Welcome back to the show. I've had a lot of time recently to catch up on stuff in the gaming world. I've been trying to get my hands on Eets. For some reason I can't find he hyperlink button in this blog window. But you should (especially Brad) look at Eets. Right now I think you have to get a free membership to IGN in order to download it, but Eets has gotten pub at both PA and Evil Avatar, with both places saing to play it. According to the hype it is a lemmings-ish game where you change the mood of the Eets using food ot get them to solve puzzles. There is also a reference to "the incredible machine" . . . I have no idea what game that is. But anyway, it should be a fun indie game, so I know Brad will like it. Maybe he can put it on a laptop and play it on his numerous plane flights.
Tycho from PA recently had a rant about the middle quality of PSP games, while an interview with a nintendo higher up from 1-UP (a proponent of IGN, I think) talked about where they are going with the revolution. They both seem connected in a basic level. The criticism of the PSP is that it has no mid-range games. There are the high-end games, with huge ticket prices to back their large production costs, then there these games that are made in a back alley and sold by kids on street corners. Regardless of why, the quality isn't there, because you are looking for at games that are (basically) ports of old PS2 titles. Nintendo is revered for it ingenuity. They create games that are different, and stimulate the though process. They also make some lower end games that are still fun, but don't require massive production time, and going trough third parties. Mario Party, Mario Tennis, Pikmin, Animal Crossing. These are all great mid-level games for the Gamecube, all made by Nintendo that, rather than focus on the epic storyline and amazing graphics, focus on good game play without huge cost. This is exactly what the PSP is lacking, good games that come from SONY to fill in the middle market. You aren't going to get EA to make a mid-level game. All of these companies that make good, big games required a large well of money to get things to work, so the product needs to be phenomenal, and the price needs to be high. Nintendo, who makes good games, seems to have no problem filling in that middle gap with their own titles, that offer good play.
The other thing that I thought connected my two readings was the concept/rationalization of a $300-$400 price tag for the PS3!! Yes, a $300-$400 price tag. Ofcourse, the justification is that it will do everything, even suck your dick. Yes fellows, there is a special dick-sucking interface at the front of the PS3. There is a special adapter for those of you who are larger than 9", or who like women who use there teeth. In addition, it will be doing other things, aside from wireless controllers and some new multi-jillion GHz processor, it will feature blue-tooth so that it can talk to the PSP, and will be backwards compatible with all old PS games. I'm not sure what else it is going to be doing, it certain isn't as developed as the Xbox 360 which claims that it will replace all of the other components in your media cabinet. It apparently will a good friend with your PC. They are doing something to make the two talk nice and easy. I imagine it is nothing more than a card which adapt the monitor output to fit a TV and work with the different hardware, but it's another reason to jack the price.
Regardless, with each of them they push a high price tag because of additional features. The article with Nintendo stated that they are (big shock) taking a different route. Always the innovater, Nintendo has decided to back down from the hardware expansion wars and decided that they will make a machine that . . . PLAYS GAMES and that is it. Although they will likely have wireless controllers (something that they have been doing well with the Wavebird for a while), they aren't going to try to work with you laptop using a GPS signal to download your current location to the game you are playing. No, they are going to make games, and have a console that plays games. With that in mind, it makes sense that the cost of the Revolution will be cheaper than its competitors. Waht about backwards compatibility?? It certainly was a must have for the GBA, with such a huge installed base of Gameboys, you can't win if you are going to separate all of the 11 year olds from their Pokemon collection. The Revolution will apparently allow you to download all of the Nintendo's library for play . . . for free! Yes, every game will be free?? I doubt that will hold up in the actual production, but it seems like the Revolution will negate the need for my moded XBox.
But what does all this mean, and how is it connected to the previous discussion about Nintendo's success and Playstation's failure with mid-level games. It's no new revelation that Nintendo seems to care about game while the other two game systems seem concerned with faster frame-rates and killing things quickly and with more blood. Apparently that trend isn't going to change. With the PS3 and 360 trying to increase their quality through expansion to more fields, the Revolution seems content to refine its craft. Perhaps this debate is just a microcosm of commercialism in total. We as Americans do seem to want packages that include more stuff. Maybe it is a debate between western and eastern philosophy (Jeff is one who can comment about it more) with Sony and Microsoft following the western theme of the only way to get better is to do more, and Nintendo following the eastern theme of perfection through refining what you have. I don't know, I feel like there is a greater debate at work here, and perhaps in the next few weeks I'll be able to refine things a bit more.
Maybe this entire though process is part of the jaded feeling that I commented on before. Perhaps I need to lead some revolution where those people who want good quality games rise up and defeat those who want faster frame-rates and the world is made a better palce, with high quality product at a variety of levels. I can see it now, some bizarre gang war, where the revolution is fought by people in shirts with Tetris blocks, and the oppressors all have goggles that make the world look like the newest FPS. Yeah, that's how it will go, and in the end the world will be reunited in a game of Civilization.
I'll be back in ATL tuesday, which mean that Majora's mask will fall fast. Then there is Zelda 2, lord help me that game will take forever. In other news, training will be started up in full force when I get back. It is time to really start focusing on the season now that I know what team I will be on. Out.
Tycho from PA recently had a rant about the middle quality of PSP games, while an interview with a nintendo higher up from 1-UP (a proponent of IGN, I think) talked about where they are going with the revolution. They both seem connected in a basic level. The criticism of the PSP is that it has no mid-range games. There are the high-end games, with huge ticket prices to back their large production costs, then there these games that are made in a back alley and sold by kids on street corners. Regardless of why, the quality isn't there, because you are looking for at games that are (basically) ports of old PS2 titles. Nintendo is revered for it ingenuity. They create games that are different, and stimulate the though process. They also make some lower end games that are still fun, but don't require massive production time, and going trough third parties. Mario Party, Mario Tennis, Pikmin, Animal Crossing. These are all great mid-level games for the Gamecube, all made by Nintendo that, rather than focus on the epic storyline and amazing graphics, focus on good game play without huge cost. This is exactly what the PSP is lacking, good games that come from SONY to fill in the middle market. You aren't going to get EA to make a mid-level game. All of these companies that make good, big games required a large well of money to get things to work, so the product needs to be phenomenal, and the price needs to be high. Nintendo, who makes good games, seems to have no problem filling in that middle gap with their own titles, that offer good play.
The other thing that I thought connected my two readings was the concept/rationalization of a $300-$400 price tag for the PS3!! Yes, a $300-$400 price tag. Ofcourse, the justification is that it will do everything, even suck your dick. Yes fellows, there is a special dick-sucking interface at the front of the PS3. There is a special adapter for those of you who are larger than 9", or who like women who use there teeth. In addition, it will be doing other things, aside from wireless controllers and some new multi-jillion GHz processor, it will feature blue-tooth so that it can talk to the PSP, and will be backwards compatible with all old PS games. I'm not sure what else it is going to be doing, it certain isn't as developed as the Xbox 360 which claims that it will replace all of the other components in your media cabinet. It apparently will a good friend with your PC. They are doing something to make the two talk nice and easy. I imagine it is nothing more than a card which adapt the monitor output to fit a TV and work with the different hardware, but it's another reason to jack the price.
Regardless, with each of them they push a high price tag because of additional features. The article with Nintendo stated that they are (big shock) taking a different route. Always the innovater, Nintendo has decided to back down from the hardware expansion wars and decided that they will make a machine that . . . PLAYS GAMES and that is it. Although they will likely have wireless controllers (something that they have been doing well with the Wavebird for a while), they aren't going to try to work with you laptop using a GPS signal to download your current location to the game you are playing. No, they are going to make games, and have a console that plays games. With that in mind, it makes sense that the cost of the Revolution will be cheaper than its competitors. Waht about backwards compatibility?? It certainly was a must have for the GBA, with such a huge installed base of Gameboys, you can't win if you are going to separate all of the 11 year olds from their Pokemon collection. The Revolution will apparently allow you to download all of the Nintendo's library for play . . . for free! Yes, every game will be free?? I doubt that will hold up in the actual production, but it seems like the Revolution will negate the need for my moded XBox.
But what does all this mean, and how is it connected to the previous discussion about Nintendo's success and Playstation's failure with mid-level games. It's no new revelation that Nintendo seems to care about game while the other two game systems seem concerned with faster frame-rates and killing things quickly and with more blood. Apparently that trend isn't going to change. With the PS3 and 360 trying to increase their quality through expansion to more fields, the Revolution seems content to refine its craft. Perhaps this debate is just a microcosm of commercialism in total. We as Americans do seem to want packages that include more stuff. Maybe it is a debate between western and eastern philosophy (Jeff is one who can comment about it more) with Sony and Microsoft following the western theme of the only way to get better is to do more, and Nintendo following the eastern theme of perfection through refining what you have. I don't know, I feel like there is a greater debate at work here, and perhaps in the next few weeks I'll be able to refine things a bit more.
Maybe this entire though process is part of the jaded feeling that I commented on before. Perhaps I need to lead some revolution where those people who want good quality games rise up and defeat those who want faster frame-rates and the world is made a better palce, with high quality product at a variety of levels. I can see it now, some bizarre gang war, where the revolution is fought by people in shirts with Tetris blocks, and the oppressors all have goggles that make the world look like the newest FPS. Yeah, that's how it will go, and in the end the world will be reunited in a game of Civilization.
I'll be back in ATL tuesday, which mean that Majora's mask will fall fast. Then there is Zelda 2, lord help me that game will take forever. In other news, training will be started up in full force when I get back. It is time to really start focusing on the season now that I know what team I will be on. Out.
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