Charlie Brooker's GamesWipe - UPDATE: Interview about show!

A place where you can chat about anything that isn't to do with games!
User avatar
spadgy
Posts: 6675
Joined: Tue Nov 06, 2007 5:26 pm
Location: Casino Arcade (RIP), UK.

Re: Charlie Brooker's GamesWipe - 'Shmup' mentioned on UK TV!

Post by spadgy »

God - that was when I started shopping there. About '98 I think. Where does it all go? I guess I would never have remembered seeing him. I can't even remember my own mate's faces.

And neist - sadly this is a one off...
User avatar
DEL
Posts: 4186
Joined: Tue Jan 25, 2005 10:23 pm
Location: Oort Cloud

Re: Charlie Brooker's GamesWipe - 'Shmup' mentioned on UK TV!

Post by DEL »

Rupert H wrote:
spadgy wrote:
He also used to work in a second hand games store.

My second hand game store.


I thought it was CEX, but I wasn't sure if I'd made that up!
Rupert added;
A bit before both of our times, Tom. It was in the late nineties and as I recall, he ended up in Harrow.
I used to go to CEX (Rathbone & Warren Street) from the very start and furthermore I lived in Harrow during that time. Never noticed this guy though...
I guess he's got a pretty forgettable face :|

Saw a few seconds of it the other day. Youtube is down at the mo, so I'll check it properly later.
JAPJAC
Banned User
Posts: 332
Joined: Mon Mar 07, 2005 4:48 pm
Location: Sud-Ouest Paris
Contact:

Re: Charlie Brooker's GamesWipe - 'Shmup' mentioned on UK TV!

Post by JAPJAC »

I started going to CEX in London at their very first branch down Whitfield Street. Lots of characters but the one I remember most was a massive fat bearded cockney that used to work in there and I spotted him once in an episode of The Bill. My friend wanted to buy a PCE GT they had. When we opened the box it was complete but missing the batteries. We wanted to test it but the fat bloke said they had no batteries to test it with and said that if we wanted to test it we would have to provide the batteries! Sadly we did and went to the nearest Asian corner shop and bought the batteries. He ended up getting it but even still. They were tight from the start.

The staff used to smoke behind the counter whilst serving, that's how long ago it was!

I remember the owner too. Their was an article on his empire in The Telepraph at their peak. In it he revealed that he was a millionaire, owned every single Hu-Card ever made and had a secret/private underground vault/museum in the centre of London. Total balls I thought on the last two points.

I stopped going to CEX after the great flood/insurance scam at Rathbone Retro.

Despite going back a long way, I do not remember this Charlie Brooker. I had not heard of him before this programme in fact. He struck me as being a very very poor man's Piers Morgan and without his charm and wit. Someone that would need to write things down weeks in advance to try and be funny for the camera.
http://www.japjac.proboards58.com/
http://www.youtube.com/japjac

1989 UK Japanese Mega Drive Thunder Force II MD Champion.
User avatar
spadgy
Posts: 6675
Joined: Tue Nov 06, 2007 5:26 pm
Location: Casino Arcade (RIP), UK.

Re: Charlie Brooker's GamesWipe - 'Shmup' mentioned on UK TV!

Post by spadgy »

Charlie Brooker really rose to fame writing for The Guardian (UK national paper) although he had loads of games writing behind him before that. He is a very good writer, and (name drop :oops: ) in real life he is a very pleasant guy who takes time to listen (not something you might expect from someone famed for being cutting and damning), and his books are certainly well written. His TV is hit an moss, but a great deal more interesting that a lot of crap out there,
User avatar
E. Randy Dupre
Posts: 954
Joined: Thu Jan 27, 2005 2:26 pm

Re: Charlie Brooker's GamesWipe - 'Shmup' mentioned on UK TV!

Post by E. Randy Dupre »

JAPJAC wrote:I started going to CEX in London at their very first branch down Whitfield Street. Lots of characters but the one I remember most was a massive fat bearded cockney that used to work in there and I spotted him once in an episode of The Bill. My friend wanted to buy a PCE GT they had. When we opened the box it was complete but missing the batteries. We wanted to test it but the fat bloke said they had no batteries to test it with and said that if we wanted to test it we would have to provide the batteries! Sadly we did and went to the nearest Asian corner shop and bought the batteries. He ended up getting it but even still. They were tight from the start.

The staff used to smoke behind the counter whilst serving, that's how long ago it was!

I remember the owner too. Their was an article on his empire in The Telepraph at their peak. In it he revealed that he was a millionaire, owned every single Hu-Card ever made and had a secret/private underground vault/museum in the centre of London. Total balls I thought on the last two points.

I stopped going to CEX after the great flood/insurance scam at Rathbone Retro.

Despite going back a long way, I do not remember this Charlie Brooker. I had not heard of him before this programme in fact. He struck me as being a very very poor man's Piers Morgan and without his charm and wit. Someone that would need to write things down weeks in advance to try and be funny for the camera.

Thinks Piers Morgan possesses wit and charm.

Opinion = utterly worthless.
dcharlie
Posts: 1216
Joined: Tue Jan 23, 2007 1:18 am

Re: Charlie Brooker's GamesWipe - 'Shmup' mentioned on UK TV!

Post by dcharlie »

Let's not forget that Charlie Brooker gave us the amazing TV Go Home which was one of the best websites out there
"I've asked 2 experts on taking RGB screenshots...."
User avatar
thegreathopper
Posts: 212
Joined: Mon May 16, 2005 6:15 pm
Location: London England

Re: Charlie Brooker's GamesWipe - 'Shmup' mentioned on UK TV!

Post by thegreathopper »

JAPJAC wrote:I started going to CEX in London at their very first branch down Whitfield Street. Lots of characters but the one I remember most was a massive fat bearded cockney that used to work in there and I spotted him once in an episode of The Bill. My friend wanted to buy a PCE GT they had. When we opened the box it was complete but missing the batteries. We wanted to test it but the fat bloke said they had no batteries to test it with and said that if we wanted to test it we would have to provide the batteries! Sadly we did and went to the nearest Asian corner shop and bought the batteries. He ended up getting it but even still. They were tight from the start.

The staff used to smoke behind the counter whilst serving, that's how long ago it was!

I remember the owner too. Their was an article on his empire in The Telepraph at their peak. In it he revealed that he was a millionaire, owned every single Hu-Card ever made and had a secret/private underground vault/museum in the centre of London. Total balls I thought on the last two points.

I stopped going to CEX after the great flood/insurance scam at Rathbone Retro.

Despite going back a long way, I do not remember this Charlie Brooker. I had not heard of him before this programme in fact. He struck me as being a very very poor man's Piers Morgan and without his charm and wit. Someone that would need to write things down weeks in advance to try and be funny for the camera.
The fat bloke from Whitfield St also worked in Rathbone for a while and then worked in a Import shop in Soho square with a few others from CEX.

I used to like going in to Whitfield street for games, The customers were also encouraged to smoke in fact there was a sign on the counter that said smoking was allowed.
Fight war not wars
User avatar
Pointman
Posts: 130
Joined: Wed Feb 23, 2005 10:16 pm

Re: Charlie Brooker's GamesWipe - 'Shmup' mentioned on UK TV!

Post by Pointman »

JAPJAC wrote:I had not heard of him before this programme in fact. He struck me as being a very very poor man's Piers Morgan and without his charm and wit.
Since when has Piers Morgan ever displayed charm and wit? Next you are going to say that you really admire Jeremy Kyle. This is funny stuff indeed.
User avatar
DEL
Posts: 4186
Joined: Tue Jan 25, 2005 10:23 pm
Location: Oort Cloud

Re: Charlie Brooker's GamesWipe - 'Shmup' mentioned on UK TV!

Post by DEL »

thegreathopper wrote;
The fat bloke from Whitfield St also worked in Rathbone for a while and then worked in a Import shop in Soho square with a few others from CEX.
Oh yeah the brief Soho Square shop. I got Dodondrypachi from there and it closed.
Did anyone go to the retro shop that spun off from the Warren St CEX Retro shop - the one in Shepherds Bush. Run by the old guy and a real freakazoid character from CEX (I'll get the name from Garf later). I went there and they were trying to charge me £100 for a Megadrive V.V. cart.

btw. Did this Charlie Brooker character ever frequent the arcades over the last 24 years? I don't think so.
User avatar
Rupert H
Posts: 646
Joined: Sun Dec 30, 2007 4:25 am
Location: London

Re: Charlie Brooker's GamesWipe - 'Shmup' mentioned on UK TV!

Post by Rupert H »

Soho Square shop = Beyond Therapy
Old dude = Graham
Freekazoid character = Dave Adams

Do I win a prize? :D
dcharlie
Posts: 1216
Joined: Tue Jan 23, 2007 1:18 am

Re: Charlie Brooker's GamesWipe - 'Shmup' mentioned on UK TV!

Post by dcharlie »

I preordered my import Dreamcast from Beyond Therapy, but they called to say they weren't getting a month or so prior to launch (i think they might have closed down around that time?)

wasn't a bad store.
"I've asked 2 experts on taking RGB screenshots...."
User avatar
DEL
Posts: 4186
Joined: Tue Jan 25, 2005 10:23 pm
Location: Oort Cloud

Re: Charlie Brooker's GamesWipe - 'Shmup' mentioned on UK TV!

Post by DEL »

Rupert wrote;
Soho Square shop = Beyond Therapy
Old dude = Graham
Freekazoid character = Dave Adams

Do I win a prize? :D
Yes you win my megadrive copy of Cobra Command.
Old dude Graham used to work with :arrow: Ash.
Freakazoid character Adams was indeed a freak :shock: .
User avatar
Rupert H
Posts: 646
Joined: Sun Dec 30, 2007 4:25 am
Location: London

Re: Charlie Brooker's GamesWipe - 'Shmup' mentioned on UK TV!

Post by Rupert H »

I'm not sure that counts as "winning". :wink:

Yeah, Graham and Ash had just about everything covered between them. Dave A was a colourful character -- he always had an opinion on something -- and that's not necessarily a bad thing.
JAPJAC
Banned User
Posts: 332
Joined: Mon Mar 07, 2005 4:48 pm
Location: Sud-Ouest Paris
Contact:

Re: Charlie Brooker's GamesWipe - 'Shmup' mentioned on UK TV!

Post by JAPJAC »

That old bloke (Graham ?) gave me the willies, he was a bell end. He went on to have a shop in Shepherd's Bush called Retro X I think it was called from memory. Ash though was a top bloke whom really knew his stuff. He had a PCE LT and a Marty which I was quite impressed with at the time as that was unusual then. He used to call me Mr Don Doko Don and we used to call him Mr "Doo-owe" becuase of the strange way he used to pronounce "Duo" as in PC Engine. :shock: Anyway...

When Ash opened the Retro branch down Whitfield Street it was mint and to this day remains the best Retro Japanese games shop that I have ever been to in the World. However, they never could replenish the initial fantastic opening stock (displayed behind glass) so the shop went downhill from the very first day as all the hardcore boys just raided all the best stuff very quickly. I`ve bumped into Ash a few times over the years in Akihabara and I think he resides in North America now.

London had a great scene back in the day. ebay killed it.
Last edited by JAPJAC on Tue Oct 06, 2009 1:03 pm, edited 2 times in total.
http://www.japjac.proboards58.com/
http://www.youtube.com/japjac

1989 UK Japanese Mega Drive Thunder Force II MD Champion.
User avatar
DEL
Posts: 4186
Joined: Tue Jan 25, 2005 10:23 pm
Location: Oort Cloud

Re: Charlie Brooker's GamesWipe - 'Shmup' mentioned on UK TV!

Post by DEL »

JAPJAC wrote;
When Ash opened the Retro branch down Whitfield Street it was mint and to this day remains the best Retro Japanese games shop that I have ever been to in the World. However, they never could replenish the initial fantasic opening stock (displayed behind glass) so the shop went downhill from the very first day as all the hardcore boys just raided all the best stuff very quickly. I`ve bumped into Ash a few times over the years in Akihabara and I think he resides in North America now.
Ash is back in London. I've met him a few times recently. He lent a board to the arcade a few months ago.
London had a great scene back in the day. ebay killed it.
^If by that you mean the game shops were good, then I agree.
But that's not a scene. The London Arcade Scene is a scene & its going strong.

CEX went mainstream and it may as well be an Electronics Boutique high street store now :x .
We still have Game Focus on Goodge Street and Raven Games in Beckenham, but import releases have been slow in recent years. Its no longer fun to make a trip down to Deep Sarf London to see what's new :? .
JAPJAC
Banned User
Posts: 332
Joined: Mon Mar 07, 2005 4:48 pm
Location: Sud-Ouest Paris
Contact:

Re: Charlie Brooker's GamesWipe - 'Shmup' mentioned on UK TV!

Post by JAPJAC »

I didn't just mean the shops to be fair. The shops coupled with the arcades is what I meant. A trek out to Raven then back into town to Shekhana, Rhine Games, CEX Rathbone, CEX Retro and Casino, stopping for a liquid lunch at the Jack Horner TCR, then to the Troc, the Japan Centre, Hamleys' basement arcade and ACE, finished off with Las Vegas and a tourney organised by old Isaac at Namco Wonderpark , finally polishing off the evening at The Wag Club Wardour Street.

If Casino as an arcade now alone is better than the whole lot of those arcades combined from yesteryear then I would be very surprised to be honest mate. Ask any other fellow old-timer now and I think they would agree with me. I was lucky as I suspect I was around in the heyday.

Isaac baptiste:

Image

Where is he now?
Last edited by JAPJAC on Tue Oct 06, 2009 3:02 pm, edited 10 times in total.
http://www.japjac.proboards58.com/
http://www.youtube.com/japjac

1989 UK Japanese Mega Drive Thunder Force II MD Champion.
User avatar
neist
Posts: 415
Joined: Tue Jan 15, 2008 3:41 pm
Location: Oklahoma

Re: Charlie Brooker's GamesWipe - 'Shmup' mentioned on UK TV!

Post by neist »

spadgy wrote:God - that was when I started shopping there. About '98 I think. Where does it all go? I guess I would never have remembered seeing him. I can't even remember my own mate's faces.

And neist - sadly this is a one off...
Well, it was good anyway. :) I don't mind there only being one of them in as much as possibly missing future episodes. At least I know that I've gotten the full experience now.
User avatar
DEL
Posts: 4186
Joined: Tue Jan 25, 2005 10:23 pm
Location: Oort Cloud

Re: Charlie Brooker's GamesWipe - 'Shmup' mentioned on UK TV!

Post by DEL »

JAPJAC wrote;
I didn't just mean the shops to be fair. The shops coupled with the arcades is what I meant. A trek out to Raven then back into town to Shekhana, Rhine Games, CEX Rathbone, CEX Retro and Casino, stopping for a liquid lunch at the Jack Horner TCR, then to the Troc, the Japan Centre, Hamleys' basement arcade and ACE, finished off with Las Vegas and a tourney organised
^Gee wiz boy :shock: , how I don't know you? Or........I do.
Image
As for Isaac, he's an original member of our crew. I have two facebook albums devoted to him :!: He's still around and passed by the arcade the other day. Mostly teaching breakdancing and travelling the World on it.

Some original names for you:- Kevin (KAC), David Lashley (The International Tufty Boy), Mark Troy, Wing, Colin, Mills (-M-) and slightly later Damien, Simeon and Ryan Hart.

Any bells ringing :?:

EDIT:- How did I forget ACE! First in Osnaburgh Street (Gt Portland Street) then in Carnaby Street. Nick & Dimitri! Famous for prices :lol: , but at least they could fix stuff.
User avatar
spadgy
Posts: 6675
Joined: Tue Nov 06, 2007 5:26 pm
Location: Casino Arcade (RIP), UK.

Re: Charlie Brooker's GamesWipe - 'Shmup' mentioned on UK TV!

Post by spadgy »

JAPJAC wrote: A trek out to Raven then back into town to Shekhana, Rhine Games, CEX Rathbone, CEX Retro and Casino, stopping for a liquid lunch at the Jack Horner TCR, then to the Troc, the Japan Centre, Hamleys' basement arcade and ACE, finished off with Las Vegas and a tourney organised by old Isaac at Namco Wonderpark , finally polishing off the evening at The Wag Club Wardour Street.
Wow! Sounds great! So many of those places are ghosts now...
User avatar
Skykid
Posts: 17646
Joined: Sun Nov 18, 2007 2:16 pm
Location: Planet Dust Asia

Re: Charlie Brooker's GamesWipe - 'Shmup' mentioned on UK TV!

Post by Skykid »

I saw Isaac the other week.

I think Old Man Graham was his full and proper name.

Dave Adams was as much a total ego-braniac nob as he was a very amusing and interesting guy. Odd mix. He went to Japan, got hitched, started a J-Rock band or something, and never came back.

I miss the days of beer and cigarettes CEX dearly. We had some fun, eh? :P
Always outnumbered, never outgunned - No zuo no die

JAPJAC
Banned User
Posts: 332
Joined: Mon Mar 07, 2005 4:48 pm
Location: Sud-Ouest Paris
Contact:

Re: Charlie Brooker's GamesWipe - 'Shmup' mentioned on UK TV!

Post by JAPJAC »

DEL:

I've got that business card too!

I'm glad that Issac is still around and well. He used to carry around a copy of Rolling Thunder for the Famicom and a little photograph album of cos players from his trip to Japan in his bag I remember.

Issac and his friends were a bit older than us but if the others frequented Casino regularly between the UK SF2 location test (my first time) and Night Raid (the last new game of my day before leaving for Tokyo) then I would of seen them in there. Ryan Hart was quite famous especially at Namco Wonderpark and in fanzines of the time so I remember him.

Always used to bump into Issac at ATEIs and Novotel Previews and he would be with his friends but we only knew Issac as he was the most friendly.

Skykid:

Dave Adams? I remember a tall kid with bleached hair and punk fashion that used to work in CEX. He reminded me of James Harries (of Wogan fame) and was a right nasty piece of work. He told me in CEX that he had just got back from a holiday to Japan once. I asked him what he got up to and he replied "I just f**ked my Japanese girlfriend in her flat the whole time." in front of a shop full of customers. I thought what a bell end. We bumped into him once in Akihabara during the Gamecube launch trip and I saw him in Try Amusement Tower once years ago. My friend also saw him at the GBA launch day in Tokyo. All times he has been on his own so I don't think anyone else likes him either. Does that sound like a Dave Adams?
http://www.japjac.proboards58.com/
http://www.youtube.com/japjac

1989 UK Japanese Mega Drive Thunder Force II MD Champion.
User avatar
DEL
Posts: 4186
Joined: Tue Jan 25, 2005 10:23 pm
Location: Oort Cloud

Re: Charlie Brooker's GamesWipe - 'Shmup' mentioned on UK TV!

Post by DEL »

JAPJAC wrote;
Dave Adams? I remember a tall kid with bleached hair and punk fashion that used to work in CEX. He reminded me of James Harries (of Wogan fame) and was a right nasty piece of work. He told me in CEX that he had just got back from a holiday to Japan once. I asked him what he got up to and he replied "I just f**ked my Japanese girlfriend in her flat the whole time." in front of a shop full of customers. I thought what a bell end. We bumped into him once in Akihabara during the Gamecube launch trip and I saw him in Try Amusement Tower once years ago. My friend also saw him at the GBA launch day in Tokyo. All times he has been on his own so I don't think anyone else likes him either. Does that sound like a Dave Adams?
This Dave Adams guy was only about 5ft 9" and I only met him once, but it certainly doesn't sound like the tall guy you're referring to. There was this one guy at CEX, blonde 5ft 9" with massive black V shaped tatoos on his arms. Said he went out with Beat Takeshi's daughter. I liked him though, so I guess this wasn't the guy you're referring to either :| .
CEX always attracted off-beat staff (no offence to Rupert and Fire-Bug :D ).
I've got that business card too!
I hope you've mounted it on a Gilt Edged Frame.
Always used to bump into Issac at ATEIs and Novotel Previews
Ah yes, the Novotel Previews 8)
User avatar
spadgy
Posts: 6675
Joined: Tue Nov 06, 2007 5:26 pm
Location: Casino Arcade (RIP), UK.

Re: Charlie Brooker's GamesWipe - 'Shmup' mentioned on UK TV!

Post by spadgy »

DEL wrote: CEX always attracted off-beat staff (no offence to Rupert and Fire-Bug :D ).
I never knew Fire-bug worked there. Perhaps I know him...
dcharlie
Posts: 1216
Joined: Tue Jan 23, 2007 1:18 am

Re: Charlie Brooker's GamesWipe - 'Shmup' mentioned on UK TV!

Post by dcharlie »

so, any further news on whether this will progress beyond a one off?

According to Brookers tweets the show brought in more viewers than individual episodes of Screenwipe and Newswipe, so hoping that's a sign that there's at least an outside chance of a 6-parter.
"I've asked 2 experts on taking RGB screenshots...."
User avatar
spadgy
Posts: 6675
Joined: Tue Nov 06, 2007 5:26 pm
Location: Casino Arcade (RIP), UK.

Re: Charlie Brooker's GamesWipe - 'Shmup' mentioned on UK TV!

Post by spadgy »

dcharlie wrote:so, any further news on whether this will progress beyond a one off?
Well, my scrotum-faced workmate Ben interviewed Mr Brooker about the show last week, and the interview went up online just now. Charlie touches on the future of the show towards the end of part 2 of the interview.

Here is part one. Part two is up tomorrow.
dcharlie
Posts: 1216
Joined: Tue Jan 23, 2007 1:18 am

Re: Charlie Brooker's GamesWipe - UPDATE: Interview about show!

Post by dcharlie »

oh awesome - many thanks
"I've asked 2 experts on taking RGB screenshots...."
User avatar
TrevHead (TVR)
Posts: 2781
Joined: Sat Jul 11, 2009 11:36 pm
Location: UK (west yorks)

Re: Charlie Brooker's GamesWipe - UPDATE: Interview about show!

Post by TrevHead (TVR) »

i just watched it, nice to see something about gaming on TV as we very rarely do get anthing like that in the UK. I like it right at the edd of the show the 80s bof says that there are some good games aslong as you look past all those shoot em ups.

BTW how often is there TV shows about video games outside the UK? I can guess there would be a ton of shows in Japan, but what about USA and elsewhere?
User avatar
DEL
Posts: 4186
Joined: Tue Jan 25, 2005 10:23 pm
Location: Oort Cloud

Re: Charlie Brooker's GamesWipe - UPDATE: Interview about show!

Post by DEL »

TrevHead (TVR) wrote;
BTW how often is there TV shows about video games outside the UK? I can guess there would be a ton of shows in Japan, but what about USA and elsewhere?
Well there was this one multi-parter about the history of video games (I can't remember the name) that had the Sim City programmer saying; "I didn't want to make another mindless shooter".
It was something like 6 half hour shows and it completely failed to mention the Japanese arcade titles from 1984 to 1992. It passed from Donkey Kong straight to Wolfenstein. (After all, what's a decade of gaming matter?.
The final nail in the coffin was in the later episodes where some Western programmer stated gleefully: "Realism is the Holy Grail of video game development". - Yeah! Let's play a movie, YES that's what we want!

The other games show was a TV show that spadgy actually appeared in.
This one was a lot better.
-------------------------------

EDIT:- I've just finished watching the Charlie Brooker Gameswipe. He's right about a few things. He clearly hasn't stepped in an actual arcade as his reference to shoot'em ups was PC shmup based -> Perfect Cherry Blossom. Plus the 15 seconds he spent mentioning them didn't convey that the notion that he himself had any interest in them. But that doesn't matter :) .
It was very refreshing to see the bit where the guy slags off modern pseudo 3D Western programmed games with; "Why are they all in depressing Greys & Browns :evil: ?!"
One thing that becomes very clear from his documentary is just how far the Western public are removed from seeing or even knowing about Japanese 2D shooters.
Last edited by DEL on Sun Oct 18, 2009 9:27 am, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
spadgy
Posts: 6675
Joined: Tue Nov 06, 2007 5:26 pm
Location: Casino Arcade (RIP), UK.

Re: Charlie Brooker's GamesWipe - UPDATE: Interview about show!

Post by spadgy »

Here's part two of the interview my workmate Ben did with Charlie Brooker just after GamesWipe was aired, which is about the show and Brooker's thoughts on games. It was done for MCV magazine (sister-publication to the mag I work at).

For reference here's part one as posted above. I'll chuck these links in the opening post of this thread too.
User avatar
DEL
Posts: 4186
Joined: Tue Jan 25, 2005 10:23 pm
Location: Oort Cloud

Re: Charlie Brooker's GamesWipe - UPDATE: Interview about show!

Post by DEL »

Ok its sunday and I'm bored. I've read the Charlie Brooker post show interview and I'm gonna post some vaguely related modern gaming rant type stuff for the hell of it :D .


The thing that interests me the most about video gaming today, is how the market has been moulded by the industry. To all intents and purposes, if you are a westerner and want to play video games then you had better like 3D games, because that's all you're gonna get.
I've said it before, The public can only consume what is fed to it.
The dish served up to you is 100% Prime pseudo 3D in depressing shades of brown, grey and silver. You might be treated to a bit of green too, but its a bilgewater green.
In the late 1980s there was a poll asking the gaming public what was their favourite genre; rpgs, driving games, platformers, shoot'em ups etc. 2D Shoot'em ups won the poll by a large margin. Boys and young men liked them. They liked the adrenaline, the competition for high score.
Now....twenty years later, has the essence of young men changed :?:
I would say "not at all".
So why have this genre been buried? - We all know the answers to that.
*The advent of SFII and the money it took in the arcades.
*The improvements in pseudo 3D game engines during the 90s.
*The fact that western developers have virtually never programmed 2D shooters -> (So why push something that you don't make?).
So much time has passed with the 3D game output that the reasons why arcade games became popular in the first place have been lost. Skill, Competition, high score, 1CC.
Of course there should be 3D games in the mix. 3D is great for RPGs, driving games and FPS games.
But there's no mix.
Its 100% 3D all the way. With the Marketing Execs' assumption that 2D won't sell, or that its simply inferior. The problem is that the market has been moulded, the Public force fed like battery hens with 100% 3D soya.
So there's no wonder why the Execs think that 2D won't sell. It was never pushed in the first place. The industry became blinded by its own science. Oh WoW, we can do more and more realistic pseudo 3D now :D ! So let's move forward and use the same core 3D engine over and over again and pump out the profits. (Of course Cave can be accused of using the same bullet curtain patterns over and over again too :wink: ).
To conclude, 3D is fine, but not to the total exclusion of 2D genres like shoot'em ups and 2D platformers. They say that its highly important to learn from History. I contend that these western development companies have not.

Release The Pork Ever.
Post Reply