mikeszekely

Thank god. Lord knows pushing buttons is a chore, right up there with getting off the couch to get a beer or taking your clothes off before getting in the shower. On the other hand, if they combine it with a powerful microphone so that you don't have to talk directly into it, and program it to activate the microphone to accept voice commands whenever you flick the phone open, we could all pretend we've got communicators from classic Star Trek...

Article at IGN says the US will only be getting a value pack http://psp.ign.com/articles/584/584983p1.html Gamespot confirms that we're only getting the value pack. Gamespot's PSP news I'd complain more, but realistically, we were going to have to buy the Memory Stick for it anyway (for games saves), so I don't see it as too much more than I expected. And this way, since I preordered mine the day after Christmas, I figure I'll be in that group that gets Spider-Man 2 on UMD. I can always re-sell that later. All told, I've got $175 down on the system already, and $15 each on Dynasty Warriors, WipeOut, Tiger Woods, and NFSU. Sony said the games are going to be $39.99. So, I've got Valnetine's Day, my employee discount, and my regular game budget for March yet. I should be alright.

Which is why I try not to hang out with artists.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/01/31/news_6117510.html Apparently, Eureka 7 is a 50 episode commercial for a PS2 game.

Most of those booths are protected b/c they are on triad turf. Raids are commonplace and the stores, booth operators and people in the area get tipped off. Even if and when places get busted the merchandise is still out there b/c the production is a)fast and b)easy to recirculate mainly due to demand. All the cracking down doesn't matter in HK or China until they can change the average customers mentality that is ok to support unlicensed copies. Personally IMO companies releasing the licensed region specific versions need to get more compititive (sp) and reconsider the MSRP. Consumers want deals and that is what they are going to go for. Afterall the average person buying counterfeit dvds regardless of type: anime, porn, US movies etc, wants a bargain. If they can get the entire set of Kenshin or Fist of the North Star for about $40 why would they ever pay over 40 for just a part of the series? IMO until this changes, people will keep on buying the counterfeit versions which really do not support the anime industry at all, but hey that is consumerism, people have the right to vote with their wallets. Not just in Hong Kong... here too. Think about it... I've bought each season of South Park for around $30. Each season has about 13 episodes. Family Guy goes for about $40 for each set, with 28 and 21 episodes for volume one and volume two, respectively. That's somewhere between $1.43-$2.30 per episode. Anime, on the other hand, seems to average around three or four episodes on one $25 DVD. Going with 4, that's $6.25 per episode. Even if I allow that the DVD was only $20, you're still talking $5 an episode... double the cost that most American TV shows on DVD are going for. Looking at it another way, most Hollywood movies come out in "Special Edition" 2-disc DVDs, brand new at around $15, maybe $20 if it's not on sale or if you happened to pick a more expensive store like Suncoast. A lot of movies in single-disc packages can easily be had for $10 a pop. Fact is, most 25-35 episode animes could be sold in a single $50 box set and still make plenty of money. A 50+ episode series could be sold in one big $75 box or two 25 episode $50 box. In either case, the number of discs could be cut down by putting six or so episodes on a dual layer DVD (I haven't bought much domestically released anime, but I know for certain that the Animeigo Macross DVDs and Bandai's MS Gundam DVDs are on single-layer DVDs, and in the case of Macross, not even copy-protected). But domestic distributers have been gouging fans since the VHS days, and anyways a lot of the anime fans I've seen act like the stuff is crack, and would likely pay $50 a DVD. Unfortunately, I'm not one of them. I never watched that much anime, and most of what I did watch was fansubbed.

Corrrection. Video games are currently the single largest and most profitable entertainment industry in the US. Games generate MORE revenue than Hollywood. Which only serves to emphasize the point. Interactivity is a two-edged sword, though. While it draws players into the story more, people who lack the aptitude to play the game, or tolerance for certain genres (in my case, I really can't get into any kind of RTS or tactics games) keeps people from experiencing what is otherwise a solid game/story, while, providing the movie really doesn't suck, a movie is instantly accessible to anyone, and even if the viewer didn't care for the movie, they can usually identify with it on some kind of level.

That's a positively brilliant assertation, and I think I agree. It started with RPGs, but now, games in almost all genres, including fighting games and FPS, are starting to have bigger and bigger stories. Plus, more and more games are getting star power, be they voice actors like the countless celebs in the GTA games, or actual digital representations like Brooke Burke in NFSU2 or Jean Reno in Onimusha 3. The videogame industry has grown to ridiculous proportions and bring in revenues that are close to the revenues that Hollywood has been bringing in. And as revenue goes up, more money is spent on development. In some ways, videogames have surpassed Hollywood films as a means of cinematic story-telling, as videogames are often longer, and can spend more time developing the plot and characters Also, while movies are purely passive, videogames are interactive, which creates a deeper emotional involvement. When you watch a film like Dawn of the Dead, there's some intense scenes that leave you wondering how the characters are going to keep from being zombie chow, but at the end of the film, you walk away, reguardless of the outcome. Play a game like Resident Evil, and that's you figuring out how you're going to run through that room full of zombies with only two bullets left. If you die, well, you just restart from your last save, but if you succede, that feeling of satisfaction is personal.

Hey, it's not like dead pixels weren't a problem on the DS. Two of my friends who bought the DS at launch had dead pixels.

That depends on your definition of "successful"... a "successful" movie to hollywood is one that, when it is all said and done, the movie breaks even. No loss, no real profit, just breaking even. It means all the bills are paid, no one is left holding the bag and production can start on the next piece. Boffo is when the movie turns a profit above and beyond production costs. If your definition of success is the same as hollywoods then yes, several video game movies have been successful. Give me a minute and I'll pull some numbers. EDIT TO ADD: Just some numbers from some video game movies to put this in perspective... (all numbers source: "the numbers") Mortal Kombat 1 cost an est. $20 mil to make, it made over $70 mil at the box office. Lara Croft Tomb Raider cost an est. $90 mil to make and grossed well into $270 mil worldwide box office. Resident Evil 1 cost $35 mil to make at had a worldwide box office take of just under $60 mil. Resident Evil Apocalypse had a budget of $50 mil and made about a $78 mil worldwide box office take. And the new "Alone in the Dark" movie has a $20 mil budget... it will earn that back in the first two weeks of release I bet. The only real notable video game movie "flops" are Final Fantasy: Spirits within which suffered a whopping $60 mil loss worldwide and doomed Square's movie division to death... and the abysmal Wing Commander movie which had a budget of $30 mil and barely squeeked an $11 mil domestic box office take. So, by rule of the hard figures (only box office numbers mind you), Video game movies are good business for hollywood. Their successes outweigh their failures. Yeah, but where's the numbers for Super Mario Bros, Street Fighter, the second Tomb Raider (which I understood to be such a failure that Paramount tried to blame Eidos, saying that "Angel of Darkness" was so bad that people didn't want to see the movie after playing it), or Double Dragon?

Exactly. Except that the DS doesn't have jack in the way of games... and I've played most of them. I liked Feel the Magic for being so quirky, and Mr. Driller is kind of cool... I guess. Sprung sucked, on account of the fact that there were no branches in the story... you either did it right, or you did it over and over until you got it right. Half the time, the right conversation choices weren't even obvious. Tiger Woods gets props for trying to make use of the touch screen, but loses all those props for creating an ugly piece of software that's not fit to be a mini-game in a console Tiger Woods. Ridge Racer DS would be alright, except that there aren't a lot of tracks and the control is awful. Asphaut Urban GT is decent, given the hardware's limitations. Mario 64 is, well, Mario 64. Leave it to Nintendo to rehash the Marios of yesterdays consoles on today's handhelds. Madden looks like a PSone game, but I think Madden was better on the PSone. And Zoo Keeper is mildly entertaining, but I'm not big on puzzle games. What's that leave? Spider-Man, which I haven't played, but looks more like the GBA version than the console versions, and was reviewed poorly, and the Urbz, which I admit that I know nothing about. The future of the DS isn't looking real bright, either. I'll probably snag Warioware, on account of I liked the original, and this one looks like it makes good use of the touch screen. The New Super Mario Bros looks cool and like it might harken back to the good old days or side-scrolling, brick-bashing, turtle-hopping fun. Personally, I wasn't impressed with the demo of Metroid Prime: Hunters, and have no interest in the full version. Mario Kart is usually fun, but it's getting kind of old. I'm definately psyched for the new Castlevania, and that's really the reason why I'm not selling my DS. Other than that, I'm holding out for Square-Enix to release Final Fantasy III in the US, and I hear that they're making a Shin Megami Tensei game, which (if it even makes it Stateside) will be good if it plays like Nocturne, but bad if it plays like DemiKids. As for the PSP, I've played Ridge Racers, and it was simply amazing. It looked and played 10 times better than Ridge Racer V did back at the PS2 launch. The analog stick takes a little getting used to, but I didn't experience any button problems. Being that I really liked both console Need for Speed Undergrounds, as well as the Baldur's Gate and Champions or Norrath games, I'm definately interested in NFSU Rivals and Untold Legends. WipEout XL is, to this day, in my top five PSone games, so I'm naturally excited for WipEout Pure. With new modes, and analog control like the consoles, I'm going for Tiger Woods, also. And that's really just the stuff that's coming out at or near launch. Plus, with the USB connectivity to PCs and the Memory Stick medium for storage, downloadable content should be common for PSP games (the developers doing WipEout Pure already promised some).

Well, that's what happens when you're in an illegal business... I guess... or at least that the PC answer. Truth is, that rather sucks. I got my Macross 7 from FX, and I heard the FX version of DYRL was one of the better ones.

You could play games at work? I work at a Gamestop, and I can't even play games for five hours straight at work! You gotta hook me up with that kind of job!

No offense... but are you guys insane? I've had a DS since it came out. Two and a half months later, and the best games for it are STILL Feel the Magic and Mr. Driller. I'm looking to pick up Wario Ware, the new Super Mario Bros, and Castlevania, and that's it for the WHOLE YEAR. I had really high hopes for the DS, being that I loved the GBA, but Nintendo is showing more and more everyday how out of touch they are with consumers. At this point, I'd love for them to get out of the hardware market so I can quit buying their crappy systems just for the first party stuff. Meanwhile, the PSP... I've played one of the Japanese units for a little bit, and I didn't experience any problems with any of the buttons. The battery life isn't stellar, but when was the last time you sat down and played a handheld for five hours straight without ever being near a spot you could plug it in and recharge it? The screen is more than double the size of the GBA or DS's screens, and the PSP is capable of better visuals to boot. And yes, while better visuals do not equate to better gameplay, so far the DS has got mostly touch-screen mini-games. The PSP isn't even out, and it already has more better games. Just at launch, I'm looking to get Tiger Woods PGA Tour, Need for Speed Underground Rivals, and WipEout Pure. I'd also love to get my hands on Ridge Racers, Untold Legends, and down the road, Gran Turismo 4 Mobile. Hell, Lumines even looks better than anything the DS had at launch.

IIRC, it uses the same engine and same basic gameplay as Fed vs. Zeon and AEUG vs. Titans. In campaign mode, you do mostly play with Zeta MS, and one of the cooler things is that you can get mission points that you can spend to repair MS more quickly than they normally repair (or at least that was the case with AEUG vs. Titans). In Arcade mode (again, at least in AEUG vs. Titans), initially only the Zeta suits were playable, but all of the suits from Fed vs. Zeon were unlockable. Anyone know what kind of changes they made from AEUG vs. Titans to Gundam vs. Z Gundam?

True... I'm actually a little dissapointed that it will take them that long, but I guess if you actually pay attention to the briefings, that is a bit of text to translate and dialogue to dub... I'm honestly not to worried about them cancelling it, though. Bandai's been cranking out Gundam games in the US at nearly 2 per year since 2000... they don't seem likely to stop any time soon. Mobile Suit Gundam Side Story: Rise from the Ashes (DC) - 04-25-00 Gundam Battle Assault (PSX) - 11-06-00 Mobile Suit Gundam: Journey to Jaburo (PS2) - 08-06-01 Mobile Suit Gundam: Zeonic Front (PS2) - 01-15-02 Gundam Battle Assault 2 (PSX) - 07-17-02 Mobile Suit Gundam: Federation vs Zeon (PS2) - 09-09-02 Mobile Suit Gundam: Encounters in Space (PS2) - 12-05-03 Gundam SEED Battle Assault (GBA) - 08-10-04 SD Gundam Force (PS2) - 10-10-04 Battle Assault 3 Featuring Gundam SEED (PS2) - 12-07-04 Aside from Gundam Vs. Z Gundam, I think we're supposed to get SEED games for both PS2 and the DS this year, too.

Here's another link, this time straight from the source. Bandai Games press statement

Not bad box art, either. Better than the original cover for AEUG vs. Titans, although not as good as the Japanese cover for Gundam vs. Z Gundam. Anyway, I'm glad I didn't import that one. I'd already imported AEUG vs. Titans, and was holding out for just this announcement for Gundam vs. Z Gundam.

Well, I'm going to let my hopes get up on this one, because the story you posted wasn't entirely untrue... apparently, Bandai USA was going to hold off on AEUG vs Titans until the Z Gundam box set, which we all know just came out recently. By that time, Bandai USA knew that Bandai Japan and Capcom were upgrading AEUG vs Titans to Gundam vs Z Gundam, so they figured to just hold off and skip straight to bringing us Gundam vs. Z Gundam. As for the Cube game, well, the Cube's just not that profitable for third-party publishers (hence Capcom's decision to bring Viewtiful Joe and eventually Resident Evil 4 to the PS2). As much as I like Gundam, I don't imagine that the PS2 games have put up any kind of remarkable sales in the US... I really doubt that it would have been worth it (from Bandai's POV) to bring over the Cube game.

Story from Gamespot. To summarize, Bandai announced that Gundam vs. Z Gundam will be getting a US release this summer. Psyched? You betcha.

I wouldn't say that expectations were spoiled because we played the first one... it's just KOTOR II is built on the original KOTOR's engine, so it doesn't offer up any real improvements. And, KOTOR II is buggier and shorter, with a weaker story (and some plot points that they just never finished fleshing out) and some unimpressive characters. Seriously, the best character was actually rehashed from the first KOTOR! (Although I do have to say, Atton and Handmaiden are way cooler than Carth and Bastila... now that I think about it, I didn't care for too many characters from either KOTOR.) No plusses and a few minuses mean that KOTOR II just isn't as good as the original. That's really not to say that KOTOR II is a bad game, though. It's just a little rushed through development (it originally wasn't supposed to be out until February), and Obsidian just isn't the developer that Bioware is (although few are). If you loved KOTOR, you should at least enjoy KOTOR II. And if you like KOTOR II, and never played the first, do yourself the favor and play it! As for Battlefront, it was fun in a sort of "kill everything that moves like it's Dynasty Warriors" sort of way, but it got real old, real fast. I can't believe you're playing that online more than Halo 2. Halo 2's multiplayer is the only thing that redeems its let-down of a campaign mode.

Looks like pre-orders are starting for Ace Combat Advance. From the story (especially the reference to General Resources), it sounds like it'd be similar to Ace Combat 3... but I can't imagine how it'd play, or even that it'd be worth playing, on a GBA.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/01/18/news_6116499.html You'll notice that, while EA outsold Sega 2-to-1 on the PS2, Sega's football makes the top 10 on both the PS2 AND the Xbox. Madden, on the other hand, only seems to have made an impact on PS2. One thing's for sure, it's a sad time to be into sports games.

KOTOR II, in my opinion, is really borderlining on fan-made game. I mean, Obsidian took KOTOR's engine, and basically crafted a buggier game that's shorter and has a much weaker story. Plus, as previously mentioned, it takes FOREVER to get a lightsaber. Prestige classes for your main character and a few extra Force powers don't quite make up for the fact that KOTOR II is essentially a rush job. In the end, I'd say the only area where KOTOR II really shines is characters... while some of the characters, including ALL of the villians, are sorely under-developed, other characters were rather interesting. BTW, the way I beat that tank droid was to leave my party in the control room nearby, the go face it myself. I'd throw some Force Lightning at it (Dark Side or Light Side, Force Lightning is the best Force power in the game), then run away, heal up a bit, charge back in with more Force Lightning, etc, until it was dead.

I wish I were. They tried to snag the NBA, but the NBA shut them down, and now they're supposedly trying to get the MLB, but so far the MLB wants more than EA is willing to pay.

EA's got the Arena Football League You know, the NFL and the AFL might have done some pushing to try to get some good financial deals, but come on! EA really isn't going to be happy until they have a monopoly on sports games.