Rockstar's Family-Friendly Shocker 196
kleptonin writes "IGN is running an article about a new game being developed by Rockstar San Diego. Unlike their previous releases, the game will feature no guns, no violence, and no swearing. The game, Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis, will be exclusive to the Xbox 360, and will cost $39.99." Chris Morris, over at the CNN Game Over column, has some commentary on Grand Theft Ping Pong.
An interesting Idea (Score:2)
Re:An interesting Idea (Score:5, Funny)
Really- I'm damn excited about this.
I *loved* Top Spin on the Xbox. Tennis makes a pretty decent video game. But Ping Pong is FAST. It's like tennis, but with much quicker response times.
And the fact that Rockstar is making the game, tells me that it should have *some* decent level of quality.
Yes, I was excited when I heard about it. And I'm even happier now, knowing that there is a real street date already identified.
Re:An interesting Idea (Score:3, Insightful)
You know what else sounds stupid? Rolling a ball of crap around, and other things stick to it. The ball gets bigger and bigger, and more crap sticks to it.
THAT would never be a good game...because all of us dumbasses on Slashdot just *KNOW* about this stuff.
Re:An interesting Idea (Score:5, Funny)
Image Enhancement (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Image Enhancement (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Image Enhancement (Score:5, Insightful)
No, but (Score:5, Funny)
I mean, you can run into the middle of the road stark naked and scream "GRAND THEFT AUTO!" at the top of your lungs and people will just look at you and say, "It's another one of those video game freaks".
Try the same thing but scream "NINTENDOGS!" and people will call the cops.
Try it sometime, you'll see what I mean.
Re:No, but (Score:2)
Funny (Score:3, Informative)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4118270.stm [bbc.co.uk]
Re:Funny (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:No, but (Score:5, Funny)
Re:No, but (Score:2)
Re:No, but (Score:5, Funny)
Mario Kart is nonviolent? who knew? (Score:3, Insightful)
I'll give you the last two, but what is it about mario kart's guided missiles, fireballs, running over and crushing your shrunken enemies, and generally dealing death and destruction to those all around you that somehow makes it not the same as quake?
Is it just the lack of gibs?
Re:Mario Kart is nonviolent? who knew? (Score:2)
It's like the rock bands who're still protested against be people with too much time on their hands, even if they don't sing about raping Jesus or something. If
Re:Mario Kart is nonviolent? who knew? (Score:2, Insightful)
Mario Kart violence is on the same level of the violence in a Bugs Bunny cartoon. Fireballs hit you and take your item, when you get crushed you go flat for a few seconds then pop back up at full size, etc. A bit different than the very realistic damage effects in most modern FPS games.
In fac
Re:Mario Kart is nonviolent? who knew? (Score:2)
I think it's the gore, not the actual violence, that makes us think the game is les
Re:Mario Kart is nonviolent? who knew? (Score:2)
Unless the voice acting ruins the mood, which happens too often...
Re:Mario Kart is nonviolent? who knew? (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Image Enhancement (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Image Enhancement (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Image Enhancement (Score:5, Funny)
If you are just hitting the paddles against each other, you are doing it wrong, and your partner is simply too nice to tell you so.
Re:Image Enhancement (Score:2)
Dude, did you hear what Winona Ryder's doing? (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Image Enhancement (Score:2, Informative)
Rockstar North were originally called DMA Design. They are based in Edinburgh, Scotland, and made Lemmings before going on to make the GTA games. Rockstar San Diego were originally called Angel Studios, and made Midnight Club and Midtown Madness, as well as Red Dead Revolver.
Re:Image Enhancement (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Image Enhancement (Score:2)
hmm.... (Score:2, Funny)
It's defnately Love-Love, in my book.
__
Bow chicka wow wow.
Re:hmm.... (Score:3, Funny)
Only after you apply the patch.
Re:hmm.... (Score:4, Funny)
As soon as I saw that, I was thinking Leisure Suit Larry Table Tennis. Still no guns, violence or swearing, just jiggly girls playing table tennis. As you get better and move up the ranks, you get to play against girls that are dressed even skimpier. Of course, it would have side games and adventures, too, but the main goal is to make it to "The World's Table Tennis Championship" where everyone plays nude.
I am serious about this. Look at how many LSL games have already sold for PC.
overkill? (Score:5, Funny)
For 3D pong?
Re:overkill? (Score:3, Insightful)
It's even possible they built a rough version of it, in-house, just to learn the Xbox 360 development environment, and someone said "hey why don't we polish this and release it?"
Plus, they love controversy... and what better way for a "bad boy" company to get it than releasing a family game
Re:overkill? (Score:3, Interesting)
Ping Pong != Pong (Score:2, Informative)
3D Pong [albinoblacksheep.com] is free.
Forty Bucks for Ping Pong? (Score:2, Insightful)
Could it be a hit? (Score:4, Interesting)
Here's why:
- It's the first ping-pong game to have come out in years.
- It's probably also the first ping-pong game to have decent graphics.
- Whilst ping-pong isn't going to attract many gamers into GTA, it could be a hit amongst asian gamers. Ping-pong is fairly popular in Asia. (at least more so than typical western sports)
- It's different. No competition. (maybe tennis games, but that's a bit of a stretch)
Re:Could it be a hit? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Could it be a hit? (Score:2)
Re:Could it be a hit? (Score:2)
Want a bet?
Here's one [psxextreme.com]
Here's another [gamespy.com]
And another [gamespy.com]
And another (it's one of the included games in Eye Toy: Play 2) [playstation.com]
There's more, and I could keep going. There was even one in Japan that I'm forgetting the name of that came with a set of ping pong paddle controllers with sensors built in so you could play in first-person (similar to the way the Eye Toy game works, but without needing an Eye Toy).
Most of these have not been released in the US, sure, but you
Brilliant (Score:5, Funny)
Hey, wait...
Two words: Beer Pong (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Two words: Beer Pong (Score:2)
Re:Two words: Beer Pong (Score:2)
An oxymoron if I ever heard one. (Score:5, Funny)
Not Rockstar North (Score:5, Informative)
MOD PARENT UP! (Score:2, Informative)
It's like attributing every game published by Capcom to the same development staff. Which is amusing, if you consider that Capcom published GTA in Japan.
Re:MOD PARENT UP! (Score:3, Informative)
A friend of my wife's worked at Rockstar North on GTA, and has now moved back to Vancouver and is working at Rockstar Vancouver. Not sure if he's working on Bully though.
My god the CNN article sucks (Score:5, Insightful)
Ehm, baseballs and footballs are hard to find? If football is indeed the american soccer I am willing to bet a shit load of cash that more families own a football then a ping pong table. You need a bit more equipment for baseball but still. I wasn't exactly aware that amateurs playing baseball was rare.
It is, in fact, one of the very few "indoor" sports that has a video game patterned after it. (Poker's about the only other one that springs to mind.)
Well, if you consider poker a sport then how about the video game versions of the following. Chess, EVERY bloody card game every invented, checkers, darts, bowling, snooker, etc etc etc.
In fact isn't basketball often played indoors by pros AND done to dead as a videogame?
The only unusual thing here is that a 'big' name company did a weird sports title. Weird sports titles on the other hand are nothing new.
I just hate journalists who think ignorance is a good thing.
Re:My god the CNN article sucks (Score:3, Informative)
No, no, no. Soccer is european football, not the other way around.
Most families probably have both footballs and soccer balls, or for you european types, footballs and footballs: round edition.
Re:My god the CNN article sucks (Score:4, Interesting)
No, in Europe we have footballs and rugby balls.
Note for Americans: Rugby football is the European equivalent of American football. The main differences:
Re:My god the CNN article sucks (Score:2)
Except in France where they have...
wait for it...
Oh come on, its obvious but mildly amusing.
Re:My god the CNN article sucks (Score:2)
Yeah. I'd enjoy seeing a match up each year between the winners of the SuperBowl and the winners of the International Rugby bowl (or whatever), where they first play a game of American Football, with the standard rules and
Re:My god the CNN article sucks (Score:2)
However, there are Canadian teams in American Major League Baseball, and most of the best players from around the world play in our league, so the winner of the World Series typically is likely the be the world's best baseball team.
Re:My god the CNN article sucks (Score:2)
Re:My god the CNN article sucks (Score:2)
Re:My god the CNN article sucks (Score:2)
You've got it wrong. We americans pay people millions of dollars to people to play football for us and we watch them from our couches.
Would you really think we'd own things that require us to go outside and maybe run around a little?
But seriously... It must have been years since I've played a pick up game of any sport. Maybe computers and video games are bad for you.
Re:My god the CNN article sucks (Score:2)
You can't say the same for "chess, EVERY bloody card game every invented, checkers, darts, bowling, snooker," and so on.
And to be fair, the only reason that poker is considered to be a sport right now is because of its immense popularity. Just wait until it dies down and see how many people call it a sport then.
Re:My god the CNN article sucks (Score:2)
One of my son's friends, my son is 17 years old, told me he could beat me in any X-Box game, and I told him that I could beat him in at least one game, if not others. So I challenged him to a nice game of chess and soundly defeated him.
It's not as wholesome as it sounds. (Score:5, Funny)
Re:It's not as wholesome as it sounds. (Score:2)
wow, that's wholesome (Score:4, Funny)
Re:wow, that's wholesome (Score:3, Funny)
Unless they have a Jiggle slider.
Like that one PS2 fighting game.
Mmmmm... boobies. Mod up boobies.
Re:wow, that's wholesome (Score:2)
Since this is a more family friendly game from Rockstar the secret patch will not have any sex.
Hot Cocoa v1 - This patch will not make the players naked/nude. Instead the clothing will become very sheer so that we all the boobies bouncing as they hit the ping pong.
Hot Cocoa v2 - This is the patch from the Rockstar that we know and love. The user can switch from paddle to 9mm so they can put a cap in the opposing player.
Of course the v1 patch will be the one that will have everyone raising a stink a
Xbox 360 exclusive? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Xbox 360 exclusive? (Score:2)
If it's a hit, you can bet they'll do versions for the PS3 & Revolution.
Red herring (Score:2)
Mullinator wrote: "Can anyone tell my why Rockstar hasn't lost it's mind for making this a 360 exclusive instead of at the very least porting it to the Nintendo Revolution?"
Red Flayer wrote: "Because it would cost additional to dev for PS2/3"
Does the "Red" in your name stand for red herring [wikipedia.org]?
Re:Red herring (Score:2)
Maybe you should bother reading my whole comment, you know, the part where I say that if it's a hit, they'll prt to the PS & Revolution?
Either way, my argument still stands -- they didn't want to waste dev costs on porting to another system before testing the waters on one system.
Also, as a major game producer, they have an interest in making sure the 360 remains popular through the release of the Revolution and the PS3.
Your other nickname wouldn't happen to be ad hominem, would it?
Re:Red herring (Score:2)
The 2006 Holiday season fast approaches, and if people think the 360 is a lame duck, they're not going to buy games for it.
Re:Red herring (Score:2)
Furthermore, developers for the PS3 need to code their own online service, adding to dev time/cost.
Finally, the 360 has enough similarities to development for PCs that there has been a larger base of deve
Re:Xbox 360 exclusive? (Score:5, Funny)
Microsoft: We would like you to make a XBox360-exclusive title.
Rockstar: No problem! (Evil grin)
hidden goodies (Score:4, Funny)
Futurama (Score:2, Funny)
That said, I think the potential for internet beer pong could make this worthwhile...
Re:Futurama (Score:2)
-- Amy (IIRC)
On the revolution... maybe. (Score:2)
This is just a thinly veiled attempt to see if R* can sell non-GTA games. They have other franchises they could do this with. If they actually put some effort into Midnight Club maybe they could actually offer something other than GTA.
Re:On the revolution... maybe. (Score:2)
Paddle fight! (Score:2)
About time (Score:2, Troll)
Re:About time (Score:2)
I think they should have sat on the franchise after VC, until they could come up with a more interesting concept or setting.
Re:About time (Score:2)
Re:About time (Score:2)
You guys crack me up... (Score:5, Insightful)
"How can it be fun?" "I don't see this being fun!" etc. etc.
WHAT? You haven't played it, seen it moving, or done anything other than go "Hmm, ping pong...crap"
I didn't see how Virtua Tennis could be fun, but its easily one of the greatest multiplayer games of all time, and does a stand-up job of providing a solid single player experience, too.
Open your minds and close your damn mouths.
Re:You guys crack me up... (Score:2, Interesting)
So awesome (Score:3, Funny)
The answers were PR fluff and tired.
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/01/20 [penny-arcade.com]
Self contradiction? (Score:2)
Uh... I know what a "shocker" is, and I'll state here that it's explicitly not "family friendly". Suffice it to say I recommend not doing a Google Image search.
And the next day.. (Score:3, Funny)
You're Missing the Game Story (Score:3, Funny)
So one day, you (as the hero) are walking through the 'hood, waving to the hos, and looking for your next fix. Suddenly, a van screaches up beside you and a couple of bad-asses jump out and start dissing you. It's time to defend your terretory from these a-holes! You challenge them to meet on your turf, and they agree to ... Gangsta Ping Pong!
Don't forget the "hot coffee" mod for when you win the tournament...
(Yeah, I know...it's lame...)
What will the Hot Coffee Style Mod be? (Score:4, Insightful)
Hey, R*: (Score:2)
THe real reason for the 360. (Score:2, Funny)
Hot Coffee anyone? (Score:2, Funny)
The Shocker Family Friendly? (Score:2)
Great idea! (Score:2)
They forgot to mention the options (Score:2)
Or how about the opponent options: sexy hooker, national politician of your choice, or -- my favorite -- CEO of your favorite computer company!
No "love" lost there, Bill!
As a serious table tennis player... (Score:3, Interesting)
Extra points (Score:2)
Killing you opponent.
Raping them.
Stealing their paddle.
Shoving the tennis ball...
Good, but WTF? (Score:2)
But an XBox 360 exclusive? What are they thinking? Why cut out most of your market?
Is it that much of a surprise? (Score:2)
Good luck on this next game Rockstar, it does sound interesting, you can be sure I will be checking i
Re:Jumping the Shark (Score:2)
Re:What are they thinking? (Score:2)
The Revolution has not been released yet.
The controller sounds interesting, but since you have NOT had one in your hands yet, you don't really know if it would be good for ping pong.
Rockstar *MIGHT* have more information about the Revolution than the typical person on Slashdot.