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5 Mar 05
I'm testing a new polling module on the News section. It allows more features including making multiple selections. If you have a chance, please help me test it by registering your votes.
Also, has anyone checked out this site on Alexa.com? It's pretty embarrassing. Still I'd feel better if someone took the time to write up a review of the site there. I'm not expecting glowing praise, but it would be nice to see something. Thanks.
4 Mar 05
You've heard of the phrase, "It's like watching a train wreck, I couldn't take my eyes off it." The worse it gets the more you watch and the more you think it couldn't get worse, but it does. That's kind of how I feel about Nintendo right now. I really hope they've got me. I really hope they're playing me. It's all just misdirection and they're not driving the train right off the cliff. I hope.
I mean everyone who played games at the time loved the NES. We were told that video games were dead. Nintendo refused to buy that. They insisted they had a good product. They opened up new ways of marking consoles that have profoundly shaped the industry today. Then there are all the great franchises that started there. Not just the Mario, Metroid and Zelda series, but Final Fantasy, MegaMan and Nobunaga's Ambition. Those were games that really propelled their companies along.
Some people have really bashed the Gamecube, but it's proved itself a powerful, capable system. The exclusives have made it a must own system. I still think the Wind Waker was one of the top titles this generation.
The Gamecube still must count as a disappointment. Nintendo really didn't close the gap with Sony at all. I don't know if there position is worse, but it appears worse since they couldn't even solidly beat Microsoft outside of Japan. I can see where that would be motivation to take some risks. I just think you have to take the right risks.
Nintendo's risk taking has had some troubles. There's the Virtual Boy, sticking with cartridges for the N64, ignoring online, pushing GBA/Gamecube connectivity and now the DS. The DS is clearly the brightest star in that crowd, but if they release a major new Gameboy, they could be putting a knife in its back. There is some talk that the new Gameboy won't be the next generation, it will just bundle in the media capabilities Nintendo is now rolling out as a peripheral. I don't see that move stealing the thunder from the PSP, but it's much less risky than releasing a new Gameboy generation that doesn't trump the PSP.
So what do we have today, but the President of Nintendo stating clearly that they're going to go a different direction and if they lose third party support, so be it. I could cry. Nintendo release schedules drive their biggest fans nuts. Without third party support to ease the wait, it will be that much more frustrating. Then there's the question of whether Nintendo today is capable of creating the new IP and beloved characters that defined previous generations.
Like I said, I hope I'm wrong, but it feels more and more like a death spiral. The worst thing is that it's so unnecessary. The market has grown and is growing. There's room for three.
Perhaps the best possibility is that Nintendo is reading the market correctly. Their Revolution will move away from endlessly increasing polygon count and toward better gaming. They will take back the initiative making more games, more fun, cheaper than their competitors leading everyone to jump on their bandwagon. I wouldn't put money on it, but it would be a fun ride.
Jason
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3 Mar 05
I don't think anyone likes destructive crackers (or hackers if you prefer, though old school hackers were benign). There has been another series of attacks on PHPBB bulletin boards. So once again I've updated the forum software for security reasons. Please let me know if you have any problems or observe funny behavior.
I sometimes miss the old ACLU. They would jump on any perceived threat to the first amendment so fast it would make your head spin. I bring this up because it appears Washington state is trying to hold game makers accountable for crimes 'inspired' by their games. Lawmakers wouldn't think to try to do this to books or newspapers or television shows. It's tough being the new kid on the block.
Well, you can't say the industry doesn't try to keep improving its image in spite of those types of efforts. The ESRB has announced a new rating, E10+ to protect kids. Obviously it goes between E and T and will be mostly titles that skew more violent than typical E titles without reaching full T levels of violence. They keep improving the system and educating people about how it works (ok, I'm a little tired of Tiger Woods telling me to pick the game that's right for me). We can hope the venom will eventually turn elsewhere.
Jason
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2 Mar 05
In the last shameless plug, I pointed out some of the strategy gaming goodness on sale at GoGamer (see ad on the side of the screen). Well, that deal is over, but if you were thinking about some Combat Mission gaming, don't worry. This time GoGamer has Combat Mission 2 on sale while Combat Mission 1 is still quite reasonably priced. You can get both shipped for about $16. Or if you're more ambitious, you can get the whole import Combat Mission Anthology that includes Afrika Korps for about $36. If you're on the fence about Combat Mission, you might want to read This from our forum.
I put up an article in the news section on Microsoft's bid to get respected Japanese developers to sign on to the Xbox 2. It clearly means that they haven't ceded the Japanese market despite a poor showing this generation. That can probably tell us something about the form factor for the Xbox 2. It will be much smaller with sleeker lines. It will have a modern, high tech inspired look. I imagine the ad campaigns in Japan will be different as well.
You know Ubisoft isn't acting like a company about to be taken over by EA. First they launch a sports line that will directly compete with EA. Now they bought a Microids development studio in Montreal. When the labeled EA's stock acquisition hostile, I thought that was a legal maneuver, not a description of their response.
If you check the news section, you'll see Silent Hunter III has gone gold. I put up some screenshots for it as well as more for Cossacks 2. Check them out Here.
Jason
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1 Mar 05
First we have a quick correction. Or perhaps a clarification. I implied that Microsoft had held on to the Links and Topspin lines in the Ubisoft deal. Actually, Microsoft couldn't have sold them to Ubi since they had already sold those two plus Amped snowboarding (along with their development studio) to Take Two. So basically Microsoft is holding on to Project Gotham Racing and Forza Motorsports as their entire "sports" department.
I put up a news item earlier describing the upcoming changes to Total Gaming dot Net. The changes are interesting and make the service more viable for the long term. I guess I'm glad their adapting rather than crashing the whole thing, but it would have been cool if it had worked out as originally planned. The fact is that the idea is good. There are some great games out there that drop to the wayside because of poor publicity, bad release scheduling, early releases with too many bugs or even a prominent reviewer that just takes a disliking to the game. Total Gaming addressed that and provided a ready audience for those games.
I guess the revamp will do that to some extent, but many of those problems will still be problems under the new system. Now you'll have tokens that you'll use to "buy" the releases you want. That pretty much puts greater risk back into the system. Until you get to the use 'em or lose 'em stage, there's incentive not to take a chance on a game that you're only somewhat interested in.
Don't worry, I'll probably stick with Total Gaming since I like the easy web install, no copy protection and the ability to download again as needed. It's just now it's unlikely to be the boon for the overlooked game that I had hoped.
Today's Game Over column mentions the possibility of Nintendo releasing a new gameboy this year. There are rumors elsewhere that the purported $99 system will approach Gamecube quality visuals and perhaps even play Gamecube games. One school of thought holds that all this is just misinformation to try to raise doubts in consumers minds before they decide to buy a PSP. I've mentioned before that the fear that "something better is coming down the pike" is a powerful force in the console world. The problem with this way of thinking is that it runs contrary to Nintendo's modus operandi.
If it's not misinformation, it raises some interesting questions for Nintendo. Of course, this brought back up the Nintendo DS/Palm OS rumors. Will it become a PDA? How much external support will the DS get with the PSP and a new Gameboy on the market?
The processing power question I think is the most interesting. If Nintendo makes a system that's both cheaper and more powerful than the PSP but only plays games. I think they will have defended their territory and relegate the PSP to the niche level of cool toy. Sony might slash prices and licensing fees to compete, but developers are pretty comfortable with Nintendo on the handheld front so it will be a long uphill battle.
On the other hand, if Nintendo releases a cheaper gameboy that still falls short of the PSP in power and doesn't have a comparable screen, that would basically reek of arrogance. We're the best because we're Nintendo. To me that would be the beginning of the end of Nintendo's handheld dominance.
To sum up, I hope it's not a bluff by Nintendo. If they come out with a new Gameboy this year, it must be more powerful than the PSP. Regardless of when they come out with the next Gameboy, they'll have to move the DS in a new direction. To me, Palm PDA or Web browsing sounds as good as anything. Don't you just love all this rampant, vapid speculation before expected hardware announcements?
Jason
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28 Feb 05
Amazingly, I'm short on sleep again. I had some lucid moment over the weekend. That was fun. I'll do my best to press on.
Let's see. Computer Games Magazine is planning to add a section on consoles. Since you've probably read my support for PC gamers paying more attention to consoles, you're probably not too surprised I'm happy about this. In fact, I liked it so much that I ran out (read clicked over) and grabbed myself a subscription. I'll report back once said subscription starts.
Ubisoft has announced that it's starting a line of sporting games. They've bought the old assets from Microsoft's line of sports games. Please note that does not include Links or Topspin. A little more competition is good. We'll see how the newcomer likes the waters especially with the exclusivity agreements floating around out there.
Let's jump right to our Game of the Week. I had meant to do this one earlier, but it slipped my mind. I've noticed that happens more now that I'm parent. Anyway, it's Dangerous Waters (official site) from Sonanalysts Combat Simulations. First off, I should point out that if you're interested in this game it's only available from Battlefront.com right now. It comes in two flavors: game only or game plus 570 page spiral bound manual (aka the deluxe edition). If you love old style manuals, the extra $10 is a no brainer.
So what is this game? Basically it's a sub vs. sub hunter simulator. You can control the major operations stations on either a sub or sub hunter. Since you can be in a frigate, helicopter, plane or sub, there's a great deal of variety and realism involved in this simulation of naval combat. If you're curious, here are reviews from Strategy Informer and IGN. There is a demo available from the Usual Suspects.
Jason
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