Nintendo told us from the very beginning that the Wii was going to be different. Even the working title was Nintendo Revolution. And different it is; but revolution? Not yet.

Yes, Nintendo has officially been successful in bringing in the casual gamers - from the elderly to the nerd-phobic, it’s undeniable that people that have never before taken an interest in gaming are currently flocking to get a hold of a Wiimote. Even in the newspaper not a week ago, there was a lengthy article about an old folks homes using the Wii has a primary source of entertainment in the community. The article focused in on a 93 year old man that played Wii Sports Bowling like nobody’s business. With the Wii, Nintendo may just break the stigma of video games meaning that you are a nerd, or even an outsider.

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For a game franchise that’s nearly twenty years old, the Final Fantasy fan base continues to grow with the sort of fervor usually reserved for science fiction television shows or Joss Whedon projects. Recently, two projects sprung from the fandom, however, have caught my attention.

The student-run bar at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark recently hosted a Final Fantasy night, which naturally brought out the usual cosplayers you’d find at other such fandom-based. What was different, however, were the Final Fantasy-based drinks, and the site for the event includes the recipes so that you can make a Summoner Yuma or Corrupted Life Stream at home.

Then, for the Craft cross over (more…)

The rise in popularity of Nintendo’s last two video game machines, the DS and Wii, has really gotten me thinking about how this meteoric rise in is similar to another video game machine, the Atari 2600. Now I really can’t say I was around to witness much of Atari’s reign over the industry, but the impact that resulted from the video game crash primarily caused by them is still felt today. At this point the scales could tip either way, a prosperous future for Nintendo and the industry, or a colossal crash that could dethrone Nintendo and profoundly affect the way in which the video game industry operates.

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Ubidays 08 Round-Up: From Beyond Good & Evil 2 to Prince of Persia (kotaku)

Ubidays 08 yielded a lot of interesting info. Check out Kotaku’s round up of their coverage complete with a Prince of Persia video and some Far Cry 2 info!

BioShock PS3 Super Official Now (kotaku)

Formerly a 360 exclusive, Bioshock is now making it’s way to the PS3, and apparently we’re all going to want to buy it again because it’ll have sooooooooo much more to it this time ’round!!

Guitar Hero: On Tour’s disturbing demo video (joystiq)

This video contains 300% more rock than any other video you see today…. or ever.

-MIKE KURZ

I don’t know which captivated my attention first, the trailer, or the tongue-firmly-in-cheek advertisements using negative reviews from comment trolls such as “this game sucks and anyone who likes it sucks. penny arcade sucks and is as funny as something that’s not funny at all,” but I found something absolutely captivating in the marketing for Penny Arcade’s On the Rain Slick Precipice of Darkness: Episode One, and found myself compelled to give it a try.

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With the recent (and expected) official announcement of Guitar Hero 4 and it’s succession of Rock Band’s extra instruments (vocals and drums), it’s clear to see that the music genre is no longer what it used to be. Merely 5 years ago, I would be hard pressed to get any one of my friends to pick up a controller and play a console music game. Then again, five years ago, there wasn’t anything quite like Guitar Hero or Rock Band.

Oh wait, yes there was.

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The ESA (Entertainment Software Association) is one of the largest video game lobbyist groups (much like the NRA for the gun industry) in the United States, although that may not be true for long. Recently a mass exodus of developers, including Activision-Blizzard, the largest video game publisher in the world, has the future of the ESA in doubt.

It is the ESA’s job to lobby and represent video game publishers in Washington, officially stating that the ESA is

“dedicated to serving the business and public affairs needs of companies that publish video and computer games for video game consoles, personal computers, and the Internet.”

With the exit of publishers Activision-Blizzard, LucasArts, and Id Software one has to wonder if the ESA has not been doing its job to a level that these companies see fit for their investments. One of the most popular rumors as to explain for the decisions is the dislike for the current ESA head Mike Gallagher.

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Bionic Commando’s May Deployment Delayed (joystiq)

That’s right, you have to wait even longer for the release of this highly anticipated remake. The delay is due to bug fixes, and the burden of the submission process. Personally, I plan on isolating myself for no less than 48 hours after this game’s release so I can enjoy it properly.

Capcom Confirms Street Fighter IV Coming to PC, Xbox 360, PS3 (joystiq)

Previously only announced as an arcade title, Street Fighter IV has been confirmed to be releasing on consoles as well as PC later this year. I challenge any of you to a fight once this game is out. My gamertag is What The Geek.

G4 and Microsoft Partner for Shows on Xbox Live (kotaku)

I love Code Monkeys…. and now I can love it on my 360!! There’s actually a new, free episode up on XBL right now - go watch it. Dave gets boobs, and hilarity ensues.

The voice of GTAIV’s Roman is broke, rent him (xbox360fanboy)

In case you haven’t heard, the screen actor’s guild has some pretty lax policies when it comes to digital performances. So lax, in fact, that Jason Zumwalt is in financial trouble. His solution? A youtube video asking all of you to rent him. So go for it - help your cousin Roman out. I should also make it clear that you shouldn’t hate on Rockstar for the lack of residuals going to the actors - hate on the screen actors guild. They do nothing to enforce specific contract terms for digital works, leaving the actors to fend for themselves. Or, if you’d like, hate on the actors for complaining after the damage is done. I leave the decision on who to hate on to you, the reader.

-MIKE KURZ

So, word has it that Rock Band not only continues to be delayed for a European release, but that it will cost about 200 GBP (around $400 US) for the full ensemble, as opposed to the average retail price in the US of $150. To make up for the extortionist charge, a fifty quid (about $100) game-only version will be available, which will utilize any USB PC microphone.

Well, that’s spectacular if your idea of a rock band is American Idol. In fact, don’t they already have a few American Idol and karaoke games? Why shell out good money for a music game stripped of its most essential elements, namely the controllers? I would normally say that “it’s a bit like” followed by some hyperbolic example to put things in perspective, but my mind is boggled at some base level when it comes to how fundamentally, functionally, stupendously stupid this is.

What we have here is a failure to communicate, or at least a failure to comprehend what makes Rock Band such an awesome game. It isn’t just the ability to become the band member in game, it’s the simulation in real life. As South Park pointed out about the Guitar Hero series, you’re not going to learn how to play a real guitar through any simulator on the market. That’s not the point. The point is that you can imagine yourself on stage, playing a guitar while going through motions that simulate what you’re imaging. If you had to use a regular controller, the whole spirit of the game would be lost.

Rock Band is this at a higher level, as there’s a communal aspect to the game play which is one functionality of gaming that has sustained various titles for years. Sure, online team play and Guitar Hero’s co-op mode do involve player interaction, but the ability to bring your friends together to rock out makes the game communal and interactive in real life as well as in game. Like a real band, bonds are forged or broken based on who is pulling weight and who is sucking ass.

You’re not going to have that experience with a game and a single microphone, though at the prices being set in the European market, you’ll need to have a band of Rock Band-ready friends already established in order to pay for the full kit anyway. Whenever it’s released, that is.

-M. Elizabeth Williams

Game narrative has been around almost as long as video games themselves. Although many of the early stories were either self evident, such as Space Invaders or Frogger, while some made the imagination run wild… I still am not quite sure what is going on in Q*BERT or Pac-Man. As the home consoles gradually caught up with the arcade machines, it fell upon the instruction booklet to fill the void left by the small chip capacities, which in many cases were less then 100k in size.

With the PC, and its larger storage capacity, came text adventures and later the birth of point and click adventure games. This tech helped foster the evolution of the modern PC RPG which then evolved into the console RPG, with games series such as Dragon Quest, and Final Fantasy. Although sparse on narrative, these games laid the foundations for what would become the standard for future game narrative. (more…)