The Strength of Sony

Sony: the company that changed (and continues to change) the world. It has been well known throughout the continents that Sony is an electronic Goliath. What started off as a small company turned into a massive, oversized monster that can eat other companies alive.

But, in the story of Goliath, there has to be a David — or in Sony’s case, Davids.

Companies like Microsoft, Nintendo, Samsung and Panasonic are always trying to topple the giant to its downfall, and much to avail, has failed through the years.

In my honest opinion, Sony, is probably (and this may sound controversial) the most powerful company in the gaming industry. Do you know why Sony is the king?

Sony is powerful in TWO different countries.

We know that Sony is a Japanese based corporation. They started their Japan and their HQ is in Japan. Simple enough, right? How about we take one product from Sony’s arsenal that has always been a big seller and a record holder: the Playstation. Sony, with respect to Sony of America, continually conquers the gaming world. They are bestsellers both in Japan and the United States. Of course, Microsoft has no chance in Japan, but the fact that Sony is seriously competing with Microsoft in their own home turf? That sends a statement.

Also, let’s not forget about Nintendo – another gaming company. You can argue that Nintendo and Sony have their horns locked in place, but I assure you, Playstation sales are far better than the WiiU sales. However, Nintendo does have Sony on a choke hold when it comes to portable devices (Nintendo’s 3DS and 2DS, only because of Pokémon). Nonetheless, Sony is strong in Japan.

However you want to look at Sony, behind the curtain of failures lies their success — and there’s no one stopping them now.

Except for, you know, Samsung in the smartphone game…

Keep Chewing!

Five Gifts of Awesome

Having a hard time getting your special someone who is also a big computer lover/geek/gamer a present? Here are five things you can buy them as a gift (or gifts).

A New PC

Buying a PC will be difficult, therefore I do recommend the Speed Dating process for it. It’ll take some knowledge to buy the right PC, whether your family member needs a nice laptop for school or a desktop for more powerful processing. You also have to take into account if they play video games. Computer packages nowadays come with a keyboard and mouse, but maybe they’ll need different types of peripherals (i.e. gaming mouse, gaming keyboard). Figure them out so that you can figure out what they need for a new PC.

Hard Drive (Internal and/or External)

Storage is important! Hard drives nowadays are cheap and easy to buy. Your techie will surely love the gift because it’s thoughtful and it’s the thought that counts, right? Surely, they need the space, either for backup purposes or just for extra storage. You can never go wrong with hard drives. One terabyte of an internal or external hard drive would be great. They don’t cost much and most of them run on USB 3.0, which is the new USB standard for computers. This allows the hard drive to move around files at a rate of 10 Gbps! The price will depend on how much storage it can hold. Remember, one terabyte will not equal the exact capacity. Same thing for other storage capacities.

Headphones

Who doesn’t need headphones right? Music is such an important part of, well, anyone’s life. Whether they listen to their Rock ‘N’ Roll music from Kiss or listen to Classical music from Mozart. A pair of headphones is a great gift. Just make sure that whoever you’re giving it to, they don’t listen to Miley Cyrus.

Video Games!

The holiday season is the best time to stock up on summer games to play. You can buy brand new video games at an average price of $60. Also, consider buying them Steam gift cards if they play on the PC. That way, it won’t be much of a hassle for you and they’ll still love you for it. All you can hope for is that they won’t get addicted and just ignore you for the rest of the Christmas break.

New Gaming Console

This goes hand in hand with the PC, because most of the time, your techie friend likes to play on a PC. But, in the case that they don’t, Sony and Microsoft just recently launched their next-generation (or current-generation, considering they are already out) consoles. It’ll be tough to find one, considering most of them are sold out (except for the XBOX One).

Nintendo also announced nine (9) new console bundles for the holiday season. Prices are ranging from $99 – $299.99 (I’m only hoping that my parents get me the Nintendo 2DS Pokémon X/Y bundle).

It’ll be tough picking which one to get for whom, but hopefully this can help you this Christmas.

Keep Chewing!

How Pokémon Changed My Life

I’ve been playing Pokémon nonstop lately and I’ve been wondering: why is the game still this awesome. It feels like it hasn’t changed.

To be quite honest, the game hasn’t changed. Instead it changed me — in a good way too.

I mean, the game itself has changed through the years. I remember when battling was just using a move and just murdering the NPC’s Pokémon because of our “powerful Pokémon.” Now, it has gotten too complicated.

Pokémon has a special place in my heart because it changed my life. Completely.

It started when I was about 7 years old. I’ve only been introduced to gaming at a minor level. Simple games like 3D Pinball and Minesweeper. This later on changed to NBA LIVE ’05 to Counter Strike Source. It became a hobby, a way to get out of reality.

When I saw a friend of mine playing this “video game where you walk around and catch these creatures called Pokémon,” I just knew I had to get it. Forgive me, but my very first Pokémon game was Pokémon Ruby. It became my center of attention. Everyday, I trained my Pokémon. I would battle day in and day out just so that I can continually improve my powerhouse team. It was an amazing feeling. Since then, I’ve gotten every single generation. I owned Pokémon Silver, Pokémon Ruby, Pokémon Emerald, Pokémon FireRed, Pokémon Pearl and Pokémon Black. Unfortunately, due to monetary reasons, I do not have Pokémon X or Y, nor do I have the main console for it, the Nintendo 3DS.

The way that Pokémon has changed my life was through the most difficult times of my life: school. I was an honour student at a Montessori school in the Philippines. I do have a close knit group of friends, but had only a handful outside of school. School became my favourite place to be in. I had my friends, my best friends and my very close female friend (that’s another story). Almost all of us guys had at least one Pokémon game and we’d always battle through our game link cable. It was a blast battling with other people who, like me, worked hard to strengthen and train their Pokémon. I remember trading my Shiny Altaria for my friend’s Shiny Absol. I also remember defeating the strongest out of the five of us. When that happened, they crowned me the new Pokémon Champion of our school and we’d battle again until someone else would be crowned. It was a part that I will never forget.

Because of Pokémon, I was able to build a group of friends that still lasts until today. We’ve changed since then, but one thing hasn’t: our love for the game of Pokémon. Our group of friends kind of reminds me of the group of friends we have in the game. Coincidence? I think not.

Keep Chewing!

Three Generations Later

On Saturdays, me, my brother and my mom have the day off. We call ourselves “the Saturday Club.”

Every Saturday, we usually eat noodles for breakfast, talk and clean. We all do our respective chores. My chores are cleaning the washrooms and cleaning my bedroom.

Today, as I rummaged through closet and into this box where I keep random things that I plan to bring to University, I saw this blue box of beauty, shining and boasting an engravement: “Nintendo.”

I pulled it out, observing it, seeing if it was working. Then, the green light flashed and the name danced on the screen: “Game Boy.”

It was a Game Boy. With it, was a small collection of games, Pokémon Ruby, Pokémon FireRed, Naruto and Power Rangers. I guess that’s what moving three times in your life will do to you.

Ruby was working fine. The only problem was the save file. Not only was it deleted, but it was also not working. As a geek, I had to do something. So, I got my knife and opened the cartridge. In it, I see a small motherboard with a small battery soldered onto the positive and negative ends of the board. One of the connections were bad, so I decided to fix it. I plugged it back into the Game Boy and it was working! I was glad! Nostalgia kicked in and I haven’t stopped playing since.

The lesson: never stop trying. I thought I’d never play these games again (in this platform, at least), but I tried to fix them and it worked!

When you’re a gamer, you’d do everything to play.

Keep Chewing!

Just Two Days Away

I know I have not been posting very much, which is why I’ll be dedicating this long weekend for catching up with some posts that I should’ve put out a while back. Thank you for continually supporting Tech Gum! Your awesomeness is appreciated!

We are approximately 2 days away from the biggest launch this year for Nintendo and the Pokémon Company. Pokémon X and Y will be coming out this Saturday, October 12, 2013! It’s also the day that came to this cold, frozen country of Canada six years ago. A very important day for me and my family!

Let’s break down all the news that recently came out:

Evolutions for Pokémon X and Y Starters!

They’ve already released evolutions for Fennekin, Froakie and Chespin. They’re called Quilladin (Chespin), Braixen (Fennekin) and Frogadier (Froakie). Respectively, they look awesome. Quilladin is under fire because it’s different from the others, because Frogadier and Braixen look sleek, sophisticated and sexy, while Quilladin is cute and chubby — similar to Pignite. To me, they’re all awesome. However, if I get Pokemon X and Y, I’ll be getting Fennekin. I’ve always wanted to try a fire-type team. It’s worth a shot.

Mega Charizard X!

Two words: FIRE DRAGON!

The Special Edition Pokemon X and Y Nintendo 3DS Systems

That was a mouthful! I have no comments about this, probably because I can’t afford it. It looks great. The design is unique and abstract at the same time. I’ll probably stick to the Nintendo 2DS, when I get the cash.

This is fantastic! I can’t wait for the release, watch a few gameplay videos and probably get it! Until then, I’ll be just admiring it from afar!

Are you going to get Pokemon X and Y?

Keep Chewing!

Pokémon Origins!

I have no words to say about this phenomenal news!

In this episodic series, we will be following Red, the main character in the original Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue versions of the video game. I personally cannot wait to watch all four special episodes! This is going to be awesome!

One thing to hope for from this series is a meeting between Ash and Red. Although I doubt that would happen because Professor Oak looks completely different from the Professor Oak we all know and love.

Keep Chewing!

 

Thank You Mr. Hiroshi Yamauchi

About a few days ago, Hiroshi Yamauchi, former Nintendo CEO, passed away at the age of 85.

He’s the CEO that brought us our favourite games like Super Mario Bros, Metroid, Kirby, Donkey Kong and all the Nintendo classics that we still love today.

I would like to apologize to my chewers for not posting about this quick enough. On behalf of the Tech Gum team, I would like to give my condolences to his family and the Nintendo family.

You will be missed, but never forgotten.

REST IN PEACE – HIROSHI YAMAUCHI (1927-2013)

Undescribable Awesomeness

Many have said that I overuse the word “awesome” or “awesomeness.” But, for the recent news that came out from Pokémon X and Y, awesomeness just doesn’t cut it.

Speechless. Truth. It’s all about that.

Watch the reveal:

It’s so beautiful, it’s not even funny.

For the starters, however, I’m not feeling it. Except for Froakie’s evolution Frogadier.

Mewtwo X and Mewtwo Y? I love it! Even Mega Garchomp is awesome!

Last but not least, the new Pokémon revealed.

Alright, it’s either new books or a Nintendo 2DS and Pokémon X/Y for Christmas. Obvious choice, right?

Keep Chewing!

Mega Evolutions on Generation One

The Pokémon Community was struck with both exciting and painful (in a good way) news a few days ago. The Pokémon Company announced Mega Charizard, Mega Venusaur and Mega Blastoise!

Here’s the trailer:

From a critical perspective, I believe that this is a great way to revive the series. Mega Evolutions are a great idea. It allows more strategy in the game than ever before! Plus, you get a nice watch with it too!

As a Pokémon Fanatic, all I can say is…

PHENOMENAL.

I thank you, Pokémon Company for reviving the generation one Pokémon to an amazing form. This is truly wonderful. One thing that catches me off guard is the “watch” idea. Everyone knows that Digimon was the original idea of that, maybe even Power Rangers. But nonetheless, it’s absolutely awesome!

The only reason why I said painful (in a good way) in this post is that I have no financial means to purchase a 3DS (or 2DS even) to play these games. PAIN! MEGA PAIN!

Keep Chewing!

 

Pokedexes and Nintendo

Recently, Nintendo announced the Nintendo 2DS, a weirdly shaped console that is surely getting hate from the internet for its profound ugliness. But, are we ones to complain?

There has been an observation with Pokedexes and Nintendo’s handheld consoles. Instead of explanation, I believe pictures will say a thousand words.