Want two GunCons? Buy two copies of Time Crisis 4
by Alexander Sliwinski 
{ Dec 6th 2007 at 10:00PM }
The whole thing plays out on a Live Support Chat posted over at The Consumerist. The guy who contacted Namco-Bandai is informed that he can always have the second player use "a controller" if he wants to play co-op and is told, "If you wish to play two players using two Guncon 3s then you will need another copy of Time Crisis 4." Redonkulous, but not unheard of. Come on, let's break up those peripheral bundles from day one!
[Thanks, Alkaiser]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
sam @ Dec 6th 2007 10:18PM
It was the same thing with Time Crisis 3. They stopped selling the guncon by itself after 2 came out. The only other way to get it was with Ninja Assault.
willie @ Dec 6th 2007 10:16PM
Wow, that sucks
hopefully they'll release it separate in the future like the GH III controller will be
pellucidity @ Dec 7th 2007 11:10AM
The real trick is to hope they're released separately in Japan, so we can (hopefully) get black or dark grey ones.
I know I'd pay a little more not to have orange.
(yes, yes, don't be stupid or get yourself shot by a cop carrying it arount, etc).
Yuccadude @ Dec 6th 2007 10:23PM
Other games come with dual-wielding right out of the box. Then again, it's only in the software :P But seriously, I don't need a mic, guitar and the drum set with Rock Band, because I got GH II for 360 and GH III(not worth it), so I don't need to have 2 wired guitars and a wireless guitar as well. Luckily with RB, it's being sold separately come January.
Macroy @ Dec 7th 2007 4:00AM
Rock Band (the disc only) is already being sold separately.
sheppy2.0 @ Dec 6th 2007 10:26PM
You know, Consumerists has recently really derailed their intents and have jumped from a "protect the customer" to "corporate evil bad, research and fact checking stupid!"
Kotaku was dumb enough to fall into this trap, I was just hoping Joystiq wouldn't.
Fact: Anytime a new Guncon is released, it always has a couple months of lead out time as a bundle. This way Namco can judge the demand and drop extra controllers accordingly. This isn't new news. In fact, it's quite common from Namco. It's happened with the Guncon, Jogcon, Guncon 2, and now the Guncon 3.
Fact: If one was truly desperate to snag an additional one, one need only look to the region where the fear of this peripheral hitting clearance bins is not dominant. Ala, Japan. When Time Crisis 4 releases Dec 20th, so do spare controllers. Pick your favorite import site and go. Otherwise, wait the extra two months and buy direct.
Nope, spread that fear! It's all a conspiracy. Half the people claiming it can't even spell it, but that's what it is.
Fish @ Dec 6th 2007 10:40PM
Well said.
Anthony M @ Dec 6th 2007 11:15PM
If Joystiq cared about context, they couldn't use controversial headlines like "Want two GunCons? Buy two copies of Time Crisis 4" and get us all to click through to discuss it.
BPM - The Revenge @ Dec 6th 2007 11:56PM
I don't think it helps any that the CSR said "buy two copies of the game, lol n00b" (okay, she/he didn't phrase it like that... but you KNOW she/he was thinking it!).
FUD? I don't smell any here. Fact is, there's only one way to get two GunCon 3s (for now), and it isn't a very appealing option. In fact, it's downright ugly.
Even if they didn't want to ship out standalone GunCon 3s en masse to retailers, an option would be to sell it through their online shop.
sheppy2.0 @ Dec 7th 2007 12:21AM
For now.... but there's also only one way to get an extra guitar controller for PSP, both games, or Wii. That hardly seems indicative of the long term goals. Likewise, why should a CSR have full access to Namco's entire business strategy over the next three months. I think it's entirely unreasonable some of the expectations some people have for the operaters. Just remember...
Phone call takers =/= Company policy makers
I mean, if Joystiq really wanted to create a panick, they would go to destructoid. Current rumor is Activision is using legal threats to keep Sony from releasing the Rock Band patch. A scenario suspiciously likel considering hmxsean (community leader on their boards) has confirmed that Sony has the working patch in their possession.
I'm wondering where the hat will fall. Will Sony tell Activision to go fuck themselves and release it stating peripheral releases on their console open themselves up to compatibility with other games (especially since the Least Paul functions like a SixAxis)? Or will they bow and let Activision actively attack their own customers? Of course based on rumor... so far. But the patch has been confirmed to have passed certification everyone is mum.
gonk @ Dec 6th 2007 10:38PM
sounds just like gh3 and rockband
B1gC72 @ Dec 7th 2007 9:21AM
exactly. and that really doesnt sound too good to me. i dont see why these companies cant just sell them on their websites if they dont thing people will buy them. that way they havent lost anything by shipping a bunch of them to stores and people not buying them. cut out the middleman. they could be like wal-mart lol.
Anni @ Dec 6th 2007 10:40PM
Man, this wouldn't be a problem if this game was on the Wii.
ON THE WII.
NAMCO.
PUT IT ON THE WII, GODDAMN.
DangerMouse @ Dec 6th 2007 10:56PM
This game has state-of-the-art graphics, that only a cell-processor is capable of handling.
Sry :(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(
Anni @ Dec 6th 2007 11:01PM
I know it'll never happen, I just dare to dream. It's a lightgun game, man, I mean.. honestly.
dsub @ Dec 6th 2007 11:22PM
Except for the fact that the Wiimote sucks for a lightgun, even with the Zapper attachment. The IR sensor bar and everything makes the Wiimote an unresponsive mess compared to the Guncon. This game is called Time Crisis because your pressed for time. If it were on the Wii it would be called, wait for the IR sensor to triangulate the Wiimote's position, and then relay firing data back to the system through bluetooth resulting in a constant game of catch-up Crisis.
Unfortunately, the Guncon 3 suffers the same issues. They are a bit better because it is wired, not wireless, but all of this is due to the fact that none of us own CRT TV's anymore, and as we all know, standard lightguns don't work with LCD, Plasma, DLP, etc. TV's. Which sucks, because this whole IR triangulation system blows nuts for fast paced light gun games.
BPM - The Revenge @ Dec 6th 2007 11:50PM
DSub:
The arcade version of TC4 works exactly the same (i.e.: not a light gun). As does Ghost Squad, etc.
Also, I don't get where you're getting the idea the Wii Remote is unresponsive. I've never had issues with it.
My only complaint with it is that most games lack an option to readjust the vertical position of the onscreen cursor so it IS where you're pointing. Twilight Princess featured this, so it helped a bit.
dsub @ Dec 7th 2007 2:47AM
Perhaps it's an experience with certain games. For instance, in Super Mario Galaxy, if you play it, and rapidly move the cursor around the screen, it's obviously trying to keep up with your movements the entire time. Heck, you can even tell when just moving the cursor in the menu. I can literally move the remote quickly from left to right, and stop and watch the cursor catchup. It's quick, but there is still some lag. I've played TC4 in the arcades, and I never noticed this, but on PS3 I can. Like I said, it's not as bad as the Wiimote, but there are still some issues.
bobartig @ Dec 7th 2007 1:35PM
@Dangermouse: The graphical requirements of TC4 may very well be beyond what the Wii is capable of, but why do people think that the cell processor somehow helps with graphics?
You might as well say "Super Mario Galaxy has cutting edge graphics that only the Wii Nunchuku can deliver!!!11"
Kree @ Dec 14th 2007 5:10AM
@dsub
"I can literally move the remote quickly from left to right, and stop and watch the cursor catchup."
That's the software's cursor speed, not a technical problem of the Wiimote. It happens to me all the time when a PC game uses their own non-standard mouse cursor.
Fernando Rocker @ Dec 6th 2007 10:56PM
Without trolling... whats the point? Time Crisis 4 sucks anyway.
Or am I wrong?
ThornedVenom @ Dec 6th 2007 11:03PM
Forgot which version I had, but I played Time Crisis when I was little on the Playstation. It was pretty addictive, even though I played with a standard playstation controller.
Dunno how it stands out against this generation of gaming.
dsub @ Dec 6th 2007 11:14PM
Time Crisis is amazing. Not sure what planet your from.
dsub @ Dec 6th 2007 11:22PM
except for the 4th one. lol.
BPM - The Revenge @ Dec 6th 2007 11:52PM
I disagree. Time Crisis 4's at a local arcade, and I found it to be quite fun.
... I just wish I didn't suck so much at on-rail shooters so that I didn't blow dollar after dollar on them... :S
Jeff @ Dec 7th 2007 1:04AM
I played Time Crisis 4 at the local arcade, I found it to be a very enjoyable game...but it wouldn't warrant a purchase of $70 bucks for the game + guncon.
dsub @ Dec 6th 2007 11:13PM
Agreed. I've sold multiple copies of GH2 and 3 to 360, Wii and PS3 owners just so they can get a second wireless guitar, because they are entirely unavailable until January/February. I understand that alot of it has to do with the fact that they are putting all the guitars they can make into game bundles, but it's ridiculous that in a sense, they can inflate sales like this. If the fucking game supports a second controller, then a second fucking controller should be available. Don't tell me to buy another copy of your damn game. I don't need another copy of the damn game. I need a second controller.
I can't believe the guy even suggested using a controller. Playing a light gun game with a controller is about as entertaining as watching a hamster run around in it's cage.
Abscissa @ Dec 7th 2007 4:18PM
Hey now, hamsters are awesome!
Organic_Shadow @ Dec 6th 2007 11:18PM
Not only is this a crappy game, but I doubt they are going to maintain this stance on the issue. They want to sell copies of the game a bit before selling the guncon by itself. Pretty low, but whatever.
I'm not too worried about it. At least not until more guncon3 games come out.
bluesky_v2.01 @ Dec 6th 2007 11:21PM
Could the gun look any more ridiculous. At least make it black . . . at least.
dsub @ Dec 6th 2007 11:25PM
I agree. I felt the same way about the Guncon 2 as well. The original Guncon looked and felt like a badass handgun that RoboCop would carry or something.
I mostly think it looks so ridiculous because they don't want kids to get the wrong idea.
Jhongerkong @ Dec 6th 2007 11:30PM
The japanese version IS black.
The only reason they made it orange is to avoid people saying "OH NOES, DEM GUNZ TEACHIN OURS KIDS TO COMMITTED DEMS MURDER!!!!1111".
Anthony M @ Dec 6th 2007 11:37PM
It's against the law for it not to be orange.
Wikipedia:
"In the United States since 1992, toy guns are required to have an orange plug or be entirely brightly colored to signify them as toys."
Jeff @ Dec 7th 2007 1:06AM
Good, so all the gangsters need to do now is paint their sawed off shotguns orange.
Dio @ Dec 7th 2007 2:23AM
There are baby blue and hot pink gun controllers too D:
gevenstaines @ Dec 7th 2007 12:11AM
multiplayer = fail
Matthew @ Dec 7th 2007 12:22AM
The only reason I bought 3 was because it came with two. This sucks...
mystictaco @ Dec 7th 2007 12:51AM
obviously they believe ps3 owners have no friends
h8rain @ Dec 7th 2007 9:00AM
I had a $10 off coupon to Best Buy and it was on sale for $75, so I picked it up for $65. Maybe I am missing a setting, but on my wide screen tv, it makes the two screen...."letterbox" like i have black bars on the top and bottom. Playing with the controller is bad, but "shrinking" the picture and not filling up the screen is more of a problem to me than having to "buy" the game again to get a second controller. If I have a hard time seeing the picture, having a second gun versus a controller is almost a non-issue. (I have a Samsung 42" DLP 1080i tv with the PS3 hooked up via HDMI cable btw, so if anyone can chime in and tell me what I missed and how to fix, I would be greatly appreciative).
DarkMan08 @ Dec 7th 2007 9:14AM
As usual Consumerist post some anti-consumer dirt about a product without looking into first.
1st. Namco do this all the time. They release the Game+Controller first then release the Controller later on.
2nd. The second GunCon 3 is already out in Japan, but its out of stock. It will be out here some time next year.
http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-zo-49-en-70-2bn6.html
3rd. Shame on Consumerist "again" for posting nonsense like this without no research.
OhJustSomeRandomGuy @ Dec 7th 2007 12:48PM
1) And gamers should just let it slide? Just because we only found out about it now doesn't mean we shouldn't trying to change an established shitty practice.
2) Great. I still don't know why we should be satisfied with the "option" of having to pay import fees for a peripheral that the company could just be bringing over and selling through its own damn online store.
3) Riiiiight. "Shame" on the site trying to give people as much information on their purchases as possible.
deaftly @ Dec 7th 2007 10:10AM
Redonkulus FTW
Hohlraum @ Dec 7th 2007 10:34AM
I actually returned the game to amazon without opening it. the price is just too ridiculous for a peripheral that only has one game and they don't sell spare guns for multi-player.
Abscissa @ Dec 7th 2007 4:18PM
I'm getting really tired of that pseudo-word "redonkulous". It was mildly cute (very, very mildly) the first time I saw Joystiq use it, now it's just plain irritating. Let's start using real words.
Kree @ Dec 14th 2007 5:21AM
Is it too much to ask to sell the game and the guncons separately, and write "YOU NEED A GUNCON FOR THIS GAME" in big letters on the front of the disc case? Heck, they can even ask the retailers to put the two of them side by side on the shelves.
After all, you don't see an extra standard controller packaged with every multiplayer game (apart from WiiPlay, which was just bundle fodder). People buy controllers as they need them.
bobbyb @ Dec 29th 2007 10:55AM
What the hell? I want to play this game with my kid and i can't, beecause i can't get a second GUNCON3. Is Dumbco retarded, they can make more $$$$$$$$$$ if they sell a second GUNCON3 seperately and the game. BUT NO let's be stupid and lose customers because we don't give a fuck about the customer anymore!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There feedback doesn't matter to us because WE ARE DUMCODUMAI