themblan's blog

Much of this is common sense, but it is worth reiterating. What is the biggest obstacle to videogames becoming mainstream? Cost. To play anything, from a mobile game to a AAA title, one needs an electronic device (hardware) to play the game (software). Not only is the hardware expensive, but it is a hassle to have to buy, and there are too many choices. Back when Nintendo reigned supreme, part of the reason was that there weren't many choices, at least in US. Sega Master System was a tiny blip on the radar; the NES owned the market. Nowadays, there are countless different smartphone-manufacturers, tablets, PCs, and the three traditional console-manufacturers: Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft. To watch a movie, you only need money. You pay money for a ticket, and then sit down and watch. Let's round up and say a ticket is $15. To read a book, it's the same thing. You pay money for a book, and then you can read it. Let's say a paperback novel is $10. Let's say...

Contrary to the opinion of a popular, deceased film-critic, videogames are art, and thus should not be judged purely from a left-brained, mathematical perspective. This left-brained thinking seeped into even the development-side of things, especially in the last generation. When viewed solely as products, many developers and publishers rushed to include features from competing games, just for the sake of competition. For example, the Tomb Raider reboot included unnecessary multiplayer. Why? To discourage people from trading it in to Gamestop or selling it, and to check-off a box which increasing amounts of companies sought to check off, which was including online multiplayer modes for the sake of them. This capitalistic scramble to 'keep up' has increased the production-costs of games, but they have not necessarily benefited the gamer nor the evolution or amelioration of gameplay as a whole. Because developers constantly look at other games and copy them, many games, es...

I do not like spreading negativity out there, but I needed to warn people about this device. I bought this for 80 dollars on ebay; I'm not gonna link from whom, because he or she does not deserve more sales of this awful device. When it works, it works, albeit with flaws. The image produced is sharp, as a component-video signal should be, and the colors are accurate, except that there is a green tint to the entire picture. I've read that one has to open these things up and adjust the 'pots' inside (an electrical term) with a screwdriver. I never really tried doing that or minded the green tint too much, because it's very subtle. What I did mind a lot, was the fact that sometimes, it won't work, and I'll only get audio. This is a big problem. I wouldn't mind the colors being a little off, or there being some 'noise' in the video-signal, but when the success-rate of the thing actually working is 50%, it's a deal-breaker. I paid 80 dolla...

Yesterday night, I finished Shining Force III on the US Sega Saturn. I played a patched version of the North American release by The Shining Force III Translation Project . Apparently, Sega changed the game knowing that they wouldn't release the other two scenarios. This patched version, apparently, undoes those changes. I really dig the PS1/Saturn/N64 era of games. It's when hardware-accelerated 3D became mainstream, and sprite-based graphics really started to look gorgeous. Shining Force III, like many games of its time, combined 2D sprites on 3D backgrounds to great effect. You kept the aesthetic appeal and detail of 2D sprites with the immersive effect of rotatable 3D backgrounds. The credits of the game credit Camelot and Sonic Co. Ltd. for developing the game. Camelot began using prerendered sprites around that time (think Donkey Kong Country). A more well-known example - Golden Sun on Game Boy Advance, used the same method we saw in SFIII. It looks good, especially...

As a recently new Sega Saturn owner, I knew I had to get the Sega Saturn 3D Control Pad because it was the definitive controller for playing Nights Into Dreams. I decided to purchase the more aesthetically-pleasing Japanese version. Upon first inspection, it is noticeably big - bigger than it should be. Sega was probably going for form over function here, because the round shape does look like a mini-spaceship or UFO, which goes with their theme of space with the Saturn itself, but it is not the most ergonomically comfortable controller out there. For example, when playing six-button fighting-games, it is difficult to hold the controller in the left hand and 'piano' the buttons with the right. The d-pad is a little different from the American Model 1 and Japanese Model 2 controllers'. It feels a little stiffer. Of the three controllers I have tried, it has my least favorite d-pad. On the plus-side, however, it features the best start-button of the three. ...

Satoru Iwata and Nintendo achieved great success with DS and Wii using a blue-ocean strategy of developing and catering a product to a greater audience. The blue-ocean strategy, therefore, can work, when done right. The problem is doing it right. The blue-ocean strategy caters to the sheeplike mentality of the majority of the populace, and like ruminants, they will move on to greener pastures; they won't stick around for Wii 2 - that's what the hardcore fanbase is for. Nintendo incorrectly assumed that the sheep they attracted would stick around for Wii U. I can't think of another form of entertainment that purposefully tries to cater to audiences outside its core demographic. Does InStyle magazine try to branch out and attract male readers? Does The View try to appeal to male viewers? Does the NBA try to appeal to females? The answer is no to all of the above, yet they probably have a viewerbase that is diverse in number, if not percentage. Why? It's because the...

Recently, I bought a Model 2 American Sega Saturn, but it came with a Model 1 controller. It was pretty good, but I liked the look of the Model 2 Japanese controller, and the d-pad seemed more comfortable. After ordering one on ebay, and opening the package I later received, I was taken aback at how 'creamy' the controller looked. It didn't look like it had changed color, like old NESes, but it didn't look as white as I had imagined. Even the photo above looks whiter than it actually is. The d-pad is better than the Model 1's, but not by too much. The face-buttons feel the same, but the Start-button is a big improvement. The biggest improvement comes in the form of the shoulder-buttons. I don't think the actual internal switches have changed, but now you don't have to press the buttons on the rear of its plastic-shell to get them to actuate. In general, they feel and sound like mouse-buttons. You won't want to use them in action-games, but f...