While it may not seem very obvious point blank, the women that are featured in video games have a large affect on the gaming business. Afterall, would the Dead or Alive games ever sell if it weren't for the girls' scant outfits? Why was Tomb Raider able to crank out so many sequels? Wasn't it Chun-li who forced hordes of gamers to spend loads of quarters in the arcade? These pixelated vixens hold a lot more weight in game sales than most gamers take note of. So, the question isn't their importance in games, but their portrayal. Would games sell if the girls were in normal outfits? Would the Mario have had nearly as much success if the roles were reversed? In this an analyzation of women's roles in games as well as their affect on the industry, we will see how they have come, and if they really do help sell games...
 
PART 2
 
The 90's is when women really started to get more exposure. The Final Fantasy games allowed for strong characters such as Terra, Rydia, and Celes to make a name for themselves; however they always played second fiddle to the male characters. In a bold step for fighting games, Chun-Li stepped into the fray in Street Fighter: World Warrior, showing the gaming community that she could take Ryu and just how powerful her thighs of steel really are. The awesome thing: both of the series' maintained staying power. Chun-Li is still one of the most easily recognizable characters in gaming, and any Final Fantasy game is a high profile release.
 

With the news that Activision and Neversoft are to release Guitar Hero: Metallica, its a good time to look at how close the music and video game industries are now intrinsically linked. Its a win win relationship for both industries; the video game gets signed bands for background, menu music etc, many familiar, many not so familiar and retrospectively the bands, whether globe conquering metal gods like Metallica (this is me being biased as I am a rather big Metallica fan......) or newly signed bands, both get exposed to people that wouldn't ordinarily listen to certain genres of music and thus new fans are made, more albums bought, more gigs filled to capacity. The advent of games such as Guitar Hero and Rock Band has taken this symbiotic relationship to further heights – the music isn't just in the background anymore as you thunder round streets in supercharged race cars or while creating a formation in the Fifa series, now the music is the game and you are, to a degree, making that music.
Throughout both Guitar Hero and Rock Band editions, you get to play hundreds of songs, many that you wouldn't ordinarily go out of your way to listen to yet having to conquer those songs to continue and beat the game means more and more exposure for the bands concerned as you get further and further into the game, more songs are unlocked, and yet more exposure for the bands featured. Even guitar brands themselves are now getting in on the action with many replicas of famous guitar brands now available for the Guitar Hero/Rock Band series, Guitar Hero 3 actually comes with a replica Gibson and you can also purchase guitars in-game for your guitar wielding avatars to play.

While it may not seem very obvious point blank, the women that are featured in video games have a large affect on the gaming business. Afterall, would the Dead or Alive games ever sell if it weren't for the girls' scant outfits? Why was Tomb Raider able to crank out so many sequels? Wasn't it Chun-li who forced hordes of gamers to spend loads of quarters in the arcade? These pixelated vixens hold a lot more weight in game sales than most gamers take note of. So, the question isn't their importance in games, but their portrayal. Would games sell if the girls were in normal outfits? Would the Mario have had nearly as much success if the roles were reversed? In this an analyzation of women's roles in games as well as their affect on the industry, we will see how they have come, and if they really do help sell games .
 
The typical idea of women in games is that they are objectified, used as sexual objects. I used to feel this way too, and I always used to question things like why Jill Valentine would be fighting zombies and Nemesis in a tube top and mini skirt. I mean, the more skin she shows, the more likely she is to get bitten, right?? Yes, this is the thing you often hear feminist gamers talking about, and although I do agree with them for the most part, I don't think women in games are treated nearly as poorly as made out. A look at gaming history over the past twenty-five years, the female counterparts of games have really come a long way from what they were to begin with. Although they are still used as a ploy to sell games (Rumble Roses anyone), there has been a definite increase in the usage of females in games, almost to the point where lack of a main female character may result in a loss of sales.
 

Colour me less sceptical over the Wii's future as a one-size-fits-all console; in a recent conference call held to discuss the latest financial results of his company, Take-Two's CEO Ben Feder said that the large installed base of Nintendo's Wii means that it cannot be ignored and that M-rated content would be considered for release in the future.
 
The imminent release of GTA: Chinatown Wars on the DS will give the company some insight into the viability of more grown-up content with Nintendo users, although it's had its fingers burnt once with the disappointing response to the release of Manhunt 2 last year.
 
"Even much of our M-rated content that we feel is much more appropriate for the PS3 or 360, we have to look at the Wii as a viable platform across all our labels," said Feder. "We just have to. We can't ignore the installed base; we just can't. And we're going to do a lot of learning with GTA: Chinatown Wars on the DS in terms of bringing that kind of content to a Nintendo platform." He added that all future sports titles are being considered for Wii release.
 
This news should come as a shot in the arm for those publishers considering bringing more adult-themed content to the Wii. While it will never compete graphically with its rivals, the control system, coupled with Nintendo fans' taste for things which are a little left of centre, means that some thoroughly absorbing experiences could be created.
 
And more adult content may mean we finally get to see the end of those god-awful Animal Crossing adverts that are on TV at the minute. "I just designed a new T-shirt!" Do one!
 

I finally finished Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations yesterday. It’s probably the best game in the series (including Apollo Justice) and the last case is a real whopper.
 
But it got me thinking about the things that Konami’s Hideo Kojima said at TGS this year; that Japanese videogame output has fallen way behind that of the West. This was a pretty ambiguous statement. Was he referring to the technical innovation and overall quality of the games? Or did he also mean culturally? Phoenix Wright 3 (made by Capcom, another Japanese developer that’s had big success in the West), sort of gives us a few clues.
 
The game’s last case gives us an insight into the power struggles in the Kurain genealogy, between the main and branch families. The Kurain families are female spirit chanellers, whose activities and garments bear a loose resemblance to Shinto mysticism. In this case, and indeed all throughout the series, the family’s identity is one of the core themes. Their clothes and symbols become significant and instantly recognisable, as do their musical themes which reflect this culture. Is the appearance of the Phoenix Wright games in the West a defiant statement of Japanese nationality amongst its alleged toning down for Western tastes?
 
Perhaps only partly. Despite the fact that the characters of the Kurain family all bear the visual signs of Japanese heritage, they are all written with American personalities, perhaps to fit in with where the game is set. Mia is an idealistic attorney, Maya a burger-crunching pop culture fanatic, and Pearl bears all the stereotypical resemblances to Western depictions of childhood: someone emotionally strong rather than intellectually strong.
 

Looks like even the heroes of "Mortal Kombat VS DC Universe" can't even save Midway now. The company that made such games as Mortal Kombat and Spy Hunter, is massively in debt. This morning, the publisher issued a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that they are an incredible $240 USD in debt. How bad is that? Well, considering how their total assets at the end of September were $167.5 million USD (including property), that means that they are $72.5 million USD in debt.
 
How did Midway ever get in such a horrible financial state? Well, here's a break down: $150 million from various note holders, and $90 million from the company's former shareholder, National Amusements. National Amusements is owned by Summer Redstone, and as a result of the horrible economic situation he was forced to sell his $30 million dollar stake in the company for a mere $100,000 to financial buyer Mark Thomas. Midway's debtors may call in the company's debt if they so please due to their ownership change. Midway has indeed received notices from these people that they want their money back. According to the $150 million dollar loan, Midway has 20 days to send debt holders notices of the interest changes. The debtor companies could then decide make Midway pay 100 percent of their debts back in 30 days if they so please. So, in a nutshell Midways has 50 days to come up with $150 million dollars. By January 23rd, Midway could have to pay nearly twice of what they lost in their quarterly report in November (approximately $73.5 million.) If Midway doesn't pay this off, it could cause National Amusements to call their $90 million that they loaned to Midway. Based on what Midway has, there is no way that they would be able to pay off both loans.
 
"I can't really comment other than to say that we are pushing forward," a senior rep told Gamespot. Meanwhile, Midway is sticking to their release schedule through the first quarter of 2009.

Namco is one of those labels that seems to have been around forever. From Pacman, to Tekken, to Katamari Damacy, everyone has played or at least heard of all of their games. In perhaps their biggest announcement all year, Namco Bandai-Games America Inc. has unveiled a press release that they are creating a new publishing label. SURGETM is going to be a studio dedicated to creating games geared towards western gamers.
 
SURGETM is going to be its own studio and publishing label dedicated to creating "cutting-edge, genre-defining games that are targeted at satiating the appetite of western gamers. SURGE is planning on releasing games in a variety of different genres and for all the platforms. Hopefully they can create some more classics for Namco in the way of Pacman and Tekken. The first game to launch under the new label will be Afro Samurai, a game that will blend hip-hop and Japanese cultures. The game is slated for a release date of January 27th, 2009.
 
"SURGE presents a significant milestone for NAMCO BANDAI as it personifies our commitment to deliver compelling content for the discriminating player who is looking for games that are not only groundbreaking but also push the envelope," said Andrew Lelchuk, executive vice president of sales and marketing at NAMCO BANDAI Games America, Inc. "Through passion and innovation, SURGE will complement our portfolio of established franchises and intellectual property while positioning the company as a creative force."
 
One thing I have to wonder, as an American, is why it seems companies are forming to create games for Western Gamers now. At least speaking for America, our economy isn't exactly anything to brag about....at all...>_<. From the looks of it, Americans won't exactly be flocking to buy games anytime in the next year, so it seems that the majority of the gamers that these games will be played by are in Europe.

A fun, family-orientated console for all ages to enjoy? A serious console to rival the PS3 and Xbox 360, capable of hosting the next wave of cutting-edge games? Or a halfway house between the two? Just what does Nintendo want from the Wii and where is it headed? The direction seems confused.
 
One thing's for certain: it cannot compete with Sony and Microsoft in terms of getting games that display the bleeding edge of graphical prowess. But, with recent announcements suggesting games designed for grown-ups are in development for the system, and developers don't understand the Wii and don't develop to its strengths, it seems no one's really sure what to do with Nintendo's little white box.
 
Another certainty: you cannot market a console for over a year as being something for the whole family to enjoy, with multiplayer fun-fests and fitness fads at the heart of your campaigns, and then expect people to suddenly see your product in a different light. This episode seems reminiscent of the GameCube, where everyone saw it as a fun little toy that developers eventually shied away from while Sony and Microsoft fought for the loyalty of hardened gamers.
 
This time around is slightly different: unlike the GameCube, the Wii has sold by the bucket load, ensuring companies at least have to take a little bit of notice of what Nintendo wants to do. But unless there's consensus over what that is, we'll continue to get half-arsed conversions, poor relations to the leading titles and ‘family'-orientated games which most people simply regard as childish.
 

The little white box of the Nintendo Wii doesn't have too much to look at, but it still pulls in a crowd. Ball-IT, a Finnish company, is hoping to compete with the Wii using the same tactics. They have produced a small, little squeezable ball, filled with sensors that can interact with TV screens, computers and mobile phones which they hope will revolutionize the way we play video games.
 
Established in 2005, the Finnish company Ball-IT "aims to become a global leader in the development and production of motion controlled gaming solutions. These solutions include enabling devices and modules as well as core software components for implementing consumer-level User interfaces."
 
Although many other companies are also trying to come up with the next Wiimote-like controller, none have a product like Ball-it. "Ball-it wants to become the non-keyboard standard for remote communication with your screen." By using Bluetooth the golf-ball sized peripheral can interact with most other Bluetooth capable devices. The ball has wireless sensors built in and can sense geomagnetic fields, orientation, direction, speed, air pressure and acceleration, something that no other competitor has been able to do.
 

Got a few thousand Wii Points to spend? It’s worth investing them in the enchantingly odd (and odd-titled) Strong Bad’s Cool Game For Attractive People. The first two episodes of the game series that defines acronymic awkwardness are now available on WiiWare, and provide welcome resuscitation for the sporadically dead genre of yore: the Point and Click Adventure.

Based on the long running online animated cartoon Homestar Runner, S.B’s.C.G.F.A.P focuses on the Macho Libre figure of Strong Bad and his frequent attempts to make Homestar’s life a misery. The first episode sees him, among other things, ruining Homestar’s attempt to win The Free Country Tri-Annual Race to the End of the Race, using a metal detector to find buried treasure, and chain-sawing bushes to death in order to gather their precious branches. It’s all madly surreal stuff, brilliantly written and spoken in wonderfully self-mocking internet idiom. And it might remind you of such classics as…such classics as…DAY OF THE TENTACLE!