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May 30, 2005
Hall of Historic Shame
The Gal has had such a huge reaction to this year's E3 Hall of Shame, we've decided to dig up a few of our past efforts for those of you who just can't get enough.
We've been documenting the sometimes funny, sometimes creepy excesses of the world's biggest video game trade show for a few years, and been attending the show since 1999, so join us below for a stroll down memory lane.
2005: http://www.gamegal.com/e32005/shame.shtm
2004: http://www.gamegal.com/e32004/gallery/shame.htm
2003: http://www.gamegal.com/e32003/showpics/shame.htm
2002: http://www.gamegal.com/e32002/2002-hall-of-shame.htm
[Note: The older pages are from previous versions of the site, so the links and nav may not work correctly.]
Posted by gamegal at 07:52 PM | Comments (0)
E3 Super-Page
Just a quick note to tell you that we've combined a bunch of our E3 coverage and photo galleries (including the infamous Hall of Shame) on one easy to use page. Check it out here: http://www.gamegal.com/e32005/
Posted by gamegal at 07:51 PM | Comments (0)
Guild Wars Reviewed
GameGal takes a peek at the MMO everyone's talking about - the sword-and-sorcery fest known as Guild Wars. From the quick no-grind leveling to the fantastic art direction, we think it's pretty groovy. Of course, the biggest bullet point about Guild Wars is that it has no monthly subscription fee.
Check out the review here:
http://www.gamegal.com/news/newsscript.cgi?record=23
Posted by gamegal at 07:46 PM | Comments (0)
May 25, 2005
While Randomly Surfing eBay...
While randomly surfing around eBay, we accidentally stumbled across this. Seems someone got ahold of one of the promo trucker hats we had printed up for E3 last year, and is selling it. It's only $6.49, a nice markup considering we gave them out for free.
We're inspired to go through our game industry swag now and see what could be a good potential eBay posting. (PlayStation bottle of wine? UmJammer Lammy backpack? The possibilites are mind-boggling.)
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=45231&item=6766211465&rd=1&ssPageName=WD1V
Posted by gamegal at 11:30 PM | Comments (0)
Wanna be an Xbox 360 billboard? This guy does.
OK, this guy is a douchbag. But he gets major credit for trying to become the world's first human billboard for the Xbox 360. On second thought, it's kinda adorable -- in that funhouse mirror kind of way. So, give a fellow gaming nerd a hand, willya?
Help the Xbox 360 billboard wannabe.
Posted by gamegal at 04:23 PM | Comments (0)
May 24, 2005
GameGal Editor TV Appearance
This time, we're actually going to tell you about a TV appearance before it happens. GameGal founder Libe Goad is going to be back on Good Day New York on Fox 5 in NYC Wednesday morning, in her role as a Senior Reporter for Ziff Davis, talking about some current game releases.
Should be on sometime between 8 and 9 in the morning, so set those TiVo's!
Posted by gamegal at 11:21 AM | Comments (0)
Sweet Online Love
Every year, The Gal gets some nice plugs for our tongue-in-cheek E3 Hall of Shame gallery. This time around, even we were surprised by the cool links we saw around cyberspace, and the amusing debates that broke out in the comments section on various game blogs.
Returning the favor, here’s some of the sites that linked to the 2005 Hall of Shame. Hit us up if we’ve missed any.
http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/05/23/229207&tid=235
http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/oddities/index.php#worst-of-booth-babes-104683
http://www.evilavatar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2359
http://www.igniq.com/2005/05/e3-2005-hall-of-shame.html
Posted by gamegal at 11:15 AM | Comments (2)
May 23, 2005
E3 2005: Hall of Shame Gallery
One of our more popular features on GameGal, the annual E3 Hall of Shame exposes some of the out-of-control examples of "Booth Babe" excess seen every year at the show. This year, we were pleased to find fewer examples of Shame-worthy behavior, perhaps thanks to the increased mainstream media attention.
Of course, there's always a few examples worthy of our annual send-up, and here are some of the more off-the-wall ones. We've left the company names out to protect the innocent...and the guilty. (Also, check out our collected E3 content here)
Link: http://www.gamegal.com/e32005/shame.shtm
Posted by gamegal at 04:23 PM | Comments (0)
E3 2005: Photo Gallery
We're barely off the plane, and we've just finished downloading and resizing all our E3 photographs, thanks to the magic of jet lag. So check out the latest GameGal Gallery to see the sights from this year's Electronic Entertainment Exposition.
Coming soon - tons of game previews and the infamous GameGal E3 Hall of Shame!
Link: http://www.gamegal.com/e32005/photos.shtm
Posted by gamegal at 02:11 AM | Comments (0)
E3 2005: Nintendo Revolution
The PS3 and Xbox 360 are dueling over CPU speeds, hard drive capacity and Bluetooth controllers. Of course, specs don't mean anything if you don't have the games to back it up.
Nintendo, the brand that once owned gaming, hopes that gamers will stay loyal to series like Zelda and Mario Brothers when they come to the just-announced Nintendo Revolution console. The sketchiest of the three new systems, Nintendo didn't offer any system specs, release dates or test footage from their console.
But die-hard N-fans didn't leave empty handed. Nintendo showed off a new pocket-sized version of the classic Game Boy Advance. Called the Game Boy Micro, it's about the size of an iPod Mini and should be out in the Fall.
Posted by gamegal at 02:08 AM | Comments (0)
E3 2005: PlayStation 3
Sony also revealed some details about their new machine, the predictably titled PlayStation 3. Launching in the Spring of 2006, this time around, the Sony box with have more under the hood, thanks to their much-hyped "Cell" processor.
The design is, like the Xbox 360, white and curved, more like a piece of high-end A/V gear than your old Sega Genesis. There were some PS3 samples shown as part of a demo reel, and while impressive looking, they didn’t show any real-time gameplay.
Besides aiming to be the most powerful game console out there, Sony also earns bonus points for out-of-the-box 54G Wi-Fi and the high-capacity Blu-Ray DVD format.
Posted by gamegal at 02:06 AM | Comments (0)
E3 2005: Xbox 360
Microsoft is planning on being the first to stores with its Xbox 360 console. Recently revealed to the public, the system's specs are neck-in-neck with the fastest tricked-out desktop machines, featuring a 3.2GHz CPU and 512MB of memory. Naturally, it'll output everything in high definition, so start saving for that plasma now.
In between the E3 parties and press events, we got to see some examples of the next-gen games being worked on. Several game companies had Xox 360 games running on development hardware. We snuck a peek at some works in progress from Sega and EA, and were blown away by what we saw.
Behind closed doors, EA showed us several live games, including the newest Tiger Woods title, where we could zoom into individual blades of grass on the green and an NBA title, with characters so detailed we actually saw sweat running down their faces.
Posted by gamegal at 02:02 AM | Comments (0)
May 20, 2005
E3 Party Patrol
Alright true believers, we're still going over all the cool games and gear we saw at E3. Unlike the hordes of XXL-wearing game journalist types, we didn't run back to our hotel room after the show to write up game previews as fast as we could. Instead, we boogied at the numerous private invite-only parties taking place every night.
Stay tuned for our games to watch for over the next few days – in the meantime, here’s some behind-the-scenes party dirt.
Tuesday brought us to Avalon, the LA outpost of the Boston-based nightclub chain. There classic game company Midway was hosting a party to show off their latest games. The E3 parties at Avalon are always a hot ticket, with high-profile musical acts -- last year Vivendi Universal had Maroon 5 - and the typical media event top-shelf open bar (we knew there was a reason we got into reporting). This time around, rapper Twista was the surprise musical act, wowing the crowd with a short but high-energy set.
Our next foray into the fully catered, open-bar world of video games was at the Moroccan-themed Hotel Figueroa. Always a popular spot for E3 parties, we hit two at the same time on Wednesday night. Downstairs in the Fez lounge, dressed up with pillows and traditional Middle Eastern seating, GameTap hosted an event to showcase their new games-on-demand service.
There was also the Ziff Davis party held simultaneously by the swimming pool. Those are the guys who publish magazines like EGM, PlayStation Magazine and others. Always a packed event, this one was quickly at capacity. We arrived with a large crew in tow and actually had trouble getting our friends past the door. We improvised and led the troops to freedom by finding a side door to the kitchen and making our way to the back of the party, where we emerged unnoticed from behind a food serving station.
Posted by gamegal at 09:05 PM | Comments (0)
May 16, 2005
We're Off to LA!
That's right, true believers - we're heading to the airport this afternoon to fly out to Los Angeles for the annual E3 video game trade show. If you're out there, keep an eye open for the GameGal crew, and if you're not, stay tuned for one-the-spot updates from the show floor.
Posted by gamegal at 02:51 AM | Comments (0)
New Blog for Girl Gamers
We got a note from Bonnie Ruberg, who writes for several game sites, telling us about her new blog, Heroine Sheik. It's about gender issues in gaming and she says the site is, "dedicated entirely to issues of gender and sexuality in video games and gaming communities, and especially to saying things that women aren't being given space to talk about on male-run websites." Check it out at the link below!
Link: www.heroine-sheik.com
Posted by gamegal at 02:50 AM | Comments (0)
May 13, 2005
Xbox 360 Revealed!
Sure, we knew all the relevant specs a while ago, but those pesky non-disclosure agreements kept us from spilling the beans before the big MTV special last night.
The device is now officially called the Xbox 360 (as pretty much everyone knew all along), and it looks pretty much like all the leaked photos that have come out over the past few months.
The 360 is ditching the clunky black box look, instead taking on a slim, white silhouette. Like the current PS2, it can stand on its side of lay flat. New features include wireless controllers, a removable 20GB hard drive, and built-in wi-fi.
We especially liked the concept of removable faceplates – letting you customize your Xbox 360 to your mood or décor. Tech-heads will be pleased to hear that the console is trying to become a central hub in your living room, playing DVDs, ripping music CDs and displaying games in HDTV-friendly 16:9 720p (or 1080I, if you have any idea what we’re talking about).
Set to be released by November, look for the game machine to cost $250-300. More details on games and goodies are expected at next week’s E3 show in Los Angeles. We’ll, of course, be on location at the show, bringing you live updates.
Link: http://www.mtv.com/games/video_games/xbox/index.jhtml
Posted by gamegal at 06:39 PM | Comments (1)
May 12, 2005
Pac-Man Hits 25
That's right kids, the big yellow mouth we spent so much time with as children is a quarter-century old. CNN points out that the franchise has taken in more than $100 million over the years, especially impressive considering games back then made their money one quarter at a time, not from $50 software sales.
The classic story is that game designer Toru Iwatani was inspired by a pizza – the pie looked like a giant mouth after he picked up the first slice. In Japan, Pac-Man was actually Puck-Man, you know, like a hockey puck, but you can just imagine what an army of early '80s teens would have done with a game called Puck-Man…
In the interest of full disclosure, we must reveal that we own an original vinyl copy of Buckner & Garcia's Pac Man Fever album (the title cut went to #9 on the charts in 1982).
Link: http://money.cnn.com/2005/05/10/commentary/game_over/column_gaming/index.htm
Posted by gamegal at 01:05 PM | Comments (0)
May 11, 2005
Review Roundup: Lego Star Wars and Splinter Cell
Get yourself over to GameGal's reviews section if you want to check out our latest reviews – Lego Star Wars and Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory.
Lego Star Wars so totally rocks, we can hardly believe it ourselves. And if you like stealth, than the latest Splinter Cell adventure is pretty much the state-of-the-art when it comes to that kind of stuff.
Link: www.gamegal.com
Posted by gamegal at 01:59 PM | Comments (0)
Super-Sized PSP Display in NYC
Don't have one of those nifty Sony PSP gaming devices yet? If not, then you might be interested in this super-sized one being hoisted onto a Houston Street billboard as we speak.
Ok, it's not the deluxe "really, really big screen" model, it's just a clever 3D ad. But, from all the photos and commentary popping up online about this today, it looks like it has a giant LCD screen showing videos and PSP content.
Link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/_tim/sets/323032/
Posted by gamegal at 01:54 PM | Comments (0)
May 10, 2005
Girl Gamers Sought by UK University
England's University of Derby is offering a degree in Computer Games Programming, and they're now trying to encourage women to join the program. So far, all 106 applicants for the new course of study have been men.
All-girl summer courses are going to be offered, and possibly scholarships for female students. "Girls do want to play games but no one is making games for them," department head John Sear told BBC News.
Link: http://dbs.derby.ac.uk/index.php?node=186722&objectid=186721
Posted by gamegal at 12:22 PM | Comments (0)
GameGal Gets Ready for E3
We can hardly believe it's May already – time for another E3. That's the Electronic Entertainment Expo, the yearly trade show for the video game biz, held in Los Angeles.
We've been going since 1999 in our various official roles for different publications (Happy Puppy, Sync, PC Mag, MTV.com, Blender, Clubplanet, etc.), but always found time to preach the GameGal gospel as well.
We're gearing up for possibly the biggest E3 ever, with the three new game consoles and all the associated hype. Plus, in an annual GameGal tradition, we've got possibly our coolest giveaway yet (every year, we try and bring some kind of GameGal-branded giveaway, hats, stickers, etc. to ply our fellow conventioneers with). But you'll have to wait and see what that is – we don't want to ruin the surprise.
Anyway, if you're going to be out there, we hope to run into you, and for everyone else, stay tuned for our daily coverage from the show floor, including our always popular Booth Babe Hall of Shame (hey, as long as Slashdot keeps linking to it, we'll keep doing it).
Posted by gamegal at 12:01 PM | Comments (0)
May 09, 2005
But Does it Go with My Shoes?
The new Samsung Q30 is getting a lot of press these days. After all, the lightweight multimedia notebook is stylish and slim (much like us).
Engadget has a great promo shot of it, along with some commentary ("What it is that makes manufacturers think women will not buy gadgets unless they come in pink or red?") about the Ferrari-red version of this portable PC.
http://engadget.com/entry/1234000130042684
Posted by gamegal at 01:14 PM | Comments (0)
Mother's Day, Father's Day Gift Guides
GameGal's token game guy, Dan, almost forgot to clue you into the Mother's and Father's Day Gift Guides he wrote for the Ziff Davis Digital Life website. (Digital Life is a big annual tech expo in NYC).
Check out top choices for parents, from digital cameras to home networking to super-sweet iPod cases.
http://digitalife.com/att_shopping_guide.html
Posted by gamegal at 01:13 PM | Comments (0)
May 06, 2005
Difficult Questions About Videogames -- FREE
Two inspired limeys, James Newman and Iain Simons, wrote a book last year called Difficult Questions About Videogames. In a shorthand, MTV-worthy format, they posed questions to game developers, journalists and general enthusiasts and recorded all of their answers in a big ole Q&A format.
Now, for a limited time, they’re giving away the book (that means for free) on publicbeta.org, the book’s official internet home.
While at times the answers are a little too serious for our tastes, we have to admit that it’s pretty addictive stuff – reading people’s answer to our favorite questions in the book – how do you know if a videogame’s rubbish? And "Where do you play (videogames)?" is an oddly relational experience. Secretly, I was hoping for more bizarre answers than "I play in the living room" and "I play 1-2 hours a night." C’mon, isn’t someone playing games while hanging upside down in their Bat cave replica?
Still, if you froth at the mouth like a wild dog whenever you’re near a videogames, this book is worth a look. And, hey, if it's free, no harm done.
Posted by gamegal at 08:12 AM | Comments (0)
May 03, 2005
Queen of Quake
At this month's E3 Expo, iGames is sponsoring a series of gaming competitions, including one with a woman they call the "Queen of Quake."
"These events will include the Kornelia Challenge 2, an exclusive DOOM 3 tournament that will pit show-goers against Kornelia, a top-seeded PC gamer and the world's #1 ranked female Quake player."
Posted by gamegal at 03:52 PM | Comments (0)
Webby 2005 Winners Announced
The Oscars of the World Wide Webbernet are back! The Webby Awards have made a full-comeback, and today, released its list of winners for 2005.
In the games arena, the enigmatic Halo 2 promotion i love bees (ilovebees.com) took home the grand prize. Gamespot.com, the most, IMHO, comprehensive game site on the Web, was declared the People's Voice winner.
Nominees for the games section also included: GameSpy, Metacritic and the Nintendo site for The Legend of Zelda: The Minish cap.
Other honors were dedicated to the following:
See more winners from this year's Webby Awards.
Posted by gamegal at 03:37 PM | Comments (0)