One of the most recognized racing franchises is FINALLY going to appear on the PSP this October 1st. Why I find this significant is that Gran Turismo for the PSP was supposed to be a launch title. This is one of, if not the most, delayed titles ever to actually get a release on the system for which it was announced. Yea, “Racing onto PSPs.” For more information about this release, hit the Sony site HERE.

Also of note, the October 1st release date is also the launch for the new PSP Go which is seen in the above picture and in the trailer below. So, I guess that Sony can still call it a “launch” title for the PSP…just not the original incarnation of the platform. Having said that, the PSP Go is compatible with the current PSP hardware. Besides the cosmetic differences, it does not have a UMD drive and it uses solid state memory to store downloadable games.

For those of you who may be wondering, yes – Gran Turismo will be playable on both the current hardware and the new Go. Now take a look at the cool trailer below and share a comment below stating how it’s about time!

The Economist printed an interesting article last week that gathers some recent research on the behavioral effects of video games.

The first bit of research focused on what the researchers called “pro-social” gaming. Dr. Douglas Gentile studies the effects of gamers after playing games from one of two groups. The first group involved fighting and destructive games and the second were games in which the player assists other characters. (A third group of games were the control – puzzle games.)

…those who spent the longest playing games which involved helping others were most likely to help, share, co-operate and empathise with others. They also had lower scores in tests for hostile thoughts and the acceptance of violence as normal.

Tobias Greitemeyer and Silvia Osswald followed the thinking in  Dr. Gentile’s research and focused even more on positive gaming leading to positive thoughts.

…the students were asked to say what happens next in three incomplete stories involving a driver and a cyclist who narrowly miss colliding; two friends, one of whom is unapologetic despite being repeatedly late; and a diner speaking to a restaurant manager after waiting for an hour to be served and then having food spilt on him. Those who had played “Lemmings” suggested endings in which the characters in the stories exhibited significantly fewer aggressive thoughts, responses and actions than the ones suggested by the “Tetris” players.

The conclusion drawn is that video games in which the player is rewarded for assisting other characters tend to result in players to act positivly in real life social situations.  Games with violence, or where you harm characters, resulted in players acting in anti-social ways.

Some of the comments are thought provoking.  One claims that the researchers should have picked more current and mainstream games to test with.  Others argue that other societal factors, such as the current state of the economy, are more likely the cause of violent behavior.

Photo by Helico – Licensed under Creative Commons (Thanks to Tim S. for sending this in)

Well, well, well… Three holes in the ground and all have been created for Guinness World Records Gamer’s Edition. Thanks to THIS ARTICLE from our friends at Kotaku, we are aware of the Guinness top 50 most influential games of all time.

In all honesty, this is not an easy list to create due to the very subjective nature of the medium. I believe that they attempted to avoid the natural shortfall of trying to choose the 50 “best” games of all time. However, if you are going to claim a criteria, you should adhere to it and I don’t believe that they did. Defining something as influential should be more easily proven than deciding whether or not something is good. If a game is influential, its impact should be observed by how it has changed the industry. I question whether or not many of these titles have had enough time to become influential. Furthermore, some of these more recent titles have been included at the expense of others which I believe have proven their influence.

Before I go any further, let us look at the list:

1. Super Mario Kart
2. Tetris
3. Grand Theft Auto
4. Super Mario World
5. Zelda Ocarina of Time
6. Halo
7. Resident Evil IV
8. Final Fantasy XII
9. Street Fighter II
10. GoldenEye
11. Super Mario 64
12. Tomb Raider
13. Metal Gear Solid
14. Call of Duty 4
15. Sonic the Hedgehog 2
16. GTA San Andreas
17. Super Mario Bros
18. Zelda: A Link to the Past
19. Gran Turismo
20. Final Fantasy VII
21. Pro Evolution Soccer 4
22. The Orange Box
23. Lego Star Wars Complete Saga
24. Tekken 2
25. Wii Sports
26. Pokemon Red/Blue
27. Guitar Hero
28. Project Gotham Racing 4
29. Super Mario Galaxy
30. Resident Evil
31. Ico
32. Chrono Trigger
33. Gunstar Heroes
34. Soul Calibur
35. Advance Wars
36. Ridge Racer
37. Super Metroid
38. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
39. GTA Vice City
40. BioShock
41. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
42. The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
43. God of War
44. Sega Rally Championship
45. Starfox 64
46. Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
47. WarioWare Inc
48. Saturn Bomberman
49. Crash Bandicoot
50. Outrun 2

Now I won’t argue whether or not any of these games are good. Most of them, if not all, are exceptional games in one way or another. What I am most concerned about is the title of “influential.” In order to know whether or not something is influential one must have enough time to measure its impact on its environment. Now Chris and I both agreed that Super Mario Galaxy was a great game back in Game Apparent Episode 3 and our 2007 Holiday Recommendations. However, we have not yet witnessed the way it has shaped a generation and inspired other developers and artists to change their point of view. In contrast, I was saddened to see a true lack of historical perspective with the absence of titles like Donkey Kong, Pong, Zork, and Space Invaders.

Now our friend Josh suggested that this list could have been for console titles only. That would fit considering the lack of any arcade titles or games that were released only on computers. However, doesn’t that seem to contradict the very nature of the premise? If the list is supposed to document what games have had the most influence, why would one include GoldenEye and Halo without even a nod to the title that created the first-person-shooter genre – Wolfenstein 3D? As for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, it’s hard to consider the latest installment of an influential franchise without reflecting upon its own roots and originally The Elder Scrolls titles (Arena and Daggerfall) were both PC-based.

There are other clear issues with the list. For example, three different Grand Theft Auto games? As much as I appreciate the franchise, I don’t think that it deserves three separate entries. Heck, there’s only one Metroid title, one Castlevania title, and no entries for Megaman or Contra – yet they give three slots to GTA. And as much as I enjoy the Lego Star Wars franchise, I don’t know if I’d place it on this list. That’s more of an example of how influential Star Wars has been on our culture.

Please, forgive the rant. I am just concerned how easy it is to re-write history and the more people repeat something, the more credible others perceive it to be. Like any art or entertainment form, one must remember the “classics” in order to appreciate context and the evolution of the medium. Whether studying literature, music, and sculpture or film, comics, and videogames, our most recent expressions are built upon the insights, ideas, and innovations of those who have passed before. To lose perspective of what has been “influential” to a medium discredits the accomplishments of the true visionaries who paved the way for others to follow.

Now that I’ve said my piece, feel free to comment.

Micro transactions…downloadable content…updates…expansions…whatever you call it, the gaming industry is leveraging online marketplaces to sell additional gaming goodness for less than the cost of a whole new game via your local brick-and-mortar location.

Expansion packs are nothing new with this generation of gaming, however there are a number of factors that are making this a more feasible option for many console players. Right now all of the current generation systems have the ability to store content locally. The Wii uses flash ram. The Xbox 360 has an optional harddrive. Even if you choose to buy the Xbox 360 Arcade without a harddrive, you can add one on later. And all PS3s come with a harddrive. This means that each system has a place to store downloaded content.

Add to this our current economy and finding cost-effective ways to re-vitalize gameplay of your favorite title seems far more frugal than buying a whole new game at full-price which you may or may not enjoy as much. This is an important concept for parents. How many times have you heard a child (yours or another) beg for a game only to realize later that it was a total dissappointment. (Anyone my age remember E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial for the Atari VCS?) The fact is that if you know your child likes a game and you can add new levels to it or add another character which changes the gameplay experience, you get more fun for less than buying another game.

The industry is leveraging this more than ever even to the point that some games are created with the expectation that people will invest more in downloadable enhancements to the game than the original investment in the game itself. Look at the Rock Band and Guitar Hero franchises. Every week Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony push the latest song packs for these titles through their online marketplaces. Granted, there is logic to extending the value of something you enjoy as long as the original game is worth its initial investment freestanding. My biggest concern is that at some point the industry may choose to release Rock Band 7 with only one demo song per each of 5 genres because they expect you to fully customize the experience. Yet, they will charge the full amount for the title.

Perhaps it’s the cynic in me.

Anyway, for now there are some real interesting options available for all three current generation platforms. Those who have the Xbox 360 who enjoy GTA IV (M-rated – not for the kiddies) are probably excited that Microsoft has secured an exclusive expansion which has an entire new story and characters using the original engine. Burnout Paradise (E10+rated) has offered a number of enhancements on the PS3 and 360 and many were free! And Little Big Planet (E-rated) for the PS3 has a number of costumes and levels available online.

However, LIttle Big Planet offers something which I hope to see more frequently. It presents the ability for the community to create their own content and share it free of charge. This is nothing new to the mod scene for PC games, but it has been much less common on the consoles. I hope that we see more games with this ability because it not only creates additional content with which to enjoy the game, but it opens provides a whole different form of entertainment through the creative process and, thus, offers a whole different type of “play.”

Enjoy!

It would appear that others in the gaming press were also wondering about Sony’s commitment to backward compatibility in the PlayStation 3. A recent article at The Koalition quotes a response from Sony regarding a rumored PS2 emulator for the PS3. Sony states:

I am not sure where you are getting your information from, but at no point did we say that there would be some sort of emulation being brought to PS3. At no point has this strategy changed and therefore I can tell you that there are no plans to bring back backwards compatibility to PS3.

For Sony’s full response, read the entire article HERE. Ironically, the statement emphasizes the importance of the current titles and downplays the need for backward compatibility in general. Yet, the current PS3s are still backward compatible with the original PS1 system.

Yet another article at The Koalition harshly criticizes Sony’s approach as failing to support their “10-year life cycle.” This article is a scathing commentary on the elimination of backward compatibility in subsequent PS3 hardware releases. Be warned, the frustration shines through in some more mature language, but for the most part this is a well-formed argument and not some childish rant. I particularly like the author’s suggestion for Sony in his conclusion.

Perhaps Sony is still hoping to sell new PS2s since they are still publishing new games for their previous generation system. Who knows. All I can say is that as a parent of three who enjoys gaming and expects my kids to continue to enjoy gaming, I need to find any way to stretch my money – especially with our current economic challenges. If Sony and Microsoft still insist on abandoning their previous libraries in hopes of making their audience purchase all new games, I fear that they will alienate their followings and Nintendo will smile as we all abandon our 360s and Ps3s to play our Wiis.

I remember my parents previewing the original Star Wars (known now as “Episode IV: A New Hope”) back in the summer of 1977 to see if they thought that it would be appropriate fare for my brother (9) and me (11). Ironically, we were at home hiding under the covers because we had been watching the 1953 War of the Worlds. (Man, those aliens were creepy!) As it is, the PG rating seems overprotective for what most see these days. Yet, my parents wanted to be sure.

Fast-forward 31 years and we are looking at a videogame that has gotten a unique George Lucas seal of approval. This title is the official bridge between Episode III and Episode IV. Granted, depending on your choice at the final battle, you can experience either the canon or non-canon ending. But my real question as I was playing it was, “What would my parents have thought?” Honestly, this title is much darker than any of the original trilogy. Episode IV-VI feel much more innocent as they tell the story of Luke Skywalker. Whereas the newer trilogy (especially Episode II-III) have a much more sinister quality in that they document the tragic fall of his father Anakin.

But Force Unleashed tells the story of a boy who Darth Vader turns to the dark side of the Force after killing his father. Even the premise begins darker. As you play this character, you are responsible for slaying Jedi Knights and, in one level, you are expected to kill virtually everyone with whom you come in contact (enemies and allies alike) to eliminate surviving witnesses. Now don’t get me wrong – I really enjoyed the game. However, it is not the story that my parents would have taken my brother and me to see back in the Summer of 1977.

I have had a chance to play the demo for the PlayStation 3 and it is gorgeous. The PSP version is very impressive considering the capabilities of the handheld in comparison. I’ve seen the Xbox 360 version and it appears to be every bit as beautiful as the PS3 version and the Nintendo DS iteration seems to be on par with the PSP. I hear that the Wii takes advantage of the Wiimote for lightsaber control (how cool is that?!?!). I have never played a Star Wars game in which I felt more like a Jedi (or a Sith) than in this title. Sure, the camera can get a little squirrelly and the targeting is less than perfect. However, the immersive experience and the sense of awe that you will have at the power of the dark side is downright intoxicating.

Yet, I must say that the ESRB Teen rating for this is appropriate. This rating expects the player to be at least 13 years of age and considering the lack of respect for human life and the protagonist’s questionable ethical foundation, I would not necessarily want this anti-hero to be a role model for a young child. His actions could be perceived as too exhilarating when, in fact, they are driven by evil and manipulative purposes.

In classic Lucas form, the opportunity for redemption becomes available in the end. However, by that point, I question whether or not the player can be redeemed. I know that after 15 or so hours of playing this character and using the Force Choke and the Force Lightning (both non-Jedi Force powers), I don’t know to what extent I would want to cease using the power of the Force as an offensive tool.

All in all, it’s an excellent story that reveals some interesting information about the time that passes between the two trilogies. I would not recommend it for the younger children. But for the teens and older in your household, it is quite a ride. I also believe that this could provide an excellent discussion tool for ethical decisions for those middle schoolers and high schoolers in your family.

May the Force be with you.

It seems that any time anyone reports on his ludicrous claims that the only outcome is his face on TV. Which doesn’t add anything to the discussion, only deludes the important matters at hand and gives him the attention he so craves.

The young man who felt that the only option was to go on a violent shooting spree was just another soul who society had failed. Violence was the result of his internal issues and could perhaps be a cause, but I serioulsy doubt the man ‘trained’ in Counter Strike.

I understand Thomson spent umpteen hours studying to be a lawyer. And I understand that he’s apparently successful in his career choice. But sometimes (read: all the time) he just sounds totally off his rocker. Apparently in his latest attempt to get attention he’s contacted the NIU public safety department asking the following:

“Pursuant to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request production of copies of all documents that reveal Steven Kazmierczak’s play of violent video games,”

With comments like that it’s just too easy to pick on him. I can only hope it’s just as easy for those in positions of power and in the media to ignore him.

BTW: Curse GamePolitics for having such good content. I keep linking to them.

Jack Thompson sculpture in Central Park from *PaysImaginaire*‘s Flickr page.

In her report for the Times Online, Janice Turner takes a rather dismal and defeatist look at television and how it effects the youth in Britian. While generally not focused on video games she does mention them.

“…These are Satan’s Sudoku, crack cocaine of the brain. Even the crappiest cartoon or lamest soap teaches a child about character, plot, drama, humour, life. Playing videogames, children are mentally imprisoned, wired into their evil creators’ brains. And they play them – beepety-beep – on journeys, over family meals, any minute in which they find themselves unamused.”

Yeah, ok. She sound perfectly well balanced. Check out the article and let her know what you think in the comments.

BTW, while reading this I kept thinking of the conversation between Nigel and Austin Powers in Goldmember

CC liscensed photo from brandylee via Flickr.

A fact that seems to have slipped past Blogger Kevin McCullough. This lack of insight appears to have fueled his attack on the Xbox 360 game Mass Effect in this poorly written and grossly inaccurate rant. We became aware of this disturbing piece of “journalism” thanks to this post at Game Politics. I do not want to waste the space to quote from McCullough’s piece and point out the numerous misrepresentations. As it is, Game Politics did an impressive job of restraining themselves and limiting their selections. Suffice it to say that McCullough has so many mistakes in his story that once they’re removed, there isn’t much of an article left.

What is of relevance to us here is that this individual is apparently outraged at some mature content in a videogame. So much so that he doesn’t look close enough to see that the game is clearly targeted to an audience of 17+ years and that the 30 second risque scene is less graphic than what appears on most mature television dramas these days.

I appreciate any attempts to help us parents make informed decisions about content to which our children should have access. However, when the discussion becomes slanderous and seems to encourage censorship I have to question the true motivation of the writer.

In our households, we still need to ”baby-proof” things. The thought of a razor blade left in one of the kids’ rooms sends shivers down our spines. But what McCullough did here was like trying to have the local pharmacy shut down because they sell razor blades in their shaving department. And, in his horror to realize this, he chose to call them nuclear-powered and said that they would kill on contact. (My father will roll his eyes when he reads this and say, “All analogies are suspect,” but I couldn’t help it.)

Here at Game Apparent we’ve said it before and we’ll be saying it for years to come. Not all games are for kids. This is one of the reasons that we decided to create this site. If there’s ever a question, you ALWAYS have resources at your disposal:

• Check the ESRB rating for the game.
• Post a question in our Forums.
• Email us directly – Chris or Ted.
• Visit our friends at Gamer Dad and search their site for a review.

We’re all in this together and as long as we have the proper tools, we can make informed decisions on behalf of our families.

In our last article, Chris brought up the concept of licensed games and how they make their way onto our children’s wish lists. It is important to understand the politics of making a game that has a television or, especially, a movie tie-in. The rule of thumb is that these games are rarely great games. There are exceptions, but they are infrequent. The fact is that nothing can be more frustrating for a family during the holidays than to get a highly anticipated game as a gift only to realize that it isn’t fun at all. Well, one thing is more frustrating…being the parent who paid $50-$60 for that game and realizing that it was wasted money.

Licensed games are titles that are created to extend the experience which began with the film upon which the game is based. The thought is that if you really loved the movie, you’d like to take on the role of the hero and experience it yourself. The concept makes sense and to the massive entertainment industry, it gives them yet another opportunity to market something based on a successful franchise to its target audience at the height of its popularity. This last part of the equation is crucial. I will reiterate that it should be timed for release at the height of the franchise’s popularity.

This means that as teenagers were leaving the theatre after seeing Spider-man in the spring/summer of 2002, it was important to have a playable game available in the stores that they could buy while the experience of the film was still fresh. With this in mind, the game was released two weeks before the movie and was available accordingly. In the case of the Spider-man games that tied to the movies, they haven’t been bad. (Although the current Spider-man 3 for the PS2 and Wii isn’t highly recommended. The Xbox 360 and PS3 versions are better.)

The challenge is that to have a game available for the optimum sales window, it must be completed, packaged, and in the stores when the movie is released. This is a firm deadline and cannot be pushed back. There are many developers who estimate game releases and then push them back when they realized that they have unforeseen challenges. GTA 4 for the PS3 and Xbox 360 was delayed from Fall 2007 to a Spring 2008 release. A number of developers (and most gamers I know) would prefer that a game get delayed in order to provide the developers the time needed to fully realize the experience. Sure, we all would prefer to get things sooner, but how many people would rather have pancake batter poured onto their plates at a restaurant instead of waiting until the pancake is finished?

In the case of a firm deadline, game companies have to ship the game in the state it’s in. Since this deadline is understood early on, sacrifices are made during development in order to stay on schedule. There are three aspects to any project (not just games):
1) Time
2) Resources (i.e., money, staff, facilities)
3) Quality
If one of these is firm, then adjusting to handle unforseen challenges falls upon the other two. In the case of a licensed title, you can’t change the deadline so you either have to put more money into the development or you sacrifice the quality of the production.

One of the first (and most notorious examples) of a poor franchise videogame was the original E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial for the Atari 2600. In Howard Scott Warshaw’s (the game’s programmer) defense, he only had 5 weeks to make the game and he told me in a conversation that I had with him a few years back that two of those weeks were spent on coding the title screen alone. He had a firm deadline and no one else in the company wanted to work on a doomed project so his resources were limited. What happened? Quality was sacrificed.

This was only the first of hundreds of licensed games that have not met the expectations of the game-playing public. This is not to say that all movie-based games are bad. Two of the three Lord of the Rings games (all rated “T” for teen) for the last generation consoles (Gamecube, PS2, & Xbox) were excellent. The Two Towers and The Return of the King had co-op play that allow you and your kid to share in the experience. As for The Fellowship of the Ring, you’re better off watching the movie again or, better yet, just pull out the book and read it with your family!