Face it, Sonic has had some serious ups and downs. The originals from the Genesis (Mega Drive) days had us going GaGa over Sega. They were fun and extremely fast, two gameplay elements that have eroded over the years. Despite the glory, a number of spinoffs and additional characters crowded out the franchise and a sad serious of spinoffs ensued. Sonic R, Sonic the Fighters, etc. The series got a jump start in 1998 with new freshness that was known as Sonic Adventure. It properly brought the core of the series into the 3D era, and tapped into the heart of the game. Sonic Adventure 2 was no letdown either, delivering the same standard of gameplay.
Of course, we all know what happened from there. A crowded and highly competitive hardware market forced Sega to give the Dreamcast an untimely end. Ports of Sonic Adventure and other classic compilations helped them assume their new role as a third-party developer, but once again the quality began to slide. The Sonic franchise took the blow in stride too. Sonic Heroes, meh; Shadow the Hedgehog, WTF!?; Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), fail, Sonic and the Secret Rings, meh. Hidden gems like Sonic Rush became overlooked as fans lost faith in the series.
Another year, another game. Sonic Unleashed is slated for a 2008 release, and the debut trailer shown earlier in February failed to impress. Recently a new trailer with more gameplay footage has been circulating, and its changing a lot of opinions.
The gameplay switches from 2D to 3D, and the camera transitions are unobtrusive. It's still too early to pass judgement, so we'll have to wait for more news. For now I'll say things aren't looking worse the blue blur.
Lead designer Tomonobu Itagaki quit Tecmo and filed suit nearly two weeks ago in a dispute over unpaid bonuses. Now another suit has arisen due to a discrepancy in unpaid overtime for the rest of the employees. The suit has been filed by Hiroaki Ozawa and Tatsuo Kakuta, top leaders of the recently formed "Tecmo Labor Union", to represent all 300 remaining Tecmo employees. The plaintiffs assert that Tecmo placed them on an illegal "flexible hours" work schedule four years ago, and since then overtime hours have gone unpaid. A company petition claims over 100 hours a month for employees, and 8.3 million yen are in demand as compensation. Further claims include Tecmo having falsified documents and attempting to cover up documents relating to their shady accounting practices.
Just today, Tomonobu Itagaki announced that he is leaving and suing Tecmo over unpaid bonuses. He claims a completion bonus for Dead or Alive 4 has gone unpaid; further stating, "President Yoshimi Yasuda chose not only to violate this agreement, but also turned defiant, telling me 'if you are dissatisfied with the decision not to pay the bonuses, either quit the company or sue it.' " So far, Tecmo has yet to respond.
Tomonobu Itagaki (via his translator, Andrew Szymanski) has contacted a number of news outlets requesting prompt reporting of this story. This news arrives the same week as the release of the highly anticipated sequel, Ninja Gaiden II. This severance of ties to Tecmo ensures he likely won't be able to work on any future Dead or Alive or Ninja Gaiden projects.
Itagaki is most known for his work with Team NINJA where he created the Dead or Alive series and the modern reincarnation of the Ninja Gaiden series. He derives his success from incorporating 'fun' into his projects to ensure satisfying gameplay. Itagaki's cognizence of Western gamers' interests also allows his hits to become international successes instead of Japan-only treasures.
Another trailer has been released since the Street Fighter IV 'debut trailer.' This 'epic trailer' shows more gameplay. Also announced this week are two fighters that will only be available on home versions of the game and not in arcades. These new fighters are Fei Long and Dan Hibiki.
Activision, while slow and quiet in their response, has stepped up and admitted they've made mistakes with the Wii version of Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock by taking appropriate actions to remedy the situation. As a thank you gift to those who have had to wait through the disc replacement process, they are sending a free guitar faceplate. Those who registered should recieve a note stating the faceplate will arrive a few weeks after the fixed edition of the game.
It seems a lot of things are shipped out only to break immediately in consumers' hands. Overheating 360s, breaking Rock Band guitars, and snapping Wiimote straps are just some of the things gamers have had to put up with in recent years, and the best one can expect is to have the shoddy product replaced after waiting for months. It is nice for a change that a company goes the extra mile to make up for the inconvenience. Things are looking better for RedOctane and Activision.
So... Guitar Hero III owners, does the freebie balance out the disappointment and hassle? Is RedOctane still cool? Who will gaff up next? Only time will tell.
The "bigger is better" corporate mentality has struck the video game industry recently. Activision is in the process of merging with the games division of Vivendi Universal, and just last month, and Electronic Arts made a less-than-stellar offer to purchase Take 2 Interactive. Simon Jeffrey, CEO of Sega of America, reassures us "That's not an area we want to play in right now. We have no interest in being acquired, we are very happy with our position right now."
Currently Sega is the sixth largest games publisher in the US. "There is plenty of room for smaller companies to be successful and profitable in this business. You don't have to be number one or number two. You can be number six very happily," Jeffrey said. Sega recently scored a hit on Nintendo's Wii and DS systems with Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games selling over 5 million copies in the first three months. Not many non-Nintendo published games have seen much success on the Wii. Compared to other "hardcore" games like Halo 3 that gain a large burst early on, but soon fade in sales, Mario & Sonic have enjoyed a longer steadier sales period as perpetual word of mouth keeps consumers coming back for more.
Sega is offering a good mix of franchises this year including licenced games for "Iron Man" and "Hulk" movies, a Sonic RPG for the DS, and a remake of Sega classic "Golden Axe". "We really think this year we've hit our stride getting that portfolio mix just right," Jeffrey said.
While Americans get news that they have to wait until May 12, Nintendo of Japan is priming up their audience for upcoming Wii Ware releases later this month. Recently, Nintendo launched a page listing some of the titles announced along with some screenshots. A fair amount of second and third-party support is a welcome sight to continue Nintendo's diverse download offerings.
The current titles announced include:
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King
StarSoldierR
Word Puzzle Mojipittan Wii
Everyone's Pokémon Ranch
Dr. Mario's Virus Buster
Marubou Shikaku
Magnetica (Puzzloop)
Bomberman
Okiraku Ping-Pong Wii
Angel's Solitaire
Joysound Wii
There are a notable amount of previously announced titles missing from the current list, but it is expected that we'll see those as well as others on the Wii Ware service in the future. Judging by the screenshots we can expect to see a mix of single player and multiplayer games that appeal to a diverse audience.
Its official. The war is over. Toshiba recently announced that not only they aim to halt production of HD-DVD products, but they intend on doing it soon to allow for progression into the digital age (of Blu-Ray). Of course, this comes after weeks... even months of hard hits from retailers, rental businesses, and film studios announcing Blu-Ray exclusivity. The most recent was long-time HD-DVD supporter, Universal. How much longer can you plan on seeing those red tabs on store shelves? March 2008, according to the key manufacturer.
One reassuring vote of confidence remains for standard DVD, as Toshiba states that they stand committed to the format.
Read it for yourself. Check out the press release after the break.
Sony Japan is geared to announce its first lineup of "The Best" titles for Playstation 3. SCEJ has yet to officially announce which titles, but an online retailer has already listed several titles with an expected arrival date of March 19. The discounted price should be 3,800 yen (compared to the regular price of 5,000 yen). For Playstation fans, this discount isn't as much as the Playstation 2 The Best games at 2800 yen.
The first games to achieve "Playstation The Best" status are:
This week we get to play another game, YAY! The surprise is that this game is so much more. You'll see and hear bright colors, and touch the music, as it pulses to your head. You too can experience synesthesia, and you won't need sex or drugs to get there. Rez is a shooter like no other. Hold the fire button and aim at multiple targets to lock on, but releasing it will destroy them in sequence with the music. The background oscillates with to the music, and whatever haptic feedback device you're using will also pulse to the music; be it the controller in your hands, a secondary controller in your lap, or the trance vibrator in your pocket or resting under the sole of your foot. Level up and your wire-frame man will gain polygons, and guide him through the techno landscape of cyberspace to free 'eden' from the system.
The Neo Geo Pocket Color catches our eye as this week's hardware feature. Sure, color portables have existed before this, but SNK's experience with arcade gaming ensures we can bring those bright, flashy, and intense hues with us anywhere we go.
The featured image this week comes from yet another colorful game. N2O Nitrous Oxide is a tube shooter along the likes of Tempest or Gyruss. Where it deviates is its use of bright colors and hypnotizing soundtrack. Don't play it too long though, as you'll end up with tunnel vision for some time afterwards.
Finally, our featured collection belongs to sharp, a member of the RFgen community who's been here from almost the beginning. This Nederlander has a lot of games for SNK systems, showing that gaming exists beyond Sega, Nintendo, and other modern parties.
I don't know about the rest you, but I tend to be dragged down around this time of year. Being home from school, the cold, the snow, and being around family a little too much drains the life from me. Fortunately I always find the time to get a lot of gaming in, and that, my friends, is what shines this geeks soul. I've been playing a lot of Ridge Racer 6 alone, Halo 3 and Gears of War when I'm with my brother, and some Wii Sports bowling with my parents. Since I haven't gotten my dad to play a game with me since NHL '96 was new, I consider this a breakthrough.
Since it is the holidays, I'll try and keep this short so y'all can get back to your lives. Ridge Racer 6 is the featured game this week. Lots of drifting, and simple gameplay keep the disc spinning in my 360. It can be had for a bargain price now, and is worth a try if you're a fan of the series.
My brother was kind enough to give me an early present, NYKO's Charge Station 360. Rechageable batteries, and battery packs are a must in this new generation of wireless gaming. 3rd party? It doesn't seem to matter much. These batteries fit snugly and do the job. Remember playing with remote control cars and airplanes when you were a kid. Well you can play with them again in Toy Commander. There's even a Chrismas themed level if you are interested in that sort of thing.
Wrapping it up today is a real WINNER collection. Tondog is a good friend of mine and a good member of the RF Generation family. He's a long-time Playstation fan, but isn't against showing the Dreamcast and Nintendo DS some lovin'. His true interests also include overlooked and underappreciated games.
I hope you get to play something fun this week. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from your own channel 3.
Black and White... what are they? Their contrasting nature tends to give them different associations. Beneficence and malevolence, Ying and Yang, ebony and ivory, light vs. dark, Good vs. Evil, Spy vs. Spy?! I suppose they're black and white too. Some would say Black and White aren't even colors, just the absence or presence of light. Religions associate light and darkness with virtues and sins, with some even being particular to the color of light. In video games, if you're seeing in black and white, you're well overdue for a color television.
Kicking off this week's features is a fantastic piece of hardware that comes in only one color. The Game Boy Player comes only in black, which likely means it won't match your purple lunch pail. Despite its poorly coordinated chromatic aesthetic, this device (accompanied by a disc) lets you play your backlog of Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance cartridges on a full-sized television screen. Spiffy.
The featured image fits the theme dead on, as it comes from a PC game titled Black & White. Packaging for this game finished the one-two punch of the monochrome cover by packaging it all in two different box designs. The game itself can be considered a "god simulation" strategy game. The premise of the game is to build a following of tribesmen on a remote island. As you gain strength, you can compete against other gods and even claim some of their followers.
Patrick is the proud owner of this week's featured collection. This chap enjoys collecting for the Mega Drive and Master System, and even owns this week's featured game.
Mickey Mania was originally intended to be a landmark project for Mickey Mouse's 65th birthday, but the original project timeline was canned to accomodate bigger ideas. The end result proves to be a greater tribute to the Mickey Mouse legacy. So the story goes... Mickey gets zapped back to the past, but instead of reliving history, he gets to reenact his own cartoons. The first level is first starring role in the black-and-white animated short, Steamboat Willy. As Mickey progresses through the game, he travels to subsequently later cartoons in his animated career. For being targeted at a younger audience, this game proved to be quite difficult. Now we are all a few years more experienced as gamers, maybe we can rise meet the challenge.
Nintendo strikes back at modders! Piracy with the R4-Revolution for DS system has been running rampant, with surprisingly weak legal barriers to stop it. While it isn't necessarily advertised, the R4 system has been a large contributor to DS piracy in certain countries. Outside Japan it has become a hot import item due to ease of use. The user simply plugs it in and turns on the DS, without the need for any hacks or mods.
Enter Nintendo's alternative, the DSvision. The hardware components seems nearly identical, consisting of a microSD card reader for the DS, a microSD card, and a microSD card to USB 2.0 adapter for PC. The difference is that the DSvision parts are all proprietary, with built in copyright protection.
The manufacturing of the DSvision system is being handled by AM3 and Dai Nippon Publishing, with an expected shipment date in March 2008. A web site to host content is also proposed; offering pictures, movies, and digital novels and comics both for purchase and for free. The site is expected to host 300 titles at launch, and expand to over 10,000 titles by 2010. Each title will sell for around 1000¥ (US$10). The kit itself will cost 3980¥ (US$37), and will include a 512MB microSD card. It appears that this too may shape up to be a hot import item. Combined with the TV tuner and web browser, the DS is shaping up to be a big portable media machine after all.
Now live on Japanese Wiis, the new "Everyone's Nintendo Channel" is a way of telling Wii owners about new software. A complete software listing, trailers, and demos will be available for games seeing an imminent release and those that are already on the market.
Searching for a title seems much like our own database as you can sort results by hardware, manufacturer, genre, or title. One of the caveats of the system is that you can provide feedback of games you have already tried out and it will recommend others based on your interests and the recommendations of others. Like the "Everyone Votes Channel" it might not take off right away because it has to collect information before it becomes fully active. The results are scheduled for release by the end of December.
The big winner of all the features is undoubtably the downloadable demos for the DS. Now you can try out all those demos from the comfort of home instead of embracing shame while you publicly display your infatuation with your DS Lite at the local mall.
At the moment there is no news as to when the rest of the world will be receiving this application, but it is nice to know it is out there.
UPDATE GameTrailers.com now has a video of the new channel in action. Expect to see some trailers (TVCM), Miyamoto-san trying to sell Wii Fit, and the DS demo downloads. View it after the break.
In 1995 electronics giant, Casio, made a second unique venture in gaming, after their first failed attempt. (ルーピー, Rupii) Loopy - My Seal Computer SV-1000 was the first game console marketed entirely towards young females. Like the PV-1000, this console also failed to gain popularity; though it does have some curious features. First off, there is only one controller port, limiting any possibility of two-player gaming. Also, the console itself has a built-in "Seal" printer, or thermal sticker printer, that uses heat to burn an image onto chemically treated stickers. This seal process is similar in function to the Game Boy Printer, but not in black-and-white. The controller is quite simple with a single D-pad, a start button, and four buttons arranged in an arc to the right side. The alternative peripheral was a mouse controller, which was sometimes bundled with one of two games. The only other hardware items available for the Loopy were replacement Seal cartridges.
The Loopy game library is almost a joke in itself. Casio published all 11 titles throughout the console's short two-year lifespan. All games also tend to have the same themes. Painting, dress-up/makeover, and romance stories are all that were offered. The art programs make the most use of the Seal printer, and seem to have little value otherwise. While the system claims uses 32-bit RISC processing, it appears technically unimpressive due to the nature of the software available.
Nothing gives a better impression of the Loopy than a look at the game offerings available.
Just today, Tomonobu Itagaki announced that he is leaving and suing Tecmo over unpaid bonuses. He claims a completion bonus for Dead or Alive 4 has gone unpaid; further stating, "President Yoshimi Yasuda chose not only to violate this agreement, but also turned defiant, telling me 'if you are dissatisfied with the decision not to pay the bonuses, either quit the company or sue it.' " So far, Tecmo has yet to respond.
The "bigger is better" corporate mentality has struck the video game industry recently. Activision is in the process of merging with the games division of Vivendi Universal, and just last month, and Electronic Arts made a less-than-stellar offer to purchase Take 2 Interactive. Simon Jeffrey, CEO of Sega of America, reassures us "That's not an area we want to play in right now. We have no interest in being acquired, we are very happy with our position right now."
While Americans get news that they have to wait until 
Its official. The war is over. Toshiba recently announced that not only they aim to halt production of HD-DVD products, but they intend on doing it soon to allow for progression into the digital age (of Blu-Ray). Of course, this comes after weeks... even months of hard hits from retailers, rental businesses, and film studios announcing Blu-Ray exclusivity. The most recent was long-time HD-DVD supporter, Universal. How much longer can you plan on seeing those red tabs on store shelves? March 2008, according to the key manufacturer. 
Sony Japan is geared to announce its first lineup of "The Best" titles for Playstation 3. SCEJ has yet to officially announce which titles, but an online retailer has already listed several titles with an expected arrival date of March 19. The discounted price should be 3,800 yen (compared to the regular price of 5,000 yen). For Playstation fans, this discount isn't as much as the Playstation 2 The Best games at 2800 yen.
This week we get to play another game, YAY! The surprise is that this game is so much more. You'll see and hear bright colors, and touch the music, as it pulses to your head. You too can experience synesthesia, and you won't need sex or drugs to get there. 
Black and White... what are they? Their contrasting nature tends to give them different associations. Beneficence and malevolence, Ying and Yang, ebony and ivory, light vs. dark, Good vs. Evil, Spy vs. Spy?! I suppose they're black and white too. Some would say Black and White aren't even colors, just the absence or presence of light. Religions associate light and darkness with virtues and sins, with some even being particular to the color of light. In video games, if you're seeing in black and white, you're well overdue for a color television.
Nintendo strikes back at modders! Piracy with the 
Now live on Japanese Wiis, the new "Everyone's Nintendo Channel" is a way of telling Wii owners about new software. A complete software listing, trailers, and demos will be available for games seeing an imminent release and those that are already on the market.
