Yesterware

Just checked out this article on IGN: Next-Gen DVD Copy-Protection Debacle If the article is accurate, and I have no reason to believe it isn't, it appears that the MPAA is trying to kill the next generation of DVDs before it's even born. They have made it a requirement to severely cripple next-gen DVD players for existing HDTV owners. Basically if you own an HD set today and try to play HD-DVD or Blu-Ray content in a couple of months when it comes out, at best you will be presented with a severely downgraded picture (From 1080p down to 720p, losing more than 30% of the picture quality), and at worst you may be presented with some warning to the effect that you're not allowed to play the content. This is particularly infuriating for me because my HDTV doesn't support 720p. In other words, the MPAA have let their irrational fear and broken business model destroy any chance of early adoption of the new format. The irony is that the AACS and HDCP (both code names for the ...

I can recall a time when I first began using the Internet, and only knew a handful of URL's - this would be the days before Google. Every time I would visit the Internet, I would instinctually visit the Working Designs home page to see when their latest and greatest translation would hit the shelves. For those of you unaware, Working Designs is probably the single greatest third-party publisher in all videogamedom. I was not aware of this until today, but the company closed its doors in December. The website's gone...it's over. I'm sadder about this than when Sony starved Bleem! into bankrupcy. And it appears that it was Sony's fault this time as well. So I thought I'd take a moment to reflect on the wonderful memories I have thanks to one of the greatest companies that ever was. Working Designs did not actually create the games they published, however they invariably made them better. The company painstakingly selected phenominal japanese titles that would othe...

My wife bought me a book she found on ThinkGeek called Real Ultimate Power: The Official Ninja Book . I'm always going on about how cool ninjas are - not many children of the 80's will disagree with me on that point. I even remember taking Ninjitsu classes for a little while when I was around 12. So my wife was browsing saw this and thought it sounded just like me. I've said some wild things about ninjas, but this is....well crazy. Let me first say that although this book reads like it was written by a 14-year old, I wouldn't recommend it for children - you'll understand why in a minute. Although the book claims to be all about Real Ninjas, it is in fact (and not surpringly so) about anything but. It contains a seemingly never-ending narrative about how "sweet" ninjas are and how they kill everything, interspersed with random footnotes which are not footnotes in a traditional sense at all, but represent conversations the author had with his editor, and wi...

So I ordered yet another game and it isn't here on the release date. After polling retailers and publishers, the best response I got about this was from Capcom and Electronics Boutique. IGN, and 1-UP.com just ignored me. The responses from Capcom and EB were basically the same thing. The "release date" is when the game is actually shipped. The reason that it sometimes hits retailers on that day has to do with distance from the warehouse and the expected popularity of the game. Evidently, some retailers will send courriers to pick games like Grand Theft Auto sequels up at the airport when they arrive as opposed to waiting until UPS gets around to dropping it off, but ho-hum titles like the ones I like to buy - Wild Arms 4, Grandia III, they're perfectly content to let wait an extra day to save the expense. In conclusion, there is no intelligent element at work here, just cost/benefit ratio's and companies that really don't care about a one or two days in t...

Advertising is a necessary evil of capitalism. I'm not debating that. My biggest qualm is with the deceitful, underhanded, unethical, insulting and downright evil techniques that modern advertisers employ to try to separate consumers from their money. In it's purest form, advertisement is informing someone that your product exists and what its intended use is. Example: We have a product called Tide. It is a laundry detergent. It is for cleaning your clothes. That's simple, honest, to the point and accurate. Completely wrong according to today's advertisers. Today's advertisers look at their job as inducing you (the consumers) to buy a specific product. They don't care if the product is good, if it works, or if you need it. All they care about is getting you to buy it. They will say or do anything to get you to do this short of breaking the law - and sometimes even then if they think they can make enough profit to offset the penalty. After bombarding generations ...

I'm a big believer in the honor system. Not very many people are anymore, so this makes me look like a sucker sometimes. I trust people to do the right thing and give them every opportunity to do so. Sure, I'm disappointed sometimes, but there is no better alternative. Law makers and corporations seem to think they have a better alternative. They strive to replace the honor system with laws and safeguards that patently prevent people from doing the wrong thing. For example - people who fear the misuse of guns would like to make laws preventing anyone from having one. That way it is no longer up to the individual to decide whether or not to go on a shooting spree and kill a lot of other people. Sure, we would lose the freedom to bear arms, but we would gain the security of knowing that if someone wanted to kill us, they couldn't do it with a gun. Another example - pop machines (or soda machines if you prefer) are designed to ensure that you pay for your can or bottle of pop...