Does XBOX's 180 make it #1?

  So by now everyone has heard the news.  XBOX has reversed its decision to force all XBOX One's to check in every 24 hours, now allows all used games, and has taken away regional blocks on games.  As the masses cheered you actually could hear a small amount of sighs and grumbles under all the cheers.  These were the people that understood the cost of M$'s decision to bow down to the complaints of their "fan base". 

  The cost comes at the advancement in technology.  Originally people whined about digital music and how the crack down on Napster violated their constitutional amendments, but eventually we all accepted digital music and we moved on.  The fear mongering by people that were probably not M$ fans to begin with has cause us to lose things like loading a game on your XBOX and playing it from anywhere without the disk.  If you choose to buy the game digital you will still have this option, but gamers that like to have a disk in their collection won't be able to play without the disk.  XBOX gamers has also lost the "Steam" like sales that were promised at E3.  With more digital content and the DRM to regulate pirating console gamers could have come to experience the cost savings that computer gamers have had for years.  XBOX gamers have also lost the ability to have the Free Weekends for new games that was also mentioned.  This is not huge, but again another little perk that's being taken away.  Lastly it seems that you will not be allowed to digitally gift or share games with your friends.  This was a cool perk that will be lost and hopefully will be brought back shortly after launch.

  With all the "bad" stuff being taken away from the XBOX One does this make it the console to buy this holiday season?  In my opinion yes.  Although not for the reasons you would think.  I was afraid to buy an XBOX One because of the negative feedback and I was nervous that after I made my investment the system would be suffering from lack of sales and would not give me the games and features I wanted anymore.  Now that M$ has given into the masses that are asses I have reserved my copy with a heavy heart of what the XBOX One could have been...

USED GAMES - The Secret Wars.

  Are you mad at M$ for their used game stance?  Are you going to switch from XBOX to PS this console generation because of it?  Guess what?  You're SCREWED!  Recent articles and interviews with Sony executives don't make lines as clear cut as they were at their E3 press conference.  PS is starting to peel back the curtain now that they have been declared the winners of E3.

  So, who are the REAL bad guys?  The Publishing Companies!  Sony executives have stated, "Used games will left up to the publisher."  This means that if UBISOFT decides they are going to add a single use code to their games then PS won't stop them.  The dirty little secret in the game industry is that they all hate used games!  The only people that make money on used games are companies like Game Stop.  You have to think, M$ and PS don't lose any real money from used games, so their had to be influence from somewhere.  As I stated in previous articles there have been a number of game publishers that have gone out of business or have gone through some real financial problems in the past few years.  At $60 per game people are less likely to take a risk on a game then they would if the game was used, an the publishers make squat on used games.

  There is more to come on this never ending saga.  My advice to everyone...hold off on reserving a console for now.  There are too many secrets both M$ and PS are holding onto right now.

Vaders 2 Minutes of Hate - Always Online

  Let's start this by saying something that a lot of people are thinking, but too nice to say.  IF YOU CAN'T AFFORD HIGH SPEED INTERNET WHY THE SHIT ARE YOU BUYING A NEXT GEN VIDEO GAME CONSOLE FOR $500 AND GAME COSTING $60! 

  SO WHAT?  The XBOX One is going to be always online?  Oh dear!  How dare they!  Waa!  Welcome to technology shit heads.  You can't move forward by waiting for everyone to have the infrastructure in place and then releasing your product.  If broadband companies don't see profitability in running the high speed Internet to your area of the country THEY WON'T DO IT.  "Gamers" are so up in arms about this always on situation with the console, but what they should be doing is thanking M$ for taking a stand.  BEFORE ANYONE STARTS SCREAMING...I DON'T AGREE WITH EVERYTHING M$ IS DOING WITH THE XBOX ONE!  SO SHUT UP!  This move by M$, which I believe Sony was going to do but backed out when they saw the bad press, could result in your neck of the woods getting high speed Internet! 

  Just remember, everyone and I mean everyone though M$ was BAT SHIT CRAZY for putting an Ethernet port on the back of the original XBOX back in 2001. Hmmm...how did that work out for them.

  Big Brother?  The XBOX One is spying on you?  OH MY GOD PEOPLE!  You all carry smart phones right?  Did you notice that during the Boston Marathon bombing Google just happen to amazing create a tracking site that could find all of their phone and who they belong to?  Do you care that Apple has records of all of your iChat messages?  Do you really think that the XBOX One is the big bad that is going to invade your privacy?  GROW UP PEOPLE!  Most of us have already sold our technological souls to the devil by pressing the "I Agree" button on the software we use everyday.

  SUCK IT UP PEOPLE!  WOULD WE REALLY KNOW THE TRUE MIGHT OF THE DEATH STAR WITHOUT THE BETA TESTERS ON ALDERAAN?

- VG

Bungie Saves Online Play For Veteran Gamers

 

  Have you ever been excited to get home because you knew that you had some time to game tonight only to have it ruined by a 10 year old being a schmuck?  No, not YOUR 10 year old...the one that you ended up through current gen matchmaking.  They're a rapid virus that have spread through multiplayer and have honestly stopped veteran gamers from playing online.  Let's go through some of the annoying kids before I tell you the good news.

-  THE SINGER - yes, you have the DB's out that that think since there is a microphone in front of their face its time to turn up their radio and belt out some tunes while playing.  These annoying bastards ruin game play for other players on their teams and can sometimes cause lag issues.

-  THE VIRTUAL TOUGH GUY - These are actually my favorite at times.  You can really get them going.  When I was a bit younger a fellow gamer and I used to taunt these guys to see just how mad you could make them.  The best is when you get them so mad that their screaming and their mommy comes in to tell them to quiet down and everyone can here it!

-  THE ROMEO - These losers hear a girls voice in the room and hound them.  The best is when they immediately say "You're Hot" after the female gamer says "Hi".  During the match up they will proceed to pepper the female gamers with questions about sex.  These basement dwellers would piss themselves if a girl actually spoke to them IRL. 

  Ok, that was fun but on to the good news.  Bungie's new game Destiny revealed that they will have a new type of matchmaking that allows you to enter semi-personal information to help them match you up with players more your style.  By semi-personal information I mean age, Martial status, kids, and how often you can play.  This is a huge step forward toward recognizing that the average age gamer is 28 now and that there are a large amount of adult gamers that are missing out on the multiplayer action.  So if you are interested in giving multiplayer another try think about picking up Bungie's newest title Destiny which will release later this year for both next gen and current gen consoles.

Do We Really Need Backwards Compatibility

  With this new generation of consoles we are again asked the question do we really need backwards compatibility.  In my opinion the answer is a resounding NO.  I've been playing video games for 28 years and have owned most consoles that have been released and what I've found is that you can never really go back.  I see gamers wax nostalgic about games from previous generations and how they should really go back and play that game again because it was amazing, but when they put the game in and get past the initial AW SHIT I REMEMBER THAT they get bored by the out of date graphics and storyline.  You never really get the same experience from a game when you go back and see just how bad the graphics were at the time.

  A great example of just how much games graphics change from generation to generation is Halo Anniversary.  If you pressed the Y button while in game play you would revert back to original Halo graphics and you see just how accustom you've become to this generations graphics.  Halo Anniversary sold plenty of games because people wanted to relive the games they love, but with the graphics they are used to now.  HD remastering of games is a clear example of what I'm talking about here.  They HD reboots actually sell pretty well and are a niche that some of the older game companies can cash in on for a short period of time. 

  My last point about backwards compatibility and this generation is this...NO ONE IS FORCING YOU TO GET RID OF YOUR CURRENT GEN CONSOLE!  Oh, what?  You want to trade it in so you can get money of the next gen console?  Waa!  To Freakin bad.  Don't complain when you are the person getting rid of the system that plays the games you want to keep.  If you really are worried about the price of this next gen console maybe you should be dropping $400 or $500 on a new NICE TO HAVE.  To many people have forgotten what the difference is between a NEED and a WANT. 

...AND THE CONSOLE WAR BEGINS

  So, E3 has ended and I've been trying to wrap my mind around this whole next gen console "war".  First, I must say that I hope this "war" is more like America's war on drugs than say the first "Gulf War".  No gamer in thier right mind should hope for a winner that irradicates the compitition and make thier system the superior console.  This is not healthy for the game industry and althought it might justify some gamers fanboy dreams it will eventually cause all gamers to suffer.  Instead what we should be doing is rooting on the newcomers and understanding that this is the first generation where each system really is offering some unique aspects.

  So, first lets take a wack at what everyone is talking about PS4 vs XBOX One.  PS4 has really dominated the PR aspects of this battle so far.  They seem to have learned from the PS3 launch mistakes and are really taking it to XBOX.  First, the are PRO GAMER!  Did you know that?  They have said it about 450 times in thier press briefings along with throwing some real digs at XBOX's used games and online on policies.  They even has a slide that said something to the effect of  do whatever the hell you want with the games once you buy them, thier yours.  I'm sure this is EXACTLY what gamers wanted to hear, but not really what game publishers wanted to hear.  This is where this whole arguements gets sticky.  The public thinks that game companies have all kinds of money and they are not the ones shelling out the $60 per game they buy, but what they are missing is that their are so many great small and once large game publishers going out of business each year.  If we don't find a way to either have gamers buy more games or come up with a suplimental form of income for these companies we will eventually end up with EA, UBISOFT, and ACTIVISION along with MS, SONY, and NINTENDO's self published titles.  There has to be a way where a $5 billion industry can find a happy median between gamers and the publishers and I truely believe XBOX got caught in the middle of this battle. 

  Next, I'm not sure what was missing more from this E3 Nintendo's briefing or launch dates for all the good looking Nintendo games that supposed to be coming out.  After watching Nintendo "briefing" that aired on Nintendo Direct all reporter could say was "What?"  Nintendo talked about sequels to games like The Adventures of Link and Super Smash Bros, but they said they would be coming out in 2014.  Would'nt you think that a next generation console that can't outsell current gen consoles be rushing products to the market?  Apparently Nintendo has an amazing booth at E3, but reports left confused by thier lack of commitment to dates.  I feel like walking up to Morimoto and shaking him saying "WHAT DID YOU DO TO THE NINTENDO I GREW UP LOVING??"  I remember Christmas of 1986 getting my NES and playing the shit out of that system.  I would acutally leave the game on pause when my parents would take me out somewhere just so I could come back and continue from where I was when I left.  Lets put it this way.  I just found my NES when cleaning my sisters garage and was so excited to play it again.  Why can't Nintendo bring that back!  COME ON NINTENDO!  As much as I hate on Nintendo it's only because I'm hurt that you fell so far from grace and I really want you to smash the competition.

  This next gen is so filled with potential that we will be talking about the what if's and the can you imagines until launch.  Lets just say game on everyone...