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When I got home from the store [with Metal Gear Solid HD Collection], I was looking forward to popping the disc into my PlayStation 3 and seeing how the games looked in HD... but upon reading the disc, I got the message that I've seen way too many times over the course of this console generation: Version 1.01 found.

Welcome to the first episode of State of Play.

This show is a new voice in the gaming journalism world. Our interviews are long-form, personal, and in-depth. You should check it out, as I don't think there's much like it on the web right now.

Our first interview is with Kellee Santiago of thatgamecompany, creators of the iconic Flow, Flower, and (the upcoming) Journey. In it, we discuss their company, their philosophies, and their first game, Cloud. If you like what you see, stay tuned: upcoming interviews will include Jonathan Blow and David Jaffe.

I am so super-excited to launch this show, as it's been a real labor of love.

As a video game collector who's constantly on the lookout for the best deals, sometimes I'll come across some cool video game related novelties and paraphernalia. On a recent trip to Kohl's, I found a board game based on Tetris, Tetris Link that I couldn't pass up.

There has been a significant amount of griping over video game review scores recently. Reviewers seem to be on the defensive to readers, publishers, and developers as they attempt to further justify a number that 1,000+ words apparently could not. Games with review scores less than an 80 average on Metacritic are presumed to be bad (or worse).

What a difference 10 years can make.

Playing video games can be a very expensive hobby and even more so for those of us who consider ourselves not only gamers, but also video game collectors who maintain a library of artistically interesting and historically noteworthy games. With limited disposable income, the average gamer can only purchase so many titles at full price per year. So with that in mind, this is a blog feature devoted to finding the best deals on gaming essentials for would be collectors and anyone looking to play a good game at an affordable price.

I managed to accomplish two separate goals this week, when it comes to my PlayStation 2 collection. I was able to locate the final game in the .hack//G.U. trilogy to complete the set and I surpassed 200 total games thanks to a couple of decent hauls.

It's unfortunate that the console video game industry has come to locking out single-player content to combat used game sales. The case of Batman: Arkham City is closing in on a feared worst-case scenario.

In addition to the original PlayStation games that I got (which I mentioned in my last blog entry), I also took advantage of a Buy 2, Get 2 Free sale on pre-owned PlayStation 2 games at a GameStop nearby the Bookmans location that I had visited. Unfortunately, the GameStop stores here in the Phoenix area are slowly getting rid of PlayStation 2 games and shipping them to other markets… so it's becoming more difficult to add games to my collection.

I decided to part with some older books, strategy guides, and DVDs at a place called Bookmans. They're like GameStop, except they deal with almost everything in a buy/sell/trade format. I'd heard about them before, but it took me nearly two years to go down there. It's kind of a good thing that I hadn't done so when I was working more steadily, because after what I saw for sale there, I know where my money would have gone.