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gaming rants & reviews thought of the day

XBox360, Nintendo, Playstation keynote impressions from E3 2008, pt. 2

thought of the day: sometimes, when i swat a mosquito, for a moment i feel like a vampire slayer.

So last week marked the beginning and end of the E3 2008 expo in Los Angeles, California. Traditionally, each of the main gaming platforms holds a pre-show spectacle to kick things off, and this story’s title suggests the chronology of how the three shuffled out this time around. But how did things go down? Nearly like a page from Goldilocks and the Three Bears: one was too hot, one was too cold, and one was just right. Here’s part two of three…

Nintendo


just in case you don’t believe me.
at least this version is only seven minutes.

I’ve kept it no secret among friends and other gaming journalists that my opinion of this year’s conference comes somewhere between a papercut and genital mutilation on my scale of things I’d rather not endure; it was bloody painful — not just to watch, but also to listen.

From mommy dearest’s fake, over-enthusiastic stage presence to the contrived duel of the executive fates, to Ravi yes-my-last-name-is-“Drums” awesomest gig ever warming up for the Shiggy All-Star Band and their audio-in-audio (picture-in-picture) deaf-mute sound of Wii Music… I couldn’t tell if (EVP of Sales and Marketing) Ms. Dunaway was trying to teach me my ABC’s, or if my vast collection of Koji Kondo, Yasunori Mitsuda and Motoi Sakuraba had spoiled my taste in good game music.

Sadly, while the overall content of their show didn’t turn me off completely, it was the presentation that was just a little too Humpty Dumpty having a great fall for my preference. It was a sloppy, disorganised mess with very little structure…the little info they DID have was scattered and discombobulated. Compared to the slick shows put on by the other two giants, Nintendo’s was left looking like the slacker in class who turns in their homework as a pile of crumpled papers.

I can’t say I was surprised by any of the announcements… or lack thereof as it was. While E3 may tend to be the show–at least traditionally–for the real gamers out there, Nintendo’s conference was clearly a photo op of sorts… a flim-flammery of soundbites intended for The Today Show, Ellen, Oprah, and other similar demographic shows. Perhaps they’d have done well to focus more on real announcements and information, instead of spending nearly 2/3 of the show spouting the same tired braggadocio anyone who’s seen the empty store shelves could already tell you.

A few of the puzzling details:

  • a 2-minute video for the major Animal Crossing title on Wii, and then it’s all but ignored?
  • an awkward 5 minute tease of Wii Sports 2? And what exactly about this title requires development until 2009?? It appears that between the original title, Wii Play, and Wii Fit, all the assets exist.
  • 5-10 minutes talking about a Guitar Hero DS sequel when the original is barely two weeks old?
  • hearsay about experimental DS technologies in airports and kitchens, but zero proof of any of these wonders?
  • not even a mention of the new kick-ass Wario platformer coming to Wii soon?
  • the ungodly mess that is Wii Music–or as i have dubbed it, Wii Cacophony? I had to put that rubbish on mute and look away. I love Shiggy to death, but that “game” is missing something…a whole lot of something that curiously should have been added after over TWO YEARS of development. Rhythm is a vital component of music, and to ignore that in lieu of freeform pretending is clearly not good. I may as well turn on MTV, iTunes, and my clock radio to all different channels. Same difference.

They showed software for everyone, but didn’t show stuff for everyone, if that makes sense. Nintendo has built itself up as a company of innovation and leadership in the industry, and that’s just not what anyone saw this year—casual, hardcore, or otherwise.

If Nintendo is a TV channel, it seems they’ve been airing reruns from the Home Shopping Network lately. Infomercials are fine to fill out the schedule, but we need regular programming too. Which leads me to wonder… if it’s Nintendo’s aim is to bring everyone into the “gamers” fold, what are they going to do with them once they’re there?

They might just wind up with a growing base of “core” gamers as people expand their tastes beyond the Game & Watch or Tetris varieties, and then have an army of unsatisfied customers on their hands.

One thing they need to understand is that as people are diverse, there’s no one thing that can appeal to everyone, and as a business, diversity is always key. If GM were to have turned 100% of their focus to SUVs a few years back because everyone can fit inside one and they sold like hotcakes, GM probably wouldn’t exist in today’s market at all. If Nintendo wants to include everyone as a customer, they can’t be excluding anyone.

Sure, they’ve had a good track record so far by releasing their flagship franchises in champion time, but unless the Wii has been officially declared dead, they still have work to do, and games to release. There’s plenty of time to improve what they did show or to announce new surprises to catch us off guard. And if Nintendo fans like me are good at anything, it’s holding out hope.

Categories
art & photography thought of the day

sketchy moments to share

[singlepic=879,200,right]thought of the day: realising that it would be cheaper to run my auto on a gallon of milk than petrol and pondering the organics of it all, i sort of wish fuel efficiency were rated in dinosaurs per gallon. just how many brontosauruses are sloshing around in my tank?

just wanted to share one of the many pieces that fall through the cracks. it’s something i’ve sorted into the ‘rough sketches’ bin, and it certainly looks the part.

i wanted to do something with arrowheaded lines. as it turns out, i started with one continuous yellow line, then a single brown scribble for the mouth, and finally filled in the shapes with a smattering of dark scores. not the most incredible piece of art ever, but i like it, and hopefully this glimpse into my unpolished world is interesting to someone outside of it 😛

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interesting links rants & reviews thought of the day

the world is full of stupid people?

stupid people in large groups
how morons get cats out of trees

thought of the day: one holiday we need is “calendar day”; a day you can mark on your calendar with utter redundancy and superfluity.

ok strangely enough, i had been working on a little opinion diatribe about how the world seems to be on a hedonistic binge of gorging itself with stupid people, and that has in turn distorted the modern higher education system into a dysfunctional, ineffective, if not completely obsolete relic which has creeped into our economy and perverted what used to be a capable and robust professional workforce. the college degree is now nearly a parody of itself, becoming the thing it was originally created to do: certify that you in fact have intelligence and skills worthy of positive contribution to society.

as it turns out, someone already went to the trouble of writing such a piece, mostly. it focuses more on the problems of the higher education system and how the “pursuit of a college degree” part of the contemporary american dream is becoming increasing futile, and less on stupid people and their effects on the economy, and without my cute attempts at humour that writing about idiots ought to invoke.

america’s most overrated product: the bachelor’s degree

One Xlistening to:
One X
Three Days Grace

Categories
interesting links thought of the day

remember when

thought of the day: why don’t we call last week ‘yesterweek’, or yesteday ‘last day’?

oh, and kids say the darnedest things. this is one of the most adorable girls i’ve ever seen.. at first she’s a bit unsure of herself but then in bold confidence takes full credit and pride in her eloquence. “quit bothering me. i SAID ‘frog’!!”

Categories
art & photography thought of the day

An offer you can’t refuse

thought of the day: when nature calls, there’s no such thing as letting it go to voicemail.

just a note that i’ve updated my gallery/portfolio quicktour with some info and images.

Categories
miscellaneous rants & reviews thought of the day

What my eyes have seen

thought of the day: do green gummy bears have the same effect as green m&m’s?

it’s bloody cold here in minneapolis, but that statement is true for more than half the year, so it’s not news. this time of year it is exceptionally true. last weekend was -8ºF (with -29ºF windchill factor), and even today was -11º, which means i’ve been spending less time indoors. while i have plenty of games to occupy my time, i like some diversity among my diversions. unfortunately, thanks to the writer’s strike, many of my favourite shows aren’t airing new content, and haven’t for some time now, forcing me to look beyond my normal comfort zones of television, and to some smaller extent, movies.

U2 3D

U2 3D
i for one, would see u2 3d four times.

most recently, i acquired pre-screening tickets to a private showing of the new imax feature U2 3D, a milestone of modern 3D cinema in the sense that it was shot not only in the gigantic imax film format, but also shot live, and of course in the extra-dimensional effect. that i’m a superfan of U2 aside, it really is an amazing experience for anyone who might enjoy music, the band, or just something different. normally i don’t pay much attention to imax releases because the ticket prices feel as large as the screens, but from time to time, i just can’t ignore them.

in the case of U2 3D, the film follows the band on their Vertigo Tour during a show in Buenos Aires. Having been “front row” to more than one of the band’s shows–including one on this same tour–i had a specific point of reference for what to expect from this film. from the very beginning and the first song, it’s surprisingly accurate to the feel of the show, and the dimensionality of being so near the stage and performers; seeing it on such a large screen only helps to amplify the effect. like stepping into a steaming hot tub, the overwhelming sensation wears off after awhile, even just two or three songs in, but in effort to combat that complacency, some clever visual tricks have been added to freshen the audience and pop some ‘wow’ back into their brains. for example, every shot is a three-dimensional space, but from time to time, they collage together several layers of such space, essentially multiplying the effect. during the song “love and peace or else”, lead singer bono is filmed in a tight closeup during a quiet bridge between anthemic refrains, and always the performer, he starts miming the lyrics with hand gestures such as turning a dial or finger painting mid-air. to these gestures, a post production effect i’ll call “light drawing” was added to emphasise and provide additional dimension, not to mention interest. strangely, it wasn’t until the end of the show where things got really over the top. one of their encore songs, “the fly” already had so much going on with the giant stage display behind the band, that to have the insanity of so many words, shapes and colours mimicked, enhanced and complemented in full 3D as a foreground layer atop the live action was just overwhelming, in a good way. similarly, the light drawing re-emerges toward the end of the closing credits, after many had left the theatre. one of the best effects in the film, it was a combination between the 2D drawings, and 3D animation. just a tip to stay start to finish when you go see it, and you should go see it if there’s an imax theatre anywhere near you.

MONK

monk
look what i found beneath the clutter of regular tv.

two weeks ago, while enduring the interim between shows on a boring sunday night, i found myself scouring the programming guide for something, anything. the USA network is nearly adjacent to the Sci-Fi channel where i spend a fair amount of my television time, so in the vacuum of other interests, noticing it on the same screen as the rest of the schedule i planned to watch later, i decided to give monk a shot.

unaware of the show’s premise, i soon figured out why some people who know me well enough know that i have a somewhat mild case of OCD would suggest i see it sometime. after a few minutes, i wasn’t entirely convinced, but gradually my scepticism wore thin as my amusement at the lead character’s quirks grew. not that his condition itself is amusing, but instead that i see a lot of myself in him and the things he does, and how his surroundings affect him. i can appreciate how the writing uses what many would consider a weakness and instead use it as a powerful advantage, even though the crime-solving aspects don’t typically interest me as much as enjoying the character’s idiosyncrasies, and relating them to myself. in fact, the crime-solving is never very puzzling for me, i typically have things figured out before the first commercial break. while it’s certainly not new by any measure, to have found a program with such a richly developed character and hefty backlog of episodic content is a huge win for me.

LOST

LOST
something else i found abandoned on the web

i’ll admit, the series lost just never appealed to me, despite so many of my fellow geeks, gamers, etc. all seemed to really dig it. so here upon the cusp of season four about to begin airing in a week, i started seeing advertisements on abc.com (sinfully, while watching missed episodes of Grey’s Anatomy) for a new, free availability of the show in HD, from the very beginning to most recently aired…three full seasons in total.

so what of it? the first handful of episodes was really a test run for me; while i wasn’t immediately engrossed, i wasn’t bored either. much like my favourite show, Battlestar Galactica, the series centres around a cast dealing with their dire circumstances and each other; it’s a character drama that happens to have a slight sci-fi twist. the show has a strong tendency to tie the current events and theme of the episode to the characters’ pasts during scattered flashbacks, thereby revealing not only more about the characters, but helping to reinforce the lessons learned in each one. the problem for me at first was that the show has so many characters, that it takes a long time for a viewer to develop any sort of attachment to any of them, and in turn a loyalty to the show; it requires so many episodes to make progress on that front. it’s a sort of vicious cycle in some respects; not knowing enough to care about characters, and not enough time to find out enough to care. however for the vigilant come the rewards.

to put it another way: in a matter of 3 days, i watched the entire first season; 24 episodes at 45 minutes apiece for around 18 hours of content, most of that time at the expense of my sleeping schedule. as i continue to barrel through season two, the pieces falling into place one episode at a time, i can only curse that the show is but an hour long, and for such a complex cast and story, it simply isn’t enough to satisfy the appetite of avid viewers. so it’s free, it’s in HD; everyone really should give it a go.

next post may have to be a retelling of games i find myself currently involved in playing, or some new additions to my design galleries. stay tuned!

In Rainbowslistening to:
In Rainbows
Radiohead

Categories
art & photography gaming interesting links thought of the day

monotheistic?

[singlepic=865,250,250,right]thought of the day: what is the plural of ‘jesus’?

on an abstract but related note (leaders of large groups), wanted to post a new image…it’s a painting/retouching effort for a fund-raiser, using dick schulze, the founder of best buy, as the focus. final piece was professionally printed and framed for entry in a silent auction, benefitting a children’s charity.

and finally, a quick fun gaming link… ever dream of the world built of legos? some have, but what about game worlds? i would KILL for a lego mario game. LINK 1 | LINK 2

Across The Universe [Deluxe Edition]

listening to:
Across The Universe [Deluxe Edition]
Various Artists