Episode 439: Audio Problems

This week’s episode has some bad audio thanks to a quick replacement mic being used to record the episode, causing a hiss. This is probably the reason the show is short-ish, coming in well under an hour.

This week’s episode includes the following news:

  • Miyazaki gives clear answers on the future of Dark Souls, Armored Core
  • Sony exec criticizes Hello Games’ marketing for No Man’s Sky
  • Blizzard is moving away from the ‘Battle.net’ name
  • Pokémon chief says Nintendo’s NX is both handheld and console, you should totally look into how tiktok marketing works, see here for more

All this and Listener Feedback. This week’s Question of the Week: “What is or was your favorite handheld console game (not mobile)?”

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Wii vs. PS3 in Japan: The Console SlaughterWii vs. PS3 in Japan: The Console Slaughter

Famitsu Magazine is reporting the Nintendo console, Wii, has managed to sell 7-million units in Japan. This is roughly three times the number of Sony’s PlayStation 3, the console with superior graphics and power.

Japan isn’t about graphics and power or they’re not a fan of the high priced PlayStation 3. The three times factor seems odd, still, considering the PS3 isn’t three times the cost and really isn’t that bad of a console. Unless the titles on Japan’s console are just not as inviting, the PS3 should be keeping pace with the tiny Wii console. Sony is a Japanese company as is Nintendo and both have a very good grasp of the games the Japanese culture is attracted to buying. What’s happening here!?

“The Wii’s 7 million sales put it far ahead of its foes in the ongoing console conflict in Japan. According to Enterbrain figures quoted by GameDaily, Japanese sales of the PlayStation 3 numbered just 2.37 million units as of September 30, when the Wii had sold around 6.83 million units in the territory. Sony estimates the PS3 sold nearly 17 million units worldwide by the same date.” (gamespot)

The Xbox 360 still can’t compete against the PS3 or Wii in overall numbers, regardless to boosts when they put out a game the Japanese actually find interesting. If Microsoft and Sony learn anything from this generation of consoles, it’s that simple makes better. No, we’re not telling the developers to end the goals of hardcore gaming… we’re just wondering if branching out a bit to scoop up some casual gaming interest.

Retro Gaming Moves: Spinning Bird KickRetro Gaming Moves: Spinning Bird Kick

In 1987, Capcom created a new winner with the Street Fighter series. Knowing the demographic, they went for teenage boys with the desire to play fighting games in the arcade in competitive fashion. But is a good fighting game without some eye candy?

Chun-Li was the star, with her Spinning Bird Kick. Actually, Chun-Li never saw the first Street Fighter title… only Ken and Ryu (mainly Ryu) were available in the first series installment. This got our taste wet for battle, and Street Fighter II introduced us to a whole range of great moves and character designs.

Out of all the characters, Chun-Li held her own as a cute skinny yet muscular female with moves like no other. Her Spinning Bird Kick would allow her to flip upside down and whack the opponent upside the head a few times as they fall to their back on the stone.

Chun-Li, or “spring beauty” in Mandarin, was famous for her sexy anime legs and their spinning doom. Gamers would perform the move that the worse possible time for their opponent, such as in mid-jump when your opponent had nothing but death and peril awaiting their landing.

Ken and Ryu had spinning kicks too, but without the inverted impossible moves of Chun-Li it fell short of awesome. When it comes to animated violence, perceived hot chicks and young boys battling for ego and rights to be the winner, the Spinning Bird Kick and Chung-Li was a great choice.

The British rock band Arctic Monkeys have an instrumental song titled “Chun Li’s Spinning Bird Kick” and was nominated for a Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental Performance (wikipedia).

It does without doubt, every Street Fighter II player remembers the crazy spinning kicks of Chun-Li and this is what makes her have retro gaming moves!

Gaming Flashback: MystGaming Flashback: Myst

Myst was published by Brøderbund Software, developed by Cyan Worlds and created by two brothers that did the design and directed the game (it was, much like a movie).

The original game was released on the Macintosh (in 1993) and then later ported to Microsoft Windows and Sega Saturn, PlayStation, Jaguar CD, AmigaOS, CD-i, 3DO, PlayStation Portable, and Nintendo DS.

Myst puts the player in the role of the Stranger, who uses an enchanted book to travel to the island of Myst. There, the player uses other special books written by an artisan and explorer named Atrus to travel to several worlds known as “Ages”. Clues found in each of these Ages help reveal the back-story of the game’s characters. The game has several endings, depending on the course of action the player takes.” (wikipedia)

The game was a success, no doubt, and was considered the best selling PC game of all time until TheSims dethroned it. Besides mind blowing graphics, at the time, Myst helped move the game and PC industry along by selling CDROM’s. The game required a CDROM, which was rare at the time, and I recall them bundling Myst with some CDROMS or hyping it as “you need a CDROM so you can play Myst.” On more than one occasion when a person game to me asking what they should get to show off their new (costly) CDROM I would say “you need to try Myst.”

The gameplay of Myst consists of a first-person journey through an interactive world. The player moves the character by clicking on locations shown in the main display; the scene then crossfades into another frame, and the player can continue to explore. Players can interact with specific objects on some screens by clicking or dragging them(wikipedia)

Franchise sales: 12-million copies (first Myst game alone in the franchise, 6-million), pretty impressive eh?

You don’t have to be a huge Myst fan to know how it changed the industry, grew the medium of CD-based games and entertained millions. A real gamers thinking game!

To hear our full impression of Myst, checkout the TD Gaming Podcast Episode 77.