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Late Night Consoling

by Chris Remo, Sep 21, 2005 8:15pm PDT
Related Topics – Sega, Square Enix, Nintendo DS, Games: Console

I picked up We Love Katamari (PS2) today. I really only had time to play the tutorial level, but man did I love that introduction. Not the very first intro, which was a bit weak compared to the one in the first game, but the second one that explains the story thus far. It really looks and sounds like if it had rhymed, it would have been straight out of the animated version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The way the story was told, the art style, and the music... it really came together and made me smile. Then, after that, the Bach invention-esque theme that plays when the King of All Cosmos is talking was to me even more awesome than the one in the first game, which I already liked a lot. It sounds like one of Wendy Carlos' (who did the soundtrack to A Clockwork Orange) takes on Bach or Beethoven. Then it sort of turns into this more Mozartean harpsichord business. AWESOME. I'm assuming the game won't be a huge evolution from the first one based on what I played at E3, but I'm really really loving all of this extra presentation.

  • Specific Revolution Questions Answered

    [nintendo]
    Journalist Chris Kohler, who wrote a Revolution hands-on article for Wired News, started a thread on the Gaming-Age forums in which he answers specific questions about his time with the recently-unveiled Nintendo Revolution controller. There's been a lot of speculation and misinformation spread around about the device already, and many of his answers give good closure to some of those rumors. Below are some of the more noteworthy quotes: Regarding general handling and control: "I can't really compare the controller to existing tech. I can say that the learning curve was practically nonexistent. It's light. It's comfortable. It's goddamned precise." and "I can definitely say that you can point the thing at an angle at the TV, because that's the whole point of the device: you're not moving your whole arm around, you're just making very slight inflections with your wrist." and "When you play with a Wavebird, do you stand up and hold it at arm's length towards the screen? No. And you don't have to do this with the Revolution controller. You can sit with your hands in your lap and just move your wrist a little to cover the entire screen." Regarding the Revolution-enabled Metroid Prime 2 demo: "As far as Metroid Prime 2, the honest answer is that it was so intuitive that I wasn't even thinking about HOW the controller was doing it. All I know is that I was easily able to spin in circles. IIRC: if you move it further and further towards the left or right of the screen, Samus will start to spin around, and if you bring it back to the center she stops." and "I don't know what sort of impressions other than "Metroid Prime 2 was comfortable and intuitive" I really need to give at this point. The analog attachment was really light. The wire was long enough. Moving, aiming, shooting, and turning took no -- zero -- conscious thought. The only problem I had was remembering which shoulder button scanned and which jumped. But I can't remember that very well on the GameCube either." and "And with the Metroid Prime demo, I was waving the controller all the hell over the place really really fast and the cursor was always exactly where I wanted it." Regarding other Revolution demos: "The fishing game was the only one that took me more than a second to grasp, because it uses depth perception. But after I got the hang of moving the rod around in a pseudo-3D space, it got easier." and "I really loved the airplane demo. It was as if you were holding a toy plane in your hand, and everything you did with it in real life was reflected on the (very nice*) tv screen." Not informative, but it made me laugh: "When I first saw it, they hadn't yet explained what it DID. So I was like 'what the jesus is that.' Then Miyamoto was like, check this out, and he starts waving it around and shooting boxes and my stomach felt like it had done a flip-flop." Regarding the nature of the further surprises promised by Nintendo president Satoru Iwata: "I think it's safe to say that after this I don't put anything past that guy." Since it occured on the internet, the conversation soon devolved into insanity, with people asking repeated questions as well as unanswerable ones regarding the controller's technical workings, but Kohler still managed to get plenty of good information in before that happened. One main thing his answers seem to suggest is that the movements required to properly use the controller won't be on the order of the wild sword-slashings shown in the Revolution TGS teaser video. It seems that despite the unique interface, most of the time it is still meant to be held in one's lap or however else one operates a regular controller.

  • Xbox 360 Already Sold Out?

    [xbox]
    EB Games has apparently stopped taking orders for the Xbox 360 both in physical stores and online, claiming that the company has exhausted its initial allotment of consoles. Inquiries by GameSpot reveal that many physical GameStop locations also claim to be pre-sold out, while the GameStop homepage still claims that consoles are available. Essentially, it's probably unlikely that anyone really has a good idea of how many systems are available. For months now, many stores have been telling customers that they're on their "second shipment" in terms of pre-orders, though when pressed as to when that second shipment will arrive and how many systems it will contain, there are no solid answers. In all likelihood, EB Games has either sold too many pre-orders already or doesn't know if it has and is trying to play it safe. Either way, Microsoft has expressed commitment to keeping shelves stocked throughout 2005. A common marketing tactic is to deliberately hold back units to create buzz due to retailers claiming to be sold out, but Microsoft has publically gone on record saying that such strategies won't be used. We'll see how it turns out.

  • Microsoft's Moore Likes Revolution

    [xbox] [nintendo]
    In today's segment of an interview whose first part was linked yesterday--in which Xbox VP Peter Moore shrugged off Solid Snake's endorsement of PS3--Moore expressed appreciation for Nintendo's recently-unveiled Revolution. He also attempted to tie in Nintendo's goal of reaching non-gamer audiences into the Xbox 360's media center features:
    "First of all, I want to give kudos for Nintendo, for its attempt at innovation with the new controller - bringing people in that, as Iwata-san said, are either lapsed gamers or gamers that are intimidated by the complexity of the controller. I would argue very vehemently that what we're building into the console for digital entertainment is something that has a huge attraction to people that pure gaming experiences don't."
    Moore went on to say that he sees Nintendo pursuing a similar goal as Microsoft, though through different means. At this year's E3, Microsoft Corporate Vice President and Chief XNA Architect J Allard stated that "In the HD era, we are going to reach 1 billion people with our medium," a goal that Moore indicates is for the industry as a whole rather than Microsoft in particular.

  • Treasure Gives 360 a Shooter

    [xbox]
    The previously-somewhat-announced Xbox 360 title in the works by 2D gameplay wizards Treasure is apparently an original shooter. The implication is that the game is not a sequel or a spin-off and that it will not be sprite-based, though no specific details are available. A recent IGN interview with the studio's president revealed that the game will not make use of 2D visuals, though the company still professes its dedication to 2D gameplay. Past Treasure games such as Ikaruga (GCN) have made use of 2D gameplay with 3D visuals.

  • Dragon Quest VIII Dated, Demoed

    [ps2]
    Square Enix has announced a release date for its upcoming Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King (PS2). The game will ship November 22 and will include the first public demo of Final Fantasy XII (PS2) with each copy of the game. Final Fantasy XII is expected to ship in mid 2006 or possibly later in the year; the game does not hit Japan until next March. Many have speculated that Square Enix is deliberately sitting on the game so it does not steal any thunder from the company's other upcoming big-name RPGs, the aforementioned Dragon Quest VIII as well as Kingdom Hearts II, which is slated to ship in the first quarter of next year.

  • Nintendo Readies Nintendogs Bundle

    [ds]
    Continuing its habit of offering frequent bundle deals on its consoles, Nintendo will be offering a two new limited edition colors of Nintendo DS packaged with a version of its popular Nintendogs dog simulator game. The new colors are teal and pearl pink, which seems to suggest Nintendo is continuing its courtship of the female demographic, and the Best Friends edition of Nintendogs included with the system contains the six most popular breeds: Labrador retriever, golden retriever, German shepherd, beagle, Yorkshire terrier, and miniature dachshund. However, as in all other versions of the game, all eighteen total breeds are unlockable. The bundle also includes a screen cleaner and a Nintendogs skin. The deal will be on sale October 24 for $149.99, the non-bundled system's price tag before its recent $20 discout.

  • GBA SP Featuring Backlit Screen

    [gba]
    Nintendo has quietly re-engineered it's popular Game Boy Advance SP console to feature the same backlighting technology found in its DS and its soon to be released Game Boy Micro. With two other currently-produced consoles using backlighting technology, it probably made little sense to continue producing SPs with frontlighting. The new backlight has two brightness settings, which are toggled using the system's center button (which was previously used simply to switch the light on and off). Along with the update come two new colors: dark grey graphite and pearl blue. The system has already shipped to retailers and has an unchanged price point of $79.99. The new systems are identified by a "Now with a brighter screen!" slogan on the box.

  • Misc. Q&As/Features

    Tom Buscaglia has a Gamasutra feature entitled Game Law: Audit Rights - Use Em or Lose Em! He explains how many developers fail to receive their due royalties simply because they are unaware of or afraid to take advantage of the legal processes that exist to help that happen. Tom Hunter also has an editorial up at Gamasutra, discussing pricing schemes of the past, present, and future, and how they apply to the games industry. Game Informer has "Part #2" of its Tokyo Game Show 2005 Wrap-Up.

Misc. Media/Previews

PS2/PS3
1UP previews Spike's Fire Pro Wrestling Returns (PS2). Screenshots: Ikusagami (PS2). Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves (PS2). Movies: Warhawk (PS3) (thanks PSYCHON). Sega Rally 2006 (PS2). Guitar Hero (PS2). Devil Kings (PS2).
Xbox/Xbox 360
1UP checks out Game Republic's Every Party (X360). Screenshots: Amped 3 (X360).
GameCube
GameSpot has a spotlight on Luigi in the GameCube version of EA Canada's SSX On Tour (GCN, also PS2, Xbox, PSP).
Portable
1UP checks out Midway's Midway Arcade Treasures: Extended Play (PSP) as well as the PSP version of EA Canada's SSX On Tour (PSP, also PS2, Xbox, GCN). Screenshots: The Sims 2 (DS, PSP, GBA, also PS2, Xbox, GCN, PC). Movies: Sonic Rush (DS). Extreme Ghouls 'n Ghosts (PSP). Guilty Gear Judgment (PSP). Mega Man Zero 4 (GBA). Mega Man Battle Network 5: Double Team (DS).
Multi
IGN previews Team 17's Worms 4: Mayhem (PS2, Xbox, PC). GameSpot has a "Central Park Course Q&A" for EA Sports' Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06 (PS2, Xbox, GCN, X360, PSP, PC). Screenshots: The Sims 2 (PS2, Xbox, GCN, PC, also DS, PSP, GBA). WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2006 (PS2, PSP). Movies: Mega Man X Collection (PS2, GCN).

Console Game Of The Evening [Submit Yours!]

North & South for the NES. "The combination of turn-based strategy, action platforming, and intense rock, paper, sissors style realtime strategy was far beyond anything else at the time. Best version by far was on Amiga." (submitted by midgetherder)


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