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| john ricciardi's home page - www.nokonoko.net |
...barely. I've been neck-deep in work these past two weeks, so I haven't had any time to breathe, much less update. It's 4:12am as I write this and I've literally just finished working. 16-hour days have been the norm and will continue to be so for the next two or three weeks until we wrap this project. I've got a few things to talk about, so hopefully I can squeeze in an update or two soon.
In the meantime, have a look at the view from my veranda. What you see there is called "the outside world" -- a place I'm desperate to return to soon...
Do any of you work the kind of ridiculous hours I do?
Another train shot, only this one from a more personal viewpoint:
As you might imagine, this is quite the familiar sight for me. Of course, missing from the picture is my right hand (it's taking the picture, you perv) and my trusty iPod, which provides superior background music pretty much 100% of the time when I'm riding the train.
What is it about Radiohead, anyway? Every time I pick up a new Radiohead CD (or in this case, "borrow" the mp3s, thanks to the Japanese version being copy controlled and ultimately useless to an iPod owner such as myself), I start out unimpressed but gradually grow to like it and eventually fall in love with it. I'd been listening to Kid A and Amnesiac a lot over the past few weeks, and when I finally got HTTT I felt like it didn't quite live up after the first few listens. However, now that I've gone through it a couple of dozen times, I'm really into it and feel like it's right up there with both of its predecessors. This exact same thing happened with both Kid A and Amnesiac when I first got them as well.
In any case, I'd like to stick a big middle finger up to whoever decided to copy control this CD in every region outside of the U.S. because your plan backfired and wound up costing you a sale from what would've been an otherwise guaranteed purchase.
john_tv: hail to the thief is growing on me
john_tv: a lot
john_tv: like all radiohead albums do
GG-Duo: yeah, same
GG-Duo: i mean, i feel the same way :]
john_tv: sadly i had to *** this one
john_tv: but that's their fault for making it copy protected
john_tv: so stupid.
john_tv: if i cant stick it on my ipod, im not gonna buy it, ***s!
john_tv: i dont feel bad at all either. make it a hassle for me and im just gonna go the other route.
john_tv: i already bought three of their cds and i woulda bought this one too
GG-Duo: yeah... i know what you mean
john_tv: you know
john_tv: i wonder how many people are in the same boat as me
GG-Duo: i bought the Special Edition... but all canadian copies have copy control
john_tv: id guess maybe not too many
john_tv: but it has to nag them that they lost out on a sale
john_tv: i literally went to the store with the $$ in my pocket with the sole intention of buying that cd
GG-Duo: you mean "not buy it cuz it's copy controlled!"
john_tv: and i saw the 'copy control' sticker and turned right back around
GG-Duo: ?
john_tv: yeah.
john_tv: i mean, maybe a lot of people do pirate stuff regularly, but not me
GG-Duo: i've seen quite a few topics on Radiohead forums talking about the same thing
john_tv: im on the other side
john_tv: im one of the faithful who gets screwed
GG-Duo: right. and it's not the band's fault either... apparently all future emi releases are going to have copy control
john_tv: i kinda wish i could tell them. im sure they hear it a lot tho anyway.
john_tv: id feel better tho :)
GG-Duo: the whole thing is stupid
GG-Duo: mp3s are freely available
GG-Duo: the copy protection isn't foolproof
GG-Duo: and it's such a hassle if you want to take it back
Look what I bought today:
So, I'm 20 years late. Sue me.
OK, OK. Actually, it's not for me. I already bought one (and a brand-spankin' new Disk System, too) about five or six years ago. Today's Famicom is for my good friend Christian, who is currently hard at work finishing up GameSpy's excellent Famicom Tribute feature that I mentioned in yesterday's update. I'm not gonna tell him about it -- he'll just have to come here to find out.
In other news, don't be surprised if updates start becoming a bit less frequent over the next few weeks. Today kicked off a string of three straight mammoth translation projects at work, which means I'm gonna be pretty much glued to my desk for a good portion of the foreseeable future. The good news is, as a result, you folks in America will have three more games with decent localizations to play early next year! Ho, ho, ho.
Until next time...
Today, July 15, marks the 20th anniversary of the release of Nintendo's Family Computer, or 'Famicom,' the Japanese equivalent of the classic Nintendo Entertainment System. Indeed, two decades ago on this very day, the most important system in the history of gaming made its debut in shops all across Japan, along with the first three games: Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr. and Popeye.
It's hard to believe it's been 20 years already. I could wax poetic for hours about the glory days of the Famicom and what the system meant to me and how it affected my life (see the previous entry on Super Mario Bros. 3 for a small sampling), but instead I'm going to point you to a few excellent sites that should help bring back some great memories and maybe even teach you a few things you didn't know about the little 8-bit machine that could (and did):
The oldest and best NES information site around, created and maintained by the same fine fellow who runs Video-Fenky (see below).
Gamers.com's NES 15th Anniversary Feature
A killer 25+ page feature highlighting the life and times of ye olde NES, back when it turned 15 years old in October 2000. Of course, Gamers' servers are slow as molasses now, but it's still worth the wait. (I uh, guess I should mention that I was involved with the creation of this feature, but don't let that stop you from checking it out ASAP!)
A promising five-part feature that kicked off yesterday. Nice art, good info so far. Definitely worth keeping an eye on.
And of course, watch out for V-Fen as I'm sure he'll be posting something worth reading in relation to the Famicom's birthday sometime in the next 24-48 hours. If not there, then perhaps he might be cooking something up at his day job...?
Now if you'll excuse me, I must get back to Super Mario Bros. 3...
EDIT: Look at what they're doing to commemorate the anniversary. If that isn't the coolest-looking Game Boy I've ever seen...
Today, one of the single greatest games of all-time -- Super Mario Bros. 3 -- was released for the Game Boy Advance in Japan. Super Mario 3 holds a special place in my heart for several reasons: 1) It's my favorite NES game ever (and I've played almost all of 'em); 2) It's my favorite of all the Super Mario games; and 3) It was the first import game I ever played, which led me to being interested in learning more about Japanese games, the Japanese language and eventually Japan itself. In a weird, roundabout way, you could say this one game is partially responsible for my being here right now.
Back in 1989, on a routine trip to Toys 'R' Us, I nabbed the very first issue of GamePro magazine, which had a two-page spread on the Japanese version of Super Mario Bros. 3. I remember seeing the Japanese box art for the game (below) and all the fantastic screen shots and falling in love on the spot. Of course, this was the first time I'd even heard of a "Famicom" (the Japanese NES), and I figured it was going to be months, if not years, before I could play the game, so I relegated it to the back of my mind and got on with my life.
However! Less than a month later, I walked into my local video store and what did I find? They had started renting Japanese Nintendo games! (This was -extremely- rare back then -- the import scene didn't really pick up until a couple of years later when the Super Famicom hit.) Of course, Japanese games were far more expensive to rent than domestic games, and they came with a funky adapter (the infamous HoneyBee) to allow you to play them on a U.S. machine, but as soon as I looked up on the shelf and saw "it" sitting there, nothing else mattered. There in front of me, like a gift from the heavens, was... Super Mario Bros. 3! A full year before it was slated to hit the U.S. (in fact, at this point, it hadn't even been announced yet). I quickly laid down the cash for a three-day rental and sped home to play it. I even faked being sick so I could stay home from school the next day and play all day. For a 14-year-old Nintendo freak, it was like a dream come true! (It didn't hurt that the game was absolutely spectacular, either.)
After three days of intense playing, I finally finished the game and brought it back. From that day on, I became enamored with Japanese games (there was always a feeling of 'leetness' associated with getting all the cool games months before your friends), and that's ultimately what led me to learn more about the Japanese game scene and eventually start learning the language.
Of course, I eventually started working in the game industry, and 11 years later I moved to Japan. My reasons for coming over here were only partially related to games -- over the years I happened to develop a genuine interest and enthusiasm for Japanese people and Japanese culture -- but I'm happy (and proud) to say that playing that game way back when was the spark that got the fire going in my inevitable journey to this place.
I guess I'll celebrate the occasion by playing a few levels of the new GBA version tonight before I crash. Natsukashii na... :)
It's that time again... time to buy a new keitai (short for keitai denwa, which means 'portable phone'). I got my last phone, the NEC 503iS, about two years ago, just before the camera phone boom kicked in. Back then I had no idea how cool it'd be to have a camera in your phone, so I just went with the camera-free model that looked the best. Now that the new 505i line is out, it's time to upgrade, but I'm having a tough time deciding which one to get.
This time around, I've got only three concerns: 1) the phone has to look good, 2) it's got to have a good camera (but not necessarily great -- see below), and 3) it's got to have decent e-mail functionality.
Last December I bought a Sony Cyber-shot FX77 digital camera (4.0 megapixel), at which point my need to have a good camera in my phone diminished quite a bit. Still, I'd like to have a moderately decent one in there so I can stick a photo moblog (mobile blog) on this site. The new 505s all have cameras built-in, but some are better than others. Right now it seems as if the Sony model has the best camera, but the phone looks like it was designed by blind chimps, so there's no way I'm going to buy it. Putting the screen on the outside of the phone? Yeah, brilliant thinking there, guys. Why not just include a handy scratching kit so users can get a head-start on their friends? The damn thing is gigantic and heavy, too.
No one phone seems to be perfect, but I've managed to narrow it down to the following three models:
From left to right: the Fujitsu 505i, the NEC 505i and the Sharp 505i.
The NEC is (once again) far and away the most stylish of the bunch (you can't really tell in the above picture, but trust me, it is). Also, it seems to have the best e-mail functionality, which is important to me because I'm an e-mail whore. I probably send something like 10-15 keitai mails a day. Unfortunately, the camera is pretty weak. It's a .32 megapixel CMOS, while the other 505i models are all CCD and closer to (and in some cases better than) 1 megapixel. Now, I'm no genius when it comes to this stuff, but my understanding is that CCD is better than CMOS. (If anyone can tell me why, I'd love to know -- seriously!) If I can take decent "phone-size" shots with this camera (i.e. 144x144 or whatever), I'll be happy, but there's really no way to be sure until I buy it.
The Fujitsu comes out on Friday, so I'll check it out then. Specs-wise it seems pretty decent. The camera is a 1.28 megapixel CCD capable of taking pics up to 1280 x 960 in size. Of course, again, that doesn't mean much to me because I've already got a far better camera that I take with me almost everywhere. The Fujitsu doesn't look too bad either, but the mail capacity is kinda small (300 incoming, 100 outgoing).
Finally, there's the Sharp. It's not especially stunning in the looks department, but apparently it's got the best screen (no surprise, it's Sharp), and the 1.0 megapixel camera is definitely more than capable of doing what I need it to do. It seems to be OK in terms of e-mail as well, falling somewhere between the NEC and the Fujitsu overall.
I guess I just need to find out if the camera in the NEC is good enough for moblogging. Anyone have any idea? I think I'll probably go for that one, unless I find out that CMOS is utter crap or something, in which case it'll be either the Sharp or the Fujitsu.
Ahh, the life of a gadget freak. Decisions, decisions...
Just a random shot of the inside of the express train I was riding today on my way into the office. Even though we were speeding along, everything felt so calm and tranquil. For whatever reason, I felt compelled to capture the moment with a picture from my camera.
Of course, said tranquility could've just been a side effect of the cold medicine I was on, but hey, what can you do...
Ever since I was little, riding the old SIRR back in New York, I've been a sucker for trains. Someday I wanna ride the Yamanote-sen around its entire route for a couple of hours to see what it's like. It goes in a complete circle around Tokyo, so you can literally get on it and ride it forever if you want. Might be a fun way to read a book or listen to a new CD or something...
What's the best thing about Roppongi Hills aside from the movie theater and a few of the more choice restaurants scattered about the premises? For me, it's definitely this:
(Click here for another, more zoomed-out view.)
What could possibly be better than a statue of a massive, menacing spider, right smack dab in the middle of the plaza?
In the above shot, it kinda looks like it's headed off to attack Tokyo Tower. Creepy.
Just got home from a rather cool party in Shibuya to celebrate the release of the "PlayStation 2 the Best" (i.e. Greatest Hits) version of one of my favorite PS2 games, Rez. If you've never played Rez, you should. Seriously. It's one of the most unique and interesting games in recent memory, and one of the few games that I'd say could truly be called "art." In a very basic sense, you could call it a 'music game,' though it's really much more than just that. Rather than ramble on too much though, let me instead point you to one of my favorite reviews of the game here for more info.
If you're in America, it'll probably be hard to track down a copy of the game (thanks very much to the marketing geniuses at SOA), but you should have no problem finding it in Japan. If you do seek it out, be sure to grab the Trance Vibrator peripheral as well to get the most out of your experience. (Just don't get too into it, or you might wind up like this girl.)
Keiichi Sugiyama and Tomoya Ohtani (DJOT) of Wavemaster performed live at the party, which resulted in a nice mix of really good house and trance music, about a quarter of which came straight from the Rez soundtrack. In the back room, they had a lovely lady on hand giving 'aromatherapy hand massages' for 500 yen a pop. Lots of cool people were in attendance (so many amazingly talented people were involved with the creation of this game, including one of my closest friends, so it's always fun to run into these folks), not to mention a seemingly endless number of extremely attractive women, which was definitely a plus. Only U-GA can throw a "game" party and have a crowd like this show up, let me tell ya. :)
In any case, it was a fun time, but now I must crash, for tomorrow is yet another long day. As for you all, go play Rez and let me know what you think!
Charlie over at Japaneze is definitely onto something with his Japan blog reviews. Every couple of days he checks out some other blogs from Japan and rates them on a scale of zero to four stars. Since he's started doing this I've been checking his site once or twice a day just to read his latest reviews. Truth be told, they're not very informative or useful -- but one thing they are is brutally honest and often funny. I'm not quite sure why, but I find them highly amusing and entertaining. Maybe because I've read a lot of these blogs before, so it's fun to see if I agree with him or not.
More importantly, though, his reviews got me to thinking about why it is that I do this. Oftentimes he'll critique a blog for being boring or unoriginal, and I think that's a fair complaint. At the same time, everyone's got their own reasons for why they blog, so it's kind of unfair to take digs at the less creative or interesting ones. Not everyone has a degree in creative writing or even a degree, period, and not everyone leads an interesting, action-packed, adventure-filled life, right? (Of course, I bet his response to that would probably be something like "then quit writing about your dull life and go out and get a real one," and I can't entirely disagree with that either.) :)
But also, some people just aren't interested in spilling the beans on all the sordid little details of their lives. I think I'm one of these people, in a way. I realized that there's definitely an awful lot of stuff about my life I don't write about it, and it kind of saddens me. I really would like to share more of my experiences here, along with the countless things I've learned from them, but there's just no way I can put some of the stuff I want to share online. Some of it is too personal... some of it would embarrass or offend others... some of it would get me into trouble with the law (hah), and so on. The stuff I want to write about the most is relationship-based. Not just girlfriends (though that'd definitely be the main portion, as my 'lovelife' -- and I use that word loosely -- is pretty crazy), but also relationships with close friends, family, God, etc. Those relationships are what have made me into the person I am, and I'm pretty sure they'd be a lot more interesting to read about than what I eat when I'm broke or what games I'm hooked on lately.
I thought about making a separate, anonymous blog that I'd only show to a super select few people where I could write about the girls I'm seeing, the friends I've been making, etc. etc., but I gave up on that idea as it's hard enough just maintaining one blog, let alone two. And besides I hate 'hiding' stuff... either I'm going to write about it or I'm not; I'm not gonna cover up my identity over it.
I really, REALLY respect people who have the balls to write every last detail about themselves online -- like their most private thoughts, details on their relationships, their families, their fears, hopes and dreams, etc. etc., but I guess I'm just not one of 'em. Though I'll at least try to let loose some more details on who I am and how I came to be this way as time goes by. I've already got the first (and possibly most important) entry in mind -- I just need some time to flesh it out and put together a coherent update for it. Until then, you'll have to deal with reading about what I'm eating, what I'm playing and so on. :)
More soon...
| ©2003 john ricciardi - all rights reserved - the only constant is change. |
