The Ultimate History of Video Games - Post 10

The Ultimate History of Video Games - Pg 527-591
5 Strong comments about characters or plot
- My condolences go to all family's who have lost a loved one in the school shootings such as Columbine and at Pearl.
- I'm getting tired of hearing about all of the lawsuits put against video games.
- Soul Caliber is probably today still one of the best fighting games out there.
- Early on, during the American release of Pokemon, parents believed the Pokemon trading cards were a form of gambling.
- The Sega Dreamcast was the first video console to feature online capabilities.

4 Insightful Questions
- Why does Hideo Kojima sound disappointed in the graphical capabilities of the Playstation 2?
- Is the game Seaman based off of the superhero?

- Why did Isao Okawa want to abandon Sega's future in hardware when things finally started looking up?
- Why is Sega trying to markey the Dreamcast when their technology is far obsolete to the Playstation 2?

3 Vocabulary Words and Definitions
- Supplant (pg 537): take the place or move into the position of
- Chasm (pg 550): a deep, steep-sided rift, gap or fissure
- Panache (pg 565): distinctive and stylish elegance

2 Examples of Literary Terms
- Hyperbole - "The Japanese saw it and went postal on us" (Race 537).
- Hyperbole - "Grossman next brought up the instructional value of flight simulators, then went to call violent games 'mass-murder simulators'" (Kent 551).

1 Summary Sentence
- Sony releases the Playstation 2 ushering in the new generation of video games, which will be followed by the Xbox, the Gamecube, and the next generation of video games.

The Ultimate History of Video Games - Post 9

The Ultimate History of Video Games - Pg 447-526
5 Strong comments about characters or plot
- With the home console industry still growing, I don't think anyone was ready to pay $699 for a 3DO Multiplayer.
- The first Need for Speed game, the popular racing game, was first originally made for the 3DO Multiplayer.
- The Stamper Brothers are one of the few true game engineering genius of this generation.
- Sony enters the home console industry with the Playstation.
-The video game industry gets its own version of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), known as the the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3).

4 Insightful Questions
- Why didn't Trip Hawkins want to make software for the 3DO Multiplayer?
- Was it necessary of Sega to create the 32X with the Sega Saturn already on it's way?
- What was the point of releasing the Virtual Boy?
- Why did Sega release the Saturn months after the holiday season?

3 Vocabulary Words and Definitions
- Sanctimonious (pg 477): excessively or hypocritically pious
- Niche (pg 478): a small concavity
- Albeit (pg 479): despite its being; although

2 Examples of Literary Terms
- Metaphor - "Doom would become a lightening rod in later years" (Kent 460).
- Pun - "Moral Komat (Mortal Kombat)" (Kent 461).

1 Summary Sentence
- The Video Game Industry begins using 3D technology, which was used in Sony's Playstation, a new emerging competitor for Nintendo and Sega.

The Ultimate History of Video Games - Post 8

The Ultimate History of Video Games - Pg 389- 446
5 Strong comments about characters or plot
- It seems that Nintendo's security chip in their NES, originally to help create a quality control over video games, is only brings tons of lawsuits to them.
- The Sega Genesis was Nintendo's first real form of competition.
- In the past and the present, Nintendo has never cared about pure processing power and having the most high-end graphics.
- If Wisdom Tree was not a company making christian games, they would have most likely been sued instantly.
- Tom Kalinske was the savior of Sega and helped the Genesis break into the American home console market.

4 Insightful Questions
- If the American arcade business was dead, how did Street Fighter II sell so many copies?
- Why did Nintendo decide to buy the Seattle Mariners?
- Did the TurboGrafx ever have a mascot to sell their system like Sega and Nintendo did?
- Why did Rare stop producing video games?
- Did Yoshiki Okamoto ever make a driving game that his boss asked for?

3 Vocabulary Words and Definitions
- Innocuous (pg 400): not injurious to physical or mental health
- Incestuous (pg 402): resembling incest as by excessive intimacy
- Torqued (pg 438): twisted; wreathed; bent

2 Examples of Literary Terms
- Hyperbole - "A Rising Star at Mattel, Kalinske tracked the new electronics meteoric ascent and fall" (Kent 425)
- Metaphor - "A student of classic marketing, Kalinske believed in the Gillete school of 'giving away the razors to sell the blade'" (Kent 427).

1 Summary Sentence
- Nintendo and Sega enter the 16-bit era of consoles and that is when the real competition between the two begin.

The Ultimate History of Video Games - Post 7

The Ultimate History of Video Games - Pg 331-388
5 Strong comments about characters or plot
- Nintendo is very strict with quality control.
- I wish they had a strict quality control this day and age.
-The Legend of Zelda series, created by Shigeru Miyamoto was one of my favorite video game series.
- The Legend of Zelda was the first game to have the ability to save your progress in a game.
- To me, all these third party developers sound very sleazy and scummy to me, the way the try to work around copyrights and laws consistently.

4 Insightful Questions
- Why doesn't Nintendo and Sega just give licenses to create games for their game consoles to avoid all of this legal battle?
- After the lawsuit with Sega and Atari, how come they still give Atari a license to create games for the Genesis?
- How come I still see Punch Out! still being referred to as Mike Tyson's Punch Out?
- Why did Nintendo make the game Doki Doki Panic the "sequel" to Mario if it wasn't the true sequel created by Shigeru Miyamoto?

3 Vocabulary Words and Definitions
- Affability (pg 349): a disposition to be friendly and approachable
- Luminary (pg 349): one that is an inspiration to others
- Marquee (pg 350): pavilion; large and often sumptuous tent

2 Examples of Literary Terms
- Hyperbole - "He was energetic, enthusiastic, and a natural evangelist for video games" (Kent 348).
- Simile - "The game had many of the same monsters and supposedly took in the same fantasy world as The Legend of Zelda, but the earlier game was exploration-based while The Adventure of Link focused more on combat" (Kent 364).

1 Summary Sentence
- Sega begins following in Nintendo's footsteps of creating a home console, equipped with security chips, that lead to future legal actions.

The Ultimate History of Video Games - Post 6

The Ultimate History of Video Games - Pg 271-330
5 Strong comments about characters or plot
- It's about time Nintendo becomes the video games giant it deserves to be.
- I always thought that Mario Bros. was the original side scroller that sold the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), but it was actually Super Mario Bros.
- I remember playing the original Mario Bros, it was one of my favorite games to play because it was a bonus feature found on Super Mario Bros. 3.
- It's pretty dumb of people to not accept the NES as a video game console but as an entertainment system even though they are the same thing.
- I love Nintendo's easter eggs found in their games like how Donkey Kong was in the crowd in the game Punch-Out.

4 Insightful Questions
- How did the Sega do against the NES?
- Did the Stamper brothers every make a game for Nintendo in the future?
- How did the Acclaim make Tiger Heli for the U.S even though Taito rejected that it be made in the U.S?
- Why didn't Activision create games for Nintendo even though it was obvious that Nintendo resurrected the home video game console?

3 Vocabulary Words and Definitions
- Burgeoning (pg 285): the act of budding or sprouting; a bud or branch; a new growth or expansion of something; that buds, grows or expands
- Arduous (pg 296): characterized by effort to the point of exhaustion; especially physical effort
- Clout (pg 312): pull; special advantage or influence

2 Examples of Literary Terms
- Personification - "Children could place tapes in the recorder, and the bear's mouth would move as it appeared to tell stories and talk" (Kent 301).
- Simile - "Internally developed products later referred to as "first-party" games, would eventually become a defining component in the operation of a video game company" (Kent 306).

1 Summary Sentence
- As the effects of the Gaming Crash blow away, Nintendo finally enters the American video game market and resurrects the video game market in America.

The Ultimate History of Video Games - Post 5

The Ultimate History of Video Games - Pg 219-270
5 Strong comments about characters or plot
- Jack Tramiel is probably one of the most unorthodox leaders in the gaming business.
- It's a shame that Electronic Arts did bring such innovation to computer gaming but have to suffer through the Gaming Crash of 1982-83.
- The gaming crash of 1982-83 was probably my favorite event in gaming history because Atari's response to all the useless E.T cartridges was to throw them in a landfill in New Mexico.
- Those dastardly companies hoping to make a quick fortune by making a inadequate video game is what helped cause the fall of home gaming.
- Don Valentine is a very indecisive man.

4 Insightful Questions
- Why is Jack Tramiel getting thrown around different companies if he has run other ones to bankruptcy?
- What happened to Nintendo during the gaming crash?
- Why didn't Atari just create a straight port of the original Pac-Man to the 2600 instead of making a new one?
- Why did Warner Communications want to keep Atari's Coin-op division when it was sold to Jack Tramiel?

3 Vocabulary Words and Definitions
- Synthesizer (pg 230): an electronic instrument often played with a keyboard and producing complex sounds, such as those of various other instruments
- Heyday (pg 235): the period of greatest prosperity or productivity
- Infusion (pg 269): the act of infusing or introducing a certain modifying element or quality

2 Examples of Literary Terms
- Simile - "Electronic Arts was founded by Trip Hawkins, a visionary man who could be generally be described as half salesman and half technophile" (Kent 260).
- Metaphor - "The industry that had shown such miraculous growth trough most of 1982 suddenly became a black hole" (Kent 239).

1 Summary Sentence
- With the video game industry proven to be profitable business, everyone wants a part of it and eventually forces the Gaming Crash of 1982-83.
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The Ultimate History of Video Games - Post 4

The Ultimate History of Video Games - Pg 171-218
5 Strong comments about characters or plot
- Universal Studios is very stupid to try and sue tons of company's for the name King Kong and all other things related to it, even though the don't own it.
- I'm envious of Howard Lincoln who managed to stand up against a legal powerhouse like Universal Studios with nothing backing him up.
- Atari's Video Computer System, or VCS, is also more commonly known as the Atari 2600.
- Universal Studios was suing Nintendo for the rights of King Kong because they believed Nintendo's Donkey Kong was far too similar to their King Kong.
- It seems like coin-op games begin to decline in the late 70s and home consoles begin to rise.

4 Insightful Questions
- Why was Universal Studios suing Tiger Electronics?
- How is the ColecoVision more powerful than other gaming consoles even though it had less RAM (random access memory)?
- Why is everyone trying to create sports video games if the idea is so overused already?
- What other third-party companies made games for the VCS and ColecoVision other than Activision?

3 Vocabulary Words and Definitions
- Covenant (pg 212): a signed or written agreement of two or more parties
- Debentures (pg 214): bonds that are not secured by the assets of a firm
- Litigious (pg 215): contentious; inclined or showing an inclination to dispute or disagree, even to engage in law suits

2 Examples of Literary Terms
- Simile - "Intellivision had a newer and more poerful CPU than VCS, slightly more memory, and played better-looking games" (Kent 195).
- Metaphor - "Just as Greenberg had seen an opportunity in manufacturing handheld hames, he suddenly saw a gold mine in becoming a thid-party publisher" (Kent 205).

1 Summary Sentence
- The continuos flow of new technology brings more conflict within Atari which causes the development of third-party developers which then leads into the lawsuit with Nintendo and Universal Studios.

The Ultimate History of Video Games - Post 3

The Ultimate History of Video Games - Pg 116-170
5 Strong comments about characters or plot
- There was a comment misconception I had that Mario Bros. was the game that saved Nintendo from bankruptcy but it was actually Donkey Kong that saved them which managed to sell over 76,000 copies of there coin-op arcade versions of the game.
- The "jumpman" in Donkey Kong was actually named after the man who was ready to foreclose on the warehouse used for Nintendo of America.
- Nolan Bushnell, the original founder and chairman of Atari was also the creator of the Chuck E. Cheese pizza/arcade parlor.
- Everyone at Atari seems to hate Ray Kassar being the president of the Company.
- I always thought that the gaming crash happened in the 1970s but seems like it doesn't happen until the 1980s.

4 Insightful Questions
- Whatever happened to Coleco?
- Why hasn't anyone tried to remove Ray Kassar from his position at Atari?
- What does "PAL" stand for?
- Are these students that modded Missle Command a part of the MIT Tech Model Railroad Club that created the first video game ever?

3 Vocabulary Words and Definitions
- Stoicism (pg 135): an indifference to pleasure or pain
- Lucrative (pg 143): profitable
- Infringement (pg 169): illegal use of copyrighted work

2 Examples of Literary Terms
- Simile - "The article went on to explain that the video game industry earned twice as much money as all Nevada casinos combined" (Kent 152).
- Metaphor - "Miyamoto was somewhat of an anomaly in Kyoto, Japan" (Kent 157).

1 Summary Sentence
- As the technology of gaming progresses, Nintendo enters the market, Nolan Bushnell leaves Atari, and many new competitors create smash-hit games.