Dear Gamespot,
It's come to my attention that your credibility as journalists is waning. As a general gaming site you should remain unbiased as much as possible and review games for what they are. As a lover of RPG's it's killed me how much you underrate RPG's particularily those from Japan. Games I loved you've given 6's and 7's. I thought it was merely just that you were a general site and that no one who reviewed the games actually played RPG's. Now that I've seen some of your Western RPG reviews, it made it clear to me that this is what you prefer. That's fine, but if you're going to have such a bias, you should hire a person or two that doesn't mind them, so they may get a more fair review.

Not only are your biases against Japanse RPG's obvious, but your bias towards Microsoft and the XBox even more obvious. Xbox versions of ports tend to get higher reviews; while you generally don't overrate games you consistently overrate XBox games. Many called foul on your review of Perfect Dark, which was a 9.0 while the GameRankings average was an 81%. Your podcasts tend to spend a lot more time talking about XBox games and Jeff Gertsman's obsession with points than anything else.

Your journalists are entitled to have biases on their own time, we are after all human. But when delivering objective views on games you review, keep your agenda to yourself. Part of the problem is that you have your journalists spread out to review games from various platforms and there is no way there can't be some sort of bias, despite your claims that you judge games for the system they're on. If one reviewer is review PS3 games and GBA games how can they be truly objective? The answer is they can't.

My annoyances with your obvious fanboyism have been building for months, but the icing on the cake that has prompted this is your ridiculous review of Twilight Princess. You can have your reservations on the Wii controller. But don't criticize the game for looking outdated graphically when you've known FROM DAY ONE that it was a port from the Gamecube. Other reviewers have made the same gripes but you Gamespot knocked TP more than any other site that has reviewed the game to the time of this writing. Did you not read the Penny Arcade about journalists knocking on Enchanted Arms for being "an old school Japanese RPG." Knocking a game for being what it is on a superficial not only disservices the readers but the developers who worked so hard on the game as well. Stop comparing this game with Gears of War. You will be sorely dissappointed.

With that, I'm done here. You're up there in my book with 1Up on the credibility meter (well not as bad as 1Up. You didn't give Bully a perfect score). I'll continue to look towards GameRankings to give me a more general view on what people think of games, and my precioius RPG's won't be as attacked as badly.

Now if you will excuse me, I'm parking myself at IGN, because while they're not completely credible, they're less crooked than you.

Hugs and kisses

Polyhymnia/Naia

I can't find the link and I'm too lazy to look for it.  I think it was on joystiq that Sony will be selling PS1 games for $5!  That's awesome if this is true!  I'm not sure how many games I would download on this service, as I still own many PS1 games.   There are a few RPG's that I wouldn't mind trying that I couldnt' snag when they came out.  But who knows if those will actually be available.  This has loads of promise though.

This makes Nintendo's VC service seem like a total ripoff.  You all know how much I love Nintendo, but come on, $5 for an NES game?  Compared to PS1 games very few games on the NES worth that much.  Not to mention that the Japanese are getting Sega games for cheaper than us (600 vs 800 points).  Total crap.  Nintendo, you had me in your corner and you messed it up.  And WHY THE HELL are the VC games region coded?  No excuses. 

This doesn't make me want to run out and spend $600 on a PS3, but it's nice to hear GOOD things about the system.  This also doesn't hurt my feelings towards the Wii.  I was able to preorder one for launch.  I totally lucked out in that my EB secretly took 10 preorders before they were "officially" announced.  I overheard them talking to another guy and I got myself on the list (still I was only #5 out of 10).  They put my deposit down as a Wii game SKU and the deal was that I had to show up the day of the preorders and come in to change my order.  Otherwise after a day my spot would be taken.  It was great to get there opening morning and have loads of fanboys tell me it was sold out and to go home.  Little did they know... I'm very excited for the Wii and I'm going to the launch party in LA next week.  That will be total fun.

I'm finishing up my Dragon Quest Marathon.  I beat Rocket Slime and I'm at the end of DQ8.  RS was a charming little DS game that I really enjoyed.  I just wish it was longer.  DQ8 is living up to its hype despite some little gripes I have over the gameplay mechanics.  Overall I'm loving it like McDonalds; its definitely one of the better Dragon Quest games.

I have no idea what to play next.  Zelda is coming out and I could wait and play that, but I'm letting my fiancee play that first, so I'll probably need something else to entertain me with.  I'm thinking either Metroid Prime 2 or Fire Emblem, something Nintendo-ish to celebrate the Wii release.  Decisions decisions...

This is a mini rant/editorial.  I've been noticing a trend recently that is getting to the point of being disturbing.  Are fanboys going too far to show their affections towards a video game company?  I think it's great to get excited for products and show support for the companies they like, but I'm thinking people are taking it a bit to the extreme.

Nintendo's been quietly doing this practice for years.  I love Nintendo as you may know, but they're the only company I know that can take a 20 year old game, repackage it for a portable system and sell it for WAY more than its worth, and people blindly buy the games.  It would have been nice to play Legend of Zelda or Super Mario Bros. on my GBA, but each game is not worth $20.00.  I wished they had released a compilation cart. 

Fast forward to 2005: Microsoft releases the XBox 360 and people go crazy due to the shortages.  People realize the amount of profit that could be earned on eBay and people sell their 360's for exorbarant prices. 

Another year later the Sony fan boys go even crazier:  people camping over night for preorders, selling them for even more outrageous prices and people camping outside Best Buy just to play demos at a kiosk.  I know that Sony and Microsoft aren't to blame for the outrageous ebay prices, but I can't help to feel disturbed by the trend.

It makes me feel like the "big three" are taking advantage of the consumers' devotion.  Consumers are willing to spend more on their consoles, their games and their accessories.  What will things be like 20 years from now, will we be willing to spend as much as $100 a game?  $80 for a controller add-on?  $800 for a system just because it has loads of bells and whistles?

I understand that productions costs of games are increasing, but I urge consumers not to be completely blinded by them and to remember this is just entertainment, lets not have them milk us too much.

And don't even get me started on microtransactions....

I can't wait until I'm done with school and I have enough income to buy games when they come out, or at least within a decent amount of time. There are so many good games coming out in the last few months. This doesn't include my unsightly backlog. It makes me wonder at what point do I just give up on trying to catch up and say the hell with it. Some games I've bought with interest in playing and by the time I get to them I'm a lot less interested in playing them. I've been thinking of picking up an online rental service for games, but they're more expensive than the DVD rentals! Anyone know of a good service that provides both?

I make no secret that I am trying to get into writing music for the video game industry and develop awareness to the general public etc. I'm taking a class in composing music for video games where I live and we were discussing good music and bad music in games. Among the examples shown were Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and Sly Cooper. My instructor who shall remain nameless (he's a video game composer and people here may know who he is) commented on how effective the music is for a children's game. Excuse me? I took the Zelda comment as him being an ignoramous as most video game composers I've met (not taking Nintendo seriously at all). Then he commented on how Sly Cooper was a kids game and then I couldn't help but notice something odd: I don't consider 'Wind Waker or Sly Cooper as children's games, so one must consider, what's a children's game or "kiddy" game?

I've read countless threads on system wars with people arguing their own definition of "teh kiddy." The bias here is that anything cartoony on a M$ system or Sony system is innovative and okay, but can't happen on a Nintendo system. I think that originates from Nintendo of America's poor choices, but that's a rant for another day. Others say anything rated E is kiddy. Madden is rated E, so does that mean Madden is kiddy? I'm sure that same person would say no. People in America for a long time thought cartoons were only for kids, so does that mean all video games with cartoons are for kids? Funny, I think the Family Guy game coming out is going to be rated M, so no... that can't be it. Thanks to programs like Family Guy and The Simpsons we can accept cartoons as being for adults as well as kids. The Japanese seem to be less bothered by this due to the popularity of anime. So given these factors, why haven't we as a society come to accept animation as being more than just for children?

We have come to accept such discrepencies in film, and when we finally treat video games as the same kind of mass media, we can achieve an acceptance. Our society has done a good job establishing movies that are "for children" and movies that are "for everyone." Perhaps the best example of a company that has been relatively successful making the "for everyone" movies is Disney. Despite the sharp decline in quality of their later films (again another rant another day), they still gross millions of dollars on their films. Both children and adults look forward for the next installment of a Disney film. I recall during the 1990's when we had somewhat of a renaissance in animation, Disney was release one new animated film a summer. I recall as a teenager, that my friends and I, both male and female would look forward to getting a group together to see the next Disney movie. Sure some lines were corny, but there was a timelessness to them, they had charm that kids could enjoy and be appreciated on a whole new level when that same child becomes an adult. How many movies out there have that kind of demension?

I've come to the same conclusion regarding video games. Games like Mario, Zelda, Katamari, and Kingdom Hearts have a degree of whimsy to them that makes it easy for the younger audienences to enjoy them, but for older gamers like myself to still find their content appealing. It's not about nostalgia, but about timelessness. The Super Mario franchise (the TRUE franchise, not the Mario Parties or the stupid sports knockoffs) is like a comfy pair of blue jeans; they never go out of style, regardless of the latest fad. There are many other gems out there that have that degree of whimsy, but are hardly "just for kids" games.

So what makes a "kids game?" Wouldn't the most obvious answer be "just for kids?" We have those franchises out there: in the NES days my parents bought my sister a Sesame Street learning game which she loved (and I sometimes secretly played too). The child education games have their own system now out on the V-Tech machine. The graphics are simplistic, the controller makes the Wii-mote look complicated and yet young children love it. Most childrens games tend to be mult-plats. I see Dora the Explorer collecting dust in the XBox section of my local EB games, but the fact of the matter is that it's there.

The final piece to this puzzle is the gender factor. As much as I despise it, video gaming is still mostly men. Men seem to be a little less secure when it comes to these issues at hand. Would their masculinity be at stake if they are caught playing a game for younger audiences? Is there something wrong with them? How would their peers react? I'm not trying to belittle the concerns, nor would I want the Paris Hiltons of the world raiding my gaming sessions. However I can't help but to be concerned, especially when I hear stories of teenagers being harassed in school for playing "younger games." It makes me glad that I am not in high school anymore (and haven't been for a long time).

We need a new perspective; once video games becomes an accepted mass media, some of this will take care of itself. It works in film and television, so how aren't video games any different? We can differentiate that the Rugrats movie is most likely for kids, yet Finding Nemo is something everyone can enjoy (I saw it with my fiancee and a girlfriend). And finally guys need to chill, it doesn't really matter. And maybe they can admit to being engrossed with Sora's story in Kingdom Hearts without feeling less of a guy.

The last two weeks have been massive in terms of video game announcements, between Nintendo's little party and the TGS.  Of course I would have something to say about all of it.

Of course we all know I'm getting a Wii at launch.  While I'm not thrilled with the $250 price tag at least it comes with Wii Sports.  That was probably the only way I was going to take the price tag being that high.  There is a part of me that still wishes that they would sell it for $200 like all their other systems, but I'll let this slide for now.  I blame Sony and Microsoft selling their consoles for so much more, that $250 still looks like a steal.  I think the price of the Wii mote is WAY too high.  I'm asking for extra for christmas.  I'm only buying one extra on launch so my fiancee and I can play Wii Sports together.  Despite those shortcomings at least Zelda will be out (I have it preordered) and Metroid, Mario Galaxy, SSBB, DQ Swords, Fire Emblem, and even Red Steel all justify the price and pass my "5 game rule."  I'd complain about the delay of Metroid, but I'm still way to behind on my backlog, so I think Zelda should suffice with fans for a while.

What I find so funny with all the fanboy jerks on this site that all of a sudden now that the Wii is only $50 less than the core 360, suddcnly the core has become a good investment.   I remember everyone complaining about the core when it first  came out.  Sorry guys, but without some sort of extra memory, the Wii is still a better deal.  I would only want the premium 360 which is $150 more.  Oops.

Now onto TGS:  M$ has completely wowed me.  I can't believe it.  I never thought they would.  The original XBox had mostly sports games and shooters, which  to me didn't warrent  purchasing the system.  Now they've worked so hard to get other kinds of genres onto their system that I'm amazed by the lineup of JRPG's coming for it.  Blue Dragon looks AMAZING.  I think Mistwalker has become my new favorite company.  I'm looking forward to Lost Odessy, Cry On and ASH for the DS.  A team of devs who made all the early (and GOOD) Square games in one room.... wow.  Now if they can convince Squenix to sell the rights to the Chrono Series, we'd be in business!  Not to mention with all of this, I'm interested in Ninja Gaiden Black (because why would I spend the extra money on the PS3 version when it's just a touch up job and NG is $20 or less on the XBox) and maybe even pick up Halo just to find out what the big fuss is.

And now my message to Sony:  WHAT THE F$*(%)# ARE YOU DOING?!  Seriously, what is going on at Sony?  Every time they open their mouths I want a PS3 less and less.  They're spending so much time talking about the PS3 being an entertainment hub and being in the center of the living room that they seemed to have fogotten that we as gamers want to hear about THE GAMES.  Yes I know there are some games being released for the PS3 that people are going crazy about like Metal Gear Solid 4, Devil May Cry 4,  the Square Enix Cashcow Final Fantasy XIII series, but without more information, none of these make me feel like this is a must-have system. 

I've never been into Metal Gear, so thats out (as nice as it looks).  I've been gradually getting more and more fed up with the Final Fantasy series for selling out and making games that no longer appeal to me, so bam, out.  What am I waiting for?  New Nippon Ichi games, new Suikoden, new Kingdom Hearts, new Dragon Quest, will a new Katamari game be made?  Sure some of those games may come out for the PS3 later on, but until those are announced, what reason do I have to try and scramble for a PS3 this November?  I have a PS2, which has lots of great games for it, and I'm fine with that.  Maybe by the time any good games that I'm interested in come out for the PS3, there will be a price drop, or maybe those franchises may move over to the 360 or Wii.  Either way I can wait.

Has anyone also noticed more games are being multiplat this generation?  Maybe it's me but I've seen so many games being made for the 360 and PS3 together that it even more reaffirms that not only do I need games on the system to justify its purchase but EXCLUSIVE games to the PS3 to justify its purchase.  Man have the times changed.

I like to consider myself pretty open minded as far as what consoles I prefer to own and my "brand loyalty."   I favor the software over the hardware and any extra features I consider frosting on the cake, versus a selling point.  Maybe I've been paying more attention this time around, but I feel like every company involved this generation has done something stupid that really makes me wonder.  Here is what I would like to see:

I'd like to have Microsoft continue expanding their audience, making games that appeal to all kinds of gamers and not just shooters.  Peter Moore, your ideal consumer should not be a twnety year old male like you say, but should be anyone.

Sony needs to get their sh*t together and stop focusing on how powerful their system is.  We get it, but you need to back it up now.  I still know nothing about their online stragety and very little about a lot of their games.  They haven't even announced US launch titles yet!  Come on!

Finally Nintendo, your idea is so nice on paper and you are proving it fruitful with your first party titles, but you need to actively educate the third parties.  Half of your launch line up are mulit plats with Wii controls added onto them.  They won't work, didn't anyone learn with the DS?  You need to educate them!  If you want the Wii to follow the success of the DS, you need to mirror your strageties with the DS.  This may take time for developers to get it, but you can't slack off.  Second, stop delaying your games!  Half the reason why the Game Cube is considered a failure by some is because of sales.  Sales sagged because you abandoned the system!  Mario Sports games aren't enough Reggie.  We want to see Kirby and Super Paper Mario.  I'll forgive you for Zelda, but seriously remember the days when there were three actual Mario games on one system?  Lets go back to those, or and market the Wii like mad between now and November; a lot of the general public has no idea what the Wii is.

There, my impartial rantings to each company.  There are still lots of good things to say about each.  And like my title as Mantisheep, I'm excited for all the systems, but I especially want Nintendo to succeed.  They're the weird kid that gets bullied on the playground, and you want them to stand up and clean house.  That's what I want for them.

    RPG Fan just announced that a Wild Arms game is in development for the PSP.  No surprise that its for the PSP as it is a first party series for Sony (the only one I've played so far that I like).  Since Sony has been jerks when it comes to this series and forcing people like Squenix, Agetec and XSeed localize their last three games, I'm now on the bandwagon to find a company that will be nice enough to localize this PSP title.  Come on, my PSP needs some legal loving.  I'm sure it'll get a 7 something from Gamespot for being a "typical turn-based Japanese RPG" but who cares?!  It's Wild Arms!  Bring it over!

This brings me to my newest rant: JRPG's.  Lots of sites like IGN and Gamespot rag on this genre it seems.  Unless it's a stellar AAA franchise like Final Fantasy, JRPG's don't seem to get great reviews.  If a game is bad, that's one thing and it should be noted when the story, gameplay and mechanic don't add up.  However when the game in question is being criticized for being what it is, a turn based JRPG I feel like the reviewer is wrongly criticizing a game. 

Luckilly I'm glad to see high profile people in the video game industry agreeing with me:  The nice people at Penny Arcade commented on such recent odacities.   I was glad to read that they share the sentiment.  Why criticize something for being what it is?  That would be like me criticizing Madden 07 for being a sports game, or Saints Row for being a GTA clone.  Maybe for a GTA clone it's not that bad of a game.  I wouldn't know because I haven't played it and I'm not really into the "Urban-themed Gansta' Games."

I have been trying to expand my horizons as a gamer, the result being that my fiancee and I actually want to get an XBox 360 and eventually a gaming centric PC (which shocked the hell out of my parents).  So I've been trying to keep an open mind for genres that aren't my thing.  Why can't these reviewers have the same courtesy?

This whole thing also makes me worried for the genre of "old school turn-based JRPG's"  I hear crap from people like Yoichi Wada and the recent moves the FF series has made and I wonder if the turn based genre will be around in 15 years.  This isn't to say that I'm not willing to try new things, but developers, please don't stop making these old school games, if only to satisfy the niche market that loves them.  People like me.  Then again as long as Squenix doesn't screw too much with Dragon Quest, we should be fine.

I'm such a Dragon Quest Fan Girl...

Since the Square Enix merger, I've been hesitant whether or not support for DQ in North America would be apparant.  I'm still not completely convinced, but I'm still happy to hear that they have been bringing some titles.  I've been looking forward to Rocket Slime coming out for the DS, but I'm now even more excited since playing the game at Comic-con.  Come on cute slimes with TANKS!  

I have mentioned my opinions before on blogs, message boards, me blabbing to my fiancee, anyone who is willing to listen.  Since my birthday is coming in three weeks, I have to wait.  Rocket Slime is my first choice birthday present and the most likely thing I will get for my birthday.  So now I just have to be patient until then.  No super happy launch party for me :(

I'm also glad to see decent publicity for the game on sites like IGN and Gamespot, but I kind of wish stores would hype it more.  EB Games has a cute little sign for its upcoming games but otherwise not much.  I think a lot of people may overlook the game.  Then again, so many great DS games are coming out.  I'm giving my sister my phat DS, maybe she'd like the game...

I guess the biggest message is that I'm eagerly awaiting this game for the cute yet demonic character of the game.  Maybe they'll bring Monster over for the DS in the US too if this sells well.

By the way, I gave it a day of rest and now I'm back on the DQ Marathon.  I'm now at the end of DQ 5 which I used Pro Action Replay Codes for, since I have beaten the game before.  It's nice to plow through the game with everyone at level 99.

Bad idea to do a marathon of any series, even if it's as wonderful as DQ.   I've had DQ 2 crash on me so many times now that I'm sick of DQ all together.  I only barely made it out of the Roto Trilogy and I've had enough.  Oops.

By the way, I hope the Wii release rumours are false.  Nintendo is committing suicide releasing the same day as the PS3.  But I've also seen the same invitation they should on Gamespot with the September date on it instead.  Who knows how true this is.  September 14th can't get here fast enough.

W00t I'm a Metal Slime!  I will cherish this moment forever :)  Can I just stay as a Metal Slime?  Maybe if I ever reach level 100 I can just pick my own rank.

I have a number of topics to speak of.  First off I'm completely overwhelmed by the number of awesome DS titles coming out for the fall and holidays.  I'm going to go broke!  I'll have nothing but little DS shaped christmas presents under the tree. 

Has asnyone else noticed how much these video game CEO and COO's are like Politicians?  When media sites like Gamespot and IGN ask them questions, they do a really good job trying to answer the question without actually saying anything.  I thought of this by looking at the recent headline featuring Kaz Hirai talking about the PS3 and the PSP.  He didn't actually tell us anything we didn't already know!  It seemed like such a waste of GS's time since all he did was drone on about how "Sony is commited to providing entertainment through the PlayStation 3 and the Play Station Portable... blah blah blah blah."  I just want to know when the PSOne emulator is coming out and hope that Dragon Quest IV may be some where in the priority.  The game selection for the PSP has been so mediocre that really I only have the hardware features to look forward to anymore.

Another guy who is a serious offender of talking about nothing is Reggie Fils-Aime.  It's even worse with him because he looks like a used car salesman.  Granted I would rather have him up there promoting Nintendo than Hiroshi Yamauchi or whatever his name is;  I heard he had a real attitude problem and pissed off lots of third parties.  Nintendo is still cleaning up that mess he made.  But seriously Reggie, can you be a little more genuine when you babble about nothing?

I have to come clean with something that's been on my mind as a gamer; I retract my statement about Nabuo Uematsu as a composer.  I have been pretty public (maybe not so much here but on other sites) about how much of a hack I have thought he was.  I've felt he peaked around FFVI and VII and everything he's written since has been garbage.  Then I got a chance to listen to the music for the Super Smash Brothers Brawl trailer and the music for Blue Dragon, both for which he is composing the music.  I was pleasantly surprised by the colors and style.  It didn't sound "like him," but sounded fresh.  I have then come to the conclusion that Uematsu just needs to get away from the Final Fantasy series.  He's tired and it shows in the ideas in the late FF games.  Getting him to expand his repetoire and write music for other franchises is probably the best thing to happen to him as a composer.  So I'm sorry I called him a hack.  He's just tired and I guess I would be too if I were writing music for the same franchise for almost 20 years too.

Finally I'm finishing up Xenosaga 2 and kicking off a Dragon Quest marathon.  I've just about finished DQ3 and will be continuing from there to the other members of the Roto Trilogy and moving on.  All of this will lead up to my birthday and beginning Dragon Quest VIII.  I'm a little nervous on playing DQ VII since I clocked in almost 200 hours last time I played it.  But we'll see.