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Disputing a Contribition Rejection
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I'd like to know if there is any way to appeal a decision to reject my contribution. I wrote a top 10 list (Top 10 underrated consoles), which was initially rejected for being too broad. I rewrote much of the list and narrowed the focus and resubmitted, but this time it was rejected because "most of these consoles were never underrated" For reference, my list was, and I've added comments describing why I think they were underrated, which I thing are perfectly reasonable, and true... 10. 3DO (underrated for being expensive, and having a reputation for a weak library of games) 9. Wonderswan (underrated for having a poor library of games relative to the GBC) 8. Game Gear (Underrated for having a poor library of games relative to GBC and not being truly portable thanks to battery life) 7. ZX Spectrum (Underrated for having vastly inferior specs to the Commodore 64, NES, MS and barely known outside the UK) 6. Neo Geo Pocket Color (arguably not underrated, but at the time considered inferior to the GBC because GBC had a superior library of games) 5. Gamecube (At the time of release very underrated, considered something of a lame duck, shops barely stocked games, release shedule was patchy, Mario Sunshine and Zelda Wind Waker ware controversial at the time of their release, generally considered vastly inferior to PS2 in all regards but specs. In retrospect the GC is becoming more fondly rememberd, but at the time it was definitely considered something of a lame duck with flashes of brilliance. 4.. Turbografx 16 - At the time of release the hardware was considered quite impressive, but was generally underrated because library was percieved to be inferior to the NES. Largely condidered a minor success in retrospect. 3. Sega Master System, Yet another console considered to have vastly inferior library to the NES. Barely made a dent in the US or Japan, but successful in Europe and Brazil. lacklustre third party support thanks to Nintendo exclusivity deal. 2. Sega Saturn. At the time of release, was considered a huge failure. Sony dominated, shops barely stocked games for it after the second year on the market, Saturn games in the west failed to penetrate mainstream consciousness like Gran Turismo, MGS, Tekken, Ridge Racer, Zelda OoT, GoldenEye, Banjo Kazooie etc. Considered a failure in hindsight, and the primary reason for the death of Sega as a hardware company. Gained some recognition post mortem for ultra rare and expensive games like Panzer Dragoon Saga and Radiant Silvergun, and unique titles like Nights, Guardian Heroes and Burning Rangers. Theres no denying Saturn was underrated in the west, both at the time of release and in retrospect, it was considered a failure. 1. PSP. Generally considered in the west as the loser of the DS/PSP handheld wars. Has a reputation for being a failure in the west, for not having any games worth playing, largely perpetuated in recent years by the games press constant jabs at how they hadn't played it in years. The PSP in actual fact, in terms of hardware sales, was more successful than either PS3 or 360, and rivaling the Wii. Has a great library of games, --- http://www.jvp-boston.org | |
10. 3DO (3DO) Conceived by EA founder Trip Hawkins, the 3DO had some serious pedigree. I’ll be honest here, the main reason why I included the 3DO on this list is because of one game; Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo! Street Fighter saw numerous releases on a variety of formats throughout the 90’s, but it was the 3DO which saw the finest home edition of the legendary fighting series (at least until HD Remix). The 3DO also played host to the debut of the Need For Speed franchise, with what was at the time, one of the best racing games around. Lemmings, Policenauts (an early Kojima curio), Alone in the Dark 1 & 2, Myst, a superb port of Samurai Showdown and the best version of Wolfenstein 3D round out a surprisingly robust library of must have games for this underrated console. Why did it fail though? Well a ridiculous price tag of $600 USD, which wouldn’t be seen again until the PS3’s launch and a complete lack of piracy prevention didn’t help win the hearts of consumers or developers. 9. WonderSwan Color (WSC) The late, great Gunpei Yokoi’s swansong (no pun intended), the Namco Bandai WonderSwan clearly subscribed to the Game Boy (also Yokoi’s brainchild) philosophy or cheap, battery efficient and robust hardware, letting the games do all the talking. A unique arrangement of buttons allowed it to be played vertically or horizontally for vertically scrolling shooters. The WonderSwan had some fantastic games including Final Fantasy IV, Front Mission, Guilty Gear Petit, Klonoa Moonlight Museum, Front Mission and Gunpey. Unfortunately the WonderSwan never saw release outside Japan, so most of these games have no English language option. Still, it’s well worth tracking down one of these gorgeous little machines, if for no other reason, then because there really is nothing quite like it! 8. GameGear (GG) The Sega Game Gear was perhaps the only real contender to Nintendo’s handheld dominance in the 1990's. Essentially a portable Master System, The Game Gear hardware was incredibly impressive for its time, it was the last handheld to sport a full colour backlit screen until the Gameboy Advance SP arrived on the scene in 2003. The GameGear shared much of its library with the Master System, with quality ports of Sonic The Hedgehog 1, 2 Shinobi, The Lion King, Ristar, Space Harrier and Shining Force. The GameGear was a moderate sales success with a respectable 11 million units sold. The main reason for the GameGear's perceived lack of success is due to fact that it was vastly outsold by the Game Boy. The Game Gear had an infamously poor battery life, and a significantly smaller library of games than the Game Boy. Nonetheless, it was a solid console with a great library of handheld exclusives and convincing ports of home console games. 7. Sinclair ZX81/Spectrum (ZX) I was in two minds as to whether I should include the Spectrum on this list. Virtually unheard of the US, but enormously popular in the UK. Unless you want to be bored for hours on end about the merits of the Spectrum relative to the Commodore 64, be careful not to mention the word Spectrum to British gamers of a certain age! The hardware was vastly inferior to its rivals, not supporting hardware scrolling and a more limited colour palette, though the Spectrum did have a surprisingly impressive CPU for its time. Before they were bought by Nintendo and renamed Rare, a small Leisterchire based developer called Ultimate Play The Game was responsible for some stone cold classics such as Jetpack, Knight Lore, Sabre Wulf, the Spectrum was also host to some wonderful and unique exclusives like Head over Heels, Jet Set Willie and Skool Daze which still play great to this day. --- http://www.jvp-boston.org | |
6. Neo-Geo Pocket Color (NGPC) Although quite fondly remembered, the Neo Geo Pocket Colour (NGPC) is no Dreamcast in the popularity department. Perhaps my favourite thing about the Neo Geo Pocket Colour is the wonderful digital thumb stick, which I still believe to be one of the greatest input methods for 2D, and particularly fighting games ever developed. Why it hasn’t become an industry standard yet is beyond me, but it certainly would make the 3DS more fighting game friendly. The NGPC had a fantastic library of SNK developed games including an interesting remixed version of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Metal Slug and a few great fighting games like SNK vs Capcom, Gal Fighters and The Last Blade which all worked remarkably well with the limited hardware and button count. It’s still well worth hunting down one of these little beauties, I still occasionally break mine out on train journeys! 5. GameCube (GC) The GameCube was perhaps Nintendo’s least successful console, Virtual Boy aside of course… The GameCube’s relative lack of sales success owes much to Nintendo’s missteps in the 90’s. With the Nintendo 64, Nintendo alienated many third party developers and gave up a lot of ground to Sony. Where once the name Nintendo was synonymous with gaming, by the early 2000’s PlayStation was in most people’s minds the face of gaming. The GameCube's relative lack of success owes more to the legacy of Nintendo’s previous mistakes than anything particularly wrong with the GameCube. The GC had a reputation of lacking third party support, which was certainly true in the systems later years, but the GC actually had quite good third party support in its early years. Prince of Persia, Madden, FIFA, Need for Speed, Medal of Honor, SSX, the GC was well served with quality ports of third party games, though conspicuously absent is the generation defining GTA series. Of course with all Nintendo consoles the biggest draw is the first party exclusives, which the GC was very well served by. Among its greatest games are the superlative Metroid Prime, F Zero GX, Tales of Symphonia and Resident Evil 4, Paper Mario Thousand Year Door, and Super Smash Bros Melee. Nintendo’s two biggest franchises however, had more divisive entries in their franchises. While history now looks very favourably on The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, Super Mario Sunshine was, and still is regarded as one of the series weaker entries. Nonetheless, the GameCube has more than enough must have games, most of them exclusive to the little purple cuboid, and is well worth tracking down. 4. TurboGrafx-16 (TG16) The first 16 bit console on the market, the Turbografx felt like something of an intermediate step between the 8 and 16 bit generations. The Turbografx 16 struggled to compete with the NES in the US, and never even got an official European release, however it was a moderate success in its native Japan, outselling even the Megadrive! One of the biggest hurdles the Turbografx 16 faced was Nintendo exclusivity, a problem that also plagued the Sega Master System, however the Turbografx 16 still managed to amass an impressive library of games. The Turbografx 16 had a wonderful library of games, easily enough to justify the purchase even today. Among the best known games on Turbografx 16 were BC Kid/Bonk series of excellent early 90’s mascot platformers, Ys 1-3, Bomberman, Air Zonk, Splatterhouse, Devils Crush and Alien Crush. The Turbografx 16 is perhaps most famous for its superb library of shoot em ups, Blazing Lasers, Star Soldier, the best 16 bit R Type port, Super Star Soldier. A great console, maybe not an international success, but still it did quite well in its own right! --- http://www.jvp-boston.org | |
3. Sega Master System (SMS) Overshadowed by its behemoth rival, the NES, the Master System still holds a special place in the hearts of many gamers, particularly Europeans and South American gamers of the late 80’s and early 90’s. Nintendo’s aggressive (and illegal) exclusivity deal certainly didn’t help the Master System’s cause, any game released on NES could not be released within 5 years of the original NES release… But thankfully Sega’s first party output was more than enough to justify owning the console, even with so-so third party support, ironically a situation not unlike Nintendo’s today! The Master System was the only place you find classics like the Alex Kidd series, Space Harrier, Shinobi and a couple of excellent Sonic the Hedgehog, games with a greater focus on platforming than speed. Today the Master System is finally getting some long overdue screen time in the cult animated series Regular Show. 2. Saturn (SAT) To be quite honest, I’m not totally sure that the Sega Saturn is underrated, it was very well received in its native Japan and gave the world a great number of amazing games that are still celebrated today such as Nights, Panzer Dragoon Saga, ports of Sega’s late 90’s arcade games, as well as exclusives like Burning Rangers and Guardian Heroes. Most gamers seem to think the Saturn had an inferior library of games when compared to its contemporaries, which is somewhat true, however the Saturn did one thing incredibly well: Arcade games! The Sega Saturn was also home to the best ports of 2D arcade games in the late 90’s If you wanted to play Street Fighter Alpha 3, Darkstalkers, Vampire Saviour, Radiant Silvergun then you needed a Sega Saturn. It didn’t hurt that the (Japanese) Saturn controller was one of the greatest pad’s ever designed for arcade games, and particularly 2D fighting games. To this day, people still use Sega Saturn controllers for fighting games today! As for the reason for the Saturn’s lack of success in the west? Where to start? The lack of internal coordination at Sega (Sega USA was pushing 32X as the Genesis successor), no proper Sonic titles in the age where 3D platformer was king, fierce competition from both Nintendo and Sony, both of which had very strong games libraries and superior hardware for 3D games, excessive price… The Saturn excelled at 2D games, 2D fighters, platformers, shoot em ups and beat em ups. But the Saturn was of an era where 2D had become unfashionable. Gamers were enthralled with the newly 3D worlds of Super Mario 64, Zelda Ocarina of Time, Metal Gear Solid, Tekken, Final Fantasy VII etc. Who wanted to play 2D games anymore? Well evidently quite a few people. That the Saturn held on for so long, amassing such a superb library of games in the face of such overwhelming opposition is proof of its greatness. 1. PlayStation Portable (PSP) In comparison to the DS, even the most successful consoles may seem like dismal failures, but in fact, the PSP has outsold both the PS3 and 360 by a not inconsiderable margin. In its lifetime the PSP saw some superb releases, with high profile (and critically acclaimed) entries in series such as Metal Gear, Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, Valkyria Chronicles, as well as innovative and brilliant new IP’s like Locoroco and Patapon. Fighting game fans are particularly well served with quality ports of Street Fighter Alpha 3 Max, Guilty Gear, Blaz Blue Continuum Shift 2, Soul Calibur Broken Destiny, Dissidia and Tekken Dark Resurrection. SRPG fans are similarly well catered for with ports of Final Fantasy Tactics, Tactics Ogre, Disgaea and originals like Jean D’Arc. All this and I haven’t even mentioned the ability to play pretty much every PS1 classic imaginable… FFVII-IX, Xenogears, Chrono Trigger, Castlevania: SOTN, Resident Evil 1-3, Metal Gear Solid, the list goes on and on… More than any other console in history, PSP got a bad rap. --- http://www.jvp-boston.org | |
Considering the PSP’s sales (hardware more than software), it’s enormous catalogue of modern and old classics, it’s gorgeous design, and still lovely (and large) screen, I cannot understand why PSP is seen as such a failure… To me, the PSP is one of the greatest consoles of all time, and arguably the greatest handheld of all time. --------------- Bear in mind, that while this well reasoned list of consoles, all of which genuinely were underrated at the time of release, or post humously was rejected because an admin disagrees, todays top 10 is full of genuine factual, grammatical and spelling errors but was still accepted. http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/top10/2546.html . "When we played Nintendo 64s and the original Playstation, there was no multiplayer." "Nintendo is not on top of the world when it comes to handheld gaming. Yes, there are examples (of what?) such as the Atari Lynx, Nokia N-Gage, and Neo Geo Pocket, but those did not make such an impact in the United States" the comment on graphics stands out too, 10 (even 20) years ago, people absolutely did complain about graphics "A great example of games ignored solely on graphics is Okami (PS2, Wii) and Mad World (Wii)" well i don't know where the author got the idea that Okami didn't sell because it had unappealing graphics... Maybe the art style was niche, but even then, theres no reason to believe this is why it failed to sell. I think it's more likely that the concept of playing as a goddess in the form of a wolf, travelling around ancient Japan, reviving trees and restoring the world with a paint brush may not have had mass market appeal. That and lack of advertising are more likely culprits. The early Mario games were linear. Every beat-em-up you have ever played is linear. Sly Cooper, Jak and Dexter, and Ratchet and Clank were plenty linear. Any game that involves a main quest or storyline is linear in that regard! Why does every game have to have a massive in-game environment that you need to explore? Why is linearity in a game always such a bad thing? Is coherency in a game so bad sometimes? Jak and Daxter was linear? "Run and jump and maybe your way to enemies." ------------------------------- I find it quote irritating that a list a spent quite a few hours writing, in good English, was rejected for one subjective opinion, then after another hour or two of editing was rejected for a completely different and frankly wrong reason, while other top 10's were accepted with glaring factual mistakes, spelling and grammatical errors, which clearly weren't proofread. I don't mean to hate on the list I just referenced either, it's just the most recent example of a list that deserved with clearly more errors than mine that was published. I've seen far far far worse published here, which is why I'm pissed that my lists were rejected for inconsistent and pissy reasons --- http://www.jvp-boston.org | |
You'd be better off posting this on the Top 10 help board: http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/2000445-top-10-lists edit: I see you've got a couple topics there already, so I don't know why you didn't post this there to start with. =/ --- x-ray mind | |
Mookiethebold posted... You'd be better off posting this on the Top 10 help board: I have one topic there, and I didn't get any responses regarding my second rejection so I thought I'd try a different board... --- http://www.jvp-boston.org |
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