61 Frames Per Second

Browse by Tags

• Punch-Out Wii to Make Early 2009 a Little Less Depressing

  If you asked me what I'm looking forward to in 2009, I'm afraid I wouldn't have a good answer; the only game that I'm anticipating at this point in time, the DS remake of Dragon Quest V, is coming out in less than a month--and that leaves a hell of a lot of this year that needs to be frittered away, especially considering my looming unemployment. But perhaps things aren't as hopeless as they seem; today, Videogamer brightened up what looks to be an otherwise dreary year with the announcement that the upcoming Wii Punch-Out (I refuse to use the title's exclamation points for the sake of clarity) will be hitting store shelves in the first half of 2009. This is exciting because A.) Punch-Out is awesome and B.) hitting people in the face will be a vital skill in our scary new economy. There are a lot of expectations being placed on the new Punch-Out; after all, the series has missed two whole console generations thus far. I'd like to believe that Nintendo will do a great job catering to both nostalgia junkies and those looking for a solid pattern-recognizing experience, but the company's "back to basics" approach--AKA, rehashing games they've previously released--makes me worry about the quality of this long-awaited title. Read More... Posted Jan 30 2009, 04:00 PM by Bob Mackey with | with no comments Filed under: nintendo, wii, punch out, bob mackey, 2009

• How Sony Can Save the PSP in 2009

  Over the holidays, I planned on digging deep (figuratively and literally, since the game is mostly about making caves) into Dungeon Maker II: The Hidden War. This did not happen on account of my PSP battery committing ritual suicide sometime between December 24th and the March release of Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core. I don’t really hold this against the battery, because it’s not like it had anything better to do. But it did get me angry, and thinking about what’s wrong with the PSP, and predicting that unless Sony can figure out what it’s really trying to get out of the handheld these days, it might be better off just letting it die. In my predictions I mentioned that there were a few things Sony could do to save the system and brand. To be completely honest, it’s not actually very unlikely that Sony can do anything to increase market share or keep the PSP alive for more than another year or two. But it can “save” the PSP by going out with a bang, creating enough goodwill and momentum to give the PSP2 a fighting shot when it comes out, should such a system come out at all. Here’s what I think the handheld team at the company should do: Bolster current PSP owners with cheap add-ons: The PSP is not a system aimed at soccer moms and old-age homes, so how is it possible that a “core” game-loving maniac like me has to wipe months of dust off the system every time I want to use it? It would not take much for someone like me to put the system into my primary rotation. Frequent PSOne releases on the Network Store alone would enough. Firmware updates that would provide nice bonuses, like caching UMD games to memory card or more robust video playback, would be simple value-adds that would make current owners more happy with their system. The worst part is, everything I’ve mentioned here are things that many PSPs can already do—if said PSP has hacked firmware. Which brings me to my next point: Read More... Posted Jan 02 2009, 03:00 PM by Joe Keiser with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: psp, joe keiser, 2009, patapon, hacking, dark cloud, jumping flash

• Industry Predictions for 2009: Doom and Gloom Edition

  Happy New Year, everyone! Please note before continuing that you are unlikely to see the word “happy” in any other place in this entry. My predictions for where gaming is going in 2009 are not particularly rosy, but these are lean times, and lean times do not care so much about your feelings. More closures: As investors pulled money and game sales underperformed, companies closed left and right at the end of 2008. I expect that trend to continue as more Christmas sales results come in. Independent developers, the ones completely unprotected from the financial storm, will be in the most trouble, but publishers will probably close down a significant number of internal studios also. Midway, of course, will be first—there’s a chance some semblance of the company will get out of its current turmoil, but that Midway will bear little resemblance to the one of today. The $60 price ceiling will hold: Late in the year, the news that Call of Duty: World at War was being sold at $50 in some places scared the bejeezus out of some of the big industry analysts, who began to wonder aloud if the $60 price ceiling was viable in a recession of this magnitude. But the answer to that question doesn’t really matter: whether it seems viable or not, there is no way that that maximum price will drop. It took the industry ten years, a lot of hard work and a whole new hardware generation to get to $60. Lowering the price now wouldn’t just hurt bottom lines immediately, it would hurt them long term as publishers would have to do all that hard work again. Price cuts from an initial asking price of $60 may come quickly, but you all know that’s nor new either. After all it wasn’t that difficult to find Call of Duty 4 for $40 prior to Christmas 2007. Read More... Posted Jan 02 2009, 12:00 PM by Joe Keiser with | with no comments Filed under: psp, dlc, joe keiser, recession, 2009, call of duty world at war, predictions

• On Sega and the Proper Use of the Wii in 2009

  Every year around this time, I do my annual budgeting for the next year. It consists of these three steps: 1. Look at the release list for the next few months 2. Cry 3. Order a year’s worth of bulk ramen Historically, the release of the Nintendo spring schedule alone doesn’t get me to step two. This year it has, but it’s not my fault—the only totally unjustifiable thing I will probably haul out of a store in the spring is Coraline, which will go directly into the “stupid things I’ve bought because of an unhealthy and often inexplicable love of Neil Gaiman” pile. No, it’s Sega’s fault. Look at the entirety of the publisher’s Nintendo lineup: a new House of the Dead game. MadWorld, the latest post-modern brawler from the creators of the last, and only, post-modern brawler, God Hand. And a…Sonic game. But those are usually slightly better on Wii! This got me looking at Sega’s Wii lineups both new and old, which taken together paint a picture of a publisher that is throwing full support behind the Wii while not falling into the pit of making endless cheap-o party games. In fact, Sega’s Wii games cater almost exclusively to the core. There’s the upcoming first-person shooter The Conduit, as just one example. Looking back, the company has put out, amazingly, new Nights and Samba De Amigo games. And Sega’s cheap-o output has largely been ports of super cheesy arcade games like House of the Dead, Ghost Squad, and Sega Bass Fishing, games old timers like me greatly appreciate. The only casual minigame collection in there is Let’s Tap, and that’s a game where the controller is also the box it comes in. Not all of these games were successful at what they intended to do, but all the same, this is not typical use of the console! So congratulations Sega, you’ve learned something that it took other companies till this week to figure out: that the Wii is big business, a lot of people have them, and maybe some exciting, top-tier content on it would be good. Extra bonus points should be giving for picking up the ball Nintendo dropped and actually focusing the brunt of the effort on longtime fans. A couple other choice picks from the Nintendo release list after the break. Read More... Posted Dec 18 2008, 12:00 PM by Joe Keiser with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: wii, madworld, the conduit, sega, sonic the hedgehog, house of the dead, joe keiser, 2009, let's tap

• Top 5 Reasons Why 2009 Will Bring the End of Lists

  Top 10 Gaming Panties Top 10 Gaming Mustaches Top 10 Gaming Cakes Top 5 Games You're Better At Drunk Top 7 Mispronounced Game Titles Listicles. It's so easy to trash these lazy features, that generally exist as a quick and dirty way to boost traffic when there isn't much news happening. Hey, we're guilty of it too. The tubes are especially choked with lists this time of year, with everyone and their mom canonizing their picks for year-end. The above lists all received more than a thousand diggs a piece. How can we blame editors when that kind of traffic is on the line?  I might be totally wrong about this, but I hereby predict that we're going to see a lot fewer of these lists in '09. Read More... Posted Dec 10 2008, 06:00 PM by Cole Stryker with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: cole stryker, journalism, lists, 2009