Author Bio
Jim HarrisHome Town: Winnipeg, MB
Sports: N/A
Games: N/A
Teams: N/A
OS Username: Jimmy_Fairplay
Tags: Jimmy Fairplay (XBL), Jimmy_Fairplay (PSN)
Monday, December 21, 2009
03:48 PM - December 21, 2009. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Jim Harris
During the past couple of console generations, several companies have tried to take a run at the juggernaut that is EA Sports and, for various reasons, each has failed to knock off the big dog. Whether it was Sony's 989 Sports brand, Microsoft's XSN Sports or many of the smaller players in the market, nobody has had the right combination of development talent, deep pockets, effective marketing and good fortune to usurp EA.
The lone brand to enjoy any lasting success against EA shadow has been the 2K Sports brand. From its debut on the Sega Dreamcast through its expansion to multiple platforms last generation to its current status as EA's chief rival, 2K Sports has proven itself to be a brand with some legs.
But as it celebrates its 10th anniversary, the outlook for 2K Sports is far from rosy. It has been pushed out of the football market; Take-Two buyout talks are potentially looming once again; 2K's baseball game appears to be stuck in neutral; its hockey game has been caught and surpassed by EA's offering (and may now be canceled); and its basketball game, while still the best on the market, does not dominate NBA Live in the quality department by as much as it used to.
So where does the brand go from here? Well, here are five tips that can possibly help 2K survive.
Read More - A Survival Guide for 2K Sports
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Is this the game that puts the 2K series back on the top of the hockey videogame mountain? Maybe not, but if nothing else, it represents an interesting alternative for those looking for a fresh take on the sport.
Read More - NHL 2K10 Review
Friday, September 11, 2009
12:33 PM - September 11, 2009. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Jim Harris
All it takes is a quick scan of the most popular games on Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network to reveal what most gamers already know: remakes are big business in the gaming world right now.Taking classic, old-school games, dressing them up a bit and releasing them for download is nothing new, particularly among Xbox Live Arcade games. But in the past year or so, high-quality remakes of old games have really come into their own and, in the process, have carved out quite a nice niche for themselves.
For proof look no further than Major Nelson’s list of the top arcade titles on Xbox Live for the week of August 31. Among the top 10: Battlefield 1943, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 and Turtles in Time Re-Shelled. Meanwhile, on PSN both Final Fantasy VII and SimCity 2000 currently sit among the top downloads. And over the course of the past year, both Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix and Worms 2 have enjoyed success in the digital-download space.
Read More - Five Necessary Remakes for XBLA/PSN
Friday, August 28, 2009
04:22 PM - August 28, 2009. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Jim Harris
The only certainty in the NFC North in recent years has been uncertainty. The division favorite seems to change from year to year and often game to game. Heading into the 2009 season, every team features at least a couple intriguing players as well as a question mark or two. Does the addition of Brett Favre make the Vikings Super Bowl contenders? Who will new Bears' QB Jay Cutler throw to? Will the Packers improve in Aaron Rodgers' second season as a starter? Who will quarterback the Lions? It should be fascinating to watch it all play out. In the interim, here's a preview of each team in the division (in predicted order of finish).
Read More - OS Madden 10 Preview: NFC North
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
12:14 PM - August 25, 2009. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Jim Harris
NHL 10, the latest edition of EA's rejuvenated NHL series, is set to hit stores on September 15. Both NHL 08 and NHL 09 received a healthy dose of critical acclaim from gamers and reviewers alike, so, needless to say, expectations will be high for this version. So without further delay, here's a look at what's hot and what's not in NHL 10.Read More - NHL 10: What's Hot and What's Not
Saturday, August 15, 2009
12:05 PM - August 15, 2009. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Jim Harris
Always home to a smash-mouth, hard-fought brand of football, the AFC North is never a fun division for opposing teams to play against. Barring a surprising turn of events, the division should once again belong to the defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers, but there are still no shortage of interesting teams and players throughout -- particularly for Madden players. Here's a look at the division, and some of each team's noteworthy players (teams presented in predicted order of finish).Read More - OS Madden 10 Preview: AFC North
Monday, July 20, 2009
11:06 AM - July 20, 2009. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Jim Harris
Truly great sports games often transcend the sport they're based on, finding a way to appeal to a broad group of gamers. Games like NHL 94, Winning Eleven 6 and the original NBA Jam fall into this category. Even if you weren't a fan of the sports themselves, those games still probably appealed to you when you played them because the final products were greater than the sum of their parts.NCAA Football 10 falls short of that transcendent status. As a longtime Madden player who has made sporadic forays into the NCAA series, I went into NCAA 10 looking to see if the game would grab me and make a fan of me. It did not.
-Feature written by Jim Harris
Read More - NCAA Football 10: An Alternate Take
Thursday, July 2, 2009
03:20 PM - July 2, 2009. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Jim Harris
It wasn’t too long ago when interaction between gamers and developers was mainly a one-way street. Developers trickled information out to gamers through carefully established channels like E3 press conferences, magazine exclusives and press releases. Gamers were left to share their feedback and concerns with other gamers. Granted, you may have been able to write letters or e-mails to developers, but there was no guarantee that they would be seen by anyone.That type of controlled chain of command slowly started to change as the Internet opened more communication lines, but only recently has the gamer-developer interaction exploded into the full-on, two-way communication that we are experiencing today. Thanks to message boards, developer blogs and technologies like Twitter, gamers and developers now freely exchange information and ideas on a daily, hourly and even minute-by-minute basis.
-Feature written by Jim Harris
Read More - Breaking Down the Wall: The Evolution of Community Interaction
Sunday, June 21, 2009
01:15 PM - June 21, 2009. Posted by Steve_OS. Written by Jim Harris
I used to be hardcore.I used to tweak sliders. I used to edit rosters. I used to complete full seasons without simulating a single game. Hell, I used to set hot dog prices. I was a hardcore sports gamer and I loved every minute of it.
Then something happened. Well, two things, actually. I had kids, and with them came dirty diapers, sleepless nights, play dates and enough brightly colored plastic to put the Great Pacific Garbage Patch to shame.
What didn't come with kids was spare time. Now, don't get me wrong, I understood this going into parenthood -- it was one of the trade-offs of becoming a parent. I was willing to make that trade-off at the time, and I'd make it again in a heartbeat because having kids is one of the most rewarding and fulfilling experiences you can have in life. Every single day brings with it new adventures and the joy of watching your children grow up. They truly are little miracles.
Read More - Father's Day: How Having Kids Can Change Your Gaming - For the Better
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