Has Yuji Naka Lost his Touch?

Next Generation - Yuji Naka Set to Quit Sega?
Yeah, on one hand, I am sad to see Naka-san leaving Sega. He did after all create my favorite videogame character. But ever since Sonic Adventure the series has gone downhill. Too much focus on secondary characters and non-Sonic gameplay. At least the next-gen Sonic game looks like a return to Sonic's old school roots. But guess what? If I'm going to play as Tails in a game, I expect it to play like a slightly slower version of Sonic that can fly. I do not want to slowly walk around in a clunky mech in a Sonic game.

What I'll be Playing after Oblivion

Two Worlds Preview (Xbox 360)
Excellent, another RPG for the 360. It even has 8 player online co-op! The videos at Team Xbox are short, but very sweet. Some excellent work going on with shadows and trees and leaves blowing in the wind. The game does remind me a bit of some of the lofty promises made by Fable, so hopefully it can match its promised design. Here's hoping.

WAR is Coming!

Mythic Entertainment - Warhammer Online
Exciting I suppose. I enjoyed Dark Age of Camelot a good deal (it was my first major MMORPG before WoW). The Warhammer universe is one of great scale and depth and I look forward to exploring it. The only caution I have is that this game borrows heavily from WoW's art style judging from the first couple of screen shots. Hopefully it doesn't end up being a shameless rip off.

Story of the Logo

Just wanted to let everyone know that my logo was created for me by my talented brother. He drew from my two passions in life, the 360 controller and Hawaiian shirts. Thanks, Mike!

6 Days to Oblivion!

The Elder Scrolls
This is apparently a daily thing and hurray for that! My hunger for this game knows no bounds. And look, horsies!

Playstion Is Portable on the Playstation Portable

IGN: PS Biz Brief '06: PSP E-Distribution
Interesting. I'm all for PSOne games on my PSP, but it does present some problems. First, these games shipped on 650 meg CDs, and some on multiple CDs. You're going to need a pretty large memory stick to download even one game. Second, the PSP is missing buttons from the PSOne controller, meaning that somehow these games will need to be tweaked control wise. At least I'll be able to "properly" boot games off my memory stick and not just ScummVM.

Why Do Console Makers Freak Out With HDDs?

IGN: PS Biz Brief '06: PS3 HDD Required
Well great, according to this article at IGN, Sony has indeed stated the HDD will be required, but never implicitly stated that it would be included. It is still up in the air. Here's some advice Sony, INCLUDE THE HDD! Little Jonny and his parents will be mighty upset Christmas morning when they discover their new game machine is missing the $100 add-on that allows it to actually play games.

PS3 Info Revealed

PS3 Conference Report - Date and More! News Story From 1UP.com
Well, it's official. No PS3 til November. What is surprising is that Sony has opted for a worldwide launch with only 6 million units. That would barely satisfy a single country's demand, let alone the world. I applauded MS for attempting the first worldwide launch with the 360, but I think we all learned that it just doesn't work. Supply is spread thin consumers are left angry. It seems to me both companies just wanted to get their systems out before year's end regardless of meeting demand.

I applaud Sony for apparently including the hard drive. It's a move I wish MS would have taken. I'm not sure what we're gonna do with Linux on there, but hey, whatever. It's also about time they admit they need an online service comparable to Live. PS1 and PS2 games in HD is nice and I would think expected now that thte 360 does it for the Xbox games it plays.

Now all we need are some games. Real games, no Killzone 2 movies or Metal Gear Cell commercials, thank you.

Total Annihilation 2ish

IGN: Supreme Commander Preview
Supreme Commander is one to watch. A new breed of RTS being design by Chris Taylor, creator of Total Annihilation. TA was a very special game. Air units acted like real planes that needed to land and could not just float in the air. Resource gathering was new an unique. And the graphics and music was incredible. In fact, the reason I ever bought the game is because I heard one of the battle songs from Jeremy Soule's brilliant score online and bought the game solely based on that.

Supreme Commander is a sort of spiritual sequel to TA. You can zoom in and out as close or far as you want, from tiny soldiers to massive robots. Everything is physically simulated. Units give ETAs to their arrivals and will coordinate arrival times (something I've clamored for). Mr. Taylor, you are my supreme commander.

Oblivion Teaser!

The Elder Scrolls
Now they're just teasing us. Go to the above link and download the new video teaser for Oblivion. This game is going to be something else. Just today I hit up Best Buy to put my 5 bucks down and a gamer gift card (that includes a $5 off coupon for any Xbox game $19.99 and up). This is going to be a long week.

Have You Spoken to Your Senator Today?

Video Game Voters Network
Now here's a political campaign I can get behind. This site provides all the tools you need to contact your Senators and tell them that you do not want to see video games banned or regulated by the government. Music, movies, and television have no laws limiting their sale and use. Why should video games?

Gasp! PS3 delay official?!

Sony Delays PlayStation 3 News Story From 1UP.com
Now here's some not so shocking news. It would seem that the oft rumored, sometimes denied delay of the PS3 is official. But I thought the system would still come out in Spring even though there has yet to be a playable game and it's March. Since we didn't know anything about games, the controller, or even the final hardware design, this news is not so shocking.

Obviously this is a boon to Microsoft and Nintendo. MS gets another Christmas without Sony here in the States and Nintendo only has MS to compete with on its launch. With more Revs and 360s in households and the expected high cost of the PS3, it may be a hard sell, especially if it comes out post Christmas when mom and dad have already dropped a bunch of money. The only thing that will save Sony is brand loyalty.

What amazes me is that they blam copy protection on Blu-ray for the delay. The Blu-ray is the PS3's UMD. A rather unneccessary format that is more designed to sell you movies instead of games. Sony has created quite the paradox. They need Blu-ray to sell the PS3, and the movie studios need the PS3 to seel Blu-ray. Me? I'll be buying the lower priced HD-DVD add on for my 360, thank you.

I would have thought Sony would have learned their lesson after the whole rootkit fiasco. Here's a basic truth. Copy protection does not work. Those who want to get around it do, and those who get hurt are the genuine, legitimate consumers. It's sad, really. I personally love how Stardock handled GalCivII. They feel that if you treat consumers right by not forcing them to leap through the hoops of DRM and provide them with content as a thank you for buying your software, they'll pay money for it. Bravo I say. Sony, take notes.

Greetings

Welcome to my GamePad (you see, it's a double entendre). Here I'm just going to scavage the interenet for gaming related news that pique my interest, link to it here for you benefit, and post what I feel about said news when I feel up to it. If what I'm taking about pertains to a specific article, just click the title and the magic of the web will take you there. Sometimes I'll be funny, sometimes you'll pity my sad attempts at humor, and sometimes I'll actually take a moral stand on something. Enjoy!