Famicom Dojo Video Game Podcast

The Christmas season, in the video game industry, is more about big sales of blockbuster titles, console launches, and a bit of rubbing-it-in-the-face for people who perennially spell Nintendo's doom. (The 3DS is already outpacing sales of the DS in its first year.) If you're a kid, subsequently, it means new video game time! Vinnk and Sean talk about their favorite Christmases, the games they got...

With a slow shift to digital-only content, and the inability to share such content like you would lend a book or a disc, and publishers deliberately devaluing their game content through the use of activation codes and central server authenticaion, will there ever come a time when used games become a thing of the past? Sean and Vinnk explore why console games cost so much, why iOS games cost so lit...

Operation Rainfall is so far one third successful, but the only way we'll be getting Xenoblade Chronicles is through GameStop or the Nintendo online store. Sean and Vinnk explain their misgivings with GameStop, why they're sure Nintendo expects Xenoblade to fail (or at least doesn't care if it succeeds), and actual precedents that should exonerate Nintendo for being so cautious. "RPG" theme song b...

Should Nintendo be scared? Since the launch of the iPhone -- which encouraged the rise of the Android platform -- smartphone gaming is set to become a majority of the handheld market, eclipsing Nintendo for the first time since the release of the Game Boy in 1989. Vinnk and SeanOrange take a look at the data, how the mobile gaming pie is growing, why smartphone gaming has been so successful, and w...

Is the Wii U touch controller a naked attempt to try and compete with the iPad, and if so does it stand a chance to succeed? Sean and Vinnk go through a brief history of touch panels in consumer devices, from the Apple Newton to the Tiger Game.com, the Nintendo DS, and -- of course -- Apple's iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. "RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net This podcast is b...

Is there a right way to introduce your child to the world of video gaming? It might be a more difficult proposition for the children of adult gamers, whose boundaries are a bit less clear on the subject, but their non-gamer spouses (if indeed they are non-gamers) might keep them in check. Maybe. With Vinnk already a father of a 2 year old daughter, and Sean a father-to-be in 2012, we try to tackle...

After a recent performance of Video Games Live, Sean and Vinnk talk about the merits of bleeps and bloops, the chiptunes musicians who still love them, hidden music in Nintendo's titles (including one hidden for the last nine years in the GameCube menu screen), and the more symphonic offerings of the 16-bit age and beyond. "RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net This podcast is...

Six months on, how is the Famicom Dojo Podcast doing? Vinnk and Sean take some time out to answer listener mail, reflect on some of their past episodes, and give updates on some of the information that may have gone out of date or had developments since the original episodes were released. Also, Vinnk got a 3DS. "RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net This podcast is brought to...

Women in gaming have made tremendous strides, both onscreen and off, behind the scenes, or playing the games. Fans of the Female Shepard in the Mass Effect series: male and female alike, encouraged BioWare to finally put her in their advertisements and materials just so that other gamers would know she exists. It's 2011; are women still being overlooked in gaming? Sean talks to guest panelists Sin...

The recent passing of Steve Jobs has left us to reflect on how he and his business ventures have affected our lives and the rest of the world. For us retro gamers (at least our age), that means looking back on the Apple ][, Apple //e, and that line of PCs that literally made "computer" a household name. Sean and Vinnk recall a time when "Apple" was still synonymous with "gaming" -- before the iPho...

It's difficult to admit, but we all wear them. Maybe it's because something made an impression on us at a young age. Maybe it's because we just can't admit flaws in the things that we love. It often takes seeing something through someone else's eyes to finally see the things you refuse to see for yourself. Vinnk and Sean examine the games and movies of the '80s where they must admit, sometimes pai...

"RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net This podcast is brought to you by the Famicom Dojo Video Series. Train Your Game at https://youtube.com/famicomdojo .

Japanese retro games can't help you learn a new language, but if you're a motivate collector you might find it's a good way to keep your skill sharp if you don't follow Vinnk's recommendations: 1) Move to Japan, 2) Marry a Japanese person, 3) Take (or audit) a Japanese class. Sean and Vinnk tease their interview on Zoom In!! Saturday , and get sidetracked by their time searching Akihabara for some...

While the 3DS was cleaning up at Tokyo Game Show, Sony announced that the PS Vita would be region-free -- unlike its Nintendo competitor. The war is heating up! Who will win the holiday season this year? Will it be enough to turn things around for Sony? Sean and Vinnk reflect on the final two public days of Tokyo Game Show, if mobile devices and "the cloud" are really the future of the gaming indu...

Instead of being productive these last few days, all we did was play video games. Well, that’s not entirely (or even slightly) true. Find out all about our first 2 (of 4) days at the Tokyo Game Show. We will talk about games we played, people me met, sights we saw, and a new life philosophy that will make you a better person (or at least maybe get you a T-Shirt) "RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones...

Vinnk and SeanOrange preview their trip to Tokyo Game Show 2011, reminisce about their previous coverage in 2007, and discuss what wonderful things can be done with their new theme song! What are you looking forward to at Tokyo Game Show? "RPG" theme song by the Imari Tones: http://imaritones.net This podcast is brought to you by the Famicom Dojo Video Series. Train Your Game at https://youtube.co...

Retro games may be beloved (if not exceedingly difficult), but do their descendants still have a place in the modern gaming world? When the original creator of a franchise moves on, is it time for the publisher to move on to something else? What about the fans? Phil Bond joins Sean and Vinnk this week as we discuss the cancellation of Mega Man Legends 3, and what nearly 50,000 people are trying to...

In a word, no, but don't worry: we'll totally qualify that position. Nintendo's financial troubles in 2011, and initially slow sales of the 3DS, followed by its steep price cut have renewed perennial calls for the company to forego the hardware market and release its titles on other platforms. SeanOrange and Vinnk discuss whether or not such a move would be vialbe for Nintendo, and if the company...

In our younger days, we couldn't have all the games we wanted. We had to play what we were given (or could afford), and we often played those games to death. Now? It's incredibly easy for anyone young or old to buy more games at bargain-basement prices than they could ever hope to play in a lifetime. How much is too much? Vinnk and SeanOrange talk about their trip to Chicago Comic Con 2011, taking...

When did video games start using "lives"? More importantly, when and why did they stop? With this changing, what does it mean to die in a game? Vinnk and SeanOrange examine the games that pioneered this mechanism, and take a look at when and why it started changing. Was it with games like Myst, or did adventure-style games always buck this trend? Has the fall of arcade gaming lead games...

Nintendo's steep price cut of the 3DS may have taken some news outlets by surprise last week, but we called it way back during E3. When Sony introduced the PSVita at the same price point as Nintendo's new handheld that was already struggling in sales, we knew a price cut could not be far behind. It looks like Nintendo agreed! SeanOrange and Vinnk discuss the 3DS Ambassador program, the wisdom of d...

It's one thing to try to translate a video game plot and characters into a movie, but movies that are about the culture of video gaming, the people who play them, and what it's like to be stuck in one are an altogether different animal. Many such movies were released in the 1980s, coincidentally around the same time as the video game crash that threatened to destroy this nascent industry forever....

It's hard for the average gamer to play absolutely EVERYTHING, even everything that's good. But is that any excuse? Should gamers be shamed for failure to expose themselves to certain kinds of games? In our first Video Game Confessional, Vinnk and SeanOrange talk about the game franchises we should have played, but didn't. And for good measure, we also discuss a few games we love to death, but hav...

Region locking is nothing new. Though it has taken many different forms, it wasn't always deliberate. Many handhelds were exempt from this scheme (including the Game Boy and DS series), but all things change with time. SeanOrange and Vinnk discuss the very state of affairs that necessitates the existence of organizations like Operation Rainfall, how they came to be, and where they might go from he...

Xenoblade, Pandora's Tower, and The Last Story have been released in Japan and Europe, but the US has been passed over. That's where Operation Rainfall comes in: to urge Nintendo of America to release these games that have already been localized for the major languages spoken in North America. At a time when the Wii is suffering a drought of games -- let alone good ones -- don't we deserve better?...