YouTube Videos: Apr 23-29

 

Why Not a New F-Zero?

While what I talk about is applying to Nintendo, this can also apply to other companies as well. But recently, there was a former designer for F-Zero that said that a new title would require a new gimmick to sell people on it. In recent weeks, I believe the president of Nintendo of Japan talked about wanting to create new IP's, something that concerns fans. We're talking a company that has many small tiered games that are questioned on why they don't get a new release.

F-Zero was a relatively popular game on the SNES when it came out. Add in a handful of titles for the next 12-13 years and no new release since 2004. For as big as Mario Kart has gotten in the last 25 years (It has been big since its debut in 92, but I think 3D beginning with 64 helped it), not everyone wants to be only playing that. People want to see a new F-Zero. A new Wave Race. It's not like they are going to take over the popularity of Mario Kart. Not to mention these are all different types of racers. Sony had that with the original PlayStation. A sim racing game like Gran Turismo and a mascot type one with Crash Team Racing.

Even beyond racers, Nintendo is strange with its releases. No new Kid Icarus between 1991 and 2012. No new Punch-Out between 1994 and 2009. A 15 year wait for a new Pilotwings game. They may not reach Kirby or Metroid levels of success, but you can compliment this for something like the Switch. You can only go so far with playing the best sellers of Mario, Zelda, Pokemon, Splatoon, and Animal Crossing. I would argue the oversaturation of Mario across many genres being a factor a little bit. Why play Golden Sun or Advance Wars when you can play Paper Mario or the Mario and Luigi games?

Companies should always think about creating new potential franchise. But the worry I think people have with Nintendo is abandoning them for so long that they question if there will ever be a new release. I could see Splatoon getting abandoned at the drop of a hat, and that's a moderate success considering it's fared better compared to other Nintendo releases. I also question if the company thinks there is appeal for some of their titles outside of Japan. We're not in the late 80s and early 90s anymore where knowledge is limited on some of these releases. 

We are in a resurgence of old franchises returning. Medal of Honor came back in December. ToeJam and Earl came out in 2019. Streets of Rage returned last year. A new TMNT set to release sometime soon. Mega Man, House of the Dead, Crash Bandicoot. The list goes on. Nintendo has a deep well of titles they can go back to. How about a new StarTropics? For some giggles, how about remaking Radar Scope? If there's a time to strike while the iron is hot, these next couple of years with the Switch is that opportunity.

Geeks and Jocks: Episode 73

New episode

https://anchor.fm/ryan-sullivan1gaj/episodes/Episode-73-RageDisappointed-evpaqg

Awards Show Tune Out

There's bad, and then there's abysmal. The drop in ratings for the Oscars was expected, but not to where it would drop to below ten million viewers. From Nielsen, it was around 9.8 million. Plenty of factors come into play for this year in particular. I also have serious doubt on whether there will be an increase for next year on account of the tune out of these awards shows.

Number one obviously is the pandemic. Once it hit around February and March last year, tons of theaters closed down. Plenty of movies planned were pushed back. Production for many were delayed. Studios are still trying to get an audience by hoping things are normal around the summer or fall. Some of these nominations are from streaming, which goes into the next issue. It's not a filmmakers fault for making what they want, but it is something that tunes out viewers.

Two is movies nobody knows about. I've never heard of Nomadland until now. It won several Oscars, including one for director Chloe Zhao. This is a growing problem, and it's not the fault of Zhao. I don't think a smaller film shouldn't be deserving, but there are much bigger films that deserve their chance to shine, and I'm talking big ones that aren't comic book adaptations. I don't think anyone will remember Nomadland in five, ten years time. It will be like what happened with Slumdog Millionaire. Won awards, but no one cared after 2010.

Three is politics. While I don't think it's the number one factor in the ratings decline, I think it still plays a factor. The amount of pandering these actors do and the films that win. That's not what viewers want to listen to. This isn't a new phenomenon, but it has grown so much in the last decade that the escape from reality is unescapable. I question if some of these actors understand politics. It applies to some of these other awards shows and it's getting more dangerous by the day.

Last is predictability. This isn't new, but it does get tiring when you see the same studios winning over and over. Snubs are common. One example is animated films. Disney usually wins and it bothers viewers. I would think Souls is good, but the thought of better animated films more deserving to win will linger into the viewer's mind.

The only other thing that could be a factor is length. Sure, it could play a role in decline, but other facets of viewing could be a contributing factor. Why do you think Viacom tries to get most of its cable channels to air the same awards show? Regardless, these awards shows are going to have to find ways to get viewership back, and I don't think they have enough to drive interest to these programs.

Shrek at 20

Technically, the book turned 30 back in October. But for most people, this is what they remember. I didn't think it released around this time. Maybe in the middle of May, but I was wrong. The film adaptation of Shrek turned 20 back on the 22nd. One of the big films of the new millennium and one that had its impact on animated films in general. But what was it that made it special? An ogre and a donkey making a deal with a lord to rescue a princess doesn't feel special on paper. 

It was not your typical type of animated film. Fairy tales had a a formula. Disney films had one, too. This didn't. While it follows some stuff in its plot, it beat to its own drum. They poked fun at the stereotypes. Turned everything upside down. It was a little more adult compared to other kids films. Cursing like in Antz and The Iron Giant. Witty dialogue, banter. A well produced script. Even bad guys that have their shining moments

I'd argue the CGI at that point was amazing, though some characters are a little rough despite having a different identity compared to Pixar. The casting is excellent. It wasn't your biggest names, but they could drive a box office if given the right circumstances. I think music played a factor. A song can make a movie if used right. Although not a new song at the time, Smash Mouth's All-Star has been very iconic over the last 20 years because of being used in the opening scene. Beyond that, there was other licensed songs that helped with scenes.

You weren't seeing anything like Shrek. The best of the franchise? I'd argue the second film is just as good, if not, better. The rest, I can't complain about because I've only seen the third film once and that was around 2009 or 2010. Never really had reason to watch the fourth film. Still, you can't go wrong with the original. Sometimes, it's easy to forget where some of these companies were back then before getting huge.

YouTube Videos: Apr 16-22

 

Geeks and Jocks: Episode 72

 New episode

https://anchor.fm/ryan-sullivan1gaj/episodes/Episode-72-The-Edge-eva22i

PS3 Returns... Sort Of

This was a 180 today. A few weeks ago, Sony announced the shutdown of the PlayStation 3 store along with the Vita and PSP. If I'm judging it, I wasn't surprised. My thought was around this period of time where it would be shutting down. In a blog from CEO Jim Ryan, they have reversed course. For now, PS3 and Vita stores will still be open. However, the PSP one will be shut in July.

Just because they will stick around for longer, doesn't mean others' worry and a couple of my blogs will be wrong.  It will happen one day. Same with the 360, 3DS, Wii U, what have you. I'm still a little confused about the PSP storefront shutting down. I thought it closed in 2016. Unless I read something wrong, maybe there was something that allowed you to still buy games on its store. Whatever the case, it's a 16 year old system and wouldn't get hurt too much. A very good chunk of its library can by found physically and a number of the digital stuff are games that most will not care much about. Not all, but a decent amount.

The Vita not getting the shaft is a win. Out of the three, this one was what was going to suffer the most due to a huge part of its library being digital only. To go along with the system being a failure, it isn't easy to amass games for it. Of course, that and PS3 have games that garner attention a lot more than PSP from a digital only standpoint. Still, I'd save up a bit to get titles, but not in a panic type of mind now. Look for the ones that are digital only first and keep an eye on prices of physical copies versus the digital ones. Makes a difference in spending six to ten dollars and spending 50 or more.

Enjoy while it lasts.

Rotting Cable Journalism

For the record, I am not affiliated with organizations like Project Veritas. I find the story interesting as a whole. Out of the trio of cable news networks, CNN has dropped the most in its ratings lately. Sites like TheWrap reporting just barely over a million on average during one week in March. The whole month of March at 1.2 million according to Deadline.  Why the drop?

One of the main aspects is the targeting of Donald Trump over the last five years. Last year was not good altogether. Whatever the case, this Veritas thing did an expose on a technical director for CNN. In a video, the guy, Charlie Chester, talked on a date with an undercover woman about multiple things. Talking about how great it was CNN wanted Trump out of office and succeeded. Focusing on climate change for a new narrative to obsess about. Racial crimes for anything that didn't involve Black Lives Matter not being reported as published by Weareresonate.com.  COVID numbers.

Essentially, Chester told the woman about the network's stuff over this past year. It reeks of how bad journalistic integrity is over at CNN. There are other networks and reporters just as bad, but this takes the cake. It's already bad enough when you have the controversies of Chris Cuomo, a recent interview Don Lemon did in regards to ratings and being happy his ratings are low. How low of a bar can you get with journalism? Probably down to the center of the core.

This Project Veritas did get banned on Twitter. Or at least the founder, James O'Keefe. Supposedly, it was for having alternative accounts. Anyone have a feeling it was something other than that? Whatever the reason, his plans are to sue the site and CNN. I'm not sure if he would win, but it would expose the issues of news networks and the influence of social media and their bias. What's sad is that CNN used to be something to watch. I think 2021 will continue to be very rough. People do get tired of antics of networks.

YouTube Videos: April 9-15

 

Baseball Food... You're in Danger!

Justin Turner of the LA Dodgers hits a home run last night. The baseball lands in a fan's nachos, covering his cardigan. But Turner and the team got him some nachos and new apparel. Pretty good on their part. It will be a funny story for the season, but not for anyone that enjoys ballpark cuisine. Two food stories for MLB come to mind. 

One is a 2007 Boston Red Sox game against the LA Angels. Foul ball goes into the stands at Fenway. Multiple people get doused in beer. A jackass decides to throw a pizza at a fan. Whether this was directed towards the Angels outfielder, I do not know. But the replay got Red Sox broadcaster Jerry Remy laughing really hard. Another one is the Minnesota Twins pork chop on a stick in 2010 at then new Target Field. New York Yankees reporter Kim Jones is holding one. A fan takes bites out of it, disgusting the YES Network broadcasters.

Ball players will even take food from people. Don Mattingly, while not the first, grabbed a piece of popcorn while on the field during his playing days. Prince Fielder helped himself to a nacho. Anyone can be hungry at any time. Look at the NFL's Mark Sanchez in 2009 with a hot dog. Fielder also proved that you're not safe even on the upper deck of a stadium in 2015. Similar to the Turner home run, but a foul ball going into a thing of nachos.

Nachos is almost like the comfort food equivalency in sports for fans if hot dogs are not their first choice. Different stadiums offer a variety of choices. You can get hamburgers, chicken tenders. Cool off with an ice cream sundae or in a cone. Just be aware of your surroundings. The food ain't cheap unless you want to be shown for a while on sports reels all over the country.

Geeks and Jocks: Episode 71

New episode

https://anchor.fm/ryan-sullivan1gaj/episodes/Episode-71-Delayed-Concussed-eurn7l

The Last of Us Remake= Bad Idea

There is some fun with The Last of Us. But compared to most people, I do see it as a bit overrated. It took about five years for me to really warm up to it. Great game, but not one I'd put in the best games ever category. Same with the sequel. Word on the street now is that Sony is doing a remake of it and it's bothered a number of smaller developers that they own. It also came about as a new sequel to Days Gone got rejected.

Judging by places like IGN and TheVerge, something is brewing inside Sony. The way I look at it, this is a very bad idea. We're talking a game that turns eight in June. With The Last of Us, it was a reason to still stick with the PlayStation 3. It was a showpiece for a late release. Hardware pushing that could have been a very early PS4 game. Different approach to gameplay compared to Uncharted. Fantastic audio direction. The PS4 got a remaster a year after its debut. What else can you do with this game?

Honestly, there are a lot of PlayStation games from Sony that deserve a remake a lot more than The Last of Us. How about a Syphon Filter remake? Or something like Jet Moto, Legend of Dragoon? This is a problem across all companies to make games that could potentially be franchises. Sony downsized on several Japanese studios recently, so that might make things a bit more difficult. I see people complain about stuff Sony Japan Studio made and not continue on. Maybe if some of them bought more of Ape Escape and other titles, they wouldn't be in this situation. Same with many developers.

The only thing I could see improved with The Last of Us is the graphics and that's it. Supposedly, there might be one or two additional stuff that could be done with the game, but who knows. I don't know where this will go. It's one thing to re-release a game for a new generation (Switch Online, Doom, Resident Evil), but a full blown remake? This will do well, but at what cost? I've enjoyed Naughty Dog's output since 1996, but resources could have been put into a new IP or another developer.

Mid-Life Crustacean: What Gives?

SpongeBob SquarePants is no stranger to questionable content that would fly past kids. Lots of cartoons have subtle adult references or skate on boundaries. This was a few weeks ago, but the 2003 episode, Mid-Life Crustacean got pulled from streaming. I didn't know it was pulled out of circulation on TV back in 2018, according to a Nickelodeon representative who talked to sites like IGN. Very quick, I'll mention another episode, Kwarantined Krab that got pulled because of COVID type scenarios. That's obvious. But back to the main point of this blog.

Crustacean is a Mr. Krabs led episode and one of his more unique episodes. He joins SpongeBob and Patrick for a night on the town and is pissed about what they think is good. For redemption, Patrick suggest a panty raid, but get caught by Krabs' mother. I'm assuming the panty raid bit is what got them busted in '18 and why it got removed from several streaming sites. This is why I hate the stigma of cartoons being only for kids, something that has been commonplace since the 1950s.

There are lots of cartoons that have hidden jokes, panty shots, various things that will get a chuckle or shocked expression from adults that used to watch those shows. They will understand a lot more material. But why SpongeBob? Unfortunately, he is still a current property and the show is still on the air after almost 22 years. Like Ren and Stimpy, and Rugrats, he is a cash cow. Not to mention the outrage culture and anyone that will look for any excuse to censor stuff.

Nickelodeon did not comment on why this occurred. That's a bad move. But it's not like Krabs came out a winner at the end of the episode. Maybe "standards" have changed over the years? If that's the case, re-evaluate every cartoon, then, if they are so "concerned". Hell, bring back those banned Beavis and Butt-Head episodes since they are much tamer compared to South Park and other shows. Get your hands on DVD's of the third season if you can. 

One last thing I'll mention is another episode, Just One Bite. While it's deleted scene of Squidward catching fire from gas is funny, it's not hard to understand why the bit is cut. I understand fans may want the uncut version, but that will never happen in the United States. It sucks, but nothing you can do. 

YouTube Videos: Apr 2-8

 

Geeks and Jocks: Episode 70

New episode

https://anchor.fm/ryan-sullivan1gaj/episodes/Episode-70-The-Circus-of-Mess-eucgkd

NCAA Basketball Championship Thoughts

I don't have a lot to say regarding the National Championship game between Baylor and Gonzaga, so I'll try to keep it brief.

For what Scott Drew has been able to do since 2003, he revived Baylor. To get their first championship is something the school should be proud. They played very well on both sides of the ball. Shooting the three pointer at the right time. Physical defense, which did get them into a little trouble with one fouling out. But the result were a lot of steals and blocks. Offensive rebounds that made a difference. They were dominant from the start and it showed.

While refs dictated their championship loss in 2017, Gonzaga got outplayed in this one. Hesitation to shoot, especially in the second half. Going cold on free throws. Missing a lot of three point shots. They looked sloppy. Even when it got down to single digit deficits, too many turnovers and poor passes. They hit a wall and couldn't recover at any point. I'm not sure if the team will have an opportunity any time soon to get back to the championship game.

I've seen worse games. Mediocre game overall, but a couple times where it felt like a ball game was present. 

Tips for PS3, PSP and Vita Digital

This should go without saying, but this topic will have meaning until July 2nd for PlayStation 3 and PSP. Vita on August 27th. If you still like this blog piece after that, feel free to keep clicking as this will apply to other competitors as well. Let's begin.

People are going to want games digitally for PS3, PSP, and Vita. I got a few tips on what to do. 

1. Look for digital only first. I'm not saying you should ignore the physical stuff that were also digital first, but the ones that were digital only should be looked into. These are what you lose for good when a store shuts down. Getting stuff like a Life is Strange and House of the Dead 4 should be a priority. Find what you may like and get it while you can. 

2. Go digital if a physical copy is impossible or expensive. This will apply to PS1 and PS2 games digitally as well. It would be easier to get Silent Hill on PSN because it's not a 70 dollar game. For six dollars, hell yeah. You can easily get into some Turbografx stuff due to it flopping back in the 90s and games not being easy to find for both availability and price. Even some of the Sega stuff can be easily gotten like Sonic CD and Nights into Dreams. For PS3, PSP, and Vita, keep eye on where the prices are for physical releases. It's up to you to determine whether or not you go the physical or digital route for a specific game.

3. Is DLC and online relevant to a game? If it's stuff like costumes and microtransactions, I would hold on to your cash. If you think it's a priority to get additional content such as extra levels, side games, that's what I would focus on. Be weary of online as both PS3 and Xbox 360 have been shutting down servers of games and will continue to do so. Buy at your own risk, especially for stuff like this.

4. Use the Search feature. There is a misconception that games are deleted off of PS1 Classics and other sections. While true in some cases, people do not want to search. When using that feature, you can look for the game that was supposedly deleted. Don't assume quickly a game was taken off.

If you think there's other tips that should be said about shopping digitally for PS3, PSP, and Vita, leave a comment. Making the experience easier and smoother should be something we should aim for. 

MLB Buckle Down

Bowing down to Hollywood, DC, and a few other groups is not something that should happen. But MLB is doing it. A week ago, a law passed in Georgia in regards to voting. From what I gathered, photo ID is required. A ban on giving out food and water and one absentee ballot in each county. The absentee stuff, I would be a little bothered, but the other two, I don't see the issue. Unfortunately, others do and pressure mounted to move the All-Star game out of Atlanta. On Friday, the league did that.

Very obviously, Atlanta is hugely disappointed. I don't know if Hollywood will fully go with their plan, but they are looking to boycott the state in terms of filming movies and other projects. What I think complicates things is ESPN doing an interview with President Joe Biden and his thoughts on it. He didn't force MLB to move it, but the network can be an influencer. Basically, we're back to where they were in 2016-17 when ratings tanked on several programs because of politics.

But here's the thing. The Associated Press lately has had polls about having ID. Both sides of the political spectrum are in favor of it at over 50 percent. That's a shocker. Unless I'm missing something, shouldn't celebrities and sports leagues want to reduce voter fraud? Make sure that their vote counted and other factors? And the cost of a photo ID isn't even expensive.  I'm struggling to see where this is voter suppression and targeting specific groups of people. The only thing I would not agree with is the absentee voting being in one part of a county. Two or three would have sufficed per county.

Unfortunately, MLB is buckling down to pressure. I think a lot of has to do with sponsorships. You can make the case of Washington going after them if they wanted to. Right now, there are some senators that are looking to remove an antitrust exemption the league has had since 1922. There is no win win situation at all. Rob Manfred keeps putting himself in the crosshairs as he has for the last year and a half. Honestly, I don't think anyone is looking at the details of this bill. Feels like a lot of outrage over nothing. Very disappointed at baseball. But money and power are the only things that matter in regards to corporate companies.

YouTube Videos: Mar 26-Apr 1

 

YouTube Dislikes... HIDE!

You have a video on YouTube. If it does decent enough, you can see people giving it a like or a dislike. Now, the website is experimenting as brought up by sites like IGN. There have been times where certain videos have been targeted for mass dislikes. Certain movie trailers. Games, songs, what have you. This isn't new by any means, but it has been something that is seen as a "problem."

Part of it might have to do with Star Wars. There's a lot of things that can be said for the franchise and everything in between. You have a fanbase that does not like the direction Disney and Lucasfilm is going towards. Too much stuff over the last six years. Double standards regarding the firing of Gina Carano (yet that piece of shit Mark Hamill can say disturbing and nasty things on Twitter). That's just the beginning. If Disney is going to YouTube to curb this "issue", it tells you more of how thin skinned the conglomerate is with criticism. Corporate companies not liking that they get bashed.

Catering to Hollywood and the news (liberals, I don't know) would only hurt the site. YouTube is not only those type of videos. It's also big content from people who grew their own brand and trends and many other things. Canning the dislike would cause much more trouble.  You have to have criticism. Is it all legit? No, but I don't think it's doom and gloom for all videos. If it's panned by more than just a "dislike campaign", you know you've done something wrong. I get it a little bit. Some people get really nasty stuff posted all the time. Its top 50 most disliked videos include a Justin Bieber song, Logan Paul, and several other prominent people. But disregarding criticism is something that would cause more damage than to fix.

When it comes to changes, YouTube is usually met with a lot of criticism. Honestly, they come off as people who don't give a shit about its content creators. They are basically robots and don't listen to anything. Whatever the case is, they should not bow down to Disney or any of the Hollywood douchebags. Or even politicians. Criticism can help determine what works, what can be fixed, if something is wrong. You lose that dislike feature, and it will be hard to gauge if the video was a success or failure.