Gabe Newell Tells Game Informer All About the Wii

I have two video game developers that I really love. One is Retro studios. The other, is Valve. All the games that come out from either of these two studios seem to be instant gold, and are considered the some of the best, if not the best, games on their respective platforms. Another common characteristic is that both of these companies take complete advantage of the hardware they use and we are then presented with a game with excellent art style and graphics that continue to look good well into future video game generations.

Gabe Newell, one of the co-founders of the Valve corporation, and one of the original creators of the PC first person shooter franchise, Half Life, recently told Game Informer what he thought about the current generation of consoles that are out today, specifically the Nintendo Wii.

"I think the Wii represents more of a challenge because of its input. You can think of the Xbox 360 as pretty much a PC and a PlayStation as kind of a PC. The Wii gives you a bunch of problems that don't fit into that model," Newell told Game Informer.

"I think it's more valuable. I think it's more interesting than just graphics chip - CPU combination. It's the machine I have at home. The fact that we don't have anything in development on it even though it represents big opportunities as a whole is an obvious hole in our strategy."

This could be a hint of something big for the Wii in the near future. If any company can push the Wii to it's maximum potential in terms of graphics and innovative gameplay, it would be Valve. What I wouldn't give for a Half Life game on the Wii. I don't care if it's a mini-game compilation where you beat citizens with a shock stick as a Combine police officer, or harass innocent civilians as a head crab.

More after the jump.

Now that I think about it, out of all the games in Valve's upcoming lineup, Portal would most definitely be most suited for the Wii.


Portal is probably one of the most innovative PC games I've seen in a very long time. I'd even say it is more innovative than some of the Wii games out today. I'm not sure if the Wii can pull off some of the graphics that have been portrayed in recent trailers and demos of Portal, but I'd absolutely love to see Valve give it a try. Valve also has a long history when it comes to first person shooters. Many journalists have said that Retro Studios Metroid Prime 3 has pretty much nailed down the first person shooter formula for the Wii. I'm not saying whether they have or have not, but I will soon find out seeing how I have the game still in it's shrink wrap laying on my entertainment center.

If Valve puts it's chips on the table, all the more better for the Wii. If good studios such as Valve and Retro continue to set the bar so high, other companies will have to try to do as good or better, or they will know their game has already failed before it is even released. Up until the release of Metroid Prime 3, no arch-type existed in terms of the first person shooter for the Wii. Red Steel should have been it, and I refuse to beat that dead horse. Call of Duty 3 was passable, but not solid. Medal of Honor: Vanguard had, in my opinion, the best first person shooter control scheme. When it came down to taking cover and firing, I would honestly say it is as good, if not better than a mouse and keyboard.

The only problem was, you could not move while aiming; you had to stand still. Of course you could move and fire from the hip, but that made your weapon accuracy plummet so you were lucky if you hit anything at a long distance. On top of all that, the actual game itself was extremely mediocre and a shame to the franchise.

Back on the subject of Metroid, Prime 3 may have after all, tamed the FPS beast on the Wii. But as many people including myself have said hundreds of times in the past, Metroid Prime is not a true first person shooter. Rather, it is an adventure game from the first person perspective. I know I am being nitpicky here, but what else can I say? The first person shooter is my favorite genre when it comes to video games, so I do feel obligated to be extremely politically correct about the subject.

What do you think? First off, is Newell's slight disappointment with his company enough to say that software for the Wii is indeed coming? What would Valve create, and more importantly, what would be better? Existing software or something brand new? Valve has already gotten their feet wet in the console market. They have not exactly made a big splash in that pool, but they are poised to with their upcoming release of Half-Life 2: Episode 2 and all the other games that come with it. Why not the Nintendo Wii as well?

Marketing and distribution would be no problems since they will team up with EA. Valve is a company that loves to make games. They love to make great games that are unforgettable. I am sure you will agree that the Nintendo Wii is an excellent platform to use to continue to create great games just like they have in the past.

[Via: GamePro]

[ADVANCE]

The Balancing Act: An Art Perfected by Nintendo

Looking at the recent first-party releases on both the Wii and the DS, it’s hard to imagine that the company creating these games is the same one that was churning out 8-bit games like Metroid and The Legend of Zelda way back in the 1980s. Where, once upon a time, the games created by Nintendo back in the NES and SNES eras encouraged players to develop skills and reflexes to beat them, most games now focus on being easy to “pick up and play”, and are targeted at a far broader audience than SNES titles were.

This line of thinking is obviously nothing new to any Nintendo faithful. The company’s direction has clearly changed from what it used to be earlier, and considering how well the Wii and DS are currently doing, it would be silly to assume that Nintendo will change their strategy any time soon. While the core Nintendo feel of “family-oriented games” has always been present, it is far more apparent now than in the past. However, while they cater to these “casual gamers”, Nintendo has also vowed to not forget their longtime fans, who made them what they are today.

While it sounds impossible, it probably isn’t. The one thing Nintendo has always been good at is balance. Despite Nintendo being a company of massive proportions, it has always been able to successfully micro-manage several projects at once, and this is the reason that Nintendo’s strategies are so unpredictable.


When Wii Fit was announced, no one was prepared for what Nintendo showed off. The “hardware reveal” that was rumoured to be at the company’s press conference at the E3 Business & Media Summit was thought to be a new DS design or a new Wii SKU with a built-in hard disk. Instead, Nintendo introduced their “Balance Board”, yet another crazy input device targeted at the casual gamer, but not one without a huge amount of potential for hardcore game control as well. Within days of the revelation, both Square Enix and Electronic Arts publicly expressed an interest in developing games for the board.

The Balance Board is fully expected to give a significant boost to the Wii, which is already enjoying a ton of positive press and ridiculously high sales numbers. And amidst the Brain Ages and Wii Fits and numerous casual games on the DS, we’re still seeing a fairly generous stream of “hardcore” first-party titles making their way to retail this year. In less than a year into the Wii’s lifespan, we’ve seen Twilight Princess, Metroid Prime 3, Mario Strikers and Mario Party. And with the AAA offerings Super Mario Galaxy and Super Smash Bros. right around the corner, one can hardly complain that Nintendo is ignoring their “hardcore” fans.

Perhaps the immense popularity of the Wii is what has sparked the enormously high expectations that result in these complaints. Or perhaps it is due to the company’s new direction and reputation, which it has been wearing proudly for the past year and a half. Whatever the case, it is fairly apparent that several of these complaints are without merit. Come this holiday season, and even the most hardcore Nintendo faithful will probably be able to look back and agree that it wasn’t a bad year for first-party titles at all.


Sometimes, I truly am intrigued by how Nintendo seem inhumanly capable of micro-managing so many projects … so many different assets all at once. Part of the reason, of course, has to be Shigeru Miyamoto, who seems to have his fingers in far too many different pies at once. Indeed, the designer who was not so long ago working on perfecting Twilight Princess is now hard at work on both Super Mario Galaxy and Wii Fit – two games of entirely different genres, ideology and gameplay.

In the mean time, you have Eiji Aonuma’s team, which started work on The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass as far back as 2004, while Aonuma was still working on Twilight Princess. As we speak, the same team is also working on a new Zelda game built ground-up for the Wii. Indeed, even the Wii itself was well in development shortly after the GameCube’s release.

I don’t even want to try and imagine who worked on Mario Party, Pokemon Diamond & Pearl, Brain Age 2 and the upcoming Mario Kart for Wii.

Also, keep in mind that, not too long ago, Gunpei Yokoi’s R&D1 team merged with Miyamoto’s EAD division. Metroid: Dread (if it really exists) is probably being developed by them as well. And then, there’s that matter of Nintendo having acquired Monolith Soft, the studio behind the excellent XenoSaga games. I suspect this was done to 1) Get Monolith cracking on a role-playing game to cater to Nintendo’s hardcore fans, and 2) To get the studio more involved with Nintendo’s own senior (or more experienced) development staff, who are undoubtedly giving Monolith guidance wherever they need it.

Equal credit goes to Nintendo of America, which not only develops games itself, but also localizes all of Nintendo’s first-party titles. Considering the seamless transition Nintendo games make from Japanese to English, this can’t be an easy task.

In addition to this, the company is tasked with the huge job of showing third-party developers the ropes with regard to Wii development. Make no mistake; Nintendo probably receives a fair number of calls from developers who require some help with various aspects of the Wiimote.


Over the past 20 years, Nintendo has managed to perfect the ability to balance … the ability to create content across so many different genres, targeted at so many different kinds of people, that one can only imagine the senior developers at the company are one-man teams by themselves. Whether they’re headed up by Shigeru Miyamoto or Eiji Aonuma or Mark Pacini, Nintendo’s various development teams have never failed to deliver the incredibly unique and enjoyable content that no other game studio could hope to match.

Perhaps someday, they’ll clue us all into how they manage to do it. But until then, all we can do is stand back, crane our necks and gaze in admiration upon the awe-inspiring game development giant.

[ADVANCE]

Impressions: JUNK - Record of the Last Hero vol. 2

The madness continues in JUNK volume 2 as Hiro and the mystery-maiden in the white JUNK suit finally come face to face.

When we last saw Hiro, he wasn't in the best of states after bombing his home, duking it out with the white JUNK suit, and running away with his tail between his legs. However, as JUNK volume 2 begins, we see Hiro leading a slightly more stable life. Having moved into his own place (and a pretty fancy one at that), and living off of his parents' life insurance money, Hiro chooses to wile away his time watching TV, eating junk food, sexing up his best friend's mom, obsessing over singing sensation Manami Hiraga, and learning about his JUNK suit.

[Read the full review]

[ADVANCE]

And Now For Something Different

I'm guessing everyone's noticed the horrendous new header? I'm getting rather good at those, so I'm hoping it's enough of an atrocity to make people marvel at my complete lack of website presentation skills.

Anyway, the new header (as horrendous as it is [send me a better one if you think you can throw something together]) isn't just a cosmetic change. Well, it is a cosmetic change, actually, but it's one that signifies something.

Everyone who's been reading FWA since it got set up (all six of you) knows that it is targeted at people who like lots and lots of text. This will never change. Flame War ADVANCE is always going to be text-heavy, and if you don't like to read, chances are you'd be better served elsewhere.

However, from September onwards, the kind of content you'll find at FWA might be slightly different from what you're used to seeing.

Starting now, FWA will be "less about the headlines and more about the meat" (you can thank Jelster for coming up with that one). Meaning, instead of just reporting every single news announcement like the gazillion other blogs out there, we'll focus on stories that we feel would be of interest to enthusiastic gamers who follow the industry and reflect upon those same stories.

Speculation, reflection, discussions ... that's something that's always been encouraged on this blog, and we figured we may as well go all the way. We're fairly certain the aforementioned are going to be a lot more interesting for readers than the regular "Analysts predict PS3 outsells 360 this July!" crap. The lengthy posts, will, of course, remain and probably even get lengthier from time to time. There may or may not be a complete overhaul to the look of the blog, depending on how much time I, or any of the other staff -- more on that in a minute -- have. Again, if you think you can come up with a decent blogger template and are feeling generous, feel free to throw me a line.

As I mentioned just a second ago, it's no longer just me updating the blog. Jelster, whose opinions are extremely valued here, is now officially an editor, and you can look forward to seeing him put his PC gaming expertise to use in the near future. PC gaming is heavily under-represented nowadays, and I'm pretty sure he plans to do something about that.

Also joining us is former-commenter-turned-blogger Arro, who asked if he could cover the anime content that I haven't had the time for lately. Chances are you'll see gaming stuff from him, too (just wait till some really good Super Smash Bros. news hits!), but he's probably going to be dealing with a lot of Japanese culture and anime-related content ... something he yelled at me for ignoring these last few weeks.

Just the three of us for now, but as the "site" gets more "staff" (I'm really making us look bad, aren't I?), we'll be sure to let you know. As you all know, FWA is a non-profit site, and we welcome all kinds of opinions here. If you feel like writing - on a regular basis, or even just the occasional article / post - let me know. Suggestions are also welcome. Good ones will probably be taken up.

That's all for now. Hope everyone likes the new direction the site is headed in. I, for one, am very excited.

[ADVANCE]

Metroid Prime 3 Impressions

You know, sometimes when you read a review or first impressions you get a bunch of info you either already know or couldn't care less about. So I'm going to try something different. But first, the something you couldn't care less about: my background.

In brief, I'm a PC, online FPS gamer. Quake 3, CoD / CoD:UO and now Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (come October 2nd). I say this to let you know what gets my crackling erm, crackling and understand that console gaming is quite a secondary pastime for me. Likewise, Metroid and I haven't had a cool relationship. I never picked up the SNES Super Metroid (although I might now hit it up on the VC), Prime and Echoes I got on budget and just never really got into them due to a combination of pacing, frustrating controls compared to the PC and well, I always got a strange hollow impression from them.

Enough of that, I just wanted you to know where I'm coming from. I don't think I can be honest with you unless you know that stuff. So, in lieu of a review I thought I'd just hammer down my impressions. The things that struck me hardest in my first few hours of play.

A Wii favorite: Graphics. I honestly have to say, I'm stunned by them. I expected a dull drab mess of blurry textures and the odd bit of glow. What I was presented with was vibrant contrasting colours, crisp textures and detailed models. Where the levels lack the polys to perhaps lavish on the current high-gen touches, the ones you'd be hard pressed to notice anyway. Here they've been put to good use, filling the world with more obvious objects and decoration. This is certainly not one of those games where every hallway looks alike.

You can see the care and attention Retro has paid to every map inch of the levels. If I have to sum up the style, I kind of got struck by the powerful colours to the point that I felt like I was playing a comic book. You could literally pause and snap a picture and just compile them into a comic (the snapping pictures part is an unlockable by the way). Before I go wash up, I'd also like to prove my Metroid "newbieness" by saying that, seeing Samus stare back in the visor while tracking the pointer is spookily fun, as are the neat visor touches like steam and rain. This is just what I call polish and it's what sets a good games apart from extraordinary ones.

Okay, so I'll cut out the lushing right there.


Controls are up second. Usually a sore point for me, but I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised. The lock-on really makes the game, negating the annoying "my enemy is at the edge of the screen oh wait the screen is scrolling!" moments. Instead, you can now, like in Zelda, lock on and strafe around a target. You still need to aim at them, so this isn't a skill gimping feature, it just lets you focus on the shooting and avoiding while it handles a lot of the movement issues. No, the lock on is not without its faults. I've found at times that it's sometimes easy to lose the lock and you end up disorientated for a few moments, as your movements are no longer pivoting around an enemy. You then suffer the agonizing wait as the screen slowly rotates around as you try to find the guy shooting you in the back. All in all though, this is the best I've seen thus far and that niggling point aside, you'll have a huge amount of fun playing the game and not wrestling with the controller. Yes, Red Steel, I am looking at you!

Gameplay. So far, I've found myself playing through of more of it than I honestly expected. My recent gaming form I'm getting old I guess is that I'll play for a few hours, then take a break. With Metroid, I've found I take a break for a few minutes and then want to get back into it and do a bit more. Writing this has probably been the longest I've stayed away from the game all day!

I still, however, feel the pangs of emptiness as you invariably explore largely deserted levels picking off a few baddies as you go. It strikes me as funny that Zelda, which similarly throws you into dungeons doesn't feel this way. Perhaps it's the solemn orchestral musical score, but either way, I'm sure this is intentional to the series as a whole.


Other things that have struck me while playing, other than my wife: The title screen just smacks me with quality and a lust to navigate the menus. it works really well and more games should see about putting some effort into what is the welcoming face of their game. The achievements and unlockables are a nice motivator beyond just getting a completion percentage in the high 90s. Audio and acting is well done, although, I wish they had included the option to allow it to run on without pauses, which kind of breaks the immersion a little.

Ratings. I'll pass on those thank you! They're even more subjective than my opinions. So, I'll just say that on my scale, this is a must buy unless the very name "Metroid" turns you giddy with nausea. For Metroid fans, I expect you'll love it. For Wii gamers, this is hopefully the start of a quality crop of games for you to get into. For doubters, you now have proof that many failings of the Wii are a result of developers taking the easy path, much like all other poor quality games.

Now, where's my Wiimote?

[ADVANCE]

The Wii: What Works and What Doesn't?

Using the Wiimote effectively is something the most experienced game developers have been having trouble with. However, it seems kind of hard to believe that so many creative minds would have trouble coming up with ideas for how to use the system's unique controller. While there have been a fair number of good games released for the system so far, there is still a ton of crap that needs to be filtered out.

But, what if the problems these games faced weren't in the ideas, but in the presentation? Let's explore how one could potentially fix that little issue.

[Solving the Wii's Control Problems]

[ADVANCE]

Too Much Negativity in Game Journalism

It isn't like me to poop over other game journalists and sites, but this time, I really couldn't resist the urge. Following the jump are my thoughts on the previews we've read this week for Metroid Prime 3 from IGN, Gamespot and 1UP respectively.

First up is IGN's piece on the game. Personally, I thought it was very well written and had just the right amount of criticism and hype.

Not only does Corruption run in both 480p and 16:9 widescreen (another first for the series), but it dishes out larger, more detailed environments, crisper textures, dramatically improved particle effects, depth of field blur, screen shakes, and what is easily the best utilization of bloom lighting in any Wii game to date. It may seem like a trivial inclusion to some -- games like Ico, for example, have developed visual styles that revolve around bloom lighting -- but developer Retro Studios has taken it to the next level. Environments, objects and particle effects alike are illuminated with a neon-like hue that fits exceptionally well within the game's science-fiction setting. Other visual additions are more pronounced. When bringing up Aran's scan-visor (activated by pressing the minus button on the Wii remote), you will now see the bounty hunter's face clearly reflected -- not just for a split second, as in previous titles, but permanently. That face may even show signs of change as you advance through the game.

The first thing I appreciate about that paragraph is the attention paid to the game's style, not just the graphical resolution. I think it's great that Matt took a second to point out the details about the visor, which is part of what made the first two Prime games feel so immersive.

Secondly, he also points out the improved visual presentation of the game, which is definitely something that deserves praise, seeing as how the "Gamecube 2.0" issue has been going around for a while now. He goes on:

Retro has also utilized the Wii remote and nunchuk for context-sensitive actions that create very immersive play scenarios. Samus oftentimes interacts with environmental pulleys and levers, all pushed, pulled and twisted with the Wii remote. You'll actually make the appropriate gestures with the peripheral to perform these functions. For instance, you might have to pull backward on the Wii remote to pull a lever down, then twist left with the controller to twist the on-screen device, and finally push forward to lock it back in place. In our experience, these maneuvers work very well and do not feel at all gimmicky.

Overall, an extremely positive hands-on preview of the game. In comparison, Gamespot's hands-on was neither critical, nor praising. The reason for this is that they are probably saving most of their words for their final review of the game. Still, overall impressions seemed to be positive.

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption looks a lot like its predecessors, both in style and technology. However, everything is a little crisper and more detailed. For a Wii game, it also looks quite nice. The addition of voice acting--and lots of it--also seems fine, but we doubt we'll get a chance to hear Samus herself speak. But we'll find out for sure very soon. Look for our full review of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption next week.

Next up, we have 1UP's hands-on preview with the game:

The manner in which Corruption presents its narrative feels like a step forward for the franchise, expanding the previous game's underwhelming realtime cinemas with interactive voiceovers and scripted events delivered Half-Life style. The story itself -- a seemingly predictable follow-up to Echoes that has the villainous Dark Samus infecting good Samus and her bounty-hunting buddies with Phazon -- amounts to little more than a premise for some old-fashioned space spelunking. Honestly, the presentation and scripting seem amateurish compared to what's going on in megabudget productions such as Halo 3 and Heavenly Sword.

Similarly, it's tough to stack Corruption's graphics against what you'll see in first-person games on other consoles. As expected, the same sublime artistry and cohesive aesthetic sensibility from the previous Prime titles return here, but at the same time, this looks awfully close to its GameCube forerunners. A few new blur effects and a rock-solid frame rate give it a negligible "next gen" sheen and crispness, but one look at the hyperdetailed, evocative visuals in BioShock will make the most ardent Wii-faithful envious.

First off, I'd like to point out that that first paragraph is self-contradictory. Narrative step forward, yet the presentation is amateurish? That doesn't make any sense to me at all.

Second: Comparing the game's visuals to Bioshock? A game on the 360, which was clearly designed with high-definition visuals in mind? That's extremely amateurish in my opinion, and I think that the editor writing the piece would have done well to keep the differences between the two systems in mind. A comparison to Bioshock should not even be present in the preview, forget complaining that Prime 3 doesn't hold up graphically to other FPSes on "next-gen" systems. If 1UP's final review is better than their preview is, I will gladly take back my harsh words. However...

I'm going to say it: If Metroid Prime 3 scores less than a 9.0 without a damned good reason to support its score, I will be convinced that the concerned site's reviewing system is very, very broken. A game that is clearly superior to its prequel, pushes the limits of the system it was designed for, has the potential to bring about a change in trends for console FPS controls, and above all, is extremely polished deserves no less.

[ADVANCE]

What Happened to Retro's Design Sense?

Something I've noticed of late is that good art really seems to be lacking in games nowadays. Way too many people are willing to sacrifice good, believable art in favour of stylized anime-inspired crap that doesn't make any sense. Now, don't get me wrong ... anyone who reads this blog knows I am a huge anime fan. But that doesn't mean that a stylized, anime-ish design works well for every game out there.

Just a couple of days ago, I whined about how much I dislike Taki's new design in Soul Calibur 4. Now, I plan to do the same about Samus's look in Super Smash Bros. and Metroid Prime 3.

Before I go any further, I'd like to point out that I think Samus is, by far, Nintendo's coolest character. She's mysterious, she's silent ... she's just. Samus comes across as a mature person under her helmet. That said, I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw what she looked like under the suit in the original Metroid Prime. She was perfectly depicted. Mature. Not too young or old. Experienced. Maybe even a bit sad.


Then Prime 2 came along and messed things up completely. I'm afraid to say, I can't stand how Zero Suit Samus looks in Metroid Prime 2 / 3 and Super Smash Bros. Brawl.


Really, now. She looks like a girl. Nothing close to the battle-hardened woman you'd expect to see under her helmet. One could argue that you wouldn't expect to see a woman at all, but why the change in design after establishing such an awesome look in Metroid Prime 1?

I still love the Metroid franchise, and I will be finishing Prime 3. But, I really hope that in future games, Nintendo tries to establish a more suitable look for their most mature character that actually sticks.

I see no need to turn Samus Aran into a cutesy anime girl. The only reason I'm forgiving the constant changes in design is because the retro and handheld Metroids have always featured slight variations of Samus's face under the helmet. However, now that the games have made the jump to 3D, it only makes sense to establish a believable design that sticks with the character.

[ADVANCE]

Soul Calibur 4: What Happened to Namco's Design Sense?

Soul Calibur is probably my favourite fighting franchise ever. It doesn't suck like Mortal Kombat, it looks a hell of a lot more stylish than Tekken, and well, as nice as they are, the boob physics in Dead or Alive don't really do much for me.

Seriously, though ... the Soul games have always been something Namco has been extremely proud of since the days of Soul Edge. While SC3 wasn't as good as SC2, the updated visuals and tons of unlockable content made up for it. My two favourite characters? Taki and Seung Mi-Na.

While the latter got a nice facelift in Soul Calibur 3, Taki's look (which was at its best in SC2) hasn't always changed for the better.

Case in point: Soul Calibur 4. Hit the jump to see what I mean.


Taki in Soul Calibur 2. Asian, sexy and mean.


Taki in Soul Calibur 3. Cuter. Still asian. Still sexy. Not liking the mouth piece, but not too bad overall.


Taki from the upcoming SoulCalibur Legends. A mix of the SC2 and SC3 styles. Still cute. Still asian.


Taki from Soul Calibur 4. WHAT THE FUCK?

[ADVANCE]

Live Arcade for Windows: Five Games We Need

The "Live Arcade for Windows" rumour has been making the rounds for the last week or so, and has certainly spurred an interest in the concept of bringing Xbox Live Arcade titles over to Windows Vista.

However, as anyone in their right mind would probably realize, there is no way in hell Windows users are going to pay to download these games off of Microsoft's Live service when they could simply download ROMs and emulators for the same purpose (and probably already have).

The solution? Simple. Set Live Arcade for Windows apart from Xbox Live Arcade in a manner that will actually be of interest to PC owners. Bringing back hard to find, retro PC titles would be a step in the right direction. Keeping in line with bringing more original content and less "headlines" to FWA, I've put up a link to my Games.net article discussing this concept below. Let me know what you guys think!

[Live Arcade for Windows: Five Games We Need]

[ADVANCE]

Why Do Wii Games Look Like Crap?

Really now ... almost a year into the system's lifespan, and a port of Resident Evil 4 is the best-looking game on it? Clearly the industry is doing something wrong. But what exactly? And how can we fix it?

[Why Do Wii Games Look Like Crap?]

[ADVANCE]

Mature Games: The Nintendo Dilemma

Do we really want M-rated games on the Wii? Are what Wii fans want and what studios are willing to deliver really so different that Wii owners can never hope to be satisfied?

That's precisely the question I decided to explore in a post on Games.net. I don't believe Wii owners are clamouring for M-rated games at all. It just seems that way. What we really want is just less fluff.

[Mature Games: The Nintendo Dilemma]

[ADVANCE]

Scanlation of the Month - July 2007

Here are the scanlation recommendations for July, courtesy of Manga Jouhou. We were a bit late in getting them up this time, but we'll be sure to avoid this kind of thing happening in the future.

Shoujo: Safe Again Today by Jinsu Yoo and Suhla Park (scanlated by Entropy)

Shounen: Burning Pen by Kazuhiko Shimamoto (scanlated by Seven Star Stories)

Seinen: School of Water Business by Hikaru Murozumi and Shinobu Inokuma (scanlated by Tama-chan Scans)

Yaoi: Retsujou Kyoumushitsu by Takashi Kanzaki (scanlated by Attractive Fascinante)

Hentai: May Not Miss Pervert Fall in Love? by Saki Urara (scanlated by unknown group)

Except for the one I recommended, I haven't read any of those others. Time to give them a look! I always find myself searching wildly in the dark for something to read.

[ADVANCE]