Allegiances... bah

I had an NES when I was little, but eventually sold it and bought a Sega Genesis. The year the N64 came out I received one for my birthday. In 2001 I got a GameCube for Christmas. I've even had a few iterations of the GameBoy line through the years. I've long considered myself a Nintendo man, despite those few years I spent with Sonic's little black box and the fact I own all three major consoles of this generation. Something's comforting about having a favorite, I guess. But as I strive to be more objective in life, and with the prospect of getting an Xbox 360 soon, I have begun to reconsider my allegiances. Does putting Nintendo ahead of Sony and Microsoft really mean anything?

Quite simply no. The same goes with putting any company ahead of another. I think it's time I call off any brand biases I've had, and I recommend you do the same. While I generally consider Nintendo to make the best first party software, diluting myself into thinking that translates into the best hardware or anything else is pretty ridiculous. And ruling out the purchase or desire to own another brand's product because it's not Nintendo is being corporately racist. I've been a pretty good customer for Nintendo over the years, as previously mentioned, but I don't owe them anything.

I/we don't owe anybody anything. You may have had a PS1 and currently own a PS2. You may have been supremely happy with the years you've spent with the world's most popular consoles. But in consumerism track records like that shouldn't make the decision to hold out only for a PS3 and not consider Nintendo or Microsoft for you. That's brainwashing. And if this is what you're planning then the corporations and their ad agencies have done their jobs well.

My desire for an Xbox 360 stems mostly from its availability. If all three next generation consoles were available right now I couldn't say which one I'd choose without first putting a lot of thought into it. I can say that the thought I would put into it would involve features, software line-ups, how promising the future looks, etc., and having nothing to do with who made it.

Dairly Cardinal Gaming Awards '05

Compiled by some of us at The Daily Cardinal

The past year saw many developments in the world of video gaming. Nintendo finally found a competitor to their Game Boy in Sony’s PlayStation Portable, and Microsoft created the successor to the Xbox with the 360. These events alone ensure creativity, unique games and general awesomeness for years down the road.

The Daily Cardinal takes a look at some of the larger accomplishments and failings of the 2005 year in video games.

Best Series Reviving Game Award—“Resident Evil 4”

When “Resident Evil” debuted in 1996, gamers hailed it for jump-starting the survival-horror genre. However, much like Capcom’s other mega-series “Street Fighter,” “Resident Evil” suffered from sequel-itis in which the latter games brought nothing new to the series. Even a trip online with the “Resident Evil: Outbreak” games did not rejuvenate the series.

But then “Resident Evil 4” dropped in January to much acclaim. The game got rid of the zombie aspects while keeping the scary vibe that is inherent to the series. It also improved the admittedly flawed control system and created one that is both unique and intuitive.

While “Devil May Cry 3” helped restart its series by going back to its original greatness, “Resident Evil 4” takes the award because it revived the series by bringing amazing new elements to the game.

Most Disappointing Delay Award—“The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess”

Originally scheduled for release this holiday season, the new Zelda game has been pushed back to sometime in April, leaving creator Shigeru Miyamoto’s legion of loyal fans heartbroken.

Nintendo gave the standard “we don’t feel it’s ready yet” response, telling fans that the wait will be made up by a higher quality final product. This sort of delay has become a sadly predictable move for Nintendo who may need to reevaluate the amount of focus they give to their fans, especially given their struggling position in the modern gaming market.

Worst Value for an MP3 Player Award—The PlayStation Portable

When the PSP hit in March, its game, movie and MP3 playing ability received much acclaim. However, the games were a bust with “Lumines” being the only decent one. Few wanted to pay $30 to get a PSP movie when they could get a full DVD for half the price.

The MP3 capabilities lived up to the hype where the others failed. The PSP audio experience actually turned out quite well, and the included memory card could store up to 30 minutes of songs.

However, the lagging other features raised the price of the system to the point where it is nothing but a glorified overpriced MP3 player, of which there are already many on the market.

Country With the Hardest of the Hard-Core Award—China

If you think American youths are screwed up by violence in video games, then you haven’t been paying enough attention to our friends in the lands near the rising sun. More bizarre video game related crimes and deaths take place in eastern Asia than any other area.

China takes the cake by far, with recent video game-related occurrences including a murder over an auctioned off virtual sword for the game “Legend of Mir 3,” a couple marathon gamers dying from exhaustion after playing an online role playing game too long and the Chinese government thinking about taking action to prevent more instances like this. Congratulations, China, you are truly hard-core.

The “Not Quite Ready to Move On” Award—The Gaming Public

Last May at the annual E3 expo in L.A., all three major console makers disclosed information regarding their next generations of hardware. To the shock and awe of the corporate big wigs, nobody really cared. Technophiles were drooling over supposed tech specs and (pre-rendered) game footage, but most people paid more attention to upcoming software releases and top-tier franchises.

The largest “what for?” reaction had to be when Microsoft announced the new Xbox to little fanfare. Sony and Nintendo are waiting a bit longer to release new hardware, but the current generation of hardware clearly has more to offer and is being shelved far too soon.

The “Jumped the Gun” Award—No HD-DVD Drive in the Xbox 360

It is two weeks after the launch of the Xbox 360, and already the skeptics are pointing out the lack of storage space on the standard DVDs used for the games. Rumors of a prominent third party game spanning four discs have already surfaced. As a proponent of HD-DVD technology, you would have thought Microsoft would have included next-gen technology in their next-gen console. Oops.

I'm Still Mad

A chance to interview MIT Professor of Comparative Media Studies Henry Jenkins, or something like that, for the Daily Cardinal had me digging through old copies of EGM to find that interview they did with him and that real sunuvabitch Jack Thompson. While contemplating an angle with which to approach the interview I was watching X-Play and a commercial for a paintball video game came on.

Now, I could write a book on the absurdity of a paintball video game, but what occurred to me was the multitude of other games and activities that aren't video games that offer a chance for youths to experience murder simulations, like Mr. Thompson likes to call them. In paintball, flanking opponents, finding cover, and aiming with an actual gun offers a far more relevant experience to killing than pushing buttons on a controller.

I'm not advocating abolishing paintball or something ridiculously radical like that, cough*Jack Thompson*cough. I just thought it was an interesting analogy. Now, I'm going to go learn to kill by slaying giant colossi.

Dear Santa...

My Holiday Wish List Article
Here's the Daily Cardinal Version

The holiday season is a time for giving. But to be honest, most of us would rather receive. So give or take, to yourself or others, these are the essentials for the gamer in your life this year.

‘Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones’

The “Sands of Time” trilogy has finally come to an end now that Ubisoft has released “Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones.” We find our beloved and battle-weary prince literally fighting himself. The device this time around is an affliction that makes the prince turn into the Dark Prince, which turns out to be a playable character in some levels with different, darker (read: awesome) abilities. Can he save himself before the transformation becomes permanent? I guess that depends on you.

One of the better franchises for current generation systems and one of the iconic figures of video games in general, this promises to be a stellar send-off.

Subscription to Gametap.com

Gametap.com offers a subscription-based service that allows you to play several hundred different games right on your computer. What’s the catch, you ask? There are a few stellar titles in the list, but a lot of them are obscure public-domain games that may only be intriguing to the truly hardcore gamer. There’s also the fact that a keyboard and mouse were not the controls the games originally had in mind. But other than that, there is a lot to like about having access to more games than you can hope to play in a year.

‘Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories’

It’s now conceivable to play “GTA” while actually committing grand theft auto thanks to the newest game in the series, available exclusively on the PSP. This time around you are Toni Cipriani, a gangster back from the underground trying to reestablish himself. All the old “GTA” goodies are there in your pocket: radio stations, unlimited replay value, random A.I. incidents, etc.

There are a few new additions as well. If you have a friend (good for you) that has a PSP, you can play a local Wi-Fi multiplayer game. Some welcome improvements from “Vice City” and “San Andreas” make the experience a must have game for the PSP owner.

‘Mario Kart DS’

Speaking of pocket-sized driving goodness, be prepared to lose yourself in the colorful, online-enabled glory that is “Mario Kart DS.” This is the best the series has ever had to offer, allowing you to play against the best from around the world. Smooth graphics, stellar gameplay, and some great new power-ups keep “Mario Kart” atop the racing world and hopefully in the stocking of a DS owner on your list.

Xbox 360

You’re clearly one of the lucky and blessed if you can manage to find an Xbox 360 for yourself or someone else by the end of the year. And if you do (can I come over?) you’ll definitely be pleased. The system is powerful and sleek, and the controller is being heralded as the most perfect input device in console history. The game lineup isn’t as strong as everyone had hoped, but that shouldn’t dissuade you from picking up a 360 if you have the chance. The good games will come, and if they don’t, you can sell it on eBay for a big profit.

The Obvious Truth

An article I read on Google News today had me a little miffed. The article, linked here, is about Fox and Disney butting heads over DVD release schedules and how to salvage sales of DVDs and theater attendance.

While they decide what a good corporate model is I began to think that the answer to this problem can be described in one word; obvious.

Apparently, to make people want to go out to movies is getting tougher. And to make people want to own a copy of a movie, which suggests wanting to view it multiple times as opposed to renting it, is getting harder, too.

Here's a radical thought; try increasing the quality of your product. I haven't been to a theater or watched a recent movie for a long time because there's a lot of crap out there right now. Nothing but star vehicles, over effect-ed action movies, and remakes. I'm the jaded, 23 year old male that these guys are trying to lure back, and I'm telling them point-blank to make better stuff.

Actually, let other people make better stuff. I call for a new cinema. Make film a platform for artistic expression again, not the result of a formulaic marketing board room meeting with fast food tie-ins and this holiday's hottest toy.

Hollywood is not dead, it's just being stiffled.