nintendo: "wii are flippin idiots"

worst... console... name... ever. thats about all that needs to be said, but i'm going to say just a bit more. in one foul swoop nintendo went from possibly the greatest console name ever (revolution) to the flat out, absolute, no deliberation needed, worst. they were obviously looking for something that encompassed their innovative design philosophy as well as the fact that they are looking to change gaming as we know it, in addition to being bold and catchy. in my opinion, "revolution" did all of these things extraordinarily well. also, "wii" is just plain ridiculous and would be a stupid name for nearly anything meant to be taken seriously. as far as i'm concerned its still called the revolution and i will not respond to any questions or comments made by anyone at anytime that refer to it using that other name. i don't know what they are smoking at nintendo HQ, but hopefully the last big surprise they have in store is that a sample will be included with the revolution...

edit: i in no way believe this stupid new name will negatively affect sales. in fact, the only negative effect it will have will be an increase in the number of immature urine and phallus jokes made about the console by adolescent minded individuals like myself.

the 360 in japan

alright, it is well past time for someone to explain to all of the people elsewhere why the shelves in japanese department stores have been stocked with 360s since launch day. brace yourselves for the complicated truth... but first a testimonial.

i bought my 360 from the rather small electronics department of my local apita (basically like a mall, but its one store...kind of.) they had plenty to go around, for cheaper than anywhere else in the world, at a time when american consumers were paying 800 dollars and more for systems on ebay. it saddened me to know that all of my gaming brethern across the pacific where being left out in the cold and, in truth, i was angry at both microsoft and japanese consumers for what i perceived as mistakes made by both. now for the truth.

the failure to this point of the 360 in japan is a burden carried by microsoft, japanese consumers, and japanese retailers. they all messed up in some way. microsoft's failings included the library of launch games they offered, the advertising jargon they used, and the general direction they have taken with regard to how gaming is evolving.

first, the launch titles here (from the perspective of a japanese gamer) sucked. there is a reason ridge racer 6 (which is a decidely inferior game when compared to the other 360 racing titles) was the highest seller. the game is crap but it was still the best offering for japanese gamers for reasons that will be explained later. the titles that sold well in the states and established the 360 as next gen were not available here. the most next gen offering available was PDZ, and japanese gamers are notoriously uninterested in fps games. it wasnt until weeks after the launch that doa 4 showed up and offered a good reason to buy the console. so basically you had the gamers who actually bought the console playing unimpressive games like rr6 and fifa rtwc, something which im sure convinced alot of gamers who hadnt purchased it that the console was all hype. for this reason, i think microsoft may have been better off waiting for doa 4 to release. also, they had no rpg's which is a huge failure when trying to do well in this country.

next, they advertised the 360 as ushering in the hd era. this is unfamiliar territory/terminology for most japanese people. while they certainly have their share of big beautiful tvs (here refferred to as hi-vision), they dont have television service providers capable of hd programming and aren't nearly as familiar with the whole concept as americans. (they also seem to not really understand surround sound as well).

last, xbox live is huge for the 360. in my mind it is one of the main selling points. playing online is fantastic, as is live arcade and marketplace. but online gaming is different in japan and is limited mainly to text based computer mmorpgs. they dont talk shit in this country, and they dont want to deal with obnoxious gamers who do. add to this the language barrier and you have one formidably unappealing package. also, they have little to no interest in online fps's (something which get my panties all in a bunch). i won't say they are not twitch based gamers because they love their fighting games (though from my experience dont seem very good at them for all the time they spend playing them), but they certainly seem to prefer less reflexive gameplay. this may be why all japanese rpgs are turn-based or why mah-jong, pachinko, and quiz games are such big business. considering this, it isnt hard to see why the 360 (which relies so heavily on online connectivity and competition) isn't all that appealing.

but its not all microsofts fault. a huge part of it is that japanese gamers would resist the 360 even if it offered everything they could possibly want. its simply a brand thing. they identify with sony and nintendo because these brands are home grown. average people here can tell you about the lives of sony and nintendo execs, about where they were born and how their companies rose to fame and fortune. these people and the companies they represent are pseudo-heroes here, so of course they aren't going to like the idea of a foreign company (especially one like microsoft) trying to muscle in on the territory of their idols.

also, they just dont have much interest in foreign games here. they are quite content with what their country offers them. and while there are plenty of innovative and fresh ideas coming out of this country, there are also about 16 mech games being put out by bandai every year. basically, japanese gamers get alot of games we dont, but they are also limited in ways american gamers arent. so, while they get alot of kooky or rehash games that will never be seen stateside, they have also missed out on a few very big genres that gamers elsewhere enjoy regularly. its not that they dislike these types of games (i have had japanese gamers play halo 2 with me and love it), its just that they are kind of isolated from the rest of the gaming universe. this isolation is the result of their own brand loyalty and of simple availability issues, and because of it they are limited in the genres they can choose from. hence the reason they are known for loving their rpgs so much, there just aren't that many other genres really available so they tend to be fanatically devoted to the ones that are. of course the issue is alot more complex than this, but for the purposes of this expose suffice it to say that for pretty dumb reasons, japanese gamers aren't into alot of the 360s mainstay genres.

finally, gaming is just perceived differently here. its more a part of the normal, everyday world (they sell games at convenience stores and girls play games on a much more regular basis than elsewhere). but, while it is more recognized and accepted by the general populace, the hardcore fan base seems somewhat lacking. average people are likely to have a playstation 2 and a few games and younger kids almost always have ds's, but i have yet to see anyone with a serious collection or a sweet setup used primarily for gaming. because of this, it is easy to see why the number of people willing to shell out for a 360 (which has a very hardcore gaming image thanks to the original xbox) is severely limited. there just isnt the customer base for it here.

and the last of the contributors to the 360's failure are the retailers. the demo 360 and the beautiful hd toshiba screen it came with were on display in the electronics department where i bought my console for about 2 weeks before the 360s went on sale. the day they started selling the console, the demo was gone and replaced by a second ps2 (both of which were playing mech games). this seemed a bit strange to me. i would have normally assumed that having a 360 available for the customers to try out, especially when new games catering to the japanese audience, like doa 4 and n3, came out would help persuade people to buy one. how can retailers expect to sell consoles if the only thing people have to go on is what the box looks like and all of the negative connotations they associate with microsoft? well, i would like to contend that they never really intended to try their best to sell their consoles. and while this makes no sense from a business perspective, it makes near complete sense from a japanese perspective. i am inclined to think most retailers would have been happier not getting 360s at all so they wouldn't have to waste shelf space on them. their attitude seemed to be that the console was stillborn, a failure from conception even, and that no matter what they tried, it would never sell in japan... so why should they even try?

so, with these three contributors in mind it is easy to see why there are so many 360s languishing on store shelves, going to waste when they could be fulfilling the gaming dreams and facillitating the happiness of multitudes of people. it really is a sad thing to see, and i try not to go into electronics departments anymore. also, i don't really see microsoft being able to turn this failure around. it's already too late in the game for them to make the right impression. it might have made a difference around launch time, but everyday the launches of the ps3 and the revolution grow closer giving brand loyal, non-hardcore japanese consumers less and less of a reason to shell out for a 360. sorry microsoft, i guess it just wasn't meant to be.

if you like games, don't get oblivion

no, that wasn't a typo. i am here to tell all hardcore gamers the reasons why they shouldn't buy oblivion, and there are about 200 hours worth.

i am currently suffering from a crippling addiction to this game. how is it crippling you ask... well besides the anti-social behavior that results from any game addiction (or just being a gamer in general), i am having to deal with the inability to play any other games. i have only unlocked about half of the cars in burnout revenge and normally this would weigh heavily on my mind. under normal circumstances, being the unlockable whore that i am, i would feel that aching, undeniable need to earn the next one until there were no more left. but burnout hasn't seen the inside of my 360 since oblivion arrived. the same goes for GRAW. i love playing online, but i have only engaged in a total of 5 matches online with this superb title, something which can only be considered a grave injustice done to a game that deserves so much more. and i wouldn't have even played those matches if oblivion offered online play.

so what am i getting at? well, suffice it to say that oblivion is a greedy game. it will take over all of your gaming time and not be satisfied. it starts with the inability to turn it off when you know you should go to sleep or eat something (because you haven't all day). next you will be sneaking out of work early to play it, and even when you're not playing it, you'll be thinking about playing it. then, your mood will start to be affected by the in-game weather and you'll begin thinking about realworld social interactions as a minigame. and while i have no first hand experience with what the really advanced stages of this addiction are like, its a safe bet they are ugly and depraved.

i do not intend to suggest that oblivion doesn't deserve every minute spent with it as it is simply sublime. its just that there are so many good games out there that deserve to be played and enjoyed... is it really fair to let one monopolize your life for so long? so my advice to everyone who has a backlog of games they still need to play, or who wants to spend some more time with the games they are already familiar with, or even those who think that sometime in the next 4 months a game will come out that they will want to play is this: don't get oblivion yet. wait until the day youre tired of everything you have and theyve stopped making any new good games... that way you can spend the rest of your life playing it without feeling guilty.
-Asano

Can I get a game ending here?

So I read the review of Dreamfall: The Longest Journey on Gamespot today and it got me thinking. Let me first say that I'm excited about the game because it's the sequel to The Longest Journey, which is considered to be one of the best point-and-click adventures ever. I know the genre is pretty much dead, but a great game is a great game, and we gamers don't get to experience the same awesome level of story telling in many other genres.

Greg Kasavin's Dreamfall review got me thinking because he pointed out that the ending was a let down. This reminded me of another great adventure game that I played, Indigo Prophecy. Incidentally, I just posted a review for it on Gamespot, so check it out. In any case, Indigo Prophecy's ending seemed rushed and therefore, anticlimactic, just like Dreamfall's. Other great games like Halo 2 and Psi-ops ended abruptly on unsatisfying cliffhangers. So what I'm wondering is: is it really so hard to make a good ending?

I think it is. I think the ending of any story is challenging. Without proper planning, it can be difficult to tie up all the "loose ends", neatly or otherwise. But I think it can be particularly difficult with games for a couple of reasons. If a game is particularly long (like 50-100 hours), it can be a challenge to conclude the game in a manner that feels suitably epic. Or if a game has a plot with mysteries that slowly unfold, you don't want the player to be disappointed when they find out the truth behind the mystery. The bottom line is, when a game does a good job of weaving a story, it must do a better job ending it.

I don't really know where I'm going with this, or if anybody would even agree that good game endings are hard to come by. It just seems to me that I've seen too many games that really rush the ending. Even Xenogears, which for a long time held the honor of being my favorite game of all time, seemed rushed on its last disc. Please post comments and let me know if you agree/disagree and give notable examples and counterexamples. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

-Joule

Reader Reviews and More!

So I've been fairly active with my account on Gamespot.com recently. You can actually do some pretty impressive stuff like listing your game collection, tracking games, making blog posts and reader reviews. It's also kind of addicting because you can gain levels by doing things like posting in forums and making friends with other Gamespot users.

Last week, I posted my 100+ game collection, although I didn't post all of my PS1 games and I didn't post any of my SNES, Super Famicon, Japanese Dreamcast or Neo Geo Pocket Color games. The coolest thing happened after I posted my collection. This icon showed up under my profile, and, well, check it out for yourself (it's the picture of wine and lobster). I take tremendous pride in this icon and it was very cool to discover it.

I'm planning on reviewing all of the games I have beaten (or played for a significant amount of time) on GS. The reviews that I write are conveniently displayed in my profile, so I'm going to add a link to my profile in the link section of this site. I'll probably write a post here any time I finish a review, but if you want to check out my collection, the games I'm playing, my Xbox Live gamer card, or anything else, click on the link. Also, I'd encourage any and all of you to make an account on GS (it's free) and send me a friend request. On top of all the cool community features, being friends will probably help me level up :)

There's already a review up for Geometry Wars. I love Geometry Wars so much, and I've been planning on posting about it here, but for now you can read my review.

-Joule

P.S. There's now a review for X-men Legends up on my profile. Also, I just wanted to say that I saw the Doom movie over the weekend and it was sooooo bad. Of course, I loved it. One of the best parts had to be when a crazy, mutating doctor ripped off his own ear, and his assistant tends to the wound, saying, "He needs a medkit!" Oh, man! The movie was so like the videogame that I knew the director must play videogames all the time *dripping sarcasm*.

Fight Night Re-review

since this blog is about all things gaming, i figure reviews are fair game. but that's not quite what this is. rather, i am simply going to address some of the issues other reviewers have brought up about Fight Night Round 3 for the 360.

from what i have read there were two main complaints about this game that, after playing it, seem unfair. these were the AI and the in game advertising. personally, i haven't found either one to be a problem and here is why.

before i got the game i read about how easy it was and that the single player experience was a cakewalk because the AI was so unaggressive. well for anyone who cares, this is not true. granted my fighter's record is something like 28-4-1 with 23 ko's, so its not like the game has the most punishing difficulty ever conceived. it does, however, make you work for your wins. in fact, going into the whole experience i expected much more of a knockout fest. i figured the game would be rife with huge punches and big knockdowns if for no other reason than the developers wanting to show off how good they look. i'm sure by now we've all seen clips of the face destroying moments in the game, and they are glorious to be sure, i just thought they would be easier to achieve. instead, against most opponents (and those from about the midpoint of the career mode) you have to play a very tactical game of cat and mouse. winning fights means not engaging in a slugfest, but darting in and out using your jab to wear down and frustrate your opponent. you have to make him miss to hit him hard because if you just start swinging big, he will counter you with utterly frustrating frequency and make you pay nearly every time. even when you can feel that you have the fight in hand, caution must be maintained because one big counter can change everything. also, you have to mix up what you're doing fairly often because the AI tends to catch on after about the third time you do the same thing. and if you stick with it after that, it'll mean a layover in counter city before you reach your final destination of the mat with a nice view of the ceiling.

i appreciate the difficulty of the game. the matches that go the distance are actually quite trying as they require your attention at all times. and every once in awhile you'll be granted an idiot to fight which provides a great change of pace. these guys just take big swing after big swing, and it's these matches that really make you feel like the king pimp as you deftly bait and avoid your opponent only to drill him when the time is right. but even in these matches you can never become too comfortable.

the difficulty and AI provides a good mix of challenging and instantly gratifying matches. you'll go up against stupidly aggressive bulls and frustratingly defensive counter-masters and this ensures that you have to keep responding to the game and changing your own style.

as for the marketing, i have heard alot of bitching and moaning about how if you pay 60 dollars for a game, it shouldnt be full of advertising. and i agree that in-game marketing can be taken too far (when kameo starts hawking coke in game or burnout starts trying to convince me that geico is the way to go since i keep crashing, itll be too much). but in the case of FN3, the marketing ranges from suitable to acceptable to funny, without ever getting in the way of the experience. sure the camera focuses on a dodge car before the dodge sponsored event kicks off, but im not bothered by this. it actually seems fitting and only adds to the realism of the event. part of the thrill of your first big fight, your first time at madison square garden, is how much like a real broadcast it is. its rewarding to have brought your fighter so far and to have reached the big time and the advertising helps this feeling. after all, you've become a big enough name with enough popularity to make it worthwhile for these companies to sponsor your fight.

the same goes for the licensed apparel. i would rather outfit my character with everlast shorts and an under armor jock strap than something generic and made up.

and as for the king, ever since i unlocked him as a trainer, he has been my go to guy. not just for hilarity's sake, but because he's free and gives you a bonus that the other free guy doesn't. because of the king, my fighter has a better heart attribute than anyone else (which i guess suggests that burger king is, in fact, good for your heart and you should eat it as much as possible). the only problem i have with him is that his in ring banter uses the same voice as the other trainers, and i'm pretty sure the king doesn't sound like an old black man (though i'm not certain as all he ever does in the commercials is stand there and look creepy). for me, his inclusion is more than anything amusing and while it has given me an undeniable craving for BK, i can't be angry with him or whoever is responsible.

so there you go. fight night has its flaws for sure (if only you could turn off the announcers), but the two things that reviewers seemed to harp on aren't its problems. the AI is good as is the difficulty, and the advertising usually feels right at home and, in general, helps to make the experience feel more authentic. if you like boxing, sports in general, or punching dudes in the face real hard then i recommend this game.

-Asano