This is a good start.
A month ago I did some spending of money at those gaming stores. For a solid $50, the price one would pay for a brand new game (less actually), I got six: the complete Devil May Cry series, Rogue Galaxy, Metal Gear Solid 2, and Metroid Prime (that last one just for collection completeness).
So I have been home from school for a week now, and already had plans for gaming. First off, I needed to play through the MGS series having only played the first one. Now that the collection of the three is complete, I played the original PS1 version for the first time, since my brother took it from a former roommate. I have The Twin Snakes for Gamecube and that was the only taste of Solid Snake that I knew, thus you must feel exactly what I am talking about. I will return to this topic later on.
I still have Final Fantasy X from Erik, and that is one RPG I must play through. This lack of a PS2 all these years has really hurt the gamer in me. It is why I bought all these games that I did. And while still on topic of FF, I hope to have a week of FF posts where I talk about my favorites of the series.
Also with blog topics, another one I want to give is my favorite Cam Clarke voice acting roles. He is awesome.
So back to MGS.
I have this plan. It is called buy a Playstation 3. I think it is a suitable gift to myself this summer. But not a normal PS3; the one that come bundled with MGS4 and an 80 GB hard drive. I will be the first to admit that I don't need 80 GB, ever, but the deal is pretty fair. It is $400 for a 40GB, and the bundle is $500 for the game (60) and the system (400) therefore leaving the other 40 gigs for simply a dollar a piece. Then I will also get Call of Duty 4. It will be sweet.
Friday, May 09, 2008
Summer Gaming Goals
Monday, April 28, 2008
Videogames: Ratings, Profits and Players
One of the most significant trends in the past three years, not in numbers but in importance, is that the number of mature-rated videogames has decreased. In 2007, the Entertainment Software Ratings Board assigned only 6 percent of videogames a Mature rating.
In 2006, 8 percent of videogames were rated for mature audiences, while in 2005, 12 percent of games were stamped with an “M” on the box.
In terms of sales, in the twelve months between March 2007 and March 2008, three of the top 10 games were rated Mature: Call of Duty 4, Halo 3 and Assassin’s Creed. There were 17 games rated “M” from the top 100 games sold in that one year.
Ben Lutz, Au Gres freshman, suspects that since Halo 3 is part of a series, gamers are familiar with the title and that helped it sell better.
“The ending to Halo 2 was a disappointment,” said Lutz. “Having to wait for another release to see the ending of the story is the main reason the third game sold so well.”
Only three games in the top 20 console games of all time are rated “M” for mature audiences, and each of them belong to the Grand Theft Auto franchise. Half of this list belongs to two franchises that are rated “E” for everyone: the Super Mario series and Pokemon.
In 2006, only one game from the top 10, Gears of War, was rated Mature, while for the entire top 100 (like in 2007) there were 17 games rated Mature.
To look forward and guess which games will sell the best for 2008 is almost impossible, considering the recent releases of Grand Theft Auto IV and Mario Kart Wii, the upcoming release of Wii Fit, and the release of Super Smash Bros. Brawl in March. These four games are only taking into account the first half of the year.
The second-half of 2008 will boast sequels to popular franchises and can almost guarantee to sell more than their predecessor. These games include Metal Gear Solid 4, Gears of War 2, Fable 2, Killzone 2, and Resistance 2; all of which will most likely be rated Mature like their forerunners.
A trend shows that game sales has gone up in the past years also. Sales have soared so much, in fact, that the Entertainment Software Association reports that “US computer and video game software sales grew six percent in 2007 to $9.5 billion – more than tripling industry software sales since 1996.”
“Advertising is big for me,” said Lutz, who likes to see or even play the game before he buys it. “Word of mouth and reviews help, but if the company is well known people will probably go for it. A game is more likely to be sold if people do not feel like taking a risk when buying it.”
The sales of videogames are also closely monitored, especially ones with the mature rating given to it. Codes are in place that try to prevent the sales of Mature-rated games to those under 17 years old without the permission of a parent or guardian, and sales of games rated “Adult Only” are forbidden to those under 18 years old.
“I think the ratings system is more of a guideline,” said Lutz. “There are so many games you could take differently.”
The ESRB set up a Retail Council that would help educate and enforce these codes in November 2005, and consists of large chains such as Wal-Mart, Target and Best Buy. From November 2006 to November 2007, store enforcement of these codes has gone up by more than 10 percent.
Two years ago the Federal Trade Commission released results from a nationwide undercover shop survey which showed a decrease in sales of M-rated games to minors. In 2005, only 42 percent of shoppers were able to buy a mature-rated game, which is under half of the 85 percent that were able to purchase mature game in 2000.
The latest numbers from the FTC also say that more stores are providing information on the ratings to its shoppers and half of the stores’ cashiers ask the age of children who want to buy a mature-rated game.
“What do you really define as mature?” questions Lutz, an experienced gamer that has been exposed to many different degrees of violence in videogames. “There are other themes rated at a lower level.”
Parents do look at the ratings when choosing what is suitable for their children to play. For the past couple of years, parents, politicians and the media have argued that violent content leads to violent behavior, and studies have been conducted to show that both sides of the matter hold true in some circumstances.
“I am a pretty relaxed guy,” said Lutz about any anger issues he might experience from playing games. He says that he has never emulated anything he has seen or performed while gaming.
“Unless aliens attack Earth, I don’t plan on it.”
It was only three years ago that the ESRB voluntarily added a new rating to its system, “E10+,” which means that the game may be suitable for everyone over the age of 10 years. This rating was introduced so consumers could make easier decisions on what games were more suitable for their family.
While such focus is strongly on the youth members of the gaming community, such gamers are not the ones that hold a majority. The ESA found in their 2006 “Essential Facts” report that the average age of a gamer is 33 years old, and that there are almost as many gamers over the age of 50 than there are gamers under the age of 18.
While the stereotypical image of a gamer may be a teenage male, that idea is challenged by the fact that there are more women over the age of 18 playing videogames than there are males 17 years old or younger.
Gamers are also not entirely fixated to their controllers, either. The ESA report also says that “79 percent of game players of all ages report exercising or playing sports an average of 20 hours a month.”
In 2006, 8 percent of videogames were rated for mature audiences, while in 2005, 12 percent of games were stamped with an “M” on the box.
In terms of sales, in the twelve months between March 2007 and March 2008, three of the top 10 games were rated Mature: Call of Duty 4, Halo 3 and Assassin’s Creed. There were 17 games rated “M” from the top 100 games sold in that one year.
Ben Lutz, Au Gres freshman, suspects that since Halo 3 is part of a series, gamers are familiar with the title and that helped it sell better.
“The ending to Halo 2 was a disappointment,” said Lutz. “Having to wait for another release to see the ending of the story is the main reason the third game sold so well.”
Only three games in the top 20 console games of all time are rated “M” for mature audiences, and each of them belong to the Grand Theft Auto franchise. Half of this list belongs to two franchises that are rated “E” for everyone: the Super Mario series and Pokemon.
In 2006, only one game from the top 10, Gears of War, was rated Mature, while for the entire top 100 (like in 2007) there were 17 games rated Mature.
To look forward and guess which games will sell the best for 2008 is almost impossible, considering the recent releases of Grand Theft Auto IV and Mario Kart Wii, the upcoming release of Wii Fit, and the release of Super Smash Bros. Brawl in March. These four games are only taking into account the first half of the year.
The second-half of 2008 will boast sequels to popular franchises and can almost guarantee to sell more than their predecessor. These games include Metal Gear Solid 4, Gears of War 2, Fable 2, Killzone 2, and Resistance 2; all of which will most likely be rated Mature like their forerunners.
A trend shows that game sales has gone up in the past years also. Sales have soared so much, in fact, that the Entertainment Software Association reports that “US computer and video game software sales grew six percent in 2007 to $9.5 billion – more than tripling industry software sales since 1996.”
“Advertising is big for me,” said Lutz, who likes to see or even play the game before he buys it. “Word of mouth and reviews help, but if the company is well known people will probably go for it. A game is more likely to be sold if people do not feel like taking a risk when buying it.”
The sales of videogames are also closely monitored, especially ones with the mature rating given to it. Codes are in place that try to prevent the sales of Mature-rated games to those under 17 years old without the permission of a parent or guardian, and sales of games rated “Adult Only” are forbidden to those under 18 years old.
“I think the ratings system is more of a guideline,” said Lutz. “There are so many games you could take differently.”
The ESRB set up a Retail Council that would help educate and enforce these codes in November 2005, and consists of large chains such as Wal-Mart, Target and Best Buy. From November 2006 to November 2007, store enforcement of these codes has gone up by more than 10 percent.
Two years ago the Federal Trade Commission released results from a nationwide undercover shop survey which showed a decrease in sales of M-rated games to minors. In 2005, only 42 percent of shoppers were able to buy a mature-rated game, which is under half of the 85 percent that were able to purchase mature game in 2000.
The latest numbers from the FTC also say that more stores are providing information on the ratings to its shoppers and half of the stores’ cashiers ask the age of children who want to buy a mature-rated game.
“What do you really define as mature?” questions Lutz, an experienced gamer that has been exposed to many different degrees of violence in videogames. “There are other themes rated at a lower level.”
Parents do look at the ratings when choosing what is suitable for their children to play. For the past couple of years, parents, politicians and the media have argued that violent content leads to violent behavior, and studies have been conducted to show that both sides of the matter hold true in some circumstances.
“I am a pretty relaxed guy,” said Lutz about any anger issues he might experience from playing games. He says that he has never emulated anything he has seen or performed while gaming.
“Unless aliens attack Earth, I don’t plan on it.”
It was only three years ago that the ESRB voluntarily added a new rating to its system, “E10+,” which means that the game may be suitable for everyone over the age of 10 years. This rating was introduced so consumers could make easier decisions on what games were more suitable for their family.
While such focus is strongly on the youth members of the gaming community, such gamers are not the ones that hold a majority. The ESA found in their 2006 “Essential Facts” report that the average age of a gamer is 33 years old, and that there are almost as many gamers over the age of 50 than there are gamers under the age of 18.
While the stereotypical image of a gamer may be a teenage male, that idea is challenged by the fact that there are more women over the age of 18 playing videogames than there are males 17 years old or younger.
Gamers are also not entirely fixated to their controllers, either. The ESA report also says that “79 percent of game players of all ages report exercising or playing sports an average of 20 hours a month.”
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
BRAWL pt1
So yeah, it has been over a month since I posted. I won't lie; I have not been busy at all.
However, the past three days have been busy.
Brawling.
Immediately, I want to get one thing out of the way: I dislike how play is a bit slower than Melee, in Melee I could knock you off the screen with a smash attack and you would go flying in a blink. In Brawl, the speed at which I destroy you off the screen is slowed and de-intensified. (I also dislike Marth's reach being shortened).
So James and I easily put in 13 hours of gameplay on Sunday, Brawling immediately with who was available at first. We started the Subspace Emissary, but paused for sleep at 4 am (daylight savings time robbed an hour of Brawling from us. We will never get it back).
We picked up where we left off that afternoon and unlocked everyone we could through the SSE, and then that night I went through and unlocked everyone else. Yes, Jigglypuff too.
The Final Smash is new in Brawl, which builds up the excitement of a match when it appears because it turns into a mad dash to get it. Some characters' attack is far better, while others (like Meta Knight's) can be easily wasted and highly ineffective (or even completely useless).
My favorite new item is the Assist Trophy, which acts like a Pokeball, but is not restricted to Pokemon. Random characters from all sorts of Nintendo games come and deal damage to your opponents, and I have found that Saki from Sin & Punishment is the most lethal. He can shoot from a distance, rush your opponent, and then slice and dice with the blade on his gun. Very awesome.
I feel as if I have included plenty in this post, so I will save a lot more thoughts for later on. Up next will be my impressions of the new characters.
However, the past three days have been busy.
Brawling.
Immediately, I want to get one thing out of the way: I dislike how play is a bit slower than Melee, in Melee I could knock you off the screen with a smash attack and you would go flying in a blink. In Brawl, the speed at which I destroy you off the screen is slowed and de-intensified. (I also dislike Marth's reach being shortened).
So James and I easily put in 13 hours of gameplay on Sunday, Brawling immediately with who was available at first. We started the Subspace Emissary, but paused for sleep at 4 am (daylight savings time robbed an hour of Brawling from us. We will never get it back).
We picked up where we left off that afternoon and unlocked everyone we could through the SSE, and then that night I went through and unlocked everyone else. Yes, Jigglypuff too.
The Final Smash is new in Brawl, which builds up the excitement of a match when it appears because it turns into a mad dash to get it. Some characters' attack is far better, while others (like Meta Knight's) can be easily wasted and highly ineffective (or even completely useless).
My favorite new item is the Assist Trophy, which acts like a Pokeball, but is not restricted to Pokemon. Random characters from all sorts of Nintendo games come and deal damage to your opponents, and I have found that Saki from Sin & Punishment is the most lethal. He can shoot from a distance, rush your opponent, and then slice and dice with the blade on his gun. Very awesome.
I feel as if I have included plenty in this post, so I will save a lot more thoughts for later on. Up next will be my impressions of the new characters.
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
JRN 203 Interview Practice... About SSBB
Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the latest installment in the Super Smash Bros. series and one of the most anticipated video games of this generation, was released in Japan on January 30 after numerous delays pushed back its release date.
In the United States, the first official release date for the Nintendo Wii game was in early December 2007, but that was pushed back to February, which was then delayed a second time until March 9.
“It’s pretty frustrating,” said James Appleby, Troy sophomore.
Appleby is just one of many gamers who preordered the game in hopes of receiving it in December, but instead wait impatiently through the delays.
Nintendo spokespeople gave no official reasons why the delays were called for, besides to help “fine tune” the game, so fans could only speculate.
“I think that Nintendo recognizes the Super Smash Bros. series is a cash cow, everybody loves Super Smash Bros.” said Jamelle Dooley, Naperville, IL sophomore. “I think they are making sure it is together and not let people be disappointed.”
Throughout the online community, message boards also gave speculation to the reasons why the game was delayed, and probably the most prominent one was allowing game developers more time to put a bigger emphasis on online play.
“I definitely think [online play] would make the game more addictive,” said Appleby. “That’s the appeal of Halo; you can sit down and play with people around your same skill level.”
Online play is one of the biggest reasons that the release of Halo 3 this past September was the highest grossing opening day in entertainment history. There were over one million people who were playing online within the first twenty hours of the game’s release.
Online play was not possible with the first two installments of the Super Smash Bros. series, whose first game was for the Nintendo 64 and the second, SSB Melee, was for the Gamecube. Instead, local multiplayer was a huge success, where four people could sit together on the same console and play together.
The multiplayer is the reason why Appleby finds the games so enjoyable.
“You can play with all different people and it’s always changing,” he said.
While the local multiplayer option will still be available, gamers are anxiously waiting for the first match they play online, either against a friend or a total stranger.
“It’s going to be amazing,” said Ben Lutz, Au Gres freshman, about playing online. “I look forward to being able to face a wide variety of people, and possibly being destroyed by people from around the world.”
With the online play, it may even add an extra challenge.
“Some people can dominate the AI; the AI isn’t really that hard to beat,” Dooley said. “But when you play against another person you have to use strategy.”
Perhaps the next biggest feature in the game fans look forward to is the larger cast of characters to choose from. All of the original characters from both previous games are making their return, plus new additions to make a total of 37 playable characters.
“I’m really excited that they have Meta Knight and the Pokemon Trainer,” said Lutz, “a whole other level of fighting right there.”
Appleby also looks forward to playing as Meta Knight, as well as other new characters.
“Meta Knight and Pit both look pretty cool,” he said, “and Sonic [the Hedgehog], I like fast characters.”
Indeed, Sonic the Hedgehog, a third-party character from Sega, will be making his fighting debut in the SSB series, as well as another non-Nintendo character, Snake from Konami’s hit Metal Gear Solid series. This is the first SSB installment which the character list is not made up of entirely Nintendo characters.
However, not every Nintendo character has been featured in the fighting series.
“I really hoped one of the hidden characters was one of the koopa turtles,” said Lutz. “In Mario Kart Double Dash, when you select him he is ready to fight and it’s not even a fighting game!”
Also for the first time in the SSB series, Brawl will feature customizable controls for four different ways of playing the game.
Since the Wii allows for backward compatibility with Gamecube games, the Gamecube controller can plug right into the Wii console and is one way players can control their fighter.
“I’m going to favor the Gamecube one,” said Appleby. “I’ve gotten so used to it from Melee.”
Other methods include using the Wiimote and Nunchuk attachment, holding the Wiimote on its side and using it like a regular controller, and using the Classic Controller attachment with the Wiimote.
“The fact that I don’t have a Wii is going to hinder, it is going to be a major problem,” said Lutz, who favors the Xbox 360 for this generation of gaming, but still hangs onto his Gamecube to play Melee. “I’ll probably buy one.”
It may be the case for Nintendo where they may see sales spike up surrounding the release of Brawl, similar to that of Microsoft’s sale of the Xbox 360 when Halo 3 was released.
Nintendo is still leading this generation’s console war in terms of sales, having sold almost 9 million consoles by the end of 2007, and according to the NPD group, consumers purchased 8 games for every Wii sold in December.
In the first day of its release in Japan, Brawl sold 500,000 copies, which is far more than the number of copies of 2007’s Game of the Year, Super Mario Galaxy.
“I don’t think Brawl is going to get game of the year,” said Appleby. “Fighting games have never made it to game of the year. It’s a really under the radar game, which is weird because everybody plays it.”
In the United States, the first official release date for the Nintendo Wii game was in early December 2007, but that was pushed back to February, which was then delayed a second time until March 9.
“It’s pretty frustrating,” said James Appleby, Troy sophomore.
Appleby is just one of many gamers who preordered the game in hopes of receiving it in December, but instead wait impatiently through the delays.
Nintendo spokespeople gave no official reasons why the delays were called for, besides to help “fine tune” the game, so fans could only speculate.
“I think that Nintendo recognizes the Super Smash Bros. series is a cash cow, everybody loves Super Smash Bros.” said Jamelle Dooley, Naperville, IL sophomore. “I think they are making sure it is together and not let people be disappointed.”
Throughout the online community, message boards also gave speculation to the reasons why the game was delayed, and probably the most prominent one was allowing game developers more time to put a bigger emphasis on online play.
“I definitely think [online play] would make the game more addictive,” said Appleby. “That’s the appeal of Halo; you can sit down and play with people around your same skill level.”
Online play is one of the biggest reasons that the release of Halo 3 this past September was the highest grossing opening day in entertainment history. There were over one million people who were playing online within the first twenty hours of the game’s release.
Online play was not possible with the first two installments of the Super Smash Bros. series, whose first game was for the Nintendo 64 and the second, SSB Melee, was for the Gamecube. Instead, local multiplayer was a huge success, where four people could sit together on the same console and play together.
The multiplayer is the reason why Appleby finds the games so enjoyable.
“You can play with all different people and it’s always changing,” he said.
While the local multiplayer option will still be available, gamers are anxiously waiting for the first match they play online, either against a friend or a total stranger.
“It’s going to be amazing,” said Ben Lutz, Au Gres freshman, about playing online. “I look forward to being able to face a wide variety of people, and possibly being destroyed by people from around the world.”
With the online play, it may even add an extra challenge.
“Some people can dominate the AI; the AI isn’t really that hard to beat,” Dooley said. “But when you play against another person you have to use strategy.”
Perhaps the next biggest feature in the game fans look forward to is the larger cast of characters to choose from. All of the original characters from both previous games are making their return, plus new additions to make a total of 37 playable characters.
“I’m really excited that they have Meta Knight and the Pokemon Trainer,” said Lutz, “a whole other level of fighting right there.”
Appleby also looks forward to playing as Meta Knight, as well as other new characters.
“Meta Knight and Pit both look pretty cool,” he said, “and Sonic [the Hedgehog], I like fast characters.”
Indeed, Sonic the Hedgehog, a third-party character from Sega, will be making his fighting debut in the SSB series, as well as another non-Nintendo character, Snake from Konami’s hit Metal Gear Solid series. This is the first SSB installment which the character list is not made up of entirely Nintendo characters.
However, not every Nintendo character has been featured in the fighting series.
“I really hoped one of the hidden characters was one of the koopa turtles,” said Lutz. “In Mario Kart Double Dash, when you select him he is ready to fight and it’s not even a fighting game!”
Also for the first time in the SSB series, Brawl will feature customizable controls for four different ways of playing the game.
Since the Wii allows for backward compatibility with Gamecube games, the Gamecube controller can plug right into the Wii console and is one way players can control their fighter.
“I’m going to favor the Gamecube one,” said Appleby. “I’ve gotten so used to it from Melee.”
Other methods include using the Wiimote and Nunchuk attachment, holding the Wiimote on its side and using it like a regular controller, and using the Classic Controller attachment with the Wiimote.
“The fact that I don’t have a Wii is going to hinder, it is going to be a major problem,” said Lutz, who favors the Xbox 360 for this generation of gaming, but still hangs onto his Gamecube to play Melee. “I’ll probably buy one.”
It may be the case for Nintendo where they may see sales spike up surrounding the release of Brawl, similar to that of Microsoft’s sale of the Xbox 360 when Halo 3 was released.
Nintendo is still leading this generation’s console war in terms of sales, having sold almost 9 million consoles by the end of 2007, and according to the NPD group, consumers purchased 8 games for every Wii sold in December.
In the first day of its release in Japan, Brawl sold 500,000 copies, which is far more than the number of copies of 2007’s Game of the Year, Super Mario Galaxy.
“I don’t think Brawl is going to get game of the year,” said Appleby. “Fighting games have never made it to game of the year. It’s a really under the radar game, which is weird because everybody plays it.”
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Hey IGN!
Thanks for looking at my application and my resume, and in turn the links to my blogs. Sorry this one is kinda sad, but I will do my best to showcase my writing talents even after I have applied. What makes it a big deal anyway? Writing is writing, and I would hope at least that the most recent is the best. I hope to have a lot of great brainstorming sessions so I can have great ideas to write about not just for you guys, but for me and anyone else who checks this out.
(This may all be hypothetical but it's cool).
(This may all be hypothetical but it's cool).
Friday, July 20, 2007
RE4 Mercenaries
Tim tore it up at the Castle. That is a big 177,820 with Jack Krauser, killing (spearing) all three claw guys. It was exciting. I was upset when that 79 combo did not reach 80 (or 100). What can you do? BREAK 200,000!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
