UBI/Driver:The 24 Million Dollar Question | Forums

[Symantecus]

When you spend 24 million dollars to procure the license of ANYTHING...you must have big plans in order to recoup those megabucks.

Source Links:
http://www.google.com/search?tab=vw&...ER%20FRANCHISE

UBI didn't pay a million dolars, two million or even ten million dollars for the Driver francise, but a whopping TWENTY FOUR MILLION DOLLARS!

If you think that UBI is crazy, you don't know what UBI has planned for the Driver franchise.

HERE IS THE CATCH: For their $24,000,000 GAMBLE, are they willing to listen to the fans of the game or just go after GTA (which would be a big mistake), but with 24 big ones involved - Rockstar is shakin' in their boots! Or are they?

ABSOLUTELY! RockStar has placed fifth columnists, spies, slanderers, false witnesses and more in the gamers field to malign the Driver franchise. It it obvious that some reviewers have been overtly PAID OFF to give the Driver franchise bad press!

It's that gang-banger mentality, which is what the GTA series glorifies, and evidently a philosophy they also emulate.

If GTA is the CRIPS, then the DRIVER franchise is THE BLOODS! Driver is GTA's ONLY competition, though EA and others attempt a more sanitized version with their latest Kool-Aid racing games like Need For Speed: Most Wanted.

Either UBI or Atari or the developers have made a MAJOR, MAJOR error in DPL by removing it's HEART & SOUL, Hollywood Style RECORDABLE chase scenes. This feature has been what set the Driver series a part from the crowd, and was also it's original selling point - but it has been removed in DPL. Three words:

PUT IT BACK!

The game itself is quite a bit of fun and adrenaline pumping to play, CONTRARY TO THE GTA-OBSESSED and paid off press reviews and ILL-INFORMED reviewers (Quote: "Driver is the most blatant rip-off of GTA yet").

HELLO!!!

Driver was doing what GTA has more recently (almost, but not quite mastered) when GTA was a cheezy Nintendo top-down-scroller! Who's cloning who?

I own both GTA:SA and Driver 3 as well as Driver PL.

#1. Driver is more fun to play than GTA, plain and simple!
#2. Driver PL (PC) graphics slaughter GTA:SA
#3. Night & Day cycle does not exist in GTA
#4. Police are even more stupid in GTA (try running a red light in GTA. The cops just smile at you. Try that in DPL - LOL! Get ready to rumble!
#5. DPL and Driver 3 police DO have problems with AI, but so do the cops in GTA!

Gee, do we miss the foul mouth BUTT-UGLY ******s, pimps and gang-bangers of GTA so much that we gotta have our GTA:Nappy-Headed-Hoe fix or lie, cheat and steal to slander an EXTREMELY WELL CRAFTED GAME?

Sure Driver is not as blatantly foul mouthed and politically incorrect as GTA is, but it is still a much better game, and with a few tweaks...Rockstar is sweatin' bullets right now, knowing that UBI didn't spend 24 million bucks just to shelf the franchise! And so the CRIPS (GTA) slander, smear campaign against THE BLOODS (Driver) has begun.

I only hope that consumers are not so easily swayed by obviously tilted, slanted and FALSE reviews of an excellent game, with even bigger plans for expanding the gameplay to even greater heights!

[InsaneDriver06]

Originally posted by Symantecus:
When you spend 24 million dollars to procure the license of ANYTHING...you must have big plans in order to recoup those megabucks.

UBI didn't pay a million dolars, two million or even ten million dollars for the Driver francise, but a whopping TWENTY FOUR MILLION DOLLARS!

If you think that UBI is crazy, you don't know what UBI has planned for the Driver franchise.

HERE IS THE CATCH: For their $24,000,000 GAMBLE, are they willing to listen to the fans of the game or just go after GTA (which would be a big mistake), but with 24 big ones involved - Rockstar is shakin' in their boots! Or are they?

ABSOLUTELY! RockStar has placed fifth columnists, spies, slanderers, false witnesses and more in the gamers field to malign the Driver franchise. It it obvious that some reviewers have been overtly PAID OFF to give the Driver franchise bad press!

It's that gang-banger mentality, which is what the GTA series glorifies, and evidently a philosophy they also emulate.

If GTA is the CRIPS, then the DRIVER franchise is THE BLOODS! Driver is GTA's ONLY competition, though EA and others attempt a more sanitized version with their latest Kool-Aid racing games like Need For Speed: Most Wanted.

Either UBI or Atari or the developers have made a MAJOR, MAJOR error in DPL by removing it's HEART & SOUL, Hollywood Style RECORDABLE chase scenes. This feature has been what set the Driver series a part from the crowd, and was also it's original selling point - but it has been removed in DPL. Three words:

PUT IT BACK!

The game itself is quite a bit of fun and adrenaline pumping to play, CONTRARY TO THE GTA-OBSESSED and paid off press reviews and ILL-INFORMED reviewers (Quote: "Driver is the most blatant rip-off of GTA yet").

HELLO!!!

Driver was doing what GTA has more recently (almost, but not quite mastered) when GTA was a cheezy Nintendo top-down-scroller! Who's cloning who?

I own both GTA:SA and Driver 3 as well as Driver PL.

#1. Driver is more fun to play than GTA, plain and simple!
#2. Driver PL (PC) graphics slaughter GTA:SA
#3. Night & Day cycle does not exist in GTA
#4. Police are even more stupid in GTA (try running a red light in GTA. The cops just smile at you. Try that in DPL - LOL! Get ready to rumble!
#5. DPL and Driver 3 police DO have problems with AI, but so do the cops in GTA!

Gee, do we miss the foul mouth BUTT-UGLY ******s, pimps and gang-bangers of GTA so much that we gotta have our GTA:Nappy-Headed-Hoe fix or lie, cheat and steal to slander an EXTREMELY WELL CRAFTED GAME?

Sure Driver is not as blatantly foul mouthed and politically incorrect as GTA is, but it is still a much better game, and with a few tweaks...Rockstar is sweatin' bullets right now, knowing that UBI didn't spend 24 million bucks just to shelf the franchise! And so the CRIPS (GTA) slander, smear campaign against THE BLOODS (Driver) has begun.

I only hope that consumers are not so easily swayed by obviously tilted, slanted and FALSE reviews of an excellent game, with even bigger plans for expanding the gameplay to even greater heights!

Back when Driver 1's first display hit Electronics Boutique, I heard a GTA 1 fan say to the clerk, "So Driver's like a GTA rip-off, only in 3D." I didn't like the comment, since I played Driver 1, and the driving action was unlike anything I played to that point. The missions were insanely difficult, but the freedom to go anywhere in the city was awesome.

Is GTA setting up Driver for failure by propping bad press and so on, assuming Driver's the main competition? I doubt it, GTA doesn't sweat the competition, selling games like water. They're game makers, not gang members.

Do I enjoy the Driver series? Yes. GTA as well, but at the end of the day, I prefer the tradition of the Driver series great driving controls, just hope they really crank up the intensity for this next big Driver game.

[Symantecus]

Is GTA setting up Driver for failure by propping bad press and so on, assuming Driver's the main competition? I doubt it, GTA doesn't sweat the competition, selling games like water. They're game makers, not gang members.

Man, every corporation is actually a bunch of organized gang-bangers! Ever heard of the term "Corporate Spies" - "Corporate Espionage" "Corporate Sabotage" Ever heard of ... ENRON?

You'd be in shock at the level of "Corporate-Black-Ops" going on to sabotage competition. Don't be so quick to think that just because it's "corporate" it isn't run like a street gang ... IT IS!

[Assaultmachine1]

It's really sad to hear that many believe that the Driver franchise is a rip-off of the GTA games. The Film Director, car chases, smart AI, realistic approach for the cops to go after you (as they would in real life), and the sweet vehicles in the games are what make the franchise so great. Also, the TAR mode has made it great too. And no, I don't think that Ubisoft bought the Driver franchise and Reflections for just anything, they really believe in the team and that they could create a big impact for the Video Game Industry to see.

Although I can't necessarily call the Driver franchise more fun or even any superior than the GTA franchise, the concept of the first Driver game is truly what made the franchise so great and while we do need the elements from the first Driver to be stronger than ever (awesome storylines and missions that accompany every career in the game, both realistic physics and damage for all vehicles, the most realistic 3-D free-roaming experience, just like D1 was around its own time, a powerful Film Director, the best chases, greater freedom, and a whole lot more). I'm sure that with all of this to be improved for the next Driver game along with a ton of more on-foot than ever before, we might as well expect to see a masterpiece coming from Reflections. Above it all, they must truly look at the 4F's of Great Game Design, which I learned about and those are Fun, Feedback, Fairness, and Feasibility. If they can follow the 4F'sOGDD, I believe that Reflections will be more successful than ever. And remember to follow the path of what made the first Driver game so great as well as having a new approach with more on-foot and more careers than ever for you to tackle as part of your storyline in the game.

[Symantecus]

Although I can't necessarily call the Driver franchise more fun or even any superior than the GTA franchise

Which is more fun is a matter of taste.

For in car, Driver beats GTA hands down. The car physics are more true to life, graphics 100% better than GTASA, the police chases in DPL are 100% more adrenaline pumping than GTASA, which is pretty mundane when compared to DPL.

The AI for the police will hopefully be tweaked and improved, but we all know that GTASA police are even more stupid than DPL.

I don't have a problem with the storyline of DPL, it flows, and the cut scenes are 1000% better than GTASA (but cut scenes are not game play).

They need to put back the boats, add flying...and most importantly the HEART of the Driver franchise...FILM DIRECTOR.

[InsaneDriver06]

Originally posted by Symantecus:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Is GTA setting up Driver for failure by propping bad press and so on, assuming Driver's the main competition? I doubt it, GTA doesn't sweat the competition, selling games like water. They're game makers, not gang members.

Man, every corporation is actually a bunch of organized gang-bangers! Ever heard of the term "Corporate Spies" - "Corporate Espionage" "Corporate Sabotage" Ever heard of ... ENRON?

You'd be in shock at the level of "Corporate-Black-Ops" going on to sabotage competition. Don't be so quick to think that just because it's "corporate" it isn't run like a street gang ... IT IS! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I don't doubt there's companies who like to stoop to that level, but Rockstar North? They're already a success, not sure why they'd want to take out competition that really isn't much competition in sales. In the end, it's the gamers who determine if a game is good or not by word of mouth, not so much reviews, though they do make an impression, even if they are one reviewers opinion.

[Assaultmachine1]

I agree, InsaneDriver06, There isn't anything that the developers would looking into making sure that the rest of the competition fails. Otherwise, they're just troublemakers and, not to mention, idiots because there needs to be competition in the Video Game Industry along with many games because if there isn't, it would only make the Video Game Industry smaller and that would make it so much harder to improve itself. No matter what, every developer must try to achieve success and be as big of a competitor as those that are doing really well because we must keep video games living on as they are possibly the best of entertainment today.

[Symantecus]

LOL!

Boy, you guys aren't really that naive to believe what you just posted? LOL!!!

Guys, you need to get a bit more knowledge of corprate tactics. To say that Rockstar doesn't need the money, they're already successful...ANY CORPORATION that thinks like that is on the road to failure. Corporations NEVER consider themselves successful...it's a CONTINUOUS dog-eat-dog-greed environment. There is NEVER enough money to be made! I amazed you don't realize this? You must not be from America - LOL - that is the American way!

O' yes, innocent Rockstar North! You mean the guys who snuck in PORN just to gain more sales, knowing that it would cause a major raucus (and plenty of FREE PRESS!) Rockstar has no scruples.

Look! I get Gamespot's newsletter, just came out today, NOT ONE MENTION OF DRIVER BEING RELEASED!

This ain't Pleasantville folks and corporations will stoop to any means to quench their insatiable appetite for MO' MONEY and eliminate and/or dominate the competition, rather they are already successful or not!

[Assaultmachine1]

You are now starting to make more sense of this, Symantecus. Therefore, I must say that it is true what you stated in your post. Partly. The reason why I saw partly is because a game company like Nintendo is more about innovating and having people be able to afford the games that they buy from them rather than just making something that is extremely expensive and having people the need to pay lots of money for it, which is where the big cash comes from. You can't say, sterotypically, that 100% of the companies in the world are only out to get money. I'm going to work hard at becoming a boss and having my own company in the future, which will be working towards technology and entertainment for the most part, but I don't think only on money. My duty is to help this world change and evolve in ways that we could not imagine and help resolve this world of the many problems that it has. Money is not everything. I can tell you that. Intelligence is perhaps more valuable than money because having money to yourself will not always guarantee you a better life and as being a better person than someone with a great deal of intelligence, does it?

Maybe Rockstar North do only care about money, much like Rockstar Games themselves. Money and power is perhaps what they see for themselves, but if one focuses and is too much addicted to a certain thing, it will not be enough to help that one thing (money for instance and implementing a lot of different things in to a game to give it variety) save the people from the evil that comes from within them.

Speaking of video games, the Video Game Industry would really need to put down the focus on making a game into a franchise as it gets closer to more technology and more changes because this is helpful to making every developer have a better chance of creating concepts for games that are more original. Why should the focus always be on one particular thing and not have it move on in a year to something different? Right now, as still a gamer and not a game developer, I will say that I do and will enjoy the best franchises of today, but in the future, there must be more change and developers will certainly have to work that much harder. Originality has been such a big factor in video games from the start, but with video game franchises starting to be born, it really made it that much harder for developers to create new and original ideas/concepts for video games. Eventually, new games will need to be born, not franchises, but games that can stand alone because of their greatness, and these franchises that we know very well (Metal Gear, Super Mario, Legend of Zelda, Donkey Kong, Star Fox, Metroid, Pokemon, Driver, Grand Theft Auto, Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Virtua Fighter, Dead or Alive, God of War, Gears of War, Halo, Half-Life, etc.) will dissappear in to the thickness of a fog. Each developer deserves to have that much of a chance at creating an intense and original concept for a game, but with a game concept being too much focused on and having other games come out copy it, will only spread the concept further and not let anything develop beyond it. Why can't we see a new change for each of these genres and in having each developer create a game and move on to another original, new, and different concept after it? This is how I will begin making video games. Not focusing on two or more to be a part of a franchise. It will be enough for me to make one incredibly original concept to impact that particular genre and help the Video Game Industry grow.

[Symantecus]

I wish you well in your endeavors, Assault, but even with the best of intentions (and there are many who have started corprations with your very philosophy)...

...a corporation takes on a life of it's own, regardless of the founders wishes and life philosophy. When they go public they'll just vote the founder OUT. It happens every day.

If you haven't already, YOU MUST SEE a movie called "The Corporation". It demonstrates that if a corporation was human, it would be a sociopathic misift of society.