Come See THE GAME OVERTHINKER at MAGFEST 2014!

Hey guys! Just a quick FYI: I will be at MAGFest from Jan 2nd to Jan 5th this year, and should you see me on the floor your invited to come up and say hello (unless, y'know, you can tell I'm in the middle of something like or phonecall or whatever.)

Officially, I'm scheduled (you can see the whole MAGFest Schedule Map HERE) to appear at four panels on what they call the "MAGES" circuit:

"THE POLITICS OF GAMING" (Friday 1pm-2pm)

"ARE AAA STUDIOS STILL CREATIVELY RELEVANT" (Saturday 11:30am-12:30pm)

"PROMOTING GOOD GAMING COMMUNITY" (Saturday 5:30pm-6:30pm)

"GAMES AS A NARRATIVE MEDIUM" (8:30pm-9:30pm)

I'm also planning to bring copies of SMB3: BRICK BY BRICK with me to sell (probably cash only, but we'll see how my Square Reader is working) and sign on request, for anyone whose interested.

Look forward to seeing folks there!

YEAR END SPECIAL

UPDATE 1/22: As mentioned in the New Year Special, this Friday 1/24/14 will be the cutoff deadline for "ASK IVAN" questions. Plan accordingly.

Here's some lightheartedness for the end of the year, and a nice lil' announcement about the actual Episode 90: ASK IVAN is back, and anyone so inclined can start submitting questions in the Intense Debate comments below this post. I'll crosspost a YouTube version later in the week and comments under that will also be considered; but this is the primary spot. Happy Holidays!

Everyone Is Better At Selling XBox One Than Microsoft

Microsoft and Sony are both basically running with the same theme for their Now-Gen console advertising: People in their mid-20s/early-30s being blinked into live-action versions of game scenarios. They're all pretty-much the same in one other regard, too - most of the "This could be you having this much fun!" audience-identification characters are overwhelmingly young white dudes.

Only a Game

Will there be a new episode - or a new OVERBYTES - before the New Year? I dunno - anyone got any extra hours in the day to spare? (Working on it, though - seriously.) Until then, here's a gift for the Holidays.

This being "GOTY Season," a lot of people are angry at this or that swath of Games Journalism. Well, take heart, kiddies - whatever Games Journalism may or may not be... at least you're not dealing with Sports Journalism.

Happy Holidays.

Super Mario 3D World: Reviewed

(Oh, by the way, have we all seen the NEW EPISODE?)

So, the secret is out: THE ESCAPIST let me try my hand at game reviews for SUPER MARIO 3D WORLD. You can find the full text-review HERE, below is the very purty video supplement The Escapist's video guys helpfully put together using my less-than-purty vocals:

The Escapist : Reviews : Super Mario 3D World Review

EPISODE 89: "GHOSTS BUSTED"

A few days overdue. Couldn't be helped, but I hope you find it worth the wait:

Just A Test

Because Twitter is weird about animated-gifs, here's a short lo-res FX test for some new Storm Trooper/Putty Patrol type guys for upcoming episodes. At this point, they don't have official names. 

Incidentally, something that's not fun? Making reflective-surface work on a greenscreen set. Hence why the guys in the rear have more a flatter matte-finish on their non-faces (foreground guy was shot far enough from the screen to not reflect it directly.

The Infamous She

Me and The Most Dangerous Woman In Video-Games, shortly before a presentation (hers) in Boston. Hat-tip to my friend Monica for snapping the photo:

EPISODE 88 RE-POSTED (for comments error)

NOTE: Re-posted b/c Blogger's shitty interface somehow allowed some individual to post comments using the blogger system, which wiped-out the VASTLY superior Intense Debate comments. I apologize to anyone whose commenting was lost, and invite them to re-post.

Yes, about a week overdue. In my defense, shooting included a bunch of stuff that should (theoretically) get the next one done much sooner.

EPISODE 87: GTAV Is Not A Satire (*Probably)

Yes, about a week overdue. In my defense, shooting included a bunch of stuff that should (theoretically) get the next one done much sooner.

Escapist Expo LiveStream

Hey folks. Escape to The Movies should be up in the regular place and time later today, though I'll be otherwise engaged to post it here on the blog(s). Either way, here's the live-stream of the main panel theater from The Escapist Expo.

Big Picture: MEMORIUM

Hiroshi Yamauchi, 1927 - 2013

The Escapist : The Big Picture : Memorium

End Of An Epoch

Hiroshi Yamauchi, the former president of Nintendo, has passed away at the age of 85. Video-Games have lost their Walt Disney.

The importance of this man to the gaming industry cannot be overstated. He was the one who decided to change his family company's direction away from traditional toys and playing cards toward electronics and ultimately video games. He made the decision to branch out into American and European markets. This was the man who tapped then-unknown Shigeru Miyamoto to create what would become Donkey Kong.

This was the man who willed home video gaming back into existence as a viable worldwide business when it was all but dead. It's neither exaggeration nor hyperbole to suggest that the entirety of modern video-gaming - everything from the first Game & Watch titles and every single thing that came after - was built on the foundation he laid. More incredible still, he remained in charge of the company all the way into 2002 and had an active role in all major company decisions well into the GameCube era. It's impossible to imagine what this industry would've looked like without him... or if it would even have existed at all.

Gomeifuku wo inorimasu, Yamauchi-sama.

REMINDER!

This is happening TODAY. Come on out and say hi :)

Call of Duty: Ghosts (Single-Player Trailer)

As near as can be discerned from this reveal trailer, the story of "CALL OF DUTY: GHOSTS" goes like this: Astronauts with machine guns take over a satellite-based weapon and use it to bomb America into "I Am Legend"-level ruin in advance of a ground invasion; which is opposed by a team of heroes - and their trusty dog - who've all adopted the signature look of a previous COD game's popular masked-hero "Ghost."

Okay. I'm paying attention now.

TGO Returns To YouTube

Okay, so, firstly: Most recent episode was a Top Ten of Generation 7 Countdown. Did you watch it? Watch it.

Secondly: I've decided to start putting old(er) episodes back up on YouTube, promotionally. The show is still going to live on Blip, and new episodes will make their debut there. But after a month or so, they'll hit YT for the sake of promotion and also because I know some folks have issues accessing the Blip player.

Episodes 78 through 86 went up today, find links after the jump. Also, don't forget: I'll be appearing in person this Saturday (9/14) at ACAM/FunSpot in New Hampshire from noon to 3pm to sell and sign copies of "Brick-By-Brick," so if you're in the New England area please feel free to swing by - if you've never been to ACAM, it's pretty incredible.

EPISODE 87: "Top Ten Games of Generation 7"

And now here we are. It's the end of a generation, which means it's time for a Completely Meaningless Top Ten List!

Dickwolf'd (UPDATED)

(Post moved from original location to allow for commenting)

So, I feel like I need to write this stuff down. And since the situation is still fluid and "evolving" (read: a clusterfuck) it's probably best that it be a blog post as opposed to an episode of this or that show. Plus, since there's no guarantee I won't say something stupid, this way it's all on me and not on any of my employers or partners.

Dickwolf'd

UPDATE: Someone or something managed to trigger the design flaw that makes this post use Blogger's shitty commenting engine rather than Intense Debate. I've locked those comments (because Blogger makes troll-policing next to impossible) and moved the text to a new location HERE.

Big Picture: "In Defense of Booth Babes (Sort Of)"

Relevant

The Escapist : The Big Picture : In Defense of "Booth Babes" (sort of)

ACAM Book Event Update

The American Classic Arcade Museum has posted an official press-release page about the Brick-By-Brick signing event on 9/14. Readers of this blog already likely know the details, but it still trips me out that I'm going to hold an event there so yeah you bet I'm going to post about it.

OVERBYTES: "Don't Censor Me!!!"

After an unplanned/overlong hiatus, OVERBYTES is back with some thoughts on the evolving debate about game censorship - and why it has a lot more evolving yet to do:

A Note On Ads & Promotions

I just wanted to address a few few issues that some have voiced concerned about vis-a-vi advertising - specifically advertising on this blog and my own promotion of my book and other projects. Those who've had such concerns, please hit the jump for more. Those who don't care, wait just a moment because a new (and overdue) "OverBytes" episode will be going up right above this one shortly after it's posted.

Book Signing Event: September 14th at THE AMERICAN CLASSIC ARCADE MUSEUM!

So, then, the cat is out of the bag.

On September 14th, I'll be appearing at the American Classic Arcade Museum at Funspot in Weirs Beach (Laconia), New Hampshire to sell and sign copies of "SMB3: Brick-By-Brick."

If you'll be in the area, I'd love to see you swing by and check it out - not just to see me, but because this place is amazing - one of the ultimate landmarks for fans of Golden Age gaming. Funspot is a massive family-entertainment complex, current holder of the Guinness record for world's largest arcade, and along with games they also have bowling, restaurants, redemption-games, etc - plus, it's in the neighborhood of Weirs Beach on Lake Winnepesaukee, so there's an actual beach, water-slides, go-karts and other great places to hang right nearby. To my fans/readers with children: Imagine a rural, more parent-friendly Chuck-E-Cheese's the size of an indoor mall - it's really pretty incredible.

ACAM itself takes up the Funspot complex's third floor, and houses over 300 classic games including many ultra-rare machines you won't see anywhere else. I could not be more excited for this to be happening here.

You can find Funspot/ACAM at 579 Endicott St North (Rt 3) Laconia, NH 03246 I'll be there on September 14th from 12pm to 3pm. Supplies of the book are limited and not garaunteed, all dates/times subject to change. Watch this space for more details.

Brilliant

THIS is parody done right. Watch all the way through. Starts out as a clever if surface-level send-up of the most common critiques of "Tropes vs Women," (factual flubs, overly-obscure reference points, etc) then morphs into... well, you'll see:

Tropes vs. Women Part III is now up

Ugh. This goes up just as I'm on my way out the door. Here's the embed, commentary to follow when I watch the damn thing - though I'm most interested to see/hear where she falls on "ironic" sexism:

EPISODE 86: "Stop Talking To Me About Ludonarrative Dissonance"

NEW EPISODE! Title kinda says it all, really...

GAME OVERTHINKER BOOK SIGNING ANNOUNCEMENT!

OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:

I can now confirm that I will be appearing at COMICAZI in Somerville Massachusetts (407 Highland Ave Somerville MA 02144, I believe Davis Square is the closest MBTA stop) to sell and autograph copies of my book "Super Mario Bros. 3 - Brick By Brick" (also still available online in print and ebook formats exclusively through Fangamer.net) from 11am to 2pm ET on Saturday July 27th.

I will also, of course, happily sign any copies that were purchased previously or really anything else you were to bring up (within reason.) The books themselves will cost $8.00 US, supplies are limited. 

This will be the first time the book has been available for in-person sales and/or signing since SGC. I'm working on a few other (local) events for similar setups, but this will be the first - plus, Comicazi is a great local business and deserves the attention. Hope to see some of you there!

Review of "Brick by Brick"

As far as I know, this piece in Tech News Daily is the first major-publication review of my book (yes, I've seen the article on "Play 4 Real," which is a parody site.) Reviewer is Marshall Honorof, who - full disclosure - is a colleague and friend, but is also a fair guy and a pro.

BUY MY BOOK

(Note: Re-post to correct a coding error possibly caused by troublemaking in the comments section, my apologies for comments that were lost. If there was a comment you had made previously that you want to make again, please do not hesitate to re-post it here)

You can now buy you're very own copy (in print or ebook) of "SUPER MARIO BROS 3: BRICK BY BRICK" from Fangamer. So, please, won't you kindly think about doing so?

Rad Raygun

I downloaded indie title "Rad Raygun" off XBLA a while back on a whim and wound up playing through the whole shebang right then and there because it was so insanely awesome, and was delighted to meet it's creators here at SGC. Seriously, this is a great indie game.

Basic pitch: It's Mega Man, but as a gung-ho Reagan-era/anti-Soviet propaganda lark... for the original GameBoy. Sticks to the premise and the aesthetic admirably, and the soundtrack is fantastic. So let's help them get on Steam Greenlight, huh?

SGC 2013 Day One

Fine fine day at the con yesterday. Moved a lot of books, shook a lot of hands, met a lot of great fans. Got to re-connect with pals Jim Sterling, Lisa Foiles, Brentalfloss and Andre "The Black Nerd;" spent some quality time with the ScrewAttack crew and had a killer evening panel with Matt and the Game Theory guys.

TODAY: I'll be at the official Game OverThinker panel at 1pm, then on a YouTube/web-video panel at 7:30pm, hopefully able to move the rest of these books in the interim. If you're here and I haven't seen you yet, by all means keep a look out :)

SGC 2013: Day Zero

SGC hasn't even officially begun yet, but I've already gotten to meet lot's of great fans and colleagues. This is going to be a good one, I can feel it.

Regarding my book: I can happily announce that copies of "Super Mario Bros. 3: Brick-By-Brick" (available online soon exclusively from Fangamer.net) will be available for purchase at the ScrewAttack booth in the Dealer Room starting tomorrow (note: cash only). Some fans have already purchased copies from me "in the wild," and if you see me around lugging a briefcase or boxes chances are I've got some and I'd be happy to sell you a copy providing I have the cash onhand to make change; so please don't hesitate to ask.

In addition, I will hopefully be able to sell some copies (supply-contingent, obviously) before and after my panels and possibly also during the autograph session, so keep an eye out for that. I'll likely be re-stocking the booth as needed and to the degree that I am able (supplies are limited) so check back and watch my twitter feed (@the_moviebob) in the event of selling-out. The response to this has been overwhelmingly positive, and if it ends up that I simply didn't bring enough with me (again, online sales coming soon to Fangamer.net) well... there are worse problems for an author to have.

Stay tuned for updates, and if you're here for the con I look forward to seeing you later today :)

Game OverThinker SGC Schedule

About to head for the airport now, so hit the jump for details:

EPISODE 85: "REFL3CTION"

With apologies for the wait, here's your obligatory E3-reaction episode.

XBOX 180

BREAKING: Microsoft has opted to drastically reverse-course on several key issues surrounding the XBox One. Online checks, used game restrictions and regional restrictions have been removed and will no longer be part of the system.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a video or two to frantically re-edit. Microsoft: Even when they do something I like, they still screw me...

The Book Is Imminent

The first printing has been completed on my first book, "Super Mario Bros. 3: Brick By Brick." Very exciting.

The book will be available for sale online likely sometime in the coming week (exact date TBD) exclusively through Fangamer.net (there will be an e-book version as well) although I will be bringing a limited number of physical copies to SGC next weekend to be sold in person (and signed, if that be your bag) pretty-much whenever I've got a free moment to do so and also during/after my designated panel/autograph times.

At this time, those are the only two ways to purchase the book currently slated, and unfortunately I am not able to ship/sell copies over the web myself. However, I'm also working on putting together some local sales-events here in the Boston area and will make the dates/locations of those available as I get them. If you happen to BE the proprietor of a Boston area gaming/book/etc establishment and are interested in discussing hosting a selling/signing event please hit me up in the comments below.

Mega Man Lives

I am INSANELY busy today, so I'll be putting more detailed E3 stuff up at a later date. Suffice it to say: Microsoft "lost" by being shockingly (even for Microsoft) tone-deaf and anti-consumer (having the "big story" of your presser be a rape-joke certainly didn't help) Sony "won" by basically announcing their plans to do things that we really ought to expect/demand of console makers to begin with, Nintendo showed up to a video-game show to sell video-games - what a novel approach.

Short version: New Yoshi's Island, new Donkey Kong, Wonderful 101 still looks appropriately titled and 3D multiplayer Mario with Peach as a playable character for the first time in 25 years (and also you can turn into a cat now.)

Oh, and this...

Winning

So, in case you didn't hear, Sony won the "XBox One vs Playstation 4" part of E3 (which basically means E3, but Nintendo hasn't had their non-press conference press conference yet and *I* still care, okay?)

The PS4 will not block used games, will not require an online connection, and will launch with a pricepoint $100.00 US below Microsoft's console. Oh, and also Kingdom Hearts III.

Spring Gamers

Is this brilliant? Yes, this is brilliant.

"Tropes Vs Women" Releases Episode 2

Oh hey, look at that:

I'm on my way to work right now, so I'll be watching in-full and commenting further later. For now, have at it:

UPDATE 1: Work was canceled, video watched, comments below the jump:

UPDATE 2: Some vengeful asshats have (apparently) gotten the clip taken down by exploiting YouTube's draconian TOS. A written transcript is still available HERE. Obviously, as soon as I see where it goes back up, I'll repost. People with mirrored links are welcome to post them in the comments until then.

OVERBYTES on XBOX ONE

XBox? None.

ALSO: newest episode of the main series is HERE if you missed it.

EPISODE 84: "Starving Artists"

New Episode is NOW PLAYING on Blip!

Come See ME at SGC2013!

ScrewAttack.com's gaming con, SGC, is returning June 21 - 23 of this year and I'll be a guest: Doing some panels, hanging out and I'm hoping to have a supply of books to sell and/or signby then as well.

Registration is still open, and if you do it through THIS LINK you'll be directly supporting me and The Game OverThinker series. So... think about doing that, please :)

Got This Covered (UPDATED!)

As you might have read previously, I wrote a book and it's coming out soon through the fine folks at Fangamer.net. I still unfortunately don't have a set date date of publication to announce, but I can now officially reveal that we'll be publishing it under the title "SUPER MARIO BROS. 3: BRICK-BY-BRICK", and here on your right you can see the cover-art that the fine folks at Fangamer put together for it.

The basic premise is a "novelized let's-play." I've re-played SMB3 (my favorite game and my unscientifically-chosen candidate Greatest Game Ever Made) and chronicled not only every step of the journey (along with corresponding noteworthy events of my real life during the months-long experience) but analyzed each and every graphical, sound and narrative element encountered along the journey for their aesthetic, historical and cultural details. Also included: A history of the "Super Mario Bros." franchise and a separate account of my own personal history as a fan, student and critic of this series in particular and video games as a whole.

More details to follow - YES, we're planning an E-Book. Stay tuned.

EARTHBOUND Finally Returns

Today's Nintendo Direct announced a lot, including a new 3DS Zelda that's a direct sequel to "Link to The Past," but The Internet has spoken and the big news is that SNES cult-classic "Earthbound" is finally getting a release to the WiiU Virtual Console:

By the way, have you seen our new episode yet?

We Are Alright

For those of you who don't know, this whole operation is based out of Boston. So I just wanted to give a quick head's-up that yes, it's true that two (so far) explosions - apparently now confirmed to be bombs of some type - have exploded at the Boston Marathon. I was nowhere near the incident today, and thus far none of my family/friends are confirmed to have been in the area and are not among the injured.

Those looking to help the victims of this senseless tragedy are asked to make donations to the Red Cross and/or to give blood.

Everything About This Is Awesome

People thought "Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon" was an April Fools joke, but it turned out to be a real thing - an "expansion" (though it'll be sold as a standalone item - $14.99US for about an 8 hour campaign - that does not require a copy of FC3 to play) that takes the puuuuuurty game engine that FC3 used to render hyper-realistic jungle environments to instead render a neon-infused scifi/action game with an aesthetic somewhere between mid-80s B-movie and NES-era action game (think Power Blade, Strider, etc) blown up into a 3D FPS.

EPISODE 83: "The Next Crash"

UPDATE: Re-posted because of an Intense Debate error in the previous posting caused comment threads to disappear. With apologies for the inconvenience, anyone looking to continue an interupted conversation is welcome to do so here.

Finally, here's the new episode. Ivan takes over the hosting duties for this one, and he's got some thoughts about the likelihood of an impending Second Games Industry Crash.

Canned "Gritty FPS Reboot" of Mega Man SHOCKINGLY Only Looks About 1/3 as Shitty as You'd Expect

Polygon has a great piece up looking at a previously-unknown project - ultimately canceled by Capcom - wherein a bunch of ex-"Metroid Prime" developers (a game series which The Internet has decided, in absence of any factual evidence, that I "hate") attempt to reboot Mega Man (okay, technically "Mega Man X") into a gritty first-person shooter. And yes, there's video...

EPISODE 83: "The Next Crash"

Finally, here's the new episode. Ivan takes over the hosting duties for this one, and he's got some thoughts about the likelihood of an impending Second Games Industry Crash.

Infinity

Just this moment finished "Bioshock Infinite." Yes, it's as good as you've heard. Play. Play now.

At this point I've only got one immediate "clever" observation, but in the interest of not spoiling ANYTHING even vaguely or by accident I'll put it after the jump:

MGS5 Trailer

Hey, remember that "Phantom Pain" thing that everyone immediately knew was "Metal Gear Solid 5" but they wouldn't come out and say was "Metal Gear Solid 5?"

Well, it's "Metal Gear Solid 5."

The Book

If you were at Escapist Movie Night at PAXEast this past weekend (or you caught an earlier reveal during the Desert Bus charity event) you already know about this, but for everyone else it would seem the cat is out of the bag...

So! I'm writing a book. Or, rather, I've written a book and - barring any unforseen disaster - it will be coming out soon. It's a book about video games, and is being developed with (and will be sold exclusively online through) fangamer. If I had to describe it as anything it would be a book of game criticism; though not of a kind I've found anywhere else.

Further details (all of which are, it goes without saying, wholly subject to change) after the jump...

WOO-OO!

Holy shit. As far as game announcements go, it'll be REALLY hard for the rest of PAXEast to top this. WayForward? You are the hope of us all.

Off To PAXEast

I'm officially en-route to the weekend at PAXEast folks, so if you're there feel free to say hi and if not follow my Twitter @the_moviebob in case I say or see something interesting while there. If you're at the show, check me out at the Escapist Movie Night panel on Saturday 3/23 at 9:00pm in the Merman Theater.

SUPPLEMENTAL: "I'm Sorry (But EA Should Be Sorrier)"

So, then.

In the making of this series, March has basically been a gigantic non-starter. A blizzard scuttled at least two weeks of shooting, then another storm and subsequent ceaseless wind/rain pushed it further - serves me right, I guess. So, since I obviously won't be getting any work done on this front with PAXEast going on this weekend; I sat down and flipped on the camera early this morning (like 3:00am or so) to do a quickie "hey, sorry, here's what's up" vlog that wound up being a little rambling (unscripted) and eventually turned into a minor rant about EA, SimCity and the state of the industry. Decided to give it a semi-edit and upload, but don't worry - this sort of "tired-looking man talking to camera" motif won't become the norm around here.

D&D Arcade Games Coming to XBLA/PSN

Well, whaddaya know? Capcom decided to do something decent for retro-gaming; broken clocks and all that: Their two classic (and somewhat rare) "Dungeons & Dragons" beat-em-ups - "Tower of Doom" and Shadow over Mystara" are coming to XBLA/PSN. Supposedly, this will be "officially unveiled" at PAXEast. It's being called a port, which I hopefully assume means it will be the original games with the original graphics - not another "HD remake" disaster like "Turtles In Time Re-Shelled".

Good show, Capcom... sure would be nice to have a WiiU* port with off-TV play, though. Just sayin.

OVERBYTES on Tropes vs. Women

Now available for viewing by all, an overall appraisal on the first episode of "Tropes vs. Women in Video Games" and it's attendant controversies.


P.S. People who continue to insist on harping about production costs are directed to THIS post.

Tropes vs. Women launches first episode (UPDATED!)

Oh hey, remember that kickstarted webseries that people freaked out about because a woman was talking out of turn about man things, then decided it was actually a "scam" that would never actually come out when that didn't convince people that she was the antichrist?

Well, it came out. Here's a link. I'll chime back in later with what I actually thought of it.

UPDATE II: The newest episode of "OverBytes" is a thorough "review" of the show. All audiences can watch it right now.

Sterling on Cage

Not that I ever thought I'd have performed the definitive "takedown" of David Cage; but if I or anyone else HAD harbored any pretense toward doing so we must now concede that Jim Sterling has now definitively taken the crown on that one:

"OVERBYTES" Takes On The PS4

Playstation 4 has been announced. Underwhelmed? You could say that.

Glenn Beck: Video-Games Responsible For Sandy Hook Massacre

Oh, fudge.

(Hey, while you're hear, have you watched our new episode yet?)

Y'know, for awhile there I was a little worried that the American right-wing might've been doing something very smart in regards to their relationship with video-games. While it's not a perfect alignment, it's my observation that the worst aspects of gaming culture right now - centered, as these things tend to be, around the multiplayer-shooter genre - line up pretty well with The Right's most poisonous elements: Misogyny, angry-white-man paranoia plus the attendant homophobia plus "Men's Rights" lunacy that goes with it and, of course, worship of (but complete lack of respect for) the gun culture.

EPISODE 82: "Never Grow Old"

The recent East Coast blizzard slowed production a little bit, but the show must go on! Here, The OverThinker responds to Warren Spector and David Cage's controversial DICE lectures:

Nintenception

It sounds like a backhanded compliment, but really the "Mario & Luigi" RPG series (Superstar Saga, Partners in Time and Bowser's Inside Story, thus far) for portables have probably been the story/humor highpoint for Nintendo franchises for the better part of the last decade. Sharp, funny, self-aware, perfectly balancing sincere "quiet awe," unobtrusive fanservice and a knowing self-awareness. The first 3DS installment has now been announced as "Mario & Luigi: Dream Team," with the now-standard alt-dimension storyline taking place partially in the realm of Luigi's dream...

OVERBYTES: "A' la Carte"

A new OVERBYTES argues on behalf on a new way for buying games digitally:

Perfection

Little sick of gaming-nostalgia mash-ups? Me too. But this? This is FUCKING BRILLIANT.

A Humble Hope For Help

So... I generally avoid using the Blog(s) for things like this, but wide nets need to be wide.

I'm looking to get in touch with people in the book-publishing business, specifically video-gaming related stuff but really at this level any inroad would be a good inroad; but there's a pretty wide disconnect between the digital press world and the print world, so... don't really have any idea how to do that.

BUT I'm betting I've got at least a few friends/followers/fans/colleagues reading these things who might have some tidbit of advice/direction/access to offer; so if that describes you please feel free to pop said info into the comments here (or, if you prefer, a way in which I could contact you to get it.) Any little bit helps, honestly :)

Thanks you.

Enemy

hat-tip: Polygon

Below, video of U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander, Republican of Tennessee. Mr. Alexander's stated position therein: "I think video games is (sic) a bigger problem than guns, because video games affect people." Alexander is known as a "moderate" and "bipartisan" within the Republican Party - which frankly says more  about the Party (i.e. you can be this backward and still not be backward enough) than it does about him.

This would be the honorable Senator's website, while this would be the section for contacting his political operation. In case any fellow Americans would like to (respectfully and non-abusively) offer him their thoughts on the matter.

Oh, and Tennessee-based readers? He has to run for re-election next year. His recently-announced likely opponent is named Larry Crim, whose website can be found HERE. Just sayin'.

Your Daily Reminder That Ralph Nader Is a Terrible Human Being

BTW, have you watched our New Episode yet?

Anyway... Ralph Nader - the man who helped give you 8 years of the George W. Bush presidency - has declared "violent" video-game producers to be "Electronic child molesters."

Screw you very much, Ralph.

Wonderful 101

Well! "Wonderful 101" is undoubtedly the most "video-game-ish" looking video-game I've seen in quite sometime. I run hot or cold on strategy games, but I'm damn inclined to pick this up...

ALSO: Brand-new episode went up today, so go watch!

EPISODE 81: "Let This Be The End"

New episode, now available on Blip:

Our subject this week (inspired in part by Mr. Croshaw) is whether or not we really, really need yet another generation of new individual consoles...

No Fear

I'd like to spend all day engaging people about this, but the fact is I have a shit-ton of deadline-driven work to do that's only going to get done if I got media-dark for a few hours. So this will have to be all from me about the big Obama gun laws speech today.

I imagine the number-one thing anyone wants to hear from me is how I feel about the President calling for "more research into violent video-games" as part of his big set of plans/proposals. Honestly? I hated hearing it. It cuts me to the bone when otherwise intelligent, reasonable people I happen to support have to jump and join that particular political dance; especially when I strongly suspect that they're better than that. I would prefer that the President had said "some have called for more attention paid to a link between violent games or movies and gun deaths, but the fact is that research has already been done a hundred times over and the link quite simply does not exist and continuing to call for it distracts from the real issue; which is guns and the obscene power of the Gun Lobby."

I'd have liked to see that, and maybe someday I will, but it wasn't going to be today.

Brownshirts in my backyard

The town of Melrose, Massachusetts has become the latest gang of idiots to start-up a "violent games buy-back" program... though, at least they aren't also burning them, so there's that.

"It Even Has A Watermark..."

Good lord, how did it take this long for someone to do this!?

Brownshirts Back Down

Polygon reports that the small town of Southington, CT has abandoned it's internationally-reported - and widely-derrided - plans for a mass-burning of "violent" video-games.

Officially, the business/community-leader group that had backed the plan is saying that since the announcement itself succeeded in "promoting discussion" and "creating strong awareness," there was no longer any reason to actually go through with the event.

Unofficially? Call this another win for New Media, is my feeling. Public-shaming has always been one of the ultimate curatives for bullies and petty-fascists, and The Internet is the most powerful tool to inflict such ever devised.

MAGFest Panels

Had a great time at our innaugural MAGFest, the Game OverThinker/MovieBob Q&A Panel of which is now available on Blip in four easily-digestable parts: PART I, PART II, PART III and PART IV.

Everybody Watch Jimquisition Now

Today, my friend and colleague Jim Sterling is a hero:

NOTE: Graphic imagery from 1:20 - 1:49

I Don't Want To Game On This Planet Anymore

Y'know, it's funny. When I created The AntiThinker, he was supposed to embody an exaggeration of the absolute worst in gamer culture. Turns out, I didn't exaggerate enough...

Patricia Hernandez over at Kotaku points the way to a new candidate for gaming's worst human: A (popular, of course) YouTuber who puts up "how-to" videos instructing his followers on how to harrass female gamers for the crime of playing video games while female - "justified," of course, by the idea that these women are only gaming as a way to "con" poor, helpless men out of their money with sex appeal.

I'm not going to link directly to his stuff, but you can get the gist of it and watch (if you want to) from Hernandez piece HERE.

EPISODE 80: "Collect Calling"

The new episode is now up on Blip! The OverThinker counts off five "classic games" compilations that need to get made already.

REMEMBER: The OverThinker's panel at this weekend's MAGFest is Saturday at 10:00am!

Brownshirts (Update)

(Re-post to correct coding error in original post)

hat-tip: POLYGON.

This is how it begins...

I "get" that grief is a powerful emotion that can override common sense and reason, even in the best of us. I understand that, therefore, we are expected to be deferential and sympathetic to even the most awkward, outlandish or uncomfortable expressions of grief: "Oh, it's alright. They're just upset. Let them vent." I get that... but there's a limit to everything. So, I have ZERO problem saying that the folks in Southington, Connecticut who've more-or-less decided to hold a mass-burning of "violent" video games (music and movies, too) as some kind of reaction to the tragedy in nearby Newtown are, whateve their intent, essentially painting themselves as a pack of ignorant, knuckle-dragging, reactionary cretins; and that they deserve to be called-out and shamed for what is - regardless of scale, circumstance or intent - a crime against art, culture and an affront to civilized modernity.

Brownshirts

(original post moved to NEW LOCATION to correct a programming error, now found HERE)

2013

A New Year's wish from me to Capcom and whoever the hell owns what's left of THQ...