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TOYS "R' US HOARDING WIIS?  2/4/07

Check out the article below:

http://kotaku.com/gaming/wii/rumor-t...ain-233799.php

Now if this is really true, which I believe it is, it pisses me off for a number of reasons.
1. This creates lines..which I'm really getting sick of hearing about. As mentioned in the article, we can really do without them. People having to line up outside in the cold is plain bullshit anymore.
2. Toy's 'R Us probably isn't even going to sell these Wii's by themselves on Feb. 11th (which is the supposed date they are releasing them) It seems this company (and a few others) have started a video game process called "bundles". This is where they sell a hard to get console packaged with a bunch of shitty games. So instead of getting just the wii which you really want, your are forced to overpay for a couple of other shitty games you could care less about. It's all an attempt to not only make more profit, but get rid of shitty games they would never sell otherwise. How am I sure this is a fact? Out of all the "bundle" deals I saw this holiday, not one included Zelda..the most wanted game for the Wii. They already knew people would be buying Zelda, so why include that in the bundle, throw in a crappy game instead!

But in the long run, what's all good about this is that Toy's R Us will be gone in 5-10 years; maybe sooner. They simply can't compete with other stores like Walmart and Target anymore for the lowest price. Since Toy's R Us only sells toys and not other merchandise, their prices have to be higher. For example, most Walmart video games average $2 less then Toy's R Us. (walmart isn't an innocent company either, they have many controversial practices, but that's another story) So what I'm basically saying is that Toy's R Us will soon go belly up because the competition is so fierce. Case in point: Just look at one of the biggest music stores, Tower Records. They just went out of business. They're gone. Why? Online music like itunes. Most people would rather buy the music digitally for $10 then paying $20 for a cd. I see Sam Goody going next, since they have been ripping people off from the start. $22 for a cd?  If I really want to buy a cd (usually only as a gift) I go to Best Buy where I rarely pay over $13 for one.

Well that's my rant. I say next time you hear someone is going to Toy's R Us to get something, tell them to go elsewhere. Because of Toy's R Us hoarding Wii consoles, poor littly Tommy isn't getting his birthday present in time this year. But when he does get it, it's because his poor Mom had to go get in line at 6 A.M. to wait with a bunch of other poor souls.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!  1/4/07

I'll be posting a major update soon, but until then just wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year. I wish all of you the best for 2007! Thanks for staying a fan :)

A SUPER BROS. 3 TALE  11/21/06

Long time VGDC forum member Callum Stamp has released two awesome new Mario movies based on the classic Mario Vs. Bowser battles.  These two movies are once again showing the flash community how good Sprite Flash movies can be, and how a good Sprite Flash can compete with a hand drawn flash movie. Check them out at Newgrounds ASAP
A Super Mario 3 Tale: Part 1
A Super Mario 3 Tale: Part 2
Callum also won the New Super Mario contest a few months back. The contest consisted of VGDC supplying the sprites and sound from Super Duper Mario 2, so that forum members could create their own movies. Callum's movie won, and I am just now getting the chance to give him his long overdue plug, which I'm very sorry I didn't do sooner.  So check out his contest entry: New Super Mario Bloopers as well!
New Super Mario Bloopers

CREATE YOUR OWN MARIO BLOCKS 11/13/06

While playing around on the internet the other day I came across this cool little page which shows you how to create your own 3-D mario blocks. (as well as talking about the problems making these things has caused)  I downloaded the template and actually printed and created a few of them myself, and I have to say  It's actually pretty fun to make them. I made quite a few. I even used the template to create my own Mario bricks, as show in the pics below.

If you decide to make your own here's some tips I found on my own that will prove useful.

First download the templates:
"?" Block Template
Brick Template

1. Use glossy photo paper when printing. Glossy photo paper not only makes them look nice, but also gives the blocks a nice sturdy feel to them.
2. Use a glue stuck to tape them together. A little on the tabs does just fine. I used tape at first, and they just looked crappy.
3. If you have trouble printing the brick, save it to your desktop. Right click on the file, select preview, then print from there.