Play PONG For Money
Posted by: kmikeym
It's strange when you realize that people are building machines designed to take your money. And it's especially strange when those machines are so good at doing it. I'm not a big fan of the slot machines, and I feel like the slot-machine owners know this, and they don't like it. So they have peered deep into my soul and created a slot machine designed to steal my poker money.
In a truly brilliant move to target young male gamblers, Alliance Gaming Corp (makers of fine slot machines) have a licensing deal with Atari to make slots based on classic Atari games like PONG, Asteroids, Centipede and Breakout. "There is a huge population that grew up with these Atari games and that audience is still clamoring for ways to recapture the fun of their first gaming experience," said Wim Stocks, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Atari in a press release. He defends his position well, "Atari is committed to ensuring that fans of our classic games have access to them wherever and however they seek entertainment. By joining forces with Alliance and Bally [a division of Alliance Gaming Corp], we know that we'll reach a large audience of gaming devotees."
He stops short of saying that they plan on essentially robbing these large audiences blind by taking advantage of their love of these games, but I'm glad to see that PONG is still going to be cutting edge: Bally Gaming's display of the Atari PONG slot machine at the Global Gaming Expo will mark the debut of Bally's new dual-screen M9000 cabinet powered by the company's next-generation Game Maker® II operating system. The PONG slot machine will include a skill element that will allow players to use a traditional game paddle to play a game of PONG against the computer during the bonus round.
I looked for coverage of the PONG game at GGE but everyone was much more excited about Clint Eastwood being there to unveil his signature slot machine (also, there was the Elizabeth Taylor diamond machine, where you play for actual jewelry). I suppose this means that the gaming folks know it's still old people playing slots, but the licensing deal with Atari makes me wonder what is next. While PONG and these games were just a tiny bit before my time, everyone knows and loves Mario, and those games even featured slot machines in them!
Email alert
Posted by: j_john
Received this email today:
Dear Capcom Insider
Capcom received the following warning from Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. today.
CONSUMER ALERT: HOLIDAY 2004 DEMO DISC GLITCH
If you have received a copy of the Holiday 2004 Demo Disc including the playable Viewtiful Joe 2 - please take note.
It has just been brought to our attention that there is a glitch in this demo which will erase all of your saved files from your Memory Card(s). If you have not yet played the Viewtiful Joe 2 demo, please remove your Memory Card(s) from your PlayStation(R) 2 computer entertainment system before you load the Holiday 2004 Demo Disc.
Sony Computer Entertainment America would like to express our sincerest apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused you.
How Emo is that?!
Right-On Review
Posted by: j_john
I recently realized that Mark McDonald from EGM summed up exactly why I like Katamari Damacy so much:
"Katamari Damacy is a uniquely entertaining game that even the most casual gamer can enjoy.
...the thrill behind Katamari: You start out rolling up tiny stuff like batteries, mice, and bananas, but soon you're sucking up cats, people (who scream and wiggle), traffic lights, and those houses that once seemed so huge. It's like the feeling of accomplishment you get from gaining levels in an RPG and the satisfaction of vacuuming a dirty floor all rolled into one."
RPGs and Vacuums?! A perfect match.
John Madden Teaches Football
Posted by: kmikeym
Jos W., the UrbanHonking football columnist, discusses the wide world of John Madden over at True Fan.
Best preview quote?
Posted by: curt
Not that anyone has doubts about Halo 2, but if you did, this quote would cure them: "Halo 2 is a lot like Halo 1 -- only it's Halo 1 on fire, going 130 miles per hour through a hospital zone, being chased by helicopters and ninjas ... And, the ninjas are all on fire, too."
Those are the words of Jason Jones, head of Bungie Studios (admittedly a biased source, but that doesn't mean the quote is any less enticing).
