Replay Value

Just look at this headline to a recent WIRED magazine article and tell me it isn't at least a little surprising: Can the PS3 Save Sony ? The company that created the transistor radio and the Walkman is at the precipice. If Sony's new $600 console doesn't blow gamers away, it may be time to say sayonara. by Frank Rose Now I know that the video game industry has been considering the possibility that the PS3 could be a flop for quite a while now(the timeline varies greatly depending on who you talk to, but for my money it's since they announced the price), but I don't think too many people really thought it could sink Sony. However I suggest anyone who thinks that possibility is very slim should go ahead and read the fascinating article Frank Rose has written for WIRED because it makes a very convincing argument. My own opinion? Well despite some severe bashing by the hardcore gaming community, I still think this machine has a decent chance. Some huge mistakes have bee...

Before I say anything about the story he wrote, and it's snowball effect on the video game world, I will simply say that I believe Chuck Klosterman is a genius. His books and articles are insightful, hilarious, intelligent, and thought provoking, often all at the same time. He's a senior editor at Spin Magazine, a columnist for Esquire and ESPN the Magazine, and has written for countless other publications. You would do yourself good to go read some of his work, or all of it for that matter. Now that I'm done kissing his ass, I'll tell you the real story. Last month Klosterman wrote an article for Esquire titled The Lester Bangs of Video Games . The intent of the article was to discuss why there isn't a truly transcendent video game critic writing about video games for the masses, or any real writing in that direction. It's a fascinating read even for non-video gamers. To say that the reaction was mixed would be irresponsible, it was a torrent of applause...

So a few posts back I spent a decent amount of time explaining the big news stories of the Electronic Entertainment Expo(E3) from the Big 3. Well now I come bearing news of the status of E3 itself. The Entertainment Software Association(ESA) announced a few days ago that it is restructuring the E3 expo into a much smaller and controlled affair. Most video game media outlets are reporting that E3 is for all intents and purposes cancelled, and they're pretty much right. The beast formerly known as E3, and what will take place next year look to be so different as to warrant an entirely different name. What is the reason behind this you ask? Well basically the publishers were saying that they weren't getting a good return on their investment. When you add up the cost of putting together very high tech booths with tons of demo stations, people to staff them, free swag to give away, and the time taken out of the development cycle to create demos specifically for E3, one starts to se...

So the other night I saw a pretty cool French movie from 2004 called District B13. Probably the only reason this movie got released here is because of the involvement of Luc Besson. Besides directing some pretty great movies like The Professional and The Messanger, he's also produced half the stuff coming out of France in the last few years. Mr. Besson's also found time to do wacky stuff like re-edit and release the amazing Ong-Bak last year. He must never sleep kids(seriously, go check his IMDB profile ). ANYWAY, the reason this relates to video games is because this particular French film is the best action film I've seen since the previously mentioned Ong-Bak. Much of the reason for this is one of the stars, David Belle. Besides being the crazy man in the picture above, he is the inventor and grand master of a kind of freestyle-running/obstacle-coursing known as Le Parkour. It's all a lot of fun to watch, and terrifying at the same time. It also works beautifully in...

So E3 has come and gone, and the news is still coming at pretty steady rate. This E3 had quite a bit more than usual riding on it due to it being the final major show before both the Nintendo Wii and the Sony PS3 are released this fall(November 17 for the PS3, unknown for Wii). Well now that all the big news is out in the open, I feel it's time to throw my opinion into the mix. There will probably be many posts to follow with commentary on happenings from E3, but the most pressing news to respond to is the moves made by the Big 3: Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo. I'm just gonna go down the line for this one. Nintendo: For many a fanboy, this was the moment they had been waiting for for years. The next Nintendo system would truly be revealed in all its glory, with working Wii-motes and playable games to shock and amaze. Although we've heard this sentiment many times before, there is a large contingent that believes that this could truly be the system that launches Nintendo ba...

While I am probably the last video game blog on the planet to comment on the subject of the Nintendo Revolution's name change, my waiting is not without reason. I write this on the eve of E3's beginning, and the controversy about Nintendo's new system is at a full on roar. For those not regulars to the world of video games, E3 is like the ultimate once a year Roman Orgy of video game trade shows. It's held usually in LA or Vegas, and is only open to people in the industry. More so than even the Tokyo Game Show, this is where us nerds find out what they're going to be playing for the next year or so. This year it is where we will finally(if the gods don't hate us), see a great many things including Halo 3, the new Nintendo system actually running, same for the Playstation 3, and a whole lot more. This particular entry though is about Nintendo's latest entry into the home console market. Up until a week ago, the system was named the Nintendo Revolution. ...

I don't know about you but nothing makes me fell refreshed like wasting an entire day playing video games. My roomate just returned home last night after a 3 month incarceration in Pittsburgh. Since his showing up last night at least 17 (conservitive estimate) hours of gaming has been logged between the two of us on our hardworking Signature 2000(?) television. I myself have been playing more games than in the last few months as of late due to having a new job and a little spare cash for once. No big spending sprees, but used gaming trade ins have been good to me. For me its been lots of Metroid Prime 2 on the Gamecube until my $6 ebay copy of The Matrix: Path of Neo showed up in the mail yesterday(after being sent through the US Postal Services worm-hole apparently, as I won the bid on Friday afternoon and paid for it late that night. It was coming from Texas freaking standard mail, not even priority). My roomie has been playing the fantabulous God of War. Actually all the...

Okay, so you all know about HDTV. At the very least you've heard how it's, "the future of television and will change the way we watch TV" and crap. Or if we want to get even more visceral than that, unless you've been under a rock for about 10 years, you've at least seen a pretty HDTV at Best Buy in that wonderful "Section of Stuff I Can't Afford." What you may not be aware of is the fact that DVD's, as pretty and fancy as they are, do not have the same eye-blistering resolution of HDTV. Believe me on this one. Go watch Lord of the Rings in HD, and play it on the same TV on a DVD side-by-side, and you will notice a big difference in picture quality. So you may be wondering exactly where I'm going with this little lesson. Well someone finally got off their ass and made a disc that can hold an entire high definition movie. Actually two different formats were created that could hold movies in HD, each one backed by a bunch of technolog...

Now I realize that there are lots of athletes out there who probably delight in playing themselves in video games (although I wonder if players on crappy teams play their team all the time knowing they'll be at a big disadvantage). I also realize that many voice actors have probably delighted in playing characters voiced by themselves. But this is a little weird. Okay it's really weird. So the Army (yes THE Army) is funding another sequel to its little experiment known as America's Army, released in 2002 for the PC. There's been several updates and expansions since its initial, surprisingly well received release. What started out as a free game available for download on the internet and at Army recruitment centers (sneaky huh), eventually spawned a retail version for PS2 and XBOX this year. But now they're throwing in a twist by putting you in the shoes of actual existing soldiers. That means the playable characters are based on current soldiers, and the missions ...

One of the most under-appreciated gamer magazines isn't even printed, but available free to your cheap ass any time you want to check it out. I speak of The Escapist . Incredibly well laid out and insightfully written, the escapist is the best gaming magazine no one ever reads. They recently released their holiday issue, and I highly suggest you check it out. Sorry but there aren't any reviews for 187: Ride or Die, so you'll just have to take my word for it and believe that it sucks. Well kids, at the risk of offending some really dumb people: Merry Christmas.

Well it may be a bit late to get that special someone a gift that has to be packed in a crate and shipped via trucking company, but it's never to early to start thinking about next year's credit card pounding nightmare. The gift I speak of is something all gamers have dreamed of at one time or another, but few will ever know the delight of. That is: Arcade Games. I don't mean those wussy arcade collections that Namco and Midways are peddling out at such an alarming rate. I'm talking about good old fashion stand up and pump in some quarters arcade games. Back in a simpler time, arcades were king. Nothing used to get me more excited as a kid than the deafening roar of my local arcade (an Aladdin's Castle if you're curious). Nowadays though you'd be hard pressed to find much more than a random pinball machine or copy of Galaga in the odd laundromat or pizza place. That is unless you're willing to brave the terror of such cold and heartless "arcades...

You've gotta give it up for Dan Hsu. The Editor in Chief of "esteemed" video game magazine Electronic Gaming Monthly (or EGM for short) posted an editorial in the most recent issue. As anyone with brains would assume from reading it, he stirred things up a bit. If you're too lazy to check out the link, the long and short of Dan's article is that a few reputable sources confirmed something which more than a few jaded gamers already assumed to be true. This something is that certain video game magazines and websites will readily allow video game makers to influence what games they report on if they throw enough advertising dollars their way. There is a mountain of integrity issues at play here, and all of them are rather upsetting. The argument being made by some that Dan is a big wuss for not naming names is a pretty shallow one. As many others have stated, EGM is not a news site in the business of revealing scandals. Leave such messy business to other more capabl...

So this is blogging. Maybe you crazy kids were on to something after all. My goal here is to present to you news and views (and hopefully not too much rhyming) on video games and home theater, and hopefully all the places they intersect. I understand that this is some pretty nerdy stuff, but its what I know best. I'm sure I could go to great lengths to explain to you some of my greater plans and goals, but I think the best avenue is to just let this little guy out in the yard to run around a bit. You'll make sense of it over time, I promise. So here it goes.