Exactly. And while I'm not certain that I find it insulting (as a "black" person), I can't say that I'm 100% comfortable with what they're trying to say either.
Very good description. That's pretty much exactly how I felt about it. I played for about 3 months, and my impression wasn't any different. To sum it up:
-the only cool thing you can do is mine in dangerous spots or fight the NPC pirates -To do that, you need a better ship -To get a better ship, you need gobs of $$$ -To get gobs of $$$, you need to mine -The best places to mine are in the dangerous zones and you can't really
Rinse and repeat.
Supposedly it gets easier/more fun if you get into the whole guild (corporation) mining thing, but I wasn't impressed enough to spend any more time (or money) on it.
Let's use my nephew as an example. He's had every console purchased for him by his dear mother. Never cleans his room, he's on the 5 year high school plan. Talks back to his mother, and in alot of way is just generally a dimwit. But not that he's stupid or "mentally flawed" in any way other than just being a spoiled lazy ass.
He has pretty much had gaming (and everything else) handed to him on a silver platter. I on the other hand had to do a hell of alot more work to get my gaming fix. I had to at LEAST beg and plead my parents for the resources. That then progressed to countless hours of either typing in games, or fiddling with IRQ settings, and optimizing what's loaded in memory to get the damn thing to run. Then there was the whole getting netplay to work in Quake in DOS. THAT was fun. Don't forget modem config strings and the like.
Basically, what I think the other guy was trying to say is that, before, teenagers/young people who were gamers were gamers because they actually ENJOYED GAMES. It was something they enjoyed enough to actually put some real effort into. Many (not all of course) "gamers" now, are people who just play games because there's nothing else to do, or because it's trendy/cool at school. Alot of them would just as soon watch TV or stare at a blank wall all day. There's an entire aspect of intent missing.
It's actually one way that this whole "casual gamer" thing is bad in my opinion. The "Riff-Raff Ratio" is alot higher now. Of course, that always happens to anything as it approaches mainstream.
Books are not artificially "elongated" to the extent that games are. Sure the author might add a few extra chapters here or there, but they don't force you to read chapter 7 three times in a row before you reach chapter 8. And BTW, quite a few people actually DO skip chapters in books that aren't paced well. As for movies, A movie is only about a 2 hour commitment. A game can be a 15-50 hour commitment. That's a long time compared to your two examples.
I most certainly DO have a life now and it is most certainly NOT "bullshit" as you call it. You are right about one thing though, I do think about things alot differently now that I'm older. Sure, the reflexes aren't quite as good as they used to be, but I just don't want to deal with "filler" any more. Do you know how many "ice stages" I've been forced to play through in my time? The same goes for the infamous "sand stage" and, Uh Oh! here comes the "water stage"!
You can easily go through any game system catalog and find more than a fair share of sub-par titles that are filled with just this sort of filler. The same way that every movie can't be a cowboy picture, every game can't be a stereotypical platformer (that ship sailed off years ago) or your typical FPS (that ship is getting ready to leave as we speak). The medium needs to evolve as human culture does. Games don't exist in a vaccumn. How many people do you know who be offended by SEGA's infamous "Night Trap" in 2006?
You can say that I've "payed my dues" and I'm just not willing to deal with it. I'll play a game and when I stop enjoying it, I give it away, trade it in, or just toss it in the trash. I'm no longer willing to allow developers and publishers to blow smoke up my ass while they throw another half-baked game cliche my way. It took me a long time to realize that I'm the customer, and I deserve, no DEMAND to get what I want. I'm not going to try to force anyone to make a game exactly like I want, but I'll persuade them by only buying games that I ENJOY. I'll reward them for a job well done, and the ones I don't appreciate can fall to the wayside as far as my dollars are concerned. I'm a busy man and my TIME means alot more to me than any consumer product. Games or otherwise.
Soul Calibur Resident Evil Shenmue Dead or Alive 2 Bleem! (Gran Turismo, Metal Gear, Tekken 3) Half-Life* Jet Set Radio Quake 3 Spiderman Virtual Fighter Legacy of Kane
Yeah. Just low budget shit.
There's not even that many decent REATIL titles available for the 360 yet.**
* Yeah, Half-Life was never officially released. ** Not including LIVE Arcade titles.
Basically, be weary of how trustful you are of Google is what I was trying to say. It can get us into a similar situation like we have here in the US with Civil Liberties. Once you give away certain rights/priviledges/data, you can never get it/them back. We shouldn't let Google lull us (as a public) into a false sense of Nirvana.
Microsoft used to give away free stuff. They also didn't piss and moan as much about piracy until EVERYONE started using their stuff. By then, it was too late. It was easier for midsize to smallish businesses to pay the "Microsoft tax" than to switch to alternative software/solutions.
I think some people are weary of Google because the same thing could happen again. The really scary thing is that they could be bigger than Microsoft. Google seems to be alot more creative than the Microsoft of olde.
I'll be keeping my mail, thankyouverymuch. I'll pass.
Seriously though, there isn't a single soul here who thinks GW Bush got elected because of his popularity with Non-Caucasian voters. He's in charge and he (and his administration) are the ones responsible for these "secret" changes. So, at least indirectly, that's where "white people don't have a problem with having suspicious looking brown people refused passage on a flight" comes from. Here's another way of putting it. It's quite simple actually:
GW Bush = President Colored people + Caucasian people = The People GW Bush = "Elected by the people" GW Bush = Was probably not elected by most "colored" people GW Bush = Caucasian people GW Bush = "don't have a problem with having suspicious brown people refused passage" GW Bush = Caucasian people, therefore: Caucasian people = "don't have a problem having suspicious brown people refused passage"
The key to it all is the whole GW Bush = Caucasian people part, because they elected him...
That's fine and all but technically, "being an ass" isn't against the law. Donald Rumsfeld acts like an asshole all the time, but he hasn't been hauled off to jail yet.
So you are telling me that I don't have the RIGHT to travel out of state? What if something in my state is illegal and I want to move to a state with more sane laws? What if the only doctor that can save my life is at a hospital in another state? Am I just out of luck. I don't understand your logic or what it's based on, but it scares me.
I agree that travelling by bus, plane, train, car, etc are not "necessary". But at the very least, I should have the right to walk wherever I want as long as I'm not breaking the laws of the land (killing, stealing, etc)or trespassing on private property. Unless you live in a large city, it is not really possible to travel by foot or bicycle because bicycles are not allowed on most interstate highways. Neither are pedestrians. There's no guarantee that you can get from point A to point B without illegally using an interstate highway or tresspassing on private property.
By your own words, you are demonstrating that the America we were "sold" in civics class and the America we actually received are two radically different places.
Me no chinese, just pretend like no good english. Silly racist! Me get you drops! You blame wrong guy. No chinese, pale skinny whiteboy instead. Me peepee Cokey too. kthxbye
London (AFP) Oct 24, 2004
The United States could attack Europe's planned network of global positioning satellites if it was used by a hostile power such as China, The Business weekly reported Sunday.
Most of the time, I can read most of the comments on this site and forget that I'm surrounded by a bunch of whiteboys. Then, there are the times that the sad truth comes bubbling furiously to the surface.
(Score:5, Funny)
That's just...sad. That being said, I'm certain that I will now be modded down into oblivion. Goodbye cruel world. I hardly knew ye.
Other than the fact that I had to chose from either standing out in the cold overnight to get one, or spending $100 extra on ebay (which I did), I'd say that _I_ enjoyed the launch.
I don't really believe you can blame the console shortage in any significant way on Microsoft. I blame the shortage on all my fellow Americans itching for the chance to make a buck on their neighbors. We had a whole store full of employees from one town, "employee purchasing" all of the consoles from another town just to sell them on ebay. You can't really blame that on Microsoft.
$400 is not really a bad price if you think about the actual hardware inside that box. I paid $300 to $400 10 years ago for a Sega Saturn when it first came out. That doesn't seem very steep to me. Don't get me wrong, it's not chump change, but as consoles go, I don't think it's too bad.
The extras are just that: extras. I don't NEED a headset, or a remote, or a wireless controller. I've used wired controllers for years now, I've got a headset from the original Xbox that works fine, and I already have a DVD player with a remote control. They aren't necessary at all.
You don't need an HD TV to see the improvements. I use this very same 19inch Dell LCD that I'm staring at right now. I got a VGA adapter (a first party one this time, mind you) for $40 and the 360 looks NICE on here. Sure, my screen isn't 16:9 and 3-4 feet wide, but I'm also the only gamer in my household. My wife and kids don't play. In fact, I don't even own a TV larger than 27 inches, and I've already thoroughly enjoyed the increase in graphical fidelity or whatever you want to call it. Forza Motorsport looks like crap compared to the new Need For Speed. And I haven't even played PGR3 yet. You can most certainly enjoy the Xbox360 without an HD setup.
Paying for Live is not a big deal to me. I currently pay $16 a month for WoW, which is over 3 times more that what a month of Live will cost you. I already had a current Xbox subscription, so it hasn't even costed me anything "new" yet. Additionally, they've made so many improvements to Live, that it would probably be worth a little more a month. I'm just glad they didn't jack up the price this year. And I'm NOT paying for broadband, I'm paying for movie trailers, game demos, match making, a ranking system, and even a limited VOIP system. And it's all very well integrated BTW.
Yes, fanboys, game "journalists", and rich idiots are enjoying the launch, but regular people like me are too. I like playing games, I want them to look and sound good, and I want to be able to groom my ego by playing against likeminded knuckleheads like myself. Except for the shortages, this launch seems to be pretty much like any of the other launches I've lived through since I started payin attention in the late '80s.
I think MS has a really good package here. A powerful console, an excellent online/network portal/hub/infrastructure or whatever you want to call it, and they usually release alot of games that I like. They might not make everyone happy, but they've made a serious effort. Sony and Nintendo have no choice but to deal with them.
I agree for the most part. My biggest beef with "New Games Journalism", or whatever they call it, and games journalism in general is twofold:
1)The guy in TFA is correct: Too much marketing, not enough reviewing. Most of these guys are deathly afraid of losing their place in the "video game schwag" pyramid. That's where all this "Yes Man" behavior is coming from.
2)Are all video game journalists pretentious assholes? Even this guy. I mean seriously, how frustrating is it when one of the few journalists telling the truth isn't even speaking English half of the time. I couldn't even make it all the way through the article.
Here's what I want. I want an assessment on graphics, sound, controls, storyline, and overall game play. That's it. Professional reporters use ENGLISH to let you know what's going on. That's all I'm asking for. English! If I want to read a fluffy, flowery sonnet, I'll open up a poetry book.
I never assumed that you were from the USA. I simply clarified that I was talking about the USA since I have never left the continent of my birth. I don't know how you thought I was implying that you were from the US.
I don't know how the WoW population breaks down, but I'd be willing to bet that a very significant percentage of the WoW subscribers are from the US. At least on the servers I play on because, well, they're US servers. So I guess my generalizations about my WoW server's population are, in many ways, generalizations about the "American Public".
How would you know for certain that at least some people aren't against these gold farmers because they're Chinese? There's absolutely no way you can be certain of that. Just because you dislike them purely because of their economic impact, doesn't mean that some people don't hold thier ethnicity against them.
Do you mean to tell me that you can't see at least SOME similarities between the two problems that the author is comparing. You really think that racism couldn't POSSIBLY be any more complex than that? How would you be so sure about the motivations of a member of a lynch mob anyway? Especially one from another century? I know personally, I can't really identify at all with someone who would string up another human being, well, for any reason at all. That concept is completely foreign to me, but of course not every one is like me I reckon.
I find the fact that you tacked the modifier "originally" onto your statement: "The irritation had nothing to do with their race" interesting
I also like how you indirectly associate "hate" with lynching. I guess all the people that I hate should expect me to come after them with a noose and a step stool? You can have different "shades" of hate for someone without wanting to kill them.
So maybe I'm simple like you said. Maybe I'm wrong and you were right when you said that most people dislike gold farmers ONLY because of their economic impact. I have been known to be a bit pessimistic. But I was objecting to your broad dismissal of even the possibility that there was a similarity.
So let me get this straight, unless the guy who wrote the article has first hand knowledge of Chinese Gold farmers being lynched because of them being Gold Farmers ONLY, then the whole thing should be dismissed as "cheap". There is no racism without lynchings, huh?
Phew! Apparently, at least in the USA, we killed THAT monster of a problem YEARS ago. Thanks for the update. I can go out into the world now with new confidence. Racism is dead in America because "Chinks" and "Niggers" don't get strung up any more. I think I'm going to take MY black ass outside and get me a drink from the "clean" water fountain. W00t!;)
And when did I ever say that Chinese people weren't racist? Some of the Chinese people I've met have been RACIST AS HELL, but that has no bearing on the subject at hand.
Now where's that water fountain...oh, there it goes. I'll be right back...(Shuffles off excitedly)
What's really cheap is the fact that some fifteen year old kid in his mother's basement thought that he could help himself "blend in" with his cronies by tacking the word Chinese onto the front of "Gold Farmer" to be cute, or whatever, and everyone else follows right along with it. That's what's REALLY cheap.
And YOU trying to dismiss it just because it makes you uncomfortable isn't much better. Here's a bit of news for you: Lots of people in the Good'ol US of A don't like minorities. Sure, they might not be willing to LYNCH them anymore, but that also doesn't mean that the only Black guy at the Debutante Ball doesn't have a few "hairy eyeballs" being cast in his general direction.
Maybe it doesn't apply to you, but it SURE AS HELL applies to ALOT of people in this country (USA). And you KNOW it. You being a part of the Slashdot demographic, I'm almost certain you do.
The fact is, ALOT of people (at least in the USA) think it's perfectly acceptable to use the label "Chinese" for anyone or anything that comes out of Eastern Asia:
People from Cambodia - Chinese People from Thailand - Chinese People from Japan - Chinese People from the Philippines - Chinese
And that's just rude and insensetive. You ever talk to one of those "white boys" that gets really pissy because he's "Italian" or "Irish". It's the same thing. People don't like to have their background, "cheapened" by some ignorant asshole. Especially because most of these people who complain about "Chinese Gold Farmers" ONLY "know" that they're "Chinese" because "everyone else says so".
I personally think Mr. Yee has every right in the world to be a little peeved. Anyone who has had to deal with the subtle racism that "doesn't exist anymore" in America will tell you that, sometimes they just get sick and tired of having to "Deal with it" or "Let it go". They get tired of being told their crazy, and they get tired of being dismissed as "cheap".
Racism IS a problem in this country, and until it's properly dealt with, we'll still have to put up with it when it starts to creep into the facets of our lives that aren't as close to the surface of the mainstream media pool as others, like video games.
It might not be a big problem. It might not even be a problem isolated to the USA, but calling it cheap, and waving your hand dismissively isn't going to make the elephant in the middle of the room disappear.
That's really funny and all, but seriously, people like you are the reason I can't stand hick-ass white boys. At least people that LOOK like douchebag ass whiteboys like you.
Your attitude and the fact that you have no more self control than that illustrates the fact that you will more than likely be bent over your desk and sodomized by your employer for years to come with little chance for "advancement".
Get rid of the cowboy-hat attitude, practice breathing through your mouth, and I bet most will be none the wiser. Of course, We'll all know your secret, but we won't tell anybody. We promise:)
Slashdot Mirror
Exactly. And while I'm not certain that I find it insulting (as a "black" person), I can't say that I'm 100% comfortable with what they're trying to say either.
Very good description. That's pretty much exactly how I felt about it. I played for about 3 months, and my impression wasn't any different. To sum it up:
-the only cool thing you can do is mine in dangerous spots or fight the NPC pirates
-To do that, you need a better ship
-To get a better ship, you need gobs of $$$
-To get gobs of $$$, you need to mine
-The best places to mine are in the dangerous zones and you can't really
Rinse and repeat.
Supposedly it gets easier/more fun if you get into the whole guild (corporation) mining thing, but I wasn't impressed enough to spend any more time (or money) on it.
Damnit! You beat me to it!
Let's use my nephew as an example. He's had every console purchased for him by his dear mother. Never cleans his room, he's on the 5 year high school plan. Talks back to his mother, and in alot of way is just generally a dimwit. But not that he's stupid or "mentally flawed" in any way other than just being a spoiled lazy ass.
He has pretty much had gaming (and everything else) handed to him on a silver platter. I on the other hand had to do a hell of alot more work to get my gaming fix. I had to at LEAST beg and plead my parents for the resources. That then progressed to countless hours of either typing in games, or fiddling with IRQ settings, and optimizing what's loaded in memory to get the damn thing to run. Then there was the whole getting netplay to work in Quake in DOS. THAT was fun. Don't forget modem config strings and the like.
Basically, what I think the other guy was trying to say is that, before, teenagers/young people who were gamers were gamers because they actually ENJOYED GAMES. It was something they enjoyed enough to actually put some real effort into. Many (not all of course) "gamers" now, are people who just play games because there's nothing else to do, or because it's trendy/cool at school. Alot of them would just as soon watch TV or stare at a blank wall all day. There's an entire aspect of intent missing.
It's actually one way that this whole "casual gamer" thing is bad in my opinion. The "Riff-Raff Ratio" is alot higher now. Of course, that always happens to anything as it approaches mainstream.
Books are not artificially "elongated" to the extent that games are. Sure the author might add a few extra chapters here or there, but they don't force you to read chapter 7 three times in a row before you reach chapter 8. And BTW, quite a few people actually DO skip chapters in books that aren't paced well. As for movies, A movie is only about a 2 hour commitment. A game can be a 15-50 hour commitment. That's a long time compared to your two examples.
I most certainly DO have a life now and it is most certainly NOT "bullshit" as you call it. You are right about one thing though, I do think about things alot differently now that I'm older. Sure, the reflexes aren't quite as good as they used to be, but I just don't want to deal with "filler" any more. Do you know how many "ice stages" I've been forced to play through in my time? The same goes for the infamous "sand stage" and, Uh Oh! here comes the "water stage"!
You can easily go through any game system catalog and find more than a fair share of sub-par titles that are filled with just this sort of filler. The same way that every movie can't be a cowboy picture, every game can't be a stereotypical platformer (that ship sailed off years ago) or your typical FPS (that ship is getting ready to leave as we speak). The medium needs to evolve as human culture does. Games don't exist in a vaccumn. How many people do you know who be offended by SEGA's infamous "Night Trap" in 2006?
You can say that I've "payed my dues" and I'm just not willing to deal with it. I'll play a game and when I stop enjoying it, I give it away, trade it in, or just toss it in the trash. I'm no longer willing to allow developers and publishers to blow smoke up my ass while they throw another half-baked game cliche my way. It took me a long time to realize that I'm the customer, and I deserve, no DEMAND to get what I want. I'm not going to try to force anyone to make a game exactly like I want, but I'll persuade them by only buying games that I ENJOY. I'll reward them for a job well done, and the ones I don't appreciate can fall to the wayside as far as my dollars are concerned. I'm a busy man and my TIME means alot more to me than any consumer product. Games or otherwise.
I agree with you. Don't listen to that other guy. He's just a sex obsessed, cock throttling pervert!
How the hell do you throttle a cock anyway???
Nevermind. I don't think I really want to know.
Anyway, yeah I agree. And it seems to me this whole "imbecile father" comedy bit got really popular in sitcoms in the late 60's, early 70's.
Most of Cisco's market undersands the technology and security ramifications
Yeah, but those aren't the people who sign all the checks in the IT department. At least in the "Fortune 500/1000"
Yes. Shitty titles like:
Soul Calibur
Resident Evil
Shenmue
Dead or Alive 2
Bleem! (Gran Turismo, Metal Gear, Tekken 3)
Half-Life*
Jet Set Radio
Quake 3
Spiderman
Virtual Fighter
Legacy of Kane
Yeah. Just low budget shit.
There's not even that many decent REATIL titles available for the 360 yet.**
* Yeah, Half-Life was never officially released.
** Not including LIVE Arcade titles.
No. We've learned it from our leaders.
Basically, be weary of how trustful you are of Google is what I was trying to say. It can get us into a similar situation like we have here in the US with Civil Liberties. Once you give away certain rights/priviledges/data, you can never get it/them back. We shouldn't let Google lull us (as a public) into a false sense of Nirvana.
Microsoft used to give away free stuff. They also didn't piss and moan as much about piracy until EVERYONE started using their stuff. By then, it was too late. It was easier for midsize to smallish businesses to pay the "Microsoft tax" than to switch to alternative software/solutions.
I think some people are weary of Google because the same thing could happen again. The really scary thing is that they could be bigger than Microsoft. Google seems to be alot more creative than the Microsoft of olde.
I'll be keeping my mail, thankyouverymuch. I'll pass.
Learn to read, anonymous dipshit
r manp5.asp
Personally, I try to treat everyone with the respect I expect to receive.
To paraphrase Dave Chapelle: "Oh, this irony is killing me inside."
http://www.post-gazette.com/columnists/20040127no
Chutzpah? We know you're white now :)
Seriously though, there isn't a single soul here who thinks GW Bush got elected because of his popularity with Non-Caucasian voters. He's in charge and he (and his administration) are the ones responsible for these "secret" changes. So, at least indirectly, that's where "white people don't have a problem with having suspicious looking brown people refused passage on a flight" comes from. Here's another way of putting it. It's quite simple actually:
GW Bush = President
Colored people + Caucasian people = The People
GW Bush = "Elected by the people"
GW Bush = Was probably not elected by most "colored" people
GW Bush = Caucasian people
GW Bush = "don't have a problem with having suspicious brown people refused passage"
GW Bush = Caucasian people, therefore:
Caucasian people = "don't have a problem having suspicious brown people refused passage"
The key to it all is the whole GW Bush = Caucasian people part, because they elected him...
That's fine and all but technically, "being an ass" isn't against the law. Donald Rumsfeld acts like an asshole all the time, but he hasn't been hauled off to jail yet.
So you are telling me that I don't have the RIGHT to travel out of state? What if something in my state is illegal and I want to move to a state with more sane laws? What if the only doctor that can save my life is at a hospital in another state? Am I just out of luck. I don't understand your logic or what it's based on, but it scares me.
I agree that travelling by bus, plane, train, car, etc are not "necessary". But at the very least, I should have the right to walk wherever I want as long as I'm not breaking the laws of the land (killing, stealing, etc)or trespassing on private property. Unless you live in a large city, it is not really possible to travel by foot or bicycle because bicycles are not allowed on most interstate highways. Neither are pedestrians. There's no guarantee that you can get from point A to point B without illegally using an interstate highway or tresspassing on private property.
By your own words, you are demonstrating that the America we were "sold" in civics class and the America we actually received are two radically different places.
Put this in your "Bible Gateway":/ 1853236&tid=209&tid=133
:)
http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/01/16
From the article: "We meet under the docks in Booty Bay for a bible study every Tuesday night."
Of course, it IS from landover, but you didn't say it had to be a RELIABLE article
"Accept Jesus now and get a FREE PS2!!!11!!1"
Me no chinese, just pretend like no good english. Silly racist! Me get you drops! You blame wrong guy. No chinese, pale skinny whiteboy instead. Me peepee Cokey too. kthxbye
The idea that the US would just unilaterally, without warning, turn off GPS to Europe is insane.
Are you sure???
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/milspace-04zc.html
London (AFP) Oct 24, 2004 The United States could attack Europe's planned network of global positioning satellites if it was used by a hostile power such as China, The Business weekly reported Sunday.
I'd have to agree with you there.
Most of the time, I can read most of the comments on this site and forget that I'm surrounded by a bunch of whiteboys. Then, there are the times that the sad truth comes bubbling furiously to the surface.
(Score:5, Funny)
That's just...sad. That being said, I'm certain that I will now be modded down into oblivion. Goodbye cruel world. I hardly knew ye.
Other than the fact that I had to chose from either standing out in the cold overnight to get one, or spending $100 extra on ebay (which I did), I'd say that _I_ enjoyed the launch.
I don't really believe you can blame the console shortage in any significant way on Microsoft. I blame the shortage on all my fellow Americans itching for the chance to make a buck on their neighbors. We had a whole store full of employees from one town, "employee purchasing" all of the consoles from another town just to sell them on ebay. You can't really blame that on Microsoft.
$400 is not really a bad price if you think about the actual hardware inside that box. I paid $300 to $400 10 years ago for a Sega Saturn when it first came out. That doesn't seem very steep to me. Don't get me wrong, it's not chump change, but as consoles go, I don't think it's too bad.
The extras are just that: extras. I don't NEED a headset, or a remote, or a wireless controller. I've used wired controllers for years now, I've got a headset from the original Xbox that works fine, and I already have a DVD player with a remote control. They aren't necessary at all.
You don't need an HD TV to see the improvements. I use this very same 19inch Dell LCD that I'm staring at right now. I got a VGA adapter (a first party one this time, mind you) for $40 and the 360 looks NICE on here. Sure, my screen isn't 16:9 and 3-4 feet wide, but I'm also the only gamer in my household. My wife and kids don't play. In fact, I don't even own a TV larger than 27 inches, and I've already thoroughly enjoyed the increase in graphical fidelity or whatever you want to call it. Forza Motorsport looks like crap compared to the new Need For Speed. And I haven't even played PGR3 yet. You can most certainly enjoy the Xbox360 without an HD setup.
Paying for Live is not a big deal to me. I currently pay $16 a month for WoW, which is over 3 times more that what a month of Live will cost you. I already had a current Xbox subscription, so it hasn't even costed me anything "new" yet. Additionally, they've made so many improvements to Live, that it would probably be worth a little more a month. I'm just glad they didn't jack up the price this year. And I'm NOT paying for broadband, I'm paying for movie trailers, game demos, match making, a ranking system, and even a limited VOIP system. And it's all very well integrated BTW.
Yes, fanboys, game "journalists", and rich idiots are enjoying the launch, but regular people like me are too. I like playing games, I want them to look and sound good, and I want to be able to groom my ego by playing against likeminded knuckleheads like myself. Except for the shortages, this launch seems to be pretty much like any of the other launches I've lived through since I started payin attention in the late '80s.
I think MS has a really good package here. A powerful console, an excellent online/network portal/hub/infrastructure or whatever you want to call it, and they usually release alot of games that I like. They might not make everyone happy, but they've made a serious effort. Sony and Nintendo have no choice but to deal with them.
I agree for the most part. My biggest beef with "New Games Journalism", or whatever they call it, and games journalism in general is twofold:
1)The guy in TFA is correct: Too much marketing, not enough reviewing. Most of these guys are deathly afraid of losing their place in the "video game schwag" pyramid. That's where all this "Yes Man" behavior is coming from.
2)Are all video game journalists pretentious assholes? Even this guy. I mean seriously, how frustrating is it when one of the few journalists telling the truth isn't even speaking English half of the time. I couldn't even make it all the way through the article.
Here's what I want. I want an assessment on graphics, sound, controls, storyline, and overall game play. That's it. Professional reporters use ENGLISH to let you know what's going on. That's all I'm asking for. English! If I want to read a fluffy, flowery sonnet, I'll open up a poetry book.
I never assumed that you were from the USA. I simply clarified that I was talking about the USA since I have never left the continent of my birth. I don't know how you thought I was implying that you were from the US.
;)
I don't know how the WoW population breaks down, but I'd be willing to bet that a very significant percentage of the WoW subscribers are from the US. At least on the servers I play on because, well, they're US servers. So I guess my generalizations about my WoW server's population are, in many ways, generalizations about the "American Public".
How would you know for certain that at least some people aren't against these gold farmers because they're Chinese? There's absolutely no way you can be certain of that. Just because you dislike them purely because of their economic impact, doesn't mean that some people don't hold thier ethnicity against them.
Do you mean to tell me that you can't see at least SOME similarities between the two problems that the author is comparing. You really think that racism couldn't POSSIBLY be any more complex than that? How would you be so sure about the motivations of a member of a lynch mob anyway? Especially one from another century? I know personally, I can't really identify at all with someone who would string up another human being, well, for any reason at all. That concept is completely foreign to me, but of course not every one is like me I reckon.
I find the fact that you tacked the modifier "originally" onto your statement: "The irritation had nothing to do with their race" interesting
I also like how you indirectly associate "hate" with lynching. I guess all the people that I hate should expect me to come after them with a noose and a step stool? You can have different "shades" of hate for someone without wanting to kill them.
So maybe I'm simple like you said. Maybe I'm wrong and you were right when you said that most people dislike gold farmers ONLY because of their economic impact. I have been known to be a bit pessimistic. But I was objecting to your broad dismissal of even the possibility that there was a similarity.
So let me get this straight, unless the guy who wrote the article has first hand knowledge of Chinese Gold farmers being lynched because of them being Gold Farmers ONLY, then the whole thing should be dismissed as "cheap". There is no racism without lynchings, huh?
Phew! Apparently, at least in the USA, we killed THAT monster of a problem YEARS ago. Thanks for the update. I can go out into the world now with new confidence. Racism is dead in America because "Chinks" and "Niggers" don't get strung up any more. I think I'm going to take MY black ass outside and get me a drink from the "clean" water fountain. W00t!
And when did I ever say that Chinese people weren't racist? Some of the Chinese people I've met have been RACIST AS HELL, but that has no bearing on the subject at hand.
Now where's that water fountain...oh, there it goes. I'll be right back...(Shuffles off excitedly)
What's really cheap is the fact that some fifteen year old kid in his mother's basement thought that he could help himself "blend in" with his cronies by tacking the word Chinese onto the front of "Gold Farmer" to be cute, or whatever, and everyone else follows right along with it. That's what's REALLY cheap.
And YOU trying to dismiss it just because it makes you uncomfortable isn't much better. Here's a bit of news for you: Lots of people in the Good'ol US of A don't like minorities. Sure, they might not be willing to LYNCH them anymore, but that also doesn't mean that the only Black guy at the Debutante Ball doesn't have a few "hairy eyeballs" being cast in his general direction.
Maybe it doesn't apply to you, but it SURE AS HELL applies to ALOT of people in this country (USA). And you KNOW it. You being a part of the Slashdot demographic, I'm almost certain you do.
The fact is, ALOT of people (at least in the USA) think it's perfectly acceptable to use the label "Chinese" for anyone or anything that comes out of Eastern Asia:
People from Cambodia - Chinese
People from Thailand - Chinese
People from Japan - Chinese
People from the Philippines - Chinese
And that's just rude and insensetive. You ever talk to one of those "white boys" that gets really pissy because he's "Italian" or "Irish". It's the same thing. People don't like to have their background, "cheapened" by some ignorant asshole. Especially because most of these people who complain about "Chinese Gold Farmers" ONLY "know" that they're "Chinese" because "everyone else says so".
I personally think Mr. Yee has every right in the world to be a little peeved.
Anyone who has had to deal with the subtle racism that "doesn't exist anymore" in America will tell you that, sometimes they just get sick and tired of having to "Deal with it" or "Let it go". They get tired of being told their crazy, and they get tired of being dismissed as "cheap".
Racism IS a problem in this country, and until it's properly dealt with, we'll still have to put up with it when it starts to creep into the facets of our lives that aren't as close to the surface of the mainstream media pool as others, like video games.
It might not be a big problem. It might not even be a problem isolated to the USA, but calling it cheap, and waving your hand dismissively isn't going to make the elephant in the middle of the room disappear.
That's really funny and all, but seriously, people like you are the reason I can't stand hick-ass white boys. At least people that LOOK like douchebag ass whiteboys like you.
:)
Your attitude and the fact that you have no more self control than that illustrates the fact that you will more than likely be bent over your desk and sodomized by your employer for years to come with little chance for "advancement".
Get rid of the cowboy-hat attitude, practice breathing through your mouth, and I bet most will be none the wiser. Of course, We'll all know your secret, but we won't tell anybody. We promise
And yes, I did graduate from DeVry.