EEG News

Sony PS3: Surrender Your TVs

PS3 (as filmed by Ye Olde Camera.)

Our puny televisions are no match for Sony’s superior technology.  Sony Entertainment prez Ken Kutaragi announced the Playstation 3 will be capable of playing games at 120 frames per second. This is faster than current generation televisions are even capable of displaying. Modern game titles strive to reach (but often fall far short of) the gold standard 60fps.

From the article:

According to Japanese news service Nikkei BP, Kutaragi's comments were made as part of a speech about the PS3 and the Cell processor delivered at the Tokyo International Digital Conference last week.

Kutaragi acknowledged that while there aren't currently any televisions capable of refreshing the screen at a rate of 120 times per second, he wanted the PS3 to be ready to make the best of the new technology when it arrives.

It may just be Sony’s usual chest thumping, but, damn, 120fps is silky smooth. Microsoft is launching the Xbox 360 in just 22 days so Sony might start showing the public more PS3 soon to distract us. I look forward to it.

Man Constucts Rev Controller Mock-Up

Nintendo gave the public a taste of the Revoluton controller during this year's Tokyo Game Show but gamers are still hungry for more.

It is just so different. Almost ridiculous. But the thing is from Nintendo, a company with a track record of success innovating game design. Some in the industry believe it will work and others clearly don't.

For a certain man — a man with a dream and time to spare —  the Rev controller was a concept worthy of investigating. Investigating with science! He used a gyration mouse and a PS1 controller to simulate a revolution controller and took it for a test drive on a Half-Life 2 deathmatch. Take a look at the video torrent here.

Destroy All Humans Cartoon in the Works

THQ’s alien rampage simulator Destroy All Humans is in development by Fox to become a prime-time animated series. Of course Variety has the lowdown, silly. If it goes to series, it will be the first vidgame show in primetime.

From Variety:

"Destroy All Humans!" takes an irreverent look at 1950s sci-fi culture, poking fun at the era's Americana-flavored naivete, its UFO mythology and McCarthyism. Like the videogame, the series would revolve around Krypto, an alien clone searching for DNA to bring back to his home world in order to stop that planet's degeneration. It is unlikely, however, the show will take a spot in my heart next to my favorite Saturday morning video game cartoons.

Saturday Morning Supercade

The people who wrote for this show only had the faintest idea what the games they were depicting were about. Supercade was a mix of short cartoons featuring arcade favorites Donkey Kong and Mario, Donkey Kong Jr., Pitfall Harry, Qbert and Frogger. A real licensing nightmare if it were to happen today. Each cartoon would star one of the characters doing their weekly shtick. Mario chases Donkey Kong around New York trying to get him back in the Brooklyn zoo. The entire cartoon is filled with throaty grunting whenever DK is on screen or talks with his broken mono-syllabic English like some sort of drug-addled sex felon. Frogger, for whatever reason is a news reporter and has a girlfriend who is pretty hot for a frog. Qbert is a high school prep who constantly is bullied by a gang of Qbert enemies led by Coily the snake. Donkey Kong Jr. is on a quest to find his father, who abandoned him when he ran away from the zoo (yeah, pretty cold) and is joined by a guy who kind of looks like Fonzie but is a putz.

Super Mario Bros. Super Show!

“Hey Pizanos, it’s the Super Mario Bros. Super Show!” Former wrestler Lou Albano plays Mario in this live-action and cartoon variety show. The Super Show was made on the cheap and it showed. A favorite special guest appearance was Magic Johnson who never took the time to actually come to the studio but appeared in the medicine cabinet through the magic of blue screen technology. The show does, however, feature one of the credits segments in TV history: Lou Albano sings to the tune of the Mario theme while doing a little dance called the Mario: Swing your arms from side to side Come on, It’s time to go! Do the Mario. Take one step and then again. Let’s do the Mario! All together now! At the very end Albano stumbles over himself while dancing and they didn’t even re-take the shot. They just left in there like they thought no kid would watch it to the finish.

The Legend Of Zelda

Link’s cartoon adventures in Hyrule don’t seem as legendary as they did when I played the video games. Link is ’80 surfer-talking hero who saves the entire kingdom from the clutches of Gannon every week just to get a kiss from Princess Zelda. But Zelda is a legendary tease and a stone-cold bitch. Link is this woman’s bitch and personal slave 24/7 but can never get any kind of love out of her. Not that it’s hard to keep Hyrule safe; It’s always Gannon’s fault. Always. The wells ran dry? Better trudge down to Gannon’s castle to take care of it. Someone captured the King? Back to Gannon’s place. Someone is trying to steal the triforce? Ganon again. It’s more of a chore than an adventure. Link carries his sword with him during all his adventures but he never actually uses it properly. Instead he shoots energy beams out of it like some sort of gun.  It evaporates Gannons poor cronies instantly. It’s less messy, but not nearly as fun for a kid to watch. The show’s best trait hands-down is Link’s catch phrase which he drops five times an episode minimum: “Excuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuse me Princes.” It’s even in the intro. Classic stuff. I still use that line on my friends.

Maybe that’s why my friends don’t like me.

Xbox 360 to Wal-Mart: Inventory Shminventory

For those planning to go to a Wal-Mart to try out an Xbox 360 demo kiosk:

1. Wash your hands after you touch a Wal-Mart demo controller – trust me on this.

2. You may want to delay your plans.

According to game blog Joystiq, 360’s wireless signal doesn’t like the Wal-Mart network-based inventory management systems. Several Wal-Mart stores have shut down the kiosks as a result.

From the press release:

Since the advent of 2.4 ghz signals, such as those found in next generation consumer electronics like cordless phones, wireless routers and now, Xbox 360, some retailers have discovered that their network-based inventory management systems can be impacted by products using modern wireless signals.  While retailers are constantly updating their internal management systems, sometimes new products being introduced into the market can cause this kind of temporary interference. We are working closely with retailers to provide a software solution that mitigates this problem within their retail environments.

Microsoft has already found a solution to the problem and is dispersing agents to fix the units ASAP. The company claims that the interference only affects specific equipment used in a few retail outlets and shouldn’t send a swarm airplanes crashing down unto your house when you turn on your new system.

In theory.

Murderer He Wrote

Skip Woods, the writer of Swordfish will adapt the vidgame Hitman to the silver screen. Vin Diesel will star as the stay-at-home dad who learns to love again from the antics of his youngest child — but not in this movie because he’s the hitman.

Variety has the scoop of course:

Studio picked up the Eidos vidgame franchise in June from producers Chuck GordonChuck Gordon and Adrian Askarieh. Diesel will exec produce and Daniel Alter will serve in a producing capacity.

The story centers on an international assassin, known as Agent 47, who works for a mysterious org dubbed the Agency.

Woods, who is getting mid-six figures for the adaptation, wrote and directed indie pic "Thursday""Thursday" and worked on remake "Logan's Run" at Warner Bros.

It’s raining vidgame movies. Oh, when will they learn?

All Your XP Belongs to China

Yesterday a law went into effect where characters who have been logged into China’s most popular massive multiplayer online game for more than three hours will suffer loss of experience points and weapons. After five hours, character abilities will be cut making any meaningful playing impossible.

Players must take a two-hour break between gaming sessions before logging on again.

From xinhuanet.com:

"This timing mechanism can prevent young people from becoming addicted to online games," Kou Xiaowei, deputy director of the Audiovisual and Internet Publication Department, said in Beijing.

Game players and industry officials, however, complained the system infringes upon consumer rights.

"It's absolutely a foolish decision," said Yankee Song, a 23-year-old game player.

But the move isn’t going to stop some dedicated players:

  Another senior WOW player David Tian said: "I am sure cheating programs that can make the system think we have logged off will soon be formed.

Tian, 23, has already created various accounts in the same game and he plans to switch among them when his time limit runs out each day.

Yeah, be careful Tian. I really like playing video games too — but not “mess with the Chinese government” like.

New Holiday PSP Bundle

Sony is going to celebrate the holidays by giving the PSP a price…jump?

The company announced that it will release a new PSP package in November for $299. The “Giga Pack” will include a 1GB memory stick, battery pack, AC adapter, USB cable and a PSP stand.

Sony will continue to sell the current PSP package at $249. The Value Pack does not contain the USB cable or the stand and comes with a 32MB memory stick.

Orgs vs. California Vidgame Law

The industry is fighting California’s recently passed law banning the sale or rental of violent video games to minors.

Two trade organizations filed a lawsuit to overturn the law, based on free speech First Amendment rights. Catch the AP here and gamepolitics.com has a few statements from the orgs in question.

It looks like things are really beginning to heat up. Conflict between the government and game makers hasn’t been this interesting since Mortal Kombat.

Free Nintendo Wi-Fi at McDonalds

Nintendo wants us to be fat and I have proof.

The plan behind this fiendish desire will be hosting free Wi-Fi hotspots for the Nintendo DS at McDonalds around the country. Although, the scale on which this is happening makes me think they only want a select few of us to be fat. The deal is for around 7,000 McDonalds – which is what, one city?

This will be Nintendo’s second plot to fatten me up after a unsuccessful June 2004 attempt of sending me disgusting Metroid Prime 2 cookies.

Jack Thompson 2: Cruise Control

Jack Thompson on WCPO

Jack Thompson continues to be such a nonsensical villain to the gaming industry that a person might half-suspect he is part of an elaborate prank.

Thompson operates – in public – with such self-parodying gusto that he could only be the brainchild of a man who playing a satirical devil’s advocate. Like Ted Turner thinking up the mother nature-hating bad guys in his “Captain Planet” cartoon.

Yet Thompson keeps going. At least he is somewhat entertaining.

It appears the searing letter from David Walsh struck a cord with him. GamePolitics continues to follow the story. In response to Walsh’s words, Thompson penned to…Sen. Joe Lieberman

Dear Senator Lieberman:

I received late last Thursday a remarkably false and hurtful letter from someone who is a friend of yours and who used to be a friend of mine, Dr. David Walsh of the National Institute on Media and the Family. Two people who got Walsh's letter are you and Doug Lowenstein of the ESA. Therein is the explanation of why it was really sent.

It continues:

But if Dave had a problem with my "tactics," I believe you and I both know, as people of faith, that the Biblical principle is that you go privately to the person with whom you have a disagreement and express the concern. Dave NEVER did that. Why?

And:

I wish you all of God's best. I wish people like Take-Two all of Satan's worst. Dave Walsh would not say that, and that is part of his charm. Some of us were not called to be charming. I want to win this thing, not for my sake, but because lives are at stake.

But that’s not all of our Jack Thompson news today. The gaming community has responded several times to his announcement that he will donate $10 thousand to charity if someone makes a game based on his scenario of a vengeful father butchering people in the game industry. It seems, however, that none of the games made to suit his demands are sufficient. And he also says that he was just kidding about donating the money to charity.

Good one.