I know at least one person that defected from the 3DR team. "Aldie" who runs BoardGameGeek.com recently quit his job and, while hinting that things were less than ideal, refuses to dish any dirt on his former employer.

Of course, it is his "former" employer.

I'm running 1.5 - newer versions won't run homebrew (yet - there have been some promising experiments with 2.0, so it's only a matter of time).

There was talk from the Sony developer's conference that they are getting ready to release a homebrew SDK to allow the legit community to flourish while getting rid of the ISO loaders.

Beta 4 of the SCUMMVM engine for the PSP is already working extremely well. I've currently got 8 original LucasArts adventure games on my 1 GB memory stick and was just playing Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis on the train this morning.

More info: http://www.pspupdates.com/2005/07/scummvm-psp-beta-4-release.html

The headline of this article should be "LucasArts Loses Their Touch". Insider reports said how horrible the Full Throttle 2 game was so it's no suprize that this sucks as well. LucasArts used to put out quality products that took existing platforms to new creative heights.

Afterlife took the RTS genre and explored an incredible theme. Dark Forces wasn't the first FPS, but it produced a great story-driven game without reinventing the shooter. Even S&M and FT were your "basic" adventure games, but the story telling and creativity still make them fun to play.

Now, they just crank out Star Wars themed crap by the truckload. They've lost their touch and are more willing to just cash in on their established franchises than try to do something great.

Admit it - the only reason any development start at all on S&M 2 and FT 2 was just so they could dust off some old merchandise to wring out some more cash.

Yes, I know game companies are there to make money. That doesn't mean that they don't also have a responbility to make something fun.

Inkswitch:

First, I do agree with you on the parenting comment. Most parents would rather write letters to their Congressman to have a show removed from TV than walk over and turn off the set. The reason so many kids are running unchecked and don't respect authority is because they are raised by parents who want to be their friends instead of the authoritarian.

You lost me on the rest, however. Best economy? The unemployment rate and massive deficit just show that they are artifically boosting the economy at the expense of future generations. (The current overall unemployment rate is slightly deceptive because many people are taking crappy part-time jobs because they were laid off and can't find anything better. This means they make and spend less which lowers the ever-important consumer confidence).

Don't forget that Saddam killed many of those 400,000 with weapons provided by the U.S. which were originally intended for Iran (see http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/special/iraq/index.htm). Also - if we're so hot for WMDs, why are we letting China and North Korea (countries that have an actual beef with us) off the hook entirely?

I'm an Independent, but can't stand anyone who deliberately bends and/or breaks the truth in such a severe way and also seeks to destroy our civil liberties every chance they get.

(BTW - Cheney is probably going to be indited for bribery by a French court: http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20040112&s=ireland. That really puts lying about getting a blowjob into perspective, doesn't it?)

I originally saw this on Slashdot and immediately wrote a letter. Here's what I sent to this jerk as well as letters@nypost.com:

Mr. Byron,

I just read your article on Take Two and want to point out a few things:

- Your comments that video games are linked to real-world violence aren't any more true than similar links to "Helter Skelter" or "Catcher in the Rye". Just the fact that video game sales are at their highest point ever and juvenile crime is at a 10-year low and violent crime in general is decreasing completely deflates your argument. Many people do insane things for insane reasons and then blame everything and everyone but themselves. Despite that fact, you'll be pleased to know that more people have been killed in the name of the Bible and Koran than over any video game.

- The current median age of video gamers is 32. Assuming that all video games are made for children is just ignorant. Every game manufacturer voluntarily submits their games for rating which is then plainly marked on the package. Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City are both rated "M" for Mature meaning they are not intended for those under 18. Are parents who choose to buy "M" rated games for their kids any less liable than those that give their kids a bottle Jack Daniels and a pack of smokes? I think not. Some things are not meant for kids - these are two of those things. (Many large store chains to not carry M-rated games and many others require ID to purchase them just for this reason.)

- You also questioned the content itself, but the New York Post is not beyond pushing sex and violence to make money. Ironically, when I visited your article there were two Victoria's Secret banner ads running on the page featuring an extremely scantily clad woman. Your site is also hosting a "Year End Survey" that includes graphic pictures of bloody victims from a bombing in Turkey and the "Portrait of War" which shows violent street battles, bloody soldiers being carried off on stretchers, and a series of pictures showing the war wounds of children. Unlike the video games in question, your web site has *no* rating whatsoever and kids could have easily stumbled across any of this publicly-available content.

- Finally, you make a point that these games let you do "whatever you want". The fact that you chose to kill police and murder prostitutes was totally a choice of your making. Which is worse - for the game to offer the choice or for you to take it? In case you didn't know, the game also lets you spend time working as a cab driver, rescuing people in an ambulance and fire truck, and delivering pizzas. Of course, I know that kind of subject matter just isn't going to sell papers.

Sincerely,
{me}