RETRO AFFLICTION

UPDATE: My new podcast explores this topic at great length: CHECK IT OUT

I was maybe 13 or 14 years old when I first held a Game Boy in my hands. A childhood friend (you know, the one on every block you’re intensely jealous of, who nabs the hottest toys the day they’re released and ultimately is the reason you’ve become an early adopter who buys all the latest gizmos and gadgets and consoles the second they’re available, isn’t it?)

Wait, where were we? Ahem…

Not soon after I’d held that Game Boy in my hands, I received one for Christmas. The beautiful 160×144 display with the 4 shades of grey was worthy of being called a handheld game console, even if I only have memories of a scant selection of games.

I needed nothing more than Tetris, Baseball, and Donkey Kong…(Final Fantasy Legend and Dr. Mario would come later…) and a black padded carrying case the size of a modern-day laptop bag; you know, to show off the enormity of my imaginary game collection.

There was something magical about being able to play a videogame in the car, in the backyard, at recess (providing those ‘yard duty’ workers didn’t bust you with it). Apparently, that magic has not worn off through the years.

Some preluding (I know it’s not a word, but it works!) is necessary before I start making my point. Since those schoolyard days I’ve owned Sega’s Game Gear and a GameBoy Advance SP. Following that I considered myself “graduated” to the big brother consoles with the superior graphics and of course, larger screens. I was a homebody, I didn’t need portable gaming. I was living on the cutting edge!

I was missing the point.

PSP: The Gateway Drug

Fast-forward to Christmas 2008.

Santa brings me a silver PSP-3000. “HA!” I think.  “Sony Computer Entertainment America knows I run a gaming website which has recently been growing in popularity. They paid off Santa, didn’t they?” Perhaps persuading me to institute more coverage of recent PSP Games (um, WHAT recent PSP Games?).  They think their Portable PS2 can take me away from my Dreamcast? Or my 360 loaded to the heatsinks with Rock Band 2, Fallout 3, Gears of War 2, Far Cry 2, Geometry Wars 2?

HAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHaHahaha….(imagine laughter cut abruptly short, like Vizzini in the Princess Bride just after he’s ingested the poison…)

Folks, I haven’t turned on my Xbox 360, nor my Playstation 3 for a month straight…This demands exploring, this begs for answers.

I got the PSP connected to WiFi, downloaded the new 5.00 firmware update, and proceeded to browse around the PSN store. This is what I downloaded:

• Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
• Crash Bandicoot: Warped
• Tekken 2
• Street Fighter Alpha

(Hmm, does someone miss his original Playstation?)

The following is a timetable of my experience with the PSP, leading right up to yesterday.

• 48 hours in: I had not even inserted a UMD. I had not turned on any other console. I was hooked, again, on the classics.
• 7 days in: Got my Skype account setup, rented the exceptional RPG/RTS/Music-Rhythm magic of Patapon. Still had not turned on another console.
• 12 days in: Sold Halo 3 and purchased Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII. You guessed it, still no 360 action (or dreamcast action, or Gamecube action…)
• 13 days in: Checked Xbox Live messages via xbox.com. Waste of time.
• 14 days in: Turned on the 360 – to remove my Credit Card info from the Account dashboard.
• 18 days in: Obsession strikes. Have migrated all podcast feeds to the PSP and bookmarked several internet radio stations.
• 20 days in: Snagged Wipeout Pure from Sony’s RLS website.
• 25 days in: Still haven’t touched another game system and neck deep in Star Ocean, Crisis Core, Patapon, Me & My Katamari, and God of War: Chains of Olympus.
• Yesterday: Traded in 6 Xbox 360 games, a play & charge kit, and a controller – - walked out with a Black Nintendo DS and The World Ends With You.

Obviously, that last bullet point is where things start to get very interesting, huh?

What’s the root cause of this dramatic shift in gaming habits? Check out the latest episode of “Mental Doodles & Lost Thoughts” for the theories…

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Last week I openly confessed my love for portable gaming, but I knew the act of touching my PS3 and 360’s power buttons would inevitably go beyond the Netflix and Blu-Ray flirtation phase once again. This past weekend, it did.

In late November of 2008 I loaned Rock Band 2 and a fake plastic guitar to my little brother, after practically killing myself during The Endless Setlist. I’d had my fill, I was satiated. This past weekend, however, an unrequited urge to once again bang those plastic skins washed over me, and I rented the disc and set up a rock-date with Rob and Gabe.

The first half hour consisted of constant connection problems. Everyone would involuntarily drop out of the party (but not the multiplayer itself), disrupting the voice chat, but ultimately would sign out of Xbox Live completely. We couldn’t finish a song, and it was literally 30 minutes until Xbox Live’s problems were corrected, but by that time we weren’t too thrilled about playing “Bodhisattva” again.

2 songs into our 80’s throwback setlist, my bass drum pedal snapped in half, spelling the end. I resigned myself to vocals for a few songs, and called it quits, feeling completely unsatisfied and frustrated.

Following that, I played The World Ends With You (yep, back to my 1st love) for 2 hours while I casually sipped coffee and sat outside under the stars.

I’m positive my love affair with the living room consoles will resume itself at some point, but I am firmly convinced they won’t ever acquire the title of gaming soul mate :-)

Until Podcast #3, take care.

UPDATE: Rob just sent me this amazing tutorial on how to fix your Rock Band drums using only household materials. Perhaps I’ll journey back to the 360 soon. Perhaps…

“I feel like by the time a game comes out now, I know everything there is to know about it…But at that time, (a game) got a 2 page preview in EGM maybe once…and then got a review. And that was all you’d ever know about that game until you got it in your hands. Now we’re inundated with information.”

-A Life Well Wasted, Episode 1

“Back in ‘92, ‘93, ‘94, when Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, NBA Jam…400 page issues that everyone remembers so fondly…you would just sit on your bed and absorb every single thing. Because at that time, most of us…would learn about everything you couldn’t find in your rental store.”

-Former 1UP Editor Andrew Pfister | A Life Well Wasted, Episode 1

The average retail shelf life for a typical video game has shrunk so drastically in the past 15 years that if you’re not plugged in to a 24/7 news feed, you could blink and miss it entirely.

For new IP’s (Intellectual Properties), developers spend weeks to months developing a solid gaming mechanic or concept. Writers enter the picture and flesh out a storyline, artists sketch out hand drawn storyboards and rough animations. Level designers work to add life and atmosphere to the game, voice actors are hired, programmers spend 1000’s of hours tweaking code, composers breathe emotion into the audio. Marketing teams are deployed, etc etc.

The entire process of creating a video game from start to finish, on average, takes about 2 years.

That same game could have a consumer’s mindshare for as little as 1 week. And if they happen to buy it, only 20% of them will finish it.*

Why is this happening? And why are we, the gaming audience, seemingly content with it? That’s exactly what I’ll be exploring in an upcoming episode of Mental Doodles & Lost Thoughts. Do you have an opinion from inside the industry? Are you a gamer who misses the love affairs we used to have with games from the 80’s and 90’s?

I can’t create this episode without you…

WRITEBACK: mentaldoodles@gmail.com | TALKBACK: 206-339-9293

Or simply leave a comment on this post.

You know how everyone and their little brother in the geek world is fascinated with unboxing? I’m not enamored by the trend. But I’ll tell you what thrills the crap out of me: Getting stuff like this in the mail:

(Yes it’s an older pic, but hey I just started blogging again!)

There’s nothing more amazing than starting a gaming website from scratch, and suddenly having enough clout that companies like Disney, EA, Ubisoft, and Activision send you reviewable titles in the mail – ahead of their retail release date. That’s my geek-out version of unboxing. From now on, when we receive the more high profile titles at the virtual offices of Games Are Evil, I’ll post a few pics to illicit jealousy.

I’m an evil bastard. That’s why I’m the Evil Editor :-)

Talk soon;

Jason

[flashvideo filename=/video/tigerhighlightreel.flv /]

It’s all Pete’s fault, really. Stay with me on this…

You see, Pete is the Senior writer of our PS3 arm over @ Games Are Evil, and he’s a damn fine wordsmith. My role as Evil Editor obviously dictates that I oversee almost all the content and reviews before they go live on our site.

When we received Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf 09 (shall we say Tiger 09 for short?) from EA, Pete started playing the hell out of it. When it came time to peek at his review draft, I added the obligatory screenshots, formatting, and some light editing. But then I started READING it.

Suffice to say his review compelled me to, at the very least, rent the title from Gamefly. And I hate golf. I am flat out horrible in real life, and as far as spectating it’s about as boring as Waterworld.

Fast forward 2 days later and I’m already owning Pebble Beach, hitting 18 under par and giving Tiger himself a run for his money. I’ve used the Club Tuner to adjust my natural swing bias. My average drive has gone from 280 yards to 360 yards. I’m landing an average of 2 Eagles per 15 holes. I’m effortlessly posting challenges and video clips to the entire Tiger 09 gaming community. And, I’m downloading my own highlights for bragging rights (See video above!)

The 1st week of owning Tiger 09 (did I mention Gamefly isn’t getting this back?) I put in about 4 hours daily, and actually learned the game of golf from the inside out, having previously cared about, nor known next to nothing about it.

I think it’s a testament to amazing game design. Sure, Tiger 09 has been widely acclaimed as the best Golf game to date, and one of EA’s finer efforts, but it goes beyond that. I don’t even feel this strongly about sports videogames modeled after sports I DO like (such as Madden NFL).

So hey, if you have a PS3, track me down on the front 9 of Pebble Beach and let’s hit the ball around. My PSN ID is ‘killyourfm’

Talk soon;

Jason

This is the most creative, frenetic, and imaginative fan-made, video game related video ever. There will be no arguments. Thanks to Julien for the reminder…

It’s been a wildly productive week. In 5 days we managed to gather a talented staff of 11 gamers and writers, light up our private Google Group, design logos, appoint console editors, and begin work on some great content.

I surprised myself though. For all my digital addictions I found myself heading to Office Max for a corkboard, index cards and colored sharpies. It’s turning out to be a wonderful and tangible organizational tool.

And it’s filling up nicely!

Thrilled about being involved in something new with such a passionate staff.

WHY: Because it’s time

WHO: Jason Evangelho, Phil Coyne, Rob LeFebvre, Stuart Morris, Brent Morris, Gabriel Marchisio, Fernando Sillas, Dave Hatfield, Jill Ravelli, and Brian O’Connor

WHEN: On or before August 4th, 2008

WHERE: http://www.gamesareevil.com

UPDATES: http://www.twitter.com/gamesareevil