Tetris: the "definition of a virtual sport" News
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by
Robert Purchese
Tetris father Alexey Pajitnov thinks his creation can adapt to fit a world where mental fitness will soon replace physical fitness.
Pajitov and Tetris Company co-founder Henk Rogers explained that Tetris sells more copies now than ever, thanks to mobile phones, and that the Western world will soon emulate the casual-game explosion of Korea.
"People ask me, 'Are you still alive? I think you are a legend,'" Pajitnov told Kotaku. "I expected [Tetris] to be a good game - not worse than anything else. I never expected this."
Henk Rogers added: "We are going to turn Tetris into the first real virtual sport. Sports like baseball and football were created at a time when our future was a lifetime of physical activities and physical fitness. But now that's not as important, it's more about mental fitness today.
"Tetris is a virtual sport that exercises the mind. That is the definition of a virtual sport," said Rogers.
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Comments: 1-23 of 23 in total
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rhubarbandcustard
15/06/09 @ 09:38
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"People ask me, 'Are you still alive? I think you are a legend,'" Pajitnov told Kotaku.
WTF?! Tetris was a hit in the day because it was a shitty little puzzle game that was perfectly playable on a shitty little handheld - the gameboy. Tetris remains popular because it is a shitty little puzzle game that remains perfectly playable on shitty little handhelds - mobiles. |
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rhubarbandcustard
I think regardless of what egotistical claims he makes, you can not call the game shitty consideing its a gaming masterpiece, regardless whether you play it on a small screen or a 60 inch plasma. No video game is played so frequently by so many people of all different ages. That my friend, is not shitty. Its sheer genius. |
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LazyDan
As opposed to.....Halo for example? haha. I do agree with you though. Sure i have it on my PC and DS, but like any game, people can take them way too seriously and creating a virtual sport is a bit of a joke to be honest. But its still gaming genius. ;-)
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most recently on 15/06/09 @ 11:19
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lazydan, that can be said for any and all games. there's always the obsessed, the perfectionist, etc.
rhubarbandcustard is partly right. the secret of tetris is not entirely based on it's simple and addictive gameplay, but also on it's platform indipendence. wherever you have a screen and an imput control, you can have tetris. granted, the quality of the gaming experience on any said platform is only as good as it's controller (tetris is rubbish almost on any mobile phone since keypads are uncomfortable and poorly responsive). |
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peak_performance
15/06/09 @ 13:01
+1
Tell that to the 35 million persons who bought the game for Game Boy. Of course it helps that it's available for every platform, but the game made itself popular because it's bloody fantastic.
This is a great documentary about the creation and distribution of Tetris. Edit: Yeah, it was my first game.
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most recently on 15/06/09 @ 14:02
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"Tetris was a hit in the day because it was a shitty little puzzle game that was perfectly playable on a shitty little handheld - the gameboy.
Tetris remains popular because it is a shitty little puzzle game that remains perfectly playable on shitty little handhelds - mobiles. " You sir are dead inside. It's probably one of the most playable (and addictive) games ever! / hears THAT music in his head..... |
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0
Tetris, Super Pang 2,..examples of how the content is as important as the form. Simple graphics but a huge amount of diversion! :)
Is it amazing how after all ancient Pythagoreanism talk, tetrominoes can still give fun! Is this what ESL tries to do, besides a few more ones? (Electronic Sport League, just in case somebody may not know about it) I see Tetris as a modern Chess or an electronic backgammon: another classic game for humankind with the pass of time. But for 1 player only and in a virtual reality: Theres no table needed as there is no physical game. Obviously. :) @ rhubarbandcustard, I met Tetris first in a video game arcade cabinet, not gameboy. But funny version one, anyway. :)
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most recently on 16/06/09 @ 00:10
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wellzy4eva
16/06/09 @ 03:26
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I thought the first proper virtual sport was FPS played on a competitive level.
Professional gamers (I refuse to call them cyber athletes) like Dennis "Thresh" Fong and Arrogant "Fatal1ty" Bastard have really set the bar when you think about it. But then again, people moan about FPS/RPG/Fighting games are not proper sports, but Snooker/darts/Bowling are called sports, hell people even call poker a spectator sport. So why not competitive Tetris multiplayer? although I would not call it the definition by any means. |
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quantumsheep
16/06/09 @ 14:26
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It's the only game I've played for serious amounts of time EVERY YEAR since I got it for the original Gameboy - an absolute classic in my opinion.
Met the guy myself, and he's lovely. Oh, and after playing for a while he *doesn't* see blocks falling when he shuts his eyes apparently... /does
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most recently on 16/06/09 @ 15:27
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electrolite
18/06/09 @ 00:37
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I've seen some stupid posts on this and other sites, indeed other non-gaming sites, but rhubarband custard, just from the post in this thread alone, could be literally the most supid person I've ever encountered, or indded in the history of humanity.
It's Tetris. It's perfect game design. It's flawless. I'm a great fan of subjectivity, but it doesn't apply in this case, that's how it is. If it isn't the best game ever, it's very very close. |
Comments: 1-23 of 23 in total
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