Oh yeah, so yesterday I forgot to mention the last remaining gifts from Xmas 08 were finally exchanged. Mostly because Hilary was in Connecticut for most of the holidays. Anyhow, she made me this!
… Us Koreans, we sure do love poo! Anyhow, speaking of the new year, one “resolution” I’ve promised to uphold is to finally start putting stuff up on my walls. Whenever anyone comes over, though it’s Joe (Simo) in particular, the same question is asked: when the hell am I gonna start hanging sh*t up? Like all framed movie posters that’s been leaning against the floor since day one? What else can I say, other than laziness? That and I wanted to get all the stuff that wasn’t framed first, and then figure out where to put everything all at once. Which I’m finally doing, and here’s the new centerpiece to the living room; a print by Lamar that he was kind enough to pass along at SPX!
Unfortunately, that’s all the pics for now. Was going to do a whole photo spread of my newly decorated domicile (since those are always popular to do), but wouldn’t you know, my already crappy digital camera for whatever reason is now dead. Hence why I had to use my iPhone for those two. Great, and with the New York Comic Con just around the corner.
Actually, this one of my bulletin board (which everyone whenever they come over loves to just look at) didn?t turn out too bad…
… And yes, when I finally take a proper pic and post it on Flickr, I’ll be sure to annotate the hell out of it. Here’s a few more earlier this weekend, while strolling through a snow covered Central Park…
… All things considered, the iPhone’s camera is actually pretty decent, at least when it comes to outdoor situations, where there’s plenty of light (though if I really had to make the call, the Nokia N81 I still have is still a bit better in the picture taking department I’m afraid, plus it could shoot video). If the thing had more megapixels, and a flash, plus just worked faster and smoother, as well as shoot video, it would truly be the greatest thing ever. But moving on! Another thing I neglected to make mention of yesterday, which is kinda stupid because a lot of it was me trying to figure out what to write about, during a time in which not much has been going on, is…
Playing The Part
As noted a few times in the past, I’m in the same exact boat as everyone else; times are tough and money is hard to come by. Writing about games helps pay some of the bills, but not all of them. So what do I do, to help fill the cracks? Thankfully, I’m part of the wonderful world of market research!
I forget how and when I first got involved, but over the years, I’ve been part of all kinds of focus test groups. Helping to figure out the new advertising campaign, or simply the new name, of everything from sports drinks, televisions, software, athletic shoes, to even video game systems. True story: back when I was in college, I was part of a group run by Sega, to help determine the name for the new console they would be releasing, which would end up being called the Dreamcast. A bunch of names were given to myself (I was still in college at the time) and other “gamers”, which we had to thin down. Dreamcast was certainly on it, and was one of the first to go. In the end, I liked Nexium the best (hey, there wasn’t much of a selection), though what did the majority call for? The Odyssey. I tried pointing out that there already was a video game system by the same name, and one that basically bombed, but no one would listen. Anyhow, as time has gone on, I’ve managed to make myself part of the system for virtually every market research firm in the city, hence why I end up participating on a fairly regular basis. Which is awesome since the money is great, especially for such easy work (though I do realize that just talking about it puts me at great risk of losing the gravy train, hence why I’m trying to be as vague as possible).
Though the most annoying part is the other people involved. It’s amazing how entitled people can be, even if they know that they’re getting like $200 cash at the end of an hour to simply comment on some product and answer a few basic questions, in which there are no right or wrong answers. Here’s the usual cast of characters that ALWAYS comes along for the fun…
- First you’ve got the old white guy who flat out doesn’t know how to fill out the questionnaire, no matter who drop dead dumb they might be. He either answers them wrong or goes too far ahead of the rest of the group. This dude always slows shit down.
- If the product on hand is a piece of consumer electronics, you then have either a young black or Latino guy who just purchased an equivalent of what we’re evaluating (which is usually stuff that’s about a year away from hitting the stores) and is pissed about wasting his money the entire time.
- Then you have the older black gentleman who tries to be the funny guy of the group. Is ALWAYS mentioning how he has kids and attempts to share relevant (in his mind at least) anecdotes, like he’s Bill Cosby, with the rest of the class. Also drags everything down quite a bit.
- Next is the angry white guy who hates everything, and in the cast of new technology, has a bit of Ted Kaczynski in him. Is more than happy to explain that he gets along just fine in life without a TV, computer, or phone, and still listens to audio cassettes. Also can’t tell the difference between stuff, such as when he has to compare the old and the new side-by-side, no matter how glaringly obvious it might be, or at least admit to it. Meaning, not only is he a contrarian but also loves to argue, which again slows the whole proceedings down.
- The sassy black mother of ten who acts exactly how you would think. Not surprisingly, is either best friends or gets into arguments with the aforementioned older black gentleman.
- Asian guy #1. This dude is always falling asleep.
- Asian guy #2. This dude is always mad creepy. Also generally a mouth breather.
- The young “hot” white chick who is ultra attention starved and always the most annoying. Will always dress quite seductively and wearing next to nothing, even if the topic at hand is computers or a fancy new vacuum. For whatever reason, there’s a 90% chance that she’s some girl rocker, and you just know she f’n BLOWS.
- The dude that loves to brag about owning 70,000 DVDs.
- The young Indian woman who is almost always either a student or social worker. Is generally the sanest of the group.
Another wonderful thing the entire group usually succumbs to is not paying attention. Like when a movie is played to demonstrated a new display technology… I guess everyone’s using The Dark Knight in both public showrooms (like Best Buy and Circuit City) and private ones as well. Plus you would think everyone’s seen this movie a million times, hence why I can’t understand how everyone immediately becomes transfixed.
I just realized that I seriously can’t say anything else, lest I lose my gigs. But I will note that another perk, other than the nice cash payola for very little time and energy, is how they generally feed you really delicious sandwiches. Anyhow, so how does one join such a gravy train? Had to say… again, I honestly forget and don’t know how I got so hooked in. Though I will suggest filling out every stupid survey that comes your way… they do have a purpose believe it or not. That and, perhaps this sounds crazy but I think my list above confirms this: full-fill a stereotype. They generally get one of each kind of person for these types of thing; I’m generally speaking the token nerdy white dude. So if you’re like me… but not in NYC, cuz they already have one of those…. fast and easy cash plus free ham sandwiches might be in your cards!
… Until 2014
Since it’s been a long while, time to quickly pass along some game related news across the web (though some of it is quite old, I know), plus my two cents…
- The big news these days is how Sony still doesn’t have a clue. Despite the fact that Sony is poised to post the first losses in a very long time, the folks that run the PlayStation show are still spouting nonsense and high on their own farts (sorry to use such a lowbrow term, but its just so appropriate not to use). Like the recent interview with Sony Computer Entertainment head honcho Kaz Hirai in the upcoming February issue of Official PlayStation Magazine in which he claims that “this is not meant in terms of numbers, or who’s got the biggest install base, or who’s selling most in any particular week or month, but I’d like to think that we continue official leadership in this industry.”
Kaz continues on by saying that he’s confident that when all is said and done, Sony will have thoroughly beaten Microsoft. What about Nintendo? Whom they were so confident at overtaking not too long ago? Well all of a sudden, they don’t count anymore because “It’s difficult to talk about Nintendo, because we don’t look at their console as being a competitor. They’re a different world, and we operate in our world – that’s the kind of way I look at things.”
Okay! More and more, Sony is sounding an awful like Nintendo back in the day; after two ultra successful hardware platforms (in Nintendo’s case, the NES and SNES), the house of N simply had no idea how to move forward, due to complacency and arrogance. Which is precisely how Sony is behaving today (something that the Director of Product Management for Xbox 360 and Xbox Live, Aaron Greenberg also noted, with a few numbers of his own).
But then comes word that Sony CEO Howard Stringer wants to salvage the company by shifting focus from hardware to software, and the folks in Japan that really call the shots just ain’t having it. Interesting because now Sony sounds a lot like Sega of old, also circa the mid-ninties like Nintendo, back when Sega of America wanted to concentrate on games instead of supporting seventeen different gaming platforms (from the Game Gear to the Sega Genesis+Sega CD+32X platform). Even Brandon over at insert credit has made a Sony = Sega analogy, albeit in slightly different terms.
The bottom-line is that the PS3 is sinking fast. There’s a rumored price drop for this upcoming April, or whenever the hell the fiscal quarter ends (I’m guessing), which has been rumored to be anything from $200 off the retail price of the system, to just $20. But even with a deep discount, will I get one? More than likely no… there’s just nothing enticing megaton on the horizon, save for whatever Team ICO has brewing.
At least they still have a slew of neat downloadable games to choose from. Which seems to be the only front that they’re making the most progress in. Though it sucks to hear that the upcoming OutRun Online will be XBLA only (at least for PS3 owners).
- Forget Sony’s foibles, the real headline is how some kid last week got arrested for assaulting his mother with a taco for unplugging his “X-box”.
- Guess what? No one give’s a flying f*ck about the Spike Video Game Awards. Big surprise there!
- Okay, guess I was wrong: among other things, Metal Gear ceator Hideo Kojima wants to be less Japanese, so he can grab a nomination next year. Yeesh.
- Hey, Jeff Minter’s Gridrunner+++ is coming to XBLA! Most excellent.
- There’s literally countless DS games I’m looking forward to, though Tokyo Beat Down, which I was afraid was going to stay in Japan forever, is indeed heading out way! Man, Atlus, sometimes you’re the best.
Though I’m afraid Hachi Koi might not be so lucky. It indeed looks a lot like Doki Doki Majo Shinpan… which I have already of course. And the sequel too!
- Meanwhile for the Wii, there’s Major Minor of course, which just got a new homepage over in Japan. The music, as expected, is terrific! Note to self: need to drop Rodney a line and see how things are going.
- And on the WiiWare side of things, which I will admit to not be too involved in, mostly because of the system’s paltry internal storage space, but recently discovered that it is indeed no joke, that using approved SanDisk produced SD cards makes memory management shuffle a LOT easier, there’s a little game called Bit.Trip Beat that looks mighty awesome (Lord knows that’s the one thing WiiWare needs right now, and that’s style; virtually everything looks so mind-numbingly bland).
- Courtesy of Kotaku is a little something that transforms YouTube into Dragon’s Lair of sorts. But instead of cel animation, stop motion utilizing Street Fighter toys is the main mode of action.
- Also via Kotaku (sup Mike), comes word how in Japan (of course), at Akihabara game joint Mandarake, one can snatch every single Famicom game ever produced for retail in a nice little set! Of course, the asking price is about $7,300 American. Though last I heard, the yen is once again tanking, so perhaps by the time I finally return later this summer, it might be down to something a bit more reasonable?
Almost immediately afterwards came word that a potential buyer had made him or herself be known! And a little less than a week later came news that said person had second thoughts.
Anyhow, via the original source comes this neat little YouTube vid that’s a “brief” visual history covering the first wave of Famicom softs.
- One other place I’ll be sure to stop by during my return visit (that is, if Magma 2009 actually happens) will be flatflat, just about the craziest, most stylish looking internet gaming cafe ever conceived…
- And according to both Kotaku and insert credit, via various Japanese blogs, Akiba Pro Wrestling recently held a show where a bunch of manga and game publishers (including Konami and Capcom) were involved. The end result was a bunch of dudes dressed as Street Fighter characters beating up dudes dressed up as Metal Gear Solid characters in the squared circle. Pictures from this awesome spectacle can be found here, here, and here.
- Though perhaps topping all those pics is this image of a guy dressed up as Simon Belmont, in his Castlevania Judgment duds, trying to do secretarial work…
And here’s another…
… You’ll find more here, along with shots of current Castlevania big boss IGA whipping some dude at the office for not playing his new game, but something else for the 360. JAPAN!!!
- According to this interview with Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopulos (who is pictured with one of his toys, yet looks no where as douchy as the head hancho of Activision who did the same thing, but with a Guitar Hero axe), a sequel to Amplitude is something they’d like to do. Which would be awesome! I was a big fan of the game.
- On a related note, but perhaps for Nirvana fans only (which I still count myself as… given my upbringing in the birthplace of grunge, I almost can’t help it), here we have Krist Novoselic discussing what it’s like to play a song that he’s more than familiar with in the real world, in the virtual one, and having a hard time at it.
- Said it before many times, and will keep on saying it: Who still gives a rat’s ass about Second Life? Lucky for them, the art world.
- Back to home decorating: perhaps it’s time I finally invested in those Tetris mirrors I’ve had my eyes on for so long.
Alongside it, I could make myself a giant Atari lamp, like the one described apparently the Seaman iPhone game has been cancelled. Wonderful. At least a DS version is apparently on the way.
- So is Marvelous Entertainment making a Zelda game? And is Sega making a Mario game?
- Check out these pics of a laptop that’s been laser-etched with all the levels from Super Mario Land…
… Umm, I hate to say this, but I think such a mod would like twenty times nicer on a MacBook Pro. Still quite keen!
- Elsewhere on Flickr, a read-deal Portal device!
- Everyone’s heard of Cooking Mama, right? Well here’s Iron Master, which as Brandon over at IC aptly describes as “Forging Papa”.
- Sticking with Insert Credit for just a sec, here’s a bunch of other items I figured folks who don’t normally frequent the site might be interested in (plus even regulars such as myself are not fully aware of how its back to normally scheduled updates)…
… Hey, Cloudphobia has been updated! Sweet.
… Apparently, Konami’s Korean branch is suing Pentavision, makers of the DJMax series for the PSP, which is kinda like Beatmania, but a lot better (imho). They also do another not so distant Beatmania clone for the arcades as well called DJMaker. Anyhow, it’ll be interesting to see how this one plays out.
… Then we have a few links to various vids for Sega’s Joypolis amusement center. Pro-tip: just let one of the vids load before playing, and then randomly skip around.
… Fellow GSW scribe has a new Flash game that’s pretty neat, called I Fell in Love with the Majesty of Colors which like Brandon sez is tad bit arty-farty for my tastes, yet still worth a shot.
… Yes, we’re weeks into the new year already, but it’s never too late for neat game related wallpaper!
… Plus here’s a video of some crazy shirtless dude playing Galaga at an arcade down the Jersey Shore.
To be completely honest, this other video of some other shirtless guy going apesh*t while playing Street Fighter 3 is FAR superior.
- Finally, time for one last look at 08, which had more top ten lists dedicated towards it than perhaps any previous year. And most of them sucked to be completely frank. Except for mine of course! Well a few did manage to stand out from the rest, like Brandon Boyer’s Offworld 20. BIG thumbs up for including a N-Gage 2 game, even if I wasn’t as gaga for Reset Generation as he is (but who among us have actually played the game, aside from me of course).
Gamasutra’s own top five indie games of last year list is also worth a look, though personal favorite would have to be… naturally… the best eroge of 2008 as determined by the people at 2chan, courtesy of Canned Dogs. I can’t even begin to tell you which one I want to try out first!
