In-depth video essays and podcasts on game narrative, primarily in RPGs.

Joined January 2012
Resonant Arc retweeted
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Resonant Arc retweeted
Hello Japanese Twitter. I want to explain why Western consumers are often willing to push the boundaries of copyright, even when it's controversial: Historically, in the West, challenging copyright restrictions has SOMETIMES led to better outcomes for everyone, including the copyright holders themselves. Take "fair use". In the US, copyright law allows people to use pieces of copyrighted material for criticism, reviews, education, research, and parody, depending on the circumstances. It's why anyone can make YouTube essays using gameplay footage, review movies using clips, parody existing works, or study copyrighted material. These freedoms developed over decades of folks challenging copyright restrictions in court. People pushed boundaries, courts established new rules, and consumers benefited. Hooray! Something similar happened with the "right-to-repair" movement. Manufacturers have used copyright restrictions, software locks, and other barriers to stop people from repairing products they own. Consumers challenged those restrictions, by repairing them anyway, then being sent to court, which helped bring about laws that expanded our repair rights. Basically we said: "This law sucks. If I buy this shit, I should have basic rights over how I use and repair it." Now consider Piracy. I don't condone piracy, but I recognise that it has sometimes exposed problems with how entertainment is sold. Music piracy EXPLODED when people wanted digital music. Then iTunes was created in response, and helped prove that millions of those same pirates were happy to pay for a convenient, affordable service that didn't exist. Movies and TV experienced similar problems, so streaming services were made which helped massively reduce Piracy. PC gaming saw something similar with Steam. But my favourite example is Crunchyroll! Crunchyroll started as a website hosting Pirate anime. Western audiences wanted to watch Japanese shows that often weren't legally available in their countries. Eventually, it becamse so big Japan made a deal with Crunchyroll to become a legitimate streaming business. The site now licenses anime directly from Japanese companies. Today, it has millions of paying subscribers and generates MASSIVE revenue for the Japanese anime industry. An audience that once watched anime without permission became a massive international customer base willing to pay Japanese companies. Imagine if that demand had simply been dismissed as criminal behaviour, without anyone recognising the business opportunity?? This is the pattern I'm trying to explain. We see that when consumers push against restrictions, they sometimes expose problems with the existing business model. Companies respond with better services, laws change, and both consumers and creators can benefit. None of this means piracy is justified or that creators shouldn't be paid. Only that challenging a restriction can SOMETIMES reveal that the damn restriction itself is preventing a better solution, and pressing on that restriction can create to fix. I think this helps explain a cultural difference between some Western and Japanese attitudes towards copyright. Western consumers often see copyright disputes as ordinary folks fighting against wealthy corporations controlling access to entertainment. Japanese audiences seem to place greater emphasis on respecting the people and companies who created that entertainment. Of course, neither perspective represents everyone. And I respect both views. But where one person sees disrespect towards an artist's work, another sees consumers challenging a corporation's control over something they love. And because Western history contains examples of those challenges producing positive results, some Western consumers are more comfortable pushing those boundaries. (Hope you can see how these points are relevant to old videogames like Tekken 6 that have no modern re-release/re-print) ALSO I accept that sometimes piracy means consumers don't want to pay. They are just thieves. But other times, it means consumers were never given the opportunity to pay, and the solution will arise from pushing boundaries. Please understand I'm not defending piracy. Just explaining why some Western consumers are willing to challenge copyright restrictions and not hate it so much. We see things differently because history has shown us that sometimes, when people push back, everyone can end up way way way better off. Sorry this was so long.
知ってるか? SteamでNARUTOのゲームは日本では買えないんだ Steamで手に入らないからって日本人は割ったりしない、諦めるんだそれが道徳だからだ それでバンダイナムコを非難したりもしない、それが道徳だからだ お前らは欲しい物は盗んででも手に入れろって教えられてんのか?
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Take a moment to appreciate the beautiful artwork of Baten Kaitos in motion
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A fantasy based on reality
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I was able to sit down & chat in person with the developers of Persona 4 Revival, and they were able to answer my burning questions after playing the demo! ▶️WATCH: youtu.be/wlSlYeb6SQw
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Resonant Arc retweeted
PlayStation thought the game was called physical and had to back out
As confirmed earlier through our official channels, in mid-June of this year, we unexpectedly received notice from PlayStation Studios that they would cancel the PHYSINT project. PHYSINT is an important project both to me personally and to KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS. Determined to keep the project alive, we have spent the last three months searching tirelessly for a new partner. In the course of seeking advice and pursuing negotiations with people across many fields, we found in XBOX a partner with whom we share a common vision for the future, and we have decided to team up with them once again. Please rest assured that development of PHYSINT, our genre-defining action-espionage title, is ongoing and will continue moving forward.
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Quartet v1.5 is up on Steam now!
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Is K-Pop Demon Hunters just Final Fantasy X-2?? That game was crazy... #FinalFantasyx #FinalFantasyX2 #FinalFantasy #kpopdemonhunters #FFX #FFX2
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Is K-Pop Demon Hunters just Final Fantasy X-2?? That game was crazy... #FinalFantasyx #FinalFantasyX2 #FinalFantasy #kpopdemonhunters #FFX #FFX2
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I'm honored to say I've been granted the prestigious designation of Internet Genius! I've been a fan of Best Guy Ever for a long time, and this is his new podcast. Check it out!
We tried to resist but the time jannies wont let us👻 - it's time to talk about Final Fantasy, Remakes, the state of the gaming industry, and how TOTAL ECONOMIC COLLAPSE is good, actually!🤠 With expert testimony from Mike of @resonantarc! LINK ➡️ youtu.be/Kj2FoPFJPME
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Man, I WISHED I was this cool when I was a kid! #FinalFantasy #FF8 #FinalFantasy8
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Final Fantasy 8 has a LOT of lovers and a LOT of haters. Here's why it's so polarizing. #FinalFantasy8 #FF8 #FinalFantasy #JRPG
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Final Fantasy XIII got a lot of hate for a meme that isn't even true! #FinalFantasyXIII #FinalFantasy #PS3
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Yoooooooooooooooooo!
It's time to wake up. Watch @PixelArcadiaShw on August 24th!
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Hello everyone! Final Fantasy Union is running a survey attempting to gauge opinions from FF/Square Enix fans on the state of the company. The aim is to identify current levels of consumer satisfaction with Square Enix to see if they mirror the viewpoints held by current shareholders or are disconnected. Here is the link: forms.gle/a5iTVXifQCsRztLX8
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The copyright claims have finally been released! Our latest episode is now public! Check out our *nearly* 4-hour breakdown of the Odyssey's legacy, from Homer's epic poem and English translations to early screen adaptations and Nolan's 3-hour cinematic take. Link in the comments below.
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The confrontation with Yunalesca brings the central theme of Final Fantasy X into focus. The party can preserve a familiar cycle that guarantees temporary survival or destroy it and pursue a genuine solution with no certainty of success. By killing Yunalesca, they remove the possibility of returning to the old system. From that moment forward, they either find another way to defeat Sin or fail completely. Final Fantasy X is ultimately about the willingness to act without certainty.
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On the Solitary Island, Celes loses the last person she believes is still alive and assumes there is nothing left to live for. But when she finds Locke’s bandanna, the game reframes her despair. What felt like certainty was built on assumptions. That tiny possibility becomes enough to keep searching.
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