Harvest Moon Part IV: Beginning of the PS2/GC Generation

A quick update on my blogs. I am terribly sorry I missed yesterdays blog. I hope the Panasonic Q one made up for it. A lot is happening VERY quickly in my life right now. I'm just getting over a nasty sickness and now I am getting prepared to move to the opposite side of the country. I will try to make these blogs come out on time though.

In this blog I will be covering the first four games of the PlayStation 2 and GameCube era.

Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland/Bokujou Monogatari: Heart ni Hi no Tsukete

This was the first Harvest Moon game for the PlayStation 2. It was also released for the GameCube. It released on the following dates: July 5 2001 (JP), October 2001 (PAL), and November 20 2001 (NA).

Even though I have fond memories of this game, I can't say there was much innovation.Although I will take some time to point out changes they did make.
Starting out, there is once again grandfather's land involved and an angry mayor who would rather have an amusement park. You have one year to fix up the park, which leaves a shorter time line than usual. I will say that the interesting thing about this game is the lack of marriage. Due to the short timeline, it makes finding a soul mate and having kids impossible. This makes this one of only a couple games from this series where you cannot get married.
You would think with the short timeline, that there would be little replay value. However, that is not the case as there are nine endings. When you beat the game you get to keep your animals and money so you can work towards getting the other endings as well.

Rarity: This game is super easy to find. It cant be found for under $10 easily and in good condition.
The Japanese version is actually a bit harder to find and will cost about $5 more. Either way, it is still pretty reasonable.

Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town/Bokujou Monogatari: Mineral Town no Nakama Tachi & Haverst Moon: More Friends of Mineral Town/Bokujou Monogatari: Mineral Town no Nakama Tachi for Girl 

First things first, release dates: April 18 2003 (JP), November 17 2003 (NA), and March 26 2004 (PAL). More More Friends of Mineral Town the dates are as follows: December 12 2003 (JP), November 2004 (PAL), and July 26 2005. Why the long gaps in releasing this game...?

Both games are remakes of Back to Nature, so there really isn't much to explain here. The only details I want to go over here are the differences. First, there was connectivity to the GameCube version of Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life via link cable. This allows for NPCs to comment about what is happening in Mineral Town and vice versa. NPCs will also travel between towns and return with new items and hints. Second, the "girl version" offers some bug fixes to the original game and has several extras. If you are going to choose between the two, I would actually choose that one.

Rarity: The NA version of Friends of Mineral Town goes for about $20-25 for just the cartridge. If you want the box and manual (used) it will cost about $50-60. The same is pretty much true of More Friends of Mineral Town. These prices lower to about $20 used, with a box and manual, for the Japanese versions.

Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life/Bokujou Monogatari: Wonderful Life 

Okay, before I talk about my nostalgia for this game, release dates: September 12 2003 (JP), March 16 2004 (NA), and March 26 2004 (PAL). It was released for the GameCube and the PlayStation 2.

This game was pretty innovative as far as this series goes, at least in my opinion. I personally had a ton of fun when this game came out. An example of these small details are things like having goats and ducks, having a new choice of dog, there is a yeti (for no real reason), etc. It also made bigger changes such as having crops that grow better during certain seasons. You can also have hybrid crops as well. One new, pretty big feature, is that the child you have will actually grow into adulthood and will have a set of personality traits. These are influenced by who you introduce him/her too in the town and how you treat them. At the end of the game they will have career options they will choose from. If they choose rancher, they will stay on the farm to take care of it, although they will be unable to marry.

Rarity: This game is pretty cheap for either platform, going for $15-25. As per the usual, the Japanese version was a bit more cheap.

That wraps up this blog. My life has become hectic, but I have no forgotten about my blog. Please stick with me and thanks for reading!

Sources: 
http://www.ign.com/games/harvest-moon-save-the-homeland/ps2-1627
http://www.gamefaqs.com/ps2/530597-harvest-moon-save-the-homeland/data
http://www.ign.com/articles/2005/08/16/harvest-moon-more-friends-of-mineral-town
http://www.ign.com/articles/2003/11/25/harvest-moon-friends-of-mineral-town-2
http://www.ign.com/articles/2006/02/24/harvest-moon-another-wonderful-life-special-edition
http://web.archive.org/web/20100910095944/http://www.natsume.com/games/HM_wl/

Collectible Consoles: The Panasonic Q - GameCube Part II

Although I am still very sick from the...black death (or whatever I caught), I feel the need to write. However, my brain isn't all here, so I want to keep this short but interesting. I owe you guys at least one blog for missing all of last week, so here is an early one! Full disclosure:  Keep in mind that I'm on all the medication. If I write sillier than normal...well, I'm not sorry.

Look at it...LOOK AT IT! It is a beautiful monster. It screams early 2000s. I love it. 

This was released exclusively for Japan in December 2001. The first question you are asking is probably "why?". That is pretty simple actually. Nintendo was feeling a bit of pressure from the PS2's ability to play CDs and DVDs. It wanted to make up for the GameCube's lack of being a media powerhouse by developing this along side Panasonic.
So what all did it have? Here is the list:
- All the original GameCube features of course
- Optical out port (allowing for 5.1 true surround sound)
- A front loading tray that loaded like a DVD player
- An LCD panel at the top of the console
- A subwoofer output
- A polished glass front and stainless steel chassis
- DVD, CD, and MP3 file support

There are a LOT of articles on the web that state the following, including a Nintendo Wikia (which should know better!!): There were two of these released. One that was the standard that cost ¥41,000 and a modified one that cost ¥46,000. The standard cost is right (at the time it was roughly $440-50 in US money). Oh, the extra bit about the "modified" one? It would play region free games. Now come on. Nintendo almost prides itself on region locking. This would simply NEVER happen. Making my Wii region free was a downright PAINFUL process. To this day, Nintendo is the only company not allowing for some sort of region freedom. For people like me who play Japanese and American games, it makes me distance myself a bit from Nintendo. Well, enough of my rant. What I am attempting to say it that this is BS pure and simple. Like any other system of theirs, you will need to do some stupid, time consuming stuff to make it region free. There are videos out there that will show you how if you are so inclined. Personally, if you are collecting, I would recommend against it. Just buy an American or Japanese console if you have the money.

The Panasonic Q never caught on in Japan and were discontinued in mid December 2003. However, in recent years, as one can imagine, they have become quite the collectors item! They now sell for anywhere in between $300-700. Lucky for you collectors out there, and for the future me that has money, these systems are pretty easy to find. They are readily available on Amazon and eBay.

That is a sad story of the Panasonic Q. I had seen this thing off and on in the early 2000s in gaming magazines, but never paid much attention. Now...I kind of want one. It is nice to see that it has made a come back and that it is getting some much needed and overdue love.

Thanks for reading! I hope that made sense. I will double check it when I am not sick and make corrections if necessary.

Sources: 
http://kotaku.com/5803323/my-favourite-nintendo-console-wasnt-even-made-by-nintendo
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/9283/panasonic-q-discontinued
http://nintendo.wikia.com/wiki/Panasonic_Q
http://www.ign.com/articles/2002/04/09/panasonic-q-review
http://www.bordersdown.net/threads/114579-Panasonic-Q-officially-regionfree-version
http://www.videogameconsolelibrary.com/pg00-q.htm#page=reviews

Collectible Consoles - The GameCube's Development (Part I)

Because I am feeling extra generous this week, I am getting started on the GameCube blogs. I may not post another until I am done with the PS3 blogs, but since that is pretty soon I wanted to give some background to the GameCube. This blog is only going to cover the development process and the unveiling at the Nintendo Press Conference in Japan in 2000 and in North America during E3 2001. The reason I am going over this stuff is because, honestly, I have a lot of nostalgia attached to these events. I remember when it was called the "Dolphin" and "GameStar" and everyone was speculating about what it would look like. Fun times those. So let's jump right in!

In 1998 a company called ArtX, composed mainly of former Silicon Graphics Inc. employees, partnered with Nintendo to develop the graphics processor, which was codenamed "Flipper" at the time. During this time the GameCube was going by an early name of "N2000". In May of 1999 Nintendo formed an alliance with IBM to create the processor, codenamed "Gekko". Also during this time they released a statement that they were changing the name of the system, for the time being, to "Project Dolphin". The plan during that time was for the console to run off of DVDs, but they never confirmed that it would in the long run. As a side note, ATI acquired ArtX in 2000, but I could find no major changes to the project as ArtX had done most of the work already.

In August of 2000, during a Nintendo Press Conference in Japan, they unveiled the GameCube and the GameBoy Advance. I could not find any pictures from this conference and one article said the official unveiling would be at the 2001 E3. I assume they were not allowed to take pictures. They were however allowed to describe what it looked like and were told the final name of the console for the first time. Although the rumor mill about it still being called the "GameStar" was still going around. I will try to find some old gaming magazines that called talked about this for next time.

GameCubes being shown off at E3 2001

During E3 2001, Nintendo revealed the titles that would be available at launch, which was September 14 2001. They were: Pikmin, Luigi's Mansion, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Stars Wars Rogue Leader: Rogue Squadron II, Raven Blade, Wave Race Blue Storm, NBA Courtside 2002, Disney's Mickey (working title), Donkey Kong Racing, Animal Forest, Metroid Prime, Mamokia, Eternal Darkness, Kameo: Elements of Power, Star Fox Adventures: Dinosaur Planet, and Zelda (working title). Notice the lack of a proper Mario game, which was a first for a Nintendo launch. I will go through these one by one as most did not release at launch. In addition, I am going through these because I have found no other site that has done so.

Pikmin: released about a month after lanuch.
Luigi's Mansion: This did release alongside the console.
Super Smash Bros. Melee: Well...this series never releases a game on time. November 2001 for this title.
Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader: This also didn't release until the end of November.
Raven Blade: This game was sadly canceled by July 2001 so that the team could focus on Metroid Prime.
Wave Race Blue Storm: This game released on time for the launch.
NBA Courtside 2002: This actually didn't get released until January of 2002.
Disney's Magical Mirror Starring Mickey Mouse: Although the article only mentioned a working title, finding the game was pretty easy as this was pretty much the only title with Mickey in the name. It did not release until mid 2002.
Donkey Kong Racing: Although it was announced at E3 2001, no gameplay was shown. In the end the game was canceled.
Animal Forest/Crossing: In Japan Animal Crossing is called Doubutsu no Mori (Animal Forest), which is why it was called this during the first Japanese press release. They changed the name for American and European audiences. The first Animal Crossing game was actually a Japan exclusive for the Nintendo 64 and was released in July 2001. The GameCube version, however, did not make the launch. It wasn't released until December.
Metroid Prime: Even with the extra effort, this didn't release until November 17.
Mamokia: I could not find a THING on this game. I am assuming it got canceled early in development.
Eternal Darkness: This didn't release until June of 2002. Play it. Do it. It is amazing.
Kameo: Elements of Power: This ended up with an Xbox 360 release in 2005, but never got a GameCube release. Rare Ltd. was going through some financial problems during this time, which is also most likely why Donkey Kong Racing was canceled.
Star Fox Adventures: I will just go ahead and say this one made launch, at least in Japan and North America. It was only a week or so late.
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker: This sadly wasn't released until December of 2002.

Shigeru Miyamoto during E3 2001 - Look how happy he is! :)

So yeah...the launch lineup was not spectacular. However, the system itself is. I personally love it. I will be going over a little bit more of its history next time and will cover early models.
Thanks for reading!

Sources: 
http://www.ign.com/articles/2001/10/30/ati-discusses-gamecube-graphics
http://www.zdnet.com/article/nintendo-tweaks-gamecubes-specs/
http://www.ign.com/articles/1999/05/05/say-hello-to-project-dolphin
http://www.ign.com/articles/2000/02/17/ati-snags-dolphin-graphics-chip-designer
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendos-gamecube-unveiled/1100-2619269/
http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/library/events/090731qa/index.html
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/e3-2001-nintendo-unleashes-gamecube-software-a-new-miyamoto-game-and-more/1100-2761390/
http://www.ign.com/articles/2011/05/10/nintendos-history-at-e3-2001?page=2
PICTURES:
http://www.gamesradar.com/e3-the-good-stuff/?page=7
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/guide/1782/gamecube-faq-the-nintendo-gamecube
https://en.wikipedia.org (for release dates. I double checked, but didn't want to put all here. Email me if you want all the sources for release dates.) 

Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata Passes Away at 55

Reuters/Toru Hanai

This past Monday the gaming community lost an innovative and determined mind. I want to take this moment to share my thoughts on this man and his impact on not only Nintendo, but gaming as a whole. I want to do this with honesty, because I know he would have appreciated it.

Sataru Iwata came into Nintendo during a rough time in its history. It was 2002 and things were not on the up and up. The GameCube was doing poorly in comparison with its competitors, the PlayStation 2 (Sony) and the Xbox (Microsoft). Right out of the gate he warned investors they were loosing money. He never missed an opportunity to be honest about the company, which is what made him so popular, especially when he made bold decisions...

As popular as they are now, the Nintendo DS, 3DS, Wii, and Wii U were seen as downright insanity when they were revealed. The DS was not the simple handheld that everyone was used to...and him walking on stage with a controller that looked like a stick that you just kind of fling around...let's just say you could have heard a pin drop during those conferences. People didn't know what to think! All we gamers knew was this was not what we were used to. However, Iwata never seemed doubtful of the moves he made. I was working at GameStop during the time the DS and Wii became popular. It was overnight. I mean that almost literally. Nintendo became fun again for a new generation and we couldn't keep either product on the shelf.
At the same time, there have been long term issues with not following the same route as Sony and Microsoft. A lot of "hardcore" gamers felt abandoned and not everyone was keen on motion controls. Still, this man pulled Nintendo up once when it was down, I am sure he could have done it again.

No matter where your opinion lies with how Nintendo is handling its affairs currently, one thing was for sure. This man was a force and should be admired not only for his ability to think outside the box, but to follow through with his actions. It is a shame he is gone so soon.

We will miss you Iwata-san! 

General Update

Next week, as promised, I will be bringing you blogs on the many PS3 bundles and what they included. Much like I had to do this week, I am probably going to have to break this up into several blogs. However, they will all come out next week.

As to what will be covered: I will mainly be going over what was included in the bundle with a focus on the collectibles. I will point out the storage size and the model number of the PS3 as well. I will try not to re-cover anything I have already gone over, as I don't want to bore people to tears.

New schedule:
I have decided to add to my schedule and will attempt to stick to it as best I can. If I cannot, I will post an update stating when to expect new blog posts to be up. I shouldn't be off by more than a day or two because I generally work pretty far in advance. As a note: Some weeks I may have insomnia, as is pretty common for me or I might just be really inspired, and I might release more blogs than usual.

Tuesdays: Collector Tips 
This new series will focus on various tips for saving money while collecting, clearing out your backlog, maintaining a collection, how to preserve certain items, where to shop for good deals, etc.

Wednesday: Collectible Consoles
My next console I will be researching will be the Nintendo GameCube. However, first I have to finish the PS3 and its bundles. You may see an intro to the GameCube next week to get prepared though.

Thursday: Collectible Games 
This will focus on either a rare game or just a game series in particular. The first series I will be looking at, by request, is Harvest Moon. It is a favorite of mine, so I am looking forward to this!

Thanks to those that are reading! You guys are making this so much more worth it and I feel even more inspired to do one of my favorite things: research!