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What makes a game replayable or a movie rewatchable? In this episode, Holly and I meander through what gives — or doesn’t give — something replay value and talk about some of our most played, read and watched bits of entertainment.
PopStuff Show Notes: Episode 26, PopStuff’s Pop Culture Wish List
by Tracy V. Wilson | December 21, 2011
‘Tis the season for giving, but Holly and I are all about asking, wishing and taking in this episode. It comes down to our wish lists — both physical, tangible consumer goods and more abstract wishes for our own entertainment.
PopStuff Show Notes: Episode 22, Are cheat codes cheating?
by Tracy V. Wilson | December 8, 2011
If a cheat code is built into a video game, is using it cheating? What about inventive uses of game mechanics that maybe weren’t quite intended by the game designers? Or looking things up on the Internet? Turns out, these are questions people study the answers to, not just ones that fascinate Holly and me.
Once in a while, I stumble across a story so remarkably absurd that I question whether or not I’m awake. Today, I saw such a story. Forbes blogger David M. Ewalt wrote about how the organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has criticized Nintendo and the Mario series for animal cruelty. It all stems from an item you can find in several Mario games called the Tanooki Suit. This is a costume of a raccoon-like animal that gives Mario limited flying abilities.
Yesterday’s episode of TechStuff was the culmination of a month-long experiment. In August, I asked Chris “what would happen if we outsourced the research for one of our episodes?” Chris got that sparkly, happy look in his eyes and said “that means we wouldn’t have to do any work!” Believing that we had stumbled onto [...]
Welcome to the first of what I hope will be many news roundups of what’s going on in the tech world today. Below are some of the interesting stories developing in technology, accompanied by a little unbiased, objective and mature commentary from yours truly. Let’s get to it!
Supreme Court Declares California Video Game Law Unconstitutional
by Chanel Lee | June 27, 2011
On Monday, the Supreme Court of the United States struck down a California law that would’ve banned the sale or rental of violent video games to minors. In a 7-2 decision, the Court decided that not only are video games protected under the First Amendment, they also should be treated the same way as other forms of speech: “Like protected books, plays and movies, [video games] communicate ideas through familiar literary devices and features distinctive to the medium. And the basic freedoms of speech … do not vary with a new and different communication medium.”
Yesterday, I got my first glimpse at the new video game “L.A. Noire” and it never ceases to amaze me how much gaming has changed since my Nintendo junkie days. The game is drawing raves for its dark realism — and I’ll agree that it was very aptly named — but could it pass muster with a real LAPD detective?
With the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) right around the corner, expect to see lots of news about video games over the next few weeks. We’ll be sending Holly Frey, our new tech editor, to get a first-hand look at the newest developments in gaming. That will include a glimpse at the successor to the Nintendo Wii. But before we dive into rumors, we should look at the news. We’ll start with the recent price cut for the Nintendo Wii.
A piece of news broken by Reuters raised my eyebrows to the surprise level of “mildly shocked” this morning — John Schappert, the chief operating officer of EA, is leaving the company. What’s more, Schappert may be leaving to join rival game company Zynga. That’s the company responsible for cluttering up your Facebook News feed with updates from all your buddies who are obsessed with FarmVille, CityVille and VilleVille. I may have made up one of those games.
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