As I move into my new apartment. I'm not getting internet access right away, perhaps for a couple of weeks, so I won't be here or on MSN for a while. I will still check in sporadically at my parents house or whereever else I may happen to get internet access, but for the most part, my activity is going to drop for a while. Once I'm moved in and hooked up, I'll let you all know. Until then, stay sane without me :D.
P.S. to Ryan, about your computer, once I'm back online and have Paypal access, we can begin from there, kay?
Quote:Take Two recorded a $50.2 million dollar lose for last quarter as shares slumped 17.53 percent. The filing also mentions some Duke Nukem Forever release date rumors and incentives:
According to the 10-Q, March saw Take-Two and 3D Realms renegotiate the original contract for Duke Nukem Forever, which began back in 1997. Under the original deal, 3D Realms was to receive some $6 million from Take-Two to develop the title. Now, the Texas-based developer will receive only $4,250 for the oft-delayed game, when it is completed.
When will that be? Well, 3D Realms now has a fairly large incentive to get Duke Nukem Forever done by the end of the year. The 10-Q also reveals that Take-Two has offered the studio $500,000 in the form of a promissory note if the game sees "commercial release" by December 31, 2006. The deal applies only to the PC version of the game, although it was announced for the Xbox and the PlayStation 2 in 2001 and is rumored to be in development for the Xbox 360.
We'll see, but I'm doubtful it'll make that date... :)
Actually, I hope it doesn't. You see, they started early development in February 1997... it'd be a shame to release it so close to its 10th anniversary of non-completion! :D
Seriously, I know that 10 years is a long time, but if they rush the last part to try to finish it by the end of the year, it would be sad... 3DRealms has made or helped make a lot of great games, and this one has been their main project for a really long time now. They need to prove that it was worth the effort and that this is indeed the great FPS that it could be and that lives up to the legacy of Duke 3D... (and Duke 1 and 2, but as side-scrollers they play very differently, making the comparison less relevant)
In the year 3000, the ape-monsters from behind the planet's small moon made a daring attempt to overthrow their banana overseers. Unfortunately the attack came during the earlier spring and the bananas were still hard and green CAUSING THE APES TO GO INSANE WITH JEALOUSY. This has been referred to as the Great Jealousocity Bacon Marshmallow Day. For the next 11 years the apes were tortured mercilessly by the Torture Bots and Huggle Station Androids from Venus. The torture ended once Frankenberry was elected to the position of Supreme Chancellor of the Smarty Smart Guy Council of Wise Elders. He passed a proclomation making it a crime to knowningly take growth-enhancing hormone suppositories [but regular pills were still okay], this caused the trolls making the Kill-Droids to lose all their strength and so it was impossible for them to continue with their diabolic deeds of wicked androcity.
Five years later, another ape uprising came about. This time, with the aid of the Abe Lincoln clones secretly made in order to confuse the John Wilks Booth clones that had been terrorising the local bars, they were able to overthrow the oppressive tyrrany that had for so long forced them into low-paying managerial jobs at all the law offices. The new leader of the Sub-Human Tractor Planet was a tiger monkey named Leo Bumpkin Space Man II [after his mother]. He proclaimed that any used cars sold for more than 50% of their retail price [unless they were less than two years old] were to be immediately set up as gods for some of the outlying tribes. He stated that this was because it would be "a really funny joke on those dumb yokels".
Five thousands years later, the entire universe was run by cars, which just goes to show you that if you make fun of people that aren't smart, they will eventually make a sentient race of cars that will dominate the universe.
It's funny because she is a nerd and he looks like a jock football player. 7 is a crazy amount of kids! I wonder how they take care of them all? Anyways, I wonder how the couple is doing now.
Quote: Wii's classic games to be priced less than US$10
6/7/2006 12:05:49 PM, by Ben Kuchera
Nintendo President Saturo Iwata spoke yesterday at a Japanese marketing event (Japanese source), revealing information about "virtual console" pricing and the Wii's relationship with the DS. Iwata revealed that games for Nintendo's "virtual console" that will allow Wii owners to play old titles on their consoles will be priced at ¥500 and ¥1,000, roughly US$4.50 to US$8.99. For reference, classic retro games for the Nintendo GameBoy sold for upwards of US$35 for some titles, US$19.99 for others. Uptake was understandably low, as gamers were reticent to pay that much for old content.
Retro gaming may prove to be a big boon for Nintendo. Microsoft's Xbox Live Marketplace has already captured the attention of many gamers with games costing 400 to 1,200 Microsoft "points," which translates to US$5 to US$12.50. Nintendo's pricing is roughly competitive with Microsoft's, but the ability to launch with a massive library of retro games could easily overshadow Microsoft's service, which has been anemic in terms of new titles since launch (though we wait in anticipation for Paperboy, Contra, and others). Are gamers more likely to buy Zuma for US$10, or Majora's Mask?
Iwata also talked about ramping up production of the DS Lite from 1.6 million units a month to 2 million. Demand for the system in Japan has been near insatiable, and with a June 11 launch in the United States, the added production will hopefully keep the system on store shelves so it can take advantage of the success of the New Mario Bros. and Brain Age. The system has been a license to print money for Nintendo, with ten games in Japan that have already sold over a million copies.
Iwata talked up the Wii's capabilities in terms of DS connectivity, including the ability to share demos and the fact that the DS could also be used as a touch screen controller for Wii games. He also hinted that future DS games will be able to be played on the Wii, with added or expanded content as a teaser.
Downloading DS demos via the Wii is a nice touch, but not that surprising. Being able to use the DS as a touch screen for the Wii, however, offers up the possibility of being able to use the Wii to play DS games on your television. The GameBoy Player was a successful product for the GameCube, allowing gamers to play their GBA games on their televisions, and if the Wii features such an ability, Nintendo has a better chance of converting DS gamers into Wii owners.
From the picture Iwata is painting, it's clear that the Wii is designed to profit not only from new games sales but also by working closely with the DS, and placing an emphasis on inexpensive classic games purchased online. It's hard to underestimate the worth of Nintendo's back catalogue, and the addition of classic Sega and Turbografx titles adds considerable appeal for gamers who cut their teeth on Nintendo's early consoles.
Unfortunately, we still don't know when the Wii will launch or how much it will cost. Iwata said the launch date and final pricing for the Wii will not be announced until September.
...I'm basically wondering if it would be possible for someone, say Blizzard, to make a spectawesulum Mario based strategy game. I'm thinking it would need to be real time or something, and it would totally use the remote.
I've got it bad... so far this year I've bought over 60 games (at least, probably a bit more than that), and two consoles. ... and I want like five more...
... "but how do you play them all?" Ah, simple! I don't! :D ... okay I'll play them a bit, but most of them just get put down to maybe play sometime. By now I justify it mostly by saying "I'm getting them as much just to HAVE them as I am to actually PLAY them".... which is a reasonable point, though when I don't have much money, have even less income, and keep buying piles of old games... well, I need more money. :D
Just within the last year...
July '05: SNES. I'm up to 35 games.
January '06: PSX. 29 games already... ack...
May '06: Genesis. 21 games now. Less money has been spent here than on the SNES or PSX though... cheaper console ($40 for the SNES with just a controller, $21 for Genesis with two games and a controller), and many cheaper games too.
... and now I'm interested in a Saturn (though that's probably not realistic), Dreamcast (just $40 for a console with controller, memory card, and a couple of games...), and PS2 ($85 for just console, controller, and memory card, or $100 for that with two games)... and I've only got like $400 at the moment, having spent upwards of $300 since getting home from college. Pawn shops and local gaming stores are a mixed blessing. On the one hand now I have all this cool stuff, but on the other hand... well look at all that money gone... :D (well some of that went to Gamestop and EB too, of course, but not nearly all...)
![[Image: class3cm.gif]](http://img47.imageshack.us/img47/5482/class3cm.gif)
