Dear Future Gamer

I'm writing in reply to Rob Wilson’s article (Your Shout, FG36) about the state of PlayStation games that get a release in Europe these days. God, I'm glad I'm not the only one who's bored by the endless amount of driving and fighting games that come out on Sony's machine. What kind of blockbuster titles did we have lately over here? V-Rally 2 and Driver are both competent racing games, but hey, I got my PlayStation in 1996 and I've played a fair amount of driving games - I'm bloody sick of it.

I think that videogames can, if properly done, be at least as involving and engaging as any film or book (Metal Gear Solid and Final Fantasy VII being prime examples), so why do so few titles ever realise this potential? I don't want to be moved to tears every time I turn on my PlayStation, but if my main feeling is boredom when I'm flicking through the release list from the last year or so, there must be something wrong.

So what have I been playing lately? I bought FF Tactics on import and it's one of the best games I've ever played. The same goes for Castlevania. Right now I'm playing Lunar Silver Star Story. Will it ever get a release here? Don't count on it. Will it come as the four CD limited edition as it did in the US? I don't think so. Do I feel ripped off? You can say that again.

So what's gonna happen? Will I stop playing videogames altogether and do something sensible instead? I hope not. Will I stop buying games and get my Japanese and American PlayStation games from my friendly pirate on the Internet? Maybe. Whichever is the case, if I ever buy a games machine again it won't be the next PlayStation. Sony have treated us European gamers poorly in the past and I believe they will continue to do just that in the future.

Martin N

FG: It's curious that some companies, and Sony aren’t the only culprits, think there’s such an enormous difference in taste across the world’s three main territories (Asia, America and Europe) and therefore alter their release plans for games. Personally, I tend to agree with Martin here - a good game is a good game is a good game, surely? The Japanese are terribly fond of their RPGs but so are us Europeans. If the game’s good enough to be developed and published in Japan, why do they suppose it won’t sell here or in America? Would anyone who’s got a territory-specific publishing policy care to get in touch and explain the reasoning here?