G-pinions

I really think releasing movies for the PSP, as they're doing so now, is a waste of time and resources. They just announced that House of Flying Daggers is the newest addition to a line-up of almost entirely crap - Spider-Man 2, XXX, Hellboy, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, and Once Upon a Time in Mexico. As beautiful and bodacious as the PSP's screen is, who wants to watch an action movie on it? And for $20-25? The only things I can see fit for release would be TV shows, especially sitcoms and animated ones, and as much as I despise most of it, anime series. Watching an episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force on the train seems to make a lot more sense than watching a goddamn third of XXX. And I understand that they're trying to appeal to a gaming audience by releasing poopy crap like RE2, but if anything I'd say gamers will steer clear of that pile sooner than the average chump. It just seems like putting the time and marketing money into making movies a part of the system, which I can't see being successful in any capacity, is exactly what they shouldn't be doing when they don't even have the games nailed down completely yet. Maybe something for later is the system's lifespan, when there's a wide enough user base to have a nice minimum market, but for now, ugh.

And my god, what have Ubisoft done to the wonderful Lumines box art? The Japanese art was so cool and unique; the American one looks like some desperate appeal to a non-existent gaming raver culture:



I guess as bad at that is, it still pales in comparison to the quintessential instance of changing box from great to terrible (US on the left this time, obviously - I don't feel like re-photoshopping):



Man, I still can't get over that. And now Sony might not bring Wanda and the Colossus to the US because of how poorly Ico sold. And even they blame the box art. What a tragedy - I might have to import it is if does indeed stay in Japan. I can maybe, possibly understand changing the art to better explain what the game is about, but neither of these examples even do that. The Lumines one just makes it look like a dance game, and the Ico one just makes it look like a lame platformer or something. These people should be impaled on a bed of paintbrushes for their sins. Anyhow, that's enough bitching for today. I'm just mad cause I'm too much of a wuss to play Resident Evil by myself, and Dan isn't home.