Editorials

Here is where we weigh in on all of the important issues that effect today’s world. There are so many things to complain about: developers, publishers, retailers, other gamers, the market as a whole, gaming technology, gaming related technology, gaming politics, gaming court cases, Japan, trends, current events, past events, future events and bioterrorism. We won’t silence an opinion just because it’s “unpopular” or “poorly reasoned,” so you can be sure we will always present at least one side of an issue. Think of us as the Fox News of gaming.

Why the PSP is a success

by

Many online sources have declared the PSP a failure. Others, including print magazines, haven’t gone that far but have acknowledged the PSP may currently be failing. The difference being the tense of the verb to fail. Here are some declarations that the PSP is dead or dying:

Should we consider the PSP dead?

RIP PSP

PSP: Just Die Already

Developers: The PSP has “failed”

But common wisdom is wrong: the PSP is not a failure; it has actually been quite successful. Sony took on a company that had around 95% of the handheld market. As of July, Sony has shipped 20 million units compared to Nintendo’s 21 million DS’s sold. There is a difference between units shipped and units sold, though how much is up for debate. →  Hot Shots Post 3

They hate my baby… and Tom Chick is an asshat

by

Read this. Also read Tom Chick’s original response post, and if you really care, his review (Chick’s response is at the bottom of the above article, and his 1up article is linked in his response).

I want to give hats off to Tom Chick, for masterfully pulling off this bit of PR. Because that’s all this is kids, it’s a “look at Tom Chick, he’s so abused!” play. And, it makes him more of a name brand, because I even read the Galactic Civilization 2 manual and have no idea who he is. So I guess he needed it. Or maybe I’m outside of his target demographic.

Ok, let me make my rambling into something cohesive. Tom Chick wrote the Gal Civ 2 manual. →  Reading more, assemble!

A shocking revelation

by

Today I spent hours playing Ghosts and Goblins on the Capcom Classics Collection. The game is an absolute classic and it is also nearly impossible. It took me about a thousand lives, but I finished the game…only to be told that it was all a dream and I’d have to do it again. So I did.

Sometime during the second playthrough it struck me — this game sucks. I know it sounds like blasphemy to a lot of people, and it sort of disturbs me to say it, but it’s true. This game may have a cult following but it’s a piece of crap.

The game is not hard because it is well designed. It is hard because its controls are horrendous. →  Final Fantasy Mystic Post

Weekend Spotlight

by

After reading about the 10 anniversary of the Nintendo 64 over there at Infendo, I decided to play… my SNES. My urge for nostalgia went a little farther, I guess.

Anyway, after dusting the ol’ SNES off and finally figuring out which controller worked completely, I popped in one the greats: Final Fantasy VI. One of the best, if not THE best, RPG of all time.

Incidentally, I’ve never actually beaten the game before, and this is after I bought the thing for like $50 on eBay last year. The game is great, but it’s hard to find time to play all these 40+ hour fantasies, now that real life has reared its ugly head. The last time I left off, I just completed the famous Opera scene. →  Mrs. Article, you’re trying to seduce me.

Okami first impressions

by

I bought Okami yesterday and played the first 90 or so minutes while I should have been unpacking after my recent move into Manhattan. After reading all the previews and then reviews praising this game I couldn’t let it collect any dust.

The game is not about to end world hunger, but it is definitely an experience worth $40. So far it has been mostly story and tutorial stuff, but the game has already left an impression – mostly in the graphics department. Several times already I have stopped in my tracks, zoomed out and looked around just because I wanted to savor every view I could get of some scenes (similar to previous experiences in Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, actually). →  U R Not lamE.

Place Yer Bets!

by

I know the format wars issue is beyond played out, but I’ve come to a startling realization: Sony will win.

How, do you ask? Look at it from this perspective. Has anyone seen the commercials for movies that are available for HD-DVD or Blu-Ray? No doubt you have, but has anyone really thought twice about it? No, and they shouldn’t. And that’s how Sony will win.

People are going to buy PS3’s, there’s no doubt there, but I can’t see many people buying an HD-DVD player anytime soon. Only the early adopter crowd will even bother, and even some of them are questioning switching over so soon. No normal consumer is going to understand or even care about the differences these new devices will bring to viewing movies when compared to regular DVD’s. →  Read me now, believe me later.

What if Jack Thompson viewed all media equally?

by

Jack Thompson Declares Bible Obscene

Crusading for a new rating system for books, lawyer and pro censorship lobbyist Jack Thompson has focused on the King James Bible as a prime example of depravity that is easily accessible to impressionable children and young adults. He points to passages about murder, incest, rape, genocide, regicide and other disturbing scenes to paint a picture of what he sees as one of the most dangerous books available today.

Taking time off from his anti-video game violence campaign, Thompson visited the television show The View last Monday as part of the PR campaign for his new book rating system. He cited specific passages of the Bible and explained how they may warp a young mind in an attempt to prove that the book needs to be censored. →  We have the best words.

Weekend Spotlight

by

This week, while hoping to pickup Cooking Mama for the venerable DS, I came across a deal at Wal-Mart that I just couldn’t pass up. In the discount bin, with a pretty tattered box was Donkey Konga 2 with the Conga drums. After checking the prices on Bestbuy and Gamestop’s sites, I don’t think it’s that much of a deal, though. Jungle Beat can be found for only $15. But still, Donkey Konga 2 is rather enjoyable, especially if you go at it in multiplayer.

One thing I want to stress about the game is that the songs are not the original songs. They’re redone by a few cover bands. This is probably because of memory contrainsts with the GC’s disc medium, but there are like 30 of them, so quantity outweighs quality on this one. →  Words are the towns and cities of letters.

A rant about rampant stupidity on the internets

by

Uh oh. By the looks of the cover this magazine is going to have a lot of words in it.

By now I hope you are in some way familiar with Penny Arcade’s Internet Fuckwad Theory. Time and again it has proven to be accurate, but I can’t for the life of me understand why. What exactly is it about anonymity – or near anonymity at the very least – that causes people to behave in illogical, rude, and just plain baffling ways? There are times when the gaming community amazes me with how well spoken or well organized it can be. Mostly however, it just causes me to pound my head in frustration. Everyone wants to know why gaming isn’t being taken as seriously as it could be. →  The Read Star

Where to sell your classic games

by

Today while looking for a deal to trade in my old DS for a new pink one (it matches my nail polish) I came across the tremendous SellVideoGames.com. The site is run by BRE Software and is an amazing deal for anyone interested in trading in their old classics. And by amazing, I mean they are taking advantage of anyone stupid enough to take them seriously.

Looking through their trade in prices for Saturn games left me speechless. $6 for Bomberman when on eBay you could get five times that price. $7.10 for Dragon Force instead of around $50 on eBay and $8.20 for Guardian Heroes instead of about $60 on eBay. Surprisingly, Suikoden 2 nets you $48.11 from BRE Software. →  [post launches in virtual reality],[put on your VR headset now],[left click on your mouse to open the remainder of this post in your web browser on your digital computing device]