Editorials
Me and My Addiction: Pro Evo Soccer and Style
May 6th
When I started the Retrospective Overdrive program, it was to break up tedium and see how things have changed. I wanted to go a good period of time without just doing what I’ve done the past few years — nothing but playing Pro Evo Soccer.
But, why? It’s just a game; hell, it’s just a sports game, and I’m sure many who read the site look down on us who kick and throw balls virtually as if we’re some sort of cro-magnon anomaly, cavemen who have miraculously found fire and Xbox Live. It keeps coming back to style, though, for me. Very few other games have allowed me to express creativity as well as Konami’s Pro Evo/Winning Eleven series and, in particular, Pro Evo Soccer 2010.
Freshman year of college I picked up a PlayStation 2 after seeing how white-hot Gran Turismo 4 looked. Of course, I’d also heard about how good Konami’s soccer games were and since that wasn’t great on the Xbox, I bought it. I wasn’t a newcomer to soccer games — strong addictions to FIFA 2004 and 2005 prove otherwise — but Winning Eleven 8 was a good replacement, if a bit ugly at times.
Baseless Speculation: An educated guess on the next iteration of game consoles
Apr 26th
Microsoft's Video Kinect feature allows Kinect owners to communicate on a much more personal level than voice or text chat previously allowed, but it's removed from the actual gaming experience
We’re well past the five-year mark on the current generation of game consoles, and with details of an imminent Wii successor starting to percolate, now is the time to consider what the next generation of hardware will entail.
Traditionally, competing game console manufacturers have fought clear-cut battles over hardware, software, and add-ons. But with this last generation, things changed: Nintendo rose to the front of the pack by tapping into latent audiences, and Microsoft and Sony have fought hard to win exclusive games and add-on content and to develop competing online infrastructures. The shape of the market has changed dramatically with games on new platforms like Zynga’s Facebook-based FarmVille and Rovio’s Angry Birds, arguably the single most-successful phone-based game ever made.
There’s no question that the next console war will be won by whoever is able to connect to and engage with the most people, but nobody seems to be discussing how that’s going to happen. And that’s what led to this article.
From my point of view, there are three major paradigm shifts that occurred during this most recent console generation:
- Alternative control methods (Wii Remote, Kinect, PlayStation Move, music game controllers, etc.)
- High-definition video
- Robust and integrated networks for interaction and content distribution
The biggest challenge facing the next generation of consoles isn’t how to up the ante on the audiovisual front, although that’ll be critical to Microsoft and Sony in particular. In fact, a good barometer for when we’ll see a PlayStation 4 is once it’s possible to build a system capable of pumping out 1080p graphics at 60 frames per second in 3D, with all the anti-aliasing, shaders and other visual mysticism we’re used to, for under $600. But Sony’s already touting the PlayStation 3 as a capable 3D gaming machine, and many current first- and third-party games support 3D televisions.
It’s also unlikely that the next round of consoles will introduce any groundbreaking new interfaces. Kinect and PlayStation Move are here to stay for the next generation, as is Nintendo’s suite of motion controllers. We’ll undoubtedly see some improvements, but I expect they’ll be evolutionary — think high-definition Kinect video chat, updated Move controllers, and so on. Those improvements will be well-received by consumers, but they’re merely evolutionary, not disruptive.
The next consoles need to deliver a major game-changer in how we interact with our entertainment, and I think the only logical conclusion is that it’s going to be social.
Editorial: Comfort Gaming in a Time of Crisis
Apr 13th
Pull up a seat, as Sasquatch contributor Tyler has a story to tell.
It has been casually mentioned here on Silicon Sasquatch before but if you didn’t know, I’ve lived in Japan for the last year. You also should know that Japan recently suffered a rather large earthquake, followed by a ten-meter tsunami and a catastrophic failure at one of the major nuclear reactors Japan uses to power its rather demanding electrical grid. I’ve been here for all of it and all I can do is watch it unfold.
At the time of the earthquake I lived in a rural town north of Sendai in the Miyagi prefecture. Luckily, we were far enough inland to avoid the tsunami but the shock of the earthquake was certainly felt. From a personal standpoint, this couldn’t have hit at a worse time; it was the end of the school year and my work visa was up for renewal. In the two weeks to come I needed to move, start a new position in the Kanto region outside of Tokyo and renew all my official documents here with the government — and Japanese bureaucracy is no joke. For myself, my friends, coworkers and students, however, we were essentially stranded. With the power out trains stopped, and even if they could be made operational many lines were damaged. Major roadways south went through Sendai and thus were closed off; regardless, gas stations also were shut down. To make matters worse, it was snowing.
For the time being all we could do is wait. We waited in our apartments without heat or electricity, we waited in school gyms that had been made into refuge shelters, we even waited in a hot spring hotel as it was our only source of hot water. For the first half of the week we didn’t even have any cell service. No way to find out what was going on unless we attempted to read the local newspaper, and no way to contact our loved ones. When we did get service again we begun to hear news about the Fukushima nuclear reactor and I began to wonder if ignorance had been bliss.
It’s difficult to keep a level head in those sort of moments. I know many a foreigner living in southern parts of Japan farther from the dangers that simply gave up and left. For us with no means of departure, even if we wanted to leave, panicking wasn’t exactly a reasonable option. Daylight hours would obviously be spent taking care of necessities like finding food, water, etc. But with the other time I had, I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say gaming helped me get through it.
Things I’m Glad Have Evolved in Gaming, Part 2: Controllers
Mar 3rd
When was the last time you played an older console game? If it’s been a while, you may have forgotten about some of the headaches brought on by old game designs or technology. While there’s a certain charm to the gameplay and graphics of many older games, there are also definite problems. It’s here that we catalog those changes and remind you why progress is often for the best. Please enjoy Part 1 of this series as well.
Whether you’re playing the oldest PC text adventure or the newest console game, there’s been one constant throughout the history of gaming: controllers. And every time I pick up an old controller, I’m sure as hell glad that these things have changed in the past twenty-plus years.
The control options we now enjoy are the result of evolution of controller design and innovation. The D-pad introduced with Nintendo’s NES is now standard on controllers worldwide, as is the four-button layout introduced on the Super NES. The exterior design of Sony’s Dual Shock controller has remained almost unchanged since its 1997 introduction in Japan. That strange, trident-style Nintendo 64 controller brought us analog controls as standard and force feedback via the Rumble Pack introduced with StarFox 64. When you combine all of these improvements, .
Think about the controllers we use now: The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 controllers each feature four face buttons, four more on the top of the controller, two analog sticks and a D-pad. The PlayStation 3′s Dual Shock 3 also has motion controls built-in. Meanwhile, the Nintendo Wii’s remote and nunchuk are designed specifically for motion controls. All of these controllers are wireless (though the Wii remote and nunchuk attach together with a wire) and all have rumble built in as well. Just imagining the technology involved is jaw dropping, but seeing what it allows game designers to do is amazing.
I, for one, am glad for that process of evolution. Sure, there’s an old-school charm to playing games on NES or Sega Genesis or even the PlayStation, but between features and comfort, there’s a reason controller design has changed. That old SNES dog bone-shaped controller may be your best friend when playing games like Super Mario World or Mario Kart, but pick it up now, 20 years later, and the D-pad isn’t terribly good and the physical form factor isn’t really comfortable either — it’s too thin for my large American man-hands. Conversely, the original Xbox controller — aka The Duke — was way too big, and its jellybean face buttons were awful. And let’s not talk about the Dreamcast controller; though the games are still some of my favorites and I spent countless hours with the damn thing, few things in life inspire hand cramps like trying to play Crazy Taxi now.
If you’re new to gaming those standard controllers are now more complicated than calculus, but I’ll take that when it allows me to do so much in gaming. Now we’re breaking in motion controllers, from the previously mentioned Wiimote to the Sony Move and touch-screen based handheld gaming and Microsoft’s Kinect, which doesn’t even have a physical controller at all! Who knows where the future will take us; I may be writing here in ten years about how foolish I was to play games with a controller when motion control was so clearly the best solution. All I know is there will be change and evolution.
Gran Turismo and the Impact of Games On Our Lives
Feb 15th
The R33-generation Nissan Skyline GT-R, as featured in Gran Turismo. Doug still wants one of these, FYI.
Almost a month ago, a Japanese engineer named Shinichiro Sakurai passed away. About a week later, he was eulogized in one of the largest Japanese daily newspapers, the Asahi Shimbun, and remembered as a passionate legend in his field. A couple days later a friend tweeted that article; I read it and sat awestruck. This was partially due to the man’s accomplishments, but after a few minutes of contemplation, I came to realize how many different points in my life met at Sakurai-san and his work.
Why the hell am I writing about this on a web site that is ostensively, about video games? Because for me, it all starts and begins with a video game: Gran Turismo.
Whither art thou, Dickwolf?
Feb 9th
The comic strip that divided a subculture
Something is rotten in the state of videogame discourse.
Now that the dust has largely settled, I think we can begin to assess just what happened since the infamous “The Sixth Slave” strip (pictured above) ran nearly six months ago, and why the controversy surrounding it reached a breaking point two weeks ago.
I felt it’d be negligent of us to let the recent Penny Arcade controversy pass by without offering comment. But before we go any further, let’s just clarify a couple points:
- This controversy deals with some pretty serious and potentially upsetting issues, including slut-shaming, rape and threats of violence. These aren’t topics we would approach lightly, but be aware that this isn’t going to be your typical “I played a game, it was pretty good” article.
- The opinions expressed in this article are mine alone and don’t necessarily reflect those of any of the other editors or contributors here at Silicon Sasquatch. While I think we all share some common ground here, I wouldn’t want to put words in anyone else’s mouth.
Everyone good with that? Great. Let’s move on.
Dead Space 2′s Ill-Advised Ad Campaign
Jan 24th
Video game ads on television are often terrible. Being the sole member of the Silicon Sasquatch executive triumvirate who watches sports on TV on a regular basis, I’m also the one who gets exposed to a lot of the big-budget video game advertising campaigns. As a gamer with an interest in the business side of the industry, it’s always interesting to see which games are trying to push for mainstream attention — and by what means.
That made the new Dead Space 2 advertisement currently getting national air time all that much worse. Go ahead and watch the ad – it’s right there at the top of the post. I can wait a minute for you.
Why Nintendo Is (Probably) Sticking to Friend Codes
Jan 17th
Miyamoto says, "３DSがフレンド・コードを使うのはもちろん！"
A couple weeks ago, Nintendo held an event in Japan to spin hype for the upcoming 3DS handheld system. The Nintendo World 2011 event featured the grand, public unveiling of the soon-to-be-released system to the Japanese public, with almost all of the launch titles playable. Check that link for event details, but it’s what came after that’s interesting.
A History of Violence: The future of the God of War series
Dec 16th
Even if subsequent God of War games flop, Kratos could always make a lucrative career out of chiropractic work
After recently completing the fifth entry in the God of War series, Ready At Dawn Studios’ PSP title Ghost of Sparta, I find it difficult to believe the franchise is little more than five years old. God of War is now such a tent-pole first party franchise for Sony that Kratos is arguably as iconic as Halo’s Master Chief. Though games in the God of War series are usually released in March, they are essentially the summer blockbusters of video games — and to be honest, you’d likely be better off watching someone else play God of War III than trying to sit through a screening of the recent Clash of the Titans remake.
Things I’m Glad Have Evolved in Gaming, Part 1: Memory and saving
Dec 10th
When was the last time you played an older console game? If it’s been a while, you may have forgotten about some of the headaches brought on by old game designs or technology. While there’s a certain charm to the gameplay and graphics of many older games, there are also definite problems. It’s here that we catalog those changes and remind you why progress is often for the best.
Recently, I fired up the good ol’ Sega Dreamcast. I wanted to throw down with Nick on some Virtua Tennis, but before we could get our serve and backhand action on, I had to do some searching. Yep — I had to find which memory card my Virtua Tennis save was on.
With the implementation of hard drives first on the original Xbox and now on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, the need for memory cards is reduced. And now that Xbox 360 consoles can move files on USB thumb-drives (a capability PS3s already had), there’s zero need for proprietary memory cards — and we are all the better for it.