stiqfigures
Latest
Stiq Figures, August 27 - September 2: Tabletop gaming edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. Every week, we take a look at, uh, something – meanwhile, the previous week's Japanese hardware sales figures are posted after the jump, and a discussion of said figures takes place in our comments. It may not be conventional, but it's a time-honored Joystiq tradition. Video games thrive as masters of the digital realm, but there was a time when asking a friend, "Do you want to play a game?" meant meeting that person somewhere, sitting down together, sharing a pizza and staring at a tabletop all night. There was also a time when that question meant Jigsaw was right behind you, but this particular fear has long since passed.Tabletop gaming has existed in some form since at least 3500 BC, when the first board game, Senet, was documented in Predynastic Egypt. Even in the modern era of blockbuster digital entertainment, tabletop gaming is alive and well. Wil Wheaton, professional nerd extraordinaire, highlights the diversity and entertainment of the craft in Geek & Sundry's TableTop online series, alongside notable names in gaming and geek culture.Now we learn Terry Cavanagh, developer of Super Hexagon, has two board games under his belt, and earlier this year our very own Mike Schramm rekindled his love for the tabletop in the form of a card game he created when he was 16.Game on, tabletoppers.
Stiq Figures, August 20 - 26: Poke-nightmare edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. Every week, we take a look at, uh, something – meanwhile, the previous week's Japanese hardware sales figures are posted after the jump, and a discussion of said figures takes place in our comments. It may not be conventional, but it's a time-honored Joystiq tradition. We'd wager that fans of the Pokemon series would hate to see these creatures jumping out of the tall grass at night. Unless they also happen to be huge Tim Burton fans, of course. These excellent Pokemon illustrations are the work of Vaughn Pinpin, a student at The UP College of Fine Arts, and take inspiration from Burton's twisted style.These redesigned first-generation starter Pokemon seem to get progressively creepier as they evolve. While some don't stray far from their original designs, such as Caterpie, others begin to look like demented characters from Ratatouille (see: Raticate). Even more character illustrations can be found on Pinpin's Tumblr, which notes plans to complete the first 151 creatures.Now if only we could get these redesigns in an actual Pokemon-styled game called The Nightmare Before Johto. Who wouldn't play that?
Stiq Figures, August 13 - 19: SkiFree edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. Every week, we take a look at, uh, something – meanwhile, the previous week's Japanese hardware sales figures are posted after the jump, and a discussion of said figures takes place in our comments. It may not be conventional, but it's a time-honored Joystiq tradition. SkiFree is one of those games that I felt completely hopeless while playing. No matter how well I navigated around rocks and trees, the speedy yeti-like monster would always catch my skier, gobbling his entire body in one gulp.Released in 1991 by developer Chris Pirih, SkiFree would eventually be included in the Best of Windows Entertainment Pack alongside games like JezzBall and Chip's Challenge. According to Pirih's official site for the game, he began work on a second version in 1993 that would later be abandoned. SkiFree 2.0 was slated to include multiplayer, robot opponents, network play and enhanced physics.Thanks to DeviantArt user Omny87, who recently crafted a more terrifying version of the monster, I'm definitely never going skiing again. And yes, I anticipate that every comment on this post will start with "Press 'F' to go faster." I wouldn't have it any other way.
Stiq Figures, August 6 - 12: Ridiculously intense edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. Every week, we take a look at, uh, something – meanwhile, the previous week's Japanese hardware sales figures are posted after the jump, and a discussion of said figures takes place in our comments. It may not be conventional, but it's a time-honored Joystiq tradition. It's "ridiculous game trailer week" on this week's Stiq Figures, and there's no better trailer to watch than one recently released for RAWR Interactive's new game, Count to a Billion.Debuting on iOS last week, Count to a Billion gives players 90 seconds to score billions of points using all of their fingers. If its $1 price isn't enticing enough, the power thirst-styled trailer above might do the trick. The thought of all those delicious points was enough for us to give it a look.
Stiq Figures, July 16 - 22: Pepsiman edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. Every week, we take a look at, uh, something – meanwhile, the previous week's Japanese hardware sales figures are posted after the jump, and a discussion of said figures takes place in our comments. It may not be conventional, but it's a time-honored Joystiq tradition. It's "hilariously terrible gameplay video week" on this week's Stiq Figures. While some folks find product placement offensive, Pepsiman would tell those people, "Relax, and drink this Pepsi I just picked up while running through the neighborhood."Released in Japan in 1999 for PlayStation, Pepsiman is an "on-rails running game" featuring the soft drink company's former mascot. Check out the gameplay video above while quietly drinking a two-liter bottle of Pepsi. Caffeine is a hell of a drug, friends.
Stiq Figures, July 9 - 15: Carmen Sandiego edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. Every week, we take a look at, uh, something – meanwhile, the previous week's Japanese hardware sales figures are posted after the jump, and a discussion of said figures takes place in our comments. It may not be conventional, but it's a time-honored Joystiq tradition. Keeping in line with yesterday's Webcomic Wrapup theme of kleptomania, we're looking back at one of gaming's greatest thieves: Carmen Sandiego. The mysterious and crafty lady in red first appeared on Apple II computers in 1985 as the main villain of Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? by Broderbund Software.Broderbund kept its hit educational series going through 2001, though it saw a series of tumultuous corporate changes in the mid-90's, when the company pulled out of a merger agreement with Electronic Arts in 1994. In June 1998, Broderbund was acquired by The Learning Company (ironically, the same company Broderbund attempted to purchase three years earlier). The Learning Company proceeded to lay off 500 Broderbund employees before being purchased by Mattel. The Learning Company's entertainment holdings, which included the Carmen Sandiego and Myst series of games, would go through a few hands before landing with Ubisoft.Carmen Sandiego solidified her place as one of gaming's greatest thieves early on. In the 1989 title Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego?, Sandiego's henchmen are responsible for the theft of Napoleon's hat and Paul Revere's horse. The games even spurred on a series of educational TV game shows (seen in the video above). In fact, a movie adaptation of the educational series was announced in late June 2012.
Stiq Figures, July 2 - 8: Sega history lesson edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. Every week, we take a look at, uh, something – meanwhile, the previous week's Japanese hardware sales figures are posted after the jump, and a discussion of said figures takes place in our comments. It may not be conventional, but it's a time-honored Joystiq tradition.By now, Nintendo's origin as a playing card company in late 1800s Japan is a major bullet point on gaming history's "Interesting Things" list, but lesser known are Sega's humble origins. In 1940, a company called Service Games (see where we're going with this?) began operations in Honolulu, Hawaii and in 1951 relocated to Tokyo to get into the jukebox and slot machine manufacturing business.Then, in 1954, an American Air Force officer named David Rosen founded a company in Tokyo that would eventually evolve into Rosen Enterprises, which focused on photo booth production and importing coin-operated games into Japan. Rosen Enterprises' success lead it to own 200-plus arcades in Japan.Rosen himself, recognizing a still-thriving Service Games as his only real competition, arranged a merger of the two corporations with himself as the new company's chief executive officer. That company's name, of course, was SEGA, a pseudo portmanteau of "service" and "games." Sega's focus shifted from importing to production, with its first title being a submarine game called Periscope. As it happens, Periscope was the first arcade game to ever cost 25 cents per play.
Stiq Figures, June 25 - July 1: Grim Fandango edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. Every week, we take a look at, uh, something – meanwhile, the previous week's Japanese hardware sales figures are posted after the jump, and a discussion of said figures takes place in our comments. It may not be conventional, but it's a time-honored Joystiq tradition. Before Tim Schafer hit the jackpot in a Kickstarter campaign, he had a storied career as a designer for games such as Grim Fandango, a 1998 LucasArts adventure title for PC. The game, as seen above, follows the hilarious and creative journey of Manny Calavera, a travel agent uncovering corruption in the Land of the Dead.Grim Fandango borrows distinct style elements of film noir, which explains why many of the characters in the game smoke cigarettes. Interestingly enough, Schafer and company address the dirty habit in a footnote in the game's manual, seemingly to put the minds of players and parents at ease:"For those who are disturbed by the amount of smoking in Grim Fandango, we offer two reasons: 1) we wanted to be true to the film noir atmosphere, and 2) everybody in the game who smokes is DEAD. Think about it."
Stiq Figures, June 18 - 24: Crash n' Burn edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. Every week, we take a look at, uh, something – meanwhile, the previous week's Japanese hardware sales figures are posted after the jump, and a discussion of said figures takes place in our comments. It may not be conventional, but it's a time-honored Joystiq tradition. Just a few short weeks ago, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said he was "skeptical" of Nintendo's upcoming Wii U console. However, he did note that in regards to console launches, "if you get it right, it's a terrific time to launch a new IP."Eighteen years ago, Strauss Zelnick would have likely agreed with himself that launching a new IP on a new console was a good bet. At the time, Zelnick was CEO of Crystal Dynamics, a company that placed a significant amount of resources in Panasonic's 3DO video game console. In a February 1994 interview with the New York Times, Zelnick said that "one of the benefits of getting in early in the 32-bit environment is we have been able to achieve a position of market dominance, which has been quite profitable for us, not a disappointment."This was prior to Zelnick leaving Crystal Dynamics after the 3DO system launch was deemed a massive failure. One of the company's games that released for 3DO was Crash n' Burn (seen above), a combative racing title akin to the Twisted Metal series. Zelnick said Crash n' Burn "stops short of graphic violence," when asked about violence in video games.He added that "every editor, and I consider myself an editor, has a responsibility to society, and I realize that our games are sold to kids." Years later, Zelnick would become CEO of Take-Two, which is responsible for the Grand Theft Auto, Manhunt, and BioShock series of games.
Stiq Figures, June 11 - 17: Play it loud edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. Every week, we take a look at, uh, something – meanwhile, the previous week's Japanese hardware sales figures are posted after the jump, and a discussion of said figures takes place in our comments. It may not be conventional, but it's a time-honored Joystiq tradition. Nintendo announced a new, much larger 3DS system this week, the Nintendo 3DS XL. For North America, the system will come in red and blue. The announcement was informative, but also boring. Nintendo has never shied away from flooding the market with colorful systems, but there was once a time when they did it with charisma.That time was during their "Play it Loud!" marketing campaign of the mid-90's. Nintendo showed its edgy side when advertising a variety of colored Game Boy systems. Commercials showed rebellious kids giving each other wedgies between skateboarding sessions, all set to Butthole Surfers tunes. Nintendo even suggested that kids should "give the world a wedgie." It was chaos, and it was awesome.Maybe we're stuck in the 90's, but who wouldn't want to play today's games as loud as the commercial seen above?
Stiq Figures, June 4 - 10: Rainbow Six edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. Every week, we take a look at, uh, something – meanwhile, the previous week's Japanese hardware sales figures are posted after the jump, and a discussion of said figures takes place in our comments. It may not be conventional, but it's a time-honored Joystiq tradition. In light of the recent Kickstarter project for the tactical military shooter Ground Branch, we're looking back at a game that helped define the genre: the original Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six game.Former Director of Production Design at Red Storm Entertainment Brian Upton shed light on the game's development history in a January 2000 postmortem feature on Gamasutra. Of the hundreds of ideas for the game stemmed from a weekend-long brainstorming session in fall 1996, Upton said that "the only one that we unanimously agreed we had to build was HRT - a game based on the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team."However, the game wasn't a pure adaptation of the Tom Clancy novel of the same name. In fact, Clancy "hadn't yet decided to make [HRT] the subject of his next novel." Since Clancy and the team at Red Storm Entertainment shared information on a regular basis, Upton said that "bringing the game in line with the book didn't involve too much extra work."One significant part of the book that was lost in translation is the ending, as the team finished development several months before Clancy completed the novel. Upton considered it "one of the pitfalls of parallel development."
Stiq Figures, May 28 - June 3: Captain Tsubasa edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. Every week, we take a look at, uh, something – meanwhile, the previous week's Japanese hardware sales figures are posted after the jump, and a discussion of said figures takes place in our comments. It may not be conventional, but it's a time-honored Joystiq tradition. This week's Stiq Figures is courtesy of Joystiq reader MartinLalia, who reminded us about one of the first true sports RPGs, the Famicom version of Captain Tsubasa (sorry, Madden 13). Based on the Japanese manga and anime of the same name from the early 80's, the Captain Tsubasa games spanned multiple generations, each featuring strange turn-based soccer action.The first game was localized for North American audiences in 1992, released by Tecmo as Tecmo Cup Soccer Game, and underwent a series of sweeping modifications, including changes to the main character. Originally a spiky-black-haired footballer named Captain Tsubasa, the "hero" of the American version of the game was changed to a parted-blond-haired fellow named Robin Field. This NES sports gaming gem did retain the RPG-like gameplay style, as seen in the video of the Japanese version above.
Stiq Figures, May 21 - 27: Cheat code edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. Every week, we take a look at, uh, something – meanwhile, the previous week's Japanese hardware sales figures are posted after the jump, and a discussion of said figures takes place in our comments. It may not be conventional, but it's a time-honored Joystiq tradition. Cheat codes have always been a part of gaming. Though less popular in recent years, punching a code into games in years past would often lead to power-ups and secret characters intentionally set aside by developers.Most everyone knows the Konami code, or what happens when you type "Justin Bailey" into the password field in the first Metroid game. Playing as Bill Clinton in NBA Jam continues to be a highlight in all of sports video games. Even the discovery of a code that unlocks characters is thrilling, such as driving off a building in Twisted Metal 2.But not every game makes a statement in the way Space Quest II: Vohaul's Revenge did. The game was designed by Mark Crowe and Scott Murphy, also known as the Two Guys from Andromeda. At any point in the game, players could type the word "cheat" and not only win the game automatically, but receive 255 out of the total 250 points possible. Cheaters also get a special message from Crowe and Murphy, calling them "the most bitchen adventure game player in the world."
Stiq Figures, May 14 - 20: He's heating up edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. Every week, we take a look at, uh, something – meanwhile, the previous week's Japanese hardware sales figures are posted after the jump, and a discussion of said figures takes place in our comments. It may not be conventional, but it's a time-honored Joystiq tradition. There aren't many sports games like NBA Jam. Back when Michael Jordan was the king of the court, the 1993 Midway arcade classic was known for its tight controls, secret characters, zany dunks, and outrageous catch-phrases by announcer Tim Kitzrow. While Jordan wasn't in the game (he reached his own licensing agreement with the NBA in 1992, and Midway was unable to secure a deal with him), it was Scottie Pippen that brought his excellent three-point shots to the court alongside Chicago Bulls teammate Horace Grant.That is, Pippen's usually excellent three-point ability. NBA Jam creator Mark Turmell admitted in a 2008 interview with ESPN: The Gamer that Pippen's tendency to win close games was tuned down in certain circumstances. Specifically, when any Bulls player attempts a glorious last-second shot against Turmell's favorite team, the Detroit Pistons, a special piece of code in the game would average the shots out to be bricks.Turmell said, "There was the big competition back in the day between the Pistons and the Bulls, and since I was always a big Pistons fan, that was my opportunity to level the playing field." This is one case where any close loss against a friend can be reasonably blamed on the game.
Stiq Figures, May 7 - 13: I'mma can't use any of my dominoes edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. Every week, we take a look at, uh, something – meanwhile, the previous week's Japanese hardware sales figures are posted after the jump, and a discussion of said figures takes place in our comments. It may not be conventional, but it's a time-honored Joystiq tradition. By now, Mario's cheerful, sing-song voice is as endemic to the character as his mustache and overalls. Sprightly proclamations of "It'sa me, Mario!" and the like have endeared voice actor Charles Martinet's work to the hearts and minds of millions, but it might surprise you to know that Martinet's first stint as the man behind the 'stache wasn't Super Mario 64. In fact, it wasn't a Nintendo game at all.Martinet's first appearance as the prolific plumber was actually Mario's Game Gallery, a digital collection of card and board games for DOS, Windows and Mac OS, developed by Presage Software and published by Interplay. Mario's Game Gallery predates Super Mario 64 by roughly a year, but as you can tell from the collection of sound files above, Martinet had already settled into a ridiculous, heartwarming and hilarious groove as Mario Mario.It's physically impossible to make it all the way through this video without laughing. In fact, it might be physically impossible just to make it all the way through this video.
Stiq Figures, April 30 - May 6: SG-1000 edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. Every week, we take a look at, uh, something – meanwhile, the previous week's Japanese hardware sales figures are posted after the jump, and a discussion of said figures takes place in our comments. It may not be conventional, but it's a time-honored Joystiq tradition. For most of us who've grown up outside of Asia, Sega's history as a gaming hardware manufacturer begins with the Sega Master System, released on North American shores in June of 1986 to the tune of $200. In truth, the Sega Master System was actually the Sega Mark III, which itself was the third iteration of Sega's real first foray into hardware design, the SG-1000.The SG-1000 (an acronym of "Sega Game" 1000) was released in Japan on July 15, 1983 for ¥15,000, which at the time amounted to $62.48 USD, assuming an average exchange rate of ¥240.06 to the dollar. (Coincidentally, this was the also the day that Nintendo launched the Famicom.) Armed with a blistering 3.5 MHz CPU and two whole entire kilobytes of RAM, the SG-1000 was only mildly successful in Japan, Australia and New Zealand, but curiously saw much greater success in the piracy-infected Taiwanese market.North America, however, never saw an official SG-1000 release, although the Telegames Personal Arcade was released stateside and was capable of playing SG-1000 carts, had they somehow managed to make the trip across the Pacific. The SG-1000 Mark II was released a year later in 1984, sporting a redesigned case and identical components (sound familiar?). Nowadays, Mark I versions of the SG-1000 can go on eBay for as much as $1,500 – a good bit more than the 63 bucks it would have run you back in 1983.
Stiq Figures, April 23 - 29: Forgotten hero edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. Every week, we take a look at, uh, something – meanwhile, the previous week's Japanese hardware sales figures are posted after the jump, and a discussion of said figures takes place in our comments. It may not be conventional, but it's a time-honored Joystiq tradition. There's a lot of noise going on about The Avengers this weekend, what with it having the most successful opening weekend in cinematic history and everything, but we thought we'd take this opportunity to remind everyone about a super hero they were forced to forget: The Sentry.The Sentry, in his time, was a superhero filled with "the power of one million exploding suns," and was arguably the most powerful living being in the Marvel universe. He was also Reed Richard's best friend, a confidant of the Fantastic Four and mentor to the Hulk. Peter Parker even won a Pulitzer Prize for a photograph he took of The Sentry, though neither Peter, nor Richard, nor any other hero from the Marvel continuum (save for the Hulk) remembered any of this.The reason being that, in order to defeat The Void, his greatest nemesis that also happened to be a manifestation of his subconscious, The Sentry used his immense powers to erase the memory of his existence from nearly everyone on the planet, including everyone at Marvel Comics, and those who had read about his adventures in the past. The Sentry only resurfaced when a virus in his brain caused him to subconsciously implant memories of his forgotten life into comic book writer Paul Jenkins.Once released from the debilitating grasp of the virus by Emma Frost, The Sentry became a member of, wouldn't you know it, The Avengers.
Stiq Figures, April 16 - 22: Digital distribution of yore edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. Every week, we take a look at, uh, something – meanwhile, the previous week's Japanese hardware sales figures are posted after the jump, and a discussion of said figures takes place in our comments. It may not be conventional, but it's a time-honored Joystiq tradition. It's funny how Nintendo getting on-board with digital distribution is such big news. Granted, Nintendo may seem a bit late to the party when compared with Microsoft and Sony, but it's not like they were exactly pioneers of the medium either.We like to think that buying things digitally and either downloading or streaming them to our consoles is a modern invention, that it somehow classifies this era as futuristic or technologically advanced, but the truth is that digital distribution and stream-based gaming has been around since the dawn of time.Well, very nearly, at any rate. In 1981, the PlayCable system was introduced for the Intellivision, allowing cable television subscribers to download games (up to four whole kilobytes!) into a special cartridge. Two years later, the CVC GameLine service was launched for the Atari 2600, allowing subscribers to download games via 1200 baud modem into a massive, silver "Master Module" cartridge.If either of these services sound familiar, it's because the same basic premise was used just over 10 years later by the Sega Channel in 1994. So comparatively, when Microsoft launched the original Xbox Live Arcade in 2004, it was already 20 or so years behind the times.
Stiq Figures, April 9 - 15: Kirby edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. Every week, we take a look at, uh, something – meanwhile, the previous week's Japanese hardware sales figures are posted after the jump, and a discussion of said figures takes place in our comments. Those interested in the minutiae of the Japanese gaming economy get the numbers they so desperately crave, and everyone else gets something (hopefully) interesting to end their week on. It may not be conventional, but it's a time-honored Joystiq tradition. The announcement of a Kirby 20th Anniversary collection for the Wii reminded us of one of our favorite little anecdotes from the early days of Nintendo's life in America. See, during the development of the first Kirby game, Hoshi no Kābī for the Game Boy, series creator Masahiro Sakurai and Shigeru Miyamoto had a disagreement. Despite the Game Boy's inability to display color, Sakurai saw Kirby as being pink, whereas Miyamoto envisioned a bright yellow Kirby.When it came time for Nintendo of America to localize Hoshi no Kābī as Kirby's Dream Land, the conflicting stories regarding Kirby's actual color resulted in the ghostly vissage you see above. Perhaps in an attempt to play it safe, or to reflect Kirby's actual color on the black and white Game Boy, everything from the box art to the television commercial featured a Kirby more akin to a Boo than the little pink puffball we've now grown to love.
Stiq Figures, April 2 - 8: Need for Cinema edition
Welcome to the inaugural installment of Stiq Figures, where the posts don't matter and the Japanese sales data is found after the break. As you'll recall, Stiq Figures is identical to the Japanese hardware sales report in every single way, save for its name. Even the time-honored tradition of making fun of Hollywood's terrible ideas has made the transition from old to new.We know that EA is shopping around the Need for Speed movie to various studios around Tinseltown – what we don't know is how cognizant it is of the fact that this movie has already been made five times. Then again, Hollywood doesn't seem to have a huge problem with making the same movie over and over again.
