G-pinions

I know this is only my third edition of Lunch with Tom, but I should throw out there the spontaneous nature of these columns. I don't plan ahead at all. Sure, my mind is swarming with ideas while I mindlessly highlight document numbers during the first four hours of my shift, but I certainly don't settle on anything ahead of time. The point is to gush about whatever is taking over my thoughts at the moment. I think it's worked fairly well so far.

Today, however, was supposed to be different. There was going to be breaking news today. Last night, as the clock crept closer to midnight, I was staying up as late as my eyes would allow. Microsoft was going to have a press conference in Tokyo, the first major announcements of the Tokyo Game Show were imminent. Clearly, MS is going to announce something, right? Che, formerly of EGM but now working for the Big M, even said a huge announcement should be expected. What could it be? Devil May Cry for the X360? Maybe Resident Evil 5 exclusively on the system? Oh! Maybe Rare has a new game coming out! Thankfully, I went to bed at an early enough hour so I could function today. The big announcement was definitely not worth staying up late for.

Last year at this time I stayed up until the crack of dawn. Nintendo was unveiling the Wii controller. That is big news. The megaton last night: a firmware update for the X360 later this year will allow games to be played in 1080p.

Wow.

That is the lamest "huge" announcement I have ever heard. How many people does this even affect? A ridiculously small percentage of people actually own an HDTV that can support 1080p. I think it's safe to assume most of those people aren't even gamers, just lousy richies. Here is where I'm slightly confused, though. I don't know much about boring technology, but I do remember some bits of information which surfaced after Sony unveiled different versions of the PS3 earlier this year. From what I understand, one needs an HDMI port for the TV to receive that uber-HD signal. So while this news may sound impressive to technophiles, this doesn't actually mean anything at all. Can't the X360 already do 1080i anyway? I can't even tell the difference between HD and regular TV when my friend changes between ESPN and ESPN HD. Are there actually people out there who can tell the difference between 1080i and 1080p? Are there people out there who actually care about such an insignificant thing?

If this is Microsoft's most impressive Japanese announcement I think it's safe to assume they have officially raised the white flag. I understand that nothing would be able to convince Japanese gamers to buy this console, but a little effort would be appreciated. I was hoping they would announce some partnership with Square, other than that crappy MMORPG that no one cared about. How many people even played the X360 version of FFXI? "Yes," an MS spokesman could have said, "Final Fantasy XIII is still PS3 exclusive, but we have FFXII-2. Isn't that something?" And it would have been! Instead, it seems they are quite content selling 12 consoles a month. Just release your last two Japanese games - Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey - and be done with the whole territory.

Since Nintendo isn't even making the trip to Tokyo, I'm hoping Sony does something mildly interesting later this week. Everyone assumes this will be the moment Sony finally shines, but we have expected big things before only to be disappointed. I'm not going to hold out hope, but here is one thing I would like to know - what is Sony planning on doing with their online network? I highly doubt they will be able to create an integrated community like MS has. Sony claims their network will not only rival Live in functionality, but will free of charge as well. This won't happen. It just doesn't seem possible. So they will either have a crummy online system or will announce a monthly fee. Either way, I'm very interested how this turns out. Note to Sony - if you have bad news to deliver, do it at the beginning of your conference. And don't talk about Giant Crabs or taunt the Japanese for the tiny allotment of systems they are getting this year. People hate being taunted.

You want something more exciting than this? I was listening to the GAF Podcast today. GAF is, of course, a message board. I have no idea why a message board has their own Podcast, but I was shocked to find out it was better than any other Podcast I have listened to. You can use this to fill your G void until the next edition of our Podcast surfaces. I didn't add this paragraph to gush about this new show, though. Rather, at one point they talked about this Tingle RPG that just came out on the NDS in Japan. Like any rational gamer, Tingle creeps the hell out of me. He's that floating elf guy in the more recent Zelda games. I have no idea why Nintendo ever thought it was a good idea to make such a character, but I am even more baffled that they built a whole game around him. However, the game sounds hysterical. The goal is to make enough money to be happy. So you go around collecting rubies (I'm not sure how the game actually plays...) and, when you have enough, you give them to this guy. What guy? Just some random guy with big promises. Every time you give him more money, though, he has changed appreciably since last you met. He just keeps using the money you give him to buy fancy stuff for himself. I have no idea if this game is actually fun to play, but I am seriously interested in it now. A Nintendo game starring a gay elf who gets swindled out of money? I am so there.