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Stop the presses! We are like, so totally stoked right now. Cut to the 14:28 mark of the latest Penny Arcade podcast, "Making an Impression." So speak'th the cartoon-inclined hosts:

"Hey, Disincentives won best webcomic for that week."

"Yeah, we did ... it's always nice to win."

"I feel like champion (my fri-end)."

Oh yeah, baby, that's right, we're famous enough to be on the second-greatest podcast around! So while we clutch the (CW)TB signature we have written on the back of a business card from when we ran into Tycho at GDC 2007 (note: thanks for putting up with our "trade show noob" geek-out 14 months ago, T-Bo), check out our picks for the week's best game-related webcomics; voting is after the break.

• Multiplayer (Sharcbate)
• 02 (Super Effective)
• So Close, Yet ... (2P Start)
• Ancient Ways (Angry Stick)
• My Greatest Achievement (Dueling Analogs)
• Koffing and Weezing (Monday Night Crew)
• Life Strategies (Penny Arcade)
• What it Should Have Been (Game Boyz)
• Game of Chance (Digital Unrest)

Next week, the Joystiq crew will pack their precious belongings (a laptop, some clothes, and a towel) before flying off to the 2008 Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. So now seems about as good a time as any to reflect back on last year's GDC for a taste of what's to come. Sure, there's a dearth of playable demos when compared to E3 or TGS, but what other trade show can say they redefined the role of adhesive in internet conversations?

Keep reading for our remembrances of the keynotes (what's Game 3.0 again?), last year's big news (Harmonix and EA are doing what?), the sessions and interviews (the Wii is how many Gamecubes duct-taped together?), and the whole culture of GDC (Miyamoto made quite a splash).

We're definitely not big-time executives getting driven around everywhere, so make no mistake about it, running around and covering GDC can be exhausting! Need evidence? Well, in the picture above you'll see the blogger photo-frenzy that occurred one evening after our dear editor Mr. Grant passed out cold of exhaustion (no liquor or pharmaceuticals involved). Sure, there's a lot of news and business related things going on at GDC, but we still find time to have some fun and write about the cultural things going on within the industry.

There was definitely one big name at GDC last year who requires no introduction: Miyamoto. People waited in an incredibly long line last year to hear the father of Mario, Link -- and in many ways, Nintendo -- speak. Some people had life altering experiences after meeting with his holiness, while others showed their love by simply serenading the man; however, the best use of Miyamoto's time at GDC was certainly his guest appearance in a Mega64 skit where he gave an award-winning performance as a man faced with the horror of seeing his own creation in cos-play form.

GDC is always a hotbed for game-related news, and 2007 was no different as a flurry of announcements made during the annual event gave attendees plenty to talk about while waiting in line for sessions or sipping unspecified beverages in a haze of drunken exhaustion. Let's take a look back at which announcements came to pass, which were left unceremoniously forgotten, and which ones still have us scratching each other's heads like a pack of spider monkeys.

It was at GDC 07 where EA finally broke the silence and confirmed that it had slipped into bed with rhythm game virtuoso Harmonix with plans to publish the studio's next game. That game, of course, was Rock Band, though at the time the future of that announcement was the subject of much debate. After all, it's still popular to look at EA as an evil megacorp, and the partnership between it and indie fave Harmonix was not met with universal acclaim. Not that it matters now, as we're far too busy belting out lyrics to Roxanne.

Beyond the keynotes and news stories, the 2007 Game Developers Conference packed an incredible amount of content within the walls of San Francisco's Moscone Center. A number of memorable sessions leave us teary-eyed with nostalgia, as we wonder if GDC 08 can possibly top the frenetic schedule of last year's event.

Before GDC proper even began, the Mobile Game Innovation Hunt passed out free beer and noisemakers to its filled-to-capacity crowd for the most professional form of game criticism. And speaking of professional criticism, Maxis developer Chris Hecker certainly made waves at the Game Publisher's Rant session, when he infamously referred to the Wii as "two Gamecubes duct-taped together," generating enough fanboy fuel to power a small star. The small but oh-so-significant comment unfortunately became the focus of the session's media coverage, but we were still able to talk to Vivendi's Nichol Bradford about her own impassioned presentation.

Elsewhere, music was most certainly in the air, as iNiS VP Keiichi Yano discussed the success of Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan on DS, and the difficulties of bringing the quirky rhythm title to the US as Elite Beat Agents. Musical inspiration could most definitely be found in Nintendo composer Koji Kondo, who made his first public appearance in America at GDC, and discussed the secrets of designing good game audio.

It ran at GDC 2007; we reported on it, but you didn't get to see it. Now, MTV has hosted a special edition of The Metagame game show, as part of their "Gamer's Week" Coverage, and Stephen Totilo has posted the highlights for mass consumption.

The Metagame, designed and hosted by Frank Lantz of area/code and Eric Zimmerman of Gamelab, pits two teams against each other in a battle of video game smarts. Each round, teams move pieces on the game board to form comparative statements between two games (such as "Halo would make a better movie than Half-Life," or "Virtua Fighter is sexier than Super Mario 64."), and argue these statements to earn points. Vying for victory this time are MTV's Stephen Totilo and Tim Kash, versus Newsweeks' N'Gai Croal, and fellow journalist Heather Chaplin, author of Smart Bomb.

The debate is heated, hilarious, and only the slightest bit pretentious. We'd definitely enjoy watching more designers, developers, and press-members argue the semantics and specifics of the industry's most influential games. Any chance of picking up the show full-time, MTV?

Update: Due to silly legal restrictions, the video posted above is not viewable in the UK or Canada. Apologies for any confusion or irritation this might cause.

Imagine yourself, surrounded by hundreds, nay thousands of people, bustling about. A constant murmur rings in the background, as the sounds of endless explosions, gunfire, and bouncy anime music intertwine in a cacophony of disarray. Finally, come to the grasp that you must navigate a complex game in a language which you are completely unfamiliar with. It was under these extraneous circumstances that we've come to play Metal Gear Solid 4 on the Tokyo Game Show floor, having survived the hours-long wait for a brief time with Hideo Kojima's latest.

Simply thrown into the game was a daunting challenge, one that borders on insurmountable. Once again, Snake has an incredible variety of moves at his disposal -- and he must use them in order to survive the challenges at hand. Metal Gear Solid 4 is far from the most intuitive game we've played, and unguided play didn't lead to much success in the battlefield. It's clear that, in spite of its warlike setting, the game remains true to its "tactical espionage" roots. Stealth is highly rewarded, and bravado will usually lead to some trialling battles that undoubtedly end in death. For example, a tank will be able to gun down Old Snake in all but a few seconds: sneaking past the tank, and the troops that support it, is essential for mere survival. Navigating through the environments felt natural, and the context-sensitive icons that appear at the bottom of the screen are certainly a refreshing addition. Snake will be able to walk, crouch and crawl with relative ease, and with the improved camera, navigating the environment has become far easier. The box and barrel, in which Snake can hide, both appear in the TGS demo, and give Snake a few options in remaining hidden in the environment.

But, it's not like Snake will be helpless in the face of combat. Old Snake still has access to his CQC moves, and when faced with enemies one on one, they'll likely face a quick death. The gunplay has been improved, though. The game's over the shoulder mode feels natural, allowing Snake to move and shoot at the same time. The targeting reticule is surprisingly intelligent, indicating when objects and walls get in the course of your shot. Although some may be able to play MGS4 as a quasi-FPS game, the number of enemies will make that a daunting challenge.

Newsweek's N'Gai Croal chatted with Reggie Fils-Aime at GDC, and since that show was so rich with creamy, flavorful news, this interview has only now found its way onto the site. The interview is largely on the subject of third-party support for the Wii and DS, and for the most part, Reggie takes personal responsibility for what he sees as positive developments.

For example, Reggie seems to credit his own meetings with former Take Two CEO Paul Eibeler for the advent of Wii Manhunt 2. He also claims that his conversations with Laurent Dutoc of Ubisoft led to ... pretty much half the stuff on the Wii. We aren't business experts, so we don't know, but could it really be as simple as that? Is Reggie charismatic enough to personally influence publishers' plans? Or is he using personal terms as a shorthand for more complicated business dealings?

Shigeru Miyamoto sat down with Newsweek's N'Gai Croal earlier this month and aired out his concerns with third party developers not putting their best efforts behind games for Nintendo systems. Companies often find that their biggest competition on consoles like the Wii and DS is Nintendo themselves, but according to Miyamoto, most third parties aren't rising to the challenge with their top development groups. Instead, they're depending on third- or fourth-string teams to produce their titles.

While not every game from Nintendo is a blockbuster hit, Miyamoto says that the company makes sure to put its best people behind titles that are "designed to really support and sell hardware." Can most third parties say they're doing the same? If not, then how much longer will it take before developers approach their Wii releases seriously and start using their star teams to create AAA titles for the console?

Every other week Scott Jon Siegel contributes Off the Grid, a column on gaming away from the television screen or monitor.

Since I couldn't find anyone to play Robo Rally with me this week, I thought I'd take this opportunity to instead discuss my experience as one of the IGDA's Student Scholars at this year's Game Developers Conference.

For the past seven years, the International Game Developers Association has been sending students interested in a future career in video games to GDC. A panel of professional game developers judges all the submitted applications, and each year 25 students are selected to receive free passes to the event. Each student is also paired with an industry mentor, and all the scholars are given an orientation session for the conference, and a tour of a local studio. I was honored to have been chosen as one of this year's student scholars, and found my first GDC experience to be all the more worthwhile as a result.

The three-day conference started on Wednesday, so Tuesday morning we met as a group for a special orientation session. A few of the scholars had already met up the previous night, as part of an unofficial pre-GDC get-together. Some of the student scholars were undergrads, but others were graduate students, and the group ranged widely in age. The disciplines and interests of the students varied widely as well, with artists, designers, coders, and audiophiles all equally represented. Part of our orientation had to do with simply meeting each other, exchanging business cards and conversing with peers who might very well be industry bigwigs in a few years; some of them just give off that vibe.

It may have required some background knowledge of 300 and Chris Hecker to understand, but the Joystiq webcomic lovers chose via parliamentary procedure 2P Start's entry as the best webcomic of last week.

Second place went to Penny Arcade and third from Scott Johnson's Extra Life. Thanks to everyone who voted and be sure to let us know of any gaming comics you stumble upon this week!

One of our favorite touches of the new Phantom Hourglass' trailer shown at this year's GDC event was its use of the reworked Hyrule Castle theme from The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. If there's one thing we love, it's retro tracks brought back for another round. That's why we're featuring a medley of songs from the original Zelda game (NES) remixed by electronica musician Ochre, for your Sunday listening pleasure.

We imagine that trying to add anything on top of Koji Kondo's classic work without ruining it is a difficult task, but this arrangement doesn't miss a step. Ochre's interpretation blends the 8-bit pieces with his own playful style, taking the listener through a six-minute daydream of Link's adventures. If you're a fan of lush synths and summery rhythms, we definitely suggest downloading this song along with Ochre's other remixes and original offerings at his site.

[Via The New Gamer]

Much like the gruesome aftermath of an unexpected shark attack, it was difficult to miss the fact that a crucial part of us recently went missing. Last week, the Japanese sales charts were mysteriously absent, leaving nothing but a festering hole on the front page and a severe bout of dizziness for all involved. Of course, the blame is to be firmly placed on the shark -- here meaning the Game Developer's Conference held in San Francisco.

We were ill-prepared when it devoured our energy in one terrifying gulp and by the time we filmed a special video "skit," it had become all too apparent that we had little acting, humor, writing or basic conversational abilities. Instead, we present a gallery of miscellaneous GDC images, many of which depict Joystiq staffers in various states of tomfoolery and general ineptitude. If you are truly outraged by the lack of last week's charts (presented after the break!), use these images to identify us and then punch us in the face.

- DS Lite: 108,512 3,302 (2.95%)
- PSP: 56,175 9,981 (15.09%)
- Wii: 44,494 13,477 (23.25%)
- PS3: 32,115 11,885 (27.01%)
- PS2: 14,585 779 (5.07%)
- Xbox 360: 3,333 46 (1.36%)
- Game Boy Micro: 812 7 (0.87%)
- GBA SP: 679 59 (7.99%)
- Gamecube: 240 63 (20.79%)
- DS Phat: 119 7 (6.25%)
- GBA: 13 12 (48.00%)

Source: Media Create]

See also: Previous Japanese hardware sales charts

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