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Kotaku Talk Radio: It's-A Mario! [Blog Talk Radio]
Kotaku Talk Radio: It's-A Mario! [iTunes]

So what does he think about, say, Grand Theft Auto IV and Super Mario Galaxy? Meh!

In an interview with LEVEL magazine, the Shadow of the Colossus designer states GTAIV lacks innovation and has the same basic premise as the other GTA games. He mixes the sugar with the spice and says he is impressed by the graphics.

Regarding Super Mario Galaxy, Ueda played it because parts Shadow of the Colossus apparently inspired a giant robot boss in SMG. Translation via NeoGAF's darkwings:

Yes I have played it, it was hard to not to since it was rumored that Miyamoto-san was inspired by me. But I had expected more, that segement {SIC], was like the rest of the game not so fun as it could had been. I think the fans made a big deal out of nothing when they said Miyamoto had stolen from me. The thing I am critical over isnt that they didn't borrow anything that isn't unique for my game, but that they didn't make more fun stages out of it.

Honestly, this is the first we've heard of this. SMG boss battle inspired by Shadow of the Colossus? Does that mean Fumito Ueda invented the giant boss battle?

Update: You can read the full interview here, translation courtesy of Team ICO Gamers Blog.

Fumito Ueda [NeoGAF via VG247]

Congratulations to Super Mario Galaxy, which took out best overall game. Other big winners were Call of Duty 4, which took home threeawards, and, in a heartwarming nod for such an under-appreciated game, Dead Space, which took out two.

Full list of winners below (if you're wondering why there's so many older games, here's your explanation)

BEST GAME
Super Mario Galaxy

ACTION/ADVENTURE
Fable II

ARTISTIC ACHIEVEMENT
LittleBigPlanet

CASUAL
Boom Blox

GAMEPLAY
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

HANDHELD
Professor Layton and the Curious Village

MULTIPLAYER
Left 4 Dead

ORIGINAL SCORE
Dead Space

SPORTS
Race Driver: GRID

STORY AND CHARACTER
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

STRATEGY
Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution

TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT
Spore

USE OF AUDIO
Dead Space

THE BAFTA FELLOWSHIP
Nolan Bushnel

ONES TO WATCH AWARD
Boro-Toro

PEOPLE'S CHOICE
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

Constructed of pure greatness, actual cake, fondant, Rice Krispy squares, fiber optic lighting, and pure love, the cake features several Super Mario Galaxy features and characters, including the under-glass pill-shaped puzzle area and Princess Peach's castle. And then just when you think it couldn't get any better, the damn thing moves. Hit the jump to see the cake in action.

The cake was designed and implemented by a man named Will, who suckered his daughter Hannah into the Super Mario Galaxy creation for her 4th birthday party. His trickery cost him 7 batches of Rice Krispy treats and 7 different cakes, but the results are simply amazing.

I had an extremely hard time deciding what to put on the cake. If you've played the game you might understand. There are so many levels its ridiculous. I had to have the castle and one round world. And for some reason I got bent on having the glass pill looking planet thing which I just thought would look cool on a cake. The silver disc was an add on at the end of my decision so I could add Luigi and some Galaxy like spinning. Seriously, I had the worst time cutting out worlds I wanted on here.

On behalf of everyone who has ever admired a video game-based cake, I hereby dub Will our new king.

Hannah's 4th Super Mario Galaxy Cake [Will and Liliana's Web Page]

Super Mario Galaxy Plush Doll: Bee Mario [Play-Asia, via Go Nintendo]

Mayles also is anxious about how Banjo loyalists might receive this overhauled installment, hoping that those surprised by the new flavor will give it a chance. All in all, Mayles says the Rare team is hoping the third installment will act as something of a franchise reboot:

We've kind of taken a step back from that and tried to make it a simpler, cleaner approach, obviously with this new mechanic in place. I guess we're all hoping for a clean start, that's what I think it'll do. It's kind of, 'There's your old Banjo games, let's put those in the past, you can remember how good those were, this is Banjo for the future'.

Mayles also suggests that comparisons to Super Mario Galaxy will be unavoidable:

And what do you think of Mario Galaxy?

Mayles: Very good.

That's it?

Mayles: I'm still playing it in my spare time. I thought it was an exceedingly polished, traditional platforming game, and frankly quite difficult to beat. If you were going to go along the similar lines, going for a very traditional, fixed-abilities, fixed-task kind of thing, I think it certainly would have been a massive challenge to try and go one up on that.

I think we're trying to approach it in a different direction. Obviously we will be compared to Galaxy, we can't get around that, but I'd like to think we offer something a bit different to Mario Galaxy and hopefully stand alongside it but for a different reason in terms of a different way of approaching things.

Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts Q&A [CVG]

It's biggest problem, the handicap it is largely unable to throw off, is that it is the latest in a long line of Mario games and must struggle to balance not only the varied play needs of the modern gaming audience against each another, it must do this against the backdrop of a franchise history unparalleled by any other game in existence. The weight of this history is too much to be overcome in some cases. Between these competing forces, it was always going to be difficult to innovate and amaze, and certainly this game could not hope to exceed the wonderment that Super Mario 64 could provide with its dynamic (and unrepeatable) transition from 2D to 3D.

It's a lengthy but interesting look at a popular title and worth (as almost all Only a Game essays are) spending some time with.

Super Mario Galaxy [Only a Game]

55 year-old Miyamoto, who's never been on a Time cover, comes out on top in his very first outing on the list with 1,949,634 votes, an achievement that foretells a future populated with towering statues in his likeness. Here's Time's stats on him:

PRO: As if creating Mario, Donkey Kong, and The Legend of Zelda weren't enough, the "father of modern video gaming" is still designing franchises for Nintendo and its best-selling Wii console. His latest, Super Mario Galaxy, redefines VG physics once again with its springy re-imagining of that old chestnut, gravity.

CON: Can he reverse gravity for all the obese, video game-playing kids out there? Miyamoto himself has said that the purpose of his Wii Fit game, with its balance board and full-body focus, isn't to make you fit, but "aware of your body." Aware enough to go outside before atherosclerosis sets in?

Your TIME 100 [TIME]

The bidding is already over $600 and there are over 4 days left in the auction. Given that there's charity involved, it might just be time to start planning your 2008 tax deductions.

Nintendo Wii ONE OF A KIND Super Mario Galaxy Mod [eBay via Gizmodo]

UPDATE: Apparently the item has been pulled. Sorry charity, no money for you because eBay is a douchebag.

UPDATE PART II: New link up!

Portal Brain Age 2 Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass BioShock Puzzle Quest Rock Band Super Mario Galaxy Wii Sports The Witcher WoW: Burning Crusade

And now that the industry has become so successful at creating high quality, more polished sequels, will any of these titles really be in play a decade from now?

The Future Of Videogames [Forbes via WiiWii]

Mr Miyamoto is known for taking lots of time to create the best player experience. His demands are numerous and exacting, but I actually really like that. He's effortless in explaining what he wants... We get along well together, and time files by when we're working. Before we know it, sometimes, it's 2am.

Those of you who have been following the site regularly probably know that my wife isn't a gamer. In fact she's slightly an anti-gamer, but she puts up with me. She doesn't, however, ever have any interest in playing games, or watching myself or my son play games, or even talking about games. So we don't, at least around her. And it's really not a big deal. I have plenty of other things going on in my life, so gaming doesn't have to be a part of every bit of it.

Over the weekend Tristan and I decided to play through more of Super Mario Galaxy. About 30 minutes into our session, my wife wandered down to fix herself a drink at the bar. Then she sort of wandered over to the couch where we were sitting to play. Then she sat down!

What the hell? I thought, but tried not to show my surprise. The last thing I wanted to do was have her walk off.

She watched for a little bit, and then started asking questions. What do you have to do? She asked. And Tristan explained. We were on one of the boss battles, one that we kept losing at. Tristan, who was playing shotgun, was helping out quite a bit by freezing the things being thrown at me.

After we beat the boss, Trish sat through a chapter of the story and then both of us went upstairs to start cooking dinner.

What was that? I asked as we sorted out the meal.

What?

You hate games?

Yeah, but that one was really cute.

If Miyamoto can make a game that my wife not only refers to as "cute", but is willing to watch then he's really found the key to mainstreaming gaming. The question is will that translate to more people playing his games? It's probably too early to tell for my wife, but it seems to be the case for quite a slew of gamers.

What is it about the Wii, do you think, that makes gaming less, I don't know, threatening, or perhaps boring? Is it the control scheme, the graphics, the subject matter. Does it time release opiates into the air?

Whether or not we'll see more Balance Board titles depends on the success of Wii Fit outside of Japan. If the game succeeds, expect peripheral-compatible titles to follow. To the casual observer, there's a huge opportunity to make a Wii Balance title for those who'd like to pick up an extra board. Given that such a model succeeded in the past, don't be surprised at the reprise.

Nintendo Considering Wii Balance Board Games [IGN via Maxconsole][photo: Nathan Smart]

MTV's Stephen Totilo decided to eschew the annual Game of the Year chestnut for a much more fun to pronounce and acronymize Game of the Game of the Year or GOTGOTY. Actually he didn't really eschew anything, seeing that he did his own GOTYs not too long ago, but this is still a fun idea. Totilo created a sort of MetaGOTY if you can imagine that (Personally, mine is a billy goat in a Robocop suit) by rounding up all of the GOTYs and tallying them to see which game was selected the most.

Included in the list are such gems as ours, Destructoid's, Joystiq's, The LA Times, The Rocky's and even Yahoo's. The final result? BioShock, it seems was selected the most as GOTY (nine times), while Super Mario Galaxy was selected six times and Call of Duty 4 an appropriate four times.

Forget 'Game Of The Year' — Introducing The 2007 'GOTGOTY' [MTV]

I mean, I have a Wii, I barely play it — not because I don't like it or appreciate it, I just, you know, it's not my cup of tea at the moment. Mario Galaxy, I thought was pretty cool.

I've got to be honest: I didn't think that it was as good as Ratchet. I didn't get the huge big deal over it; I thought it was a really good Mario game, but I wasn't like, "Oh my God, it's Mario 64!" I'm totally in the minority in that.

And for those interested, during the interview Jaffe also predicted that the PS3 will either tie the 360 or outsell it by a wide margin. Now you know.

Eat Sleep Play's Jaffe Talks State Of Console War [gamasutra] [image]

First a thing about the name: I didn't pick it. I think it's hilarious, but I'd never name an award after myself, it's obnoxious... and quite funny. Which is what I think the Rocky was going for. There are quite a few closet smart-asses over there. :)

So my annual pick for best video game ran in the Rocky Mountain News today and I picked Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare as the overall winner. The game beat out The Orange Box, Bioshock, Super Mario Galaxy and Uncharted: Drake's Fortune.

Here's why I decided to pick a war-time first-person shooter sequel over the splendor of a dystopian society, amazing character interaction of Uncharted and innovative design of Galaxy and Orange Box:

This solid first-person shooter for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 may not be as innovative as The Orange Box and Super Mario Galaxy. It may not deliver an awe-inspiring glimpse at an eschewed philosophy like BioShock or create the sort of sizzling character interaction found in Uncharted, but, hands down, it is the most thoroughly entertaining video game of the past year.

The single-player story is captivating, set in a present-day Middle East and parts of Russia and comes at the player in a mix of sweeping cinematic set pieces and smart pacing that can easily glue the audience to the game for the entire six- to eight-hour experience.

It's a game that has the sorts of moments usually found only in film, hiding these startling revelations in gamers' blind spots. People you come to care about die. You die, and not in the sort of plastic, ephemeral death found in video games. These deaths are permanent and, at times, evocative.

A deep, seemingly limitless online multiplayer experience also adds quite a bit of life to the title. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare may seem like more of the same, but this title is the realization of a rewarding franchise meeting its complete potential.

Hit the link to check out my winners for the rest of the categories, including a selection of "hot flashes" I managed to sneak into the awards. Feel free to bash me here for not choosing (your selection here) for best (your category here).

Ps. I didn't write the awards' intro, that's one of those smart-asses I was talking about.
Game Gold

The rest of the list features familiar faces, with Guitar Hero II and Guitar Hero III selling ludicrous amounts. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games for Wii takes the tail end of the top ten, making the Sega-predicted 4 million copies sold seem that much more reasonable.

01. Call of Duty 4 (Xbox 360) - 1,470,000
02. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) - 1,400,000
03. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (PS2) - 1,250,000
04. Wii Play with Remote (Wii) - 1,080,000
05. Assassin's Creed (Xbox 360) - 893,700
06. Halo 3 (Xbox 360) - 742,700
07. Brain Age 2: More Training In Minutes A Day (DS) - 659,500
08. Madden NFL 08 (PS2) - 655,200
09. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Xbox 360) - 624,600
10. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Wii) - 613,000

The artsy folks over at MTV's Multiplayer (i.e. Stephen Totilo) stumbled upon the Super Mario Galaxy-esque work of Parisian photographer Alexandre Duret-Lutz. The photographer has been creating this Wee Planets pictures since 2006, but was apparently unaware of the video game until Totilo contacted him.

Not to be dissuaded, Totilo had some of his production folks whip up an showing, perhaps, what Super Mario Galaxy might have looked like on the PS3 or Xbox 360. Hit the jump to check it out.

Real Life 'Super Mario Galaxy' — A Possible Glimpse [Multiplayer]