Video Games

I noticed something a few days ago: I tend to disproportionately discuss the wii more than any other console, or anything else about video games. By a fair margin. Sure, there are my criticisms of Microsoft regarding the XBox and ragging on Sony for the PS3, but it got me thinking: Why am I so infatuated with this little white box?

I Wrote about the holiday season wii shortage a while back. Turns out I was right: there was a severe shortage, but I believe that this time the scalpers created the shortage, rather than everyone rushing to get their hands on one.

Video game price charts believes that there will be another shortage next year, enough to push the selling price up significantly.

There's word of another Wii shortage this holiday season. That wouldn't surprise me, given what things were like last year.

While I'm on the subject, I seem to have missed *all* of the TV advertising done for the wii. Check it out:

There's also a neat Wii deconstruction video:

Today, I overheard a story told by a video store clerk about how they stopped renting out Wii consoles in May because there was no profit in it. People were bringing them back after a month ($2/day late fee, apparently) or not bringing them back at all.

Given the scarcity of the Wii, it stands to make sense that this sort of thing might happen. Given human nature (profiteering, yay!) it should be absolutely predictable.

It is. Really.

But it's so fun. And given how infrequently I see them in stores, Nintendo is having a hard time meeting demand for the Wii. Even at a million-plus units a month. But it is fun.

In some ways, it's a return to the days where games weren't dependent upon high-end graphics processors, and 'realism' meant that everything was made out of blocky pixels. The Wii has better graphics than that, sure, but the lack of concern for uber-realistic rendering is still there. Characters with bodies, and hands, but no arms. Or disembodied hands wielding fishing rods and ping-pong paddles.

So, I return from my unannounced, week-long blogging hiatus with a feature on several oldschool Atari games that I've been playing lately.

Slashdot has a link to the story of the postmortem presentation of Final Fantasy XII. It covers how the developers avoid graphical obsolescence by putting a ton of money and resources (70%) into the art of the game. There is no video, unfortunately, but the 1up page for FFXII has this neat video of how to draw a chocobo.

The story on slashdot.

From the article: "Since the launch, the PS2 has managed to maintain the lead. April was the first month Microsoft's new console eeked out Sony's old one, possibly as a result of the ramp-up in production".

Oh, silly slashdot.

Possibly?

Who new that via artificially engineering shortages, and ensuring that the countless millions who wanted a new xbox couldn't get one, that the sales would drop?

Anyone?

Seriously, though. It's probably the stupidest name in the world. What was wrong with 'Revolution', anyhow?

Even at half the price point of the el-cheapo PS3, I don't know if I could stomach the name :(

If you ask me, $600 is too much to spend on a console.

Hopefully by PS3 release day I'll be engrossed in FFXII, though.