The Beginnings of Existence Revealed
Journey back with us, like a doting Doctor Who vixen, through the swirling ephemera of time, to the land of the 1990s. You’ll find planet Next-Gen much changed. It is made of paper and ruled by weird, roaming creatures called Charla, Neil and Lundrigan. The air is noxious hereabouts. If you are feeling particularly brave, follow me here, where all (all, I say) the covers of Next Generation magazine are to be found, glistening like wet pebbles. Some of them are wondrous. Others are dogshit. A man is selling them. The philistine.

Thanks to Joystiq.

Bloke Looks Like Niko, a Bit…
Let the Niko look-alike stories begin.


Why They Don"t Like Our Games
Fascinating stuff from Brian Ashcroft, a Kotaku blogger who (I read somewhere) lives in Japan. He wants to know why Western games stink up Japan and sets about interviewing local developers. Some really weird and wonderful theories going on, like how the Japanese don’t like using two controllers at once; “it makes them feel sick” apparently.

Taking a Swing at Hunchback
Generally, you should avoid the kind of monomaniacs who obsess about the 1980s; but this full-on attack on programming standards of the era is worth a look, especially if you were a hardy pioneer who worked through those benighted days. It starts off as a standard snoozesome Op-Ed on Nostalgia versus Reality before tearing into the pixel-painful short-comings of the original swinger, Hunchback.

Preloaded Wii Games
A disk-less version of the Wii has been created for hotel chains. It’s got Wii Fit and Wii Sports pre-loaded for the entertainment of hotel guests. You need to know this sort of thing.

Weary of Super Smash Brothers?
Super Smash Brothers Brawl GameRanked at 93%. GameDaily gave it 9 out of 10. But now the site is tired of Nintendo’s scrap-a-long, offering five reasons why the guys have “stopped playing” the game.  These include a nonsensical story (in a Nintendo game?….never!), laggy online play and (somewhat weakly) a host of better alternatives. Actually, this feature"s a bit crap, but I"ve written it up now. Darn.


Jack Thompson…the knucklehead
Here’s a very satisfying exchange between Neil Conan, host of NPR’s Talk of the Nation and the fool Jack Thompson, who comes across as even more of an ass than usual. Thanks to GamePolitics.