It's Monday again and we have a new episode of the podcast

This episode is another gem in the ESH podcast cap people. We change up the order this week and kick the episode off with MagicMysticGrl's review of the anime series Kamichu!, a series that focuses on the main character learning one day that she's a god while Pandalicious and NinJaSistah compare and contrast their respective rocking experiences with Guitar Hero II on the PS2 and XB360. It's fun and full of tangets... it's Episode 50: Anything Stiff Can Be Broken!

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The Sistahs take off on a number of flights of fancy during this week's episode. In all, it's a breezy hour of innuendo, shouting and laughter.

Pandalicious kicks off the proceeding by explaining her fascination with Kodocha, an anime series that started out as a manga and then an OVA. MagicMysticGrl follows up with an examination of the manga Millennium Snow from author Bisco (or is it Crisco? Cisco?) Hatori. Finally, NinJaSistah sees just a little too much in the new video "game" Dead or Alive Xtreme 2, the follow-up to DOA Xtreme Beach Volleyball.

It's got all the Sistah goodness you expect, so enjoy!

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See the Alienware ad pictured here? It must be advertising a game with a bomb ass helicopter gunship, right? Wrong. This Alienware computer is not for games with bomb ass helicopter gunships. It's for the people who build and operate bomb ass helicopter gunships.

Click the picture to see it in extreme close-up. The ad is designed to entice the U.S. military to purchase the ultra-high-end gaming machine for purposes other than gaming.

When you think about it, it's a perfect way to get skittish teens to join military service. Join the Army and play your favorite video games on a machine with quad-core Intel Xeon processors with an Nvidia Quadro FX 3500 PCI Express 256MB graphics card. Oh, yeah, and build stuff to kill people who don't look like you.

And everyone wondered why Dell bought out Alienware. Here's your answer.

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News item: Ken Kutaragi, creator of the PlayStation console, will retire from his post as Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.'s chairman and group CEO, effective June 19, Sony Corp. said.

Do you know how you can tell Kutaragi chose to retire?

By the splinters underneath his fingernails!

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I don't mind taking credit for it. I made the prediction in May 2006, and now it's all coming to pass.

Last May I wrote the following post about the pricing of the XBox 360 and the two forthcoming game consoles, the PS3 and the Nintendo Wii. According to this story, it seems that I may have been on target after all...

An executive from Sega, one of Nintendo's largest publishers, told Forbes.com last week that he expects the Wii to sell for less than $200. With a $200 price point, the Wii might not only be a video game system, but the new currency exchange unit for video game system sales. Consider this:

Nintendo Wii: 1 Wii
Microsoft XBox 360 Base: 1.5 Wii
Microsoft XBox 360 Deluxe: 2 Wii
Sony Playstation 3 Premium (retail in November): 3 Wii
Sony Playstation 3 Premium (on eBay in December): 6-8 Wii
Sony Playstation 3 Premium (retail, next May): 1.5 Wii

Sure, I got the Wii price point wrong (it was $250, not $200), but I was otherwise close to the target.

And to all those Sony fanboys who have been berating me for my disparaging comments regarding the PS3, I'd like to point out that they sold a whopping 167,000 PS3's in February. At that rate, they'll clean out the entire initial 6 million PS3 run... by, uh, June 2010.

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Oooooh, Sony's gotta be a tad peeved on this one but just in case you missed it, DMC4 is going to be on the XB 360 as well as the PC.

That's gotta smart.

So remember back a few months ago when Capcom SWORE that it was going to be exclusive to the PS3. Like, the pinky swore to Sony and before God that it was going to never EVER going to have any other home than on the PS3. Well, they lied. They are dirty, rotten, skinky, [I mean in desperate need of a bath] liars... but that's a good thing. Why? Because, more DMC4 madness on more platforms means more likely to have an online component.

Can you imaging Dante and Nero and maybe even Virgil grudge matches over XBLive? What about those old mansion survival modes? Remember those? [I made it 35 levels once... once] Imagine rooms and rooms of those mansions filled with other Live players in a winner takes all type melee battle. Can't imagine it? I hope that Capcom does.

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With a new Monday nearly upon us it seems only fitting to hit you up with a new episode of the Electric Sista Hood podcast.

This week, the whole gang gets together to chat about [among other things] Yaoi vs. Yuri [wikipedia that stuff if you don't know what it means] MagicMysticGrl shares with us one more example of where the manga version of a title is better than the anime version with her take on Air Gear. Then NinJaSistah brings the show home with her 40 second review of Virtua Fighter 5 for the PS3 and then dives head first into her latest anime obsession, Phantom Memory Kurau.

It's a fun episode. We yell at each other as usual, and maybe have a profund-ish thought or two. But let me assure you, it's not about a chicken.

So grab a fresh cup of joe, and enjoy Episode 47: The Physiology of Donuts.

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Those gamer guys from the movie The 40 Year Old Virgin are back, with their own unique take on the video game news of the day.

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Since it's Monday an all we figured we better keep to script and give you guys a new episode of our podcast. It's with great pleasure I give you Episode 46: Care Bears Are Racist Bastards.

In this episode of the ESH podcast Pandalicious shares the first of her "A Thought, by Pandalicious" series. You might be asking yourself, "...what could that girl be thinking about now?" Well, she wonders about what the western world would be like if it was more anime in nature. Yeah, wrap your mind around that. Deep, man. Just deep.

MagicMysticGrl jumps into the mix with her take on Saiunkoku Monogatari a.k.a. Tale of the Land of Many-Colored Clouds. Saiunkoku is the tale of a girl pursuing a path of enlightenment that is not afforded women in her country and the trouble and hijinks that unfailingly follow on such a journey.

Then NinJaSistah brings home the show with her take on the new PSP push by Sony to save a sinking mobile gaming device ship. Will the new price point, ad campaign, and re-focusing of the target demographic help or hurt the so called killer app?

All you can do is take a listen and share your thoughts. So grab a cup of joe and a bagel, it's time for Electric Sista Hood podcast episode #46, Care Bears Are Racist Bastards!.

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It's been awhile, but I don't feel like there has been enough discussion about ninja on this site in a while and I 'recon to rectify that.

Got the heads up with some screens for the forthcoming XB360 game Tenchu Z and I figured I'd share what I know about the game and what I don't.

I could tell you about the new killing system, how you can now kill people from above and below not just head on, or how putting your weapon in it's sheath can aid you in committing some heinous kills. Given provocation I very well could spend a large chunk of this article on the graphics in the game, speak on the improvements over the last game... hell, I could [if my mind even focused on it] attempt to delve deeply into the custom ninja creation aspect of the game. Truly, there are all kinds of things I could share with you my awesome reader. But all you really need to know about Tenchu Z is: ONLINE CO-OP NINJA ASSASSINATION MAYHEM BITCHES!

Yes, you can have up to four folks get down with you if you system link your machines together or you can put together a clan of up to four over the XBLive. Yes, you too can pretend to live the life of a shinobi, set up camp, devise plans of attack as far as how to go about killing the shit out of your targets [with honor, of course] and then commencing to open a can of Whoop de Ass like never before.

I mean, you can be invisible man! Do you know how big of a deal it is to have the ability to actually be invisible as a ninja, not just move as if invisible? Do you have any idea how easy this ninja job would be if I never had to even think about my mark being able to see me? Man oh man, let's just hope this Tenchu game does suck like the last one.

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Hot and fresh for Monday comes a new episode of the ESH podcast, would you like a piece?

In this episode Pandalicious and NinjaSistah go over the anime series Kyoshiro and the Eternal Sky, a series that is both wacky, sad, deep, and shallow all at the same time. Don't believe us, just listen to the synopsis... then you'll be in the group of the knowing!

After that, NinJaSistah shares her thoughts on the Tekken 5 game on the PS3... you know, the one that's a port of the PSP Tekken Dark Resurrection game.

New for you: Episode 45: I Must Tell You Everything, Let's Go Bathe!

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Being one of my few days off from my regular daytime torture routine [a.k.a. the job that pays my bills] I decided to hit up ye olde XBLive in hopes of improving my Gamerscore...

Two hours later my score has not increased a bit. I'm not a bad gamer, or even a being slightly lackadaisical. I didn't play anything because I couldn't play anything. Well let me rephrase. I couldn't play anything online against people because I *thought* my network was failing.

See I had just bought this smoking new router from Apple because I heard it supports that nice new faster wireless protocol 800.11n. Screw those dawdling ass backwards 802.11 A,B, and G protocols. We are in the days of the new. We are on the precipice of the future, and um, we need a helluva lot more bandwidth for all the digital shit we are stealing using. The 802.11n spec sheet says that N networks have a max data rate of 540Mbit/s with an indoor range of about 165ft while the max data rates for G networks falls in at about 54Mbit/s and B networks at a meager 11Mbit/s and equal indoor ranges of about 98 feet. Now that I got that bit of geekiness out the way, I shall continue.

So I purchased this router in order to lay the foundation for the next expansion of my entertainment system project. There will eventually be a box that will allow me to dish all of my digital content to my beautiful TV so I need fat pipe. Got the router in, hooked up, computers all connecting to the router with no problem [I will say that only one of my current computers can actually handle the N networks load, but I'm fine with that for now] and so it was on to getting the game boxes on the network as well.

On the back of the new router are three ethernet ports for sharing the wi-fi connections which works out great for me: one for the PS3, one for the XB360, and one for my VOIP line, I should be golden. First I hook up the PS3 and other than needing a system update [told you I don't use the thing too often] it got right on the web. The Wii was easy because it saw my wifi network and connected to it without hesitation. So last up was the XB360. I figured this too would be a easy as getting a picture of Paris Hilton sans panties but this was not to be. Over and over again the XB360 would fail to pass the MTU test. I would reset my cable modem, reset my router, give each machine it's own IP address on the network, but nothing made my sad little world become bright. There was to be no joy in Mudville.

I even went as so far to call up my ISP for help. I know they are clueless, but at this point I'd take anything... anything over not being able to get my Live on. After 20 minutes on the line I got a person who directed me to the companies website for instructions on how to setup my network for Live, or that I should seek help from MicroSoft immediately as this is a 3rd party product yada, yada, yada, and a boogity boo. After landing on the website I find that I have done everything I was supposed to in the order I was supposed to. I was going to have to go to the Microsoft site and ask them for help... and then a funny thing happened. The Xbox.com website was down for maintenance.

BLOODY FREAKIN' HELL MAN!

Why did no one tell me of this? Did they just assume that I was going to go to their stupid website regularly like some sort of lemming on a journey to get my daily ration of XBox news? Huh? Well? Because I don't. I have labors to attend to during the day that aide in my being able to fund my video gaming lust under the cover of darkness.

Except for today, because XBLive is down till about 8pm. Just FYI.

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Another Monday, another new episode of the Electric Sista Hood podcast. This time MagicMysticGrl and NinjaSistah go it alone to talk of things manwa and PC gaming in nature.

Well, not literally nature as is grass and trees and earth, but I'm sure you get the meaning. MagicMysticGrl shares some insights on the manwa title Can't Lose You by Wann which has the making of a great movie or at least daytime soap opera. Can't Lose You starts off like the Prince and the Pauper, but adds a layer of "say what?" and "you're related to who?" to keep the reader flipping through each volumes pages ferociously.

NinjaSistah kicks off the newly sponsored PC game title reviews thanks to Velocity Micro with, amazingly enough, World of Warcraft! Shame it had to be on a week where Pandalicious couldn't join the crew. If you want to know if WoW has a new addict fan or not, you're just going to have to give this episode a listen.

Submitted for your approval, is Episode 44: Pointing Out My Inadequacy.

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Blue Dragon [the RPG that lead to a boost in XB360 sales in Japan] is due here in the US in August.

I just thought I'd take a moment to mention it because it's one of the few RPG games that I'm actually interested in playing with the other being Kingdom Hearts 2... and I'm not going to argue with on on whether or not KH2 qualifies as a RPG or not.

I've been interested in Blue Dragon since I first saw screens of the game from E3. Since then I have been patiently awaiting it's arrival here in the states. Why? Because I've been a fan of Toriyama Akira since the early Dragon Ball Z episodes. [Aren't they up to super saiyan level 8 now?] Being a graphic groupie, the idea of playing a game Toriyama-san style appeals to me, and Toriyama-san created all of the character designs for this game. Before you jump on me and say, "Ninja, have you never heard of Dragon Ball Z: Budokai?" I will have to stop you and say that I have. But to me Budokai is not a game where I really get to immerse myself in a landscape of Toriyama-san's making. It's a fighter, so it's extremely linear which in and of itself is not bad, but it's a known quantity to me as I've suffered through many a DBZ anime series season. From what I've seen and heard of Blue Dragon I will have a new host of characters and new environment to run around free and play in.

In any event, looks like there's something to look forward to at the end of summer. I'll keep you posted as to a specific drop date when I have one.

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Do you know what time it is? Why, it's time for a spanking new episode of the ESH podcast, and this one is aptly titled: Pod of War.

In this episode of the podcast, NinJaSistah and Pandalicious rave about their lust for the baddest assed video game character to date, the mighty Kratos and his new mythic adventure in God of War II.

From the base gameplay mechanics, to improvements from the first game, to the arc of the storyline the sisters give you the low down on Kratos' journey to the sisters of fate on the down-low. [Or at least something to that effect.]

Good things to happen in good time, and this podcast episode is one of them. Enjoy!

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Computer Games Magazine, the second oldest gaming magazine, has discontinued publishing, according to a story on Gamasutra.

While it is sad to see such a venerable magazine go by the wayside, the big question is this: Do you really care?

With the immediacy of the internet, you have to wonder if a gaming magazine even makes sense these days.

I spent years in the magazine industry as an editor, and I know first-hand the pros and cons of magazine publishing. The pros? Beautiful, rich color advertising promoting exciting new games. The ability to include discs with betas, demos and other things gamers can try for themselves.

The cons? In a word: time. Remember all those stories you read in the November issues about the impending release of the new consoles? They were all written in July. That's right. July.

Every review you read in a magazine about a hot, new game? It was written four months before you received that issue in your hot little hands. The review was probably based on a beta version that didn't completely work. Most magazine-based game reviewers are little more than beta testers of those games. If something doesn't work, they rely on the media relations people to fill in the gaps. Is this really what you want to base a $50-$70 purchase on?

And you'll never see a bad review of a product from a company that has put multi-page ads in the magazine. The subscription fee you pay barely pays for the postage it costs the magazine companies to send those things to you. With only a few exceptions, magazine companies make all their profit on the advertising in the publication. (Of course, there are exceptions to this, such as ad-free magazines like Consumer Reports.)

So Computer Games Magazine is gone -- and it won't be alone. The parent company also shuttered the new Massive magazine, which covered MMORPG games, such as World of Warcraft. It is likely we will see more magazines closed over the next few years -- they just can't keep up with the speed of the internet news and blog sites.

What do you think of computer game-oriented magazines? Do you currently subscribe to any? Have you recently quit any? Please share your views on this important subject.

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Seriously, it does.

Don't believe me? Well then watch this video. It's not one of Douces' Jewels, but it'll do.

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There's a big rumor going around that Sony has discontinued the 20-gigabyte version of the Playstation 3. So we present a comic that shows just how quickly things change...

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It's Monday, so you know what that means: a new episode of the ESH podcast has been edited and submitted for your approval.

In this episode of the podcast Pandalicious shares her take on the World of Warcraft: The Sunwell Trilogy manga series by Jae Hwan Kim, and NinJaSistah sheds some light on the Ubisoft game Rayman Raving Rabbids.

It's fun, it's fast, it's Episode 42: WoW, Wii have an addiction!

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That's what we wondered when we first saw it. One thing we knew for sure was that it wouldn't comfortably fill any orifice that we had around the house.

Where did it come from? From the newest sponsor of the ElectricSistaHood podcast and website, the fine folks at Velocity Micro, makers of powerful PC gaming desktop and laptop computers.

Last week we received a test laptop from Velocity Micro, equipped with Microsoft Vista, so we could test out PC games for you on Microsoft's latest operating system.

Only there was just one little problem. The pictured plug here is what they sent to us in order to recharge the laptop battery. I don't know about you, but there's not a plug-in in all of Virginia that I know about that will accept this thing. So the Velocity Micro laptop remains unpowered.

We contacted the Velocity Micro folks, and they were very apologetic. They didn't know where the funny plug came from, but they assured us we would get another one in a day or two by mail...

...Only they sent it to Massachusetts instead (where Ninjasistah is spending time with her family). So the new plug is going the circuitous route from Richmond, Va. (where Velocity Micro is based) to Boston, Mass. and then back down to northern Virginia.

They don't know why we got the funny plug, either. They say they don't do any international units -- that all their units ship with a standard 3-prog plug.

The whole confusing situation should be ironed out in a few days, and you'll hear about our experience with this powerful Velocity Micro laptop and all the video games we try to run on a Windows Vista PC.

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I've been looking at game trailers over at the GameTrailers website and I saw this one for Def Jam: Icon and I have to say I like what I saw.

For the most part, I've never been a fan of the Def Jam series of games, mostly because I suck at them... but this one looks like fun actually. The graphics look stunning, and the fact that the game is going to be available on the XB360 and PS3 makes it look better in my eyes.

Here's the trailer, let me know what you think.

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The theme of this week's podcast is summed up by MagicMysticGrl: "We feed you. We clothe you. We amuse you." And it contains dozens of memorable lines you'll be repeating for weeks to come. Click to get episode 40: I Want to Be In a Vending Machine

Pandalicious starts things off with an anime called "Air," which is derived from, of all things, a dating Sim. And although the universe of Air is populated by dozens of girls and just one guy, Pandalicious finds it surprisingly good.

MagicMysticGrl can't pronounce the name of the movie Banlieue 13 (it's French), but under the Americanized name District B13, she was really taken with it and gives it very good marks.

NinjaSistah comes to the realization that the Internet is killing the lone gamer -- the pimply-faced kid sitting in his basement battling against the computer. PC games started the trend and consolers are increasingly making the switch to multi-player games and enjoying the interaction among gamers from all over.

It's an hour and 17 minutes of pure fun and we think you'll agree.

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Judging by the expression on this woman's face, she is having the time of her life. Obviously, it is the result of what she is viewing on the Icuiti video eyewear. See if you can guess what she is watching:

A. The L Word
B. Apple's latest "I'm a Mac" ad on TV
C. A giant fort of unsold PlayStation 3 consoles at Best Buy
D. Porn
E. Nothing at all -- she's a model, dammit!

The answer, of course, is E. A woman who looks like that wouldn't be caught dead wearing a plastic pair of wraparound shades connected to a video game (as you can see from the expanded view below).

The nerdy guy also portrayed on this page? His expression is much more believable. The device, called the iWear VR920, purports to let you "step inside" the game via a "3-degree-of-freedom head tracker."




Icuiti is marketing the device for players of MMORPG games like World of Warcraft, but it can also play on consoles, according to the accompanying literature. Here are some other features of the device:

• Designed for use with a laptop or standard PC through a simple USB and VGA connection
• Big 62-inch virtual display viewed at 9 feet
• Built-in noise canceling microphone for Internet VOIP communications
• Integrated “non-dangling” headphones that can be upgraded or removed to allow the user to plug in their own headset
• Supports component video-in from the latest generation of game consoles

We've seen lots of virtual video headsets over the years and none have yet caught on in the gaming world. Will the iWear VR920 catch on? Not as long as it makes you look like Geordi LaForge hanging out at the beach.

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On Wednesday, XBLive peeps will be able to trade in some of their coveted MS points in order to download and play oldie but goodie Paperboy

Yes, it's dog stopping, window smashin, people dodging, paper delivering time once again people. This time, it's on XBLive and you know what that means: Leaderboards, Multiplayer mode, and Achievements! You can add an extra 200pts to your gamerscore and deliver the paper in a new co-operatively mode together on the same console, or over XBLive.

Supposedly, "... game also features new artwork that compliments and enhances the original style, and the audio has been modernized for today’s high performance sound systems..." I'll believe it when I see it, tomorrow.

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I have to hand it to TechRepublic, their side by side hardware comparison of the PS3 and PS2 hardware is pretty sweet, and a tad eye opening.

I've never had the balls to crack open my PS3 case. In all honesty, after the green screen freeze of last week during DVD playback I've been weary of touching that thing at all. But the courageous folks over there at Tech Republic have broken down how the guts of the PS3 compare to those of the PS2, and they've done it all with pictures... good looking, non-grainy pics no less!

It's when you get to this picture that the fun really starts, at least from my point of view. You can see that the internal parts main layout is similar on both systems, the only difference is that you can fit the entirety of the the PS2 components on the left side of the PS3 and still have some wiggle room. Hell, the PS2 is the size of the damned Blu-Ray drive! Oh, we can't forget that cooling fan either. You see this? See how large that PS3 fan is? Makes that poor lil PS2 fan have an inferiority complex. At least it would, if the PS3 didn't run warmer than all get out. I have to keep mine on a level all by itself in my AV rack so it can get enough air circulating in order to keep it happy.

And the award for best image in the whole gallery goes to: the PS2 mainboard vs. Blu-Ray Drive. Sure, it's probably a tad bit unfair to compare a redesigned to be compact generation 2 PS2 to a first one out the gate in a hurry generation 1 PS3, but who in life said things had to be fair? The fact is, the system is bloated... but many gen 1 systems are. After looking at all the innards of the box, it's obvious that Sony has done their best to make use of every square inch of space that the PS3 encompasses, my question is when will the slimline PS3 be available?

We know that Sony is hard at work trying to iron out the kinks in the backwards compatibility between the Cell Processor and previous PS titles so they will not have to include the PS2 hardware in the system. That will be a huge step towards reducing the physical size [and weight] of the PS3, but what about the size of the Blu-Ray drive? Will there ever be a reduction in it's size to allow the PS3 to get down to the size of the original PS2? [Give or take an inch or two] I think if they can get these issues addressed by next Holiday, the PS3 will be able to cut into the next-gen console war lead that Nintendo and Microsoft have on them.

I still can't find another damn Wii for Pandalicious or another damn Wiimote. Can you?

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Sorry for the lengthy AFK all. I’ve been putting in some long hours at work, but now I’m back with something that I’d like your opinion on. What’s the difference between cheating in video games and exploiting a system that’s already implemented into the game?

When it comes to video games, people will always find various ways to cheat. It’s just in our nature. Whether it be the 30-life Contra code or hacking a mmorpg to get better items, cheating and exploiting will always be around. There’s also a fine line between the two.

Everyone knows about World of Warcraft’s first expansion called the Burning Crusades, which released a few weeks ago. One of the new features is a raised level cap from 60 to 70. To a lot of casual players, that brings another month to three months of level grinding and questing to hit the new level cap. Well not everyone.

A player from France was able to reach level 70 twenty-eight hours after the release of the game. He grinded constantly without any sleep. As tales of him being the first level 70 player in the game spread, he began releasing his strategy to many curious and amazed players. He had forty of his guildies helping him out. He would hit (tag) the mob to claim ownership of the kill, and then the rest of his guild would kill the mob and keep him healed as he moved on to the next mob to repeat the process. Twenty-eight hours later **poof** level 70.

Now here’s where the controversy comes in. It seems that others are saying that he cheated. In my opinion, “cheated” is a strong word to use in this instance. He only did what Blizzard and every other mmorpg developer intends for you to do when you log in to their game and that’s interact with other players to get the most out of the game. I see it more as exploiting the system than cheating. He didn’t use a hack or mod to speed up the fight or increase the experience points. He just used and benefited from the help of some friends to get the job done.

I pose the question to all of you. Is what he did cheating or exploiting a system that’s already in motion? You want my opinion? I say, don’t hate the player. Instead, hate the player that can’t play the game.

Any thoughts?

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YouTube is just too damn fun to snoop around when you have time to kill, and I found myself in possession of some of that mythical "free time" this evening, so over to the YouTube went I.

I like to check out the video game category to see what some of you gamers out there have up your sleeve, and well, here's what I found:

Submitted for your perusal:


Then video two:

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With box art this sexy the game has to be good right? Well, after the last 4 hours of playing I'm going to have to say no.

I got my hands on a copy of Yakuza today from Gamefly and I have to say that I'm kinda disappointed. Originally I was really looking forward to playing this game because the voice talent behind it was impressive. Michael Madsen, Mark Hamill, Rachel Leigh Cook, Michael Rosenbaum, and Eliza Dushku make up an ensemble cast that many producers would give their right [and/or left] testicle for, so when the dialog falls flat, and you find yourself wishing the post office was still open so you could send this title back to the Gamefly from which it came, it makes you wonder what the hell has gone wrong.

Yakuza shouldn't suck. It's made by Sega, it's a brawler [usually right up this ninja's alley] and is based on the Japanese mob so there is plenty of reason for violence, conflict, treachery, debauchery to take place. But in actually playing the game, you find things are very formulaic in that point "A" leads to point "B" and that there is no way to get to point "C" without first going through points "A" and "B." Within launching the title you immediately notice that this game is not for the kid-lings. Yakuza has more drops of the F-bomb [I'm talking fuck not fack] then a hooker with tourettes syndrome. Foul language doesn't offend me, it really doesn't... but when you use a curse word too often you take the edge off it. Fuck is one of those words whose edge should never be softened. In Yakuza at least one third of the dialogue exchanges that pops up contain some use of the word fuck, and for no apparent fucking reason either. Lame.

As I reached hour one of gameplay I found myself comparing Yakuza to Shenmue, another game made by Sega. Both games feature a young man, in love with a girl, battling gangs/mobs throughout town to try and piece together how his lady has ended up missing. In Shenmue you play the character of Ryu, and end up traveling all around town finding clues, working jobs, and occasionally fighting the odd bad dude on the quest to save your fair lady. In Yakuza you play Kazuma, and after some shizzole goes down you get stuck in the joint for a 10 year bid. While you are in jail you find out that your honey dip Yumi done lost her marbles and has disappeared. Once you get out, you set out to find her and figure out what the hell happened all those years ago.

Initial comparison aside, I expected the same level of detail in Yakuza that Shenmue had. Imagine my surprise when I started up the game and there were more artifacts on screen than in an ancient Egyptian tomb! Even pre-rendered video's seem to suffer from and infestation of jaggies. At times it is difficult to get the main character to stay focused on target and you wind up punching at air while a group of baddies stand behind you and try to hit you. Lame again. But I soldier on because I think that the story is going to get deep. It's obvious to me that there are going to be some twists and turns coming down the line and I want to see them. But the formula kicks in again... cut scene, cut scene, 5 person lame fight, cut scene, wander around to find the pink spot on the map, count the times the word "fuck" gets dropped. Yippie!

Now, there is supposed to be a film adaptation of this game and there was a sequel to the game released in December, but for now I'm going to give Yakuza a 2.5 out of 5.

Maybe if I get deeper into the game, the redeeming qualities that others have found in it will reveal themselves to me. But for now, I'm just going to go and play the Crackdown demo again and return Yakuza to GameFly

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I'm not talking Street Fighter Cammy, I'm talking about the schweet looking faceplate people of Camy Pro Gear.

I found out about Camy Pro Gear on accident. I was bouncing around the internet, looking for something to make me want to use my PSP more [I still haven't connected the damn thing to my PS3 yet] when I hit their site.

Here's the deal. I've looked at a few faceplates for the PSP before in game resellers, but they all kinda looked cheap so I shrugged them off. I spent too much money getting my PSP to try some housing that either felt thin, had paint that wore off, or ultimately didn't add anything to my pocket gaming gizmo. I ended up using a vinyl skin on my PSP, but really wanted a full color cover for it. Then I sighed, and moved on to skinning my consoles. After taking a gander at the Camy site, I'm starting to rethink my idea that faceplates for the PSP are all the same.

From what I can tell on the website, Camy offers some full color solid housings as well as a couple of special design cases. They list DecalGirl and EB as carriers so you might want to head out and check these cases out. I'm looking to get my hands on one and try it out for myself. When I do, I'll post a hands on review so you know what the deal is.

But, they look good. Real good.

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Fresh from Electric Sista Hood podcast oven is Episode 38 of our weekly podcast.

In this episode Panda shares some thoughts and insight into what gamers want [and don't want] to see in the coming [we hope] Kingdom Hearts 3 game, MagicMysticGrl makes it back to the group session to share some Legend of Black Heaven info with you, and NinJaSistah brings a Gears of War/Crackdown demo compare and contrast to the show to end it.

We can't forget our new candybitch: Arrot! You rock man!

Oh yeah, the girls also chat about the march of the skanks, selling teapots into slavery, buying Keyblades at Wal-Mart, Pandalicious' shrub versus NinJaSistah's goomba, and a few other tangents. Made for you with love, [or something like it] Episode 38: This Isn't Marriage Counselling.

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If you've ever been given guff about being a gamer and needing to "grow up" or "be more mature" I offer you the audio of the video to follow as proof that video games are chock full of class,if you look for it...

Or, you can play the soundtracks from many video game platformers and RPG's on the piano. Everything always sounds like it has class when it's played on the piano. I have a feeling that even songs by the Ying Yang Twins would sound class if it was played on piano.

In any case, enjoy this video!

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Mmmm, it's Monday morning so you know we had to hit you off with a new episode of the podcast, Episode 37 is here people... get it while it's hot!

In this episode of the podcast, Pandalicious rants about Japanese dating sim games and why they shouldn't be adapted to anime series, how her mama didn't raise her to be her friend, and how she imagines she'd be if she was a dude. NinJaSistah on the other hand shares her Crackdown demo experience and rolls down a few tangents along the way.

We congratulate our new Candy Bitch P."Willoughby Jackson" and urge you to check out this episode of the ESH podcast.

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If I was ever going to play WoW this would be the guild I joined.

I need a guild and WoW experience that is laid back. If I was to jump into the game I would be a complete and total newb, and have to be part of a guild where people were understanding and supportive of my [initial] suckitude... because I would initially suck at WoW.

I'm not saying that I am going to join, but I am considering it. And it's because I loved the Monkey Island games. I'm thinking Kate Capsize.

Just thinking about it though.

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Are you excited? I’m excited! For those of you who haven’t been on Xbox Live Marketplace recently, you might want to jump on there. You won’t believe what’s up for grabs now.

This past Tuesday, the demo for Crackdown was released on the marketplace and you know ya boy Douce was one of the first to jump on it. The 1gig demo took about twenty minutes to download. Now for someone who has been waiting almost a year to get a glimpse of that game, that was twenty minutes too long. After a couple of days on it, I’m ready to give my opinion on the demo.

Once the game loads up, you’re treated to cell-shaded goodness. I have always been a fan of cell-shaded games. You’re given a choice of vehicles to take out into the massive city and fight crime with. I went with the sports car type police because that’s just how I roll. You’re given a few gang bosses and affiliates to take down throughout the demo, but it’s a timed demo, meaning that once time runs out then the demo restarts which kind of sucks.

As you play, you’ll level stats that boost your strength and agility, which enables you to jump higher…I’m talking bionic-high and toss objects like vehicles at your enemies. You almost get a Spider-Man-esque feeling when jumping from rooftop to rooftop minus the wall crawling. The demo provides you with enhanced stat advancement that allows you to experience some of your character’s abilities earlier than you’ll be able to in the final release. The free-roaming environment is that of, of course Grand Theft Auto.

The cons of the demo are few and far between. I found the aiming and targeting to be weird. Locking on to enemies is somewhat difficult and switching for one enemy to the next is not always accurate. This becomes obvious when you’re in a gunfight with about seven to ten gang members. I’m hoping this gets fixed in time for the final release of the game on February 20th.

I’ll reserve my final review for the full game release. Keep checking the site for it around the end of February. Until then, give the demo a try. It’s free and free is always good in my book.

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I'm taking some time to read the Destructoid website because I just love Dtoid and I see this article about some dude over at 1UP that has over 1000 Mii's on parade, and I got totally jealous.

I'm a fun kinda gal. Why don't I have more friends registered on my Wii? I want thousands of Mii's on parade. I don't want to sound all consumed by it or vain or anything, but damn man... I wanna be poopular, er popular with the Wiioples, so what gives?

So here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to post my Wii numbah, and if you want to help me grow my entWIIrage, comment with your Wii Numbah below. Whoever helps me cross the 200th, 500th, and 1000th Mii on parade will get some ESH M&M's.

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Here comes a new question? For all your WoWers out there....

Who has the best dance in World of Warcraft? This also includes the two new races due to the Burning Crusades!

I'm Out

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Really, she doesn't. She just shows up for the podcast to lend her "sexy voice" and will put a post up if I brow beat her about it... so I think it's only fair that I steal her thunder and put up a WoW post of my own.

Now, I don't play WoW... never have, and doubt I ever will, but I do find news about video games being turned into [even possibly turned into] movies interesting... so when I found this article [thanks to Kotaku.com you know I had to lend my few cents.

So here's the excerpt from the interview that Empire did with Blizzard Vice President of Development Itzik Ben Bassat that I find interesting:

Q:There's a World of Warcraft Movie in the works, do you expect that to enjoy similar success?

A: We've been working on that movie for years! If people only knew how many years we put in to closing this movie deal. We're very happy with our progress though, it was really difficult for us as a company to find some we trusted to work with. With Legendary, well, they did Batman Returns and the new Superman so we knew that was a company we wanted to work with. Bringing Warcraft to the movies is the next step for us, we want to let people bring World of Warcraft into other aspects of their lives. After all, we're competing for people's entertainment time, whether it's listening to music watching TV or going to the cinema. Our goal is to provide the best entertainment out there.

Q: Any news on when we can expect to see the film?
Hollywood has it's own pace but we�re working as hard as we can to push it forwards.

And while I'm not a huge fan of RPG's in general, I do think that they can be the foundation of good, if not great feature length films. Being based in fantasy doesn't hurt, and can draw that diverse 18-24 audience that Hollywood desperately wants to bone pander to. Personally I'd like to see Final Fantasy VII as a movie, and not a CGI one either. I'd love a live action trilogy of Final movies actually. Wouldn't you?

Now if I could just figure out some way to work Samuel L. Jackson into the flick...

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Months and months after moving into my new digs I have finally reassembled my tower of power is back in business.

I speak, of course, of my gaming rig... the center of my entertainment world is whole once more. It's taken me months to find all of my cables, power cords, power bricks, games, and then the time to put the sonofabitch together. I put the most important systems on the TV to start [being the next-gen boxes] but the PS2, Xbox, and PSP sort of kinda languished in a box over in the corner of the room. A dimly lit corner of the room to make it even more pathetic. I would have had a GameCube in the tower as well but it was given to Pandalicious in hopes that it might lure her away from WoW. It did not.

So what's in my gaming rig you might ask? Well, in what has now become the "Tower of Older Power" we have the Xbox with slight modification, a PS2, PSP, Gameboy SP, 6-input S-Video switch, XB360 quick-charge stand, digital cable box, and games awaiting a trip to the local Gamestop for trade in.

In the main arena I have my PS3, XB360, and Nintendo Wii tucked away under my 42" TV from LCD Olevia Yes, the NinJa is back in action people. Now some of you may have noticed that I mentioned a bunch of consoles that have online gameplayability, [hehe, I made a new word] but didn't mention how I have them networked... it's because I don't yet. Right now, the Wii connects to my existing wireless network and my XB360 and PS3 are share a connection from an Apple Airport Express. Until I decided on a good ethernet switch for these guys to share it will stay that way.

Now all I need is enough furniture so that the gaming parties can begin. What about you guys? What do your rigs look like? What would you like to add? Wanna send us a picture? I'm putting some larger images of my rig in the gallery, so check it out.

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As the beginning of the work week rears it's ugly head once again we deliver unto you a new episode of the Electric Sista Hood podcast. Rejoice!

In this episode of the podcast, Pandalicious talks about her disappointments with the World of Warcraft expansion pack The Burning Crusades while NinJaSistah delves into the simulation video game genre that she believes may be life draining. Along the way they talk about interventions, skipping work to play games, and how sleep is for the weak. The sistahs even break from the norm and give a shout out to the fine folks over at TokyoPop, purveyors of fine anime and manga.

So grab that first cup of mornin' joe and saddle up for Episode 36: You'll Believe a Pig Can Fly.

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A true tale of suckiness... straight from the Panda's Mouth..

I know a while back I announced that I was taking over leadership of a guild that I had been co-leader of since it's founding last year. For starters, all of your advice [my WoW brethren] was extremely helpful. I was a model helpful and motivated leader. Sadly, people under me were all secretly applying to other places and were deceiving me. [Go figure Right?!]

Anyway... I'm not bitter, but I figured for laughs I'd do a "How to End a Guild in Less Than An Hour" posting. And here it is.

1. Have people complain that they aren't staying because the former leader was cooler than you
2. Have people constantly withdraw right in front of you
3. Explain to people who are loyal that this ship is sinking
4. Tell the loyal folk that you are willing to help them find a new and better guild.
5. hit /gdisband.

Now I know what you are thinking, and yes, I punked out. When you are a co-leader you have less responsibilities, and I think I liked that better. When you are the leader, everyone looks up to you and expects you to be knowledgeable and able to command an audience. Unfortunately, the kinda audience I can command is, well, none.

The Pandalicious reign of leadership was brief, but it was an experience I'm glad I had.

I'm Out!

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I have been hitting the job market in my new location and I just so happen to make a little boo boo on an application.

I was in a video game store and I decided to fill out the application while I was talking with the guys that worked there. We were talking about the new WoW expansion and I might have applied for the wrong position.

Yes! Coming to a store near you, the Customer Service Paladin! Not only will he aide in all your buying needs but he will also smite the wicked! (Nominal Fee required for any smiting done in or around the workplace.)

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Confusing title eh? All apologies, but I think you are going to like what we are up to this time.

After recovering from my trip to CES last week I realized that we needed to add something to the regular content roster here at ESH. If you listen to our podcast then you already know that we don't just talk about video games and anime on the thing... we all let our gadget geek and puter geek show from time to time. As I was listening to the last few podcast episodes I found myself asking why we seemed to only let those sides of ourselves show during podcast recording sessions. As mom would say, "dat didn't make no sense!" So then I started a dialog with myself [as I often do] and after a few harsh words and a round of fisticuffs it came to me: we need to add gadgets to the roster on a regular basis, duh!

And lo, "Gear Up 4..." was born, sort of. We are starting to pull together the list of the type of items we want to feature in our new column and will [hopefully] be launching it fairly soon. Consider this our official letter of intention. Yeah, I like that. Welcome, to the new ESH! Home of the BEST gaming, gadgets, and anime reviews and podcast, ever.

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Ok, so I'm at CES right, sitting in one of the chillout rooms taking a break and there are these two dudes talking. I try not to eavesdrop, but I can't help myself. One guy [I'mma call him Jed] Jed starts in on the heavy impress on the second dude.

Why am I writing about this here? Because Jed was explaining to dude two [I'mma call him Dave] how awesome it is to play Guitar Hero on his PS3. Now we all know, that until Nyko releases their PS3 Play Adapter, using the custom guitar controller to play GH or GH2 is impossible. She no workie cap'n. So I initially let Jed go on with his piece trying to make Dave think he's cool and up on thangs, but he's insistant that wailing on the guitar is great, and that the response time is so much better now on the PS3 at which point I can no longer contain myself. I have to say something. But what?

Do I completely out this guy for being a douche bag liar to Dave and ruin his chances to look like a hip dude? Do I keep my mouth shut and allow Jed to go on being a lying liar when I know the hard that his untruths can do? Dilemma, dilemma. I tell myself to just focus on the free danish and let Jed to to impress the hell out of Dave. What harm can it do me right? So I start to ignore them again and try to enjoy the chillout spot. But the guy keeps going on and on and on and on about how great GH is now that's it's on Blu-Ray [which it ain't] and how cool the controller is and finally the camels back is broken. NinJa opens up her big yap and proceeds to [ever so gently] rip this guy a new one. No, the guitar controller can't work on a PS3 but the regular controller can. The game itself is not yet on Blu-Ray but Harmonix is working on a fix. Jed goes, "Oh really? Huh." Dave now looks Jed up and down and all his credibility is gone. And me, I now get the rest of the "what do you know about the PS3" questions.

Yes, NinJaSistah... douche bag buster since 1989.

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Ok, I've pulled myself back from the brink of drunkitude once again to bring you the highlights of my day on the CES trade show floor, and by far I have to tell you Razer really got my attention today folks.

To be fair, it was a split between Razer and the Frag Dolls... but I only got a few seconds with the dolls and about an hour with Razer so they "won" the competition.

In case you didn't know, Razer does high end gaming peripherals... and I do mean high end. Everything I saw today had the best response times, well thought out components and features that a gamer could want or need. The Tarantula keyboard has extra banks of keys on both the left and right side [L1-L5 and R1-R5] that you the user can program all yer favorite macros into. You can play with the delay so that you space effects out over a second or fraction there of. No longer must you search or hunt for your shaman's totems... program em' and be done with it, because it's game time!

The most impressive thing that I saw today actually wasn't functioning. Razer has been hard at work on a new speaker system that [once you have a unit not missing the power cable] may damn near eliminate the speaker sound bounce problem without sacrificing look or audio quality. The Mako speaker system may just be a dynamo in pimps clothing if it actually provides the kind of audio quality that Razer president Robert Krakoff seemed genuinely sad not to be able to show me. The satellites [I use the term loosely because I have nothing else that I can call them for now] feature downward firing sound to a circular opening and plate. Sound flows out in 360 degrees so you don't have to. No more pointing speakers directly at yourself, the sound will fill up around you making games sound a little more real and intense. Hopefully I can swing by Razer's booth again tomorrow to actually test them out because I may need me some new speakers!

The last thing that I looked at from Razer today was their new 1800dpi infrared mouse. This thing looks and feels the balls. I should have one in for review shortly, so I'll hold off my final verdict until I've put the thing through it's paces... but the silicone/rubbery membrane type texture of mouse "buttons" alone made me want to get all freaky deaky on some PC games... and y'all know how I don't do that.

All in all my time with Razer today made me realize that they aren't bullshitting when they say "by gamers. for gamers." And for that reason alone they will always get my full attention from now on.

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I'm sorry, I'm still recovering from last night and I'm not as witty as I usually am. Suck it up, I have things to share with you.

I'm rolling around Pepcom last night, doing that "intimate one-on-one thing" to learn more about the new tech that we all should desperately crave with all our souls and the things that are so "meh," and I come across a booth for VooDoo. VooDoo makes custom gaming rigs for the people. And when I say custom, I mean custom. Not just paint jobs, not just graphic cards, I'm talking taking your designs, bending metal to your will, pre-installing or not installing software you want... a primo box indeed.

Personally I had been avoiding VooDoo because they only deal with Windows OS machines and as you know I don't game on PC's [I'm a console kinda gal] but after what I saw from VooDoo [and Alienware which will come next] I'm changing my mind. The VooDoo "laptop" I was looking at came in a 20 inch configuration with a custom candy paint job. Yeah, you read that right, 20 inches bitches... I told you they were kinda changing my mind on the gaming+pc front, you should have known it would have to be something big in order to get me to flip the script so quickly on that stance. Dual NVIDIA graphics cards in SLI also didn't hurt the case for thinking about getting one of these boxes. You can click this link here to see what all you get for the box that I priced above... and that's without the custom ESH art that I want on the thing.

Then I went and talked to the Alienware dudes, and the box they showed me really pushed me down the "dammit I need to get one of these boxes asap" road. Hot swappable hard drives, a case texture that can only be likened to the "Bat Suit" dual graphics cards, and built in TV tuner kinda makes my heart go pitter pat.

But don't take my word on it, there is more to come folks.

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Well, it being Monday and all it's time for a new episode of the Electric Sista Hood podcast. This post comes to you live after a few parties at the CES, so please forgive da typos. I'm tired and I no longer believe in spell check.

In this episode of the podcast we talk about forming a manga group and the best naming policies, reasons why kids shouldn't listen to our podcast, the difference between movie remakes and prequels, the Columbine Massacre RPG game [and the surrounding hub bub] and finally which is better: lesbianism or beastiality. Yes, we cover a bit of everything in this here episode... so you better just give it a listen.

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Ok, first day in, and I have stuff to share people. Get your wallets ready, find all the people that owe you money because you're going to need to start saving now if you want to build that bomb ass entertainment rig soon.

I write this after leaving the Philips press conference and I have to say I was impressed. Not just because they announced larger ambiLight LCD TV's, [57 inchers on the way y'all] but because of the new ambiSound slimline bar format surround sound solution and the amBX game immersion solution, and it looks sweet.

The focus for today as I have yet to have my one on one with the Philips folks will be the amBX device. Available "soonish" amBX is a sight, sound, and feel peripheral that you can attach to your PC to take your gaming to the next level. amBX is a peripheral system that consists of the standard speakers and subwoofers that we've all come to know and love, but it then takes a step forward by including fans that can [and will] blow air at the users depending on conditions in the game. Concussion bomb goes off, you feel a heavy breeze blow at you and feel like you should duck in order to avoid virtual debris. Sneaking up on a door that might lead outside? A soft breeze might blow gently in your direction to indicate air on the other side of the door. amBX also includes a rumble wrist band that the user wears and rumble feature, and booming bass with little to no distortion.

What I find most interesting about amBX is that it currently only works with PC gaming with games that have been coded to send the system the proper cues to rumble/blow you... [Hehe, I said it's going to blow you] but the rep that I spoke with after the conference was quick to correct my question and stress that it "currently" works with PC gaming setups. So does that mean that Philips amBX may be the way you get rumble features [and them some] back on the PS3 in the future?

Stay tuned!

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I didn't say it first though, the guys at MS did... in and interview with Ben Kuchera over at arsTechnica. I'm not kidding. After reading the piece that Mr. Kuchera did on the double sided interview with the MS goblins I gotta say, Kuchera's got balls.

Personally, I think that making a 360 box with a built in HDMI port is a good idea. Such a good idea in fact that I think that they should have done it from the launch of the damn thing. What's going to happen when this new box hits the shelves and all of us fine folk who bought systems before they got their proper port allotment? Are we going to get a make good? Is this part of the reason why MS upped the warranty for the XB360? Am I going to get to call customer service and get my 360 "fixed" and be sent a replacement box? Huh, MS? You gonna hook a sistah up or what? I need to know.

Jokes aside, it was nice to see that after another heads up comparison of the 360 and the PS3 what I've been saying for a while is turning out to be true: PS3 isn't going to blow anything out of the water just yet. Between the scaling issues, the games division losing something close to 1.4 billion [that's billion, with a "B"] that we may have not been off our nut when we said Sony might be in some trouble.

I like being right. Damn it feels good to be a ninja!

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I know the posting from me has been a little lax of late. I've been doing that nasty "day job" thing in order to pay off the AMEX that I put my Wii and PS3 bundles on, but I'm back y'all... just in time to head off to CES!

As I type this, I prepare my luggage for it's inaugural "covering [insert event name here] for ESH" trip. Yes, my journey to Las Vegas will be my first actual outing covering an event for ESH. Be on the lookout starting next Monday for tidbits, news breaks, and all around cool ass stuff coming from me and Evermore next week.

For those of you not in the know CES is the Consumer Electronics Show. It's the tradeshow that all the big boys, runts, and "tall for their age" electronics manufacturers descend upon in order to reveal their new products for the regular consumer at. Yes, CES can be the show that starts the buzz that becomes hype and then consumer demand that requires manufacturers supply. CES is the real consumermas... and we'll be there!

I'm hoping to see some bomb ass gaming computers, home theater setups, gaming peripherals, A/V racks, all the things you need to assemble the most awesome, badass, mega, uber, colossal entertainment center this side of Skywalker Ranch. Yeah, you heard me. I'm also looking forward to visiting the video games section of the show. Sony, Blizzard, Aspyr, and Microsoft are going to be there, so I'm hoping that I can bend them to the will of hooking a sistah up so she, in turn, may hook you up. Social networking at it's purest form baby!

So what are you guys interested in seeing or hearing about? Hit us up, and let me know... I'll try to get around to it while I'm in Vegas. MMMMM, nearly free trip to Vegas... [salvates Homer Simpson style]

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In the year of our Bob two thousand and seven, ESH is proud to gift upon the world a new podcast episode

The first of it's kind this year. Kneel before Zod the awesomeness that is Electric Sista Hood!

All bombast aside, the ladies talk mostly about themselves in this episode... how they got into gaming, anime, manga, Trek, you name it! [That means there are tangents, enjoy em'] And since it's the only first podcast of the new year you are going to get from ESH we figured since you guys and gals always want to know more about us, we'd tell ya. You wanted to know more about the ladies of the sistahood, and so now you do, er, can, um, I mean, will?

Oh just listen to the episode and get to know our sticky balls. [It will make more sense once you listen to the episode]

Other than that, may your frags be bountiful, your life meter never empty, and your lag be nil.

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The blows keep coming for poor ol' Sony and their lackluster PS3. [Yes, I am part of the official "hatin' on PS3" club. So what?] First they get dealt a bitch slap by Time magazine, then the NY Times kicks it while it's down, Musgrove takes a leak on it, even PC World put it on their "Top Mistakes of 2006" list, and now even TheStreet.com can't come up with much positive to say about the decisions and actions Sony has taken concerning the PS3.

Oh Sony. It sucks to be you.
If you listen to our podcast on a regular basis you know that I've always had my doubt about the PS3 system. I thought that the machine was [1] too pricey for a gaming console [2] too bulky; after having a PSTWO that was soo sleek being forced into a console with a larger form factor than an XB360 kinda el-sucko and [3] had one of the worst PR campaigns I had ever seen for a console. How does one get excited about a PS3 after watching those eerie "Play Beyond" commercials? Seriously, I'd like to know. In any case, it doesn't surprise me that people are now returning PS3 that they slept overnight in sleeping bags in front of Best Buys to the stores because they can't make more than 100 bucks in profit selling the things on eBay. If you can't make twice your initial investment, might as well make your money back and call it a day. The fact that you can walk into a Best Buy, after Christmas and get a PS3 in your hot little hands even with Sony still in a manufacturing hole is not good news for Sony. Nintendo however is farting in their general direction, and in all honesty I couldn't be happier.

Why you ask? Is it because I'm a Nintendo fangirl? No, not in reality. No, the reason I take solace in Nintendo being the projected winner in the holiday gaming battle royal is because we've been proven right. I've been saying since late June that the Wii was going to be the bad mamma jamma this holiday season because it's the casual gamer that console makers need to go after. Those are the "new dollars" when it comes to profit. Hardcore gamers aren't just going to stop gaming, but they are going to tend to stick to a particular franchise or game genre which will not add to your bottom line if you are a console maker. Halo freaks will by everything Halo you can throw out into the world... but how many Halo titles worth $60 can you make a year?

So, this is my note to all the Sony fanboys and girls out there that slammed us for even speculating that the PS3 was going to suck not going to be the automatic slam dunk that Sony VP's and P's would have like us all to believe:

NYAH, NYAH, NYAH-NYAAAHHHH NNNNNNNYYYYYAAAAH!

Oh yeah, and much pwnage to all in the new year!

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Last, but certainly not least two of my fav parodies. One is one of my more favorite Final Fantasy: Advent Children parodies. It is a musical number, from one of my more favorite Broadway musicals called "Avenue Q." The other is also a musical, with a number also from "Avenue Q" that features the World of Warcraft characters.

For the first video parody I give you, "If You Were Gay." This song was originally sung by a "Bert & Ernie" type puppet duo. With that image in your mind...

Submitted for your perusal:


I follow this with "The Internet Is For Porn" also from "Avenue Q" featuring the WoW bunch.


G'night!

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I give you parodies two and three.

These are so just damned entertaining. I may be slow on the finding, but not on the funny.

Submitted for your perusal:
Part One


and...
Part Two

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Once again I have put my ninja skills to use well by search through the internet to find this: a MMO calendar that 100% of the proceeds are donated to charity. And not just any charity, but St. Judes Childrens... if ever there were a reason to buy a video game themed calendar, this would be it.

All the artwork featured in the calendar has been signed by the game developers [cool] and each of the titles listed below has a month dedicated to their specific game. [double cool] And like I said, All of the proceeds go to St. Judes Childrens Research hospital.

The games featured in the calendar are:

• Dark Age of Camelot
• Dungeons & Dragons Online:Stormreach
• Eve Online
• EverQuest II
• Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising
• Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar
• Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided
• The Chronicles of SpellBorn
• Ultima Online
• Vanguard: Saga of Heroes
• Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning
• World of Warcraft

So click the damn link, by the calendar for yourself and know that you are helping the future gamers of the world.

Finish What You Start...

Ok, I'm going to make this quick because I have to get to bed... you know, Santa won't blow up my spot until I'm "asleep" and all. [I'm really hopin' that mofo will give a sistah what she's so desperately been needin'... a new 5.1 surround sound system from Logitech]

So here's the new podcast episode.

In this episode MagicMysticGrl talks about the importance and relevance of bloodtypes in anime and manga, Pandalicious shares His and Her Circumstances [Kare Kano] and NinJaSistah kicks the hour off with her final thoughts on the PS3. PS3 fanboys that think I'm a XB360 fangirl have your keyboards at the ready. Episode 32: It's In The Blood is my gift to you.

Congrats to our Candy Bitches Mike Costa and Tooky!

Finish What You Start...

Ok, I try to stay up on the funny viral videos that appear from time to time on ye olde interweb... but this Phoenix Wrong almost got past me. Almost I say.

I was only able to find a few Phoenix Wrong flashies on the web, but if you want to see the best ones, then head over to Newgrounds and peep the original flashies that started it all. Asford... you is da BOMB! You have brought laughter to me at a point in the day where I was exhausted and devoid of suitable entertainment. I recommend that you watch all of Ashfords vids, then do some searching on the new Phoenix Wrong website

Until you do that, I submit these for your viewing pleasure.


and then...


and then...


What Phoenix Wrong stuff can you find?

Finish What You Start...

I have ascended into leading a guild, with no idea how to run one.

HELP!

As many of you know, I am an avid World of Warcraft junkie. I would sell my momma for just one... well you get the idea.

Until recently, I was co-leader of a guild called Reprieve. [It's located on Thrall]. Anyway, as is with most other things in life, drama ensues, and the orginal leader left us to join another guild... leaving us in a bit of a pickle. I took the leadership role knowing what it was that I wanted to achieve, but then I realized that I don't know what else a leader needs to have in order to run a successful guild.

Fellow WoW players, one of brethren calls to you for aid. Assist and be praised!

Finish What You Start...

Hello Everyone, I have returned from the bottomless pit called finals. Back and ready to bring to you the hotness we all know as... ME! I'm just fooling. Here I come with another Quick Question...

For all you Gamers out there the question is: CounterStrike or Unreal Tournament?

I only ask this because of the simple fact that I have played both, and did equally well in them once the bodies began to pile up. So I wanted to hear from all the FPS [First Person Shooters] out there. So... DON'T BE A PUNK ASS BITCH, and hit a sista up!

Finish What You Start...

Are you a couch speed freak? I am, so getting a copy of Bandai Namco's Ridge Racer 7 [I'm still not used to that "Bandai-Namco stuff] gave me the giggles. I've been looking forward to RR7 since RR6. RR7 is yet another in the long line of RR titles. If you are hoping for some great leap forward in racing game dynamics, this isn't the game for you you. But if you desire a racing game that's easy to jump into and plain ol' fun, RR7 just might be what the doctor ordered.

RR7 certainly ignores the real-world physics that other racing games have implemented of late. [i.e. Project Gotham Racing 3] RR7 puts the focus on fast-paced trick driving rather than "bash em up" destructive driving like that in the Burnout games. There are no explosions, no "ejection" of drivers through the windshield, just tricking out your vehicle in order to speed around courses in said tricked out vehicle.

In this game, you spend your time perfecting the art of drifting. [That's the gliding around corners thing made mainstream by that dumb Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift movie] To pull off a drift is easy: release the gas and steer in the direction of the turn you are entering. No big whopp right? Well, thing is as you get further into the game you'll need to be a master of the drift because that's what you'll be doing most of the track if you want to place in the top of the pack. Yes, you will need to drift through series after series of sharp turns pushing your speed past 200 mph with the rest of the pack of cars sailing by you. Waving at you rather mockingly. Ok, the waving part is in my head... but you get the idea: Either learn to drift, or lose.

Even with that heathen pack of drivers on the track with you, in RR7 you are mostly in a battle with the clock and the course ahead of you. Smacking into other cars affects your speed, or fucks up your drift. Slamming into walls signals your doom... actually it means you would be better off to restart the race because there ain't no way in hell you will place on the leader board.

Don't let me forget the NOS. NOS [nitrous oxide] makes up half of the RR7 winning cocktail mix. NOS + Successful driving = You are the winnah! NOS works the same way it did in RR6 on the XB360. You get three NOS tanks, each of which fills up while drifting. You can trigger each gauge manually, so there's no hitting it and empting all of it at once. The better you drift, the faster your NOS gauges will fill up. The longer/better the drift the more NOS you gain. NOS: It helps you smoke the other kids... in the good way.

As far as what different modes of play the game has, RR7 has a few. There is an arcade mode which lets you get in a car, get on a track, and commense to going fast in either single play or multi-play action. Multi-play lets two players compete via verticle split screen. Then there is the "Ridge State Grand Prix" mode. It's the main piece of the game and where you'll spend most of your time trying to become the new king of the track. Before you can get started in this mode though, you need to create a relationship with a manufacture by competing in a manufacturer's trial in order to get a manufacturer to 'sponsor' you and let you drive their cars. You earn money and fame points by competing in [and winning] various single events and grand prix races. You can also get tight with certain manufacturers and suppliers by using their parts in races for which you will earn manufacturer points. This helps you get better equipment for your ride. RR7 also has UFRA single events. These provide specific challenges, such as time trials or races with specific conditions for winning, and provide drivers with credits to buy parts.

One thing that is new to RR7 is a car customization thing you can get into. It's called the machine connector, and you can purchase or modify vehicles through it. The game offers up a bunch of options, [most of which I have no idea what they really do for the performance of the vehicle] but you can do engine tune-ups [which I know is a good thing for your car], NOS upgrades and plug-in units. You can also tweak how hot your vehicle looks from the outside as well via new spoilers, wheels, decals and paint options. Each category has enough crap to keep you busy for a long, long, long, long time.

I haven't played with the online part yet, but I'm looking forward to it. I hear there is a co-op mode available, that i'd like to try.

All in all, I'm going to have to give RR7 a 3 out of 5. It's solid, it's fun, and it's fast. It's not ultra realistic, but that's why I like it.

Holla at a NinJa on PS3: my UID is NinJaSistah. Surprise, Surprise!

Finish What You Start...

Nintendo has said it's going to exchange existing straps for the Wiimote with new "thicker" ones... but until that happens, what is one to do in the interim?

Well, you could do what this guy did and replace your strap with some handcuffs. It's definitely one way to wii-strain your controller from flying off into your TV. [Sorry about the pun... I had to do it, for legal reasons. No foolin.]

Yea, I was boppin' around ye olde interweb this morning when I noticed that one of the FrESH folks had Hit Us Up and tipped us to this image on a forum. Thanks for the tip ALH.

Now, I fancy myself a hardcore-type gamer. By most standards I'm not, but I like to think that I am. I can not, however, imagine handcuffing myself to a controller. When I do, I get an image of some kinky, flashy, S&M thingies going on which is totally the subject for a different post. I do have to say that I admire this guys tenacity though. It takes some outside the box thinking to come up with this solution.

You sir, are hardcore. I salute you.

Finish What You Start...

USA Today says that this weekend is going to be the last weekend that you might have a shot at getting your mitts on a PS3 or Wii... so get your camping gear out now people.

Basically the low down is that it is suspected that December 17th will be the last Wii/PS3 shipments that retailers will receive before Christmas. So if you don't get your console by this weekend, you are most likely getting a gift card for EB Games instead for Christmas from Mom & Dad.

I say, get you a thermos full of Blue Goose, [that's hpnotiq, grey goose, and pineapple juice... if you are 21 yrs old or better of course]whew! a tent, and some chinese delivery and stake out your local Circuit City or Target this weekend. You're kids will love you more if you do. And you know that you want your kid to not only love you, but think you are cool.

Me, I already got mines!

Finish What You Start...

Have you ever wondered what goes on behind that curtain in the operating room? How would you react with a patient’s life in your hands? Trauma Center: Second Opinions for the Nintendo Wii puts a patient on the table and a scalpel in your hand.

I was curious about this title when it came out for the Nintendo DS, but I didn’t play it because I have yet to pick up the system and the game didn’t seem like a system-seller to me. I’m not ashamed to admit it. I was wrong. It’s a remake of the DS version but the Wii-mote draws you into the game as opposed to the stylus. I’ve been on it for the past week because it’s addictive and I just can’t get enough of playing doctor.

You’re given a patient with some sort of ailment ranging from throat infections to broken bones. During the course of an operation the Wii-mote acts as your instruments such as a scalpel, a drainage hose, sutures, a precision laser, an ultrasound machine, forceps, and more. Precise incisions, fluid suction, and bandaging determine whether you lose the patient or not. If any of you old-schoolers remember a board game called Operation, this is a more intense version of it. If you react too slow or too sloppy, you risk losing the patient and the operation is terminated.

The game’s use of the Wii-mote is brilliant. The nunchaku is used to navigate and select your instruments, which you’ll utilize via the Wii-mote in different ways. Before the operation, you’re given objectives that you need to complete for a successful surgery. A nurse is provided to guide you through the first few surgeries but after that it’s a memory game. There’s a series of steps that you must perform in a certain order during the operation. Remembering those steps can be complicating and frustrating at times, but to see a healthy patient in recovery makes it worth the hard work. You receive a ranking based on how accurate the operation goes and the amount of time taken to complete it. I’ve found it hard to get anything over C ranking but you’re given the option to replay any scenario for a chance at a higher rank.

Trauma Center: Second Opinion throws in some new and redesigned features. For example, if a patient’s heart rate drops, then you have to break out the defibrillator. To simulate pushing down on the patient’s chest you’ll move your arm towards the screen. Now that’s what I call interaction.

The game boasts a storyline told in traditional Atlus style using images and text dialog. You’re Dr. Derek Stiles a surgeon who finds out he has the Healing Touch inherited through the ancient Greeks. It’s a bit “out there”, but if that’s not enough for you, then let’s add a world-threatening epidemic that’s believed to be the work of bioterrorists. Tell me that doesn’t peak your interest.

I’m giving Trauma Center: Second Opinion a 3 and a half out of 5. It’s loads of fun when you just feel like playing something unconventional and the game provides good exercise for the brain. To release this game as a Nintendo Wii launch title was a brilliant idea. If you find yourself stuck on a particular operation and the nurse is just hassling you, look her square in the eyes and scream, “Dammit! I’m a doctor, not a miracle-worker!”

Finish What You Start...

Day one with the brand spankin' new PS3 is about done and I have a few things that warrant mentioning.

Frustrated doesn't even begin to cover the first 40 minutes that I spent with my new PS3. First I couldn't get the machine to connect to the internet. It was only getting a partial internet connection and allowing the system update to run that I was able to get on the internet... well I was able to get to the screen where I setup my UID for the Playstation Store. While [for the most part] I think the implementation of the XMB [Xross Media Bar, great name Sony] I find that using the PSP multitap text input buttons from the PSP XMB is a huge mistake. It takes forever to get your text in using this method. I understand why you would want to use the multitap for the PSP as you have limited screen space on that device, but the PS3 is going to be hooked up to a TV screen most of it's life... using an on screen keyboard wouldn't have killed them. It can't be hard to do, Microsoft did it.

But, I did finally get my account setup [NinJaSistah is a PITA to enter as a UID on multitap btw] so it was game time right? Not exactly. I still had to do some tweaking to the system before it was ready for prime time, but I have to say I wasn't impressed. The avatars are kinda pathetic looking eventhough they are from existing games. [Much like those in XBLive] and even on my beautiful 42 inch TV, what I was looking at wasn't all that impressive. This open box experience didn't offer me anything I hadn't seen before. The only thing at this point that I found interesting was that the user guide has a section devoted to explaining how to install a new hard drive. So bigger, badder 2.5inch SATA drive we come. I'm thinking 250GB oughtta do it.

After that uplifting moment, I settled in to getting my game on. I grab Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom because it's a hack n' slash and I need some button mashing fun. The game is boring for the most part [in the beginning] but it's easy to use and grows on ya. I'm now comboing my way to game euphoria and I feel much better... except something keeps nagging at me. It takes me a while to put my finger on it, but I finally figure it out, it's the new controller. Without the rumble stuff and cable, the thing is so light it's as if there's no there there. It takes some getting used to, but I do like it. I feel better about possibly flinging this thing around as it could hardly do any damage unlike some of those deadly flying Wiimotes. Having the L2 and R2 buttons dangle off the bottom makes me a little leary of using them for fear of breaking them, but I got over it. I have to say that I prefer this controller to the previous batwing style. There is already so much to get used to with the new setup that a new controller probably would have been too much.

I'm going to hold off final judgement on the system until next week because I'm picking up HDMI cables this weekend and it would only be fair to complete the review with this pupple hooked up using the "ultimate" cable connection. But if I had to rate the thing now, it would be about a 3 out of 5.

Be on the look out for my piece next week when I hook up the HDMI and commense to BlueRay watchin.

Finish What You Start...

I'm writing this post knowing full well that the UPS dude is going to be Santa today by delivering to me a brand spankin' new PS3, so I should be terribly excited. When my Wii was on it's way to me I could hardly contain myself. [Just ask any of the 3 billion people I gave the countdown to Wii-livery on a daily basis.] But I don't have that same enthusiasm with my pending PS3 ownership, and I'm baffled by that.

I should be running up and down the street telling everyone and anyone who will listen that this supposed beast of a machine is going to be in my hands. I am going to be one of the chosen few with a PS3 and games in my grubby lil paws before Christmas... SIXAXIS is mine! And yet, here I am, just kinda ho hum about the whole thing. I think it's because there isn't anything available on the PS3 [aside from Resistance: Fall of Man that I can't play on any other system including the PS2. For me, there is no killer app on the PS3. All of the games that I am excited about seeing/playing/trying aren't available for the system yet, and now some of those are going to be available on the XB360 as well, so again no "draw" for me as a gamer to be all psyched about this new console. Even the motion sensor thing isn't much of a draw at this point because I've had that type of experience already on the Wii and I love it. So if I [an admitted former Sony fangirl] isn't tripping over myself to be meet the UPS man at the door, who is?

Just a question I've been bouncing around my head all morning before I head out for the movie theater. I'll catch y'all later after I actually get my system and see if I have a better answer for my own question. If you have any thoughts, share em, I'm curious about what you guys are thinking on the subject.

Finish What You Start...

Monday once again rears it's nasty head, so we give you ESH podcast episode 30 in hopes that you can combat the Monday ho-hums.

We sorta, kinda, well, "deviate" a bit from the planned topic slightly more than usual in this episode of the podcast... and while I can't remember everything we talk about in the episode as I write this [though I've listened to the episode a few time now] I can tell you that I remember talking about The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, La Corda d'Oro and Nintendo's Wiimote. At some point we also talk about Chris Farley, Oreos and reverse Oreos, Pandalicious' nuts being better than yours, and the Pokemon milkshake parody.

Oh yeah, can't forget the new "Magic Manga Mania" giveaway and to congratulate out new Candy Bitch: Andrew! Listen up people, it's getting crazy fun up in here!

Finish What You Start...

I was minding my own business watching SNL when I got a new piece of mail in my inbox that grabbed my attention. Looks like our friends over at DecalGirl have some new stuffs fer sale and I wanted to share my favs right now with you.

Yeah, you see em! Skins for your new Nintendo Wii. I personally want to get my hands on the skin that makes the Wii look like a NES system, but grabbing a skin is a good idea any way you slice it. It never hurts having a little extra protection on your game box. I'll be skinning my PS3 when it arrives as well. I'll even add them to the DecalGirl gallery so you can marvel at my purchasing power!

If you haven't finished your holiday shopping, or need a stocking stuffer for that gamer near and dear to you, head on over to DecalGirl and grab you something cool looking.

DecalGirl is IMHO the bomb!

Finish What You Start...

Ok, maybe "madness" is a tad bit strong for what's really going down in Japan right now, but the MS Game Studios title Blue Dragon has sure gotten some serious attention out of our friends in the East.

In all honesty, I hadn't heard much about the game [I've never been big on imports] nor do I tend to like RPG's... so Blue Dragon flew in under my radar. I'm just glad I caught wind of it when I did. Normally, I can't stand turn-based RPG games as the "turn-based" part tends to slow down the gameplay and bores me, but Blue Dragon doesn't look like a typical RPG game.

Blue Dragon is the first MS project out of Mistwalker [a development studio founded by Square-Enix's Hironobu Sakaguchi.] If the character design looks familiar it may be because you've seen the work before. Akira Toriyama actually handled design duty on this game. Some of Toriyama-san's work includes an anime series called Dragon Ball... you might have heard about it. I've no idea if this game is going to be coming to the US, but it would be a shame if it didn't.

Peep the trailer here:

Finish What You Start...

Once again, we have a new podcast episode for you... this time it's number 28.

This week the ESH gals focus in on a theme of angst... in anime, manga, and video games. Angst in anime, manga, and video games... imagine that? From the bad depiction of angst in the anime series Marmalade Boy to MagicMysticGrl's recount of angst in .Hack//G.U. and then finally NinJaSistah's take on the PS3 & Wii ebay shenanigans, the girls really cover the spread on this topic.

Yeah, I said it. You enjoy it, right now.

Finish What You Start...

From reading and talking to so many female gamers I had gotten the impression that women have a very different game experience than males do. I set out to see if I was right.Studies do show that women players account for many game - play hours in online games. In my experience as a games writer I have found that women don't have an easy time of finding free time for video games. Often game play time is interrupted. Someone in the house will always need or want something if she sits down at the computer or picks up a controller. If people are not physically present there is the phone, the coffee pot, the micro (or crock pot depending on where you live), and washer / dryer that all will bleep, buzz or bloop for attention at exactly the wrong time.

The Pink Thing and Video Games by Geek Woman

It is no different if she has pets. When there are two small dogs and three cats for example then there are endless possibilities for someone's dish of water or food to be empty. Or they bark because they want "Out!" Or maybe a chew toy has fallen down the steps or a bone has landed behind the couch. Those dramas cause whining from small dogs which sounds like someone is filleting them for Carpaccio. Or the 16 year old cat may become suddenly interested in being on top of the fridge and then on top of Grandma’s TV. Enter the "home chaos factor", which may or may not be limited to one gender.

Where is everyone else in the place when one is playing a game? Perhaps selective hearing is on a different gene than multitasking? No one else can see who is at the door, get the mail or answer the phone, once a character in an MMO is set up to play. In the frequent situation when it takes you over an hour to get ready and arrive at the location where you want to play next, having long blocks of
uninterrupted time is essential.

There has to be some furious multi tasking going on in the background that no one can see. Thank goodness for virtual online avatars. "Wait a second one of the cats is trying to annihilate the curtain..." One of my favorite moments in gaming was when my cat Miroku spelled out "M -I - L -T" when I stepped away from Dungeons and Dragons Online. He made my all character's skills disappear and had her dance merrily while stuck in a wall.

It is at these precarious times that one's character may or may not be safe while left alone to her pre-programed idling animation of
scratching her butt. She may be beaten to a pulp. In many games when the area isn't safe you end the session by dying. Subsequently you lose all your points and items. This will depend on how sensitive the developers were to the million and one things that compete for a gamer's time.

In other games once you are out of the group you will spend yet more time finding a new group when you go back. In some games if you own a house that requires maintenance as in Ultima Online it could crumble into dust. Or you can get past due on your rent in Dark Age of Camelot The livestock in A Tale in the Desert could starve. There are the dreaded weeds of Animal Crossing. The randomness of life means there is going to be a lack of control over the length of our game session.

Not all games will have the content easily available for solo players or even want to. It is more convenient to play games which are instanced or provide content in small chunks. Games which require big clans of people to band together in groups, can achieve larger goals, like changing the landscape and becoming a virtual community. That has other advantages and takes an even greater investment of time.

Women make up 43% of all video game players. The number of gamers in the US is continuing to increase each year. At least four out of ten people play video games in the United States. When you read over all the reports it comes out even with women having a larger share overall. Games that make it easiest to save progress after a session of game - play or the ability to save at any time are assets to female gamers.

Because of what I'm calling a the "home chaos factor" (or office) women play a great deal of the flash based puzzle, games, board games and quizzes which have shorter initial durations. Women also have higher numbers playing children's games on PCs and consoles. Women have stats that double the male numbers in playing dance and music games. Another area where there seem to be more women than men playing are the classic arcade type of ports.

Women are multi-taskers, and the Internet provides quick connectedness, and information about games during game play. Women apparently do have a different game experience than men do. Women surveyed stated they had other tasks going and other media on in the background while gaming, either the TV, radio or MP3's were used no less than 70%. Since males had higher console than PC use than women, then they weren't necessarily able to be watching TV at the same time.

Using my reverse logic - if aspects in real life from travel and shopping markets were implemented in game-play, the experience would be even more immersive. Some new statistics are said to show that women prefer to play games solo. Then they demonstrate that men seem to be more likely to group in an MMOG. Can the "home chaos factor" account for that too? I know that when I am playing an MMO I don't like to spend the extra time it takes to find a group of new people to play with to solve a quest. I've found that many of the women that I play with also try to go solo to save time and avoid the hassle of doing a mission repeatedly because new people don't know how to work as a team.

Women seem to prefer to travel and game alike with established friends. In fact if you look at those other industries like travel and entertainment women's preferences are much more apparent than in gaming. Those are statistics that could be easily transferred to marketing games that would make the game experience more fun. "Girls travel in packs" it can be said. Games on Xbox Live for instance, make it very easy for ladies to play games together and meet other gals.

In seeing who travel agents say is the average adventure traveler it is not the 28-year-old male that you'd think it would be. Travel agents figures show that a 47-year-old female is the most likely demographic to take nature, adventure, or cultural trips.

There aren't any universal truths about women. However reaching women gamers is more than just making things Barbie pink. Women do process information in a more detail-oriented fashion. Women will notice more and likely expect more. That means we notice amenities, textures, subtleties, and read between the lines.

“Now will you all shut up so I don’t get killed!”

A few weeks ago when Sony / Europe announced that it's dropping the price of the PS2 for Europe and the UK. In addition, they mentioned that they are cutting the price on PS2 memory cards. Then they made another couple of unusual announcements.

Stating that better efficiency has enabled cost savings to be made, Sony says that they are passing the savings on directly to new PlayStation 2 customers who may not want to shell out the $600 US and even more AU for the PS3.

Sony hopes that with over 2,000 game titles another market of PS2 owners will grab up the cheaper console. But that may not be the biggest news. Besides the price cut, they announced a new limited edition Pink PS2, which comes with two pink analog controllers and a pink memory card. The Pink bundle will be available from "selected retailers" throughout Europe starting November 8th, and in the U.K. it'll come with the karaoke game SingStar Pop .

At this time it is unknown if they will follow suit in the U.S. and AU. Some are saying that a comparable price cut will not come until next spring.

Sony is indeed going to offer a pink PSP in association, we're told, with the singer Pink with the intent being to to attract "young women with freedom, confidence and attitude" to the platform. Unlike the upcoming pink PS2 , the salmon-hued portable console doesn't ship with pink accessories, but it is a limited edition, Sony said.

The industry will have to start to think differently if it wants to reach the female customers. Just making things pink is not what we are after. One market study shows that girl gamers like to play during their spare time or when they're mobile. The Nintendo DS users are 44 percent female.

Studies by the US market research firms Yankee Group and Parks Associates confirm the trends that there are several market segments where girl gamers are ahead of males. Mobile phone games are predominantly played by female gamers. In the United States about 60 percent of the people who play games on their mobile phones are women.

David Gardner, chief operating officer for EA's worldwide studios, was speaking to a conference in Edinburgh. When he said the now much quoted line which was

"The game industry has been failing women"

He said the industry had to learn from the film business. And not too long ago this humble jounalist suggested that the games industry look at numbers from the Travel business to find out what girls want.

Mr Gardner got one thing right "They don't want 'pink games'. They are not trying to play girly games where Paris Hilton and Britney Spears go shopping and put make-up on. Those kind of things have not been that successful."

Well duh.

But he said games such as The Sims and websites such as Pogo.com proved there was a market for women gamers.

"Most of the Sims players are girls - 70% are women under 25," he said. The Sims, which is published by EA, is arguably one of the world's most successful game - with more than 40 million copies sold.

Mr Gardner said the industry needed to "create some mega hits in the girl space and that it would potentially add a billion dollars to their revenues. That's not small change. It confirms what we have been saying for years.

Four of our 11 studios around the world are run by women. That's an important start. That is why it is so important for young women to get hired by game development studios now.

Just making a console or a handheld pink doesn't guantee it will seel to women. Making a sinking ship handheld like the PSP in pink may not save it. The games for the PSP just aren't there, and there are more titles that are of interest to female gamers out for the Nintendo DS. Though some women gamers may be interested in picking up a new pink console, it would be as a novelty. I doubt that anyone is going to redecorate their family room which has black or silver components in the entertainment center, to accomodate a loud pink console.

A pink handheld game player is a cute accessory that fits into a purse and can match with outfits. But a pink console is going to become dated and very yesterday very quickly. I just saw a commercial for a large hardware depot store where a teen girl says to her Dad, "I'm grown up now, and I want to repaint my room." The pink poofy stuff is painted over with lime green, mauve and orange. Sorry Sony the new black isn't pink anymore.

Even though we write reviews, and make suggestions, go to conferences and kick butt in our clans and guilds the game developers and the console companies still don’t get it. We are gamers like the guys are. Stop reinforcing the stereotypes. Give us female avatars in games and equality in the industry.

And if you still don't understand what women want - well you can ask me! (For a price.)

Geek Woman is a freelance games jounalist and author of Geek Woman’s Game Guides. www.lulu.com/geekwoman She is the Editor in Chief of the Australian women’s gaming portal Game-Vixen.com. She has given a voice to women and girls who play video games to demonstrate to anyone listening that "We are here!" She lives in the USA with her partner, two pomeranians, three cats, scores of bitchy seagulls and a weedy garden.

Finish What You Start...

Anime's Naughty Side by Geek Woman

If you know what a guy smells like who has just been out fishing, doing construction work or playing football then you can guess why women might fantasize about something else. Perhaps a meticulously and metrosexually groomed vampire who elegantly sweeps up to her balcony. Or a deadly but lovely demon who promises her his forbidden world. Or maybe women are just thinking about pretty animé men with long hair.



The anime games and DVD's that are coming to the U.S. recently are a myopic look into the animé subculture of Manga in Japan. There are many animé influenced games in both RPG's and in the fighting genre. This artform is getting very huge over here too. Because animé comes from another culture it reflects a different sort of attitude. It effects the roles of sportsmanship, and sexuality in the future of video games. Animé characters are favorered by women and girls.

Women like males with long hair. Perhaps even before Sampson and Delilah long hair symbolized virility. From back in the 60's when I can remember women saying "he's so beautiful, he looks like Jesus", to today when we have Fabio's famous mane and the sexy Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice, chicks (and some guys) still dig long hair. Guys that work at Rennaissance faires sport long locks from the mideval ages and get descreet double takes from women patrons. Fantasy novels feature wizardly straight and gay men with long hair in various colors. These fictional story books are very popular with women.

In Inuyahsa (yes it is my fav) in the animé and the games, the main character has long white hair and cute dog ears. He is powerful and weilds an over sized magic sword and is in the process of discovering his sensitive human side and love. His brother Seshomaru has even more fantasticly long white hair. He plays the part of a full demon in a stunning white kimono. He seems deep and troubled by "important things in the past". He is the typical brooding unknowable character. Then Miroku the lecherous monk has long black hair that is worn in a ponytail. He wears several gold earrings. He is the most approachable of the three male lead characters, he is funny and sensitive. He makes long insightful speeches about the troubles that arise for the female characters and is often correct.

There are three very different male personalities in the game. All of them are strong and carry several weapons. But they are so cute that many people comment that they can't tell the boys from the girls on Inuysha. That is common with many anime´characters. Inuyasha is wildly popular with women and girls. It has got to be something to do with all the long haired males.

Unlike the animation industry in the U.S. where all the programming is largely aimed at young boys a good deal of Japanese animation also includes marketing to little girls. The teen girls and young adult women are given plenty of eye candy to ooh and ahh over also. Women helplessly find themselves sighing over bishonen with pink hair like Shon Gojo in Saiyuki. There are some Japanese animations that are thought to cater specifically to female tastes.

"Ren'ai" is a Japanese word meaning "romance" novel, and it can be a Japanese adventure game that is mainly point and click. They are mixed-media novels. Minimal player interaction is required. Some but not all ren'ai games contain erotic content. Adult oriented animé dating games are sometimes called a bishoujo game. Those are Japanese video games with sensual anime girls. Some of them contain romance and sexual content.

Animé both ways

Women like to read about sensitive long haired males in complex, dramatic relationship dilemas. The controversial American TV show Queer as Folk which is an adult series on the cable channel Showtime is about gay men and it is said to have had its highest viewership among presumably straight women. Ever enterprising and unabashed, animé capitalizes on this naughty voyuer side to female erotic interests too.

Even though entirely different dynamics are involved in real Japanese society and culture than what is reflected in animé, some obvious patterns of behaviour could be identified as distinctly Japanese. There are values such as conformity, marriage and loyalty that are plain to see. The Harvest Moon series notably added a female character to the recently released new RPG title. But the game guides the female player to marriage as a foregone conclusion in that simulation of life.

Subtle themes crop up in characters that are uniquely Japanese which turn the tables and reverse the roles of exploitation as Americans know it. Animé objectifies men. Male manga artists offer themselves up for the derision. They portray themselves as dogged, nose bleeding, worshipers of the truly oversexed female demi - goddesses that they have created. The men unashamedly admit that they are whipped. Is it a vicious cirle or a happy medium? Then they reinforce the pattern of the implausible by drawing males with gorgeous long hair in fantastic styles and who wear amazing costumes. All of which only a dedicated cosplayer can emulate. They make images of men that are just as impossible to attain as the air brushed silicon female pin ups that are the complaint of western women.

Many animé that are available in the U.S.A. now have some sexual under tones. Saiyuki has an ambiguous homoerotic subtext. Descendants into Darkness does so openly. Colorful and the Excel Saga are a raucious funny lampoon of animé that have very adult content. The males in Colorful are the typical nosebleeding, obsessed male stereo types who will endure anything to get a glimpse up a girl's skirt at her panties.

Sony and Mocrosoft have banned adult games from their consoles. Which I think is a shame. In my own improptu study I went shopping retail for a newly released game rated "E". I rarely do that, but my partner wanted it. We went to Kmart, Walmart, EB Games, and finally Kaybee Toys on our search. These stores have had the games kept behind glass in as long as I can remember. At all four of these retailers we adults were unable to access games without a key and an attending store employee. I don't see how adult titles are "getting into the hands of children" as some have claimed. I don't see why adult games would be so hard to integrate into a system that all ready is under lock and key.

If the right wing was worried about the Sims which is a game that is engineered to be bland (to inspire imagination) and it's sort of the Lego building blocks or Webils of video gaming, wait until they get a load of animé. I was reading an ebay story about how a Christian Mom took away the Yu-Gi-Oh collectible cards that her daughter had in her purse. The woman went through the daughter's purse regularly. Yu- Gi-Oh animé is very tame there is no sexual content in the games or shows. It teaches a litle ancient Egyptian mythology. All the Japanese animé card games, either on cardboard or for Gameboys, most noteably Pokémon teach children about competition, following rules, and being poilite and how to loose like a good sport. They are completly benign. Pokémon has no references to "magic" or spells of any kind. Yu -Gi - Oh and many others do. Magic and Wizards in animé may raise some eyebrows the way it has with Harry Potter.

Another twist that shows up often in animé are characters of unknown gender. In Cowboy Bebop "Edward" is a girl. We don't know this for sure until the plot unfolds more. In .hack//sign tv series and PS 2 games Tsukasa the wave master is permanently logged into "the world" as a male player. But again gradually as the series goes one we discover many secrets about Tsukasa are revealed. Eventually it leads to a very moving and unexpected ending.

A funny game with adult content that reminds me of Leisure Suit Larry, is the Lupin the Third Games for Game Cube. Those have the sort of slapstick funny approach to sexuality. The artstyle exagerates the female figure of the characters.

One of the most visible ways that animé characters have come to be loved by a large American audience is in the Dead or Alive series. Kasumi is a very well known and favored character. Her background story and a search for her brother are part of the game's back story. Granted Kasumi's character and background story is underdeveloped in the games. The game is infamous for the jiggliness and not the seriousness of her character. In game play her moves are great and she is a tough character to play with and to beat. But there is no doubt what her assets are. The graphics in Dead or Alive 2 are good. The characters are depicted in a fair amount of detail. The facial expressions look realistic. The characters' movements and clothes flows realistically, except for the pronounced bounce.

Animé is popular because it is bringing fresh artwork and ideas to a tired jaded American entertainment market. Women like it because it offers a variety of roles to play and exciting personas to get to know in a fantasy world. Males like it because there is more lassitude in the appearance of the female fantasy characters. Puritanical America can use to loosen up and enjoy themsleves. There are worse things than a little risque art and pass times like games.

Finish What You Start...

Alright. So I get home from the day job and curl up with a nice beer, turn on my kick ass TV and lappie and prepare to get in some game time and check what's been going on in the game world while I was away from it, and what do I find? I find this article about the most retarded EB Games/Gamestop display I've ever seen.

First off, "Games For Girls" my ass. That display just proves that they really just don't "get it" when it comes to marketing games to girls. I think it's because up until now when so many females are getting hot and heavy into gaming that the marketing of video games has been too easy. I have no doubt that there are some marketing departments in the various game development houses that say things like, "...if it has some character titties, put it on the cover scantily clad in torn clothing, maybe a quick panty shot in the printed ads for magazines, and we'll have a new best seller on our hands boys!" I'm not being cynical here, I really believe conversations like this happen, today, even though we are in the year 2006. I know that sex sells... and does it very well. That, I don't care about. But if flashing the T&A is the only creativity that you can come up with to use as the linchpin of your marketing campaign, I fully understand why companies have a hard time figuring out how to create and market their products to girls.

Tits alone will not our money get... at least not mine. If I wasn't so damn tired I'd now rant about how Gamestop really needs to pull their heads out of their asses and realize that "Games for Kids" are not the same as "Games For Girls." Many females who are raging gamers will classify themselves as "girl gamers" or "gamer girls" even if they are not in the pre-teen or teenage age group. I for one am nearly 30 as Pandalicious will be quick to tell you, and I classify myself as a girl gamer, so that "Games for Girls" artwork and subsequent game display offend the HELL out of me. If I wasn't nearly out of beer, and in need of a foot massage, I'd go on to say that it's oversights like this that hinder growth in the girl gaming community because it drives home to many of us that we are outsiders looking in when it comes to being thought of by those in the industry... and no one like to think that they don't matter to people that make the products or items that they love.

But, I'm out of beer, and my feet are killing me, so I'll save that rant for another night.

Finish What You Start...

When most people think of American comicbooks they think of individual issues that are only 20 or so pages long and superheroes dressed up in tights with their underwear on the outside. That's like thinking manga only comes in the monthly magazines and characters only dress in sailor uniforms. Comics are also released in graphic novel form and depending on the story can be hundreds of pages long on any and all topics. Comics are where I got into sequential art, they were my gateway drug to the addiction that is manga. It's high time I got back to my roots.

Comics are completely different from manga, and not just in the art style. Manga tends to be a minimalized art form, often with little or no background, colored only with screentone; comics have more detail in the characters and background and are usually published in full color. The way the story flows is also different. Manga have a story that contains a beginning, middle and end, the series are often fully planned out and have a specific number of volumes. Comics don't.

A comic is created around a basic concept and it is designed to continue perpetually until something happens to end it; readers loose interest, the writer decides to end it, the publisher goes bankrupt or an apocalypse destroys the world. Even then it is usually dusted off a few years later and revamped for a new generation's entertainment. Over the course of it's life a comic will usually have many writers and artists associated with it. Comics are arranged around story arcs that are often entirly self contained stories with only the characters linking them together. New villians or problems arise in each arc. A reader can jump in at the beginning of any arc and get most of the information they need to understand what is going on. You can start to see these same traits in some of the longer running manga, such as Inuyasha and Naruto.

for instance. He's one of the oldest and most famous superheroes out there. He was created in 1932 and has had a littany of writers and artists working on his story since then. The character has been reinvented again and again, and placed in every concievable situation. He has had tv shows, movies, radio serials, video games and all manner of memorabilia designed and based on him. Comics trade on the fact that people want to read stories about familiar characters, not accustom themselves to new characters every time they want to read something. A comic called Witchblade had an anime based on it. Imagine if you could continue to read new stories about your favorite manga character for the next 74 years, rather than having to come to terms with the fact that their story is over and you will never see them again.

So, starting on Monday, in the podcast, I will be reviewing American graphic novels. I'll be bridging the gap between manga and comics with Death: At Death's Door a manga based on the Sandman comic series.

Finish What You Start...

Okami is the most undersold game this year, and it is also one of the best. That's fine because it might make it more valuable someday. Capcom closed Clover Studios prematurely and did not give this game the chance to prove itself. So many times the good ones are "the best game that no one ever played." That is the story with Okami. It starts out with about an hour of expositional story. This makes it unsuitable for most kids, and most male gamers. Unless a person has an attention span, a desire to learn something cultural, and appreciates eye candy then they won't enjoy this title. Put the game in when you aren't in any rush, get your favorite beverage and sit back and enjoy the story.

The game is brilliant and it is truly unlike any other game you have played. From the ground breaking drop dead gorgeous funkadelic graphics, to the unusual artist's brush game-play, to the unique female characters, the game is astonishing. Okami is a game that I promise you will love.

One of the best things about the game is that is about a Goddess. She incarnates on earth as a white wolf. There is much to be learned here about culture. The translations from Japanese to English are a bit rough. There aren't really good words in English to translate Shinto animistic concepts into. Words like 'Gods' or 'prayers' are used which aren't exact translations. Shinto animism is more similar to modern neo-paganism and the Goddess based earth religions which would translate those concepts more subtly. The energies that Okami uses to transform the environment such as rejuvenation and sunshine and the "Gods" of calligraphy are more like our western concepts of Diva's, earth spirits or faeries.

Then there is the name thing which is confusing. Okami is short (?) for Ameratsu the sacred Goddess of the sun and creator of the world. Don't be confused when she is called Shiranui, Fur-ball, and Snow-ball too.

The game play is unusual to say the least. It isn't particularly about killing things. There are plenty of enemies to dispatch. Some of the most fun parts of the game come from little things like making the old woman smile when you replace her clothes line, or when you feed the birds and they fly around your head thanking you with billowing hearts. That is a good thing. We have been complaining for a long time that we wanted innovation and new things to do. This game provides just that. You begin learning how to operate the odd ball tools that Okami uses to fight with, and restore her energy. The learning process takes about 90 minutes and it is well done.

One of the main features in the game is the ability to use a calligraphy brush. At first I thought that it would be difficult to try and draw with a controller from a console. It was easy to do though. You are given 13 various tasks that can be performed with the brush and these unlock as you progress through the game.

The graphics in Okami at times defy description. It is gorgeous, stunning, refreshing and so much more than I can even tell you. The 2D art work is transformed magically into a world that can look either menacing or pretty. One thing that I discovered is the 3D graphics. I had gone to see Nightmare Before Christmas 3D, and I kept lifting up the 3D glasses to see how they did it. When I was watching some of the cut-scenes in Okami the effects are 3D and have a similar depth of field to a 3D movie. So I put the new polarized 3D glasses on, and what do you know, it was even more amazing! Try it if you have those big black 3D glasses.

Okami takes game graphics to a place that it has never been before. It shows what can be done with art that is essentially derived from water colors. This was attempted in a similar way in the Mark of Kri franchise, only Okami is better. The graphics look 100 times better than Samurai Champaloo and Full Metal Alchemist, these developers should take a lesson from Okami and Clover Studios. There are too many anime games out there that just plain suck, look half finished and rushed.

The music in the game is lovely and it suits the subject matter. There are harps and what sounds like koto. The music is very much the conveyance of the mood in the game. It changes to get the pulse racing during the fighting sequences. It evokes serenity and peace when Okami is returning the earth to its former beauty.
I only have one criticism of the the game. When you are reading the many, many text screens they are accompanied by a weird mumbling voice. It is cute at first. But it becomes annoying right away. I would have preferred actual Japanese language instead. Then it would make sense to have the subtitles. The same goes for the flea that follows Okami throughout the game and provides exposition. It could be a common facet of mythology to have a little flea along with a wolf or dog in a story, but it reminded me of Inuyasha where a flea also provides back story and it is done with a normal voice actor.

Okami may be the most important game this year as an example of a failure to market to women. The game itself is designed exactly for what women gamers would enjoy. It is too bad that the publishers had no clue what they had in their hands. They should have taken out large ads on all the women's game portal websites and in womens magazines. It is a lost opportunity. Once again they could have benefited by coming to us for advice.

Okami gets my best female character in a game this year. Okami is exactly what we have been asking for. She doesn't have wardrobe malfunctions, there is no T&A, she is a powerful and heroic female lead character in a game. Of note in the news lately is the failure of the Barbie video games. We told you that it would fail. Okami demonstrates the type of game that women love, with a deep engaging story. There is fighting as well as more things to do besides warfare in it. There are many NPC's that are little girls and old people. It is balanced. It isn't pink, there isn't any stereo-typical nonsense. Thanks game developers, the best female character I have seen in 2006 is a dog.

Finish What You Start...

Bad movies based on video games are bound to happen. They're like a case of crabs... you do all the stuff you need to in order to get rid of them, then you mess around with some skank [male or female] and BOOM! Another infestation.

This time, it's of the Street Fighter and Castlevania kind.

You know, I thought, especially with the disasters that were Alone in the Dark and DOOM that the movie studios might have learned that maybe movies based on video games are not the best idea right now. Not because the idea can't work, it's just that the studios change many things that make a game unique or enjoyable as a player but don't necessarily fit the movie cookie cutter frame that they, in the end, make a movie that barely resembles the video game product that they were banking on to help put asses in theater seats.

Then I read the news about the upcoming Street Fighter and Castlevania movies and my heart sank to the floor. I've always thought that Castlevania plotline would be a great foundation for a feature length film. A bloodline curse to create the intrigue, vampires and the lone figure that stands against them to which you add the style the classic dark and dreary 16th century style and you have the makings of a great period, action, drama. If that doesn't ring the alarms of all studio heads nothing will. So I understand the desire to get this thing green lit... I was excited about it as well. Then I saw who would be helming the pic, Paul W.S. Anderson, and I realized the movie that I was seeing in my head was not the movie that was going to be made. If you aren't familiar with the name Paul W.S. Anderson you may know him from such films as Resident Evil, Mortal Kombat, and Event Horizon. Do I really need to say more? It's going to suck. It's going to suck more than The Covenant sucked... which is an amazing feat in and of itself. Which is sad because all the of the elements to create a movie that you can get EVERYONE to go to... action and killing for the dudes, lost love for the ladies, and being a period pic, if done right might even get the academy's attention round Oscar time. But no, that's not going to happen.

And just when I think the news can't get any worse, one of the FRESHpeeps sends me an email about the Street Fighter movie. Now, why this is happening I've no fucking idea, but this time around the story is going to be centered around Chun-Li as opposed to the whole SF crew. I'll reserve my "it's gonna suck more than..." until I hear a little more. But the thing's going to be written by the dude doing the Voltron movie. You heard me right, I said Voltron movie! Don't even get me started on how pissed I'm going to be if this thing turns out to be the bastard child of The Mighty Morphing Power Rangers and that Thunderbirds movie

But I'm nearly out of rage so I'll stop there. But I'll be writing about that Voltron shit, please believe me!

Finish What You Start...

Today's news is all about new consoles and new games and old gamers. We do a little name-dropping (Clint Eastwood). Sony does a little drop in launch numbers. And Microsoft simply drops the ball. Did GameStop foil the console profiteers? And will a simple de-frag cause your numbers to go up? All of that and less is answered here.

• Sony warns about phony PS3 scams? That's right. According to BusinessWeek, a number of websites have been promoting pre-orders on units without the cooperation of Sony. The company says to stay safe, buy only from authorized dealers, such as GameStop, EB, Best Buy and Wal-Mart.
• Did GameStop cancel preorders for games in Ebay auctions? In a word, no. But it shows just how crazy things are going to get in the run-up to the launch date for the PS3 and Wii consoles.
• Want to become a Guitar Hero? Buy one! Viacom's MTV Networks has finalized its purchase of Harmonix, makers of video games Guitar Hero and Karaoke Revolution.
• Did he fire six shots or only five? Dirty Harry is the latest movie franchise to get its own video game, with Clint Eastwood voicing the iconic character. "It's good," Eastwood says, "I get to see myself as a younger person."
• Wii to include DVD player in Japan? But not in America. That's the word on the street.
• Why is Sony still shrinking? The latest report is that Japan's allotment of PS3 units is shrinking to 80,000. How low can they go?
• Why won't Microsoft take advantage of Sony? The folks at Microsoft keep denying the possibility of a pre-Christmas price drop on the Xbox 360.
• Were they sandwiched between the Depends booth and the Geritol booth? Nintendo showed up at the AARP products show, demonstrating how video games were relevant for a whole new generation, the aging baby boomers.
• Playing more, but scoring less? Maybe your hard drive needs a serious defrag. That's what a bunch of Xbox players think, at least.

Finish What You Start...

I have not been around very much lately, I got a little wrapped up in my schooling. I recently had a revelation though, one that would set my path straight. Why am I wasting my time on all this education and things like that when I could be out playing video games? It was this startling realization that brought me here tonight to give you a little taste of a game I like to think of as one of the best RTS' ever made, Rise of Legends.

The premise of Rise of Legends is pretty simple. Long ago a spacecraft broke into three pieces (and I think I saw a fourth >.>) and crashed upon some planet. These three parts (and maybe a fourth >.>) developed into three distinct and equally bad ass nations, the Vinci, the Alin, and the Cuotl. Each of whom have really cool Master Units that you can only have one of. The game is similar in structure to most RTS' except for a few things. You are given a city, much like other games, and you build upon this city. Say you want to have a higher troop capacity, build a military district. If you cap out on how much resources you are gathering, build a merchant district. Each of the three races also has a unique district that only they can build. As you get more districts you can build palace districts to upgrade the cities size. You can go from normal city, to Large, to Great. Each time you go up you get sweeter upgrades.

The first of these cool nations is called the Vinci. They are basically Spanish Conquistadors meets steam technology. They have cool units like Gyrocopters, Clockwork men, and even a Juggernaut tank. They improve their technology by building industrial districts in their cities. These guys are my favorite so far. There is something so cool about leading an army of clumsy robot men and spiders that look like miniature versions of the one from Wild Wild West. You can also build research centers as these guys, which you can upgrade to do all sorts of nifty things. Their Master Unit is called the Land Leviathan. It basically is the huge thing from Wild Wild West. Alas, I have yet to figure out how to get this unit, if any of you can get it, send the info my way.

The next group on the list is the Alin. The Alin are almost straight out of Arabian Nights. They are a magic using desert people. These guys have some pretty crazy units, everything from giants made out of glass to soldiers that can hide in the sand and spring out for an ambush. The Alin use magic and creatures related to three things, Sand, Fire, and Glass. Glass units can be upgraded to Dark Glass, which do some really wicked things. Their special unit is the Magus District, which gives them research points and buffs their hero’s magic beefiness. The Master Unit for these guys is probable the coolest in my opinion, a huge glass dragon.

Finally the last army is the mysterious Cuotl. They are by far the oddest of the lot. Basically they still use much of the technology that was available to them when the space ship crashed, and they worship Gods…. Gods that you can actually get on the battlefield to fight for you. They use a lot of units that remind me of the Power Rangers. I feel the urge to call out beasts and then have them morph into wicked robots. Alas, this is not their Master Unit, though they do have a really cool one. It’s a big floating building called the City of Vengeance. This guys absolutely tears things apart, and he can store troops too! Instead of wealth, the Cuotl gather energy. This means their Merchant District as been replaced with a Reactor District. They also get a Holy District, which allows them to expand their land and it rewards them a free unit.

Rise of Legends is well worth the money I spent on it. I find myself losing hours upon hours playing this game. Not only is it pretty to look at, but it is the most inventive RTS I have ever played. I would recommend this for any fan of the game type, and I think it would be a worthy play for someone who is looking to get into RTS for the first time. Now I shall go and waste more time upon it!

Finish What You Start...

In today's news:

• Big WoW loser a big winner
• Get the inside numbers on the PS3
• Oops! Amazon did it again
• Scientists blinded by games
• Devlish, yet beatific

Just like Jared and Subway: During the past three months, a blogger named Greg has been Warbiking to lose weight. Warbiking? That's playing World of Warcraft while pumping away on his stationary bicycle. How much weight did he lose? A whopping 41 pounds -- 15 percent of his body weight. He says, "Warbiking is the best of both worlds. I get to do 2-plus hours of cardio without being aware that I'm really doing it. And as I can only play Warcraft while doing cardio (that's a self imposed rule - no cardio, no Warcraft), it's self regulating -- no way am I going to play for 6 hours or something, my legs wouldn't do it."

How many PS3 consoles will your local Wal-Mart get? Blogger dsthunder writes on digg.com: "simply print out the barcode and take it into your local walmart and ask an associate (in electronics) to scan it with the telzon, they can then tell you how many they will get, how many they have, and how many are in their warehouse."

Amazon.com does an oopsie: Friday's short pre-order session on Amazon.com for the Nintendo Wii was just an accident. That's the word from Amazon.com, at least: "During system maintenance on the morning of Friday, October 27, the Nintendo Wii was briefly made available on our Web site for test purposes only and was not intended to be available for pre-order." The posting continues to say that Amazon.com will honor the pre-orders that were successful -- for only one unit per household. The posting adds: "Once we officially begin to take pre-orders, you can be assured that all customers who have signed up to receive e-mail confirmation of Wii's availability will be notified." I can guarantee you that NinJaSistah is not convinced.

Scientists LOVE video games: "It's like hiring an individual tutor for every student. There's a big argument going on now about whether kids are being tested too much or too little. In a game, you're continuously being tested and you don't mind it." That's no fanboy talking -- it's Federation of American Scientists president Henry Kelly, whose organization is hot about using videogames to teach children. According to Newsweek, a report by the distinguished group calls for a new generation of educational games that are as immersive and graphics-intensive as megabudget titles like Madden NFL 07 and Battlefield 2142.

This Ugly Yet Beautiful World, Vol. 3: Red Swarm: Takeru is your typical teenage average Joe -- until he meets Hikari, a beautiful girl who fell from the stars. Immediately Takeru's life turns upside down, as strange creatures and dark forces converge on the unlikely pair. But even while adversity brings them closer, Hikari's mysterious past threatens an even greater danger to Takeru and everything he's known. It's a cosmic love affair with Earth hanging in the balance. Dontcha just hate it when that happens.

Finish What You Start...

In today's news:

• For every two winners, there's a loser
• Phil Collins regrets the '80s
• Guitar Hero pulls the plug
• No legs on this Miyazaki castle
• A big box of Pikachu

Microsoft, Nintendo up, Sony way down: In company earnings reports released this week, Microsoft and Nintendo profits were up significantly from the same quarter last year, while Sony profits were way down -- 94 percent lower. Both results were attributable in part to the companys' performances in their video games divisions. Sales of the Xbox 360 video-game console boosted revenues in the entertainment and devices division by 70 percent to over $1 billion, as compared to a year ago, according to a story on the newratings.com website. Sony, on the other hand, had said that its battery recall would cut earnings for its fiscal second quarter by about $430 million. Sony's net profit in the quarter plunged 94 percent to a mere $14.4 million, according to the Wall Street Journal. Sony also was hit particularly hard by an operating loss of about $90 million in its videogame division. In the catbird seat is Nintendo, which reported sales of $2.5 billion, up 69 percent from a year earlier. Net income was $458.6 million, up from a loss a year ago, according to the San Jose Mercury-News.

Well I remember... Veteran rock star Phil Collins is impressed with the way he is portrayed in the latest Grand Theft Auto game -- and a little bit embarrassed. "They have got it spot on," he said in a story at the contactmusic.com website. "The five o'clock shadow, the suits and all the other stuff that was so embarrassingly prevalent in my '80s wardrobe."

Guitar Hero unplugged: Guitar Hero fans will be able to shred with a wireless controller, thanks to a unit coming directly from Activision subsidiary RedOctane. Displaying a new glossy white finish, the $59.99 wireless guitar controller contains the same features as the wired Guitar Hero SG controller. The really boring press release is here.

Miyazaki's Unmoving Museum: "With spiral staircases, catwalks stretching out above, and doors that are only three feet high, the place has a dream-like quality." That's how the Gridskipper website describes the Ghibli Museum, the world's largest repository of the works of Hayao Miyazaki. Located about a 45-minute train ride from Tokyo, the museum contains replicas of Miyazaki's movie characters and the theater shows shorts you can't see anywhere else.

Pokemon Advanced Box Set, Vol. 2: Ten-year-old Ash aspires to be the greatest Pokemon (pocket monster) trainer in the world. To do this, he enlists in the help of two friends, Misty and Brock, and his own Pokemon, Pikachu. Together, they must search their world for all 150 Pokemon, while avoiding the likes of Team Rocket and their Pokemon, Meowth. Of course, if you don't already know all of this, you've been under a really big rock for the past decade.

Finish What You Start...

I know I've been a bit lax in the posting of late, but danged if the so called "real world" hasn't been intruding on my web and game fun. Unfortunately, I've been having to do this thing, where I provide different people my design services on projects of their liking and in return, they give me money for my efforts.

Yes, NinJaSistah... daytime web design whore.

Moving on, I'm a little behind in my news, but I've seen a couple of things that I wanted to share with you and talk about if you hadn't already heard about em.

First off, Jack Thompson. You know him, you love him, [or is that loathe, they are so close together on the emotional rollercoaster chart] and well, Jack's got himself in a tad bit of hot water. You know how that judge disagreed with his ideas about Bully being a public nuisance and needing to be kept off the shelves where consumers could buy it? Well, Jacky boy shortly after the hearing wrote the judge hearing the case a letter. If I ever in my life were to receive a letter like this from someone because they lost at something by my hand, I would have no choice but to pursue legal action against them rather than my first instinct to do them bodily harm. In this diatribe to Judge Ronald Friedman, Thompson at one point says,

"What you conducted in your chambers, Judge, was the equivalent of Iran leading UN weapons inspectors around the country taking them to places where the illegal activity was not occurring."

Now unless the Judge in this case anal raped all of the principles in this case and broadcast it live on the web, I'm not exactly sure what he could possibly have done in quarters to gain such glowing praise from JT... but I'll continue on. Also in the letter, JT mentions that his losing is not the cause of this letter being sent.

I can handle an adverse ruling by a judge. I've had plenty of those in my lifetime, and that's fine.

Which by itself wouldn't be any interesting point to bring up... but the sentence that follows is why I point it out. JT goes on to say

"But the way you conducted yourself today helps explain why a great Dade County Judge, the late Rhea Pincus Grossman, could not abide you. She was not the only one..."

Then the list starts. Seriously, read the letter.

Now Kotaku posted this on the 13th of October. What I find interesting is that the next day [14th of October for those of you keeping track] the family group that Thompson has so often referred to as having the support of in all of his open letters, many sound bytes, and so forth, issued their own open letter... to JT himself. The National Institute on Media and the Family said that Mr. Thompson better stop letting their name come out his mouth. Well, that's basically what they said. Dr David Walsh who founded The Institute says in his open letter

"However, over the past few months, I and members of my board have a growing concern that your use of our name, without our permission, has had a negative influence as we try to educate the public on this important issue."

"...Your commentary has included extreme hyperbole and your tactics have included personally attacking individuals for whom I have a great deal of respect... Some of the people that you have publicly criticized are not only people of integrity, but are people who have worked to improve the lives of children."

"...Consequently, I ask that you cease using the institutes or my name in any way that would give the impression that we support your efforts."

Ouchies! It has to hurt when everyone in the world [and not just the gaming community that you feed upon like a vampire]finds out your a poser.

Now that Jacky boy may be in some hot water with Judge Friedman for his lovely letter and may be found to be held in contempt of court. With this well published letter of his floating around, I don't know how it could be seen as anything but contemptible. I wasn't even in the court house, nor was I the person the letter was addressed to and I find it highly arrogant, offensive, and ultimately immature.

I am now going to sit back and watch with joy as the US legal system work, again [as I do not feel that Bully, or any video game to date is a public nuisance] as you get held in contempt of court and get to spend some one on one time with a few folks that may be convicted of violent crimes.

While you are there, ask them if video games made em do it.

Finish What You Start...

I've seen this too many times: well-meaning advice columnists talking about things they have no knowledge about, so when it comes time to give advice, they tell everyone to fear the thing they don't understand.

I was reminded of this by such an advice columnist named Marguerite Kelly, who writes for the Washington Post and is syndicated throughout the U.S. On Oct. 20, a reader asked about the advisability of giving her 8-year-old daughter a Nintendo DS for Christmas. Kelly, naturally, was appalled, immediately warning the reader of the possibility (Possibility? You must mean certainty!) of gaming addiction.

Although you can read the whole thing here, I will also reproduce the answer portion of the letter below. But instead of referring to video games, I'm going to let you choose which dangerous thing the daughter ought to be protected from. Just choose from a list of real (and imagined) dangers for yourself:

You're wise to hesitate. Video gamesiPodsWalkmans , like television and the computer, can create dissension at home and even get a child addicted to them -- if you let them.

Just as children know exactly how many times a parent will nag before she blows up, so does your daughter know how many times she has to beg for something before you give in.

Give your daughter a video gamea diamond ringa Chrysler 300 only if you can afford it, if you can set reasonable limits and stick to them, and if you're willing to put the game awaytake the T-bird awayspank the bejezus out of her if she tries to negotiate for more time whenever she playsdrives to the basketflies into outer space . You can always let her check out the gamethe guys at the drive-inof life , like a book from the library.

Since too much screen timedrinking Robotussinmasturbating is bad for anyone, especially a child, your daughter shouldn't be allowed to watch more than seven to 10 hours of TV a weekspend more than three hours at church a weekever go to a PTA meeting , nor should an 8-year-old be at the computera Nazi rallya rave for more than two or three hours a week or play video gamespretend to be a boymicrowave the cat for more than two hours a week. This will give your daughter time to read, do her chores and her homework and play with her friends and her little sister.

The key, as usual, is moderation. Too many video gamesboyfriendsInsane Clown Posse fans will make the family room look like a penny arcadethe Lost islandthe bathroom at an Exxon but you needn't outlaw all of them. Many have no violence, sex or profanity and some require players to strategize more than Monopoly does, though not as much as chess. Insist, though, that your child teach you, her dad and her little sister how to play any game she getsgive as good as she getsdo Dallas and that she let you have occasional turns, too, so she won't get isolated from the family.

It's as important for parents to play video gamesrefrain from having sexdress like Satan with their children as it is for them to read their children's books or go to their PTA meetings. You don't have to read every book or go to every meeting, but the more involved you are in your daughter's activities, the better you will know her interests, her abilities and her friends.

It's also important that she be a giveran accountanta sexpot as well as a getteran economistan advocate of the military-industrial-complex .

It's fine that she tells you what she wants for Christmas, but she should also be figuring out what she has to buy or make for family and friends. She will only do that, though, if you remind her frequently and if you take her to thrift stores and yard salesthose slums on the SouthsideOmaha, Nebraska to find secondhand bookscigarshookers for Dad and Uncle Bob, to pick up the clovesSocial Security checkmarijuana she needs to make a pomanderrenta blunt for her grandma and buy fake jewelscredit cardsbreasts to decorate a picture framethat beater Chevy Citationthe dildo she's giving to Aunt Tilly. These kinds of gifts will teach generosity and empathy to both of your girls, which is absolutely necessary. If they don't learn these virtues at home, they may never learn them at all.

Before you decide whether to give your daughter a Nintendoa hickeyherpes , make sure she plays with her friend's gameher friendherself a few more times, since some children get bored with these digital dogsthe Catholic Churchthe Republican Party rather quickly. If she still wants one, expect to pay between $20 and $35 for a game and another $130 for the Nintendo DSout the assfor the rest of your natural life . Choose the Lite versionDemocratic candidatepimp with the biggest hat ; it's supposed to be simpler, lighter and better.

Whether you give your daughter a Nintendoa pair of pink platform shoesyour boyfriend for Christmas or not, she should love a dear little novel called "How to Be a Good Dog"Gravy Trainpower fisting and "Dogs," a history of many breeds.self-flaggelationany excuse to divorce herself from your family.

Finish What You Start...

I will let you be the judge... after I hand down my ruling that is.

I recently received my Xbox Live Diamond Card in the mail, and first impression was it looked snazzy!

Indeedy, this isn't some cheazy, sleazy laminated paper card like the ones you get from Blockbuster these days... no this sucker is standard credit card stock and build. The imprinting of my gamertag in the all caps is a nice touch. It pleases me, so it immediately went into my wallet with prominent placement. [which if you need to know means right next to my AMEX Gold card... I had to retire my black card because I was ballin' out of control... hence my broketude.]

But now I had a dilemma: I needed to know where I could to use my new pretty little gamer status icon. Included with my "gamer extraordinaire" card, was some info on the site I could go to and see what places valued my gaming awesomeness enough to float a sistah a deal. I was all excited, because my broke ass is in serious need of some discounts let me tell you. The first two I noticed off that bat that looked cool were the 10% off of purchases made online at Target website and the 2-for-1 sammiches at Quiznos... which I have to say I hit up on a weekly basis. Toasty! Moving on. At this point I'm thinking to myself, "Self? Yes? Looks like getting that XBLive Gold package and signing up for this dealie was a good idea I had. Indeed self, congratulations on the stroke of genius which is you, me, er, us! Boffo!" But then I started looking through the rest of the vendors and "deals" and started rethinking that whole ego molestation thing that I did to myself. [I am a registered ego molester.]

Many of the vendors are companies that I've never heard of like Golfsmith.com, AKA Gourmet.com, Chukar Cherry Company, and Furniture Medic to name a few. Now, while many of these vendors seem like great little services on their own... I'm not sure how many gamers need furniture restoration. Wait, I take that back. From all the accounts of people winging controllers about their domicile in anger, someone has to have dinged their wood interiors. [he he, I said dinged their wood...] But the more I went through the list of vendors I noticed that while the list was obviously still in it's "new" stage. Even more obvious is that MS is trying to line up as many vendors as they can to give card holders a good reason to keep the card on them at all times. You never know when you need to order someone some flowers or a gift online, so when you start adding in those 10% off and 30% with a coupon type deals, it can be very attractive.

It helps to remember that the Diamond Card is free if you have a 1 yr Xbox live Gold subscription. Then the free foods from Papa John's, Popeye's, and Quiznos starts looking real good. The wine and micro brew company vendors out of Washington state really only resonate with residents of the respective Washington state cities those companies are in, but still... American's love discounts, so I think it's a good idea. I'm just a little disappointed that with all their clout, MS wasn't able to line up some more gaming related discounts. I mean, the only things listed under the "Video Games & Hobbies" banner are Hollywood Video and Gamestop. The Gamestop one is a tad disappointing: "Receive $10 off any online purchase of $75 or more, online only," while the Hollywood Video one is a rent one get one rental free with this coupon you have to print out right here. Really Microsoft? Is that the best you can do? Where's the reward for being an Xbox loyalist? Where's the $10 bucks off any MS 1st party game you buy from Amazon or even Gamestop? How about the buy a controller, get a controller half off? I get that it can be difficult to bring on new vendors [even though your online system has been pretty dang large and in charge for nearly a year now] but how does that stop you from offering some in house discounts to gamers that have been nickel and dimed to death for microtransactions through your online service? Throw us a frikken bone here!

Now, as I said, I'll let you be the judge. Maybe with the holiday season about to start some new vendors can pop up on the Diamond list and make this well meaning idea something to resonate well with gamers and consumers that love gamers. [Mom, I'm looking at you... you know Christmas is coming right?] But as far as I'm concerned right this moment, this card and bonus service is CZ at best.

What do you think? Any diamond card holders out there that have some stories of how they used their card to get something?

Finish What You Start...

In today's news:

• Gamers in a World of Hurt
• There's a sale at Penney's Toys"R"Us!
• Old School comes roaring back
• Sony Reader gets thumbs up
• Monsters, demons and detectives, oh my!

WoW expansion pack misses holiday selling season: Testing on the upcoming World of Warcraft expansion pack got started only this month, and as a result the package won't be available for sale until after the first of the year. According to an Associated Press story, "Gamers will instead have to wait until January to plumb the depths of Outland in The Burning Crusade..."

It's 3-for-2 time at Toys"R"Us: Through Saturday Oct. 28 at Toys"R"Us, buy two in-stock video games, get the third one free! Here are the weasel words: Free video game must be of equal or lesser value to the lowest priced item purchased. Limited quantities available. Sorry, no rain checks. Here are the online promotion rules.

Some gamers putting warp drive in reverse: In an age where a new video game system is close to breaking the $600 mark, some gamers are reliving the good ol' days, buying old game machines in pawn shops for a $20 bill and buying old games for a five-spot. "Maybe it's because they grew up on them," Jim McCauley, owner of JimmyJams Comics and Games in Winona, Minn., told the Winona Daily News. "A lot of college-age guys look at all the new games, but also the old Nintendo games. I see a lot of that. There's a lot of nostalgia going on." The big sellers? Games with Mario and Luigi. One customer says, "They're chick magnets."

Is the Sony Portable Reader squint-worthy? That's the question answered by Tony Salvaggio for Comic Book Resources in his review of the new portable device. Specifically, Salvaggio checked out the Reader for its ability to display manga titles. "Tokyopop has committed to releasing a collection of their Global Manga lineup for release at the launch of the Sony Reader (in fact, an excerpt of 'Peach Fuzz' should come pre-loaded with the Reader)," Salvaggio writes, "and I was able to take a sneak peak at the results."

Tactics, Vol. 2: Supernatural detective Kantaro Ichinomiya and his band of monsters and demons are back! This time, the team travels to Bride Island, Suzuku Temple and Asakusa in search of adventures, monsters and interesting journal articles. Sounds... like... fun.

Finish What You Start...

The gamers best buddy and pal Sony has effectively put the best place on the web for getting your grubby little hands on imports Lik-Sang.

Sony says, it's for our own good. The British don't need Japanese PSP's or video games that will never be ported to England for the English, so places like Lik-Sang don't need to exist, right?

Wrong. Here's why. Sony pushed back the roll out of it's PS3 system in Europe to 07. [March of if'n I remember correctly] so the only way for many people in Europe to get there hands on the system before then would be to grab an import from someplace like Lik-Sang... which had already taken pre-orders for the PS3 before the Gamestop shenanigans. Yeah, you heard me, I said shenanigans! Hundred non-refundable bucks for a pre-order that won't even put a box in my hand launch day deserves no other name. But it's not just PS3, but our European sister and brother gamers were also getting boned on the price of their console and hand held systems. As much as I bitch and moan about the price of the high end PS3 box here in the states, that 599 euro box in Europe would run you nearly 752.12 USD. I shall cease my bitching for a bit on that one. OUCHIES!

But why now, and what really is the deal? Well Sony claims it filled the lawsuit against Lik-Sang arguing economic harm to itself and dishonest selling tactics. Now, I'm not sure exactly what "economic harm" defenseless lil Lik-Sang had [they didn't even have representation during the hearings, poor lil guys...] but I'm not sure how you can claim dishonesty. There was an adapter that was listed on the Lik-Sang site that was supposed to be auto-sensing as far as power wattage went, and I haven't been able to tell if that product was bunk or not, but still... there are a lot of sites that list a lot of products that don't actually do all of what they promise.Oh, by the way, isn't this "dishonest selling tactics" the pot calling the kettle black coming from Sony? Didn't they make that next-gen console comparison sheet that in all "honesty" to label as "bullshit" a fair statement?

Now look, I never actually bought anything through Lik-Sang. Not because I felt they couldn't be trusted, or were overpriced, but because I personally didn't have much want or need for an import game or gaming system. However, I always thought it was a good idea to have a source like Lik-Sang out there for the people who did not have as many options or choices as I've had here in the US. There are a bunch of games each year that ship in Japan and in the US and Canada, but never make the distribution cut for Europe. I didn't like that idea, but at least places like Lik-Sang helped level the playing field for gamers in Europe. I liked that. I'm almost 100 percent sure that this maneuver by Sony had less to do with protecting the "hordes" of folks clamoring for the PSP in Europe and more to do with the [eventual] roll out of the PS3 in Europe.

I do feel for you poor bastards in Europe, not even having a shot at a PS3 until waaaaay into 2007. You gotta wait until after us Americans and Japanese have all our fun before you can even think about joining the party.

Y'all have been fucked, and I do mean proper fucked, by Sony. The only difference between us and you, is that Sony took us out to dinner first.

Finish What You Start...

When Electronic Gaming Monthly magazine published the story "The 20 Worst Video Games of All Time," they edited out author Seanbaby's swear words. Now the original story has been preserved on the internet.

Seanbaby has published on his website the original story, as he says, "to better express how these fucking cunt ass games pissed me off."

Seanbaby adds, "I still insist that if this list was perfectly accurate, the 20 Worst games really would just be 19 Atari Jaguar games and the Atari 2600's god damn E.T."

Go ahead and read Seanbaby's original article -- then come back and tell us your picks. What are the worst games of all time that you've ever played?

Finish What You Start...

In today's news:

• Microsoft tells Apple to Zune itself
• A feature no one asked for
• Wii and PS3 kiosks heading to stores
• The week's best quotes
• One of those anime things

READ MY LIPS:
When General Motors tried to sell the Chevy Nova in Mexico during the 1960s, they discovered an unfortunate problem. In Spanish, the word "nova" means "no-go." Well, the brainiacs at Microsoft didn't seem to care to check out the name of their new MP3 player against the world's major languages. When told the meaning of the word pronounced Zee-yoon in Hebrew, the conversation with Bill Gates undoubtedly went something like this:

Microserf: Uh, Mr. Gates, there's a problem with the new Zune.
Bill Gates: A problem? Is it that damn brown color?
Microserf: No, it's not that, sir. It's... it's... it's the name.
Bill Gates: The name? What's wrong with the name?
Microserf: Well, uh, in Hebrew it means... it means...
Bill Gates: Spit it out, boy. It couldn't be that bad.
Microserf: It means FUCK!
Bill Gates: FUCK? Fuuuuuuuuuuuuck.

HERE'S A FEATURE NOBODY ASKED FOR
Last week, Sony introduced a new Walkman MP3 player to compete with Apple's iPod. The big, new, iPod-killing feature of this one? The ability to upload music directly from a compact-disc player. Think about this for a moment: Most CD players run at 1X speed, meaning a 45-minute-long CD will take exactly 45 minutes to upload the songs to the player. If you let the batteries run dry, you'll have to upload the whole thing again.

And, as NinjaSistah asked when I told her about it, who owns CD's anymore?

RUMORS:
Sony's not worried about the PS3 overheating, right? Then why are they installing an extra cooling fan in their store kiosks? Read about it here.

Speaking of kiosks, Wii and PS3 kiosks are already winging their way to Best Buy, Wal-Mart, GameStop and EBGames stores. Call your favorite store to see if it has already arrived. More...

Don't play the Wii in direct sunlight. That's the word of a blogger on the Nintendo Gal website: "That's right, if you have the sun beaming right onto the sensor bar, it doesn't work." More...

QUOTES:
"For this Christmas I think the price for what it specifically does as a video games machine [it] is a bit pricey..."
-- Sony Computer Entertainment Australia Managing Director Michael Ephraim, talking about the Wii's price. From Australia's Age newspaper.

"E3 is not a place where product is sold anymore. The industry is recognized as a big part of mainstream culture, so the need for a big glittering event to validate the industry is not what it used to be," he said. "What is needed ... is to focus on the fact that E3 is much more about media-related opportunities. The question is what is the most efficient way to create those opportunities."
-- Douglas Lowenstein, president of the Entertainment Software Association, the trade association that owns E3.From SFGate.com

"When building a house, traditional Japanese builders start with the tiniest detail and gradually expand from there. Western builders are the opposite. They start with the picture of a whole and add details to it. When Westerners look at old Japanese buildings, they often wonder how the builders drew the blueprint for such a complex shape. But the secret is that there never was a blueprint. It is this fundamental difference in approach that makes Japanese buildings fascinating to their eyes. The same thing can be said about animation. The way we create large images for movies is similar to that traditional architectural method. I think that explains the appeal Japanese animation can have, particularly in the western world."
-- Toshio Suzuki, president of Japan's Studio Ghibli. From the Wall Street Journal

Naruto, Vol. 5 - Shinobi Weapons: As I was saying yesterday, join three young ninjas -- Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno -- as they continue their training. Sort of like Pokemon without all the dang cards, eh? Get the thing here.

Finish What You Start...

In today's news:

• One election the fanboys won't want to miss
• Sony's battery problems hit home
• Wii remote programming made easier
• Anime Network expands to more cable systems
• Here a Trekkie Otaku wet dream

Vote early, vote often: November's issue of Playboy magazine features the winners of the 2006 Women of Video Games contest, so it's too late to vote. But you can still catch a glimpse of the contestants here. There's also a link to the Amp'd Mobile sweepstakes to win the ability to play video games in the Playboy mansion's game room with two Playmates.

Vaio Con Dios: Sony laptop owners became the latest victims of the Sony computer battery scandal as the company recalled 90,000 batteries from Vaio laptops sold in Japan and Korea, with news about the recall of U.S. batteries still to be announced. Here's the latest tally, as of Oct. 17:

Dell...........4,200,000
Apple..........1,800,000
Toshiba..........830,000
Lenovo...........526,000
Fujitsu..........338,000
Sony..............90,000
Sharp.............28,000
Hitachi...........16,000
TOTAL..........7,828,000

Nintendo making life easier for programmers: If the early users are right, the Nintendo Wii Remote is a hit. And now Nintendo and AiLive are making it easier for programmers to incorporate the remote in their games. Using a new artificial intelligence product called LiveMove, developers no longer have to hand-code remote movements into their games. Instead, the developers can directly train the remote by example. "LiveMove will allow the game industry to move away from indirect digital control to more natural analog control for the first time," said Dr. Wei Yen, chairman of AiLive.

Anime Network reach grows: If you get your cable TV from RCN, Insight or Cogeco Cable, you're could start getting Anime Network. The company announced the new carriage deals Monday for its popular subscription-based video-on-demand service. "Anime has a very passionate following and is exactly the kind of on demand content we believe will be successful and will attract new viewers," said Melani Griffith, vice president of programming at Insight.

New Manga creates Trekkie Otaku wet dream: It's the Starship Enterprise against Gundam-style mobile suits in "Star Trek: Shinsei Shinsei," the first Manga version of Star Trek officially sanctioned by Paramount. No need to know more about it. Here's how to get it.

Finish What You Start...

I try not to take up "girl gamer issues" while writing for the site, but I've been asked this question so often that broke down and put this together.

Most of my guy friends are gamers, and ask me how they can convert their girlfriend into a gamer. It has always been my belief that all girls are gamers, it's just finding the right game for the right girl. At the same time, I get asked in conversation by my girl gamer friends how they should break it to the guy they are dating/boyfriend that they are a gamer. I am not "Dear Abbey" or [belch] "Dr. Laura" but I offer this as help.

No. 5: Accessory Love
Wear some game related article of clothing or jewelry accessory. Some 1up mushroom earrings, or a t-shirt featuring some well known game character that you like When he notices it, he'll probably mention how cool your earrings/shirt/whatever is and why he thinks it's cool. This is your opening to share your knowledge of games and start the "I've been playing video games since..." conversation.

No. 4: Technology To The Rescue
It might seem simple but let your tech speak for you if you [for whatever reason] don't know how or when to start this conversation. Got a computer? Set your desktop wallpaper background to one from a video game you love playing. There are plenty of game wallpaper resources out there. You can visit the official websites of video games and check out their downloads or media sections for wallpapers, Google image searches, they all work. Or, you can change your ringtone to some well known tune from a video game. Many cell phones today can play MP3's as ringtones, so get you a transfer cable [if neither your computer nor phone have Bluetooth] and slap one of these tunes on your phone. I find it's a definite attention getter, and you'd be amazed how many other gamers you'll "out" using this technique. In any case, either of these things will help get the "I enjoy video games" idea passed on to your man.

No. 3: Magazine Oppsies
Now I have one friend that was terrified that the guy she had been seeing for a couple of months was going to ditch her when he found out she was a gamer. I don't know why but she was absolutely positive he was going to think she was some kind of masculine chick hiding in a petite girl body. I know, it's stupid, but as she went on and on about how she was hiding her game systems before he came over, I realized it was a serious fear in her mind, so I had to help. I told her instead hiding all of her OPM and Computer Gaming magazines, leave a couple out on the coffee table. When the boyfriend comes over, let him in and offer him a seat on the couch by the mags, then excuse yourself to the bathroom to finish getting ready and leave him there with nothing but the gaming mags to keep him entertained while you are away. When asks when you got into gaming [because he's never seen this stuff before] just be honest. Say you've been into gaming for a while and why, and then just say that you put all that stuff away because you didn't want him to think you were weird. I'll all but guaranty that 10 times out of 10 he'll be excited and cool about it.

No. 2: Don't Hide Your Systems.
The same friend from suggestion number 3 was also hiding her game systems every time the dude came over to pick her up. I told her she needed to stop that shit... pulling all those cables out and putting them back a few times a week had to have been a huge PITA. Leave them out. Duh, he'll get the clue. [I told you he would Jenn ;)]

And finally, No. 1: Just Tell Him You're A Gamer.
I know it seems over simplistic, but admitting that you are a gamer is not like owning up to a case of herpes... no one's going to start running for the hills because you like Halo2, and if they do they're an asshole plain and simple. Being a girl an enjoying video games doesn't make you any less feminine, attractive, smart, or anything. It's nothing to be ashamed of, or hide. I'm really tired of having to play 20 questions with women that I meet to find out if they are a gamer. Most of the ones I ask directly if they like video games go all the way round the bush, "Oh, I guess they are ok... I don't really have time to play them... My brother has a system and makes me play with him." But once I get to know them, find out that they are as into gaming as I am and I get a little pissed. I think about all the time we missed out on playing together, sharing game tips, raggin' on Sony and their fanboys, and all because of some stupid presumed stigma of being a girl gamer. Get over it already. A lot of other girl gamers have. There are more and more girl gamer clans out there that actually have some hard core gamers in their clan... if they can be proud to be gamers that happen to be girls, so should you.

As I said, I usually stay away from this kind of topic because I hate being in a position to enable these kinds of feelings in other girl gamers. That being said, I'm also getting tired of the look of astonishment on guy gamers when I tell them I'm a gamer. First I get the look, then I get the "you probably play stuff like Nintendogs and The Sims [which I do] but I also play God of War, Devil May Cry, Amplitude, BloodRayne, Dynasty Warriors, and Zone of The Enders. After that list, the next thing that happens is I get a little respect out of them, and then they want to know how to get their girlfriend into gaming. I say ask your girlfriend if she likes video games. Whenever you are dating with people, especially if you are just starting out, you have that conversation where you talk about all the stuff you like and don't and crap. Bring this up then. "I dig playing video games with people, how about you?" It's short, sweet, and to the point. Here's the hard part: listen closely to the answer. If you get the, "My brother makes me play with him, I think they are cool, but I don't really play all that often" lines just follow up with a, "Would you like to play with me sometime?" Put the ball in her court and don't push. Let her decided if this is an activity that she wants to share with you or not. If she says sure, ask her what kind of game she likes or thinks she would like, don't just make her play something that you have because you're the bomb at it. [She'll think your a controlling douchebag]

And that's that. I've done my good deed for the day in trying to help folks out on both sides of this thing, so no more complaining.

Date, play, and be merry!

Finish What You Start...

I saw this article first on John Dvorak's blog and thought to myself, "Self, maybe the world is catching on to what you've been thinking for a while..."

There are a lot more girls/women/ladies/chicas [whatever word you want to use... I don't find referring to myself as a girl demeaning in any way] playing video games than most people know or think. I'm not sure if the Nielson numbers reflect what most people think of as "video gaming" at all. I don't think these are PC and console title alone. I am quite sure they are factoring in mobile gaming as well, which is extremely popular with the ladies. ;) Every time I am on a train, or bus, I end up hearing some chick playing Bejeweled or Tetris on her cellphone while yet another young lady is playing some Metroid game on her DS Lite. The girl gamers are out there people, you just have to look.

Now, just when I was feeling all warm and tingly [in the good, non-sexual way] I come across this version of the aforementioned story on the 1up website, and I got pissed off. Why? Because the author was so sure and quick to point out that Nielson must be counting web based flash games and game sites like pogo.com in the study to get numbers that high. I don't know what exactly the Nielson research criteria was, but I was really offended by the idea that the only way female gamers could number that high would be if grandmas' in pajamas playing bingo were counted. [nothing against nanas' in pajamas, or bingo... I have love for both] But it's this kind of mentality that keeps many a girl gamer hiding her identity while playing on or offline. Who needs or wants the hassle of some dude belittling you before you even play a frame of a game because you don't have the same kind of "joystick" that he does? How childish is that? Why would you want to volunteer the information that will open you up for that kind of bullshit?

When I play online, unless I am playing with friends that I know, I don't turn my mic on. I don't want to have to explain why I'm playing the game, be asked constantly how big my boobs are, if I have on panties, if I have a man, if I need some dick in my life, or if I could just grunt into the mic a few times... just for fun. These are not exaggerations. From the first time I got online to play a video game until the moment I started writing this article I have been asked all those questions [and more] by other male players. And during that time I've run across about 25 females that acknowledged they were girls to me playing online. The one thing I noticed about all of these girl gamers was even though their mics were on, few of them spoke very often. Many were focused on the task at hand, but even in relaxed moments, few actively engaged in deep conversation or even instigated conversation. I've even noticed that on the odd occasion I'll do the same thing. I'll go online to play other people, but rarely turn my mic on... and if I do turn my mic on it's to let out a "dude, you fucking suck" here or a laugh there. Short and sweet, to keep the dipshits at bay. And even that isn't foolproof.

In any case, my point is girl gamers make up a large chunk of the gaming community, and come from many backgrounds... and there are way too many girl gaming clans that play Halo, GRAW, and DOA for me to believe that they are all on pogo!

Finish What You Start...

Just a quick FYI

Dig Dug is dropping in on XBLive 11 OCT 06 [tomorrow] around 1am PST. It will only run you 400 MS points to pick it up. You need to get this one people. It's going to be in the arcade so you know what that means:

IT'S DIG DUG BATTLE TIME!

Before Ludacris was "droppin' bow's on em", Dig Dug was droppin' rocks on em! Drop em like it's HOT people!

You know you want to. ;)

Finish What You Start...

In today's news:
Does the Wii have updatable Linux?
Gamers adored -- in South Korea
Live in Mario's world
Another volume of Gundam goodness

Does Wii Have Updatable Linux? The geeks are dancing in the streets as word leaks out of the Nintendo camp that the new Wii uses the Linux operating system. One tidbit that Nintendo has already released is that, whatever OS it has, it will be updatable. From an interview on the Nintendo site: "Wii is the first system from Nintendo that we can continue to be involved in (via operating system updates) after the customer buys it. This means that Wii will greatly expand and diversify the ways in which people will enjoy games in the future."

Wanna Be a Star? Play Video Games in South Korea: The screams and shrieks from the shopping mall weren't for a new boy band. The hundreds of girls were singing songs and waving signs for a new kind of rockstar: video game players. Dressed in track suits covered with logos, gamers play StarCraft and enjoy the adulation of throngs of women. One woman, a fan of gamer Park Yong Wook, told the New York Times, "I watch basketball sometimes, but StarCraft is more fun. It’s more thrilling, more exciting."

You Can Live in Mario's World: It's not enough just to dress up like Mario to experience his world. The Nintendo Amusement Park in New York City consists of one ride, that's described on the How Stuff Works website as, "a real-life interactive adventure that allows players to dress up as Mario or Luigi, enter the Mushroom Kingdom and perform the actions that the heroes perform in the video game. Players can jump over obstacles, land on and ride moving platforms, and smash enemies. They can even collect gold coins and punch power-up boxes." I bet that little moustache is itchy.

That Gundam Thing: Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny, Vol. 4 was released last week. Here's the synopsis, for those of you actually keeping track: "In the year Cosmic Era (CE) 71, a war between the Earth Alliance and ZAFT (Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty) breaks out. The Earth Alliance catches up in technology after ZAFT has a head start building giant man-piloted robots called mobile suits. Immediately, four of the Earth Alliance's five new mobile suits called Gundams are stolen by ZAFT, with the remaining Gundam falling on the hands of a young Earth Alliance pilot." Got that? Well, get it!

Finish What You Start...

There's comfort food: Pot roast and potatoes, buttery corn, macaroni and cheese and puffy, yeasty rolls. But comfort games? G. Turner comments in the New Gamer|Journal, "games can provide comfort in a time of need - be it a need for something familiar or just a quick pick-me-up after a particularly distressing day."

Here are Turner's list of top 5 comfort games: Burnout 3, Guitar Hero ("After a few playthroughs of Take It Off or Unsung, I can't help but find myself gleeful despite a day of horrendous events."), Mega Man 2, Samba de Amigo and ZooKeeper.

What's your top five?

Finish What You Start...

Have you ever had to apply for any kind of federal funding? How about a college loan? Ever had to fill out any kind of paperwork for the gub'ment at all? Remember how large of a PITA that was? Apply that process to video game rating and that's what the future of video games may hold for us all.

In a "they must be out there Bob-damned minds" moment, the Republican Senator Sam Brownback and pals are trying to get some legislation together and passed that would force the ESRB to play every game through, in it's entirety [which would mean all difficulty levels, finding all Easter eggs, etc,] before it can be rated and then released. Um, yeah... what bonehead told the Esteemed Gentlemen from the great state of Kansas that this was an executable idea, let alone a good one? It's obvious that it wasn't anyone who was an actual gamer, because there are way too many game franchises that will never pass this kind of inspection. Allow me to explain, or rather pose some questions of my own.

How does one play Everquest, World of Warcraft, Second Life, or any MMORPG through in it's entirety? Throw into the mix user created content, patches, and the hallowed expansion pack and the review process is neverending... like the story. [Which is an AWESOME ass movie, TYVM] I doubt Blizzard wants to create a game or gamescape that never sees the light of day because it hasn't completed the review for rating by the ESRB process. What about the level of ability of the ESRB folks that will have to play the games? Will we have to wait an extra 10 months for a game to be rated and released because the person at the ESRB assigned the title happens to balls out suck at that particular type of game?

Think about it this way, how long does it take the average gamer to get 100% clear in any game? Even with a guide, on average how long does it take? Few months? Tack on to that the fact that these people will have to be noting every instance of violence, potential violence, sexual content, and language in every scene. Add on a few more months for that. Then they will have to create a report that backs up why they believe the game deserves the rating they have suggested... and a committee goes over the document and then agrees or disagrees. Another month. Looks like 9 months to push that baby out the door if we are lucky and everyone agrees. What developer can afford to add an additional almost year to their development and release cycle?

Senator Brownback has been quoted as saying:

The current video game ratings system needs improvement because reviewers do not see the full content of games and don't even play the games they are supposed to rate. For video game ratings to be meaningful and worthy of a parent's trust, the game ratings must be more objective and accurate.

Which I think is slightly off the mark. While I agree there are flaws within the ESRB rating system, it's better than not having a system at all. Many politicians and ESRB critics are quick to cite the GTA: San Andreas "Hot Coffee" incident and the Oblivion re-rating. Out of the hundreds upon hundreds of games that are released every year on the PC, console, and handheld gaming devices, two only have 2 notable misses [which aren't even bonafide misses... the "Hot Coffee" content was not intended to be seen as the triggers for the content had been removed by the games developer, and the Oblivion deal required a PC only 3rd party hack... hardly something the ESRB could be expected to find] I think is doing a pretty damn good job of screening games. I doubt that many of the already rated games would be re-rated if the ESRB had played them all the way through.

What sends shivers down my spine is that if this legislation gets some power behind it and becomes law, it will mean the end of the ESRB. There is no way that the ESRB could keep up with the amount of games that they would have to review, so they would have to throw their hands up and say, "NO MAS!" Which would mean the government would step in and create a rating board system. And if you thought the ESRB process was going to be long, can you imaging how long the "Federal Rating Process" would be. Can you imagine your local federal representation assigning people to play games through in their entirety? Huh? Can you? Most times ougub'mentnt works, but it works ssss-lllllll-ooooooo-wwwwwwww people. It takes a lot of paper pushing, and lobbyists to get anything done in all honesty. AKK! Video Game Lobbyists?!?! Those words scare the shit out of me, they should scare the crap out of you too.

I never thought I would write anything where I was coming to the aid of the ESRB, but they aren't the bad guy here. Personally I always thought that games should kind of be rated on their contents. If I was to rework the rating system, it would look something like this:

Games for kids age 11 and under, would carry a KS - (kid safe) rating.
Games like Super Monkey Ball, and most games that currently carry the EC, E or E 10+ rating.

Games for young adults suitable for people age 13-16 that have most likely been exposed to violence (i.e. a fight in real life, or seen the TV news) and have heard or used strong language, and/or watch MTV... i.e. they've experienced the real world would carry the YA - Young Adult rating.

Games that have nekkidness, next to nekkidness, allow you to slice an opponent in half with kick ass blood spurts, you know, the stuff you know when you play it no one with a still forming brain should play, would carry an A - Adult rating.

And we'll keep the RP - Rating Pending rating from the original ESRB system for games that are still under review when their print ad campaigns start.

Now is thst so difficult? Require that a more detailed explaination of potential game content appear on the back of the game box art [you know, contains violence, naughty language, and sexually suggestive stuff] and be done with it. Make a special area at the bottom on the front of the box art case [make it the standard template for the entire industry] and allow them to use whatever highlight color they want so as not to interfere with the artwork, and put the rating in there clearly. For some examples click on the images below.

These are just some of the thoughts that have been bouncing around my head since I read this comic from Penny Arcade. They make a valid point... a scary, valid, on point, point.

Finish What You Start...

Starting today, you can play a wide variety of video games while you surf the internet, using ElectricSistaHood's new Arcade! It's packed with classic video arcade games, mind teasers, Vegas-style games and much more!

Just click here to visit the arcade. Best of all, it's all free! So keep your quarters.

The ESH Arcade features games written in various web-friendly languages, including Javascript and Flash. You may have difficulties playing them if your browser doesn't have the capability to play those technologies.

The games include such arcade favorites as PacMan, Asteroids, Sonic, Bejeweled and Tetris. In addition, there are several arcade-like games you'll enjoy, including Siggi the Sea Horse (a side-scrolling racing game), Snowy the Bear's Adventure (similar to Joust), Mysteries of Horus, Bistro Stars and Arctic Quest.

For fans of Vegas gaming, we have Blackjack and Texas Hold'em. If you're into table games, you'll enjoy Chess, Mahjong, Solitaire and Hangman. Like games that challenge your brain? Play Sudoku, Crossword Puzzle, Slither Link and MindMaster.

We'll be adding more games in the future, so keep coming back to the Arcade. You'll love playing with our stuff.

Finish What You Start...

For a moment I was pissed when I came across this story on Digg...

but I felt better after I tried to click the link and was lead to a "thing you were looking for isn't here" page on the Amazon website. As the story goes, supposedly if you were to buy either an XB360 core or premium system Amazon would graciously throw in a pre-order for Gears of War or Viva Pinata and ship the game to you on release day. It's actually not a bad deal if you don't already have an XB360: get the system and one of the more hyped up titles shipped to you on release day... enough to make a girl jealous I say. But the link failed, and it warmed my heart.

I suspect that the deal might have existed at one point, but that it got so popular so damn quick [just like that email I was supposed to get from them so I could pre-order a Wii that never came because they put the webpage up before sending out the email and ran themselves out of pre-order before they could square things, but I'm not bitter about it or anything like that] that Amazon pulled it.

If anyone was able to get in on that deal, let a sistah know, as for the rest of us, just get gears of war the old fashion way, sleep with your local Gamestop manager.

...I'm just kidding!

Finish What You Start...

Yeah, I'm a day behind in the news... so sue me.

Unfortunately I'm not making any money yet doing this awesome ESH stuff so I still have to go to the day job and they worked my ass off yesterday... which is killing me because I missed out on the interim Wiiople maker that someone made and premiered over there at Joystiq. The only thing that is missing is the ability to change the skin tone of your Wiiople because as we know, not all Wiiople, er people, are of the caucasian persuasion... ya know? ;)

Click the link and try it out.

Finish What You Start...

Street Fighter 2: Ten Years Later. What do you think happens to the characters from one of the most popular 2D fighters now that we're ten years down the road?

Who needs a whole lot of words when you have a fun little video like this one. I found it on the college humor website. [after reading about it on the Destructoid.com website... I love those guys]

You don't have to be a big fan of the series to find this clip entertaining, so watch and enjoy. From the looks of things there are more to come.


Click above in the white space to launch the player. Don't look at me like that, I didn't make the code, I just copy and pasted it.

Finish What You Start...

For video game players, the competition among the three game console manufacturers must seem like a Dead or Alive tournament. There's always a winner and a loser, but someone else is always lined up for another bout with the winner.

Few tears were spilled when the No. 4 console maker, Sega, dropped out of the market a few years ago. But can you imagine if, in a year from now, there were only TWO console game makers?

Not only COULD it happen, but we're going to tell you why it WILL happen.

Can Video Games Bring Down a Multinational Corporation?

Sony has a book value of $27 billion. It has nearly $9 billion in cash. Sony's not going anywhere. Or is it?

Sony is looking at a potential for demise it has never faced before. With the failure of its TV and music electronics businesses and its up-and-down movie business, it has relied more and more on the video game business to keep profits up.

But now even its video game business can't save the company. In fact, it's the video game business that could put the whole company right down the toilet.

Here's a story of a company in trouble. Sure, you think you could help it by buying a new PS3 at the end of the year. But purchasing a PS3 this year could be the very thing that pushes Sony over the edge.

The Seeds Are Sown

Sony's troubles didn't just begin this year, but we all started to realize the wheels were falling off the train when Sony started delaying the release of the new PlayStation 3. The first excuse Sony made was that licensing issues were causing the delay from Spring 2006 to November 2006.

Around the same time Sony was putting off the release, analysts released a disturbing story about the disparity in the cost of raw materials for the PS3, compared with the estimated purchase price.

Analysts had predicted the PS3 cost would be in line with the cost of the Microsoft XBox 360 consoles.

In a February story for CNet, it was estimated that the total cost of components for the PS3 would be in the neighborhood of $725 to $905 -- and that was before it was rumored that Sony would have to put PS2 components in the box because the new chip lacked the ability to emulate the earlier PSOne and PS2 games.

The CNet story said, "The materials price estimates do not include marketing, software development, advertising or other costs, which will push Sony's total cost per console even higher."

That there is such a disparity between the price of materials and the suggested retail price for a new console is not unusual because most new consoles are sold as loss-leaders, with the game maker making up the difference with the high margin of profit they get by selling games for the console.

In contrast, the materials cost for the XBox 360 is estimated at only $501, and should continue to drop as the console ages. While Sony pays $200 to $300 for each raw Blu-ray drive, Microsoft pays only $20 for the simpler DVD drives.

The Truth Hits Home

With such estimates for raw materials, video game fans should have known that the new machine would need to cost a lot more. But a huge audience that was prepared to cheer the announced price of the PS3 instead sat in stunned silence when the suggested retail price was announced at the E3 conference: $499 for the basic system and $599 for the premium one.

Of course, the single most costly item in the PS3 is the Blu-ray drive. Analysts originally figured Blu-ray would add at least another $200 or so to the price of the machine, but that figure has gone way up.

First, there's more than just the mechanical equipment to figure in. Sony must also pay for all the codecs that must be licensed.

Second, the slow adoption of high density DVD technology will keep prices high for years.

Finally, all manufacturers of the blue lasers that are required for high density DVDs are having problems getting up to speed in creating the machines. This will result in low yields, further driving up the price of the drives.

Sony Computer Entertainment president Ken Kutaragi was not ambivalent about the pricing of the console -- he kept saying it was a premium machine, sold at a premium price. Want a PS3? Work a little harder!

"Our ideal," Kutaragi said, "is for consumers to think to themselves, 'OK, I'll work more hours and buy it.' We want people to feel that they want it, no matter what."

But the consumer reaction was swift -- and harsh. Even the Official Playstation Magazine had a bold cover headline that asked, "Is It Worth $600?"

In June, a month after Sony announced its price points for the PS3, analysts at Merrill Lynch estimated Sony would lose more than $1 billion in the console's first year of existence. By comparison, Sony lost only $458 million during the first year the PS2 was available. The company followed that with two strong years of profit -- $759 million in Year 2 and $1.3 billion in Year 3.

But Merrill Lynch warned that this generation of consoles was not like the last. Microsoft beat Sony for the next generation consoles by a year and a price reduction for the XBox could result in additional losses for Sony -- $730 million in Year 2 and $457 million in Year 3. That's nearly $2 billion in losses over three years.

The Cost of Doing Business

Of course, analysts questioning Sony's moves is nothing new. More than 10 years ago, just six weeks before Sony introduced the original PlayStation, the head of the project team quit amid rumors of difficulties in getting the console out on time.

Analysts at the time believed Sony could lose as much as $200 million on the project in the first year.

Sony's answer at the time was to require retailers to bundle the packages with one or two games, which still left Sony underwater, but not as much as it would have been.

This, of course, begs the question, "Will Sony pull the same thing this year?" It makes sense, especially considering that Sony will be charging a premium price for its games (above $59 and below $99, according to most sources).

The bad news for Sony this year isn't restricted to video game competition. The company is also liable for a large share in the laptop battery recalls being conducted by Dell and Apple. Nearly 6 million batteries have been recalled in the past two months -- all of them manufactured by Sony.

The battery fiasco alone could cost Sony as much as $500 million.

"The most important thing for Sony is maintaining the No. 1 quality, whatever the category or area," Sony Marketing (Japan) Inc. Senior Vice President Kiyoshi Shikano told MarketWatch this month. "So in that sense, unfortunately, the recent happenings have caused some small damage for the business."

In addition, Sony is far behind its competitors in the fast growing LCD flat-screen TV market and has lost its decades-long edge in portable music devices to Apple Computer's iPod players.

Sony is also likely to face a fight in Europe over its partnership with Betlesmann AG. A European court ruled in July that the European Commission was wrong to approve the venture. The court decision means Sony and Bertelsmann will have to re-apply to win European Commission approval for their venture.

At the movie box office, Sony has had great success with its Spiderman franchise, but must wait until May 2007 for the next installment to arrive. The company's biggest film this year has been Will Farrell's Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, which has made $145 million thus far, but lags far behind Disney's hit sequel for Pirates of the Caribbean, which has already made more than $1 billion worldwide this summer.

The Market Leader Goes Into the Cellar

Although the PS2 captured more than a 70 percent share of the previous generation of console sales, it is entering the next generation at a distant third, with Microsoft predicted to sell 10 million XBox 360 consoles and Nintendo selling 4 million of its new Wii consoles, while Sony will be able to push out only 2 million consoles to consumers by the end of this year.

That fact alone has analysts betting that Sony will introduce price cuts quickly. But price cuts, in combination with the losses Sony takes on each machine it sells, are a double-edged sword.

"By reducing the price, it appears that Sony may have prolonged its recouping period of initial investments on the PS3 by a few years," John Yang, a Tokyo-based analyst with Standard & Poor's, told the Wall Street Journal today. According to the Wall Street Journal article, Yang estimates the PlayStation 3 will be unprofitable for at least three years.

The Journal story brings up another point that may draw the most fear in the ranks of Sony -- the PlayStation will no longer dominate game developers. When the original PlayStation and PS2 were introduced, Sony had an impressive lineup of developers who made games exclusively for its consoles. That won't be the case with the PS3.

"We don't want the PlayStation 3 to be the overwhelming loser, so we want to support them," Michihiro Sasaki, senior vice president of Square Enix, told the Wall Street Journal. "But we don't want them to be the overwhelming winner either, so we can't support them too much."

So the price cuts have already begun. On Friday Sony announced a price cut for Japanese buyers (about $410 in U.S. dollars for the low-end version), there was no indication that such a price cut would be given to American customers.

In addition to lowering the price of the low-end model, Sony added an HDMI port to the machine, which further increases the price of raw materials. Sony will undoubtedly be losing even more money than ever before.

Do the Math

As a result, Sony is forecasting an $862 million operating loss for the current fiscal year. But that's going to seem like chicken feed, compared to the loss it's liable to see in 2007.

How much will Sony lose in the next 12 months? Let's count it up.

Sony plans on making 6 million PS3 units before April. Let's say that they sell every one of them at full retail price. With what we know about the materials price -- particularly the price of Blu-Ray players -- let's say that they will lose only $300 for every PS3 they sell.

     6,000,000 x
          $300
= $1.8 billion

That's the same amount that analysts figure the PS3 will cost the company over the first three years. Why the disparity?

The analysts are counting on Sony making up the sales of machines with the sales of video games. But it's not going to be as easy for Sony this time. Few game developers are making games exclusively for the PS3.

Also, Sony has already said that games would be at least $10 more than the games for the XBox 360 and at least $20 more than the games for the Nintendo Wii. With everything being the same, would you pay $10 or $20 more for the same game that you could play on your XBox 360 or Wii?

In addition, Sony will be nickle-and-diming you at every opportunity -- particularly with the HDMI cable, which will likely cost between $99 and $129. (That's surely why they added an HDMI port for the low-end PS3. They'll make their money back on the cable for it.)

Surely the discounts will come quickly, but they'll all be a drag on Sony's bottom line. Let's say Sony loses $400 on every box they sell. Here are the numbers:

     6,000,000 x
          $400
= $2.4 billion

That really starts taking a mammoth chunk out of Sony's cash. Add to that the half-billion dollars of free laptop batteries they've got to give out and the losses start approaching $3 billion.

But a company like Sony can afford to lose $4 billion, can't it? Once upon a time, that might have been true, but Sony is a much different company today than it was just a few years ago.

The Japanese people who owned shares in Sony could see the value in building for the future. But, with its purchase of Columbia Studios and Columbia Records, Sony has become much more of a multinational company. Today, for the first time in its history, less than half of the company is owned by Japanese investors. Investors in the West demand more short-term benefits.

Devoting nearly half of its cash reserves to losses in the video game and computing sectors, with no guarantee of future profits for another two years, could send the company's stock into a tailspin, once its investors realize the full measure of the grave situation for the company.

In such a situation, Sony could start selling off large chunks of the company. But even that would come at a large cost. For example, selling off the movie division would result in the loss of the Spiderman franchise for the PlayStation. Without an exclusive there, Microsoft and Nintendo would gain the edge in game sales, since their games cost less than Sony's.

Sony has become a minor player in the music player and TV industries, so they wouldn't be able to make much money off selling their stake in the aging Walkman and Trinitron franchises.

When things are all said and done, the most valuable piece of the pie at Sony is its video game division. They could very well put it up for sale. And who could be the potential buyer?

Microsoft.

That's right. I said it. Just think about it.

Who could benefit the most by purchasing Sony's video game division?

Microsoft.

You might say there's no way the U.S. government would allow such a thing. Anti-trust, you say.

Just remember who's running the government. A Microsoft takeover would be treated with the same kid gloves that created DaimlerChrysler.

Who knows? This time next year you could be playing games on a PlayStation 360.

Want a PS3? Work a Little Harder!

So you want to save Sony. What can you do?

Well, as Sony's Kutaragi says, you need to work a little harder and make a little more money.

Stop complaining that the PS3 costs $600. It doesn't. In order to cut down on its losses, Sony is liable to do the same thing to consumers that it did 11 years ago at the original Playstation launch -- it'll require that you buy two games in order to get a machine. That'll boost the price for you to around $725 or so.

But there's more! Want an HDMI cable? That'll be another $100 to $125. Now we're at $850 or so. You've got a Blu-ray player, so you'll want a few Blu-ray movies -- Sony titles only, of course. Buy six of them while you're at it! At an average list price of $25 each, we're talking another $150. That pushes our total price to an even $1,000.

That'll go a long way to saving Sony.

Now who's going to save you?

Finish What You Start...

As in, "Where did the accountability go" accountability. This post doesn't directly deal with Anime or Video Games, but please bear with me.

I write this post from my Apple 12inch Powerbook at 1:47 in the morning because my production machine [a 20inch iMac G5 PPC] has once again got issues...and I sit here pissed and disappointed asking myself, "where has the accountability gone?"

Before you can understand how or why that last sentence makes sense let me first give you a little background history. My iMac G5 is one of the early batches of iMac G5's known to problematic logic boards, hard disk, and optical drives. Early on once issues became known and Apple put together a list of serial numbers of affected machines. Initially my machine was not listed among the infirmed, but that soon changed. Shortly after I actually received my iMac and it started displaying issues. I called the AppleCare support number and ran through some troubleshooting steps with the tech support guy [who was very nice, and helpful which is always a plus] and was able to get my issue resolved. HURRAH! But that celebration was also short lived as yet another issue sprung up and I was unable to fix the problem on my own. Not to toot my own horn here but I am pretty well versed in the Mac language. If you ask any of my friends the will tell you, "If you got a problem, yo, she'll solve it...check out the hook while my dj revolves it!" Ok, not exactly those words, but something resembling that will be said. I am not a n00b. There are no PEBCAK things going on here. I consider myself to be pretty dang self-reliant, so believe me when I say it takes a hell of an issue to FORCE me to call AppleCare tech support or even haul my machine into an Apple Store.

With that said, I'll continue.

The next problem to rear it's ugly head manifested itself in a complete non-booting of the system. No start up "bong" noise, no pop of power coming on, just a whole lot of nothing. The only piece of luck that I was having was the day before this happened I had done a complete backup of my computer and purchased the extended AppleCare warranty for my machine. [Which if you learn nothing else from this article know that you should ALWAYS buy the AppleCare when dealing with Apple people.] So yet another call to Apple, a round of troubleshooting, and the tech support guy gives me the "OK" to take my machine into an Apple Store for hardware repair. Sounds easy right? Well throw into this nice little scenario: (1) I am [on a good day] four feet and ten inches tall (2) my G5 weighs around 25 pounds and (3) I do not have a car. So getting my Mac to an Apple store requires me getting my man to rent a car to lug this thing down to the Apple Store where I get to make an appointment to hand my 25 lb paperweight off to a Genius that will run through all the troubleshooting stuff that I did with the tech help guy on the phone before accepting my machine for repair. So we do this. [Again, keep in mind that even though my machine was on the list of those requiring repair or replacement, Apple never replaced the machine with a new machine] After waiting for an hour and a half before it was my turn and going through the troubleshooting for about 20 minutes, the Genius accepts my machine, has me sign a few pieces of paper, and sends me on my merry way. I just keep repeating to myself, "at least it will be fixed now." And I go home, knowing that the next call I get will be from the Apple Store telling me my baby is all better now and I can come pick her up.

Two weeks later I get the call, "...the logic board on your machine needed to be replaced...we got the part it and your machine is ready to be picked up," said the nice kind man on the other end of the telephone. I leapt for joy, I couldn't wait to get my machine back home and get back to work. Let me tell you there is a huge difference between working in Adobe Photoshop on a 20inch screen and a 12inch one! I call my man again, let him know we need to rent a car again [thank Bob for ZipCar!] and pick my Pookie up. We head off to the Apple Store, grab a Genius' attention and say we are there to pick up. They bring out my box with my machine in it [yes my original iMac box with all of the original paperwork and Styrofoam in it, Pandalicious wasn't kidding when she said I was anal] take my baby out and plug her in and start her up so I can see that she's working before I take her home. I tell you I was so happy I almost cried. I asked the Genius if my machine should be exchanged for another since it was on the list of machines Apple said they knew were bad, but he assured me that this new logic board would fix all that ailed me. [And that Apple rarely exchanged whole computers out so I shouldn't even think about that anymore] I had my baby back and she was working so I didn't push it. We slung that puppy in the back seat of the car and headed home so I could get back to work. All was well in the NinJahood for about three weeks.

At the beginning of that third week I noticed that my iMac was acting weird again but in a new and different way. When I would boot the machine, the top half of the screen would be darker than the bottom half. You couldn't miss it. The machine would boot, and the entire screen would be the same color and brightness for a few seconds and then the top half would dim and be darker than the rest of the screen. The machine would still boot to the desktop and run so I didn't think much of it. It would only do it every so often so I learned to live with it. Pookie was booting, and that needed to be enough at the time. After a while I found that if I put the machine to sleep and then woke it up immediately the entire screen would return to it's proper brightness, so that's what I did. At first it was once or twice a week. After a while it was an every day every other boot thing, and it got on my last freaking nerve. But Pookie was still booting so I tried to work around it. Then one day my optical drive decided it didn't want to work properly anymore and it just happened to decide this while I was in the middle of doing a system backup. I ordered a new external burner, had it shipped over night, finished the system backup using that drive, skipped the call to AppleCare and just made a Genius Bar appointment for my machine for the next evening. Back to the Apple Store for me.

I wish I could say that this trip was the one that got my machine fixed but it wasn't. When it was finally my turn to see a Genius, he started up my machine, instantly saw the problem and said he knew what to do. He quickly unplugged Pookie and took her into the back room to fix her. Before I could tell him that the problem wouldn't show up again on subsequent boots because that's how I'd been "fixing" it he was back saying he had cured the problem. When I told him about the machine not exhibiting the issue again until it had been powered down for a while he [very calmly] explained that he could not keep the machine unless it was exhibiting problems and that I had to take it home. "If it exhibits any symptoms tomorrow bring it back and we'll take a look at it." So I loaded up Pookie in the rental and back home we went.

That entire drive home I raised up a silent prayer to Bob that my puter would be ok and I wouldn't have to "bring it back" tomorrow. But as most prayers to Bob do, it went unheard. It was a 36 minute drive home, plenty of cooling off time for Pookie who on first boot dimmed like a sonnofabitch. I was pissed. I knew I couldn't get back to the Apple Store before it closed so we were going to have to keep the car overnight [extra charge] and I was going to have to re-queue for the Genius Bar in the morning...on a weekend...I was fucked. Little did I know I was more fucked than pissed. Back to the Apple Store with Pookie in tow. I was so pissed I didn't even log into their queue "service" as the next available appointment was in six [yes 6] hours. I put my iMac box next to me and proceeded to lay down on the bench in front of the Genius Bar. Sure, it was childish, but I was so beyond pissed that it was ridiculous. After about two hours, the Genius that had dealt with my machine the night before came on duty and remembered my name. [A nice touch, I must say] and directed one of the other Genius' to attend to me right then and there. [An even nicer touch, I do say] This time I changed my tactic; first I told the new Genius about the optical drive not working, then I told her about the dimming. She was very polite and accepted my machine for repair. This time it was going to be fixed, I could feel it. This new Genius some how got that I really needed this to work and she was going to succeed where the others had failed. She was going to hook a sistah up!

Three days later I get a call. "...your optical drive did fail and we replaced it, but we just couldn't get the machine to show any dimming issues at all. We even put it out on the floor to compare it to other iMacs we have and the only difference is that your wallpaper is MUCH cooler." I explained to this new guy [who was not my chick Genius mind you] what the conditions had to be in order to get the machine to show off the dimming problem. He put me on hold for a few minutes and then came back to the line to tell me they were going to keep the machine another day and turn it off for the whole day then kick start it in the morning to see what the deal was. I felt better because I knew he'd see the dimming and then my Pookie would be made to feel better. I guess by now I should have known better. The call came around 10 am. "...we just aren't seeing what you are seeing, so your machine is ready for you to pick up. Without being able to reproduce the problem, we can't fix it." My heart sank, but at least the drive was fixed. Dimming that goes away after a sleep cycle I can deal with...not being able to do system backups to DVD I can not. I would with huge files and huge chunks of data so not doing regular DVD backups is NOT an option.

Another rental, another pickup, another boot at home that immediately displays my dimming problem, but dammit I'm not going back. In all the traveling to and fro I broke my iMac box which was the only thing making carrying the machine around plausible. There was no way I could lug that thing around without it. I would just deal with the dimming. And that's what I've been doing since October of last year until yesterday when my machine froze on me during boot. "OH SHIT!" doesn't even begin to describe the wave of emotion that flowed over me. I'm still working on Magic and Monkey's avatars on this machine. My notes for the podcast are on there, so are all the apps I use to edit the show. This is not happening. Not again, not now. But it was and did. Which brings me up to this point.

It's now 2:54 am as I type this line and I know that later today I will have to call AppleCare on the phone, explain the problem, hope that the machine exhibits the same behavior [earlier when I was on the phone with Apple it booted twice with no problems, after a third restart while I was no longer on the phone it failed and never booted past more than a kernel panic] so I can get yet another "OK" to bring my machine in yet again for repair and I ask myself, "where is Apple's accountability in all this?" At what point does someone say, "boy, you got one of our known bum machines, that's our fault so we'll replace it for you." I get that Apple wants to fix or replace parts as opposed to a whole machine because it improves their bottom line, but when you've already replaced a logic board, optical drive, reset the SMU, done PRAM zapped and permission repaired the hell out of a machine, at some point someone has to step up and say "I'm sorry, I'll make this right."

All I want is for the situation to be made right. When my iMac is working it's a wonderful machine. But I should not have to beg and plead to have my [still under warranty] product exchanged for being faulty, especially when the manufacturer has already admitted they know that it is.

I just want Apple to exchange my defunct machine that has been defunct from day one with an equivalent one [since they no longer manufacture a PPC G5 20inch iMac] so I can get my data off the old HD and on to a new machine that will allow me to get my work done. Is that too much to ask for?

You let me know. It's now 3:18am and I think now that I got that out of my system I might be able to sleep...but I'm not looking forward to my day. Shoot me a comment or two during the day, I'm probably going to need some cheering up.

Finish What You Start...

Over the past 6 months I've been noticing something about my viewing habits that has been irking me of late; I'm avoiding the MTV channel like the plague.

I couldn't tell you the last time I actually went out of my way to go directly to the MTV channel on my TV. It was only by accident that I tuned in the MTV Video Music Awards show, and after watching it [shaking my head in disbelief most of the time] I really wished I hadn't wasted the time. I mean I LOVE Jack Black, but as host he didn't' bring the thunder that he kept promising he'd bring because the writing and timing for introductions and whatnot were all off or wrong. I felt so sad for Jack.

Shakira put on a great performance as did OK GO and The Raconteurs, but those were the only things in the evening worth watching as far as I was concerned. But I trudged on waiting for that "kick ass rock moment" that I knew was going to come that was going to make all the previous crap that I had to sit through worth while and that moment never came...which reminded me why I hadn't been watching MTV for the longest time.

To give you a reference point, the last time I habitually watched the Music Television channel Carson Daily was still a VJ and was engaged to a sweetheart of a girl named Tara, Norris' was a brunette, Loader still anchored the MTV News program [not just the news minute at the bottom of the hour], Matt Pinfield and Iann Robinson added fantastic rock band interviews to the line up of music videos that were running most of the day, and MTV was must watch TV. You would have to watch the Rap and Top Video count downs so you wouldn't be left out of the conversation all your friends were going to have the next day about the new video that premiered. The only TV show programming running on the channel were the Real World and that SayWhat?Karaoke show. [Any body remember the show "The State" that was on in the mid 90's? That show was the SHIT...moving on] This was back when it could still honestly be called MUSIC Television.

But then something happened and MTV changed. Over a very short period of time programming blocks started being filled with comedy show pilots rather than music videos with reckless abandon. In place of the block of rock videos where I would get introduced to bands I had never been exposed to before I was subjected to the likes of Tom Green [who I found to be neither funny nor entertaining] and Real World shows that were no longer reflections of what I thought [and was finding] the real real world to be like, and found myself starting to tune MTV out. For a while I rolled my attention over to the BET channel as I at least knew that at any given time that I tuned the channel in I was going to see a music video, [or a few commercials and then a bunch of music videos] and this was a help. But as with all things, that soon changed and shows like Video Soul and Caribbean Rhythms, and Video Vibrations were replaced by Girlfriends, Access Granted, and syndicated The Parkers.

Before long I wasn't watching music videos anymore because I couldn't find them to watch. If you turn on MTV during the day you are more likely to hit an episode of Pimp My Ride, Laguna Beach, My Super Sweet 16, or the dating game show NEXT than you are to see a music video or making of a music video. If you tune into BET you are slightly more likely to hit a music video but only between the 4pm and 7pm blocks of time and those music programs will have regular television programming in between them. Understanding that broadcasters have to adjust their programming blocks each season I get that MTV needed to evolve. In all honesty I was changing myself at the same time as I'm only a couple of years older than MTV myself, but it still hurt. I grew up with MTV...it was like a younger cousin that would come over the house to play every day after school. My addiction love of music now is founded in large part MTV.

Music is a big part of who I am and how I am to this day. As I write this article I have iTunes running with a playlist of songs that is about 4 hours long. I have a digital music library that is now over 6000 audio tracks and 120 video files in size, and grows a little each week. I have music playing when I play video games, when I'm cleaning the house, when I am designing websites, hell I even have music playing when I'm in the shower. I don't think I would be a happy and functional member of society if I didn't have music, and I know I'm not the only one. So I have a hard time understanding why MTV changed that part of themselves as they evolved, when that music loving part of me never changed during my evolution.

These days I really do avoid MTV like a STD. If I have the need for a music video I'll go directly to VH1 Soul, MTV2, MTV Jamz [as a TV channel last resort], or the iTunes music store to see if there are any videos that I want. Digital music services have really become my protection against being disappointed. Between iTunes, MySpace.com Music Streaming, and Last.FM [when it works on my Mac] I am protecting myself from the let down of tuning in to just to be turned off. But I guess MTV realizes this themselves since they've been making a shitload of changes company wide since the VMA aired and took a public flogging.

This Monday MTV Networks fired Tom Freston who has been at MTV since the very beginning. I doubt getting rid of Tom [who has been reported to be devastated by being fired and I can't say that I blame him] will fix or even make an impact on what is fundamentally wrong with MTV. It just seems like MTV isn't really "interested" in music anymore. The channel seems to be obsessed with wealth and all the trappings of the material life: from the Paris Hilton affliction to Cribs, Pimp My Ride, My Super Sweet 16, and the Iced Out New Years Bash, there isn't anything left in the budget to hype up a band like the Spooks or Little Brother.

You know, the network hasn't used the "I want my MTV" slogan in years and I think it's because even they have realized that no one would "demand it" in the state it's in right now.

I guess the music video network killed the video star. Anyone know what the statute of limitation on murder is?

Finish What You Start...

It took me a while to realize that this image [click on the image for larger view] was an ad for the Sony Playstation 2.

Evidently TBWA/Paris [knowledge of the French language will aid you should you choose to click this link] created a series of ads for Sony for the Playstation 2 earlier this year that as you can see are highly detailed and very abstract and "artistic" in their visuals. I enjoy creativity, I like to think I am a creative person myself, but I sure would not have come up with anything like these ads in my longest days. I guess in my mind I'm just too linear.

I sure wouldn't have come up with the idea to have a dude sniffing panties in the shapes of the Playstation buttons. Yeah, it took me a moment to realize that the panties in the ads were in the shapes of the action buttons of the Playstation controller. It was only after about the fourth viewing of the ad in a larger size that I recognized it myself, so don't feel bad if you didn't see it yourself the first time that you saw the image. The expression on the guys' face while sniffing the panties is *kinda* distracting from anything else going on in the ad. Go ahead, click on the image to see a larger version of it. Examine it well, because it is well done, but man that's "creative" thinking going on right there.

Then there was this ad, called "Head" which won Print/Outdoor Single Grand Clio award in May. [The "Panties" ad above one the Bronze award]

It's difficult to see in the small size version of this ad, but in the larger version you can see the extent to which the interior of the head is detailed. The detail in the appearance of each eyeball is amazing, and the paddle that repetitively slaps the ass is funny. I don't think I even have to mention the small, "captured" brain there in the back, nor do I have to mention that I think it's noting that this male character has a tiny brain. [Women have been saying for years that guys have tiny brains, this ad merely confirms that Sony agrees with that]

As a designer I have to admit that I am envious that I have never come up with any work on this level, or even had an idea close to those utilized in this ad campaign. At the same time as a gamer I have to ask, "What the fuck?!" Those ads to me aren't remotely a reminder of Playstation 2, or gaming, or fun in anyway shape or form. The kind of people that these ads would make an impression on are not the same audience that would run out and buy a copy of Dance Dance Revolution. So I am struggling to understand why Sony would pay to have these ads created if they were not going to be used in a global ad campaign. That kind of work can't be cheap or all that "affordable" to begin with. I know what I charge per hour to just "design" a website [costs you more if you want me to implement it] and know that it can't come close to what TBWA/Paris gouged Sony for. I just don't see anything that makes me tie these images in my mind first to gaming or playing video games or secondly to Sony.

Isn't the purpose of advertising to come up with audio and visuals that create an instant bond in the public's mind [or ears] that will make them constantly tie that imagery or audio with your product or company? If that doesn't happen, isn't the ad a failure?

Makes me wonder WTF dood? Ok pervs, you may go back and look at the guy sniffin' the panties again...I'm done.

Finish What You Start...