April 29, 2006
Back from the Dead
I live! It's been almost two months since my last update, but to me, it feels more like two years. What a ride it's been. Work has been exceptionally busy, to the point that I found myself working around 16 hours per day, every single day, for nearly a month straight last month (including weekends). It was like one long blur of non-stop work. There were times when I wasn't sure if I was going to make it through, but fortunately, I did (thanks to a certain someone's neverending support and my awesome friends here in Tokyo), and now that I've emerged from the fire (mostly) unscathed, I feel like I'm ready to conquer anything. Not that it's over; I've actually still got another month or two of madness to deal with before I can truly rest, but with E3 right around the corner and everybody's demos and such out of the way, the very worst of it is finally behind me. Next stop: Los Angeles.
This year's E3 is the first one in a while where I'm actually excited about grabbing the controller and playing some games. If the Revolution actually works the way it's supposed to, it's going to flip the industry on its side and forge an entirely new path for gaming, not unlike what the DS has been doing for handhelds. Of course I'm excited for PS3 (who wouldn't be?), but my expectations for what kinds of experiences I'm going to gain from it are pretty straightforward. It's going to be a lot like what we're already seeing now with PS2 and Xbox 360, only on a grander scale. Bigger, better, prettier, online. Whatever, really. There's a certain need for those kinds of experiences, and I look forward to having PS3 as my main outlet for them. (Not to bag on Xbox 360 or anything, but I have very little faith in MS right now. It's becoming more and more clear with each passing week that they're going to get blindsided like a squirrel on a freeway when PS3 arrives on the scene, and for that I am very sad, because the 360 had so much potential when it first launched.)
With Revolution, though, we're looking at something entirely new and different. As I said, it kind of depends on whether or not the controller works the way they say it does -- but let's say it really does offer true 3D control without any weird drawbacks (like calibration issues). If so, it's going to be operating on a totally different level (a higher one, IMO) than the other machines. It's like gaming suddenly evolved and grew wings after years of being stranded on the ground. How can anyone not be excited about that? It truly will be a Revolution (and an evolution), and for something like that, I don't think I'll mind waiting in line for 40 minutes at a time just to get a five-minute crack at giving it a try during E3.
Of course, you build up all this excitement and confidence for the thing over the course of a year, and then they come out and decide to call it "Wii" and everything gets shot to hell. But whatever. If the games deliver like I'm hoping they will, they can call it whatever they like. Deep down it'll always be Revolution to me, and if a revolution is what it provides, I'll be a happy man.
In other news:
- Loco Roco rocks; I bought a new PSP (white version) so I wouldn't have to upgrade my old one (how else am I going to play Earthbound Zero on the go in English?), and I've been enjoying the Loco Roco demo ever since. It's a really great game, and I'm really happy (and proud) that it's being made by one of my closest friends here in Tokyo, the amazingly talented GMAN.
- New! Super Mario Bros. is only two weeks away, and I'm having difficulty containing my excitement. I am an old-school Mario FREAK, and I am going to tear that game apart like it's nobody's business the moment it arrives in my grubby little hands. I'm hoping to have my own copy before E3 (cough, cough), but we'll see how that goes...
- Have you checked out GameVideos.com yet? It's actually down right now as I write this (they're changing servers), but it should be back up within the next day or so. It's the latest labor of love from my pals over at ZD, in particular my fellow game nerd/soul brother Mark MacDonald, who, besides being nice enough to give me a floor to crash on every year in LA, happens to be one of the most talented people I know in this industry. Once it's back up, please visit the site and let them know what you think of it! Mark's one of the "good ones," so your support and feedback will definitely not go to waste.
That's all for now. See you guys again soon!
Posted by john tv at April 29, 2006 06:36 PM