Ben

Yeah Nintendo are working closely with us on the project; and as well as the Sega directors, Miyamoto also has approval and sign-off throughout the process.

It took many months of convincing to get Sega to license that out. It was a relief when they finally agreed and Ubisoft picked it up

Tim gave me a really odd look when I asked about this on Wednesday night... and then asked if I had been transferred to SOA permanently. He seemed relieved when I said no I was still at SOE and only visiting for GDC.

I never suggested they did give a rat's arse. I was simply pointing out facts that no one else was (or seemed to be) aware of.

Yes, bad or lazy reporting is always a problem in these situations.

A couple of points that should be made: Sony always planned to do this and it was revealed last year that only the first batch of consoles would be backwards compatible from a hardware standpoint (i.e. with the "emotion" chip), before later re-moving the chip and moving onto software emulation for BC. This was in part to make the transfer from generation to generation initially smooth and avoid production issues during the initial launch phase. Also, the later move to software emulation for BC would drive manufacturing costs down. This was all reported last June and it was pretty clear that the hardware solution was a temporary one. (Links:http://uk.ps3.ign.com/articles/711/711242p1.html, http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=9602, and http://www.justplaystation3.com/early-ps3s-to-include-ps2-hardware/06/15/2006/) While this will apply to PAL consoles on launch, it will also presuambly apply to US and Japanese consoles from that period onwards as well (which I believe has been stated somewhere but I can't find the link right now). I'm no Sony fanboy, but I thought those points should be aired before this turns into a typical Sony bashing thread as I've read on other forums, which are frankly getting tedious. We all know Sony have made some dumb choices in the run-up to this gen, but taking news like this, blowing it out of proportion without all considered details and using it as a stick to beat sony with is pretty sad (...unless you write for UK:R, in which case it's fair game).

It is true.

...There was only ever going to be one winner. Last week Chris Remo, Console Editor of Shacknews, decided to pay London a visit and has since proceeded to gallavant around the Old Town doing all manner of crazy things, like eating chocolate covered scorpions and chunks of Kangaroo and something called "Love Bug Salad". Well now he's added another notch onto his London shenanigans: after inviting him into our small, humble, but well kept and perfectly brand new apartment, Remo, of San Francisco, California, was overcome by a strong bout of Extremo™. Here was the moment it all started to explode. Just look at that expression: The aftermath; part of our floor in three broken parts: Our home is wrecked. Anyone that would like to contribute to the "Fix Alex and Ben's Laminated Floor Fund[FABLFF]" should state so in your post. We appreciate your understanding.

Hmm, not seen it. But I have seen this: Arguably the best gaming ad i've ever seen (i.e. it made me get the game).

http://www.wordpress.tokyotimes.org/

Awesome, but this fails for me: there is no patch or even the possibility to use another feature as a 'patch' on my Mii

My sources within MS confirm this is true btw (also that a black X360 will be available soon).

And here's mine.

They weren't purchased like that - I don't know the exact details as Alex was responsible for them, but I believe they were blown up and touched up. I'll ask him for details.

My game of the year: Shadow of the Colossus Also, because we love it so much, here are two pretty massive art prints that Alex and myself have framed in our apartment: This game is simply magnificent. Without wanting to sound like a crap NGJ, I recall my excitement over this game when it was first released in North America - at the time I was in Montreal visiting my girlfriend, who I had ordered to secure me a copy of the game before I flew over. Upon arriving the second thing i did was open up the game and begin playing (only stopping to say "Oh my god, look look, check this out!" to my gf). The atmosphere, the scale of it, the animation, and the character design were all designed in perfect fusion with the over-arching story, which in turn, acted as the fulcrum upon which the entire game balance rested... and it was breathtaking. In games that have a distinct and pure vision (as SotC does), it's sometimes possible to see the cracks in the game play as the focus on the mechanics and the drive to create something so good can overwhelm teams and blind them to the most obvious; it can cause them to lose sight of the main point of a Video game - to entertain. But 'Team Ico' almost entirely avoid this pitfall - creating a game that could be described as deep, meaningful and artistic if one chooses to view it that way; whilst also providing a very immediate and involving gaming experience. This final point was one of the reasons that SotCs predecessor Ico was often criticised - for being a beautiful but boring game (from a gaming perspective). While I personally found Ico very involving, I can also see how the appreciation of and immersion in the atmosphere was required in order to truly 'get' the game. Without 'getting' this, few would genuinely be able to enjoy the actual game play based on the core mechanics. This is not the case in SotC - where one can enjoy both the unique atmosphere and the more traditional game play mechanics in equal measure. In a way, in Ico the story drove the action; but in SotC it's the action that drives the story. Anyway, I reckon I failed in not sounding like a crap NGJ writer but I don't care, and thankfully no amount of shit writing can un-make the brilliance of Shadow of the Colossus... the second best game of the last generation.

It was a pretty good episode, as with the rest (even though i prefer the tone of Consolevania). Crashing the Edge awards was particularly funny. In any case, here's hoping they get a Season 3 (i.e - E-mail feedback to the BBC on the show asking for another series ). The letter was actually just an msn chat we had; the original idea was to get an official statement from SEGA Japan, but they didn't respond in time.

It's actually pretty healthy down South ¬¬ Up North they're opening and closing up shop like crazy though, but there's always been that aspect I suppose.

I watched Heroes recently, which was enjoyable but not nearly as brilliant as everyone around me seems to think. I also watched some Dexter the other day, which I found much more intriguing and enjoyable to watch than the former.

I'm a games designer and consultant. Kroms: Working in the games industry has its highs and lows just like any other job; and the initial buzz of working "in games" quickly subsides as the day-to-day realities come into play. Still, it has its perks (well, my job does at least) and I absolutely love my job: every day is different, I get to be creative, and the 'routine' is thankfully minimal. As for getting into design there is no real standard process for it; in the old days (and to some extent this still exists today) the way to become a designer was to be a programmer and work your way up from programming small bits of a game, to doing your own level and learning how to 'design' (read: code) a level in the process and so on... until hey, you're a lead designer. There are other routes that don't involve being a programmer (I have no programming skills, nor do some well-known designers, such as, topically, Tetsuya Mizuguchi), but that way is much more random and I really have no specific practical advice to offer on that side. As Marek said, just try to get your foot in, gain some experience (even if it's testing experience), make contacts, be prepared to invest a few years doing that kind of stuff and then hopefully the stars align and you get your chance.

Bob's gig is BVG/Disney.

Depends. I don't know which reviews you've been reading (not that it matters since I haven't read any of them); but I played this a fair bit at the Nintendo press event and found it very unwieldy, very buggy and, for a shooter, it felt very unsatisfying (the Call of Duty guys on Wii have got the controller wokring much more accurately and intuitively). There was no real feedback and it simply felt gimmicky. Saying that it wasn't terrible, heh. It's just an average game. It's basically one of those launch games that will be in the bargain bin in a few months - definitely not a launch must have.

Latest response... It's not bad; it's just not as well suited to the Wii controller and the Wii in general as it is to the DS so it feels inferior in comparison. Basically, you get nothing from purchasing on console if you own or have played the DS version. Monkey Ball is fucking ace on the other hand, best Monkey Ball since the original and so very close to surpassing it. But then i would say that, heh.

I wouldn't bother with Trauma Centre Marek.

Yeah that was odd (the introduction I mean... because I have met Katie a bunch of times before). I know i'm really your favourite shshshshshshshshhhhhhhhhh

Jesus, eye blink shut again. GAh. Let this be an example of how fucking hard it is to keep a single eye wide open for pics, when said eye is the only one on display. At least my hands are above the table this time.