Vidya Game News – August 4, 2016
– Holy hell, get at this treasure trove before Nintendo takes it down! Thirteen years of Nintendo Power have been put on the Internet Archive. The covers alone are awesome. Read them alllll here. (Note: Some sites say that Nintendo has authorized the posting, so mayyybeeee they’ll stay up longer than a hot minute.)
– Matt Grosinger of Nerdist has a ranking of all the songs in Mario Kart 64, from worst to best.
– The 54-acre former home of Atari in Beverly is now looking for tenants, per Banker and Tradesman.
– Hardcore Gamer is doing a week-long retrospective on the Metroid series, with the topic of this article being Metroid Prime’s incredible music.
– To the surprise of almost no one, the developer of the new Ghostbusters video game that didn’t tie into the old series OR the new one didn’t have a successful release. Fireforge has filed for bankruptcy, claiming $12 million in debt, only three days after launching the game. Read more on Kotaku.
– Chris Reed at Entertainment Cheat Sheet has a pretty neat list of 10 games millennials have forgotten about.
– Polygon’s Michael McWhertor has eight minutes of Sonic Mania gameplay posted, and shockingly, it doesn’t look bad! Check it out here.
ON THIS DAY IN VIDEO GAME HISTORY…
– Doom 3, the first attempted reboot of the series by id Software, came out on Aug. 3, 2004. While it wasn’t really followed-up by id, the more story-based game got good reviews, and it was pretty fun!
– Konami’s Silent Hill 3, a direct sequel to the first game in the series, came out for the PS2 on Aug. 5, 2003.
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 – July 28, 2016
– Nintendo is mining its past heavily for the Christmas season, as in addition to the NES Classic Edition, they also plan to come out with the Playing With Power: Nintendo NES Classics retrospective book on 17 games. Read more on the Prima Games site here.
– Hey, Sega also licensed their systems for new productions years ago! Except, according to Polygon, they kind of suck.
– From Geek, the Retroist has a fun feature on misleading Atari 2600 box art.
– Surprisingly, the new Ghostbusters game is just as bad as the old one, according to Brett Makedonski of Destructoid.
– On IGN and a bunch of other sites, a wireless receiver is now available to use PS4 and other current gen controllers on the SNES.
– Jason Schreier of Kotaku has a good retrospective on Final Fantasy III for the NES.
– Surprisingly, Honest Game Trailers tackles the awful Superman 64 this week.
ON THIS DAY IN VIDEO GAME HISTORY…
– Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour came out in 2003 for the Gamecube. It was the second game in the Mario Golf series and well-received during its release.
– Pokemon Crystal came out on July 29, 2001 for the Game Boy Color. Seemingly, Nintendo is the only company releasing good games in the dog days of summer…
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 – July 21, 2016
– Gizmodo has an awesome write-up of the find of a Seattle man: The incredibly rare Nintendo 64 disk drive.
– Of all places, Playboy has a long read on how the really good 2009 Ghostbusters game came together. You can read it here, although your work’s spam filter might block. And hey, listen to our show on the NES Ghostbusters here!
– Engadget has a good summary article of Ben Heck ripping into the “newly” discovered Nintendo-Sony CD unit.
– There is now a Kickstarter for the old NES Wisdom Tree games, which were pretty horrible games based on Bible stories. But still, if you want to support it, go here.
– Now in Japan! Kirby restaurants. (And check out our Kirby show.)
– From The Daily Mail, games like Mario Kart might make you a better driver, according to a study. (Check out our episode here!)
– Gizmodo’s Adam Clark Estes has a review of the Analogue NT, a souped-up clone of the NES. It’s basically like a great version of the NES Classic going on sale this November. And, oh, it costs $500.
– From Mashable and Reddit, Matt Damon might be interested in doing some video game stuff.
– Posted on a bunch of sites, including the developer site: Obduction, a spiritual successor to Myst, has been delayed from July 26 to the week of Aug. 22.
– Looking to move out of your parents basement? Booooo! But if you are, then don’t go to Worcester. Your parents’ basement is good enough for Jeff Teague, so it should be good enough for you.
ON THIS DAY IN VIDEO GAME HISTORY…
– A pair of classic Genesis games, Shinobi III and Road Rash 2, came out in 1993.
– On July 22, 2008, a remake of Final Fantasy IV came out for the DS. It was… really bizarre. Developed by Matrix Software, it was in 3D and had an augment system that allowed you to power up characters after they left your party. The difficulty was also ramped up, and some story segments were added back in.
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 – July 14, 2016
A sweet baby boy NES!
– Pretty much everyone shared this article with Steve on a mini-NES loaded with 30 games. My mini-review: Eh. It’s kind of steep at $59.99, and there’s no indication whether you can load more games on to it. (Note: Nintendo later told Kotaku that no, you can’t.) The HDMI hook-ups are nice, though. However, it feels like a missed opportunity for the Big N. By offering a viable alternative to emulators – like a device that allowed for game downloads, using your old carts and third-party support – they could have taken a nice chunk away from that market.
– A fox takes a Playstation controller from a house and drops it in a garden. Video!
– From Kotaku’s Patrick Klepek, and some other sites, the Saturn’s copy protection has finally been cracked.
– Tech Radar has an interesting list of the most disappointing games of the past 10 years.
– Because Nintendo needs more of your monies, there is now Mario-themed Hot Wheels cars. Read about them on Gaming With Swag.
– Ron Gilbert, the creator Maniac Mansion, talks to Deveop’s James Batchelor about his new game, Thimbleweed Park.
– Anna Pulley, the author of The Lesbian Sex Haiku Book (With Cats!), loves Duck Tales.
ON THIS DAY IN VIDEO GAME HISTORY…
– WWF War Zone came out for the Playstation in 1998. Developed by Iguana West and published by Acclaim, it got pretty decent reviews, but tends to be overshadowed by other, better games.
– This was a popular time of year for NCAA Football games to come out, as 2005, 2009 and 2011 editions came out between July 13 and July 15. Unfortunately, the series is now defunct, as EA Sports couldn’t come to an agreement with some NCAA members.
– Tales of Symphonia came out for the Gamecube on July 13, 2004. It was later ported to the PS2, and then an expanded version came out for the PS3. Namco is now up to seemingly 700 different Tales games, by the way.
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 – July 7, 2016
– Polygon has an awesome full-length feature on where Blizzard’s Starcraft: Ghost went wrong.
– Also from Polygon, a good, long read by Colin Campbell on an Atari artwork book.
– A translation for Wizardry Gaiden IV has been released, according to the folks at ROMhacking.net. Check out this “new” SNES game here!
– Hadlee Simons at Gearburn has a look at five failed handheld systems.
– From various websites, Stephen Colbert attempts to eat a Hot Pocket quicker than a guy completes Super Mario Bros. 3. Video here!
– As expected, Nintendo shut down a Kickstarter project for an NES coffee table book.
– The latest video on Cracked from Cody Johnston is about how Christopher Nolan stole his ideas from DuckTales. No word yet from Todd how this infraction ranks on the DuckTales scale.
– From TechTimes, Paul Rudd has barely aged since starring in SNES commercials back in the day.
– Also on TechTimes, Chinese companies are constantly making bootleg games with all the Nintendo characters.
ON THIS DAY IN VIDEO GAME HISTORY…
– On July 10, 2001, Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec came out for the Playstation 2. The effort from Polyphony Digital set a new standard for realistic racing games. The sixth installment came out in December 2013 to glowing reviews for the PS3, and Gran Turismo Sport is due out in November as a PS4 exclusive.
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 – June 30, 2016
Image from MobyGames.
– The Nintendo 64 turned 20 last week, which led to retrospectives from plenty of places, like Nerdist and Tech Insider.
– The fine folks at Shmuplations are dong the lord’s work, as they’ve unearthed an old interview from developers on Super Mario Kart. You can read it here.
– The new Toejam and Earl game has gotten more funding, and it’ll see a console release! Read more about it in a piece by Brandon Orselli from Niche Gamer. And, check out our episode on the original!
– RZA will be doing some music inspired by old Atari games, which actually sounds kind of cool. Read more on Billboard here.
– Good news, everyone! Adventures of Mana, a 3D remake of the old Game Boy game Final Fantasy Adventure, is now out for the Vita. Read the release from Sony here. It’s the first game in the Secret of Mana series, which we covered in the past.
– From MCV, via Famitsu, the new Harvest Moon game for the 3DS is #1 on the Japanese sales chart. It’s scheduled to come out in America at some point in 2017.
– It’s short notice, but Nintendo is hosting a festival in Montreal this weekend! For more details, go here. And if you’d like to head Down Undah, there is an 8-bit festival in Melbourne later in July, according to Time Out Melbourne.
– Yougurtland is partnering with Nintendo.
– A Final Fantasy VII version of Monopoly is coming out in April 2017. It’s by Merchoid, and you can read more on Examiner.com here.
– A Kickstarter campaign has been launched for a “complete remake” of System Shock. Read more on the project page here.
– The producer of the Tetris movie now claims it’ll be a three-movie series! Yikes. Read more on Empire.
– The Angry Video Game Nerd re-visits Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for the NES, 10 years after he first covered it. Check out the video here. For James and Mike Mondays, they played Alex Kidd in Miracle World.
ON THIS DAY IN VIDEO GAME HISTORY…
– Star Fox 64 came out this day in 1997. And hey, we reviewed it! Check out our show here.
– On June 29 in 2000, Icewind Dale by Black Isle Studios was released by Interplay. It was a well-reviewed game based on Dungeons and Dragons.
– In 1996, Bruce Jenner’s World Class Decathlon came out for the PC. It was 20 years ago Jenner won a gold medal in the decathlon, so, that was kind of weird.
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 – June 23, 2016
– Cool: An Ecco the Dolphin prototype for Dreamcast has been found. Read more here.
– This week, blastr has another cool list, this one on 10 Genesis games that deserve comebacks. It’s by Dany Roth and you can read it here. Included are past YPB games Comix Zone and Vectorman!
– Natsume had a busy E3, as they showed sequels and remakes for Harvest Moon, Wild Guns and River City Ransom. Read a write-up from Gaming Illustrated’s Greg Johnson here. And, listen to our River City Ransom show here!
– From James Vincent at The Verge, Warcraft is now the highest-grossing film based on a video game of all-time, thanks to its strength in China. It surpassed Prince of Persia, which finished with $336 million. Warcraft is up to $378 million and counting. (And for our Warcraft show, go here!) Allison Elkin at VICE has a piece on what ex-World of Warcraft players think of the movie.
ON THIS DAY IN VIDEO GAME HISTORY…
– Guess who turns 26? Sonic! The first game in the series, Sonic The Hedgehog, came out this day in 1991. The series is still alive, by the way.
– Also, on this day in 1996, the Nintendo 64 was released in Japan. It was a pretty, pretty, pretty good system. Pilotwings 64 and Super Mario 64 were the prominent launch games.
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 – June 16, 2016
– Want to know how the Warcraft movie did? Well, Paul Tassi of Forbes.com has a piece on it, and the headline probably says it all: “The ‘Warcraft’ movie is a crushing disappointment in almost every way.” Well, then. On Rotten Tomatoes, it’s sitting at 27 percent with critics, but surprisingly, 82 percent with the audience. However, shockingly, the movie opened up to $156M in five days in China, which beats out the opens of the latest Star Wars and Fast and Furious franchises. For more on that, read this piece from Wired.
– To look at the reverse, Evan Hoovler of blastr has a fun list of the worst video games based on movies or TV shows. Included on the list is past YPB subject Superman 64, of course.
– Also on blastr, Dany Roth has another good list, this one on 10 SNES games that deserve a comeback. Spoiler alert: Two are on the schedule for future YPB episodes.
– Simon Parkin of Ars Technica has a good, long read on the history of Team17, makers of the Worms series.
– In honor of E3, Nintendo has deeply discounted some older games, like $5 for A Link to the Past. Check out the full list on their site.
– This week’s James and Mike Mondays game is Kung Fu Heroes for the NES. Check it out here.
ON THIS DAY IN VIDEO GAME HISTORY…
– In 2002, Neverwinter Nights was released for the PC on June 16, 17 or 18, depending on the source you use. The BioWare RPG was the company’s follow-up to its Baldur’s Gate series, and it was both well-reviewed and well-bought by consumers. Elements of the game engine were used later for Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Dragon Age.
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 – June 9, 2016
– A fun piece from Dany Roth of blastr, as he looks at 10 forgotten NES games that deserve a comeback. Included on the list is The Guardian Legend, which we covered a few weeks ago.
– Joe Juba of Game Informer spoke with Takashi Tokita, one of the directors of classic RPG Chrono Trigger. He’d like to see a “high quality, high end” version of the game. As a comment on the article summed up perfectly: *breathing intensifies*
– Obduction, a spiritual successor to Myst by Cyan, is scheduled for a July release according to Elise Favis of Game Informer. (And hey, listen to our Myst episode!)
– Director Rocky Morton tells Poppy-Jay Palmer of SciFiNow about the horrible experience he had directing the Super Mario Bros. movie.
– Anthony John Agnello looks at the development of story in the Metroid series for the AV Club. (And hey, check out our Super Metroid episode!)
– Jeremy Peel of the PC Games Network has an interview with the current management of Atari.
– Nolan Moore is trying to hack a Power Glove to control robots, drones and other things, which is awesome. Read more about his project here.
– The latest Mike and Bootsy game on Cinemassacre is Swamp Thing for the NES. Check out their video here!
ON THIS DAY IN VIDEO GAME HISTORY…
– Hey, the Game Boy Advance came out on June 11, 2001! It ended up selling more than 81 million units, which is pretty, pretty, pretty good. Castlevania: Circle of the Moon was a launch title. It’s a stellar side-scroller with RPG elements, and worth hunting down.
– Also on June 11, but in 2000, The Legend of Dragoon came out for the Playstation. It was a fairly mediocre RPG, but one of the first released for the system, so it sold fairly well as a result.
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 – May 26, 2016
– The best read of the week, and one close to my heart, is a long piece from Ernie Smith of Tedium on commercial mascots and their video games. Featured prominently are the Noid and M.C. Kids, of course, along with other lesser known items like a Doom-engine Chex game.
– Hardcore Gamer’s Marcus Estrada has a neat, informative little piece on the Doctor V64, which was a knockoff Nintendo 64 development kit. Read about it on their site.
– Live in Arizona, and want to play classic video games? You’re in luck! The Daily Courier has a business profile on Black Box Gaming, which allows you to lounge and play vidya games. Read about the cool little store here, in a story by Max Efrein.
– Now on Merchoid! Nintendo-themed bikinis.
– Boooo: Sounds like an automated FOX filter to take down their content on YouTube “accidentally” took down a clip of some dudes playing Double Dribble. Why? Well, because Family Guy used that clip in an episode. And, the show didn’t credit the brothers either. Read about it on IGN.
– Alan Young, the voice of Scrooge McDuck on Duck Tales, has passed away.
– Nintendo has released some trailers for its latest Kirby game, Planet Robobot, for the 3DS. Check them out via Siliconera here! And give a listen to our past episode here!
– These dudes tagged us on Twitter, so how can I not give them a plug? There is a music remix project for The Guardian Legend, which we’ve covered in the past. To check out their tracks, go here!
– I forgot to post this last week, but it’s still a really good read! From Eurogamer’s Wesley Yin-Poole, the rise and fall of Lionhead, creators (in a way) of Fable and headed by Peter Molyneux.
– Also from Eurogamer: Keith Stuart has a fun piece on how he was blacklisted from early Sega releases, even though he was running a magazine about the Dreamcast.
– Ron Gilbert, the creator of Maniac Mansion and Money Island, wants to buy back the IP from Disney. The mouse acquired the titles after buying the Star Wars empire for $4 billion in 2012. (And hey, check out our Maniac Mansion episode!)
ON THIS DAY IN VIDEO GAME HISTORY…
– Historically, May 26 hasn’t been especially great for games, but the first installment in the inFamous series came out on this day in 2009. The Playstation-exclusive series combined open-world gaming with superhero powers, and it was generally well-received.
– The NES version of The Lion King came out only in Europe on May 25, 1995. Yes, new NES games were still being made in 1995! Although, this was indeed the last release for Europe. It’s probably for the best, as Westwood Studios’ effort wasn’t all that good.
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 