I know. It’s a scary thought to walk into a shopping mall and already see the Santa picture area set up, colorful lights lining the pillars, and countless “just in time for the holidays” gift kiosks. Yes, my friends, it’s time to start shopping for Christmas presents.
I’ve already written a few pieces on the Nintendo Wii, and how just about anyone can be captivated by its intuitive interface and fun, easy-to-pick-up games, but what about that special someone in your life that won’t exactly be impressed when you wave a Wii in front of her.
Yes, I said her and not him or him/her. Far be it for me to further a stereotype, but you can’t really deny the old adage that diamonds are a girl’s best friend. Yup, it’s gonna be one of the more expensive gifts you’re going to ever give your significant other, but imagine the look on her face when you reveal that huge rock of a ring, glorious necklace, or huge honkin’ earrings. Nothing quite says I love you like some bling blang.
They say that diamonds are forever. Let’s just hope that your credit card debt isn’t.
Special shout out to Geoff Wong who recently got engaged. I’m sure when you presented that special ring, she was grinning from ear to ear. Best of luck to ya!
For some strange reason, this post was deleted. Actual posting date was November 22. I have since purchased a Wii of my own.
Say what you will about Nintendo and how its video game machines are “just for kids”, but it is the only company who is taking this whole next-generation business in a next-generation kind of way. In the past five to ten years, many one-time enthusiasts have become disenchanted from (Or intimidated by, depending on your point of view) video games because of their increasing difficulty. Thought to be gone are the days of pick-up-and-play titles like Pac-Man and Space Invaders, games that anyone could play regardless of inherent “skill” or “talent.” In their place are complicated RPGs and a whole bevy of complex first person shooters. After a while, every Counterstrike, Halo, and Ghost Recon starts to look kind of the same.
The days where anyone can play are back with the absolutely ingenious Nintendo Wii. Not only is the big N marketing this latest system at the stereotypical gamer (which, by the way, is a 35-year-old male with plenty of disposable income), but they are selling this innovative video game machine to people you would never think they’d try marketing to. Middle-aged housewives, the girl gamer, and yes, even senior citizens. And that’s not to say the hardcore gamer will be disappointed either. They’ve got children’s licensed content (Spongebob Squarepants, etc.), fun variety games (Rayman: Raving Rabbids, Elebits, etc.), and immersive action titles (Red Steel, Call of Duty 3, etc.). Just as Nintendo managed to sell the DS to seniors and girls with non-conventional games like Nintendogs, Animal Crossing, and Brain Age, they will likely do the same with the Wii.
Talk about the targetting the non-gamer. I wandered into the local Future Shop earlier today and imagine my surprise when I saw a middle-aged Chinese woman captivated by the Wii demo video. They had it showing on some flat panel television, looping through clips of Wii Sports, Excite Truck, Red Steel and a few other launch titles, interspersed with videos of people actually playing the games. She did look a little nervous, or maybe even embarassed to be watching the demo (she kept glancing over her shoulder), but shortly after, she found herself in the Wii games section, checking out some of the titles. She seemed particularly interested in Monkey Ball. Maybe it was the cute primates on the cover. Either way, she appeared to be sold on the concept. The Wii is for anyone and everyone.
As I wandered around the mall in a blissful stupor, I stumbled across a Wii demonstration area where they had four systems up and running with reps showing off the great games and technology. I had a chance to try to fishing mini-game in the hugely anticipated Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. I found the Wiimote to be very comfortable and extremely light. It was fairly responsive and accurate, though reeling in the fish got to be a little tiring (you rotate the nunchuk attachment). The graphics were, as you would probably expect, something like a GameCube on steroids. The same could be said about Excite Truck (the other game I tried). Nothing to wow your graphically, but the gameplay was very immersive. I couldn’t see myself staying interested in Excite Truck for too long — the simple arcade racer isn’t all that interesting — but it certainly gives a sense of what the Wii is capable of. All I had to do was put the Wiimote on its side, hold it like a steering wheel, and tilt it as necessary. Fun, intuitive, and incredibly easy to just pick up and enjoy. Wii Sports: Tennis and Wii Sports: Bowling operated much the same way. Easy to learn, difficult to master, just as games should be. You’re there to enjoy yourself, not to get frustrated.
To refresh, the Nintendo Wii, codenamed “Revolution” during development, features a unique motion-sensitive interface. Instead of fumbling with controllers that boast 10 or even 15 buttons, they’ve designed the Wii Remote (or Wiimote, as many call it) to sense more intuitive motions. Want to swing a tennis racket, throw a baseball, or go fishing, simply mimic the motions you would in real life. It’s designed to be completely pick-up-and-play.
Sure, the PlayStation 3 and the Microsoft Xbox 360 may boast some crazy flashy graphics — Gears of War quite literally rocks my socks — but you would never see a middle-aged Chinese woman interested in a game like that. By contrast, people young and old can enjoy Wii Sports: Tennis, Wii Sports: Bowling, or Excite Truck. Nintendo may have suffered some pretty heavy hits to their fan base when the PlayStation and PlayStation 2 hit the scene (outselling the Nintendo 64 and GameCube, respectively), but with the Wii, they’re hoping to capture an audience that wouldn’t otherwise be interested in video games at all. If today’s experience is any indication, they will. Long live the Wii (the name, although it sounds too much like a children’s euphemism for an unmentionable part of the body, has slowly grown on me… yes, wii would like to play).
Back in high school, I remember I came across something called AllAdvantage (some of you may recognize it too). Essentially, it was a a toolbar that stuck at the bottom of your internet browser window and it logged how many hours you spent surfing around the web. It would display relevant ads and the like, and you’d receive a cheque in the mail every month based on how many hours your logged and how many hours the people you referred logged. In fact, you could extend your referral network several layers deep.
Well, that service ultimately folded and failed, and the main reason was that they were paying out more to users than they were making from the advertisers. Well, someone has come around to revitalize the idea with a much more sustainable business model. Welcome AGLOCO (short for A Global Community).
Instead of paying a flat rate for each hour you surf (to a current maximum of five hours a month, and c’mon, who doesn’t spend at least five hours poking around Google, YouTube, checking email, and so on), they provide you with a portion of what they earn from advertisers. This comes both in the form of cold hard cash and in stocks in the company when AGLOCO goes IPO.
Here’s a picture of what the toolbar would look like:
For reference, guys that got in on the ground floor with AllAdvantage and got their referral networks up and running before anyone else, well, they were rolling in the dough. Vancouver blogger John Chow, for example, was featured in the Globe and Mail. Over the course of a few months, he amassed $25,000 in earnings from AllAdvantage. That’s a lot of change for doing something you’re going to be doing anyways.
I’ve already signed up for AGLOCO and I encourage you to do the same. The toolbar is still in beta stage, so I’m not exactly sure when you can start earning, but in the meantime, you should definitely start looking for referrals and such. Making money surfing the internet. What could be easier?
To sign up, go to the AGLOCO website and make sure you include my referral ID number — BBBB6961 — because, well, I referred you. Happy money making!
Today was the official launch day for the Nintendo Wii, ushering in a whole new generation of video gaming, revolutionizing — if you will — the way we use our living rooms forever. For this newest series of home video game consoles, some may say that the Wii is only true “next-generation” system in that it is the only one that is actually changing the way we play. Sure, the PlayStation 3 (complete with its $3,000 eBay asking price) and Xbox 360 (with its exquisite Gears of War exclusive) may boast more powerful engines and flashier graphics, but the Wii is a different beast altogether, not only targetting the hardcore gamer, but housewives, retired persons, and — as the Nintendo stereotype goes — school-aged children as well.
I, myself, am a self-proclaimed Nintendo fanboy. For each generation of video game system, I have stayed Nintendo loyal, having owned the NES, SNES, N64, and GameCube, as well as the original spinach-green Game Boy, Game Boy Advance SP, and — most recently — the DS Lite. Now that the Wii is here, I’m seriously tempted to get that too. But are you a Nintendo fanboy too? Here are the top ten symptoms, compiled by yours truly:
10. You own at least three articles of 1UP apparel (for reference, I have one: a cap).
9. You introduce yourself to people by saying, “It’s-a-me, Mario!”
8. According to you, the Power Glove was the greatest peripheral of all time.
7. Who needs Resistance: Fall of Man when you’ve got Nintendogs?
6. You’ve re-created the Gordon College live action Mario skit.
5. You’re torn on whether you should name your first born child Shigeru or Satoru.
4. You get visibly upset whenever anyone says “Nintendo is just for kids.”
3. You bought a Virtual Boy (and you still think that those 3D graphics are OMG-rific). However, you’re willing to destroy it to get a Wii.
2. You’re seriously considering changing your name to Link or Zelda.
1. You can’t wait until all your friends drool all over your shiny new Wii.
Honourable mention:
- You hated Sonic until he showed up on the DS in Sonic DS.
- You refuse to associate yourself with any PSP owner.
- You scoff at Sony’s attempts to copy Nintendo’s innovations (SIXAXIS vs. Wiimote, analog sticks, etc.)
When I first heard about Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, I was totally stoked about the concept. The show promised to take you behind the scenes of an SNL-style late night variety show, throwing you right into the middle of the action, the centre of the politics, and so forth. The cast would be absolutely electric, with Amanda Peet, D.L. Hughley, Bradley Whitford, and Matthew Perry being the biggest names on the list. More importantly, however, the creator was none other than the legendary Aaron Sorkin, the same man behind Sports Night and The West Wing. The first ten minutes of the pilot was simply stunning, ranking right up there with the best on television not only so far this year, but arguably… ever.
Since then, Studio 60 has steadily been losing viewers. Some say that the show is “too smart” for the average North American consumer. That the humor is “too subtle”. In fact, in the most recent couple of episodes — titled “Nevada Day Part 1″ and “Nevada Day Part 2″ — we see John Goodman, playing a small town judge, outright saying that the show within the show thought it was “so smart.” Maybe so, but that’s almost why I enjoy the Studio 60 that we watch so much (it gets a tad confusing when the show that we watch and the show that is depicted within the show go by the same name).
I recently came across a post on the.[ED]ition comparing Studio 60 with NBC’s other behind-the-scenes-of-a-late-night-variety-show offering, 30 Rock. Whereas Studio 60, in the strictest sense, is more of a drama with plenty of subtle humor thrown in, 30 Rock — starring Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, and Tracy Morgan — is a situation comedy.
The blogger lists a series of pros and cons for each show, concluding that, “Clearly, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is the better show of the two and NBC seems to agree as they extend the drama by another 9 episodes for this season. As for 30 Rock, Fey needs to step up her game and take more risks. The show has been fairly paint-by-numbers so far and is not getting the laughs it should. Whoever is overseeing the production needs to take a step back and let Tina Fey run the show.”
Let Tina Fey run the show. Sounds a lot like Amanda Peet’s character on Studio 60.
Personally, I have religiously tuned in to Studio 60 every Monday evening, captivated by every line of dialogue, following each of the characters through all of their trials and tribulations. Sure, every time Matthew Perry appears on-screen, I can’t help but see Chandler Bing, but I’m sure I’ll get over that with time. It’s the same with Jim Carrey in any movie he does: I either see Ace Ventura or one of his outlandish characters from In Living Color. You know what, that’s okay. By contrast, I’ve watched one, maybe two episodes of 30 Rock, and it feels like every other sitcom out there. Sitcoms, for better or for worse, are a dying breed.
Studio 60 “too smart”? Maybe the American (and Canadian?) audience is just too dumb.
Oh, and in case you missed the pilot, here’s a brief clip to whet your whistle:
Remember ten years ago when the first Tickle Me Elmo hit the marketplace and every was amazed by this plush doll? All you had to do was push his tummy and he bust out in a seizure, vibrating like the world’s strongest sex toy cell phone? It wasn’t particularly innovative — there were certainly other talking children’s toys that performed different acts — but there was something strangely appealing about it that got crazed parents to head on over to eBay and pay inordinate amounts of money for the doll, because their kids absolutely had to have it.
They tried following up on its success with a few other renditions, including taking other Sesame Street characters and making them tickle-me-friendly, giving Elmo other abilities, and the like, but they never quite caught on in quite the same way as the original. It’s been ten years since then, and they seem to have found themselves another winner. Dubbed the TMX (or Tickle Me Elmo X), this tenth anniversary edition doesn’t just giggle and jiggle, he slaps the ground, holds his stomach, and begs you to tickle him again.
My friend shot out to the local Walmart some time back and grabbed as many of these as she could. She ended up buying ten. No, not to give to her loving younger cousins or anything like that. This was a business venture. She was going to flip them on eBay. Tickle Me Elmo TMX retails for about $40 or $50, but she ended up selling the ten of them — as a lot — on eBay for a cool g-note (that’s $1000, in case you didn’t know). This is above and beyond the $200 she charged for shipping (although it only cost her $60 or $70 to ship the ten boxes). Quite a profit, I’d say. I’m scared to see what she’ll do when the PlayStation 3 hits our shores on Friday.
Tickle Me Elmo has becoming a money-making whore. What ever happened to toys for toys’ sake.
Anyways, here’s a video in case you’ve been under a rock this whole time, oblivious to the wonder that is Tickle Me Elmo TMX:
Happy money making!
