New Episode Coming January 3rd!

Head's up! EPISODE 63 will debut for all-audiences this coming Monday, January 3rd, at 11pm EST. ScrewAttack Advantage members can get a special early look tonight (Friday) at the same time.

American Classic Arcade Museum Seeks Your Help!

hat-tip: Kotaku.
The American Classic Arcade Museum is seeking donations to aquire several rare classic arcade machines - including Discs of Tron! - from a private collector. I've made a donation, and I encourage any readers who are able/willing to do the same. Read on past the jump for details.

The ENTIRE "AntiThinker Saga" is Now On YouTube!

Episodes 43 through 50 - which encompasses the entirety of the "AntiThinker" framing-story - are now up on YouTube. Some loved it, some hated it, now everyone can see it (or revisit it) and decide for themselves...

Have Six More

Happy Holidays! SIX more "new classic" episodes are now viewable on YouTube: #38: The SGC Panel Part I and Part II, #39: The Emporer Has No Clothes, #40: Heavens to Metroid, #41: The Revolution and #42: Worst Person. Enjoy!

Seeking PAXEast Peeps

Okay, so... I went and submitted a "Game OverThinker" panel pitch to PAXEast (which I'll be at this year, in one capacity or another) and since I know some of my fellow games-industry-affiliated folks check these blogs I figured it'd be as good a place as any to see if anyone would be interested in possibly taking part as well, as it's my experience that an interesting group of potential panelists can help a panel get "picked up" (though either way, no real garauntee it actually happens as TGO is still a growing show and this is a huge convention.)

Four More For The Tubes

Four more "new classics" have made the pilgrimage to YouTube: #34: Waggle War, #35: A Response to Roger Ebert, #36: Who's Your Daddy, Mega Man? and #37: In Which I Defend Kinect. Go see!

Three More Make The Jump

Three more "New Classic" older-episodes have made the jump to YouTube - #31: "What's The Difference?", #32: "I Heart Bayonetta" and #33: "Building a Better Gamer." Go have a look :)

Episode 62: "Seeing Red"

The International Red Cross raises concerns about military games and The Geneva Convention. The OverThinker responds.

First Three "New To YouTube" TGO Episodes Now Playing

Previously ScrewAttack-Exclusive "older" episodes of the show are now beginning to be posted to YouTube. The first wave, available for viewing NOW, are #28: COMPLEX ISSUES, #29: CONTINUUM and #30: A Tale of Two Games. Go take a look (#30 may still be processing, keep refreshing)

ANNOUNCEMENT: Full Episodes of "The Game OverThinker" Returning to YouTube!

Yes, for real.

First things first: NO, this doesn't mean that the show is leaving ScrewAttack or that my relationship with them has changed in any way - it hasn't. This is all about promoting the show: Making sure that the widest possible audience can A.) see the episodes and B.) learn where/how they can see them early and show their support if they so choose.

Big Picture: "If The Oscars Were The VGAs"

What if Hollywood's big award show sucked as much as gaming's?

Only YOU Can Rescue The 1% in "Rainbow Six: Patriots"

I have my well-documented "issues" with the mega-popularity of the First-Person Shooter genre, but for the most part it's centered around their part in the blanding-up of the medium and the devaluation of the single-player experience. But there's a darker side to the whole phenomenon - namely, that it's helped to make the gaming medium a favorite new roost for the more despicable elements of America's political "right-wing."

Fortune Street

From now on, whenever I'm feeling down in the dumps about the future of the gaming medium, I'll just try and remember that there's a game where the Mario and DragonQuest characters can play a version of Monopoly against one another... and that someone at Nintendo decided "what the hell, let's bring it Stateside!"

EPISODE 61: "Bells & Whistles"

UPDATE (AGAIN!) As it turns out, Shigeru Miyamoto is NOT retiring and may not even be changing his "official" title within the Nintendo corporation. They are now calling the Wired article that began this (apparently false) reporting - which is now being blamed for Nintendo's stock price taking a two-point hit today - the result of bad translation.

Think of this as a brief respite between "big stuff," as the very NEXT episode (next Friday!) features both a controversial topic and the introduction of a new character. Technically, this week has the "live" debut of Jack Lieberson: Ninja Senator, though he's been seen and heard before. Enjoy!

Scheduling!

Reminder: EPISODE 61 will be viewable by ALL AUDIENCES tonight at 11pm EST!

In addition, EPISODE 62 will run MUCH earlier than usual (next Friday, the 16th - time not yet confirmed) owing to the topical nature of it's main discussion subject (to be revealed soon enough.) ADVANTAGE members will be able to get an early look on the 13th.

ALSO: I am schedule to appear at the Boston-Area scifi/fantasy/etc convention "ARISIA" on all three days (January 13th-16th.) While I'm not yet able to divulge which panels and/or events I'll be appearing at, I'll also be up and around the area so any fans attending feel free to say hello.

Project Rainfall Wins One

After much fan outcry, Nintendo WILL bring "Xenoblade Chronicles" to the U.S... as a GameStop exclusive.

Now, will fans actually BUY IT; or will this be like every other 'hardcore' Wii title where everyone says they DESPERATELY want it and then it sits on the shelves (No More Heroes, Madworld, need I go on?)

"Skyrim" Fans, This is Your New Favorite Thing Today

I'm inclined to think that Nintendo may have made a substantial mistake in releasing "Skyward Sword" (which I'm loving, don't get me wrong) opposite "Skyrim" - but then, who could've realistically predicted that a new "Elder Scrolls" game would be THIS big of a hit (which is in itself good news) in age of COD?

Anyway, here's a cartoon from Harry Partridge:

I've Been Waiting Fourteen Years For THIS South Park Game

A little late to this news - found it while reading the "bigger" news about the South Park RPG...

I sometimes feel like 'genre' is an unappreciated thing in game design, particularly when it comes to licensed properties. How many times have you seen a movie/TV/comic tie-in game turn out shit because it's been saddled with some half-baked "innovative" design build when a perfectly serviceable title could've been had by dropping the characters/setting into a "basic" genre setup? The NES "Batman" is still the best Batman game (Arkham 1 comes close, Arkham 2 is NOT as good as Arkham 1); and it doesn't really re-invent the wheel - it's just a VERY well-polished NES-era platformer... BUT WITH BATMAN! The SNES "Star Wars" games were, when you get right down to it, "Contra with Star Wars characters"... and they were AWESOME!

So why, then, has it taken 14 fucking years for someone to put the "South Park" kids exactly where they've always belonged? Namely, a South Park side-scroller!?