Brian Crecente at Kotaku has a novel idea – and in about two seconds from now, you’ll understand why that’s a really bad pun. Yesterday, in an effort to encourage some more sophisticated thought about video games, he suggested starting a ‘game club’, a sort of book club for video games where gamers will discuss some of the broader issues of design, narrative etc. within a game, rather than the usual focus on graphics or vague approaches to whether a game is ‘fun’. At root, it seems Crecente is keen on doing this to encourage a more mutual relationship between video game criticism and design, in much the same way film criticism helped spur some developments in film in the fifties and sixties.

I’ve been looking forward to a time when people will discuss some of the broader implications of games as a media presence and cultural force rather than just a distraction. For example, when GRAW2 came out – a game that is about US forces crossing the border to help the Mexican government quell a rebellion – there was absolutely zero discussion of the political implications or predication of the narrative on major game sites. Call me a radical leftist if you will, but there is definitely a distinct politics at work and whether or not one agrees with such politics is besides the point; with gaming becoming a significant mode of narrative and politics within contemporary culture, some sort of contextualisation and critical reflection is a must. Any sort of forum where a major player like Kotaku is willing to spearhead the introduction of such discussion is a welcome change.

One minor annoyance though – on Kotaku the post is filed under ‘Deconstruction’. While I think there’s gobs of potential in the analysis of video games using deconstruction, nothing in Crecente’s post suggests that’s what he’ll be doing. Unless he’s suddenly about to go all ‘absent centre’ on our asses, I hope he changes the tag, if nothing else simply to assuage my anal academic side.

Although the charming cookie-cutter template of my blog suggests that, no, I am not exactly at the cutting edge of design, I do love fonts. During my stint as an amateur graphic designer for the family printing business, I amassed a huge collection, yet found I would keep coming back to the simple ones I liked over and over. As such – and because it’d be silly to have that link on Fimoculous go nowhere – here’s a couple of links to Slate‘s pieces on writers’ favourite fonts.

It’s always struck me as odd how attached to and influenced by aesthetics we are – where everything from what font we write in to what shiny laptop we write on affects the end-product.

Photo Essay on Helvetica
Writers’ Reactions

A growing concern in the e-world recently has been how ‘western-centric’ new technologies are – from the Twitters of the world, to the the most frequently visited sites around, emerging tech trends have tended to either ignore non-Western audiences, or force them to learn English. Fortunately, a couple of things have suggested that this trend is changing. First, YouTube have launched a Bollywood Channel; and second, Google is planning to scan 800,000 books and manuscripts from Mysore, India.

Both of these herald a welcome change. If the internet and the connected, Web 2.0 universe is the future of information management, then it is essential that non-Western languages, scripts and, most importantly, perspectives, start to gain an equal footing. While we are still lightyears off from any sort of widespread understanding of difference, particularly one that escapes the ‘we’re all the same underneath mantra’, this is definitely a step in the right direction.

YouTube Launches Bollywood Channel
Google to Scan 800,00 books and manuscripts from Indian University

With the recent release of April’s NPD numbers for gaming consoles, we are back to our monthly ritual of poring over the numbers in order to make sense of them. As usual, it’s N’Gai Croal’s Level Up column that provides the best analysis, pushing past the “Sony sux0rz” reactions to examine how each company is going to position themselves in relation to, among other things, Nintendo’s continued dominance, and Sony’s abysmal PS3 figures.

And while I generally agree with Croal’s take on things, where I believe both writers in the piece fall down is their focus on the now much-repeated mantra when speaking of the PS3 – “it’s all about the games” – a perspective I think that is not only inaccurate, but to Sony’s detriment.

Simply put, how many people are there who are willing to spend US$600 on a device that only plays games? While I think that April’s NPD numbers are somewhat misleading, as this year’s PS3′s big games are yet to come, six-hundred American dollars is a enormous psychological barrier for potential PS3 customers who simply want to game. The Xbox 360 Premium is a much better value-proposition right now, and the Wii, if you can find it, is a heck of a lot of fun for comparatively not much money.

However, US$600 is not a insurmountable figure for a device that: plays Blu-Ray discs and DVDs; plays back CDs, SACDs and, most importantly, MP3s/AACs, allowing your PS3 to act as a digital music hub in your living room; displays photos in high-definition, with slideshow capabilities; can access the internet and can download media to the internal 60GB hard drive; runs Linux and its many applications; and (almost forgot) in addition to all this, plays some very cool games. To wit, when Sony submits to the “It’s all about the games” mentality spouted endlessly on gaming message boards, they miss the fact that the PS3′s value as a consumer item lies in much more than its gaming capabilities.

Of course, Sony has to overcome a significant consumer prejudice that gaming consoles are for younger people, or those who do not value quality in their media devices (such as the subpar DVD playback in the Xbox 360). As such, if Sony wants to do more than simply pray that Final Fantasy XIII and Metal Gear Solid 4 are huge system-sellers, they must start marketing and developing the PS3′s media capabilities so that more people than just hardcore gamers are interested.

Foremost on their to-do list should be the implementation of a digital downloads store with music, tv shows and movies, and some sort of media streaming function between a PS3 and a PC. With those two things in place, the PS3 becomes the only device to have under one’s TV, one that surpasses the Xbox 360 and AppleTV as media devices for the living room, becoming a centralised hub for an entire family’s digital media. And, while it has been said so many times, Sony’s recent posting of a huge drop in operating profits due to the launch of the PS3 means they cannot afford to wait much longer. Though the recent previews from Sony Gamer’s Day look promising, the reliance on games for such a powerful machine is a mistake, one that could cost Sony what was previously its largest source of profit.

[Update]: Sony have just announced Firmware 1.8, which adds DVD upscaling and the ability to stream content from DNLA devices i.e. a PC. Wow. Who knew my tiny blog had so much power?

Two words: Awe. Some.

When you say the words ‘format war’ these days, people think of one thing: HD-DVD versus Blu-Ray. I suppose given the associations with the ‘epic’ 360 vs PS3 battle, this is somewhat understandable, even given the tiny market share both formats have. But, as this well-written and smart editorial on Gizmodo points out, the format battle in physical media is but a drop in the bucket compared to the nightmare that is digital video. Matt Buchannan gets to the heart of it here:

Don’t be quick to leap over Blu-ray and HD DVD as the final hurtles [sic] before the end of the race; we’re far worse off without those discs. After they are gone, there won’t be just two, or three formats even. We’re talking ten or twenty disc-free formats at the minimum, all with their own subscriptions, fee rates, movie selections, file resolutions and formats, use restrictions, preferred content providers and sometimes even hardware. Without discs, we may very well be screwed.

As I pointed out earlier, much of this mess comes from companies copying the closed-model approach of Apple. Building ecosystems that lock hardware, software and formats together has proven immensely successful for Apple in the digital audio market, and on some level, it’s unsurprising that so many companies are trying to follow. However, someone has to notice that this is awful for consumers – don’t they? Even given the waves of change in music stores, right now it seems that nascent digital video industry is just too small and too new for anyone to realise just how ridiculous this approach is.

I won’t even get started on the complete lack of video content in Canada, so head on over to Giz – definitely worth the read.

Feature: The Infinite Video Format War is Coming – Gizmodo

To get a sense of how excited nerds are about the upcoming Transformers movie, just take a look at the title of this Jalopnik posting:

“Transformers Movie Update: Sector Seven Video Gives Nod to Dinobots, Insecticons, Lazer Beak and Generation One Bumblebee”.

I would like to say two things in response to this unabashed, nerdgasmic reaction: firstly, people are so excited, they are ignoring the fact that this is a Michael Bay movie; this is the man who made Pearl Harbor. Secondly, this ‘update‘ that mentions things like Dinobots and Insecticons like they were common terms is on a car blog.

What else you gotta’ say after that? Nothin’, that’s what.

Not really tech related, but c’mon, it’s The Simpsons. A neat piece on Alternet reflecting on The Simpsons reaching 400 episodes. While I hardly rush to sit down at 8pm on Sunday nights anymore, there’s a reason I have Seasons 1-7 on DVD. And that reason is that I can’t yet afford Seasons 8 and 9. What I mean is that, despite the show’s slow decline, the first nine seasons were amazing, and there are still flashes of brilliance from time to time. One such moment is pointed to in the article, where they’ve chosen an almost perfect quote from the show:

“Then I had this crazy dream that my family were all just cartoon characters and that our success led to some crazy propaganda network called Fox News.” — Bart Simpson

Good read though, for more than just the quote.

Read.

NOTE: This post was largely based on conjecture and guesswork and is no longer valid. Sony’s answer to iTunes and Unbox -i.e. their plans for downloadable video and music – will be the Playstation Network, as has been stated by Sony CEO Howard Stringer. Look for the first details in Q1 2008 with a launch later in the year.

Can Sony Finally Make Sense of the Digital Age?

Sony have long been baffled by the shift to digital media and online content delivery. From MP3 players that didn’t play MP3s, to the disaster of planning that led to the failure of Connect, to the ho-hum reception that the (virtually empty) Playstation Network has received, the company has yet to devise a centralised, efficient and compelling way to sell music, movies, tv shows and games online.

Despite Sony’s many recent gaffes, this inability to capitalise on the new waves of content is particularly frustrating, as few companies’ hardware is as impressive as Sony’s. But, as Sony’s disastrous foray into the MP3 player market has shown, good hardware is nothing when coupled with buggy, lackluster software and services; even the gorgeous new NW-A800 series, superior in many ways to the iPod Nano, is still lumbered with the aging and cumbersome Sonicstage software package.

Enter ‘Station’, a service that promises to be Sony’s answer to iTunes and Amazon’s Unbox. Though station.com already exists, for now it is exclusively a gaming website – and not a particularly good one at that. But the new service promises to centralise content delivery across a variety of platforms, delivering HD, movies and TV shows to the PS3, PSP and the PC. You can, therefore, pay to own Casino Royale and download a copy to your PS3 and PC, and a smaller, lower resolution copy to your PSP, all for one price.

The fact that this news has not made enormous waves is testament to just how much Sony’s standing in the contemporary age has fallen. The idea of a centralised online service that allows you to access your content remotely is brilliant, as is the simultaneous focus on the PC, the living room (the PS3) and the mobile markets (the PSP). If Apple or Amazon announced similar plans, the internet might have actually exploded with speculation and reaction.

But Sony’s track record on digital content is less than stellar; actually, that’s generous – it’s beyond abysmal. If, however, Sony can step back, streamline the user interface into something unintrusive and intuitive – and of course, keep the DRM restrictions to a minimum – Sony might have something on their hands. But this sounds like a huge undertaking that will involve numerous Sony brands and a need for good software, no small feat for any company today. Unfortunately, Sony’s need for a compelling online service to drive their Playstation and Walkman brands is clear – and whether or not Sony can pull it off may very well decide their future.

Link: Station Launcher to bring downloadable movies to PSP – PSP Fanboy

Mentioning a Lord of the Rings videogame is one thing – sure people will think you’re a nerd, but you might still seem sorta’ normal. Talking about an LOTR MMO, however, is quite another. After you explain it to non-nerds by saying “umm… well, it’s kinda’ like a mix of World of Warcraft and Lord of the Rings”, you’ve pretty much committed yourself to lifelong celibacy. But, what the hey – I’ll mention it again. I mean, how much worse can things get, right?

So, anyway – The NY Times have given a rather positive review LOTR Online, which is interesting for a couple of reasons. First, the review was in the Arts section, unlike the Tech section as it is in most papers. Secondly, what they were most impressed with is the capacity of the game to wrap you up in a narrative, which is sorta’ cool. While the place of storytelling in gaming is quite hotly contested – some say games should focus more on narrative, while others say it should be abandoned all together – I think the importance of the story to the review and the fact that it appeared in the Arts section is telling: to wit, stories are still closer to art in our minds than is new-fangled notions of ‘play’ or interactive art.

Finding Fellowship (Hairy Feet Optional) – New York Times