I'm enjoying having sold my 360 even more now. Then again, who knows how many of the products in my room right now weren't manufactured under similar conditions. It's frustrating, and makes me want to seek out some websites that show what products are made with good worker treatment conditions.

Final Fight: all-time classic beat-em-up. Some people prefer the Streets of Rage games on Genesis, but this is tops for me. Also, you get to see Guy and Cody in their original atmosphere, pre-SF Alpha/4. And Haggar is pretty much Zangief. Fun times.

@laser beams: Technically all games support arcade sticks. Even the ones that would most likely be impossible to play. But, yeah, this game is made with a stick in mind, so wail away mi amigo.

@the7k: Yes to all of these. Get the beat 'em ups set up for two at a time releases. No lies: this combo is very appealing, and if I had a system still I would probably get it.

@Tekshow: And Guy wasn't even in the SNES version, which made me go all apeshit that I bought the thing. Then they would release "Final Fight Guy" a few years later that DID have him in it. Oi...

@☆Giroro G66☆: Yes, yes it is funny, but also sad. And except for the last part, probably true as well. The biggest truth is the picture of The Devil, of course, because that is the most accurate representation around.

Great story, Mr. Fahey. I'm sure you're not alone in questioning games or associating them with negative experiences and emotions. Actually I'm positive of that one. Of course, when you're passionate about something, it tends to stick around in the wings and come back at some point, possibly with more exuberance than…

@CurlyBrace: Same here. The only people I know who don't like Kirby are ones that don't play video games at all or are too machismo to embrace the coolness of a pink puffy blob. And they don't count. ^_^

@The-Dayman: If you are a developer with multiple offers, where one of them is Activision, how could you take up Activision as a publisher? They have screwed over umpteen developers at this point, be it Harmonix, Red Octane, Neversoft, the myriad acquisitions from the Vivendi "merger," and even IW, creators of their…

@ZGangsta: Suppose you're right, or at least half right. Maybe FFX to FFXI then? Final Fantasy has thrown itself back and forth, left and right and made big changes each time, even if subtly. Just suppose that in terms of environment, it changed a lot for the way the game played out, from walking along a pre-rendered…

@NorthStar37: The Old World Entertainment Business Model Template, as performed often by Activision. Not far off from movie studios and their acquired subsidiaries or the way major music labels screw over big signers through contracts and lawsuits. Will it continue to happen elsewhere again and again into the future?…

You missed Final Fantasy VII. Turning the traditional world of 2D sprites into 3D polygons worked, and would become more and more complicated. Successful yes, but I miss the 2D charm a lot. Rydia, Terra, and Celes are strangers to me in 3D.

2D Metroid - Metroid Prime. Glad it worked out though.

It makes sense. Still counts as electronic-based threats made by someone in a court case. XBL messaging isn't that far off from e-mail. Well, it is, but suppose the similarities... yep. o_o

@titan9331001: Those are quite impressive as well.

@mrpibb79: Pssh, forgot about the HTML character limitations. Picture a few more ASCII Kirbys, if you will please... -___-

@Chocobo_Shepherd: Yeah, I was under the impression that Kirby was very popular. Here, even more so in Japan.

@dr_tmw: And yet there are now games with developed worlds, civilizations, and, yes, a story without just a plot. Games like Bioshock come to mind, or the cumulative worlds of franchises like Street Fighter. In spite of what Hollywood made of that, there is actually a character-driven story underneath involving the…

@Iceman B.: Will do. Shall watch with bated breath.

@Gord-a-tron: Metroid could work... Zelda, not so much. Miyamoto doesn't seem to want Link to talk, which may be a good thing if you remember those terrible CD-I "games". What would seem logical to me for a lot of franchises is animated features. It's been done fairly well for awhile (see: Dead Space, Halo, Street…