The Konami Motorcycle: Still Worth The Price?
by KLCgame, HSM team writer
It is as common to have the dreaded buyer’s remorse in PlayStation Home as it is to have it in our outside lives. Often, it may strike as soon as you get the item home, or sometimes you enjoy the item when it’s new, only to have the excitement to wear off in a few days. (I’m looking at you, Dead Island and Duke Nukem.)
But every once in a while you find something that you really enjoy, and not just for one, two or even three days, but for a long, long time. Over the years, there have been quite a few items on PlayStation Home that have truly stood the test of time, from the Leather Pants released during the first few months of open beta, to LOOT’s Sunset Yacht, and even Lockwood’s Dream Yacht. Some items just stand the test of time, and even though they have only been out just over a week, I believe the Konami motorcycles may end up joining that short list of items that people will still be buying in a year or two, or as long as PlayStation Home exists.
What makes motorcycles so intriguing to so many people? Well, I assume that it has something to do with the care-free spirit we all have deep down inside us: the speed, the allure, the wind in your hair. It brings us all back to simpler times of our youths, when we all thought we could fly and we all believed we were immortal. I’ve never had the chance to own a motorcycle in real life, but I have ridden on the back of a few in my time, and the experience is quite hard to describe. It’s not quite the same as driving down the Pacific Coast Highway with the convertible top down and feeling the ocean spray in your face, but that is probably the closest way to describe it other than saying, “It’s like riding a motorcycle.”
There are a few types of motorcycles, and two of the most popular are the sport bikes (which is what the Konami Motorcycle is) and the choppers. My personal favorites are the sport bikes, which in my opinion are more agile and faster. And I just like their look better. However, I do realize that I am not in a position to talk for the bike community as a whole, and I bet a lot of people would prefer to see a Chopper motorcycle as a locomotion. And I personally would not be surprised if that is in the works somewhere right now. (However, to be honest, given the recent flood of Home content, I won’t be surprised if there was a sea monkey outfit in the works right now.)
So, in PlayStation Home, where if you miss a month you might as well missed a year, and the weekly updates are near overload, how do you know if something is really worth spending your hard-earned money on? Well let’s divide it up into a nice little list that I personally use:
- Is it something you will still be using in a week or two?
- Are you buying it for a greater reason than just to say you own it?
- Do you really want it, or are you being told to buy it?
- And last but not least, do you really have the money to spend?
- However, if it’s free, get it immediately — do not wait. And forget about the first four points. Because it’s free there is no need to worry.
If the item passes the list and I really, really want it, I’ll buy it. Of course nothing is foolproof, and I will say here that I have goofed up and gotten buyer’s remorse even after following this list.
Okay, enough philosophy. Let’s get back to the reason you probably are reading this article, the Konami Motorcycle. The Konami Motorcycle was released during the February 6 update in North America Home, with eight different colors to chose from. It is easily one of my personal favorite locomotion items. Now, why do I find these simple motorcycles so great? Well first off, it’s one of those items the community has been begging for over the years that Home has existed. And of course I have personally had a fascination for motorcycles since I was young.
I believe that with the motorcycles, Konami did it right. Maybe they will release more motorcycles, and maybe they will add more with custom decals or a few new colors. With all that said, I give the Konami Motorcycles a 4.5 out of 5. (Please note, the only reason I didn’t give a 5 out of 5 is because I personally feel there is nothing truly perfect on PlayStation Home.) And that means they qualify for my official KLC certified stamp of approval.
- It's a motorcycle!
- Comes in 8 different colors
- Full-sized vehicle
- It looks cool, in my opinion
- No need to worry about insects
- Its price is on the higher end for locomotion
- Not having the same graphic style as an avatar can be a bit distracting
February 20th, 2013 by KLC_KILLER | 9 comments
KLC is a long time user of PSN and Home. She has also been a long time gamer, she has enjoyed various gaming systems and she still has a working Atari, NES, Super NES, Nintendo 64, and 90% of variations of all PlayStation generations. When she is not gaming, she is training to join the US Army. She also is interested in joining the WWE as a female wrestler. She currently resides in sunny Southern California.
TwitterShare
| Tweet |
I have mixed feelings about large locomotion items in Home. They often take up more than their share of the space when you’re in a crowded location, but they sure can be fun. I wish public spaces were larger to allow for these items, and maybe they should be specific, too. How about a racetrack for these motorcycles where the horses can be raced too?
I personally prefer wings and other flight locomotion’s, but I enjoyed your “take’ on motorcycles. I’ve also heard people request “choppers” … whatever they are!
Choppers are a bit like Harley’s
The size of LOCs are getting a bit silly really, the horses are a particular annoyance I think. Which is why I keep asking for the option to disable them all in a single space, like the pets/companions. The only other way of not getting a horse’s ass in your face is to put the offending LOC and its user on ignore, which isnt exactly the best solution.
Been tempted by these bikes myself but with each new LOC released each week it seems the devs are learning how to get more outta them and incorporate better and better ideas. I think I’ll keep holding off until there’s something I feel I’d truly get my money’s worth from.
Every week currently the updates revolve around what to buy, read the official forum comments, woot woot more to buy, oh my wallet, we love you developers, are all common place. There hasnt been a decent item or public space with any real aspiration to last any longer than a week since No mans land and mercia failed. Except perhaps Home Tycoon. Is that the developers fault for pricing the required amount of items needed to play the game fully too high. with the success of how the granzella edo game milks money out of its users and has lasted over a year I doubt thats the reason. Is it the games were poor, again there are several worse games in home that are successful. What makes an item or space fail or last longer is the community, users are making a look at me statement when it comes to items, buying a full sized bike that only you can hear, looks dreadful when travelling up and down stairs or ramps as back wheel bleeds into surroundings, can only be for one thing, hanging around sitting on bike chatting and looking cooler. Its like being at school if the cool kids have an item or hang out at a space then it sells or has users hanging out there, regardless of quality or price. That will create a fashion type shelf life and you either will be fashionable or not in the eyes of other users.
I haven’t bought one of these and most likely won’t, but I know a lot of people who have and were waiting for them long before they arrived. I have ridden a motorcycle many times in real life, always as a passenger, but though it was a scary and thrilling experience when I was younger, I doubt I would ever do it again, and these bikes, though nice to look at, just aren’t my cup of tea. Nice article KLC.
Great article KLC, I bought a few locomotion items and have found that I love them all for one big reason, some places are big and I want to be able to travel them a little faster, so they help. I agree with KrazyFace, the horses are huge, but I did buy a jet cycle from Atomic Republic and that has served me well, but better for me are the hover disks and monocles. The are faster than walking and are compact enough to move with out sticking a horses backside in somebody’s face.
I have started to see these everywhere in Home, so I think people are really responding to them. I also like your chopper idea for all the gear heads out there.
Well I figured that when people for all these years have been crying out for motorcycles not all of them wanted the “ducati” type like I did was just trying to be fair.