State of the Industry: Marketing 101

1st quarter financials have been burning up the net and the big three are feeling the squeeze of the economy. This post is less concerned with the financial facts of the first quarter numbers, you can find all those at http://www.kotaku.com/, instead lets look at ways developers & publishers can curb the economic lows and deliver quality content.

The Game/Film Vehicle

Most consumers are interested in getting the most for their money. Whether it’s waiting to purchase a game until it is on sale or trading in your old games to buy that new one. With the recession taking grip across the United States, companies are starting to recognize this and they are reacting by trying to offer more than just a game. One strategy is to take advantage of the potential for more content on the disc besides the game, an added bonus for your purchase. The concept of integrating movies with video games is being driven by Sony Playstation 3 for the most part, due to the increased size on Blu-ray discs. Some examples of this include Midways Hard Boiled or the new Watchmen: The End is Nigh Complete Experience. With as many video games being built around movie licenses and Sony possessing its own film studio, there would seem to be a lot of potential for this to exist in future launch titles.

Fan Service

Why stop at movies though? As sequels continue to come after each successful installment of an IP, some games have crossed multiple generations of consoles. One such example is the God of War franchise. With the 3rd iteration debuting on PS3 in the fourth quarter of 2009, Sony has been conducting surveys to see what type of extra content consumers would want with the special edition of GOW 3 to contain. The most interesting of options was the idea that they could include the two previous installments from the Playstation 2. And lets not forget the recent release of Starbreeze studios Chronicles of Riddick sequel, Assault on Dark Athena, where Starbreeze included a full high definition remake of the original The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay.

Episodic Content

One way to eliminate risk in a risky IP is to release it in portions, otherwise known as episodic content. It gives the developers flexibility to make the games they want to make and encourage more innovation. Valve software was one of the pioneers in this field with Half Life 2. Instead of making a direct sequel, they chose to release more content as chapters. So, once the original game of Half Life 2 is complete, you could then download episodes 1 & 2 and continue enjoying the same great game with an extended story arc and new game play functions. Episode 3 though has taken quite some time to complete and brings us to a downside of episodic content. Telltale games have really been the leading example when it comes to releasing games episodically and consistently.With such releases as Sam & Max, Strong Bad and many others, expect more great Telltale games in the future.

Additional Downloadable Content

To further explore the concept of downloading games; let’s look at how some developers hope to release new content for already existing titles via downloadable content. By taking existing games and expanding upon the content, we can invest in the success of a brand, without having to spend an exorbitant amount of money on a sequel. Instead, a developer can improve upon a specific aspect, such as the story or multiplayer experience and for a low price to the consumer; they offer the opportunity to continue enjoying the experience. Recently, Rockstar games released an expansion for the immensely popular Grand Theft Auto 4. It seemed almost unnecessary that a game of this scale would require much more, but Rockstar may have recognized this as well, by designing a completely new story arc, with different characters, missions, and in game items, while still retaining the feel. Rockstar is not the only company to find fruition through DLC, as the long time digital distribution advocates at Valve have now upgraded their PC browser Steam, so that developers can add downloadable content to any game on Steam--regardless of where the gamer purchased the game from, as long as they have the game they can download the extra content from Steam and it'll work.

Play it NOW!: Battlefield 1943

There is a new shooter on the block and it aims to break records with over 100 million kills in the first week and counting. That game is Battlefield 1943, and it fulfills DICE's expectations in making Battlefield even more accessible, by bringing the PC original to the consoles, through digital download.

In taking one of the first hardcore FPS Multiplayer games and simplifying the mechanics to play on all the strengths of the original, while maintaining its scope and vision, has lead to an overwhelming success. Day one, EA was actually unprepared for such a positive reception, causing their servers to fail and making the process of getting on-line arguous. But after a few days everything has seemed to even out and I am a happy to have made the investment. Honestly, I believe this looks better than its predecessor, being built on the Bad Company engine, which features destructible enviroments and brighter explosions. Making those pesky sniper towers and bridges the concentration of some of my most destructive urges.

By making it more accessible, the class structure has been reduced to 3 major classes: Rifleman, Infantryman or Sniper and each of these classes has a sub-class like engineer or demolitions. All seem very balanced and it makes the challenging decision of which class to choose that much easier. Also the maps have focused on the Pacific front of WW II with; Wake Island, Guadacanal, and Iwo Jima coming day one. As I mentioned before about breaking records, a 4th map was added to each console respectively, after the users racked up 43 million kills. Xbox360 reaching that in 4 days and PS3 getting there on day 8, bringing the air combat focused map Coral Sea.

This is where all you Aces can earn your wings, letting everyone continue to jump into planes over and over, without having to worry about being left standing on the aircraft carrier. The dog fighting is extremely visceral, where defeating one opponent leads to 3 more nearby. The vehicle mechanics, though taking some getting used to (plane controls felt foreign), do work much better that any mouse and keyboard combo. In fact, Battlefield was one of those games where I used to have a flight stick standing by, because there was no way I could fly a plane with a mouse. Note: there is a tutorial for the air mechanics if you find yourself crashing into things more than you'd like.

By doing all these things; class structure, maps, the new engine, and even keeping the player cap to 12 players on each side, it has made the adaptation to consoles seemless and enjoyable. At a price point of only $15, it is pretty much a no brainer for anyone that plays FPS Multiplayer games.

One thing I should note, this is still Battlefield, maps are large and teammates assholes. So when you are on a aircraft carrier and someone steals your plane or you try to right shotgun in a jeep and are left in the dust, it will make you appreciate playing with friends all the more. It is really the best way to enjoy a game such as this and I think you should play it now.

*all screenshots are a result of Google Image search and http://www.penny-arcade.com/

Retro Gaming Round Up: Final Fantasy VII

Remember in my last post, where I stated that the nostalgia will always be better than the real thing? Well, I am happy to report I have been proven wrong. Final Fantasy VII was recently released after Sony's E3 Press Conference and I was happy to shell out the cost of a movie ticket ($10) to experience 70+ Hours of classic J-RPG action. For me, this was the game that lit the fire. Sure, I had an SNES for my first system and played my share of every console since the inception of the Nintendo, but the Sony Playstation and Final Fantasy 7 are where my addiction began. Although it was my first RPG and I was only 13 at the time, its story stays with me and after over a decade of RPGs since then, I was unsure it would still meet my expectations. I was surprisingly mistaken, it seems my years of experience have only made the game better.



Right now, I am over 25 hours in and have spent a ton of time tearing through the main story. Side Quests will become a little more important in like 10 hours or so. The narrative is one of the most impressive aspects; even with the limited technology, its characters, enviroments and overall ambience is still better than many RPGs being made today (see Infinite Undiscovery or the latest Star Ocean). There is alot of chemistry in the group once everyone joins the party, whether its Yuffie obsessing over materia or Barrett causing a ruckus, these 3D sprites come with alot of personality. Speaking of materia, this is why years of playing RPGs pays off, because now I am paying attention to all the complexities of the battle system. For example how materia affects your stats or how specific weapons will affect the growth of materia, these are things I had not considered when I was a kid. The process of getting through the game seems much easier as well, especially when taking advanatge of the Enemy Skill materia during the lower levels. Even materias like Deathblow and Destruct, which in the past I remembered ignoring, have become a important components in my arsenal.

A few complaints though; the graphic backgrounds can be difficult to interact with because you have to face the object. Just to be knit picky this could easily have been solved by integrating the analog stick in... I'm looking at you SquEnix. Also, the mini-games in specific stages still drive me crazy. Like trying to sneak past the guards in the Shinra building or cracking the safe to get Vincent's key, I tend to wish they weren't there at all. Lots left for me to do and I am probably going to be a completionist about this so it could be 80 more hours before I omnislash Sephiroth's face. Guess I should get back to the game, but in the meantime Cid Highwind recommends you "Shut up! Sit your ass down in that chair and DRINK YOUR GODDAMN TEA!"

The Art of Gaming: Assim Heetun

New post coming in! Which I hope will take advantage of the slideshow viewer at the top of the page, by featuring an artist each month that is inspired by different aspects of gaming culture. Hopefully, bringing together the culture we all know and love with that artists own perspective and style.

This months artist is Assim Heetun, who was also featured on Kotaku recently. As you can see above, his work with zombies and video game characters comes with some interesting results. You can see all his work @ http://www.agentmelon.co.uk/blog/

Screw Attack Wrap Up!

Ahh, that fresh convention odor, there really is nothing like it.

This past weekend I had the pleasure of attending the ScrewAttack Gaming Convention in Dallas, TX. I had attended conventions like Akon or AllCon in the past, but this was to be a first for me and video game conventions. I was stoked. Getting there was easy, since it was only about 30 minutes from my house and I already knew the hotel since I attended a beer festival there last year. First thing I did once I got there was walk straight into the 7,000 square foot gaming room and played some Capcom Vs. SNK 2. It was perfect.Too bad I couldn't get a pic inside the room, my iPhone does not respond well to the dark. Anyway, scanning the room there were about 40 or so consoles out and most were rocking a cornucopia of fighting games, competitive FPS’, retro games and even some Beatmania (think Japanese DJ game). I was fairly impressed, but in retrospect, I had wished for too much.I was a little disappointed not to see more rare games; maybe a review copy of KOF12 or the FF13 demo. But there is probably a bunch of red tape for something like that. Although… they did have some Blaz Blue, which was nice. Also, spent a fair amount of time in the Gameworks sponsored arcade room. Gameworks has been on my shit list for years, having pulled almost every "classic" (featuring a joystick and buttons) arcade game out, and replacing it with generic racing games and rail shooters. But ScrewAttack did bring some nostalgia to the convention with a Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 cabinet, X-men the arcade game, Killer Instinct and even a Rainbow Edition of Street Fighter 2 just to name a few.




Of course conventions aren't all about playing games; they are a celebration of all things gaming. There were panels and discussions all throughout the weekend and I personally enjoyed the one hosted by Matthew White on “How to Get a job in Gaming, Without Being a Developer”.You should check out previous posts regarding the Jack Thompson Debate as well. Don’t forget a movie room showing all sorts of gaming in films, including some episodes of the old Mario Brothers TV show!! Man I loved that show... Then you had the Dealer’s Room, which was a bit of a disappointment, with only three major dealers, the ECA and some Japanese foodstuffs. I would have liked more venders to have come from the local gaming community, maybe some developers showing off what they are doing, selling some t-shirts, etc. There was a lot of Table Top gaming and many tournaments like the Iron Man of Gaming and numerous speedruns. All of which I am not competent enough in to be competitive. >_< OH! And let’s not forget those crazy cosplay kids, which really bring a lot of personality to conventions such as these. Here are just a few pics of the many cosplayers that attended.
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All in all, weekend well spent! I really want to give huge praise to ScrewAttack and everyone that made this convention a success. Best wishes to all for a repeat next year, and with Austin GDC coming up in September, expect much more in the vein of conventions coming to TwoCanPlay blog

Thanks for reading!

Something I Picked Up the Other Day

Yeah... its real. Now when does Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 come out again? :-D

I am the Internets

Thanks to Gamepolitics.com, my Twitter was referenced for the live blog of the Jack Thompson, Mike Methenitis Debate. Final impressions of SGC are coming soon, with a special unboxing of a little gift I picked up this weekend. Click the link below for the roundup.

http://www.gamepolitics.com/2009/07/06/jack-thompson-puts-best-foot-forward-sgc09-debate

Jack Thompson Debate

Going to be running a live blog of the Jack Thompson debate. I guess I will use Twitter and then post it here after the fact. Get excited!

Update 6:15 PM CT: EPIC FAIL! Should have not thought I could do this with twitter. Cannot get it to import in blogger and the timestamps disappear after the hour (doh!) But for the un edited live blog you can go to http://twitter.com/speedracerUNT. It will probably be up for a little while, because I honestly don't tweet too often.
-- Post From My iPhone

Gaming Outdoors: SGC 2009

Here in Dallas, on this fine holiday weekend, I am at the Westin Hotel, taking in some gaming, as Screw Attack games holds a convention. Sat down at Capcom vs. SNK 2 almost seconds after walking in the door and I feel right at home. It's early in the start of this event, but there is a keynote coming from Nolan Bushnell (founder of Atari) @ 5, a panel with the infamous Jack Thompson and much more to come. So stay tuned. Oh yeah, Sonic is here too. Guess those video game royalties are starting to run out...


-- Post From My iPhone

State of the industry: Motion Sickness

Almost a month has passed since E3, and of all the news to come out of it, one seems to be in the front of gamers mind, motion control. Clearly becoming the future of gaming; Microsoft and Sony have both come to the stage with their own interpretations, with mixed impressions. Not only that, Nintendo has upgraded their version of motion control, and it has already been released. Basically, I want to look at the tech behind these three devices and consider their applications.

The Wii Motion Plus is already available in stores and it hopes to bring the 3D depth of field that hopes to improve upon the precision in the gamers hands. I decided to give it a shot and purchased some Tiger Woods 2010 and EA's Grand Slam Tennis. First of all, DO NOT buy Grand Slam Tennis, unless you don't own Wii Sports. The Motion Plus does not give your player freedom of motion, and your swings are basically button inputs, regardless of the precision. I was most disappointed by the career mode (only 4 tournaments and limited character creation) and the serve, which was completely based on timing and you cannot overhand swing at your discretion. But the Tiger is a different story alltogether, in fact, not only is the golf fantastic, but the disc golf is a welcome addition to the EA sports line up. The swing has also improved, allowing players to draw or fade with a flick of their wrist. I really think Nintendo may have the tech to spur another 2 years into the Wii's life, as long as the software is there to support it. But as for the future of motion control, the Wii will be left in the dust. Nintendo should be into some heavy R&D to compete with the next two technologies.

Moving on, the most impressive or at least, the most ground breaking is Microsofts Natal. This combination of multiple cameras and it's own microprocessor allow for the user to interact in full stereoscopic 3D, extremely simliar to the ping pong ball motion trackers used in modeling characters in games now. There 3 main tech demos being shown now include; a breakout esque full body motion game, Milo an interactive Ai, and it's application to existing games such as Burnout. First impressions of seeing it at E3 were impressive, the camera seemed to respond well to user input and the NXE was cool, being able to log you in on your face alone.

Milo on the other hand creeped me out, the premise of coming home from work and hanging out with some British tween boy does not appeal to me, but the concept of interacting with ones face and voice may peak my interest yet. If I relate using the tech in the last conversation I had with an NPC in the latest RPG, I think that aspect holds potential in changing the way we play games. Making the way studios develop new games with the Natal, what I am most optimistic about. If they make games we want to play, then the hardware will sell. Although, games that I enjoy may not interest others.

And thats why Sony is making the tech I want now. Mash up of both technologies, by incorporating a camera and remote. Albiet the remote is not the most asthetically pleasing ( many have compared it to a sex toy), I cannot deny the application of necessity, Buttons. In my opinion, games and their interactive enviroments are still far to complex to interact with using only our bodies.

Looking at a game like Zelda, the idea of sword play seems realized by sony's tech demo, and with the ability of the camera to provide facial recognition or even head tracking, it's really the best of both worlds. This is what I want in my motion technology, to play Fable 2 and interact in some high fantasy story. And if any of these techs provide this, I would be satisfied. To read up on more Sony tech, please check out my E3 Wrap Up.

After the industry debating this left and right, I am done with all this motion technology. Hopefully I can spend the next couple months on the couch, moving only my fingers...and maybe an eye or two.

*All pictures are result of a Google image search

Gaming Outdoors: Final Fantasy in Dallas

The girlfriend and I went to the Myerson for an evening of drinks, music and best of all Final Fantasy. Having played almost all of the games at one time or another I am a huge fan. And the music by Nobuo Uematsu has to be some of the most prolific for our medium. It was nothing short of fantastic hits across all generations, a sneak peek of FF14 (same as E3) and a video message from Nobuo-san; mostly in regards to his love of ping pong. All in all the night was a success and I hope the Dallas Symphony Orchestra will do it again. For the future shows, we need more cosplay.


-- Post From My iPhone

FTW!

-- Post From My iPhone

iPhone 3G S

Just pre-ordered mine last night and it should be delivered on June 19th. I bought the 16 GB White. Lots of new games to play. Anyone else gonna jump on the band wagon?



image courtesy of:

http://images.macnn.com/macnn/news/0906/iphone3gs.jpg

E3 2009: Press Conferences

For gamers everywhere, E3 is the convention where publishers and developers come to hype the future of gaming. In the past its infamy had dwindled, but as the ESA promised, E3 is back! Now there is a ton of content to cover from the convention, so I will leave most of that up to the professionals. Since the basic business model for any developer involves a console on which to develop these games; Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony hold some of the most significant press conferences of the show. I am going to run through their conferences double time, and give consensus on my best game and technology picks from the show.

Microsoft



Coming out the gates running, Microsoft brought the Harmonix team and a few Beatles to introduce the new Rockband. The pacing of the show was an interesting point, as Microsoft was the only one of the three to avoid business metrics, sales forecast or those pesky charts which typically slow down the intensity of new releases. The focus on the lineup included titles like Splinter cell: Conviction, Halo 3: ODST and Forza 3 headlining the exclusives for the year. While other 3rd party hits include; Alan Wake, Assassins Creed 2, Tony Hawk Ride, and Metal Gear Solid Rising.




New tech included some updates to the OS which bring facebook and Twitter functionality and of course, Microsoft answer to "waggle", Project Natal. This camera will capture the gamer in a full motion interactive experience that looks to change the way we game. The most prominent example lies in Peter Monyluex's experiment Milo. Check it out, there are some good explanations of Natal's potential at the following sites:

http://kotaku.com/5274539/see-microsofts-project-natal-in-action
http://kotaku.com/5274554/molyneuxs-milo-brings-a-virtual-child-to-the-xbox-360

Nintendo

Moving on through to Nintendo, who also had a slew of exclusives which include New Super Mario Brothers Wii, Wii fit plus, and Wii Sports Resort. All seem to play on the same fundamental Nintendo experience we know and love. They reintroduced the Motion Plus hardware again and also brought out the vitality sensor. What is this mysterious device? Click the link below for an explanation.



http://kotaku.com/5276350/wii-vitality-sensor-gets-smoothly-fingered

Besides any practical life saving applications, it hopes to further integrate one's health into the gaming experience. In my opinion, it has been developed to shed light on the stressed induced lifestyle of the Japanese salaryman, and Nintendo sees that as a potential market, so this may find its niche. Mario Galaxy 2 was also announced in the closing minutes, as was a Metroid reboot called Other M. With the Metroid Trilogy also recently announced, it would seem for Nintendo, this is the year of Metroid and Mario.

Sony

Lastly, was Sony and if not for the leaks, they seemed to bring the most surprises. The exclusive lineup including; God of War 3, Gran Turismo 5, Drakes Fortune 2, M.A.G, and the newly announced Rockstar North game Agent. Along side those exclusives comes a new iteration in the Play. Create. Share. platform called Modnation Racers; which can be best described as Little Big Planet does kart racing. The track builder looked highly intuitive and I was impressed with its potential.

The PSP GO! seemed to be the biggest not* surprise of the conference. By making the device solely dependent on digital download to provide all forms of media is a bold move for Sony. It is a step towards the future though, and as more and more publishers are learning to embrace this and consumers will eventually come to love the portability of a handheld console with no cartridges. The only real negative point I see is the $250 price tag, which after Apples recent announcement of the iPhone selling for $99 (3G 8gb), the PSP may have a little trouble selling outside the core gamer. Sony also brought their new motion technology and demoed it live. Its mix of peripheral and camera functionality the brings similar game play style of a Wii with more precision. The controller although, while not aesthetically pleasing, does work and has potential to be competitive in the motion control gaming sector. You can see it in action here.

*It was leaked a month before the conference

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGcOPwAvPvc

And the winners are...

Best Game: Splinter Cell Conviction

To be honest, before this conference I had written this game off. Since the release of Assassins Creed, Splinter Cell seemed less appeal ling to me. I had play the first two iterations and enjoyed them, but found Double Agent to be kind of broken and never played past the first couple hours. So when they revamped their style and approach to this game I had no expectations. Which in retrospect was good, because the demo blew me away. It is still sporty the same gritty protagonist and fundamental stealth combat, but its presentation is why I am so giddy over this game. First, the mission objectives are taking a prime time TV (a la Fringe) approach to informing the player and explaining the ongoing story elements through a projector like image on the actual environments around you. With that comes a new combat system where the player can assign kill commands to multiple enemies and then execute them seamlessly through a single button press. There seem to be other mechanics which affect stealth, such as playing off the enemy seeing your last position and then moving in the shadows as they stare at the column they think your behind while you take them out. All of this is extremely clean and calculated visually. Hopefully Ubi Soft delivers.

Runner up: Scribblenauts

Has to be the most creative thing at E3. Forget all the motion sensors and vitality monitors. Give me a game with a library of hundreds of thousands of objects or nouns and tell me it isn't a good time. The objective of Scribblenuats is to use your diverse vocabulary to solve puzzles by creating in game objects. To create something you only have to spell it and the results are as gratifying as they are hilarious. Have you ever wondered who would win if you pit God against the Devil against Kthulu? Well check out some videos online and see what some of the attendees came up with as they tried to stump Scribblenauts.

Best Tech: Sony Motion Control

Here is where I will potentially get flamed. Sure Microsoft's Project Natal is great and it has the potential to change the way we play games, but I am not sure I want that. So how is Sony different? They are trying to do everything the Wii promised it would. First, accuracy, which by watching the tech demo of this guy tickle a skeleton rib cage before he sliced of its head shows how precise this device really is. But if Microsoft can do that, why is this better. BUTTONS, we need buttons to interact with the virtual world. How can I play a game like Fable 2 with no buttons? Or Left for Dead? Or Madden 2010? Sure, these might not be the games you would use motion control for, but if you had buttons, I am pretty sure you could. So, for now, the type of gamer I am and the gaming I want to do, I want my buttons. Even if there is a little physical activity involved.

To finish on a lighter note:

**all images are the result of google image search.

Play it NOW!: inFamous

By no means am I going to try and make this blog into a place for reviewing video games. Companies have been built and burned to the ground, in the pursuit of providing consumers un biased reviews and I only want to show you the new game that is blowing my mind. Bringing us to the topic at hand; inFamous. Sucker Punch Studios newest IP, inFamous tries to mash up the parkour, free running style of Sly Cooper, with the gritty, electrifying, adventure of a graphic novel. Across 4 days I was consumed by Cole and his journey through Empire City. It ran at around 15+ hours for me and I was at 70% complete when I finished the story. One thing that inFamous has embraced is the moral choice paradigm, where the choices the player makes affects their affinity between good or evil.



This in turn not only influences things in your enviroment, physical attributes and powers you possess, but changes the story as Cole can become one of two people. On my first spin through I chose the path of evil and before it was said and done Cole had become a shadow of his former self. For me, the fun was found in Cole's diverse powers and platforming abilities. His power allowed him to traverse building tops and city streets as quickly as the energy which powers him and when it comes to power, Cole possesses some of the most fun abilities any gamer could wish for. No spoilers here, but if the idea of grinding across a a power line while dropping electric grenades and picking off opponents with a well placed blast in the face sounds appealling, you should play it now.


*all images come from google image search

E3 2009 Begins

So here comes the content. I have been watching some of the coverage on G4, but have a list of podcasts and blogs already filling my inbox. Just saw Tim Schafer and Jack Black preview Brutal Legend, should be seriously metal! Anyway, like E3, I am trying to bring a plethora of topics to the blog. Some of which I hope to frequent include: Retro Gaming Round Up, Gaming Outdoors, State of the Industry, Recommended Reading, Focus Test, and Play it NOW. So, stay tuned as I will bring impressions from the press conferences by the "Big Three" over the next week and all the coverage in the industry throughout the rest of the year.

Thanks for reading

Aloha!: Waimoku Falls

Hey, just checking in, seeing whats going on in reality. Out here we have been off the grid for a few days. Went out to the eastern edge of the island and camped off the coast, truly beautiful stuff. You can see some pics of Waimoku Falls, a hike we made the next morning and the Oheo pools we swam in. Just click the link to your right. Well, off to snorkel Black Rock Beach.

Sean

State of the Industry: Cancelled?!

Still haven't posted my paper on marketing to video game consumers during the recession, but I have a good reason. Might be able to have it published, so I am going to have to wait before I post it on the blog. Don't worry though, I have lots of content planned for the sight, maybe a few new monthly topics and updates for everything to come.

Aloha!

Landed in Hawaii last night. Lots of fun to come, so stay tuned!

Retro Gaming Round Up: Greatest Heavyweights of the Ring

Many of you will remember a little game from 1992 called Evander Holyfield's Real Deal Boxing; sure Nintendo had it's Punch Out!! and George Foreman's KO boxing, but if you owned a Sega Genesis it was all about the Holyfield. So, while cleaning out my garage, I found a mysterious box that belonged to my roommate, which low and behold it contained gaming gold!! The original Sega Mega-Drive and Sega Genesis in working condition! From Mortal Kombat to Sonic the Hedgehog, a plethora of childhood memories rushed back and there seemed to be enough entertainment to quench my thirst for retro gaming. But, when I found the spiritual successor to Holyfield's video game debut, titled Greatest Heavyweights of the Ring, only one thought ran through my head... to quote Michael Buffer "Let's get ready to rumble!!"

Now, although I never owned a Genesis, my neighbor did and at an age of 8, it seemed like one of the coolest things on the planet (until I got a Super Nintendo). Playing Holyfield boxing in his musky basement happens to be one of my fondest memories of the Genesis. I couldn't tell you if critics thought it was a great game back then, but to me it was the closest I could get to the ring. I guess my nostalgia could have skewed my memory of the game, but I had to see if it still felt the same.

So, I jumped right in and started pummeling the NPC's. It all was what I could remember with a fighting system reminiscant of a digital "Rock'em Sock'em Robots". One thing I noticed after a couple fights was the technical aspect of the gameplay hidden behind the simple controls; where Muhammad Ali was a little faster and threw lots of Jabs, Rocky Marciano was a brawler going for the big hits. It was nice to see that not every fighter felt the same. The Sound & Graphics were crispy on my HDTV (smirk), but hey thats why its retro. After a couple hours fatigue was beginning to set in. Not that I was physically tired, but I had become desensitized to the wonder games like this brought me. Instead, if the NPC made it to round 5, I found myself becoming bored. A game that I once played on and off for hours on end had become tedious. With only 3 real punches per boxer and limited movement and guarding, I realized that somethings will never be the same. Since playing boxing games like Fight Night, from a technical aspect, this game cannot provide my brain entertainment for more than a couple matches. I am not unhappy with my latest experience in retro gaming. I am more disappointed in the realization that my expectations can never be met by playing this game, since I am not the 8 year old in my neighbors musky basement anymore.

State of the Industry: Cancelled?!

Well not exactly. Because of a grad. school paper I will have to work on over the next 2 weeks, I will be putting this months state of the industry out in chunks, so I don't try and fit 1,000 words into a blog post. Topic for the month should be a good one though, "How Companies in the Industry Have Responded to the Recession." So be on the watch for that. In the mean time, enjoy this...

http://www.c2i.ntu.edu.sg/AI+CI/Humor/AI_Jokes/img/GraduateSchoolTest.gif

On Twitter now.

just look up speedracerUNT.

Look at this Pic!

Thought it was pretty cool. Mad props to Kei Acedera for her creativity.

Pic can be found online @ https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7C56kZJk7ashU1OzLG9o9crFbDLMvg8YFFjLySYhlVfB4WExS08-1PHO9L-Dqb_gdMAAbAz8Ap7kzakHoelaVC2dieuDfGpfx8xw-M95J6aHh4yljFn_GJvW0uT5ylagkPXOBmY_GnkFl/s400/cute-street-fighter-kei-acedera.jpg

State of the Industry: Digital Distribution

Two weeks ago, GDC was held in San Francisco, I was not lucky enough to have gone, but through numerous plugs, podcasts and G4 I noticed that Digital Distribution has become a hot topic again. I suppose it never stopped being a topic; instead it was simply reintroduced in a new medium called OnLive. Never heard of it? Neither had anyone else until this conference and it has brought out the skeptics in the industry. I can't decide what to believe, as I have yet to experience it for myself, but for this post lets explore what OnLive does (theoretically) and how it could change the industry. Here is a quick synopsis off their website:



"OnLive is launching the world’s highest performance Games On Demand service, instantly delivering the latest high-end titles over home broadband Internet to the TV and entry-level PCs and Macs. Founded by noted technology entrepreneur Steve Perlman (WebTV, QuickTime) and incubated within the Rearden media and technology incubator, OnLive spent seven years in stealth development before officially unveiling in March 2009. OnLive, together with its Mova subsidiary, lies directly at the nexus of several key trends, all of which are reshaping the way we think about and use digital media: The shift to cloud computing, displacing the limitations, cost and complexity of local computing; An explosion of consumer broadband connectivity, bringing fast bandwidth to the home; Unprecedented innovation, creativity and expansion within"




Basically, you log in via the set top device or a personal computer (mac included) and using "cloud" technology; the OnLive servers are able to stream a games video into that said device. You would have to connect some sort of input device, but all the processing and graphics are computed at the server and you are essentially watching a video of what you are playing as you play (hopefully lag free). It works, in a controlled setting, as developers demoed it at GDC, but on a massive scale it seems wrought with road blocks. For example; not all publishers have signed on (although EA, Ubisoft, Take-two, and 9 other publishers are go for launch), the distance to a server is a factor (about 1000 miles), and most ISPs have bandwidth caps, making it seem more difficult for adoption by the masses. In time, all this will be overcome and for developers/publishers, it will be a more profitable direction to eliminate the retailer. Because in the end, all developers aim to do is get their games to consumers in the simplest way possible.

The Zeebo aims to due something similar for 3rd world gamers, buy offering affordable downloads, on a 3G network. With an initial launched scheduled for Brazil this year, Zeebo will hope to bring gaming to locations in the world, currently NOT supported by next generation systems. They too offer games from a plethora of publishers and according to the website "are viewed as the world's 4th console gaming platform", but the question of their success will remain just that for a time. Mostly due to the fact that Brazil has one of the largest grey markets in the world, purchasing a PSone with 100 burned games on the cheap does not sound like a bad way to game it up where I am sitting.

Some postulate our future would lie in the full download service, others see it as being streamed. Will OnLive be the future of gaming and will Zeebo carve out a place for itself among the other 3 consoles in the market? Only time will tell. One thing is certain, whether or not OnLive and Zeebo become the next big things is less relevant, because the next big thing will be digital distribution. I heard on a podcast yesterday that Sony has just patented the phrase "Playstation Cloud", I wonder what that could be for...

All pics are courtesy of www.penny-arcade.com, http://www.onlive.com, and http://zeeboinc.com