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Stiq Figures, January 19 - 25: All-time favorite game edition
I've used my time with Stiq Figures to ask you about your favorite specific elements, moments and quirks from video games, and reading your responses has become to feel like a weekly check-in with a bunch of gaming-oriented friends. With this being the final edition of Stiq Figures however, it's time to focus on the obvious question: What's your all-time favorite video game? I'd love to hear your reasoning, but don't worry about justifying your selection to any of us – this is all about the game you love or enjoy the most, even if it's an unconventional choice. For one last time, lure me (and hopefully others) to games I normally wouldn't try by using Stiq Figures as a platform to broadcast passion for your favorite games. Thank you for stopping by to share your thoughts with us for all these months, and before you do it again, be sure to check this week's Japanese hardware sales after the break!
Stiq Figures, January 5 - 11: Gaming memorabilia edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. Joystiq writes about gaming-themed figurines, apparel and trinket-stuffed special editions fairly often, but there are scores of referential collectibles out there that never reach our front page. It can feel pretty impossible to scoop up (or find room for) everything that piques your interest, but every once in a while something comes along that's just too difficult to pass up. For me, it was the Christopher Lee's series of Mario prints, which rolls up memories from the NES' Super Mario Bros. trilogy, Super Mario World and Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins. I've had the tendency to go overboard with gaming decorations in the past, but Lee's series struck me as a clever, subdued way to celebrate my ideal source material. I particularly appreciate that "subdued" bit whenever I have guests over that are dismissive of games – I don't feel the urge to cover these prints up the way I did with my more obnoxious past tributes in order to spare myself from snide comments. Can tributes to gaming be found somewhere within your living space? Perhaps a miniature Mega Man stands guard beneath your monitor, or a replica of your favorite weapon hangs by your game collection? Tell us about the real-world souvenirs you've gathered from your gaming adventures, right after you check this week's Japanese hardware sales data after the break!
Stiq Figures, December 22 - 28: Real-life video game replicas edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. Yes, I'm still stuck on the real-life Pac-Man maze that Budweiser built for a Super Bowl commercial. Running through replicas of gaming stages and scenarios was really more of a backburner-tier childhood dream, but now that my imagination's willing to daydream about more than training Pokemon, it's pretty fun to think about the gaming experiences I'd recreate if I had a pile of money to burn. Out of all the possibilities, I think I'd throw my millions at an on-rails Star Fox theme park cart ride. There would be four Arwings to emulate the Star Fox Team, each following its own rail, and most of the ride would be heavily inspired by Star Fox 64. Each group could compete for the high score while assisting each other with bogeys, gathering powerups and generally making Andross' life miserable. I feel like friendly fire would also be an incorporated danger, but only for whoever uses Slippy's ship. What about you? Would you fund an incredibly-dangerous venture into building F-Zero-style race tracks and vehicles? Maybe you'd rather clear a castle of monsters and turkey legs with just a whip and holy water? What about a to-scale paintball field that channels Halo's Bloodgulch map? Tell us what kind of gaming experiences you'd build if money and most logistics weren't obstacles, right after you check this week's Japanese hardware sales data after the break!
Stiq Figures, December 15 - 21: 2015 resolutions edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. Now that we can count the remaining days of 2014 on one hand, you might hear an awful lot about New Year's resolutions over the coming days. Whether it's a completely new goal or something you committed to last year, changing up comfortable habits can be fun! Fun or, in the case of my confessed achievement addiction in 2013, exceedingly necessary. I used to spend hours trying to clear achievement lists in their entirety, and unlike some of collectors who enjoy the hunt, I generally despised the effort. Thankfully, I've finally stopped caring – I don't even think to look at a game's remaining achievements before moving onto a new title, and the spared time has conveniently supported my second resolution from last year: To try more games I usually wouldn't go for. This year, I intend to dig into the deeper cuts of the gaming series that I love. That means more handheld Castlevania and Zelda games, an introduction to the Mega Man X sub-series and plenty of oddball spinoffs like Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. I'll also double down on my existing efforts to try out unfamiliar territory like The Witcher series and unique smaller games, too. Which gaming resolutions will you commit to for 2015? Share your goals with us, right after you check this week's Japanese hardware sales after the break!
Stiq Figures, December 8 - 14: Biggest surprise in 2014 edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. A lot can happen in a year. Social media behemoths can snatch up rising tech companies, unlikely returns can happen simply because a CEO says so, and new, strong genre frontrunners can seemingly come out of nowhere. Sometimes the surprises we don't have the chance to hype ourselves for are the best parts of a year, and this week's Stiq Figures is all about celebrating 2014's personal out-of-left-field moments. Personally, my biggest surprise was when Nintendo addressed my complaints at E3 by revealing Splatoon and Code Name: STEAM, two new, prominent franchises with fresh characters that wouldn't be stuck solely testing the waters of the eShop. As much as I enjoy Nintendo's existing roster, I've harbored a lingering hope in recent years that the developer would make a substantial effort with a blank slate. With two retail-sized debuts on the way within the first two quarters of 2015, I'm glad to have some fresh faces to look forward to in addition to a few reunions. What caught you off guard this year? Was there a particular announcement that you weren't expecting, or was it a game you played that you didn't expect to love as much as you did? Let us know in the comments, right after you check this week's Japanese hardware sales after the break! Note: As Media Create did not provide updated sales figures last week, this week's sales data is presented without comparison. We will return to the standard up/down format next week.
Stiq Figures, November 24 - 30: Coming in 2015 edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. Our to-play lists may still be a little bloated from this year's offerings, but this weekend's PlayStation Experience (and past Gamescom and E3 presentations) proved there's no shortage of games planned to launch in 2015. If you need a refresher: Batman: Arkham Knight, Rainbow Six: Siege, Xenoblade Chronicles X, Quantum Break, Persona 5 ... even before you get to smaller titles, there's a ton on its way! Sometimes there's a frontrunner with a firm grasp on our attention though, so before we delve into Game of the Year talk, let's exchange our most-anticipated games due within the next year. I'll cave to my predictable nature – Give me Yoshi's Wooly World, a friend for co-op play and an open weekend. While the Yoshi-themed aesthetics were my initial draw, my time spent hurling crocheted eggs at E3 2014 was surprisingly promising. The stages I tried were inventive enough with the arts-and-crafts theme to keep it from feeling like a thin, irrelevant cover, and the level design reminded me more of the original Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island than the series' handheld outings. I expected to take a half-hearted romp through a cute platformer, but I left the booth compelled and eager to unravel Wooly World's full adventure. Of course, some other announcement could blindside me in the coming months and steal away my focus. How about you? Which games from next year's extensive lineup are you itching to play? Tell us what you've seen that has you looking forward to next year's releases, right after you check this week's Japanese hardware sales beyond the break!
Stiq Figures, November 17 - 23: Video game movies edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. Many directors have tried to convert video games into movies or TV series, and many more will probably try to do the same. Regardless of whether our ideas hold any merit, it's fun to think of what we would do if we were calling the shots concerning an acting cast and a pile of money. My ideal is entirely unreasonable and basically ignores the challenge of making a good script, but I wouldn't mind seeing a well-funded, cinematic take on the Bayonetta series. I essentially just want an excuse to watch 90 minutes of over-the-top choreography and spectacular setpieces on the silver screen, and a project that incorporates the ideas of Hideki Kamiya sounds like a safe bet for both. What would you do, though? Which game would you adapt, who would you put in the director's chair and, most importantly, would it be a musical? Share your games-to-movie adaptation ideas with us in the comments, right after you check this week's Japanese hardware sales after the break!
Stiq Figures, November 10 - 16: Best communities edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. Modern gaming is seemingly more about online play with each month, and though that apparently means we'll see plenty of rocky launches, it doesn't seem like a design convention that's going to change anytime soon. Online communities don't exactly have a sterling reputation as warm, enjoyable scenes, but some of them stand as welcome exceptions. For example, every match I played of Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast started with opponents awkwardly bowing in the middle of an arena before slicing each other up with lightsabers. Rivals were also consistently willing to explain a mechanic to me when I was still new and didn't really know what I was doing, and though I was always an easy kill, no one ever took me out when I was clearly fumbling with controls over in a corner. What about you? Is there a game out there that kind of felt like a huge circle of friends after a while? If you don't have a reflection on a game's entire community, was there an atmosphere with a few other players that made your time with that game substantially better? Tell us about the best people you've encountered playing games online, right after you check this week's Japanese hardware sales after the break!
Stiq Figures, November 3 - 9: Comfort series edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. Game series that nail a play style several times over tend to earn a long-standing fondness from their admirers. Fresh debuts and experiences are important, but having a gaming equivalent of reliable comfort food definitely doesn't hurt. For me, 2D Mario games comprise my comfort series. Aside from the handheld entries of the New Super Mario Bros. series, I can play them dozens of times and still have fun even after a game's wealth of secrets is depleted. I think of the series as the ideal feel for platforming – even with great entries to the genre like Super Meat Boy and Rayman Legends, the play style found in Mario games still has my favorite "feel" to them within the genre. What about you? Which series feels like the trustworthy pal you can always head to for a few great hours? Share your mostly-unwavering favorites with us, right after you check this week's Japanese hardware sales after the break!
Stiq Figures, October 27 - November 2: Loveable oddballs edition
Too-serious protagonists surrounded by stoic fighters have a time and place, but slogging through stern-faced casts can make everything seem a bit dull. For a medium thriving on fantasy worlds, the capacity for goofiness can feel pretty neglected at times. In a way, that makes the outlandish exceptions stand out more easily, and while they might not always be the lead, they still deserve some recognition. As carefree as Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and Wii U is, the presence of Duck Hunt is the cherry on top of the brawler's roster for me. The series is no stranger to left-field appearances, but I was surprised how quickly it could convert me to Huge Fan status for a dog that's literally pointed and laughed at my ineptitude for decades. Fending off approaches with clay skeet shooting disks and the trick shot can from Hogan's Alley just seals the deal for me – Duck Hunt conquered Villager and Toon Link as my favorite Smash Bros. roster apperance, hands down. What about you? Which absurd character has earned your affection, regardless of whether they were tasked with lightening up a brooding, gritty plot? Share your favorite oddballs with us, right after you check this week's Japanese hardware sales after the break!
Stiq Figures, October 20 - 26: The console you don't own edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. Assuming you've bought one at all, you've had a fair amount of time to settle in with your preferred modern console by now. Whether it was cool games, the prospect of cool games or some other features that lured you in, its dashboard might feel like a second home by now, host to many wonderful hours of your favorite games. But what about the box(es) you left on the shelf? What about the consoles that, at one point, didn't have what it takes to earn a spot beneath your TV? This edition of Stiq Figures is all about second chances, and with the start of deal season in mind, I ask: What would the gaming consoles you don't own need to do before you would consider picking them up? Wanting more 3rd party support, cooler exclusives, more enticing system-wide features or just a different shade of plastic wrapped around its innards – pretty much everything is fair game here. If your only machine-shaped absence in life is a gaming-capable PC, feel free to explain what would need to change before diving into that experience as well. Since my summer purchase of an Xbox One was my final moment of caving during this console generation though, it's all about you this week. Share what you're looking for from the consoles that have yet to join your home, right after you check this week's Japanese hardware sales after the break!
Stiq Figures, October 13 - 19: When fear takes over edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. Halloween is days away, making it the perfect time to settle in for a couple scares from your favorite interactive medium. Sometimes the horrors faced are a little more than you anticipated though, and while some people could sit through anything with a stoic demeanor, I'm definitely not one of them. When a game scares me, the near vicinity knows it. For example: Silent Hill 3 was one of my first horror games, and while I was new to the genre, I knew playing alone and in the dark was part of the whole thing. I was on edge but generally managing things until I reached the basement of a hospital, where I found an overturned wheelchair with its in-air wheel still squeakily spinning. As my eyes followed a trail of blood leading from the chair and out of sight around a corner, my fragile novice state snapped, and I dropped the controller to go turn on every last light in the house. I did manage to finish SH3 and was proud to conquer Fatal Frame later on, ghostly demon children and all, but I've yet to reach the end of last year's Outlast. You win, creepy guy patrolling the basement; you've stopped me from turning the power back on. What about you, though? Have you met your horror-related limits in a game, or did something outside the genre get creepy enough to scare you off? Share your breaking points with us in the comments, right after you check this week's Japanese hardware sales data after the break!
Stiq Figures, October 6 - 12: Why did I earn that achievement edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. Achievements can either feel like cool challenges to chase or irrelevant hoops to jump through. However, this conversation is less about the concept's merits and more about the achievements that we're still unsure why we ever bothered with. Why did we force ourselves through games with an arm effectively tied behind our backs, wielding only our weakest weapon? Was it actually fun? Is there much for bragging rights if you regret spending the time to this day? I'm definitely not one to judge – when my obsession with achievements was at its prime, my afterschool routine was hours of Perfect Dark Zero, feebly chasing the 1,000-match achievements for multiplayer match types. Before I convinced myself that I didn't care anymore, I cleared Grand Theft Auto 4 of pigeons, found every last Animus fragment in Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag, and chased Gears of War's 10,000-kill "Seriously" achievement for far longer than I should have. Which outlandish achievements did you conquer (or attempt to) before realizing you weren't having fun anymore? Share your virtual points-related regrets with us, right after you check out the New 3DS' debut in the Japanese hardware sales numbers after the break!
Stiq Figures, September 29 - October 5: Favorite controller edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. Decades of consoles and peripherals have given us a pile of play styles to get comfortable with, and even if there's nothing suited to your tastes in there, modifying a shoe box isn't out of the question. That wealth of options allows for a diverse range of personal tastes though, and it'd be neat to see where the hearts (and thumbs) of Joystiq readers prefer to roam. Personally, I haven't found anything that beats the Super Nintendo's layout. There are enough buttons to allow for reasonably-complex gameplay, but nothing feels obnoxiously out of reach or uncomfortable to use. Its shape also didn't dig into my palms like the NES' pad did, making stints of Super Mario World less about comfort and more about the Koopa Kids' life expectancy. That's me, though. What's the best controller you've ever used? Are you partial to a particular edition of the DualShock, or does the Power Pad have your adoration to this day? Sound off on your favorite controllers, right after you check this week's Japanese hardware sales after the break!
Stiq Figures, September 22 - 28: Do you like collectibles edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. So you've just built a world worthy of an adventure, but how do you decorate its less-traveled paths? What do you use to pull the hero away from a direct point A-to-B trek to topple the central antagonist? Health? Okay, but they might not need it. Resources? Maybe they're borrowing enough from the enemies they're trouncing to get by. Collectibles can seem like a logical choice, but if the balance of finding trinkets and advancing the main focus is botched, they can end up feeling like chores instead of fun scavenger hunts. For the most part, the ratio of action to scrounging found in action adventures like Batman: Arkham Asylum or the Metroid series resonates most strongly with me. There's ample rewards to track down if I feel so inclined, but for the most part, it's fairly effortless to give up on a particular bonus and go back to the main task at hand. When difficult bosses force me to become exceptional at combat or go stock up on upgrades, that feels fair and enjoyable to me. What's less enjoyable is locking main stages behind gates until I find enough of something (Banjo-Kazooie), or spreading collectibles that serve no purpose beyond achievements (Grand Theft Auto 4's pigeons). What about you? Which game strikes you as just the right amount of collecting, and have there been any that you've walked away from due to obnoxious hunts? Maybe you're not even a fan in the first place and feel like they distract from what you'd rather focus on? Share your thoughts with us in the comments, right after you collect this week's Japanese hardware sales after the break!
Stiq Figures, September 15 - 21: Winners don't use drugs edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. Wondering through the glowing pathways of a thunderous arcade has yet to get old, but watching the style of play steadily recede into obscurity certainly has. Online play is now immensely more popular than standing beside an opponent at a cabinet, and while it's a bittersweet tradeoff, it doesn't mean we can't reminisce about our all-time favorites from our luminous mazes of machines, even if they were designed to drain our savings before we realized what happened. Metal Slug X might hold the all-time quarter-draining record for me, but X-Men and The Simpsons Arcade Game made a respectable effort for the title. I was awful at Bust-a-Move, but it was still a routine stop before I ever ran out of coins. I didn't have the reflexes needed to get through Area 51, but that didn't stop me from loving it (or Tekken 2, despite my ineptitude at combos). Attempts at the Donkey Kong and Galaga leaderboards rounded out the games I played most often, . And then there was that Dance Dance Revolution tipping point ... As logical as the financial and cultural factors are for the fade of arcades, I still miss trying new games locked in bulking, intimidating machines and going from stranger to teammate in seconds. What about you? Which games were your go-tos, and did you ever manage to beat them? Tell us about your arcade heydays in the comments, right after you check this week's Japanese hardware sales after the break!
Stiq Figures, September 8 - 14: All at once edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. You've probably finished quite a few movies in one sitting, but video games are longer, more demanding and generally built for multiple sessions. Fatigue from doing the same thing for more than several hours is completely sensible, and yet, a rare game can override that, compelling you to sit put until you're watching the credits scroll. Of course, having a term paper you really don't want to write helps with your incentives quite a bit ... Aside from brawlers, Portal 2 is the only game I remember finishing from start to finish in one go. No warp pipes, no shortcuts, just an eight-hour plow through puzzles, exquisite dialog and an oddly heartwarming reunion. As someone who typically bores with games regardless of quality after more than two consecutive hours, I was both impressed and a little frightened by how quickly Valve's puzzler drained an entire day from my weekend. Suddenly the sun was gone, leaving my blank, glowing word document as the only source of light in our living room. Have you managed to accidentally clear a full game in a single session, or is there one you specifically set out to conquer as quickly as possible your first time through? Tell us about the games you've finished in one go and what compelled you to see it through, right after you check this week's Japanese hardware sales after the break! [Image: Valve]
Stiq Figures, September 1 - 7: Paying for early samples edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. With the rise of digital storefronts and all-in-one gaming consoles, there are a few more options to distribute demos than bundling compilation discs with gaming magazines. The modern difference is particularly underlined with Steam's Early Access, where betas and generally-unfinished portions of games can be sold with the promise of eventual full admission to the final experience. It seems increasingly more common for pre-orders to be rewarded with a headstart too, as was the case with Destiny's beta. The decision to pay for access to unfinished concepts is always in the hands of a player, of course, but between Kickstarters, Early Access and pre-order samples, it all makes me wonder: How do you feel about it? Is there a thrill to getting a headstart on something you've been dying to play, even if it's rough around the edges or a year away from completion? Would you prefer it if development teams stuck to trailers, press releases and livestreams to promote their work? Is a compelling Kickstarter pitch enough to get a few bucks from you? It feels like a conversation with a lot of angles to consider, and it'd be interesting to hear when you consider a project finished enough to spend some cash on a taste of it. Share your perspective on demos, betas and any other form of pre-launch gaming you have thoughts on, right after you check the Xbox One's debut in this week's Japanese hardware sales after the break!
Stiq Figures, August 25 - 31: Camping for video games edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. Destiny is less than 48 hours away, and I imagine plenty of you wish you could just skip ahead to the moment its servers go live. As agonizing as the final days of waiting can be, counting down to a highly-anticipated game (or console) can be a lot of fun, especially if you've got a group of like-minded friends or a launch event to attend. Thanks to Amazon, I'll probably never have to join the freezing ranks of diehard fans in tents, but I was happy to wait in a GameStop for a few hours during Super Smash Bros. Brawl's launch. I had avoided as many character reveals and general details as possible, but watching my friends get crushed in a pre-launch tournament was kind of great, as was chatting with the mass of strangers united by a love for Smash. Of course, it was a race to get home as soon as midnight rolled around, followed by a futile attempt to quietly lose our composure over Brawl's opening sequence. Launch tournaments aren't everyone's bag, of course. What's the best event you've held or attended for a release date? Did you schedule an entire day with friends to burn on your new arrival? Which game or console was it that had you wishing hours could pass as fast as minutes? Tell us about your favorite launch memories, right after you check this week's Japanese hardware sales after the break!
Stiq Figures: Let's trade dream crossovers edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. I remember dreaming up improbable video game crossovers with my schoolyard friends. While none of our strokes of genius have been specifically catered to, I must have left our childhood sketchbooks at an industry event or something, because suddenly bizarre, wishful-thinking collaborations are completely reasonable. A full-on Pokemon fighting game with talent from the Tekken and Soul Calibur series? A narrative-driven take on the Borderlands series from Telltale? A mashup of Fire Emblem and Shin Megami Tensei? Now that improbable is the new possible, we might as well exchange our most-wanted team-ups in a public thread, just in case someone with a lot of money is bored enough to make exactly one of us incredibly happy. Personally, I would love to see Sin and Punishment 2 developer Treasure work with Nintendo on a spiritual successor to Star Fox 64. I think the on-rails arcade shooter style suits that series best, and I think Treasure's experience with the Sin & Punishment series would perfectly lend itself to what I'm looking for from Fox McCloud's adventures: A clever, blissfully-frantic shooter that's as fun to conquer the first time as it is the 50th. That's just my request, though; what are you wishing for? Feel free to focus on video game series or just two particular development teams – the important thing is telling us about your dream project so we can join in on yearning for what might never happen. Break our hearts Tell us about your ideal crossover in the comments, right after you check this week's hardware sales after the break!
