Since the dawn of time, humankind has argued over the merits of this versus that. In the mighty world of game, there was the Sega vs. Nintendo war of the early 90’s, the PSP vs. DS age, and more recently, the Xbox 360 vs. PS3 (and both vs. Wii) conundrum. However you may feel about any of these machines, one war that has waged in the background without waning is the war between the console and PC fans.
It’s an interesting one, really. Styles of gaming have always differed across these machine types, and there has always been a pervasive divider between the two. There has also, for as long as I can remember, been a consensus amongst console gamers that PC gaming is dead. Well, it hasn’t died yet, and let’s face it… it won’t die anytime soon. Regardless of how you feel (I’m a console gamer myself), I thought it pertinent to list the pros and cons of each, if only to help me understand why such a division exists.
Continue reading 'The pros and cons of console and PC gaming'»
Reports out of CES from all of my favourite tech sites are noting an influx of 3D-capable TVs and PCs. It seems that most manufacturers consider 3D to be “the next big thing”. Sure – 3D has always been a popular attraction at theme parks for both adults and children alike, but it’s always seemed to me to be a bit of a gimmick. However, with all the major vendors jumping on board, perhaps it will be the new form of home entertainment. But will it be? Will it really? Huh? Yes… this post is full of questions.
Continue reading 'Keep those glasses away from me! [UPDATED!]'»
I came to a realisation today. It was somewhat shocking, but I knew it for the truth as soon as the thought came into my mind – I am not a ’real’ blogger.
For some time now, I’ve been deluding myself. I’ve kept a blog for two years now, and I’ve written quite a few posts, but while this does make me a blogger by definition, it doesn’t make me one by trade.
Of course, at it’s most literal, the previous sentence is a moot point – blogging is not my prime source of income, so of course it’s not my trade; in fact, I don’t earn anything by blogging. What I mean is (unfortunately, or at least it seemed like an unfortunate realisation at first), I’m a hobby blogger. Not that it’s such a bad thing.
Continue reading 'Where I’m at – Dec ‘09'»
Social networking has boomed in recent years – indeed, it is virtually the very definition of "Web 2.0" – yet not all social networking tools are as popular as others. Some of them, such as Facebook and Twitter, are quite common topics of conversation. However, they don’t receive the same attention for the same reasons – while "everyone" has a Facebook account and has tried at achieving the Bejeweled Blitz high score, society is divided on the usefulness of Twitter.
In fact, go ask someone what they think of Twitter. Invariably, they will tell you that they "don’t see the point" or "that’s what Facebook is for". Others will brush it off as a marketing tool, and still others will complain about it as a "way for nerds to talk about what they have for lunch". As a result of my own personal investigations, I’ve received all of these responses in the past week – and more. But why is that? Is Twitter really all that crap, or is it just misunderstood?
Before I take the hard line, I will add a little disclaimer to say that it is what it is – if it’s not something that sounds like it works for you, then it’s not going to be something you enjoy – much like anything else. However – I am firm in my assertion that Twitter is misunderstood.
Continue reading 'Twitter – misunderstood, or just crap?'»
I was reading a transcript at Kotaku of a discussion about Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on a morning show recently, and my blood began to boil – mainly because the host asking the questions displayed the same ignorance and triviality of the subject as we gamers are now used to seeing. At first, I was upset about the situation – the host seemed to simply keep repeating that you could ‘play as a terrorist’ and that it was ‘interactive violence’, without displaying any further understanding of the topic at hand. And to some degree, it still does irk me – but it made me realise that – regardless of the facts at hand – we will always be on the back foot here… But we gamers need to make some changes, too.
Continue reading 'Violence and ignorance'»
A few years back, I was bopping about the Internet, as I am wont to do, and I came across an invitation on Gaijin Pot, or somewhere similar. It was an invitation to what was being dubbed the "Yamanote Halloween Party" – basically a group of foreigners were planning to dress up in costumes and travel around the Yamanote line. At its most basic, it seemed an innocent and playful idea, and at first, even I thought it would be fun to join.
Continue reading 'Halloween craziness'»
When Junglist, the popular co-host of ABC’s “Good Game” did not show up on Monday, it was evident something was amiss. The show was quick to introduce a new host, Hex (Stephanie Bendixsen), to accompany Bajo – the other, also quite popular permanent host. The Good Game forums flared, and Junglist fans screamed blue murder, whilst others generally supported the new host. It was a sudden and unexpected move. But the reasoning behind it seems extremely convoluted.
At this point, I’d like to point you to this PALGN post, which details the back story far better than I could wish to (and let’s face it – I don’t have the time), so I will not go over it all again, The previous link is a highly recommended read, as it forms the basis of my post. So… how do I feel, as a long-time supporter of the show (I’ve watched it since it began 3 years ago)? Continue reading 'Good Game shakeup'»
This week, Sony’s PSPgo was released upon the world. Opting for a system based on downloads alone, it could prove to be a bit of a risk for Sony. At first, I was excited by the idea – finally someone was going balls-out and diving head-first in to the deep, dark (and largely unknown) waters of digital distribution. But after some careful consideration, I’m not so sure. I think Sony might have overestimated the demand, and underestimated the needs of consumers.
Continue reading 'PSPgo away, come again another day (when you’re done cooking)'»
I was reading a recent post from Kotaku about a short discussion at PAX about the meaning of “gamer.” My first reaction was one of shock and dismissal at some of the things that were said (not on Kotaku’s part), but on second thought I realised that there were a couple of valid points being made – even given the fact it was glaringly pro-HARDCORE-gamer.
Really, someone that only plays Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook is not someone that could be called a gamer – it has to be said. Of course, this suggests that someone that plays a single game and never anything else can hardly be called a gamer; however, even that is a precarious topic – what about the hordes of people that exclusively play WoW and nothing else? So, yes, I would agree that casual games don’t have the same amount of say in how much of a gamer someone is when compared to more traditional games. However,I’m still not sure that I would say that this casual gamer (the Facebook Bejeweled player) is not a “real” gamer.
Continue reading 'Gamer: What’s in a name?'»
Soon enough, the balance of things will shift, and a new digital revolution will begin — namely by way of digital distribution. We’ve discussed this before, yes, but it seems that things are gaining traction. Ars Technica reported that iTunes accounts for 25% of ALL music sales in the US (not just digital sales), and it has also been suggested that iTunes will replace physical media as the number one choice for music consumers as early as next year. This comes as a bit of a surprise to me – I knew things were headed this way, but I had no idea it was already upon us!
Of course, it will still be a while before digital sales take over completely. Most people still don’t have the means nor the know-how, so it’s still likely to be about 10 years away. Even so, there’s something that hasn’t really been addressed yet, which is going to have some effect on how well this is received by consumers… and that is – the organisation and management of digital goods.
Continue reading 'Our digital future – possible calamity?'»
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Since the dawn of time, humankind has argued over the merits of this versus that. In the mighty world of game, there was the Sega vs. Nintendo war of the early 90’s, the PSP vs. DS age, and more recently, the Xbox 360 vs. PS3 (and both vs. Wii) conundrum. However you may feel about any of these machines, one war that has waged in the background without waning is the war between the console and PC fans.
Themocracy