Tekken PSP to feature ghost fights, not 'live' online multiplayer
by James Ransom-Wiley 
{ Apr 13th 2006 at 6:55PM }
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Gamernode reports that Namco
Bandai plans to reward Tekken Dark Resurrection's top players by featuring their It's unclear how the ghosts will mimic their real world counterparts — or for that matter, how Namco Bandai plans to choose candidates for ghosting. Typically, a 'ghost' is a recorded image/video that is superimposed onto the game world. In most cases, ghosts cannot alter that game world, nor can actions in that game world alter the ghosts. Obviously, Namco Bandai is developing a different concept, one that will, presumably, interact with the player.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
jay @ Apr 13th 2006 7:23PM
Well that's a bad idea. Ghosts? Good in racing games but I just can't see this working well at all in such an interactive game as Tekken. It's all dynamic, short of saying "X is a point where Y player does Z action".
CPU AI and full internet play would be very good. Alas.
Eclipser @ Apr 13th 2006 7:31PM
Its a bit of a letdown to hear that they wont be going with a live head to head feature. This seems reminiscent of the updated Virtua Fighter 4 where the Sega team had recorded data on hundreds of people's VF playing styles and implemented them into the arcade mode for variety in match ups. From beginners to masterclass. But nonetheless, still let down.
Sabre @ Apr 13th 2006 7:36PM
What's that smell? *sniff*sniff*
Oh yea...that's the smell of Namco and Sony both shooting themselves in the foot over something so stupid.
Before all you people flame me...I own a PSP and this IS a dumb move. Sony could have worked with Namco to try and make the game fully online.
Alex @ Apr 13th 2006 7:38PM
And how the hell do they hope to accomplish this? By studying these players' techniques over hundreds or thousands of rounds to look for patterns and logic used by the player and creating AI that uses similar logic? Sounds easy enough.=P
Borat @ Apr 13th 2006 7:41PM
While Nintendo is planning to add more and more games to the DS's online library, the PSP is getting less and less online games. Games like Tekken are PERFECT for online play, yet those lazy ass designers at Namco (Remember Tekken 5 and Soul Calibur 3?) just don't get it.
Get with the times Namco!
Darrel @ Apr 13th 2006 8:00PM
This is a VERY stupid move, and yet I'm not surprised. Tekken 5 PS2 wasn't online, what makes you think Tekken 5 PSP will go online?
Plus, lack of online play is PRECISELY one of the reasons why fighting games are dying out, and yet the creators of some of the BEST fighting games out there (Virtua Fighter, Tekken and Soul Calibur) REFUSE to put them online.
Zeromaru @ Apr 13th 2006 8:10PM
I can't help but point out that online fighting games is a frakking horrible idea. Many, make that all, fighting games are fast-paced, fight-or-flight action. Even the best of the best internet connections out there aren't fast enough to handle local, direct connections where the transfer rate is dozens times faster, much more stable (internet speed tends to flux a lot). Beyond that, playing with someone in the same room can creates a whole new strategy. You can watch someone in person, see if they're confident, stressing, anything. You can almost see what they're thinking, and they can see what you're thinking. For years, games have been known as detrimental to social development, multiplayer games (especially N64/GCN/XB games where there's 4 players) helped that. Online games are now ruining this, making more antisocialites than ever (MMOs are creating the worst of them).
striegs @ Apr 13th 2006 8:12PM
I can think of a scenario where this would work. It's a staggeringly inane scenario as far as online functionality is concerned, but if they're using the term "ghost" in a traditional sense, then this is the least inane of all the ideas that I can fathom on short notice.
Example: Player Alpha faces a particular opponent and defeats him in record time. A ghosting of Alpha's fight (the performance of both his character and his AI-controlled opponent) is saved to memory and a copy is uploaded to Namco's database. Later on, Player Bravo is looking for some help facing that particular opponent, browses the leaderboards, comes across Alpha's ghost fight, and downloads it. From there he has the option of merely watching the fight (to brush up on his tactics) or to have the ghost playback while he faces the computer opponent in question (which would function similarly to your average racing game). Like I said, this is hardly a replacement for online multiplayer, but I suppose it's better than nothing if you're willing to settle for less.
Or, just maybe, they'll capitalize on DDR's popularity by having you match your chosen ghost move-for-move (possibly set to a funky j-pop beat).
rocko @ Apr 13th 2006 8:22PM
im being absolutly serious here, i havn't touched my PSP in months. Literally, the last time i turned it on was in august. There's just nothing exciting about it anymore. Besides, my DS is totally taking time away from my life as it is.
striderhayasa @ Apr 13th 2006 8:57PM
I just don't get it. Why are so many PSP games lacking true online features? Sony needs to entice as many people as possible to get online with their PSPs so it's a no brainer to get online with the PS3. That's exactly what Nintendo is doing with the DS and Revolution. What are Namco Bandai thinking?
iambic @ Apr 13th 2006 9:00PM
It's been done before, Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution had ghosts of top players.
I'm not an AI programmer, but I'd bet that with the relatively limited number of states a fighting game has, you could feed a few dozen prerecorded matches into a Bayesian net and get out a pretty good "ghost" of that player.
Dan @ Apr 13th 2006 9:24PM
The amount of diffrent events that can occur in a fight the bayes net would be huge...
anyways what is with the KKK guy in the screenshot... oh wait thats a ghost ;)
Sabre @ Apr 13th 2006 9:37PM
Who cares about "ghost" players...give us freakin' online play dammit!
cjpanda @ Apr 13th 2006 9:54PM
the reason Virtua Fighter 4 wasnt online is because the creators said the online lag makes the game unbalanced, and i'm sure its the case with Tekken 5 as well. If you ever played DOAUlitmate ( i hate the game) you know the lag kills the competition, gettin fighting games online is pretty hard
Drumr @ Apr 13th 2006 11:50PM
"What's that smell? *sniff*sniff*
Oh yea...that's the smell of Namco and Sony both shooting themselves in the foot over something so stupid."
dont gunshots make noise... possible light flashes... so... how does that even make sense... unless like, they took their shoes off first, before they shot themselves...
wAkO @ Apr 14th 2006 12:31AM
Holy crap, when I first saw the picture next to the story, without reading the headline, I thought the KKK or the Neo-Nazi were making a fighting game or something.
MetaHuman @ Apr 14th 2006 12:55AM
I play the Arcade version, complete with my own 3rd Dan Marshall Law on a Data Card. The ghost system isn't really that rewarding, but you can gain points when you're not even there if it's good enough. :D That said I haven't fought my own ghost yet, I really want to though, just to see how incredibly weird my fighting is. :P
Darrel @ Apr 14th 2006 5:22AM
#7. That's about the LAMEST excuse I've ever heard. First Person Shooters demand as MUCH faced paced presicion and reflexes as fighters, and despite lag ruining it for some people they are still popular played online, especially since 1996 when online play was horrible.
You cannot use that idiotic excuse that "online will ruin fighting games" anymore in this day an age when broadband is getting widely popular, especially since that excuse will just encourage developers to be lazy and not bother to try and make an effort to make GOOD online play.
And you can badmouth Dead or Alive as much as you want on how "it sucks compared to Virtua Fighter/SC,Tekken etc." Fact is that it's the first fighting game to pull off Online play sucessfully is a WAKE UP call to the other fighting game developers. Hell, even Bleach DS was online, and that's made by an old school game developer Treasure.
If you maintain the mentality that "fighting games will be ruined online", then I'm sad to say don't come looking for me when the fighting game genre goes the way og Adventure games.
Gideon @ Apr 14th 2006 5:27AM
Perhaps the it will be a ghost fight of a player versus a particular opponent, and then you try to defeat said opponent faster than your buddy? Only way I could really imagine something like that working.
Rocket Punch @ Apr 14th 2006 1:04PM
Man, LMAO! that picture is just wrong. reminds me of certain group of people who also happens to have the same name of a good turbocharger...
Sabre @ Apr 14th 2006 2:44PM
"dont gunshots make noise... possible light flashes... so... how does that even make sense... unless like, they took their shoes off first, before they shot themselves..."
True...LOL...but I Was referring to the smell of the smoke after the shot has been taken. X_X
shaka @ Apr 14th 2006 3:08PM
that picture is rather controversial ,you got a guy fully covered with a white blanket that just happends to look like an kkk ,then you got this 6,5, 350 black guy on the side, lmao and so notice you can see completely the right hand of the kkk menber ,maybe he has a gun or a knife who know's ? hehehehe
anyways back to the topic ,really looking forward to this game ,i have seen the screenshots ,really hot stuff ,this one for me is looks like the best fighter yet.
shaka.
Mr. Umeadi @ Apr 14th 2006 11:21PM
to #8, I agree, they should definitely have a J-pop beat, that would be great. With all seriousness, I've been following Tekken since Tekken I, and I feel that if the game can't be done to satiate the players, it shouldn't be done at all. And on a side note, where in sam-hell is gran turismo for the PSP? I've been seeing the cover shot for that game since before the PSP's launch.