It\'s a pretty fricking sweet time to be a gamer if you ask me. There is so much going on now and so much about to happen; how could you not be excited? It seems as if there will be something for every gamer, and multiple somethings for a lot of us. As far as handhelds go we\'ve got two strong systems to choose from right at the moment, and while both have their drawbacks they\'re still pretty cool. They manage to serve different enough purposes that a person could pick up the one best for them, or both, and be pretty happy. The next generation of consoles seems to be shaping up much the same. Instead of hunkering down and taking sides for the next console war, we should be ecstatic about all the possibilities. Most people can\'t afford to get all the systems, and this can be frustrating, but at least those people will have three solid and different systems to choose from. I say whoopy for us, and I hope most of you agree with me.

Last mailbag featured responses to our \"Why Nintendo Gets It, Or Should Sony Start Trying\" editorial. Being a site made up of many writer/gamers with many opinions, you guys weren\'t the only ones with something to say. Chris Martin wrote up his take in \"Revolution and the Next Generation, or Popular Belief and the Gaming Industry.\" Here\'s how one gamer felt about Chris\'s thoughts:

• Chris,
  
  While I agree with elements of both articles written at GamesFirst on the Revolution controller, I thought that your article was especially succinct. It articled all of the same concerns I was having about the controller and the state of Nintendo, while the other article contained all of my enthusiasm.
  
  One other problem I think the revolution might have in store for itself,is /confusing /people with the controller. Yeah, I know it\'s deceptivley simple, but I think alot of people expect videogame controllers to be a certain way, if you know what I mean, and when it is deviated too far, even if for the reasons to simplify, then people get confused. Case in point: I go to an art school with a game design major, and even some of my /gamer /classmates were not clear on how the controller worked! I don\'t think alot of people realize that it is,essentially, a /3D-space/ pointer. I think many will see it as a wand that acts like a mouse, aka, on a /2D plane/. For Nintendo\'s sake, I hope they are able to convey how the thing works to the public.
  
  It dawned on me that Nintendo, with all of their gameplay revolutions over the years, could easily survive as a software/controller /only /company! Think about it, maybe the reason why the revolution isn\'t high-def is because it /only/ plays NES-GameCube era games (all of which were standard-def), and is primairly designed as a controll system for the PS3, and XBox 360, hence the /360/... Hey, a guy can dream! Wouldn\'t that be cool if...
  
  Colin Robertson

Chris took a moment to respond to Colin and further his ideas on the subject a bit:

Thanks for your response, Colin. Nintendo confusing gamers with their controller is also a problem, but not detrimental to their growth as a company. Nintendo is about making games, and their controller will never be thought of anything less than a controller for games. I had originally thought that the casual \"remote\" look of the controller had something to do with making the console fit in with the rest of one\'s appliances, but I now believe it is to make the controller feel familiar to the user--assuming, of course, a gamer is familiar with a household television remote.

Nintendo\'s goal or not, the Revolution controller looks natural to the user. But Nintendo runs the risk of confusing the gaming populace if it intends to release add-ons for it, making it some kind of hardware-assimilating creature that grows with every clip-on. Maybe not. But I think add-ons can only hurt the credibility of a new style of controller. If we are to believe this controller works, we must see it work on its own, (with or without its \"nunchaku\" dongle, that\'s not important)--but essentially without any after-purchase additions. My reasoning is, if I\'m going to be using the aftermarket add-on more than the actual controller, what\'s the point of making the remote the standard controller. Why not make the add-on unit standard, and the wand an extra investment?

I don\'t actually think Nintendo will be eliminated from this next console war, and, therefore, do not subscribe to the idea it would ever make its hardware (the wand) for any other company. It is a nice dream, but about as likely as Mario and Sonic starring in a game together...not to say it wouldn\'t happen, but eight years ago it would have been unheard of. You never know.

I tried to come up with some Console Wars 2 and World War 2 analogy for right here. I just couldn\'t decide who would be the Axis and who would be the Allies. Though, I am pretty sure I know where Jack Thompson is. Hmmm...

Speaking of scary people, I thought Scientologists were a little odd. Turns out Giantologists are even worse. We ran an article on the Giantology Blog and we had one very upset Giantologist on our hands.

Hardwarp2000 wrote:

• dude are you serious? the giantolagy is a blog, if it was a markating campaign dont you think it would feature only one giant creature and would actually have links or information related to a video game?
  
  all it is is a blog of someone who studies giant creatures, why does everything unbeleavable have to be related to a video game by you amatures.
  
  Dude, get a life.

Nope, I don\'t fix the spelling errors when I post your letter. Especially if you\'re mean.

Instead of \"getting a life\" Shawn replied:

Oh, man, you gave us a good laugh. Did you even look at the page? Have you played Shadow of the Colossus? Big, hairy animal-thing giants made of stone and flesh? The giants corresponding exactly to Colossi you kill in the game (minotaur, electric eel, etc.)? Sounds like the same game we\'re playing. The funky \"emblem\" shaped bald spots shown in the videos? Yep, that\'s where you\'re supposed to stab them things.

On a more cynical note, what blogger provides videos in two formats, well-optimized and hyper-amateur, like so many Blair Witch Project clones? The videos on Giantology are all provided in both WMV and MOV format, a clear sign of more professional origins.

Finally, Sony has stated that they will use several different viral marketing techniques to promote the game, in addition to a massive print and online advertising campaigns. Here\'s a quote from their press release, dated October 18th, 2005:

\"For the viral campaign, various efforts will be conducted including a unique video comedy series, available on Heavy.com featuring scenes
from the game. The video series, titled \"Dr. Philprah, Colossus Whisperer,\" is a parody on the main character in Shadow of the Colosuss, who is portrayed as a talk-show host.\"

So the Heavy.com thing is one angle they\'re pursuing, but they imply
other viral marketing campaigns, too. Go read the press release if you don\'t believe me.

And, dammit, you just tricked us into dedicating more time to
Giantology. We\'re playing the game! What more do you want, Sony? (Do
you work for Sony?)

Thanks for reading,

Shawn

Lastly we make good with our neighbors to the north after an itty bitty jab in a recent podcast.

• Hey guys. I\'m a listener of your podcast and by and large quite enjoy it. However, today I was frustrated to listen to you take a stab at Canada by stating that someone who was paid $3,000 for the Zelda III cartridge was in reality paid like $12. For your information, the lowest the Canadian dollar ever hit recently was $0.62US and that was in fact some time ago. Our dollar has been on a sharp uptrend and is currently at $0.85US with no sign of hitting upward resistance. This is largely due to the rapid tanking of the value of the US dollar due to the inept economic policies of the Bush Corporation...err...Administration. I appreciate that you were likely making your comment only in jest, but I believe that comments like this further the overwhelming ignorance that the American public at large has of other countries, particularly mine. If our roles were reversed, I really doubt you would have seen such a comment levied at you from this side of the border. Keep up the good work.
  
  Parallax Abstraction
  Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Not wanting to mess up our plans for world domination we quickly recanted.

Parallax,

Thanks so much for your kind words about the podcast. We try hard to make it entertaining and a bit lighter than the written content on the site, and we don\'t mean to offend (unless you\'re Jack Thompson).

In fact, you\'re totally right. At the time of writing and the sale, the $3000 CAD was worth approximately $2500 USD -- not much of a shift at all. Being located in Buffalo, NY, we have been at hand to see the upswing in the value of the Canadian dollar. And we like to think that by running to Canada anytime our president decides to celebrate his (lack of) success, we\'ve helped out a little with the improved exchange rate.

In fact, Val and I thought it was especially funny because the joke has the added value of making fun of how little Americans know about Canada, thus being a textured joke about America that our neighbors to the North would enjoy. That\'s what we call multi-purpose comedy. After a couple viewings of Second City in Toronto, we figured Canadians could have a sense of humor about it, too.

And if you don\'t believe us that Americans know nothing about Canada, try this for fun: Ask an American to name three provinces. Now ask a Canadian to name three states. See what I mean?

We apologize to anyone who was offended by our humor, and we hope that it won\'t deter you from enjoying our podcast in the future. We promise to visit Toronto this winter as pennance and spend lots of money.

Thanks for writing,
Shawn

Parallax (The Canadian, not the evil Green Lantern) wrote us once more. Pretty much to say \"it\'s all good\". Once again Gamesfirst! has averted a continental war.

• ...you didn\'t really offend me as it were. I just get a little riled up sometimes when I see jokes being made that generally further America\'s ignorance of our nation. I mean, it\'s not like you were that Republican a while back who said on CNN that Canada should be thankful to even be allowed to exist on the same continent as the US. :) Though if I may make a suggestion, don\'t go to Toronto. Everyone in this country hates that town. They have a real center-of-the-universe complex. If you guys want to make the trip here to Ottawa I\'m sure you\'ll enjoy yourselves more. I appreciate your quick and light-hearted response to my e-mail. You guys definitely put on a great show and I look forward to hearing more in the future. Keep up the great work!

I personally love the Canadians. It\'s the French that I can\'t stand.

Keep sending those letters.

Matt \"The fat, greedy American\" James