Category: Videogames

Coffee Talk #151: Where Do You Play Games?

Whether I’ve “known” you for a few weeks or few years, one thing we have in common is that we love to play games. You’re probably thinking, “Duh!”, but stay with me for a sec. One thing I don’t know about you is where you play games. Do you have your living room decked out with a crazy surround-sound system? Perhaps you prefer playing in bed while leaning on your favorite pillow. Maybe you’ve constructed an elaborate man/woman cave for gaming. Today I want to hear all about your gaming setup. So please take this poll and tell me about your rig!

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, Andy Pettitte rocking it at 37, WWE finally making Bryan Danielson interesting, or who should replace Simon Cowell on American Idol, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Whether I’ve “known” you for a few weeks or few years, one thing we have in common is that we love to play games. You’re probably thinking, “Duh!”, but stay with me for a sec. One thing I don’t know about you is where you play games. Do you have your living room decked out with a crazy surround-sound system? Perhaps you prefer playing in bed while leaning on your favorite pillow. Maybe you’ve constructed an elaborate man/woman cave for gaming. Today I want to hear all about your gaming setup. So please take this poll and tell me about your rig!

[poll id=”50″]

The Cover Athlete for NBA 2K11 is…Michael Jordan?

ESPN.com’s Jon Robinson just served up this hot rumor: Michael Jordan is going to be the cover athlete for 2K Sports’ NBA 2K11. The man formerly known as Johnny Ballgame reported:

While rumors pegged LeBron James, Derrick Rose and even Tyreke Evans as favorites to appear on the cover of NBA 2K11, multiple sources have told ESPN that the company has gone in a completely different direction, signing basketball legend Michael Jordan as its new spokesman.

Going with Jordan would be an interesting move. Older gamers would love it, but I wonder how relevant Jordan is to younger gamers. Wouldn’t NBA players like the aforementioned James, Kobe Bryant, and Dwyane Wade be more relevant? Even though I’m a longtime Detroit Pistons fan and despise “Air” Jordan, seeing him on game box in 2010 would be pretty cool.

What do you guys and dolls think of Michael Jordan possibly being the cover athlete for NBA 2K11?

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Front Mission Developer Diary 1: Bringing FM to an Action Setting

Double Helix and Square Enix kick off its Front Mission Evolved developer diary series in this video. The team talks about bringing the Front Mission universe to an action game. The previous installments were strategy games known for their tactical gameplay. This upcoming Front Mission game focuses on shooting action, but with strategic elements that stay true to the series.

Front Mission Evolved is set for a September 14, 2010 release for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Windows PC (in stereoscopic 3D). I loved the old FM games, but I’m not too interested (yet) in seeing the FM world in an action setting. Are any of you interested in this game?

PadCast: L1 Games’ Chett Muzzalupo Talks EA Online Pass

Remember that YouTube video that featured an indie game store owner ranting about EA’s Online Pass? I found it so fascinating that I tracked down the store owner and interviewed him. He’s a very cool guy and has an interesting perspective. It’s easy to think about Online Pass in terms of EA vs. GameStop. This PadCast gives you a different perspective on the issue. Here’s the official description:

Independent game store owner Chet Muzzalupo (Level 1 Games) recently delivered an inspired rant against EA’s Online Pass. The scheme is designed to discourage consumers from buying used games and encourage them to buy new. While this potentially helps developers earn more royalties, it also limits customer choice and hurts retailers. While nobody is going to shed a tear for GameStop losing out on money, the Online Pass can kill small game stores like Level 1. Muzzalupo shares his perspective as an independent game store owner, addresses the issue of used-game sales hurting the business, and talks about the future of the buy-sell-trade business.

I enjoyed chatting with Chett and I think you’ll dig this video. Check it out (please)!

George St-Pierre Wants You to Buy UFC Undisputed 2010

THQ’s UFC Undisputed 2010 is available in stores now. If you haven’t picked it up, George St-Pierre — arguably the best fighter pound-for-pound in UFC today — is here to sell you on the game. Watch GSP train outside the octagon and kick ass in it. Whether it’s the real GSP or the videogame version, I’m not going to argue with him. I like my limbs.

Rock Band 3 Will Have a Keyboard: Do You Care?

I liked the conversation you guys had with yesterday’s “Do You Care?” article about Killzone 3. It was simple and totally fit in with the spirit of the site (you guys!). So let’s try it again! The demo for Green Day: Rock Band teased that Rock Band 3 will have a keyboard peripheral. A few of my journalist friends confirmed that they learned this at a recent press event (I’m guessing the info was/is under NDA). Do you care that Rock Band 3 will have a keyboard?

Personally, I think it’s great. On the ridiculous side, people can rock out to Europe or Jem and the Holograms. Being (more) serious, there are so many great songs with prominent keyboard or piano parts. Hell, just look at all the great Elton John songs that could take advantage of a keyboard peripheral. When I first heard about the news, Bon Jovi immediately popped into my head; David Bryan’s keyboard and piano playing are a really underrated facet of the band’s sound. He adds a great layer to so many Bon Jovi songs and his contributions are often overlooked.

So yeah! The question again is do you care that Rock Band 3 will have a keyboard? Well…do ya?!?

Legendary Pictures Acquires Rights to Mass Effect Movie

Legendary Pictures has acquired the rights to make a Mass Effect movie and is negotiating with Mark Protosevich (I Am Legend) to write the film’s script. According to The Hollywood Reporter:

Legendary Pictures has picked up rights to Mass Effect, the Electronic Arts-BioWare video game. Mark Protosevich, the scribe who wrote I Am Legend and worked on Thor, is in talks to pen the movie, which will be produced by Avi and Ari Arad as well as Legendary’s Thomas Tull and Jon Jashni.

I’m thrilled that a BioWare game is going to become a movie. Considering how broad the game is, there are so many ways Protosevich can go with the movie. What would you want the Mass Effect movie to focus on? Any casting ideas?

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Coffee Talk #150: Do You Want to Control Games with Your Voice?

Google Android’s voice recognition is pretty outstanding. I’ve been loving it on the Evo 4G and I’m surprised that it works so well. The voice capabilities of the phone got me thinking — if voice recognition can be effective on a mobile phone with a 1GHz processor, then shouldn’t it just completely rock on a console with a multi-core CELL chip? Sure, games like Seaman and Hey You Pikachu were gimmicky, but I think the right developer could use today’s voice recognition and console power in a really fun way.

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, Crystal vs. Lee on American Idol, getting a job for Mike Brown, or American hockey teams, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Google Android’s voice recognition is pretty outstanding. I’ve been loving it on the Evo 4G and I’m surprised that it works so well. The voice capabilities of the phone got me thinking — if voice recognition can be effective on a mobile phone with a 1GHz processor, then shouldn’t it just completely rock on a console with a multi-core CELL chip? Sure, games like Seaman and Hey You Pikachu were gimmicky, but I think the right developer could use today’s voice recognition and console power in a really fun way.

A real-time strategy game created with voice command in mind would be cool. Whether it’s like Pikmin or like StarCraft, voice could totally work for the genre. Personally, I’d love a strategy RPG (Disgaea, Final Fantasy Tactics) that used voice controls. The game I see in my head (I’d show it to you, but it would be messy getting in there) uses customary SRPG gameplay combined with several voice-specific twists.

Do you think voice-controlled games could be fun? Would you even want one? Or is it a matter of a developer creating a cool voice experience and making you want it? Do you see a genre that would work well with voice? Share your thoughts (please)!

Insomniac Signs with EA Partners, Will Go Multiplatform

Insomniac Games (Ratchet & Clank, Resistance) has signed a publishing deal with EA Partners. After 16 years (spanning 13 titles) of developing games exclusively for Sony PlayStation consoles, the developer has decided to branch out with EA Partners. Incomniac founder and CEO Ted Price told Gamasutra:

It was the desire to reach more players. We’re extremely happy with the loyal PlayStation 3 fan base, and our goal now is to take our games to a broader player base — to go to Xbox 360 as well.

We’ve been building to this point for a while. We have multiple teams working at Insomniac. We have a team dedicated to this project. We are dedicating new technology for the Xbox 360. As a company, we are taking more time for all our projects to make sure we can really polish them up and make sure fans have the best experience possible.

This is a great deal for EA Partners, which gets to publish games from one of the best developers in the world. Although Price insisted that his company’s commitment to Sony will remain strong, it has to be seen as a blow to the PlayStation 3. Sony’s exclusive relationship with fantastic developers like Insomniac, Naughty Dog, and Sucker Punch helped differentiate its first-party games from the competition’s. It’s great that more gamers will get to experience Insomniac’s games, but it definitely sucks for Sony that it has to share the love.

Honestly, I’m still in a bit of shock. I haven’t had my coffee yet and this is big news to wake up to. How do you boys and girls feel about it?

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Today’s Poll: The Miz (WWE) vs. Miz (Lumines)

Today’s poll is for Miz supremacy! Let’s meet the combatants.

WWE’s The Miz (Challenger): To use his catchphrase, “He’s The Miz…and he’s awesome!” Whether you love listening to his excellent promos or love to hate him, The Miz has come a long way from MTV’s The Real World. He used his fame from that reality show to make his way to WWE Tough Enough. From there he signed with the company. Although numerous WWE Superstars have given him a hard time backstage due to his reality television background, The Miz has carved out a successful career and is one of WWE’s most entertaining performers .

Tetsuya Mizuguchi (Champion): Out of respect (and because he’s just a super-cool guy), I’ve listed Mizuguchi-san as champion. Formerly a game designer and producer at Sega, Mizuguchi went on to start Q Entertainment. Known for crafting extremely stylish and addictive games, his design work includes Sega Rally Championship, Rez, Space Channel 5, Lumines, and more. He also produced Every Extend Extra, Meteos, and Gunpey. To put it simply, his games rock.

[poll id=”48″]

As much as I’ve been enjoying The Miz’s work over the last two years, Mizuguchi-san has been entertaining me for way longer. I’m going to vote for him. Which Miz will you vote for?!? Make your selection in the poll and explain your answer in the comments section if you have time.