The PSN debacle continues...

Mark next Tuesday down in your diaries people, it's the day Sony hopes to restore some of the PSN's functionality according to a new statement from the Playstation Blog. As a registered PSN user myself, I'm anxious to find out what details have been stolen by the hackers. Thankfully, due to my general mistrust of games console software security i never registered a credit card with the service.

On the subject of the PSN debacle, the thought occurred to me today that when you can buy pre paid cards in any store that sells consoles why would you want to register a credit card to your account instead? Is it Convenience? Laziness perhaps? I understand if you live miles from the nearest games outlet, or if you find out about a new downloadable title that you can't wait until Monday to download, but at the same time is it really that big a deal if you can't play a new game immediately?

When i decided to download a title from the PSN recently i was faced with a question. Should I register my card and get it now, or wait until the following evening so that I could buy a £20 PSN card with all the extra security that it brings. Today I'm thankful that I was patient enough to wait, and very sympathetic to those who weren't.

Of course, it's Sony who are ultimately culpable for the data thefts here, and it will be Sony who will foot the bill for any losses incurred by members of the PSN. But it's sensible for all of us to remember that when any of us register a card for a service it's us that take the risk, at least in the short term. I think Game will be shifting a lot more of those pre paid cards from now on...

Can the last waggler please turn off the console on their way out...

When the rumours of Nintendo's new console began to circulate, it was interesting to note that the one thing missing from the list of design concepts and technical details was the mention of any form of movement control. In fact the only details released about the next gen Nintendo's controller was that it would include a touch screen that could stream game content in real time.

Bearing in mind that the actual technical details of Project Cafe are all rumours at this point, and that the company have only gone so far as to confirm the existence of a new machine, it has to be made clear that this is mostly guess work on my part, but that notwithstanding here's my take on what this all means.

Movement based control is dead in the water.

Bye bye waggle, Don't let the door hit you on the arse on the way out...

Okay, it's true that Xbox and Playstation are still supporting the concept, but look at how many games out there for the Sony and Microsoft machines actually need either Kinect or PS Move in order to be played. Now compare that to the number or titles where move control is just a fancy extra thrown in because the developer could.

The move away from move based game control isn't really surprising when you think about it either. Nintendo stopped making a big thing out of the Wii Motion controller a long time ago, most of their major releases use very little of the Wii Motion controller's potential in their game play, instead relying on the old button and d-pad combo. Eurocom's version of Goldeneye, released last year, eschewed motion control altogether and actually came packaged with a Gamecube controller for better all round game play.

It's clear that Xbox and Playstation developed their take on move control as a direct response to Wii's domination of the family console market. That domination was originally because of the innovative controller that came with Nintendo's souped up Gamecube 2.0 along with some clever marketing towards families on the Japanese company's part. Now that Nintendo seem to be abandoning the move market in favour of something a little more current generation the big question must be asked - Why should Sony or Microsoft try to compete in the move market any more?

I'll be honest, i can't think of a decent reason.

Nintendo confirm new console in the works

Nintendo confirmed rumours of a new console under development today with a short statement which read as follows.

"We will show a playable model of the new system and announce more specifications at the E3 Expo, which will be held June 7-9, 2011, in Los Angeles,"

No further details were confirmed other than the existence of the new console. I guess we'll all have to wait until June.

PSN Outages continue

Sony have reportedly suspended the PSN due to a security issue concerning a hacker group known only as Anonymous.

Senior Director of Corporate Communications Patrick Seybold released the following statement regarding the outages:

"An external intrusion on our system has affected our PlayStation Network and Qriocity services. In order to conduct a thorough investigation and to verify the smooth and secure operation of our network services going forward, we turned off PlayStation Network & Qriocity services on the evening of Wednesday, April 20th.

Providing quality entertainment services to our customers and partners is our utmost priority. We are doing all we can to resolve this situation quickly, and we once again thank you for your patience. We will continue to update you promptly as we have additional information to share."

In a second statement Mr Seybold apologised for the continued outages and explained that network rebuilds are being undertaken:

"We sincerely regret that PlayStation Network and Qriocity services have been suspended, and we are working around the clock to bring them both back online. Our efforts to resolve this matter involve re-building our system to further strengthen our network infrastructure. Though this task is time-consuming, we decided it was worth the time necessary to provide the system with additional security. We thank you for your patience to date and ask for a little more while we move towards completion of this project. We will continue to give you updates as they become available."

Bloody Hackers...

Project Cafe - Nintendo's new console?

On Friday 15th April, French site 01.net claimed to have unconfirmed details on Nintendo's next console, codenamed Project Cafe. The rumours were then published by Develop and later by IGN. Now, a week later, IGN.com claim to have further information regarding the new console. Let's take a look.

First of all we should tackle the most important thing to get right on any console, the controller.

Image courtesy of IGN entertainment

As many of you will see from this image, the new controller is expected to be very similar in form to the Gamecube handset with the addition of extra shoulder buttons and a 6" screen. In regards to the screen, it'll be a touch-screen and will be able to stream entire games directly from the console. One question that this touch-screen led me to asking - will you be able to play DS or even 3DS games on the system?

IGN sources with knowledge of the project claimed that depending on production costs the new console would retail anywhere between $350 and $400 and will be manufactured by Taiwanese company Foxconn starting in October. If Nintendo were willing to take a hit on their profit margins however the price could be further reduced. Release of the new hardware could be any time from late October onwards depending on Nintendo's desire to build a stockpile or not.

More likely is that Nintendo choose to wait until 2012, building up stock while also giving developers more time to deliver a range of titles for the new console.

At last it looks like Nintendo are joining the next generation. The internals of the new machine will be based on a new version of AMD's R700 GPU which should be able to outdo the PS3's NVIDIA 7800GTX-based processor. Project Cafe will, like the Xbox 360, have a custom triple-core IBM Power PC chip set, the difference being that it will have faster clocking speeds. Given the potential power of the system and the fact that each controller has an in built screen it's been suggested that you could actually have multiple players on the same console, each playing their own "virtualized" console.

Lovers of HD will be pleased to hear that the new platform will support 1080p output and should be more than capable of stereoscopic 3D as well, unlike the 3DS it's not been decided if this will be a set feature of Project Cafe games though.

One of the rumours that IGN reported on that really interested me was that the new machine could possibly resemble a modern version of the SNES, but will that be the US version or the European design? the EU version was a console that i always loved the look of. In terms of size the new console will be of similar proportions to the original Xbox 360.

The last piece of information reported by IGN is that a potential name for the console could be "Stream". Personally i'm not struck on the name but then i wasn't the biggest fan of "Wii" when that was announced. To be honest i'm still not.

There are a few gaps in this information that need to be cleared up of course, how much storage capacity will the hard drive have? Will there be a hard drive at all? Will the new system use DVD, Blu Ray or a proprietary storage format? It's still early days for Project Cafe/Stream/Wii 2, but it'll be interesting to see how this develops.

Cover me...

Video games provide some of the most recognisable and catchy tunes that you will ever hear. whether it's the seemingly simple theme song of Tetris or the sweeping orchestral score of the Metal Gear series, these game soundtracks have inspired countless musicians to sample, recreate,or remix the songs they hear in the games they play.

Below are a few of the best (and worst) examples of those covers.

Doctor Spin - Tetris



This is what happens when you ask Andrew Lloyd-Webber to produce a dance mix based on the soundtrack of a Gameboy game. Released in 1992 under the pseudonym of "Doctor Spin" this was the official Nintendo endorsed single for the game that conquered the world. It's worth remembering that in 1992 the UK chart was snowed under with dance tracks just like this, and this might well have been one of the better ones.


Ambassadors of Funk - Super Mario Land



Released in 1993, Super Mario Land is another song that samples audio from the Gameboy. This track benefits from the fact that the Super Mario Land theme, while surrounded my rapping and a dance beat, is left relatively unmolested so it can do it's thing and show everyone just how good Gameboy music can really be


The Infamous Japanese Super Mario Guitar Dude



This video has been doing the rounds for a while now, but it doesn't make it any less astonishing to watch and listen to. Marvel as this talented axe man recreates not just the Mario theme but also the coin, mushroom and pipe sound effects all on his guitar. Whoever you are sir, i salute you.


Hikaru Kaihatsu - Mario Beatbox



The last Mario cover for the moment, but well worth a watch. Kaihatsu san is an amazing beat boxer who completely owns this performance. He even manages to fit in the "OMG 99 seconds left" audio cue into the routine.


GameOne - Legend of Zelda



Apparently French TV channel GameOne commissioned this song so they could run a bunch of Zelda clips over the top of it. Whatever their reason for doing it i'm happy they did because just listen to the end result.


Joe Pleiman - Legend of Zelda



While we're on the Zelda tangent it would be a scandal not to include the most famous cover of the theme. Unfortunately for Joe Pleiman this song is usually attributed to the band System of a Down due to the similarity of the vocal style to Serj Tankian. This is why the song has become so well known.


The Video Game Cover Band - Street Fighter II Medly



Very little to be said about this one except that if you close your eyes it IS the music of SFII.


Bloodhound Gang - Mope



Blink and you'll miss it cameo from Pac Man in this song from the year 2000, but it's an excuse to show a Bloodhound Gang song and PacMan freebasing so i'll take it. This is an example of how even a 10 second sample can give a song that extra bit of fun.


The Black Mages - Advent: One Winged Angel



The crowning jewel in this collection of songs, and possibly the most ambitious cover on the list is a song that was covered by the man who originally wrote it.

In 2005 Nobuo Uematsu re-recorded one of his most famous compositions, One Winged Angel, for use in the climactic battle scene in the animated movie Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. The lyrics to the song were re-written while Uematsu san also decided to incorporate heavy rock elements into the piece. For that very reason he brought in his own band "The Black Mages" to record the guitar sections. The resulting Rock version of the song was re-christened "Advent: One Winged Angel".

In the commentary for the movie Uematsu stated that the original Orchestra version of One winged Angel never felt quite right, while adding Rock to the mix seemed to work as the two styles meshed nicely.

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So there you have it, some talented amateurs and a few professionals who might perhaps have known better. What you've seen and heard here is a brief cross section of the Video game covers out there, and while they are not perhaps all destined to top the charts they all show how much gaming has influenced the music scene.

If you like what you heard there's plenty more out there, you just need to look for it.

Video game soundtracks at the Grammys

It was revealed today that Video game soundtracks will be considered alongside TV and Movie music for the "Music for Visual Media" section of the Grammy Awards. This section, formally known as "Film, Television and Other Visual Media" represents three separate awards, Best Compilation Soundtrack, Best Score Soundtrack and Best Song.

With this in mind lets have a look back at some of the iconic video game songs that might have competed for these awards in years past.

Koji Kondo - Level 1-1 (Super Mario Bros.)



The opening level of Shigeru Miyamoto's 1985 Super Mario Bros. sported one of, if not THE most recognisable theme tunes in video gaming history. Koji Kondo was responsible for all six themes used in the game, but it was the the theme tune for world 1-1 that would become the games calling card. Using the Nintendo Entertainment Systems 8 bit processor (the NES didn't have a dedicated sound chip) Kondo created fun, light hearted and original tunes that were instantly recognisable as being from the Nintendo mascots first Platform adventure. Kondo was given complete freedom to compose the music for Super Mario Bros. as he saw fit, but was keen to collaborate with Miyamoto, familiarising himself with the Game directors musical tastes.

A unique aspect of Super Mario Bros soundtrack is the way that it speeds up when the countdown timer reaches the 100 second mark to audibly hurry the player along, something that platform games after it's release would copy to varying degrees of success. At GDC 2007 Kondo stated that the theme "reflects the action-oriented game play of the series, and that he didn't know if he could make a song that was catchier than the world 1-1 theme but he would "Like to try"

This song is so iconic that it featured in many other Mario Games such as Super Mario Bros 2 and the Super Smash Bros. franchise. It also appeared on the Super Mario Bros. Super Show where WWF wrestler/manager Captain Lou Albano sang along to the tune that had been dubbed "Do the Mario"

It's as inseparable from Mario as those spiffing red overalls he's been sporting for the last 25 years, they could probably use a wash by now couldn't they?


Masato Nakamura - Green Hill Zone (Sonic the Hedgehog)



In 1991 SEGA welcomed the new poster child for their company into the fold, Sonic would replace Alex Kidd as the face of the company and was exactly the opposite of Nintendo's Mario in almost every way.

Mario was Red, Sonic was Blue.

Mario was Slow, Sonic was Fast.

Mario was Human, Sonic was a Hedgehog.

Sonics last name was different from his first.

They both had one thing in common with each other though, they both had iconic music to jump around to (well okay, they were a little podgy around the belly too).

Penned by Masato Nakamura from J-Pop group "Dreams Come True", the Sonic soundtrack made the most of the SEGA Genesis' Yamaha YM2612 sound chip delivering music and sound effects in stereo. Nakamura wrote several tracks for the game, but just like Mario's début six years previously it would be the first track that everyone would associate with the spiky blue mammal. The song would appear in numerous other Sonic games through the years, it was touched up slightly in Sonic Adventure 2 and remixed in the Sunset Hill zone in Sonic Advance 3.


Koji Kondo - Opening Theme (The Legend of Zelda)



Sometimes a theme, or more accurately a motif, is so iconic that you can't imagine a character without it, While Mario and Sonic might well fit that description there is a young man in a far off land that could well lay better claim to that position.

In 1986, just a year after he capture lightning in a bottle, Koji Kondo did it again by creating the theme song for what would be one of the most beloved Nintendo games franchises of the next 25 years. Legend of Zelda felt like a time of swords and sorcery in no small part because of the music that accompanied you as you explored hyrule. It feels optimistic, heroic and energetic, in a sense it makes you understand what Link is all about and highlights the emotional state that he's in as he sets off, eyes sparkling with wonder, on his quest to save fair maiden from danger. It's good to know that even though he would lose all his equipment and forget everything he had learned time and time again over the years he would always have the song to cheer him up, the daft git.

It's little surprise that the basic outline of the main theme has survived 25 years to this day ("Links Theme" in Wind Waker and "Final Preparation" theme in Spirit Tracks)

For my money though, the "Link to the Past" Overworld theme is the best version going...




Nobuo Uematsu - Final Fantasy VII Soundtrack



If Nobuo Uematsu wasn't on this list i would rightly have to take a very long walk off of an exceedingly short piece of timber. Of all the artists on this list, he is the most likely to be awarded the Grammy for Best Score Soundtrack simply because the quality of his work throughout games such as Final Fantasy VII is so impeccable. I may have chosen to embed a link to "One Winged Angel" to demonstrate his ability as a composer but someone else might have chosen "Aeriths theme", another would have thought the "Final Fantasy Overture" more deserving. That's why he is so great at what he does, Uematsu writes scores that speak to gamers on a personal level.

Considering the technology he was using to create these pieces of music, that really is something.

To hell with it, here's another of his remarkable songs.




Harry Gregson-Williams & Tappi Iwase - Metal Gear Solid Main Theme (MGS2)



Not far behind Nobuo Uematsu is British Composer Harry Gregson-Williams. A Grammy award Nominee and protege of Hans Zimmer, Gregson-Williams has had a long career composing songs for Hollywood blockbusters. The Rock, Armageddon, Shrek, Phonebooth and The Taking of Pelham 123 are all on his CV and demonstrate his ability to write stirring, breathless orchestral pieces that instantly draw the viewer into the action. He was drafted in by Game director Hideo Kojima to remix the Metal Gear Solid theme which was originally composed by Tappi Iwase for the original game released in 1998.

The result is astounding.

Often times a good piece of music will inform you of certain things, whether that be the type of person that a certain character is, their motivation, mood, even what they're thinking. The opening theme of Metal Gear Solid 2 encapsulates all that Solid Snake is, it tells you that he's the hero, that he will sacrifice everything to complete his mission, and more importantly that the game itself is EPIC. In a time when gaming became more a cinematic experience, especially true of Kojima games, this score suited the game perfectly. It gave MGS2 the feel of a big motion picture, and alluded to the scale of the story that lay ahead.

And for anyone that remembers Metal Gear Arsenal, you know the scale we're talking about here.


Martin O'Donnell - Halo Theme (Halo: Combat Evolved)



There's something quite charming about the Halo theme song. It's got undertones of Irish folk music and monastic chanting throughout and all the while it's building and building to a grand crescendo. The song makes everything seem ancient and yet current/futuristic at the same time, an idea that many sci-fi games have shared throughout the years and which Halo succeeds at.

Martin O'Donnell, the games audio director has gone on record as saying that "Music is best used in a game to quicken the emotional state of the player, and it works best when used least" This is why the Main theme works so well, it sets you up for the game ahead of you, impressing on you the weight of the story and then it leaves you alone with the game, only ever giving you the odd flicker of music here and there. It's a theme song in the grand tradition of action movies through the ages, it get's you pumpedup for what's to come.

The Halo theme is iconic enough that it featured as a downloadable bonus for Owners of the 360 version of Guitar Hero 3

I should also point out that the Rock version of the song is awesome.





So there we have it, Games are that much closer to getting mainstream recognition and credibility on a par with TV and Movies. Maybe if the Acadamy wants to capture the young viewers they tried so hard to pander to with Hathaway and Franco they should consider following the Grammys lead. Just a thought...