Blogger Archive: TraderJake 
Doesn't that box look lovely? I think it sure does, and if I wasn't poor I'd absolutely want that box. Turns out for those of you who are financially better off than me that this package will be able to be purchased, and for gaming aficionados like yourself I bet you find this package strangely exciting. Personally, I am as giddy as a school girl, and a Catholic one at that. Tee Hee.
Oh, and yes, there's other news as well. Turns out that Mega Man launches Monday, September 22 for WiiWare. Why, that's THIS Monday. Even better news, it launches on the 25th for PSN and the 1st for the 360. Won't that make you all happy. I am sure quite a few of you are probably looking to be schooled by Splash Woman, because you just like being abused like that.
All in all, great news about this throwback to retrogaming! Here's hoping that the expectations regarding this game aren't horribly dashed like another high expectation game recently did. (**SPORE**)
Mega Man 9 Retail Package??? [Capcom Admin's Blog]
 Praise the Gods! Our humble beseeching was heard by our humble lords. Our penitent pleas have been recognized by Yevon and in doing so he has ensured that the Wii was in fact the top selling console in Japan last week. What will Yevon do for us next week? Might he protect us from Sin? I only dread the thought of what city could become the next Zanarkand. They embraced technology too much, and in doing so were punished for the techological zeal. That's why I use a laptop powered by a hand crank, praise Yevon. Oh lordy, praise Yevon, for he is GOOD. Like I know that the Wii only sold 1500 more consoles than the 360 last week in Japan, but it least the cosmic order remains.
Oh merciful Yevon, what won't you do to protect your people? How we citizens of Spira praise your magnificence! Save Spira from Sin, in the name of Maester Seymour Guado! May we never experience the same fate as Zanarkand! Guardians, protect us!
Xbox 360 The Best Selling Console In Japan? Media Create Says 'No'
 In what surely is to be a one in a lifetime occurrence, the Microsoft 360 was the top selling console in Japan for the week of September 8 through 14. It's... terrifying. What have we done to cause such a cosmic quirk to occur? Was it our capitalist overlords screwing with the subprime market, causing a financial meltdown? Could it have been the Japanese obsession with Used Pantie Machines finally caught up with them? Was it that as a world we're too preoccupied with shrubberies? I DON'T HAVE A CLUE!
Truly, someone must have done something to cause this strangeness to occur. It's not as though the Japanese could actually be genuinely interested in the 360, could it? I know it was popular in the US a couple months back, but the US and the Land of the Rising Sun are very, very different. They have Pachinko. We have Casinos. There's no way that the Japanese could be convinced to buy a 360 because of a price drop, could it? COULD IT? All I know is that last week the 360 was the top selling console in Japan, and it's scary. Such a freak oddity can not happen again next week, can it? CAN IT? I really hope not, I fear what would happen to the cosmos if it did.
OH MERCIFUL GODS! Hear my plea! Spare us from the impending cosmic rift! We humbly beseech you! We wish not to invoke your wrath! Please, take these shrubberies as a token of our most sincere acquiescence. Please, PLEASE! Don't let the 360 top the chart for another week, I don't know if the cosmos could take another week of such stress!
Holy Snot! Xbox 360 Tops Home Console Sales In Japan [Kotaku]
 Well look at that, Nintendo isn't going to the Tokyo Game Show, but it turns out they are going to have a press conference of their own. This conference is going to be on October 2, which is actually before the start of TGS. What are they going to announce and talk about? Who the hell knows! Nintendo certainly does not, as confirmed by Edge. Well, that's just peachy. Chances are that it's a malicious lie, and they know exactly what they are going to be talking about, but they just don't want you to know. It's okay, we know how you feel, and so does Jean Luc Picard.
Who the hell cares? Nintendo clearly doesn't care about you much, so why should you care about them? After the riveting hardcore gamer announcement of Animal Crossing: City Folk, I have little excitement in what Nintendo is to announce. But, if this was a Sega Announcement regarding upcoming titles from Platinum Games, then, hell yes I'd be interested. I think the only thing that would remotely interest me would be an announcement that Captain Rainbow was being released in the US. The impact on Nintendo's image would be as beneficial to them as the Lehman Brother's Bankruptcy was to the Dow Jones. Certainly, it would be amazing.
So, do you care that Nintendo has a press conference in 2 weeks? Should you care? I don't think so, and I wholly expect Nintendo to announce some "casual gamer" nongames that will not interest me. Perhaps they'll interest you.
 Oh dear, it appears as though EA doesn't realize that people really, really hate intrusive Digital Rights Management, which you might begrudgingly know as DRM. Some places do DRM right, like Valve. Sure only one user can have a game, but at least that user can install the game as many times as he wishes. Apparently, EA just wants to piss you off if you buy Spore. Never mind enjoying the game, let's find a way to punish you for being on of the righteous buyers of Spore. How does EA do that? By using SecuROM, of course. As stated on everyone's favorite encyclopedia, Wikipedia, "SecuROM is a CD/DVD copy protection product, most often used for computer games running under Microsoft Windows, developed by Sony DADC. SecuROM aims to resist home media duplication devices, professional duplicators, and reverse engineering attempts. The newest versions (v4 and up) prevent 1:1 CD-R copies from being made. Certain programs can circumvent its protection. The use of SecuROM is controversial because certain aspects of the protection are similar to functions of malware, and users are not always informed when SecuROM is included with a product."
So, what aspects of SecuROM make it hated? Well, SecuROM phones home. You want to install that game on your PC? Well, go ahead, you have three installs on three PCs. But here is the thing. Let's say you install on your desktop, and then it goes into an incessant Blue Screen of Death and you have to reformat? Well, you reformatted, so that PC is no longer authorized to play the game. So, there goes a second authorization. After three installs on "different" PCs, you're done with playing the game. Gone are the days where you could reinstall as many times as you want, and here are the days where you're stuck with what the publisher gives you.
Spore, happens to have SecuROM, the lovely piece of software that phones home whenever an update is done or whenever the game is installed. A lot of people don't like that, so much so that on Amazon the customer rating sits at 1 out of 5 stars with 2216 reviews and growing. Turns out people really, really, really hate the DRM known as SecuROM, and they've shown their ire through the Amazon rating system. As one such reviewer says, "First of all, the game incorporates a draconian DRM system that requires you to activate over the internet, and limits you to a grand total of 3 activations. If you reach that limit, then you'll have to call EA in order to add one extra activation. That's not as simple as it sounds, since when you reach that point EA will assume that you, the paying customer, are a filthy pirating thief." Doesn't that sound wonderful?
It gets interesting though. A few days ago, Amazon pulled the Spore reviews. A few hours later, they were back, and their absence was attributed to "a site glitch". You know, I can claim that monkey's fly out of my ass, but that does not make it true. I bet their statement on it being a site glitch is a dirty, malicious lie.
It's really a shame that EA had to sully Will Wright's game with DRM. It's even more sad that EA doesn't trust you as a paying customer, and thinks you are obviously a dirty, filthy pirate. Perhaps people would have not had this backlash if only EA trusted them to be righteous consumers. But no, look where we are today. Spore has a 1 out of 5 star rating on Amazon, and people are pissed. Here's to you, EA.
Ed Note: I just noticed that over the last month that "Oh Noooo Otter" was the number 3 referral for our site, just behind the keyword RF Generation. Isn't that fun?
So, Seth MacFarlane does this show called Family Guy. It's quite popular, and you might have heard of it. Turns out that he also does another show called American Dad, which is also quite humorous. Well, Seth MacFarlane has also started a lovely new thing on Youtube called Seth MacFarlane's Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy, completely sponsored by Burger King. Hail the King.
Anyways, this week marks what appears to be the beginning or close to the beginning of the show, and well, this week, Seth tackles what really happened after Mario saved Peach. Enjoy the show!
[img align=right]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/games/U-016/bf/U-016-S-05960-A.jpg&sizex=200[/img]
It seems like just a few years ago that the behemoth known as EA had decided to close a revered studio within its ranks. While EA closed many studios during its ill-fated centralization, the closure of Westwood Studios probably was the most saddening closure for many. After all, it was Westwood Studios that gave the world the series known as Command and Conquer. It's a popular franchise you know, and I hear that Red Alert 3 is coming out soon. The closure of Westwood Studios was sort of bitter for many a RTS fan, but if the RTS fan was to know that it would set a precedent, perhaps they'd be more bitter.
News comes today of the impending closure of Ensemble Studios, the wonderful people responsible for the Age of Empires series. They also are working on the game Halo Wars, and now that game is wrapping up production it seems as though Microsoft has found it as a wonderful opportunity to shutter the studio. It's a shame. It really is. Are RTS's sell poor selling that a studio as storied as Ensemble Studios has to be shuttered? It's truly a shame.
Well, on the plus side, apparently there is a new studio running from its ashes. Is that true? Who knows, but it's still sad that Ensemble is closing. Thanks for the great series and RTS's you given us! You'll certainly be missed.
Shane Kim Delivers Death Blow To Ensemble
[img align=right]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/hardware/U-115/bf/U-115-H-0001C-B.jpg&sizex=200[/img]
So, it was bound to happen, after all, it happened in Japan recently. Starting Friday, you can get an Xbox 360 for less than a Wii. Granted, you're getting the 360 Arcade, and most of you will want the Pro or Elite, but yeah, they're all cheaper! Get that 360 for $199! Want the Pro or Elite? Those will set you back $299 and $399, respectively.
I bet some of you are happy about this development. C'mon! Something cheaper than what it was! It could convince you to invest in a new system, or... you could have already gotten a 360 years ago. Will it help 360 sales? Probably, but will it unseat the Wii? That will be a tougher cookie.
Xbox 360 Price cut (now US $199) [Major Nelson]
Hey, I bet you like games. You're here, right? Chances are that you even have a computer. In fact, I'd almost guarantee that you have a computer. Anyways, on a rare occasion, some people like to give out something truly awesome for free. You see, as a kid, I really enjoyed the game Red Alert. It was a fun time spent playing as the Soviets, reeking havoc on the allied bases and infantry with MiGs and Tesla Coils. Oh my oh my, good times to be had. So yes, imagine my surprise to find out that EA, the cold corporation you love to hate, has decided to let you download Red Alert for free. That's right... free. How can you turn down free? I bet you can't and you'll use the link below to get the game as quickly as humanly possible.
Get Red Alert for Free (Scroll Down Page)
Our databases would be nothing without the submissions of our members. Thanks to the submissions of our members, we can say that RF Generation is THE Classic and Modern Gaming Databases.
August saw lots of submissions - 2962, to be exact. Lots of people helped to make us have 2962 new submissions, and this month, Funk_Buddy kicked ass and took names with 840 submissions! Way to go! We really appreciate it! Rounding out the top 3 were Apolloboy and NES_Rules, and our top non-staff submitter was eaglebeak99! Of course, while these four people submitted a lot of data, they are not the only submitters, and we'd like to thank everyone who submitted, including the following people who made 50 or more submissions:
Funk_Buddy, ApolloBoy, NES_Rules, eaglebeak99, Tan, ga5ket, NayusDante, Sirgin, totalgridlock, Alabama-Shrimp, Darth Sidious, blcklblskt
Of course, for all the submissions, someone must review them all. This month, Tan was the excellent gentleman who reviewed your submissions the most. NES_Rules also helped out a lot. Thanks you two and everyone else on staff that helped with submissions!
From all of us at RF Generation, thanks for the awesome August! Here's hoping for an even better September!
Thanks for the submissions, all!
You know, coding a game progress tracker is a lot of work. God knows when it will be finished, but to keep myself from going crazy, I like to play Guitar Hero. See, I like rhythm games. In fact, I like them a lot! They might form my favorite genre, and I wholeheartedly look forward to future releases like Samba De Amigo and Guitar Hero: World Tour. I don’t know what it is about rhythm games, but I find them utterly addictive and extremely enjoyable. Perhaps you hold the same opinion, or maybe you don’t. The latter is cool, except that some people in that group take their reasoning to the extreme, and it makes me angry.
See, I used to be a musician. A band geek, so to speak. In addition to being a band geek, I also wore broken plastic glasses, a monochrome short-sleeved shirt, and a pocket protector in the shirt pocket. Just ask the Black Perl, he’d vouch for that. You know, we band geeks are horribly nerdy. That must have been why the jocks always beat the crap out of me and my friends. But, aside from being an über nerd, being a musician gave me a love for all things musical. Can I still play a saxophone or clarinet? Hell if I know, but I can still play my recorder. But, it was a good time, and being a musician gave me some skill sets that others just don’t have.
So, I was a musician, marching in Ohio’s Finest (Only) All-Male Marching Band. I am proficient in reading music sheets, and if I practiced (and I don’t), I could probably become a decent musician once more. I really enjoy my musical prowess to a certain extent, but that certainly doesn’t exclude me from liking things that bastardize music. What could possibly bastardize music? Why, rhythm games, of course, and this bastardization make some of you very unhappy.
Continue reading The Cynical Gamer #9: Rhythm Whining
You know, I hear that Samba de Amigo is coming out for the Wii soon. Might be coming out on September 23 of this year in the US. Should be a lot of fun, but then I am a biased source. I love rhythm games. Probably now my favorite genre of games, either that or Sims, and Samba De Amigo is a quality experience, well, at least it was on the Dreamcast. Fortunately for those of you who never played it on a Dreamcast, it is coming out on the Wii, and it's coming out soon. Personally, I am enthralled by the thought of playing this game, I hope you will be too after playing this mini game, located after the jump.
Continue reading Samba de Amigo is going to be Awesome... Again
Hey there. If you're here, you're likely either a gamer or collector, but some of you might actually have other interests, and enjoy doing other things as well. I know that I sure do. One of the fun things that we do around here is about this time every year we have a fantasy football league. It's a good time, and we all have fun doing it. The question is... why aren't you doing it? You too could join in all the fun and potential smack talk just like the rest of us. It's really a good time, and we hope to see you there.
We're aware of some things being out of whack. We're looking into it, and hope to have it resolved. Stay Tuned.
Edit: We're back... again. Somethings happened, and our host is getting to the bottom of why it happened so that it doesn't happen again. You might notice intermittent slowness, and somethings might be temporarily disabled, but for now, we're back... again.
 Imitation is said to be the sincerest form of flattery, well, that’s at least what they say. To me imitation could be a good thing, or, in a market where being unique can lead to being hugely popular and subsequent huge profit margins, a very bad thing. Look for example at Apple. No one is really like Apple in what they do and what they offer. Apple is the trendy tech company, and pending the outcome of a lawsuit, they either will be comfortably the trendy tech company for years to come, or they could see their profit margins erode as the Mac OS is opened up to other hardware manufacturers. Certainly could throw a wrench into things, that’s for sure.
So, what does this talk have to do with gaming? What? Are you serious? Imitation in the gaming realm is making me want to throw up, and I hope you’re as dazed about this imitation as I am.
Continue reading Cynical Gamer #8: Imitation
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