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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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I think most of us are starting to not check this site more than once a week, if a new episode doesn't come out soon, then many of us will forget to check regularly, and stop watching these videos. Release the next video in less than a week, or else you will probably lose at least 20% of your viewers!
We're approaching two months, guys. And we don't care if the episode is 30 minutes. In fact, some of us wouldn't even be able to watch it! If I stay on my laptop for a half-hour, mom starts telling me to "do something with my life". Unless this half-hour episode is really good, then don't waste two months of episodes putting them out! We'd rather have three or four good, ten minute episode on interesting topics then two months of waiting!
I agree with that. This two-month drought is starting to get irritating.
Maybe Jerimiah went out for a drink and never came back...
I feel like a nerd waiting for the video game show to make a new episode but damn its not very often a good show like this comes along. It's actually interesting and it brings back some great nostalgic memories of my childhood playing these oldies.
It's really a great show that has a really great recipe and I think I speak for everyone when I say we don't want to see it abandoned.
Apparently Jeremiah must be on Mars, because "next week" in Earth weeks came and went a while ago. :-/
7 weeks and counting
I'd only come if he had some chocolate sauce. I hadn't had that with ice cream for 3 years.
You know what, I'm doing something about this. I'm going to Jeremiah's house and holding his girlfriend/wife/significant other hostage until we get a new episode. Anyone who wants to raid his fridge is welcome to join me.
It's now been 20 days since we were told to expect a new episode in 10 days. Why does it seem like this show has been abandoned. *sniff*
This is the kind of show G4 SHOULD be broadcasting. But NOOOOooooOOooo instead we get reruns of COPS and a bunch of weird Japanese Game shows that I will never admit to watching.
what's going on? I haven't seen a new episode in a LOOOONG time.
Please don't kill the show.
RIP Play Value?
WTF is going on here?
Is there anybody out there?
Another idea for an episode. It may need to be a multi-part thing. The episode would be about the history of PC Gaming. And the first part should start of course with the Commodore 64 which you've touched on before and then explore DOS as a gaming platform. A platform that often just gets glanced over and doesn't really get the credit it deserves.
From the early days with corporate mascot games like Avoid The Noid and The California Raisins Game. Through the golden age of platformers with games like Commander Keen, Jill of the Jungle, Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure, Jazz Jackrabbit, Jetpack (also Jetpack Santa), Duke Nukem 1 and 2, Dangerous Dave, etc etc. And then the arrival of 3D games in DOS with Wolfenstein 3D, Terminal Velocity, DOOM and of course Duke Nukem 3D. Plus you had classics like Epic Pinball, Sim City and the Space Quest series.
These relatively small (at least at the time) companies like Apogee Software (Later became 3D Realms) Epic Mega Games, id Software owned PC gaming for years making some of the most memorable PC games of all time. And that's not even touching on the success of Tetris on the PC which you covered in detail.
The second installment could then focus on the games that have appeared since the emergence of Windows. Games like Quake and Unreal and so on and so forth all the way into the present day.
Some sample sources of information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz_Jackrabbit_(game)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jetpack_(video_game)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terminal_Velocity_(video_game)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doom_(video_game)
Oh yeah and also the emergence of the Flash Games online. These are the future of 'short form' gaming. The type of games you can sit down and play for a few minutes while you avoid doing any actual work. The Internet platform provides the perfect venue for such games because its a quick way to kill some time with a really fun and interesting game.
And there are a lot of them. So many great flash games have been made such as Switch (1, 2 and 3), The Last Stand, Age of War, the entire TOWER DEFENSE genre, Fancy Pants Adventures, The Flash Version of 'Portal' and many others. Companies like Armor Games, Crazy Monkey Games and Kongegrate are pumping out clever titles every day and even corporations like Wrigley's have gotten in on the action with CandyStand.com.
And while the unregulated nature of Flash as a gaming platform means there is absolutely no quality control; the nature of the Internet ensures good games find an audience while bad ones are laughed into obscurity. It also opens game development up to everyone who wants to learn how to do it. You no longer have to work for a major corporation to make video games, if you have an idea you can learn to use flash and actually make your game or simply send your idea to one of the companies I mentioned above and there is a good chance one of them will develop it.
I don't know what I called it "Switch (1, 2 and 3)" they're called SHIFT!!! Sorry its late and I am tired.
6 weeks and counting. :(
Same every-other-week schedule for the new show?
This show will be reviewed as historical unless we get a new episode soon...
Of course the reviews will all be good ;)
Hey! Is Yoshimitsu from Soul Calibur or Tekken?
Both ;)
soul calibur!
10 days from Jeremiah's last post. Is he ignoring us? :-/
Sorry everyone! I've been working on a new 1/2 version of the show lately. Everyone seems to like the show so much, I decided to try a traditional TV style 1/2 hour version of Play Value. It's coming along well, and it's a great story, so I hope you all like it. But next week, there's one more 10 minute regular episode coming before the 1/2 hour version launches. So, stay tuned and thanks for everyone patience!
Next week was a while ago Jeremiah.
5 weeks & counting :(
I thought of another idea for a show. How about the story behind Super Mario Brothers 2 and how it was originally a completely different game in Japan. I have read some small articles about it online but nobody has ever really explained it all in detail and a lot of people don't know the story at all and have always wondered why SMB2 is soooo different from 1&3
dude, get out of my head! I already wrote that episode and have just been waiting for the green light from OnNetworks to film it! Not only SMB2 but several others that changed once they left Japan. Hopefully, it'll get the greenlight soon. :)
Hey I was wondering (and maybe you've answered this elsewhere) what your role is with the show? Are you the producer? Writer? Director? You should put your name in the credits.
I have recently became a fan of this show. and i love the things they talk about.
but I just wanted to ask why in the title screen does the
N64 lead into the XBox 360 , and the PS2 lead into the Wii? anyone i just thought id put that out there.
Ah, it's just a general timeline I had put together to look cool. It's not really perfectly accurate. Good eye, dude. :)
Oh man! I used to have a 16Mb VooDoo 3 3000. That was and still is my fav video card of all time. I kept it for nearly eight years, that's right, it lasted me nearly decade. Actually I still have it and it still works, I'm sure that if I could slap some more ram on it it would still give the low end cards a run for their money. I used to play games that were supposed to need much beefier cards for the "basic requirements" at nearly full quality. God I love that card.
I still can't wait for a story on the meteoric rise, and then total collapse of 3dfx. I was going through some old boards I have in a box, and came across on old Voodoo 2 board. 12 MB of on-board memory... a behemoth by the standards of the time... In the early days, Glide was the standard API and Direct X was a joke... man, how times have changed...
You guys should do a show on the history of 3D gaming from the old vector days to the first true 3D game to the next generation and innovations like Johnny Lee's head tracking on the Wii.
Also Libe is really hot in this vid.
Ten more days?!?!? What happened to every other week? I need my Play Value fix! :)
Sorry about the delay, everyone. I'll have a new episode up in about ten days or so!
Bueller?!?!
Can we at least get a hint on what the next episode's gonna be? Will they ever use my machinima idea?
A month without a new episode. *sniff*
Jeremiah,
We're coming up on 4 weeks since this episode was released. Any idea when we can expect to see the next episode?
Thanks.
new episode in ten days!
After the DC went the way of all Saga systems I dropped out of the console gaming race. I now play PC games mostly but the XBox 360 is calling me back. The main reason I have not bought an XBox is when I get that console game need, I still have my DC, 9 years later and it still give me my console fix... yeah I know I'm a light weight player LOL
You should make a vid on the gcube and why it failed. ahh maybe not. this one is good enough :)
I'm just a big nintendo fan.
The DC is definitely in my top 3 of favorite consoles. It depresses me that the mere announcement of Sony's Playstation 2 killed it. Some people believe it was pirating that brought the DC to it's end, but IMO, pirating didn't come into play until after Sega had given up on the DC. Sure, games were still being released on the DC while pirating was happening, but Sega's heart wasn't in the DC anymore. They just wanted to make as much money as they could off their dead console. I remember, before the DC released, people complaining the DC & it's games were too expensive, but when the PS2 was announced with games at the same price & a higher priced console, people still wouldn't buy a DC b/c they were waiting for the PS2. Sony established itself as the new "King of Videogames" and all Sega had was their hardcore Sega fans & hardcore gamers. Sony had the hearts of the people and when you have the hearts of the people, you win. Just ask Nintendo.
Far as I know Sega Dreamcasts European department screwed up advertising big time. Spending huge chunks of money so they can have Sega-logo in back of a soccer team that failed complitely in that year (AFAIK most soccer fans do not care about video games). A testament to that is that I have never seen a Dreamcast console, which is quite badly since I've been in gaming since 86'.
if sega just said we are making a dreamcast 2 and we will not abandon it even if we go bankrupt they might have a decent following maybe not be able to stop the wili but it would be a serious competitor to xbox 360 and ps3