lost in games

Fall Xbox 360 update touches on social networking - Engadget
Developer Interview: Casey Hudson on Mass Effect - A+E: The Mercury News Interactive
Nintendo faces new piracy threat - Gamesindustry
Assassin’s Creed is fastest selling new IP since 2002 - Gamesindustry
Next-Gen’s 2007 Christmas Buyer’s Guide - Next-Gen
DS: 12 Games of Christmas - Eurogamer
Things i have done: Felt Weird after finishing a game (Half Life 2, Ratchet & Clank, Call of Duty 4) - MTV Multiplayer
Wiimote accessory-less toy, more gun - Engadget

I just got back from lunch and need to finish up some pending issues here at the office. But before i do that i thought i would just give you this Friday’s Click the Link. Maybe some people have already “shut down” for the week.

Gabe Newell Interview - Rock Paper Shotgun
Massive UK Personal data lost - BBC
Amazon Kindle sells out on launch - BBC
Santa gets axe for euro in Cyprus finance ministry - Reuters
Interview with Gearbox President Randy Pitchford (Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway) - Eurogamer

Jeff Minter can’t stop bitching about poor reception of Space Giraffe - Stinkygoat.livejournal

I was one of the few apparently who purchased his game on XBLA and regretted it as it is a game that is only enjoyable to a minority of people. It’s not a bad game as such but it is not accessible to the vast majority of gamers. And for me XBLA games must be able to appeal to the average gamer especially if the creator demands it to be a commercial success. I just hope that Mr Minter who is clearly a talented developer just stops whining and learns from this and comes back with something new.

Have a good weekend and I will see you on Monday.

Halo novel in New York Times Best Seller List - NY Times
Super Mario Galaxy Unseats Ocarina - Next-Gen 
Activision No1 publisher in US for month of October - The Escapist 
Rock Band - Gametrailers Review 
Halo 3 DLC dated and priced - Eurogamer

I have 3 links for you today. Although most you will probably have left the office by now, you can always check them out at home later or tomorrow.

PS3 outsells Wii in Japan - Gamesindustry
The History of Bioware - Eurogamer
World’s most expensive games - GameSniped

Enjoy your weekend everyone.

Bill Harris, who has a blog called Dubious Quality, covers the business of the videogame industry and does so in his own time. He is not professionally involved in the industry as such but his views are thought provoking and sometimes provocative. He not only gets the issues that haunt the industry but can express his views to the rest of us who either don’t get it or just can’t express what we are thinking.

He wrote a piece on “How the Videogame Industry Shot Itself in the Joystick - and Why the Wii Has stopped the Bleeding”. If you are even remotely interested in videogames do yourself a favour and read this. It’s one of the best articles i have read about videogames.

Konami on PES PS3 issues - Eurogamer Link

Assassin’s Creed - Gametrailers Review

Game News in a Duel of Print and Online - New York Times

Just two days left to the end of the working week and i have some long articles for you.

The first is The History of Atari - 1971 to 1977 on Gamasutra. It is a long one but then the company has a great history in Videogames although now it is just history.

The second is Gamespot’s review 9.5/10 of Super Mario Galaxy on Wii. The game is simply breathtaking. If you can have audio where you are then you can also watch Gametrailers review 9.8/10. This game compensates to a great extent the lack of other AAA titles on the console.

The third and last is about the status and future of the PSP console. The PSP comeback? on Next-Generation. As the PSP has grown on me i too think there is a future for this console. It might not be the DS powerhouse but it has established a market share it can build on.

I know, i know the weekend has gone by so fast once more. It’s a long week so make yourself some coffee and read these articles until you actually wake up.

The Great Firewall: China’s Misguided - and Futile - Attempt to Control What Happens Online - WIRED

Spinning the Moral Compass: Designing Free Radical’s Haze - GAMASUTRA

Both interesting and easy reads.

Catch you later.

Like the title says i will be giving you weekly links to articles which i found interesting. Just click on the link, print them and take them home for some reading over the weekend. Enjoy!

• EA wants ‘open gaming platform’ - BBC
• Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe (XBLA) - Eurogamer review
• Okami confirmed for Wii - Link
• Orange Box - Gamespot review 9.5
• Stranger in a strange land - Link
• Will Wright (Sims creator) won cross country race - Wire magazine