Nobody can deny that the initial excitement of the Virtual Console has waned in recent months. Releases have slowed down in the shadow of Wii Ware, and the quality of the releases themselves has taken a nosedive.
Last year, we all had hope. Quality games were abounding. There was a ton of hype and everybody was looking forward to having all of their favorite old-school classics together on one console, all legally. There's a certain satisfaction to that thought: five generations of classic gaming in a tiny white box.
Sadly, that dream is starting to become tarnished by the harsh realities of business. As much as we love them, game companies exist to maximize their profits, not cater to nostalgic fans. As such, there's a lot of games (or superior versions of games) we might not be getting any time soon, if at all.
Where's My Cut? Regardless of how we may feel certain titles are timeless, companies tend to think of video game releases as being f... More »
Twenty-five Things Every Gamer Should Do Before They Die:
1. Beat Portal
Finishing Valve's mind-bending strategy game is necessary for two reasons. 1. It's more compelling to find out on your own that the cake is, in fact, a lie. 2. "Still Alive" rocks.
2. Buy a dedicated MAME cabinet -- or build your own.
There's a guilty pleasure in owning your own arcade unit, so why not treat yourself to a MAME arcade cabinet? You get bonus points if you build your own, creating the ultimate Bubble Bobble machine, complete with dedicated Bub and Bob artwork.
3. Get into a press conference
Even if you're not a member of the video game industry, you owe it to yourself to try to get into some kind of press conference. It's an experience, and if you're lucky, you learn something amazing before the rest of the world does -- like the Gears of War 2 announcement at GDC.
4. Visit an arcade in Japan
You NEED to see Japan arcades. So... More »
In a fiery opinion piece, game designer/author Ian Bogost examines NPD chart trends to suggest that Sony's lack of unified message on PS3, Blu-ray and the 'average consumer' is rendering ineffective its pitch to users.
Sony is a global conglomerate which is significantly different from its hardware competitors in the video game industry. It makes consumer electronics ranging from telephones to computers to GPS units.
It publishes video games, movies, and music. It also maintains an army of support businesses, including banks, insurance providers, facility management companies, staffing services, and packaging providers.
The business strategy makes sense: control as much of the market for both electronics and the media we use them for. That’s why Sony purchased CBS Records and Columbia Pictures in the late 1980s; they wanted to own part of the content people played on their Walkmans and VCRs.
This week's top rental charts from U.S. game rental company GameFly, representing the most requested games for the week ending January 21st, highlight both to-be-released and already released games in a unique demand-specific chart.
Burnout Paradise hangs on to the top spot for the second week in a row. Capcom's Devil May Cry 4, slated to release February 5th, made the top five twice last week --the Xbox 360 SKU in second position, and the PS3 SKU in fourth -- but this week, the Xbox 360 SKU steps back a spot to third, while the PS3 SKU fails to chart in the top 5.
Last week's third placer Turok advances into the second position, and No More Heroes also moves up one spot into fourth, significant as the top five all-platform rental requests often tend to be a mirror of the Xbox 360's top five. Sega's The Club enters the top five this week in fifth.
What follows is a breakdown of the top titles requested by GameFly subscribers across each of the ma... More »
The PS3 likely won't outsell the Wii or Xbox 360 this holiday, but thanks to a new price and new ad campaign things are moving in the right direction. We speak with Scott Steinberg, SCEA's VP of Product Marketing, about the latest strategy.
Last year, Sony launched a controversial series of ads for the PS3 centering on the "white room." Very indirect and symbolic, the ads conjured up a wide variety of reactions, not all of them positive. It's debatable whether they were trying to cover up the fact that there weren't exactly a lot of games to show in the launch period, but regardless, it got a rise out of people.
This year, Sony is going the more direct route and showing all the possibilities for the PS3 in its ads. This includes not only the games, but also Blu-ray movies, PlayStation Network, and even the anticipated PlayStation Home. Between all that, and the new price of $399, it's certainly helped get the buzz out for the system.
MUMBAI: Sony Computer Entertainment India (SCEI) has unveiled the new 40 GB PlayStation3 and the slim and light PSP with video out facility for the first time in India.
The company also rolled out an assortment of games, including the PSP Spiderman speciality pack, PSP Simpsons speciality pack and three new games for PS3 at the launch of two-day Playstation Expo here on Saturday.
Three more new games for PSP are on the anvil, SCEI Country Manager Atindriya Bose said here.
"Gaming is becoming increasingly accepted form of entertainment amongst Indian consumers and society. We perceive this as an ideal time to expose Indian youth to the complete spread of entertainment that is possible with PlayStation", he said.
The Playstation has 60 per cent market share in virtual gaming industry in India, according to Milestone Interactive Software chairman, Jayant Sharma.
There have been smidgens of review scores from PSM3’s Christmas Edition, but not so much has been seen of the news section in the magazine. And oh, there are a bunch of treats held within its pages. There is news on Resistance 2, and next-gen outings of Hitman, Prince of Persia, and Syphon Filter. Carry on reading over at Ripten.com
For those of you that missed PSM3’s review scores, this is for your benefit:
PS3
Assassins Creed - 81
Call of Duty 4 - 94
Need for Speed ProStreet - 79
Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga - 80
Beowulf - 41
The Simpsons Game - 70
Kane and Lynch: Dead Men - 58
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock - 90
PS2
Crash of the Titans - 62
Thirllville: Off the Rails - 69
Jackass: The Game - 60
Singstar R&B - 70
The Sims: Castaway - 55
High School Musical: Sing it! - 32
PSP
Silent Hill Origins - 82
SOCOM Tactical Strike - 78 ... More »
Yes, the game of the year discussion is already beginning! Spike is hosting its 5th annual Video Game Awards this December in Las Vegas, and this morning the nominees were released on Spike.com. What's in contention for Game of the Year?
Orange Box, Halo 3, BioShock, and Mass Effect. Don't agree with the nominees? Blame Crecente and this here guest editor, who are both part of the judge advisory panel. For all full list of all the nominees, check after the jump. Watch the show Sunday, December 9 at 9 PM to see if this year's host can pronounce my last name correctly.
Game of the Year BioShock Halo 3 Mass Effect The Orange Box
Best Shooter
BioShock
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Halo 3
The Orange Box
Best Action Game
Assassin's Creed
God of War 2
Super Mario Galaxy
Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction
Best Rhythm Game
Guitar Hero Encore: Rock the 80s
Guit... More »
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