Look, kids, we need to have an intervention.

Every nerd loves Japan, it's true. It's nerd Mecca. Our subculture has gained a LOT from their culture--video games, anime, robotics, etc. It's an amazing place that I really hope I get to visit one day.

That said, stop fucking worshiping them. No more fucking over our lexicon with a bunch of fucking Japanese terms you picked up from 4Chan (no more 4Chan, while we're at it), no more "here's Harry Potter if he was drawn in an anime", no more telling me that SHOW X is so much better in Japanese than the English dub, or how their games are so fucking innovative. Just. Fucking. Stop.


Any Anime that has come over here after Cartoon Network started showing shows like Cowboy Beebop as part of Adult Swim SHOULD have good voice acting. They never do, but they should. Anime is main stream here, now. It's not the underground. If you're putting out a product in the US and you've done a shitty job localizing it, you HAVE A BAD PRODUCT!

I don't speak Japanese. Just because the Japanese voices are LOUDER and more FRANTIC then the English version does mean they're necessarily better. And, even if they are, I CAN'T UNDERSTAND JAPANESE SO IT DOES ME KNOW FUCKING GOOD TO LISTEN TO IT! We have a lot of very talented voice actors in the US. HIRE THEM! It's not my fucking fault you only hire the same 5 goddamn voice actors for Anime imports! FIX IT!

Also, I'm sure there's a lot of edits being made to the show for the US, but Dragon Ball (ANY SERIES) is not good. Never was good. Never will be good. Quit telling me that if I watched the original Japanese version unedited it would be magically wonderful. It's a aweful, AWEFUL, show. As is Naruto, Final Fantasy Advent Children (movie, I know), Ghost in the Shell (the second movie, specifically), Yu Gi Oh, Milk Chan, Pokemon (the TV show and movies...the games are good).


And for you gamers, shut the fuck up. Japanese developers, themselves, admit they aren't as innovative as their Western counterparts. They haven't progressed nearly as far as us over the years. Sorry. This isn't the 80s anymore. Mario isn't the height of gaming innovation. They haven't pushed technical boundaries in a very long time and they still struggle with their presentation of stories in their games. This doesn't mean their stories are bad by any means...just the method that they tell them in games are severely lacking.

Let's take a look at JRPGs for example. Why, in 2008, are they all just Final Fantasy 7 in a different skin? You're seriously telling me that's the only way to approach a role playing game? Let's set aside their specific stories and characters and get to presentation and gameplay. Seriously, it's the same.

Everyone still talks in those pop-up dialog boxes. A lot of the animation is that same "emotion loop while speaking" method they've had since the SNES years. A lot still use the same top down/static world style. They mostly use turn based mechanics that Final Fantasy 1 started. There's rarely any cinematic use outside of cutsceens. It's all the same!

And there's SO MUCH they could be offering us in new ideas. They have some great character designs. They can tell rich stories from a different angle then you'd see in western games (there's some very good bits of Anime that proves this). But why is the execution SO POOR? Why are these things WASTED by placing them in such bad gameplay mechanics or stale presentation?

Unlike, say, Dragon Ball Z, I UNDERSTAND why people enjoy games like Final Fantasy. There's something amazing in there. But why can't we demand more of them as GAMES? Why worship so blindly at the alter of Japan that we give them this giant PASS on never trying anything really new?


We should embrace Japan's culture. That's not the problem. The problem is "fanboy-ism". It's blind worship because you like something and never demanding more and defending that false idol until your last virtual breath. When you do that NOTHING gets to move forward. Nintedo won't ever innovate again because every time they do ANYTHING we buy it up like saps and tell them how amazing they are. Square won't ever move past they're Final Fantasy template because each release we snap it up and tell them that it's perfect just the way it is. Bad anime will still be brought over because we'll all come in droves to watch it and buy all of the associated card games and merchandise attached (then fill up DeviantArt will aweful fanart and slash). These things will keep happening because the companies that produce them and/or localize them have no incentive for change.

Hi folks! Just letting you know that I Am Nerd is not dead, neither am I. There's been a LOT going on lately, so that means my projects (including this one) has been put on hold.

The good news is all of my "Llama Drama" is finally wrapping up and I'll be moving into a brand new "Apartment of Solitude" in a couple of weeks. The new "digs" will give me enough room to have a podcast studio, so these things will go even smoother in the future.


Stay tuned for not only new episodes of I Am Nerd (one has been recorded, in fact, with a brand new "Nerd" that may become a regular of the show) but postings for NEW podcasts such as our indie music show (Frequency Zero One) and our first VIDEO podcast and live gameshow: All Things Trivial. Hell, there's even a webcomic in the works.


Lots of exciting things down the pipe, it just takes time.

DreadCentral.com has a video up with nearly a full level of the upcoming Ghostbusters game from a hands-on demo at ComicCon '08. As a huge Ghostbusters fan, I simply cannot wait for this title to be released. The video has developer commentary to go along with it and helps really explain how some of the game's features will work.

I love the fact that the game's story and script were written by Dan Akroyd & Harold Ramis - Ray & Egon respectively. This is essentially Ghostbusters 3. We might not be able to have it on the big screen, but I think we might have gotten the best thing possible. Actually being apart of the action, being in the movie playing the part of "Rookie."

Dan Akroyd, Harold Ramis, Bill Murray, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts and even William Atherton are all reprising their roles from the films for the game - that just screams Nerdgasm to have the band back together.

Seriously, check out the video. I really can't wait to cross the streams in the fall.

Video after the jump.

In case you haven't checked your Major Nelson Twitter profile (damn, does he love updating that Twitter), E3 has been going non-stop since Monday. Microsoft, Sony & Ninteno all (well, all except Nintendo) came with their best this year and delivered pretty good press conferences. The Big 3's press conferences showcased new and interesting IPs, features, and exclusives like they do every year with not many, if at all, surprises. Here's a quick rundown:

• Microsoft showed a lot of gameplay, more than the other two big companies did. The Fallout 3, Gears of War 2 and Resident Evil gameplay got me excited for the holiday season of games, except RE5 which comes out in the spring.
  
  
  
  • Biggest Announcement: NetFlix partnership that allows users to DL movies for free, if a Netflix member, coming soon.
    
  • 2nd Biggest Announcement: There's a new update coming in the fall that introduces an Avatar featured interface that is designed to bring a whole new level of togetherness and personality to the community. Users can play NBC gameshow games like 1 vs. 100 & Deal or No Deal, share photos in real time with a couple friends in the same group, even take the entire party and watch a new film one of them used their Netflix account to watch for free - for 4 consoles, just connected to each other on their buddy list.
    
  • 3rd Biggest Announcment: !!SHOCKER!! Final Fantasy XIII is coming to the 360!
    
  
  
  
• Sony had some cool updates for their PS3 firmware. Games for this conference mostly appeared in trailer form, like God of War 3. There was a demo for Resistance 2 which was awesome. And there was even a business graph power point-esque presentation created entirely with Little Big Planet which was pretty adorable. My only question is this: Where was Killzone 2?!
  
  
  
  • Biggest Announcement: New TV & Movie download service that allows users to transfer from PS3/PSN Network via PC to the PSP and back again. Take your films/shows anywhere you go with your PSP.
    
  • 2nd Biggest Announcement: Resistance 2 looks incredible, and if it weren't for Metal Gear Solid 4, would probably be the definitive reason to pick up a PS3.
    
  • 3rd Biggest Announcement: God of War 3 is coming... eventually.
    
  
  
  
• Nintendo... Look, I talk smack on the Wii enough to just leave this one alone. I will say this, the Nintendo conference was lamer than lamesauce sprinkled on a Virtual Boy with only one working eye piece. Uber-lame.
  
  
  
  • Biggest Announcement: Animal Crossing: City Folk is coming soon on Wii.
    
  • 2nd Biggest Announcement: A new Pokemon Ranger game is coming soon.
    
  • 3rd Biggest Announcement: There's gonna be a sequel to Guitar Hero: On Tour on DS.
    
  • No Metroid, No Zelda, No Luigi Spin-off... NO KID ICARUS. LAME!
    
  
  

Press Conferences after the jump.

Since we're quickly approaching the release of Joss Whedon's Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, I've put myself on an official Dr. Horrible Watch.

Today I bring you two bits.


First, official release dates where announced for the web-musical (wusical?) starring Neil Patrick Harris (Dr. Horrible) and Nathan Fillion (Capt. Hammer). Part 1 will air on Tuesday, July 15th, with Part 2 & 3 to appear on July 17th & 19th respectively. Yes, they're online only...but they'll go OFFLINE July 20th.

Following that they will be made available for download at a “nominal fee” and in the near future available to buy on a very special DVD “with the finest and bravest extras in all the land”.
[Source]


Second, Dark Horse Comics have released a Capt. Hammer comic entitled "Be Like Me" on their Dark Horse Presents Myspace site. The comic was written by Joss' brother Zack Whedon and drawn by Eric Canete.

[Dr. Horrible's First Story Is Now Online via I09]

I haven't posted in a while due to the long hours testing video games, and figured since I still can't officially say anything about the projects I'm working on I'd throw up a post saying that:

MY ULTIMATE GAMING PC IS ON ITS WAY!!!

I ordered the parts to build a most triumphant spectacle of digital graphics and technology that will surely be the envy of everyone on staff here at iAmNerd.org.

Yes, I am building it myself. I ordered a couple bundles of parts that I wanted, and am getting a sweet sweet system together. Let's just say... What I am about to assemble in the next week or so can run Crysis, and not slow down.

Anyhoo, I'll post specs of what I currently own and what I will be assembling soon. I'm too tired to pull up the specs list right now. Trust me though, it's gonna be flippin' sweet!

Joss Whedon (Firely, Buffy, Angel) is a nerd god in my eyes, thus I'm obviously excited that one of his next projects, Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (staring Neil Patrick Harris, Felicia Day and Nathan Fillion), finally has a trailer.


Here's where I tell you to hit the jump to watch it.

I loves me some FireFox. Apparently, everyone else is too as my attempt to grab the brand new FireFox 3 is a little buggy at the moment. Still, it's out, it's new, and they're trying to set a world record.


For more on what's new in this version, I point you to this Ars Technica article.

So the show has been absent lately--and for that I apologize. Everyone's busy meeting deadlines, with their new jobs, or maybe no one likes little ol' Andy anymore.

But don't think the show is dead...FAR from it! Infact, I have exciting news from the realm of "what I've been up to" (granted, it's not really related to I Am Nerd):



Those who listened to the last episode of I Am Nerd are familiar with the concept of me playing music for an audience: I find a “sexah” little spot (aka Tatame Sake Bar & Tea Lounge), get on the mic to dispense some poor attempts at humor, and play some mighty-fine independent music. Good times are had by all.

Well, welcome to phase two of my awkward attempt to socialize via blatant self promotion: Frequency Zero One. FZO (as the kids will call it…because they’re lazy) is a new podcast (see: radio show) that I’ll be hosting from Tatame where I’ll be spinning (see: pressing play on my Zune) new-to-you music for your listening pleasure. However, like in television, the show rides upon a pilot. If a fair amount of people show up, this can become a regular gig. If no one shows up, I become a bitter creature forced to walk the earth alone cursing all those who dare to glance at me. Good times!

So invite anyone you want—co-workers, ex co-workers, friends, boyfriends, girlfriends, boyfriends that kind-of look like they could be your girlfriend which gives everyone pause and hilarity ensues, etc—and join me Monday, June 9th from 8-10pm.

And, for those who like pretty pictures, here’s a poster: