The Stupid Gamer

A group of Sony PlayStation loyalists have sent a letter to Capcom expressing their anger and frustration over the decision to make the once-exclusive title a mutliplatform release. The letter, penned by a collection of Internet forum users, claims that Capcom is betraying Sony and fans of the PlayStation 3. Those who signed the letter have claimed that they will no longer be supporting Capcom’s efforts as a sign of protest.

So let me get this straight. They are going to punish Capcom by not supporting their upcoming release, right? So when Devil May Cry 4 releases and fails to match the 360 version in sales, how do they think that’s going to help Sony out? If anything, it will cause Capcom to be even more selective with their PS3 exclusives and just decide to put everything on the 360. Sony really can’t afford to lose more exclusives right now, so even if this group represents a small minority of the gaming audience, they still aren’t helping things out.

This is all reminiscent of Capcom bringing Viewtiful Joe, Resident Evil 4, and Killer 7 to the PS2. I remember Nintendo fans freaking out, so this isn’t anything special, but I remember it all turned out just fine in the end for both fanbases. Sometimes people just gotta learn to chill.

As I make my way through each work day, I listen to a variety of gaming podcasts, including those from 1up, CheapAssGamer, IGN, Advanced Media Network, GameSpot, and Major Nelson. Each of the podcasts varies in quality from week to week, and it’s always fun to hear the difference in opinions that sprout from each network. I won’t go into the others until a later date, as I’d like to highlight the CheapAssGamer podcast first.

The CAGCast follows a pretty regular formula from week to week. It shows up on the same day, the order of topic discussion is regular, and it’s usually pretty close to the same length in time. What’s interesting, however, is that the podcast is incredibly informal and the two hosts don’t feel the need to any deeper into a topic than is necessary. With the CAGCast you get sincere and honest opinions without the pseudo-intellectual filler that plagues so many other podcasters. CheapyD and Wombat are frank in their opinions, don’t pull punches to appease publishers, and won’t pretend to be experts in fields where they clearly aren’t. It’s this honesty and sincerity that makes the CAGCast a pleasure to listen to each week.

As far as the topics and themes of the CAGCast, you’ll get caught up on the recent news in gaming, the upcoming releases, current releases, and how things differ from the US (where Wombat is located) from Japan (where CheapyD lives). It’s the only podcast I know where you’ll hear praise for both Oblivion and Railfan.

Simply put, if you have an Internet connection and a free bit of time each week, make sure to check out the CAGCast. Once you like what you hear, head over to Digg.com and give them a bump in their digg count.

So I’ve made some significant progress since my last update, so here’s what I’ve done.

Primed and painted control panel

Looks pretty, no? Here I’ve cut out the vinyl control panel overlay, installed the buttons, joysticks, spinner, trackball, and plexiglass covering.

Here’s the printed marquee. It looks wonderful backlit. I’ll post pics of it lit up later down the line.

Here’s the control panel completely assembled and wired. The monitor in the background is just being used for testing purposes. Later this week I’ll get it running through the 27″ TV set that will be in the cabinet.

More updates are on their way!

The PlayStation 3 was riding a high after GDC with the successful unveilings of Home and LittleBigPlanet. Just a few days later, however, the February NPD sales data came out and showed that the PS3 got pounded in the hardware sales column by the 360 and Wii. In fact, the Wii outsold the PS3 and 360 combined. Today, however, was a day that probably put Sony fanboys into hissy fits of epic proportions.

From the very beginning Devil May Cry 4 was one of the most anticipated titles on the PS3. The game, originally unveiled as PS3 exclusive, is now coming to the Xbox 360; and both versions release on the same day. In addition, the Ace Combat series from Namco will be finding its way to the 360 alongside Tekken.

Normally this wouldn’t spell disaster for Sony, but as they lose more and more exclusives, gamers are beginning to question why exactly they need to pay the extra money for Sony’s console. At $200 cheaper, the Xbox 360 offers just as much as the PS3, and their libraries are converging at a rapid pace. Unless Sony can sew up their exclusive title hemorrhaging,  their dominance on the industry is going to continue to slip.

Will Final Fantasy, Metal Gear Solid (for now), and the few remaining 3rd party exclusives still be enough to entice the hardcore to continue supporting the PS3? It’s going to be interesting to wait and see what happens. In my opinion, if Sony can’t get things together soon, a new king, either Microsoft or Nintendo, will emerge by the end of this generation cycle.

I love Nintendo, I really do; but they need to get their act together in a few areas if they want to continue the recent trend of leading the competition in console sales. Right now the Wii is outselling the PlayStation 3 by a fair amount (about 5:1 worldwide), but in order to maintain momentum, I think Nintendo needs to be a bit more forthcoming about what they have going on behind the scenes.
Even with all the positive press that Nintendo has been receiving lately, it’s starting to feel a bit hollow. How long can the success of Wii Sports carry the Wii? How long will the mainstream press’ love affair with the Wii last if Nintendo doesn’t drop some info on what we can expect to see in the immediate and distant future? Can it be far off before these currently lovestruck news outlets start to question whether or not the Wii is capable of longterm diversion, or if it’s merely a flash in the pan sensation?

I don’t feel that Nintendo should get into the business of showing so-called target renders or CG  trailers that are supposedly “indicative of the final product”. I do, however, think that Nintendo needs to begin to give more regular updates on the status of their internal projects while allowing 3rd parties to speak more freely at the same time. Nintendo is notorious for showing a few screenshots of an interesting project, tossing a few tidbits to a news outlet, and then going completely silent. How long has it been since we’ve received concrete info, screens, or project updates on games like Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Project HAMMER, Metroid Prime 3, Disaster: Day of Crisis, or Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles 2?

I have a lot of friends that play games, but they don’t have either the time or the desire to research upcoming releases across the multiple platforms. Instead, they get their info from word of mouth sources, advertisements, or in-store promo materials. I constantly am asked what the Wii has coming, simply because most releases on the Wii are devoid of casual buzz. 

If Nintendo is going to continue to be so reluctant to feed the hype trains, the excitement around the Wii is going to begin to derail. Sony and Microsoft are both great at feeding gamers steady bits of info all throughout the development cycle of their high profile games while allowing 3rd parties to pretty much handle the unveiling of their projects as they see fit. As a result, Microsoft has managed to secure the top-selling title in North America for four straight months.

I’m not looking for Nintendo to unleash a hyperactive hype machine upon us, I simply just want to know what’s going on. As someone who has showed support for the Wii, despite its currently sparse lineup, I think Nintendo owes it to me to justify the future validity of my purchase. 

Lately my posts have been pretty heavily focused on the arcade and MAME scene, but that’s because I’m inching ever so closer to the completion of my own MAME cabinet. I’ll get back to “normal” posting habits soon, but for now you’re all going to have to live with my arcade fascination.

If anybody out there is interested in either restoring an old arcade cabinet, converting a cabinet to a MAME cab, or building a cabinet from scratch, there are a few sites that you’ll want to check out beforehand and continue to visit throughout your project.

BYOAC Forums - These forums are home to the finest arcade builders/restorers/MAME wizards out there. They can answer any question that is related to arcade building, playing, or emulating. Many vendors of arcade parts are active on this forum daily and you can buy direct from trusted sellers. Do not attempt to get into this hobby without registering on this forum and visiting it at least semi-daily for quite some time. Also, before ordering from any retail websites, check to see if any BYOAC member resellers have the product in stock first.

RetroBlast! - This is a great resource for arcade building enthusiasts. You can find all sorts of product reviews, interesting write-ups, and many videos of arcade components in action. Many of your buying choices will be swayed by this site and its wealth of info.

GroovyGameGear - This site sells arcade components, encoders, accessories, and related items. RandyT, of the BYOAC forums, is one of the most helpful and trustworthy guys you’ll come across in the industry. I simply can’t express how awesome the products and service offered by GGG are. Whatever you can buy from GGG when building your cab that is available elsewhere, make sure to go with GGG.

Mame Marquees - Scott, of Mame Marquees, is a very helpful member of the arcade enthusiast community. On his site, you’ll find replicas of classic and modern arcade marquees, side art, and control panel overlays. Also, you can have your own art printing for your cab. If you are artistically challenged, Scott will also design something for you if you provide him with specifications and an idea of what you’re looking for. All products are of the highest quality and the service is excellent.

T-Molding.com - T-Molding.com sells t-molding and accessories to give your arcade cabinet a nice looking trim and to help protect your corners from dents and dings. Colors that have been matched to classic cabinets are available for restoration projects.

Ultimarc - Ultimarc, like GroovyGameGear, provides high quality products matched with great service. Andy, the site’s owner, is another active member of the BYOAC community.

Knievel Kustoms - If you want to see some truly inspirational projects, check out Brad’s (knievel of BYOAC fame) work on his website. Brad also sells control panel kits that are of the highest quality and craftsmanship you’ll find anywhere. For Brad, it’s about art as much as fun.

Local Arcade - Local Arcade has vector graphics of arcade artwork and characters. This is an extremely valuable resource when it comes time to design your control panel artwork, marquee, and side art.

SlikStik - While often criticized for slow or inconsistent customer service, SlikStik has some of the coolest arcade accessories on the market. While pricey, their products are rock-solid and will definitely turn the heads of anybody that enters the room.

Nieman Displays - Rick Nieman is one of the most passionate monitor builders out there. The customer service offered by Nieman is unmatched and they work hard to get you the best deal possible.

There are many other useful and informative sites out there that can make your arcade building project much more enjoyable. However, the most useful tool you’ll find is actually offline. Before you buy a single thing, make sure to pick the Project Arcade book, written by John St.Clair. This book provides a wealth of information and is entertaining to read. It comes with a companion CD that will also give you some free utilities, cabinet building plans, and links to lifesaving resources. You can find the book on Amazon.com and it’s well worth the money.

Typically I don’t like to call anybody out, especially a fellow industry member, but I have to share my complete and total disdain for 1up/EGM’s Seanbaby. I know the guy has been around for years and he has his fans and followers, but it seems like every article, podcast, or feature he is a part of is a degenerate piece of trash. This week’s EGM Live featured Seanbaby as their “special guest” and it immediately became a worthless production. Instead of the thoughtful and insightful opinions on current news and events in the gaming industry that we normally get, we ended up with a bunch of fu**s, sh**s, sex jokes, obnoxious noises, and sophomoric humor.

I know that videogames aren’t the most serious subject, but I still think the industry deserves a level of respect that Seanbaby is incapable of having. All throughout the podcast you could almost see the other EGM editors cringing as they forced laughter to avoid awkward silence or to bite back offensive reactions. On my end, I simply waited and hoped he’d bail out sometime soon so the show could go on without him. The frequent use of profanity, offensive words (like retard), and innuendo only highlights the guy’s complete lack of clever thought. The act grew old after a few EGM articles, it’s time that Ziff Davis (or whoever owns EGM/1up these days) realizes that and cuts the guy loose.

Basically he’s the equivalent of that kid in the 2nd grade that learned four letter words first. Sure, the first time you see or hear the guy’s shtick it’s mildly humorous; but when it’s repeated and recycled well beyond its novelty stage, it grates on the nerves. He’s not funny, not cute, and ultimately not worth paying attention to.

Weston Bass of Advanced Media Network has written a wonderful piece about why games aren’t at a point to where they could be considered art. It’s a true must-read for any fan of video games, art, or just good and intelligent writing.

Check it out here: Video Games Aren’t Art (Yet)

So I’m really moving forward with the arcade cabinet building and I’m starting to see it come together. Here are a few pics of the latest achievements:

Getting the control panel box assembled:

Making sure everything fits before moving forward:

The inside of an old Mortal Kombat II cabinet that had been converted to NFL Blitz. I’ll be stripping this out Saturday and giving away the parts to members of the BYOAC community.

The 27″ Samsung TV I’ll be using as my monitor. I’ve had to de-case it to get it to fit into the cab. I’ll be using the component connections coming out of a Radeon 9800 video card. I had to order a DVI –> Component adapter from Newegg, and it’s scheduled to arrive tomorrow.

Priming the control panel box. I’m using an oil-based primer that’s been tinted. The final finish is a black semi-gloss paint. The oil-based primer will “seal” the wood so that the final coats aren’t absorbed by the MDF (medium density fiberboard) that my control panel box is made out of.

Here’s the vinyl overlay that will cover the top of my control panel. It will sit between the wood and my plexiglass cover. The vinyl looks speckled in this pic due to some dust, but the actual product is just a shiny black. It should look sharp with my lighted buttons.

Tomorrow I’m going to start the finish coats on the control panel box and rip out the insides of the current arcade cabinet.

Here’s what’s left on my scratch list:

• Assemble computer and install OS w/ front end software, emulators, and games
• Clean out the inside of the cabinet
• Assemble and wire the control panel
• Secure TV into the arcade cabinet and set everything up through a one button power up solution
• Order new T-molding for the control panel and arcade cabinet
• Finalize my marquee artwork and send it off to be printed from Mamemarquees.com
• Configure my emulation software and get everything hooked up
• Have a bunch of friends over for the unveiling

It’s exciting to think that this long and costly project is finally coming to the point where I see the end before me. Once I’m done with this, however, I still have two more cabinets to work on. My job is paying me to build one for the office, and my brother is going to build another with my help. At least cabinets 2 and 3 will go much faster and will be paid by somebody else.