Vidya Game News – December 1, 2016
– The new Pokemans games have sold 3.7 million copies in two weeks, making them the fastest sellers ever for Nintendo, according to press releases given to Polygon and other sites. You can listen to our Pokemans show here!
– In other Big N news: Although they announced a Japanese partnership with Universal for theme parks last year, the effort has spread to the U.S. now too, per Den of Geek and other sites.
– In other, other Big N news… The NES Classic Edition is still impossible to find, but ThinkGeek is doing a sweepstakes for some. They might also have some for sale this week. Huzzah!
ON THIS DAY (OR CLOSE TO IT!) IN VIDEO GAME HISTORY…
– November 30 is a popular day for PC releases. Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness came out in 1995, Diablo came out in 1996, and Baldur’s Gate and Starcraft: Brood War came out in 1998. You can listen to our shows on Warcraft, Starcraft and Diablo here, here and here.
– November 30, 1999 was also popular for RPGs. Koudelka and Vandal Hearts II both came out on that day. They’re both considered cult classics, and Koudelka continued on via the Shadow Hearts series, which is for the PS2 and awesome.
– Quake III Arena came out on Dec. 2, 1999. While it wasn’t horrible, it was a bit of a misstep by id Software, as Unreal Tournament was generally more popular.
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 – 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.
Your Parents Basement 