Yarrr, we DS users be pirates

When I got up this morning I saw an interesting tidbit of news surface during my breakfast RSS feed. The UK's Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA) has declared that 90% of North American DS owners play pirated games on their DS by using the R4 chip.
90%? 90?! Seriously. (This is where I wish I could do the Jon Stewart eyebrow-raise) From gamer reactions around the Internet, it's easy to tell not many have even heard of this DS modification, let alone most of the casual gamers who own a DS. Let's be realistic here, do you think your Nintendogs-playing 8-year-old or that Brain Age-playing businessman are cruising the Internets looking for these hacking tools?

The Sunday Post cites a "Nintendo DS user in Lanarkshire" telling them roughly 50 games are available for download with the R4 chip.

A good number of articles have cropped up across gaming and tech sites, but this article appears to have originated on The Sunday Post. The next site it appeared on was GamesIndustry.biz, which has contacted ELSPA to back up those stats.

This provides a chance for a completely insane conspiracy theory. The R4 chip was obviously very under the radar before this morning. Now it's all over the Internet and will no doubt see an increase in sales. If the Sunday Post was the kind of publication you could point a finger at and accuse of having an agenda, which after clicking around their site it does not appear to be, I might think someone in the industry really wanted Nintendo's stock to drop a little more. Alas, I realize this is simply a crackpot, conflict theory idea.

Still, the proliferation of this story on the Internet will hurt Nintendo's sales more than help. While I definitely don't see the DS going the way of the Dreamcast and getting pirated out of existence, it's upsetting to see gamers stoop so low to get free games.

Using an R4 chip would definitely be lowest of the low for piracy. Nintendo DS games are the cheapest in software. It's hard to argue with titles priced at $19.99 or $29.99. True, there are some titles that sneak up to that $34.99 price point, but considering you could be paying half of that per month for World of Warcraft or almost double that for a PS3 or Xbox 360 game, it's not bad. In fact, that's one of the reasons I love portable gaming. It may lack the graphical appearance, but it still provides a solid gaming experience if you know what games to pick up.

Will we see something like the PS2 mod chip raids if this "crisis," as the Sunday Post paints it, continues? (Just FYI, PS2 modification chips were mostly used to play imported games on the PS2; not to play pirated games) Doubtful. I'd like to hope my fellow gamers would have enough integrity to not pick an R4 over the Internets from China, which is where they're made. It's one thing when my clothes, dishes, bootleg anime DVDs, everything, etc. are from China, but when something brings semi-destructive implications to the gaming industry--well, that's when it gets personal.

I shouldn't be saying things like this, especally because it's so ambiguous how much actual harm these chips are doing so far, if any harm at all. Never can tell with the Internet, after all.

_____________________

Edit: Feb. 3 2008, 8:00 p.m. EST

The 90% statistic has been officially declared erroneous. GamesIndustry.biz got to the bottom of it.

However, a spokesperson for ELSPA told GamesIndustry.biz that, "[John] didn't quote The Sunday Post on any figures whatsoever."

"ELSPA would certainly never presume to comment about America or anywhere else outside of the UK," added the spokesperson.

...

The report, said ELSPA, is a hatchet job consisting of facts from an article from Singapore, false quotes and a genuine conversation with Hillier on the availability of the R4 cartridge in the UK.

--GamesIndustry.biz article

So at the end of the day, only the Sunday Post's credibility suffers. Yay, Internet.

NIMF Video Game Report Card -A year in review

Yesterday, the National Institute on Media and the Family released their yearly report card evaluating the videogame industry and family interaction with it.

The big news? Everybody fails, especially videogame retailers who failed to educate parents about the ESRB rating system.

Well, not everybody failed, but very few categories passed with flying colors. Here's the main breakdown:

• Parental Involvement: C
• ESRB Rating Education: B-
• Retailer Policies: C-
• Retailer Ratings Enforcement
• National Retailers: D
• Specialty Stores: B
• Rental Stores: F
• The Gaming Industry: C
• ESRB Ratings: C+
  

One out of three retailers fails to educate customers about the ESRB ratings system. NIMF also critiqued national retailer and rental stores, which tend to be chain stores for the most part (i.e. Gamestop, GameCrazy), for not enforcing ESRB ratings and selling M-rated games (for age 17+) to underage children.

While this isn't the main focus, many younger employees at retailers are more likely to allow underage kids to purchase games, the report card said. The report went on to recommend that employees are better educated about ratings in order to fix this problem. But, trust me, even if these "younger employees" are "more educated about ratings" they're still probably not going to disallow the sale of M-rated games to underage kids. It's simply not the cool thing to do at that age, and it never will be.

However, retailers selling to underage kids does undermine the ratings system, which, according to the report card, a lot of parents don't understand.

An ABC Report on NIMF's report card interviewed a mom in a game store.

"I don't understand any of this," she said with a shrug. "I just come here because it's on the wish list."

The NIMF report card recommends a universal ratings system that can apply to games, movies, TV, etc. to remedy this because parents understand the TV and movie rating system more. Hm, maybe they understand that more because the movie system because they grew up with it and the TV ratings because they actually watch TV, as opposed to playing videogames. Just a thought.

It makes me wonder whether a universal rating system would be practical. Is violence really the same across all media?

The report also said parental involvement should be higher and, on that point, I agree. I always wonder if it's credible for me to be talking about being a parent when I am not. I know some parents are involved in the games their kids play and I think that's awesome. I know some parents don't give an effin' Tetris block about what their kids play, and that's sad. But the current ESRB system depends on parents to be conscientous of what they and their kids are purchasing, especially because of the report's findings on retailers.

Here's some interesting data from the survey about kids purchasing M-rated games and parental involvement. I knew it would be bad, but I didn't think I would see these numbers:
I think the statistic that surprised me the most was the percentage of how many kids purchased an M-rated game with their parents' money while their parent was with them. Seriously, this is why games like Manhunt 2 get made into such a big deal because we need to "protect the children" who are bypassing rules and ratings to get games not meant for them.

I was hoping I'd never have to hear about the accursed Manhunt 2 again, but the report talked about it for a pretty good deal, scolding ESRB for leaving loopholes and game developers for exploiting them.

Here's a Manhunt 2 refresher: Manhunt 2, made by the same company who made Grand Theft Auto games, first received an Adults-Only rating from ESRB. The AO rating is the retail kiss-of-death because game stores will not carry AO titles (it's morally unacceptable, again, because of the children). So, Manhunt 2 was edited and re-submitted to ESRB. It got its Mature rating. The day of the release, hackers found you could still access the supposedly edited content by hacking the game code (which is no easy feat; not terribly hard to figure out, but it definitely takes some effort. Chaos ensued, ESRB took a bad rap, and Manhunt 2 made the games industry look really bad.

This is what the report had to say about it:

Sadly, the problem of hidden or blurred content which is inappropriate for kids is not a new issue and undermines the ESRB rating.

Well, they're right--it's not a new issue (remember Hot Coffee?). But that's not the interesting part of this quote. This is:

the problem of hidden or blurred content which is inappropriate for kids

Whether this content is inappropriate for kids is a moot point. The Manhunt 2 and Hot Coffee incidents mentioned in the report dealt with games on the super-fine line between Mature and Adults-Only ratings. Kids should not be playing these games anyway--the Mature rating is 17+ and the Adults-Only rating is 18+. And what does the one-year difference matter between Mature content and AO content? When I turned 18 and legally became an adult, I was hardly any different from when I was 17. I rest my rant and my case.

I found the NIMF report card makes a few morally-charged mountains out of molehills. True, the Manhunt 2 fiasco wasn't good for any party involved (except for Take 2, the game's publisher, who undoubtedly benefited from free advertising generated by controversy).

But they picked on "the supposedly family-friendly" Nintendo Wii for offering a special edition, blood-splatted, Manhunt 2 Wii in one promotional contest. Is it really such a crime for Nintendo to step out of their happy, sugar-coated, 5-year-old friendly box? Nintendo does have older gamer fans (i.e. me). And the contest was hosted by the game's creator, Rockstar (R*). I'm not exactly sure, but because it was on R*'s official site and R* is listed as the official sponsor, Nintendo probably had nothing to do with it.

In NIMF's assessment of the videogame industry, they commend Microsoft for more family-oriented parental control options, shame Nintendo for the blood-spattered special edition Wii, but make no mention of Sony.

Lastly, there was something that scared me in the report card. In the ESRB Rating Education section, NIMF applauded and further encouraged the involvement of state government officials in spreading the word about ESRB. Doling out public service announcements for ESRB is no big deal, but anytime government involvement gets near videogames, I still cringe. I don't want any regulations on games from the government that correct problems that could have been solved by parenting.

All-in-all the report card found some pretty evident flaws in the game industry. But there are also a few flaws in the report card. To see the report card yourself, see the links below.

You can download the report card here. (PDF format)
The official website of NIMF can be found here.

Gerstmann fired from Gamespot

Game reviewer Jeff Gerstmann gets deep-sixed over Kane and Lynch's 6

What a sad, terrible day in games journalism. I realized this was an issue, but I didn't realize it would actually come to fruition.

There's a fairly fine line in games journalism... large (and small) gaming publications/magazines need a substantial flow of cash to stay profitable and alive. Most of this revenue comes from not magazine subscriptions, but advertiser payments. Some advertisers pay incredibly hefty sums for ads. This was the move game company Eidos made to promote their new PS3/Xbox 360/PC title Kane and Lynch:Dead Men (which, by the way, is not a family-friendly title). They purchased banners that blanketed the whole background of GameSpot.com's website (and those don't come cheap).

On November 13, the Kane and Lynch was released to the pubic and the game's review, written by Jeff's Gerstmann, was posted on Gamespot.

November 30, a rumor that Gerstmann had been fired because of the "tone" in his Kane and Lynch review was leaked. Gamespot denies there was any advertiser pressure for firing Gerstmann. Largely, the reasoning for Gerstmann's termination is still unexplained, but Gamespot editor blogs and tips from "inside sources" heavily hint that Gerstmann was unjustly fired.

Thus, all craziness broke loose on videogame message board. And that's putting it lightly. Because of Gerstmann's firing, website NeoGAF will be boycotting all CNET and Eidos material. Many people have reported canceling their GameSpot subscription.

Gerstmann, who had last caused a stir when he gave The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess an 8/10 (eerily similar to the score I had given it *scary*), had quite a following of fans and I've heard many say he was the man who made Gamespot. His critics dislike him for his condescending tone and "king of the nerds" attitude.

Despite what anybody actually thinks about Gerstmann, what happened to him was abominable. Getting fired for your opinion that you were hired to write about in the first place? Especially because your opinion disagreed with the thousands of dollars the advertisers paid? (And let's face it, Eidos hasn't exactly released any gems recently).

Gerstmann is not without support. December 1, Ziff Davis and 1UP staffers held an impromptu protest of Gerstmann's termination. It's great to see other game journalists speaking out against this, especially because 1UP and Gamestop are competitors in the games media market.

It has been roughly a day since the madness started and there's still not a whole lot of truth in this situation. No insiders can officially talk without fear of retribution, and anonymous sources claiming to be Gamespot editors, while very compelling, can be shaky, especially over the Internet. Maybe someday we'll know the whole truth about what really happened to Gerstmann. But right now, all we can do is get mad as hell, as one Gamestop game guides editor Matt Rorie said.

The funny thing is, without knowing what really happened behind those closed doors at Gamestop/CNet, I find it hard to get mad as hell. I mean, I'm mad, I'm angry, that's why I'm writing this thing at 1:30 in the morning. But not knowing the full-fledged truth and just general shock this actually happened is causing some reservations about completely judging the problem, I think. I've got the "mad" part, but it's the "as hell" part I'm still coming to terms with.

But, still, I'm mad. The whole situation is bizarre and unjust. And I hope that instead of hurting games journalism, this problem of revenues and reviews can be resolved in a way that helps games journalism become more stable and reputable. I realize it's highly unlikely this will happen overnight, or in a fortnight, or in whatever many moons, but maybe it will cause a step in the right direction. And that's a start.

And to Jeff, I'm sorry. This sucks.



Edit: Some hackers were so mad, they hacked GameFAQ's daily poll. Here's a screen capture of the poll

PS3 Price Cut - Buying Guide Prelude

A year after release, will the PS3's price finally be right?

November 2, Sony slashed the PS3 80GB model's price from $600 to $500. In addition, they released a toned-down 40GB version of the system.

To date, there have been four models of the PS3, including the two mentioned above. The remaining two, a 20GB and 60GB model have been discontinued.

So, let's evaluate. The mighty morphin' PS3 will have two versions to choose from (although you could probably purchase the discontinued 20GB and 60GB online)

What do the 40GB and 80GB have in common? Sony says:

Both the 80GB and 40GB PS3 models come standard with Cell Broadband Engine™ (Cell/B.E.), Blu-ray Disc™ (BD) player, built-in HDD, 1080p high-definition output, , free PLAYSTATION®Network access, Wi-Fi connectivity and SIXAXIS™ wireless controller.

This is the jargon that tells you that, either way, you are purchasing one very fancy-pants system. In short both have: some specifications that will make your game look very pretty, Blu-ray disc player, the ability to connect to the Playstation Network, wireless internet connectivity and a motion-sensitive wireless controller.

But what is the 40GB version missing?

• can't play back Playstation 2 titles, but can play Playstation titles
• instead of being packaged with a PS3 game like the 80GB version, the 40GB has Spiderman 3 on Blu-ray disc
• the 80GB has 4 USB ports; the 40GB has 2 USB ports.
• the 40GB does not have the "multi-media memory card slot" that allows players to transfer their PS1/PS2 memory card data to the PS3. However, Sony says players can use other accessories such as this doohickey to transfer their data through one of the USB ports

By looking at this list, it looks like they dropped some of the extras, slashed the price a bit and called it a new model.

So here are consumer options for the holiday PS3-purchasing*:

If you just want to play PS3 games, and ONLY PS3 games (also if you already have a PS2):

• go for the 40GB model; it's got the bare necessities. The 80GB model is really geared towards the hardcore gamer who has to have all the extras.
  

If you don't have a PS2, but would like to play PS2 games AND have a PS3:

• Well, you could get the 80GB model with PS2-compatibility, but there have been some issues where the 80GB PS2 has difficulty playing some PS2 games. You can check if your PS2 games will work with the 80GB PS3 at Sony's backwards compatibility status site. This article from HardcoreWare.net, shows the results of one man pitting his 90 game PS2 library against a 60GB PS3 and 80GB PS3. Results: 84/90 games worked perfectly on the 60GB, and 50/90 worked perfectly on the 80GB.
• If backwards compatibility is a must then finding a used 60GB PS3 might be a better deal than buying the 80GB model. There are plenty on sale online, whether you prefer to shop on eBay, Froogle, or Amazon (just type in: 60GB PS3). Don't know if retailers like Gamestop resell them.
  
• Or, you could buy the 40GB PS3, and a used/new PS2. It would cost about the same as the 80GB model, and you'd have a sure-fire way to play your PS2 games. (As well as the PS2's built-in DVD-player, so you don't have to commit to buying Blu-Ray discs for your PS3).
• The Slimline PS2 is a great deal if you can find a used one for $99. Otherwise, it's a $129 MSRP.
  
• On this note: There is a new PS2 on the horizon. It's not any slimmer, and I haven't quite found out what the difference/improvement is yet, but it's on sale in Japan for $114. The rumor mill suggests its a revision of the slimline PS2, has built-in power supply and will sell for under $100 when it hits the US in 2008. I wouldn't put too much stock in the rumored price-tag, though.
• NOTE: On its backwards-compatibility status site, Sony said it is up to the game publishers and peripheral/accessory manufacturers to develop the appropriate hardware to play PS1 and PS2 games on the PS3. They did not/have not issued a date on when the backwards compatibility issue might be fixed.
  

That's a lot of options, and I realize it's intimidating to look at. But fear not. Just be confident in what you want. A PS3, like any game system is a big investment, and you should think carefully before purchasing. Please e-mail YFG if you have further questions about this post.



*(subject to change with any other price cuts that might follow :P)

ESRB investigation clears R* guilt from Manhunt 2 hack

For once, a videogame controversy is a) cleaned up in a non-controversial way with a very clear and appeasing solution and b) cleaned up within a day.

I tip my pink, artsy hat at you, ESRB.

To re-cap yesterday's craziness, hackers found a way to remove a filter placed in Manhunt 2's programming that would blur-out the ultra-violent scenes (this was one of the edits made to reduce Manhunt 2's rating from the kiss-of-death Adults-Only to the socially acceptable Mature).

Finger-pointing at ESRB and Rockstar (R*), the game's publisher, immediately ensued. Of course, Jack Thompson was already preparing his attack.

ESRB launched an investigation and its results today, all in a neat and tidy press conference. With all the negative hear-say swimming around the Internet yesterday, I have to say I am surprised at how things turned out.

ESRB had these important things to say in their results:

In the case of Manhunt 2, a) content that was programmed to be part of the game (i.e., visual blurring effects of certain violent depictions) is being modified, b) the content was previously disclosed to the ESRB, and c) unauthorized versions of software and/or hardware are required to play the modified content.

...the scenes in question were playable (not locked-out), programmed to include the blur effect, and fully disclosed to the ESRB.

This quote in particular is a great message, especially coming from the president of the ESRB, Patricia Vance:

Manhunt 2’s rating makes it unmistakable that the game is intended for an older audience. The unauthorized hacking into the code of this game doesn’t change that basic fact.

Very, undeniably true.

And I think I owe R* an apology for being so quick to shriek "Hot Coffee." I don't feel like a complete idiot though, because with its record, it was going to be very unlikely that I gave R* the benefit of the doubt.

And I still think they're completely like the Fox News of the videogame industry :P (I need to stop saying things like that if I ever hope to get a internship/job)

Let's all hope this is the last YFG will have to report on Manhunt 2.

Rockstar -- history repeats itself

Incredible. Manhunt 2 hasn't even been available to the public for 24 hours and shenanigans similar to that beloved episode of "Hot Coffeegate" (see previous post; hit CTRL+F and type "Hot Coffee") are already unfolding.

A hack allows a portion of the edited-out Adults-Only content of Manhunt 2 to become visible. This hack, according to a statement from Rockstar (R*) to GamePolitics, produces an illegal version of the game and is only playable on an unauthorized, modified PSP system.

After doing a minute's research in the Internet, I found all you need to access the hack is a homebrew-enabled PSP (meaning the PSP can play content made by your regular programming genius), and a few initialization files. Kotaku sums this up handily:

The hack, one that the general public will most likely never see, as it requires a disk image of Manhunt 2, software "back up" tool UMDGen and the editing of a pair of initialization files to explicitly turn off the added filter. No one will accidentally stumble upon this hack, unless they went through the above effort or happened to illegally download a modified version of the game.

Although R*'s statement to GamePolitics seemed very apologetic to the general public (unlike when they attempted to just cover-up the infamous Hot Coffee debacle). But still, I'm suspicious that this is yet another silly publicity stunt on their part.

If this hits the mainstream (i.e., an NBC News/Couric and Co. follow-up), it's gonna cause a huge ruckus. HUGE. Like the huge amount that was in Manhunt 2 to begin with huge.

Attorney Jack Thompson has already launched a comment on this on GamePolitics.

Ok, let’s get over the hatred of me. This is a huge news item, whether you agree with me or not. The ESRB made it REALLY clear that if a developer left code in a game that could be unlocked, then that would be a huge violation of ESRB rules.

If the ESRB allowed any code to be left in which could be unlocked, then the ESRB is a goner. That is not an exaggeration. Dennis, you know how serious this is.

1) Getting over the hatred of you is going to take wayyyy more than asking, bub.
2) Huge news item?... ja, it's all over the internets.
3) But yeah, this is probably bad news for ESRB... we may never know if they knew the code was there or not.

Remember: only a portion of the AO-edited-out bits have been found. And so far, Manhunt 2 hacks have only worked on the PSP--the Wii and PS2 versions remain locked. Knowing the devious side of the gaming community though, it may only be a matter of hours until more content is found.

And to R*: way to discredit the already under-fire gaming industry! Seriously, you're Fox News is to journalism, as your games are to the gaming industry!

I no longer feel sorry for you when you have Jack Thompson and a horde of angry parents beating down your door. That is all.
__________________

Remember, as always, YFG is recruiting!

Schwarzenegger refuses to let game law be terminated

Okay, so I should be reading for my sociology class, but I can pass off writing this story as a speed-writing exercise for my news writing class (and I'll ignore that this is more of a rant than any form of writing that could be considered close to news writing). So I'll slog through some terminator puns and quickly write this up.

Earlier this summer, the California state law banning sales of violent videogames to minors was ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge. Schwarzenegger is now attempting to appeal this decision, which has already cost many taxpayers dollars (poor ole CA... it's expensive enough there as it is).

Quoting an article from Reuters:

Schwarzenegger, who acted in many violent movies, argued that violent video games should be for adults only.

And I agree with Schwarzenegger. Ultra-violent games shouldn't be easily available to young audiences (especially pre- and younger teens). But the unfortunate reality is, that even if you pass a law like this, kids will still be able to buy games. We have the same issue with under-age drinking. If minors want to obtain something they're not old enough for yet, they'll find a way to get it--whether it's a friend or their own parent who obtains the game for them.

And finally,

"Many studies show the link between playing ultra-violent video games and violent behavior. We have a responsibility to our kids and our communities to protect against the effects of games that depict ultra-violent actions," Schwarzenegger said in a statement.

Show me the many studies!

Dr. Phil, violent videogames, and Mr. Thompson

We have confirmation. Jack Thompson will be appearing on the Dr. Phil show, which instead of focusing on game violence, will now examine role-play addiction. "They have a girl who has that problem," Thompson said.

"That problem?" The nerve. Now it's going to be a showcase of this poor girl, and the story will be warped to make all gamers look like we're all hopeless addicts.

It's times like this that remind me of the South Park Movie: everyone going to war because of the negative effects of digital media/entertainment. Watch this video, but replace "Canada" with "videogames."


Movie plot: The South Park boys have sneaked into the R-rated Canadian Terrance and Philip movie, and picked up a slew of swear words. Now the South Park parents are planning to do something about the movie that "corrupted" their children.

Let me explain my reasons for posting this clip. If you're not familiar with South Park, its charm lies in it’s ability to satirize the current political/popular climate and other events, but it does so in a way that is crude, rude, typically offensive and simultaneously appealing to those who enjoy rampant potty humor. But South Park has some good points, and some episodes even have a moral.

When the South Park movie came out (1999), I didn’t pay any attention to it because having never seen a South Park episode at that point in my life it didn’t really interest me. So, years later, I watched it at college one night with some friends. I laughed at the hyperbolic scenarios it used to point out societal truths, winced at the more disturbing jokes and almost cried at one point. (For some reason, animated films hit me much harder than non-animated.)

And yet, the movie highlighted something that is very pertinent to the violence and gaming issue—how caught up adults can get in “protecting the children” while at the same time, they stop listening to what their children actually want and have to say. (i.e. Kyle’s mom is leading the army of parents against the vulgar humor presented in the Terrance and Phillip Show, where Kyle just wants his overbearing and over-protective mom to stop fighting everyone.)

Maybe our kids don’t need to be so “protected” (I wish I could say I was a parent and had some credo on this, but then again, I’m nineteen and kids aren’t in the near future for me ^_^;; ), at least by government measures. By watching my aunts raise my little cousins, seeing parents and their kids at the pool while lifeguarding and just observing life in general, I know America has plenty of capable parents. That’s why I believe, as far as children and videogames, the power to decide what their kids should and can play should lie in the parents’ hands.

Use the ESRB system (and more), look at online reviews, play games with your child. Only you can protect videogames from being banned.

Dr. Phil to feature video game violence

I recently just returned to my regular schedule of sifting through Internet stories, finally on the rebound from this awful cold I've had, and find that Dr. Phil will be taping a show this Thursday about videogame violence with a so far unnamed guest appearance of a "game violence specialist." It is unknown when this episode will air, but I'll watch it, find it on YouTube, or blow the dust off the VCR and record it.

Since this taping was announced (I heard about it from GamePolitics), concerned gamers have been talking about it with some apprehension and plenty of disgust, which is understandable because Dr. Phil was among the first to point fingers at videogames as the cause of the Virginia Tech Massacre (only to be beaten out by the insidiously evil Jack Thompson).

What I find most interesting (and frightening) about this upcoming show is GamerDad was asked to appear as a guest. However, as he explained he didn't believe videogames caused violence, the show lost interest. (Actual quote from GamerDad can be found in the comments on the small article about Dr. Phil's taping)

This makes me believe the argument Dr. Phil is going to present will be a teeeeensy bit skewed and one-sided.

Dr. Phil has made other comments on violent videogames before on his website here. Some of the advice he gives is surprisingly sound, like encouraging parents to play with their kids, read beyond the ESRB ratings, talking with your child about what they're playing, and going online to do further investigation on certain games.

However, he still makes the claim that

According the American Psychological Association, violent video games can increase children's aggression.

Proponents of the link between videogames and violence always say this, but never show you the study that was done to prove this, which is a sketchy way to build an argument at best.

No studies have actually drawn a direct causal link between games and violence (it usually has been compared to the same way the "causal link" between lung cancer and smoking are made).

It will be interesting to see how this episode plays out. Just remember, so far there is no direct causal link between games and violence and there is no such occupation as a "game violence specialist."

books, movies, and videogames... all telling the same story

It's a book!

No, it's a movie!

No, it's a videogame!

No, it's a SUPER-FRANCHISE!!!

It's becoming more and more common these days. A story starts out in its precarious print form--whether that be a book, comic or graphic novel. Then it gets a following, usually underground in a "sleeper hit" kind of way. And then someone in Hollywood stumbles on it, decides to introduce it to the mainstream and SHAZAM there's a 90+ minute feature film (or 8 hours if your name starts with "Lord of the Rings"). The videogames industry, always looking for a quick buck to get a profit, is never far behind.

It's happened with Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Fantastic 4... any super-hero/epic adventure story you can think of that was released as a movie in the past 4-5 years is probably a videogame by now, and chances are it's not a very good game.

The buyer must be very wary of videogame movies. Although they're usually visually appealing because they're fashioned after the movie's setting, they suffer from other flaws like clunky controls and repetitive, uninteresting gameplay. There are some exceptions to the rule (i.e. Goldeneye for the N64 was an amazingly exceptional game, as was Lion King for the SNES. More recently though, I've heard The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay (Xbox) and Scarface (PS2) were decent).

So beware the movie-game. And those silly games based on Nickelodeon cartoons. Most are mediocre at best, and for the genres they inhabit (usually platform/action, adventure, racing) have a non-Nickelodeon-themed game that's much better.

+add graphic+

board games go digital

If your box of Scrabble or one of the 18 billion versions of Monopoly are on their last legs, then fear not. Electronic Arts Inc. and Hasbro, Inc. have formed a licensing agreement in which EA will produce digital versions of Hasbro's most popular games including

• Monopoly
• Scrabble
• Yahtzee
• Nerf
• Tonka
• Littlest Pet Shop

The games will be featured on mobile phones and the Internet, according to an article from Reuters, and also on portable consoles, home consoles, and PC, as stated in Gamasutra's article on the partnership.

The first games (exact titles are unknown) will be released in the beginning of 2008.

Board games have been converted into video games before (I remember my friend playing Monopoly on her GameBoy Color). They usually have a simplistic interface and easy controls, and should be good clean fun for the little ones.

There's only one thing that bothers me about this whole story. And that's this guy:

Microsoft already talking about Christmas in July (August, really)

Remember that scene in the Lion King, where Simba is standing in the bottom of the gorge after Scar leaves him there? He's chasing around this silly chameleon thing, having a good time, and then the ground starts to vibrate and the pebbles on the valley floor start to jump around. The vibrations grow and crescendo, and all of a sudden he turns around and there's a HUGE heard of wildebeest bearing down on him. Suddenly, he's surrounded by the chaos, which then leaves as quickly as it came.

Yeah, and that's kind of like the holiday season for video games (except without the death of Mufasa, even though parents/gift-shoppers are pretty fatigued after this is over).

The holiday season of video games is a blitzkrieg of who has the best holiday lineup and titles. The only exception to this is when new consoles are released, and then it's the age-old, never-ending "console wars," the debate on which system will be the mightiest, which is the best deal, and which has the most solid launch titles of them all.

I bring this up only because we're 4 months away from the "most wonderful time of the year" and Microsoft is already tooting its own horn about its most elite holiday lineup yet. Microsoft does have some pretty decent titles slated for holiday release, but their tenacious confidence might be a little much. Here are the games they're promising:

• Guitar Hero III Legends of Rock” (RedOctane/Activision),
• Halo 3 (Bungie Studios),
• Madden NFL 08 (EA)
• Rock Band (MTV Games).
• BioShock (2K Games),
• Lost Odyssey (Mistwalker and Feel Plus),
  
• Blue Dragon (Mistwalker and Artoon Co. Ltd.),
• Scene It? Lights, Camera, Action (Screenlife),
• Project Gotham Racing 4 (Bizarre Creations Ltd.),
• Mass Effect (BioWare Corp.),
• Naruto: Rise of a Ninja (Ubisoft),
• Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation

Followed by this quote:

“On the eve of the best holiday games lineup ever and the launch of ‘Madden NFL 08,’ there has never been a better time to jump into Xbox 360.”

I don't know about that. Last I heard the Xbox 360 was still having technical hardware issues with what has been dubbed by frustrated gamers the "Red Ring of Death." But it's probable this hardware issue will be fixed come holiday season.

Looking at this game list, I don't know if it secures Microsoft's success. They do have some solid system-exclusive titles, namely Halo 3. But this list is rounded out by Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey, both games with big expectations. I can also see some titles that are family-friendly and would be great for the kiddies, like Scene it?, Rock Band, and Naruto.

Oh, the possibilities. I wonder how many articles are written on videogames just based loosely on conjecture.

Anyway, my plans to prepare for the holiday season... I will have for you:

• List of holiday titles for each system
  
• have short evaluations/previews of said holiday titles
• Include a list of games from last season/year that are solid titles, and probably pretty cheap right now

I promise. These will be here. And if they aren't, I'll do all of your holiday shopping.

That's how serious I am. :P

persuasive games, indeed.

This is definitely one of those times when I'm disappointed I don't have cable/satellite. Not only do I miss out on the quirks and joys of Ninja Warrior or Futurama, but also the nightly broadcasts of the lovable Steven Colbert. Apparently last night's Colbert Report guest was Ian Bogost, creator of the online website Persuasive Games.

Bogost spoke on how games can have a sociological aspect and be exactly what his website says they are--persuasive. Bogost's games bring certain issues to life, such as immigration, airport security, FDA inspection, and obesity. These games are meant to educate, satirize, and most of all just bring attention to certain events. And they do just that.

I played Presidential Pong, which is a cartoony revamp of the old arcade classic involving the 2008 Presidential candidates. Each candidate has his or her own power-up that pokes fun at their personality or past remarks. For example, Hilary can use the "Clinton Family" to put a little more spin on the ball and John Edwards uses "Two Americas" to confuse the opponent by using two ping-pong balls.

Although these aren't as fun as straight-up entertainment games, they put serious issues in a joking light and make learning about them fun.

Now, Mr. Colbert, when do I get my turn to talk to the Nation?? :P

congratulations VGVN

Congratulations to the Video Games Voting Network on gaining support from over 100,000 members (even though they did have that awful ad). You're really showing that gamers do in fact come out of their little caves full of consoles, and can take a long enough of a break from WoW to promote a cause. (Joking, guys.)

I'm interested to see where this issue will play a role and if it will play a role in any campaigns. I doubt we'll see it in the presidential campaign (because of more pressing issues like the war in Iraq, gay marriage rights, etc., etc.), although it would be interesting if we did. It's just hard to imagine presidential candidates talk fervently about videogames. Maybe Barack Obama, just because he's so hip and mainstream with the younger crowd, but aside from that, I can't really see it happening.

Ooh, I need to see what Jack Thompson thinks about this. He tends to think of gamer's as know-nothing zombie-IQ-level degenerates who have no other interest in anything else aside from videogames, which corrupt our morals on a daily basis. Oh, Jack Thompson, how you make the game community chuckle.

**okay, I really need to go to work. To do: links, pic of Obama angel, spelling of Obama's name?, JT response, be an evil degenerate zombie-child videogame-freak.

racism? no.

When I first saw the ugly Resident Evil 5 racism conspiracy raise its head, I edged away from it, thinking it wasn't too relevant to YFG. And then I realized I was being a silly, lazy person, and have decided to toss in my few cents on the issue.

Resident Evil is hearkened as a consistently good zombie-killin' game. The player typically assumes the role of the protagonist, and sets out to weed zombies out of a certain area. But it isn't just a good ole zombie-blasting time. RE has a reputation for having puzzle-solving elements and being very plot-driven (meaning you're killing zombies for a reason AND there's other things going on in the storyline). RE is usually set in a rural, almost deserted area, probably to kick the creepiness up. RE has taken gamers to a variety of environments, which allows for more of a variety in gameplay. But the RE franchise hadn't hit a problem until the RE5 trailer debuted, showing a desert-like setting in Africa and the white male protagonist shooting the now-infected black zombies.

The race issue exploded on the Internet, and even got some coverage on G4, a TV station focusing on gaming. Some activists are really getting fired up about it.

"But activist/media analyst/blogger Kym Platt is seeing red over the trailer to Resident Evil 5. According to Platt (and others on the web) the trailer shown at this year's E3 is "problematic on so many levels." The vid, according to Platt, depicts black people as "inhuman savages, the killing of Black people by a white man in military clothing, and the fact that this video game is marketed to children and young adults. Start them young… fearing, hating, and destroying Black people." -G4TV.com

"Start them young... fearing, hating, and destroying Black people"? If game designer's purposely designed games like this, chances are they'd be out of the job and fired before you could say "awful human being." The game is set in Africa in order to provide a new gaming experience, not to breed racism. Besides, in all past RE games, victims have been primarily white, and depending on location, Hispanic. I know, the trailer looks bad, but RE stands to become a stale, repetitive series if they keep sending gamers on missions to creepy woods in the boonies, deserted cities/villages, treks through the mountains and over the freezing snows. Capcom is trying to give gamers a new and exciting experience; send gamers to a place they haven't been before. Seriously, I can't remember the last game I've seen that was set in Africa, and probably for this same reason.

Please, Capcom is not singling out a race. They are not trying to make Klan members out of your kids. As a middle-class white kid, I don't claim to understand what it's like to be targeted by racism or the history that comes with being oppressed for so many years. I just don't believe that Capcom's intentions for this game have racist roots (for the reasons listed above), and don't think they should be perceived as such.

**will edit: add link to trailer, pics, any more links? gottta go to work

the ultimate tagteam of reading and gaming

So it looks like this post won't quite make the Monday update I wanted, but that's okay. Only missed it by a few minutes, and this way I can just skip over to woot.com for my daily bargain-buy geek gadget.

Anyway, on to business. The Chicago Tribune featured a lovely article relaying the story of libraries using videogame tournaments to draw in the elusive 13-year-old boy demographic. The tournaments are intended to lure the boys into the library and then take home graphic novels and other fiction books. Not a bad ploy because graphic novels are closely associated to gaming as a hobby.

It's unfortunate that because they are digital, supposively brain-numbing media, that videogames automatically are denoted as inferior to the printed storybook. For example, as a lifeguard, I usually have a considerable chunk of time at work where I have no actual work to do and can sit there and enjoy some leisure time. If I'm at a single-guard pool, I usually read when patrons are around, and only bust out the Nintendo DS when I'm completely alone. Why? I'd be perceived as a much lazier guard if I was clicking buttons instead of poring over words.

Sure, games lack the lustrous vocabulary of books and tend to relate easier to pop culture vernacular (which is a necessary supplement for any vocabulary). But, granted you're playing the right genre of game, your brain is being engaged in an even more interactive way than in a book. Instead of thinking about and reading about the characters, you have to think and act for them.

And this ties nicely into the current item in the Now Playing box, which makes its home at the top-right corner of this blog. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. In short, it's a playable novel in which the player determines the characters' fates through their ability to think logically and, ultimately, their actions. The game's dialogue must be hundred's of pages of text (I'll see if I can find a number), and the character's tout a vivacious vocabulary as colorful as each of their personalities.

The main reason why I love these playable novels (they are others like Lost in Blue, Hotel Dusk) and believe in them so much, is that they help bridge that gap between games and novels. Some larger RPGs consist of 1000s of pages of text, so you do way more reading than you think by playing them.

The Chicago Tribune article says that among 13-year-old boys, reading is not the cool thing to do.

"'Boys don't want to let their friends know they're a reader, even if they are.' said librarian Maggie Hommel."

Don't lose hope if your kid refuses to read, and please don't blame videogames. Try offering a game like Phoenix Wright (there might be enough intrigue in the plot to hold their attention). Encourage them to read graphic novels. (Graphic novel is just a fancy term for "big-kid, novella-sized comic book." Their content is not at all graphic, explicit, and the cover usually has an age-rating on it.) As for graphic novels, boys usually enjoy anything that says "Shonen Jump" on it, meaning titles like Naruto, One Piece or Bleach.

Some game series, like Halo, even have their own book series. Give them those to read.

There's no shortage of strategies as far as introducing a child to reading. And even when they're busy pushing buttons.

Power to the PS2

I'm still sifting through E3 articles (and still can't believe I had to work 55 hours E3 week), and found something unsurprising, yet completely noteworthy--the Playstation 2 is still THE most played console, at least according to a Nielson study.

I believe it, and would completely recommend a PS2 to anyone, especially with its price tag of $129 MSRP or better yet, just $99 for a used one.

What made the PS2 so great, and what is giving the "next-gen" systems such trouble, was its vast library of incredible games, especially the RPG/Adventure sort. If you're an RPG fan, chances are the PS2 is your system. PS2 also stood solidly in other genres, as well, catering to pretty much everyone's tastes.

And another plus for the PS2? Games are still being published for it. Publishers/developers still seem to be a little skittish when it comes to designing a game to the PS3 expensive specs. If the game fails to sell, then they could easily take a huge loss.

So here's to the PS2: a list of games that were and still are tons of fun (and could be considered "must-haves" in any library). PS2 had so many great titles, I can't possibly recount them all (at least in the 5-10 minutes I'm writing this ^_^;; ). Please let me know what's missing!

• Final Fantasy, especially 7**, 8**, 10, or 12
• Kingdom Hearts 1 & 2
• Disgaea
• Okami (note: one of my all-time favorites)
• Guitar Hero
• Katamari games
• Jak and Daxter
• LEGO Starwars
• Lumines
• Beyond Good and Evil
• Simpsons Hit and Run
• Dance Dance Revolution, Karaoke Revolution
• Shadow of the Colossus

**denotes PlayStation 1 game (still playable on PS2 because of backwards compatibility)
[PICTURED right: game art of Okami]

Ready? Fight!!

Wow. So I just spent two minutes of my life watching the Video Game Voter's trailer, and can't help but feel like they've just tried to draft me into fighting for Middle Earth or the X-Men or something. They make fighting government video game legislation seem like the most epic struggle EVER: the ad features the announcer with the gravelly voice, music reminiscent of Carmina Burana O Fortuna, and frightening clipart of politicians. What's really sad is I think I've seen better Army recruitment commercials.

I had heard rumblings of anti-legislation sentiments around the Internet for a while, but seeing something like this surface--I've never seen my beloved videogame community so propagandistic (even if it is intentional, as I just found out from the VGVN states in the video's description). I've noticed most gamers on the Web are calm, collected, but always willing to dish out a few pointed, well-phrased insults. This is an over-the-top outcry from the gaming community that I haven't seen or heard before, and am not too sure that I like it. Most people who commented on the video at YouTube and Kotaku express the similar feelings about the ad. Even if they were parodying dramatic movie teaser advertising, I think they need to scale back the drama a bit if they want people to take them seriously. Because if the gamers don't take their own cause seriously, I doubt the "evil, corrupt" politicians pictured below won't either.

I guess this is what happens when you don't like your congressman

The VGVN should reassess how they're going to advertise this movement against government legislation and start from scratch. (The black-backgrounded template for the VGVN website isn't that welcoming either). It's incredibly important that if you're going to try to reach and rally the masses of gamers, you have to approach them in the right way. If you approach with an open mind and state your ideas logically and reasonably, they'll listen. I hate grouping gamers into one giant mass, but that's generally how it works (unless you run into rabid fanboys, in which case you can expect to be flamed). And if you try to pull an over-dramatic stunt like this, they'll just look at you funny and wonder why you thought it would be a good idea. Maybe poke you a couple of times and then be on their way.

Don't get me wrong, I don't want government intervention with videogames. I think the current system ESRB system we have is solid, but it does have a few flaws here and there (like differentiating between Mature and Adults Only). People can decide what's good for them and what's not. Parents can decide for their kids what's good for them and what's not. So let's put a little faith back in humanity and move on with the uninhibited progression of technology.

should've seen it coming...

Nintendo: Revised Wii "not out of the question"

Jul 23, 2007 @ 1:43pm

I know it's just talk for now, but until I came across this article, I hadn't even considered it to be a possibility. It's still a mere rumor, a hint of suggestion borne from an interview.

"It's not out of the question," Harrison said when asked in an interview with GameDaily if a revised Wii is already in the works. "But we're not even to our second holiday yet, so it's kind of premature to talk about any revisions to the hardware itself," he concluded. -Article at GameTrailers

Revising and re-releasing hardware is incredibly common in the game industry. I remember I had been dragging my feet about buying a Nintendo DS and by the time I actually bought one, the DS Lite was announced. I still have the clunky DS, with the few design flaws it has, and don't plan on upgrading for another $130+.

The thing that surprised me the most about this article is that the Nintendo Wii is only 8 months old, and rumors about a re-release are already blossoming. Sure, Sony's Playstation 2 underwent many revisions since its release in 2000, but nothing extremely noticeable until the Slimline version, a smaller, more compact PS2, was released in September of 2004.

So why has this topic merited a few paragraphs? Most likely when a new system is released (in this example, the Wii), keep in mind an upgrade will be on its way in 1.5-2 years or so.

The only time this is actually a good option is:

• if you haven't bought the older version yet (However, I wouldn't skip on buying the initial release just to wait for the upgrade)
• if the older version happened to die on you

OR

• you are such a hardcore gamer and absolutely have to have those extra spiffed-up specs (which as far as family gaming is concerned, this usually isn't the case).

##fin##

oh yeah, that big expo thing...

Wow, I know I've been busy when I've almost forgotten about the E3 buzz. Can't wait to see what's coming up. To modify my previous post about the PS3 price drop, I'd say with E3, Sony has a big chance to turn things around and churn out some much-needed hype. (Because it's practically a theorem that when hype increases, so do sales. At least, that's what I can tell from being on the consumer end.)

I almost forgot that the PS3 does have something big on the horizon (ick on the cliche). It's called Little Big World and falls into the genre of one of those insanely customizable online social worlds. It looks super-cute and lots of fun. **Will add pics and maybe video trailer later**