Category: Gaming

I’ve been carping a lot lately on DP and in a few other places about how the litmus test for a new game console for me isn’t brand loyalty, hype or advertising – it’s about showing me a game that I have to have. A few years into the Gamecube’s lifespan, Pac-Man Vs. finally got me on board, and I belatedly discovered the joys of Rogue Leader not long afterward. Those games and the Game Boy Player boot disk make up pretty much the entirety of my ‘cube library. They are why I have that machine. Same deal with the Katamari games and the PS2. Do I have other Ps2 titles? Yes – the usual suspects: Namco Museum (disappointing compared to the original PS1 versions), Taito Classics, and so on. But rolling stuff around into big balls and launching them into the heavens, that’s why I have a PS2. (If this sounds even less economical than those little joysticks with a limited number of built-in games, bear in mind that I got both machines at a substantial discount; in fact, I traded for the ‘cube and considered it an insanely good deal.) To get my attention, a new console has to show me a game that I absolutely must have in my library. Something unique. Something that I’m going to play again.
That being said…I have to say that the ads for the Wii have already got me mentally budgeting for that machine in the new year. I’ve been telling everyone that I’ll spring for the Wii when Nintendo and LucasArts give me a kick-ass lightsaber game, but having seen RedSteel and a couple of others…wow. The kinetic controller really does appear to change the face of things. When the thing actually launches, I’m going to make it my mission to head down to Wal-Mart or someplace demoing the thing, and play it for myself before I go home and say “Honey, let’s blow $250 on yet another game console to put in our house!” But at least on a conceptual level, I’m in love. The last time I just saw a game and thought to myself, “Man, that looks fun. I’ve gotta get one of those,” it was Katamari. I haven’t gotten this enthused seeing people play Guitar Hero.
Clearly, some hands-0n research is warranted, but yeah, for the first time in…um…kinda like…ever, I may actually get a new console within half a year of its launch. (To put things in perspective, the last/only time I’ve ever been an early adopter was with the original Game Boy. I was still in high school.) And all this because, so help me, the Wii looks fun. (Or maybe this is yet another indicator that I need more sleep.)… Read more

Not much to report today on the moving-stuff-around-and-hooking-it-up front today; my lunch has been disagreeing with me vehemently for most of the day, and frankly, it’s winning the argument. I think the tipping point for my body to rebel against me, aside from just plain not having enough sleep, was moving the Kick machine. Even though it’s not currently in a playable state, I love that machine and strongly resist even the slightest urge to ever get rid of it. But much as I love it, I find that I live in a whole different continuum from some of my friends who collect arcade cabinets. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not down on that as a hobby – I just can’t figure out the whole space thing. Rob’s got an entire outbuilding devoted to them, but even then at some point one has got to run out of space.
For those who aren’t into even thinking about the hobby of collecting arcade cabinets, let me explain to you, in practical terms, what it entails for your spouse: “Honey, I just brought home another full-size upright refrigerator! Where can I put it?”
I can only imagine that if I pulled that stunt just once or twice, I’d be told where I could put it.
At the same time, I think it’s an Important Hobby, and I’m glad people do it. These are machines that otherwise would’ve been done away with, or converted into something else. Recently on Digital Press, there was a thread written by a fellow who got a non-working Gravitar machine, and was planning to gut it and turn it into a MAME machine. Which, you know, isn’t a total waste – at least the machine would find a new life, and hey, it’s his machine. But a Gravitar cabinet also happens to be a gorgeously illustrated and put-together few slabs of plywood and glass. Surely there’s another machine that could be maimed and then MAME’d.
But bless those folks who do have the space for a bunch of them. (And especially folks like Peter Hirschberg who have the means to really do it up – good grief!) These are the people who are preserving the history of an entertainment medium.
And putting their backs out every time they have to move.… Read more