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MTV drops new Multiplayer blog (plus BioShock Vs. Mode)
Everyone here knows we're big fans of MTV's excellent Multiplayer blog. Up until now, what that really meant was that we were fans of MTV News' gaming reporter Stephen Totilo who, until today, ran Multiplayer as a one-man show. From here on out, the Multiplayer blog has been expanded by rolling up MTV's other video game blog GameDrop (yeah, they had two). So that means new design (we like!), new writers (we're not sure yet), and of course, new content from Totilo.First, a new Vs. Mode with Newsweek's N'Gai Croal where the two veteran writers discuss the fall's first blockbuster first-person shooters: BioShock and Metroid Prime 3. The first installment expounds some 4500 words on BioShock, with Totilo and Croal both praising the shooter-from-the-deep for its atmosphere, sizing up the world of Rapture to other notable video game settings (is it uniquely memorable?).Also included in Multiplayer's pseudo-inaugural outing is the below embedded video detailing precisely how to pronounce Ubisoft. "Is it YOO-be-soft? Or OO-be-soft?" We won't give the answer away (we'll leave that to Ubisoft's own), but we do want to take this opportunity to say "nyah nyah nyah" to everyone that ever pronounced it wrong. Ever.
Super Paper Mario breaks 3rd dimension, fourth wall
MTV News sat back down with Nate Bihldorff, writer for Nintendo of America's Treehouse localization team, to talk about some of the more off-beat inclusions in Intelligent Systems' latest, Super Paper Mario, which he cowrote with Erik Peterson. The game not only breaks down the barrier between the second and third dimensions (that's kind of its whole shtick, really) but it playfully breaks down the fourth wall as well, self-referentially addressing its own video game-iness with in-jokes about games and game culture (see above). One joke that didn't come across so well was the DS Lite-shaped oven which appeared to promise DS connectivity. Bihldorff was contrite: "We were actually bummed out when we saw that reaction online ... We should have rewritten that line." With lines like "The mustard of your doom!" under his belt, we imagine there's plenty of redeeming lines in Super Paper Mario to make up for it. %Gallery-1586%
FREN-DCOD-ESAR-ECRA (leave off the P for 'phone pad')
MTV News' Stephen Totilo sacrificed countless hours and, some would say, his sanity to try and right Nintendo's wrongs -- doing the video gaming world an immeasurable favor in the process. He tried to make Nintendo's inscrutable friend code system easy to remember using our old buddy, mnemonics. The answer: "friend sentences." Taking a page from the savvy folks at places like 1-800-MAT-TRES (leave off the last S for "savings"), Totilo sought out the help of PhoneSpell.org, a service capable of turning at least 10 of your 16 friend code digits into something that resembles language, and ended up with a solution, of sorts. Our question? Why sixteen characters? A telephone number is limited to ten digits, eleven for some international numbers ... did Nintendo expect to sell more DS and Wii units than the telephone? (Don't answer that.) Regardless, if you want to rock some multiplayer Wii (whenever Metroid drops) hit Stephen up at ELF-ON-OX-7-YIP-06 or us at MER-5585-SEA-FIX-JUDO. Easy! Now, what's yours?
Halo 3 beta: Microsoft says "the experience will be deep"
While at D.I.C.E., MTV News' Stephen Totilo spoke with Phil Spencer, general manager of Microsoft Game Studios, to check in on the status of some of Microsoft's bigger projects ... say, the litany of Halo games in the works. While Spencer wouldn't say much about Peter Jackson's as-yet-untitled Halo project, or Ensemble Studios' Halo Wars RTS -- both are still in the early stages of development -- he did have a little more to say about the upcoming Halo 3 beta. When asked about the size of the beta, Spencer responded, "It isn't really a tease ... People should expect a pretty robust experience when they're playing. Don't call it a demo." More than one map? Spencer assures us, "The experience will definitely be deep." Deep, eh? Remember, if you didn't get a Rule of Three invite, you can always grab an "initial" copy of Crackdown.%Gallery-1676%
Sony's Phil Harrison congratulates Nintendo
There's no doubt that the PSP hasn't done as stellar as everyone has hoped. But that doesn't mean it's done poorly, either. MTV News spoke with Sony's Phil Harrison about the performance of the PSP so far. He notes that the PSP is doing a "very good job," distinct from the "great job" that Sony did on PS1 and PS2. He thinks that "most people use their PSP at home," an oddity that he'd like to change. Finally, he praised Nintendo and the DS, stating: "Nintendo should be congratulated... [DS owners] are our customers of tomorrow." Certainly, as Nintendo DS owners get older, they'll most likely look towards products that satisfy a more mature taste. It happened with the transition from Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64 to Playstation and PlayStation 2, and it may happen again.
Loco Roco sequel confirmed
Sony Computer Entertainment President Phil Harrison recently spoke to MTV News, and made a startling revelation about the PSP exclusive LocoRoco. "It was a very successful game for us and we're continuing to evolve the franchise," he said. "We're going to bring 'LocoRoco' back in a couple of new ways with some new friends in the future." LocoRoco and Friends. Sounds like a sequel to me. Considering how many new levels the development team has created for the holidays, it seems like there's still a lot more LocoRoco to come.
Gamer's Week recap, in video
We're guessing if you're anything like us, you probably missed the bulk of MTV's Gamer's Week last week. Something about two new game consoles dropping, and the knowledge that these would all end up on the internet where we could watch them in between marathon rounds of Wii Sports, blogging, and hygienic necessities, prevented us from watching them on the old television. Now you can spend a boring Thanksgiving afternoon in your room, drunk on tryptophan, watching all of MTV News' Gamer's Week 2.0 videos online. The Real Price of Virtual Gold: Half a million Chinese laborers spend their days killing World of Warcraft monsters for actual income. But is it exploitive? My Gaming Block Austin, part 1: Sway goes to the mecca of video game development, visits studios and a gaming center -- and sees what his voice might sound like in a game. My Gaming Block Austin, part 2: working out and eating wings. Keiko Takamura, Second Life Star: Making friends at school was tough for Amy Te, but she's had no trouble selling out shows in Second Life. You Hear it First, Frogg Marlowe: Jeremy Works performs in the virtual world as an amphibious musician -- but that doesn't protect him from hecklers. 25 Years of MTV Video Games: From Pac-Man and the dawn of the arcade to the Dreamcast to the PlayStation 2, MTV has always had a finger on the joystick. See also: Joystiq talks with MTV News' Stephen Totilo
Joystiq talks with MTV News' Stephen Totilo
With two highly anticipated console launches closing out this week, MTV certainly picked a ripe time to repeat their Gamer's Week event. With properties like GameTrailers and Neopets, recent acquisitions like Guitar Hero dev Harmonix and instant messaging/gaming client Xfire, as well as Stephen Totilo's impressive work at MTV News, it's clear that MTV is serious about games. We recently had a chance to talk to Stephen about Gamer's Week and find out why it's not just Laguna Beach but with some video game stuff thrown in.What's your role in Gamer's Week? As a reporter for MTV News, how do you fit into the whole Gamer's Week package? Like last year, MTV is dedicating a week to gaming coverage, and marshaling as many resources as possible to put cool stuff together. And like last year, I was tapped as the MTV News reporter who covers video games to provide five day's worth of on-air news segments and any written stories for MTVNews.com.
MTV gets it right with Gamer's Week 2.0 (the spelling at least)
Last year we were very skeptical of MTV's unfortunately-named GameØRZ Week, "an unprecedented multiplatform assault of video game related programming." Just a couple days in, we reevaluated our initial gag reflex and managed to find some decent programming nestled away, comfortably, inside MTV's unprecedented assault.So this year, we welcome the new, properly spelled Gamer's Week (2.0, natch) with less opprobrium and more hope. MTV's compiled programming across their network -- including MTV, MTV2, mtvU, games.mtv.com, Xfire, and GameTrailers -- starting today and running until Saturday. Check out our interview with MTV News' Stephen Totilo for some insight into some of the programs, hit up the press release to get the details on the week's events so you and your TiVo can coordinate, or peep games.mtv.com, "the one-stop-shop for all things Gamer's Week 2.0."
Sony: 1mln to 1.2mln PS3s for North America in '06
Earlier today Sony dropped the bomb that they'd be delaying the PS3 launch in Europe (you guys didn't really think you'd get it at the same time as North America, did you?) and halving worldwide shipments for 2006 from 4 million to 2 million. So just how many of those 2 million are coming to North America? A Sony spokesperson told MTV News that instead of focusing on those day-one numbers, we should be looking at the 1 million to 1.2 million units available by the end of this year.Now, we know the armchair analysts (and even some real ones) are getting all doom and gloom about the PS3's holiday prospects in light of today's announcements, but let's throw some context at the mess and see if we can't make this lump of coal shine. The Sony spokesperson was quick to point out the similarities between the PS3's impending launch and the now dominant PS2's launch back in 2000, which also shipped with a fraction of what was expected. Keep reading for a fancy chart!
Video games and Wikipedia, perfect together
We love Wikipedia. Whether it's worlds inside games, worlds inside comics about games, or blogs about games, Wikipedia's got what every video game fanboy needs: an endless stream of entries ... that you can edit.A short bit at the end of a recent MTV News column tipped us off to a recent article in erudite periodical The Atlantic Monthly covering the "most-edited articles" on Wikipedia. While video games might not be able to rack up Jesus or George W. numbers (Dubya's twice as popular as Jesus!), RuneScape made a seriously strong showing at number 8! So how did a humble, Java-powered MMORPG rack up nearly 11K edits? Vandalism!Like Jesus, Islam, Christianity, and Britney Spears, video games inspire a sort of religious fervor. Of course, no company or brand is more familiar with this sort of devotion than The Big N, whose Wii console beat out Pope Benedict XVI to the number 19 spot (take that!).For more on the popularity of gaming properties on Wikipedia, check out Wikimedia's top-100 most viewed charts for August. Again, the Wii comes in strong at number 11, with Fable, PlayStation 3, Final Fantasy VII, Mortal Kombat, and GameFAQs bringing up the rear. Depending on the relevance you would ascribe to Wikipedia's search results, a cursory glance puts gaming near the forefront of online interests -- up there with current events, television, and sex (yup, even on Wikipedia).Read - The Atlantic Monthly on Wikipedia [via MTV News]Read - Top 100 viewed Wikipedia articles [via Calacanis]
Start your TiVos: Game designer's roundtable on MTV2
Back in May, MTV News' Stephen Totilo produced a game designer's roundtable featuring four prominent game designers -- Harvey Smith (aka Witchboy; Deus Ex), Will Wright (The Sims), David Jaffe (God of War), and Cliff Bleszinski (aka CliffyB; Gears of War) -- that MTV decided (in their infinite wisdom) was not worthy of full television exposure. Instead, they opted to run an edited version and stick the full program on their PC-only Overdrive site. Thankfully, they've had a change of heart and have decided to run the entire special on MTV2 beginning tonight. Kudos to MTV for filling an entire slot with four white guys talking about video games in an art gallery. G4 seems to be of the mind that there's no audience for smart programming about video games. Get going, it starts in thirty minutes! It's late notice, we know, but you'll be able to set the old TiVo (or VCR ... yuck) to make the best out of cable television's tendency to repeat programming. A lot. Note to MTV: more quality gaming coverage, less Punk'd reruns, k? Sat 08/19@6:30PM Sun 08/19@12:30AM Mon 08/19@10:30AM Wed 08/19@3:00AM Thu 08/19@3:00PM Fri 08/19@10:00AM Read - MTV News Presents: Gods of Gaming schedule
Top 10 games? Bah! Who're the top 10 gamers?
MTV News' Stephen Totilo took the tired top-10 list and turned it on its ear. The new question: who are "the 10 most influential gamers of all time"? The metric: "gamers whose time playing actually affected the culture, creation or business of video games ...." The results: SHOCKING. Actually they're rather interesting. While our good friend (and aspiring pugilist) Uwe Boll didn't make the cut, there are plenty of names you will recognize. How about the Penny Arcade guys? Or Life magazine profilee, and heavily mulleted arcade champ, Billy Mitchell? Or the two guys who blurred the boundaries between gamers and developers when they created Counterstrike? Or how about either of the picks who populate the user-modifiable online world of Second Life. With only 200,000 "players," Second Life represents an interesting facet to this list. While the world is nowhere near as popular as its MMO-cousin World of Warcraft, the unique marketplace system of Second Life encourages entrepreneurship and creativity. Like the list's virtual real estate mogul Ailin Graef, whose 2005 profits were estimated at over $100,000 (mental note: ditch blogging, become a virtual real estate mogul).Who's missing? And you can't say yourself.
MTV hosts game designers roundtable
MTV News' Stephen Totilo somehow managed the Herculean task of getting four major game designers -- Harvey Smith (aka Witchboy; Deus Ex), Will Wright (The Sims), David Jaffe (God of War), and Cliff Bleszinski (aka CliffyB; Gears of War) -- to sit down and talk to each other ... during the week of E3. The roundtable took place at Gallery Nineteen Eighty Eight amidst the backdrop of their currently running I AM 8-BIT art show. Though it begins with more input from host Gideon Yago, it quickly evolves into a conversation between the four designers, running the gaming gamut from design to violence in games to the art question, all with a healthy sprinkling of (the outspoken) David Jaffe's trademark pottymouth.While MTV only ran an edited version, MTV's online-only Overdrive channel is hosting the whole shebang. It's unfortunate that MTV decided this didn't deserve to be aired on television even though they've managed to make room for another half-dozen airings of the Gears of War promotional special. But seriously, if MTV's doing this, what does G4 do nowadays?[Warning: Ever attuned to the pulse of the younger generation, MTV had the foresight to recognize that nobody under the age of 34 uses Mac OS and, accordingly, they've made their Overdrive site only compatible with Internet Explorer running on Windows.]
