If you are bolding stuff and ignoring others...well that's called taking something out of context. He isn't saying video games are the cause of mass murders. He says it sets people off. Other things can set people off as well (probably abuse as a child). Are they programmed to kill from the glorification of violence? It could be. While people like to belittle Dr Phil, he is more of an authority than you are or the people at Kotaku.
I don't see him calling for the ban of video games or anything like that. SO yeah, I don't think people getting riled up by this have a point.
The only way anyone could hold his opinion and not realize the err of their ways at some point would be another nut job. Any sane, rational person is going to realize that this is the same thing that always happens. The older generation is uncomfortable with something they don't understand. A person who is competant would get shot down and then realize they were wrong.
How do we know our own intelligence isn't a bunch of if/then statements? Sure, if we are presented with the same situation, we can do different things (though I would argue that it is impossible to ever have the same situation perfectly...one you experience something once, you have an experience with it, once you have the experience again, you have two, etc.). But say we are presented with the same situation and do different things...just add a random number generator and probablilty in to the statements and you can imagine ourselves as code. Very complex, very long, very ugly code...but code. Our brain just develops our if/then statements faster than a programmer can program it. The only thing lacking from the AI in most games is the ability to add more if/then statements on its own.
I guess I don't see what the big deal over what Dr. Phil said. He isn't saying violent games make these people kill. He is saying that mixing violent media with psychopaths is going to set these people off. Really, if gamers are so upset by this, they are over-reacting...probably from having to be on the defensive so much from morons like Jack.
First off, your GPs post model for how Nintendo is to make money was the same as it was for the Gamecube. They just were able to generate enough buzz with their controller and much lower price to get a high demand (and now third parties are going crazy trying to make games for them).
But what I really want to write about is the term "hardcore gamer". Somewhere people are getting confused on what that means. The people who play Zelda and Final Fantasy are not casual gamers...these are hardcore gamers. Hardcore gamers own or want to own all 3 systems and have a PC. The Wii is different in that it is designed to have a more intuitive control for the casual gamer. Really, what defines a casual gamer is how long they play. I say Zelda and FF are not for casuals since they require a longer time commitment. But a person who plays Wii Sports 3 hours a day isn't a casual gamer either. The people who play bejewled 15 minutes every few days is.
Somewhere...and I don't know where or how...hardcore got associated with college males that play FPS. While they are part of the hardcore demographic...people playing cute Nintendo games can be just as hardcore. Just sort of irritating to read that the Wii is all casual gamers and it is making inroads to the hardcore. Nintendo is doing so well because of hardcore gamers who grew up and love Zelda. Their sales are boosted by casuals who got their first taste of fun with Wii Sports and had to get one of their own.
Not insightful. This is the same knee jerk reaction all the politicians and schools are going to have. But you just can't install weapon detectors and security guards at every building on a college campus. The chances of this happening are so small it really doesn't make sense to do it. And there is always an easy way to get around it. I am not saying we need more guns or people should be allowed to carry on campus, I am just saying your soultion isn't going to work either.
PC worlds should list themselves for all the ads they shove on every page on top of the (actually, behind the) pop up ads they force you to close to read the stupid article.
Jack Thompson uses this to promote his anti-video game agenda and we are all disgusted (and rightly so). Yet we find it acceptable for people on here to push their Second Ammendment agenda. Not making any judgement on whether they are right or wrong (if someone was carrying a weapon they might have been able to stop this guy vs. if everyone was carrying weapons would gun crimes in the classroom go up thus increasing the total number of gun deaths on campus). Can't we just give our agenda pushing a break for day and just feel bad for these kids and their families? Can't we just worry how the politicians (all of them) are going to over react to this and try to push stupid laws just so they feel like they are doing something? This is another sad day we have to live through. Wake up, pull your head out of your asses, and see if there is someone around you that is showing signs that they are mentally distraught. Who knows, if one person would have helped this guy out we might still be complaining about the Imus thing.
You are comparing a single player experience with multiplayer. Your post has nothing to do with new and old as you would get the same difference if you weren't playing online.
And if you hate WoW instances and morons in CS...why are you playing them?
Because there is no way they are going to give you auto-aim in multiplayer even if you are using a controller. Think about it...it is just an input device. If they add the feature to auto-aim for the controller than KB+M players get it too.
I have no doubt there are people very good with controllers...but the precision and speed of KB+M just blows away a controller. It isn't a slight edge...it is a huge one and the top KB+M player will destroy the players using controllers.
No argument that there will be horrible players either way. I just don't think you understand how much precision you lose using a controller.
Clearly, you have a biased opinion on what a "real" person is. If people are paying $300 to play WiiSports then "real" people are stupid. You live in some bizarro world where people with consoles only game on Saturday. Even my co-workers with multiple young children find more time to game more than that. They may not play everyday...but this isn't a weekend thing either.
While this site tends to be older, the Wii's primary target is children. It is a cheap console and has more children friendly games. Are you telling me that all these kids only play on Sunday?
The problem is you are using yourself as a model of a real person and while your game buing patterns may fit in with the averages, the rest of your behavior is not typical of the single nor the married people I know nor of all the children. It is quite insulting that you even try to imply a gamer is not a real person. You might be "older", but you need to grow up.
The fact is, the person before you makes a good point. From a gamer's perspective, the Wii has a few good games that justify its purchase. But a lot of the other games it has are crap and it looks like it has a lot of crap on the horizon. After the initail fun, it is just going to collect dust until another first party title comes out for it. The 360 is currently the best purchase for a gamer in terms of number of quality games out for the console. A gamer just cares about number of good games so they can stay entertained.
Obviously, the Wii stands to be hugely profitable for Nintendo (bizzare to me how fanboys are proud of that fact, but anyways). And more casual gamers (note, they are just as much real people as gamers are) will continue to flock to it. But if you are really in to gaming and have to choose one console right now, the 360 is going to be it. Of course, a real gamer will pick up all three.
(Disclaimer: I have all 3 previous gen consoles in my house + a GBA and a DS. I own no current gen systems because I like to let the price drop a bit and get a later version of the product. Obviously, the 360 has been out a lot longer than the other systems so it logically has more games. I have no special love or hate for any of the companies or consoles)
Second Life doesn't have any real impact other than it gets articles written about it. That's enough for businesses and individuals to flock there so they can get an article written about them. But does anything significant happen there? Probably less so than IRC or IM or MySpace.
And you don't realize that weather has nothing to do with e-mail. Unless it takes out the servers you need to get your mail, then it is quite important!
The PR person for Second Life must be a Goddess. It is amazing how many articles are written about this game.
But knowing this, this really seems like a good move from these people from NASA. It is hard to get the word out about the projects you would like to work on with the community. It seems any business or university that does anything in Second Life is going to get an article written about them thus increasing interest. As irritating as it is to see another Second Life article...kudos to the guys at NASA for doing whatever they can to spread the word.
That being said, they should probably find a more efficient way of exchanging information than Second Life.
I sort of agree with you, but not really. It is true that you don't have to grind to get to level 70. You don't have to grind gold to pay for your equipment and can just do quests. But there is some truth to the game beginning at 70. Before, your main progression was to complete quest to get item and xp so you can level. When you hit 70, though, this is where you have to grind to get all of your equipment. You grind out rep, instances, raids, PvP, Arena...all of it is very repetitive. Do you have to grind? Well, no, you can quit or start a new character...but to progress after 70 it is a grind. Some people find that grind fun...other don't. Simple as that.
It just seems like everyone on here is missing the point (or at least the ones that have been modded up are). Blizzard isn't doing this to protect itself or increase its profits or anything like that. Blizzard is doing this to protect its players. While they may not be able to win this legally, people shouldn't be angry at them for doing it.
How are they helping their players? WoW Gilder's ONLY purpose is to violate Blizzard's ToS. It doesn't have some other positive use like P2P software which can be used for both legal and illegal purposes (yes, I know the ToS is not law...but hang on). WoW Gilder is profiting off of people who buy their software and the players who use it are getting banned. Many players obviously get upset that they are banned because they didn't understand what they are doing is wrong. So all WoW Gilder is doing is hurting people. Yes, it is a person's choice to do something...but if an object is out there that is only going to hurt your customers and has no benefit, you are going to try to do something to protect them.
I understand and agree with Slashdot's view about the DMCA and copyright laws. But at a certain point you have to look at the real issue here. WoW Gilder's only purpose is to profit off of lazy players at the detriment to the people who use it and others on that server. I applaud that Blizzard is trying to protect its players from WoW Gilder even though they probably are not doing it the right way. I understand Slashdot's objection to the lawsuit...I just feel that the company is trying to do the right thing here. Really, they should just write something in their software that allows them to detect WoW Gilder better and start doing mass bannings. If they are more agressive with their bannings, WoW Gilder will die just because people would be too afraid to use it.
How is that related? You say they think it is strange, but do they find it repressive? Besides, I don't know a single person who has actually waited until they were 21 to drink.
In any case, every culture is going to find something they don't like about a different culture. Even Slashdot has its own culture...and it is very anti-government control. So yes, to a typical Slashdot this is repressive. Our country is moving too much in that direction already. But hey, maybe Jack Thompson can move over there. Sounds like the Chinese government is more willing to "protect the children" from the evils of video games.
All of that is free on PSN. Why the fuck should anyone have to pay a 60 dollar a year to Microsoft? That ends up adding two to three hundred dollars to the price of the console.
Why buy games for that matter? That just increased the price of the console! Why buy extra controllers? Why pay for your electricity bill? All that just adds to the cost of the console!
They do it because it adds value to the system. So the PS3 doesn't charge for it right now...so what? The fact is that the PS3 isn't selling right now so they have to give that for free. If it was selling well, they would charge for it as well as they are providing a service. If the PS3 finally gets enough users...that is when they will add their premium package.
I am console-neutral..don't think this comes from any love of the xbox. I just don't see why other people are freaking out so much about it. 60 dollars a year is nothing to most people. If you can't afford it, don't get the service.
Well, first off, I agree with you about the groupthink here. Though, I find a lot of times when I defend the unpopular companies here, I do get modded up as long as I am stating something insightful and I am doing it in a respectful way. The one or two liners that basically say "I love x and don't like y" are the ones that are dangerous. If you are talking about Apple, you see inane posts like that modded up...if you say that about Sony, you are going to be modded down. Both are opinions and useless and thus shouldn't be moderated...but that is just how people work.
And I find it fairly amusing that your sig states you ignore AC. There are plenty of great AC comments out there and you aren't doing yourself any favors by ignoring them. A simple example would be someone who works for the company and doesn't want their name attached to their post. They could provide real insight in to the situation...but if there was no AC option, they probably wouldn't post. So while yes, people should be encouraged to register...AC exists for very important reasons and ignoring them is short sighted.
No. Learn to read. Selling gold is against the ToS. You shouldn't be selling the gold in the first place so the AH has nothing to with you being taxed on your income.
If you paid the Warrior with gold then no, of course they wouldn't have to pay taxes. But the person who sold you the gold for real life money would have to pay taxes on that.
It is really simple...I don't understand why people don't get it. You make money and you pay taxes on money. The end.
Slashdot Mirror
If you are bolding stuff and ignoring others...well that's called taking something out of context. He isn't saying video games are the cause of mass murders. He says it sets people off. Other things can set people off as well (probably abuse as a child). Are they programmed to kill from the glorification of violence? It could be. While people like to belittle Dr Phil, he is more of an authority than you are or the people at Kotaku.
I don't see him calling for the ban of video games or anything like that. SO yeah, I don't think people getting riled up by this have a point.
The only way anyone could hold his opinion and not realize the err of their ways at some point would be another nut job. Any sane, rational person is going to realize that this is the same thing that always happens. The older generation is uncomfortable with something they don't understand. A person who is competant would get shot down and then realize they were wrong.
How do we know our own intelligence isn't a bunch of if/then statements? Sure, if we are presented with the same situation, we can do different things (though I would argue that it is impossible to ever have the same situation perfectly...one you experience something once, you have an experience with it, once you have the experience again, you have two, etc.). But say we are presented with the same situation and do different things...just add a random number generator and probablilty in to the statements and you can imagine ourselves as code. Very complex, very long, very ugly code...but code. Our brain just develops our if/then statements faster than a programmer can program it. The only thing lacking from the AI in most games is the ability to add more if/then statements on its own.
I guess I don't see what the big deal over what Dr. Phil said. He isn't saying violent games make these people kill. He is saying that mixing violent media with psychopaths is going to set these people off. Really, if gamers are so upset by this, they are over-reacting...probably from having to be on the defensive so much from morons like Jack.
First off, your GPs post model for how Nintendo is to make money was the same as it was for the Gamecube. They just were able to generate enough buzz with their controller and much lower price to get a high demand (and now third parties are going crazy trying to make games for them).
But what I really want to write about is the term "hardcore gamer". Somewhere people are getting confused on what that means. The people who play Zelda and Final Fantasy are not casual gamers...these are hardcore gamers. Hardcore gamers own or want to own all 3 systems and have a PC. The Wii is different in that it is designed to have a more intuitive control for the casual gamer. Really, what defines a casual gamer is how long they play. I say Zelda and FF are not for casuals since they require a longer time commitment. But a person who plays Wii Sports 3 hours a day isn't a casual gamer either. The people who play bejewled 15 minutes every few days is.
Somewhere...and I don't know where or how...hardcore got associated with college males that play FPS. While they are part of the hardcore demographic...people playing cute Nintendo games can be just as hardcore. Just sort of irritating to read that the Wii is all casual gamers and it is making inroads to the hardcore. Nintendo is doing so well because of hardcore gamers who grew up and love Zelda. Their sales are boosted by casuals who got their first taste of fun with Wii Sports and had to get one of their own.
Not insightful. This is the same knee jerk reaction all the politicians and schools are going to have. But you just can't install weapon detectors and security guards at every building on a college campus. The chances of this happening are so small it really doesn't make sense to do it. And there is always an easy way to get around it. I am not saying we need more guns or people should be allowed to carry on campus, I am just saying your soultion isn't going to work either.
PC worlds should list themselves for all the ads they shove on every page on top of the (actually, behind the) pop up ads they force you to close to read the stupid article.
Jack Thompson uses this to promote his anti-video game agenda and we are all disgusted (and rightly so). Yet we find it acceptable for people on here to push their Second Ammendment agenda. Not making any judgement on whether they are right or wrong (if someone was carrying a weapon they might have been able to stop this guy vs. if everyone was carrying weapons would gun crimes in the classroom go up thus increasing the total number of gun deaths on campus). Can't we just give our agenda pushing a break for day and just feel bad for these kids and their families? Can't we just worry how the politicians (all of them) are going to over react to this and try to push stupid laws just so they feel like they are doing something? This is another sad day we have to live through. Wake up, pull your head out of your asses, and see if there is someone around you that is showing signs that they are mentally distraught. Who knows, if one person would have helped this guy out we might still be complaining about the Imus thing.
Sam and Max - adventure. Civ IV - turn based strategy. :)
You are comparing a single player experience with multiplayer. Your post has nothing to do with new and old as you would get the same difference if you weren't playing online.
And if you hate WoW instances and morons in CS...why are you playing them?
Because there is no way they are going to give you auto-aim in multiplayer even if you are using a controller. Think about it...it is just an input device. If they add the feature to auto-aim for the controller than KB+M players get it too.
I have no doubt there are people very good with controllers...but the precision and speed of KB+M just blows away a controller. It isn't a slight edge...it is a huge one and the top KB+M player will destroy the players using controllers.
No argument that there will be horrible players either way. I just don't think you understand how much precision you lose using a controller.
Clearly, you have a biased opinion on what a "real" person is. If people are paying $300 to play WiiSports then "real" people are stupid. You live in some bizarro world where people with consoles only game on Saturday. Even my co-workers with multiple young children find more time to game more than that. They may not play everyday...but this isn't a weekend thing either.
While this site tends to be older, the Wii's primary target is children. It is a cheap console and has more children friendly games. Are you telling me that all these kids only play on Sunday?
The problem is you are using yourself as a model of a real person and while your game buing patterns may fit in with the averages, the rest of your behavior is not typical of the single nor the married people I know nor of all the children. It is quite insulting that you even try to imply a gamer is not a real person. You might be "older", but you need to grow up.
The fact is, the person before you makes a good point. From a gamer's perspective, the Wii has a few good games that justify its purchase. But a lot of the other games it has are crap and it looks like it has a lot of crap on the horizon. After the initail fun, it is just going to collect dust until another first party title comes out for it. The 360 is currently the best purchase for a gamer in terms of number of quality games out for the console. A gamer just cares about number of good games so they can stay entertained.
Obviously, the Wii stands to be hugely profitable for Nintendo (bizzare to me how fanboys are proud of that fact, but anyways). And more casual gamers (note, they are just as much real people as gamers are) will continue to flock to it. But if you are really in to gaming and have to choose one console right now, the 360 is going to be it. Of course, a real gamer will pick up all three.
(Disclaimer: I have all 3 previous gen consoles in my house + a GBA and a DS. I own no current gen systems because I like to let the price drop a bit and get a later version of the product. Obviously, the 360 has been out a lot longer than the other systems so it logically has more games. I have no special love or hate for any of the companies or consoles)
And you the US, are gonna do WHAT about the on-line gambling issue that didn't go your way?
Blow you up? EMP your servers? We have ways.
Second Life doesn't have any real impact other than it gets articles written about it. That's enough for businesses and individuals to flock there so they can get an article written about them. But does anything significant happen there? Probably less so than IRC or IM or MySpace.
And you don't realize that weather has nothing to do with e-mail. Unless it takes out the servers you need to get your mail, then it is quite important!
:)
It's a joke, just laugh
Oh damn...my fking bad for not previewing what I wrote and seeing the <> would make my joke disappear :(
Oh, we are allowed to say it too...it just comes out as fk.
The PR person for Second Life must be a Goddess. It is amazing how many articles are written about this game.
But knowing this, this really seems like a good move from these people from NASA. It is hard to get the word out about the projects you would like to work on with the community. It seems any business or university that does anything in Second Life is going to get an article written about them thus increasing interest. As irritating as it is to see another Second Life article...kudos to the guys at NASA for doing whatever they can to spread the word.
That being said, they should probably find a more efficient way of exchanging information than Second Life.
Wow. I am impressed by both your lack of reading comprehension and the high level of your hypocrisy!
I sort of agree with you, but not really. It is true that you don't have to grind to get to level 70. You don't have to grind gold to pay for your equipment and can just do quests. But there is some truth to the game beginning at 70. Before, your main progression was to complete quest to get item and xp so you can level. When you hit 70, though, this is where you have to grind to get all of your equipment. You grind out rep, instances, raids, PvP, Arena...all of it is very repetitive. Do you have to grind? Well, no, you can quit or start a new character...but to progress after 70 it is a grind. Some people find that grind fun...other don't. Simple as that.
It just seems like everyone on here is missing the point (or at least the ones that have been modded up are). Blizzard isn't doing this to protect itself or increase its profits or anything like that. Blizzard is doing this to protect its players. While they may not be able to win this legally, people shouldn't be angry at them for doing it.
How are they helping their players? WoW Gilder's ONLY purpose is to violate Blizzard's ToS. It doesn't have some other positive use like P2P software which can be used for both legal and illegal purposes (yes, I know the ToS is not law...but hang on). WoW Gilder is profiting off of people who buy their software and the players who use it are getting banned. Many players obviously get upset that they are banned because they didn't understand what they are doing is wrong. So all WoW Gilder is doing is hurting people. Yes, it is a person's choice to do something...but if an object is out there that is only going to hurt your customers and has no benefit, you are going to try to do something to protect them.
I understand and agree with Slashdot's view about the DMCA and copyright laws. But at a certain point you have to look at the real issue here. WoW Gilder's only purpose is to profit off of lazy players at the detriment to the people who use it and others on that server. I applaud that Blizzard is trying to protect its players from WoW Gilder even though they probably are not doing it the right way. I understand Slashdot's objection to the lawsuit...I just feel that the company is trying to do the right thing here. Really, they should just write something in their software that allows them to detect WoW Gilder better and start doing mass bannings. If they are more agressive with their bannings, WoW Gilder will die just because people would be too afraid to use it.
How is that related? You say they think it is strange, but do they find it repressive? Besides, I don't know a single person who has actually waited until they were 21 to drink.
In any case, every culture is going to find something they don't like about a different culture. Even Slashdot has its own culture...and it is very anti-government control. So yes, to a typical Slashdot this is repressive. Our country is moving too much in that direction already. But hey, maybe Jack Thompson can move over there. Sounds like the Chinese government is more willing to "protect the children" from the evils of video games.
All of that is free on PSN. Why the fuck should anyone have to pay a 60 dollar a year to Microsoft? That ends up adding two to three hundred dollars to the price of the console.
Why buy games for that matter? That just increased the price of the console! Why buy extra controllers? Why pay for your electricity bill? All that just adds to the cost of the console!
They do it because it adds value to the system. So the PS3 doesn't charge for it right now...so what? The fact is that the PS3 isn't selling right now so they have to give that for free. If it was selling well, they would charge for it as well as they are providing a service. If the PS3 finally gets enough users...that is when they will add their premium package.
I am console-neutral..don't think this comes from any love of the xbox. I just don't see why other people are freaking out so much about it. 60 dollars a year is nothing to most people. If you can't afford it, don't get the service.
Well, first off, I agree with you about the groupthink here. Though, I find a lot of times when I defend the unpopular companies here, I do get modded up as long as I am stating something insightful and I am doing it in a respectful way. The one or two liners that basically say "I love x and don't like y" are the ones that are dangerous. If you are talking about Apple, you see inane posts like that modded up...if you say that about Sony, you are going to be modded down. Both are opinions and useless and thus shouldn't be moderated...but that is just how people work.
And I find it fairly amusing that your sig states you ignore AC. There are plenty of great AC comments out there and you aren't doing yourself any favors by ignoring them. A simple example would be someone who works for the company and doesn't want their name attached to their post. They could provide real insight in to the situation...but if there was no AC option, they probably wouldn't post. So while yes, people should be encouraged to register...AC exists for very important reasons and ignoring them is short sighted.
No. Learn to read. Selling gold is against the ToS. You shouldn't be selling the gold in the first place so the AH has nothing to with you being taxed on your income.
If you paid the Warrior with gold then no, of course they wouldn't have to pay taxes. But the person who sold you the gold for real life money would have to pay taxes on that.
It is really simple...I don't understand why people don't get it. You make money and you pay taxes on money. The end.