Rpad.tv chick magnets have been sent to LarcenousLaugh and Nightshade386. Another winner will be announced later today if the usual traffic holds up, so keep commenting (please)! For now, enjoy this photo of N8R’s magnet attached to his excellent five-string bass. I think he’s officially the Billy Sheehan of the site.
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, Big Ben’s concussion saga, trying out for the New Jersey Nets, or walking four blocks when you really shouldn’t, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
Thanksgiving is a special time for many of us. Getting together with friends and family, eating lots of turkey and trimmings, and watching football is what the holiday is all about for millions of Americans. For me, Thanksgiving was always a special gaming holiday. You see, I used to rent games at the local video store when I was a kid. The store didn’t charge for the holiday, so it was like getting an extra day for free (actually, it was totally like that)!
One of my favorite Thanksgivings of all time was spent (a little bit) with my wonderful family and (a lot) with The Legend of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. I played the hell out of that game from Wedensday through Friday. I’m pretty sure that’s when I developed the habit of playing games until I pass out with the controller. I had several Thanksgiving marathon sessions like that when I was in grade school and I remember them fondly.
Did any of you do the same thing? Was Thanksgiving designated as a national videogame holiday for you? I’d love to hear about your epic Turkey Day gaming sessions.
The fine people at Andriasang have translated Famitsu’s big Final Fantasy XIII
Pulse is full of giant beasts, some towering like mountains above the characters. The magazine has an interesting note about the Pulse creatures. They’re actually of the same origin as Cocoon’s creatures. The same type of monster looks different between the two worlds, as Cocoon’s monsters evolved differently due to their enclosed environment.
Of course, there’s more to Cocoon’s monsters than just natural evolution. The Cocoon government has been turning monsters into weapons by fusing them with mechanical parts. An example is the Behemoth III Reformed beast from the Advent Children demo. This creature was modified for army use, but it’s still a bit smaller than the King Behemoth monster you’ll encounter in Gran Pulse.
I’m fascinated by the concept of mechanized eidolons like Behemoth III. It’s a rip-off of Mechagodzilla, but in a totally cool way. At the very least, this concept is more interesting than the wacky gestalt mode and the tool hosting this otherwise enjoyable FFXIII video.
Anyone else down for Mechaleviathan and Mechaifrit?
Sony is having a PlayStation Store sale on select games from now until December 2. Here are the following titles and prices:
$4.99
$7.49
If you haven’t played Flower, I highly recommend it. It’s one of those rare games that deserves to be called beautiful (Ico and Okami also come to mind, but they’re more traditional). Any of these titles interest you?
Insomniac’s James Stevenson turned me onto this. It’s pretty awesome. Lemme know wucha think!
Alleged drug trafficker and former WWE Superstar Jeff Hardy has a new look and new DVDs to sell. Check it out!
What do you think of Hardy’s new hair? He kind of reminds me of Austin Aries now…but with less talent. Ha!
As expected, Nintendo’s DSi LL (XL in North America) has sold like Spam musubi in Japan. According to Enterbrain, the DSi LL sold 103,524 units in its first two days. Andriasang put the figures in context:
As a comparison, DSi sold over 170,000 units in the two days following its release late last year. PSP go, released earlier this month, sold just over 28,000 in its first day. Its weekly totals have since dropped to four figures.
I should know better by now, but I didn’t think the DSi would do well in North America…but it did. I have my doubts about the DSi XL, which (probably) means it will also sell well. I should stop second guessing Nintendo.
How do you think the DSi XL will do in America? Any of you planning to buy one?
Microsoft claims that its new Xbox Live features of Facebook, Twitter, and Last.fm integration have been immensely successful. Facebook is leading the way with more than two-million log-ins. CNet has reported:
According to Microsoft spokesman David Dennis, the first-week figures show that at least 2 million Xbox Live users have logged into Facebook, and that half a million Last.fm accounts were created in the first 24 hours of availability. Dennis didn’t address how many Xbox Live users have used the service’s Twitter feature, except to say that there have been “tweets from nearly every market where we have Xbox Live.”
I know that most of you aren’t high on these features, but it’s clear that they’re popular and an important value-add for the Xbox 360. While many enthusiast gamers might scoff at their consoles being used for anything that doesn’t involve a game, millions of general consumers are happy that their gaming systems have broad capabilities. This generation has really changed the idea of what a console is and I can’t wait to see how they’ll continue to evolve.
Do you think social networking on consoles is a fad? Or is part of an evolution (not the one with Ric Flair and Triple H)?
Here are the remaining Amazon videogame lightning deals
The revamped Atari.com lets you play several classic games for free. A recent press release stated:
In the Atari Arcade fans can play free games such as Asteroids, Adventure, Battlezone, Crystal Castles, Lunar Lander and Yars Revenge. The classics, often replicated but never improved upon, appear in their complete original forms. The Arcade includes worldwide leader boards where gamers can see how they stack up and compete against others.
In addition to these offerings, the site will sell clothing featuring the iconic Atari logo and offer special discounts on current games. Yeah, that’s nice, but I just want to play some Crystal Castles!
Any of your old favorites up on the site?
