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Multitap #6 - Games and Work, new Gameboy and Activision vs. Viacom

July 7, 2003 By Glenn Turner

Activision is suing Viacom because they state Viacom has not exploited the Star Trek franchise as much as they could, resulting in disappointing games from Activision. Thoughts?

unitdaisy: I think Activision was stupid to sign a ten year deal. But more than that - they have a lot of source material and don't need movies to drive that material. If they make a great game that is based on the Star Trek world it'll sell.

peccaui: Yeah, this just seems like an over-eager attempt to pass the money-losing buck.

unitdaisy: There were many Star Wars games created in the years before the new trilogy and those didn't suffer from a lack of current material.

peccaui: Nope. They, like Activision's Star Trek games suffered because they were no fun to play.

unitdaisy: Really - the universe is already established; all the material they need is already there. They don't need new movies or shows to write games.

peccaui: Besides, fans are always complaining (especially with Star Wars games) that they want to play in the old universe, with the characters that they grew up playing. No one wants to play a Voyager based game.

unitdaisy: And why shouldn't the future development of Star Trek be in video games? They had two successful tv series, two successful movie series - why not concentrate on developing the stories through this new medium of video games?

peccaui: Yeah, I stopped paying attention to Star Trek after I fell asleep during Generations. And then passed out during First Contact. Perhaps a new franchise of games might sway my current opinion - but right now my interest is virtually nil.

unitdaisy: Why don't they create a Star Trek MMORPG? People already create their own characters complete with names, costumes and family histories to go to conventions. Why not let people utilize those in an interactive gaming experience?

peccaui: I suppose we'll see how Galaxies pans out, but yeah - the Star Trek world is a lot more structured and fleshed out than Star Wars. It just makes sense.

unitdaisy: What about Klingon keyboards?

peccaui: I don't think I'm ready to be insulted in Klingon online quite yet.


July 4th was Bring Lara Croft to Work Day in the UK. Is Eidos pulling an Acclaim, or are they on to something?

peccaui: I think the last thing male co-workers need are to play a Tomb Raider Kiosk that forces you to stand up. That's just begging for embarrassment.

unitdaisy: One productive thing about the kiosk is because you have to stand there playing it, it's pretty obvious how much time you are spending on it.

peccaui: I wouldn't mind a 'Bring SCII to Work Day'. It would foster valuable competition between co-workers!

unitdaisy: Riiight. I actually think a game like Soul Calibur is more suited towards workday play because you can play for 10 minutes and feel that you've had a full gaming experience whereas with Tomb Raider it's not a pick-up-and-play game.

peccaui: I think the concept is right but not with Tomb Raider - especially if the reviews I've read are correct. A short game can always help to take the edge off when you're working on an especially frustrating project and if you can play with your friend a few cubicles down, well that's even better. There's a reason why my co-workers used to spend about a half an hour playing Diablo each day, or poker or Starcraft or ... um .. working.

unitdaisy: I agree - I think the concept as long as it isn't abused by the employees is an excellent way to promote productivity to give you a chance to take your mind off of work for a few minutes while still being at work.

peccaui: Or they can just have their employees play Galax on their PDA in meetings. It's the bosses choice.

unitdaisy: But some game other than Tomb Raider.

peccaui: The Tomb Raider kiosk should just be referred to as a penalty box. Miss a deadline? You have to play The Angel of Darkness instead of getting a lunch break!


A new GBA has been confirmed to already be in development and this week new specs were released - what's your wishlist for it?

peccaui: X and Y buttons!!

unitdaisy: To remain back compatible.

peccaui: With GBA and original Gameboy games? I know that Sony has stated they'll only be back-compatible up to one generation.

unitdaisy: Yeah - I can dream can't I?

peccaui: I want it to immediately be able to hook up to whatever the current Nintendo console is available at the time - none of this GBA Player shit.

unitdaisy: So you can play all your games on your big screen?

peccaui: Why not? I spend half my time playing my GBA at home anyway.

unitdaisy: Wireless link-up capability with other Gameboys.

peccaui: Yeah - that'd be great. Those link-up cables really tick me off.

unitdaisy: So I can kick your ass from the living room!

peccaui: Kick my ass in what? See who can get their GBA the dirtiest fastest?

unitdaisy: That's not my fault!

peccaui: Maybe the next GBA should be dirt and scratch resistant.

unitdaisy: Hear hear! Better protective coatings!

peccaui: If they trash the cart format, they'd better not force us to use a memory card to save games to. I'd lose those puppies within a week.

unitdaisy: They could switch the format if they wanted to, as long as you could attach an accessory to play older games. At least it'd be back-compatible.

peccaui: I wouldn't be surprised if some third-party developer did that anyway, even if Nintendo ignores it.

unitdaisy: They should call the next generation - GameGirls: The More Advanced System! What kind of guy wouldn't want to carry around a GameGirl in his pocket?

peccaui: Right. As if Nintendo needs to alienate their core fan base even more. Why don't you just name it CootiesAdvanced?

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