Magicians in the rain - June 3, 2000 -
Andrew Kaufmann
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this column are those of
the participants and the moderator, and do not necessarily reflect those of the GIA. There
is coarse language and potentially offensive material afoot. Blue and green. Don't say we didn't warn you.
I noticed the conversation being about Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and I had to point out
that I think that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead is one of the best movies out there. I haven't
seen the play, but the movie is awesome. Or so I think. Of course, part of the humor both in
Hamlet and in the movie surrounding the two is that they're both more or less the same character,
and very hard to distinguish. Which is a problem I have in Vagrant Story. Maybe I'm just dumb
and easily confused, but I always get the two confused.
| Singin' in the rain |
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I downloaded the FF9 commercial. What I was wondering is: what is that
thing laying out in the cold rain?? I've been pondering that, and have no
clue.
P.S.- Does FF7 really have several endings?
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That's Vivi laying out in the cold rain. The whole world can no doubt recognize his butt, now.
I think that FF9 looks awesome so far, but I can't help but question Square's current marketing
tactics (or lackthereof). That commercial, if you could call it that, isn't likely to sell many
games. Of course, I suppose you could say that it might be intended not to sell games but to
simply increase awareness of its impending release, but it might not even be very effective as that.
I really would like to see some more gameplay action, and a little less of Vivi's butt.
And FF7 only has one ending.
| Don't try this at home |
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All I have to say to Chris Jones reply to Peter (aka Obake-chan or
something) about PSX mod chip lockouts; My friend (who I will not mention
in this column, nor his address and work hours without a substantial..
processing fee) owns both a modded PSX, a CD Burner, and the internet. He
can rent a game( a supposedly, "mod chip protected" one), download the
crack (put mere hours out after the game is released), reburn the game in a
matter of minutes, add the crack, and be playing a full operational game;
all at the cost of a few bucks to rent it and a dollar or two for the CD.
So much for Mod lockouts and normal profit for the economy. Add the fact
that anyone with some time and the utilities to do it (and who here DOESN'T
know SOMEONE with a CD burner these days) and you got a lethal dose of
venom into our normal business cycle.
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There's a way around everything. And generally speaking, the computer savvy will find that
way within 15 minutes. A guy I know was going to buy Wild Arms 2, but found out it had
the mod chip lockout. Since this guy has a mod chip and doesn't have a GameShark to get around the lockout, he
downloaded the game off the Internet with the mod chip lockout disabled. There's an anti-piracy
tactic at work, folks!
| We all saw it coming |
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Ak:
Boy, I'm tired of Lunar 2 delays. How does Working Designs get away with this?
Zonker Harris
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Basically, they have a sizable legion of very devoted fans, including some that work at
video game webpages. To quote an article from a rival web page, "Working Designs knows what
they are doing, and avoiding the release date of another RPG this Summer seems impossible,
which is very good news for all RPGamers out there."
In some eyes, some people can do no wrong. I personally just quit paying any attention whatsoever
to Working Designs release dates. I'll just buy the games when I see them on the shelf, and be pleasantly
surprised when I find them there.
| My bad |
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I'd email, but...I'm not sure if I can trust you to be there for my
email anymore. So many let downs...So many broken promises...I, I need
to know you'll be there for me and my email, AK!
~Ian P.
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It's OK, Ian, I understand. I'm the master of excuses, but I won't bother giving any for my
latest string of missing days. Let's just say I was busy. Sorry to let you down, Ian. I'll make it
up to you somehow, sometime.
| This makes me frown |
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Dear A-o-K,
Imagine my surprise when I read in this week's column about
Matsuno's ousting from Square. Down with such things as this! (Not to
sound like Nakashima Tadashi...oh wait, none of you are probably
familiar with...never mind. Please look at my shiny pen. *POOF*) I'm not
sure if it's common knowledge or not, and if it is, forgive me, but
one's job is a pretty sacred thing in Japan. Granted, the many part time
jobs one might get to pay for college education or other such things are
not, well not really, but when somebody gets hired to a company, takes a
full time real career job...well, traditionally, there's a lock, that's
supposed to be forever. It's a lot more secure than I've seen in
America--well, of course, companies that die get rid of their employees
too, but work with me here. Especially government jobs. That lecherous
post officer annoying your mother? Well, he's not going away until he's
ten feet under or ready to retire. At least it's just not, well, not
particularly right to fire him. A true career is supposed to be stable
for life, your second home, your second family, wait a minute, scratch
the second part. Its not at all unthinkable to be judged by the
stability of your job and company. And the longer you are at the
company, the more you are payed, it doesn't usually matter if you
actually rise in position or do well. (But then again, doesn't that
happen in the US too or am I missing something?) True, the thinking is
changing, but it is generally people quiting to start up new businesses
or join others, not getting fired, which is still a sign of some
disgrace. Maybe its changed drastically, since I haven't lived in Japan
longer than a month and a half since two and a half years ago, but mein
gott, Square can be so mean sometimes...that is, if Matsuno didn't quit.
Though lately, this job structure has become a real problem. There
aren't enough good positions for sparkling college graduates and the
population is becoming dominated with people over 50 who won't keel
over. (We're very proud to have one of, if not, the longest average life
expectancy in Japan.) A prominent U.S. demographer demonstrated recently
how drastic the problem will become by 2025 as the fertility rate
decreases. (You get married to have children, since women want to work
though, arranged marriages are falling out of grace, there aren't as
many marriages and thus not as many children. It's gone down from an
average of 3 in the 60s to 1 in the 90s and still expected to fall. Poor
0.5 children, having to live in plastic bubbles...) You probably didn't
want to hear all that, but the point of the second part is that there
are enough problems going on inside the infrastructure of Japanese
companies for the last 8 years or so (though only lately have they
started to become a true hassle). That may be one reason for the seeming
nonchalance of companies like Squaresoft to other markets. You kind of
want to focus on your original branch the most. Perhaps if Square didn't
have as many problems as it does, Chrono Cross's European release
wouldn't be an issue. But when they spend so much on things like Square
Millenium...why not, it is the original market, right? Its at times like
this that Square probably envies Enix's seemingly unlimited power to
make more money than Square no matter what.
Thank you for putting up wth me.
-Link, about to fall asleep at the keyboard.
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Well, it ticks me off that he's gone, but I'm sure he'll resurface with a nice new lucrative
contract somewhere else, and we'll still get his games. It's still highly uncool, though. Thanks
for the info.
| Frace |
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AK,
I must know. What do YOU think of France?
Jon
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I think France is a medium-sized European country with an official language of French. The capital is
Paris, and they tend to eat snails and stuff over there. They also have good cheese, which would
be very cool if you were a cheese fan. Unfortunately, I'm not. I hear the women don't shave, but
I've never been, so I can't confirm or deny that. They also have good mustards. Also, a friend of
mine is studying abroad there like, on the riviera, for the summer.
| One of yesterday's letter becomes less funny with this, so don't read it |
|
Dear letter answering agent dude:
You might remmber my letter from yesterday: the one about SMB running thing.
Not before you call me an moron, let me tell you why it took me ten years.
I got my copy of SMB1 when I was just four years old. It was my first game that I ever got. You see, I couldn't read back then, so I just poped in the game and played. I was just unaware that you could run, since I never read the manual. After about 3 weeks, I got a slew of new NES games, so SMB went to go collect dust.
In 1998 I decided to releave the past, so I Downloaded a emulator and fired up SMB. It was then that I figured out that running was possible in SMB 1.
I knew you could run in smb 3, so I figured what the heck, I'll try it in SMB 1. To my amazement, it worked. So you see, I'm not really a moron, I was just uninformed.
-Antimatter, whos fealing really stupid right now.
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Hmm. This sort of ruins our image of you, Antimatter. We all had this great image of a total
dweeb running around confused, unable to properly aim a spoon into his own mouth. But now it seems
you might a normal human. Oh, well. Sorry to burst everyone's bubbles.
| Sing along to FFIX |
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Yo AK,
I gotta say, I like the new song in FFIX, Melodies of Life, much better than
Eyes on Me thus far. It sounds more lyrical and less J-pop like, which is a
good thing. What's your take on it?
--The Steve
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I like it. It's a little poppy for my tastes, but still good. It reminds me of something I'd hear
on Final Fantasy Pray, or something of the type. The strings going in the background are pretty
nifty. It's good solid stuff if you ask me. Wait, you did ask me. It's good solid stuff.
Closing Comments:
The Stars lost game 3. At home. Bummer.
-Andrew Kaufmann |
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