Videogames Lead to Behavioral Addiction Mike Tyson’s Paparazzi Punch-Out!! Video GameStop Buys Majority Stake in Video Game Digital Distributor Jolt Miyamoto: 3D Isn’t Everything Are You A Video Game Junkie With Mad Writing Skills? Write For Ripten NFL Super Bowl Champion Steelers Connect with Soldiers in Iraq for Guitar Hero Competition

GameDaily recently wrote up a list of ten games that they believe will “probably suck.” Their argument as to why LittleBigPlanet will “probably suck” starts with them calling it a “glorified version of PowerPoint” and adding that they foresee “tons of crap content.”

Simple logic by the simple minded says that if you use the game to recreate that which can be done in PowerPoint, then the game must be a glorified version of PowerPoint. Therefore, if I walk in a straight line, and Tom Brady walks in a straight line, surely Tom Brady is just a glorified version of me. Read more…

Remember the rooftop stage from Mirror’s Edge? It was first shown in the initial gameplay trailer as well as being prominently featured in the E3 08 trailer and demonstrations to the press. Well, Portal modder EvilWeevil has taken it upon himself to bring that stage to life in Portal. Read more…

We’ve taken a week now to get our bearings and fully recover from our jet-lag, and I think overall we all felt that E3 2008 was a huge success. We definitely can’t wait to go back next year! The three console-makers each had a few surprises (some which we liked better than others) and the third-party lineups were much stronger than expected. It’s no wonder some are calling this the best year for games ever.

So here are our top picks from the show this year. Did we leave anything out? Be sure to let us know in the comments. Read more…

In a recent interview with the UK based Telegraph, Miyamoto stated that there are teams working on new Mario, Zelda, and Pikmin projects.

“They are all working on more Mario, Zelda and Pikmin projects … And they all work in close proximity to me, so I can keep a good eye on them.”

Not exactly sure who “all” is, because surely the entire company is not working on a new Mario title — who would be left to fine tune Wii Music? Ok, ok, I will let it go.

Miyamoto adds that traditional games are his area of expertise and offers insight as to how the company rotates staff internally to ensure that the “traditional” titles always have people working on them.

“Making these ‘traditional’ games is what I am best at. Because games of that nature take upwards of two or three years to make, we always have to keep the teams working on those projects going. At any given time, the team could be five to ten people, or it could be 50-plus. People are always switching in and out of those teams.”

I can’t help but feel like this is all damage control 101, but even if it is, it shows that the company does care to some extent about its hardcore gamer base. It would seem that they realize their E3 presentation didn’t have the impact they had hoped for.

All we can ask now is that they learn from their mistake, and keep the traditional teams closer to 50-plus, with five people working on the next Wii Music.

Source: Telegraph.co.uk

If you were ever a fan of the arcade boxing game that first hit the Dreamcast back in 2000, Ready to Rumble, you’ll want to check out EA Sport’s newest IP in five years, FaceBreaker. Created by EA Canada, the same team that developed Fight Night Round 3, FaceBreaker is an arcade boxing game with eye-popping graphics, extremely in-depth gameplay, and a fun presentation overall.

When I first got my hands on FaceBreaker, it didn’t take me too long to realize that this is a real boxing game. Don’t be fooled by its looks, because there is a lot of strategy to mastering the gameplay mechanics. Read more…

You never really appreciate something until it’s gone — or in this case, chased from a city by angry gaming press with torches and pitchforks.

As E3 showed up, sputtered, then crept out of Los Angeles — hanging its head in dejected embarrassment — industry bloggers and reporters of every stripe began panning this years offering from the Electronic Software Association. Some pontificated on the trade show’s demise, stating that this year’s incarnation was merely its death-throes, and that it had become a weary, tired beast, in desperate need of being tied to a tree and mercifully shot.

Puzzlingly, the ESA seems to be the favored whipping boy when I believe that it is the developers who showed up ala the Emperor, wearing nary but a smile.

There is no doubt that E3 has been suffering from a degenerative illness as of late, but one that can hardly be blamed on the substantive lack of booth-babes with dual-side airbags. The truth is that the offerings from the Big Three have been mediocre at best, and at worst, a bloviating scrum of corporate narcissism.

How else could anyone characterize the Nintendo conference? Microsoft was a little better, and Sony continued to march merrily, if not obstinately, off a cliff called “denial.” Read more…

In a recent interview, Microsoft’s Senior Vice President of Interactive Entertainment, Don Mattrick, responded to Bungie’s public disagreement with the company’s decision to put off their E3 Halo announcement. Mattrick was quoted saying:

“One of the things that we decided, when you have the number one game in the world as we have in Halo, it’s a safe prediction that if we do a separate event for Halo, that it’ll be well-attended, well covered …”

As a member of the press who was in attendance for the Microsoft’s press conference, I find their reasoning absurd. The attendance numbers were announced well in advance of the event, and yet they waited until the last moment before pulling the rug out from underneath Bungie.

Many (including myself) expected a response from Microsoft that cited something along the lines of production issues. However, the company instead decided to come out pointing its finger at E3’s size and significance.

True or not, the comments made by Mattrick add salt to E3’s already gaping wounds. The event of old is rolling in it’s grave right now.

Source: Eurogamer

I’m a huge fan of the SOCOM series on the Playstation 2, so I was eager to get my hands on SOCOM: Confrontation at E3. As soon as I found out that Sony had a playable version of Confrontation on the showcase floor (thanks, Chad!), I headed straight over to Sony’s booth to check it out. Read more…

The first thing I noticed about Sony Online Entertainment’s family-oriented MMO, Free Realms, was the inviting and pretty art style–cartoony, but not obnoxious; colorful, but not garish. This is a place you want to come. It’s a place I could see letting kids play around in, and probably a place that parents wouldn’t mind playing around in, either. Read more…

Castlevania gamers rejoiced when a new installment in the popular series was announced at this year’s E3. Fans then became less enthused when they learned that instead of a traditional action-adventure title like those the series is known for, the new Castlevania is going be a fighter for the Nintendo Wii.

In a recent interview with current Castlevania series producer Koji Igarashi, Wired questioned the man on this bizarre transition, and his answers were a little worrying. Read more…

Do you cheer when you see things blow up? Well, grab your pom poms because the killers over at the E3 Mercenaries 2 booth showed me the biggest in-game explosion I’ve ever seen. It’s the tactical nuke, and it may make you smile with awesome. Click the link for the boom. Read more…

Look out for the Italian Stallion!

Range: Ok, I’ll be the bull and you be the rider.

Me: *squint*

Yes, Pro Bull Riders: Out of the Chute, from Crave Entertainment, is a co-op game.

Read more…

In an E3 interview conducted with Sega’s President, Simon Jeffery, the Dreamcast revival is jokingly brought up, only to be shot down immediately by Jeffery. The tone of his response in doing so is very routine, and downright unaffectionate to the plight of the many loyal Sega fans who continue to grasp at Dreamcast 2 straws.

We get the business side of it Simon, we really do, but is it really asking too much for you to seem sympathetic when you utter the words that break our collective hearts?

Have at the video interview after the jump, and make sure to have a box of tissues handy — you may need them. Read more…

Every 6-12 year old female wants to be princess of a world with talking animals, right? A dancing, fancily dressed princess with a sexy prince on her arm? Enter Princess Debut, built from scratch by Natsume expressly for the hearts of little girls.

Read more…

Congratulations Streetsweeperz. All my E3 shit are belong to you. Send me an email to chad@ripten.com from your registered email address on the site, and include your mailing info.

If you didn’t win, take the time you were about to spend crying, and register to win some original Mega Man art by Keiji Inafune.

Chad-

To many E3 attendees this year, the Nintendo press conference was more of a self-congradulatory pat on the back. Instead of the new, exciting titles that gamers had expected, Nintendo rolled out a list of casual games that left hardcore gamers feeling dejected by the industry’s top innovator.

In an interview with Forbes magazine, Nintendo president and CEO, Satoru Iwata, said that this year’s E3 was neither the time nor the place to announce platform favorites.

“If there is any perception that Nintendo is ignoring the core gamers, it’s a misunderstanding and we really want to get rid of that misunderstanding by any means,” says Iwata. “We are sorry about [the E3] media briefings, specifically for those who were expecting to see Nintendo show something about ‘Super Mario’ or ‘Legend of Zelda.’

“However, the fact of the matter is the so-called ‘big titles’ need a long, long development period. … We really didn’t think this year’s E3 media briefing was the time to do so.”

While core games such as Zelda and Mario may be in development, the Wii is still getting exclusives that look promising such as the ultra-violent Mad World by Sega.

Source: Forbes

Mirror’s Edge was easily one of the most highly profiled games by EA at this year’s E3, and it rightly deserved to be.

First-person action that plays like a third-person game, Mirror’s Edge is played through the eyes of Faith, the game’s beautiful heroin and a runner, who’s in charge of relaying important information from one party to another without be caught by the “po-po”, or the law enforcement for those who aren’t familiar with street slang.

The level that was shown at the EA press conference, and in Sony’s demo room, was a massive and brightly lit realistic city setting, in which you were mainly jumping from one rooftop to another (ninja-style), trying to keep your momentum going as best as you could. Read more…

*Not an actual Dave Perry quote.

Most people seem to agree that this year’s E3 was a bit of a let-down. You can check out any of our press conference coverage (Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo) and you’ll see that there wasn’t a whole lot to get excited about. Well, it looks like we’re not the only ones complaining about the lackluster event. Read more…

If you’ve been keeping up with Ripten’s E3 coverage, you may have come across the majority opinion on Wii Music…

Range: no rhythm, no tone, weren’t following each other, didn’t know if you were on pace

Chad: mass mayhem

Andrew: wasn’t working, sounded like a mess, all over the place, sort of hitting the buttons whenever he [Miyamoto] felt like it

Jon: could’ve given you all sticks and been like, “Have a great time…”

Those were quotes from the day 2 podcast following Nintendo’s press conference. Ever since that time, I’ve been meaning to introduce a second opinion. I’ve put in my demo time and come up with not complete and utter adulation, but at least a different understanding and a sense of where the fun lies. Hit the jump for these thoughts AND a Youtube of Miyamoto’s presentation. Read more…

Superman proceeded to beat Sonya like she stole something – and she liked it.

Andrew, JZ, and I made our way into the Midway press lounge for some hands-on MK vs DC action with the games associate producer, Hector Sanchez.

We began taking turns kicking each others’ ass as we tried to master the game’s controls. There were a ton of “cheese moves” being thrown around early (mostly by me), but it didn’t take long for us to get the hang of the characters’ signature attacks. Read more…