The Video Game Zombiecast

With the flurry of new big-name games coming out in the next 6 months, I figured that it was a good time to take a look at something that many people do to get their gaming fix on without breaking their wallets: Pirating games. Just about everyone I know has done so at one point, myself included. So what better time to explore the issue of getting new games for free?

Recently, independent developer Cliff Harris of Positech Games, maker of Kudos, Democracy, Rock Legend, among others, got frustrated with people pirating games. But not just any games. His games. But rather than go scream about how he’s losing money or install vicious copy-protection schemes into his upcoming games, he decided that he would follow the classic method of “Know Thine Enemy.” So Harris posted in his blog, which he then submitted to Slashdot and the Penny Arcade forums, a simple question:

I want to know: Why do you pirate my games?

He granted everyone who commented or e-mailed him total anonymity, promised he would never give the RIAA, MPAA, or related groups their addresses, and swore to read every response, consider them, and use the feedback to help change what he needed to do to sell more games to more people.

So how did the public respond?
Read the rest of this entry »

*starts digital clock*

The Video Game Zombies are back once again with Episode 24: No Man Crosses Jack Bauer, where they chase down varying stories in the world of gaming, including news from the Leipzig Games Conference. This week’s stories include:

• Vistah gives in-depth reviews of Street Fighter IV in the arcades, Izuna 2: The Unemployed Ninja Returns, and Madden 09; Steve touches on Bionic Commando: Rearmed, and Galaga Legions. And also playing with pictures of a certain Paraguayan javelin thrower. And Jim talks about a little more NASCAR 09, Fight Night Round 3, Persona 3, and returns to The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.
• An 18-hour epic boss battle in Final Fantasy XI.
• Domino’s, Pizza Hut, or Papa Johns? Which do you eat while doing a raid?
• Xbox 360 sells out in Japan… somehow. Thanks to Tales of Vesperia?
• Sony announces its new PS3 Controller Keyboard. We try to figure out how it can be comfortable.
• GTA IV DLC coming this fall.
• The new PSP-3000 is announced, complete with microphone, brighter screen, and Skype. (Note: The announcement at Leipzig was pertaining to European markets. We expect Sony to announce a date for stateside release soon.) Nintendo fanboys think it’s a ripoff of the Nintendo DS. We think Nintendo fanboys are being idiots.
• Guitar Hero: World Tour’s Wii version allows you to play air drums like DJ Ravi Drums and air guitar like Miyamoto using your Miis! Insert the Wheel of Fortune Bankrupt sound and the Price is Right lose sound here. Simultaneously.
• The new Need For Speed: Undercover trailer catches Vistah’s eye
• Samba De Amigo’s songlist announced for us to find out what Sonic and Ulala will be getting down to.

Now if you’ll excuse us, we have to go save the President.

 

 Video Game Zombies - Episode 24 - We're Running out of Time! [65:50m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Show notes to follow.

 

 The Video Game Zombies - Episode 23 - WiiSuck [61:23m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Hey guys,

We’re back from Otakon and we had a blast, but we’ll talk about that on the show.  We didn’t record a show at Otakon this week (once again, we’ll talk about it on the show)  but we will be recording 23 in the next couple of days, and we will also do VGZ 24 over the weekend.  Either way, we’ll have two shows for you guys by next Wednesday.

Ham on, ham eaters!

EDIT: Episode 23 is up!

Show notes to follow.

 

 The Video Game Zombies - Episode 22 - Is Somebody Making Chicken? [91:00m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Show notes to follow.

 

 The Video Game Zombies - Episode 19 - Vimeo Game Zombies [98:03m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

So we just got word from one of our Zombie clan that J&L Game Trading Inc. over in Chinatown has broken street date and is currently selling Soul Calibur IV. So for any of you Soul Calibur fans out there who are looking for your copy as soon as possible, make your way over to Canal St. and Elizabeth and you’ll be able to pick up a copy now!

This can been confirmed by multiple members of the Zombie community who have had the chance to pick the game up there.

The Video Game Zombies XX is up and running! But unlike EA, we’re not including a copy of the most boring game ever in history with our 20th version of our big show (I’m looking at you, NFL Head Coach) Join Steve, Jim, Andrew, and Vistah as they continue to recover from the news overload that was E3 and go through the following subjects:

• Steve & Andrew’s collections of old game systems.
• The Skype lines are always open! Call the Zombie Cave at 718-395-2283. That’s 718-395-CAVE! Leave your messages for us and if we like what you’re saying, we may even put you on the air!
• Jim gets to weigh in on his E3 impressions: Microsoft showed games, Nintendo went casual, Sony played to the press. FFXIII surprise. Capcom passes on SFIV for Lost Planet. Konami’s Fail Revolution. EA actually has people show their games off. Jack Trentton wins the Low Class Remark Of E3 Award. Ravi Drums’ hair. Prince of Persia disappoints: Elika = Navi + Yorda?? Why did the demoed “playthroughs” look EXACTLY the same each time? I thought they were playable demos, not VIDEOS of gameplay. Fable II’s “globes” draw scrutiny. Resident Evil hoodies kick ass.
• Capcom puts the final character additions for SFIV to a public online vote
• “We’re making Pikmin“
• The 5 more embarrassing moments of E3’s press conference.
• The Rock Band 2 new drum kit is both wireless, with connections for crash cymbals, with the ability for double-bass, and more!
• Clarification of “Battle of the Bands” mode on Rock Band 2, No Fail Mode, the new guitar’s optical calibration sensor, marketing your own Rock Band rock band.
• Guitar Hero: World Tour will allow Rock Band 2 guitars on the 360, and the GH:WT drum kit will feature a MIDI In port to hook up an electric drum set to use with the game.
• Who said the following: “Wii Music is better than a video game.“
• Steve has become a LittleBigPlanet fan after realizing that the game is a platformer, and not just a fancy version of The Sims with sackboys.
• Steve’s “Comment of the week” on Kotaku
• Schoolkids shooting themselves in the head get the #1 spot on Japan’s sales charts, while Nintendo: The Bathroom Scale continues to be one of the top games in Japan.
• Daigasso Band Bros. DX
• Since we’re on sales, we’ve also got the sales numbers for June from the US.
• Nintendo sells more Wiis in 20 months than Microsoft sells 360s in 32 months.
• Microsoft decides to piss off Bungie by saying “We don’t need your new Halo game at E3. Stay home. We’ll debut it at another time.”
• DISCUSSION TOPIC: Is the 360 lull the death of the system or market saturation? Call us at 718-395-CAVE and let us know what you think.
• The 360-Netflix deal
• Vistah joins the conversation from an epic video game gauntlet, including Tekken 6 for $3 a game.
• Konami changes things around on their best-known music franchise with Dance Dance Revolution X
• The Zombies weigh in with their Top 5 E3 picks:
  Vistah - Fallout 3, Retro Game Center, Fallout 3, Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, Fallout 3
  Andrew - DDR X, Guitar Hero: World Tour, Fallout 3, Sonic Unleashed, Samba De Amigo for the Wii. (And maybe I Am Alive and Final Fantasy XIII)
  Jim - Fallout 3, Final Fantasy XIII, LittleBigPlanet, MAG, and the Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters PSP bundle. (How the hell did I ever forget Tom Clancy’s Endwar, which I’ve been fanboying over for months? - Jim)
  Steve - Fallout 3, InFamous, Mirror’s Edge, Ghostbusters, LittleBigPlanet
• News comes from SquareEnix that there will be an announcement at invite-only event DKS3713 in Tokyo on August 2-3, that will “shock all the fans out there” in reference to Final Fantasy VII, possibly something having to do with Advent Children.

Links will be following shortly.

 

 Video Game Zombies - Episode 20 - ExtravaDANZA! [94:22m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Man, our good buddy Shiggy knows how to surprise the hell out of everyone, and he did just that today at the Nintendo Developers Roundtable.  When the question was floated about if Nintendo was considering going back to its spacefaring plant-man series Pikmin, Miyamoto responded “We continue investigating all types of games,” Miyamoto responded. “When it’s time to announce such a title, I’ll announce it.”  Then after a moment he continued with, “We’re making Pikmin.”

Wow, short, sweet, and to the point.  And we’ve got as much info on the game as we do with a number of other titles from E3 that got much more visibility.  We’ll follow up with more info as it becomes available.

Hey all! It’s time for your usual dose of Zombies with VGZ Episode 19: The Art of the Bedroom. With E3 looming at the time of taping, Jim and Steve shake off the late-night party of the night before and join Vistah and Andrew to discuss the big stories in gaming of the last week. Topics include:

• Vistah and Jim get philosophical
• SL, EL, QM, RB. OK?
• Andrew talks about his trip to Boston: “We visited Harmonix. They were awesome.” And that’s about all he can say.
• Vistah talks about Bad Games Weekend: Outlaw Tennis, Outlaw Volleyball, X-Men: The Next Dimension; Refreshing the palate with Unreal Tournament III; Dance Dance Revolution SuperNOVA 2, Beatmania IIDX 14, King of Fighters: Ultimate Match 98.
• Vistah also revealed the official beer of Vistah’s Gaming Weekends: Miller High Life.
• Steve reveals, via Circuit City and KMart ads, 3 new additions to the PS3 Greatest Hits collection: Warhawk, MotorStorm, and Resistance
• Jim gives A Short History of E3. (How much more can they get rid of?)
• Geometry Wars 2 to be revealed at E3 and to be released on Wednesday
• Zombie Fit Club gets revealed. Jim, Steve and Andrew give their unofficial starting weights, and Vistah talks about considering joining Zombie Fat Club to try and gain weight.
• The Ion Rock Band 2 Drum Kit is revealed. (Sharper Image chair not included.) And Jim doesn’t realize that Neil Peart is the drummer of Rush.
• Konami, the creators of Rock Revolution decides that Rock Band is making too much money and decides to file a patent infringement lawsuit against Harmonix/MTV/EA/Viacom. Jim delves into an old PC guitar game: Quest For Fame. Andrew and Jim discuss Devecka Enterprises and MTV Drumscape, with patent holdings twisted all over the place. (Gamasutra)
• The XBox 360 Singstar clone Lips, as Steve and Andrew try to discuss the time paradox in taping on one day and releasing on another.
• This week’s Rock Band DLC release: The Best of The Who, a 12-song pack that Steve is planning to pick up.
• Microsoft confirms 60GB XBox 360, even after price drop still selling for more than a Wii
• D3 announces hot-chick-kills-zombies game Oneechanbara for the Wii, caters to straight men as opposed to fangirls.
• LucasArts announces that there will be no announcements about new games at E3, cites “too much noise” at show. The Force Unleashed being released for just about every system ever created. Darth Vader’s apprentice Donald Trump “Starkiller” also will be appearing in both versions of Soul Calibur IV.
• E3 predictions start!
  - Microsoft: 360 Waggle controls (Steve), Peter Jackson’s Halo (Jim)
  - EA: Madden, Madden PSP, no surprises.
  - Nintendo:
  - Sony: God of War III (Jim), Sony has nothing good coming out (Steve, Andrew) (I should strike this too - Jim)
  - UbiSoft: Hell’s Kitchen is a steaming pile of crap. MadCatz secures the Petz licensez and putz a “z” on the endz of everything. Jim getz the crap scared out of him after seeing the new Wolfenstein game linked to Ubisoft, but then finds Petz: Dogz Fashion and dies inside.
  - Capcom: Megaman 9 (Steve, Jim), Tatsunoku vs. Capcom (Vistah), wrapped up with another epic Vistah rant.
  (Man, our predictions were just SO on, weren’t they?)
• Fallout 3 gets the banhammer in Australia. No 15+ rating for them. Slavery, killing children, cannibalism, nudity, homosexuality, etc. are all fine. What got it banned was the fact that the “chems” (drugs) in the game look too much like real drugs. The Board of Film and Literature Classification felt that the look and delivery method of the “chems” brought the game world and the real world too close together
• July 11… the epic day for those wanting a phone. Especially a special phone. And Steve has that special phone. Written words fall short of the epicness of the vocal description.
• iPod/iPhone 2.0 firmware here, some new games in the apps store: Super Monkey Ball, and Bomberman.
• Great news about Jack Thompson. Judge Dava Tunis recommends “You know, enhanced disbarment isn’t enough for you. So you shouldn’t lose your license for 10 years. You should lose it PERMANENTLY.” Which of the following don’t fit: President Bush, governors of various states, Joe Pesci, Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez? Thompson’s reaction to the Tunis recommendation: calling the judge a “raving wild woman” , mentally impaired, stating that she’s not a real judge but a referee, and then sending out a press release that she’s recommended he be permanently disbarred.
• The ECA joins with Connected Nation to create Gamers for Universal Broadband, an initiative designed to help combat limited broadband across the country and to help not just gamers, but help improve the economy by over $100 billion annually by “increasing the use of broadband and the technologies that are enabled when Americans have the ability and desire to connect.”

So enjoy the latest episode, sign up for the forums, check out the Zombies on Facebook, and stay tuned for the Episode 20 extravaganza next week with our guests Candlejack and prodOHSHI-asfojbfjowvojwnvjndfv dfvjoer

 

 Video Game Zombies - Episode 19 - The Art of the Bedroom [93:54m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download