We're obviously late to the Revolution Party, but so many people asked us what we thought of the controller announcement.

The first thing we thought of is what the Fruit Fucker would look like were he released today. If you don't have any white plastic on your consumer device, apparently you are some kind of retarded. Get some white plastic on there. That is the impression one would get. Sony grudgingly recognized it with the original PSP - glossy black machine, yes, but white strap and headphones. Ultimately, concession would make way to something like redaction.

The wireless at the hotel would never deliver unto me the full teaser video, so until we got back I was never able to see how far the thinking had gotten over there. They had, as I suggested, earned a little bit of optimism from me by making the DS - which I thought of as Exhibit A in Nintendo vs. Sanity - something I've come to consider kind of necessary. So looking at the video made me see that they were already thinking about what you could do with two positional controllers at the very least. The counterexample I keep hearing about the peripheral has to do with third parties, and how scary the controller is, but for a couple generations now their systems have been (at least, outside of Japan) a kind of dedicated shrine to their own games, games that shame the rest of the industry with their polish, their palette, and their playability. They forge unique deals with companies like Capcom and SquareEnix to bring sometimes extraordinary exclusive content. I can live with that.

There were initial cries and lamentations regarding the announcement, but I think we need to just accept the fact that they are no longer playing the linear game their competitors are. The control looks like a remote, yes, but we've talked about this before - playing games with pens, drums, and now remote controls draws the artifacts of ordinary life into the increasingly byzantine realm of electronic entertainment. Excuse me, I forgot. It's not innovation unless it involves another texture pass.

This is outside the ordinary either/or propositions that define our passtime. The either/or proposition is the PS3 or the 360, digital entertainment hubs that represent beachheads in some war for the living room.

We won't know until E3 the extent to which Nintendo is prepared to realize the promise of their strange excursion - it took them a year to prove their DS. The final word on why they would do something like this can be found over at Lost Garden. That is probably the most interesting article I've ever read.

(CW)TB out.

i went down to the crossroads

I got some real positive mail about today’s comic strip. I appreciate that. One of my favorite things to do is to try and mimic the design or the look of something else. I like to see how close to the original I can get. I’ve been doing it for a long time and I think some of my recent attempts have been pretty solid. One of my favorites is the Kung Fu Rooster I did a few months back. Trying to make the last part of that cartoon look like a still from an old cartoon was really fun. Anyway today’s strip was my attempt at mimicking the trailer for the new Revolution controller. I feel like I came about as close to it as my photoshopping skills will allow.

I just got a mail from a kid asking for permission to use Gabe and Tycho in some school project. This is a request I get every couple weeks so I figure I’ll just answer it here. We really don’t care if you use the strips or the characters for your school projects. It’s always been our policy to allow that sort of thing. As long as you’re not trying to make money off our stuff or claim it as your own we’re cool with it. All we ask is that you please include the URL and if you do make some funny video or whatever, send us a link. We love seeing that sort of thing. Honestly I’m wondering how long it will take for someone with some 3D skills to take today’s comic to the next level and make a real video. Now that would be awesome. So go ahead and act out the strips or whatever, we aren’t in the business of threatening or punishing fans for enjoying our work.

Don’t forget to come see us at Foolscap VII this weekend. We’ll be there Friday and Saturday.

Also page 3 of our 5 page Far Cry Instincts comic is up over at the official site. It’s getting more difficult for Jack to maintain his optimism as his day keeps getting worse.

I’m starting work on our next comic project this week. It’s a serious eight page comic based on a certain Prince that I think you are all familiar with. I’ll post some concept stuff soon if they let me.

-Gabe out.

The posters we've been hauling around to cons are now available on the store, printed to much heavier stock than usual. I refer here to the Subway and Fruit Fucker posters, of course.

Also, we're discontinuing the Div and Twisp and Catsby shirts, men's and women's. They may be back at some point, who knows. Maybe in an alternate universe where people buy them.

(CW)TB