A wish came true!

One of the wishes I made in a November '08 entry came true! They have finally unveiled the names for the 2nd Pokémon generation games remake: Heart Gold and Soul Silver. Yes, I find the names strange too. I prefer the speculated Dusk and Dawn, or Sun and Moon. Oh well, as long as there is the remake on the way :D Though one of the greatest things about the 2nd generation was the HUGE step forward the games made (day/night, shinies, colours, ...) and being remakes I doubt there will be any big improvements. Let's hope for them in the next gen in about 2-3 years ;)

The bootlegger doesn't rest

The bootlegger from the previous post obviously doesn't think we are done. Here's what happened:
Even before I received the package I got an email from him telling me that the game will arrive and asked me not to open a dispute on paypal.
After I got the game and wrote him that it was a bootleg, he gave me a refund and replied that the game isn't fake, simply "China version". Of course I couldn't keep quiet so I asked him if that meant that China version equals pirate copy. And asked him why then the game and manual aren't in Chinese and why the "instruction" are taken from a review of an other game. So far he hasn't replied.
Later I sent a message to various people who bought from him (so far to ten) and got three replies that they also got bootlegs. I know that one of them got a refund as well but also a request to ship the item back (he never asked me to do that). I told this buyer that if he wants to ship back that he should ask for the shipping fees as it's not his fault for receiving a fake. We'll see how this goes.
And then the seller turned his eyes on me. He filed an ebay complaint that I haven't yet paid for the item. I replied saying that I have paid, received a bootleg and got a refund. Well, he wasn't happy with the answer so decided to escalate the claim in an "unpaid item strike". Of course I appealed to ebay about this and explained the situation again. But if it's war he wants, he'll get it. I sent a detailed email to Nintendo of America's anti-piracy department. And I reported him for selling bootleg games to paypal. Why paypal? Because I got the feeling that he doesn't want things to go to paypal. Hence the email before receing the package and afst refund. If he won't calm down I guess the next step is the police.
I'll keep you posted ;)

Some ebay rant

My buying Harvest Moon games on ebay went smoothly. Found a seller, won the bid, paid, now the game is on its way (hopefully).
But it doesn't always go so smoothly. A friend is looking for a great game, Golden Sun - The lost age. I played both games from the series and I remember they are really great FRPs. Btw, I really hope for a new title in the series ^_^ Anyway, this game is for the GBA, so it's getting rare nowadays. That's why I suggested this friend to look on ebay. We did find some, but only a few were good finds. Why? Because most of the deals offer only the cartridge and just a few have also the map, instruction manual and box. And even those who have it all in good condition, ship only to the USA (and canada sometimes). I really see no reason why can't they ship overseas too, since they already go to the post to send the game anyway. I'm also sending messages to the sellers if they can ship here, but I don't get any answers...
We'll keep trying...

Why don't we use the animals 100% in Harvest Moon?

At least in the games I've played so far. Sure there are chicken, cows and sheep, but we can only take the eggs, milk the cows or sheer the sheep. Dear Marvelous Entertainment, it's also possible to milk the sheep and have sheep cheese! And why do we have to be vegetarians in the game? Ok, we do eat fish, but may people think also vegetarians do anyway. By the way, I'm sort of a vegetarian myself. Back to the point. Imagine taking care of your cow for so long, and then you can go to her with your axe and have a steak for lunch. Or go to your sheep. Or have a chicken soup that would cure colds. Horses are also edible, but there should be a way to get a new one then. And in the Chinese version you should be able to eat the dog too.
Or maybe instead of just going with the axe to the animal, on the DS we could use the touch glove and we'd have to follow a line, something like during sheering, to get the best meat of the animal.

Somehow I feel we won't see any of this in a game, hehe :)

The new DSi

These days the news about the new DS instalment, DSi, are all the rage around the internet. Bigger screens, thinner, but no GBA slot. Pity about that actually. No Pokemon and Harvest Moon gba-ds connectivity (though in Europe we didn't have the latter anyway) and no Guitar hero. The DSi will feature two cameras, one internal and one external. Some sources say both will be VGA quality, some say the external will have 3MP. And last but not least, the DSi will be able to connect to DSware (like Wiiware on Wii) for download of games in exchange for Nintendo points, saving them on the internal memory and an SD memory card.

I might end up buying one though, but it depends on the following things:

• moneywise (still paying for the new car and buying a Wii has the priority)
• wi-fi (if the DSi will have better wifi connection that my DS, with which I can't connect anywhere)
• DSware (if there will be any cool titles to download)
• games (any cool games that will use the camera)

The new handheld arrives in Japan next month, while the rest of the world will have to wait till next year. We'll at least have some time to see how it goes in Japan and what will Nintendo offer for it in the beginning. I expect at least a new WarioWare game that will make use of the camera.