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I can't sate my Twitter addiction. I'm loathe to hit up my favorite gaming sites. I can't even allow my glance to linger on iGoogle. Why? Because PAX is in town, and I'm, well, not. Due to circumstances beyond my control, PAX is out of my reach this year. So while the hardest of the hardcore come together for a weekend of gaming goodness, I'm doing my best to avoid a jealousy-induced pity party. But, even though my non-presence at PAX is a huge loss for the entire gaming community, it got me thinking:
The PAXian legion, as I mentioned earlier, is predominately composed of so-called "hardcore" gamers. Without even being in the same state as the community-focused gaming expo, I can assure you that over 100 attendees will be clad in "Green Linen Shirt" T-Shirts, replete with armor stats and a sour tinge of body odor. Why? The answer's obvious: they're gamers -- and proud. For a number of reasons -- the medium's relative youth, alarmists' tendency to buzz about, etc. -- dedicated gamers embrace their hobby with a near religious fervor.
Sure, movies have "cinemaphiles" and literature has its bookworms, but gamers are Scientology to other mediums' group of co-workers who meet sporadically for a round of Putt-Putt. With time, I imagine our community will fragment -- genres will expand and tastes will narrow -- but for now, we're a thick stew, full of assorted meats and veggies, but still part of a cohesive whole.
So, do you call yourself a gamer? Are videogames an integral piece of your personality? Is your pride inextricably tied to your Gamerscore? Or are you just a person who happens to play games, and nothing more?
Today's Roundup is like a perfect sundae, with just enough gooey non-gamer-friendly fare drizzled over a vanilla base of terms like "ESA," "second-hand videogame sales," and "Starcraft II release date." There is a spoon, and it's after the break.
"These decisions illustrate, once again, that game piracy will not be tolerated and the extent at which these criminals will be prosecuted. The ESA and its members will continue to support law enforcement's efforts to protect the intellectual property of our industry," said Michael Gallagher, CEO of the ESA.
The red-handed duo, composed of one part Kevin Fuchs and another Kifah Maswadi, have been sentenced to eight and 15 months in prison, respectively. But before you rage indiscriminately about these acts, note that these pirates actually deserve to have cuffs dangling from their wrists.
Fuchs was a big-time "supplier" for other pirates, "reproducing and distributing copyrighted works." Meanwhile, Mawadi made over $390,000 from his slice of the scandal.
So don't light your custom-made anti-ESA torches just yet, but if your pitchforks are looking a little dull, some sharpening might be in order.
"It's actually also a very interesting discussion to ask how much cannibalisation do you really have on second-hand sales?" Asked Jens Uwe Intat, senior VP and general manager for European publishing at EA.
"That's such a complex subject, we're not going to be overly confrontational, we're going to solve it with better, more interesting and online offering going forward - and that should actually solve the whole current dilemma."
Gamestop, I believe sh**t just got real.
"I would love to do a Guitar Hero movie, if Activision would ever let me," the director told MTV. I'm trying to convince them, but why would you have a movie screw up such a huge franchise?"
"Not that I would make a bad movie," he added. "It could be about a kid from a small town who dreams of being a rock star and he wins the Guitar Hero competition. One of these dreams-[come-true] kind of concepts."
I'm ok with this. Just don't let him near Rock Band.
Nope, no Beatles or Led Zep, but plenty of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters, Jane's Addiction, Megadeth, Stevie Ray Vaughn and No Doubt.
Crazy cool-looking, totally interactive virtual pet, or a generic-looking, cardboard box-colored shooter? For Sony, it was akin to sacrificing one child to save another. Or speed up its birth. Or something.
Any bets on when it will hit?
Comments are closed on this article
orlanthrex
September 03, 2008 at 7:24am
While I hope that Blizzard releases this year, I am bettingt hat it will be next year, as they are more than likely doing a hell of a lot of work in the scenario's and game balance (the # 1 complaint in Starcraft was unit balance)
as for EA and second hand sales since they buy out any competition ruining perfectly good studio's, they will likely have to figure out the total cost of buying out gamestop!
Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn
In his house at R'lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming
Wildebeast
August 29, 2008 at 10:50am
I can't wait to hear what EA's solution for the "critical situation," is...
To my mind, particularly with console titles: Somebody bought it new, EA got paid. I've never understood why they should be paid again, if the first customer doesn't like it enought to keep it.
I'd love to get 10% of my perspective salary, just for going through the interview for a new job or promotion...
Let's all go live in that Dream World!
praetor_alpha
August 29, 2008 at 6:47am
I have a feeling that it will be "scheduled" for release in Holiday 2009, only to have it pushed back further to Insert Season Here 2010.
Caboose
August 28, 2008 at 11:10pm
my guess for the Starcraft II release date, is June 2009. It'd be a perfect summer blockbuster, with a "Limited Edition" release coming out the day of "Black Friday" for the holiday shopping season!
-= I don't want to be dead, I want to be alive! Or... a cowboy! =-
