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SORRY, NINTENDO...

...but you're about to get served. i got the opportunity to bring a sony psp home from the office for the weekend, and as expected, it's a completely incredible device. the games i've got on-hand -- lumines, ridge racer, and darkstalker's chronicle: the chaos tower -- are all wonderful representations of their respective genres. it has never been possible to play an experience on par with that available on home consoles on a handheld system; but march 24th, that will change.

i hadn't touched the device since the tokyo game show last september. now that i've spent some time with the retail unit and some finished games, it's clear that my decision to align myself with the device -- rather than nintendo's ds -- was wise. the screen is awe-inspiring. it's comfortable to hold. it's as sexy as any piece of consumer electronics i've seen. and, yeah, the games... so far, i've got no complaints about them either.

YOUNG MATT ENJOYS A LITTLE RIDGE RACER.

but what's turning out to be most interesting is the other stuff you can do with it. not only did we get thing thing to recognize our wireless network (and even search for firmware updates online! -- none yet, of course), but with some effort, i was able to get two different videos up and running on the psp last night: the us pilot of "the office" and this interview with shane kim, the general manager of microsoft game studios that i made earlier in the day at my own office. (oh, and if you were wondering just how much better the image quality of canon's xl2 is than the xl1s', download the high-res version of that video... astounding video fidelity, i assure you.) the process was not painless; in fact, i would argue that it was rather painful. i had to format my memory stick every time i wanted to delete a video, for example. and the apps used to compress the movies to a format that the psp could interpret are rather clunky. the image quality of said videos isn't that great, either. and the psp's user interface isn't the most user-friendly, when it comes to file management. yet, i was able to produce videos and get them to run on the psp. when that process gets easier, god... it will be so slick.

so yeah... the psp is hot. it's one of the nicest consoles ever, and definitely the most intriguing handheld. so far the games look amazing and you can bet that every child and adult on the block is gonna want one as soon as that grand theft auto game hits... shouldn't be too far off.

i remember when pokémon was at the height of its popularity here in the states; elementary schools had to ban the use of game boys, as too many children spent all their recess time trading virtual creatures. i wouldn't be surprised if office buildings and other workplaces will be required to take a similar stance when sony's device hits. surely, "carl" will have to be discouraged from killing hookers and catching touchdown passes on company time. i'm already worried about how the ability to join to the fx300 racing league on the go will affect my productivity.

my advice? put aside $250 if you can afford it and you like videogames. if you can't, come on over and play. we welcome the company.

THE DEFINITION OF NERDINESS

there's absolutely no question that i have something better to be doing this evening. in fact, i'll take this opportunity to apologize to jane; you see, while i should be taking these few after-office hours to work on our cute little project, i'm admittedly a bit distracted. my bedroom is in shambles. there are wires everywhere. i've had to bring an extra end table into my immediate living area to accomodate my latest fixation. there's simply no end to my geekiness, given the proper circumstances, and the photo below will prove it.

NO, YOU'RE NOT SEEING DOUBLE.

the gran turismo games do funny things to me, as you can plainly see. yes, there are two steering wheels in the shot. and yes, the one facing the television is simply attached to the table to help add a bit of extra weight. yes, that's the japanese copy of gran turismo 4 between the wheels. and yes, that's the US version sitting atop the copy of "nausicaa."

there's no doubt; i'm a nerd. well, at least for the evening. tomorrow, final cut pro and stuffed animals will be my reality.

now to hit the highway on my t.v... with appropriate tunes, of course ;)

VEGAS: THE WRONG WAY

as a game journalist, i'm often sent out on the road to cover events hosted by game publishers who are keen to show off their upcoming line-up for the year. most of these companies are based in san francisco, so we can often simply hop into a car to reach our destination. but more often than you'd imagine, the events are held in alternate locations; the venue of choice is determined based nearly solely upon which town the pr group in a given company wants to travel to. as such, i'm in vegas once again. and once again, i will see next to none of the city -- except what's visible from the window of my room.

IF YOU SQUINT, YOU CAN SEE THE MGM GRAND...

unfortunately, it's really just the video teams who need to work as often as we do on the road; writers -- even those who work for online publications, and are thus required to work in a similarly timely fashion -- tend to be able to crank out text pretty quickly. but video work requires additional time to capture, render, & compress. editing, of course, takes the bulk of the time... but that's the fun part.

so yes, we often are required to leave promptly after our work on the event floor has been completed. and while we're there, the work comes even more briskly. i shot around 8-10 interviews in the span of 3 hours yesterday; the finished products from the event are meant to serve two websites, mind you. i was busy, to say the least.

those of you who know me well are now thinking, "what do you care? you don't like parties?" and that is generally true. i guess i was mostly annoyed by the fact that there were a bunch of really cool developers wandering the floor yesterday, including much of the ex-ion storm talent that midway has been grabbing up. i would've loved a few moments to chat with some of them. our industry needs more visionaries. i also wish we had pointed our camera at more of said fine folk and less at marketing types who are so far removed from the creative portion of the development process. we didn't even talk to romero; an experienced interviewer could really have a good time with him. oh well, hopefully at some point in the future i'll have more time to network at these events rather than simply work. then maybe i'll get to ask mr. smith if he wants to grab a beer and talk about games.

LOVE, IT'S A TRICKY BEAST

we all know what day it is. and frankly, i don't mind the holiday as much as some. sure, i hate its commercial origins and feel that love is something to be celebrated on a daily basis rather than once a year, but... there's nothing wrong with a few extra hearts around... and i happen to enjoy the color pink. ^_^

i've been in the interesting position of being able to casually disregard this holiday since elementary school, when bringing in silly heart-covered cards with small candies attached to them was a near-mandatory practice. at the time, asking everybody in the class to "be my valentine" was simply a diversionary tactic necessary to get more candy; it had nothing to do with love and everything to do with chocolate and, of course, avoiding any one particular person's "cooties."

those of you who are lucky enough to be in love, take the chance to celebrate today... give gifts, eat wonderfully, kiss, make love... and look at his or her face... look at the way that extra special treatment is making your other one feel... and remember it. valentine's day doesn't have to happen just once a year. why not celebrate again in a week, in a couple of days, or even tomorrow. you don't need to drop a ton of cash to let someone know you're always thinking of them. steal the hearts and the pink away from the greeting card companies and make them your own. then next year, when valentine's rolls around again, it won't be the day that's important; rather, you'll be able to celebrate another love-filled year with that someone who's made you feel like you're the one and only. then, you too will be able to casually disregard the holiday as i have been able to.

to those who aren't there yet: i can't offer much advice. if i could, i wouldn't be loveless for yet another passing year. actually, strike that. my advice is as follows: surround yourself with loving, caring friends. while there's no substitute for that perfect one-on-one relationship, there's plenty to gain from the people who care about you.

to all the people in my life that make me feel loved rather than lonely: bless you. from my roommates, to my crew from orange who are now dispersed across the planet, to all the wonderful women in my life, thank you all. you make it worth it. 'cause see, many find valentine's day a torturous reminder of what could and should be. instead, i'm reminded just how glad i am that i know how to choose friends wisely. i'm thinking of you all today. hopefully, for a moment, you'll think of me too.

virtual hugs go out to all who read this... if you're here, then this letter is definitely addressed to you.

now it's time to start valentine's off with a bang by hitting phil'z for a cup of coffee... it's like drinking liquid love, anyway... so, have yourself a wonderful day! i know i will...

STRONG SEXUAL CONTENT

the following link comes courtesy of ludology.org; i find this to be pretty much as compelling as sexual video content comes. it's not quite porn, and not quite... not. regardless, the sample video is worth a look, though not if you're at the office. you've been warned.

watch the beautiful agony.

"PROUD, IN A FATHERLY SORT OF WAY" OR "HOW TO DEFINE YOUR OWN DESTINY"

reading this post and this other post from rocco's blog made me very happy yesterday. he, derrick, and shawn are making it happen for themselves. they are making money doing something they thought was cool... they shot a show planned for public access, put a few clips online, and the rest is history. a few of us at gamespy bit, helped them out the best way we could, and hopefully had a small part in getting them where they are today. rocco, your success pleases me more than you know. i wish you well in the future, and look me up if you need help. i love your energy.

watching these boys succeed gives me hope. with all i want to do, and all the potential projects that have crossed my path recently, i can't help but feel that positive energy in the air. pretty soon, people in powerful positions will realize that there a bunch of people out there with big ideas that can be quickly and simply executed. and i can't wait to do my part.

DERRICK AS SAM FISHER

want proof? look at ubisoft. they're working with penny arcade and, as mentioned, mega 64 in completely interesting ways. even the frag dolls thing is unique. sure, marketing is evil. but at least they're trying something modern. carlos and i imagine that there's a smart young person at ubi making some very important decisions. i wonder exactly who it is? i wonder if it wasn't something raymond said ;) long story...

anyway, it's an interesting time to a be a gamer with ideas. because as it stands, mainstream media is missing the boat. it's time for a revolution, and we will lead it.

GAMES THAT MOVE

i've been thinking a lot lately about what kind of gamer i am, and what i want to see in the future. last fall, i spent more time playing through new products than i had in many years. and that period was thoroughly enjoyable. first katamari damacy... then grand theft auto: san andreas... followed by halo 2, metal gear solid 3: snake eater, need for speed underground 2, metroid prime 2: echoes, half-life 2, vampire the masquerade: bloodlines, mechassault 2: lone wolf, and more recently resident evil 4. i played a bunch of other stuff too, but to a lesser extent than these titles. some of these games are good, most are great, and at least two or three are completely outstanding. i wanted good gameplay and polished presentation; i was getting it.

i often wondered why carlos wasn't playing some of the stuff i was. he'd spent the summer with the world of warcraft beta and at some point returned to playing warcraft 3: frozen throne with our roommate, phu; and they continue to play daily. he played through half-life 2... he was as anticipatory as i was when it came to the prospect of a new narrative-driven fps from valve. but he wasn't interested in playing anything else. no halo, no metal gear, etc.

MARC ECKO'S GETTING UP: CONTENTS UNDER PRESSURE

we had long discussions that would often lead to arguments about the state of gaming and what it was that was keeping him away from what i considered to be a few pretty monumental gameplay experiences. it always came down to the fact that some piece of the puzzle -- the narrative content, the presentation, or even the game's basic premise -- was unsettling or imperfect. though i agreed with his assessment, i never had a problem looking past a game's flaws and enjoying the experience for what it was.

then i hit pause.

real life took over for awhile and instead of gaming daily, i wasn't playing at all. and something happened. now i too, for whatever reason, am looking at the software i'm presented with more critically; that's not to say i had always been critical of the games i play... hell, it's my job. but instead, i started to value my time more. sure, i could be playing a game, or i could be writing, working, talking to friends, thinking, feeling depressed, whatever... and it's not that there isn't great software coming out. the opposite is, in fact, true. the year has started off splendidly with several five star games hitting the shelves no more than two weeks after the start of the new year.

as previously mentioned here, raymond, zoe, and i hit the d.i.c.e. summit, which is always a treat. i never feel like i'm worthy of being in the presence of so many of the industries greatest minds, when so few are admitted. last year, jason rubin made a wonderful speech about the importance of the developer; it was his opinion that the talented individuals who make the games should be empowered to take the focus off the publishers and off the rest of the hoopla that our industry endorses. i'm having trouble properly summing up the speech, but you can get the lowdown here. all told, it was pretty powerful stuff, and those in attendance pretty much loved or hated what he had to say. i fell into the former category.

this year, another speaker had the gusto to speak his mind about the overall state of the gaming industry: fashion designer, marc ecko. to make the summary move more quickly, i'll point you towards raymond's write-up of the speech, the video interview with mr. ecko that zoe and i put together, and our d.i.c.e. experience video; the final piece is nice as it features interviews with some industry leaders, who spend some serious time talking about what marc had to say. i took what he was saying to heart because his thoughts seemed to be similar to my own. read what he said... watch and listen to what he had to say to zoe. see what you think.

MR. ECKO

the main point he makes that i tend to agree with is that our industry needs a breadth of new intellectual properties on a regular basis. i see it this way: great developers know how to create great gameplay experiences. in general, with each consecutive game, a developer's technique improves and new features are added to enhance the experience. graphics, sound... they'll always improve with time. but the ip, the package that wraps-up that gameplay and those graphics... that's the variable. and presently, the market is not evolving in a way that encourages developers to pursue unique narratives. hideo kojima was tired of the mgs series after the second game. he claimed that he would give directorial control of the license to another; he was interested in pursing something else. while it's not my place to speculate why he chose to work on mgs3, i do find it disappointing in some respects. the game is wonderful, don't get me wrong; it's by far my favorite entry in the series. that said, i can't help but wonder what else he might come up with if he wasn't still telling snake's story. i mean, sun sensors on gba cartridges? crazy. cool. different. what else? i want more!

after the cameras stopped rolling on marc and zoe, i talked to the man a bit about his game, which is sounding increasingly interesting to me. he's not saying much about it yet. but something he said made me think. "i'll know i've succeeded if after playing my game, you walk out into the city and look at it differently; i want you to see the world like a graffiti artist does. i want you to notice paths, ledges... you should be figuring out how to get up." and that's it. really great artwork -- and more specifically, really great games -- tend to make me observe the world differently. in college, when i was playing half-life multiplayer daily, i would notice things... almost like i was hallucinating... the sound of a grenade bounce or the distinct 'schplung' of a crossbow bolt being fired... i'd see ventilation shaft covers and wonder where they lead or notice a spot that would only be reachable with a jump assisted by a charged gauss blast. am i crazy? probably a bit. but it happens. gran turismo, wipeout, and ridge racer have undoubtedly made me a better driver. the best narrative games contain characters that i would befriend. when such a game ends, i'm saddened as if i've lost them. the great games, the real games, the art... it changes the player. i can't help but want that to be the standard rather than the exception.

GIVING

this year, continue sunyday
we work-work for every fruits. so many many fruits taken.
thanks for weather. thanks for my friend and family. worker.

IF YOU REALLY LOVE COFFEE...

...and you live in the bay area, do yourself a favor and take a trip to philz coffee (aka the gateway market) on the corner of 24th & folsom. each cup is handmade from one of phil's custom blends. he hits it with a dash of cardamom, uses manufacturer's cream, (that he modifies first), a heaping spoonful of brown sugar, and finishes with a fresh mint leaf. each of the blends has a distinctive flavor; and they're all worth trying.

anyway, it's the best coffee ever, and part of my daily routine that i hate to miss while away.

i'll be back in a bit to talk more about d.i.c.e.. until then, ciao!