Welcome once again to the Tuesday spot with 411MAX! It’s a watered down column this week considering that I had a HUGE project in Statistics to finish, and that took precedence. But I should’ve been long finished with the thing before tonight anyway. So I’m punishing myself by watching the encore presentation of the SpikeTV Video Game Awards as I’m typing this. And it hurts. Very much.
And speaking of which, that Spike TV finale I promised last Friday is being pushed to this Friday due to my wonderful time constraints and sleep needs. I know that you loyal readers may be disappointed (All three of you. HI MOM!), but I got to do it to keep my sanity.
So lets jump right into it, then. ON WITH THE NEWS!
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Remember That Sega/Sammy Merger Thing?
No, Sega and Sammy haven’t merged, and I’m not bringing it up for some idiotic nostalgia trip. (Not that nostalgia trips are idiotic on the whole, mind you. Most are pretty cool.) BUT, Sammy has officially acquired 22.4 shares of Sega’s stock, making them nearly a quarter owner in the company.
They purchased the shares from Sega’s biggest stockholder, CSK Corporation. They’ll lose their hold over Sega, but reap a massive profit in the mean time.
Sammy has officially stated that there are no plans to acquire additional shares, but there will be changes in the company, especially Sega of America.
All I ask is that…DON’T SCREW UP ONE OF MY TOP 5 COMPANIES, SAMMY! Or I’ll NEVER by another Guilty Gear game as long as I live. You have been warned.
(Credit goes to Gamespot)
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Pokémon R/S Full Of Bugs! (No, not Weedles and Wurmples.)
It turns out that come Japanese copies of Pokémon: Ruby and Sapphire have started to exhibit bugs…now. Thanks to an error in the game’s internal game clock, players who had the game running for more than a year have problems with berry growing and purchasing lottery tickets from the Lillycove Department Store.
Nintendo has offered to fix these broken carts, and assures the public that it won’t affect play in Pokémon Coliseum, much to Alex Lucard’s delight.
So far, the U.S. carts are in good shape, but make sure you check them to make sure.
(Credit goes to Gamespot)
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Sega Pulls a Sega!
You know, I should never give Sega credit to laugh at another company like I did last Friday. Then the come and make a really stupid maneuver. Sheesh.
This time, they’ve gone and sued Electronic Arts because of the fact that The Simpsons: Road Rage mirrors the gameplay found in Crazy Taxi.
Uh…Sega? The game was released TWO YEARS AGO!!! Did you just wake up and realize this now? I mean, if you were going to do something, you should have done it when the game was (a) still in development, or (b) just released.
Honestly, I love you guys, but you can be REAL BONEHEADS sometimes!
(Credit goes to Gamespot)
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Square-Enix Gets Some Brownie With Me
As I write this, copies of Final Fantasy Chronicles, Final Fantasy Anthology, Vagrant Story, and Xenogears are making their way to stores one more time under the Playstation’s Greatest Hits label. Yes, all of these classic games are $20 a piece.
I’m going to be perfectly honest here and say that trading these games in were really big mistakes for me. It’ll be great to get these games back for such a small price. Lucard be damned, I MISS these games! So there!
(Credit goes to Games Are Fun
There’s your news. Since we’re still pressed for time, we’re just gonna skip straight to the…
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PLUGS & SHILLS THAT PAY THE BILLS
Here’s what you missed Friday and Monday…
Encore Extra Stage News Report — Me, Myself and I
News, and haikus. What’s not to like?
Gamer’s Hangover News Report — Cory Laflin
An actual hangover for the Hangover? Really? I GOT to see this!…er…read this!
Review: Medal of Honor (PS2) — Michael O’Reily
Decent shooter, decent score. Mike gives you more details.
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PARTING THOUGHTS
I apologize for the length of this thing, I really do. I’m vastly approaching Finals this week and next, so things are a bit hectic…at least I got more material for my SpikeTV Awards look! (That’s a bad thing, really.)
Keep an EYE out on this spot next week for something INCREDIBLY cool! I’ll be divulging all the details this Friday, and you’ll enjoy it. Trust me.
Until next time, do your schoolwork. You’ll put out longer columns that way.
Alex Williams