Vidya Game News – November 24, 2016
A short one today, because it’s Thanksgiving, after all!
– The Ringer had a cool retrospective on Tecmo Super Bowl, because it’s the 25-year anniversary for the game. Check out our show on the game here!
– Also on The Ringer, their podcast network now has a vidya game show! It’s called Achievement Oriented, and they had Jennifer Hale on to talk about the vidya game voiceover artist strike.
– From Polygon via Variety, the Mortal Kombat movie reboot might be directed by Simon McQuoid. Read more here.
ON THIS DAY (OR CLOSE TO IT!) IN VIDEO GAME HISTORY…
– Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was released in 1992. It added Tails as a secondary character, as well as the “dash” ability thing when you’re in a ball, which was actually hella helpful.
Video game history information comes from GameFAQs and Moby Games. And as always, if you’d like to support the show, do so via our Amazon link.
Vidya Game News – November 17, 2016
– Polygon has released their massive video game gift guide, which is neat to read just to catch up on all of the cool stuff you didn’t even know existed.
– The new Daytona USA game, confusingly called Daytona 3 Championship USA, has some trailers out now.
– To hype the (incredibly hard to get) NES Classic, Nintendo has interviews with the developers of Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 3 here. And hey, check out our episodes for the first and second games of that series!
– In a fun feature, Polygon’s Owen S. Good tallies up how much it would cost to just buy an NES and all of the games on the NES Classic, instead of paying the prices online for it.
– From Motherboard and other sites, a guy is shooting for 2017 for the release of Tanglewood, a new Genesis game programmed on an authentic development kit.
ON THIS DAY (OR CLOSE TO IT!) IN VIDEO GAME HISTORY…
– Mentioned prominently in last week’s show was WWF No Mercy, which was released on this day in 2000 by Asmik Ace and AKI. It’s still considered to be one of the gold standards for wrasslin’ video games.
– The ole Xbox was released on Nov. 15, 2001. That old chestnut didn’t sell well in Japan, and ultimately came out behind the PS2 in America, but it established a firm beachhead in console sales for Microsoft.
– Three days after the Xbox came the Gamecube. Again, it finished behind the PS2 in the sixth generation console wars, but it had some very well-received games, like…
– The Metroid series is kind of a big deal in November. In 2002, both Metroid Prime and Metroid Fusion had concurrent releases for the Gamecube and GBA. The sequel to Prime came out on Nov. 15, 2004. (And hey, check out our episode on Super Metroid here!)
– On November 16, 2004, Valve released Half-Life 2. The incredible FPS was followed by sequels, Episode One and Episode Two, and then NOTHING. The third installment will never come out because Valve clearly hates us now.
– Dragon Quest VIII, the first of the series to drop the “Dragon Warrior” name for an American release, came out for the PS2 on Nov. 15, 2005. It was a solid effort, although not as long and deep as previous efforts from Enix.
– In 2006, the PlayStation 3 came out. It was a swell system, but it ceded the control of the market that the PS2 and PSX had established because of a high initial price and lack of third party support. (And by the way, the PS4 came out on Nov. 15, 2013, so Sony likes to push them consoles out in the holiday season.)
Video game history information comes from GameFAQs and Moby Games. And as always, if you’d like to support the show, do so via our Amazon link.
Vidya Game News – November 10, 2016
– Unsurprisingly, Gandhi remains an asshole in Civilization 6, per Kotaku. Check out our show on the original Civilization here!
– On Kill Screen, Emma Kidwell has a nice essay about how video games helped with language when she spent her summers in Japan.
– The NES Classic Edition comes out Friday in the U.S., and some reviews are coming in for it. Kotaku also notes that the old Nintendo call-in lines will be active, too.
– Also, as you may have heard, new Genesis consoles are being made… in Brazil. Polygon’s Charlie Hall notes that the system won’t have HDMI support or ship internationally, but it does come with 20+ games preloaded. Sega in Brazil is like Spinal Tap in Japan, or David Hasselhoff in Germany.
– Kyle Orland of Ars Technica writes about four “found” Kirby games for the SNES, and the difficulty of preserving old digital games, here. You can find our Kirby show here.
– From Matthew Figueira and other sites, Blizzard won’t be doing remakes of Warcraft 1 or Warcraft 2 anytime soon. Also, no news on a potential Warcraft 4 either. But hey, listen to our show on the old series!
– Obduction, the new game from Myst creator Rand Miller, will be released for the PS4 and VR in 2017. Read about that and more in Miller’s interview with Dean Takahashi of Venture Beat. And listen to our Myst show here!
– From Kotaku: What should you feed your pregnant characters in The Sims?
ON THIS DAY (OR CLOSE TO IT!) IN VIDEO GAME HISTORY…
– Golden Sun, a popular RPG series by Camelot and Nintendo, first hit U.S. shores on Nov. 11, 2001. It’s 15 now! Almost old enough to drive.
– It was only a year ago, but the sweet baby boys can scarcely remember what our lives were like before the release of Fallout 4 on this day in 2015. We have a lot more time… Stupid, pointless time without Fallout 4. Bethesda’s masterpiece has had several DLC expansions and mod support added, and people are already clamoring for the fifth installment, or a side game, or anything else because Fallout is LIFE.
– Also, Skyrim came out on Nov. 11, 2011. It’s now five years old! A regular sweet kindergarten baby boy. Bethesda sure loves to spoil us in November.
Video game history information comes from GameFAQs and Moby Games. And as always, if you’d like to support the show, do so via our Amazon link.
Vidya Game News – November 3, 2016
– Daaayyyyyyttttoonnnnaaaa! From Polygon and other sites, Sega has confirmed that a new entry in the Daytona USA series will be coming out. Read more here.
– Apparently, the creator of Balloon Fight first brought up the NES Classic Edition idea about 10 years ago! You can read a translated interview with Yoshio Sakamoto here, via Nintendo Everything.
– The director of Deadpool (Tim Miller) is stepping away from that series, and his next project will be Sonic the Hedgehog, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
– Supermodel Gisele Bundchen dressed up as Luigi for Halloween, because her SBB was dressed as Mario. Popsugar has the story here, based on her ‘stagrams. (And hey, listen to our shows on Mario 1 and Mario 2 here and here!)
– And speaking of the Brady household… From Steve’s home state paper The Providence Journal, what game did Tom Brady like to play with his roommate? Well, Tecmo Bowl, of course! Read more here. And listen to our Tecmo Bowl show here.
– Via Gamespot, Crash Bandicoot now talks! … in the Netflix TV show Skylanders Academy. Check out our Crash Bandicoot episode here!
ON THIS DAY (OR CLOSE TO IT!) IN VIDEO GAME HISTORY…
– Fire Emblem came out for the Game Boy Advance in 2003. While it was the first (official) English localization for the series by Nintendo, it was the seventh main game of the series. Rumor goes that Nintendo finally decided to give it the ole translation try because of the popularity of Marth in Super Smash Bros. Melee.
– Ratchet & Clank came out Nov. 4, 2002 for the PS2. Insomniac’s effort was well-reviewed, and spawned a series.
– Valkyria Chronicles, a solid turn-based, tactical RPG, came out on Nov. 4, 2008 for the PS3. Surprisingly, it was by Sega! A remastered version came out on May 17, 2016 for the PS4, to rave reviews.
– The first Dragon Age game from Bioware came out for the PS3, 360 and PC on this day in 2009.
Video game history information comes from GameFAQs and Moby Games. And as always, if you’d like to support the show, do so via our Amazon link.
Vidya Game News – October 13, 2016
– Biggest news EVER possibly: The Socks the Cat game for the SNES is probably going to get a release, once it hits its Kickstarter goal! Yay! Read more here. Second Dimension and Tom Curtin, a gaming historian and collector, managed to secure the rights.
– On Kotaku, they have a news item on an NES replica that’s in the shape of a Zelda chest. And, oh, by the way, it has a wireless, floating Tri-force. Read more here!
– Stuff has a cool feature on the history of Nintendo handhelds, including the Game and Watch.
ON THIS DAY (OR CLOSE TO IT!) IN VIDEO GAME HISTORY…
– Mortal Kombat 3 was released for the Genesis and Super Nintendo today in 1995, after its release in arcades on April 15. Its story is completely insane, but hey, it has more buckets of blood, like the previous games in the series.
– Pokemon Gold and Silver came out on October 15, 2000. They sold a billion copies.
– WWF Raw was released for the PC on October 14, 2002. Because it was the last WWF game on the PC until 2015, it was a popular when it came to mods, even though Anchor’s effort received middling reviews when it came out.
– Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne was released October 12, 2004. It was the first game of that series released in the U.S. by Atlus, and it immediately became a cult classic, bought by about 20 people who all happened to be game critics.
Video game history information comes from GameFAQs and Moby Games. And as always, if you’d like to support the show, do so via our Amazon link.
Vidya Game News – September 29, 2016
Happy birthday, Nintendo 64!
– GamesIndustry.biz has an awesome, long interview with Rand Miller of Cyan Worlds on Myst, Obduction and releasing a game without a strong publisher. You can read it here, and listen to our show on Myst here!
– Brian Shea at Game Informer has a good piece on how Sega and Nintendo finally made peace over the years, and how Sonic appeared on a Nintendo platform. You can read it here.
– The spiritual successor to River City Ransom, River City: Toyko Rumble, has scooped up a good review from GameSpot. Listen to our show on the original game here.
– The early reviews on Sonic Mania are good so far.
– From The Daily Dot and other sites, the Warcraft movie now has an Honest Trailer out for it. Listen to our review of the game series here!
– PCMag.com has a slideshow on seven Mario games that never made it to the U.S.
ON THIS DAY (OR CLOSE TO IT!) IN VIDEO GAME HISTORY…
– The Nintendo 64 came out for everyone today in 1996. It was kind of a big deal. Past N64 games we’ve covered: Quest 64, Superman 64, Mario Kart 64, Goldeneye and Star Fox 64.
– By the way, it seems weird, but Pokemon Red and Blue came out in Sept. 28, 1998 – two years AFTER the Nintendo 64 was released.
– A little game called Fallout came out for the PC on Sept. 30, 1997. Amazing, a sequel came out only a year later. Both games had more in common with the X-Com series than the action-RPG Fallout has become, but they were very well-reviewed.
– Tales of Destiny, the second game in that popular series, came out on Sept. 30, 1998 for the PlayStation. In this game from Namco and Wolf Team, you play as Stahn and kill things with a big sword. It’s a weird kind of RPG-action game, but well-reviewed and well-received.
– Crash Team Racing, a completely and utterly original kart racing game, came out on Sept. 30, 1999. For more on Crash Bandicoot, check out our episode from a few weeks ago. And if you’d prefer our thoughts on some other racing game, try this episode.
Video game history information comes from GameFAQs and Moby Games. And as always, if you’d like to support the show, do so via our Amazon link.
Vidya Game News – September 2, 2016
– IGN’s Alex Osborn has a great interview with Peter Moore, talking about why Sega failed as a hardware company. Understandably, the Saturn was seen as a turning point.
– From Mattel, via Polygon, Hot Wheels versions of Nintendo characters are coming soon! They actually look pretty nifty, so, congrats Nintendo. Thank you for successfully taking more of my money.
– Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey is available on Netflix as of Sept. 1. You can listen to our episode on the horrible vidya game here!
– Chris Schilling of VICE writes about how the Nintendo DS was his deepest love, when it came to vidya game systems.
– From noted video game journalism outlet InStyle, Christina Aguilera’s daughter had a Mario-themed party for her second birthday.
ON THIS DAY IN VIDEO GAME HISTORY…
– Command and Conquer, the first title of that popular series, came out on Aug. 31, 1995. The PC game from Westwood Studios became a staple of online RTS duels for years and years. It sold more than three million copies, and the series has sold more than 30 million units.
– An awesome character known as Crash Bandicoot had his initial release for the Playstation on Aug. 31, 1996. More on him Monday though.
– On the other end of the PSX spectrum… Released on Aug. 31, 1996, Beyond the Beyond terrorized Steve as a teen. He loved turn-based RPGs, but one of the main “features” of the game by Camelot Software was lugging around a cursed character for several hours. Fun, fun, fun.
– Guitar Hero 5 from Neversoft came out in 2009. It was the second-to-last hurrah for the series, as it was already starting to slowdown before Warriors of Rock came out in 2010.
Video game history information comes from GameFAQs and Moby Games. And as always, if you’d like to support the show, do so via our Amazon link.
Vidya Game News – August 26, 2016
– Celebrating its birthday this week? The Super Nintendo! Aaron Couch from The Hollywood Reporter has a good piece here, which features some good stuff from Blake J. Harris, the author of Console Wars. Over at SB Nation, Marc Normandin and others write about their four favorite sports games for the system.
– Cool graphics from Video Game Densetsu, as they collected some old Sega pixel-making.
– The new Toejam & Earl game, Back in the Groove has picked up an appropriate publisher: Adult Swim! Read more from Michael McWhertor on Polygon. Our episode on the game is here!
– Boing Boing and a bunch of other sites had a link to a hamster finishing a Super Mario Bros. level.
– From a couple different sites, an Epic Donald game was considered at various points.
– Obduction, a spiritual successor to Myst, has gotten a good review from PC World and from Polygon. And hey, check out our episode on Myst here!
– Nintendo has acquired JESNET, a console distribution company in Japan, for $46.5 million. It’s seen as a sign of the big N ramping up console production for the NX.
– On Cinemassacre this week! Mike and Bootsy play Where’s Waldo, a notoriously crappy game. And, Mike and James have a showdown, the U-Force vs. the Power Glove.
ON THIS DAY IN VIDEO GAME HISTORY…
– Today was a good day for games. First, Ecco: The Tides of Time came out for the Genesis. It was the sequel to the first game, and the hottest dolphin game of 1994.
– A little game called Goldeneye came out in 1997! We covered that awesome, FPS from Rare on a past episode here.
– Super Mario Sunshine came out for the Gamecube on Aug. 26, 2002. It’s 14 years old! God, it feels like it came out yesterday.
Video game history information comes from GameFAQs and Moby Games. And as always, if you’d like to support the show, do so via our Amazon link.
Vidya Game News – August 19, 2016
– Stoughton Farm in New York has an awesome Mario theme now!
– From Charlie Hall at Polygon, Frank Cifaldi might have found the first bit of programming that former Nintendo president Satoru Iwata did. Read more about it here.
– ESPN does a mashup of Michael Phelps and Duck Tales here. (And check out our episode!)
– Via Nerdist, someone has re-created the first level of Super Mario Bros. in Microsoft Excel. Check it out in action here.
– GameReactor and a bunch of other sites have confirmed that Sega has renewed the Virtua Fighter trademark.
ON THIS DAY IN VIDEO GAME HISTORY…
– Some sites source today as the day that Dune II came out for the Genesis. Developed by Westwood Studios and published by Virgin Interactive originally for December 1992 for the PC, it has an odd historical footnote of being the first RTS game, despite being a licensed game. It’s a bit clunky to play now, but still fun.
Video game history information comes from GameFAQs and Moby Games. And as always, if you’d like to support the show, do so via our Amazon link.
Vidya Game News – August 12, 2016
Today’s roundup is a day late because Steve has a case of OLYMPIC FEVER. It’s unclear if he contracted it from the waters of Rio, or some other way. Without further ado though, the links!
– Anddddd it’s gone. Nintendo Power has been removed from the Internet Archive, per Polygon.
– Band of Savers has a very important article posted: “10 Things Duck Tales Taught Me About Money.” And, check out our old episode on the vidya game!
– Nintendo Everything has a translation of an interview a Nintendo official did about the NES Classic Edition. Apparently, the save states are going to be more integrated and extensive than originally thought, and there will be several new visual modes for the games.
– Fun times, as Entertainment.ie has a screenshot quiz on SNES games.
– From Mike Diver at VICE, a Top Ten list of Sonic games.
– The AV Club has an insanely long roundtable on the camera in Super Mario 64.
– Unsurprisingly, a fan remake of Metroid 2 was quickly taken down, according to Twinfinite.
– Kotaku has a look inside Smash Hell, the server where Nintendo banishes spammers and others.
– Shack’s Arcade Corner on Amazon looks at Black Tiger, a past YPB game! [WARNING – The first is a video link!]
ON THIS DAY IN VIDEO GAME HISTORY…
– Hint for next week’s show: August 13 marked the 25-year anniversary for a slew of SNES launch games, namely, F-Zero, Pilotwings and Super Mario World. And hey, the SNES itself came out! Good times, good times.
– System Shock 2, one of the biggest cult classics ever on the PC, came out on August 11, 1999. It was designed by Ken Levine, and developed by Irrational Games and Looking Glass Studios, but a sequel has been caught in rights snafus for years.
Video game history information comes from GameFAQs and Moby Games. And as always, if you’d like to support the show, do so via our Amazon link.
Your Parents Basement 