Archive for the ‘Features’ Category
April Fools: Best Video Game Industry Pranks
April Fools Day. This was probably my favorite holiday growing up because you could be truly cruel and no one would call you on it because you were still a young buck. Well, as much as we in the video game industry (this includes fans) try to fight the fact that our hobby is seen as child’s play, there’s no reason to believe we wouldn’t run with it. Here are some of the best (and most cruel) April Fools Day pranks played over the years (and yes, I’m aware they’re all EGM pranks, sue me):
1992 – Sheng Long
It was probably the first or second year that Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) began doing the April Fools Pranks that they introduced the legendary character Sheng Long in Street Fighter II. The way it came about dealt with the English localization of the arcade game, which changed Ryu’s message after a win from “If you cannot overcome the Rising Dragon Punch you cannot win!” to “You must defeat Sheng Long to stand a chance!” See, Ryu’s Dragon Punch is “sheng long” in Chinese and the translators mistook the converted name of the attack for a person. Since Ryu was supposedly trained by a great karate master, we were to assume that was who Sheng Long was. Capcom even corrected the mistake in the SNES version, changing the phrase from “Sheng Long” to “Dragon Punch” but the instruction manual explained Sheng Long to be the master of Ken and Ryu. After that it was only one quick clever plan and EGM had people believing he could be unlocked! According to the article, you would have to beat all 11 fighters without taking a hit and get 9 draws against M. Bison and you could fight Sheng Long. Let this be a lesson, if it seems impossible, it is. It was even funnier when the April Fools Contest appeared just under the article. Ironically there is speculation that character Akuma was created based on the prank and Capcom has admitted that Gouken from Street Fighter IV is a spiritual version of Sheng Long.
Love Lessons Taught by Video Games
Being an Aggressive Lover Will Make You Rich but Lonely
Learned by: Custer’s Revenge (2600)
It’s always important to treat a woman like a lady, respectfully and gently. Despite what some of my drunken college shenanigans have suggested, no one wants to be treated in the pathetic way that General Custer does in Custer’s Revenge. Without going into much detail, this early Atari game for adults only is significant for two reasons: it’s one of the most expensive games on the Atari 2600 (nearly $200 on eBay) and no one has played it. For reasons of an offensive nature and the fact that the game just isn’t that good, it’s forever stuck in Dead Pixel fame. The message is clear: be an aggressive lover and you’ll be worth some money, but you’ll also remain dusty and alone.
…oh yeah, I guess Kratos got away with it, but those were different times and from what I saw those women were begging for it. So I guess you’re allowed to if you happen to be in a brothel in Vegas or something, but it isn’t real love.
Storytelling: How Shigeru Miyamoto Saved NOA
When Nintendo decided to move over to America, it wasn’t to begin the world of the NES but rather to establish a market for arcade games. Nintendo of America (NOA) had struggled ever since it migrated to the United States, complete with difficulty finding a home base in both New York and New Jersey, eventually staying for good in the Seattle area. At the time Nintendo’s owner, a gruff businessman by the name of Hiroshi Yamauchi, had inherited the company and vowed to make it into the powerhouse it eventually became. Yamauchi recently warmed up to his son-in-law, Minoru Arakawa, and decided to make him in charge of Nintendo’s American migration thanks to his free-spirited nature, familiarity with the country and ability to overwork himself. Now Arakawa was attempting to find the big arcade game that would put NOA on the map like Space Invaders had done for Taito. That game was to be a linear space shooter called Radarscope.
Gaming History 101 