consumer

T'is good advice kitsunebi77. I am mostly focused on a retro experience as you've suspected/suggested, however, since I played most of the way through Dragon Warrior III back in the mid 90's I am considering playing the fan translated sfc version instead. Also, it appears as though Enix put a lot more work into DQ3 than into the DQ1+DQ2 cart....I'm playing them mostly in fast-forward, so perhaps I'll do both if I can find the time and sustain the interest...

I recently completed Dragon Warrior for the NES. I have started and intend to finish Dragon Warrior 2 for the NES. I would love to complete the series up through 6.

I can definitely understand the advantage of watching another complete a short game that sparks ones curiosity (like sonic CD), or relate to the amusement of watching some extraordinary feat, such as a speed-run through an old favorite. But generally, I do not derive much satisfaction from watching videos of video games being completed, and therefore do not often watch that sort of thing. However, the work I've been doing recently is sedentary, and does not always require my 100% attention, so I have plenty of occasion to play videos and pay a casual attention to them. I recently "watched" a video series of Final Fantasy IV played from start to finish. I couldn't imagine focusing on the videos the entire time! For me, the videos functioned as something of an hourglass, and a mild amusement when important battles occurred....Also, the familiar music & video game sounds are relaxing to me. I can only assume that most people are watching these videos to help guide them through tough spots in games that they are playing. Seems like a great successor/supplement to the print guides of the past.

1. Combat 2. Pitfall 3. Frogger 4. Defender 2 5. Burgertime

I acquired a copy of Phantasy Star II back in the late 90's, but didn't play through it until around 2010. The "less than stellar evaluations," you've read are fair, I wouldn't deny the validity of those perspectives. The story is only slightly more robust than Final Fantasy I for the NES, and the visuals seem pretty uninspired, even redundant. I wasn't impressed with the title when I first attempted it back in 98'. However, I dedicated myself to a playthrough in 2010 and was satisfied with the experience. Certainly, Phantasy Star II is not for everyone. Even for a 80's/90's RPG, it's a real grinder with difficult random battles, and sprawling, featureless dungeons. Solving the game by ones own wit requires some attention to detail, fair resource management skills, and patience. As JRPG's go, this a tough one, but Phantasy Star's most redeeming quality is it's challenge. The scant extant story of Phantasy Star II eventually culminates in an interesting ending (nothing too mind-blowing, but amusing). The drama of an out of control AI initially designed to maintain a utopian world seems more relevant than typical JRPG fare. I also liked the setting, stretching across multiple planets in Phantasy Star II' s solar system. I can definitely see why most wouldn't like the title, but I enjoyed the challenge and the setting. Also, I am one of those rare JRPG'ers that actually enjoys the grind. Though I prefer PSII be included on the mini Genesis, I'd be completely content with it's absence, so long as Phantasy Star IV were given a slot. Phantasy Star IV ratchets up everything good in PSII, and appears a much more refined piece of gaming art. PSIV is't quite as challenging, but seems superior in every other comparable category.

I recall an attempt at this being made. Here's a link to a guy talking about the VHS/magazine strategy guide that MTV produced back in the 90's... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRYC32bGYFU

I'd like this thing to include Phantasy Star II & IV, Golden Axe I & II, Sword of Vermillion, Wonderboy in Monsterworld, and most especially, Herzog Zwei.

Hey! thats not very nice. *consumer sulks and begrudgingly clicks "like"

A fair question, but one that I considered secondary to the technical difficulty involved in the graphics, art and page arrangement editing that would be involved. As I dreamed, I also assumed/hoped that maybe some people here could do such things naturally. Given time to write, read, edit, and re-write, I trust I could contribute a few decent articles, but I have doubts that I could write very well at a any kind of a dizzying pace. To write well, I must work slowly. The writing alone would probably require at least 10 ten participants, or fewer of considerably greater skill than myself. That played into my fantasy. I'm currently working for a printing company. I'm less than nobody there, but I'd wager they are capable of printing a magazine. No clue what it would coast. Much more expensive than the endeavor would recoup, I have little doubt. Funny that you mention Chris as I recently made the suggestion to him that he consider expanding his "Let's Read" videos in a collaboration with Retromags. To be fair, I merely mentioned it in a chat feed during one of his live streams. He did not respond to the comment :(.

I am somewhat inclined to agree, but I think there are several advantages to these "emulators" in a box that make them good purchases for some people. Firstly, they are HD ready, and there is no configuration, technical aptitude, or patience required to play them. My non-gamer sister enjoys her NES Classic and wanted one explicitly to play Dr. Mario. The Nintendo products so far released have done and excellent job of including quite a few premium games from the past that cover a rather fair range of mainstream tastes. So if you are interested in some historical gaming, but don't care to research, these things have a fair amount to offer. I would say the emulation on the Nintendo releases is quite good, and it would take a deep compulsive perfectionism to find much fault in them as plug n play games. Sure, the SNES doesn't emulate every SNES/SFC release perfectly, but then again, that wasn't really the intended use of the product either. I personally purchased the Classics because I hadn't owned a computer in a while (just got a replacement a month ago, after two years without a PC), I don't do modern games, and I wanted something convenient to play on my TV. The NES and SNES Classic performed that purpose wonderfully. Although, they are super light, and probably as you put it, "pieces of junk" I hope mine will stand the test of time, but I have my doubts. I've read they have been failing on people already. The original SNES hardware was a tank. The controllers would stay in the machine so tight that I would often pull the cords with my legs when I'd walk by and knock my SNES on the floor with force. The thing wouldn't freeze, reset, or become damaged in anyway. I'd say they don't make'em like they use to, but it is just the SNES. Similar anecdotal stories could not be shared of the NES or Genesis, at least not commonly. The PS Classic seems like a rushed project with a lack luster game list (many in inferior PAL format). Reliance on an open-source emulator is also a bit uninspiring. I consider the PS to be as you say, a "cute little collectible" piece of junk. I think the Famitsu reviews for the original games are somewhat accurate, but certainly not perfect. Take Persona. A great game whose review probably suffered a little bit because of the genre it occupied--hardly fair. Tekken 3s review, probably also corrupted, but instead by the fact that it was released late in the systems life, complete with industry pressure to push sales on a game for a system people were losing interest in. Just out of curiosity, do you have any way of finding out the Famitsu score for Dragon Warrior 7? That was in the same genre as FF7, but was a far better product. I'd imagine it did not score as well--was getting awfully close to the PS2 release, wasn't it? I hear Sega plans on releasing a higher quality machine than the @games one currently available. I think it would be a really cool feature to include a few Sega CD and 32x titles. I would get really excited if I heard about a Turbo Duo Classic, with some HuCard and Cd games included. The Dynastic Hero, Exile and Castlevania Rondo of Blood would be sweet to play in a portable box. Don't get me wrong, I totally understand why these things don't appeal to everybody. I just thought I'd explain what I like and do not like about them, that's all.

That is nice to know. Thanks for the response. That's one thing I appreciate about this website. It is actually doing a pretty selfless thing, as far as I can tell, by providing interesting/rare material from our gaming pasts in a hassle-free digital format through a well-tuned interface. It's really quite an accomplishment and a credit to all participants. I wonder if it really does have to always remain a hobby, however? On the road today it dawned on me that if Retromags found volunteers from within its ranks to put together some kind of digital publication, maybe something like a business could grow from that. I think its always wise to consider such pursuits a hobby, so as not to get overly invested with time or money. But I also like the idea of Retromags being a brand that puts out original material. Reviewing classic video games through a lens distanced decades from their original release dates, without the distortion of the marketing tactics/bias that tainted their original reviews, and putting them into some kind of publication, could be a worth while project. If reviews were supplemented with strategies, tips, and other information, such a publication could become the definitive source for historical gaming information. And since Retromags lives 15 years behind mainstream video-gaming, there would long be "new" material to cover and renewed interest and volunteers Maybe growing into a company is a bit far-fetched, but the idea of a quarterly or annual publication, does sound interesting none the less--being branded with "Retromags," even better.

For years after the game craze that was Street Fighter II, it seemed the fighting game genre was a bit overplayed by the industry. Street Fighter II was a good one time rental, and probably worth a purchase if you had frequent company willing to play Vs. mode. But it seems to me, no matter what's done with games of the fighting genre, after a little while, they all feel like Karate Champ. Of all the fighting series', Tekken pulled off the gimmick best. Tekken was fast, graphically enticing, and there was potential for relatively long, varied and interesting fights. Needless to say, Tekken III was the best one on the Playstation. Alas, Tekken III is also the one I played the least. By III's release date, I had lost interest in buying more Playstation games. When I played it, I liked it, but I did't run out and buy it, therefore, I'd say it is undeserving of the Famitsu's highest rating. In fact, Tekken 3 seems to be the most wildly mis-rated game on this list you've provided. I never understood the whole Super Puzzle Fighter thing too well. I'm not big on puzzle games that drop blocks or colors as the player works to clear the screen. I did have one friend that played SPF frequently. He was an artist, and I think the appeal of the game for him must have been its artistry, and since he was also rather social, the games relative simplicity allowed him to divide his attention between the game and whatever everybody else was doing. Generally speaking, the Famitsu's ratings seem pretty well in order. There are a few games I'm rather unfamiliar with listed above, but the ones I know (about 80% of them) I'd have rated similarly.

Maybe there is something I don't quite understand about this whole debate, but I have formed an opinion anyways. Phillyman says that data collection feature costs $60/year and kitsunebi77 says "acquired" and "vote to preserve" have come, primarily, to discourage members from acquiring or scanning mags I can certainly relate to Kitsunebi77's perspective on this, as I seem to recall sometime in the past wondering if there was some way I might eventually contribute. Yet, for some reason, I was under the impression that many missing magazines were either already scanned and not uploaded, or ready for scanning, but simply not done yet. It was probably these "acquired" and "vote to preserve" fields that gave me that impression, because something alerting me that scans were on the way seems vaguely in memory. Any imagined contribution I might make, seemed unnecessary in light of the fact that Logically, it seems that Retromags is financing a feature that potentially impedes its' ability to expand its archive. The feature may have been useful early on, but today so much is already preserved, that the popularity of a particular addition seems irrelevant. Any addition to the archive is equal to +1, in my opinion. As for the "own," "want," and "selling" feature, I am going to down vote it. Though I like the idea of an active market place for physical magazines, I have doubts that it would be active enough to be a reliable source for what one seeks. Isn't that part of why Retromags exists in the first place?--because no such market exists, and is even practically impossible? A simple tally of what is missing from the site, such as in the *.txt file phillyman posted in this thread seems sufficient for directing new scans and uploads. Just some thoughts. Thanks for all the dedication to the project.

Clicked the donations tab and noticed this website's financial needs for 2018 are far below target, yet the year is almost over. What does that bleak status mean for Retromags? Retromags is an extremely unique, easy to use, hassle free resource that knows not its like! Would be a shame for that to end. I would almost swear I am too sensitive a soul. If my mind drifts and overly focuses on the possibility of any failure, loss, or overly burdensome workload befalling the volunteers that have clearly poured so much into the retromags archive my heart breaks. I guess I respect what this community has achieved, atop appreciating its use to me personally. Of course, I should donate to help. Unfortunately, I am poor, recently laid off, and back to looking for work. I somewhat intend to donate once I get some bills paid down and income flowing again, but that won't be in 2018 for sure. All those personal details about me, and praise/well-wishing for the website are bit beyond the primary inquiry of this post, however. To reiterate the intended focus of this post: What does the money situation mean for retromags?

I'm not very interested in them, it's true, but I'm not opposed to them either. In fact, I tried Based Loaded on my NES Classic at one point, but it seemed to crash it, so I removed it. For Snes, I added Hal's Hole in One Golf, and Super Black Bass (if you consider fishing a sports title), but later removed those as well (I limited my Snes Classic to only 10 additional games). I have liked many more Sports games over the years, but without a 2nd player, the NES ones really don't seem very interesting to me. Use to love Tecmo Super Bowl III for Snes, but still wouldn't make my additional 10 cut but a long shot. I'm a little envious of that fact! I started with NES and didn't have a computer in my home until I was in my late teens. I had bumped into a few adventure games on computers at relatives homes over the years, and always wanted to spend more time with them, but it was not to be. I also always liked screen shots of adventure games. Would loved to have played the game that kid in the Tom Hanks movie "Big" was enjoying on a computer near the beginning of that film! Adventure games seemed fun, mysterious, and challenging from what little I dabbled in them. Yeah. I get that. The video you linked tells it like it is. You get stuck on that game, you just systematically go through all the actions you can take on each screen until you "unlock" a new event or choice. Still, I remember this as my first and only adventure game available to me for many years. I didn't learn about Deja Vu, Shadowgate, Uninvited till much later. I knew about Maniac Mansion, but none of the stores in my area rented it back in the day when I was looking to play it. Never got to play Metal Storm in its hey day either for lack of stock in my local rental stores :(. If you have any recommendations for some good old style "graphic adventures" I can play on my PC today, I'd love to hear them. Not too interested in anything as advanced as myst. I like the older style simple 8-bit like ones. Sounds like my brother in law preaching. He loves Rogue type games. He is a NetHack fanatic. He's the only person I know personally that finished Ultima: Exodus for the NES. I got into ADOM (ancient domains of mystery) for a while, but it was short lived, as I lost interest after I exploited the save files to get essentially infinite wishes and walk through the entire game with little difficulty. Generally, I feel a little overwhelmed by rogue-type games, and/or don't have the time to play them. I haven't even played through an easier jRPG since I finished Final Fantasy 12 back in 2011. And now I've been sober just long enough to un-proclaim this! Haha! Besides, you're wide-ranging video game knowledge has humbled me. Nice Job kitsunebi77.

I initially added about 50 games, but decided to cut it back. My expanded list included all of your choices, kitsunebi77, with only 4 notable absences: Double Dribble, Ice Hockey, Kickle Cubicle, and Super Dodge Ball. Super Dodge Ball is an awesome game, I know. The others I am less familiar with. I'm not familiar with Kickle Cubicle at all, so I'll have to read up on that. I strongly considered doing the same thing, but I decided against it, because I wanted to keep all of the pre-loaded games. I knew if I swapped out one game, I'd swap out others, like maybe Super C for Contra. Balloon Fight, Donkey Kong Jr., and Tecmo Bowl would have been good swap out candidates for something, anything playable! And in the end the two games games are so similar, it hardly mattered to me. I rarely box long enough to make it to the final bout anyways. I like the game style of Shadowgate, but I've never gotten far into it without getting frustrated and stopping. I prefer Shadowgate's cousin Deja Vu, which may have been my #15. In any case, one game of that style is enough and I settled on Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom, because I have fond memories of playing it as a youngster, and it is easy to pick up and progress in recalling the solutions or no. I was pleased to hear your praise of G.I. Joe. It is definitely one of the best NES games produced. I don't know if many fans of that title realize that all of the playable characters and bosses in that game were toys you could purchase at department stores. Everyone of them was available just as they appeared in the game: their attire, weapons, and vehicles. I tried to find them all back in those days, but fell a little short. Never could find that cool looking version of Cobra Commander on the shelves, but had seen pictures of him through mail order brochures. In my opinion Double Dragon is a better game than its' sequels. If I were desperate to add more games, DD for DD2 is another swap I'd consider. I just settled for both. When I had the extra 50 games loaded, all three of the NES TMNT games were included. If one had made the 14 cut for me, it probably would have been TMNT 3. Mostly because TMNT3 is, to the best of my knowledge, an NES exclusive title, but also because I haven't played it as much as TMNT2, which makes it feel somewhat like a new experience. Agreed. 100% agreed.

I've had just enough alcohol to proclaim myself a video game quality expert. I am not the foremost pro-player, or retro-historian, but my opinion on game quality is, no doubt, unparalleled and supreme. So, having considered which NES games to add to my NES classic without adding on so many that some icons appear off screen (you know what I mean!), I have settled on the following additional games... 1. Abadox 2. Batman 3. Castlevania III: Draculas Curse 4. Cobra Triangle 5. Double Dragon 6. Dragon Warrior 3 7. Final Fantasy 3 (EngTranslation) 8. G.I. Joe 9. Little Nemo: The Dream Master 10. Marble Madness 11. Ninja Gaiden II 12. Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom 13. Tetris 14. Vegas Dream And so, with finally a perfect list of additional games for the NES classic, let the debate be settled! Also, let credit go to Nintendo's choices of games, all of which I kept, and most of which are worthy of being retained. Nice job Nintendo! If only you had employed me, your list would have been perfect, or so my Ouija Board interaction with Mr. Perfects opinion of NES classic additions would suggest. In all seriousness though, its a pretty good list. Anybody got a better 14? I'll read'em, but I won't believe'em.

I first discoverd retromags back in 2011. I've been dropping in occasionally for years, just to see whats new. I rarely logged in. I haven't had dedicated internet until recently, so hadn't been too active in the forums (why post if you can't reply?). I doubt highly I was one of the people you are thinking of, because I either don't log in at all, or when I do log in, I check out some mags or the forums. I do have a guess about whats going on though--probably some visitors come to check if there is something new or exciting on occassion, and when they do, they are logged in automatically because of their browsers password saving features etc. Outside of that, its hard to imagine why somebody would log on for no reason...

Definite big thanks Philly. The magazines preserved here are an amazing contribution to the retro gaming scene. Without the information retromags preserves, classic gaming would be a bit more sterile and lifeless. The voiceless, solitary games of yesteryear fit nicely into a historical tapestry that flows like a stream to the present through the lens of gaming journalism so well preserved here. Yes. Thanks again Philly.

I am going to try and ruin season 8 for people, by suggesting a plausible ending. Gendry (the bastard son of Robert) will rule Westeros, with his queen Arya Stark, or Sansa Stark--probably Sansa. That ending would make perfect sense. After all, Season 1 King Robert said, "you have a daughter, I have a son, there's still time to unite our houses." So that's my reasoned guess. My wild guesses are that Daenarys Targaryean and Jon Snow will die. Tyrion Lannister will live, because he has played match maker before, and somebody will have to make the wedding arrangements and re-organize power after things go to hell.

I've read a lot of folks commenting about how the 3D style games for the Playstation did not age as well as their 2D counterparts on the NES Classic, or SNES Classic. I do remember really disliking the Playstation because of its ugly 3D graphics at the end of its lifespan. Systems like the Dreamcast appeared with beautiful anti-aliasing and richer textures; however, today I see things from a different perspective--the Playstation is the 8-bit of 3D. Today, the ugliness of the pixelated edges, and relatively simple texturing of Playstation games is part of its appeal. HD televisions draw out these imperfections much better than CRTs, showing the naked beauty of Playstation titles. Try playing Virtual Pool on an HD television, and the idea of the Playstation as a 3D NES may be driven home for you too. I like this comment, it seems true to me. The problem with this PS Classic, is that it doesn't seem to capture that fact very well. For almost every entry in the game line-up, the PS had a superior counterpart that could have been subbed in with what seems like no greater licensing/copyright hassles. Other games, just weren't that great. Take GTA. A console game built around criminal activity was an interesting concept at the time, but it really didn't come together until GTA3. If the whole thing never went 3D on the PS2, nobody would care about GTA today. GTA is not a classic, GTA3 is. It's only in hindsight that GTA1 seems like it might have been a big deal. When I was about 14, I was mulling over a big choice. Should I get a Sega Saturn or a Sony Playstation? I loved RPGs, and the availability of RPG's that suited my fancy were going to be the deciding factor. I chose the Playstation because of screenshots and stories from Game Players, EGM, and others that suggested Arc the Lad was coming to US shores shortly after launch. Suffice it to say Arc the Lad was not released on the Playstation until the end of the consoles lifespan as a trilogy pack. I never did play the Arc games because of the extreme delay in its porting. But, once again, the Japanese PS Classic gets the Arc games, and the USA does not. To me, these classic systems are not even about "nostalgia." I don't play classic games for a warm, fuzzy, vague feeling that I loved them 25 years ago. I play classic games, because I like those aging styles of game design. Supplying US gamers with some Arc games would have pleased me and kept me busy with something that would have felt new. A missed opportunity for Sony I guess. Instead of something new, we get only FF7 and its Sony Interactive imitation Wild Arms. Final Fantasy 7 hasn't ever really stopped being talked about, and for me, it was a bit of a disappointment at the time. FF6 was awesome. FF7, however, didn't make sense--the primary plot points were inane and seemed cobbled together. I guess Square spent its budget on the out of place FMV sequences, and couldn't afford to clean up the script. Oh well. Wild Arms battles looked suspiciously like the screenshot teasers magazines printed of FF6 battles being experimented with for the Next Gen Nintendo hardware at that time (then the Ultra 64). Wild Arms was an ok game...back then. Today the Wild Arms battle Engine is slow, and boring. Sony must be doing things the way the soft sciences do these days--all by the numbers, with little original thinking or nuance in understanding. Sometimes numbers are just numbers Sony, and you have to get your hands dirty (maybe hiring some people to sort out whats playable today?) to see what the numbers really mean, if anything at all. The fact that it sold a bazillion copies 20 years ago, doesn't mean its still in demand today. Oh, and sorry I took that stab at science. Its all those soft sciences that drive me nuts. Specifically, a story I read not too long ago that suggests there is no top limit to human longevity. That conclusion was reached based on the observation that the chances that a person will die increase every year that he lives, until the age of 105 or so, where the the chances of dying thereafter remain steady, say, 50/50 each year. Some people were getting excited thinking that if our odds of dying stop increasing, then maybe theres no certainty of death. Absurd, numbers reasoning, applied in non-number scenarios...We are all going to die, and the PS Classic is going to suck, no matter what the numbers might today suggest. Just my opinion.

I wanted to get behind the PS Classic, but after the full line-up was announced I decided I probably wouldn't buy one. MGS without dual shock is weak, plus, it's playable so many other ways. I would have preferred Final Fantasy VIII, or IX over VII. Resident Evil 2 is far superior to RE:DC, imo, and those opening door loading screens between rooms put me to sleep 20 years ago. Though it feels like I've started off complaining, the games I've mentioned so far are the highlights of the PS Classics game line up for me! Of the remaining games only Jumping Flash, Persona, Wild Arms and Ridge Racer Type 4 seem even mildly interesting. Fact is, same as many others, RPG's are the main reason I owned a Playstation in the first place, and I would liked to have seen more of them on the PS Classic. I realize RPG's aren't for everyone and so including a bunch of them would have been unrealistic. In any case, here's a list that somewhat compromises my RPG appetite to include other genres and would have more than made me pay Sony's asking 100... 1. Castlevania: SOTN 2. Final Fantasy Tactics 3. Final Fantasy IX 4. Dragon Warrior 7 5. Klonoa 6. Tomba 7. Colin McRae's Rally 8. Ace Combat 2 9. Command & Conquer 10. Space Griffon VF-9 11. Suikoden 12. Tail Concerto 13. Hot Shots Golf 2 14. The Legend of Dragoon 15. Medal of Honor 16. MegaMan X6 17. Medievil 18. Tomb Raider 19. Wipeout XL 20. Resident Evil 2 I would pay the entry price for kitsunebi77's "personal" list as well. Its fine. Heck, I'd pay for the Japanese list if it was the US line-up. But the actual U.S. line-up?--no thanks!

I really should prepare a bit better, so I can cite the ads (issue/page numbers) I have in mind. As it stands, if you're interested in what I've pointed out, you'll just have to pay attention to ads yourself. I agree that for the most part, the ads are innocent enough. I just felt a handful crossed basic decency lines in a few instances I noticed while looking a few mags over. The "bullying" ad that stands out in my mind is an ad that was printed in Nintendo Power for a while. The ad shows a distorted picture of a young freckled adolescent boy. The dialogue next to the ad is, presumably, the voice of the frail looking kid and the rhetoric essentially paints him as an annoying wannabe-chum trying to discourage the reader from subscribing to Nintendo Power, because they can get tips from him instead. Be it irony, sarcasm, or whatever you want to call it- at points, the dialogue directly discourages you from subscribing to NP, but contrarily encourages you to subscribe, so that you can break association with the annoying kid that likes to talk video games. I'm sure I would have laughed at the ad, and neglected/ignored the real kids at my school that this ad symbolically represented. And yes, that is dehumanizing. I agree with the folks that have been posing that women were prevalent in ads, but that it also makes sense, since pubescent young men are the primary target audience. But, I also agree that *some* ads were, in fact, dehumanizing toward woman (and people in general) as well. I cannot cite the exact location at the moment, but there is an ad, probably in EGM (and others) which shows an obese couple lounging in a pool. The male has a big cheesy grin. Over the man are words, not verbatim, but to the effect of, "Karl is happy because Lenore was in heat last night." Above his likewise obese girlfriend/wife/sister are the words, "This isn't Lenore." Funny as that may be (I chuckle slightly writing this), it is also dehumanizing and quite an attack on the institutions of Marriage and relationship fidelity/honor generally. Btw, an ad doesn't have to be so direct as to say "go beat somebody up," to be encouraging violence. What was common to a the few ads I noticed was a basic acknowledgment of bullying, a kind of sanctioning of those acts, as I see it. I'm not saying we need to start a congressionally hearing, I just wanted to point out that advertisers can tend toward some pretty unscrupulous tactics. The major irony, I thought, was that their most devoted consumers could easily (because of their consumption) be classified as socially awkward nerds. Look for it.

I've always felt like I have lived in an adequately civilized time, but as I perused some of the video game ads from yesteryear I became increasingly aware of an exceptional lack of ethics in advertising video games during the years I was growing up! Anybody else notice how many Sega vs. Nintendo ads were literally encouraging the one brands supporters to attack the others (pummeling, punching, bullying, etc.)? Both sides seemed to have done this. Or how about Nintendo Power essentially telling us not to socialize with "dweebs" to learn video game tips?--only Nintendo Power is the source! Oh my! Its funny how much time enlightens the mind. There is no way I would have noticed these things when I was young and a casual reader of these magazines. In any case, I hope advertising has grown ethically over the years, because I find some of these advertisements offensive, and sadly, damaging. Wonder how many people were hurt over these things? I'm really stunned they were aimed at kids. Maybe I'm just being a pussy! I better get the latest copy of Mortal Kombat and forget it.

Twisted Metal pulled off some great marketing. Even though that game is violent and dark, I find it funny that the PvP game style is very similar to PvP in Mario Kart.