Coffee Talk#167: Who’s Your Favorite Boutique Publisher?

Here’s another simple Coffee Talk topic for you: who’s your favorite small publisher? In the gaming industry, it seems like every other story is about Activision or Electronic Arts, but smaller publishers are important to the business as well. I love that Atlus bring quirky Japanese games to America. I love that Nicalis helps small games like Cave Story get attention.

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, the NXT season one rookies being renamed “The Nexus”, the stupidity of penalty-kick shootouts, or class action suits against Apple, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Here’s another simple Coffee Talk topic for you: who’s your favorite small publisher? In the gaming industry, it seems like every other story is about Activision or Electronic Arts, but smaller publishers are important to the business as well. I love that Atlus bring quirky Japanese games to America. I love that Nicalis helps small games like Cave Story get attention. Small publishers give gamers access to lesser known games and developers. Publishers like Atlus and Nicalis add variety and character to a cookie-cutter business.

As for my favorite boutique publisher, I’m going to go with NIS America. I love Nippon Ichi Software games, especially Disgaea and its various spin-offs. The company brings over loads of great RPGs that are different, cute, and fun. Plus, prinnies are awesome.

Now it’s your turn! Who’s your favorite small publisher?

Will Pron Usher in the Age of HTML5?

[Warning: This story contains an image of adult actresses in bras and panties — possibly NSFW.] Hundreds of companies and millions of consumers are waiting for the Internet to exploit the advantages of HTML5. A huge, but relatively undiscussed factor, in phasing out Adobe Flash and adopting HTML5 is the adult entertainment industry. Let’s face it, for millions of people the Internet is for porn. At least one adult movie publisher can’t wait for HTML5 to proliferate. In an interview with Conceivably Tech, Digital Playground founder and director Ali Joone said:

HTML 5 is the future. We are waiting for browsers to catch up. As soon as they are ready, we will move everything to HTML 5.

Mobile browsers run HTML 5 very well. Flash brings everything to a crawl and has an impact on battery life. With HTML 5, there is no reason to show our content in Flash.

A lot of people believe that Blu-Ray succeeded over HD-DVD because of gamers and adult videos. Perhaps the war for Internet video will be determined by similar factors. Do you think the adult entertainment industry will spell the end of Adobe Flash? Will adult movie directors and actresses band together to push HTML5? Perhaps I should take a trip to the Valley and do some investigative journalism….

Source via Slashdot

Sony Details PlayStation 3 Firmware 3.40 Update

Sony Computer Entertainment America just sent out a press release with details on PS3 firmware update 3.40. The update includes the following:

  • PlayStation Plus: A new subscription service package on PlayStation Network, PlayStation Plus offers gamers exclusive services and content on June 29, 2010, worldwide. PlayStation Network users will be able to purchase membership* to PlayStation Plus, providing members with new options to enhance their gaming experience and enable them to gain a special set of features and content. All PlayStation Network users will continue to have free access to its unmatched and expanding suite of new and exclusive content, services and community focused tools – including online game play – while PlayStation Plus subscribers will gain access to an exclusive and expanding set of evolving features, content and functionality.
  • Photo Gallery: A new network based photo sharing feature is now available on the Photo Gallery. The enhancement allows PS3 users to upload, browse and comment on photos on sites such as Facebook and Picasa Web Album. PS3 users can also opt to share their photos between their PlayStation Network friends.
  • Video Editor & Uploader: Video Editor and Uploader is a new function found on the XrossMediaBar (XMB), which enables users to edit, save and upload video files stored on the PS3 system to sites such as Facebook or YouTube.
  • Five Star Rating Support: Users can rate PlayStation Store content they have purchased with one to five star ratings.
  • Power Save Settings: The default setting for PS3 System Auto-Off will be set at two hours, providing users with additional power save options and further improving power save features on the PS3 system.

The company is also updating its Facebook application. Here’s the skinny on that:

In addition to the latest features introduced in PS3 system software update (v3.40), a separate, new PlayStation Network application will be made available on Facebook Platform. This builds upon what was previously launched with Trophies and the ability to share purchases from the PlayStation Store. Users can further integrate their PlayStation Network and Facebook accounts with this new application. The application allows them to display their PlayStation Network profile on Facebook, find out which of their Facebook friends have a PlayStation Network account and send them a PlayStation Network friend request, view the PlayStation Network friends’ online status, and add the PlayStation Network application tab on their Facebook Profile.

As always, I’d love to hear what you think of these new features. Any of ’em have you excited?

Read My Green Day: Rock Band Review on Machinima (Please)

I meant to post this last week, but forgot. Do you have the time…to listen to me whine? If so, I’d super appreciate you checking out my review of Green Day: Rock Band for Machinima.com. I enjoyed the game, but wished MTV and Harmonix went with a Guitar Hero: Metallica approach and included artists that influenced the band (Sex Pistols, Ramones, The Clash, etc.). It would have broadened the game’s appeal and made it look less ridiculous following The Beatles: Rock Band.

Source

Apple Sells 1.7-Million iPhone 4 Units in Three Days

As expected, Apple’s iPhone 4 has conquered the world. The company issued a press release that revealed that 1.7-million iPhone 4 units were sold between its launch on June 24 and Saturday June 26. Apple CEO  His Royal Worshipfulness High Commander Steve Jobs said:

This is the most successful product launch in Apple’s history. Even so, we apologize to those customers who were turned away because we did not have enough supply.

1.21 gigawatts 1.7-million units is just a hugely impressive number that’s a testament to Apple’s brand marketing. Despite being saddled with a network that simply blows chunks in New York City and San Francisco, as well as the reported problems with the phone’s display and reception, I completely expect Apple to dominate the consumer smartphone market. Sure, there will several strong competitors that do well and I’m certain Google Android’s installed base will continue to rise, but as far as a single smartphone model goes, I sincerely doubt anything will come close to the iPhone 4.

Pokemon Black/White Dated for September 18…in Japan

Nintendo of Japan has announced that Pokemon Black and Pokemon White will be released on September 18, 2010. If the company’s pattern holds true then expect a North American release around April 2011. *sigh* I’m kicking myself for dropping Japanese class after one semester. Being able to read Japanese would have been incredibly useful in this line of work. Ah well…capricious youth.

Samsung On All Four Major American Carriers with the Galaxy S

Samsung has hit a rare grand slam by getting variations of its Galaxy S Google Android phone on all four major American mobile carriers. In addition to the Sprint Epic 4G and T-Mobile Vibrant that I wrote about earlier today, the Galaxy S is hitting AT&T as the Captivate and Verizon as the Fascinate. I’m pretty sure the Galaxy S is the first smartphone to hit all four majors since the HTC Touch Pro 2 (correct me if I’m wrong).

For Samsung, it’s an aggressive move that backs up the company’s stated goal of capturing at least 10 percent of the smartphone market. Being on all four major American carriers is just huge. Furthermore, Samsung hasn’t been doing well in America with its high-end phones. For years I was jealous of the excellent Samsung phones released in Asia and Europe. For various reasons, most of them never made it (in subsidized form) to an American carrier. The Galaxy S should help bolster the company’s image with American consumers.

For Google, it’s another big step in the burgeoning Android market. While a ton of attention is being (deservedly) focused on Apple’s early success with the iPhone 4, the Android space is having an excellent year in 2010.

Danny Fong Rocks the Pokemon Theme Song A Capella

My old Pokemon nemesis Jimbo sent me a link to this completely awesome a capella performance of the original Pokemon cartoon theme song (North American version). Danny Fong did an excellent job with this and should win a medal or a trophy or something. Check it out and let me know what you think (please)!

T-Mobile Differentiates Samsung Vibrant with Avatar and The Sims

Last week T-Mobile unveiled the initial specs on the Samsung Vibrant, its variant of the Google Android Samsung Galaxy S phone. While it’s not the most interesting take on the Galaxy S (see Sprint’s Epic 4G, for better hardware), T-Mo is trying to differentiate the Vibrant through value-added features including Avatar and The Sims. Here are some tidbits from the official site:

  • Preloaded with T-Mobile exclusive The Sims 3 Collector’s Edition from EA
  • Preloaded with James Cameron’s Avatar
  • Watch live and on-demand TV with MobiTV
  • Read the most popular books with Kindle for Android
  • Access to GoGo Inflight Internet and Slacker Radio

Finally, you can watch Avatar the way James Cameron intended — on a four-inch screen in a video format that’s compressed as hell to fit on a 2GB MicroSD card. Ha!

As a T-Mobile customer (that’s on the verge of leaving), I was curious to see what the company would do with the Galaxy S. Unfortunately, the Vibrant is missing some key features. While some people find front-facing cameras to be gimmicky, I’m looking forward to using them through Skype. The curious omission is the camera flash. I have no idea why that was dropped — it just seems silly to me. The Vibrant’s lack of a front-facing camera and LED flash make the Vibrant less appealing to me.

Having said that, this will still be a great phone with a beautiful screen and an excellent CPU/GPU combo. Any T-Mo customers out there drooling over this one?

Source

This Week’s Videogame Releases

There are oodles of interesting games out this week — a perfect way to add some sizzle to your summer. On the multiplatform front, you have LEGO Harry Potter and Singularity. There are also several interesting exclusives out for all three major platforms: PlayStation 3 has Trinity Universe, Xbox 360 has Ninety-Nine Nights II, and Wii has Sin & Punishment: Star Successor (Treasure rules!!!).

As much as I can’t wait to play Sin & Punishment, my recommendation for the week is Hot Shots Tennis: Get a Grip for PlayStation Portable. It’s super fun in that Mario Tennis (the handheld versions) way. A (not a) review of this fine game is on the way.

Are any of you picking up new games this week? Let me know what’s on your wishlist (please)!