As most HD collections are HD versions of games from the sixth generation of consoles (PS2, Xbox, Gamecube), most games that get an HD collection can be played on emulators or by simply not selling your consoles and/or not breaking your shit. 

 

With the exception of Dream Drop Distance (possibly, I am unaware of any 3DS emulators) I could play the entire Kingdom Hearts series, for FREE, on my computer thanks to emulation. Do you think companies realized this and started to make "HD Remasters", which so far has consisted mainly of PS2 games that have been polished a bit, and started marketing them? 

 

While I love replaying Ratchet and Clank, Sly Cooper, Jak and Daxter, Kingdom Hearts, all in glorious HD, I still own all of these games for the Playstation 2 and own a working Playstation 2, memory card and all, yet I still cough up $40 dollars for games that I already own just because they look pretty. Honestly, so far the Kingdom Hearts collection has been the only one worth it, as it includes extra content and isn't your average shine and polish HD remaster.

 

As I feel I dragged on, I wanna hear from you. Do you think gaming companies found a way to cheat you by selling the same game twice or do you think the games are better because of their graphical updates? Whatever you feel, post below.

 

Edit: Insomniac released an HD version of Ratchet: Deadlocked on the PSN for $10, making the entire Ratchet and Clank PS2 collection $40. My mistake.

Edited July 28, 201411 yr by neosporify

Yes

 

Three times when you count the upcoming PS4 ports

I feel as if HD collections are in a way for the fan service of the die hard fans of their respective games as well holding us out until the next original game of that series. In example are... 

 

 

Tales of Symphiona HD collection > Tales of Xilla 2

 

Kingdom Hearts 1.5/2.5 > Kingdom hearts 3

 

Final Fantasy Type 0-HD > Final Fantasy XV

 

Halo the Masterchief collection > Halo 5

 

 

But yea they're no denying the fact they're also for cash grabs from a business point of view

Edited July 28, 201411 yr by Tatsumi

Yes, they are. But in this case it's a very good thing that they're reselling this game, because the massive amount of new content in Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix and Birth by Sleep Final Mix have never made it outside of Japan before now. And as someone who has played those games, they are apparently worth buying because they had so very much to the experience and are worth buying again.

Nah, I think the main goal is to get new people into a series or give them a chance to replay old games they missed.

 

It's Sony's way of making up for their consoles not being backwards compatible. Hopefully the PS5 will have the same architecture as the PS4, so that the PS5 could be backwards compatible. Piracy of PS2 games isn't a major concern of theirs, since new copies of PS2 games aren't made anymore. So "sales" are usually secondhand which means that no money goes back to developers.

Yoshinori Kitase, producer of the Final Fantasy series put it perfectly. Their main reason for releasing Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster was since you could not play the original games on most PlayStation 3 consoles.

 

Tetsuya Nomura, director of the Kingdom Hearts series put it another way. He's reasoning for HD 1.5 ReMIX & HD 2.5 ReMIX was because of the gap between their original releases and when Kingdom Hearts III eventually releases.

 

 

YesThree times when you count the upcoming PS4 ports

 

They aren't being ported to PlayStation 4. Tough luck.

I think of course they're getting a way to sell a game twice, all companies are, but honestly I personally would never emulate games.  I just prefer them on the original console it came out on than an emulator.  My only exception really would be a N64 emulator.  I like them, 'cause I can play the games on a console I'm more likely to have turned on, and with 1.5, the controls were improved and we in AUS & EU got a game that was never released here at all (Re:COM) + the FM editions (it's like Banjo Kazooie on the Xbox how it improved where your notes and collectables saved when quitting or dying so you don't have to collect them all again).  The main reason though is to get old fans an improved version + get new and younger fans interested who don't own older generation consoles.  

HD collections are a great thing,it allows people who never got the chance to play games from previous console in current gen.People who already played the original version dont have to buy them again.For someone like me who never own a PS2, the HD collections on PS3 are a really great thing,but I think backward compatibility would have been the better option for the most part because except for the KH 1.5 and 2.5, HD collections feel pretty much identical to their original counterparts,so it would have been nice to be able to play any PS2 games on a PS3 instead of being restricted to the developpers choice to make an HD collection or not.

I personally think that it's a good thing that Nomura decided to re-release these games.  One, for the fact that we had never had the Final Mixes, and two, because the team is hard at work for Kingdom Hearts III, and they need something to keep us, the fans, busy.  And on the subject of these HD re-releases, I think they are great for people who no longer have PS2's or for people who simply want to see their beloved games on the PS3.  While it's true that there are emulators, some people don't like using emulators, so having these HD re-releases is a good thing.  And especially in the case of Kingdom Hearts, since we'll be sinking our teeth deep into the Final Mixes while Nomura and the gang finish up Kingdom Hearts III! I think it's a great thing to do!

One word: yes. 

YesThree times when you count the upcoming PS4 ports

^This.

 

I'm a sheep, though, so I'll buy them anyway.

They get more money, we want an updated re-release for different reason. Win-win. So yes, but it's not a bad thing.

Edited July 28, 201411 yr by JTD95

I'm sure they are.  To me the HD is pointless.  If I own the game, there is no reason to get an HD version.

For some it's is a miracle, because back when I was younger I didn't have colored TV surprisingly lol, I bought my HD TV back when I was in high school with my money so finally seeing the game in color was just amazing!

Well no, not really. In some ways yes, but there's other good reasons to do it, such as updating it for current times, giving back to their fanbase, etc. I mean yeah, it's basically the same game as it was before, but its better in a lot of ways too, so its worth it.

From a company's standpoint, they're easy money. They're not as expensive as buying a new game, they're easier to make than a new game, and the customer gets more out of it than buying one new game. Companies know that not everyone can find a PS2 anymore as easily as they once could. You can't even play PS2 games on PS3's or PS4's without buying them on the PSN for that matter. From my standpoint, they're great because I no longer have a PS2 nor do I have the games anymore. I'd rather pay 40 bucks in store on 2 or 3 games I know I loved on a system I have, than go through the hastle of trying to find them all online or whatever and possibly pay more once I get ahold of the PS2 and the games. Plus the HD games are of better quality and the top reason I get them are for the added bonus of trophies on the PS3. I love going through my trophy list and trying to get as many as I can. 

Fool. I wouldn't consider emulation a good route since it is illegal. Even if you keep good care of your systems and discs, eventually, they'll break down. So it's good to have a more recent version. Plus, a lot of us were kids when we started playing Kingdom Hearts, so we probably weren't thinking that far ahead. Plus, with these HD collects, we're getting things we haven't gotten before.

Fool. I wouldn't consider emulation a good route since it is illegal. Even if you keep good care of your systems and discs, eventually, they'll break down. So it's good to have a more recent version. Plus, a lot of us were kids when we started playing Kingdom Hearts, so we probably weren't thinking that far ahead. Plus, with these HD collects, we're getting things we haven't gotten before.

Fool. Only torrenting the ISO is illegal. You don't need to torrent the game to get the ISO. If you have the disc, you can still use PCSX2 and emulate it, which is what it says is it's intended method of emulating games. Either way, I said that it was possible, not that I personally have done it.

Edited July 28, 201411 yr by neosporify

Fool. Only torrenting the ISO is illegal. You don't need to torrent the game to get the ISO. If you have the disc, you can still use PCSX2 and emulate it, which is what it says is it's intended method of emulating games. Either way, I said that it was possible, not that I personally have done it.

Fool. Well then that's not free, like you said, if you need the discs.

Fool. Well then that's not free, like you said, if you need the discs.

I've honestly been sitting at my computer pondering a proper response to this statement and just cannot find one, as it has no relevance to my previous reply. Care to try again?

I've honestly been sitting at my computer pondering a proper response to this statement and just cannot find one, as it has no relevance to my previous reply. Care to try again?

Fool. In your original post, you talk about emulating games for free. And playing someone's game without having first paying for it is stealing; ergo, it is illegal. But then you said can just use the discs to emulate, but that wouldn't be free since you had to pay for the discs. You can't have it both ways.

Fool. In your original post, you talk about emulating games for free. And playing someone's game without having first paying for it is stealing; ergo, it is illegal. But then you said can just use the discs to emulate, but that wouldn't be free since you had to pay for the discs. You can't have it both ways.

I really don't think you understand how torrenting works. Someone already bought the game at one point, but they decided to share it with a bunch of people online. You aren't stealing anything, but you are duplicating multiple copies of the game. To get a better understanding, google it. It's why pirating is such a problem. If you don't want to pirate, that's fine, that's good actually. This discussion is going nowhere, please do not reply to this. If you do, don't expect one from me. 

Edited July 28, 201411 yr by neosporify

Fool. This guy. Duplicating multiple copies of a game without proper permission is illegal, which is what I said.

Yeah basically, lol.

Sadly I used to torrent back when I was younger because I was upset when the final mixes got released only in Japan.

There are a lot of collections that add stuff like WW HD. Then again there are a lot that take away stuff like Silent Hill HD.

Sadly I used to torrent back when I was younger because I was upset when the final mixes got released only in Japan.

I don't blame you...