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Areala

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Posts posted by Areala

    Standardizing the "content" field

    in Database Discussions

    Posted

    I admit to being one of the multi-page ad uploaders. I've since stopped, since I lack the skills necessary to make them look good. But yeah, a number of PlayStation ads in the DB are multi-file ads because of me. :)

    As one of the more elaborate indexers on here, I always figure it's better to err on the side of being too informative as opposed to not informative enough. I like to put my own mark of style on things, and hopefully anybody who does read them will be entertained in some fashion. But if not, oh well. I have fun doing it. :)

    *huggles*
    Areala

    Western games in Japan

    in Current Generation Video Gaming!

    Posted

    Kitsunebi covered this already earlier in the conversation, but I feel like it's important to note the difference between Western (or at least North American) gaming magazines and Japanese gaming mags. It wasn't uncommon for mags like EGM, GamePro, and PSM to run regular columns that looked at games released in Japan (especially arcades) that were unlikely to receive localized releases. Preview columns, in fact, often used Japanese release content for screenshots and such when they knew a new game would get domestic release (Final Fantasy VII, anyone?). Game mags even went so far as to hire people to either live in Japan and work as a foreign correspondent (like Bill Paris for PSM), or who understood the language and could thus write coherently about the Japanese previews they managed to score (like Nick Rox for GameFan). In PSM's case, they took this a step further by including language helpers for gamers inclined to import titles so they could at least get past the start menu even if they didn't know the first thing about Hiragana or Katakana. Back in the 90's, there were any number of import shops and clubs in the US that catered to Western gamers interested in picking up games and hardware from different regions.

    Obviously I don't have nearly the experience with Japanese publications that Kitsunebi does, but I've never flipped through an actual Japanese magazine or a scan of one and found anything similar for Japanese gamers interested in trying out Western-only releases. No English-to-Japanese language helpers, no write-ups of what's coming soon to US arcades or home systems, no groups offering Region 1-coded hardware or software imports, no US-based correspondents writing about the international scene, etc...

    The US attitude about video games was, "Holy cow, I love this stuff, and look at all the things I'm missing!" The Japanese attitude, by contrast, seemed to be, "I have plenty here...why would I care what other parts of the world get?" Granted, like Kitsunebi said before, there were more Japanese-only PS2 games released than there were US-developed and English-localized PS2 games combined, so that's kind of understandable. We had to wait for Nintendo, Sony, Konami, Capcom, and Square to localize their big hits, while Japanese gamers got them on day one, so no need to report on what's "coming soon" in North American or European territories. :)

    *huggles*
    Areala

    • Like 1

    what if the 1990s had VHS tapes instead of game magazines?

    in Off Topic

    Posted

    On 4/20/2019 at 5:23 PM, kitsunebi77 said:

    Game Player's sold VHS tapes for a while.  I remember the ads in their magazines, although I can't say I ever saw the videos for sale anywhere.  They may have been direct order only.

    s-l160.jpg

    They were never offered for sale in-stores, they were mail-order only. My brother and I had the one in the upper row, far right, but I don't remember how we got it...I think he may have traded a friend at school for it.

    I, on the other hand, totally sent away for this from GameSpot (back when they were VideoGameSpot):

    Tomb Raider II Official Video Hint Guide.jpg

    :wub:

    If you want to watch 45 minutes of VHS-quality Tomb Raiding glory though, some other enterprising soul posted it to YouTube! Rejoice and be glad, ye fellow Lara-holics! :)
     

    (Edit: Apparently that account got hit with a copyright strike for this video, so it doesn't work any longer. I'll update this when/if I find a new link.)

    *huggles*
    Areala

    Scanner update

    in Magazine Talk

    Posted

    I guess I should also find out how large this thing is before there's any talk of shipping, since I don't have a whole lot of room in my little office area for a beastly-sized piece of hardware. :)

    *huggles*
    Areala

    Scanner update

    in Magazine Talk

    Posted

    5 hours ago, Phillyman said:

    Lets send it to @Areala along with a few boxes of magazines :P

     

    I'm not averse to acquiring another scanner. The one I currently have is a flatbed all-in-one printer/scanner combo from Epson that is about 13 years old. :)

    *huggles*
    Areala

    Preserving Magazines by Laminating Each Page

    in Help

    Posted

    1 hour ago, DaveyMames said:

    If laminating is bad then what alternatives to laminating are there?

    Basically, storing them properly will be your best option. You generally want a cool environment which isn't subjected to temperature extremes, so don't keep them in your garage or up in the attic. Direct sunlight is lethal to paper, so some sort of file box storage will be helpful for protecting them from light exposure as well as keeping dust and other junk off them. Polybags, if you're truly serious about preservation, are an option as long as they and the backing boards you choose are archival quality and acid-free. There are companies that make magazine-size storage bags that will fit most stuff printed from the 80's to the 2000's.

    Weight is a big problem, since magazines are heavy, so you'll want some kind of heavy-duty storage option like a high-quality metal shelving unit rated to hold several hundred pounds. Wooden shelves, unless they are made of high-quality wood and anchored to a wall or otherwise reinforced in the center, will tend to warp and bend over time, making bookcases and the like less-than-ideal for storing them off the ground. If you're putting them in a basement, keep them several inches off the floor to prevent water damage in case the basement floods.

    If ease of access isn't an issue, and you're more concerned about long-term survival as opposed to frequent readability, and you have the money to afford it, there's nothing wrong with renting a climate-controlled storage unit to house your collection. This would also protect it in the event of a disaster like your house catching on fire, and storage units are often insured so you would recoup some money in the event of theft or other problems. :)

    *huggles*
    Areala

    • Like 1

    kitsunebi's talking to himself again

    in Magazine Talk

    Posted

    17 hours ago, kitsunebi77 said:

    I'm totally jealous that I wasn't around back when Retromags was just a bunch of squabbling assholes (present company excluded, I hope.😆)

    It sounds like every day must have been a flamewar.  Interesting times...

    It really wasn't much like this, just a few people who were a lot touchier about their particular hobby than most, that's all. Occasionally they got poked, sometimes on purpose, usually by accident, and words were exchanged. It wasn't all that exciting, just made me steer clear of a few threads, that's all. :)

    *huggles*
    Areala

    kitsunebi's talking to himself again

    in Magazine Talk

    Posted

    *yawns, stretches, rubs the sleep out of her eyes*

    Huh? Somebody mention me? :)

    I don't mind having Admin status, but I feel like I don't do much to earn it. If the bug is fixed and you want to bump me back down to Team Member and give my Admin slot to somebody else, I'm fine with it. I mostly contribute the occasional cover scan and index an issue here and there when I have the time. I'm cool with whatever. :)

    With regards to the GameFan question, all I know is my brother did some work for them a few years ago, wrote a bunch of stuff for their website, and some of his stuff appeared in print in one of their magazines...then never got paid a cent for it. He's far nicer about shrugging it off than I would have been, so my reaction is to say, "Screw them," and upload whatever, but that's not very kind. I recall Triverse (and maybe Meppi too) working out a deal where they were assisting with scans of the magazine that Dave Halverson was selling, either through GameFan's website or OoPA, but I'm pretty sure whatever thing they had going fell through, since I can't find them available for purchase anywhere, either the old school issues from the 90's or the new rebooted version that my brother wrote for. I've no idea what the status on GameFan itself is, except that it seems to have zero authentic presence online and I think they stopped printing the reboot after the rest of the staff left/quit/got fired. All I know is stuff I learned third-hand though, so take it with a grain of salt. :) 

    *huggles*
    Areala

    kitsunebi's talking to himself again

    in Magazine Talk

    Posted

    My thoughts on this are, basically, "different sites, different rules". Archive.org very clearly skirts copyright in a way that is almost shameless. Not that there isn't enforcement, but when you can browse entire galleries of films and books that are nowhere near public domain, I don't see that the Retromags restriction on hosting applies. Japanese magazines have been a part of Archive's history for years now, so you adding to the mix I don't see as hurting anything. Retromags need not link to the scans or even acknowledge their existence.

    I don't really see this as a conflict of interest. It's like working at a bookstore full-time, then taking a part-time gig at a library. Both jobs deal with printed publications...and that's really about the extent of it. They treat their materials differently.

    Maybe try doing one or two files over there, leaving them alone, and see how you feel about it after a week or two. If it makes you uncomfortable, you can always pull them down. If you find it doesn't affect you much, then go nuts. :)

    *huggles*
    Areala

    kitsunebi's talking to himself again

    in Magazine Talk

    Posted

    3 minutes ago, kitsunebi77 said:

    I believe I said "worth playing."

    Although that and a couple of sports titles were literally the only Western games I saw reviewed over the course of about 10 issues.

    It is worth playing...it's worth playing to see how not to make a Star Wars game or a 3D fighting game or name characters (seriously, 'Hoar'...?). It does serve an instructional purpose to an Eastern audience. :)

    *huggles*
    Areala

    kitsunebi's talking to himself again

    in Magazine Talk

    Posted

    2 hours ago, kitsunebi77 said:

    Granted, in 1998, all of the best Western development was still happening on PC.  But surely there was something being released for the PlayStation worth playing that didn't originate in Japan?

    Well, there was "Star Wars: Masters of Teras Kasi"...

    *huggles*
    Areala

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