I've got a bit of a mixed bag for you today. First off, let's talk about games!
I've been a game collector for over 10 years now (and a gamer for over 30). It's been my main hobby, and the focus of most of my spending money, for a long time. But sometimes in life you have to tighten that belt up a bit. So here lately I've been saying that my game collecting is on hiatus. Times are tough, money's tight, and I just can't necessarily afford to go spending anything on games I know are just going to sit on a shelf. That's why it's nice to see so many games right now dropping so low in price. Of course, it seems to happen at the end of every generation. Gen 7 is winding down, and many of its games are getting to be pretty cheap. But I've even noticed it with gen 8 already! Just the other day I found a number of Wii U games that had come down quite a bit in price. Not any of the really big titles, of course, but still some solid stuff.
If you own any of the gen 7 consoles, or a Wii U, now would be a great time for you to get out there and do some bargain hunting. Be sure to check your locally owned independent game stores first, as that helps your local economy and is just more fun, but if you don't find anything you like there you can always do Amazon. It's a good time to be on the look-out for cheap games! Oh, and by the way, I did manage to pick up that Mass Effect 3: Special Edition for Wii U that I talked about in a previous post, and I got it for very cheap.
Now on to movies! I'm a Netflix subscriber. I've had it for a number of years now. In fact, I no longer have cable in my house, and I don't even really miss it. Netflix and the internet give me pretty much everything I need. That said, I haven't used my Netflix much lately. I barely watched it at all for the past couple of months. I've been watching a ton of stuff on the net. But, the other day I got on Netflix just to see what was new, and wound up adding almost a dozen movies to my instant queue. Mostly horror flicks. Over the next few weeks I'll be checking them out. I've got some supernatural horror, ghost stories, monster movies, etc., as well as some suspense thrillers and that sort of thing. I've got a few Asian horror movies, a lot of Hollywood stuff, some independent movies also, it's a pretty good mix.
If I find anything in there that really stands out, I'll be sure to mention it here. If any of you have any recommendations, I'm always open to them! Let me know in the comments, or on Twitter.
Lastly, I'd like to promote one of my favorite podcasts. If you're into the paranormal at all, or even just like to be entertained while hearing about some really out-there stories, please check out Mysterious Universe! If you follow me on Twitter you might have seen me talking about them there last week. I've been listening to MU for a few years now. No one else I've ever listened to strikes just the right balance between being serious about the subject matter and being humorous and entertaining. These two guys, Ben and Aaron, are among the top in their field. They're funny and engaging, but also know when to let the creepy stories they talk about just be creepy. Far too many of the paranormal podcasts and radio shows I've come across feel the need to constantly joke about the subject matter in a way that makes me feel like the hosts aren't being respectful.
It's one thing to be a skeptic, skepticism is healthy, but why would I, as a listener, want to listen to a show where the host comes off like they're laughing at me for listening to their show? When I listen to Mysterious Universe, I always feel like they're laughing with me. I'm not sure how to put it any better than that. There are plenty of other paranormal shows on the internet, and I do listen to a number of them, but MU is always my first recommendation to people.
That's it for today! Thank you for reading! If you have any recommendations for me, be they movies, games, or paranormal podcasts, leave a comment here, or follow me on Twitter @RevLink_GI.
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Friday, July 26, 2013
Go outside! Also, World's Finest.
I thought I'd step away from video games tonight and talk about something different. I don't know where you are located right now, but if you're near the Cincinnati area like I am, the weather has been fantastic lately! I'm talking mid-70s during the day, mid- to low-60s at night, and just enough cloud cover to keep the sun out of your eyes. For late July in the Ohio River valley, this is unseasonably cool, but I don't think anyone's complaining. So I urge you all to find something to do outside. If you follow me on Twitter, you've seen me tweet about it a few times this week. It's given me a great opportunity to get my lawn mowed without dying of heat stroke. And just a few minutes ago I was sitting out in my driveway, enjoying the last of the daylight as I read a book.
I used to do outdoor things more often, when all my friends still lived nearby. We used to do bonfires and outdoor parties on a pretty regular basis. You know how it goes, though. As you get older and your group all spreads apart with families of their own, it gets harder and harder to do that sort of thing. So it's been nice finding a reason to go outside this week and just enjoy it. I even spent a good part of the afternoon a few days ago walking around my town.
So go outside and do something while the weather's nice. Take a handheld system if you must. There are a ton of great games on 3DS right now, and the Vita's starting to get more and more all the time. But I'm guessing you want to hear more than just me talking about how nice the weather is. Okay. Let's talk a bit about the recently announced Batman/Superman movie.
I've been waiting for this to happen for a long time. It's been brought up before, more than once, I believe. Remember the Will Smith version of I Am Legend? Yep, a movie theater sign showed a World's-Finest-style Batman/Superman logo in that movie. So you know Warner Bros. has been wanting to try this for some time. And the thought that this could lead into a Justice League movie would be very exciting, except for one thing: I hated Man of Steel! You may have read my post on this a while ago. The movie was so heartless! I didn't care for any of those characters one single bit, and frankly was just waiting for the movie to be over. The only redeeming quality, in my opinion, was the action. The fight scenes were done well. Other than that, I was thoroughly unimpressed. So to hear that Zack Snyder is going to direct this new movie, along with David Goyer writing and Henry Cavill playing Superman, was disappointing to say the least.
Now, let me be clear. I loved 300, and Watchmen was decent, so I know Snyder can make good movies (didn't like Sucker Punch, though). As for Goyer, he did The Dark Knight. I don't need to say much more than that. It was one of the best Batman stories ever told. Unfortunately, he also did The Dark Knight Rises and Man of Steel, two movies that I really didn't care for much. The Dark Knight Rises was well written, it just didn't live up to its predecessor for me, nor did it feel much like Batman. Cavill I only know from Man of Steel, but I've been told he was good in other movies.
So I'm not ragging on these guys exactly, I just know from my experience that I don't always like the way they handle superheroes. They, and DC/Warner Bros. in general, seem to go for too much realism in their movies. With Batman that can work. With the other heroes, not so much. I much, much prefer Marvel's way of doing their movies. The Avengers was a comic book come to life on screen! That's what I want out of my superhero movies! I read comics because I like comics! I watch superhero movies because I like comics! The Dark Knight was great, and it's fine to do one like that now and again, especially with a hero like Batman who's very grounded in reality compared to most superheroes, but I hate to see DC fall into the trap of trying to make their movies some kind of high cinematic art. Comic's are a compelling medium already. Let your movies be comics on the screen, like Marvel does. Stop trying to turn them into a product that's very different from their source material just to please critics. In doing so, you run the risk of turning away your pre-existing fans.
That's it for tonight! Thanks for reading, be sure to tell your friends and follow me on Twitter @RevLink_GI! Now I'm going to go back outside and enjoy the night.
I used to do outdoor things more often, when all my friends still lived nearby. We used to do bonfires and outdoor parties on a pretty regular basis. You know how it goes, though. As you get older and your group all spreads apart with families of their own, it gets harder and harder to do that sort of thing. So it's been nice finding a reason to go outside this week and just enjoy it. I even spent a good part of the afternoon a few days ago walking around my town.
So go outside and do something while the weather's nice. Take a handheld system if you must. There are a ton of great games on 3DS right now, and the Vita's starting to get more and more all the time. But I'm guessing you want to hear more than just me talking about how nice the weather is. Okay. Let's talk a bit about the recently announced Batman/Superman movie.
I've been waiting for this to happen for a long time. It's been brought up before, more than once, I believe. Remember the Will Smith version of I Am Legend? Yep, a movie theater sign showed a World's-Finest-style Batman/Superman logo in that movie. So you know Warner Bros. has been wanting to try this for some time. And the thought that this could lead into a Justice League movie would be very exciting, except for one thing: I hated Man of Steel! You may have read my post on this a while ago. The movie was so heartless! I didn't care for any of those characters one single bit, and frankly was just waiting for the movie to be over. The only redeeming quality, in my opinion, was the action. The fight scenes were done well. Other than that, I was thoroughly unimpressed. So to hear that Zack Snyder is going to direct this new movie, along with David Goyer writing and Henry Cavill playing Superman, was disappointing to say the least.
Now, let me be clear. I loved 300, and Watchmen was decent, so I know Snyder can make good movies (didn't like Sucker Punch, though). As for Goyer, he did The Dark Knight. I don't need to say much more than that. It was one of the best Batman stories ever told. Unfortunately, he also did The Dark Knight Rises and Man of Steel, two movies that I really didn't care for much. The Dark Knight Rises was well written, it just didn't live up to its predecessor for me, nor did it feel much like Batman. Cavill I only know from Man of Steel, but I've been told he was good in other movies.
So I'm not ragging on these guys exactly, I just know from my experience that I don't always like the way they handle superheroes. They, and DC/Warner Bros. in general, seem to go for too much realism in their movies. With Batman that can work. With the other heroes, not so much. I much, much prefer Marvel's way of doing their movies. The Avengers was a comic book come to life on screen! That's what I want out of my superhero movies! I read comics because I like comics! I watch superhero movies because I like comics! The Dark Knight was great, and it's fine to do one like that now and again, especially with a hero like Batman who's very grounded in reality compared to most superheroes, but I hate to see DC fall into the trap of trying to make their movies some kind of high cinematic art. Comic's are a compelling medium already. Let your movies be comics on the screen, like Marvel does. Stop trying to turn them into a product that's very different from their source material just to please critics. In doing so, you run the risk of turning away your pre-existing fans.
That's it for tonight! Thanks for reading, be sure to tell your friends and follow me on Twitter @RevLink_GI! Now I'm going to go back outside and enjoy the night.
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
More Strider/Soulcalibur II jumps on the bandwagon
If you read my last post, you'll remember that I was complaining about 3rd party developers ignoring Nintendo. The new Strider was my prime example. Well, just a couple of days after I made that post, Double Helix, the developers of the new Strider, said that a Nintendo version would be done if the demand was there for it. Now don't get me wrong, I'm certainly not claiming any influence in that decision. But I'm very happy to hear about it. If you're a Nintendo fan like me and would like to see the new Strider on the Wii U, be sure to tweet @DoubleHelixGame and @Capcom_Unity. Use the hashtag #StrideronWiiU.
I know, Twitter campaigns don't work, blah blah blah. It doesn't take much time out of your day to send a couple of tweets, and these companies can't know what we want if we don't tell them.
In related news, Namco Bandai has announced an HD remake of Soulcalibur II, which was an awesome game. But, once again, it's not for Nintendo! This one is really mystifying to me. Here's a bit of backstory for those who don't know. Soulcalibur II was originally released back in 2003 for GameCube, PS2, and Xbox. Each version of the game got an exclusive character. The Xbox version got Spawn, Todd McFarlane's comic character. Very cool. The PS2 version got Tekken's Heihachi. Kind of an odd choice, putting a fighter who just uses his fists into a fighting game known for using weapons, but still decent. The GameCube version got Link. Now, the GameCube was not one of Nintendo's greatest successes. It was, in fact, the third place console in sales during gen 6. Despite that, it was the GC version of Soulcalibur II that sold the most. People loved being able to play as Link! I knew a lot of guys that had the game back then, and not a one of them had any other version. Even today, when you go to retro game stores, the GC version isn't exactly rare, but you see it far less than you do the PS2 or Xbox versions. People kept their GC Soulcalibur IIs!
So now it's getting redone in HD, and we won't be able to play as Link? Boo! Boo, Namco! This remake is coming out on Xbox 360 and PS3. I have read that Spawn and Heihachi will be appearing in both versions of the game. So, after reading that I did understand a bit more why Nintendo wasn't getting this. If it were on the Wii U, Nintendo would expect their version to have Link in it. But if that happened, Microsoft and Sony might complain about Nintendo getting an extra character. And of course, there's no way Nintendo would allow Link to appear in the 360 or PS3 versions. But still, platform-specific bonuses like this happen all the time. See Kratos appearing in Mortal Kombat on PS3. It happens. So why is Namco ignoring Nintendo?
It's not like they have a bad relationship. Namco is helping to co-develop the two new Super Smash Bros. games coming for Wii U and 3DS! If Nintendo trusts Namco enough to let them co-develop one of their biggest franchises, I'd guess they're pretty tight. So why would Namco not try to recreate the success of the GC version of Soulcalibur II by making this remake on Wii U with Link?
Okay, enough of this. My apologies for waving the Nintendo banner for a second post in a row. I promise next time I'll find something else to talk about. As always, thanks for reading! Please tell your friends about the blog, and follow me on Twitter @RevLink_GI.
Today's music: Listening to my Reds beat up on the Giants in a double header!
I know, Twitter campaigns don't work, blah blah blah. It doesn't take much time out of your day to send a couple of tweets, and these companies can't know what we want if we don't tell them.
In related news, Namco Bandai has announced an HD remake of Soulcalibur II, which was an awesome game. But, once again, it's not for Nintendo! This one is really mystifying to me. Here's a bit of backstory for those who don't know. Soulcalibur II was originally released back in 2003 for GameCube, PS2, and Xbox. Each version of the game got an exclusive character. The Xbox version got Spawn, Todd McFarlane's comic character. Very cool. The PS2 version got Tekken's Heihachi. Kind of an odd choice, putting a fighter who just uses his fists into a fighting game known for using weapons, but still decent. The GameCube version got Link. Now, the GameCube was not one of Nintendo's greatest successes. It was, in fact, the third place console in sales during gen 6. Despite that, it was the GC version of Soulcalibur II that sold the most. People loved being able to play as Link! I knew a lot of guys that had the game back then, and not a one of them had any other version. Even today, when you go to retro game stores, the GC version isn't exactly rare, but you see it far less than you do the PS2 or Xbox versions. People kept their GC Soulcalibur IIs!
So now it's getting redone in HD, and we won't be able to play as Link? Boo! Boo, Namco! This remake is coming out on Xbox 360 and PS3. I have read that Spawn and Heihachi will be appearing in both versions of the game. So, after reading that I did understand a bit more why Nintendo wasn't getting this. If it were on the Wii U, Nintendo would expect their version to have Link in it. But if that happened, Microsoft and Sony might complain about Nintendo getting an extra character. And of course, there's no way Nintendo would allow Link to appear in the 360 or PS3 versions. But still, platform-specific bonuses like this happen all the time. See Kratos appearing in Mortal Kombat on PS3. It happens. So why is Namco ignoring Nintendo?
It's not like they have a bad relationship. Namco is helping to co-develop the two new Super Smash Bros. games coming for Wii U and 3DS! If Nintendo trusts Namco enough to let them co-develop one of their biggest franchises, I'd guess they're pretty tight. So why would Namco not try to recreate the success of the GC version of Soulcalibur II by making this remake on Wii U with Link?
Okay, enough of this. My apologies for waving the Nintendo banner for a second post in a row. I promise next time I'll find something else to talk about. As always, thanks for reading! Please tell your friends about the blog, and follow me on Twitter @RevLink_GI.
Today's music: Listening to my Reds beat up on the Giants in a double header!
Friday, July 19, 2013
New Strider? Great! Not for Nintendo? Boo!
You may not have heard yet, but Capcom has announced a brand new Strider game! The trailer looks pretty fantastic. I love it any time a game comes out that is 2D and has an old school style, even if it's not based off of an old series. But here's the thing I have an issue with. This game is coming for Xbox One, PS4, Xbox 360, and PS3. No Wii U. Sorry Nintendo. Even though your NES was the first home system Strider appeared on, you don't get this game. Even though Capcom is bothering to make versions for the now-last-gen 360 and PS3, both of which aren't quite as powerful as your current system, they're still not bothering to make it for you.
Are Wii U sales really that bad? I know the month-to-month numbers are very low, but I was under the impression that the Wii U still has better lifetime sales than the Xbox 360 and PS3 did at this point in their lifetimes. Plus, it's July! This is always a slow time of year for the industry. We've only really had two blockbuster AAA releases all year, Bioshock Infinite and The Last of Us. Sales are slow all around. Or is it something more than that? Is there a grudge in place here? There are many third party publishers that used to work closely with Nintendo, companies like Capcom, Konami, Square-Enix, Tecmo-Koei, and EA, who now are not. Or in some cases they'll put out a couple lazy ports then complain it's Nintendo's fault when they don't sell well. Is this all because of the way Nintendo used to treat the third parties back in the NES/SNES days? I can't imagine these publishers, companies whose main goal is to make money, would lose out on profit just to spite Nintendo. It can't be denied, however, that Nintendo used to be pretty heavy handed with the third parties. But hey, newer third parties, that weren't around or weren't as big back in those days, do this too.
Could it be, as so many people around the internet say, that third parties don't like to put stuff on Nintendo's systems because their games are always outsold by Nintendo's own games? Nintendo's first party games do tend to sell more than anything else on their systems. Let's look at one example in particular. When the Wii U launched, EA made a Special Edition version of Mass Effect 3 for the system. The Mass Effect series was very popular in gen 7, selling huge numbers on both Xbox 360 and PS3. It was very cool to see it appearing now on a Nintendo console. How did is sell? Abysmally, by all accounts. Why was this? Was the draw of New Super Mario Bros. U just too strong? Well, that might have been part of it for some people. Let me tell you my opinion on the matter. I love the Mass Effect games. I very much enjoyed the multiplayer on ME3. I had plans to buy it on Wii U so I could continue playing the online for free (my original copy is for 360, and I don't currently have Gold). It was listed at $60, which I thought was a bit high for a year old port, but I loved the game so much I was considering it. Then some information came out. The Mass Effect Trilogy, a bundle of all three games, was announced as coming out at the same time as the Wii U version, but only for Xbox 360 and PS3. It was to sell for the same price as ME3 on the Wii U. On top of that, EA also said that there was no plans to bring the ME3 DLC to Wii U at all. Upon hearing all this I abandoned my plans to buy ME3 Special Edition. I may still pick it up eventually, if I find a cheap, used copy.
How could EA expect Mass Effect fans to be happy with a $60 year old port with no DLC support, when the entire series was being re-released, with DLC support, for the same price on older consoles? And then they had the nerve to complain that it didn't sell well and blame Nintendo for that! The tinfoil-hat-wearing part of me thinks it was all a conspiracy. They wanted sales of ME3 to be low so they could use it as an excuse to stop making games for Nintendo.
Okay, I'm going to stop myself here, before I get into fanboy territory deeper than I already have. Bear with me, folks, please. Yes, I do accept the fact that I can be a fanboy at times. But, that said, I do own all the systems, and always find great games to play on each. I love me some Halo, Fable, and Gears of War. I love Uncharted, Infamous, Jak and Daxter, and plenty of other Sony games as well. To this day the only controller I feel comfortable playing a Tony Hawk game with is a DualShock. So why should I care what games show up on which system if I have them all? Nintendo just happens to be my favorite. Even before the NES days, Donkey Kong was one of my favorite games on my parents' old Atari 400. Nintendo is always going to be my favorite company. They've given me so many happy memories. I just hate seeing them brushed to the side of the current game industry. Many out there might say they're doing it to themselves. I say Nintendo is still making the exact same kind of quality, fun games that they have been for more than 30 years. So it bugs me to see an old school series like Strider coming back as a modern 2D game, but not on Nintendo systems. Especially since the 360 and PS3 are getting a version.
That's it for my little rant. If you're a big Sony or Microsoft guy, don't let it scare you off! I like those systems too, I promise! Before I finish, let me also say that if you're a fan of horror movies, get yourself to the theater and see The Conjuring! I just got back from a screening before I started typing this out. It was one of the best horror movies I've seen in years! Great atmosphere, lots of good scares without relying too heavily on jump scares or so-called "cheap" scare tactics. Some really nice practical effects, and most importantly it didn't fall victim to dumb-ending syndrome. So many otherwise-good horror movies have been ruined by the writer not knowing how to end them properly. This was a very well written movie based off of a supposedly true story. Go see it with a bunch of friends!
As always, thanks for reading! Be sure to follow me on Twitter @RevLink_GI!
Are Wii U sales really that bad? I know the month-to-month numbers are very low, but I was under the impression that the Wii U still has better lifetime sales than the Xbox 360 and PS3 did at this point in their lifetimes. Plus, it's July! This is always a slow time of year for the industry. We've only really had two blockbuster AAA releases all year, Bioshock Infinite and The Last of Us. Sales are slow all around. Or is it something more than that? Is there a grudge in place here? There are many third party publishers that used to work closely with Nintendo, companies like Capcom, Konami, Square-Enix, Tecmo-Koei, and EA, who now are not. Or in some cases they'll put out a couple lazy ports then complain it's Nintendo's fault when they don't sell well. Is this all because of the way Nintendo used to treat the third parties back in the NES/SNES days? I can't imagine these publishers, companies whose main goal is to make money, would lose out on profit just to spite Nintendo. It can't be denied, however, that Nintendo used to be pretty heavy handed with the third parties. But hey, newer third parties, that weren't around or weren't as big back in those days, do this too.
Could it be, as so many people around the internet say, that third parties don't like to put stuff on Nintendo's systems because their games are always outsold by Nintendo's own games? Nintendo's first party games do tend to sell more than anything else on their systems. Let's look at one example in particular. When the Wii U launched, EA made a Special Edition version of Mass Effect 3 for the system. The Mass Effect series was very popular in gen 7, selling huge numbers on both Xbox 360 and PS3. It was very cool to see it appearing now on a Nintendo console. How did is sell? Abysmally, by all accounts. Why was this? Was the draw of New Super Mario Bros. U just too strong? Well, that might have been part of it for some people. Let me tell you my opinion on the matter. I love the Mass Effect games. I very much enjoyed the multiplayer on ME3. I had plans to buy it on Wii U so I could continue playing the online for free (my original copy is for 360, and I don't currently have Gold). It was listed at $60, which I thought was a bit high for a year old port, but I loved the game so much I was considering it. Then some information came out. The Mass Effect Trilogy, a bundle of all three games, was announced as coming out at the same time as the Wii U version, but only for Xbox 360 and PS3. It was to sell for the same price as ME3 on the Wii U. On top of that, EA also said that there was no plans to bring the ME3 DLC to Wii U at all. Upon hearing all this I abandoned my plans to buy ME3 Special Edition. I may still pick it up eventually, if I find a cheap, used copy.
How could EA expect Mass Effect fans to be happy with a $60 year old port with no DLC support, when the entire series was being re-released, with DLC support, for the same price on older consoles? And then they had the nerve to complain that it didn't sell well and blame Nintendo for that! The tinfoil-hat-wearing part of me thinks it was all a conspiracy. They wanted sales of ME3 to be low so they could use it as an excuse to stop making games for Nintendo.
Okay, I'm going to stop myself here, before I get into fanboy territory deeper than I already have. Bear with me, folks, please. Yes, I do accept the fact that I can be a fanboy at times. But, that said, I do own all the systems, and always find great games to play on each. I love me some Halo, Fable, and Gears of War. I love Uncharted, Infamous, Jak and Daxter, and plenty of other Sony games as well. To this day the only controller I feel comfortable playing a Tony Hawk game with is a DualShock. So why should I care what games show up on which system if I have them all? Nintendo just happens to be my favorite. Even before the NES days, Donkey Kong was one of my favorite games on my parents' old Atari 400. Nintendo is always going to be my favorite company. They've given me so many happy memories. I just hate seeing them brushed to the side of the current game industry. Many out there might say they're doing it to themselves. I say Nintendo is still making the exact same kind of quality, fun games that they have been for more than 30 years. So it bugs me to see an old school series like Strider coming back as a modern 2D game, but not on Nintendo systems. Especially since the 360 and PS3 are getting a version.
That's it for my little rant. If you're a big Sony or Microsoft guy, don't let it scare you off! I like those systems too, I promise! Before I finish, let me also say that if you're a fan of horror movies, get yourself to the theater and see The Conjuring! I just got back from a screening before I started typing this out. It was one of the best horror movies I've seen in years! Great atmosphere, lots of good scares without relying too heavily on jump scares or so-called "cheap" scare tactics. Some really nice practical effects, and most importantly it didn't fall victim to dumb-ending syndrome. So many otherwise-good horror movies have been ruined by the writer not knowing how to end them properly. This was a very well written movie based off of a supposedly true story. Go see it with a bunch of friends!
As always, thanks for reading! Be sure to follow me on Twitter @RevLink_GI!
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
The Video Game Years
For those of you keeping track, yes, I meant to have this up last night. Sorry.
I'd like to talk to you today about a very cool show over at Retroware TV. There are plenty of great shows on Retroware, from Pat the NES Punk to 16-Bit Gems, The Game Chasers, and more. Now imagine all of those guys getting together to talk about the history of the games industry, year by year. Picture VH1's I Love the '70s/'80s, but for video games. The guys from Retroware, plus special guests from other major classic gaming sites, tell not only the history of what happened each year, but also their own stories on how it impacted them. They started in 1977, the year the Atari 2600 came out and started gen 2. Each year gets a number of 10-or-so minute episodes dedicated to it. They are currently up to 1981. Personally, I can't wait until they get to 1985 and start talking about the very early days of the NES.
A month or so ago they had an Indiegogo page set up asking for donations for the show. Up until that point they had been putting them together in their spare time for no money. But considering the amount of editing and technical work that had to be done for each episode, they didn't want to keep asking people to work on them for free. The Indiegogo goal was met very easily, and Retroware has promised to keep producing the show as long as they can. They've said they'd like to get as far as the Dreamcast, which came out in 1999. That's a lot of episodes!
So please, if you like learning about the history of the video game industry and want to be entertained while you do it, get over to Retroware TV and check out The Video Game Years! The show is very well made and the guys at Retroware are clearly having a great time making it. And watch their other stuff while you're at it, it's all quality.
Before I'm done, I want to quickly touch on the new head of Microsoft's Xbox division. Don Mattrick's replacement has been named, and it's Julie Larson-Green. Julie's been at Microsoft for almost 20 years and was one of the people who made Windows 7 happen. Now she's in charge of Xbox. I know a lot of people are upset that a woman with no video game experience has been put in this position. Stop that. She's clearly an intelligent person. Give her a chance to show what she can do. It's not like she won't be surrounded by people that do have video game experience that can help her learn the industry. And honestly, could she be any worse than Mattrick?
As always, thanks for reading! Please tell your friends about the blog, and be sure to follow me on Twitter @RevLink_GI!
I'd like to talk to you today about a very cool show over at Retroware TV. There are plenty of great shows on Retroware, from Pat the NES Punk to 16-Bit Gems, The Game Chasers, and more. Now imagine all of those guys getting together to talk about the history of the games industry, year by year. Picture VH1's I Love the '70s/'80s, but for video games. The guys from Retroware, plus special guests from other major classic gaming sites, tell not only the history of what happened each year, but also their own stories on how it impacted them. They started in 1977, the year the Atari 2600 came out and started gen 2. Each year gets a number of 10-or-so minute episodes dedicated to it. They are currently up to 1981. Personally, I can't wait until they get to 1985 and start talking about the very early days of the NES.
A month or so ago they had an Indiegogo page set up asking for donations for the show. Up until that point they had been putting them together in their spare time for no money. But considering the amount of editing and technical work that had to be done for each episode, they didn't want to keep asking people to work on them for free. The Indiegogo goal was met very easily, and Retroware has promised to keep producing the show as long as they can. They've said they'd like to get as far as the Dreamcast, which came out in 1999. That's a lot of episodes!
So please, if you like learning about the history of the video game industry and want to be entertained while you do it, get over to Retroware TV and check out The Video Game Years! The show is very well made and the guys at Retroware are clearly having a great time making it. And watch their other stuff while you're at it, it's all quality.
Before I'm done, I want to quickly touch on the new head of Microsoft's Xbox division. Don Mattrick's replacement has been named, and it's Julie Larson-Green. Julie's been at Microsoft for almost 20 years and was one of the people who made Windows 7 happen. Now she's in charge of Xbox. I know a lot of people are upset that a woman with no video game experience has been put in this position. Stop that. She's clearly an intelligent person. Give her a chance to show what she can do. It's not like she won't be surrounded by people that do have video game experience that can help her learn the industry. And honestly, could she be any worse than Mattrick?
As always, thanks for reading! Please tell your friends about the blog, and be sure to follow me on Twitter @RevLink_GI!
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Nothing today
I had planned on doing a post today, but I think I've changed my mind. America has a lot going on today. Not that I'm claiming all of America reads this blog, I see the numbers and clearly they don't. I just think today might not be the day I need to be writing about video games and movies.
For those of you that do read, I should have a real post up hopefully Tuesday. Thanks for your patience. And let me just say, at the risk of bringing politics into this blog (something I desperately don't want to do), that no matter which side of the current national argument you fall on, let's try to remember that we're all one people and we need to keep things as positive as possible. Peace.
For those of you that do read, I should have a real post up hopefully Tuesday. Thanks for your patience. And let me just say, at the risk of bringing politics into this blog (something I desperately don't want to do), that no matter which side of the current national argument you fall on, let's try to remember that we're all one people and we need to keep things as positive as possible. Peace.
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Odds and ends
I don't have any one topic I want to talk about today, so I'll just cover a few things briefly.
I saw Man of Steel a couple of nights ago. I pretty much hated it. I know it's been getting mixed reactions, some people love it, some hate it. I just can't understand how anyone liked it. The characters in this movie were all boring and unlikeable, with the possible exceptions of Jonathan Kent and Jor-El. I'm not going to go into specifics since I don't want to spoil anything for those of you that still want to give it a try, but I will say a few things. The acting was bad. Or maybe just the direction, as the people in the movie are all competent actors. But Superman was so wooden! He never seemed to care about anything. He made Christian Bale's Batman seem cheery! And the movie never seemed to give me any reason to care much about any of the characters, especially Superman, and even more especially Clark Kent. Some of the Kryptonian lore was very off from the comics, too. I just couldn't find much at all to like about this movie, and I couldn't really recommend it to anyone.
Next I'd like to talk to you a bit about Nintendo and their practice of region locking their systems. This means if you have, say, a US 3DS, you can't play any import games on it. Nintendo are the only hardware maker that still do this. The PS4 and Xbox One (and I believe the PS Vita) are completely region free. Any import games you buy for those systems will work just fine. You might not be able to understand the language, but the game will play. I don't know why Nintendo is holding to region locking so strongly. They've given some excuse about conforming to each countries rating systems for games, but that seems flimsy. It hasn't stopped Sony or Microsoft. So, if you care at all about importing games, please let Nintendo know! Send tweets to @Nintendo and @NintendoAmerica with the hashtags #NintendoRegionFree and #EndRegionLocking. If you have a Wii U, be sure to post on Miiverse about it as well. I believe there are a couple of online petitions floating around also, you could look for some of those.
Sorry for the short post. Hopefully next time I'll have more in-depth things to talk about! But, as always, thank you for reading. Be sure to follow me on Twitter @RevLink_GI!
I saw Man of Steel a couple of nights ago. I pretty much hated it. I know it's been getting mixed reactions, some people love it, some hate it. I just can't understand how anyone liked it. The characters in this movie were all boring and unlikeable, with the possible exceptions of Jonathan Kent and Jor-El. I'm not going to go into specifics since I don't want to spoil anything for those of you that still want to give it a try, but I will say a few things. The acting was bad. Or maybe just the direction, as the people in the movie are all competent actors. But Superman was so wooden! He never seemed to care about anything. He made Christian Bale's Batman seem cheery! And the movie never seemed to give me any reason to care much about any of the characters, especially Superman, and even more especially Clark Kent. Some of the Kryptonian lore was very off from the comics, too. I just couldn't find much at all to like about this movie, and I couldn't really recommend it to anyone.
Next I'd like to talk to you a bit about Nintendo and their practice of region locking their systems. This means if you have, say, a US 3DS, you can't play any import games on it. Nintendo are the only hardware maker that still do this. The PS4 and Xbox One (and I believe the PS Vita) are completely region free. Any import games you buy for those systems will work just fine. You might not be able to understand the language, but the game will play. I don't know why Nintendo is holding to region locking so strongly. They've given some excuse about conforming to each countries rating systems for games, but that seems flimsy. It hasn't stopped Sony or Microsoft. So, if you care at all about importing games, please let Nintendo know! Send tweets to @Nintendo and @NintendoAmerica with the hashtags #NintendoRegionFree and #EndRegionLocking. If you have a Wii U, be sure to post on Miiverse about it as well. I believe there are a couple of online petitions floating around also, you could look for some of those.
Sorry for the short post. Hopefully next time I'll have more in-depth things to talk about! But, as always, thank you for reading. Be sure to follow me on Twitter @RevLink_GI!
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