I was going to write about how great the dog days of summer usually are for video gamers. I wanted to say nothing is more satisfying than bringing home that awesome new release and sitting down under the protection of air conditioning on a scorching hot day for some cool gaming bliss.

The only problem is, I can’t find a database searchable by year and month to give any specific examples.

But for some reason, summer marks the primo gaming situation. Television shows are in reruns, school is out, it’s too friggin’ hot outside to attempt any physical activity, days are longer, allergies keeping you indoors; any one of those is a great environment for gaming. Maybe that’s why I always have a fondness for this time of the year. Perhaps it’s back in my youth when I used to go to computer camp (let the jokes ensue) and trade games with my friends, or playing Summer Games on my C64 during all-night slumber parties.

But even as of last year, we got some big-name releases in the summer. This is something I found interestingly absent from this year’s E3 – everything was priming for the holiday season. Even the Xbox 360, which saw a blistering amount of top-shelf titles in March and April, is almost completely void of any releases until Battle for Middle Earth II in July. It’s almost depressing.

Not that I’d be able to partake in any summer gaming festivities, because my new daughter doesn’t want to have anything to do with it. Hey, at least one can dream…

As much as I come down hard on the PSP, I still own one. And the mian reason I still do is because if it’s one thing it can do right, it’s ports of PS2 RPGs.

One such RPG that’s getting a release in Japan this week is Magna Carta Portable, a port of the Atlus title that was released last fall in the US. Here’s a sneak peak:

A lot of people have been chiming in on the HD-DVD/BluRay debate, about which one is better. I think one thing everyone has been missing was something Bill Gates said back in January 2006 at CES:

The last thing I want to show here that I’m excited about in HD-DVD, is a feature that is part of every HD-DVD, which is that it enables digitally legal copies to be stored on the hard drive of a device like a PC. In this case I can go to the menu, choose manage copies, there are offers that are available here from Universal, in this case I’m going to choose to copy the high definition movie, rather than the full disk image, and you can see here a user interface has popped up that enables me to complete this, the high definition movie is being copied to my hard drive, and now I can put the shiny disk away somewhere safe, and have complete access to my movie library in a compelling, exciting way, as I get more and more of these high-def HD-DVDs.

Movie companies hate this. Sony caved in to get studios to adopt the BluRay format, while HD-DVD is taking a more progressive approach and embracing technology rather than stifling it. As we are moving toward a society where everything is digitally distributed, doesn’t HD-DVD sound like the best approach?

…it will only kill Sony.

Yes, the PS3 is expensive. Yes, the price will shun some would-be consumers. But no way will it hurt the industry, as some analysts are predicting.

See, I don’t know if anyone remembers this but we used to be a two-console society. Three if you count the Gameboy. But now we have the Xbox 360, PS2, PS3, Gamecube, Wii, PSP, and DS. And don’t forget PC. Even though people may purchase every console that gets released, they won’t buy every title. That’s what drives the industry – software.

Gone are the days when a title sells a million copies for a single console. Now publishers flaunt their sales figures across every console. Pull support for one of those consoles, and if the title is good it will still sell in comparable numbers on the remaining consoles; I don’t think that any publisher is reeling from not supporting the Gamecube. But eliminate a console completely from the marketplace, and consumers – and software sales – will simply migrate to the most popular product. The potential that the PS3 may not succeed does not mean that those gamers who would buy it will go away.

And the driver of long-term profitability – software – should be happy about a two-console race. Eliminating support for a console means reduced development costs to support, and port to, the different platforms. It is this breadth of console support that is killing publishers, and quality suffers as a result – development teams are spread too thin, multiple versions of a title are still delivered within a single timeframe, retail space, porting discrepancies, etc. Reducing the risk of these variables will definitely help.

If the PS3 fails, Madden will still exist; EA, Activision and Ubisoft will still be making tons of games; and gamers will still satiate their need with their wallets. The only thing that will crash is Sony.

With the new Shadowrun poised to grace Xbox 360s and PCs next year, as well as Microsoft being the current license-holder for the FASA RPG, wouldn’t it be great if we could get the original released via Xbox Live Arcade? It would be a great primer for those who have never played it to get ready for the new title, even if it’s a completely different genre (multiplayer shooter).

RPGFan says Shadowrun is “one of the finest Sega Genesis games ever spawned” with a score of 93%, and is widely recognized as one of the greatest action RPGs for a console to date.

Microsoft, are you listening?

1UP’s James Mielke wrote on his blog how he reunited with Kenji Eno at this year’s Ziff Davis E3 shindig.

Why is this such good news? Because Eno-san made some of the most innovative titles in the mid- to late-’90s for the Sega Saturn and Dreamcast consoles. Kenji Eno ran a development company called WARP, responsible for titles like Enemy Zero and Real Sound. The former was a cool, Aliens-style horror title where the enemy couldn’t be seen, only heard. The gameplay mechanics were a little wonky but were definitely innovative, and the stress of having an invisible enemy has never been done better before or since. Real Sound was another Saturn title, which was notable for the fact it lacked any graphics at all – the player relied completely on sound to play the game, against a black screen.

WARP’s last title was the poorly-received D2 for the Dreamcast, after which Eno-san turned away from game design and toward a completely different direction. According to Mielke’s blog, he’s working on a title for the Wii, which I can’t wait.

So welcome back Eno-san! You have been missed!

I have to say, Sony is clueless when it comes to the practicality of their new motion-sensing functionality in the PS3 controller. Yeah, flying an airplane by leaning the controller every which way is a unique experience in concept, but it will fail in execution. Not that it’s a last-minute addition, and that developers will be slow to properly adapt the functionality.

So I hear readers’ collective gasps, “why?” I’ll tell you.

Contrary to popular belief, gamers are not lazy, they play lazy. How many of us prefer console versions of titles rather than PC versions, for the plain fact that we can play while sitting on the couch? Yes, if we can confirm one thing it’s that furniture to a gamer is just as important as the games themselves. A comfy couch or recliner is an essential piece of the overall experience. And with that comfort comes poor posture, playing games in ranging positions. And the wireless Xbox 360 controller has jaded us toward all other gaming experiences that came before it because it gives us that flexibility in positioning. The Wavebird almost as much, except we have to still get up to turn on and off the console.

Do you see where I’m going with this? I would assume the PS3 controller has some sort of calibration mechanism to it, but that does not accomodate for frequent repositioning while gaming. It would require a gamer to be in a single position during a gaming experience. Now, this same type of controller was released by Microsoft for the PC years ago, and it would work for that platform because PC gamers are usually in a set posture – feet on the floor, face forward, back straight. Office chairs don’t usually allow for the range in motion that couches do. In addition, a smaller display, and the use of a mouse and keyboard keeps the gamer focused in a single position.

Now I don’t see this same theory applying to the Wii, because that is a completely different beast. The Wii will force gamers to rethink how they play games. It will be a big hit with kids and non-gaming adults to get on their feet and wave the remote – as a matter of fact, the experience will be severely dimished if gamers maintain the conventional postures and positions. It is not meant to be played stationary, it will encourage whole-body movement by its very nature. It has been designed with this experience as its foundation.

The PS3 has retrofitted this functionality, and it will show. Gamers will not accept it aside from some niche titles, like Super Monkey Ball. It is a gameplay mechanic that is fundamentally different from that which the console was created. That means, the gamer will be fighting with two drastically different concepts, and this clash will bury it in obscurity. It will be the new R.O.B. for the 21st century.

Not to offend any young readers, but this reminds me of an old saying – “shit or get off the pot.” Sony needs to decide what they want to do.

The Millennial Abyss has a great post remembering Millennium, and more specifically Frank Black, on the day of actor Lance Henriksen’s birthday:

It goes without saying that he was a singular hero, unique and utterly irreplaceable. More and more often, when I sit to watch classic episodes from my collection of DVDs I feel as if I am visiting the memorial of a great man who was taken from us when he still had so much to teach us.

What a beautiful sentiment to one of the great TV characters of our time. It’s something I’ve always thought but never have been able to express in such words. As the post mentions, next year will be the ten year anniversary of Millennium, so I dare call this an epitaph in hopes we will see Frank and Millennium revived in some form in the future.

Please check out the link to read the post in full.

Please, Square-Enix. I find it completely unnecessary in this day and age to tie yourself to one console. Final Fantasy or not, when Sony’s $600 Titanic starts its inevitable decline into the ocean of obscurity, you’ll be that piece of furniture going down with the ship. Why not support the Xbox 360? Sure the return on product might not be worth the development costs, but I’m sure Microsoft is willing to float the bill to get you on board. To completely ignore the 360 is arrogance, and it will come back to haunt.

This isn’t about not supporting the Xbox. This is about Japanese developers thinking they are bulletproof.

But this isn’t restricted to Square-Enix as well. What about Hideo Kojima, who thinks his MGS titles are works of brilliance? Please, Kojima-san, at the end of the day, after twenty-four hours of cut scenes, what’s left is a babbling mess of highbrow storytelling meant to be sophisticated and profound, along with fundamental gameplay mechanics so broken or absent it a wonder you’re still allowed to make games. Take for instance the complete inability to make a working control mechanic for online play. The fact that the US has been making all types of online games – FPSs, MMOs, RTSs – and yet the Japanese are that pretentious to learn from us. Instead they make games with stories that have no beginning, middle or end (i.e., no purpose), or gameplay mechanics that continually force players to relearn how to play games, even if those mechanics are unnatural or uncomfortable (or just completely broken).

What about Tetsuya Mizuguchi’s comments at GDC regarding his Ninety Nine Nights project:

“The source of my inspiration was media reports after 9/11,” admitted Mizuguchi, comfortable admitting this only among his game developer peers. “After the attack, I saw a lot of different news reports from different countries. I was in Tokyo at the time, and learned about this attack through TV. It was really shocking. ‘What will happen to the world? What is going on?’ I was so worried. And at the same time I thought, why do people fight and wage a war? I was seriously thinking these questions while glued to the TV.”

“Then the war started. The coverage varied depending on the country. There are countries for and against the war, different points of view.”

“I started thinking about how to subtly make these conflicts in the game.”

Does anyone besides me think this is incredibly offensive to US sensibilities? To relate a national tragedy as an inspiration to a mediocre fantasy war game with orcs and magic? It almost trivializes what we went through, especially for people like myself who lived in New York and had to deal with the smell of the burning WTC for weeks. And not only is it insulting, but it’s also a stretch that only a Japanese developer can do. Their arrogance convinces themselves that they can extract inspiration for anything, from anything. I understand most people derive ideas from the strangest influences, but they also don’t advertise those as front and center – the impetus is usually to create a great game or story, not to brag that we created a mediocre story from the most unlikely of sources. Like an interview I recently read recently with Yoshinobu Nishizaki, creator of Space Battleship Yamato, who said his inspiration for Arrivederci Yamato was a vision of Yamato sailing off into the sunset and the entire crew – dead. Wow, you are deep!

And let’s get back to Square-Enix for a second. Only a company so full of themselves would create a game like Dirge of Cerberus as an FPS, when they have no idea how to make an FPS. The end result was they made an FPS so universally damned by critics, yet they are so convinced they did it the right way they outright refused to change anything for the US release. On top of that, they are charging $5 a month for the right to play this broken game online via standard deathmatches.

Japanese developers really need to swallow their pride. Only Shigeru Miyamoto is worthy enough to act like this, and yet he doesn’t, which is an attest to his humble approach to gaming. Everyone else needs to have an exercise in humility. And thanks to Sony’s epic disaster-in-waiting, it might come all too soon for them.

• Everyone is talking like Gears of War is going to be as good as it was intended, which ends up being good for gamers, but does anyone else think that Cliff Bleszinski gets a free ride from the gaming press? Sure he hangs with porn stars, highlights his hair and acts like a rock star, but what has this guy done, actually? Remember he tried to bring a new IP once before and failed (Pariah) and all of his career achievements are tied to one franchise (Unreal). He’s more of a figurehead to Epic like Stan Lee is to Marvel, but with a much less-storied past.
• It’s official – Too Human sucks.
• “PC Gaming is Back!” I hear this every year. The truth is, PC gaming never left. It continues to lead in innovation, both in terms of gameplay (MMOs) and technology (graphics, physics). Consoles get all the attention because they are more accessible, but the truth is they owe their success to the PC gaming market. Interesting thought – PC gaming sales are down year after year, but how much of that can be blamed on persistent gaming? The Sims and MMORPGs have become dominant, so perhaps people are saving their hard-earned cash for subscription fees and expansion packs?
• GameLife – who the hell are these guys? And most important, how did they all get press passes to E3 and become “special guests” of Ziff Davis after only three shows?
• I don’t think many people realize Elite Beat Agents is not a localization of Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan, but rather a brand new title by the original developers specifically for the Western market.

Okay, and now for my E3 2006 Awards:

• Press Coverage of the Show: Gamespot. They had live coverage that eclipsed G4, even with G4 working hard but yet still lacking how to work their Maxim/Spike TV slant into their live show. Here’s a hint: that shit doesn’t mix with peanut butter. Try the chocolate next time. The only knock was the lack of a daily podcast, I guess because everyone was so busy supporting E3 Live. I wish they would have had daily wrap-ups like 1UP, and with their User Videos functionality, I would have liked to see more guerilla videos by staff from the show floor. I have a feeling most bosses do not like their employees to run streaming video at the office.
• Podcast of the Show: 1UP. I wanted to give a special nod to the 1UP Yours crew for podcasting nightly during each day of the conference. At least in theory, because they were usually delivered a day late. But still, they are always entertaining and editorial, unlike the very objective (read: afraid to say what you really feel) delivery of Gamespot’s crew. Look at the tenure between the two leading websites – Gamespot has seniority in its staff, versus the very young 1UP. I think that’s the difference, as 1UP is very keen on delivering gaming news in a way that is fresh and, notably, different from the pack.
• Worst E3 Coverage: Tie between Kotaku and Joystiq. What the hell. These guys scoop from eachother’s websites, hardly deliver anything news-worthy and avoid giving any value to gaming journalism almost on purpose. Yet everyone loves them, because hits = attention. I wouldn’t rest on my laurels if I were them, because it only takes one person with good HTML skills and a little bit of dedication to build up a fanbase. 1UP would have taken this award if it weren’t my scathing hatred toward Kotaku and Joystiq, because their site is unmanageable. And when you actually know where to find information, HTML errors are in abundance. I can’t tell you how many times I got the error “failed to load page”.

Overall though, the coverage was pretty unorganized. How many times do I have to say this – do NOT just categorize by platform/title. The amount of news coming out of the show slips through the cracks this way. Here’s a hint – for those blog-based sites, use your tags wisely. And for those who aren’t, tags aren’t that hard to incorporate. I’ll have to show you what I mean next year…