September 12th, 2009 by The Grey Ghost
Moya Dawson IS Cammy
Long-time Cammy fan that I am, I first learned about Moya through her old site, CammySite.com, before it expired. She’s quite the Australian cutie with strong passions for anime, comic books, and video games. Moya continues to work on her fantastic costumes as well as write comic book reviews for PaperbackReader.com.
I tried to interview her for Alpha Counter, a video game podcast I did a few years back. She replied to my request, but well… Let’s just say it would have been impossible for a radio interview. Maybe if I’m lucky, she’ll agree to one for either here or a future installment of Robot Punch!
As awesome as her Delta Red Cammy costume is, I’ve always been more partial toward Cammy’s Shadaloo uniform. Moya has said that a Shadaloo costume from her is well under way!
Posted in Cosplay, Cosplay of the Week, Street Fighter | 1 Comment »
September 11th, 2009 by The Grey Ghost
In a recent interview, Sega’s associate brand manager, Ken Ballough discussed the history of Sonic the Hedgehog as well as plans for his future.
The highlight of the interview was a teaser trailer for Sega’s next Sonic-related project, codenamed “Project Needlemouse“. From the looks of it, Sega’s finally going back to basics with what made Sonic so great: Fast, 2D platforming action!
Sonic’s been in quite a few 2D games, found on the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS, though they never managed to compare well to their Sega Genesis forefathers. The new game is promised to hark back to the classic feel of the franchise; this time with beautiful new HD graphics. By that, Ballough insists that the graphics will be rendered in true high-definition, unlike the disappointing filtered sprites in Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection.
Here’s the teaser:
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September 10th, 2009 by The Grey Ghost
Just in time for the launch of the PSP Go, several Nippon Ichi Software of America titles will be available for download via PlayStation Network. These titles include fan-favorites Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness, Prinny: Can I really be the hero?, with other titles hinted to join them. As a special promotion, the games will be priced for “half off” (that is, $12.99 and under) starting October 1st and extending through that week.
Hold on a second.
This means that once the promotion ends, these games return to their normal price of about $25.99, correct? As I write this, I can buy hard copies of those games for the same price at retail. As I asked in my Secondhand Rant, isn’t the main selling point of digital distribution passing the savings of production costs on to the consumers? If the digital copy is priced the same as the physical copy, where’s the incentive? What am I missing?
Of course PSP Go owners aren’t able to play the UMD versions of the games, but then that’s the whole idea. If the entertainment industries can transition digital distribution from a low-cost alternative to the standard, they can go back to charging whatever they want. Worse, they’ll be able to justify it if they can eliminate the secondhand market, since they’ll then gain a monopoly over access to multimedia.
I do give big props to NIS America and Sony for finally having some kind of sale on the PlayStation Store. I can only hope that they learn the same lesson as Valve–that being if you discount the price, sales will greatly increase. Weekly sales would be welcomed by their consumer base and God knows I might just use the service myself more often.
Posted in Games, Rants, RPGs | No Comments »
September 9th, 2009 by The Grey Ghost
It was 10 years ago today that the Sega Dreamcast washed up on North American shores. Japan had been reveling in in the Dreamcast’s glory for a full year before we could finally experience true gaming joy. Until the introduction of the Nintendo Wii, the hardcore gaming community agreed in unison that the Dreamcast was the last true video game console.
The Dreamcast debuted at the height of the great era of arcades. Sega ruled the arcade industry, as it continues to do so in Japan. With the phenomenal creative resources in electronic entertainment at their disposal, they were able to seamlessly translate the arcade experience into the home. This meant that we not only got faithful ports of our favorite arcade titles, but also unique, innovative games that were beautifully tailored for the home gaming environment.
Being an arcade rat myself, the majority of my Dreamcast game library consists of its fantastic arcade ports. Most of all, I loved the Capcom fighters, like Street Fighter Alpha 3 and Marvel Vs. Capcom 2. Being able to practice at home with my friends was a great way to experiment and train for when we’d face the real competition in the arcades.
One thing that made the Dreamcast great was that some of its ports (like Soul Calibur) were in fact superior to their arcade counterparts. Until its recent release on XBLA and PSN, the Dreamcast version of Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 (whose source was used for the new ports) was the official version for fighting game tournaments.
Other arcade-style games that are in the class of “must-have” are House of the Dead 2 (shoot zombies!), Zombie Revenge (punch/burn/dismember zombies!), Ikaruga (top-tier shmup), Crazy Taxi (who needs roads?), and Virtual-On Oratorio Tangram (giant robots!).
I didn’t just live in the arcades; heavens no! The Dreamcast had a slew of awesome home titles, most of which carried on to other consoles, once the Dreamcast ceased production. There is of course, the cinematic Shenmue series, which tragically will never be completed. The Sonic Adventure games have been unanimously declared as the last decent Sonic the Hedgehog titles. Phantasy Star Online was the first console-based MMORPG and new episodes are available on current-gen platforms. Other games like Jet Grind Radio, Space Channel 5, Seaman, and Chu Chu Rocket never really grew beyond cult favorites; arguably because they were way ahead of their time.
It’s been a good decade, Dreamcast. So long as there is breath in my lungs, you will not be forgotten! I still fire mine up from time to time to play some of the games that made you so great. There may never be another console like you again.
Posted in Games | No Comments »
September 8th, 2009 by The Grey Ghost
I know this is a couple of weeks late, but I just received my copy of GameSpite Quarterly #2. This issue focuses on the top 40 (according to their message board polls) games of all time.
I pimp this book because my friend, Ben Elgin, wrote a piece for this issue, specifically the one covering Shadow of the Colossus. I’m ashamed to say that I’ve yet to play Shadow of the Colossus (or Ico, for that matter), but I hope to correct that foolish mistake soon.
Other games that made it to their Top 40 list include Resident Evil 4, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Earthbound… Throw in some Metroids, Final Fantasies, Marios, and Street Fighters… And of course, Chrono Trigger.
Did your favorite games of old make it to their list? There’s only one way to find out, and you can order your own copy here.
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September 7th, 2009 by The Grey Ghost
Penny Arcade‘s own Jerry Holkins (aka Tycho) subtly announced on Friday that a Penny Arcade reality show was currently in production. He felt it was necessary to make a statement to explain why he and partner Mike Krahulik (aka Gabe) have been accompanied by film crew during this weekend’s Penny Arcade Expo.
He went on to express excitement about the project, which he sees playing a similar part to their podcast–an inside peek to the regular (and not-so-regular) events that occur during any given work day within the Penny Arcade company machine. Fans can only hope that episodes of the reality show will be released with more frequency than the podcast, which is notorious for taking months between servings.
If you’d like an up-to-date taste of Gabe and Tycho in their natural forms, you can listen to the Dungeons & Dragons Podcast, where they’re joined by PvP‘s Scott Kurtz and Wil Wheaton.
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
September 6th, 2009 by The Grey Ghost
By now, most people have heard the history of how the Sony PlayStation came to be. It was originally supposed to be a CD-ROM add-on for Nintendo’s SNES, but Nintendo dropped Sony to develop the hardware with another company. Shaking its fist and vowing revenge, Sony continued working on the project on its own. Fast-forward 15 years, and the PlayStation brand is now almost as synonymous with video games as Nintendo once was.
Various images of prototypes of the Nintendo PlayStation have surfaced; the most notable are the ones with game-rave.com watermarks. But I recently came across a diagram of rare, early versions of the PlayStation logo.
You can see that through all iterations of the logo, the designers wanted to preserve the “PS” and include the three subtractive primary colors. It wasn’t until the final design that we see the inclusion of green (an additive primary color). In samples like first in the top row and the last in the second row, they wanted to integrate the ellipses found in the SNES/Super Famicom logo.
Ah, the 1990s… Good times.
Posted in Games | No Comments »
September 5th, 2009 by The Grey Ghost
??? and ??? as Mia and Maya Fey
I have no idea who these two ladies are, but they’re spot-on for Mia and Maya Fey from the Phoenix Wright games. It could be the make up or camera angle, but they even look like they could actually be related.
If anyone can help me identify these to lovely mystics, please email me!
Posted in Cosplay, Cosplay of the Week | No Comments »
September 4th, 2009 by The Grey Ghost
If you happen to be in Japan this November, the Force will be with you.
Kotobukiya, a company that specializes in producing and importing high-quality statues, has crafted a set of chopsticks in the form of lightsabers. Ramen-hungry nerds will have their choice of three from the set: Darth Vader (red), Luke Skywalker (blue), and Yoda (green). Fans like myself hold high hopes for the possibility of a purple Mace Windu set.
Unlike the versions seen above, the blades will actually be translucent in the final product, to best reflect their Jedi inspirations.
Each set is the standard 20-23cm chopstick length and will run for approximately $10 per pair. The chopsticks will be released in late November in Japan, though you’ll most likely be able to get your hands on a set through your favorite online importer.
Posted in Food, Random | No Comments »
September 2nd, 2009 by The Grey Ghost
This past Monday, an official announcement was made that Disney has acquired Marvel Entertainment for approximately $4 billion. That feels…weird.
The knee-jerk reaction to this news is one of heartbreak. For the past couple of decades, Disney has had the reputation for focusing their empire into the ruling class of family-friendly entertainment. It’s been hard to find anything that’s come out of the Magic Kingdom™’s merchandise machine that hasn’t been goofy-grinned cartoon animals or pop star tweens. What will this wholesome gestalt for nuclear family values do with characters like Wolverine, Deadpool, and The Punisher?
If this had happened a few years ago, while Disney was under Michael Eisner, I’d immediately begin mourning. That era saw the acquisition of Jim Henson’s company, which we can now thank for turning the Muppets into an endangered species, teetering on the brink of extinction. Now that Eisner is gone and Pixar’s John Lasseter is Disney’s chief creative officer, we may be able to breath easier in how Marvel will be handled.
Stan Lee has already given the deal his blessing.
In their announcement, Disney assured us that while they will own and take advantage of Marvel’s gigantic catalog of intellectual properties, they’ll let the company manage itself. They noted that Marvel already has a sharp staff and system of operation, so they’ll be left alone to continue doing what they do best. All previous license deals for movies, video games, etc, will be respected and Disney will wait until they’ve expired to reclaim control over them.
This is where I get a little paranoid. The greater sources of Marvel’s income over the past decade have come from movies, video games, and other forms of media. Many of the licenses that are currently in play don’t expire until 2019. It’s suspicious that Disney would jump to acquire a property that they won’t be able to fully capitalize upon for another decade. Especially since there’s no telling how viable the Marvel brand will be in 5-10 years.
I wonder if it wasn’t the brand or the characters that Disney wanted from Marvel as much as something from their infrastructure. Maybe Marvel has other assets that Disney found valuable. Publishing facilities? Business relationships? Creative resources? It’s just a thought.
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
