Updated Wednesday & Friday Evenings
...And Now For Something Completely Different
2600 - writer/artist - posted on Saturday, 11/22/08 2:08:41 EST
Lots going on right now, first off, we have a new "SPECIAL" Arcade Hunters episode. Last Saturday I attended Tokyo Game Action's Karaoke Night and got some cool footage of the event. Karaoke Night was both a blast and a success! TGA plans on holding some more Karaoke in the future so stay tuned. We will have a brand new "regular" Arcade Hunters episode up in two weeks, so be on the look out for that. We have a few more episodes before closing out our first season and all I can say is it has been a blast!
Since starting Arcade Hunters, All of us at Press Start have found some great arcades that vary from classic games, to Japanese games, to pinball. We have just barely begun to scratch at the surface and have already revealed a huge underground world that is loaded with arcades and arcade gaming. I find it amazing how people keep saying "arcades are dead," yet I find myself in an arcade once a week. I also keep reading up on new games, new arcade game companies, and just new news on arcades about everyday, Monday to Friday, over at Arcade Heroes. So, why all the hate? Why is it gaming journalists and even gamers for the most part keep on shouting that cry of "arcades are dead." Maybe you can't go to your local 7-11 or mall and play arcade games anymore, but if you do just a wee bit of searching on the interweb you will find a plethora of arcades still operating and getting in new games. And if you even go outside of your house and check out these arcades you might even (gasp) get to play a video game with a real life person, IN PERSON!!! I'm sorry bot Xbox live and online gaming will never replace (no matter how many webcams they add) the real face to face gaming that you can only find at an arcade (well, maybe a gaming convention, but we are talking about arcades here). One last note, if anyone is thinking that all this talk about arcades being dead does not have any effect on the industry, just check out this little snippet I got from Arcade Heroes
"When asked about SFIV helping rejuvenate the scene, the communications director basically stated that the game isn’t that great to do that sort of job, as he apparently paid no attention to the fact that arcades who have (”illegally”) picked up the game have seen a resurgence of people coming in to play."
Maybe if we started saying, "Hey, arcades are starting to grow again" or "Have noticed the increase in new arcade games lately?" We might have gotten an official U.S. Street Fighter IV for the arcades. I use to think that "arcades were dead" but since starting a web-comic and filming arcades, I have drastically changed my tune.
2600 - writer/artist - posted on Friday, 11/14/08 19:24:40 EST
HUGE UPDATE!!!!
First off sorry for the lack of an update last week, the site was messed and would not allow me to update the comic, nor write a news post with the new Arcade Hunters episode, but this is now fixed. So this week we've got both a new episode of Arcade Hunters and a new Comic!!!
Here is a brand new episode of Arcade Hunters! This is the 3rd and final installment in our "3 Arcades in One Day" trilogy. We were originally going to do one giant episode with all 3 arcades combined, but realized that we had way too much footage and nonsense to fit into a single episode. This episode finds us at Q-ZAR, one of the infamous "Lazer Tag" amusement places that used to be on every corner until the fad faded out for the more "manly" paintball. We still have 4 more episodes left in our first season. We saved some real surprises for the last few episodes, especially if you are into PINBALL!!!
The comic this week just had to be a FALLOUT 3 comic. In case you have been living under a rock, Fallout 3 is phenomenal. PHENOMENAL. The world is so realized that you will be engulfed in the apocalyptic future of Washington DC. The amazing thing is how much the game changes based on your character and their actions. Each action has a different reaction which creates a unique gaming experience. Oh, and it is bloody and violent as hell. Makes GTA4 look like a stroll down candy lane (and if anyone wants to argue the issue, do you see eyes, jaw bones, teeth, and clumps of brain when you shoot someone in the head in GTA4? I didn't think so). The cinematic presentation while using the VATS system also adds to the overall feel of the game (which is exactly what is happening in the last panel of this week's comic).
This Saturday, November 15th and Sunday, November 16th is also Tokyo Game Action's first KARAOKE EVENT!!! Everyone who reads this should come on down, play some great games, and sing some Karaoke!!! Karaoke starts at 6pm and goes until closing or until whenever Andy decides we should all leave!
On a more serious note, I am going to be re-introducing comics back into the update mix with the Arcade Hunters episodes. My schedule with my new job is so insane that it barely allows me a couple of hours of spare time to do much of anything except work. With some shifting this is the new proposed schedule plan: Every two Fridays we will continue with the Arcade Hunters episodes (or video once the first season is over) while I am going to try for a comic every other Friday. So for example, with an ideal schedule, it will go like this: Video, comic, video, comic, etc. If I am unable to do a comic or video, then hopefully someone else in Press Start will be able to upload a video or game review/opinion piece. My goal is to have something new every week (preferably twice, once on Wednesday and once on Friday). Worse case scenario we will have a news post with some gaming news information which may include new games, events, new arcades, new friends, and GASP maybe even some enemies!!! So keep checking back twice a week!!!
One last thing, the first print comic is currently out and can be found in Video Game Trader Magazine issue #9. Be sure to check it out! This is a completely different storyline from anything done with the web-comic. The second print comic has been completed and will be printed in VGTM issue #10. If you are into old school/homebrew games, head on over to: www.VideoGameTrader.com and subscribe!!! That's it, enjoy all the goodness we included and check back next Wednesday and next week for a new Arcade Hunters Episode (remember the this week's Arcade Hunters episode was meant for last week and the comic for this week)!!!
Being Sick Sux...
2600 - writer/artist - posted on Wednesday, 11/05/08 13:48:21 EST
...but these tidbits below don't! Check out this awesome video done by Gavin over at Tokyo Game Action. If you have never been to TGA and were curious about the fighting crowd and atmosphere, this is a great video to watch. The crowd at TGA is great and open. If you watched the people prepping for the Street Fighter IV Ranbat, you would see everyone helping each other out with tips, strategies, character help, something you RARELY see in some NYC Arcades. Ahem... Anyway here's Gavin's video Tokyo Game Action Fighters Promo Video #1
On a second note, we'd like to give a shout out to our friends over at The Next Level(TNL), an awesome video game site that covers everything from Arcades, to consoles, to Japanese released games, to even handhelds. The site is loaded with game reviews, news, impressions, everything you could ever want.
Check back Friday for a new Arcade Hunters episode, a new comic (!?!), and some more news stuff and details about....Karaoke Night at Tokyo Game Action?!?
The Beatles: Rock Band?1
Nick - writer - posted on Wednesday, 10/29/08 22:53:45 EDT
Hey everybody. Well I had another fun weekend. First it was watching my 14 month old nephew on Saturday, then on Sunday my mom fell and broke her foot. So I've been running around like crazy trying to help out all I can, while still working and helping watch my nephew.
Other then that the biggest gaming rumor I head over at Kotaku was that MTV (owners of Harmonix) and Apple Records are going to have an announcement of an "exclusive agreement to develop a global music project."
Are The Beatles coming to Rock Band 2 and not Guitar Hero?
It says it'll be announced at 10AM EST tomorrow, so hopefully during lunch I can see what this announcement is going to be. The big thing is will it be a totally new Rock Band game (Like the Aerosmith and ACDC Guitar Hero games) or will it be exclusive Rock Band only DLC with The Beatles songs?
While I consider myself a fan of Konami's music games, I would really consider buying Rock Band 2 if they were going to announce songs from The Beatles. I grew up listing to them because both of my parents are big fans and I know all other fellow Beatles fans would want to get in on this.
Let's see what happens tomorrow!
Arcade Hunters Episode 4
Nick - writer - posted on Friday, 10/24/08 22:23:26 EDT
Arcade Hunters episode four is ready for your viewing pleasure over on our new Blip.tv site. Be sure you go over and check it out. This time we take a look at one of our favorite arcades from the past, Nathans Fun City in Nassau County New York. Sadly it's not the same, so check out what happened.
Arcade Hunters Episode Four
Also, big thanks to Johnny D and Ito for posting the video on their site, Retroware TV! We hope you guys enjoyed the videos and will feature more of them for everybody to see.
On the comic side of things, the first print comic for Video Game Trader is finished and should be in mailboxes soon. So be sure you guys check em' out so you can see the newest comics, the next print comic should be along soon.
I also uploaded two Street Fighter IV videos and my "lost" video of Computer Space onto both Blip and YouTube. I'm going to be uploading more videos onto Blip in the coming weeks, hopefully after I finally finish Mother 3. I'm in New Pork so I'm almost done with it.
Thanks again for checking us out this week and we'll be back again next week!