A MOST AGREEABLE PASTIME
Video Games, Victorian Style
Category: Opinions
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The PS4 and Xbox One have now both launched in the UK, so the question is, which one am I going to get for Christmas? Well, the answer is neither: I’m getting a PS3 instead. Both the PS4 and Xbox One look like impressive pieces of kit, but I’ve yet to see a single stand-out…
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Sir Gaulian’s experience of the Xbox One launch was underwhelming to say the least: only a handful of people turned up for what sounds like a mostly joyless and slightly militaristic midnight launch in Canberra. Having said that, it sounds like the launch went off with more of a bang in Sydney, and London was…
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I was intrigued to read an update on the Snap feature of the Xbox One today. The feature was announced at the Xbox One’s fateful unveiling, but it was somewhat lost beneath the tidal wave of outrage at the console’s ‘always-on’ internet requirement and the fact that Microsoft might be spying on our bedrooms. Now,…
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I watch a lot of sport. I’ve played a lot of sport. And I’ve played a lot of sporting based video games. In short I know my sport. If you know anything about sport you’ll know that it is often won on split second decisions by players, or player error on the part of the…
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It’s sad to see Brick and Mortar retail in such doldrums that spectators have all but pronounced it dead. Not because the prices were good and certainly not because the service was good, but more so because the retail experience was so full of sensory delights and paraphernalia. I distinctly remember walking in video rental…
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The first 12 months of the Xbox 360’s life were a bit touch and go. Hardware failures and a market that wasn’t really in the mood for the shift into a new generation plagued Microsoft well into the life of its shiny new jet-engine of a console. Add to that a software drought and being…
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I really REALLY don’t like GTA V. Before you go bananas and scream abuse, let me just get this straight: GTA V is a great game. Everything about the production is absolutely top-notch. The little details that the internet has collectively circle-jerked over are, admittedly, nothing short of jaw-dropping. The voice acting for the most…
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There have been a few announcements over the past couple of weeks about Valve’s upcoming Steam Box, but I’m still utterly clueless as to what it is or why it’s important. I’m not sure whether this is intentional on Valve’s part as a sort of intrigue-generating PR strategy or whether it’s just the result of…
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Yesterday afternoon I had a chance to check out this year’s Eurogamer Expo at Earl’s Court, which proved to be a lot of fun. I have to say I’m paying for it now though – I had a cold coming on yesterday morning, and half a day of excitedly wandering around buzzing and flashing booths…
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Just in case it’s escaped your attention, the Wii U isn’t doing very well. Not very well at all, in fact. It got off to an OK start, with around 3 million consoles sold worldwide between its November 2012 launch and the end of 2012. These sales weren’t quite as good as the Wii’s (3.19…
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The internet is generally a wonderful thing. It allows creators to meet, it allows communities to form, and it allows businesses to get feedback directly from consumers about their business. It’s all good, solid stuff. Thanks internet for making all of our lives easier. But with easy access to everyone, all the time, about seemingly…
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We’ve all been there at some point in our careers: worked long hard hours, taken a personal interest in a project, only to see it abandoned before your very eyes, seemingly without reason. Outraged you storm out to the nearest coffee shop to cool down, where you order a regular flat white and vent to…
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This week Creative Director of the brilliance-machine that is Criterion Games, Alex Ward, noted that the studio most recently responsible for Need For Speed: Most Wanted was down to 16 people with one more on the way. What followed was the internet speculating about what was to become of the studio. Surely it’s the end…
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The video game industry is an amazing microcosm of capitalism. Businesses rise and fall. They invest, research, innovate and create, all with a view to make a few extra dollars and more importantly compete in the marketplace. Publishers and investors are speculators in the industry merely looking to put their chips on a winning number. …
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It wasn’t even deliberate, I just did it. I bought into Disney Interactive’s $100 million-plus gamble, Disney Infinity. And not just the starter pack, but all the playsets and all the individual characters. Chuck in a few power discs for good measure? Why not. $250AUD later and I had two full bags of Disney Infinity…
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I respect the current models designed to monetise free-to-play games. They use that ol’ chestnut concept of ‘opportunity cost’ to encourage players to internalise the value of their time, and convert that into revenue for the publisher – that is if their time is worth more than the price set for goods and services in…
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My first article for Eurogamer was published yesterday, and judging by the positive comments piling up beneath it, I’m pleased to say it was well received. Phew! If you missed it, here’s everything you ever wanted to know about the DIY computer revolution in Yugoslavia: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-07-30-the-story-of-yugoslavias-diy-computer-revolution. I’d be the first to admit that it doesn’t…
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The release of the Xbox Controller “S” was accompanied by wild cries and applause from all of those for whom the original whopper-sized controller didn’t fit into their hands. Understandably too, it was a bloody handful that while technically ergonomic wasn’t really designed with the average 2002 human’s hand-size in mind. But amongst my friends…
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“It is no crime to be ignorant of economics, which is, after all, a specialized discipline and one that most people consider to be a ‘dismal science.’ But it is totally irresponsible to have a loud and vociferous opinion on economic subjects while remaining in this state of ignorance.” – Murray Rothbard My co-author wrote…
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Did you know that a graphically enhanced port of SkiFree was released on the Game Boy Color as part of a compilation of PC games that included six other games, including Minesweeper and Free Cell. The Microsoft Entertainment Pack was released in 2001. Released in 1991 the original SkiFree was developed for Microsoft Windows…
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Milestone – “Games Made With Passion” I admire a developer that pours so much care and attention into its games that it is infectious. Milestone – a small developer located in Milan, Italy – has lovingly crafted racing titles of both the two and four wheel persuasion since the mid-nineties. Since screaming onto the…
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Get ready for a rant about retail: So there I was at my local CeX browsing the PS2 section when I spotted it – a copy of Le Mans 24 Hours. Being a bit partial to the now defunct developer Melbourne House’s other racing game for the platform, Grand Prix Challenge, I picked it up…
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Wow, what an E3 it’s been this year. Revelation after revelation. It’s been so exciting I even tried to engage some of my non-gamer friends in conversation about DRM policy, with predictably unsuccessful results. I think we can safely say that the show has been a complete PR disaster for Microsoft. After confusing the hell…
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It is unbelievable how many developers always seem to be closing due to financial difficulties. With so much riding on each title because of increasing production values, some developers and publishers are seemingly always just one game away from financial ruin. Jester Interactive was one such company, going into administration in 2003, before a brief…
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EA Sports has pretty much a cart blanche when it comes to its stranglehold over key sporting licences – now more than ever with it extending its FIFA licence through to 2022. Ask anyone and they’ll tell you what a bloody outrage it is, that competition pushes innovation, and that NFL 2K for the Dreamcast was…
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Today I bought myself a brand spanking new Nintendo DSi XL to add to my seemingly ever growing stable of Nintendo handhelds for a paltry sum of A$40. As someone who still owns the original 3DS with its small screens, and retain my DS Lite for all things 2D, holding the XL in my hands for…
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The successes of the last generation of Nintendo hardware, both handheld and home console, had the effect of bringing to the forefront of peoples’ minds how far gaming has come and just how deep it runs in everyday culture. At one point everyman and his grandmother had a DS and was enjoying the trials and…
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So let’s get this out of the way first: Xbox One is a stupid name. I’m vaguely aware that the idea behind it is probably that there should be ‘one’ box under your telly that does everything, but it just sounds like it’s the first ever Xbox. I’ll bet they spend AGES thinking it up…
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Licensed videogame toys can range from good to bad to ‘don’t open me I’m horribly collectable‘, and they only seem to be becoming more and more prevalent accompaniments to big game releases. Like their film counterparts, sometimes they even start to show up in stores well before the product on which they are based is…
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The 30c cone from McDonalds – high in sugar and low in taste – 30 cents OR Super Metroid – high in action, high in gameplay and high in awesome – 30 cents You decide.
A MOST AGREEABLE PASTIME 