Alien Hominid might be the last good game to ever come out on GBA.
Don’t beleive it? play the old flash version!

The price jump from $50 to $60 is big news with the Next Generation. I’m confident gamers will vote with the dollars as they’ve done so in the past. Frankly, for all the hours I’ve logged on games like Halo 2 and Mario Kart, I’d have gladly paid $70 or $80. I’d pay double for a game I know is going to keep me entertained for this long. 10 months later and I’m itching to try Halo 2’s playlist update! Thats saying something.
Conversely, I hope this opens the door to budget gaming more in the next round. More under-$30 games could mean a stronger focus on innovation with shorter games. Katamari Damacy is a prime example of a low-budget high-concept title. At $50 it would have a hard time moving, but on a budget gamer’s plate its fair game. and I have a feeling by the time they hit the third game in the series they’ll have no trouble asking for and getting premium dollar.
Splinter Cell, Madden, Halo, Zelda, Metal Gear… they can all name their price now because the fans of these series HAVE to have the latest and know they’ll get their money’s worth. But the big franchises of the future should be aiming lower for the budget gamers.
Advent Rising had some big buzz which was killed by mediocre reviews. I’d bet Majesco would’ve done much better if they’d gone right to $30 and risked a bigger loss. Now its in doubt whether the 2 planned sequels will still make it out and I’m sure Advent’s fans can’t be pleased. Majesco should think about pushing a lower price on the next release if it comes to that. Ditto for Psychonauts which is getting great reviews but losing on sales because Xbox heads won’t drop premium cash on a single player platform action game!
I don’t mind dropping a few dollars on a potentially bad/potentially good game. Astro Boy taught me that a good game can in fact come out of no-where. But when I’m going to spend more on a game than a week of groceries, I better see the value and know what I’m getting!

By the way, if you don’t read Wil Wheaton’s Games Of Our Lives, get off your ass. The Onion AV club has been running a games column for a couple months, and while you can expect the same sardonic wit applied to current game release reviews (“Frustration sets in when: Your Nintendog stubbornly refuses to fight space aliens, punch hookers, or perform other expected video-game feats”), but Wheaton’s look into gaming’s history covers dismal arcade and console failures that don’t get mentioned when people talk about how great gaming used to be. Note to kids only aware of games fromn the early 80’s via compilations by Activision, Namco, and Midway: This represents all the good games from that time. The rest were garbage.
So its nice to have someone remembering that game sucked ass before Superman 64.

Ninja Breadman – Trailer
I’m going to go out on a limb and guess this game is Japanese.

Yeah, it’s over a year old, but it’s still the best football game of the past 5 years. WIth EA sports in full control of the NFL, Sega’s sports classic is the only place to go for non-EA football action. WHile hucka bucka EA sports fanboys fondle over DNA, hotdog prices, and retarded QB vision, you can set your teams practice regime, customize stadium music (Xbox only), and even buy accessories for your home. In short, it’s football nirvana on the cheap.

Fight the Flood!
Bungie is offered a new T-shirt for sale with all profits going directly to the Red Cross. Its a pretty cool shirt too. I’ll keep looking around and see if theres any other developers or sites raising money with promo items.

Otherwise, it can’t hurt to just give the Red Cross straight cash, folks.