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Friday Robot Intermission: Touchy feely robots

post from Video Game Blog & Video Game Forums @ Destructoid on 04 August 2006 11:59:26 PM. © Video Game Blog & Video Game Forums @ Destructoid

Alas, Friday!!! With the demise of E3 and all eyes on PAX, this week has been a bit of a rehabilitation exercise for the video game industry. After a thousand articles on the subject ran though Digg I think we can all put it behind us and see what the future will bring. [...]

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http://www.destructoid.com/friday-robot-intermission-touchy-feely-robots

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Feel healthy

post from Gaming Nexus on 04 August 2006 10:59:00 PM. © Gaming Nexus

by: Sean Colleli
NEWS - Well the Games for Health organization certainly hopes so. In fact, they're holding a special conference in September at the University of Maryland just for you. Well, maybe not, but they still have a really cool idea. Healthcare professionals will definitely find this conference of interest, and it's another great example of how the games industry isn't a maniacal plot to turn children into killers. Take that, Jack Thompson!
More On : Games for Health

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http://www.gamingnexus.com/Default.aspx?Section=FullNews&I=2252

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Bethesda will rock Trekker's worlds

post from Gaming Nexus on 04 August 2006 10:51:00 PM. © Gaming Nexus

by: Sean Colleli
NEWS - You heard it here first: Bethesda has hired legendary Star Trek writer D.C. Fontana to pen the story for their upcoming Trek epic, Legacy. Most ST fans know what I'm talking about, but for those who don't know, Ms. Fontana has worked on Star Trek since the original series, and has written some of the most memorable scripts. Rest easy, Trekkers. Legacy is in the best of hands. Seriously, the only way it'd be better is if Gene Roddenberry himself were still alive and writing this thing. Trust me.
More On : Star Trek: Legacy | Bethesda Softworks

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http://www.gamingnexus.com/Default.aspx?Section=FullNews&I=2251

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Buka to collapse the GC

post from Gaming Nexus on 04 August 2006 10:49:00 PM. © Gaming Nexus

by: Sean Colleli
NEWS - Buka has a nice lineup for the GC, and their new 3rd person action title collapse is heading up the pack. Check out the official website for some screenshots--this one looks pretty slick. I look forward to the Q407 release.
More On : Collapse | Buka Entertainment

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http://www.gamingnexus.com/Default.aspx?Section=FullNews&I=2250

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Buka's CG lineup

post from Gaming Nexus on 04 August 2006 10:40:00 PM. © Gaming Nexus

by: Sean Colleli
NEWS - Buka is rolling out the goods for the big GC in a few weeks, and their offering looks impressive. It's always good to see new talent and IP's in our somewhat stagnant industry. Check out Buka's stuff if you're attending the GC.
More On : Buka Entertainment

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http://www.gamingnexus.com/Default.aspx?Section=FullNews&I=2249

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Ramage coming to Wii

post from Gaming Nexus on 04 August 2006 10:36:00 PM. © Gaming Nexus

by: Sean Colleli
NEWS - That's right, you'll be able to cause mass destruction and crimes against humanity, and somehow the Wii-mote will factor in. Total Destruction wasn't exactly a top-tier title on current gen platforms, so we'll see how it fares on Wii.
More On : Rampage: Total Destruction | Midway

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http://www.gamingnexus.com/Default.aspx?Section=FullNews&I=2248

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1C heads to the Convention

post from Gaming Nexus on 04 August 2006 10:33:00 PM. © Gaming Nexus

by: Sean Colleli
NEWS - European publisher 1C Company is showing off its wares at the Leipzig GC. 7 new titles are expected to appear at the show, including a Vietnam helicopter sim, a WWII spy adventure, a new FPS called You Are Empty, and a fantasy RPG.
More On : 1C Company

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http://www.gamingnexus.com/Default.aspx?Section=FullNews&I=2247

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The Gamer Vanity License Plate

post from Kotaku on 04 August 2006 10:24:53 PM. © Kotaku

And from New Hampshire, no less! Reader Andrew sent in this h4rdc0r3 tag, that reads "PWN3D." The state's "Live Free or Die" motto makes it all the more bad ass. Brian Ashcraft

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http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/top/the-gamer-vanity-license-plate-192278.php

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Multi-Tap: A Week in Comments

post from Kotaku on 04 August 2006 09:22:08 PM. © Kotaku

ESA: E3 Changing, No Large Show Floor

"E3 is dead. Long live E3.

Why is everyone so sad about this? This is the best news ever. E3 has been a farce for a few years now, filled with fanboys who clog up the aisles as they run around trying to get schwag. A four-hour wait to play on the Wii is a joke, a sign that too many non-industry types had gotten in.

I've covered the event three times and I can say that all the flash and dazzle just makes it that much harder to get the information out. Why should journalists have to wait for some rude kid to get his own impressions of a game? If anything, this should improve the coverage that the individual games can get.

The other crucial element is that the development teams don't have to worry about an E3 build. Just let them worry about making the final game, not some demo level.

Don't cry about the carnival being over. It was overblown anyway."

by fungus amungus

New E3 By Invitation Only

"Well there goes me ever making it to another E3 ever again. I can't say I miss the toil it put on my system, but I can say I'll miss being able to do what I want when I want since I scheduled things myself. I'd think with scaling things back you won't be able to do that so much anymore, or in my case at all since I'm pretty low on the totem in the games industry. :: sigh ::"

by Nintendo Gal

E3 is Dead; Long Live PAX

"so for folks who've been to PAX, does it have the same stench that's so often associated with E3?"

by ach77

Japan Wants Oblivion... In Japanese!

"Hey. I'm one of the junior writers at BioWare, and I thought I'd throw in my thoughts on this. All numbers used in this post are for sake of example, and should not be construed as actual budgets for anything. I'm going by ballpark figures and what I've managed to overhear from our localization team. Any errors or omissions are my own, not the company's, and not our publisher's. Disclaim, disclaim. ^_^

I suspect, based on my admittedly limited knowledge, that the cost comments are correct. Last I heard translation cost 5-25 cents per word, per language. Asian languages tend to be more expensive (and require special programming consideration) because they don't use the Arabic character set that French, German, or Spanish would.

I don't know how many words are in Oblivion, but for sake of example let's say 500,000. That's about 1/3 Baldur's Gate 2, and I think twice Jade Empire. That would cost $25,000 to $125,000 to translate. Using very rough numbers, it costs around $12 to manufacture a game box. The publisher sells the box to a distributor for $25. The distributor puts it on shelves for $50. So for each copy sold, the publisher is only making about $12.50.

They have 250 signatures, but using these example numbers a publisher would have to sell 2000 - 10,000 copies just to break even on localization costs. That's not including any potential costs for shipping, packaging, remastering, or (god forbid) voice acting. Voice acting is far more expensive than text localization - for dialogue-heavy RPGs it can double the cost of development. An actor costs anywhere from a few hundred to tens of thousands a day, depending on who you get.

Localizing is never throwing players a bone. It's more like throwing them a pile of Kobe steaks. I'm sure there are ways to cut cost, and as a would-be Sakura Taisen player, I understand the pain of being unable to play a game you want. But everything costs money, and given the apparenly weak sales of the 360 in Japan, the decision to pass on localization of a big RPG doesn't particularly surprise me."

by Stormwaltz

The Triforce Construction Vechicle

"Their website www.apexcstenn.com offers no details on upcoming wii smash bros. characters. I'm not impressed with their nintendo knowledge."

by bv

Forget Blu-ray, PlayStation 4 Won't Play Actual Discs

"I hate this trend. There's so many issues I have with this concept besides the length of time to download. For example, hard drive storage capacity and hard drive failures. I don't want to purchase have to purchase multiple hard drives to store games, when it all could be done very easily with disc media.

I like having a game collection that I can look st and play with ease. Not fumble around why I plug in my other 100GB hard drive that has Final Fanasy XV on it.

I am materialistic and I have an incessant need to coddle all my shiny discs of silicon."

by Kdawg

Want to comment? Bad? Drop us a line at tips@kotaku.com and say whatcha gotta say.

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http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/multitap/multitap-a-week-in-comments-192283.php

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The Pinball Hall of Fame

Let's take a moment and examine our roots, yes? Pinball is but one element of the gamer's noble heritage (the other elements being sodium and caffeine).

Located in a strip mall in Vegas, the delightfully low-budget-looking Pinball Hall of Fame has enough slapping, ringing, blinking nostalgia to keep you nodding knowingly and feeling superior to lesser nerds for days.

The Pinball Hall of Fame is an attempt by the members of the Las Vegas Pinball Collectors Club to house and display the world's largest pinball collection, open to the public. A not-for-profit corporation was established to further this cause. The games belong to one club member (Tim Arnold), and range from 1950s up to 1990s pinball machines. Since it is a non-profit museum, older games from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s are the prevelant, as this was the "heyday" of pinball. There are no "ticket spitters" here (aka kiddie casinos or redemption). It's all pure pinball (and a few arcade novelty games) from the past. And since it's a non-profit, excess revenues go to non-denominational charities.

I am all about giving props to games-for-charity schemes, and this is a fun one. Thanks, Shii. Eliza Gauger

Pinball Hall of Fame Official Site