The Digital Pulse 09.18.06
Posted by Joshua Richey on 09.18.2006
Wii got you covered on all the Wii news this week. See what I did there? You liked that didn't you? Don't lie.
Hello good people of the internet. My name is Joshua Richey; and this is yet another edition of The Digital Pulse.
I guess that you could say that I felt a bit rejuvenated by last week's TDP. There for a while, the burdens of school began to weigh so heavily upon me that I seriously questioned whether or not I could even muster up the time or effort to write another decent column. Once I began last week's column, I quickly got back into the groove of things. I'm pretty sure that I wrote the entire column within the span of 70 minutes. Which for me is pretty ‘sic'.
Judging by the feedback that I received – last week's TDP made you laugh, yet also managed to offend many of you. This of course makes me very blissful, and reassures me that I am in fact ‘back'.
Let's talk about some video games, shall we?
Weekly News
Oui, Oui, Wii!
While Sony proceeds to completely botch the launch of the Playstation 3®, Nintendo is prepping the Wii for launch. It really is quite amazing to have witnessed how far along this little console has come over the years.
It started off as the ‘Revolution', but the public was very skeptical due to the failure of the Nintendo Gamecube. Skepticism only increased when Nintendo renamed the console to the ‘Wii'. Hell itself nearly broke loose, last year, when the ‘Wiimote' first debuted. Nintendo had solidified itself as the laughing stock of the gaming world. Everyone, including myself, had already written off the Wii and its potential.
Fast forward to now, the brink of its launch, and I'm actually excited. No, I'm serious. I'm sporting major wood right now just thinking about it… or perhaps that's from the porn that I currently have up in the other window. In any case, Nintendo released more information this week in regards to the Wii, and its upcoming launch. 411Mania was all over it, so in case you missed out on the details – I've got your hookup.
I was criticized last week of being too hard on Sony. But with the way that they are conducting business these days, how could you do anything else but be hard on them? Sony announced this week that they are taking that original shipment plan that they had for the PS3, and are proceeding to cut it in half.
By the end of the year, Sony now says that they will have only sent 2 million consoles to the United States and Japan. What about all of you Your-A-Peein's? Well, you guys have to wait until next year; as the console as been officially delayed until March 2007.
Don't Panic!!! [sarcasm]You can be rest assured that the console will still be $599.99.[/sarcasm]
Things Continue To Suck For Atari
Game Publisher, Atari, has been unable to comply with NASDAQ requirements, and thus they have been dropped from the NASDAQ listing; or ‘de-listed' if you're looking for the proper word. The companies stock is currently worth $0.69, and not the $1.00 requirement that the NASDAQ demands.
Atari is attempting to save face in this situation by requesting a meeting with the NASDAQ Listing Qualifications Panel, in hopes that they can receive their listing privileges back. What are the chances of that happening? About as good as the chances of Atari making a decent game… bleak.
Man Kills Baby Daughter For Un-Plugging X-box
At some point in all of our gaming life's we've had the cords pulled out of our system, correct? It's happened to me on more than a few occasions. I had a cousin once trip over my X-box cord as I was in the bottom of the 9th of a no-hitter in MLB 2K5. Unplugging the power cord, my near no-no was no more. I was infuriated. What did I do about it? I did nothing. What did Philadelphia native Tyrone Spellman do under the same circumstances? Well he proceeded to unleash his frustration upon his little girl.
Philadelphia Inquirer reported this week that after his daughter tripped over the X-Box cords, sending the X-Box crashing onto the floor, Mr. Spellman punched his daughter in the head, and tossed her across the room; killing her. Spellman had already been reported once by an anonymous source, who spoke of Spellman's violent temper. After an inspection by local authorities, no intercession took place.
Spellman has been charged with murder.
Stuff like this is awful, but the sad thing is that Rockstar is probably licking their chops to make a game centered around that premise.
Wii Not Supporting DVD
If there has been any bad news in the world of Nintendo this week, it's that rumors that the Wii would not support DVD playback were confirmed. Basically this means that your Wii cannot double as both a gaming machine and as a DVD player. Nintendo had originally planned on releasing a piece of hardware that you attached to the Wii that would then allow you to play DVD's. But citing the ‘low cost' of DVD players, Nintendo says that they didn't see any reason to invest in such hardware.
I can't see this news swaying that many consumers. Honestly, how many people were looking forward to the Wii because of its DVD playback capabilities? I'm pretty sure that even people that live in Iowa have DVD players by now.
Bully Gets A ‘T' Rating
After being called a ‘Columbine Simulator' by many, the ESRB have rated Rockstar's new game Bully with a ‘T' rating, for ‘Teen'. There has been a very large push by government officials and people with nothing better to do, to get the game canceled, due to the games premise, which allows you to play as a student that must endure the hardships of playground bullies, evil principles and mean teachers.
New Releases This Week (from Gamespot)
(X-Box 360)
The Godfather
Open Season
Samurai Warriors 2
Cabela's Alaskan Adventure
World Series of Poker: Tournament of Champions
TotemBall
(X-Box)
Cabela's Alaskan Adventure
Ford Bold Moves Street Racing
Open Season
(Playstation 2)
Cabela's Alaskan Adventure
Ford Bold Moves Street Racing
Open Season
The King of Fighter: 2006
World Series of Poker: Tournament of Champions
Okami
Zatch Bell! Mamodo Fury
Samurai Warriors 2
Bratz: Forever Diamonds
(Nintendo DS)
Konductra
Open Season
The Suite Life of Zack & Cody: Tipton Trouble
Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime
Bratz: Forever Diamondz
Danny Phantom Urban Jungle
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team
(PSP)
World Series of Poker: Tournament of Champions
The Godfather: Mob Wars
Space Station Tycoon
Reel Fishing: Life & Nature
Open Season
Cabela's Alaskan Adventure
(GBA)
Bratz: Forever Diamondz
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team
Danny Phantom Urban Jungle
Phil of the Future
Zatch Bell! Electric Arena 2
Capcom Classics Mini Mix
Dogz Fashion
Open Season
ATV: Thunder Ridge Riders
Strawberry Shortcake Sweet Dreams
Holy Bible
(PC)
GTR 2
Open Season
Backyardigans: Mission to Mars
Hoyle Bridge Club
Flyboys
EverQuest: The Serpent's Spine
NHL: Eastside Hockey Manager 2007
Mystery Case Files: Huntsville
Gold Miner Vegas with Gold Miner Special Edition
Special Message
I'm not sure how ‘special' this is, but I'm going to take a break from the ‘Weekly Award' segment of this column. I'm in school now. And when I'm not in school, I'm usually working. So I haven't had any time for things that ordinary people would entitle as ‘fun'. I couldn't tell you the name of the last movie I seen. Besides FlatOut 2 (which I reviewed for 411Mania this week, check it out) I haven't played any game at all. I'm still struggling, but I'll try to think up something just as gimmicky and fun for next week.
