March 2008 Archives

March 31, 2008

  Will there ever be enough Wii's (for women)?

Posted by Doug 
8:15 PM, March 31, 2008

wiiwoman.jpg
Yesterday (March 30th), I was headed into Best Buy to waste a little time; and I was greeted at the front door by a line of nearly 300 people.

Apparently it was "Wii for Women" day at the store. I haven't heard of this concept. I thought Wii was for everyone. But, on March 30th, Wii was for women.

Here's the flyer for the event.

So what was the draw? Besides the event "focusing on women and... Wii," there also seemed to be a few dozen Wii's for sale beginning at 1:00 PM... which explains the large number of men in the "Wii for Women" line outside the store. Oh, and there were also prizes including spa packages and GPS units.

This brings up numerous questions in my mind, such as:

• When the #$%&! will Nintendo make enough Wii's for everyone? C'mon, it has been nearly a year and a half.
• Why do women LOVE Garmin GPS units so much (I know this from personal experience)?
• When is "Wii for Men" day?
• Why were Hawaii and Alaska excluded from this event... would they both not benefit from Wii, women, GPS's and spas?

Just wondering.

DOUG UPDATE: I guess I should have read Victor's article Saturday... that would have given me a clue!

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I helped run this event in the Frisco Best Buy. It was for everyone but it was to show how awesome the Wii can be for everyone. I am a gamer myself and I think video games are just another awesome way to relax, not all women have discovered this yet so we are just opening up doors. I usually suggest FPS for higher amounts of stress relief.

Doug response: COOL! I should have introduced myself, but everyone looked very busy.
I would have loved to have documented the event for pb!

Posted by: Aliki | April 6, 2008 5:47 PM

  Xbox cheater comes clean on MTV.com

Posted by Doug 
8:11 PM, March 31, 2008

MTV.com has a brief interview with one of the cheaters that was busted in Microsoft's new cheat-tastic crackdown.

It's a pretty pitiful confession and I have no sympathy for him, other cheaters, pirates or haxors. Especially haxors.

Read the sob story here.

  I blame France for the Wii shortage

Posted by Victor Godinez 
2:29 PM, March 31, 2008

Well, not really, but I wrote a follow-up column on the Wii shortage, and I highlighted some comments from an interview I did with game industry analyst Michael Pachter where he argued that the Wii shortage in the U.S. is due to the weak dollar and strong Euro.

Basically, Nintendo is shipping extra Wiis to Europe, because the strong Euro results in a bigger profit.

So at the bottom of the column, I made a joke about how you can blame the French for the Wii shortage.

Well, I got about half a dozen e-mails about that comment, including two from readers in Holland and one from a guy whose cousin in France sent him a copy of the column, and another from a reader in Canada, whose hackles were all in full OUTRAGE mode about my insult.

Hey, I'm just happy I've got an international fan club (well, a hate club, anyway).

UPDATE: Woot! I earned a Kotaku post! Where's the love for punchbutton, though?

March 28, 2008

  Dumbest video game titles EVER

Posted by Doug 
5:05 PM, March 28, 2008

dumb.jpg
This is good for a chuckle.

Crave, part of CNET UK, put together a list of the 30 dumbest video game titles ever.

Some had me crying laughing; and I swear I own a few of these.

Check 'em out here.

  Another 'Guitar Hero' contest... this weekend!

Posted by Doug 
11:22 AM, March 28, 2008

A few local (D/FW area) music stores are hosting yet another opportunity to show you 'Guitar Hero' skills and win some nifty prizes.

Being good at 'GH' could become a career for some peeps!!

Here are the dates, times and locations for the (take a breath) Camp Jam and NAMM Present the “Ready-Set-ROCK! Tour,” a Free, Interactive Event Featuring Music Clinic with Rock Legend Jeff Carlisi, NAMM's Wanna Play Guitar? Program Featuring Guitar Hero™ III - Legends of Rock and Rock Solo Contest

Saturday the 29th:
• 3:00 p.m. at Murphy Music located at 940 Airport Fwy Irving

Sunday the 30th:
• 12:00 p.m. at Sky Guitars located at 531 N. Elm St. in Denton
• 3:00 p.m. at Guitar Center located at 2333 North Central Expressway #101 in Plano

I posted the press release with more info after the jump...

Continue reading Another 'Guitar Hero' contest... this weekend!.

March 27, 2008

  'Guitar Hero' challenge in Dallas' Victory Park!

Posted by Doug 
1:36 PM, March 27, 2008

ghvictory.jpg
Laurie Kemps from Affinity Sports Marketing alerted me to this cool 'Guitar Hero' contest.

If you're in the Dallas area, and you're a 'Guitar Hero' axe-master, you might want to stop by Victory Park, near the American Airlines Center, a couple of hours before the next three Dallas Mavs home games (April 2nd, 8th and 10th).

Each night's top five finalists will win tickets to that night's Mavericks game and an opportunity to play on the main stage!

The overall winners will get a chance to compete for even more prizes on April 16th including a 'Guitar Hero' performance during a quarter break of a First Round Playoff game... GULP!

No pressure there....

Details after the jump.

Continue reading 'Guitar Hero' challenge in Dallas' Victory Park!.

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I AM SO TOTALLY GOING!!!!!!
I LOVE GUITAR HERO THIS IS THE BEST THING

Posted by: angelica | March 31, 2008 11:25 AM

March 26, 2008

  Xbox goes crazy on cheaters!

Posted by Doug 
7:38 PM, March 26, 2008

Major Nelson points out on his blog that Xbox is getting serious about cheaters on the 360.

Gamers that have been tampering with their Gamerscore and Achievement points can expect this:

• Resetting the entire Gamerscore for an account to zero
• The account will be unable to regain all previously obtained achievements and Gamerscore, however, the players will have the ability to gain future Achievements by earning them fairly, like the majority of the Xbox LIVE community does.
• The account will be clearly labeled as a cheater for the community to view on xbox.com. You can see an example here. In dash, the personal view of the gamercard will be labeled as well.

WOW! That's awesome.

PS: I'm not a cheater or a haxor. I just checked, my Achievement points are still there and still low.

  Possible PlayStation Network hack?

Posted by Doug 
7:30 PM, March 26, 2008

Yikes!

I was just discussing with a co-worker that I have never been afraid to use my credit card info on any of my consoles, especially my PS3. So, wouldn't-you-know-it, the rumor that the PSN network might have been hacked pops up on Wired's blog.

I'm running home to change my settings!

March 25, 2008

  Preview: Gran Turismo 5 Prologue

Posted by Victor Godinez 
1:25 PM, March 25, 2008

gt5prologue.jpg

I had a chance this weekend to test out a preview of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue for the PS3, which is itself a preview of the full version of Gran Turismo 5 (which will come out eventually, I guess).

Anyway, I enjoyed the preview, but didn't get to test the online features in GT5 Prologue, so fingers crossed that online racing will be seamless and painless.

One note about the preview that I didn't have room to include in my article in the paper: the lighting effects in Prologue are fantastic, especially when you speed out of a dark tunnel and are momentarily blinded by bright sunlight before your driver's eyes adjust. Very impressive.

mariokartwii.jpg

I do think that Prologue buyers will also want to invest in the upcoming DualShock 3 controller, which contains the vibration technology that Sony foolishly dropped from the SIXAXIS.

While I quite enjoyed the preview version of GT5 Prologue and am looking forward to the full game, a lot of gamers probably have their attention focused on another racing title that also ships in April: Mario Kart for the Wii.

Simulation or arcade: take your pick.

And it's nice to see top-flight games coming out sometime other than the Christmas season so gamers don't have to horde all their cash for the last two months of the year.


March 24, 2008

  On Fanboys

Posted by Victor Godinez 
12:05 PM, March 24, 2008

My Brawl review has attracted some irate comments.

Perhaps this essay from GameSetWatch can lend some useful perspective to those angry commenters.

What's interesting is that nobody has said my criticisms of the game are incorrect. Rather, I should love the game because everybody loves this game because it has Mario and everyone loves Mario and I SUCK!!!

Also, I'm a hater.

By the way, here's my column from Saturday about why it's still so hard to find a Wii.

And here's my column from last week, that I forgot to post, about how the PS3 is beginning to outsell the Xbox 360.

March 20, 2008

  Texas Gamer Review - The Club

Posted by Marc Kravitz 
3:58 PM, March 20, 2008

It's mindless shooting but as you race against the clock. It's actually kind of fun!

  Texas Gamer Review - Super Smash Bros: Brawl

Posted by Marc Kravitz 
3:18 PM, March 20, 2008

Nintendo's iconic 2d beat'em up is back...this time on the Wii!

March 13, 2008

  Blog rundown

Posted by Doug 
12:12 PM, March 13, 2008

• Is EA in a hostile takeover of Take-Two?
• Capcom's Xbox live games are larger than the reported size limit.
• Unreal Engine 4.0 coming to consoles before PC's (yea!).
• SSBB's online problems worked out?
• MTV says 'Grand Theft Auto IV' is "less like a video game than ever before"
• PS3 firmware 2.17 is out now
• Squid ink, Princess Peach's leg-breaking maneuver and ugly Mii fans make it into the gameplay footage (finally) of 'Mario Kart' for the Wii:

  Microsoft is or IS NOT bringing Blu-Ray to Xbox 360?

Posted by Doug 
11:19 AM, March 13, 2008

What's going on with the 360 and Blu-Ray?

Sony drops the hint that Microsoft is in talks with them to add Blu-Ray drives to the 360... then Microsoft angrily denies it.

Microsoft seems to be alluding to the fact that they think online-distribution of HD content is the way to go. But, as this blog on PCWorld.com points out, that method still has a long way to go and is still too frustrating for users. I second this opinion.

VICTOR UPDATE: I think Microsoft almost certainly WILL NOT offer a Blu-ray drive for the Xbox 360. What's the point? By time the drive would come out -- probably right before Christmas -- the 360 would be celebrating its third birthday. In other words, assuming the 360 follows the standard five-year console lifecycle, the machine will be closer to the end of its life than the beginning by the time Microsoft could get a Blu-ray attachment to market.

So Microsoft is almost certainly going to just wait for the 360's successor to come out, and then include a built-in Blu-ray drive for games and movies. Bet on it.

  Make your DS a real synth!

Posted by Doug 
11:06 AM, March 13, 2008

korg.jpg
This is the coolest little app I've seen on the DS in ages: a full-fledged KORG synthesizer complete with sequencer! The KORG-DS10 basically lets you become a portable techno-band... you can even link several units together via wireless link. I might have to get a couple more DS's! How long before we see someone uses this (these) live on stage?

(I have a cool home-brew synth cartridge for the original GameBoy that I used non-stop for years... this makes me want to dig it out again.)

Product page here | Listen to it, here

No word on if this will make it to the U.S., but I think it could be a huge hit.

March 11, 2008

  Review: Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Posted by Victor Godinez 
2:57 PM, March 11, 2008

brawl.jpg

I gave the game a "B", which I know sounds like a harsh score compared to most reviews.

But I think a lot of critics are glossing over numerous technical flaws in this game out of their sheer love for all things Nintendo.

Look, I get that. As a former Sega Genesis owner (and one of the three Sega Master System owners worldwide, before that), I understand allegiance to beloved games and characters and franchises.

I still remember Streets of Rage and Golden Axe and even Altered Beast with fondness out of all proportion to the actual quality of those titles.

But that doesn't mean a critic can surrender their responsibility to honest judgment.

The fact is that SSBB has pedestrian graphics even for the Wii, is difficult to control with the Wii remote, has a clumsy online mode, and a boring singleplayer campaign.

Now, my criticism won't matter a whit when it comes to sales. SSBB will surely be one of the best selling games of 2008. And a lot of gamers will have a blast with the multiplayer mode for a long time.

But this notion that SSBB is a perfect game is absurd.

UPDATE: Anyone outraged by my review (Hi bob! Hi Collin!) might want to check this out.


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you are such a wii hater and all you could talk about was the sega master systymand shit like that (wii hater)!

Posted by: bob | March 20, 2008 7:11 PM

FROM VICTOR: Well, I did name Wii Sports my Game of the Year for 2006, but yeah, I'm just a hater.

Posted by: Victor Godinez | March 20, 2008 7:27 PM

no your a (Edited by Doug) dumb-(Edited by Doug)...who the (Edited by Doug) do you think you are. Have you even played Brawl? Oh I'm sorry that microsoft only makes games that are exactly the same as gears of war or Call Of Duty. Sony makes better games than microsoft. Microsoft should just make computers..but they can barley do that. You live in dallas. What do you know about technology. Im sure there are some (Edited by Doug) working where you work. Your pathetic. You are a hater. you having a sege master system doesnt mean (Edited by Doug). doenst mean you know everything about games. your a looser. really you are. comment me back when you beat subspace and get all of the characters..then tell me how overrated brawl is. Oh and by the way. I got brawl on opening night 12:00! I beat subspace emissary in less than half a day AND i have about 62 percent of the game complete (trophies and stickers). I even stayed home from school. WHY??? because its a great game that is worthy. I dont care who you are you will have fun playing this game..people will love it..and they already do love it...but of course you probably wont since you have the sega master system..(wish i had one)

Posted by: Collin | March 23, 2008 3:38 PM

FROM VICTOR: Who do I need to be? I wasn't aware only Nintendo fanboys are allowed to review Nintendo games.

Posted by: Victor Godinez | March 23, 2008 6:13 PM

March 6, 2008

  Apple makes its move into handheld gaming

Posted by Victor Godinez 
2:02 PM, March 6, 2008

The news today that Apple will soon start releasing 3rd party games on the iPhone and iPod Touch -- the first being a mobile version of EA's Spore, which you might have heard of -- is a big deal.

Check out this quote:

"The animation technology in the iPhone OS enables us to build awesome games," said John Riccitiello, CEO of Electronic Arts. "I think iPhone consumers are going to be blown away by the games we create for this platform."

That doesn't sound like Spore is a one-off project for EA and Apple, but the beginning of a beautiful friendship that should make Sony very nervous about the future of the PSP.

UPDATE: You can read my expanded take on Apple and gaming in my weekly column.

March 4, 2008

  Column: Why PC games (hopefully) still matter

Posted by Victor Godinez 
4:47 PM, March 4, 2008

In my column this past weekend, I tried to come up with reasons to convince myself that PC gaming is not a mangled corpse trampled beneath the console gaming hordes.

I decided to write on this topic because I just ordered a new computer after my 4+ year-old Alienware finally succumbed to a massive motherboard failure FOR THE FOURTH TIME.

I bought a semi-boring HP machine this time that still has some decent hardware under the hood.

Unfortunately, while I ordered the computer last week, it looks like it won't be delivered until sometime next week.

Still, I'm pretty pumped and looking forward to finally playing all the PC titles that I'd been ignoring.

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Victor, I'm surprised by now that you haven't tried building your own pc. I think most of the hardcore gamers built their own pcs to the limit so they can play games like crysis and bioshock on its highest settings. It is also very satisfying to build something like a pc from scratch.

Posted by: Tony | March 4, 2008 9:23 PM

Hi Tony,

I thought about it. Trying to keep my previous computer running basically did involve a complete rebuild, since I had to install a new motherboard.

That means disconnecting and reconnecting the video card, hard drive, processor and so forth. And I've installed new DVD drives and RAM and all that.

But I decided not to build a new PC because it's just too much of a pain, and the profit margins on pre-built desktop PCs are so slim that there's not much savings to be found anymore in building your own.

Still, if I ever win the lottery and have money and -- most importantly -- free time to spare, I'd certainly like to give it a try.

Posted by: Victor Godinez | March 5, 2008 11:03 AM

  Japanese Wii's can control users' TV's!

Posted by Doug 
2:10 PM, March 4, 2008

This is just evil.

Apparently, Japanese Wii owners can look up programming schedules and control their TV's functions via the Wii and Wiimote.

How cool is that?

When will the U.S. get such cool interactivity for our Wii's?

Check it out now... and weep

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I would not think that Nintendo usually releases applications for both Japan and US regions at the same time.
In order for Nintendo of America to utilize such a channel, they would have to translate it or remake the application to be tailored to our TV network and language.
Even still I doubt that they would release the TV Guide channel since third parties could easily accomplish such a feat due to the upcoming WiiWare Development Kit being released in the coming months which will be the XBox live marketplace of Wiiconnect24.
More software and games probably including support for TV channels might be on the way because of this.

Posted by: See Kay | March 5, 2008 7:43 PM

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