Week in Review

This week the founder of Commodore 64 passes, BioWare is facing more blowback concerning the Mass Effect 3 ending and the creator of Mega Man has some words for the Japanese game industry.

If you ever adored a 64 at any point in your life, then you have Jack Tramiel to thank. Tramiel, who survived the horrors of the Auschwitz concentration camp during the Second World War and emigrated to the U.S. in 1947, took his first sideways step toward becoming a legend in the world of technology when he opened a typewriter repair company in 1953, naming the business Commodore Portable Typewriter. In 1955 he launched Commodore Business Machines in Toronto to get around U.S. restrictions on imports – specifically Czechoslovakian typewriters – from Warsaw Pact countries. (Link)

Although it’s common practice for geeks of all stripes to howl the word “Skynet” at any kind of robotic technology which possesses functions more complex than those of your average can-opener, there exist in our lives many mechanical friends deserving of much better treatment. First and foremost among these particular bots are mechanized First Responders, a group of machines built to assist distressed humans in especially dangerous places, such as nuclear disaster zones or buildings damaged by earthquakes. (Link)

The brouhaha over the end of Mass Effect 3 is like nothing I’ve ever seen. Fans aren’t just upset, they’re seriously pissed off, and the staying power of their nerd rage is almost beyond belief. Petitions and angry forum posts are par for the course, but an anger-fueled, $80,000 Child’s Play drive? An FTC complaint? And in case that’s not enough, now Majorie Stephens, the director of communications for the Better Business Bureau of Northern Indiana, has weighed in on the matter with an opinion that’s certain to fan the flames even higher: All those complaints about false advertising are valid – technically speaking, anyway. (Link)

The wildly successful Retake Mass Effect 3 Child’s Play donation drive took on a tinge of ugliness when Jerry Hokins, better known as Tycho of Penny Arcade, announced that Child’s Play had asked the Retake people to pull the plug. The drive raised a ridiculous $80,000 in donations – ridiculous in a good way, to be clear – but according to Holkins, some contributors thought they were paying to finance a new ending for Mass Effect 3, which led to a “high number of people asking for their donations back.” (Link)

The common consensus seems to be that while Japanese developers are still dominating the handheld market, they’ve fallen behind when it comes to AAA titles. Inafune, former Capcom R&D commander, co-creator of stumpy gaming-icon, Mega Man, and an outspoken critic of the Japanese game industry, reckons it’s because developers are ignoring criticism. (Link)