Semjaza

I had something really long written out that covered the points presented here. I don't feel I need to post most of them though (it's still rather long though), because this article brings up absolutely nothing new. In addition to relying on completely incorrect facts to back itself up, it doesn't even make an argument that hasn't been presented against Nintendo since the start. Therefore, even considering its points that [i]work[/i] and are backed up well, I can't really get too excited or worked up over it. I'm not in awe over his abilities in any sense of the word. He's regurgitating information and complaints from even past articles of his. Where's the online play? Where's the new franchises? Where's the new Gameboy system that actually has current technology? Where's blah blah blah. These are topics I've read about time and time again in countless message board posts. Topics I've seen covered far better on much better Nintendo-oriented sites as well as mulitplatform sites (hell even on an Xbox-orientated one recently, and that made far more sense than this is). Many of Nintendo's choices annoy me. I don't know who wouldn't want to play Nintendo games online. It would probably be a major selling point for quite a few people. However, they've stated time and time again why they won't be doing it this generation... of course this doesn't stop random people from believing every last rumor concerning it, which I'm sure is what makes the whole thing so aggrivating for so many people. How many times am I going to read about how Nintendo secretly has some plan in the works that never actually pans out? People should just give this up already. It's not happening. For every thing Nintendo does right, someone feels they did some aspect of it incorrectly. Nintendo already is responding to the PSP, as work is underway on a successor. Of course, when that hits people will complain because the GBA isn't all that old. How are they supposed to come out winning in this situation? They can't because it is impossible for them to please everyone. There's always going to be someone who feels that they've spent enough and Nintendo somehow owes them a certain amount of time with a system, despite the fact that the GBA will almost certainly be supported well past the launch of its successor in whatever year it'll be launched (I'd assume 2005-ish). Of course, I'm sure there will be those that maintain that Nintendo deserves it since they should have made larger differences in the hardware to begin with. While I'd love for them to make bigger strides between each system, they also are stuck with the whole backwards connectivity idea, among other things. Of course, the main reason they aren't making these strides is because they've never had any competition that really forced them to. The GBA seemed to be created mostly because the original Gameboy and GBC were just getting way too outdated.... and yes, I don't think it should have to come down to that before Nintendo will get off its *** and do something new with the technology. According to Nintendo, the SP was in the works before the original GBA was even released, but wasn't finished due to battery concerns. I would love them to just get their portables more with the times, and the PSP will force them to... but at the same time, development costs will go up and so will software prices (word from Japan is that PSP games are expected to go for $40+). People complain about software prices now (and I've yet to spend more than $30 on a GBA game since launch - I don't know where these people shop), and no matter how great the game looks, I doubt anyone would want to spend that money on a portable game on a consistent basis. It's double-edged I'd say, but a lot remains to be seen obviously... especially what rumors turn out to be true and what doesn't. I'd really like to know of all apparently hundreds of upgrades that are forcing people to buy new models. Over the entire history of the standard Gameboy, no changes were made until the size was reduced. This seemed like a natural evolution. Then there was the GBC, which came out many years later. The GBA followed years after that. People make it sound as if a new model has come out every year. While I agree that the connectivity idea hasn't been used to a great extent so far, I can't really complain about it either. It's a bonus. I've never gotten anything out of it that I needed to play a game. It's annoying when its required for some random extra (in the case of Metroid, I think that should have just been there in the first place, if at all)... but I hardly feel that it is shoved down my throat or required to enjoy my games. This is coming from someone that bought the damn cable too. I don't really expect Nintendo to be able to fix a lot of these problems mid-console generation, especially considering the fact that they've switched NCL presidents and shifted a lot of their senior staff. The GameCube, the GBA, the business model for both and the internet, connecting ideas and company responsibilities were all divided up and released before Iwata even became involved. No one seems to keep that in mind anymore. Things are happening under Iwata that would have never happened under Yamauchi. There have been may behind the scenes agreements leading to games and partnerships, while the Nintendo under Yamauchi would have been happy to sit there and ignore everything other than their first party profits. Iwata is far more aggressive. He also seems to know exactly what Nintendo's problems are based on the few interviews with him that are available (meanwhile Yamauchi would, more or less, just call everyone that opposed him stupid). That's just a few examples, but part of my point is that people like Eric Mattei are never going to be satisfied no matter what is shown to tell them otherwise. There will always be something to harp on for someone who does nothing but search it out. And as I said before, I can't exactly feel Nintendo was put in its place or "slammed" or anything else, considering this is the same crap I've been reading from various sources for the past two years (even before GCN was released). Acting like this article is enlightening me or anyone else is just ridiculous. If this is good writing that brings up excellent, well thought out points... then I guess the people who have said these same things at GAF, IGN Boards or any other random game forum for the past two years on an hourly basis are writing geniuses who can see into the future.

Hopefully this movie will the sequel that I was expecting when I saw Reloaded. What a letdown that was. Most of my excitement is gone now, but I'm sure I'll be seeing it.

Was looking around IGN... "Also included in the magazine is a partial song list of what's to be included in the Japanese version of the game. Of merit are game tracks which include the Super Mario Brothers theme, Donkey Rap and the Donkey Konga theme. The latter is the theme song being prepared for the game. Other songs are pulled form a variety of non-game sources, including Japanese pop music, anime and classical tunes. You can expect the chosen music to differ in the final American version of the game." Hmm. The Rap :(

I admit this game sounds ridiculous in concept, but I'm giving it a chance. I love music games. This is a joint venture between Namco and Nintendo. Namco released a similiar drumming game on the PS2 months back, and it didn't extremely well in Japan. So this isn't exactly a bad idea. There doesn't seem to be any real information on how it will work, but there is a bongo controller that has some sort of sensor in it to pick up how often and how hard you strike the drums. There's also a mic built in to pick up clapping. [img]http://cubemedia.ign.com/cube/image/donkeykonga_100303_05.jpg[/img] The game isn't looking bad graphically. It uses the DKC style characters, although some of the screens are more similiar to older Donkey Kong games. Hopefully it will have decent music, as I assume that's the selling point. I hope there isn't another version of the Donkey Kong Rap... [IMG]http://cubemedia.ign.com/cube/image/donkeykonga_100303_04.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://cubemedia.ign.com/cube/image/donkeykonga_100303_03.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://cubemedia.ign.com/cube/image/donkeykonga_100303_02.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://cubemedia.ign.com/cube/image/donkeykonga_100303_01.jpg[/IMG] I'm slightly worried about the pricing. I'm assuming one controller will be packed in, but I'd think having 4 players would be rather expensive. I remember getting maracas for Samba de Amigo on DC wasn't exactly cheap or easy...

Last I heard, the company who bought the movie license from Nintendo ran out of time. Basically they were taking longer than whatever their agreement said, so they had to give up the license. So basically, it's not being made anymore at this point.

[url]http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/news/news_6076338.html[/url] [quote]Sony announces that it will unveil its PlayStation 2-based PSX device in Tokyo next week. Sony has today announced that it will unveil its PSX device at the CEATAC Japan 2003 industry show in Tokyo next Tuesday. The PSX, which was first announced back in May, is a set-top box that not only boasts PS2 hardware but also a 120GB hard drive, built-in Ethernet support, a TV and broadcast satellite tuner, and a DVD recorder. Sony plans to launch the PSX in Japan before the end of the year, and in North America and Europe sometime in 2004. Exact launch dates and pricing for the machine have yet to be announced.[/quote] I'm not optimistic about the price, although Sony said they'd be very aggressive with it. I can't imagine average people having a need for this either, but whatever.

Now I remember what it was I wanted to tell James last night. It was about this. Eric Mattei is a laughing stock of the game community. Every single forum seems to be posting this and most seem to dismiss it rather quickly because of its many, many flaws. I'm assuming that's most likely why you posted it, as I don't know why anyone would visit willingly lol (although they have picked up recently). You may agree with the basic argument, but the manner in which he comes to these conclusions and supports the argument is terrible. The amount of melodrama he throws in here to make these points just ruins them even more. Opinions are one thing. This is his opinion, fine enough. It's not even that I disagree with his main point or theme, it's that he tries to make it seem true to people by a bunch of doubletalking and obvious misunderstandings of how or why anything works. I'm a fan of Nintendo, but not a blind one. Sure they've ****** up plenty, but a lot of the ideas presented as "facts" in this editorial are just way off on even basic levels. The manner in which this guy comes to his conclusion is a bunch of idiotic burned-by-Nintendo fanboy nonsense and if a persons knows anything about Mattei, they'd know this to be the true scenario. [url]http://www.nintendojo.com/specials/....php?1027458978[/url] I think this article is proof enough that you should never listen to a thing this man says. This is the same man who was 100% sure that MS was going to buy Nintendo out over a year ago. If one knows anything about Eric Mattei one would never cite him for anything or use him to back up an argument. This argument stems mostly from the idea that the GameCube doesn't really appeal to the casual gamer at this point. It's not a set top box that does everything on top of games, which is what many people here want. The same with Japan to an extent. No one talks about how when PS2 launched in Japan, more people were buying it to play DVDs like the Matrix than actual games. Sales for actual software back then were terrible. Nintendo has no desire to do this as they're a game company. At least not with the GameCube. Who knows about the future, they may have to adjust this philosophy. They most likely will, considering their involvment with companies like Panasonic. It is time for new franchises, though. At least in my opinion. Franchises that appeal more to the casual people and don't totally just scream "Hey it's Super Mario!" There are some probabilities. They resurrected Metroid through Retro. Silicon Knights seems to be improving. They're working with N-Space on Geist, which is sounding very cool. They have the possibilities, it's just a matter of capitalizing on them somehow.

[url]http://rpg.mnbvc.com/dl/music/new/ruliweb_kh201.mpg[/url] Here's a trailer for KH2 from TGS. It's 81 MBs.

It was never really an issue to anyone but those The Harlequin spoke of anyway... considering Manson is neither an atheist or a devil worshipper (not even on Anton La Vey's you-are-your-own-god level).

All of Europe finally got a drop to 99 Euros as well. Or so I hear. I don't know what is going on with Japan's pricing... but I do know that Pokemon Colliseum and Mario Kart are being released on the same day in an effort to spike sales. This Christmas is pretty important for Nintendo. [url]http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20031002/tc_nm/tech_nintendo_gamecube_dc_1[/url] [quote]SEATTLE (Reuters) - Sales of Nintendo (news - web sites). Co. Ltd.'s 7974.OS GameCube video game machine quadrupled in the first week after it slashed the U.S. price of the console of $99, the U.S. arm of the Japanese video game company, said on Thursday. Nintendo, which cut the price of the GameCube on Sept. 24, said it sold 61,000 consoles during the week following the price cut, up from weekly average sales of 15,000 during August and September. "I think it will be sustained (until the Holiday season)," George Harrison, Nintendo of America senior vice president of marketing, told Reuters. Nintendo said in a statement that more than 100 new titles will be available before the end of the year. Nintendo's price cut made the GameCube $80 cheaper than its two competitors, Sony Corp (NYSE:SNE - news) (news - web sites).'s market-leading PlayStation 2 (news - web sites) and Microsoft Corp.'s second-place Xbox (news - web sites), both of which start at $179.[/quote] Not bad for a week heh. I know I said its not really a difference from the free game deal in price... but there is a psychology to it. Cheaper automatically just seems more desirable to people around here.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by James [/i] [B][color=#707875]*shrug* I don't know. It's interesting to learn about various religions, but I don't think that there are many of you in this thread who really understand Wicca.[/color] [/B][/QUOTE] Truly. There's a difference between truly knowing and following something and just looking it up on the internet and regurgitating information you apparently haven't even read correctly. The fact that I could easily answer most of the unanswered questions presented in this thread when I don't believe this stuff is rather sad.

Well I wasn't implying that they wanted to break through or anything. It's just so obvious that they could if they tweaked one or two things, but they always keep it just out of reach. They're always just on the fringe of things, if they're not totally ******* up that fringe instead. They've had all the chances in the world to give in and so far, they really haven't. I just have a lot of respect for that I guess. This reminds me of another favorite band of mine... the Butthole Surfers. They are similiar to Sonic Youth in many ways. They both seem to have the same philosophy almost.

Discussion of where and how to download MP3s is not allowed here due to copyright reasons. I'd have to assume you could find a place or program through Google, if there is one.

From IGNDVD: [quote]Before getting into the extras, I want to gripe a little about all of the wasted time on this disc. First up is the numerous commercials, even after you select the movie to play. Yes, I know it's a Disney DVD, I didn't need that promo. Also, when you first select menu, there's 1:20 of a CG Zazu flying around before you can make a selection. Just let me at the movie, please. Disc one has some extras of its own. First up is an audio commentary track with directors Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff and producer Don Hahn. They offer a lot of insight into the film, from its origins as "Bambi in Africa" to the final product. Under the Grasslands menu is the The Making of The Morning Report featurette, running three minutes, along with The Lion King Personality Profile Game. What do you know, I'm Simba. Under Tree of Life is the music video for Circle of Life sung by kids from Disney shows. It must have been done several months ago because Hilary Duff is among the crowd and she split from Disney earlier this year. Then there's a making-of and a sing-along track. This is a total waste. Under Jungle is Timon's Grab-a-Grub game and Pumbaa's Sound Sensations game. Grab-a-Grub gets old after five seconds, while the Sound Sensations isn't as flatulent as you'd think, it's a game for kids to match animal sounds to the animal. Elephant Graveyard has three deleted scenes, the best being Timon and Pumbaa singing Can You Feel The Love Tonight. Disney originally gave it to those two and Elton John objected, so they gave the song to the lions. Hearing them sing it does indeed make it utterly silly and frivolous, which is what makes it funny. There are also four sneak peaks at upcoming DVD movies, and under the Setup menu there is an option to register your DVD and also a THX tuning and optimization utility. Disc two was a real disappointment, and quite frankly, I could live without it. If you bought The Lion King: Masterpiece Edition laserdisc box set, you better hang on a little longer. Stuff like the documentary hosted by Robert Guillaume didn't make it to the DVD. My experience with these omissions is it is often a legal problem, not a matter of the material being blown off. Disc Two is where most of the extras are located, broken down by topics called Story, Film, Stage, Music, Animals and the game Virtual Safari. The safari game, where you drive through the Serengeti at night in a jeep, will likely scare the poo out of any kid under the age of ten. It's loud, jarring and very upsetting, with things like a hippo stampede. Story digs into the storyline, Film discusses the pre-production, including a trip to Africa. Music is just that, talking to Tim Rice and Elton John and also discussing the African singers who really added so much to the soundtrack. Animals is an Animal Planet-like look at the animals featured in the film. All are voiced by the same guy who does VOs for Animal Planet in that same annoying voice as though he's talking to a five-year-old. The annoying part is everything is broken up into two to three minute segments (none are longer than seven minutes), and even though there is a play all option, it's still too scattered. One or two well-structured and organized documentaries with some decent editing and filming could accomplish all this and more. And with all the behind-the-scenes materials, not one voice over actor appears, except for some early footage of Jonathan Taylor Thomas in the recording studio. Broderick, Jones, Irons, Guillaume, everyone is missing in action. While I am a regular critic of making-of featurettes where the cast all sit around and kiss each other's asses, a director with just a little foresight could get these people together to talk about this film without boring us. You may watch the second disc once, and probably never again. It's entirely expendable. But the first disc is a treat, and is all you will ever need.[/quote] That's enough extras for me. I rarely watch them as it is. I'm just interested in the much improved picture and sound. Progressive scan and DTS, yay!

That and the fact that many of the characters in the Deep Dive trailer are all in a drawing on the first set of images I posted. Mickey's even in his hooded outfit. It's even in this official wallpaper: [url]http://www.disney.co.jp/interactive/kingdom/com/images/wallpaper02_01.jpg[/url] There are clear images thanks to Gamespot. They looked resampled and cleaned up to me though, which might explain why most are so damn smooth. [img]http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2003/screen0/915410_20031002_screen001.jpg[/img] [img]http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2003/screen0/915410_20031002_screen002.jpg[/img] [img]http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2003/screen0/915410_20031002_screen003.jpg[/img] [img]http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2003/screen0/915410_20031002_screen004.jpg[/img] [img]http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2003/screen0/915410_20031002_screen005.jpg[/img] [img]http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2003/screen0/915410_20031002_screen006.jpg[/img] [img]http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2003/screen0/915410_20031002_screen007.jpg[/img] [img]http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2003/screen0/915410_20031002_screen008.jpg[/img] I'll post the GBA ones later.

Jonathan Taylor Thomas's voice never matured past that of a twelve year old and so he was effectively ostracized from the "cool" section of teen stars, where he henceforth faded into mediocrity. That's my theory anyway.

First time in awhile that I totally forgot the [url]http://[/url] part lol. Thank you.

I'm not sure if anyone else is having this problem... I've tried to deal with it for awhile how, but it's just getting to aggrivating. Any link I post in myOtaku by using "

The red smears in the background? I believe they are just the flames that around the Sephiroth on the right. It's a rather famous scene in terms of games heh.

I don't think you'd be disappointed by either of them, if you give them some time. Stereotype A is far more polished and accessible, but it also has quite a different sound compared to Viva! La Woman. Give it a chance, you'll probably get into it in some form.

I love Disney movies on the whole, but I always thought that Lion King was overrated. That isn't to say it's not great, but I just never got into it as much as I did a lot of their older stuff. I do think Disney has made some great things since then too, but obviously not as frequently. That's another thread, I guess. I will be getting it though, because I do like the movie. I can't wait to see it in progressive scan, should be gorgeous. I still have to pick up Sleeping Beauty too, which is one of my favorites. I need more money... heh.

It was funny when I saw this thread... mostly because it was really, really unexpected.... but also because I was playing something off of Daydream Nation. That has a lot of good tracks, but Washing Machine is still the best I've heard. I don't have much to add. Sonic Youth are a favorite band of mine, although they've yet to break into a top spot. I like them for a few reasons. The main one being the similiarities to my favorite band, the Pixies. Both just know how to rock, relying mostly on guitar work to do everything. Both bands also switch between male and female vocals, although it's a focal point in Sonic Youth. In the Pixies, it seems it was mostly just so Kim Deal would stop complaining (she never felt she got enough vocal time in the band). You can tell they could really be a break out band if they wanted to be. I've seen their videos on MTV, they've had a couple hits and they were on the Simpsons (they even did the ending song for the episode)... but they seem to keep themselves just behind that level. They always have some weird tracks on their disc or odd parts to song that just keep them from being totally radio friendly. I've always like this aspect of them. My only problem with Sonic Youth is that I feel some of their songs are just way too long. I don't mind long songs, but these guys take it to a new level at times... especially since some just seem to drone on and one with no end in sight. This is fine at the end of a CD, but I don't think I should have to listen to a wall of guitar noise for three minutes after the main part of the song has ended when I'm only on track 2.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Heaven's Cloud [/i] [B][color=indigo]I think it is funny how people are attempting to put a Robin Hood-esque (god, I love that suffix) twist to stealing anime by saying that it helps the industry in the long run. Let?s face the stone cold truth, downloading a fan sub is theft, it is a crime, and it should be. Fan subbers take licensed material, add subtitles, and then distribute that material without the consent of the artists that created it or the corporations that license it. The main argument for fan subbing seems to be that people that download fan subs tend to use it to determine what anime they will buy. While I understand the point, I fail to see how it justifies theft. I could make the same argument about shoplifters that steal clothes. They wear clothes, and they do occasionally buy clothes, but only if they enjoy them after they stole them. Personally, I don?t care whether or not you download fan subs; just don?t convince yourself that you are doing any thing other than stealing? [/color] [/B][/QUOTE] You've basically applied my whole MP3 argument to anime. Even the robin hood idea. I've never understood why people feel that way. It always seems to come up when someone wants something for free even though it's not exactly legal. Figures. Yes, I have downloaded anime. A few series, but not an abundance.In the case of an anime as good as Hale Nochi Guu, I would buy it if it was here. It simply isn't. I know of no way to get it either, outside of bootlegs... which doesn't help anyone other than some random HK company that doesn't own the rights in the first place. If I did find a Japanese import... then what? There are very, very rarely English subs on legit releases. It's double edged. There are instances where some of the stuff subbed simply never came out here. I'm not about to import a Japanese DVD I cannot understand, honestly. However, these seem to be rare situations... because usually brand new anime is fansubbed, and a good deal of it (like Wolf's Rain and Naruto) always had a good chance of coming here. So I guess it all just depends. I realize the consequences of it. I'm not about to put some self righteous spin on it so I can make myself feel secure in downloading stuff I shouldn't be.

The way you worded that is very confusing. I'm not even sure what it is you're saying exactly.

I didn't write the article, VH1 did. I didn't bother to proofread it lol. Anything done incorrectly in there isn't my fault, in fact I had to break it up. They apparently don't know what paragraphs are lol. I'm assuming P is the name of that film, although I'm not familiar with it. The extra area doesn't go anywhere as of yet. I'm debating even keeping it at this point. I just worked it in incase I wanted to add something in the future. The banners... well I did make them, but obviously the banners are made up of existing images. Mostly band photos and CD covers. I think they turned out well. I don't think color was really necessary in the Misfits site, and I still feel this one is perhaps a bit to under-colored... but it looks nice. I played around with that red a lot. I wanted to keep it in though, as I thought it helped break the rest of it up. And no, it's not centered. I didn't want it to be heh. Thanks for the comments.