16 posts tagged “nintendo ds”

Sega- once a word that would spark fierce emotions from gamers in the early 90's, today merely reminds us of a time in the 'classical' era of videogaming. Let's face it- Sega hasn't done their name justice in quite some time. They have had the occasional title that shows they've put some effort into them over the past several years- Crazy Taxi, Super Monkey Ball, hell, I'd even put Sonic & The Secret Rings in that pile, but none have ever recaptured the fun and 'cool' factor once held at the height of the 16-Bit wars. Many wonder whether the company will ever see such success ever again?

It has happened- and Nintendo themselves are proof of that. it wasn't too long ago many gamers expected Nintendo to throw in the hardware towel much like their 16-Bit-era counterpart did. I remember rumors of interest in buying Nintendo from the likes of Apple and Microsoft. But Nintendo has been able to reinvent themselves and are now (seemingly) back on top- leading the way, and redefining the industry as a whole. But how did they do it? They returned to their roots.

If you think about the DS and the Wii- these systems are effectively a perfect culmination of everything Nintendo has been in it's history- good or bad, and enhances it. The DS clearly takes a cue from Nintendo's old 'Game & Watch' games- and incorporates a SNES-like controller, N64-quality (perhaps better) visuals, and the innovation of a touch-screen. The Wii is a direct relative of the Gamecube hardware, the Wiimote itself looks inspired from the NES controllers with it's classic D-Pad, A & B buttons, yet includes a sort-of-reverse-lightgun technology and accelerometer to detect angular motion- first introduced in 2004 on 'WarioWare: Twisted' for the Gameboy Advance. And I don't need to mention the included Gamecube ports on the top of the system, the Virtual Console and of course, the Classic Controller.
And what about games? Nintendo finally gave us the first '2D' Mario platformer in 15 years (we're not including Yoshi's Island) with 'New Super Mario Bros' on DS. Mario Kart is as strong as ever on both the DS and Wii, Tetris DS and Tetris Worlds (WiiWare), and even some of the third-party developers are getting in on the 'return to your roots' movement (albeit, with mixed results) with offerings like Contra 4 and Mega Man 9.
And while I'm talking a lot about Nintendo on a post with Sega in the title- it's simply to offer proof that a company, or anyone for that matter, can find success by simply doing what they do best , not trying to play 'catch up' with the competition, and drawing from those things which have made them successful in the past.

Sounds obvious right? But then why do companies like Sega- struggle? Sega has been releasing Sonic titles like mad over the past few years and has yet to release anything that a retrogamer can sit down and satisfyingly say that "this IS Sonic"? Though I haven't played them- many consider the Sonic platformers on the DS to be some of the best since the Genesis days- and why? Because they don't try and completely reinvent itself- they are 2D games the way the Sonic games were intended to be from the beginning. That's a great first-step, but it's only a first step out of hundreds.
It seems to me that Sega, as well as other companies, put so much effort into producing something 'different' and 'unique'- that they forget what made them successful to begin with. Using Sonic as an example again, many Sonic titles today don't resemble anything like the original series. And not in just areas like gameplay- but the storyline, and the characters. Hell, today it's "Dr. Eggman", yet when Sega was in their prime it was "Dr. Robotnik" Why the change?? (Granted- Nintendo is guilty on this as well with the whole "Princess Peach" bullshit- what was wrong with "Princess Toadstool"? And why did the Koopa Kids from SMB3 get replaced by that 'Bowser Jr." brat?). Sega has tried to introduce so many characters to the Sonic series I've honestly lost track of them all- but why were they needed at all? Sometimes change just for the sake of change is more harmful than positive.

So how should Sega 'return to their roots'?
The first question to ask is- what are Sega's roots? Is Sega rooted in Sonic? No- though you wouldn't know it today. Sega's roots lie in coin-op / arcade games. In a way, early computer technology was a blessing to games in that it didn't allow developers to excessively complicate their creations. Games were played in short spurts- depending of course on one's skill and the number of quarters in their pockets. 'Beating' a game  was typically nothing more than a test of indurance and reflexes- certainly nothing like the 'epic' storylines of games today (I mean, please, F-Zero GX- a racing game, had a goddamn 'Story' mode!).which require the player to sit through endless dialogue, character building, and cinematics. To me, the best place for the 'story' of a game was the inside page of the instruction booklet. I prefer my games to be games- not stories.
Just today I was in a discussion with my brother- another veteran gamer -about all the games we've started recently, and just lost interest in. The common theme in our conversation was that many games today aren't something you can just pick up and get into for 20 minutes. They instead all required a long-term, seemingly ongoing commitment from us in order to get through them. We discussed FPS's, we discussed sports games, we even discussed Wii Fit!
This is what 'gaming' has become. Nintendo seems to have figured this out with the Wii and even the DS- and have begun catering to 'casual' gaming. But wasn't gaming meant to be 'casual' in the first place?? Wasn't going to an arcade to play some of your favorite games meant to be something fun to do- like riding your bike, or playing a game of street hockey with your friends? It was rare to go to an arcade with the intention of devoting all your time and energy into one game for the intention on 'getting further' on it? I'm not talking about spending hours huddled around a crowded Street Fighter 2 cabinet waiting for your turn to play- I'm talking about playing a game as if you were reading a book: 'I'll do another chapter tomorrow'.

Sega was a leader in the arcade game market. Hell, they built their own Sega-branded 'super arcade' in the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas! Sega was as synonymous with 'arcade' as Nintendo was with 'home console'. It was the advantage Sega had when they launched the Genesis against the NES in the late 80's. "Play arcade games at home!!!" was the pitch. Altered Beast, Space Harrier, Outrun, After Burner, Shinobi, Golden Axe. Later on- Virtua Racing, Virtua Fighter, Daytona USA, Virtua Cop, House of the Dead., Crazy Taxi.
These are Sega's "roots"- and yet they have been completely abandoned in favor of the blue Hedgehog and a wad of licenced-property offerings. Why?

These are franchises Sega already has- and they all have a following. They are what gave Sega their image- and ultimately their success. Why not use them?

So what would I do if I was calling the shots at Sega?

- Put Virtua Racing and Daytona USA on WiiWare- taking advantage of the Wiimote and giving a second life to that nifty steering-wheel we all got when we picked up 'Mario Kart Wii' this past spring. Oh- and online play is a dealbreaker. These games were best played with several people playing in the arcade at the same time- and online play would replicate that perfectly.

- Get the Sega CD and the Saturn onto the Virtual Console. Hey, NEC can get the PC Engine CD-ROM games on the VC and Sega can't? Pathetic. Granted, the game libraries for both were relatively small- but I'd be very willing to put down $8-10 to be able to play games like "Ground Zero Texas", "Tomcat Alley", "Panzer Dragoon Zwei" and "Shining Force III" again.

- Less Thought- More Hack. I've found in the past that 'sequels' of an old classic series that try and breathe new life into a franchise (I'm looking at you Shinobi) do nothing more than over-complicate a game. Again- this is the 'epic' thing. Games that were once considered to be hack-and-slash (that is, just beat up as many people as you can without dying- typically through button-mashing) in the 16-Bit days, now have you running around 'looking' for things like a key- or collecting gems to make a door open- only so you can go into the next area and 'look' for something else. So re-do 'Shinobi', 'Altered Beast', and 'Golden Axe'- but without the story, and without the scavenger hunt. Put me in a cooridor and let me go at them. And when I get to the end of the cooridor- tally up my totals, and then dump me into the next cooridor. This isn't rocket science- yet these simple concepts I find are lost in many games today.

- Follow Capcom's lead- or Nintendo's. "Mega Man 9" or "New Super Mario Bros". Enough said. There's no rule that says new games have to take full advantage of the hardware it's running on. Sometimes a tried-and-true formula is the one that works. Ever wonder why "X's and O's" has never evolved to include squares or a multi-tiered board (yes I'm aware they exist for chess)? It was fun the way it was- so why change it just to make it different? Apply that same idea to Sega franchises.

In many ways it seems so obvious- yet Sega seems to be missing it for some reason. As the gaming public, it seems we often have a better eye for what should be done- after all, we're the ones who are prepared to open our wallets for it. Nintendo learned this the hard way by neglecting CD technology in the N64. While the system was still succesful- it allowed Sony to get it's foot in the door and change the landscape of gaming.
Sega doesn't need to change the landscape of gaming- they just need to do what made them successful: create games people want to play.

Can they do it? I sure hope so...

There used to be a time in gaming history when the very idea of ever seeing the mascot characters of Nintendo and Sega appear on either each other's platform, much less in the same game, was virtually incomprehensible.

This has been known for a while now, but seeing the official 'trailer' for the game (which sadly has no actual gameplay footage- I have a theory about games that don't sell you on gameplay footage in it's trailer/commercial), just makes it seem so surreal.

This almost echoes the odd feeling 10 years ago- seeing a Final Fantasy game appear on a non-Nintendo console. What's next? Microsoft Linux!? Hey- we've already seen Apple adopt Intel CPU's!
THE ENDTIMES ARE NEAR I TELL YOU!!!

It feels extremely odd that it is the middle of July- and the 'new and improved' E3 is currently underway.
I've been passively watching the coverage of the conference through my collection of favorite gaming blogs and news sites- and from what I've seen, there has been plenty to get excited about- nothing that completely blows me away- and definitely some notable absences.

So what's the exciting news? It seems that Nintendo is keeping their word about not turning their back on hardcore gamers- though there really isn't anything new that we didn't already know- or at least speculate being there. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption looks amazing- and many are already saying this game may be one of the best FPS titles ever- thanks especially to the Wii's controller scheme- which is said to control the game unlike any FPS game before it. I have yet to see any of the new game footage- but it can only be an improvement over last year's jaw-dropping Metroid Prime 3 video. The best part- for me- is the game is released the day before my birthday- making it my 'birthday game' for 2007 (last year was StarFox Command on DS, and 10 years ago in 1997- it was Goldeneye on the N64).

Nintendo also showed off more of Super Mario Galaxy, which seems to kinda be going back to some of the classic Mario roots- including what looks like a power-up Bee suit that gives Mario the ability to fly! Unlike Gamecube's Super Mario Sunshine (which was a good game unto itself- but I have a hard time considering it to be a real part of the Mario series), this title focuses more on enemy stomping, puzzle solving, and plenty of other classic gameplay in what Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime calls the 'first true successor to Super Mario 64', and the media is referring to as the Wii game that can graphically match the XBOX 360. We shall see about that (personally I think Metroid has a better chance of being a fair comparison of graphical prowess between the two consoles).

Newly-announced, and a surprise to absolutely no-one, is Mario Kart Wii. Slated for released in Q1 2008- Mario Kart Wii will be online playable using Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. Hopefully Nintendo will improve the online mode for the Wii over what they did for the DS. Graphically, the game looks pretty good- though only a few notches above the Gamecube. But considering the game is still many months away (maybe longer if it gets delayed the way Metroid had previous been), there is definitely room for improvement- and I'm confident there will be improvements made.

There have been plenty of other Wii titles on display at the show- including Wii Fit, which continues Nintendo's venture into everyone-friendly 'exergaming'. Soul Calibur Legends is the next (exclusive) installment on the SC series by Namco (stiiiil waitin' on that Wii-exclusive Ridge Racer title Namco!!!), Nitrobike by Ubisoft looks like a modern take on Excitebike.  Tony Hawk's Proving Ground- which will be released on all three consoles unlike Project 8 last year that saw release on the PS3 and 360 while Wii got the lackluster 'Downhill Jam' title. This game might actually be a 'Proving Ground' to see how the Wii visually keeps up to it's 360 and PS3 counterparts. Cruis'n by Midway is the next exclusive title to the classic series which kicked off with Cruis'n USA back in 1994 in the arcades. Ghost Squad by Sega is apparently a port of their arcade (Naomi?) title which supposedly plays similar to the Virtua Cop series- perfect for the Wii.

What about my favorite system? Nintendo DS? There are a few big titles, like The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass and Sonic Rush Adventure. Mega Man ZX Advent looks mildly interesting- but it still isn't 'classic' blue bomber that I've been craving. Contra 4 is looking like a lot of fun- so I'm hoping that Konami can deliver the same experience with this title as they did with the classic series before it. Almost anything since Contra 3 on the SNES has been a little, um, 'lacking'.  Ultimate Mortal Kombat might be worth a look- but the very fact it is based on MK3 irks me a little (nothing was better than MK2), Mario Party DS (apparently with online play) will be coming out. Sadly (or not) I'm not a fan of the Mario Party series- but I know a few people that might be willing to give this title a whirl. Brain Age 2 has been getting rave reviews in Japan already and will be hitting stateside shortly.

So there's plenty to look forward to- including a fair share of online Wii titles (finally). So with all this, what's missing? What hasn't been shown? What should be shown?

While this is more of a 'personal wishlist', I'm sure not too many will argue with it. Let's start with the Wii.
Pikmin 3. Miyamoto has hinted at it already- but it certainly doesn't sound like it's on-tap anytime soon. Maybe next year.
F-Zero WGX (yes, that's my name- I figured that 'X' was added to the 2nd game on N64, 'G' was added to the 3rd game on Gamecube, so why not add a 'W' in-sequence for a Wii version?). Why? Why? Why? Why? WHY is this game not even being rumored about yet?
PilotWIIngs (yes, my name again- hey Reggie, hire me- I got mad game naming skillz. haha). Nintendo knows we want this game on the Wii. Plus, with the right controls and twist- you could easily make this an 'everybody' game.
Kid Icarus Wii. Gamers have been clamoring for a sequel since the SNES days. Cummon Nintendo!!!!
Killer Instinct 3. Some of us still love impossibly-unrealistic combos and enough blood and gore to make a certain American lawyer weak in the knees. Hell- I'll even take this game on the 360!
NHL 08 Wii. Fuck You EA.

How about the DS?
Pikmin DS. Tweak it to be a little more like Warcraft (NOT WoW) and you'll have a game the DS was made for.
F-Zero DS. See a pattern here? I would only really like to see this game with the classic SNES-style gameplay without fear of your hovercraft spinning out. Nintendo would have to have a kind-of 'New Super Mario Bros' epiphany for this title.
New Super Mario Bros 2. Honestly- I'm kinda glad this game isn't at the show. Maybe Nintendo really is going to take their time on each sequel for this new series.

Notice I haven't even mentioned the XBOX 360- much less anything Sony has unveiled (like their 'upgraded PSP'). Honestly- I haven't been very impressed with Microsoft's showing as of yet. Besides all the regular, expected titles- Halo 3, NHL 08, GTA4 (that I've barely heard anything about), there really hasn't been anything that's stood out- yet.

All-in-all, this hasn't been a bad E3 show- maybe I'm just put off by the fact that it's changed. The excitement just doesn't seem the same. Maybe that's a good thing- instead of these companies trying to sell their games on hype and flashiness at the show, they'll sell them by producing good games.

Okay, they're not graphically stunning- especially when compared to something like, oh, say, 'New Super Mario Bros' or 'Final Fantasy III', but that doesn't mean I wouldn't give my left arm to play it right now.

Oh wait- I'd need my left arm in order to play the game anyways. Okay, well, I'll gladly trade for 'future considerations'. hehe

Regardless, looks like this could be a seriously kick-ass game. Can't wait!!

'Oranga' is doing *much* better than 'orange' city did. I fired that other 'advisor' (Options -> Delete All Data) and started fresh. Unfortunately I ended up with the same land area- but I took a very different approach to city development this time around. Now 6 'Simyears' in and I am *making* money at the end of every month and have yet to even consider a loan. By comparison, 'orange' was over $70k in debt- unable to get *another* loan in order to begin to rebuilt a power plant- both of which blew up within 'months' of each other- leaving the city essentially a ghost town.

I have uncovered other gripes I have with this installation of the SImcity series- notably the map selection. Unlike previous Simcity titles- which allowed you to select from a vast array of maps on which to build your city- Simcity DS gives you one 'large' map which is sectioned off into a 4x4 grid. You pick one of the grids- and that is your map. Kinda sucks. Worse yet- the difficulty, and thus, the amount of money with which you start off with to build your city, varies according to which grid tile you select. Naturally there is only one $100,000 tile- in probably one of the most uninteresting Simcity maps I have ever seen in over 15 years of playing this series. The fancy maps closer to the ocean typically go from about $5-10k in initial funds. And despite having played this game for a very long time, there is NO chance that I could survive starting with a mere $5000.

The city of 'orange City' is no more.
Tonight I was effectively checkmated (?) by circumstances beyond my control (somewhat) in Simcity DS. After just 5 Simyears (almost to the day)- or just 3 'Earth' days, my fair city of 'orange' lies in ruins, a victim of it's own success in many ways. In the first few years, people flocked to the city, residential demand shot through the roof- topping as high as 90% of the classic 'RCI' ratio chart (that the Simcity series has used since it's origins- which graphically interprets citizen demand for 'R'esidential, 'C'ommercial and 'I'ndustrial city land). Why the 'Sims' flocked there, I have no idea. The economy was based on nothing- I actually somewhat believe they came to the city just because of it's 'europosh' name: 'orange' (note all lower-case). Commercial development tanked- despite low taxes (5%). Industrial demand shot up unexpectedly for a period, but it ultimately cooled and fizzled as well- again, despite low taxes. You couldn't keep up with the residential development. Just as you finished building the infrastructure around the newly-designated 'community/block', it would be nearly filled with new development- and you would now have to create another residential area, and so the cycle went.

The problem started immediately after the city's 5 year anniversary. The city had been growing so fast that it had put a tremendous strain on the utility system- specifically the power grid. Financially, the city struggled- having taken our loan after loan just to try and keep up with demand, eventually the city had so much debt that no loan would save it. Unlike previous Simcity games- this game only allows you to take one loan out at a time, and are limited to a maximum of $50k. So when the compiled debt mounted beyond $50k- and the cost of running the city became more than the taxes coming in- even at 10% for residential, commercial and industrial- resulting in a loss of a few hundred dollars every month, it became impossible to recover since there was no way to make room for more residents. It was a vicious cycle- luckily the misery was about to get much worse. The first of the two strained power plants- the original coal plant (a mere 5 years old)- exploded.

This power plant was the primary interface to the rest of the electrical grid. The second- ironically more powerful -plant had no other connection to the rest of the power grid except through the first plant. So without the first plant there to connect it- and no money to build an extension power line, the city went completely dark. That second plant, however, itself was stressed to it's maximum. And despite no longer being connected to anything, it also exploded shortly after. No source of power- no way to build more plants- a completely hopeless situation.

I edited my budget to cut all funding to all programs- and raise taxes to their 22% allowable maximum- hoping to perhaps revive a city with socialist-minded 'Sims' who don't mind giving up an extreme portion of their living to the government in exchange for guaranteed services. Sadly, that didn't take- and the last few hundred residents, who had been without power or essential services- including police, fire, medical, among others -for over additional years (after the first plant exploded- yes, some of them stuck around for some reason), decided that the 22% tax hike was the last straw, and left 'orange' to rot as a barren wasteland. Nothing more than a handful of abandoned buildings, two explosion craters, and the thousands of trees and parkland that lined every boulevard of the city- even in the industrial areas.

So now I will take what I've learned from 'orange' and start anew once again in pursuit of creating a handheld megalopolis. But not with my 'city advisor', Mr. Kaishu Tachibana- who didn't once tell me what is wrong with the city, but only ever sand the praises of what was right. You can't fix what you can't see- and I should have replaced you with that robot when I had the chance!! Mr. Tachibana- I bid you adieu. You're Fired.

Tonight I made a deposit at the bank of happiness- and picked up Simcity DS. My poor neglected DS has been starved for some quality 'us' time for some time now, and a new addition to the library sounds like a pretty convincing reason to force myself to kick back a little and indulge in something a little different.

I've been a Simcity fan ever since the original PC (DOS) version- and have spent more than a fair share of time in the Super NES and SegaSaturn entries to the series, as well as a solid college semester with Simcity 3000. I have, however, never played Simcity 4- though from what I've read of the game, that may be more of a blessing than anything. Simcity 3000 was an enormous game for me. It's easily in my Top 5 all-time games I have put inhumane amounts of time into playing. So when I first heard of a DS entry to the series and that it would be based, essentially, on '3000'- there wasn't really a question of 'if' I would pick it up- it was strictly 'when' is it being released?

So tonight we get home, and sit outside in the balcony to enjoy the sunset with the DS in tow. I start the game, which takes you through a relatively short 'setup' of the game- including selecting a city advisor that will help guide you during the lifetime of your city. And then you get to name your city.

This is where I got stuck.

I tend to become a little 'personal' with the cities I create in a Simcity game- and I'm sure a lot of people do as well. For me, I'm not satisfied with just picking any name for something you are going to potentially invest a great deal of time into. Sure, 'gotkube' and 'Calgary' fit- luckily, you are limited to 7 characters -but those aren't really names I would consider 'original'. I want something that's very 'me'.

And so that's where I stopped playing tonight- the name entry. Kinda pathetic in a way, but probably a wise move on my part since it's not uncommon for me to get into an 8-10 hour long stretch of playing continuously on such a game. This weekend, however...

Konami, today, announced the arrival of the forth 'official' entry in their famous classic side-scrolling action arcade shooter, Contra. Contra 4 is slated for exclusive release on the Nintendo DS console sometime in the later half of 2007.

While Konami has published Contra games on various platforms since 'Contra III: The Alien Wars' on the SNES back in 1992, few have received outstanding reviews and/or have enjoyed the same degree of success as their Arcade, NES, GameBoy and SNES predecessors. In fact, the very fact that Konami has named this title 'Contra 4' seems to indicate that Konami will be returning to their roots with this title much in the same way Nintendo has with many of their recent releases ('New Super Mario Bros' being a big example).

I expect we will hear much more about this title come 'E3', 20 days from now. Somehow, I think I'll end up pre-ordering this one even before a single screen shot is released.

Show us your Mii.

"It's-a Mii!" ... but for how much longer?

The first time was the charm back in November when I first constructed my Mii. I also figured I would take this opportunity to (finally) post all of my Friend Codes for the Wii and DS (and my gamertag for XBOX Live) so that if any of my fellow Voxxers want to register me for some online play (or potential online play in the case of the Wii... it's coming soon). So please feel free to add 'Mii' to your Friends list on Wii, DS or XBOX360. I figure the more people you have on your 'Friends' list the better. Perhaps we should think about organizing some kind of online gaming night for Voxxers. Anyone interested? Nintendo Wii 0963 1006 9505 5976 Nintendo DS Mario Kart DS: 446748 932045 Tetris DS: 548908 147111 StarFox Command: 322591 650981 Clubhouse Games: 2620 7368 5437 Final Fantasy 3: 107460 531954 XBOX 360 Gamertag: gotkube

This week, the Game Developers Conference was held in San Francisco, and while eager gamers clamored in hopes for some big announcement, they were largely disappointed. What wasn't disappointing was what was shown during the conference. Nintendo showed off recent builds of some of their 2007 blockbuster titles, including Super Mario Galaxy, which is beginning to look amazing and will finally put to rest any question of the Wii's graphic capabilities, Super Paper Mario which plays more like a classic side-scrolling platformer with minimal RPG elements from the previous games in the 'Paper' series, and Zelda: Phantom Hourglass for Nintendo DS which has apparently been bumped back to Late 2007, Mario Strikers Charged, Big Brain Academy Wii, and Pokemon Battle Revolution- which has been confirmed as the Wii's first online-playable title. Oddly enough there has been virtually no mention of Metroid Prime 3 which was slated to be released this spring/early summer- but is noticeably absent from Nintendo's official release list which lists titles slated for release until late June. Could it be Nintendo has delayed Metroid to go head-to-head with the pending release of Halo 3 on Microsoft's XBOX 360?

The conference did, however also honor Nintendo for their innovation with the Wii- specifically Wii Sports, with the company picking up a handful of awards. Some key figures in Nintendo's upper-echelons also were honored and delivered keynote speeches during the conference. This included the likes of the brilliant Shigeru Miyamoto who was not only honored by awarding him a lifetime achievement award, but who also delivered a brilliant keynote speech titled 'A Creative Vision'. Legendary Nintendo music composer, Koji Kondo also delivered a keynote speech in which he highlighted some of the challenges and triumphs in composing music that is 'just right' for some of Nintendo's biggest all-time hits including the Super Mario and Zelda series'.

But perhaps the best smackdown Nintendo had to offer during the conference came just prior to Miyamoto-san's keynote speech in an impromptu discussion between Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime, who last year stated that his job was to 'kick ass and take names', and a young fan in the front row.

The kid yells to get Reggie's attention: "REGGIE! You gotta kick some ass and take some names!"
Reggie responds, "Like who!?"
The kid shouts back, "Phil Harrison, FRONT ROW!". Phil Harrison is the President of Sony Computer Entertainment America- the Sony company responsible for the Playstation consoles.
Reggie looks and notices Mr. Harrison sitting patiently and shouts back to the kid, "I think we already did that!"
Yes Reggie, yes you did.

Can't wait 'til the 'show-formerly-known-as-E3' in a few months!