Post-Thanksgiving Break

The Thanksgiving holiday has rolled right into sickness and some minor computer problems around here, and since I have some work and personal stuff to catch up on anyway, I thought, "why not make it an even two week break." Expect regular Monday through Thursday updates to resume on Dec. 6. Until then, you'll just have to handle the video game critiques yourself (feel free to use the comments thread for this. I promise I'll try to participate).

G4TechTV DS

Did anyone catch the special dual-screen broadcast on G4TechTV yesterday (as described in this press release)? Apparently, the video game/technology network celebrated the launch of the Nintendo DS with 20 hours of programming in a split screen format with a Nintendo DS frame. The press release says that they "partnered with Nintendo" on this, so I can only assume the big N paid big bucks to basically take over the network for a day.



I didn't get a chance to see it (being busy most of the day playing my own DS) but I'd love to hear about it from someone who did. Did it strike you as gimmicky, interesting, distracting, innovative, overly-commercial, overly-biased or all or none of the above? How did it compare to recent G4 promotions like "GTA TV" and "Halo 2 Day"? Drop your comments using the link below.



More Nintendo DS coverage coverage coming in the near future.

Well-constructed Sentence of the Moment

"Additionally, Atari offers the previously not for the console released game 'Saboteur'."

-Wolfgang Gruener, in a Tom's Hardware Guide article about a psuedo-re-release of the Atari 7800

Update: Spike TV Video Games Advisory Board

Readers of my recent post about the Spike TV Video Game Awards may recall my speculation that the show's Adivsory Board was "probably made up of members of the nominated magazines and Web sites, but I'm not sure." (emphasis added) If I had done just a tad bit more research, I'd have found a Nov. 10 press release that indeed reveals members of 1up.com, GameSpy.com, IGN, CNet (GameSpot's parent company) and the Official Xbox Magazine as judges for the shows non-journalism--related categories.



Among these and other myriad media members (including CNN/Money's Chris Morris, who pointed me to the release), you'll also find Spike TV's senior vice president of development and talent (who better to judge video games?) and the head of the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences (who, as an organization, have their own, slightly more respectable awards to worry about) on the Advisory Board. Interesting, to say the least.

Quote of the Moment - PR Edition

"Yo, this is the dopest thing I've seen in my life."

–Donald Faison, commenting on the Nintendo DS, as quoted in a Nintendo press release.

Gaming Mags, Web Sites Get Spiked

Has it really almost been a year since the first Spike TV Video Game Awards inspired me to question the direction of the video game industry through Disney song lyrics?



A quick skim through a recent Spike press release would seem to indicate that it has. Spike has upped the ante in this year's show with a few new categories, including two that particularly piqued my interest: Best Gaming Publication and Best Gaming Web Site.



The release indicates that both categories are "fan favorites," meaning the winner will be chosen by voting through SpikeTV.com and cell phones and not by the "Video Game Awards Advisory Board... of gaming industry experts," that picked the nominees. If I had to guess, I'd say this is because the advisory board is probably made up of members of the nominated magazines and Web sites, but I'm not sure (UPDATE: This has since been confirmed. Read more).



Enough inane chatter. If you're here for some quick and highly opinionated thoughts on the nominees, you're in the right place?



For Best Gaming Magazine

• Electronic Gaming Monthly - The elder statesman of the list, I'd say EGM is probably the prohibitive favorite. Even though Game Informer has a larger circulation, I think EGM attracts a more devoted, hardcore gamer following. Interestingly, EGM is the only magazine nominated that isn't directly affiliated with a specific store or console.
• GMR - The new kid on the block, EBGames' magazine has gained a quick following through $5 in-store subscriptions. GMR's nomination among older, more established mags shows the power of game retailers in pushing publications.
• Game Informer - Gamestop's magazine has a lot of subscribers, but many of them probably just signed up for the 10 percent in-store discount (the same goes for smaller GMR). Will the casual masses turn out to vote for GI?
• Official PlayStation Magazine - The third Ziff Davis nominee shows how far the publishers influence extends in the video game publishing world. The demo discs are good, but the balanced PlayStation coverage (especially for an "official" magazine) is even better.
• Official Xbox Magazine - The underdog of the list. The limited base of support for Xbox hurts its chances, but Xbox owners do tend to be very devoted. The only nominee from Future Publishing, a sign of how far the once-proud publisher of Next Generation and Game Players has fallen.

For Best Gaming Web Site

• 1up.com - The Ziff Davis megasite has become an ad-soaked, community-centered behemoth since its recent redesign. Interactive content could lead to strong reader loyalty and a lot of votes.
• Gamespot.com - My odds-on favorite to win, ZDNet's site has been a draw for hardcore and casual gamers alike since back when it was videogames.com. Plus I write for them now, so my cadre of followers will vote in droves.
• Gamespy.com - It took me quite a while to figure out that GameSpy was more than an online game-matching service and actually a decent gaming information web site. Increased focus on consoles in recent months gives them broader appeal.
• IGN.com - The fact that IGN gets top billing in the IGN/Gamespy mega-conglomerate should tell you something about its size. Quantity doesn't equal quality, though, and IGN's quality hasn't been very high for a while now.
• ShackNews.com - The dark horse candidate, this PC-centric site is big among the hardcore computer gamers, but I don't think it's in the same league as the other nominees in terms of popularity.

Final Thoughts:

• Does anyone else find it at least unsettling that the most prominent televised video game awards show is on "The first network for men"? Are categories like "Cyber Vixen of the Year" a symptom or a cause of gaming's male-centered demographic?
• Spike's press release named "Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour" as a nominee for Best Handheld, but the real name is "Mario Golf: Advance Tour." Toadstool Tour is the GameCube version. IGN and GameSpot were among the many who didn't notice the error when copying the press release verbatim. (to be fair, I wouldn't have noticed either if not for the eagle eye of Gaming Target's John Scalzo).
• Go Katamari Damacy!

Money, Mouth, Meet in Same Place

Sorry for missing yesterday's scheduled update. I was in be much earlier than usual with a headache that wouldn't quit. Feel free to consider this my early Thanksgiving break. Of course, I'll also be taking Thanksgiving Day off. *cough*



Anyway, it wouldn't be very fair of me to criticize the video game journalism of others without allowing others ample opportunity to criticize my attempts at the same. With that in mind, feel free to read my official debut as a GameSpot freelancer and comment on it as you see fit. Be as brutal as you like, I don't care.



No really, I don't at all care what you think.



That's why I'm asking for your comments, of course.



*cough*