Sony's E3 Showing

Kyle, Porter, and Marie, talked the most about the Sony Press Conference.

Editorial By Keith - Sony, Sony, Sony.....I don't want to type out my thoughts on what your doing with the PS3 and the PSP.

So I will post this video I found....

Microsoft E3 Reactions

So Microsoft showed us what it had to offer at E3. To tell you the truth, they had a good showing.





Editorial From Keith: Microsoft did something that was great this E3, and I am not talking about no more tattoos. I am talking about having every game they showed at their press conference being released by the end of 2007. That's five and a half months for a lot of games to come out.

Now I say the the summery to the conference was put simply "Hi, we're Microsoft. The Wii is outselling us, so we are going to put put a ton of sequels, and these games that you loved for the 360...they are going to the PC. Thanks for coming!" They have good games coming out, but besides Mass Effect, and Bioshock, what is there that is original to look forward to? Microsoft is doing well in the market (that is if you exclude Japan), and they have gone almost 2 years without a price drop. Something that is unheard of...(unless you're Sony, trying to get rid of your 60GB's to make way for the still 600 dollar 80GB). I always thought that the 360 and the Wii would be duking it out for first place,and I was right. The 360 has a strong holiday season to look forward to. Expect me to be in front of my TV the day Halo 3 launches.

Happy Birthday Start Button!

Let's all wish Start Button News a happy birthday. Exactly one year ago today we posted our first video. It's true, we haven't had very many updates since, but we here at Start Button would like to think that the ones we HAVE had have been quality.

Nintendo E3 Reactions

Hello Start Button Viewers

This is the first of three videos coming out this week. We tell you our reactions to the Nintendo Press Conference at the E3 Media Summit.



Editorial From Keith: Nintendo pulled off a big win last year at E3. This year was about keeping the momentum and moving forward. I think they did not achieve that. Not failed per say, but their showing was a bit cautious and lackluster.

I am not saying that Nintendo had no reason to be cautious, in fact they had every reason. The Wii is poised to take over the 360 as leading console of this generation. I feel that they were overly cautious. They only gave out four announcements that I consider to be big.

1. Super Smash Brothers Brawl is going to be released December 3rd.
2. Super Mario Galaxy is going to be released November 12th
3. Wii Mario Kart 1st Quarter 2008
4. Wii Fit.

Nintendo could have done so much more. They have an arsenal that could put them over the top. Games that we know are (or were) in development. The games I was looking forward to was Disaster: Day of Crisis, Project H.A.M.M.E.R., Animal Crossing, and Wii Music. We know from last year these were in development. Nintendo even stated that these were there big games in there 2007 lineup. Yet one look at the press site for Nintendo tells a tragic story. Project H.A.M.M.E.R. and Disaster: Day of Crisis, titles that had entries on the press site no longer there. Reports are coming in the Project H.A.M.M.E.R.'s development is on hold and Disaster: Day of Crisis's development is coming along and is "looking very good".

So I am hoping that one day soon I will get to play all of these games. Until then, I will still play my Wii Sports, wondering of the games that are yet to be.

Awwwww, here it goes...

I have returned to you, my minions. Check back soon for our various reactions to E3, or, as i like to call it, "Gee, isn't Sony cute? Look at them try" day.

Sony Drops The Price...

The headline for the news today "should" read 'Playstation 3 finally drops the price' or even 'After 234 days, Sony does something right'. Whatever the headline turns out to be, it still is the same news. Sony drops the price of the PS3 by one hundred bucks. This ends the week of rumors that swirled around this.

The price drop and the announcement of an 80GB PS3 bundled with Motostorm, came days before the E3 Press Summit. The 80GB bundle will be arriving sometime in August at the price point of $599.


So what does this do for Sony? Besides creating media buzz, it's a step in the right direction. A step in a long journey, but a step nonetheless. Yet it will not surprise me if even the bundle does not come with an HDMI cable.

Now if the PS3 comes with a few more exclusive games, it might be worth the $499. For those that are going to comment that it is a cheaper Blu-Ray player. I will agree with you. It is. Personally I am not going to shell out $499 just to play Russian Roulette with disc formats.

This E3 is important for Sony. There is no denying that. Given the news that came out from GDC, I feel Sony might have something still up their sleeve. What they need is something the gain ground in sales. With Sony being roughly 8 million units behind the 360 and roughly 5 million units behind the Wii, there has to be something Sony can do to convince people to buy a PS3.

The E3 Media and Business Summit takes place July 11th-13th in Santa Monica, CA.

The Internets made me do it!

So, I am surfing around on Youtube, looking at new comments and such. When I see in the related videos this..........



I died laughing. Hope you enjoy. I will be filming more stuff next week for the show.

--Keith

My Milkshake Brought Jack Thompson To The Yard....

Kyle explains how he brought Jack Thompson to the yard. It really is a great story. I remember when Kyle first called me to tell me of this. I was one who told him that Jack Thompson would not respond nicely. Kyle was really being sincere with the e-mail. Below is the transcript of the e-mails.

From: Kyle Fulton

To: Jack Thompson

Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 5:53 PM

Dear Mr. Thompson,

I suppose that there's no real point in beating around the bush. I am a twenty year old gamer who has played everything from the original Pong all the way to the ever-controversial Grand Theft Auto : San Andreas. Many people I know have come to be quite angry at you for your statements about games in general, and, more specifically, games of a violent nature. I realized, however, that getting angry doesn't get anything accomplished. I decided that, instead, it would probably be a better course of action to simply write you a polite e-mail.

The goal of this e-mail is not to make you change your mind, or stop doing what it is you feel you must. It is, instead, simply to give you the gamer's side of the story in a clear, polite manner. Now, if you have read this far, I suppose I can hope that you will read the rest as well, so I will continue to my point.

Many times I have listened to your opinion on the matter, and I respect it as your opinion. This is mine.

Quite simply, it is my thought that although violence may be inspired by some games, the games themselves are not at fault, or the cause. I believe that the minds of the people and children who commit violent acts are otherwise predisposed towards violence. I am a non-violent person, therefore, I do not commit violence. No amount of playing violent video games will ever change that. In fact, if anything, I find playing Grand Theft Auto and the like to be quite a way to release stress. It is a sort of catharsis. Sometimes it's fun and relieving to fight and destroy. These are urges as old as humanity itself. The difference to me is that in our day and age, we have simulated, non-living things to take the urges out on. Simply, I would greatly prefer that my children, when I have them, fight imaginary people than get into real life fights.

The fault lies not with the games, but with either those who commit the violence themselves, or those who, while raising them, never taught them the difference between real or make-believe. My parents did a very good job. I know that if I harm someone in reality, there will be dire consequences, just as sure as I know that video games aren't reality. When someone kills a person, and claims the government made him do it, we lock him in an asylum. We don't attack the government. But when someone kills a person and says the games made him do it, we attack the games. This isn't right. It is simply the sick mind of a violent person twisting to a different thing to blame.

It is the way of our society to blame everything and anything we can for our wrongdoing except ourselves. I feel that it is time this stops. If there were no violent games, then we'd be discussing violent movies right now, and if there were no violent movies, it would be books. As long as we live, we will find SOMETHING to blame.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I hope you have found my thoughts to be well-put and polite. I look forward greatly to your reply.

Sincerely,

Kyle Fulton

From: Jack Thompson
To: Kyle Fulton
Sent: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 6:55 PM
Subject: Re:

I'm not interested in your opinion. I have experts who have testified before Congress as to the harm of these games. They have facts. You have nothing but bias. Don't bother me again.

From: Kyle Fulton
To: Jack Thompson
Sent: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 7:20 PM
Subject: Re:

Dear Mr. Thompson,

In case you missed the purpose of my original letter, my thought behind it was that I believed that you had been treated unfairly in the past. I felt that, though I disagreed with you, your opinion was to be respected nonetheless, and had hoped to discuss the matter with you intelligently. Even now, after your rather short, and, I must confess rude, response, I believe in your right to say anything you wish.

I will choose to believe that you had a bad day or something today, rather than believe that anyone could be so outright rude to someone who is giving them every bit of respect they deserve.

You see, everyone who knew I was sending you this e-mail insisted that you'd respond in essentially the manner that you have. "No," I said. "I'm sure he's a reasonable man who will see my attempt to hold an actual conversation, rather than insult him, as most gamers have." I can honestly say I have rarely been more upset to be proven wrong.

I thought perhaps, even if you so coldly disregarded my opinion, you would at least give me the respect of common courtesy. Though I could go on at some length about manners at this point, I'll choose not to, as I'm sure you are a busy man. Once again, thank you for taking the time to read my letter, even if you didn't really pay attention.

As a small note, however, perhaps your generally disdainful attitude towards the people you claim to be trying to save from the games is part of why they are typically so rude to you.

Sincerely,

Kyle Fulton

From: Jack Thompson
To: Kyle Fulton
Sent: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 8:14 PM
Subject: Re:

I told you to stop bothering me. One more email, and I will have you prosecuted, you jerk.

From: Kyle Fulton
To: Jack Thompson
Sent: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 8:22 PM
Subject: Re:

Dear Mr. Thompson,

I sincerely doubt that there is anything illegal or prosecutable in my actions. I have given you nothing but respect. If you don't like my e-mails, it is simple enough for you to block my address. I do think you need to seriously reconsider the way you treat the general public if you ever hope to execute the changes you desire.

As usual, thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Kyle Fulton

Given that it has been 4 months from the e-mails we doubt any action was taken, or even will be taken.

The video has been up for a few days, and we have gotten some comments on YouTube. Some have really good points.

TKnHappyNess (8 hours ago) Marked as spam

Jack should realize that parents are responsible for what their kids do. Yesterday I went to Wal-Mart, and some kid clearly under 17 wanted his dad to get him Dead Rising for his b-day. The father read the M rating, and the kid was denied. If you can have responsible parents like him, there'd be less and less "violent kids". I'd investigate domestic abuse first long before the games.

I really agree with TK, but apparently all we have is "Bias". Thanks for watching and keep the comments coming.

I will be posting more material next week. I am also going to film more in the next two weeks. It really feels good to get back in the swing of things.

Until next time,

--Keith Dotson

We're Back!

...It's been a while viewers. All three of us have been busy, but I am here to tell you that Start Button News is back. Instead of doing big episodes, we are going to put the individual segments online. To start we have Porter's review of Super Paper Mario and Virtua Fighter 5.

You may notice our new opening. I personally think it looks better.



Just in case you missed it, we put up a brand new blooper reel.



So, we are back. Our next post will be tomorrow. Entitled "My Milkshake Brought Jack Thompson To The Yard".

Until then, Laterz.

--Keith