Games! Games! Games!

I’ve been working lately on the social and cultural consequences of digitalization (for a client, not for my research). One of the side effect in the video game market is that boxed PC games decline as digital downloads rise according to marketing firm GfK:

New to the list are: BLACK, Star Wars Battlefront II, and World Soccer Winning Eleven 9. Also, these buggy compatible Xbox games were fixed: Darkwatch, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Half-Life 2, Fable, Fable: The Lost Chapters, Forza Motorsport, Ninja Gaiden, Ninja Gaiden Black, SSX 3, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Chaos Theory, kill.switch, World Series Baseball 2K3. Enjoy!

You know the look. The one where Coach Cowher looks so mad that spit is dripping down his chin as he runs down the sidelines to find a ref to yell at. Now that mug is being immortalized on the cover of EA Sports' new videogame, NFL Head Coach.

The Silent Hill Collection marks the first time the three games have been released together and is perfectly complemented by Christophe Gans’ realisation of the series. “The Silent Hill Collection is a stunning compilation of arguably the most ground-breaking and renowned horror games for PlayStation 2″, commented Martin Schneider, European Marketing and PR Director for Konami of Europe. “With interest in the film certain to be huge, we felt it was right to remind fans of the gaming beginnings of the mysterious Silent Hill and to introduce the games to a new audience ready to enter at their own risk.”

After the plot is opened, you are given the task of defeating the first colossus. The screenshot is a picture of the giant down. And yes, that is you and your trusty horse. This should give you an indication of scale in game. The colossi are huge and more importantly, breath taking. You seem them march towards you, their intent clear. But unless you are brain dead, you will spend every minute staring at them and in complete admiration of every little detail To bring you back to the real world, this game is on the PlayStation 2 and yet shows signs of graphical brilliance. It’s another affirmation of my favorite fact - Good graphics make not a game look good. Art direction is so critical today. I think this is why I still love abandonware.

One of the other subjects was the Windows Media Center, it's collaberation with the XBOX 360 and the integration of the internet. A 3D caroussel to select your favorite race car driver and after selecting, it automatically starts playing. Just like a normal TV. Only one big difference ... The user is in control.

This review was intended to be a DVD-to-PSP how-to guide. Unfortunately, the Media Manager software does not offer a simple solution for porting your DVD stockpile to the PSP. And why should it? Sony wants you to support the UMD format. So what does Media Manager have to offer PSP owners?

Epic Records has teamed up with Microsoft to offer free, exclusive "artistic content" and hi-def music video downloads through Xbox Live, Microsoft's network service for the Xbox 360. One Epic artist will be featured each month over the next year in conjunction with "Game With Fame" sessions--where gamers get a chance to play against celebrities over Xbox Live--and promotional sweepstakes. Obviously a big push here towards making the Xbox 360 an all-purpose entertainment console and marketing vehicle. Ironically, Epic is a subsidiary of Sony BMG, so I suppose if Microsoft wins with this strategy, Sony (which makes the PS3 console) wins a teensy weensy bit too. Furthermore, Sony plans its own network service for the PS3, so it could just be testing the waters with Xbox Live before launching music in the Sony BMG family through its own game network.

The rumor mill has Sony announcing the release date of their PlayStation 3 on the 15…so come back Wednesday, we’ll post what we learn then.

After that I drove to Gamestop to see if they had any cheap games for the PS2 or Gamecube. I was going to buy a hockey game to play against Roger but I didn’t act on impulse. I was able to walk away and think about how much fun Guitar Hero and Madden are.

The one game that stood out to me is called Nanaca Crash. It is a Japanese game, and done completely in Flash. It reminds me of a few other flash games, where you essentially launch something into the air and you go further and further based on if you hit specific things along the way. Well, in this case you are a Japanese schoolgirl and you smash into a poor guy with your bike. He goes flying, and along the way can land on random pedestrians that either stop him in his tracks or smash him hard enough to keep the flight going. The game is more luck than anything. My current high score is 1529.56m which I think is pretty good. My previous high before that was 300m, but that one I just hit a couple of good specials.

We zijn verder gelopen, binnen 5 minuten hadden we onze eindbestemming berijkt. Het wachten was op Matthijs! Na 2 minuten wachten was mattijs er, en liepen we naar binnen. JammermaarHellaas waren er kinder feestjes aan de gang, dus hadden we gereserveerd voor 17.20. Na een uur wachten en arcade games gespeelt te hebben….

I honestly can’t remember when I first became aware of video games. They just showed up one day and the world became better.

Due to the massive attention Baten Kaitos II is getting before release, I’ve decided to give the original a shot. Sure it might just be because it’s one of the few RPG’s for the system and one of the few good looking games left for the Gamecube, but I’m interested.

Here's another cool article at Reveries about a new video "game" for the Nintendo DS that is specifically targeted at adults. This sure expands the use of video game devices to a whole new genre. I bet we'll see some news coverage of this being used as a therpapeutic device to stave off Alzheimer's Disease.