Hi everyone, I'm sorry to annouce that I'm ending my blog early, so I can focus more on my YouTube vlog and game making. I may start it up again in the future, but only should I become popular on YouTube. Thanks for reading my blog posts, and please subscribe to my growing YouTube channel. Thanks! =)
- Mario Greco
Monday, June 28, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
E3 2010 and my broken promises
Hello world, I'm here to officially announce that I am to worst time manager on the planet. Please forgive me for not completing my video on time. I will create my E3 video this Thursday, and put off "the big project" to next week.
In other news, Nintendo destroyed E3 this year. Due to time constraints, I haven't watched the Microsoft and Sony conference yet, but I saw Nintendo, and my jaw literally dropped. I taped it (VHS for the win, whoo...) while I was at work, and noticed that when Nintendo was revealing new third-party games for the Nintendo 3DS, there were so many that G4 Tech TV couldn't even keep up with the official "this game has been announced". Everyone was stunned!
Apparently a friend of mine told me that Microsoft's conference was embarrassing and "facepalm worthy" to the degree of Sony's conference in 2006 and Nintendo's conference in 2008.
I checked out what happened at Sony's conference here and there on the internet, but nothing seemed to interest me other than the revival of Twisted Metal.
All Sony and Microsoft are doing is playing catch up with Nintendo. Meanwhile Nintendo is already gearing to the future with it's 3DS and its immense third party support. It's no wonder why Mr. Iwata (CEO of Nintendo) told his subordinates to "consider the fight against Sony and Microsoft as a battle already won, and consider Apple as the enemy of the future". I don't know the where exact source of this quote is, nor how creditable the source is, but it sounds very logical and true. But don't get me wrong, I'm not beating down on Sony and Microsoft.
Although Microsoft's Kinect (Formally Project Natal) is a wonderful piece of technology (Your body as a controller is enough of a technological feat), and is different than the Wii Remote, I guarantee that it will fail on the market. Nintendo created their new audience, and I highly doubt that audience would spend more money on a similar product, especially in today's economic climate. Additionally, Microsoft does not convince me that Kinect is an original piece of technology. It's like a high school student plagiarizing work for an assignment, and then changing a few words here and there. No matter how much they alter it, it's still motion controls.
Then there's Sony's Move. Copying the Wii Remote 99% except with a finer motion controls. I have a hunch that it'll outdo Kinect on the market, but its success will be no where enough to catch up to Nintendo.
Nintendo also copies ideas from its competition; they copied the slide analog for the Nintendo 3DS from Sony's PSP. But why am I not disappointed with Nintendo in that regard? It's because they created something in addition to that control stick; 3D visuals without glasses, and taking pictures in 3D. In other words, it is okay for a company to copy ideas from the competition, including the scenario where Microsoft and Sony copied Nintendo's motion controls. The only problem is that they did not do something original and innovative on top of that.
Regardless, the Electronic Software Association picked the worst time to commence E3. It's the FIFA World Cup! Do you honestly think that people would leave the Italy vs. Paragray game, or the Brazil vs. North Korea game to watch E3? I highly highly doubt that. On top of that, do you honestly think that the news would even think about posting E3 content as news? They're totally focused on the World Cup and the Toronto G8/G20 summit.
I remember last year all that the news reported on for E3 2009 was Kinect (Known as Project Natal back then) and The Beatles Rock Band for about 20 seconds. This year, I see in the "text headlines" of my local news network that "Michael Jackson dance game coming to Xbox 360, PS3 this Holiday". You may think "great, the news did cover a bit of E3 2010 after all!" I say no they didn't. I bet they posted that not for E3's sake, but for Michael Jackson's sake! A one year old news story of the death of a celebrity is still more newsworthy than a barrage of reveals of the latest in interactive technology. Take note of this, people. Although Nintendo is the clear victor of E3 2010, the game industry in its entirety has a long, long way to go before it is viewed as a significant industry by the general public.
In other news, Nintendo destroyed E3 this year. Due to time constraints, I haven't watched the Microsoft and Sony conference yet, but I saw Nintendo, and my jaw literally dropped. I taped it (VHS for the win, whoo...) while I was at work, and noticed that when Nintendo was revealing new third-party games for the Nintendo 3DS, there were so many that G4 Tech TV couldn't even keep up with the official "this game has been announced". Everyone was stunned!
Apparently a friend of mine told me that Microsoft's conference was embarrassing and "facepalm worthy" to the degree of Sony's conference in 2006 and Nintendo's conference in 2008.
I checked out what happened at Sony's conference here and there on the internet, but nothing seemed to interest me other than the revival of Twisted Metal.
All Sony and Microsoft are doing is playing catch up with Nintendo. Meanwhile Nintendo is already gearing to the future with it's 3DS and its immense third party support. It's no wonder why Mr. Iwata (CEO of Nintendo) told his subordinates to "consider the fight against Sony and Microsoft as a battle already won, and consider Apple as the enemy of the future". I don't know the where exact source of this quote is, nor how creditable the source is, but it sounds very logical and true. But don't get me wrong, I'm not beating down on Sony and Microsoft.
Although Microsoft's Kinect (Formally Project Natal) is a wonderful piece of technology (Your body as a controller is enough of a technological feat), and is different than the Wii Remote, I guarantee that it will fail on the market. Nintendo created their new audience, and I highly doubt that audience would spend more money on a similar product, especially in today's economic climate. Additionally, Microsoft does not convince me that Kinect is an original piece of technology. It's like a high school student plagiarizing work for an assignment, and then changing a few words here and there. No matter how much they alter it, it's still motion controls.
Then there's Sony's Move. Copying the Wii Remote 99% except with a finer motion controls. I have a hunch that it'll outdo Kinect on the market, but its success will be no where enough to catch up to Nintendo.
Nintendo also copies ideas from its competition; they copied the slide analog for the Nintendo 3DS from Sony's PSP. But why am I not disappointed with Nintendo in that regard? It's because they created something in addition to that control stick; 3D visuals without glasses, and taking pictures in 3D. In other words, it is okay for a company to copy ideas from the competition, including the scenario where Microsoft and Sony copied Nintendo's motion controls. The only problem is that they did not do something original and innovative on top of that.
Regardless, the Electronic Software Association picked the worst time to commence E3. It's the FIFA World Cup! Do you honestly think that people would leave the Italy vs. Paragray game, or the Brazil vs. North Korea game to watch E3? I highly highly doubt that. On top of that, do you honestly think that the news would even think about posting E3 content as news? They're totally focused on the World Cup and the Toronto G8/G20 summit.
I remember last year all that the news reported on for E3 2009 was Kinect (Known as Project Natal back then) and The Beatles Rock Band for about 20 seconds. This year, I see in the "text headlines" of my local news network that "Michael Jackson dance game coming to Xbox 360, PS3 this Holiday". You may think "great, the news did cover a bit of E3 2010 after all!" I say no they didn't. I bet they posted that not for E3's sake, but for Michael Jackson's sake! A one year old news story of the death of a celebrity is still more newsworthy than a barrage of reveals of the latest in interactive technology. Take note of this, people. Although Nintendo is the clear victor of E3 2010, the game industry in its entirety has a long, long way to go before it is viewed as a significant industry by the general public.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Twilight
I know what you're thinking, it's either one of the two; "Oh my gawd TWILIGHT!!! =D ", and "Ugh I hate Twilight... =|".
But I'm actually talking about The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. I truly believe that the popularity of Zelda is at an all time low. The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks - the latest game in the series - only achieved #30 on the list of best selling games in Europe. In the Americas, it didn't even make the chart. For a highly praised series, its current popularity is very low.
I found Twilight Princess to be a disappointing game in contrast with other Zelda titles (Minus the CDi games). Here are a few reasons:
- The wolf aspect was a let down (Collecting tears? Bleh!)
- I always felt like I was dungeon hopping
- Some dungeons were downright boring (like the forest temple)
- The Temple of Time was unecessary
- Bosses were random monsters
- The final boss fight was not epic
- No character development except for Midna
- The game has no impact on the series chronology
- Most of all, the story's "deepness" did not match the complexity of the "twilight" design
This week I'll create a constructive review of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, just a week before E3 2010 (Which will most likely hold the trailer for the next Wii Zelda game). The video may not be ready for this Thursday, but I promise that it will be finished before E3 begins.
Thank you, and see you later! =)
But I'm actually talking about The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. I truly believe that the popularity of Zelda is at an all time low. The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks - the latest game in the series - only achieved #30 on the list of best selling games in Europe. In the Americas, it didn't even make the chart. For a highly praised series, its current popularity is very low.
I found Twilight Princess to be a disappointing game in contrast with other Zelda titles (Minus the CDi games). Here are a few reasons:
- The wolf aspect was a let down (Collecting tears? Bleh!)
- I always felt like I was dungeon hopping
- Some dungeons were downright boring (like the forest temple)
- The Temple of Time was unecessary
- Bosses were random monsters
- The final boss fight was not epic
- No character development except for Midna
- The game has no impact on the series chronology
- Most of all, the story's "deepness" did not match the complexity of the "twilight" design
This week I'll create a constructive review of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, just a week before E3 2010 (Which will most likely hold the trailer for the next Wii Zelda game). The video may not be ready for this Thursday, but I promise that it will be finished before E3 begins.
Thank you, and see you later! =)
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Economics for Fanboys
In the video game industry, there exists a large group of annoying pests. They enjoy creating large walls of text, lack essential vitamins given by the sun, and all in all fail to have a social life. They are called fanboys, and they will stop at nothing to convince you to purchase the console of their favourite company.
I used to be a Nintendo fanboy, until I realized that Nintendo doesn't hire them - they hire ADULTS. Additionally, I realized that I was missing out of life too, so I decided to stop being a fanboy, and start acting like a fan.
Take this example, a Sony fanboy walks into Sony's head office and apply for a job. He uses his knowledge of Sony products, the products he owns, and how he rambles on YouTube about how great PlayStation 3 and Blu-Ray is, as his best reason for being hired. Do you know what the Sony representative would say? "In that room, there is Sony merchandise you can buy, anything you want. Now run along child!" With a big happy grin.
It's a sad fate, these children are trapped within their own minds, babbling about childish things that no one of the majority population cares about. People care about the world - and when it comes to entertainment, film and music. Not video games. You can see my explanation on that topic in my previous blog post, and my first YouTube vlog post.
The hilarious part is that from an economic standpoint, their actions actually bog down the performance of their companies. According to the teachings of economics, competition is essential to a healthy economy. How so? Well let's take a trip back in time to the days of the Nintendo Gamecube. Nintendo was suffering under the massive beating taken by Xbox and PlayStation 2. Since Nintendo was in a difficult position, they were forced to do something different. They decided to release a test product called the Nintendo DS. An innovative handheld that sported a touch screen, and tapped into an untapped casual market with game like Brain Age. If it were to fail, then they'd still have the GameBoy franchise as a back-up. However, it did succeed extremely well - far past the expectations that it would fail to the PSP. So with that, Nintendo knew that their spin on gaming was a success, so why not create the home console based on this paradigm. Out came the Wii, sporting motion controls, and bringing the entire family back to the living room.
Competition encourages innovation. Without competition, there would be no motive to succeed, improve, and innovate. The business world would be bland and uninteresting. Customers would be stuck with the same products, and at unreasonably high prices (since again there's no competition).
Let's say a fanboy convinces someone to purchase their favorite company's product - a flawed and inferior product. The new customer would then have a bad outlook on the company, and be less likely to purchase its next product.
This is why fanboyism needs to end, because they are actually doing more of an injustice for their company than they think, and thus are working against what they hope to accomplish. It's like killing something to keep it alive; it makes no sense.
Be fans, not fanboys! =)
I used to be a Nintendo fanboy, until I realized that Nintendo doesn't hire them - they hire ADULTS. Additionally, I realized that I was missing out of life too, so I decided to stop being a fanboy, and start acting like a fan.
Take this example, a Sony fanboy walks into Sony's head office and apply for a job. He uses his knowledge of Sony products, the products he owns, and how he rambles on YouTube about how great PlayStation 3 and Blu-Ray is, as his best reason for being hired. Do you know what the Sony representative would say? "In that room, there is Sony merchandise you can buy, anything you want. Now run along child!" With a big happy grin.
It's a sad fate, these children are trapped within their own minds, babbling about childish things that no one of the majority population cares about. People care about the world - and when it comes to entertainment, film and music. Not video games. You can see my explanation on that topic in my previous blog post, and my first YouTube vlog post.
The hilarious part is that from an economic standpoint, their actions actually bog down the performance of their companies. According to the teachings of economics, competition is essential to a healthy economy. How so? Well let's take a trip back in time to the days of the Nintendo Gamecube. Nintendo was suffering under the massive beating taken by Xbox and PlayStation 2. Since Nintendo was in a difficult position, they were forced to do something different. They decided to release a test product called the Nintendo DS. An innovative handheld that sported a touch screen, and tapped into an untapped casual market with game like Brain Age. If it were to fail, then they'd still have the GameBoy franchise as a back-up. However, it did succeed extremely well - far past the expectations that it would fail to the PSP. So with that, Nintendo knew that their spin on gaming was a success, so why not create the home console based on this paradigm. Out came the Wii, sporting motion controls, and bringing the entire family back to the living room.
Competition encourages innovation. Without competition, there would be no motive to succeed, improve, and innovate. The business world would be bland and uninteresting. Customers would be stuck with the same products, and at unreasonably high prices (since again there's no competition).
Let's say a fanboy convinces someone to purchase their favorite company's product - a flawed and inferior product. The new customer would then have a bad outlook on the company, and be less likely to purchase its next product.
This is why fanboyism needs to end, because they are actually doing more of an injustice for their company than they think, and thus are working against what they hope to accomplish. It's like killing something to keep it alive; it makes no sense.
Be fans, not fanboys! =)
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