1st Aniversary Survery

Wow, a year has passed by already. This blog has seen many things in one year, from live blogcasts to hackings/clearings, etc. I really want to see some progress done on here in order to attract more people on here, so please fill out this survey. All answers will be accepted (don't use profanity or anything, however) and will be taken into consideration as to how this blog goes.

Nintendo Wi-Fi: Should it Stay Free?

In a recent interview with Shegiru Miamoto (correct my spelling), he hinted at if Nintendo should charge for its online service. I personally have to say no about this since Nintendo Wi-Fi isn't really a service worth money. There is little socialization in the service unless it involves Friend Codes or pre-written text, which can hinder games like the upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops on onlime multiplayer. In addition, some games like Super Smash Bros. Brawl have seen a lot of lag according to some people. It is fun to get to work with people on Xbox/Games for Windows - LIVE thanks to voice chat, even though there is the occasional pervert/troll/flamer/profanity abuser. Perhaps that is why friend codes were made, but it can hinder strategy. If Nintendo wants to charge for their service, they need to make it a bit more like Microsoft's, such as doing way with friend codes and making
voice chat open. Perhaps restrict friend codes for kids can be good, then have adults open.

Game Remakes: Worth the Effort?

We've seen game remakes and ports since the Golden Age of the Arcade, in which people wanted to play their favorite arcade games like Zaxxon, Venture, and even Dragon's Lair right at the comfort of their own home to not have to shell out all of their quarters. They were popular since the arcade version of those games. However, the Video Game Crash of 1983 occured during the Atari 2600 verison of Pac-Man and made people question video games and hype. However, remakes and such have changed purpose throughout the years. At first, they were made to play the games that were there at the time, but that is nearly non-existant nowadays. There have been Wii games, though, that have arcade ports from the modern age. Nowadays, it seems to have two purposes. The first purpose would be to remind older gamers and retro fans of the better days and nostalgia. The second, in my opinion, is to show
gamers about the better days. Now, the question is if it is worth the effort. Being an old school gamer,

iPad: DSi and PSP's Worst Nightmare?

We've heard all about how the iPad can do wonders, but it seems as though Apple really wants to screw over every gaming company, even though they're still eons away. One of the things that the iPad is capable of is HD gaming that looks a lot better than a PSP. Plus, since it is effortless to produce an iPod Touch/iPhone/iPad game and only requires review from Apple (and we all know about how weird they are in this process) to be posted, it can somewhat damage the two portable consoles. Another thing that can make it even harder for Nintendo Wi-Fi and PlayStation Network is that the iPad now has an online gaming service where leader boards and multiplayer exist for around 800 titles. That's more online titles than the Wii and DS's Wi-Fi titles combined! However, think about it; is the iPad really going to destroy both the DSi and PSP? On the first day of its release, many stores said that they still had a few iPads to go around at closing time. Now, when the DS came out, it was sold out just about everywhere; same goes with the PSP. So, do we really want to consider the iPad a threat? I don't think we should right now, since it will be mainly used with people that don't know squat about what a tablet-PC is all about. (I'm not calling all users that.) Plus, the price is a pretty penny, so I don't think that it will be a significant threat now, unless a whole bunch of developers make really, really good games that aren't just 5-minute time wasters.

Petman's Mind...now on Facebook!

Well, we all know about the world wide web and how everything is starting to connect to it, from the Nintendo DSi to the Microsoft Xbox 360. Well, I've decided to 1-up a bit and open up a Facebook page in order to do some things that I can't do here...like show that I actually have fans and whatnot. If you don't have a Facebook, feel free to make one so that way you may become a fan (well, now it is "like"), as well as connect to your friends across the Interwebs. You can become a fan by clicking on the box on the side-bar, which you can click at any time.

Arcade, where have you gone?

The classic arcade seems to be a nearly extinct species. While there are some arcade games that seem true to the classic games (Crusin', for example.), it seems as though all is lost. Arcade games were known for innovative (at the time) controls, such as the rolling ball in Crystal Kingdom or the light gun from just about every arcade game. There are still some arcade games that are becoming innovative, such as motion simulators for aviation games. However, arcades have been in decline since the Video Game Crash of 1984, and more recently due to the popularization of home consoles. Many companies that got their start-up in arcade found the popularization of video game consoles as a source for ports of their arcade games for consoles like the Commodore 64, Atari 2600, ColecoVision, etc. Microsoft has loved the old arcade for quite a while. In fact, during the mid-'90s, Microsoft released 5 games for the PC via floppy disc from Namco. More recently, Microsoft released Game Room for Games for Windows and Xbox 360 that (so far) has games from Konami, Atari, and games on the 2600 and Commodore 64. However, there are some characteristics that these can't really bring back, such as the massive joystick and indented plastic buttons, as well as blowing off all of your quarters trying to beat some kid's high score. However, there are some nice features that are added to these arcade games from services like Game Room and Gametap, such as pausing the game where it is, rewinding to undo a screw-up, etc. Even though there are online leader boards and local multiplayer, it isn't as fun as having a whole bunch of people you haven't met before meet eachother at an arcade and compete head-to-head while popping quarters like there is no tomorrow while eating a bunch of pizza in order to obtain tickets to buy the fabled plastic, $0.05 toys. While there are a bunch of positives about newer services, those services can never replace what has been.

Additions to the Mind

Well, I figured I should try to make the blog more appealing by making some changes. One of them is the first thing you see, which is a new theme that still reflects upon the same color styling that I have used since May 2009. In addition, I will be linking my YouTube and this blog together so that ways you make look at a few of the games that are around here. In addition, I have a slight intention to start performing video-blogging in addition to my text posts. If such a thing is possible, then I will attempt at getting this on iTunes, since hosting podcasts is as free as the download so that way you may see my face and thoughts wherever you go (as long as you have an iPod). Due to my lack of coding skills, I think I'll just leave that up in the air. Plus, I'm going to start making use of gaming news articles out there and give my own opinions on the stories to see if you appreciate it or not. If you have any other suggestions, then please feel free to give them here. Plus, if you don't mind, feel free to spread the word a little. Having 3 visitors besides myself isn't that great for my ego…