Wow, Mom! Thanks for the Eyestrain!

Nowadays, of course, it's a rare minivan that isn't equipped with a back-seat DVD player for the kids.  But in the mid-1990's, Magnavox was breaking new ground with their after-market mobile video and gaming unit, the Sideshow:



It's not a bad idea, but it's not very practical as illustrated here.  The children appear to be playing Sonic the Hedgehog on an 8" screen, from a distance of several feet away.

This is forcing the driver's daughter to lean forward, dramatically reducing her seat belt's ability to keep her from hurtling through the windshield in the event of a sudden stop.  Meanwhile, her brother sits back and watches, pretends to enjoy the Green Hill Zone music, and desperately wishes that Mom had loaded up a 2-player game before pulling out of the driveway.

With historical hindsight, it's clear why the Gameboy was successful and this was not -- a tiny screen twelve inches away beats a larger screen two and a half feet away, and nobody wanted to de-install the unit to bring it into Grandma's house or move it to Dad's car.

At least Magnavox resisted the urge to build their own Odyssey² technology into the Sideshow -- Speedway! / Spin-Out! / Cryptologic! remains unexciting at any speed, and Pick Axe Pete! doesn't pick nearly as much axe as one might assume.

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Valerie Porter and the Scarlet Scandal

Valerie Porter and the Scarlet Scandal is a stylish hidden object/adventure hybrid where wander back to a time when men were guys and women were dolls, when gin joints and speakeasies were the happening places to be, and when an intrepid girl reporter could really make a difference.

Read The Full Article:
http://jayisgames.com/archives/2009/11/valerie_porter_and_the_scarlet_scandal.php

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Iwata: Digital distribution will be prevalent in
20 years

During his comments following the release of Nintendo's recent financials, company President Satoru Iwata laid out the connectivity rates for the Wii and DS in Japan. According to Nintendo's numbers 30 percent of Wii owners are currently connecting their Wii to the internet and only 20 percent of DS owners are doing it. The numbers spike whenever a big online game is released for either system or whenever new online functions are released, but Iwata says that the company must take more aggressive action or those numbers will drop.

Despite Iwata's claim that Nintendo is truly interested in its system's online functionality (and their work to sponsor wireless hot spots in places like McDonald's) Iwata does not think that digital distribution of games will be playing a big role in the gaming market for quite some time. He reinforced his opinion that while he does see digital distribution as a means to provide additional internet-driven software features he does not see it as a dominant delivery method for games any time soon.

""In 20 years or so, I might say it will have probably changed," Iwata said while discussing the possible shift to digital distribution. "But in 5 years or so, I do not totally agree. ...Habits of life do not change [so] radically and quickly."

He is, of course, right. Even I, a technologically advanced person of a young age, am having trouble letting go of physical retail. Imagine what a member of Nintendo's new "expanded audience" feels when they're offered a game without a box or disc.

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Are you man enough for this PokePark Wii video

video details and more

Nursery-room appropriate music? Check. Japanese guy saying "Ackushun Addvenchu-aaahhh"? Check. Gamecube quality graphics. That's an affirmative. Put them all together, and you know what we've got; another PokePark Wii trailer.

Don't assume that when I say "Gamecube quality" graphics, that I mean it in a bad way. On the whole, I'd rather look at graphics from five years ago than the dermatologically handicapped dudes often found on the HD-consoles. Sometimes detailed graphics just aren't important, and I see nothing about PokePark Wii that warrants more detailed visuals. Watching Pikachu headbutt squirrels in the ass and periodically get his mime on is a guaranteed good time, regardless of the resolution.

I'm comfortable enough with my manhood to say that PokePark Wii looks promising. Taking real-time Pokemon combat and combining it with the type of mini-games found in Pokemon Stadium 1 and 2 is a fine idea. The game is set for pre-order in Japan right now, and if NoA passes on it like they have so many other NoJ games, I'll probably import it.

How about you? You feeling this low-res, Pokemon head-to-ass butting thing?

[via Gonintendo]

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No commiting to Zelda in 2010 for Nintendo

Despite the fact that Miyamoto himself has said that Nintendo is shooting for a 2010 release of the new Zelda teased at E3 behind closed doors, we find it very hard to believe that it will actually come out then. Zelda games are notorious for their epic development time and constant delays and we're already getting one on the DS this year. On top of this Nintendo is really trying to not set a release year that this game will come out. That's not a release date, or a release month, but an a release year.

In a recent interview with GameTrailers TV Nintendo of America's Reggie Fils-Aime sounded a bit shocked that they'd even suggest a 2010 release for the game and then went on to confirm absolutely nothing by saying, "We haven't committed to Zelda in 2010." Bummer.

Despite my disappointment with this fact I can understand it. Hopefully Nintendo will play it smart and not announce a release date until the game is absolutely and completely done because there is nothing more depressing than marking your calendar for a new game and then having that date pushed back again and again.

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