Wouldn't you know it, I go on vacation for a week and come back to news (well, more like rumors) about the next Simpsons game. Apparently, all the buzz is coming from the appearance of a game called "Simpsons: The Game" on several retailer lists. These listings place the next Simpsons game on Nintendo DS, Playstation 3, Playstation 2, Xbox 360, PSP and Wii. The new tentative date is sometime in November.
So, I'll have to adjust my predictions. This game will not release along with the film since that has been firmly cemented for a late July release. A November release for the game means they will be rushing to complete it before the Q4 spend monkeys hit the stores, and that's also a perfect time to release along with the movie DVD.
And so, the buzz machine gathers momentum. Oh, the excitement!
TMNT Arcade on XBLA... Is The Simpsons Next?
15 Mar 2007
TMNT, the classic arcade game from 1989 starring the then insanely popular mutant turtles, is ready for download on the Xbox Live Arcade service, which is already home to other classics such as Joust and Ms. Pacman.
What does this mean for The Simpsons? Well, as many should know there was another classic arcade game released by Konami in 1990 called The Simpsons Arcade. Players chose from Homer, Bart, Marge, or Lisa and battled their way across varied Springfield locales to save Maggie from the evil Mr. Burns. With another Konami arcade title now released, it opens up the possibility for The Simpsons to get on XBLA or one of the other console online services. TMNT was also released by a different publisher this time (Ubisoft), so it looks like Konami would not be one of the restraints in getting The Simpsons Arcade online. If I know my marketing tie-ins (or if FOX and EA follow Ubisoft's lead), The Simpsons Arcade would release around the time of the film in July 2007.
Simpsons Parody Grand Theft Auto
09 Mar 2007
This past Sunday's episode of The Simpsons, entitled "Yokel Chords," featured a side story in which Bart is forced to see a therapist. After dismissing the therapist's attempt to engage him, Bart is persuaded to cooperate with a copy of Death Kill City II: Death Kill Stories.
Let's just hope that "Bad for Everyone" rating doesn't catch on.
Updated Design
09 Mar 2007
Another year and another update to the design. This update gave me a chance to organize the backend as well as update content across all pages of the site. You'll now find that copy throughout the site, and particularly copy at the Game Info pages, is much more coherent. A page for the next-gen Simpsons games has also been created and can be found here.
Beyond that stuff, I expanded the design to include a new left column with more information. Take a look, and vote in that poll if you haven't already. It'll be coming down soon!
Interview, moi?
15 Feb 2007
Yours truly had the honor of being interviewed by Simpsons community guy and webmaster Malachy. You can check out the interview at Simpsons Zip.
Merry... uh, Winter!
09 Jan 2007
Yea, so I'm a bit late with the holiday wishes. The fact is Q4 was a rough one and by the time the holiday vacation rolled around I was off and incommunicado for a few weeks. But, now I'm back to wish all you wacky CBG's VGC visitors a merry winter. Here are some holiday appearances by OFF and their Springfield buddies to tide you over until the next big holiday or actual news update. :)
Simpons Road Rage (2001)
Simpsons Road Rage features a diverse roster of many Springfield citizens among the usual Simpsons family cast. Two of these citizens got some extra love with alternate vehicles and costumes that could only be unlocked during Christmas and New Year's Day, respectively.
Who better to represent Christmas than an Indian Hindu dressed as Santa Claus? Christmas Apu becomes availabe when the date on your console or PC hits the 25th of December, aka baby Jesus' birthday. His car goes from red Firebird to a green car with "MERRY XMAS" painted across the side and a holiday wreath pasted onto the red hood. Apu dons a Santa costume and white beard. Unfortunately the car continues to be powered by 200 horses and not eight reindeer.
Perhaps a more fitting match, Krusty was chosen as the character to unlock on New Year's Day. Krusty's a natural drunk, but on New Year's Day he's bound to get beyond wasted. Perfect for getting out on the road in a clown car covered in celebratory images such as Baby New Year, streamers, and champagne glasses. Krusty sports a party tux and pointy party hat, completing the New Year's Day motif and giving us all a chance to imagine we're drunken clowns. Woo hoo!
Simpsons Hit & Run (2003)
Radical Entertainment, the developers of Road Rage, simply could not get enough of the hidden holiday treats. For this title they gave us hidden alternate menus that would change the Simpsons' living room based on the date. While they left out the New Year's theme this time, they did include a little bit of Christmas. Check out Homer in his Santa suit and other nifty Christmas brick-a-brack.
For those too impatient to wait until the end of 2007 to unlock the holiday wonders (or too lazy to change the system date), check out the Codes and Secrets page for codes to unlock these features immediately. Party on!
Halloween Highlights
31 Oct 2006
The Simpsons are certainly no strangers to the spirit of Halloween. Since season 2 back in 1991, The Simpsons television show has featured an annual Treehouse of Horror episode consisting of three Halloween tales. Sometimes these are original stories, and sometimes the show writers take existing tales and retell them with a Simpsons twist. See IGN.com's feature "Top Ten Segments from the Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror" for details on the classic Treehouse of Horror tales.
The video game realm has received some Halloween love as well with two particular video games. The first and more Halloween-infused game is Night of the Living Treehouse of Horror for the Gameboy Advance. In this game the Simpsons' souls have become trapped in the treehouse of horror and they must escape their nightmares to return to their bodies.
Lisa in "Nightmare Cafeteria"
The second appearance of the Treehouse of Horror tales is in the final level of The Simpsons Hit & Run. In the climax of the game the aliens Kang and Kodos have turned Springfield into a ghoulish town filled with zombies and Halloween references galore, and it's up to Homer to stop the aliens.
Homer running over old (zombie) ladies in the final level
And hey, for the hell of it, here is a blast from my Internet past. I'm such a big fan of the Treehouse of Horror episodes that I ran two contests, one in '03 and one in '04, where online users could vote for their favorite tale or character from the Halloween episodes.
The Family Guy Video Game, developed by High Voltage Software and published by 2K Games, released last week across North America and Europe. The game features an intertwining tale of Stewie's quest to take over the world, Brian's escape from the law, and Peter's relentless fight through Quahog to find Mr. Belvedere.
Gamespot.com gave it a 6.4/10 and says "Though it gets the show's style of humor down pat, Family Guy is derailed by frustrating and uninteresting gameplay,", however 1UP.com chimed in with a decent 7/10 and "The Family Guy game is largely fan service and is mostly based on inside jokes and comedy that's clearly an acquired taste."
Check out all current reviews for the game at Gamerankings.com.
The Simpsons Revealed for the Wii
02 Oct 2006
Over at IGN.com (aka the FOX-owned video game and entertainment website) there is now an official page for the Wii version of The Simpsons. While EA has only announced that the games will release on "next-gen consoles", this is a tidbit that came along with the flurry of recent Wii announcements.
The page can be found here: Wii@IGN.
Game Manuals Update - Part 2
23 Sep 2006
So it turns out my crazy eBay spree resulted in many more games than I originally thought. Today I have the next three of twelve manuals. Check out the manuals at the Game Info page.
Yea, so I'm a bit late with the holiday wishes. The fact is Q4 was a rough one and by the time the holiday vacation rolled around I was off and incommunicado for a few weeks. But, now I'm back to wish all you wacky CBG's VGC visitors a merry winter. Here are some holiday appearances by OFF and their Springfield buddies to tide you over until the next big holiday or actual news update. :)
The Simpsons are certainly no strangers to the spirit of Halloween. Since season 2 back in 1991, The Simpsons television show has featured an annual Treehouse of Horror episode consisting of three Halloween tales. Sometimes these are original stories, and sometimes the show writers take existing tales and retell them with a Simpsons twist. See IGN.com's feature 
The Family Guy Video Game, developed by High Voltage Software and published by 2K Games, released last week across North America and Europe. The game features an intertwining tale of Stewie's quest to take over the world, Brian's escape from the law, and Peter's relentless fight through Quahog to find Mr. Belvedere.
Gamespot.com gave it a 6.4/10 and says "Though it gets the show's style of humor down pat, Family Guy is derailed by frustrating and uninteresting gameplay,", however 1UP.com chimed in with a decent 7/10 and "The Family Guy game is largely fan service and is mostly based on inside jokes and comedy that's clearly an acquired taste."
Check out all current reviews for the game at Gamerankings.com.
Over at IGN.com (aka the FOX-owned video game and entertainment website) there is now an official page for the Wii version of The Simpsons. While EA has only announced that the games will release on "next-gen consoles", this is a tidbit that came along with the flurry of recent Wii announcements.
The page can be found here: 
So it turns out my crazy eBay spree resulted in many more games than I originally thought. Today I have the next three of twelve manuals. Check out the manuals at the Game Info page.