For nearly two generations, the console world has been dominated by the big three - Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft. All have produced fine systems in their own right, introducing new technology and innovations to our gaming universe. That being said, the availability of viable alternatives has been virtually nonexistent for the past decade. Outside of a few niche systems (XaviXPORT, et. al.), the Big Three have reaped the benefits of conducting business within a pseudo monopolistic environment. If history truly repeats itself, this technological bottleneck may be nearing the end of its cycle.
Throughout the video gaming era, console wars tend to erupt when a significant breakthrough occurs in a complimentary industry. Whether it is the development of a new microprocessor or the introduction of an enhanced media format, competition increases as manufacturers look to capitalize on emerging technologies. Many of these ventures have been less than successful, but every now and again a new face can rise to prominence. Microsoft and Sony are prime examples of this. Current advancements in autostereoscopy (3D display without use of peripherals) and motion/voice controlled interaction may provide the requisite window of opportunity for the next video gaming juggernaut.
For any company to take advantage of this potential opening, a perfect storm must occur with the convergence of the following attributes: Financial Wherewithal, Technological Expertise, Brand Recognition and Visionary Leadership.
Financial Wherewithal
Needless to say, entry into the video game hardware market is an extremely expensive endeavor. In addition to the assumed R&D, marketing, manufacturing, and associated overhead expense of producing a new system (which in and of itself is staggering), any prospective company must be able to withstand significant losses during the initial product launch and those incurred throughout its developmental phase. Such investment necessitates a long term fiscal commitment, coupled with the experience to successfully develop/execute the base economic model.
Technological Expertise
The ability to take advantage of existing in-house resources is almost a necessity. Companies able to redeploy andor repurpose established assets gain significant financial flexibility due to lowered expenses in those synergistic areas. The core competencies of an organization must not only be complimentary in nature, but be realized directly within the hardware of any prospective new system.
Brand Recognition
This past decade has been economically challenging to say the least. The general public is discerning as ever regarding discretionary purchases. Price will always play a significant role in these buying decisions, but trust in the brand has become equally, if not more, important. This would be especially true for a new product entry in a market not normally associated with said company. Consumers, along with shareholders, need to have confidence in a corporation prior to supporting any new venture, especially one that might be viewed as risky.
Visionary Leadership
Obviously, this is an absolute necessity for any entity to be successful. The ability to not only anticipate, but more importantly to meet, the long-term demand of the consumer is critical in maintaining/obtaining superiority over the competition. The leadership team must have excellent foresight, but also the mettle to follow through and effectively sell their vision to all vested parties.
The following lists a few companies, all of which have varied historical ties to the video game console industry, which fit this speculative profile.
This giant is no stranger to the video game market. In addition to releasing their moderately successful CD-i line of consoles during the 1990s, Philips was the official distributor and manufacturer of the Magnavox Odyssey 2 video game system in Europe (VideoPac). Philips has long been an innovator within the electronics industry, creating the Laser Disc format and then subsequently developing, in conjunction with Sony and others, the optical disc formats we enjoy today (CD, DVD, Blu-ray). Their portfolio is extremely diversified, with almost 45% of total annual sales derived from their Healthcare division, which in fact specializes in Imaging Systems and Devices (potential 3D gaming applications).
Another industry behemoth, Toshiba has long been a leader in the manufacturing and development of electronic devices and systems. They have been known to invest in emerging technologies, such as the NUON and their patented HD-DVD disc format. Their purchase of Westinghouse Electric Company, one of the world’s largest producers of nuclear energy, in 2006 is a prime example of their visionary culture. They are currently at the forefront of 3D-TV evolution, unveiling the first peripheral-free sets this past October, 2010.
If there is one company that truly excels in building, and maintaining, consumer loyalty, look no further than Apple, Inc. Since their inception in 1976, Apple has continually introduced new products that challenge the traditional offerings of its competitors. This sprit of change, coupled with excellent manufacturing, marketing and support, has garnered them an extremely devoted customer base. Though their last venture into the video game market was disastrous (the Pippin, licensed to Bandai), this company is not afraid to step outside the proverbial box.
The entertainment world has changed considerably over the past decade. Video games are no longer the red headed step child of their box office counterpart(s) - they are now partners. Continued advancements in CGI (computer-generated imagery) and further integration within each medium provides excellent leveraging opportunities. Time Warner’s diversified portfolio provides them the ability to maximize the productivity of existing, internal resources. Let's not forget that Warner also has a little history in the video game hardware market - they owned Atari from 1976-1984.
Yes, this is the dark horse, sentimental entry in this company list. After a successful run throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Sega bowed out of the console war after their release of the Dreamcast system in 1999 due to significant company debt. They have since rebounded as a third party, multi-platform software distributor. Rumors of a new, propriety handheld system have recently surfaced, resulting in a flurry of internet chatter as to the possibility of Sega reentering the hardware arena.
The above list is purely theoretical in nature. Research was conducted in compiling the prospective candidates, but by no means should this be viewed as anything but an educated conjecture. In all honesty, as market conditions change, successful companies have the ability to adapt and shift focus to meet consumer demand and maintain profitability. For all we know, the next juggernaut console may be named one of the following:
OK, I grant you that last entry (SX2) might be a bit of a stretch. But the truth is, the next household name may come from a complete unknown, as has been demonstrated in the past. At the end of the day, new competition only enhances our video gaming experience and advances technology. In today's age, a true perfect storm must occur for this to happen. Who will surprise us?
Outside of the Big Three, who do you think could potentially be the next hardware giant?
November's pick for the Together Retro game club over at http://racketboy.com was Adventure Island, a game with a rather infamously confusing history. To make an extremely long story short, Adventure Island is technically just the first Wonder Boy game but with completely different sprites. After the first game(s), each series began its own equally confusing lineage of games. Though no Wonder Boy games were released for any Game Boy systems, there were a handful of Adventure Island releases, so let's take a look at each.
Adventure Island was released on the Game Boy in 1992, however it's really not a port of the original Adventure Island as much as it's a variation on the second NES game. For instance this title features dinosaurs that Master Higgins can ride on, a device that was not present in the first NES game. Similarly, many of the levels found here are based on levels from the second game. Though in true Hudson fashion, the levels in the Game Boy game are redesigned rather than directly pulled from the NES release.
The game controls quite well, and is actually very long with a full seven islands to conquer. It's definitely a game that will take you a full afternoon to beat, although considering the length of the quest some sort of save feature would have been a welcome addition. The graphics are excellent though, with extremely detailed and expressive sprites. Again, this is a hallmark of many Hudson Game Boy releases.
Adventure Island II: Aliens In Paradise is a mostly original game (with a completely original subtitle) that is also somewhat influenced by the third NES release. Strangely I felt like the controls were actually less accurate in this release than in the first Game Boy game. But the graphics and music are excellent and feature an overworld map similar to games like Super Mario World. Also the inclusion of a password feature to resume your game is definitely appreciated as this one is a pretty long one like the first.
In 2004 Adventure Island was ported to the Game Boy Advance as part of the Famicom Mini series, which was Japan's version of our NES Classic series. Fittingly, this port of Adventure Island is actually just an emulated version of the Famicom release, the only difference being a bit of cropping due to the resolution of the GBA's screen.
This was the first time I had ever spent any serious amount of time playing Adventure Island, and I must say it's an overly brutal game. Of course it comes across as a generic platformer in the vein of Super Mario Bros., but it's difficulty often hovers just around "unfair." The biggest dilemma is that of speed. You see there is a timer constantly ticking down, forcing you to speed through the level. However, running causes you to slide when landing jumps which makes already sketchy platforming areas dreadful. Likewise, since only one hit from an enemy kills you, going too fast leaves a lot of room for error. To make matters worse, there are no continues. You get three lives and then a GAME OVER. Luckily there is a trick out there to get unlimited continues. But even once you've discovered that, this game is highly frustrating. I myself didn't have the motivation to stick with it until the end.
In 2006 Hudson released a GBA cartridge in Japan as part of their Hudson Best series that actually featured all four Famicom Adventure Island games in a single release. As you might imagine this one is extremely sought after in the US considering it's a compilation of four games. Not to mention the fact that Adventure Island IV had never been brought to the US, even in the NES days. I personally can't comment on this release since I don't have a copy, but I'd be willing to guess that it's a pretty straight forward emulation of the Famicom titles.
So there you have it. A whole lot of Adventure Island in portable form. Let me know what you all think of any of these titles. Oh, and if anyone has that Hudson Best cart that they want to part with, feel free to let me know!
Heading back to the trusty ole' NES again for this one!
Would it surprise you if I said this game for the NES was a platformer/shooter with a space theme? No you say. It does seem to be a common style of game on the system (see previous Blogs such as Xexyz or Journey to Silius). I assume that why this title often gets overlooked.
What people are missing out on by not playing this game is something pretty neat though. Wait for it................................upside down platforming. It might sound a little hokey at first, but its actually a ton of fun. At any time during the game you can switch from a gravity obeying mech warrior to an upside down robot with a gun.
Each stage has some form of rooftop so that you can always bounce back and forth as desired. Sometimes this is to collect powerups, other times for tactical strategy and others yet for the sheer enjoyment of it.
Most of the levels are designed pretty straightforward, but stages 4 and 6 really stand out to me. In level 4 you play the whole area, including boss, trapped in a box. The box moves around the screen at (mostly) stationary enemies. Some you can kill and some you cannot. This makes for some very interesting platforming even though your stuck in a box.
Level 6 gets even better yet. The level scrolls downward constantly while you trek to the right of the screen. I have a hard time describing how cool it is so I found a video to help me out.
To get to the stage 6 part just skip ahead to about 2:30:
Metal Storm probably gets lumped in with a lot of other games because of the style and theme which I think is unfair. It actually translates the Sci-Fi setting into a really cool and playable game play mechanic. Definitely check it out if you haven’t yet. It can be a little harder to track down than some other NES games, but if you can find it for under $15 you've got yourself a solid deal.
The Cover Project is an amazing website that archives (you guessed it) covers for video games ranging the gamut of systems. However what's great about these covers is that they're not just straight up scans, they are actually reformatted to fit into different sized cases. For instance disc-based games are either available to be printed out to fit into CD jewel cases or DVD cases. Most cartridge based games are sized to fit into universal game cases. But of course what's most important to this blog is that there is an archive of Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance titles that are meant to fit into Nintendo DS cases. As you may be well aware DS cases have a slot to hold a GBA cartridge already. But three quick slices from a box-cutter can open it up to fit GB/GBC carts as well. This is great news for GB collectors as the great majority of GB/GBC/GBA carts found in the wild are just that: carts. No manual, no box. By visiting The Cover Project it's now possible to create an impressive looking library of games on a shelf that can be kept in alphabetical order with manuals packed-in. This certainly looks much better than piles of loose carts. Not to mention that once you hit the hundred mark and beyond, it gets exponentially more challenging to locate the cartridge that you're looking for in a pile.
As you can see from the image above, the ultimate advantage is that you will have a great looking streamlined GB collection. One where GB, GBC, GBA and even e-Reader titles sit snugly together. I've personally been doing this myself for the past couple of years. Every now and again I order a few boxes of DS cases from the Nintendo store, pick up a fresh pack of paper and ink from the office supply store and spend a couple of hours getting more of my stray carts into cases. It's always really exciting to add more cased games to the shelves.
However there is a bit of a problem, dear readers. And that's where you all come in. Since the "death" of the Game Boy Advance in 2007 I've noticed a steady decline in new GB/GBC/GBA submissions at The Cover Project. To illustrate my point, currently there are 146 original Game Boy covers available. To put that in perspective there were 506 licensed carts released in the United States, so 146 is really a pretty small portion of the library, not to mention if you take into account unlicensed games and the vast array of imports available. I know I personally have somewhere in the neighborhood of at least fifty carts that have yet to be added to The Cover Project. And so far there have only been eleven new covers added to the archive for the Game Boy in 2010. That's one a month. Which means we're a long way off.
So I'm asking for all you Game Boy Player Land enthusiasts out there to go through your collections and see what boxes you have that you could possibly scan and add to the archive. You don't even need to be artful enough to reformat these scans to the DS cover template, though of course that's a plus. But even scanning the front, back, and spine of the box and uploading them to the archive for others to finish will be a huge help. I know there's a community of GB-collectors out there that wish that had a case to put their games in, so it would mean a lot to more than just me.
Being a collector means that the internet is both your best friend and worst enemy. For every cheap game you're able to find on eBay or great trade through a message-board there's another elusive and expensive rarity out there taunting you. These are the kind of items that we didn't even know existed because we've never seen them mentioned before. So stumbling upon them feels like you're in on a special secret. That's exactly how I felt when I discovered the Konami Hyper Boy a few weeks ago.
The Hyper Boy was a unique accessory that Konami released in Japan for the original Game Boy. The idea is that the Game Boy would slip inside of the Hyper Boy and be turned into a tiny arcade machine. This is certainly novel, and of course appeals to fans of Game Boy shmups such as myself.
The unit itself runs on two D batteries, which as you might imagine add up to a considerable weight when coupled with the Hyper Boy and Game Boy (which already has its own four AA batteries inside). Sadly the Hyper Boy does not offer an AC Adapter option, which means those D batteries are your only option to power it. Luckily the Game Boy's AC port is still reachable though.
Besides the obvious addition of an arcade stick rather than D-pad, the Hyper Boy also incorporates a magnifying screen and front-light as well as an amplified speaker. Interestingly the arcade stick even has separate settings for four or eight directional controls.
Of course the real question is how well does it work? Well first off the magnification and light certainly helps the screen out, but it certainly can't deliver any miracles. The classic Game Boy screen is still going to be a challenge if you don't get the contrast just right. The added speaker on the other hand works quite well. It actually adds a nice bit of clarity and strength to the output. As far as the arcade stick goes, it's by no means arcade quality but it definitely does the job. The eight-way setting feels comfortable and loose enough on shmups like Konami's own Nemesis.
Though this accessory is far from perfect, it's also ridiculously unique. It was obviously made for a very niche audience, of which I'm definitely in attendance. Perhaps it's not the kind of device that every gamer would drool over, but for someone like me with such an affection for Game Boy shmups it's one of the crowning pieces in my collection.
Gaming websites are currently all going nuts celebrating the "25th Anniversary" of Mario. Of course we all know that Mario (as "Jumpman") has actually been around a bit longer than the NES, but really the birthday is in celebration of Super Mario Bros., undoubtedly an important game as it may have single-handedly rescued video games from the fallout of E.T. Or whatever other urban legend you feel is responsible for the great video game crash that left the landscape baron until the NES and its pack-in game Super Mario Bros. changed everything.
Personally I already had some gaming exposure before Mario hit it big on the NES. When I was a mere toddler my dad got me a Commodore 64 and a slew of educational titles in hopes that playing games on a TV might help me learn. And just before the NES became a household appliance, I also found myself the proud owner of a hand-me-down Atari 2600 and box of random games. But like many others my age, it was seeing that first Super Mario Bros. game at a friend's house that had me begging my parents for a NES, and beginning a longtime interest in video games. With all of this in mind, I thought it would be appropriate for the Game Boy Player Land blog to spend some time looking at the history of Super Mario platformers available on the various Game Boy systems.
The classic Super Mario Bros. was made available twice for Game Boy fans. In 2000 it was released as Super Mario Bros. Deluxe on the Game Boy Color. This is actually a bit of a remake as it features an overhead map view between levels, much like in Super Mario Bros. 3 and some enhanced graphics. However the biggest change in presentation is that holding Up or Down on the control pad will scroll the screen up or down. This is due to the change in screen resolution from the original NES version to the GBC version. For some gamers this subtle change is totally game-breaking, while others find it perfectly fine. I personally am somewhere in the middle. I'm not crazy about the screen-scroll, but the cartridge is a fine release, plus it includes The Lost Levels as a bonus (see below).
Super Mario Bros. was then ported to the Game Boy Advance in 2004 as part of the Classic NES Series. This edition is a rather perfect port of the original NES title with no enhancements whatsoever. This edition will surely appeal more to purists, although it's a lot more expensive to hunt down and has no extra's like the GBC Deluxe release. Though it must be said that the game really does look excellent while taking up the full GBA screen.
Super Mario Bros. 2 was released as a launch title for the Game Boy Advance under the perplexing and annoyingly new title Super Mario Advance. This version is based on the Super Mario All-Stars version originally released on the SNES. There's two major differences in this release from the SNES version. First is that it features a much-needed save feature. This is good. Second, all four characters now have added voices which are used way too often. This is bad. But if you can get past the voices, this is a great port of a great game. (And like all the Super Mario Advance titles, it includes the original Mario Bros. as a bonus.)
The "real" Super Mario Bros. 2, known here in the US as The Lost Levels found two different releases on Game Boy systems. The GBC cart Super Mario Bros. Deluxe actually featured it as an unlockable once you beat the first game. This two-for-one fact alone makes Deluxe a total necessity. This port of Lost Levels also features the scroll up/down feature found in the GBC version of the first game, and is also supposedly slightly easier, which in a sense defeats the purpose of the game's existence.
The game was also released as part of the Famicom Mini series of Game Boy Advance games in Japan. The Famicom Mini series was Japan's version of the US Classic NES series. Much like you might expect, this GBA version is an exact port of the Famicom version of the game. As such it's completely sought after by collectors, and considerably pricey to import.
Super Mario Bros. 3 was re-released as the fourth volume in the stupidly out-of-chronological-order Super Mario Advance series on the GBA. This one is also based on the SNES All-Stars port of the game, and also features some added annoying voice work. However, this particular release is the most interesting of all the titles released in this series due to its compatibility with the Nintendo e-Reader. If you can find the e-cards, there are actually ten additional levels that can be played for the first time in Super Mario Bros. 3. Think of it as a very early experiment in DLC. Considering this is one of the greatest games ever made, this should get at least some of you out there hunting for e-cards.
Super Mario World was the 2nd GBA release in the Super Mario Advance series, and the porting from the SNES to the GBA looks excellent. Perhaps I'm slightly biased because it happens to be my absolute favorite 2D Mario game of all time. So I'm not sure there's much I can tell you, other than it's basically a close to perfect port of the SNES game. And that's a good thing. (Oh, and there's still some stupid voice work.)
The sometimes overlooked Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island was also released as part of the GBA Super Mario Advance series. However it strangely dropped the "Super Mario World 2" part of its title upon re-release. Having said that, this game looks staggeringly good on the Game Boy Advance. Many gamers missed the original game as it appeared very late in the SNES' lifespan, which is too bad as it basically showed off a lot of graphical effects that most people probably didn't realize that the SNES was capable of. On the same token, although the GBA is technically more powerful than the SNES, somehow this title still looks astonishing in this re-release. It's a huge bonus that the game is an epic, challenging and quirky adventure that is as addicting as it is fun.
Super Mario Land was actually a launch title for the original Game Boy. As such it is often overlooked as a "dated" entry in the series. However really it's a totally unique and amazing title. Sure it's way too short. But it's also full of incredible music, interesting levels (including shmup-inspired ones) and weird enemies. It's a bit of a black-sheep in the series, much like the US Super Mario Bros. 2, but both titles are deserving of respect based on their own unique merits.
The second Super Mario Land is one of those Game Boy games that even Game Boy detractors have to admit is amazing. It's a huge game full of the kind of characters and well thought out levels you would have been expecting on the SNES at the time. This game is ridiculously awesome, allowing you to roam the overworld map and tackle the levels in any order you wish. Each world has its own theme and each is full of references to other extremes of the series. This one is amazing.
I originally planned to not mention this one, as it's really far more the first game in the Wario Land series than it is the third game in the Mario Land series. But alas, I knew if I left it out I'd be left with a lot of angry comments and maybe a decapitated Koopa left in my bed. In my own personal opinion, Wario Land is the definition of a "transitional game." It's nowhere near as good as the Mario Land games that preceded it, nor is it as genre-defying as the Wario Land sequels that would follow it. Really it's just a pretty run of the mill platformer with some decent ideas that would be fleshed out later.
Phew. Well there we have it. Of course there are a million other Mario-related games on the Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance and e-Reader, but going through everything is far beyond the scope of this post. I may try to outline some of the fringe releases later, namely the sports titles and so on. But please feel free to use the comments section below to add your own personal thoughts, memories, etc on these titles!
I'm sure by now, most of you have heard of a growing auction site, Game Gavel, formerly known as Chase The Chuckwagon. If you have been living under a rock for the past two and a half years, and haven't heard of Game Gavel, its an auction site created by gamers and collectors for gamers and collectors, aimed at being an alternative to eBay by saving sellers money and giving buyers great deals at the same time. I won't bore you with the details, but they do have a nice Game Gavel vs eBay comparison page you may want to take a look at.
So now you're probably wondering what this has to do with RF Generation, and don't worry, I wasn't paid off to convince you to join Game Gavel. But RF Generation and Game Gavel have become partners of sorts. Have you noticed that little Game Gavel logo on the right over there under "Our Friends"? That's there because the people over at Game Gavel really are our friend, they have graciously added RF Generation to their "Friends" listing viewable on every page on their website, which I'm sure has brought in more than a few new members.
But wait, there's more!
As a special bonus to RF Generation members, Game Gavel has added us to a select group of affiliations. What this means is that as an RF Generation and Game Gavel member, you can now add your RFG username to your Game Gavel profile.This will display an RFG badge next to your auction listings and will allow buyers to search for items for sale by RF Generation members!
So, if you're not a member of Game Gavel, then what are you waiting for? It's free to join and cheap to sell. And it certainly doesn't hurt to take a look, you won't know if that game you've been looking for is there unless you take peek. If you do sign up for Game Gavel, be sure to add your RF Generation username to the Affiliations section.
If you're already experiencing the greatness of Game Gavel and have an account, its easy to add your RF Generation affiliation. When logged on, simply click "Members" in the blue bar and then under "Account Tools" click "Update Contact Info/Change Password" and the fifth section down is where you add your RF Generation username.
And if you want to see what your fellow RF Generation members are selling on Game Gavel, you can click "Advanced Search" up by the main search box, and simply check the box for RF Generation.
If you've used Game Gavel already, share your stories in the comments below.
September 2010 saw the release of the first mass-produced Game Boy Color homebrew cartridge that I know of, a Puzzler called Chunkout. This is really a pretty big deal. Slowly Game Boy Advance homebrew carts are becoming more and more common, but a Game Boy Color release seems almost unheard of. The truth is that just the historical aspect of this release would have made it a must-have for me anyway, but it so happens I love GBC Puzzlers. So bonus! When it arrived in my mailbox last month I have to say that it was one of the most impressive unboxings for a homebrew release that I've ever experienced.
The work that went into producing these games is amazing. It's almost hard to believe that these were assembled by hand. Opening up that box -- which was incredible to see a new boxed GBC in 2010 -- it was great to see the colorful manual, and pristine little "Game" cartridge. There's no doubt that Chunkout is an immense labor of love. This is a release for GG-freaks, by GB-freaks.
Chunkout is a classic block-Puzzler that involves dissolving clusters of like-colored blocks in the hopes that you won't be left with a single block. The game is far more difficult than it sounds, and will really work out your brain. Its gameplay offers up a rather quick thrust of complete addiction. It's a fantastic release that all Game Boy Color puzzle fans should seek out fast, as the initial (and possibly only) run is limited to 100 copies.
Posted on Nov 3rd 2010 at 05:00:00 AM by (noiseredux) Posted under Music
Back in 2003 composer Manfred Linzer released a CD entitled Iridion 3D & II Perfect Selection, which as you might guess compiled the music from the two Game Boy Advance Iridion games. Now as a huge fan of Game Boy related Shmups, this was a huge deal to me when I found out that such a CD existed. Unfortunately my quest led me to the realization that the soundtrack was only released in Germany, in small numbers and it's pretty impossible to find now anywhere. However Mr. Linzer himself pointed me to the fact that the entire soundtrack had been digitally re-released this very year. So with that in mind I urge you all to go download this badboy. Though certainly I would prefer a physical copy, this is still a must-have release in any format you can find it. And it's important to support someone who put so much work into such a fun game (Iridion II is unbelievable -- I know I've plugged it before, but if you haven't played it yet I'm not sure what you're waiting for).
Well, this episode took a lot longer than everyone was hoping. We had some things planned that didn't pan out, but we also have some cool new features that will help make the future episodes even better!
0:54 - What's New on Channel 3? 1:17 - Gaming News 12:15 - PlayStation Move/Kinect talk 28:53 - Brand Old Game: Eternal Darkness 36:57 - Top 5 37:37 - Outro
You can now comment in the forums, comment in this blog post, e-mail us(!), and even call us(!!!). We hope to be able to take your quick questions over any subject via e-mail at podcast@rfgeneration.com. You can also call us and leave a message! We can play your question or comment in the episode and we'll even respond to it! That number is (318) RFG-TIP5 or (318) 734-8475.
The Together Retro game club over at http://racketboy.com played a double feature for October that consisted of King Of The Monsters (Genesis, Neo Geo, SNES) and Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee (GameCube, PS2, XBox). Of course I gave both titles a chance. You see I'm not only an avid participator in the Together Retro game club -- I'm also a big Godzilla fan, so a double feature of giant monster games seemed like a blast to me. Unfortunately neither game really blew me away all that much.
King Of The Monsters I had played before in its Genesis incarnation around the time it originally was released. I remember not being too enthused back then, but figured I'd give it another shot. Basically it came off as a wrestling game, only you were a giant lizard or monster and instead of a ring you fought on top of a city. The idea is certainly cool, but there's a few things that I didn't care for about it. First of all, it's almost annoying that the few characters to choose from are so obviously meant to be Godzilla-like characters. Instead they're just second-rate Kaiju-wannabes. Not to mention that there's very little distinction from one character to the next. Unlike in a game like Street Fighter where character selection is important, the move set is so similar from character to character in King Of The Monsters that it's almost uninteresting. But worse of all is the controls. I just don't feel like the controls are responsive, or well thought out. Ultimately King Of The Fighters falls into the old button-mashing category.
As far as Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee goes, it at least sidestepped many of the mistakes that King Of The Monsters made. Of course the big draw is that the Godzilla license is present here. Once you unlock them all in story mode, there's a pretty hefty roster of Kaiju to choose from, which is awesome. And although there's no denying that the graphics in this game are breathtaking, I personally preferred the 2D charm of King Of The Fighters. Of course graphics are something I can always get by as long as the game is good, but ultimately I really found the controls here overwhelming. I also found the monsters to move too sluggishly, which I suppose is more realistic but not really as fun. Add to that the cheapness of the AI, which meant that I was often being ravaged in Round 2.
Oh if only there was a game that took all the awesome stuff from these two titles and avoided all the crap! If only there was a 2D melee Fighter that used real Godzilla monsters and had excellent controls! If only there was a game where I could play as King Ghidorah! Most likely you realize that I'm getting around to the fact that there is such a game. And if you read the title of this blog post then you may have guessed that it's called Godzilla: Domination! and it was released for the Game Boy Advance in 2002.
Yes that's right, Godzilla: Domination rules. You get to play as the king lizard himself along with the aforementioned and ridiculously awesome King Ghidorah, Mechagodzilla, Mecha-King Ghidorah, Megalon, Mothra and Rodan. Each of them has their own specific special moves, which is useful while pummeling other monsters all over the globe. The graphics are fantastic. They resemble the 16-bit King Of The Monsters style quite a bit, but are far more detailed on the 32-bit hardware with no sign of slowdown even during four-way melee action. Bottom line: this game is great. Go get it!
Like many fellow gamers, as a child I once had a dream. My occasional exploits in various mall and theater arcades ballooned my tweeny-bopper imagination into what I could, would do as an adult flush with money, time, and ambition. I had visions as to what an arcade should be, how it would look, what it would contain, and how it should be run. By golly, once I got a real job, made some decent money, and convinced a bank that I was going to make a fortune off of this, I would build the ultimate arcade, have my dream job, unlimited play time, and live like I always wanted. It was so simple. So elegant. I would succeed where others failed because I would take my sense of what kids want and bring it into the adult world where no-one understood what kids really want, and therefore what would be profitable.
I would also keep a refrigerator stocked with those little plastic barrel 'Hugs' drinks because I only got one or two at a time and I was always thirstier than that.
Like many of you, I grew older and the reality of that grand arcade dream just faded away. Maybe we got wind of the actual costs of running a business. Maybe we did the math and realized what little profit is seen from such an industry. More than likely, consoles overtook our attention once the graphics on home systems deflated the wonder out of the darkened, noisy, expensive dreamlands. More than likely, we just forgot and let the dream die a slow, silent whimper.
But a few never let that stop them.
Enter the Metreon, a 350,000 square foot 'urban entertainment destination' built in 1999 by Sony. Located in downtown San Francisco, the 85 million dollar project was to enforce Sony's hip image by offering gaming, food, exhibitions, shopping, music, and movies, as well as to showcase new technology. It was to be Sony's public hub for everything from Playstation to Anime.
One floor was an arcade full of original games called Airtight Garage, based on the graphic novel by French comic artist and graphic designer Jean "Moebius" Giraud.
It failed. Here's how wikipedia puts it:
"The Airtight Garage's games proved unpopular, with the exception of HyperBowl, a 3D obstacle course bowling game featuring air-supported bowling balls used as trackballs, and they eventually were gradually replaced by other, better-known games, until the arcade was finally closed, then reopened as "Portal One," which preserved the decor, full bar, and Hyperbowl but was otherwise a more typical arcade. Sunday May 13, 2007 was Portal One arcade's last day of operation. The arcade was relaunched again as a Tilt." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metreon)
The fall of the Metreon itself, a shining example of the results of Sony's corporate mentality at the turn of the century, is better understood from this article: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi...006/02/24/BUGSVHDITS1.DTL
Enter...me. I've been visiting here in San Fran for a week, towing along a 360 hidden in the laundry luggage and hoping to finally burn through FFXIII without toddler distractions. Throw in an ancient TV in our hotel that only takes RF and with a screen so fuzzy text is all but illegible, and I'm out looking for something, anything video game related. An extensive search proved nothing but Gamestops as far as the taxi can see. Then I learn of the Metreon due to my smart, talented, and still incredibly appealing wife. I was unprepared for what awaited me.
It...was MY arcade. The design, the aesthetics, the games, everything was as I envisioned in my youth. The mock-up props of techno-industrial equipment, the pop sci-fi neon and oversized circuitry designs, the fake cables and wiring, all of the stuff I lovingly surrounded myself with as a kid.
(Yes, if you looked closely, they misspelled 'Crhono.' ?!?)
Snack machines, energy drink machines, even a bar!
Virtual bowling against the wall, half a dozen Dance Dance machines and their variants, air hockey, a dozen different light gun games including House of the Dead 4 and Time Crisis: Razing Storm, all of the fighting greats including Marvel Vs Capcom 2, various Tekkens, various King of Fighters, even Super Street Fighter IV. A four player setup for Daytona USA as well as a few other racers, Skee-ball, and a three screen Sega Strike Fighter DX. The list just went on and on...
(Not shown, for reasons explained below, was the gigantic Terminator Hunter Killer-like statue in front of the arcade that also housed ticket counter machines. Yeah, for real.)
I quickly realized two things: One, if given the space and funds, this is the arcade I truly would have built. There was honestly not much I would have changed. And two:
It would have failed miserably, as this one did.
The place was dead. During a Friday evening, only a few people entered and left in the two hours I was there. Out of those I only saw a few games played, including an arcade machine of Deal or No Deal. I'm doing my best not to judge here people, but for crying out loud, that just seems to me the most worthless game to make into an arcade cab. At least most game shows have trivia or something. Compared to the lottery that is Deal or No Deal, there's more skill involved in a game of Peggle.
Hmmm...Peggle Arcade...there's an idea...
But I digress.
My goal was to show in dozens of pictures the wondrous, lost glory of this place, this fallen dream of mine and doubtless others who visit this site. Unfortunately, as soon as I started near the entrance, the lady behind the counter gave me frantic hand gestures and told me I wasn't allowed to take pictures. She said it was in their training manual, and she seemed to genuinely try to be nice about it. Tempting as it is to call her out as a Nazi dictator, I know she was only doing her job. Still, as Metal Gear Solid music thumped out of my mind's ear, I did my best to sneak a few shots with my digital camera of Metal Gear Rex the dimly lit arcade before flooding the tanker to cover my tracks thanking the nice lady and leaving. Hence the poor quality of the pics, and not at all because of the fact that I'm not very good with a camera.
And as I wandered the giant catacomb of cabinets, this enterprise that was no longer alive with energy and people, with giant speakers on the ceiling oddly silent and the various motorized colored lights staring vacantly, I knew I was touring the living dead of retail arcades. Here was the experience in all its beauty, its gaudy, obnoxious, glorious beauty; and nobody cared. It was dead, and just didn't know it. Doubtlessly loosing money, or at best just scraping by, only a matter of time. I felt a childhood dream wither in defeat.
While traditional arcades have been on the decline for decades, and their waning mostly attributed to the rise of technologically superior home consoles and lack of public interest, two additional factors were present and obvious.
Here's one:
Yep, I know inflation accounts for this, and I've already written a post on gaming value. But it cost $1.50 for me and my beloved to try out House of the Dead 4, and we lasted for less than half a minute. Granted, there were older games with a little bit cheaper prices, but overall the experience felt expensive for a guy used to adding games to his collection for a buck apiece.
The other I couldn't capture well with my guerrilla-style camera work; several screens and monitors were damaged. Usually bad or distorted color or separate ghosted outlines, lots of image burn-in, and dark screens. The techie/gamer in me screamed "c'mon, guys! This could easily be replaced!" But reality hit me as quickly once I saw the price stickers on each cabinet. It just wasn't fiscally worth spending another hundred dollars or more on a machine you were already trying to sell for a few hundred. Or less. It doesn't take much wrong with a screen to turn someone away from wanting to play. And it doesn't take much damage to a cab only a few years old to make it unlikely to get the money back after repair.
My heart sank upon realizing that there were some awesome cabs here for easily affordable prices, but they might as well have the same ticket as a Ferrari for as much as it would cost to ship them over 2500 miles back to my home.
As a collector who owns more games than I'll ever be able to play, it may seem a silly thing to lament. Yet like everything in life, the presentation is a large part of the experience. Picking up the Wii ports of Gunblade NY and LA Machineguns Arcade Hits Pack is a solid reminder that some games just aren't, and never will be, the same at home. Sure, arcade cabs will likely survive in some form, but my kids will probably never see an arcade like this when they get to be teenagers. And given the fate of this one perhaps its just as well. Although some things, once lost, can't be replaced. And some dreams, from a fiscal perspective, are best never realized.
I'm sure by now, most of you have heard of a growing auction site, 
