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Everybody loves free stuff.
When I bought an iPod, the first thing I gravitated toward was the podcasts. They're all free, and some of them are truly extraordinary.
Among those I'd call the best of the best is a gem from ON Networks. It's called Play Value and gives a deep insight into the history of video games. I especially enjoyed Atari vs. Nintendo.
Here's the website. I'd highly recommend you either watch them on the web, or download them to your iPod, Zune or whatever you young people own these days.
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*Atari Games (formerly the arcade division of Atari, Inc.) owned Tengen, which did games for the NES. Commodore founder Jack Tramiel's Atari Corporation (formerly the home division of Atari, Inc.) released the 7800, Jaguar, and Lynx. They were two different companies at that point.
*Atari, Inc. was originally going to release the 7800 in 1984 (in fact, it was test marketed then), but it was canned after Tramiel bought the home division from Warner and decided to focus on computers. Tramiel only released the 7800 because home video games were becoming popular again.
hey dylan-the-yoshi i jus gotta say- "true dat!"
I have a question for Nintendo, If you made the "Seal Of Quality" that approves a game, then how come I'm getting a crap load of games like Cars or Shrek on DS and Wii?
I suspect, to welcome 3rd party support on the system. Yeah Nintendo made strides during the GC era but they still can't compete on the 3rd party front for games. As a result Nintendo basically openned up the flood gates so that 3rd parties could carve out their niche.
The sign doesn't really mean anything anymore, other than that Nintendo gave the rights to make it. It's no longer a "seal of quality".
Hey, the more recent videos you've made don't have Shandi in them. This is the last video with her in it. Why's that? o.O
Shandi's a friend, but she just got busy with other projects, and I like to make a lot more episodes than she had time to be in. She's really cool, and it's a shame, but she just didn't have the time at the end of the day.
I liked Codemasters/Camerica/Galoob's way around the copyright by using an official cart to bypass the code to play their games (The Aladdin Game Enhancer).
Since they wern't stealing anything they couldn't be sued. They only really died because they had legitimatly cracked it too late in the NES's life.
Guru Larry - ScrewAttack.com
& Presenter on the European video game channel XLEAGUE.TV
Yeah, good call! The Galoob lawsuit is one of my favorites. I'd like to do an "all lawsuit" episode some time in the future.
I love reading the comments on here -- I had no idea the show would generate this level of interest (and/or controversy)! I also gotta hand it to JB for personally responding to everyone's comments/questions/rants. I do a lot of network talking head TV spots, but working with JB and the crew is easily the most fun gig ever. -- Dan A.,
Zsciaeount and GericVas: Hey, you guys are reading my mind! The episode about the Sony Playstation and how Nintedo publically humiliated them by announcing they were going with Phillips for the SNES cd add-on, and sony's BIG karmic PS1 revenge has already been written and filmed! It's coming up as episode #10, so look for it! And episode #6 and #7 is a two part series on 12 major failed consoles (6 per episode)- included in which is the Sega 32x, sega cd, turbo-grafx 16, and sega saturn. Also, coming up is episode #8 which is all about sega vs nintendo and how they briefly pulled ahead with the genesis but then completly fumbled and blew it after that. All these have already been shot and are being edited as we speak, so it won't be long, guys. I also have scripts written for an episode on RPGs and MMORPGs- the history and social phenomenon of the genre, but those won't be until around episode 15-16 or so. Hey, localization is a GREAT idea for an episode (like all those crosses taken out of castlevania!). I'll keep that in mind BIG time. Funny translation errors in both the games and the instruction booklets could also be mentioned in that one (and there's a lot of them). We're doing an episode all about mascots that we'll probably save the mega man stuff for. I know it's been covered before but I can't resist doing an episode on John Romero and ion storm and daikatana and all that. Great stuff, and I've already scripted most of it. It will probably be old hat to you guys, but most people will still get something out of it. I'd say the first 12 episodes or so of Play Value will pretty much be video games 101 stuff, and the next 12 will be more in depth and stuff you guys will enjoy more. But I gotta start with the basics and get everyone up to speed first. For example, in talking with people who like the show, I found out a lot of people didn't even know what the Famicom was before watcing! So, you see, I gotta start simple, and work my way up, so no one gets lost. GericVas: yeah, Atari/Tengen didn't totally disappear, you're right. In fact, it was the next year that they were all fighting over tetris! But they were largely just a minor 3rd party software company, not really any threat even up through the Lynx and the jaguar. After the tetris story, it was really Sega's time to step up and challenge the King (nintendo), but that whole thing's covered, like I said, in episode #8. Coming up are also episodes on colecovision and a brief history of notable controversies in gaming. Also slated for the program are episodes on god-games, commodore 64, vaporware, and a bio on miyamoto. As we get through the first 12, I'll be talking with people like you two guys more to discuss some good ideas for the next season, so we'll all keep in touch on the boards. Zsciaeount: Yeah, we have some good editors, but I also help them when I'm directing on set to make editing easier. Like I always remind the talent not to use pronouns, so everything's always nice and clear and what we're talking about never gets lost. Also, the people on the show have been on TV many times doing commentray on tech/games stuff, so they instinctively know how to discuss things off the top of their head, but also package their thoughts in a way that makes for easy editing. So credit where it's due to those guys, too. But it's really just me casually talking to each person on the show for a couple hours about the topic at hand (that's me off camera they're looking at while they speak). Just a bunch a guys who know a lot about games having fun chatting about this and that- pretty casual vibe, except I'll come to the shoot with a notebook of double-checked numbers and release dates in case anyone aciidentally gets one wrong (rare, but it happens). Anyway, it's a fun show to make and (hopefully) a fun show to watch. Thanks for checking the episodes out and I promise, sooner or later, we'll get around to more and more good stuff. - JEREMIAH BLACK, Director, Play Value
Zsciaeount, sir i like the fact you do your research and are just as enthused about the ideas in which you portray as i am. I see all the things you see when it comes to this show and you know what i totally agree, hahaha we should try to get on the staff. Jeremiah i must say i liked this episode alot it brought alot into perspective and might i add you even mentioned some stuff i had forgotten, good work. I questioned some of the referenaces you used though like capcom and konami who might i say are asshole sellouts that screwed over nintendo on several accounts which goes to prove how twofaced this market really is. All in all konami would end up running back to microsoft anyway i mean microsoft did give konami a head start on the MSX. I will say that i of course loved this episode because of the fact you managed to bring up such greatly developed points such as the court case which was settled but i will disagree on the fact that atari never disappeared they were just in hiding for a couple years. anyway good work again...one day i hope to find a job through you guys..haha
Wow! Didn't expect to get a response directly from the top! You really do have some amazing editors if you are able to get these episodes to flow so nicely. I also realize that you're trying to appeal to a broad audience, and even though I come to the table knowing 99% of what is covered, I have nonetheless enjoyed watching the episodes, and plan to return whenever I get the notification that a new episode has been posted. I sincerely hope, however, that once the Gaming History 101 material is out of the way, that you delve into some of the interesting stories in video games, perhaps to fill the void left by G4's Game Makers (formerly Icons), or Geoff Keighley's Behind the Games series he penned up until a few years ago.
One great story would be the rise and fall of Sega as a hardware manufacturer. They hit their peak with the Genesis/Mega Drive, and the missteps with the 32X, Nomad, Sega CD, and Saturn, combined with some PR missteps, essentially doomed the excellent Dreamcast to failure, despite one of the strongest initial launches in the industry. Even more interesting is the fact that a fiasco during the Dreamcast development contributed greatly to the demise of 3dfx, once the crown jewel of the graphics hardware biz.
How about the story of the Playstation, from SNES peripheral to a defiant stand against the company that stabbed them in the back and publicly humiliated them. Their revenge almost singlehandedly destroyed Nintendo's console marketshare in less than a console generation.
How about the deal with localization? It's fascinating to see what gets changed when games cross the oceans, from the removal of blood and religious iconography in early NES games, to omissions of storylines, to changes in artwork (think the original Mega Man box artwork). That would be a fascinating, and largely novel story.
Of course, looks into once-great gaming giants that fell by the wayside would also be interesting: Ion Storm is the easiest target, and Keighley covered Trilobyte, but what about Interplay or Acclaim? They were once among the most prolific publishers in the business, and then one day they were filing for bankruptcy. How did that happen?
What about a story on whether or not PC gaming is truly dying? We see shelf space shrink, yet PC software outsells most of the consoles combined, and it's not all casual games and MMOs.
What about a story on the history of MMOs? World of Warcraft didn't happen overnight. What about a look into the genres origins, its high points (Everquest and WOW) and low points (take your pick), and others that are extraordinarily popular overseas, but get little attention here (like Lineage).
Also, a story about the success of the PC Engine and the failure of its American counterpart, the TG-16, would be fascinating.
So, anyway, I appreciate the fact that someone is listening. I am happy to see a web show with great production values, and I am excited to see where this thing goes after you've covered the basics.
Thanks for your time!
Zsciaeount: Thanks for the comments. Two things: (1) the panelists are actually not reading script snippets at all. The 8 minute episodes are cut from hours and hours (no joke) of extemporaneous discussion, and the nice interlocking feel is a testament to our great editors who cut for the smoothest show possible. So, thanks for the compliment! (2) Play Value is a show that is less about unearthing groundbreaking, never-before-known information within video gaming history, and more about taking video game history to a broader audience via a visual, rather than printed, medium. In fact, if you read most of the comments here, you'll find most people didn't know much of what's been covered (see the comment right below yours as an example). Should you find yourself already familiar with most of the subject matter, then congrats!- you're a true gaming history buff, and our hats are off to you. But most of us aren't yet up to that level, and that's what play value's about- bringing everyone up to speed. And over the life of the show, it's our plan to get more and more detailed as our audience masters all the basics and becomes ready for more advanced looks. So noobs will love the first episodes, and more advanced gamers such as yourself will probably get more out of the show later on. Anyway, thanks for watching, and we hope to see you back. - Jeremiah Black, Director, Play Value.
Definetly, I do the same for a living and I don't think too many people realise the ammount of footage you need to create to make a short video thats so well and tightly edited.
I really enjoy them, kudos to you and your passionate hard work Sir!
Guru Larry - ScrewAttack.com
& Presenter on the European video game channel XLEAGUE.TV
I'm sorry, but these episodes just seem soulless. The perfectly interlocking delivery shows its hand rather transparently: these panelists aren't speaking from personal knowledge so much as they are each reading snippets from a script in their own voice. The delivery really undermines the credibility of the entire panel. Moreover, what is being presented here is nothing that hasn't been covered before by countless sources. These shows are bringing absolutely no new information to the table. This is more of a book report than an investigation into gaming's history, and nothing we haven't seen before on G4 or Wikipedia.
This video is pretty good. I didn't know this happened.