Gamertell

Believe it or not,  I’m glad when I don’t have to call out Wired for being a gamer hater. I know the mag truly likes gamers but they just cannot seem to get it 100% right, at least when it comes to the print version.

In the latest issue of Wired (November 2008),  there are several pages that give some favorable nods to stuff gamers dig. Although more game-friendly coverage than normal, there’s still one page that’s a bit questionable.

There’s a page on the Webkinz phenomena (p. 038), a page highlighting a few casual creations by Jason Kapalka (p. 094), an opinion piece by Steven Levy regarding the Wii, Guitar Hero and the iPhone (p. 114), a questionable comparison of game systems (p. 164) and a trio of decent manual cover scans.

For more on each, click through and check out the scans in the photo gallery…

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Check out the gallery: Wired Magazine , November 2008 page scans

I recently saw an American Express Business card print ad in the September 2008 issue of Wired magazine (pp. 46-47) that is a bit derogatory towards gamers.

The two-page ad has, on one page, the image of a credit card with Galaxian/Space Invaders style imagery on it with the words “I own the high score” in all caps above it. The name on the credit card is Erin Ehnerd of Double E Bakery. On the facing page is the image of a gold American Express Business card for Ellin Lavar of Lavar Hair Designs that reads “I own my own business” above it. Under the card image is a paragraph that begins, “If you own your business, own the card that says so.“

The implication here is, of course, that letting people know you play videogames is a sure way to lose business (especially if you own a bakery?). Also notice that AmEx also included…

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According to an Associated Press report, Conde Naste publications (the company behind Wired) has just acquired Ars Technica (the technology, media and entertainment site oft-linked by Gamertell). The site will continue to run independently under editor-in-chief Ken Fisher and will be combined with Wired’s online operations.

According to the report, Conde Nast will also be reviving Wired-related Webmonkey.com and HotWired.com...

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On page 42 of the April 2008 issue of Wired magazine is a photo featuring six stereotypical Geeks: a Fanboy, Music Geek, Gamer, Gadget Guy, Hacker and Otaku. Each over-generalized category is exemplified by a person modeling what Wired deems appropriate garb and a brief description that includes disposition, beliefs and turn-ons.

Here’s the unusually derogatory description Wired writer/contributor, Troy Brownfield, writes of Gamers…

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Clive Thompson had an excellent editorial yesterday on the Wired blog  about horror videogames delivering better thrills than recent horror films. His argument touched on the fact that games are inherently subjective (ie. you are the one in danger, as opposed to vicariously watching a character on a screen be in danger) along with Hollywood’s recent propensity for gore over suspense (Saw, Hostel, etc. aren’t very big on subtlety).

It’s a great read but Thompson only touches briefly on one of the most crucial elements of creating a successful horror experience in either a game or a film -  sound design. Sound is everything when it comes to…

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For all the fans of Rooster Teeth Production’s wacky web series Red Vs. Blue, this is a bittersweet date.

The 100th and final final episode of the comedy series that used the Halo engine to pioneer machinima –  movies made out of in-game video footage – will be released this evening (June 27, 2007). This will also complete the storyline that began in 2003 and has included time travel, interspecies mating, talking bombs and all manner of animated military hijinks. Though Rooster Teeth will occasionally release Red vs. Blue specials, the 15 minute finale will be the end the series as we know it.

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Wired Magazine has posted a collection of 40 years worth of video game goodness, highlighting consoles through 47 images of hardware, ads and screenshots.

Beginning with Baer’s Brown Box through the Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii, it includes body shot of most of the main systems including NES, Neo-Geo, SNES, Famicom, Sega, Intellivision, Colecovision… oh, you get the picture(s).

Aside from console images, the collection also includes:

• The man himself, Ralph Baer, posing with an Odyssey box
• Atari force comic book cover, published by DC Comics
• Intellivision print ad featuring George Plimpton. Uber groovy, dude.
• Sega Genesis ad with big, bold print: “Genesis does what Nintendon’t.“
• Screenshot of the infamous - and horrible - ET game.
• ESRB poster: “Video game rating make choosing games simple. And for a parent, simple is good.“
• An interview with Pac Man conducted by Atari Age magazine (I hope that is a coffee smudge on the page)
• Sega Saturn naked woman ad: “[In case you didn’t notice,] there is a naked woman on this page.“
• Screenshot of Seaman (yes, Seaman) from the first voice recognition game of the same name.

Noticeably missing are the Microvision, the first game system with removable cartridges (though it was a handheld system) and Vectrex, a game system with built-in controllers and a monochromatic screen.

Read [Wired]

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