[img align=right]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/repository/4790319754737ba3ac4734old_TV.jpg[/img] So, in between my Pavement Problems I've been playing Guitar Hero, but today I noticed something as I was up close to the game. Sound was only coming out of the center speaker of my sound system. Nothing in the subwoofer, rear, or front speakers, just the center speaker. I didn't think much of it, as my receiver does DSP, which I promptly turned on. How humorous then is it when Tondog sends me a link mentioning that the Wii version of Guitar Hero III was in fact shipped with only Mono Sound. For a game that touts the music, certainly this is a low blow, and this screw up should have been caught in the really stringent QA that I guess Activision really does not have. Here's to you, Activision. Charging $90 for a gimped product, I certainly hope that the money you saved on skipped QA time will cover the costs of this screw up.
[img width=300 align=right]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/hardware/U-052/bf/U-052-H-00010-A.jpg[/img]The 3DO REAL Interactive Multiplayer (3DO) system is one of those consoles that is either loved or hated by those in the gaming community. Released by Panasonic in September of 1993, this new gaming machine was one of the first entries within the 32-bit gaming era. The developer, The 3DO Company, was created by Trip Hawkins, co-founder of Electronic Arts. Their aim was to create the first 32-bit system that truly delivered a 3D gaming experience. On many levels they achieved this objective and were successful in pioneering some technological advances in both hardware and software for the time. 3DO had an eager audience yearning to upgrade their outdated 16-bit systems (notably the Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo and NEC Turbo Grafx systems).
The 3DO Company did not actually construct any of the 3DO systems, but instead chose to develop the technology and license it to third party manufacturers (Panasonic, Goldstar, Sanyo and AT&T). With very affordable licensing fees and a heavy marketing campaign, the 3DO seemed destined to become the system of choice. Unfortunately, this opportunity was squandered by the steep $699 USD ($1228 USD in todays dollars) offering price which alienated much of the video gaming community. Most game munufacturers expect initial financial losses on console sales with the thought that they will make it up in royalty fees and software sales. Since the manufacturers would never see any of these profits (since The 3DO Company owned these rights, Pansonic, Goldstar and Sanyo had to gain a profit on each system that was sold. Hence the high price point.).
Aesthetically, the 3DO system (any version) is nothing to write home about. Each is rather nondescript and belies the potent technology under its hood. There were five (5) releases of the home system:
1993 Panasonic FZ-1 REAL 3DO Interactive Multiplayer (1st release with a sturdy plastic housing, front loading CD, high price tag
1994 Panasonic FZ-10 REAL 3DO Interactive Multiplayer (Redesigned housing with a more reliable top loading system at a lower cost)
1994 Goldstar 3DO Interactive Multiplayer (Black/dark grey machine featuring a more reliable front loading CD tray
1994 Goldstar 3DO Alive II (South Korea only. Wikipedia reference. No details available. I dont have this one.)
1994 Sanyo TRY 3DO Interactive Multiplayer (Japan only. Solid system release in Japan that is highly collectable in the US and abroad.)
1994 AT&T 3DO (Never released to the public that can be confirmed. The most visually appealing of the lot, if it had been released.)
[img width=300 align=left]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/hardware/U-052/bf/U-052-H-00010-B.jpg[/img]The 3DO was powered by a 32-bit 12.5 MHz RISC CPU (ARM60) with a math co-processor and separate video co-processors which rendered games in true 24 bit color and was able to display FMV (Full Motion Video). This hardware was a great leap forward in 1993 and was revolutionary for the time. The 3DO featured an internal drive that was utilized for saving games and caching game data during play. Sound is delivered in crisp 16-bit full stereo and with Dolby Surround Sound technology (one of the first to incorporate this into a console). The interface of the console featured power and CD eject buttons with only one controller port. The controllers, while very comfortable and intuitive, required the 2nd controller to be plugged into the "master" controller to enable two (2) gaming ("daisy-chained"). Obviously, this set up was not a good call by 3DO.
With the exception of the controller configuration, the 3DO hardware technology was all good news. One thing was forgotten in the process (and that we have seen repeated in subsequent "next gen" systems even to today). Game play.
The 3DO library of games is not the worst of all time (that honor belongs to the Philips CD-i in my opinion), but it is not out of the bottom ten. Relying too heavily on the new technology that was afforded them, games for the 3DO often relied upon FMV to attempt to deliver the gaming experience. What was forgotten was the actual game play and development. FMV production was costly at that time and, though impressive in 1993, did not offer much to the gamer other than eye candy. The frame rate of the FMV (and FMV-based games) was a bit choppy at times. That being said, lets proceed to the actual games. [img width=300 align=right]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/hardware/U-052/bf/U-052-H-00010-C.jpg[/img] There were a number of great games released for the 3DO. Notable hits include Road Rash (best version on any platform), The Need For Speed, PGA Tour Golf 1996, Madden Football, Out Of This World, the ShockWave series and the highly collectable Luciennes Quest. The 3DO also released the game Night Trap, a FMV game featuring Dana Plato (know from the 1980s hit TV series Different Strokes and subsequent adult movie fame), which was the catalyst in the creation of the ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board) which we now see today. Unfortunately, for every great game that was released there were 9 others than were truly brutal.
Games came originally packaged in long, tall boxes made of sturdy cardboard with a hard, black plastic lining to protect them. Later releases were distributed in cheap cardboard boxes that collapsed easily, or in standard CD style cases. Many collectors hate the long original boxes since they do not stand up well and are difficult to display (due to size and poor construction on many). Personally, I love the old-style boxes. The art work is generally very good and there is just something about them for me (like, but not as great as the Neo Geo carts) that I like. It may be just that they are different from every other game packaging.
Overall, the 3DO was a somewhat innovative console in 1993 but lacked the attention to gaming that caused this systems demise (along with its absurd initial price). The Sony Playstation, released in December of 1994, ultimately put the stake in this systems heart. 3DO attempted to make a comeback in 1997 with its second generation (3DO 2 / Panasonic M2), but that is for another article.
This console is a recommended purchase for any gamer. A working, original FZ-1 model is sought after by many due to its place in gaming history and will run you around $40 USD (CIB $90). The FZ-10 is the most reliable. Expect to pay $30 ($70 CIB). The Goldstar version is a little more rare, with a going rate of around $40 ($90 CIB). The Sanyo TRY is the most expensive. Expect to pay $200 for a CIB system plus $65 shipping if coming from Japan to the US.
[img align=right width=200]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/repository/538275589473727706723cred-ring-of-death-rrod.jpg[/img] Well, some of you may be aware of the Spike TV Video Game Awards. It's pretty much a show of which games are the most violent, bloody games on the market, not necessarily the best, unless of course you thoroughly enjoy only violent, mature games. Certainly, this list is a reflection of our culture's Roman Tendencies. I thoroughly look forward to the day when I can watch prisoner's fight to the death against each other at the local stadium. I hope they are given random weapons, ranging from truly awesome to absolutely absurd. Who wants to fight to the death with a rubber chicken? Certainly, I do not.
So yeah, without further ado, here is are the nominations for the Game of the Year:
Game of the Year BioShock (360) Halo 3 (360) Mass Effect (360) The Orange Box (360)
Hmm... how, Microsoft skewed. Apparently Microsoft is kick ass in the violence department. The rest of the nominations are found after the jump.
The One-Laptop-Per-Child program (see laptop.org) is a long running effort to make an internet-accessible computer available to the masses at an affordable sub-one-hundred-dollar price point. Decades in the making, this is one of the greatest humanitarian efforts towards improved education ever, and will certainly be used by children worldwide in the near future.
The program turned down the free and almighty ubiquitous Linux ALL HAIL! and other commercial software systems in favor of a proprietary one, yet they accepted a meaningful donation from one of the biggest companies in the video game industry. Electronic Arts is donating the original SimCity to the OLPC program. The "SimCity" and "Sims" franchises are the largest PC game franchises ever created. In education, it found use in over 10,000 classrooms and even some national tournaments.
Originally released in 1989, SimCity was originally a game where the user could control his own municipality. The unintended benefit to players was that they learned about real-world community services and how to properly manage resources. The appeal of the game was the complex balance of how to: manage taxes and the economy, design roadways, supply water and energy to business and residences, provide law enforcement and medical services, and be prepared for fires or natural disasters. Decades after initial release, the game is expected to be a welcome introduction to children getting acquainted with their new laptops.
[img width=300 align=right]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/hardware/C-124/hw/C-124-H-00010-A_00.jpg[/img]One of the lesser known consoles released by Nintendo, the iQue debuted in China on November 17, 2003. The published intention of this system was to allow gamers easy and affordable access to past Nintendo game releases for both the Super Nintendo/Famicom and N64. In reality, the truth behind its incarnation seems to lie somewhere in between their attempt to govern the illegal distribution of game ROMs while profiting from the reissuing of past games. Though plans to release the iQue worldwide were in the works at the time, this console was only sold in China. Targeting the Chinese audience was not done by accident - digital copyright laws differ significantly from those employed in the US.
Strongly resembling a plug-n-play device, the iQue is indeed a stand alone console on all levels. The iQue does not offer anything new to the gaming world technologically. Inside this system resides a R-4300 64Bit CPU that is based on the same chip used in the Nintendo 64. Graphically, games are able to be displayed using 2 million colors at a maximum rate of 100,000 polygons per second. This sturdy, stylistic unit plugs directly into the television AV ports. Though only one controller interface is provided, an expansion pack is offered, sold separately, allowing multiplayer gaming.
[img width=300 align=left]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/hardware/C-124/bf/C-124-H-00020-A.jpg[/img] Now to the games. There are no new ones. The iQue solely uses ports of existing games from the Super Nintendo/Famicom and N64. Games are played from and stored on 64 MB flash cards that are inserted into the bottom of the unit. The system itself comes with time-limited demos of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Super Mario 64, and Star Fox 64. Additional titles are purchased through official iQue distributors (downloaded onto the flash cards). Games are exactly as they were at the time of their original release, though graphics have been updated slightly. Game downloads sold for $5-$10 USD. A nice thing about the system was that the Flash cards are rewritable but retains your download history for purchased games (so you can reinstall them at no charge if you run out of room and need to delete a title). There are 14 known game ports for this system.
Overall, this console is nothing more than a compact, glorified SNES/N64 port machine aimed at thwarting piracy (ROMs) and attempting to cash in as well. These systems are somewhat rare, but not entirely. Do not spend a great deal in investing in these systems. A CIB unit should run you around $100 USD, with about $45 S/H from China. This console should go up in price in time due to its limited release in China. If making the purchase, due so for collection purposes only, not for a new gaming experience.
In a surprising move, EA has shut down their Chicago studio and is moving its 150+ employees to other studios owned by them. In a company memo, Frank Gibeau (President of EA Games) mentioned that the reason the studio will be shut down is that it has not been profitable and is not expected to be profitable. What's really strange about the whole situation is that they only started in 2004 and have done just two games, Fight Night Round 3 and Def Jam Icon. I don't understand why EA would close down a studio after only two games.
The future of their in-development games (a Def Jam Icon sequel and a Marvel comics fighting game using the Def Jam Icon/Fight Night Round 3 engine) is unknown. However, I do hope the those two games get made because I LOVED Def Jam Icon (the demo at least) and I would love to see a game using Marvel characters made with that same engine. It could be especially fun with all the environmental damage and weapons found in Icon, like throwing people into the car wash or into a gas pump.
If you have a Playstation 3 or an Xbox 360, consider checking out Fight Night Round 3 and Def Jam Icon as both games are quite fun.
So, best of luck EA Chicago employees. Hope the closure doesn't hit you too hard.
So, I was checking out Surfer Girl Reviews Star Wars for the latest insider gaming information, and she posted this YouTube video, claiming it was the best game trailer ever. Reluctantly, I played the clip. Five seconds in, my head asploded...
Believe? Mad World? FORGET THAT! They aren't Rasta Style, now are they? That's right, a Bob Marley mobile phone game based on crappy flash games. I...I...I can't believe that Hudson got the rights to use Bob Marley's likeness for this "game".
You know, this is why the gaming industry is going down the crapper these days. People are willing to make crappy games for a quick buck, even if it means raping the legacy of a legendary person.
[img align=right width=200]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/repository/698338985472fde474de08flag_japan_naval.gif[/img]All hail our Nipponese Overlords. We know not where we would be if we did not have our PlayStation, Wii, or precious Sega (you know, the good, pre I whore out Sonic sega). We look forward to the day where like in the land of our Overlords, there is a Ramen machine on every street corner. Who needs crack anyways when you have ramen. Today, we celebrate our overlords and their interesting gaming culture.
First off, we have a game to talk about. It's called Radiant Silvergun. It's a shooter. Apparently, it is damn good. I also hear that it was developed by Treasure. I hear that so long as we forget around Wario World, Treasure is a damn good company. Sin and Punishment, Mischief Makers... thank our Overlords for affording us the opportunity to play games by this development house. Next, let's talk about the featured image. Look at it. It has a GUNDAM. Who doesn't like the GUNDAM!? You should be careful of how you answer that, your overlords may come and whisk you into nothingness via this behemoth. Worship our Overlord and their mightly GUNDAMS!
Next, we talk of the past of the company that prints money. You know, Nintendo. There was an add on for their hugely popular and enslaving piece of hardware we affectionately call the SNES stateside, or as they call it in the land of our overlords, the Super Famicom. Check out this add-on. Worship its might.
Lastly, we honor the collector that is truly devoted to our overlords. This one goes out to you, Fuyukaze. Our overlords command for your continued devotion. WORSHIP THEM!
As a friendly reminder, do not forget to thank your overlords for this wonderful day before you fall asleep. You never know when they may be listening.
Tiger Woods 2008, released on multiple platforms this past September by EA Sports, has endured a beating normally reserved for rent-a-cars on most forums. Most of the complaints revolve around game freezes, instable EA online servers, lack of character clothing options and most importantly the hair-trigger analog controls. To the delight of old-school gamers, and possibly a welcomed addition to frustrated analog video golfers, EA (Electronic Arts) has brought back an old friend, the 3-Click swing meter. This article is not necessarily a full review of Tiger Woods 2008, but more of reflection on the reintroduction of this swing meter interface.
I admit I am an older gamer, and have been a fan of video golf games for some 30 years. I started out playing Computer Golf for the Odyssey II at home and Birdie King at the arcades. I was thrilled with the evolution of the golf game genre on all platforms including Big Event Golf (arcade), the PGA Tour series on the Sega Genesis, and the Links series for the PC. My virtual golf life ended with the release of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2001. The new analog stick swing interface replaced my tried and trusted ways. This was devastating for me. I did not have the time (due to work), to master this new video swing technology. I became frustrated since my drives off the tee went only 167 yards and usually in the trees or the muck bordering the fairway (on a good day, it being my fairway). Sure, there was Swing Away Golf for the PS2 that was the one game that still employed the 3-Click swing meter for the next generation systems (at that time) . It was just not the same game as my beloved PGA Tour series.
I first downloaded on the Xbox 360 the demo of Tiger Woods 2008 once I read that the 3-Click swing meter was brought back from the dead. Obviously I was very happy to be reacquainted with an old friend. I could once again compete off/on-line with a certain degree of competency right away. Naysayers will argue that the 3-Click swing meter makes things too easy and does not truly test the video golfers skill. I can not say that I completely disagree with this. However, EA did reopen up a market to all of the people that grew up playing and loving the original PGA Tour series.
Most of the complaints on this game have been addressed through two (2) game updates. Remaining issues mostly revolve around computer player AI and online play/server performance.
Overall, I am thoroughly enjoying Tiger Woods 2008 (Xbox 360 version). Though there are some problems with it, the reintroduction of the 3-Click swing meter has made me a born-again follower of the series.
Life on the links has been revived for us old-school video golf gamers!
Its late at night (on a weekday nonetheless) and a concerned mother pulls the "air card" (and soon hides it) to end her kid's Halo 3 online session, urging him to go to bed. Instead of being crafty and sneaking out to play later, he then proceeds to aggressively search the house for his missing wireless card, with his mother attempting to restrain him the entire time.
Push comes to shove... and well... this enraged kid punches his own mom.
He never found the missing wireless card, and locked himself away in his bedroom to continue playing the game. Meanwhile, his parents call over police. Sheriff's Deputy Sean Harnage and another Deputy respond to a call of an "out-of-control child" at about 11:30PM. The kid remains locked in his room while his parents urge him to come out and share words with the deputies. Profane words fly, and the parents use a key to let the officers into the locked room. Harnage catches a punch to the face while fighting to make the arrest.
End result: off to jail for battery in domestic violence, and battery against a law-enforcement officer.
I haven't seen or heard anything this disturbing since the . Shame on you mother-puncher. Shame.
Some lucky guy in Marina, California managed to snag Rock Band early from the local Best Buy there. Instead of setting the game up as a demo, the Best Buy accidentally put it out for sale. This guy, "timenz", spotted it, bought it, and put it up on eBay. Needless to say, EA was not very pleased by this at all and gave the man a call asking him to return the game to the store. However, he did not do that. Then he got a call from Best Buy saying that if he returned it, he would receive a full refund and a $100 gift card, but he still refused to do it. He kept the eBay listing up, and now it is going for $326 (as of the time this article was posted).
So, fellow gamer nerds, what would you do in this situation? Auction it or return it for $100?
I'd auction it. He's doing quite well for himself if I must say so myself.
No one should be forgotten. Such was the statement of the first webmaster of the site, and such is our ideology today. To help people get a grasp of those who contribute to our site, I have made submission stats available to view. They can be found under the submit menu as Submission Stats. Please note that these stats only are valid back to about November of 2006, when we began logging submissions. I apologize if you made a lot of submissions prior to November of last year. I wish I could say that we have logged your submission, but we just have no feasible way to determine when you made submissions. Your submissions though will always be documented on each game or hardware page.
I hope you enjoy the new toy, and stay tuned... more is to follow when you keep it on channel 3.
Typically I wouldn't cover ad campaigns, but I felt this one was kind of important to cover. Not just because it's Sony (admittedly, that's a part of it), but because this new campaign Sony is going to roll out is perhaps one of the best I've seen backing a game console.
As many of you may remember, PS3 ads from last year were filled with creepy babies, exploding Rubix Cubes, and eggs. Those ads caught a lot of heat for not showing off any games or being too artsy. Regardless, I thought they were alright in a David Lynchian abstract kind of way (speaking of David Lynch, look up his ads for the PS2, they're awesome).
However on Playstation.Blog, Peter Dille, Senior Vice President, Marketing & PLAYSTATION Network, announced the beginning of a new era in PS3 ads. No more abstract ads like last year, now there will be ads actually showing off games, the online capabilities, and other features of the system. As Peter said "The games are here, the price point is now $399 and we wanted to make the news loud and clear. But we need to deliver that in a way that befits the PlayStation brand." So, the result is this new ad:
Perhaps the best console ad ever. It's so damn good it makes me want to get another PS3. Peter also says that more ads are on the way, including ads that feature "upcoming third-party exclusives such as Haze from Ubisoft and Metal Gear Solid 4 from Konami" and "other great PS3 games like Burnout Paradise, WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2008, Assassin's Creed, Madden NFL 08 and Time Crisis 4." Also, Peter stated that this new campaign is the most expensive they have ever done for hardware. Looks like Sony is trying to finally pick up the ball they dropped with the PS3 launch and everything leading up to it.
Let me just say, BRAVO SONY! Way to get your head out of your ass and make some ads that people are actually PRAISING!
So, you think Guitar Hero makes you a rockstar? Yet, your mighty axe resembles a children's toy. Maybe something can be done about it. Better yet, someone has done it already, right on time with the recent release of Guitar Hero III.
[brandon] decided to rebuild a Guitar Hero controller out of a real Gibson electric guitar. Best part is he managed to do it at a budget price. US$69 for the guitar (found at Target) plus $60 for the controller is less than $150... a budget price indeed. I suppose it's one way to "hack the Gibson" without becoming "zero cool".
The construction method is similar to most other case mods... pull out the electronic guts and give them a superior new home. Special features include using the guitar's volume tuning knob in replacement of the whammy bar, and the strum bar tucked neatly between the pickups.
The finished product can only be described as "very stylish, and competitive". Certainly it would draw a lot of attention at your student dorm's next Guitar Hero tournament (which replaced the former air guitar competitions).
The creator of this is also interested in doing a similar guitar mod for Rock Band in the future, with a few more ideas to apply. We can expect more to come.
Full building instructions can be found at: XYHD.TV
Following in the steps of the Halo 3 Future Weapons special on the Discovery Channel, the Sci-Fi Channel will be airing a special on the making of the hotly anticipated game on November 20th at 10PM (that's Central time because it's the only time that matters). Some details on the special can be found on Sci-Fi Channel's website. Nothing really is known about the special other than it will be on Sci-Fi, will show a look behind the game, and they will be giving away copies of the game. Very descriptive, I know.
We are a community of collectors, gamers and the likes, and some of us enjoy to let the world know what is on our mind. For those members, we have the community blogs, a place where they can publish their thoughts and feelings regarding life, universe, and everything. Some of those members might even choose to write about gaming and collecting! Whatever they write about, you can find it on their blog. You can either see the latest community blog entries in the feed you see to the left, or you can browse for your favorite blog using the menu above. Interested in having your own blog hosted on RF Generation? It's rather simple, first be a registered member, and then click the "My Blog" link that you see in the navigation above. Following those two steps will certainly get you on your way to blogging.
Sit back, relax, and enjoy our entries, rantings, and completely unrelated series of thoughts. We write for you to read, so we certainly hope that you enjoy our material.
The One-Laptop-Per-Child program (see 
In a surprising move, EA has shut down their Chicago studio and is moving its 150+ employees to other studios owned by them. In a company memo, Frank Gibeau (President of EA Games) mentioned that the reason the studio will be shut down is that it has not been profitable and is not expected to be profitable. What's really strange about the whole situation is that they only started in 2004 and have done just two games, Fight Night Round 3 and Def Jam Icon. I don't understand why EA would close down a studio after only two games.
Its late at night (on a weekday nonetheless) and a concerned mother pulls the "air card" (and soon hides it) to end her kid's Halo 3 online session, urging him to go to bed. Instead of being crafty and sneaking out to play later, he then proceeds to aggressively search the house for his missing wireless card, with his mother attempting to restrain him the entire time.
Some lucky guy in Marina, California managed to snag Rock Band early from the local Best Buy there. Instead of setting the game up as a demo, the Best Buy accidentally put it out for sale. This guy, "timenz", spotted it, bought it, and 
So, you think Guitar Hero makes you a rockstar? Yet, your mighty axe resembles a children's toy. Maybe something can be done about it. Better yet, someone has done it already, right on time with the recent release of 
Following in the steps of the Halo 3 Future Weapons special on the Discovery Channel, the Sci-Fi Channel will be airing a special on the making of the hotly anticipated game on November 20th at 10PM (that's Central time because it's the only time that matters). Some details on the special can be found on