Five Years, 20 Lessons, 20 DS Games

While most of us may not be familiar with Griptonite, it is actually one of the game developing companies that have created abundance of games for Nds in 5 years starting from games that first appeared alongside the launch of Nds Phat until now.

The following link will give a full picture of what they have learned(mistakes, lessons, improvements). Something I noticed while reading the article is the reason why movie adaptation games are generally bad! Most probably it is the shockingly short deadline. Tell me, how is a particular game supposed to be good when you are ordered to develop the games in just several weeks? Not going to happen I guess, hence it explains why most of the movie adaption games are so sucked.

It is a long and you might want to have a cup of coffee with you but I am gonna tell you this article is really worth you time.

P/S: I never thought that I have played one of their games which is the Urbz Sims in the City. The game itself was good but probably I am just not interested in Sims games, hence the game is no longer in my possession and I never buy any Sim games since then. What games developed by them that you have played before?

WTF price?

For those who have followed this blog, they should know that now I already have the tendency to get something used rather than brand new copy due to the disparity in price. As usual I was browsing for cheap bargain at lowyat forum.

However I found it amusing that one particular seller was trying to sell his nds games at rather expensive price(more than rm100 for 1 used DS game anyone?). While I thought the high price tag was just set for display only initially(well, you know we can always ask for best price right?), after a couple pms, the seller was reluctant to even slightly reduce the price for some reasons, it is after all square enix games that we are speaking now(I am interested in one particular game but you know what? Other non square enix games are expensive as well!!) and due to the stronger USD currency. I know, it all boils down to the simple fact where if you agree with it, you just buy or you can leave if you don't like the price but I could not help to wonder who is gonna get it from you if you aren't willing to even reduce the exorbitant price and the fact that the games he is trying to sell aren't even rare?

Seeing how the whole thing took place around 2 or 3 months ago,when I bumped into the same thread recently and looked at how those NDS games are still "lying" at the thread without any buyers for now, I know the price set is just too high and even if I am trying to add the game into my collection, I know for sure I wont even consider getting it from him if he is still adamant to stick with his original price tag. I guess it is just a lose lose situation for both of us now.

Anyway, this post is not meant to bash this seller but just to get us wonder, what is the comfortable price that you would consider for a used ds game? I know I wont get a used ds game if it is more than rm100.

Another Mother 3 translation....in BM now?

Apparently there are still many fans out there who are still clamoring for translations in their own mother tongue language even though the unofficial english translation patch had been released by starnet for sometime ago. I couldn't believe my own eyes and nearly fell off my chair when I saw someone apparently from Malaysia is trying to do its own BM translation of Mother 3. Don't buy into it? You gotta see some screenshots to believe in it.

This really sounds corny as it seems but we Malaysians should be proud that this game is going to be in Bahasa Malaysia soon(chuckle). Apparently this project has just started around January 2009 and I guess it should take some time before we can see the light of the final project. I was just hoping that this wont get canned eventually when he isn't passionate to do it anymore. The status of this ongoing project could be monitored here. You might wanna check it from time to time if you are interested in the final outcome of this project.

Hmm, if my eyes serve their purpose, apparently the person who works on this ambitious project seems to be only a secondary school student at SM Teknik Kota Tinggi. I can't imagine how a teenager can work on this alone and this only proves that I am rather outdated and obsolete by having such thought. We really can't underestimate anyone nowadays eh?

At Gamingeuphoria I am praying for all the best to this guy who works on this project and I am tempted to check out the final results.

Trivia: For those who dont have, we do have some localized international games like Resident Evil 3 and Dino Crisis for PC which were released years ago. I still remember the the localized title of Resident Evil 3 is Kubu Iblis 3 but I already forgot the localized title of Dino Crisis. I tried to find the boxarts for both games but to no avail. Both games are totally in BM and if my memory serves me well, the original versions were just rm20 each. Very cheap right?

The 14 best pre-order bonuses

Call it gimmick or whatever you like but it is undeniably sometimes pre-order items are really essential in spurring sales of certain games. I am sure most of the gamer would have put down deposit just for the sake of certain preorder thingy.

However, trying to obtain pre-order thingy has been a hassle in Malaysia since the original gaming scene here isnt as active as it is in other countries like Japan or USA, hence most of time those who are interested to secure some really compelling preorder items would have to part with their hard earned dough and go the hard way plus a little luck to get them. As a gamer who has only started supporting the original games since the DS era, I dont have much experience of acquiring many preorder bonuses but some goodies still manage to make their ways to my collection. The most recent ones happened to be Disgaea DS and Rhapsody The Musical Adventure which came with a stylus, a Rune Knight figure and a musical cd respectively(although I mentioned it is the latest one, do note that the purchase was made last September) but the most notable one and most worthy one should be the Castlevania Portrait Of Ruin. Sure, I had paid premium for this game but the preorder bonus bundles with it was definitely worth the admission. Look at the image below and you would realize all the hard work and effort are definitely worth it.

Hmm, if only every preorder bonus is that sweet, I would dare to say everyone in Malaysia would be more inclined to support the original gaming.(not to mention they should be made easier to purchase as well).

However, it seems like Atlus has a new strategy and a new way to define pre-order bonuses where they will just bundle something cool with their latest games. Their latest games which have been bundled with some cool goodies are like Luminous Arc 2(comes with a original soundtrack and artbook), upcoming Legend of YS I and II(comes with an original soundtrack cd) and also Super Robot Taisen Endless Frontier(comes with an original soundtrack cd as well). This strategy seems to be paid off and has garnered some positive feedbacks among the gamers and I myself really applaud such a good decision where every gamer virtually everywhere(Malaysia also of course) would be able to get some preorder bonuses without paying premium price.(Those are actually obtainable at Play-Asia) But then again, I feel that some gamers might not find themselves to be happy with such decision from Atlus as it may seem that this move might render some of the preorder bonuses to be less valuable, hence make them less interested in getting the games from Atlus, haha.

The following link features some of the coolest pre-order goodies that have ever appeared, let's see how many of you own something in the list? I know that the Castlevania preorder bonus is listed as one of them, hehe.

R.I.P Electronic Gaming Monthly?

I was shocked today when the news of Electronic Gaming Monthly(EGM) will be discontinued emerged out from today nowhere. The slumping economy must have helped to quicken the process(rumours of EGM demise have been circulating around for some time). It seems like everything has been finalized and January issue of EGM shall be the last printed issue we could find at book stores...

I may not have been a subscriber of EGM nor I get to read every issue that has been released but somehow I still managed to kill some time by getting some issues occasionally. But when I do have this mag, I will enjoy myself reading every article in the mag as this mag tends to be more"mature" so it does contain some jokes and article that can appeal to adult gamers like me. I would reckon that this mag resonates more with me compared to Nintendo Power and it is so sad to see it leave in this way.

In this new era where we can almost get everything latest related to gaming almost immediately on internet, it is not hard to figure out that printed magazines must have some hard time trying to convince old readers to stay subscribing let alone attract new readers to embrace it. In my opinion a mag can still thrive if it tries to break out the old mold and try to go in a new and radical direction where something available in the mag itself could not be found at internet. Let's see, an exclusive interview with some big people in the industry? How about exclusive games unveiled in the latest issue? I really applaud Nintendo Power decision to dedicate almost one page every month teasing us what great games that are bound to appear in next issue. Next thing I really like about a printed magazine is usually the features presented. I gotta admit here, the time I spend alone in reading features related articles is far huge compared with the time I spend reading reviews and previews of certain games. Since I am only a Nintendo DS player, features can always provide some insights for me in other gaming platforms which is a great welcome as I don't always have the time to keep tabs on all the news related to current gaming platforms.

I guess for those who have ever read EGM before are gonna miss the days without it anymore and everyone will miss its notorious EGM Aprilfool joke(Lego Halo anyone?)

A vending machine.....that you can buy Nintendo DS?

Awesome is it? You maybe fortunate enough to see this if you go to an airport in USA. The best of all is it does sell a Nintendo DS Lite, so if you are in a hurry and forgot to bring along a NDS and you happen to be in an airport, you might wanna try to get it from this machine. After all, you will never manage to experience this back in Malaysia, haha. Besides Nintendo DSL, you can find some DS games inside like Mario Kart DS and Guitar Hero On Tour. They are just waiting for you to pop in the money and bring them back.

Trying to find this in Malaysia is practically impossible I guess seeing the low gaming penetration in our country, not to mention the rampant piracy that has shunned away so many potential gaming companies to promote their games here. We are really a huge step behind compared with Singapore in term of embracing original gaming.

If this machine DOES show up in Malaysia, expect to see it to be broken open soon enough because notorious thieves here will just do anything to get the valuable things inside, which shows how unsafe Malaysia is nowadays.

How to afford games when your cash flow is low?

Admit it, as original gaming supporters, sometimes we just dont have enough dough for games that we want. Even though how eager we are to get our hands on the latest games, sometimes it is just not gonna happen because of the rising living cost that makes our already expensive hobby(expensive to me at least) seem like a harder task to accomplish. Also, being a working adult does not make you have more money to burn on games simply because you will have more commitments now.

Duh, the fact that our ringgit Malaysia is weak compared to US dollar doesnt help....I am lucky that I am single now since all my pocket money could go to my personal interest, but i foresee that to change soon enough once I get myself a special mate. It has been hard to keep up with my gaming hobby since it seems like every month there are lots and lots of interesting games that make it to the game shops.

Here is an interesting article letting you know how to budget to finance your expensive gaming hobby(the article itself is quite long but I am sure you wont regret after reading it). Never did the writer realize that when he moans that he is already having troubles coping with the escalating living cost while he is ACTUALLY earning his wage in USD, we here in Malaysia are definitely having harder time when it comes to supporting original gaming in Malaysia. (Sorry but for those who simply dont give a damn to intelectual property and think that supporting original gaming is plain stupid, please stay out of this) However, I do already employ one of the many methods suggested in his article, which is waiting for some games to drop in price or just wait for the used copies to pop up instead of getting them at full retailed price. I guess by doing this, I can get more games at the usual usd35 I would have to pay for a single game. But looking at the rampant piracy NDS scene in Malaysia, practically waiting for used copies is harder than getting myself a brand new copy. Not that I intend to gobble up everything used just because they are cheap as not all of them are good. Duh, now I wish my friend in USA can help out with securing some bargains there(be it getting something when it has price drop or just trying to get some good deals at ebay) but it seems like this is impossible now as she is buzy with her new boyfriend and simply doesnt have time to entertain my request. The only suggestion mentioned in the article that I never(or rarely) use is selling off my already completed games. I always think that by getting rid of things you buy, you might be losing some bucks and it doesnt really worth it. So unless the games are what I think I will never complete it, they will likely remain idly in my cupboard.

So guys, what will you do to support your gaming habit? Please your comments here.