Michael Gluck was nine years old when he fired up Final Fantasy IV and listened to the intro. Thirty minutes later, he was picking out the tune on the family piano. Over the years, Michael’s love for music – especially video game music – has continued to grow and he has developed some mad piano playing skills. In honor of his inspiration, Michael currently performs at anime conventions and charity events as “Piano Squall” – a character based on Final Fantasy series protagonist Squall Leonhart.

Michael‚Äôs debut album, GAME (Game and Anime Music Emotions) is due out on June 30th and features original arrangement and performances of twenty-six theme songs from video games and anime, including Final Fantasy, Naruto, Super Mario World, InuYasha, Chrono Trigger, Cowboy Bebop, Mega Man, Chrono Cross, Full Metal Alchemist, Tetris, and Evangelion. Highlights include Michael‚Äôs signature Final Fantasy Battle Medley, which blends nine Final Fantasy battle themes together into a single spectacular piece. Read the rest of this entry »

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NEW YORK, June 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ – Microsoft Corp. and Games for Change (G4C) this week announced a joint commitment to explore new ways to bring together the world of digital gaming with the world of social change at the fourth annual Games for Change Festival at Parsons The New School for Design.

As part of the announcement, Microsoft outlined an all-new socially minded global gaming competition, Xbox 360(TM) Games for Change Challenge, to drive awareness for games based on social themes. This worldwide competition, set to launch this summer to participants in more than 100 countries, will challenge college students to come up with the best game based on the theme of global warming. Jeff Bell, corporate vice president of global marketing for the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft, made the announcement during the 2007 Games for Change Festival Expo Night, following an introduction from Bob Kerrey, the president of The New School and a former Nebraska senator. Read the rest of this entry »

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Man, this is a blast from the past. I remember how much I used to love E.T. for the Atari. You can’t blame me. I mean, check out those amazing graphics.

[youtube VUcYlLhct-M]

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I was with a group of friends the other day and suddenly, for no real reason, one dude started humming the Super Mario Brothers theme song (not the underground one, the main one). Soon everyone was humming along. It was like “Gamers – The Musical” or something. So then this guy Mike asked “What were the lyrics?” And everyone looked at him like he was retarded. “There weren’t any lyrics, man!” He insisted there were. And that there was a Super Mario Brothers show where they’d put lyrics to the tune.

We all smiled and nodded.

“Sure thing, Mike. We believe you.”

But I just got an email from Mike. Subject line: “I wasn’t kidding” and this video from YouTube.

[youtube 65uNCLBTje0]

Okay. I believe you now.

Mike did some research (aka read the credits) and found out that Mario is played by Captain Lou Albano from WWE Wrestling. He was part of a tag team known as the Sicilians in the late fifties. In the 80s, he starred in Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” video as her grody father. “Oh, daddy dear, you know you’re still number one. But girls, they want to have fu-un.” (Watch it) Quite a different character from the happy, bouncy guy doing the Mario up there.

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Yes, it’s called CrotchMail.com. What of it? It’s an awesome site. And not just because they interviewed me. Read the interview here and make sure you check out the Gaming Humor section of the site. You’ll love it.

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My brother forwarded me a link to this YouTube clip from Wired. This is awesome. It’s a 5 minute video that shows every Famicom title released over 11 years set to disco music. Why? Why not.

You know they say that before you die, your life will flash before your eyes? Can gamers expect to see something like this?

[youtube jXaleptB54c]

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Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
available on Nintendo DS, PC, PS2, Xbox 360, PS3, PSP

So last week, I went to Lackluster Video to rent a game for my PS3. I picked up a copy of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. First impressions? Awesome. The animation is crazy incredible. Every character in the game looks exactly like the original actor. And I have to admit I enjoyed controlling Johnny Depp with my fingertips. *drool* Anyway, back to the game… At first, it’s awesome. The developers did a great job of utilizing the PS3 controller’s tilt sensor. When you walk across a plank from one platform to another, you have to balance yourself by tilting the controller left and right. Nicely done stuff. You will use every single button on your controller, and the tutorials are great at helping you get used to all of your moves. But after a couple of nights of playing, I started getting bored. There’s a definite formula to the fights in this game and they get old pretty quick. Read the rest of this entry »

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Image stolen from Game Almighty

Entertainment writer and producer David Chapman posted the first piece of his series “Dealing with a Jack ass” yesterday on GameAlmighty.com. Those of you that know David know that he has an incredible level of patience and is a damn fine journalist – two things that have helped him keep his head above water through the latest Jack Thompson debacle. You’ve got to read his article»

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Yesterday, Microsoft Corp. and NAMCO BANDAI Games made video game history by unveiling the “Pac-Man Championship Edition” – featuring the first new Pac-Man mazes in more than 26 years – available only on the Xbox 360(TM). This brand new game was introduced yesterday in New York City at the first-ever Xbox 360 Pac-Man World Championship, presented by Quiznos. As a special surprise from Iwatani and NAMCO BANDAI Games, the 10 tournament competitors became the first in the world to play and compete on the “Pac-Man Championship Edition” before its launch this morning at 9 a.m. GMT (5 a.m. EDT), only on Xbox LIVE(R) Arcade on the Xbox 360.

Here’s a little old school Pac-Man action for ya:
[kml_flashembed movie="http://thinkarcade.com/files/file/pacman.swf" height="400" width="400" /]Get Free Flash Games like this one from ThinkArcade.com

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In the late 80s and early 90s, using sound chips found in video game consoles was the easiest way to create music on a computer. These days, there are all sorts of fancy schmanzy programs to help you create and mix flawless sounds. But some people don’t want perfection. Some still find comfort in those old-school bleeps and bloops. And these 8-bit loving joystick junkies have created a new genre of music now referred to as chiptunes.

I had a chance to chat with UK musician Matthew Applegate who – in addition to several other bands – performs as Pixelh8, a chiptune-lover’s dream. Pixelh8’s specialty? Serving up fat helpings of totally original beats created from the 8-bit consoles and old-school handhelds we all know and love so well. He’s taken his Franken-bot synths on stage to open for Imogen Heap and just released an amazing new album – Video games ruined my life – now available on iTunes.

GD: How do you define chiptune music?

MA: Chiptune is exactly that. It relies on utilizing the sound chips from computers of yesteryear to make new music. For me, I had to go back and learn how to program the NES, the Gameboy, the Commodore 64, etc. to make them play the notes I wanted. Some people sample other people’s game music but I think that’s really shortsighted and pretty lame. If I get one more kid claiming he wrote the theme to Tetris, I am going to scream. Read the rest of this entry »

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