Instead of the usual what I did this weekend and video game news mishmash post, I’ll just get the gaming news out of the way first. And like last time, there’s some bad news…
GMR is no more. Though it hasn’t been formally announced (as of this writing), the plug has been pulled and the final issue will be the January 2005 edition. It would seem that EB, which was the exclusive outlet for the magazine, decided to end their promotional agreement (if you became a member of EB Edge, you got the subscription for free), and I guess Ziff Davis simply chose not to continue production.
This is a real shame, and not just because I’ve written for them. I know I may come off has an ass kisser for saying this, but I’ve always believed that GMR is, without a doubt, the best video game publication produced in America, period. Nothing else comes close, from the content (unlike most other publications, GMR never mindlessly gives out 9′s and 10′s, always takes accountability for whatever is written, and has the articles that are actually articles and not poor excuses for editors and writers to be seen in print hamming it up with booth babes) to the production value (other than the well regarded design sense and layout, the magazine is actually famous for it’s consistently striking covers).
But what’s really shameful is that Ziff Davis doesn’t want to risk GMR on the open market. Of course no one knows about the magazine, it’s only available at a specialty game store! Then again, giving their constant failures at having an EGM companion (EGM 2, which I really enjoyed, Expert Gamer, and GameNOW), I suppose I can’t blame them. Plus we all know how harsh the print side of game journalism is nowadays. Though truth be told, I’m almost certain GMR could still be alive if not for some very poor recent choices on ZD’s part… but I think I’ll stop right there.
The funny things is that news of this broke around 2:30 am via the GAF (actually, it’s not that funny; you’d think ZD would have the decency to tell it’s editors upfront instead of letting them find out via a message board) and that’s where I got noticed by one of the editors (when I was ranting and raving against Todd McFarlane, of all things).
Well it was fun while lasted. Is there any good from this? I suppose so…. it’s one less thing to be pestered about from your average EB clerk monkey.
In other news…
- This past weekend, Tim broke news regarding the PSP’s battery life. While playing Ridge Racers, it was reported that right out of the box, the PSP only lasted two hours and seventeen minutes, but as it turned out (well at least, I had assumed), the PSP was only half charged (which is always the case with most electronics with batteries, like cell phones and the such). But after a full charge, and with the same game (and with the screen at medium brightness), the PSP lasted six hours and three minutes (and as he stated, “Put that on your weblogs”, and that’s exactly what I’m doing). And I suppose it goes without saying, but that’s far better than anyone expected.
Of course, it doesn’t end there; people are going to be dwelling over the play time for each and every game since disc access is what really drains the battery, and each game is going to handle this differently.
- The DS on the other hand has been labeled as “the Tickle Me Elmo of 2004″. Nice. Sorta true since I’ve heard dozens of stories firsthand of moms killing themselves to get the thing for their kids, and I do mean kids. The wireless multiplayer aspect seem to really be working. Though the Tickle Me Elmo label seems more of a negative than a positive. It’s just an opprotinity for folks to say “And just like Elmo, no one is gonna give a rat’s ass about the DS next Xmas.”
- If you look around, you might come across some scans from the latest Famitsu showing off the new Pokemon game for the GameCube. Looks okay I guess; I’m not much of a Pokemon fan, at least nowadays (I went through Pokemon Yellow fairly heavily, and even got Silver, but by that point it was out of my system, plus I found something cooler, Digimon!) so I don’t have much of an opinion. But the scan showed the very first glimpse (at least for me) at Mario Baseball, which I didn’t even know existed! Apparently it’s not being produced by Camelot, which has thus far done all the Mario sports titles for the N64/GBC/GBA/GC titles, but Namco. So that probably means no Mario Baseball game for GBA with RPG elements, which really sucks since it’s already the case with the portable edition of Mario Tennis. Then again, I didn’t find Mario (Power) Tennis on the Cube so hot, plus Namco has a strong history with baseball games in Japan. Plus their Starfox title is actually shaping up quite nicely…
- Plus, there’s plenty of talk going on right now regarding a possible Mother 3 (Earthbound 2) for the DS. Hey, that would be fucking awesome, but until I see an actual screenshot, I’m not getting my hopes up, and even then there’s no guarantee it’ll even be released (and I mean at all, not just here in the States; Mother 3 was originally slated for the N64).
- Here’s an article about how Grand Theft Auto actually prevented crime.
- And here’s a site that tries to connect all the Super Mario games so it’s just one canon. It’s an interesting read. I know most people find such endeavors dumb, but I actually admire it. Course, I’m the type to make stupid little connections in my head over the craziest things (which was put to good use as I was developing my Charles in Charge RPG at Ubi Soft, which unfortunately never happened).
This popped up on the IC forums also, btw, during a discussion regarding cartoons based on video games. And as I said there, I’ll say it again here: the only truly interesting show was Captain N. It’s the only time I can think of where the creators not seeing the source material actually helped in the long run. I have to admit, which I first saw Mega Man dressed all in green and heard his voice, which was akin to some old smoker who’s on the road to getting a trach ring, I think I literally spat that Frosted Flakes in my mouth on the living room floor. But after just one episode, the brilliance of such creative re-interpretations, which also included a bitchy prima donna Simon Belmont, the “is it a boy or girl, but regardless, the Debbie Harry hairstyle is pretty hot” Kid Icarus, or the sassy Mother Brain, was quite apparent.
- Finally, and I really should do this more often, but here’s a neat web game which I can’t even begin to describe. You just have to play it.
It’s actually part of some campaign from Honda regarding a new, cleaner, quieter engine. If you explore the main site, you’ll be asked to “hate something”. Okay. Maybe this is what the Fight Club really should have been.
