Spring break at SVA starts today, which means there’s no students around, plus the big boss is out of town, so there’s not much to do. I do have a mountain of work to keep me busy, but all that stuff is at home. It’s been quite boring really, with the only highlight thus far being my boss’s birthday cake party where she mentioned some MFA’s thesis project which was a pinball game that you played by inserting your dick in the machine. I have a feeling that might be the highlight of the whole week.
So all I’ve really been doing all day is surfing the web for game related news…
- Here’s an interesting piece with some eye-opening quotes from the aforementioned president of Nintendo. I guess it’s refreshing to hear someone be so blunt about Nintendo’s possibly bleak forecast, after years of his predecessor, Hiroshi Yamauchi, going on and on about how Nintendo will rule the world and other would be crying. it was funny when they were on top, but it sorta got sad near the end.
But I think the most interesting tidbit has to be, regarding the next console, Revolution, that is “a machine Nintendo insiders tell Kikizo that fans are “thinking too hard about” when guessing what its unique feature (or features) might be”. This is hardly surprising considering the ridiculous amount of crazy speculation that’s been going on, and as folks within Nintendo are already aware of, all the anticipation may backfire if what is reveled is something that’s less than mind-blowing.
Then again, even if the Revolution does indeed offer something earth shatteringly different, Nintendo’s main problem is going to be properly exploiting it. They already have something totally new and different on the streets today, the DS, and in my opinion, they’re doing a rather piss poor job of supporting the system. Wario Ware Twisted and Nintendogs is a step in the right direction, but it isn’t nearly enough. Things can be taken further. Or can they? As it stands, stuff like Super Princess Peach is more of an insult than anything else.
- Have you heard of “New Games Journalism”? Well check out “ten unmissable examples”, or at least according to the author.
I always feel weird commenting on such things since I run, for all intents and purposes, a gaming blog, so maybe my opinions don’t mean much. As for New Games Journalism (first off, why is it plural?), I’m a big fan of the idea of change, and feel that it’s absolutely needed for the long term health of the game journalism field. Hence why I’m so bothered by the strong opposition that it usually receives; you’d think that most would know first hand that the old way of reporting news and presenting game reviews (in traditional print magazines) just doesn’t work anymore. No one is denying that the internet has changed things, but very few seem willing to truly change with the times, hence why all the hate. Well its time to seriously reconsider such stances and make the connection as to why they is such less work these days.
But I will give the critics this… the truth is, most of the New Games Journalism actually does suck. Big time. Yes, even some of the examples listed. But hey, its new, and it needs time to evolve, to grow.
The one thing that critics constantly harp about is the use of the first person voice. I do feel that a first person view when writing about games has its place, since game playing is largely a person experience, but most don’t know when to stop and usually forget that they’re the star of the game and not the article, if that makes any sense.
Anyway, NGJ still has a long way to go. Oh, and for the record, I can safely say that all blogs are fucking up journalism, period. I’ll be glad when the passing fad of blogs is long dead, and people start realizing that having a blog doesn’t making you any smarter or cooler than you think, cuz only the real good ones will be sticking around after the fact.
- Check out this vid from one of the mo-cap sessions for Devil May Cry 3.
At this point, everyone knows how hard the game is, so I’m thinking of just importing it (they made the hard difficulty the default normal setting for the US version for those who don’t know). Yeah I’m weaksauce (and yes, I do know that once the first level is defeated, the easy mode, which is the equivalent to the Japanese normal setting is unlocked, but I’m afraid of sucking so bad that I won’t even reach that far).
- A favorite game of mine for the GameCube is Super Monkey Ball. And unlike most games I enjoy these days, I’m also fairly good at it. But not this good. Good God.
- These people here have created a plug-in that gives N64 games high-resolution textures. Just take a look at Mario 64 with it…
Nice isn’t it?
- Take a good look at Sega’s new remake of Phantasy Star 2. Personally, I sort dig the new character designs, and the game looks pretty damn tight overall (unlike 99% of all the other Sega Ages revamps, with the sole exception being Virtua Racing).
But I hear that they fucked up the music, and that is just plain inexcusable.
- I mentioned recently a way for gamers who can’t get away from their computers to order pizza.
Well, now there’s an equally stupid way to avoid going to the bathroom.
- Here’s a new freeware shooter that only the folks at the IC forum could possibly dub up. It’s called Galshell, and as you can see, it’s bit different from the rest…
I love this little piece of description, translated from the original Japanese: “The nude of the woman, the bone of the living thing and the grotesque character expression which designates the internal organs as motif come out in this game. It does not do age restriction.”
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As for the world outside of games…
- Time for some creepy cosplay!
The one on the right is supposed to be “Astro Girl”. I think its a girl, but you never can be too sure with these kind of things…
- As one might recall, I’m on a really big robot tip right now (then again, when am I not?), due in part to MK’s paper on robots, so I’ve been busy checking out…
… robots that will watch your kids (hello A.I.).
… robots that eat flies (hello Little Shop of Horrors).
… and robots that get horny (hello… what’s a good movie with robot sex?).
- Also, thanks to science, the idea of having your very own invisibility shield just got a little bit more plausible.
- You know that Star Trek show on UPN, Enterprise? Yeah I don’t watch it either. Neither does anyone else, hence why it was cancelled.
Well a few Trekkies didn’t like this, so one fansite asked for donations to get the show revived. And guess how much they raised? Three, fucking, million dollars. All from just three uber-geeks. Holy shit! And, of course, Jesus Christ…
Why couldn’t Farscape have any rich fans?
- Most people (white folks) are unaware of the hatred between Japanese and Koreans. Well on that side of the Pacific, the war still wages, and now it’s online. Yeah, Koreans hate being reminded about dog eating.
May as well pull this out: an awesome piece of Anti-American propaganda from North Korea called Fucking USA. Man, that song is catchy as well.
- Freaks and weirdoes are dime a dozen online, but very few have genuine taste. Like this German guy who has a midi version of the Huey Lewis/Back To The Future classic, the Power of Love.
- From the same secret source where I got that guy, comes this pic that I just love…
- This week, Top Shelf, one of the best comic publishers in the biz today, is having a massive sale online till the 15th. Tons of books are going for $5, and even $3! Sorry, Blankets is not one of them, but it, plus tons of others, are also on sale.
- And finally, forget about what I said about that poodle video, because THIS is the most fucking insane thing ever to grace the internet. It’s “Not Safe For Work” and Not Safe For Anyone, Ever.
Edit: the site’s down, so you can’t see for yourself, but maybe that’s a good thing. It’s that bad/amazing.
