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You know, This one?
Penny-Arcade has all the rebuttal that needs to be said on that topic.

Obligatory Penny Arcade reference.

No problem, just get yourself a Japanese person.

Am I the only one having problems understanding why you'd want to do this? I mean sure .. there's hack value and everything. But is the goal to run Linux on the PS2 or something? Maybe it will enable you to run import games, like Zettai Zetsumei Toshi without having to install a modchip.

Someone please explain why this is so important? (And yes, I did RTFA.)

-jh

I bet Raven can't wait to buy his.

Also, Tim Schafer likes episodic gaming.

(Personally, episodic games would make me as happy as a million rats dying, but opposite-style. That might have to do with how repetitive, and filler-filled I think most games are, or it might just be that a short attention span was the reason I liked ICO so much. ;)

As in the GBA SP EX?

Penny Arcade said it best.

Penny arcade says otherwise

and for another $20, you can get an mp3-cd player.
maybe another $20 for a 100-spindle of cd-r's, and you've got 65gb of storage.

Gabe is a better troll than you.

Monkeys?

Ob PA cartoon

Oh, and this one is funny too :)

Ob PA cartoon

Oh, and this one is funny too :)

Adults tend to want stories with more interesting themes than "save the princess from the bad guy" and characters with more depth than their alignment and/or funny way of speaking.

Uhh, if you don't like Mario, fine, but I think history slightly disagrees with you here.

As for depth...I have to say I find Microsoft and Sony's latest offerings (aside from a few games) about as stimulating as a pile of gravel. I used to be glad when XBox commercials came on, it gave me more time to go make a sandwich or something.

forcing the main character to never say a word just gets strange after a while, especially if the other characters are all talking.

Bow down before Chrono Trigger and Earthbound, heathen! Two of the greatest games of all time, on a Nintendo system, and with mute heros. And certainly better than anything Sony/Microsoft have or will come up with anytime soon.

They're too easy! We've been playing video games all our lives, we're not so hopeless as to need a little fairy to explain the weak point of every boss or to warn us every time a shadow appears at our feat that a hand will try to grab us in about 2 seconds.

Take away the help, and people would be whining about how things are too challenging, I guarantee. And if you don't want to use the hints, IGNORE THEM. If you want to pat yourself on the head for figuring things out, you are not forced to follow any advice they give you.

I've seen the little kids of today get overly frustrated playing games even as simple as Mario 64, but they still play and they get better... and besides, you don't have to STOP making games for little kids just because you make some targeted for adults.

I think Gabe from Penny Arcade says it best.

I refer you to this opinion...

from Penny Arcade

Seriously, people who bitch about the GC being for kids are just more concerned with being "cool" than with actually enjoying games.

It takes the *fun* out of the game, as well as the *realism*.

Have you ever played EverQuest? I did for a few weeks a couple years ago and I don't expect to ever play again.

RPG stand for role-playing-game, and if all you're doing is leaching off of this world to try and make the most bucks you can as your primary form of employment, you may be compromising the fun of the game for other casual gamers.

EQ isn't normally played like that (as a RPG) though. Building the game went like this: Take normal human greed, add a bit of internet-based-pseudo-anonymity, make it really easy for players to chat with each other, apply scarcity to anything of value, make people wait around for several hours for the chance at valuable items, when an item is released into the game only give up one to the group of 12 or more players who were needed to defeat the "boss" protecting the item, discourage selling of items, have character classes that make it hard to create a well rounded character, have crowded/laggy servers, make it possible for players to "learn skills" so they can produce things by themselves but require "practicing" for several hours where practicing is "buy X, buy Y, put X on Y, click button, repeat untill your brain is numb".

Now are we suprised that people are willing to just buy something? It takes a lot of wasted time sitting in front of a keyboard to get these things. People don't Role-Play in EQ they sit around trying to get as virually rich as they can.

Now ask youself why someone would pay money to "play" like this? Why?

Chad

Just not the content that most deliver. I can't stand sites that you pay for that give you a tiny screen with crappy compression or sound that cuts out every time you start dloading an iso.

I think it funny that the big media providers can't play nice with the television makers and put built in decoders on TVs. Yeah I'd pay ten bucks extra to watch Star Wars on demand, yeah, I'd pay to play for decent content on video games. Nothing like Starwars Galxies where I have to pay 15/mo. just for the privledge of playing my game that I already purchased for 50.

The problem is not that content is not available. THe problem is that the method of deliver is still sloppy and unprofessional or too expensive to maintain. It is STILL easier to go to BlockBuster and rent. It is STLL easier to put a lan party together, and often more fun. The only thing that was worthwhile, the radio broadcasters sucked the life out of (internet broadcasters). most of what you see these days (not all, mind you) are simply sites asking for money out of goodwill. While that might work for private, small and community-like ventures penny arcade, that doesn't work for corporate America.

TIMEWarner/AOL, NYT, Bloomberg, I will pay for content! Make it as easy as the TV, but make it better quality, and you'll make a fortune. People my age don't watch TV anymore. The net is my TV.

In this case, if the site went down, it was probably a combined Penny Arcade (who featured the project this morning) and Slashdot Games effect, since this isn't actually a mainpage post. From my very un-scientific pokings, I've noticed that a Slashdot Games-only post can generate enough traffic to kill some smaller sites, but on its own, relatively rarely smashes better-hosted webpages.

It was on http://www.penny-arcade.com/ which is on the main page of slashdot. It's one of the few sites that I know of that has no problem being slashdoted (that should give you an idea of how much traffic they get). As for the comment about freeware games: *All the micrsoft games? There are lots of others but they a generally small games that you play for a couple of minutes not massive like Final Fanasty. If you mean why haven't YOU heard about it that's probably because you aren't in the gaming scene. It's been at almost every LAN party I've been to.

I think this strip from Penny Arcade sums up the Jurassic Park movies.

"Like Jurassic Park 4. Dinosaurmageddon."
"There was no Jurassic Park 4. That's not a real movie."
"That's what made it so great."

KOTOR is pretty amazing. I've never played "RPG" games before and at first the turn-based idea of "rolling" to determine attacks and stuff was a bit odd, but about 1/3 through the game I was kicking ass AND taking names.

KOTOR is, like many reviewers have said, is probably the best use of the Star Wars license in the last 5 years (Phantom Menace and ATOC included)

If you want a really good and bbelievable impression of the game check out Penny Arcade. Tycho and Gabe really like it, and that means a lot in my book.

Why not link to the actual comic instead of writing out the text of the comic and then providing a link to the comic's index page? Here's the comic in all its visual splendor.

It's all about fufilling transhumanism as according to Gabriel.

I just want to take a moment to talk to all the retards.

So, you spend your real money in order to get pretend money in your online games.

Then, for the privilege of spending that pretend money - in a pretend world, on pretend things - you pay more real money, every month.

What a bunch of fucking brain surgeons.

(Credit goes to Penny Arcade. Seems apropros here. Seriously guys, get a life. It's disturbing.)

Recall the spat between Activision and Viacom over the Star Trek francise, and how Gabe and Tycho were there for us, then, too:

http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2003/20030704l. gif

These guys deserve a medal.

First, games are to blame for violence in our schools (see this notable PA), and now they're to blame for crummy movie sales? What's next?

Yeah!!!

The Habbit - I used to love that book

I wonder if Tycho was thinking about this when he said that...

Seems like the Cube might not be the only game system Acclaim stops developing games for...
Seriously, BMX and titties, of course they're under a formal probe by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission !

If you haven't seen the Penny-Arcade comic about America's Army, then you NEED TO...

If you haven't seen the Penny-Arcade comic about America's Army, then you NEED TO...

First, one less box sitting in the entertainment center. There is a finite amount of space for AV equipment and a limit to the number of power outlets. Remove a box without losing functionality (at least today) sign me up!

Second, seemless integration would be made easier. There was a comic over at Penny Arcade that pretty well described the situation many AV geeks are living in. If I could remove a single device from my cabinet, it would make my wife's life easier and thus my life easier. This would be a Good Thing(tm).

Third, there is an opportunity for new services. Perhaps my cable company is unique (Wide Open West), but they have continued to add services while maintaining or lowering costs. In my opinion they "get it" and know who and what there competition is. I feel certain that when a new use for these boxes is invented (perhaps an iTunes like player and purchasing system) they will be right there trying to offer the services. Would TiVo? Maybe the hacker community could, but that's not the same thing.

These are just my thoughts, but I suspect that there are a good number of people who feel the same way and will speak with their wallets.

I'm amazed that in all these posts, all of the "what girls play" descriptions have been written by their husbands or boyfriends.

Not surprising at all. You read slashdot, and you're already a gamer. The question is -- and has always been -- what kind of games will appeal to women who aren't already playing games?

I hang around a pretty geek crowd, and it's strange for me to think that there *are* women who don't play videogames (of the seven people living in my house, the three females (including me) are all avid gamers). Actually, rephrase that -- it's strange to me that there are women who actively don't play videogames; I have female friends who don't own gaming devices, but wouldn't turn down a controller if you offered it to her. But I've met "normal" women my age (mid-20s) who probably wouldn't do that, or might do it, bravely, once, and then become frustrated at her performance and choose not to play again without a lot of coaxing.

I think puzzle games are the right way to lure them in, but I'm not sure. I feel as if this demographic does already play puzzle games, but I don't know what's the correct progression to convince someone who plays popcap games into becoming a serial RPGer, for instance. (Or maybe different people just like different genres.)

As a girl gamer, then, if you were given the task of convincing your non-gaming female friends to play video games.. how would you do it? What kind of games would you start them out with?

Show them a real, live woman. That's their true weakness, and will send them a-runnin'.

Has anyone asked Bioware how they like their money hats?

(Ok, so it's not an X-Box exclusive, but it's still funny).

Has anyone asked Bioware how they like their money hats?

(Ok, so it's not an X-Box exclusive, but it's still funny).

yup

No, it means Illiad will be getting beaten with a 7-iron.

Nice reference!

So Adobe is the Acclaim of the computer world.

How do you expect GC to compete with XBOX and PS2 when GC has a pathetic excuse for online gaming...I mean, Phantasy Star Online, AND THAT'S IT???

Oh, gee, I forgot, the fondest wish of every game player is to have every game online...NOT. I'm so sick and tired of people holding up online console gaming like it's the Holy Grail or something. If I want multiplayer console, i'll get some friends to come over and play that way. In the same room. What a concept!

Please. I got XBox for online games, and my PS2 only sees use right now as an online machine...is there ANY online sports games on GC yet? Madden? Any NHL game? Baseball? Something similar to SOCOM? How about Wolfenstein, or GHOST RECON? I didn't think so...GC is and will always be for kiddies who don't know why a console would be hooked up to a cable modem/DSL line...

I defer to Tycho and Gabe on this one. Oh, and a little newsflash for you- not everyone in the world loves sports games to the exclusion of everything else, and everybody sure as hell doesn't love online sports games.

Come back when you've grown up a bit, and can debate intelligently.

The sooner they release it, the sooner these guys will get their hands on it. Then we can all (ok, the few people who actually do buy it) say, "bye bye" to their encryption...

Well, if you actually read the appropriate Penny Arcade news post, you'd know the following:

We received several translations of the title "Zettai Zetsumei Toshi," which means something along the lines of "the umbrella thieves." This actually kind of creeped me out - I thought it was sort of goofy to focus on losing our umbrella the way we did, but then I like fifteen people tell me that somebody taking your umbrella is practically a Goddamn epidemic in Tokyo. What's more, it's a cascading effect, so when somebody takes your umbrella, you just go take Bob-san's, and then Bob-San takes somebody else-san's umbrella, and now we're in this sorry state where proper preservation from the elements is concerned.


Mechanik

The Legend of Zelda has caused me to break pots and mow grass. I should sue.

Given Gabe's love of Viewtiful Joe, I can't wait to see the inevitable comic devoted to this game...

And he probably will import it too. I mean shit, he imported that stupid goddamned "Umbrella Thieves" game...

Mechanik

Given Gabe's love of Viewtiful Joe, I can't wait to see the inevitable comic devoted to this game...

And he probably will import it too. I mean shit, he imported that stupid goddamned "Umbrella Thieves" game...

Mechanik

They were clearly about to snap.

obligatory penny-arcade link

There's a scathing review at Penny Arcade (scroll down to the middle of the page).

Tycho had talked me into playing my first MMORPG and I told him that if he ever did that again I'd kick him right in his cream and crackers. After an hour or so of hitting spiders with a bat I was ready to write off the entire genre. He said "What about Star Wars Galaxies?" At the time I told him that Galaxies would be different because it was Star Wars. "It's not like they're gonna make you spend hours hitting Wamprats with a stick." Oh irony, thou art a harsh mistress.