Steve Anderson : End Game
Steve Anderson
The Video Store Guy
| The video game industry has gone from a mole hill to a mountain in no time flat, Chris DiMarco is your Sherpa as you endeavor to scale Mount “Everquest”

June 2015

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Nintendo and Disney: What a Combination

June 30, 2015

Sometimes combinations just work out. Peanut butter and chocolate, digital clocks and VCRs, root beer and ice cream. And then there's the idea of Nintendo and Disney, an idea that really should work out well. Indeed, it would seem to be so obvious that reports suggest even Disney and Nintendo are coming around to how good an idea it is, and the companies are poised to start working together on a "pan-media partnership," if the reports hold true.

The word is that the two companies, largely competitors in a lot of ways--just look at the amiibo / Disney Infinity project if you want to see more--may be set to start working together in a way that allows each side to use the other's intellectual property in varyious projects.

Xbox One's Game Preview System: Blessing or Curse?

June 29, 2015

So recently, being a console game buff, I got exposed to something that PC gamers have long since enjoyed, as such: the Game Preview system on Xbox One. Also known as "Early Access" over at Steam, the system allows for players to take a whack at games in a comparatively unfinished state with an eye toward getting the full version later. But how well does it work? I'd say there's good news afoot, but not without a few problems.

I've taken advantage of Microsoft's offer of an hour's free trial of the games, and I've discovered a few things.

Fallout 4: Are You Dreaming of Electric Sheep?

June 24, 2015

Today, I have a little something special for you, a bit of analysis on the recent Fallout 4 news and a potential bit of advance theory about the plotline. Normally, I like to take the news and run it through the process, providing a bit of word you may not have heard and combining it with some commentary and perspective. Today is different.

First off, you'll need to acquaint yourself with the Fallout 4 videos once again. This time, you'll want the one where your character encounters Codsworth, the Mr. Handy that's been lurking around your house for about 220 years.

So Who Won E3 2015, Anyway?

June 23, 2015

It's a question that's been going on for some time now...after E3, or most any other major event, the question inevitably comes up of just who "won" the event in question. That means different things to different people, but it's a matter of who had the biggest news, the best reveals, and overall, a greatest showing. So who took the crown this year? Oddly, it's the same as last year.

Back in 2013, it wasn't hard to pick a winner: Sony had a great show, and all but destroyed Microsoft's strange, rambling, tech-heavy show that featured a host of conclusions that consumers didn't want to hear.

E3 2015: Oh, Nintendo....

June 22, 2015

In the aftermath of E3, watching Sony and Microsoft vie for top of the heap, and watching the PC market remain in its usual calm and aloof otherspace, one thing that seemed light on the information was Nintendo. But after seeing Nintendo's run at E3 glory, I was left with one doozy of a question to ask and answer: Nintendo, what in the world are you doing?

Nintendo's E3 was marked by the appearance of puppets, though the second I saw them all I could think about was an old joke from "The Simpsons" where the family went to Japan. A poster on one of the buildings called attention to a local channel's "Digital Puppet News Team", which was pretty much what I got out of Nintendo.

But the puppet show wasn't the only interesting point of the presentation.



E3 2015: Sony's Presser Brings the Games, Wows the Crowds

June 18, 2015

With E3 steadily moving on, it's time to get a look at the second major player in the field--though these days it's more like first place considering all it's sold so far--and the news is looking pretty good for Sony fans indeed.

The earlier projections that Sony might be bringing out The Last Guardian to the show appear to have materialized, and that's got to be a welcome development for fans of the series. Those fans have been waiting quite some time, so this must have been absolutely huge for them. The Last Guardian wasn't the only blast from the past to arrive, either; in a shocking twist, Shenmue 3 actually cropped up as well, a staggering development given how long it's been since Shenmue 2 showed up. Throw in an upcoming port of Final Fantasy VII to PS4 and suddenly you've just torn the doors off the whole conference.

E3 2015: Microsoft's Presser Proves Packed

June 16, 2015

I hate to say it like that, I really do--it's a bit too much editorializing for a headline--but seriously, Microsoft was cram-a-jam full of content from its press event. It's amazing, and this after I watched the Bethesda event in which Fallout 4 got a release date. So what's got me all a-twitter about the Microsoft press event? Well, there was a lot to catch the attention, so let's run down the biggest stuff.

First off, the games.

E3 2015: Fallout 4 Announcements Shock Crowd

June 15, 2015

And so, the day finally arrived. That big day in which Bethesda launched its first press conference at E3, which also happened to be the first press conference OF E3. But the big Bethesda show had plenty of excitement on hand, with the biggest announcement of the night--potentially the week as well--hitting in this show.

I admit, I hadn't expected it to be so interesting to see Morgan Webb and Adam Sessler together again, but that little shot of retro certainly did perk things up, though it didn't seem to be too much of a much. But what's particularly interesting here is that this wasn't the end of the day for Bethesda.

E3 2015: The Last Guardian to Make a Comeback?

June 10, 2015

There are some titles that some believed would never come out. For a long time, Duke Nukem Forever was one. Half-Life 3 was another, and perhaps one of the most poignant such entries was The Last Guardian. But new reports suggest that E3 2015 might be home to a particular surprise for those looking forward to the arrival of The Last Guardian.

The current reports come from The Guardian--oddly appropriate, that--who said that, on "very good authority", this was the year Team Ico brought out The Last Guardian.

Fallout 4 in 2015? A Better Chance Than You Think.

June 9, 2015

With the arrival of the Fallout 4 trailer, it really was only a matter of time until people started speculating about when this was coming out. I've already done some of my own, and the crew out at Forbes did likewise. As it turns out, we actually had a few points in common, so settle in and I'll run down the chances that Fallout 4 will hit store shelves by the end of this year. Oh, and I'm pegging it at about one in three odds.

That's crazy, you might think.

New CyberPower Steam Machines Data Emerges; Can They Hold Up?

June 8, 2015

It's been a while since we heard much about the Steam Machine market, the idea of a home console that can handle games found on Steam is still sticking with plenty of users out there. Now,CyberPower has let three new such devices slip with some fairly substantial price tags, but how will the Syber Steam Machines perform in the field?

There are three such Steam Machines slated to be available, with reports suggesting these will ship on November 10, though pre-orders will ship as early as October 16. The models on hand are known as the P, the X, and the I. The I sells at $499, while the X sells at $1419. The P, meanwhile, splits the difference at $729.

The I packs in an Intel Core i3 processor at 3.6 GHz, with an nVidia GTX 750 packing a gig of GDDR5 RAM itself.



Fallout 4 Trailer Hits, Floors Crowds

June 3, 2015

And so, the countdown is over, and a whole new countdown begins. The trailer for Fallout 4, leaked thanks to a timely LinkedIn post, has been released, and the new countdown to the Bethesda E3 event is already on in earnest. But with the arrival of the trailer, some questions have been answered, and--seeing as I've already watched the trailer like four times already--I'm going to take this sucker apart and note some findings here.

One, Fallout fans had long suspected that the series would be going to Boston in Fallout 4, and not without reason. It made sense from a narrative standpoint; Fallout 3 was in Washington D.C, and Fallout: New Vegas was the offshoot, not the main narrative.

E3 2015: One Big Surprise at the Bethesda Show Leaks

June 2, 2015

The Bethesda press conference ahead of the full E3 event might well be what gamers are waiting for most, especially because it's expected to bring with it long-awaited mention of Fallout 4. But one point slipped out that will be one of the biggest surprises the show has to offer yet. More specifically, the Bethesda presser will reunite the hosts of former network G4's former video game review show X-Play: Morgan Webb and Adam Sessler.

The duo will be brought back at the Dolby Theater on June 14, where the duo will handle the pre-show and post-show content complete with streaming broadcasts set for both Twitch and YouTube. Reports suggest that this was a move recently put together and there's still some doubt as to just how it will all come together. Meanwhile, Bethesda will be putting its Twitter muscle in play at the @Bethblog account, as well as the Twitch chat stream, to allow viewers to ask questions.

Konami's Not Out of the Game Yet

June 1, 2015

It wasn't so long ago that we were looking at Konami with something like alarm, wondering why a company with so much killer IP to its credit was bugging out to focus on pachinko devices and slot machines. While there were some decent ideas at the time as to why such a thing would happen--the resurgence of the arcade was one great possibility--it turns out that the initial reports weren't quite right, and Konami offered up a letter to explain some of its plans a bit better.

Konami--who sent its letter to Polygon--noted that the company did go through a major reorganization, but wasn't bailing out of the console market despite the death of "Silent Hills". Konami detailed a somewhat bloodless process, talking about "repositioning production studios" and "shifting our game development to a more centralized production system," and reassuring concerned fans that "Metal Gear Solid 5: Phantom Pain" director Hideo Kojima "...and his team are hard at work in the new production division system, bringing the game ever closer to completion." Konami's plans to bring in a mobile-focused new president certainly didn't help matters, but Konami's clarification suggests that the company's planning to work on add-on content to go with games, taking advantage of prime IP not just for big console and PC titles, but also for the kind of impact such can have on mobile devices.

Indeed, Konami's "mobile first" stance really isn't quite so "mobile first," but rather more like "mobile right alongside everything." It's more an expansion than a replacement, which is certainly a comfort, if something of a cold one.

Reaction to the letter seems to be somewhere between a spree of expletives and a cynicism so pure and thick it could be poured on pancakes. Taking Konami at its word, this is almost comforting.





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