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Mike: @usagi704 | Domain of Usagi704 | Instagram

NEWS/TOPICS:
* Street Fighter 5 Tones Down Focus on Female Bodies
* Nintendo NX Is a Console/Mobile Hybrid, Has “Industry-Leading” Tech – Report
* Sony Has No First Party PS Vita Games in Development: First Party Strategy Focused on PS4
* Sega subtly pulls all mention of Yakuza 5 November release date
* Uncharted 4 Multiplayer to Include Microtransactions “From the Outset”
* Destiny Microtransactions and Expansions Can Co-Exist, Activision Says
* California Now Has The Nation’s Best Digital Privacy Law
* Senate Passes CISA Surveillance Bill 74-21
* Judges selected for FCC net neutrality legal battle
* Republican lawmakers weigh in on FCC’s net neutrality court case
* PS4 Exclusive The King of Fighters XIV Gets New Trailer: Reveals Leona and Chang Koehan
* US Gamers’ Political Views Detailed in New Study
* See Canceled Mortal Kombat HD Screenshot
* Nintendo Reveals Official Female Link, and She’s Coming to Hyrule Warriors

Purchase Stats 2015

Posted by HartKnight on January 3, 2016

purchase-stats15

The following stats are for all of my video game purchases throughout 2015.

Total number of games: 40
Amount bought increased by 21 from 2014.

9 New games^ (22.5%)
25 Used games (62.5%)
6 Downloadable games* (15%)

16 PS3
Blades of Time^
Mortal Kombat (Komplete Edition)
Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell^
Kamen Rider: Battride War^
Kamen Rider: Battride War II^
Ultra Street Fighter IV^
Guerrilla War*
Ikari III: The Rescue*
Ikari Warriors*
Vanguard*
Victory Road*
Captain America: Super Soldier
Call of Duty: World at War
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Call of Duty: Black Ops
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

7 PS4
Infamous: Second Son^
The Pinball Arcade^
Injustice: Gods Among Us – Ultimate Edition
Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris*
Shadow Warrior^
Watch Dogs
Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection^

4 GBA
The Revenge of Shinobi
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Battle Nexus
Sega Arcade Gallery
Rayman: 10th Anniversary

3 PS
Street Fighter: The Movie
Iron Man / X-O Manowar in Heavy Metal
Ray Tracers

3 GB
Dracula Densetsu II
Adventure Island
The King of Fighters ’96

2 PS2
ICO
Medal of Honor: Vanguard

1 SAT
Outrun

1 WII
Super Smash Bros. Brawl

1 GBC
NHL Blades of Steel 2000

1 SNES
Dirt Trax FX

1 GC
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

10 MISC.
PS2 Component cables
Saturn (import gray)
Saturn S-Video cables
PS2 memory cards (2 red)
PS1 memory cards (2 black)
PlayStation 2 (model 2; silver)
PS2 controller (silver)
PS4 controller (gray)
PS4 controller (white)
PlayStation 4 (black)

Hart & Usagi #71: Linkle

Posted by HartKnight on November 18, 2015

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In this new episode of the Hart & Usagi Podcast we talk about the Street Fighter V scandal, Yakuza 5’s mystery release date for North America, and, among other things, a rant on the nonsense study/survey asking the political views of gamers.

Enjoy and remember to subscribe via RSS or iTunes and follow the Hart & Usagi Podcast on Twitter!

Listen or Download (1:07:26)

Subscribe: RSS | iTunes

Mike: @usagi704 | Domain of Usagi704

NEWS/TOPICS:
* Here Are The Top 25 Games That Made The SNES, Well, Super
* USgamer Community Question: Which is Best – Super Nintendo or Sega Genesis?
* Consumers complain to FCC about ‘data caps’
* Beautiful Concept Art from Naughty Dog’s Jak and Daxter 4 Canceled Game Surfaces
* Scathing Nikkei Report Hints At Shameful Treatment Of Staff By Dictatorial Konami Management
* PlayStation Game-Streaming Service Officially Hits PS Vita Tuesday
* Need for Speed Series Had Too Many Games, Too Quickly, Dev Says
* Why New Need for Speed for Xbox One/PS4/PC Is Always-Online
* Activision Blizzard CEO Donates $50,000 to Chris Christie Presidential Bid
* Reddit bans some of its most well-known racist communities
* Mafia 3 Tackles Racism and the Vietnam War in 1960s New Orleans
* Why Mirror’s Edge Catalyst is a Frontrunner for Gamescom’s Best Game
* Dark Souls III is Faster, Smoother, and More Fluid Than its Predecessors
* 90 Minutes with Dark Souls III Put My “Sequelitis” Fears to Rest
* Street Fighter 5 is a Bolder Reinvention Than Looks Suggest
* Crackdown 3 to Include “100 Percent Destructible Environments”
* Crackdown 3 Destruction Restricted to Multiplayer
* Sony’s New PS4 Projector Costs As Much As The Console
* Sony Explains Decision to Increase PlayStation Plus Three Month Subscription Price in Europe
* PS4 System Update 3.00 Adds Twitter Video, YouTube Broadcasts, and More
* Resident Evil 2 Remake Confirmed
* Wow, Spotify’s New Privacy Policy is Atrocious

Hart & Usagi #69: The Super SNES

Posted by HartKnight on August 24, 2015

It’s time for another scintillating Hart & Usagi Podcast episode. We talk about DigitalTrends.com’s Top 25 SNES games article, the cancelled Jak 4, and we get excited for announced titles such as Mafia 3, Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst, and Dark Souls III. All this and more!

Enjoy and remember to subscribe via RSS or iTunes and follow the Hart & Usagi Podcast on Twitter!

Listen or Download (2:01:48)

Subscribe: RSS | iTunes

Mike: @usagi704 | Domain of Usagi704

NEWS/TOPICS:
* GameStop to acquire ThinkGeek parent company Geeknet
* The First Class of the World Video Game Hall of Fame
* Uncharted PS4 Collection Removes Multiplayer for Uncharted 2 and 3
* USgamer Community Question: What’s Your All-Time Favorite Arcade Game?
* The Jimquisition: Steam Refunds
* Arc System Works buys out Double Dragon, River City Ransom rights
* Bethesda E3 2015 Press Conference News Roundup
* Microsoft E3 2015 Press Conference News Roundup
* Electronic Arts E3 2015 Press Conference News Roundup
* Ubisoft E3 2015 Press Conference News Roundup
* Sony E3 2015 Press Conference News Roundup
* All of the Nintendo E3 2015 Release Dates
* Sony will support development of ‘Shenmue 3’
* Season Passes are Not Good for Gamers, says Hitman Dev
* How Far Can Drawn to Death’s Intriguing Aesthetic Take It?
* Shenmue 3 Creator Also Wants to do Shenmue 4

Saving Gaming History

Posted by HartKnight on August 21, 2015

Recently I wanted to tackle some outlier games that have been eluding my collection. I didn’t get ones such as Captain America: Super Soldier or Painkiller: Hell and Damnation, but I did get a few others.

The first two games, you can see in the photo directly below, are actually not apart of those games I was trying to find. Medal of Honor: Vanguard and ICO were unplanned pickups. The former was released around the same time on the PS2 that Medal of Honor: Airborne was on PS3 and X360. The latter, ICO, I already have via The ICO & Shadow of the Colossus Collection on PS3. I only got it because I felt the need to save it from the unwashed masses. It’s not everyday you come across a complete copy of ICO on PS2 in good condition.

mohv-ico

It’s also not everyday you come across a good conditioned complete copy of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess either. Okay, actually you do. But not the Gamecube version! I’m not much of a fan of The Legend of Zelda as you guys already know, but I still felt a need to save this game as well. It’s another one I didn’t need because I did already have the ubiquitous Wii version.

Here’s the first game which I did go to specifically to find. It’s Sega Arcade Gallery on the Game Boy Advance. It’s a four game compilation of AfterBurner, Space Harrier, Super Hang-On, and (best of all) OutRun! In case you didn’t know these games are all of Sega’s super sweet superscaler arcade lineup. You can never have enough of those!

loztp-segaag

I finally found Ray Tracers, but I did have to go to eBay for it. The game is easily summed up as a polygonal version of Chase H.Q. and that’s okay by me. Both games were developed by Taito.

Iron Man / X-O Manowar in Heavy Metal was another game that wasn’t really on my wish list. I can see it as a very mediocre game, but in some ways it reminded me of Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project from 2002 in how it plays even though the game I bought was from 1996.

Finally, I picked up a new copy of the 2008 Special Edition of Rambo 4. Yes, I do already own the Extended Cut. However, I was disappointed that the commentary track was cut out of that version. This one has exactly what I was missing.

rambo4

Hart & Usagi Podcast #65: Bombshells

Posted by HartKnight on June 23, 2015

On this episode of the Hart & Usagi Podcast we chat mainly about the game announcements from E3 2015 among a few other things. Join us.

Enjoy and remember to subscribe via RSS or iTunes and follow the Hart & Usagi Podcast on Twitter!

Listen or Download (1:59:01)

Subscribe: RSS | iTunes

Mike: @usagi704 | Domain of Usagi704

Hart & Usagi Podcast #63: Game Boy Advance

Posted by HartKnight on May 10, 2015

podcast63

On this episode of the Hart & Usagi Podcast we welcome back Dan (first time since ep. 52) to chat about the Game Boy Advance along with other news items as per usual. All this plus your feedback!

Enjoy and remember to subscribe via RSS or iTunes and follow the Hart & Usagi Podcast on Twitter!

NEWS/TOPICS:
* Dark Souls II
* 5 Video Game Reboots That Never Should Have Been Made
* Smash Bros. vs. Mortal Kombat pro scene
* Steam community-created content now for sale
* Valve abandons paid ‘Skyrim’ mods on Steam
* Comcast officially abandons Time Warner Cable merger plans
* Nintendo backs off of bringing Super Nintendo games to Wii U
* PS4’s P.T., a Teaser for the Next Silent Hill, Being Removed Soon
* Silent Hills Cancelled, Konami Confirms
* What Is the Value of P.T.?
* 10 Lamest Video Game Characters of All Time
* Mega Man Creator’s Mighty No. 9 Release Date Revealed
* Steam To Get Its First Adults-Only Rated Game
* This is the ESRB rating & descriptors for PC game Hatred & Far Cry 3. The AO game looks less problematic.
* Watch Pro Gamer Troll 8 Year Old In Mortal Kombat X
* Video Game Hall of Fame Finalists Revealed
* Game Boy Advance

Listen or Download (3:12:28)

Subscribe: RSS | iTunes

Mike: @usagi704 | Domain of Usagi704

Dan: @JiibayDan | WP blog

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Hart & Usagi Podcast #49: EA’s Uncomfortable With Change

Posted by HartKnight on July 11, 2014

podcast49

On this edition of the Hart & Usagi Podcast we talk about how awesome Platinum Games is and how much EA isn’t. We also give our thoughts on what being an “indie” game is. All this and more can be yours with a simple download of the episode below.

Enjoy the show and remember to subscribe and follow the Hart & Usagi Podcast today!

NEWS/TOPICS:
* Assassin’s Creed IV, Code of Princess, Shovel Knight, and Klonoa: Empire of Dreams reviews
* Phil Spencer: Consumers love Kinect, they’ll still buy it
* Microsoft Arc and Logitech K750 keyboards
* The Legend of Korra: as told by Bayonetta dev Platinum Games
* Gamers Uncomfortable with Change, Says EA’s Peter Moore
* EA Mobile Says Dungeon Keeper May Have ‘Innovated Too Much’
* It’s Impossible to Define “Indie” So We Should Stop Using It Altogether
* The Best and Worst Character Reboots and Redesigns
* The Greatest Games for NES: 1985-87

Listen or Download (1:51:16)
Subscribe!
Hart & Usagi Podcast at the Internet Archive
Matt: @HartKnight | HartKnight’s Archive
Mike: @usagi704 | WP blog

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Hart & Usagi Podcast #47: A Fascinating Medium

Posted by HartKnight on June 4, 2014

podcast47

Despite the heat HartKnight and Usagi704 are back with episode 47 of the Hart and Usagi Podcast! Do we have a show for you? Absolutely. We welcome ebbderelict back for a fourth time and talk about Tetris being the greatest game ever and how maybe Super Mario Bros. isn’t. There’s also more sad excuses for microtransactions and an unlikely opponent of the FCC.

Enjoy the show and remember to subscribe and follow the Hart and Usagi Podcast today!

NEWS/TOPICS:
* God of War: Ascension multiplayer
* Video games are the most fascinating medium ever created, David Cage says
* The FarCry Racism Adventure
++ Mark Cuban: “I’m A Prejudiced Bigot”
* Congressman Funded by Telecommunications Campaign Cash Proposes Bill to Stop FCC’s Net Neutrality Plans
* Own a Piece of Gaming History When Recovered E.T. Games go on Sale
* Hyperkin Retron 5 Review
* 15 Must-Have Games for 3DS Virtual Console
* Game Genie Was More Than The Sum of its Cheat Codes
* Grand Theft Auto Parent Publisher Defends Microtransactions
* Watch Dogs: Finding Morality in Useless Information

Listen or Download (1:44:26)
Subscribe
Hart & Usagi Podcast at the Internet Archive
Matt: @HartKnight | HartKnight’s Archive
Mike: @usagi704 | WP blog
Steve: @ebbderelict | Blog at ipernity

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