Playing MAME and feeling cheated

[Nonplus]

I know quite a few games designers, none of them ever design anything with making money in mind. If they did, the games they design would be terrible.

Besides, if what you say is true, why are almost all arcade beat 'em ups in Japan set on easy mode?

While I've heard a lot of people say they didn't do something for money, I usually have a hard time believing it. They might enjoy their job, they might like pushing their skills to the max, and they might really be trying to put out a great product, but I just have a hard time believing they didn't do it for money. (Of course freeware games aren't being lumped into that category, although it wouldn't surprise me if a lot of their designers weren't hoping to get a foothold in the industry).
I can't really comment on beat 'em ups, mainly because I don't play them, but if I had to guess I'd say not enough people played them on the harder settings.
EDIT: I thought you were talking about games like Legendary Axe and Captain Commando. I haven't a clue why they lower the difficulty on fighting games.

[Icarus Moonsight]

Maybe there is a psychological reason too. Again, to increase earnings...

Someone is more apt to credit continue if it took 1c to get to the boss parts than if they get burned down by the 3rd cpu standard level challenger. Then you can design the game so the bosses are real cheap cheeze, even on the lowest diff.

Just a thought and somewhat of an observation. Geese, Rugal... That bastard from Street Fighter IV. No, I will not dignify that guys existence by referring to him by name, refuse.

[Sosage]

i agree with the op. this is why i have never bothered to download certain classics on psn/xbl. whats point in spending ten dollars on a beat em up that has infinite continues. there is no challenge, and no repercussions for losing. i find playing these games to be more boring than anything else.

That's where it becomes your choice on how to play the game. Almost every game allows you to not continue and quit/restart. Same issue with MAME or having the arcade board at home. The platform doesn't make a difference in this case.

...and designers/artists/musicians may not be, in principle, concerned about money -- but their sales/marketing/investors sure as hell are. The latter twists the arm of the former. Not the other way around. Besides, there is nothing wrong with working on your craft and being able to feed your family at the same time. People should try it. It is kind of nice.

[Mimi Nakamura]

Maybe there is a psychological reason too. Again, to increase earnings...

Someone is more apt to credit continue if it took 1c to get to the boss parts than if they get burned down by the 3rd cpu standard level challenger. Then you can design the game so the bosses are real cheap cheeze, even on the lowest diff.

Just a thought and somewhat of an observation. Geese, Rugal... That bastard from Street Fighter IV. No, I will not dignify that guys existence by referring to him by name, refuse.

That doesn't make sense. Surely higher customer turnover would result in more money. One person using a credit for 15 minutes makes less money than 3 people using a credit each over the same time period. If someone is practicing, they're not going to continue on the final boss, they would surely let the continue timer run down and begin again from the beginning.

Besides, if you think Seth is a difficult boss then I can understand why you use so many continues to play games. I can beat him without breaking a sweat and I don't play VS beat 'em ups very often.

[Icarus Moonsight]

I know SNK is known for cheap bosses, but the Blueman Group Reject takes the cake... Then shoots it out of his Kenmore Elite bellybutton.

I've seen it a lot with SF4, people go through with few problems then hit the Beth-wall.

What's the pass-aggro crap about? I'm nothing special, but I'm not horrible either. This is leisure activity for me, comp and challenge is great, but I can't play Blue Wish Resurrection Plus worth two shits when I'm three sheets windward. I still manage to enjoy it though.

[kedawa]

Having a lower difficulty setting in a 1on1 fighter will keep the lone player at the machine longer, increasing the liklihood that a second player will join in and start up some competition which is where the real money is made.

[Mimi Nakamura]

Having a lower difficulty setting in a 1on1 fighter will keep the lone player at the machine longer, increasing the liklihood that a second player will join in and start up some competition which is where the real money is made.

How about on a cabinet set to VS CPU only? What you say makes perfect sense on a standard VS cabinet though, 1 on 1 competitions are definitely the money makers.

Outside of Japan I've lived in London and, for a short time, New York. The customer service is world's apart. Here, the customer is God. Pleasing the customer comes before making money, anyone who's worked in the service or retail industry in Japan will know this. In the long run having happy customers will provide greater financial rewards, so it's good for everyone.

Going from experience, and judging people's views on here about companies being only interested in making "a quick buck", it seems that, generally speaking, Japanese companies tend to have long-term strategies, while American / British companies prefer to opt for short-term gains. I guess in the end they all make around the same amount of money though.

There are many things I dislike about Japan, but customer service isn't one of them!

[Icarus Moonsight]

I wouldn't consider attempting to maximize earnings by changing default settings to what makes the most "making a quick buck" in a shady sort of way... More like, common sense fused with rational self-interest (which excellent customer service ultimately comes down to by my reckoning) and a form of customer service. It is impersonal, but it counts.

Actions where making a quick buck come into play is setting everything on max diff, minimum lives per credit, maximum coins per credit, maximum credits per play, maximum points required set for extended play/lives or outright disabled... Douchebaggery, basically.

I do understand what you mean though about things being somewhat customers serve the company centric in the US. I've seen the attitude manifest recently on this board even, from the customer end too. The ideal arrangement is to have the providers serve the customer, I support that wholeheartedly. Some still hold it, but for many, it's a lost value.