Author: RPadTV

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Coffee Talk #239: DirecTV Customers Should Rage Over G4tv

Warning: this Coffee Talk will be longer and a bit more personal than usual. As some of you know, DirecTV has dropped G4 from its lineup. Some of you are thinking that the news has me happy, but that’s not the case at all. Even though the company treated me poorly…

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Tim Lincecum making Filipino-Americans proud, the chances of Cliff Lee returning to the Rangers, or hiring Randy Moss for your kid’s birthday party, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Warning: this Coffee Talk will be longer and a bit more personal than usual. As some of you know, DirecTV has dropped G4 from its lineup. Some of you are thinking that the news has me happy, but that’s not the case at all. Even though the company treated me poorly, cost me some friends, and cost me lots of money, I still believe in what G4tv could be…but I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s take a step back and look at DirecTV’s official word as reported by Entertainment Weekly:

At this time we are no longer negotiating and we have no plans to put G4 back up. We are constantly evaluating our lineup in a new world where programming costs continue to rise at significant rates. Since G4 is among the lowest rated networks based on the latest Nielsen data, we decided that it made sense to focus on preserving programming that is more relevant to our larger customer base.

Personally I think it’s just silly posturing. Even though G4 gets a lot of flack — deservedly so — for being more about Cops reruns than videogames these days, the network has a loyal following. I’ve been a huge fan of G4 since it started. I’ve been one of the networks staunchest defenders — years before I worked there. In September 2003 I wrote a column to try to get people in the GameSpy forums to stop hating on G4 and to support it for what it could be. Here’s a clip:

Although G4 gives all of us a new way to enjoy our favorite hobby, my favorite thing about it is that it will bring new people into the fold. Television reaches a more general audience and I’m sure there will be some people watching G4 that are only vaguely familiar with the wacky world of gaming. They’ll start out on G4. Perhaps they’ll get so into gaming that they’ll go to GameSpy to get even more. And just maybe, in a year or two they’ll be trading jabs with all y’all in the Forums. So don’t be hatin’ on G4, it’s one of the reasons gaming is getting bigger than ever… and with any luck it just might spawn your favorite Forum poster a few years down the line.

I still believe in many of the things I wrote in that column. I suppose I wanted to use today’s Coffee Talk to make sure you knew two things. First, I still believe in G4, despite the crappy way I was treated. Secondly, if you’re a DirecTV subscriber I suggest you go full-on (phone, email, snail mail) and tell the company that you want G4 as part of your lineup.

And yes, this was all kind of difficult to write because there are so many other things that I want to say. Thanks for listening!

Xbox Live Deal of the Week: Blade Kitten, Risk, and Snoopy

Xbox Live Gold members have three fine games to choose from in the Xbox Live Deal of the Week. All three games have been slashed in half. Snoopy Flying Ace and Risk: Factions cost 400 Microsoft Points, while Blade Kitten has been reduced to 600.

I’m going to scrounge up some points for Blade Kitten. A lot of my friends raved about the game and I want to see what all the fuss is about. How about you? Do you want any of these half-off games?

Source

T-Mobile G2 vs. Samsung Epic 4G Video

You should watch this video because it features several images of an outstandingly beautiful woman and it compares the two best Google Android phones with a physical keyboard — the T-Mobile G2 by HTC and the Samsung Epic 4G for Sprint. Whether it’s the lovely girl or the excellent phones, please, please, please give it look and let me know what you think!

This Week’s Videogame Releases

Leading this week’s video releases is Kinect for Xbox 360. Some of you are still in denial about Microsoft’s motion-control device, but it will surely sell millions. Just accept it and move on. Naturally, a bunch of launch titles are accompanying the hardware launch, but Dance Central is pretty much the only interesting one.

Other notable releases include Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage, Dragon Ball Z: Raging Blast 2, James Bond 007: Goldeneye, James Bond 007: Blood Stone, God of War: Ghost of Sparta, Ys: The Oath in Felghana, and Patapon 3.

Any of you planning to pick up Kinect and/or any new games this week?

Coffee Talk #238: Favre’s Streak vs. Ripken’s Streak

Brett Favre received a ton of attention going into yesterday’s game, simply because people were curious to see if his streak of consecutive games played would continue. The whole thing got me thinking about another streak: Cal Ripken, Jr.’s.

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Zach Galifianakis lighting up a joint on Real Time with Bill Maher, the San Francisco Giants flushing away the Bonds era, or the worst Halloween candy ever (it’s Necco Wafers), Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Brett Favre — the NFL’s master of drama — received a ton of attention going into yesterday’s game, simply because people were curious to see if his streak of consecutive games played would continue. Dating back to September 1992, Favre hasn’t missed a game. Although he received a facebuster yesterday, he extended the streak to 292.

The whole thing got me thinking about another streak: Cal Ripken, Jr.’s streak of 2,632 games of baseball. From May 1982 to September 1998, Ripken didn’t miss a game.

Which streak is more impressive to you? Football is a contact sport and it’s easier for players to get injured. That said, baseball players play way more games and have a longer season. Certainly both streaks are a bit manufactured and went on longer than they ought to, but they’re both impressive. Anyway, kindly vote in today’s poll and discuss!

[poll id=”82″]

Sunday Housekeeping

I hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween. Now let’s get to some site updates!

– After a crummy August and September (thanks to a super secret project and a Shanghai shoot), October was a nice month for the site. In fact, it was the second-best month in the site’s brief history. Thank you all for reading, commenting, and being groovy!

– Even though traffic was up, Amazon sales for July and August were slow. September was better, largely because someone bought an Xbox through my site (thanks bsukenyan!). If you’re buying games, books, electronics, music, or movies, please consider buying from Amazon through the site. Every little bit helps keep it going. As a suggestion, why don’t you check out Amazon’s fine foods and beverages? Y’all have to eat and drink, right?

– Another way to support the site and help me promote it is by picking up some RPad.tv swag. Whether you’re showing off your awesome shirt, drinking coffee, or downing some beers, your activities will be 19 percent more enjoyable with RPad.tv swag. This has been scientifically proven.

– The video content is off to a sweet start. If you haven’t checked out my BlizzCon 2010 videos, please do so. Video content is more lucrative than written content, so each view helps. The clips have a bunch of rough spots, but they’ll get better. Hopefully with some help, I’ll be able to host some clips too! Perhaps I can even convince one of my old Reset co-hosts to do some work with me….