Coffee Talk #10: What’s Your Favorite Gaming Franchise?

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Earvin “Magic” Johnson’s Judas-like betrayal of Isiah Thomas, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer’s latest “oops” moment, or The Rock vs. The Miz, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

I love Fridays…except for those following a NY Yankees ALCS loss in a perfectly winnable game. In order to stay positive, I’m going to think about a few of my favorite things. I’m not talking about raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens. I’m talking about the games that make up my favorite gaming franchise.

Final Fantasy Tactics

While I’ve enjoyed hundreds (thousands?) of games over the years, no series has entertained me as much as Final Fantasy Tactics. The games just work for me on so many levels. I’m addicted to the strategic gameplay. I love the art style. The world of Ivalice just fascinates me. The music, particularly from the first game, entrances me. And for some reason (that I’m still not sure of), I think Viera are sexy. Whether it was on my PSone, GBA, or PSP, the Final Fantasy Tactics titles works for me on every level.

To help you stay happy this Friday, I want to hear about your favorite gaming franchises. What’s your favorite series of all time? Why?

Housekeeping: New Ads and Layout

I have two housekeeping items for you today.

1) You’ll notice some blue links with double underlines throughout the site. I’m experimenting with an ad company while my traditional ads get sorted out. If you think these in-article ads are too obtrusive and/or annoying, please leave a comment here.

2) I’m also thinking of changing the layout of the site. Currently, I like that you can see most or all of an article on each index page. However, things can get pretty long and articles towards the bottom of the page might get ignored. Would you dig a layout similar to a category page? It would keep the index shorter and you’d get a better snapshot of the day. The downer (for you) is that you’d have to do a little bit more clicking. Let me know!

UMD Games Available for Digital Download on PSN

Marvel Superhero Squad

Sony Computer Entertainment of America’s recent PlayStation Store update includes 18 PSP UMD releases that are available for digital download. Most of them are older titles, but a few are current releases. Here’s the list:

  • Armored Core: Formula Front ($14.99)
  • Capcom Puzzle World ($19.99)
  • Crimson Gem Saga ($29.99)
  • FIFA Soccer 10 ($39.99)
  • Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories ($19.99)
  • Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories ($19.99)
  • Half-Minute Hero ($29.99)
  • Hammerin’ Hero ($19.99)
  • Lemmings ($15.99)
  • Marvel Super Hero Squad ($29.99)
  • Riviera: The Promised Land ($14.99)
  • R-Type Command ($14.99)
  • The Secret Saturdays: Beasts of the 5th Sun ($29.99)
  • Steambot Chronicles: Battle Tournament ($29.99)
  • Undead Knights ($39.99)
  • Yggdra Union ($14.99)
  • The Warriors ($19.99)
  • WWE Smackdown vs. RAW 2010 ($39.99)

It’s interesting and disappointing to see that the new releases carry the same prices as their retail counterparts. With shipping, retail, and other costs eliminated, you’d think that you might be able to save a buck or two on a game. On a positive note (especially for PSPgo owners), it’s nice to see third-party publishers making PSP games available for digital download the same week they hit stores.

With a new PSP game, would you rather have the UMD (complete with the box and instruction manual) or would you opt for the convenience of a digital download?

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Major Nelson Covers Up for Steve Ballmer: No Blu-Ray for Xbox 360

As I expected, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer misspoke when he said Blu-ray was coming to Xbox 360. Marketing guy Major Nelson just issued the following statement:

I wanted to clear something up. Steve was referring to Blu-Ray accessories for the PC. As we have said in the past, we have no plans to introduce a Blu-Ray drive for the Xbox 360.

Steve Ballmer 2

After that, the Major went into marketing overdrive and started talking about how 1080p streaming is the future of entertainment. I’ll spare you those remarks.

As I mentioned in the comments to the original story, I was expecting this to happen. Ballmer has a history of misspeaking on Microsoft consumer products. While it’s easy to say that he was speaking quickly and the quote was taken out of context, I just don’t think he completely understands that part of Microsoft…or maybe Nelson was just worried about him raining on the 1080p streaming parade (play conspiracy theorist now!)

[Thanks to Sandrock323 for pointing this out!]

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The Miz Dreams of Going After The Rock on WWE Raw

WWE The Miz

My buddy Jon Robinson at ESPN has a fantastic interview with WWE Superstar The Miz. Apparently one of The Miz’ dreams is to go one-on-one with The Great One, Dwayne Johnson (the wrestler formerly known as The Rock). The Miz said:

I think he’s too much of a girl now. He’s no longer The Rock, he’s Dwayne Johnson. ‘I’m Dwayne Johnson [in his best girlie voice].’ I think now that he’s Dwayne Johnson, I can take him. He’s skinny. He’s like a toothpick. He’s what, 150 pounds soaking wet?

Okay, The Miz was partially in character when he made those comments. Anyone that’s in the business has to respect what The Rock accomplished in the “Attitude Era”. I know some of you don’t like The Miz, but I find him thoroughly entertaining. While I wouldn’t be too excited about an in-ring confrontation, the mic exchanges between The Rock and The Miz would be outstanding. After all, he’s The Miz…and he’s awesome!

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Sony Unleashes Uncharted: Eye of Indra Motion Comic Prequel

Uncharted 2 Eye of Indra

Sony Computer Entertainment of America has released Uncharted: Eye of Indra, a motion comic that fleshes out the Uncharted universe. The first episode is available now on PlayStation Network. Naughty Dog lead game designer Neil Druckmann wrote the following on the PlayStation Blog:

For all of you wanting more Nathan Drake, you’re in luck — hitting the PSN today is Uncharted: Eye of Indra – a four episode Motion Comic — it’s an original prequel story to Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. We’ve been working on this baby for the past year and it’s been brutal not being able to talk about it.

There are a millions of Uncharted and Naughty Dog fans out there, so I’m sure a lot of people will watch Eye of Indra. I’ll be one of those people, but I’m not yet sold on the whole motion comics thing. Perhaps it’s nostalgia, remembering all those great times I spent curled up with comic books, but the format doesn’t work for me (yet). That aside, this is a great way for Naughty Dog and Sony to further expand and market Uncharted.

If you check out Uncharted: Eye of Indra, I’d love to know what you think!

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Dragon Age: Journeys Unlocks Content for Dragon Age: Origins

Dragon Age Journeys 3

BioWare has revealed that playing the Dragon Age: Journeys Flash game unlocks content for Dragon Age: Origins for PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. That’s right, all three platforms! Here’s a juicy tidbit from BioWare’s blog:

By completing certain accomplishments in Journeys, you can unlock 3 items for use when you purchase a copy of Dragon Age: Origins for the PC, Xbox 360 or PS3. By playing DAJ while signed in with your EA account, these items will automatically be added to your inventory in DA:O when you sign in with that same account. These entitlements work across all three platforms.

That’s a very, very clever way to get people to sign up for an EA account.

Are you going to play Dragon Age: Journeys? If so, are you going to take advantage of the bonus items for Dragon Age: Origins?

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Trophy Support for Final Fantasy XIII Confirmed

Final Fantasy XIII a

Square Enix director Motomu Toriyama has confirmed trophy support for Final Fantasy XIII for PlayStation 3. IGN translated some of his word in an interview with Famitsu:

Toriyama also shared some technical details on the game. Save data will take up 500KB. Trophy data takes up 3,080KB (yes, it looks like the game supports Trophies!). In case you were stocking up munitions for a big system wars battle, there won’t be a hard disk installation.

Trophies are always welcomed, but I found it odd that there won’t be a hard-drive option. If it decreases load times and optical-disc access, I’ll always go with that option. Curious, eh?

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Coffee Talk #9: Is Peter Molyneux Hurting Project Natal?

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Manny Ramirez taking a shower while his team is still playing, Barnes & Noble’s Nook e-reader, or Google’s upcoming iTunes competitor, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Peter Molyneux is one of the most polarizing figures in game development. He talks big and dreams big, but a lot of gamers believe that his games do not live up to the hype. Whether it’s deserved or not, he has a reputation for over-promising and under-delivering. With that in mind, is he really the best person to be pushing Microsoft’s motion controller, Project Natal?

Fable III

Molyneux recently revealed that Fable 3 will have support for Natal. He mesmerized the crowd at E3 2009 with his Milo virtual indentured servant boy demo for Natal. Microsoft seems happy with having him be one of the project’s faces, but I question if he’s the best man for the job. There’s no doubt that he’s one of the most ambitious and creative people in game development, so it’s easy to argue that he’s a good choice for an ambitious and creative endeavor like Natal. However, he has that pesky reputation. A lot of hardcore gamers already have issues with Natal, so maybe using the “over-promising under-delivering” guy to push it isn’t the smartest thing to do.

What do you think? Does Molyneux’s heavy involvement with hurt or help Project Natal? Is it better to have a dreamer like Molyneux pushing the project? Or would it be wiser to use a high profile developer that delivers results that are much closer to their hype?

AT&T Exec “Urges” Employees to Fight Against Net Neutrality

AT and T logo boxWhile companies like Google and Verizon are mobilizing to support net neutrality, an AT&T executive is “suggesting” that company employees use their personal email accounts to fight against it. In what can only be described as an amazingly dickish movie, AT&T senior executive vice president James Cicconi sent out an internal email that said:

We encourage you, your family and friends to join the voices telling the FCC not to regulate the Internet.

It can be done through a personal e-mail account by going to www.openinternet.gov and clicking on the ‘Join the Discussion’ link.

Wow…just wow. If you’ve been reading my stuff for TheFeed then you know that I don’t think much of AT&T. A high-level executive asking employees to use their personal email accounts to stand up against net neutrality makes me think even less of the company. It’s just slimy.

What do you think of Cicconi’s email? Does the man have no shame?

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