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Long before anyone had ever heard of the PlayStation - when everybody thought of Sony as a manufacturer of hi-fi, TVs and VCRs - the UK completely lost its marbles over a new console. It took the form of an ugly, brick-like plastic handheld object sporting a near-illegible mono screen and was, of course, Nintendo's Game Boy. Briefly, even the rush-hour commute to the City of London became a fascinating anthropological exercise, as hordes of chalk-striped yuppies (it was the height of the 80s) lined Tube carriages, grappling with the intricacies of Donkey Kong and Super Mario. Questions were asked in Parliament as schools banned the infernal brain-rotting machines.
As anyone who has had a keen interest in videogames over the years knows, the games industry moves in peculiar waves. And now might just be the time to brace yourself for another outburst of games-related hysteria, as, on 22 June, Nintendo unleashed it's Game Boy Advance on an unsuspecting British populace.
Don't be tempted to dismiss Game Boy Advance as a mere toy: it is, by some chalk, the most powerful handheld console ever, with a touch more power under the bonnet than Nintendo's old Super NES console. Marry that with decent ergonomics, an excellent colour screen (which, alas, isn't backlit, so you can't play the machine in the dark), two shoulder buttons that make surprisingly sophisticated gaming at least theoretically possible, and the chance to chain four machines together for multiplayer action and you have a serious piece of kit. But it's the games being readied for the Game Boy Advance that, more than anything, will beguile a gaming public hungry to find something new.
The GBA version of Tony Hawk's 2, for example, is mind-blowing. Just think of the PlayStation version, albeit with a fixed-camera view, and you'll get an idea of what it looks like. I personally can't wait to step on a Tube and find four City boys in a huddle, racing each other around the surreal tracks of Mario Kart Advance. And even Sega has committed itself to bringing Sonic The Hedgehog to the GBA.
Games developers love preparing games for handheld consoles, as even GBA games can be produced by small teams and over much shorter periods than are required for full-blown console games. So they're all getting in on the act. Of course, Nintendo could have somehow mishandled the Game Boy Advance's launch. Although that was very doubtful, it has happened in the past. Think back, for example, to the farcical launch of Sony's PlayStation 2. If you went through the whole PS2 pre-registration rigmarole and lashed out an exorbitant £300, you must be feeling somewhat cheated, considering the lacklustre nature of the PS2 games which have so far appeared.
But have patience: the PlayStation 2 is a gaming craze waiting to happen - although the wait has been uncomfortably protracted. At last, though, some joy for PS2 owners does lie on the horizon. July saw the launch of the mighty Gran Turismo 3. If, as a PlayStation 2 owner, you've been subjected to taunting by your mates about having more money than sense, get a copy of GT3 and they will eat their words. Metal Gear Solid 2 should appear in time for Christmas, too, although there won't be a PS2 version of Tomb Raider this year.
But by the time the PlayStation 2 acquires a portfolio of games that goes some way towards doing it justice, we'll be preparing for the launch of Microsoft's Xbox. Xbox may be ugly, but it's a mighty impressive machine and, unlike the PlayStation 2, will be launched with a selection of blinding games - notably the sumptuous, high-octane shoot-em-up Halo, the stupendous-looking Malice (developed by Brit outfit Argonaut) and the hilarious Munch's Oddysee. From the beginning of next year, the papers will be full of the Godzilla versus King Kong battle between Sony and Microsoft and videogame fever will once again grip the nation. As long as the nation can wrest its attention away from its Game Boy Advance for a moment.
As anyone who has had a keen interest in videogames over the years knows, the games industry moves in peculiar waves. And now might just be the time to brace yourself for another outburst of games-related hysteria, as, on 22 June, Nintendo unleashed it's Game Boy Advance on an unsuspecting British populace.
Don't be tempted to dismiss Game Boy Advance as a mere toy: it is, by some chalk, the most powerful handheld console ever, with a touch more power under the bonnet than Nintendo's old Super NES console. Marry that with decent ergonomics, an excellent colour screen (which, alas, isn't backlit, so you can't play the machine in the dark), two shoulder buttons that make surprisingly sophisticated gaming at least theoretically possible, and the chance to chain four machines together for multiplayer action and you have a serious piece of kit. But it's the games being readied for the Game Boy Advance that, more than anything, will beguile a gaming public hungry to find something new.
The GBA version of Tony Hawk's 2, for example, is mind-blowing. Just think of the PlayStation version, albeit with a fixed-camera view, and you'll get an idea of what it looks like. I personally can't wait to step on a Tube and find four City boys in a huddle, racing each other around the surreal tracks of Mario Kart Advance. And even Sega has committed itself to bringing Sonic The Hedgehog to the GBA.
Games developers love preparing games for handheld consoles, as even GBA games can be produced by small teams and over much shorter periods than are required for full-blown console games. So they're all getting in on the act. Of course, Nintendo could have somehow mishandled the Game Boy Advance's launch. Although that was very doubtful, it has happened in the past. Think back, for example, to the farcical launch of Sony's PlayStation 2. If you went through the whole PS2 pre-registration rigmarole and lashed out an exorbitant £300, you must be feeling somewhat cheated, considering the lacklustre nature of the PS2 games which have so far appeared.
But have patience: the PlayStation 2 is a gaming craze waiting to happen - although the wait has been uncomfortably protracted. At last, though, some joy for PS2 owners does lie on the horizon. July saw the launch of the mighty Gran Turismo 3. If, as a PlayStation 2 owner, you've been subjected to taunting by your mates about having more money than sense, get a copy of GT3 and they will eat their words. Metal Gear Solid 2 should appear in time for Christmas, too, although there won't be a PS2 version of Tomb Raider this year.
But by the time the PlayStation 2 acquires a portfolio of games that goes some way towards doing it justice, we'll be preparing for the launch of Microsoft's Xbox. Xbox may be ugly, but it's a mighty impressive machine and, unlike the PlayStation 2, will be launched with a selection of blinding games - notably the sumptuous, high-octane shoot-em-up Halo, the stupendous-looking Malice (developed by Brit outfit Argonaut) and the hilarious Munch's Oddysee. From the beginning of next year, the papers will be full of the Godzilla versus King Kong battle between Sony and Microsoft and videogame fever will once again grip the nation. As long as the nation can wrest its attention away from its Game Boy Advance for a moment.
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FantasyMeister wrote:
> Well, are you sure that he didn't use some of his own words in the
> topic as well? I think it's ok to paste another topic from another
> site, as long as you both acknowledge the source AND express your
> own thoughts and opinions on it too.
(Technically speaking, as
> long as you acknowledge the source, you don't require permission to
> use information from another site, unless express permission for its
> use is requested by the original site that it came from).
I thought u'd remember this...
but no! It was 100% copied, and game (or whoever) even admitted it... he quoted the author 3 times!
when he won, he did the sporting thing and admitted he was not worthy (and the GAD staff needed training or something!)
anyway/// it was very funny!
> Well, are you sure that he didn't use some of his own words in the
> topic as well? I think it's ok to paste another topic from another
> site, as long as you both acknowledge the source AND express your
> own thoughts and opinions on it too.
(Technically speaking, as
> long as you acknowledge the source, you don't require permission to
> use information from another site, unless express permission for its
> use is requested by the original site that it came from).
I thought u'd remember this...
but no! It was 100% copied, and game (or whoever) even admitted it... he quoted the author 3 times!
when he won, he did the sporting thing and admitted he was not worthy (and the GAD staff needed training or something!)
anyway/// it was very funny!
Well, are you sure that he didn't use some of his own words in the topic as well? I think it's ok to paste another topic from another site, as long as you both acknowledge the source AND express your own thoughts and opinions on it too.
(Technically speaking, as long as you acknowledge the source, you don't require permission to use information from another site, unless express permission for its use is requested by the original site that it came from).
(Technically speaking, as long as you acknowledge the source, you don't require permission to use information from another site, unless express permission for its use is requested by the original site that it came from).
Logan wrote:
> hmm...
remember when that guy (was it GAME?) copied a topic from
> a web site. At the beginning of the article he wrote "copied
> from xxx", and at the end he signed the name of the site. In
> the site he signed the name of the site.
he won gad.
how....
> random... hmmmmm
in the TOPIC NAME he gave the name of the site! DOH
> hmm...
remember when that guy (was it GAME?) copied a topic from
> a web site. At the beginning of the article he wrote "copied
> from xxx", and at the end he signed the name of the site. In
> the site he signed the name of the site.
he won gad.
how....
> random... hmmmmm
in the TOPIC NAME he gave the name of the site! DOH
Dominoes.
Virtual ones.
By EA Sports.
New one every year.
In the US release they'll have pads on, but that's the only difference there'll be.
Virtual ones.
By EA Sports.
New one every year.
In the US release they'll have pads on, but that's the only difference there'll be.
Frisbee or Swingball will be the next gaming craze.
The next gaming craze, I believe, will be Banzai: the Game on the NG consoles. Hopefully. BANZAI! NEW GAMBLING OPPORTUNITY! Slogan says it all. No more going to Las Vegas.
I say we go on a Shaneo'scopiedposts witch hunt!
Coo-ee, Shaneo, Lamarckian Evolutionary Theory please.
You "researched this post thoroughly", why has it taken you 4 days to respond?
Please, explain this to me.
In detail.
You "researched this post thoroughly", why has it taken you 4 days to respond?
Please, explain this to me.
In detail.
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