Ten Dreamcast games I'd like to see on PSN

It was a sad day in the Schochallagerdt (the name my husband and I created by combining our last names) household when Sega "went third-party," as so many gamers like to say. After all, many of my most favorite pixelated memories include games played on the Genesis, Saturn and Dreamcast.

Thanks to advancements in emulation (and the Dreamcast stowed away in my entertainment center), I'm able to relive most of those memories whenever I want, but I know many other Sega fans aren't so fortunate.

That's why I squealed with glee when I read a thread on NeoGAF this morning that suggested (thanks to the leaked notes of a supposed meeting between bigwigs at Sega of America and Sony Computer Entertainment America) Dreamcast titles may soon show up on PSN.

Unsurprisingly, the news sent gaming geeks from coast to coast to their keyboards to type up lists of Dreamcast they would like to see on PSN (assuming the leaked notes are, you know, authentic). So, I figured, why not join in on the fun?

Without further ado, here are (in alphabetical order) the first 10 Dreamcast games I'd like to see on the service:

1. Bangai-O--I've been holding out hope that this Treasure, er, treasure would show up on Nintendo's Virtual Console at some point (it was released on the Nintendo64 before being ported to the Dreamcast), but I think that ship has sailed. So, here's to hoping it'll show up on PSN.

2. ChuChu Rocket--Why on earth have the folks at Sega ignored this wonderful IP for so long? I have no idea, but I'm hoping someone there has enough brains to put it on PSN. Just make sure it allows online play!

3. Jet Grind Radio--Asking me to choose my favorite Dreamcast game is like asking me to choose my favorite child (if I actually had a child, of course), but if I *had* to choose (you know, at gunpoint or something like that) I might just choose Jet Grind Radio thanks in no small part to to its state-of-the-art (at the time) cel-shaded graphics. 'Nuf said.

4. Phantasy Star Online--Truth be told, I've never played this game. That said, everything I've ever read about it and seen of it (on YouTube) makes me wish I *had* played it. Give me the chance to correct my mistakes, Sega!

5. Rez--I knew I'd like this game when I heard it was made by some of the same people who made the similarly wonderful Panzer Dragoon. Well, guess what? I didn't just like it upon playing it for the first time, I *loved* it. And you will, too, if Sega does what it should and puts the title on PSN.

6. Seaman--This is another game I've never actually played (yes, my head is bowed in shame), but it's also another game that I *know* I would love. After all, when it comes to games, the weirder the better as far as I'm concerned. And everyone with half a brain knows this game is the definition of weird.

7. Segagaga--I tried to play this game through nefarious means (*cough* emulation *cough*), but the language barrier proved too much for me. Reading other players' accounts (and watching way too many YouTube videos) of the game has me convinced I'd love it if it was translated into a language I can understand. I know that's as likely as Sega releasing another console, but you can't blame a guy for dreaming, can you?

8. Shenmue--I debated putting this title on this list, to tell you the truth. It's definitely a love-it-or-hate-it affair, this game, but that's exactly why it should be a prime candidate for placement on PSN. Plus, you know all the Sega fanboys and fangirls would come out of the woodwork for it. Cha-ching! (Oh, and it should go without say that if they put up the first title, they have to put up the superior sequel, too.)

9. Space Channel 5--You now how I said Jet Grind Radio may be my favorite Dreamcast game? Well, this game is the reason for my indecisiveness. Unfortunately, I'm not sure if Michael Jackson's inclusion in the game would increase or decrease its odds of being re-released at this point.

10. Typing of the Dead--This game is in the same boat as Segagaga (i.e., it's about as likely to show up on PSN as Hello Kitty's Waku Waku Cookies). That's not going to stop me from asking for it, though. Don't understand my desire to see what's basically an educational game show up on Sony's service? Check out a few YouTube videos (like this one) and I think you'll see where I'm coming from.

Note to any Sega fanboys or fangirls who stumble upon this post: The titles listed above are the first 10 Dreamcast games I'd like to see on PSN if such a thing came to fruition. Obviously I'd like many more Dreamcast titles to make it to the service, too--such as Ikaruga, Power Stone, Skies of Arcadia, Toy Commander and Virtua Tennis, just to name a few.

Waiting for Wii Fit Plus

I'm not ashamed to admit that I bought Wii Fit as soon as it hit store shelves last year. I do a pretty darn good job of staying fit on my own, but I thought Nintendo's latest (and possibly greatest) attempt to conquer the so-called casuals might shake things up a bit. Well, guess what? It did. To say I've become a bit obsessed with the "push up and side plank," for instance, is an understatement--despite the fact that it practically reduces me to tears :)

As such, it probably shouldn't be all that surprising to hear that I'm going to buy Wii Fit Plus as soon as it hits store shelves--on Oct. 4--too. The main reason I'm interested in this budget-priced--Nintendo's selling it for just $19.99--release is that it'll allow me to create circuits that include all of my favorite exercises. The fact that Nintendo has added a slew--15, to be exact--of new mini-games doesn't hurt, either.

Anyway, the reason I'm going on and on about all of this is that Wootini over at GayGamer.net recently got to spend some quality time with the title and he seemed to enjoy it quite a bit. "[Wii Fit Plus] really expands upon the first game, and has found some interesting new ways to use the Balance Board in mini-games," he writes. "It's not an entirely new game, but if you've already got a Balance Board, at $20, it's looking like a decent buy."

Orioto's deliciously deviant video game art

Remember how I said I used to want to be an artist--and be the next Shigeru Miyamoto? Well, Paris-based artist Mikaël Aguirre (aka Orioto) must have felt the same way as a child. The difference, of course, is that Aguirre (who is gay, by the way--yippee!) actually followed his dreams while I, well, write about them :)

If you've never come across Orioto's art, may I suggest you make your way over to his deviantART page pronto? After that, head to NeoGAF to learn more about him (and interact with him, if you'd like). Another worthwhile destination: BeefJack.com, which recently posted an in-depth interview with this multifaceted and multi-talented man.

What Scribblenauts' 'sambo situation' says about racism in the U.S.

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past week, you've heard that one of the 20,000 or so words included in Scribblenauts' extensive dictionary is "sambo"--and that when a player uses said word in the critically acclaimed DS game a watermelon-like object appears on screen.

Many writers have waxed poetic about this situation since it first came to light, but few (if any) have addressed it like author, critic and designer Ian Bogost did in an article posted on Gamasutra.com yesterday.

You might not agree with everything the co-founder of Persuasive Games has to say (I can't say I do), but it's well worth a read regardless. Oh, and make sure you read the comments that follow the article, too--they're just as enlightening as Bogost's conclusions, if not more so.

How to make it in the back door (of the games industry)

I dreamed of being a lot of things when I was a kid--an artist, a criminologist, a veterinarian--but none of those professions excited me more than the one that appeared in my dreams shortly after I played Super Mario Bros. for the first time.

Yep, like millions of other kids who came of age in the 1980s, I wanted to make video games when I grew up. I actually held onto that dream until my freshman year in college--when it was shattered just a week into my first programming class.

Anyway, if you're anything like the old me (the me that existed before I gave up on being the next Shigeru Miyamoto), you should head on over to GayGamer.net to watch videos of the PAX 2009 panel, "How to Make it in the Back Door: A Rainbow Colored Perspective of the Game Industry."

The panel featured a number of gay folk in the games industry, including Chris Shroyer, a producer at n-Space, Matt Marquess, a PR associate at SparkPR, and Helen McWilliams, a producer at Harmonix.

In the clips, the trio talk about what it's like to be "non-standard" in the games industry and whether or not it's a hindrance or an asset. They also talk about how they made it into the industry and how others can follow in their footsteps.