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

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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. Let’s take an extreme stance and assume that Sony only sold half of the units they shipped. This still means they not only penetrated a market owned by Nintendo, but captured a third of it. →  Just read it.

They hate my baby… and Tom Chick is an asshat

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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. He did so for money (or, as some call it, phat l00tz). He also reviews video games. Fair enough. Tom then turns around and writes a negative review about SOTS, which is a potential competitor to Gal Civ 2. →  Read me now, believe me later.

A shocking revelation

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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. Jumping doesn’t always work and it is nearly impossible to climb up ladders. The collision detection is also spotty. To add to the fun, many enemies have almost random patterns. Perhaps that is a sign of good design, but in a game that controls so poorly it’s just torture. →  Xenosaga 2: Jenseits von Gut und Pöst

Weekend Spotlight

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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. I will say that that scene was truly amazing. YouTube it if you have to, just see it.

Musically, it’s one of Nobuo Uematsu’s best scores. Terra’s Theme is easily one of my favorites in the entire FF franchise. →  Of all the words of mice and men, the saddest are, ‘Game Over.’

Okami first impressions

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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).

The game (like all games) is not without a few problems though. Mainly, the game seems to value the impact it can make through graphics over intuitive or useful controls. When running around a bend the camera will zoom awkwardly in a way that looks pretty, but makes control difficult or obscures something the player needs to see. →  Read more? No, I’ll read it all.

Place Yer Bets!

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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.

Also, all new movies coming out for Blu-Ray and HD-DVD are also coming out for DVD. So where’s the need? 1080p isn’t the end-all, be-all of movie resolutions. →  Videolamer does what IGNotDoes.

What if Jack Thompson viewed all media equally?

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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.

“Ezekiel 23:19 and 20 are about a whore reminiscing about all the large penised [sic] men she slept with. How is this anything more than pornography?” a clearly outraged Thompson asked on live TV. →  Article Hominid

Weekend Spotlight

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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.

Is the lack of the real songs detrimental to the amount of fun you can have? A little. Some of the songs’ remakes sound too sedated, and it makes the game a little underwhelming. →  Read more, before it’s too late!

A rant about rampant stupidity on the internets

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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. I’m beginning to wonder if this is such a mystery after all.

Now we’ve all complained in one form or another about ridiculous gamers, but regardless I’d first like to share some of my favorite anecdotes. →  Read me now, believe me later.

Where to sell your classic games

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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. This is a tad shy of the over $100 eBay would yield, but I expected worse. At least they only buy Snatcher for $6.30.

Not only does BRE Software offer insultingly low trade in prices, they seem to lack an understanding of supply and demand. →  Oreshika: Tainted Postlines