Channel Surfing: Feb 24-Mar 1
Last week in the good old VGC (Video Games Channel for those of you not hip to the lingo…yo) was a busy one, despite the server’s display of teenage angst. In days gone by, I used to share my thoughts on some of the posts of fellow VGC members in a category called “Channel Surfing” and I think it’s time that I reinstated that tradition due to the immense amount of really cool stuff that you might be missing out on if you (tsk tsk) read all of the blogs in the channel with the same obsessive fervour that I do.
Here’s a quick look at some of what was going on elsewhere in the past week:
- Mike at FPS Rantings continues his love affair with the game and turns all Martha Stewart-like, declaring that The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay “is not quite an FPS and it’s a good thing”. He also claims that it’s not a typical movie-to-game adaptation either, which is a bit like finding a gold nugget in a pile of horse sh*t. So Mike…help me out here, what makes Riddick so atypical on both counts?
- Kiven from Games Industry Wire reports on the shot down buy out bid of roughly $2 billion dollars made by Electronic Arts to Take-Two. Not only did the Take-Two board give the deal two thumbs down, but they were less then complimentary about the proposal.
- The indomitable Patrick from Ironic Gamer reveals the horror (my choice of descriptor) of the latest English language MMORPG from Sanrio…Hello Kitty Online. Think of it as WoW, with trades, commerce and battles…but pink, fluffy and all cute-like. Ew.
- Joel at MMOtaku dishes the dirt about the death of one of China’s biggest players in the casual games market: 9you. Did they go bankrupt? Involve themselves in illicit activity? Nah. They’re actually growing and have merged with Shanghai Everstar Online Entertainment Co. Ltd to create a whole new behemoth in the Asian market, now called Shanghai Nineyou Interactive Community and Media Co. Ltd. Check Joel’s post out for more details.
- Patrick (Play-Gadgets) presents a software gadget that promotes entertainment efficiency and coordination. He brought something righteously cool to my attention from one of my favourite blogs on the internet: Lifehacker, who tells Wii owners how to turn your little white box into a slick multi-media centre.
- Nadia over at PSMonger comments on Sony bigwig Phil Harrison’s displeasure with the inert state of the Japanese sector of the company. He’s understandably a little grumpy that while SoJ was swearing up and down that social gaming would never fly in Japan, the Wii swooped in and turned gaming into a Brady Bunch activity. Three days later, she reports Harrison’s departure from the company, speculating that it was lunch snack theft that was the true cause.
More next week, but that should keep you busy for the rest of the weekend.
Image from: NASA
