Archive for December 2009

Developers Discuss Cody in Super Street Fighter IV

December 10, 2009 Uncategorized No comments
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Just a couple weeks ago, Capcom confirmed the addition of new characters to its upcoming Super Street Fighter IV. Included in the mix are Final Fight heroes Cody and Guy. It’s a shame that Mike Haggar couldn’t complete the Final Fight reunion, but I suppose we’ll have to make do with Zangief’s alternate costume.

What’s somewhat curious is the Capcom’s decision to continue using Cody’s “Alpha” costume, which portrays him as an escapee from a 1920s chain gang. Unless Cody’s just a huge fan of O’ Brother, Where Art Thou?, I can only assume that the current installment of the Street Fighter games is just as much about time travel as it is about punching with fire. This may also explain why Sakura hasn’t aged a day in the ten years that take place between Street Fighter Alpha 2 and Street Fighter IV.

Fortunately, the developers of Super Street Fighter IV have saved me a call to Doc Brown, giving explanation for their design choices in a recent interview. Mad props to SRK member Azrael for the translation, BTW.

The short answer for Cody’s prison garb in SSF4 is basically this: Kids today are probably too young to remember what arcades are, let alone the original Final Fight. The most recent version of Cody that gamers might be familiar with is the design used in Street Fighter Alpha 3, just a decade ago. You kids… You just don’t know the guilty pleasure of a good arcade beat-em-up.

The inclusion of Cody also meant revisiting one of the features that made his character unique in Alpha 3: The knife. Despite it being a painful hurdle for the games programmers, the dev’s believe that Cody’s ability to pick up and throw a casually discarded knife adds an additional layer to the gameplay. More than just chipping away at each other’s lifebar, his opponents can now take part in a “keep away” meta game, with the knife as a MacGuffin.

In a Cody mirror match, only one knife will be available. If both Cody’s reach for the knife at the same time, only one will receive it. The other better start making some distance. More than just a knife will be available… Other Final Fight melee classics will appear, such as pipes and wrenches. No word yet on finding meat in oil drums.


FLCL and Piracy

December 3, 2009 Anime, Games, Rants 2 comments
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I was doing some online window shopping with a craving for FLCL. I enjoyed watching the show when it was on Cartoon Network, but never got around to buying the series on DVD. This is mostly due to the series being split into three $30 volumes, with two episodes per volume. Surely by now the box set will be available at a discounted price, as with most other anime.

Alas, no. FLCL‘s been out of print for a few years now; its box set (new or used) selling for upward to $150. Maybe I should have bought it when I had the chance… And a few extra copies to profit from later!

flcl-02After some research, I’ve learned that the company that holds the FLCL distribution license in the USA has pulled out of American distribution. This leaves the possibility of future releases of FLCL in limbo.

So here’s my plea: Could someone please get on that? It’s perfectly obvious that the previous print runs of FLCL were insufficient in meeting demand since there is a large enough market willing to throw down a C-note or more to get a hold of one of the remaining copies. FLCL is a valuable property and would be well worth some other distributor’s effort to acquire its license.

The key, of course, is that once an American distributor possesses its license, they mustn’t sell the complete series set for more than $20. $60-75 for a 6-episode series ain’t gonna fly. But selling a highly acclaimed product for $15-20 a piece and it will sell through the roof.

Square-Enix figured this out with Final Fantasy Tactics and Chrono Trigger. Capcom figured this out with Marvel Vs. Capcom 2.

If this can’t be sorted out, it only encourages anime piracy. Publishers can’t honestly cry foul on piracy for costing them DVD sales when they refuse to produce DVDs to sell.

I make similar arguments for downloading old video games. I’ll illustrate using Red Earth (aka Warzard) as an example:

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Me: Hey, Capcom… I want to legitimately play Red Earth. Let me buy an arcade cabinet from you. I could buy a used one, but you might still moan about not making money from that.

Capcom: We can’t. We don’t make them anymore.

Me: Fair enough… Well, how about you produce a port of the game that I can play on a modern console? I would gladly pay the standard retail price for it. Or a cheaper, download-only version will do. I know a large community that would join me.

Capcom: Nah, we’d rather not bother with the expense of producing it. Sorry.

Me: Okay, now who is really keeping you from selling this game? Me or you?


I always discourage piracy of existing products. I like for people to profit from a good product with the hopes they invest that toward more good products in the future. But if a company refuses to sell a product then I call abusing previous releases to be fair game.

Otherwise it would be like your neighbor charging you with theft for pulling an old bicycle out of their dumpster. He wasn’t doing anything with it (in fact he pretty much abandoned it!), so you’d might as well use it. But if he wants to sell the bike and you ride off with it, then it’s stealing and preventing a sale.


Good Luck Cancelling Your ECA Membership

December 2, 2009 Games No comments
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Back in September, I blogged about my initial hunches about the Entertainment Consumers Association, and then again with a follow-up.

At the time, I’d attempted to sign up for my own membership under the promotion of one free year, care of a coupon code provided in a Game Informer article. Because of some technical issues with their website, I was unable to successfully set up a membership account. I’d made a mental note to re-apply some time later, but never got around to it.

It looks like I’d dodged a bullet.

Reports are coming in that the ECA has removed a member’s ability to cancel their membership and disable automatic renewal. The ECA will continue to charge you for your annual membership fee and you are forbidden from turning it off. That is, unless you write a letter and pray it’s processed within 30 days of your next dues collection.

As explained by ECA Chapter Manager, Daniela “Gypsyfly PMS” Lao, the reason why the organization has had to implement this method of detouring members wanting to cancel is because the organization has “grown too large to handle the volume”. (Screencap below.)

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My question then becomes, if you have a sufficient automated system for managing membership accounts, where is the need for manpower to handle the volume?

While researching the ECA and its related branches (GamePolitics, GameJobs, and GameCulture), I became frustrated with the frequent roadblocks in site navigation. The sites had multiple broken links or generic FAQs. It appears that in the past couple months, much has been fixed, hopefully with the enlistment of competent web developers. Though in hindsight, a blessing in disguise considering that’s what prevented my own membership.

I would be more sympathetic with the ECA if their policy were closer to this: A member signs up and pays for their first year up front. They can cancel long-term membership at any time and disable any automatic payments. Meanwhile, the current year of their membership is non-refundable and the member is entitled to all the benefits of the organization until that year expires. That sounds fair for both parties. I saw even before trying to redeem my offered free year that the cards were stacked in the ECA’s favor.

I fully support the spirit of consumer advocacy that the ECA represents. However, it’s situations like this that keep me suspicious of the organization’s motives and methods. There are non-profit groups younger than the ECA and its directors that exercise a firmer sense of organization. I look forward to reading Jason Anderson‘s press release on the subject and seeing how Ms. Gypsyfly’s role in the organization is affected.


UPDATE 12-02-2009 8:15pm EST

the-eca-hal-halpin-01ECA President, Hal Halpin issued a response to the press that erupted this morning around this issue. He states that the membership cancellation issue is the result of a group of people taking advantage of an exploit related to the coupon code I mentioned above. Essentially, they patched a flaw with another flaw. They attacked the symptom instead of developing a cure.

But since Halpin mentions implementing more automation in its infrastructure, I now put him and the ECA to task. Come on, guys… We can do this. Let’s get this worked out. With all the layoffs that went down this year, I’m sure you can scratch up a few competent IT cyberninjas to set up your websites.

Above all, don’t punish the legitimate members for the actions of a few criminals. That’s what the publishers that you guys are supposed to protect consumers from are doing.


Penny Arcade Reality Show Launched

December 2, 2009 Games No comments
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Nearly two weeks ago, Penny Arcade launched the pilot for its upcoming online reality show, dubbed “PATV“. More episodes are promised soon.

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If I may brag for a moment, during these past two weeks (and who knows for how much longer) my post covering the overlooked announcement of the then-anticipated reality show has dominated Google’s search results for the key phrase “penny arcade reality show“. It’s even eclipsed Penny Arcade’s own page announcing the series’ debut. Suck it, video game journos asleep at the wheel on that one.

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With that shamelessness out of the way, I’m thoroughly excited to see the reality show come to fruition! I’m a decade-long fan of Penny Arcade with Jerry Holkins as one of my top wordsmith role models. Viewing the behind-the-scenes vignettes covering the creative process behind the comic strip fills the void that their oft forgotten podcast had left open. I look forward to each episode as they’re released…as should you!