buttonmashing

Mashing buttons since 1984

Archives for January 2006

We have seen the Future…

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… and the Future is Nintendo.

It may just be me (or the fanboy in me), but it sure seems like there is a lot of good press for Nintendo lately. Where to start? First the DS is going like gang-busters. The games and units are flying off the shelves. There’s a lot of reasons why, and Tim Rogers at Next Gen looks at some of those reasons. It’s quite simple why the DS is burying the competition – it’s the games, stupid! Sure, the PSP has that sa-wheet looking screen, flashy looks and sleek design, but there’s no games! If I wanted a portable video player (which the PSP does great) I’ll get a new iPod. For games, it’s the DS. I haven’t booted up my Xbox or Gamecube in almost a month because I’ve been DS’ing. It’s great stuff.

The Revolution is gaining momentum, as well. A lot of sites are already discussing the possible interface for the online component of the Revolution. There also seems to be a lot of buy-in and excitement from game developers for the new controller. I’ll say it again – if the new Zelda game can be enhanced with the new controller, I can wait. Release Twilight Princess with the Revolution. Even if they say they’re not going to do it, I would be an instant system seller. The Revolution seems to be on the cusp of something big. The Big N is aiming for a Thanksgiving release. It’s imperative that they have tons of units available. None of this “supply shortage” shell game. Just get systems into gamers hands.

I think the best stuff I’ve read lately was CNet’s interview with Nintendo’s Reggie Fils-Aime. Read the whole thing. Reggie doesn’t pull any punches and talks some serious smack. Observer the name taking:

The DS is outselling PSP across the world. The DS is also generating huge buzz in the blogosphere. The fact is, we have a number of not only worldwide but even U.S.-centric million-unit selling games, and Sony doesn’t.

And

We will sell more units than Xbox 360 did here in the United States in our launch window. I mean, in December, we sold more GameCubes in the United States than Microsoft sold 360s, and Revolution will do better than that.

I believe the kids say, “Oh snap!”

Finally, the guys at FiringSquad (for hardcore gamers!) seem the most optimistic about the future of the Revolution, going as far as saying:

Nintendo is poised for a coup. As someone who not so long ago was dismissive of what the company can accomplish, I today firmly believe that they’re capable of taking the #1 position from Sony.

Nintendo for the win? I sure hope so.

(links from all over – Joystiq, Slashdot Games, Evil Avatar)

iPod envy

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I’ve had my iPod mini for almost two years and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. It’s been a fantastic piece of gadgetry. I’ve followed, from a distance, the evolution of the other iPods. When the Nano and Shuffle were announced, I was still happy with my mini. I felt no hint of jealousy. Even the shiny, colorful iPod photo couldn’t do it for me. But today I had a chance to mess around (that sounds so adulterous) with my buddy’s video iPod. Wow! It might have been a childish infatuation, but now I can’t get it out of my head. Now I want one.

I’ve heard mini’s have held their value pretty well. Maybe it’s time to start a video iPod fund. Any buttonMashers out there have the latest iteration of the wonderful iPod? Was my initial impression so positive because of its beauty and not its abilities? My friend had an episode of Alias on and it looked fantastic. Is it all that? I love the mini interface and I love the simple design. Have they carried over the great design all the way through to this generation? I am certainly tempted right now.

I just need to make sure that money wouldn’t cut into the Revolution fund…

Carnival goes Big-Top

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The time has come to start thinking about the next Carnival of Gamers. This coming Carnival will be held under the proverbial Big-Top in February, at the venerable Slashdot Games. While I hope anyone interested in submitting something for the Carnival of Gamers would participate in any Carnival, having the Carnival at Slashdot is pretty unique. I’m not sure if Zonk will post to the front page of Slashdot or simply the Games page, but regardless, it will get in front of a lot of eyes and will be a chance for a lot of new people to read your stuff. Very exciting.

While he hasn’t said this directly, I’m assuming that Zonk will also have to do some moderating of the submissions (which hasn’t happened to this point) because it will be a reflection of Slashdot as well. That’s not to say he’ll reject anything, I just think he would want the submissions to be of a certain quality and content. I don’t think this has been a problem in the past, but with the exposure this Carnival will get, I’m sure he’ll have to cull some of the riff-raff. (I’ll have to get a definitive answer on this topic). Don’t let that prevent you from submitting something from your blog, though! I hope everyone who has participated in the Carnival in the past will continue to do so and hopefully we’ll get some more regulars to tag along!

Links all around

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Here are a few links for you to finish up the weekend or start off a crappy Monday with:

The first two are Animal Crossing links Animal Crossing Community has been around for a while, but revamped their site with Wild World content. Nook’s Cranny is a decent place to go if you’re looking to trade Animal Crossing WW friend codes. And over at 4 color rebellion, there’s a nice little New Year’s gift from Nintendo.

If you’re looking for cheap games to pass the time during the winter, Circuit City is having another huge clearance sale.

Finally, on doctor’s orders, this poor kid had to stop playing his Playstation. Bummer!

In the mail…

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I received a copy of The 2006 Gamer’s Tome of Ultimate Wisdom : An Almanac of Pimps, Orcs and Lightsabers, written by intrepid video game reviewer, blogger, and OSU fan Bill Abner.

The book looks great, I don’t have time to read anything right now since it’s time for dinner. Thanks a bunch to Todd (and QUE Publishing), this looks like a fun read. Support a fellow blogger and buy Bill’s book!

It’s quiet in here.

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There’s been a lack of content around these parts the past few days but I’ve got a legitimate excuse. Here at buttonmashing.com, we like to talk about video games. I come at the topic from different angles – how the media portrays them, how they are used and abused by politicians, and how much fun and enjoyment we gamers derive from them. The last point means I’m actually playing games. Unfortunately, my gaming time has been squeezed out by Real Life Duties (RLD®) lately so I’m at a loss to discuss any recent gaming sessions.

I also blog about sports and blogging in general, but since OSU football has ended and nothing earth-shattering has happened in the Sphere-o-Blogging, I ain’t got much there, either.

Nevertheless, I do have some ideas floating around in the draft-ether. Some will materialize. I’ve been thinking about Nintendo and the games they make (they’re fun!), various “handles” or gaming nicknames I’ve used (and what they say about me), music and video games (but not what you think!), and others.

Stay tuned!

The P300 response

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Okay, normally when I read about another “study” that links violence with video games I usually brush it off. The latest one, from the University of Missouri-Columbia, actually seems to have at little more creedence than other studies I’ve read about.

The team monitored the brain activity of thirty-nine games players, measuring a type of activity called the P300 response, which reflects the emotional impact of an image. When shown images of real-life violence, those who played violent video games were found to have a diminished response.

Although they seem to come to reasonable conclusions (read the whole article), I still fail to see the connection. It’s impossible to say whether the diminished response in the the “game players” who played violent video games is due to playing video games or if they already had a diminshed P300 response before they ever played a game. There’s no correlation between their response and actually playing the games. It seems like they need to find a group of people who haven’t played violent games previously, let them play some Grand Theft Auto and Postal, and then run these tests. The lead researcher says:

As far as I’m aware, this is the first study to show that exposure to violent games has effects on the brain that predict aggressive behavior.

Maybe it’s just me, but that seems like a bit of a stretch. But that’s just me, the non-violent player of violent video games. (hat tip: Attempted Survival)

It’s a wild world out there…

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So I’ve been playing Animal Crossing for a while now but haven’t mentioned it much past my friend code.

So what about it? Animal Crossing on the Gamecube was a game that I couldn’t explain why I liked. When you boil it down, it’s a game that has no purpose, no “ending” and nothing “manly” about it. The first time a buddy of mine saw me playing it he asked me how I could kill the residents of my town. The conversation went a little like this:

“What’cha playing?”

“Animal Crossing.”

“What’s that? Never heard of it.”

“Well, you’re this kid who moves into a new town populated by animals. You run errands for the animals and plant trees. You can go fishing if you want. Or you can do nothing. You do have a mortgage to pay, but you don’t have to pay that off, either. It’s pretty sweet.”

“Sweet? Sounds lame. Hey, can you shoot that cat?”

“Why would I want to do that? Mitzi (the cat’s name) is my friend. I just took her a shirt that Derwin (a duck in my town) just gave me to deliver to her. She hooked me up with this sweet wallpaper for my house. There’s no shooting, no punching, nothing like that.”

“What’s the point of playing if you can’t shoot anyone?”

“The point? I’ve got a house to pay for and I need to make some bells. I certainly can’t shoot anyone because then there wouldn’t be any one left to run errands for. I guess I could fish, but that’s not the best way to make money.”

“Right… Sounds fun. Wanna play some Turok?”

And so on. I don’t know why I played it so much. It was the first game my wife and I played together, so that had something to do with it. But I woke up early on Sundays so I could buy turnips from the turnip lady because that was the only time she came around. Was it my obsessive nature? What kind of game could get me out of bed? Explaining why it was fun was hard to do.

And so it is with Animal Crossing Wild World. It’s basically the Gamecube version with some added features and it’s still just as addicting. And I still can’t explain why. I’ll probably get to what I like and don’t like at a later time, but I will say that it’s a fun, pointless game.

Without any shooting.

WordPress 2.0 on its way

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Things may look wonky here for a bit, currently upgrading to WordPress 2.0 and messing with some plug-ins. Things should calm down in a bit.

I’d also be much obliged if you left a comment, once everything is working I’ll be deleting this post, but for now, it’d be a big help. Thanks!

Okay, it looks like everything but the Archives and the Tag Cloud seem to be working. I’m putting that on the back burner for now but I’m leaving this post up until tomorrow in case someone notices something amiss.

buttonmashing.com 2.0 -> new and improved!

Buckeye Blogging, looking ahead.

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It’s been college football all the time right now on buttonmashing.com. I’ve been watching the ESPN RSS feed to see any Vince Young news. This is the latest that’s popped up:

… Texans received word Friday from an intermediary representing Texas quarterback Vince Young that the Houston native is leaning strongly to also going pro.

I’m torn with the Vince Young turning pro saga. Part of me wants to see Young go, because the OSU vs. Texas game, in Austin, will be a lot easier without Young at the helm. The other part of me wants OSU to have the chance to even the score fair and square. In the end, I think Vince will enter the draft, go to Tennessee (like the article says) and OSU will have a great shot at the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. We’ll have to wait a little longer to see.

In other college football news, I was glad to see the people at Virginia Tech grew a pair and kicked Marcus Vick off the team. How he lasted as long as he did is beyond me. I am all for giving kids a second chance, but Vick had like four and squandered them all. I pity the NFL team that drafts him.

I’ll get back to the video games soon enough, I promise.

Update: bm.com reader Jeremiah tipped me off to a press conference for Teaas QB Vince Young. ESPN is saying:

Longhorns junior quarterback Vince Young will declare for the NFL draft at a 4 p.m. ET news conference Sunday, an official within the athletic department told The Associated Press.

Say hello to the pre-season #1 team, The Ohio State Buckeyes!

Another Update: Confirmed.