Max Moran Yep, titally agree except for the part where you called Fix News a news buisness. They are officially registered as an entertainment show which is why they get away with shit like (SE)XBOX and everything else they say. I wouldn't be surprised if other gaming news sites are in the same position.
+CreepsMcPasta In my restless dreams, I see that town. Silent Hill. You promised you'd take me there again someday. But you never did. Well I'm alone there now... In our 'special place'... Waiting for you. Waiting for you to HIT THE LEVER
Goddammit the Japanese government are cancelling all my favorite Pachinko machines and making them into video games! I was really hyped for that new Metal Gear Solid V Pachinko it looked like Konami was making but then they had to disappoint everybody by making it into an actual game.
DrTheKay defend? I didn't know there was something to defend.. I just like how he does it, thats all. I'm still aware that it's an ad because you know.. I have a brain.
There's a tinge of irony that Konami's move towards Pachinko looks to be even more of a gamble with additional variables beyond their control propping up...
+Michael Scally Same with the mobile shift, since that business is rapidly losing money. So yeah their shift was completely incompetent and their scorched earth methods out of PC and consoles is going to make them suffer if they want to come back.
+Michael Scally I was actually thinking something more sinister might be going on... Konami agresivly moving into the market and smaller players suddenly deciding to leave
+Schreitmaschine Capcom's wanted to do another crossover for a long time, but reps say they haven't even got to discuss it with them, there's a lot of reasons why they'd be silent, but nobody knows for sure. Along with the fact that I can't recall a single time they've responded to fans outside of legal BS.
+Rhino 'n Chips yeah, it's definitely weird. SNK would benefit a lot from a crossover like SNK vs Capcom 3 and stuff, specially considering how fighting games are more popular. maybe they wouldn't get the money from the game itself, but then people would give more attention towards the new KoF games?
glorb Basically, I just thought about the last bad piece of "journalism" I red, and Kotaku came to my mind. Could have been any of those websites, really.
glorb Well, to be fair, I think they kinda deserve the bad reputation they get. Do you know any other outlet who publish articles titled "Check Out the Sexy Butt on These Watermelons" ? And I would argue that bad reputation isn't popularity. I think that comparing Bunnyhop with Kotaku isn't a bad idea either. Bunnyhop represents for me the future of game journalism, with smart reviews and real research, while Kotaku represent what's wrong with game journalism : lack of ethics, biased reviews...
Yeah my man. Todays buisness world is screwed. Its all thanks to capitalism. We need to do some revouloulousin. Fucking old white buisness men controlling my life. I want another stalin so I can suck his balls while he sends me to the gulags.
I seriously admire the effort you go through to really figure these things out. That you genuinely care to investigate. You're one of the very few people I recognize as giving actual news when talking about new events, rather than just feeling like a consolidation of marketing blasts.
Stephen Fry does the voice work for the guide in the movie version of "Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy" too, so I'm glad they have him reading an audiobook version of it (also, I'm glad that you use your ads to bring up things that are actually really cool for your audience to know about, like the Witcher books when you were doing the series on them. As for Hitchhiker's Guide, Douglas Adams is the funniest author in the universe, period, so thanks for spreading the love).
I wouldn't be surprised if Konami entered the marked just as it got heavily regulated and thus unprofitable. We all know of their smart business decisions...
AlbertElijahSag101 That too, which explains why things like Raiden and Silent Hill 2 happened. They literally didn't give a shit too bad it eventually came to this.
+MrPhila (They say I'm ridin' dirty, but I'm just regular dirty) To stay real, Konami has much more going on than games and gambeling. Their running Fitness Clubs etc. But even a financial fresh wound would ease the pain of Konami 2015.
BaneDain I was thinking about that, just had to... vent some frustration after all the shit Konami have pulled as of late. Especially the VGA stunt they pulled.
+Sevatar lol konami is not a person, going bankrupt would affect thousands of people that have nothing to do with how the heads of the company decide to run their business
I've been watching your vídeos for a while now. No specific order, but I have to say You are one of the few actual game jornalists, who really makes fair analysis and goes after real facts and evidences instead of taking something for granted. Congratulations on your work George, keep on the good job.
Excellent work as always George! I send to you a big hug this national hugging day all the way from Argentina! I'm really hoping for a big comeback from SNK into console and pc world!
+Chu E. Less viable for _THEM_ mind you. If you have the cash flow to start up a proper gambling division (like Konami) and are committed to it (like Konami) then you can make more money off of pachinko than video games. In the short term at least, but what kinda dumb-ass CEO thinks more than 2-3 years ahead?
4:57. "and the speed of witch the balls drop increase the liklyhood of hitting the right spot" The world is such an interesting place when you have a dirty mind I tell ya.
I played pachinko for the first time the other day thanks to Yakuza 5. Found it to be baffling and unpleasant. I'd rather stick to punching street punks in the face, thanks.
+Dewey DefeatsTruman I felt the same way. was absolute madness, and despite It being just a video game "emulation" of the real thing, I felt like I was being taken advantage of just by playing it. I cannot not recommend pachinko enough.
The funny thing for me is, that Konami based their change in business on that paper which George just introduced in his video. I remember something about them saying "positive changes". But i didn't know that the pachinko changes actually are quite bad. Either Konami has something up its sleeves, like an loophole or something or they are , indeed - for the irony of it, gambling. I am quite curious who made the right move ( and i hope it wasn't Konami). Anyways, thank you George for you research!
George is the best. Like, seriously, this kind of actual journalistic investigation and study is unparalleled, as far as I know, when it comes to videogames.
Audible also has the original radio series of The Hitchiker's Guide! This is the very first incarnation of Hitchiker's and offers the purest, most succint version of its tale (though I can't complain about all the fun stuff that pads out the book). Highly recommended!
This video was excellent. Nobody does research on games like this than you George. I am not trying suck up, just giving credit where it is due and it is certainly due. I should admit that when I saw the description I thought, Oh no, here we go with the paid ads but I should've known better that you'd do a full 10 mins talking about an ad. Great work man.
Great video, thanks for going into so much depth on the pachinko front, because it all makes quite a lot more sense now; I always understood that Pachinko was 'gambling' but didn't see any signifiers in marketing that linked it to monetary gain. And now I realise how gambling in many Japanese games follows the same formula. Money, to tokens / arbitrary secondary currency,, to goods, and optionally back to money. There was a whole room in gen 1 pokemon dedicated to these slot machines playing for tokens,, but obviously localisation took away the pachinko moniker.
i took you up on your offer and registered on Audible, got the 3rd Mistborn book for free (just finishing reading the second on Kindle) and also bought Words of Radiance. i remember loving The Way of Kings when it came out and didn't even know the sequel was already out, Sanderson is quite prolific :).
Heya, would you recommend the Mistborn series? I finished David Dalglish "A Dance of Cloaks" series and am on the market for similar cool fantasy books
That part of the book was the Vogon Captain talking to the ship before jumping into Hyperspace and then the Babel Fish leeching into Arthur's ear began translating. I have no life. :(
Honestly, after watching this... I think that Konami will try to weasel its way back into the game industry if the gambling laws don't change by 2020, because by then, you may as well put pachinko in the coffin. I can kinda respect Konami for taking such a huge risk, but 2020 is... let's be honest here, 4 years away. It's not looking good for the pachinko industry, and I think SNK have cold feet when it comes to pachinko, which is why they're going to get out while they still can. If Konami does come back, they're gonna face a HUGE uphill battle getting gamers back on their side, given how they scorched the Earth last year.
Godzilla InSpace I think we all do, but I'm looking at it from a realistic scenario: Konami's not gonna sell off their IPs because they're gonna want to keep them in their back pocket for their pachinko machines (as we've seen already), so I really do expect that, unless the gambling laws change in Japan by 2020, look for Konami to try and come crawling back to gamers. SNK didn't scorch the earth when they went to focus on pachinko like Konami did, so it'll be interesting to see how Konami try to get back into the game industry if the gambling laws don't change.
George, you almost made me cry with that intro. That SNK music was my childhood. KOF 97 to be exact. Also Metal Slug Oh, I almost forgot. Fuck pachinko
SNK Playmore has some really solid titles under it's belt that they've been slowly porting over to the PC over the past few years with Metal Slug n King of Fighters. It's not surprising to see that they are getting back into making games but I do have to say IT'S ABOUT DANG TIME! :D
never change Mr. Notorious H. O. P. (unless it's for the better) and now, we can safely say that people don't come to your channel just for the Critical close-ups, now there's the investigative pieces too! you made even the ad interesting. hat's off to the stratosphere.
The way you describe Pachinko reminds me of the Game Corners in the classic Pokemon games. SNK Playmore may have chosen not to comment as those matters are probably only known to the Japanese branch and the reception over there MIGHT be mixed at best.
I watched the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy movie after I had a semi major surgery when I was 16. I was doped up on several strong drugs, and I can only say they enhanced the experience of the movie :P
Must be the month. From what I've understood most companies spend their advertisement budget in December due to the xmas season and therefore spend less in January. This means that channels make less revenue in January and therefore it is more reasonable to get a sponsor.
Bedinsis I can't think of any gaming or movie podcast that isn't supported by audible year round. And some channels just have them as part of their show really. Loot crate is another big one that literally just goes after anyone who has more than a million views on a video.
I can't remember the source for this, but I read in an interview that the team who are making XIV are using it as a platform to gain experience with 3D graphics for future projects (it is also very apparent that their shader writing skills have improved dramatically since the first trailer of XIV). For that reason, I doubt we'll see them go back to sprites.
Got to admit, the quality of the animation in the new KOF looks great. And there's plenty of character in the animations as well. it's just that the characters lack detail or are missing shaders that could clean up the look (maybe a slightly cel-shaded look could help?).
Excellent content. The first thing I thought when SNK said it was moving away from pachislots I was puzzled. Why did Konami invest into it, then? Luckily you cleared this doubt. Thanks, George!
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is like Kafka's Der Process, but then funnier and with more aliens. Both works are also a perfect way of understanding how any major organisation manage to fuck up in so many major ways.
I had similar feeling when I watched blade runner for the fist time a few months ago and seen how all modern destopian cyberpunk stuff been done in 1980's. And how cynts from Fallout 4 were basically replicants. And I finally understood all the cosplayers in trenchcoats with pistols from doom 3. I actually thought that "that gun" was originally from doom 3 o_0. Boy, it was wierd seeing how little has cyberpunk has changed in 35 years.
Mr George Weedman, i would like to thank you for being the only real journalist in youtube, thx to you i am now goin to be a journalist. Love from Brazil!
Bunny hop I find this interesting. I am glad you have talked about this and I thank you for that. Do you mind talking about a subject that just came up, "Leaked games that were canceled"? Star wars battlefront 3 was just leaked and I would really like to hear about that from you.
snk was like marvel or dc to me , i remember how hyped me and my friend was when we saw snk vs capcom game... it was like seeing marvel vs dc or something... oh and metal slug aged really well so much fun with that game
+tltar253 Honestly, I'd be fine with George going the Patreon route, especially if it meant he could put even more time into this channel. I'm pretty sure that wouldn't happen though, as I recall him saying (on a podcast) he enjoys his day-job too much to leave it.
You are consistently the only person out there (that I know of) actually doing interesting stories and research on games and the games industry. I'm completely uninterested in KoF, fighting games and pachinko, but the quality videos like this makes it compelling just from the standpoint of curiosity about the industry. Outlets like Polygon like to think they do the same thing, but it usually just turns out to be puff pieces and 'look-at-this-indie-developer-I-know-from-san-francisco'. Anyway, good job.
I seriously think George is one of the few legitimate journalists in the game industry (which isn't surprising, since he actually has a background in journalism). Most popular gaming news sites online merely regurgitate the news (either from publisher newsletters or social media), or provide opinion pieces which are probably better suited for personal blogs.
Meanwhile, George actually gets into the nitty-gritty, pulling up his sleeves and following leads. Like here, he doesn't merely repeat "new pachislot regulations" like Destructoid; he actually does some investigative research. He doesn't just make baseless speculations, but rather puts together evidence and tries to reach out to people before coming to a conclusion.
+LexHollow Also George is supported by Audible and not Call of Duty.
Whut hut don't take my gut whats his backround I had a teacher who was a journalist and he was kind of a fart
+LexHollow It also doesn't hurt that he publishes on his own schedule and doesn't use games journalism as his primary employment means. A lot of those game news sites put up that content for the same reason Fox and MSNBC fill their airtime with opinion shows and pundits: it's cheap and easy to produce, keeps consumers coming, and you need to have news to report if you're a news business. The fact that George only feels the need to publish once a week and has other employment is a big part of why he can take the time and effort to do investigative work: investigation takes time and resources with no guarantee of a good story coming out of it, which is why it's a risky venture for major news outlets too.
+Max Moran Yep, titally agree except for the part where you called Fix News a news buisness. They are officially registered as an entertainment show which is why they get away with shit like (SE)XBOX and everything else they say. I wouldn't be surprised if other gaming news sites are in the same position.
+LexHollow Which is my why I question whether those 'journalists' even have an education in journalism.
I had a terrifying though where Supper Bunnyhop sold out to Konami and became a pachinko review show
PULL THE LEVER!
+PSYche Nihil *HIT THE LEVER!
Supper Bunnyhop sounds way more delicious than Super Bunnyhop
Supper Bunnyhop sounds way more delicious than Super Bunnyhop
Supper Bunnyhop sounds way more delicious than Super Bunnyhop
This is great stuff, love your investigative videos like this!
It seems that all my favorite youtubers watch each other...
I must dig deeper!
Nice research, George. Good job.
Yah man, he deserves a pat on the back fo' this one that's fo' sho' lets go rock n roll oohh
Aww yeah, time for some journalism!!
Yo, SNK!
*ARE YOU OKAY?!*
+Box of Cox by the looks of KOFXIV, no, they are not ok.
BUSTA WOLF!
+Box of Cox du you understandu?
+Box of Cox Ket Siryuss!!!
HEY!
C'mon c'mon!
HIT THE LEVER
+CreepsMcPasta HIT THE LIVER
+CreepsMcPasta
In my restless dreams, I see that town.
Silent Hill.
You promised you'd take me there again someday.
But you never did.
Well I'm alone there now... In our 'special place'...
Waiting for you.
Waiting for you to
HIT THE LEVER
DOOO DOOO DOOO DOOO - HIT THE LEVER!!! #FuckKonamiNews
+Marko Rabasovic Is this memes?
+CreepsMcPasta DON'T HIT THAT LEVER NOW WE'RE JUST GETTING STARTED
Goddammit the Japanese government are cancelling all my favorite Pachinko machines and making them into video games! I was really hyped for that new Metal Gear Solid V Pachinko it looked like Konami was making but then they had to disappoint everybody by making it into an actual game.
Super informative as always George, I really love videos like this where you can totally tell how much research you put into it. Fantastic work!
I actually like your personalized sponsor spot. doesn't feel like "just another sponsorspot"
+LE0NSKA I agree. Rather than skipping it, i enjoyed hearing his opinion on the book.
+LittleBigBeyond Also hearing Stephen Fry devolve into gibberish.
+Marcus B. you made that sound oddly sexual
*****
I love demonizing people for trying to make a living.
DrTheKay defend? I didn't know there was something to defend.. I just like how he does it, thats all. I'm still aware that it's an ad because you know.. I have a brain.
There's a tinge of irony that Konami's move towards Pachinko looks to be even more of a gamble with additional variables beyond their control propping up...
+Michael Scally
So meta.
+Michael Scally Same with the mobile shift, since that business is rapidly losing money. So yeah their shift was completely incompetent and their scorched earth methods out of PC and consoles is going to make them suffer if they want to come back.
+Super Tails7 Kojima: (Raughs)
+Super Tails7 i will laugh so hard.
+Michael Scally I was actually thinking something more sinister might be going on... Konami agresivly moving into the market and smaller players suddenly deciding to leave
You're seriously surprised that SNK's being unresponsive? They won't even respond to emails from Capcom.
could you elaborate on that?
+Rhino 'n Chips what are you talking about? elaborate
+Rhino 'n Chips please elaborate
+Schreitmaschine Capcom's wanted to do another crossover for a long time, but reps say they haven't even got to discuss it with them, there's a lot of reasons why they'd be silent, but nobody knows for sure.
Along with the fact that I can't recall a single time they've responded to fans outside of legal BS.
+Rhino 'n Chips yeah, it's definitely weird.
SNK would benefit a lot from a crossover like SNK vs Capcom 3 and stuff, specially considering how fighting games are more popular. maybe they wouldn't get the money from the game itself, but then people would give more attention towards the new KoF games?
Your content is 1000 times more worthy o my time than Kotaku's.
+XseuguhX Looking at the ceiling and counting how many bumps there are is more worth than time than reading Kotaku.
+Thanatos388 Interesting anology
glorb
Basically, I just thought about the last bad piece of "journalism" I red, and Kotaku came to my mind. Could have been any of those websites, really.
glorb
Well, to be fair, I think they kinda deserve the bad reputation they get. Do you know any other outlet who publish articles titled "Check Out the Sexy Butt on These Watermelons" ?
And I would argue that bad reputation isn't popularity.
I think that comparing Bunnyhop with Kotaku isn't a bad idea either. Bunnyhop represents for me the future of game journalism, with smart reviews and real research, while Kotaku represent what's wrong with game journalism : lack of ethics, biased reviews...
+XseuguhX I couldn't agree with you more, Kotaku = day time television
*_Shudders_*
Another impeccable piece of research and journalism that many other websites will no doubt leech off just like the Konami/Kojima story.
Yeah my man. Todays buisness world is screwed. Its all thanks to capitalism. We need to do some revouloulousin. Fucking old white buisness men controlling my life. I want another stalin so I can suck his balls while he sends me to the gulags.
+Sir Gus the Mighty sound's sweet as hell
I seriously admire the effort you go through to really figure these things out. That you genuinely care to investigate. You're one of the very few people I recognize as giving actual news when talking about new events, rather than just feeling like a consolidation of marketing blasts.
Holy shit, Stephen Fry did the audio book for Hitchhikers guide
Stephen Fry does the voice work for the guide in the movie version of "Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy" too, so I'm glad they have him reading an audiobook version of it (also, I'm glad that you use your ads to bring up things that are actually really cool for your audience to know about, like the Witcher books when you were doing the series on them. As for Hitchhiker's Guide, Douglas Adams is the funniest author in the universe, period, so thanks for spreading the love).
I wouldn't be surprised if Konami entered the marked just as it got heavily regulated and thus unprofitable. We all know of their smart business decisions...
+Trancecend "business decision" its not secret that its just an old fuck chasing a stupid dream to be King Gambling.
+Trancecend let's hope there's also a F2P market crash soon! Then they'll really get what's coming to them.
+Thanatos388 Who also never gave a shit about games either
AlbertElijahSag101 That too, which explains why things like Raiden and Silent Hill 2 happened. They literally didn't give a shit too bad it eventually came to this.
I hope to god this bites Konami so hard in the ass they go bankrupt. It won't happen, but hey, a man can dream, right?
+Sevatar Every man can dream. Especially if involves the downfall of Konami
+MrPhila (They say I'm ridin' dirty, but I'm just regular dirty) To stay real, Konami has much more going on than games and gambeling. Their running Fitness Clubs etc. But even a financial fresh wound would ease the pain of Konami 2015.
BaneDain I was thinking about that, just had to... vent some frustration after all the shit Konami have pulled as of late. Especially the VGA stunt they pulled.
+Sevatar Still I don't understand though. They have rights to the Fox Engine, yet they only use it on PES. Do they need profits that bad?
+Sevatar lol konami is not a person, going bankrupt would affect thousands of people that have nothing to do with how the heads of the company decide to run their business
George, your work for each video is incredible. Thank you for clarifying so much of the topic.
I've been watching your vídeos for a while now. No specific order, but I have to say You are one of the few actual game jornalists, who really makes fair analysis and goes after real facts and evidences instead of taking something for granted. Congratulations on your work George, keep on the good job.
I now know infinitely more information about pachinko than I did 10 minutes ago.
Hearing good news about video games is weird
+Tactical Squid the less you get involved with videogame related news, the more you are going to enjoy them,trust me.
+Bryan Gutierrez Seriously it's all a bunch of bullshit. They fearmonger without even realizing it.
Always been a KoF fan so when I heard 14 was coming about I was excited. Nice job researching and putting all of this together into a cohesive video.
This... this is why i subscribe to bunnyhop, informative critical analysis on top of thorough research. Good stuff
As always George, great piece of journalism.
Your ability to give me information I didn't know I wanted never ceases to amaze.
Excellent work as always George! I send to you a big hug this national hugging day all the way from Argentina!
I'm really hoping for a big comeback from SNK into console and pc world!
No other channel I love more. Thanks for your hard work, George.
SNK has made some of my favorite games ever, Im glad pachinko is less viable now.
+Chu E. Less viable for _THEM_ mind you. If you have the cash flow to start up a proper gambling division (like Konami) and are committed to it (like Konami) then you can make more money off of pachinko than video games. In the short term at least, but what kinda dumb-ass CEO thinks more than 2-3 years ahead?
+Shukterhouse Jive
What do you mean? Casinos and parlors will buy new machines every year just like video games! It's literally foolproof. /s
now i remember why you are my fav RUclips channel / Gaming analyst/journalist ! such a great and informative subject ! GG Georges !
now i remember why you are my fav RUclips channel / Gaming analyst/journalist ! such a great and informative subject ! GG man !
4:57. "and the speed of witch the balls drop increase the liklyhood of hitting the right spot" The world is such an interesting place when you have a dirty mind I tell ya.
Clicked Super Bunny Hop on a whim, new video from 11 seconds ago.
I played pachinko for the first time the other day thanks to Yakuza 5. Found it to be baffling and unpleasant. I'd rather stick to punching street punks in the face, thanks.
+Scrustle Same here
+Scrustle I tried it on yakuza 4 and couldn't tell how well I was doing, it just seems like a total waste of money to play this in real life.
+Dewey DefeatsTruman I felt the same way. was absolute madness, and despite It being just a video game "emulation" of the real thing, I felt like I was being taken advantage of just by playing it. I cannot not recommend pachinko enough.
Now you all know what it feels like... to be a lowlife in Japan.
+Scrustle You pachislotted?!? Heathen! You must now flog yourself rigorously and pray forgiveness for transgression!
This was really well put together and concise, thank you for making this
Ah damn you for putting an ad at the beginning of your video, and also for choosing the coolest book you could think of.
The funny thing for me is, that Konami based their change in business on that paper which George just introduced in his video. I remember something about them saying "positive changes". But i didn't know that the pachinko changes actually are quite bad. Either Konami has something up its sleeves, like an loophole or something or they are , indeed - for the irony of it, gambling. I am quite curious who made the right move ( and i hope it wasn't Konami).
Anyways, thank you George for you research!
HIT THE LEVER! BLUUAAAAARG BLUAAAAARG BLUUAAAARG
+Argiris Papadopoulos (RetroAmateur) wrong lever
How do you manage to consistently put out such a high level of quality? I'm very impressed
Good video, as always, but I'm glad to see another "news report" styled video. They are always highly informative and impeccably professional.
I read hitchhikers guide to the galaxy cover to cover (well, with the exception of going for a dump, a piss and dinner) in one day. Fantastic book!
My teacher said she didn't get it. But she loves the koran
George is the best.
Like, seriously, this kind of actual journalistic investigation and study is unparalleled, as far as I know, when it comes to videogames.
Audible also has the original radio series of The Hitchiker's Guide! This is the very first incarnation of Hitchiker's and offers the purest, most succint version of its tale (though I can't complain about all the fun stuff that pads out the book). Highly recommended!
A fine piece of journalism Sir!
This video was excellent. Nobody does research on games like this than you George.
I am not trying suck up, just giving credit where it is due and it is certainly due.
I should admit that when I saw the description I thought, Oh no, here we go with the paid ads but I should've known better that you'd do a full 10 mins talking about an ad.
Great work man.
Once again, journalism done right. I just wish every game journalist had the same rigurosity and imparciality you show on your videos.
Great video, thanks for going into so much depth on the pachinko front, because it all makes quite a lot more sense now; I always understood that Pachinko was 'gambling' but didn't see any signifiers in marketing that linked it to monetary gain. And now I realise how gambling in many Japanese games follows the same formula. Money, to tokens / arbitrary secondary currency,, to goods, and optionally back to money. There was a whole room in gen 1 pokemon dedicated to these slot machines playing for tokens,, but obviously localisation took away the pachinko moniker.
Nice coverage, I appreciate the depth of your research!
i took you up on your offer and registered on Audible, got the 3rd Mistborn book for free (just finishing reading the second on Kindle) and also bought Words of Radiance. i remember loving The Way of Kings when it came out and didn't even know the sequel was already out, Sanderson is quite prolific :).
Heya, would you recommend the Mistborn series?
I finished David Dalglish "A Dance of Cloaks" series and am on the market for similar cool fantasy books
HEY! C'MON! C'MON! ARE YOU OKAY?!
I actually started reading The Hitchhicker's and it's amazing, wow a helpful ad
The first time I "read" THHGTTG, it was stephen fry in my car. Best intro to a great book i've ever heard.
The transfer to pachinko machines is very natural to Konami since they are professionals in dropping the ball.
Long time fan, first time commentor. Man, I love your channel.
That part of the book was the Vogon Captain talking to the ship before jumping into Hyperspace and then the Babel Fish leeching into Arthur's ear began translating.
I have no life. :(
Honestly, after watching this... I think that Konami will try to weasel its way back into the game industry if the gambling laws don't change by 2020, because by then, you may as well put pachinko in the coffin.
I can kinda respect Konami for taking such a huge risk, but 2020 is... let's be honest here, 4 years away. It's not looking good for the pachinko industry, and I think SNK have cold feet when it comes to pachinko, which is why they're going to get out while they still can. If Konami does come back, they're gonna face a HUGE uphill battle getting gamers back on their side, given how they scorched the Earth last year.
I'm hoping they just sell their IP's. any other hands are better than theirs
I'm hoping they just sell their IP's. any other hands are better than theirs
I'm hoping they just sell their IP's, any other hands are better than theirs.
Godzilla InSpace I think we all do, but I'm looking at it from a realistic scenario: Konami's not gonna sell off their IPs because they're gonna want to keep them in their back pocket for their pachinko machines (as we've seen already), so I really do expect that, unless the gambling laws change in Japan by 2020, look for Konami to try and come crawling back to gamers. SNK didn't scorch the earth when they went to focus on pachinko like Konami did, so it'll be interesting to see how Konami try to get back into the game industry if the gambling laws don't change.
+SeanStrife What could they Possibly do to get people back on their side?
George, you almost made me cry with that intro. That SNK music was my childhood. KOF 97 to be exact. Also Metal Slug
Oh, I almost forgot. Fuck pachinko
SNK Playmore has some really solid titles under it's belt that they've been slowly porting over to the PC over the past few years with Metal Slug n King of Fighters. It's not surprising to see that they are getting back into making games but I do have to say IT'S ABOUT DANG TIME! :D
Also, I love the Hitchhiker's Guide and Stephen Fry, so I'm defo checking that out
+Doom2Guy Oh, it's free with a membership only :l
You forgot to mention Futurama in the list of great things influenced by Hitchhiker's Guide.
never change Mr. Notorious H. O. P. (unless it's for the better)
and now, we can safely say that people don't come to your channel just for the Critical close-ups, now there's the investigative pieces too!
you made even the ad interesting. hat's off to the stratosphere.
The way you describe Pachinko reminds me of the Game Corners in the classic Pokemon games.
SNK Playmore may have chosen not to comment as those matters are probably only known to the Japanese branch and the reception over there MIGHT be mixed at best.
I watched the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy movie after I had a semi major surgery when I was 16. I was doped up on several strong drugs, and I can only say they enhanced the experience of the movie :P
4:07 For a moment, I thought I was about to watch a new segment of #FucKonami News by uncle Jim Fucking Sterling Son. :(
Jesus, is there a channel Audible doesn't sponsor at this point? Not going to complain though, since there are worse possible sponsors.
+TheTundraTerror i was thinking that too. I'm cool with it but I wonder how much it really works for them.
+TheTundraTerror Crunchyroll? Loot Crate? Linda.com?
+SerialK86 Maybe they just go for gaming related stuff? It is a little annoying though. Also fuck Crunchyroll.
Must be the month.
From what I've understood most companies spend their advertisement budget in December due to the xmas season and therefore spend less in January. This means that channels make less revenue in January and therefore it is more reasonable to get a sponsor.
Bedinsis I can't think of any gaming or movie podcast that isn't supported by audible year round. And some channels just have them as part of their show really. Loot crate is another big one that literally just goes after anyone who has more than a million views on a video.
daamn it hurts having to wait another week
but good content demands time
Once again Super Bunny Hop is putting the "journalism" in "games journalism".
Very good and informative vid!
Thanks for doing all this research!
I can't remember the source for this, but I read in an interview that the team who are making XIV are using it as a platform to gain experience with 3D graphics for future projects (it is also very apparent that their shader writing skills have improved dramatically since the first trailer of XIV).
For that reason, I doubt we'll see them go back to sprites.
This was an interesting video, continue on such topics please.
Damn George, you really went out of your way with this one. Your journalistic skills continue to impress me :).
Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you: Games Journalism. The real deal.
4:48 I didn't know that Shantae was in a pachinko machine, or Yakuza 4 for that matter.
Got to admit, the quality of the animation in the new KOF looks great. And there's plenty of character in the animations as well. it's just that the characters lack detail or are missing shaders that could clean up the look (maybe a slightly cel-shaded look could help?).
as always great video and investigation work
What is this? ACTUAL journalism?!?!?! What a rare sight indeed.
This makes me want to rewatch season 2 of Kaiji.
Excellent content. The first thing I thought when SNK said it was moving away from pachislots I was puzzled. Why did Konami invest into it, then? Luckily you cleared this doubt. Thanks, George!
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is like Kafka's Der Process, but then funnier and with more aliens. Both works are also a perfect way of understanding how any major organisation manage to fuck up in so many major ways.
I had similar feeling when I watched blade runner for the fist time a few months ago and seen how all modern destopian cyberpunk stuff been done in 1980's. And how cynts from Fallout 4 were basically replicants. And I finally understood all the cosplayers in trenchcoats with pistols from doom 3. I actually thought that "that gun" was originally from doom 3 o_0.
Boy, it was wierd seeing how little has cyberpunk has changed in 35 years.
+Leonid Chernyshov It has changed, decker (or whatever the specific universe equivalent is) now have wireless. =p
Mr George Weedman, i would like to thank you for being the only real journalist in youtube, thx to you i am now goin to be a journalist.
Love from Brazil!
I came here to listen to pachinko thing, but now I don't care because there are Stephen Fry audio books that I need to listen to.
I have a physical copy of all the Hitchhiker's guides books in one their awesome
Bunny hop I find this interesting. I am glad you have talked about this and I thank you for that. Do you mind talking about a subject that just came up, "Leaked games that were canceled"? Star wars battlefront 3 was just leaked and I would really like to hear about that from you.
snk was like marvel or dc to me , i remember how hyped me and my friend was when we saw snk vs capcom game... it was like seeing marvel vs dc or something... oh and metal slug aged really well so much fun with that game
Crazy thought. Since MvC doesn't seem to be going anywhere anymore, maybe SNK vs Capcom? It could get a grand return as well!
I fuckin love Stephen Fry! He also just happens to voice one of the greatest Vidya Villians of all time, Reaver.
That was really good ad/product placement, holy shit
Good work, nice research.
I'm so happy we are getting a kof 14!!!
I wouldn't mind seeing a new Metal Slug game in the near future. Here's hoping KoF succeeds
Love how George does his own adds to finance his channel, instead of begging for money on Patreon.
and? not like patreon isn't a free choice ... advertisment can give you only so much as well
It's all in the phrasing. "It's a shame George sold out instead of funding his show by himself".
+tltar253 Honestly, I'd be fine with George going the Patreon route, especially if it meant he could put even more time into this channel. I'm pretty sure that wouldn't happen though, as I recall him saying (on a podcast) he enjoys his day-job too much to leave it.
+tltar253 This guy gets it.. even thought is Audible and others companies like it the ones that approach the youtubers, but whatever.
tltar253 a) Nice insecurity about gender roles b) Patreon is only begging for money as much as looking for a job is begging for money.
Pachinko machines and video games can not exists in the same world, one must die
Excellent report, as always. You remind me why I subscribed to you.
I hope SNK have great success with their new KOF.
Japan is a strange and bewildering place. Anyhow, I hope SNK successfully builds up their sprite fund. Those are some damn fine sprites.
You are consistently the only person out there (that I know of) actually doing interesting stories and research on games and the games industry. I'm completely uninterested in KoF, fighting games and pachinko, but the quality videos like this makes it compelling just from the standpoint of curiosity about the industry. Outlets like Polygon like to think they do the same thing, but it usually just turns out to be puff pieces and 'look-at-this-indie-developer-I-know-from-san-francisco'. Anyway, good job.
That Neo-Geo Music cue.