Sorry it’s been so long since we’ve been able to post.

The holiday and a busy work/school schedule took it’s toll.

But the long weekend gave me the opportunity to have an idea for the post.  I was able to see first hand the extent of the Nintendo marketing model and how well it works.  The story breaks down something like this.

I got my girlfriend a Nintendo Wii for her birthday (yes I know I’m awesome but let’s just not ask about any sexual favors I had to perform to get it).  We brought it to her parents cottage for the holiday weekend and the most competitive people playing were her parents.  Not even fifteen minutes had passed after we stopped playing when my dad called.

My dad watches NASCAR.  He drinks the King of Beers.  That’s because he still has a 17 year-old grudge against Stroh’s, for something that I can remember nothing about.  He doesn’t do video games.

He didn’t do video games.

The phone call went something like this:

“Hey Son, have you tried that Wii thingy?”

“Yeah Pop.  I’ve tried it.”

“Boy that thing is really the cat’s ass, huh?”

Nintendo, whatever you’re doing is working.

After playing the demo for the new Penny-Arcade game, i must say I was disappointed.  This is not to say it is a bad game.  Quite the opposite.

It had all of the flavor and creativity that I’d come to expect from the boys over at PA.  The writing was very distinctive of the duo, the artwork very much in the penny-arcade style.  There were references to characters and happenings within the Arcadian universe.

It just simply wasn’t the type  of game I indulge in.

Admittedly, I’ve never been into games with this architecture, so I’ll say this.  If you’re into games that handle a lot like Final Fantasy, you’ll love it (especially for fans of Gabe and Tycho).

If you’re not… this probably won’t be the game to change your mind.

I’m pro-consumer. I think it’s important to state this before saying what I’m about to say.  The idea of fining an electronics retailer for not labeling analog TV’s is stupid.

Every other commercial on the television talks about the transition from analog to digital.  At the consumer electronics retail I work at, we talk about this conversion with every TV that we sell.  There really shouldn’t be any confusion.

If there were a major change in human lifestyle (and yes, as sad as it is TV is a major part of the human lifestyle), I would make damn sure that I was on the same page.  For example, if all of the world’s beef supply were to get poisened, as much as I love beef,  I would ask if it was important to make sure I was getting chicken.  Now maybe I’ve just had one to many beers, but aren’t there more important things in life… like attacking video games?

Looking forward to the release of The Bourne Conspiracy.  Just finished downloading the demo, details to come.

The Bourne franchise is one that even with Mahhnn Dmmmnn as the lead character, has yet to cease amusing me.  I have a distinct feeling that it’s success was part of the reason that one of the biggest spy franchises of all time decided to change direction and refresh.

This will probably be a game that I rent, at least initially.  While I’m excited about it, I’m also a little apprehensive on how engaging it will be and how faithfully it will reproduce the experience from the novels/movies (which I thought did a great job).

Speaking of that other Agent, I’m also stoked about the release of a new Bond movie.  While I love the original enactment of the Bond Character, Daniel Craig has been a pleasing surprise in his version of the role.  When Casino Royale came out, I was concerned about the new, darker direction of the franchise.  I had always loved the campy, gadgety, one-liner aspect of the other Bonds.  Now, I hope they “stay the course” and continue with this incarnation.  I’ve read up that they’ve incorporated more gadgetry into the new movie and I find myself wishing that they don’t go too far back in the other direction.

Art

*EDIT*  There is a link above this.  Sorry for not making the link more obvious. I guess I was right… this is apparently for the ignorant.

When Fable first came out, it was pretty much universally thrashed for not living up to expectations.  I think that we all learned a lesson from that: Molyneux learned not to over-hype his games, and we as gamers learned to wait and see.

All in all though, I remember breezing through that game in a relatively short amount of time (something to the tune of 10ish hours if my memory serves me correctly) and thinking, “That was fun… but it wasn’t definitive”.

I’ve sort of purposely not sought out information on the upcoming sequel, but I’m holding out high hope.   I WANT to love Fable…

Speaking of other games I want to love… the upcoming Penny-Arcade will hold a special place in my heart.  I trust the think-tank over at PA to deliver nothing less than a stellar experience with a fantastic story, as Tycho’s writing skills are top notch.  Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness game trailer over at the xbox live site.

I’m starting to rethink this whole Apple’s Cool thing…

I’ve been looking at there stuff more and more lately and have come to some disturbing conclusions.  Where shall I start?

iPhone: Outside of sheer storage space, 16gb on the higher end models, I’ve yet to find anything that makes this phone worth 499.  It makes phone calls, it sends text and picture messages, it surfs the web (although this is shoddy at best on AT&T’s network).  It plays music and video… In short it does the same things that many other phones do on the market… but that cost much less money.

iMac/Book: I used to have this thing with about how great they were, how indispensable they were.  And yet, I have seen several units under repair, I watch one crash earlier this week, and the available things for them are a mixed bag.  While some of them are fantastically designed (Time Machine, iPod integration, built-in iSights on the notebooks and iMacs) some are just downright frustrating. 

A few good examples: 1.) Try finding a webcam for your computer if you have a MacPro.  You can’t.  You have to either find one used (great, hand-me-down crap).  2.) You have to use 3rd party support.  While this may not seem to be a terribly tough thing, in practicality, I watched a Mac Genius fumble around and struggle for almost an hour and half to no avail.

As for iLife, it’s better than nothing, but far from the freeware that I can get for my WinPC.  I will grant the resistance to Viruses and SpyWare.  But here’s the catch, there are still viruses and spyware for mac.  In fact, the amount has grown with the increased popularity of the systems…  And try getting rid of it without redoing the machine.

iPod:  I really don’t have anything against the iPod except there insistance at using a native proprietary format (which makes them no better than their friends to the north).  I tried to transfer my music from one system to another… what a drag.  And what a shame if you have TWO computers (like quite a few households in America).  That fantastic song you just downloaded can only be on one of them (without a stupid amount of effort… and by stupid I mean more than copy/paste.)

I’m gonna simmer on this a while.

-Gr00ve

Chalk this story up to sheer befuddlement.

For a company who holds your online privacy so close to chest as to require some rather excessive ‘friend code’ to see another player on-line, I find it hilariously brazen for even Nintendo to as so much require someone to send in data — regardless of how anonymous it is — to be able to get something as mundane as Nintendo DS demo downloads.

If you were giving away a free Pokeman game or something, sure…but demos, srsly?

Sorry, but Thursday and Friday will be postless days.  Both Th!nk and I will be out of town.  So without further adieu, a re-cap:

Th!nk gone on vaykay.

Gr00ve rockin’ Red Wings tickets.

Boddington’s is great beer.

Corona is not.

If the cheese is holding it all together it counts as one nacho.

Alright… I used a mulligan. But to be fair, I had a long day. And besides… happy cinco de mayo! Buenos Nachos and Hasta Corona!