Viljami, Author at Intensive Gaming Diary

Some Games I Have Been Playing Lately

Posted on November 21, 2025 by Viljami

Here are, actually not two but even three different games, I have been playing a lot recently. These games are Gran Turismo 4, that I have now already spent on over 60 hours, for PS2 and Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2 for Nintendo Switch. When it comes to Super Mario Galaxy bundle I managed to finish the first one in the series. I am currently on to finish also the second. But now actually I have been concentrating on trying hard to finish Gran Turismo 4. This racing game proves to be a very good game. It might be even the best game in the whole Gran Turismo series as it is tightly competing with the seventh and first game of the series in my own considerations. It is also the longest game in this racing series. It can take up to 76 hours to complete.

In Gran Turismo 4, in the career mode, you are going to have to get yourself some cars. I am saying some cars because it isn’t one or two. It is actually several cars. You have to figure which car you need and which one you could sell to buyt upgrades to the car you are using to try to complete races. You have to complete races to advance in this game and to eventually also finish it. You can check the completion percentage when you visit your Home that can be found from one of the menus that can be found inside the game.

There’s a lot to play. You can achieve yourself some driving licenses that enable you to compete in different kinds of races. There are many events available that are grouped to Beginner Events and Professional Events and then we have also Extreme Events. You have to complete all Beginner and Professional events to proceed to Extreme ones. There are also events in different countries that are for cars that are manufactured in the specific country. Also, you can find some events that are grouped by manufaturer.

You really much get to upgrade your vehicle. There are also many settings that can be enabled with buying an upgrade. Then you can make adjustments. You can for example edit your preferences for types of tires, some properties of transmission, your cars braking power and you can also adjust your suspension, driving height and many other settings. You can compete in the races without knowing every piece of the settings but this can give you a nice advantage. So, if you know about cars and can figure out these quite technical matters you will gain some well needed speed and winning races can become easier.

It is also necessary to know, or at least try to learn, about different car models. Gran Turismo 4, as all Gran Turismo games do, features very real cars and there are many car manufacturers involved. While the game was released in 2004 we cannot see these electric cars. It would have been nice to have also electric cars in this driving game. Maybe we are going to see some of these car manufacturers models some day in racing games. Gran Turismo 4 is a huge recommendation if you like PS2 games and racing games.

Now, I haven’t discussed about Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2, yet. So, I managed to get through first of these games. It was a very good remake. At first I was a bit overwhelmed with the controls, since it is originally a Nintendo Wii game meant to be played with the motion sensor, but I got around it quickly. It seems only logical that this controlling method wasn’t altered so much as it is actually a keen part of the gameplay.

I spent about 14 hours playing the first Super Mario Galaxy. Then I proceeded to the sequel. Unfortunately I decided to start to play Gran Turismo 4 and that took my attention. So, I think I don’t have so much to say, currently, about Super Mario Galaxy 2. I was content that I bought this bundle of these two games. They offer a lot especially if you are into Super Mario games.

I think this is all this time. I might get back to you, later, when I might have finished at least Gran Turismo 4. I think I will have something else to write about the next time. I try to come up with a new topic. Thanks for reading and see you in the next blog post!

The Role of SNES In The History of Gaming

Posted on November 14, 2025 by Viljami

There was a time in history of gaming when SNES was the most powerful and the most newest gaming console in the markets. This period of time was followed by many years of dominance from Mega Drive, or Genesis as the system was called in the USA, that in turn was a following of dominance from Nintendo Entertainment System, or for short, NES. What had happened earlier, before Nintendos dominant era, would be known as video game crash. It was a time when video games weren’t selling so well. NES begun the new era when video games started to begin to be popular again.

What makes Super Nintendo, or SNES, so significant is reflected in these games that were released for it. They were beginning to look like something that could be considered a true form of art and not just some entertainment for kids. There were stories that were told through these games. There were some limitations about the amount space available and also some considerations about how to, for example, save a game with this technology. However the progression was fast and SNES had its time when it was actually considered the greatest gaming console of all that were available.

Now, you can debate on which one is better, Mega Drive or SNES but actually the way I see it is something like this. NES was the best during 1983 to 1988. Mega Drive dominated from 1988 to 1991. And SNES was the greatest console between 1991 and 1995. After that it would be the era of PlayStation 1 which would continue all the way to the era of the generation in which PS2 would belong to. Take this as just an idea and not something I could somehow actually prove to be true. This is a sort of a theory.

How were the games that were released for SNES? I would point out that there were games like Street Fighter II and Super Mario World. They were full of action and included graphics that were very impressive at their time. There were also some role-playing games that I think moved gaming very much forward at this time in the history of gaming and playing video games. These games brought us closer to the games that could be later found on PS1. I think that when PS1 came actually as popular as it would show to be we were actually starting to realize the full potential that video games actually had. RPGs on SNES were something like a bridge to more complex and modern gaming.

So, the whole scene of gaming was advancing very fast at this time. Everything I have told you here makes me think how little I have spend playing SNES. I have several RPGs to explore if I choose to go to that path. I am thinking that this system, SNES, has some great games. But the question in my mind seems to be “are they actually worth playing”? I ma thinking this because they are old games. I don’t have so many memories of playing SNES back in the 90s. I have more memories about Mega Drive.

I am still thinking about this. Some good games for SNES include titles like many of Final Fantasy titles, Secret of Mana, Dragon Quest VI and III, Chrono Trigger and Super Mario RPG. It also had many good games that weren’t actually RPGs. These titles include Super Mario World, Super Mario All-Stars, Donkey Kong Country, Star Fox and F-Zero just to mention some of them.

If you are a retro collector you must have heard how there was a device that would have actually been a Nintendo console that would have had a CD drive of some kind included with it. This was actually something that would have been a collaboration of Sony and Nintendo. We never saw this machine and Sony went on to release its own gaming console. PlayStation, later. This leaves my imagination with many possible outcomes of what we would have had as video gamers if it would have come to reality.

SNES is a huge part of history of video games. As I am more of a Mega Drive and PlayStation 1 fan I have lots of playing to do if I wish to get into SNES a bit more. There is a lot to explore. Some games might not be ones that I will spend tens of hours or even hundreds of hours playing since they are already a bit old as video games. I might play some newer video games instead. However it is great to acknowledge how these games shaped the way we experience gaming today.

PS5 Is Way Ahead of Xbox Series S/X

Posted on November 13, 2025 by Viljami

Xbox Series S/X has sold since its release only about 28 million units to this day. This means sales all the way from the end of 2020. It has been five years. Do you know how much Xbox Series’s main competitor, PS5, has sold? Sony’s newest gaming console has sold about 84 million units. It was also released in the end of 2020.

What about Nintendo? Nintendo Switch has currently sold about 154 million units. It was released already in 2017. So, it has had some more time to sell than its competitors. These figures describe worldwide sells. I am not so often offering links to any material. I don’t know why. I guess I am not used to it. But, this time, I am making an esception. You can find the figures from THIS Wikipedia article.

There have been many rumours. Some people are referring to times when Sega dropped out of the console markets. That time its main console was Dreamcast that was able to sell only 9 million units during its few years that it was available. To compare the sales to something measurable we can take PS2. It managed to sell 160 million units during the time it was manufactured and available as a new console. This comparison is descriptive since Dreamcast and PS2 belonged in the same console generation.

There were many reasons why PS2 was so successful. First matter that comes to mind is that it featured a DVD player. Many consumers would need to buy a DVD player anyway at that time. So, it was comfortable to buy a PS2 since you got sort of two devices at a one price. PS1 had been a success and PS2 would seem to continue the path that its predecessor started. There were many games released to PS2. “How many, actually?” one might ask. I would make an online search and find that there were almost eleven thousand games released for it worldwide.

We can think for a moment about how gaming is popular as a hobby right now. There are new games and retro games. There are gamers that have been gamers for all of their lives. There are young gamers and there are old and middle aged gamers. Actually, today, there aren’t anyone at any age that wouldn’t be active in playing video games at some level. Even my parents have a relationship with games since they have to hear my speak and maybe even read my words about video games. To say it simply I can only say: “Gaming is now more popular as a hobby than it has been ever”.

Lets return to the beginning of this topic I had in my mind when I started writing this blog post. Why is it that Xbox Series S/X has sold only so little compared to its main competitors? One thing that comes to mind is games. We haven’t seen a lot of Xbox exclusive games in this console generation. PS5 has offered some. It has featured Silent Hill 2, Astrobot and the latest Ratchet & Clank game just to name some of them. Well, we could mention also God of War. So, the lack of exclusive games can be one reason.

Xbox Series S/X is not the lowest selling Microsoft game console to this day since original Xbox sold fewer units during its lifespan. Xbox One sold about 58 million units and Xbox 360, being the most sold Xbox console ever, about 84 million units while the original Xbox sold only 24 million units. So, Xbox Series S/X has sold 4 million units more than the original Xbox did.

Original Xbox has its special place in the history of gaming. It also has a special place in my hearth among some other legendary consoles, like Mega Drive, NES and PS1. The thing I remember from back in the day when Microsoft first got into video game business and released their original Xbox console was that everyone hated Microsoft. It was absolutely amazing factor that seemed to push the sales down. That console just couldn’t, at least not yet, compete with Sony.

We are going to see what will happen with Xbox Series S/X. We are currently waiting for more information about PS6 and some details about when it is going to get released. Sony has stated that there might be PS5 support until as long as 2031 or something that. We might not see a new PlayStation yet in a long while. Right now also gamers have confirmed that our PS4s are still actually very much functional. “Why to release a new console so often?”, one might ask. This might be the question that leaves us pondering some more. So, have a nice rest of the week for all of our dear readers of this blog!