Category: PC Gaming

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, the Sowden Oskar SoftBrew, whether the United States congress will accomplish anything over the next two years, or Lita possibly returning to WWE for a limited run, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

I was a sore loser before I hit my late 20s. I remember chucking a Fairchild Channel F controller at my friend Russel’s face, simply because I lost a close game. I gave him a bloody nose. In high school, I was playing doubles tennis with my friend Jay. He was having a crappy day and made several unforced errors in a row. I got frustrated and hit a tennis ball at his…uh…balls.

I’ve mostly grown out of this behavior, but there are things that make me revert to being a sore loser…and even a sore winner. My biggest pet peeve in gaming is when people quit early in online multiplayer games. It truly pisses me off. This has been happening to me in Wordfeud for Android lately. Over the last three days, four people quit early on me because they were losing. It prompted me send messages like, “Pussy!” and…well, other not so nice things. It’s a little embarrassing, but I detest online quitters.

Is there anything in gaming that makes you a sore loser or a sore winner? Let’s do the group therapy thing and discuss our issues!

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, your Derek Jeter contract estimate (years and dollars, please), Stumptown’s Guatemala Finca El Injerto Pacamara Varietal, or Demi Lovato hitting the triumvirate of hotness (cute, rich, and vulnerable), Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

After reading the transcript of the Schwarzengger vs. the Entertainment Merchants Association Supreme Court case, I believe that gamers across the nation should be immensely thankful for the ineptitude of California deputy attorney general Zackery P. Morazzini. For the most part, he came across as an ineffectual litigator that got his JD from Legal Hut. For the most part, the Justices made him look silly. Here are some of my favorite quotes.

Justice Ginsburg: What’s the difference? I mean, if you are supposing a category of violent materials dangerous to children, then how do you cut it off at video games? What about films? What about comic books? Grimm’s fairy tales?

Why are video games special? Or does your principle extend to all deviant, violent material in whatever form?

Justice Sotomayor: One of the studies, the Anderson study, says that the effect of violence is the same for a Bugs Bunny episode as it is for a violent video. So can the legislature now, because it has that study, say we can outlaw Bugs Bunny?

There are people who would say that a cartoon has very little social value; it’s entertainment, but not much else. This is entertainment.

Justice Sotomayor: Could you get rid of rap music? Have you heard some of the lyrics of some of the rap music, some of the original violent songs that have been sung about killing people and about other violence directed to them?

Justice Scalia: I’m not concerned about the jury judging. I’m concerned about the producer of the games who has to know what he has to do in order to comply with the law. And you are telling me, well a jury can — of course a jury can make up its mind, I’m sure. But a law that has criminal penalties has to be clear. And how is the manufacturer to know whether a particular violent game is covered or not?

Does he convene his own jury and try it before — you know, I really wouldn’t know what to do as a manufacturer.

pwned.

Check out the transcript (posted below) if you have a chance. It’s hard to say for sure without hearing how the lines were delivered, but from reading it, Morazzini is surely the Glass Joe of the California Attorney General’s office. I encourage all of you to drop Zackery P. Morazzini a line to thank him for sucking.

Schwarzenegger v. EMA

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, Brian Wilson’s resemblance to Randy Savage (or Bonesaw), continuing this excellent discussion on people Justin Timberlake should sleep with instead of Bolivia Bunn, or Taylor Swift blossoming before our very eyes, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Sony announced that it will be testing an affinity program called PlayStation Rewards. According to the press release, “Everyone who participates in PlayStation Rewards has the opportunity to earn a wide range of exclusive rewards. Some examples include exclusive PSN avatars that display member status in the program, dynamic themes and PlayStation Home content, as well as the opportunity to participate in members-only sweepstakes and giveaways.”

I’m fanatical about affinity programs like Starwood Preferred Guest and United Mileage Plus (even though UAL sucks for not having a DEQM promotion this year). For some reason, I’m not nearly as interested in videogame affinity programs. Club Nintendo is pretty cool, but I’m not (yet) interested in PlayStation Rewards, Xbox Live Rewards Squad, or GameStop PowerUp Rewards. To be totally honest, part of it is because I get a lot of videogame goods for free, but part of it is that the gaming programs are kind of dull.

How about you ladies and gents? Are you into any affinity programs? How about videogame affinity programs in particular?

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, your World Series prediction, the Celtics thrashing Miami Thrice, or Bryan Danielson acing two WWE shows in a row, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

One nifty feature about e-books is the ability to borrow and lend them. This adds a social element to e-readers and takes advantage of the digital nature of e-books. Digitally downloaded games should be handled the same way. The social impact would be awesome and the borrowing/lending could be a more effective marketing tool than demos.

Let’s say RPadholic thundercracker buys a strategy RPG called Christina Aguilera’s Quest for RPad. He knows that Final Fantasy Tactics is my all-time favorite game and thinks that I’ll love Christina Aguilera’s Quest for RPad. He clicks a button on the menu screen and pushes the game to me. The next time I turn on the console, I see a notification that says I have a game available from thundercracker. I would be able to play the borrowed game for a limited time and have the option to buy it.

I’d love to see a feature like this implemented into PlayStation Network or Xbox Live. A friend’s opinion is worth more than any reviewer’s. Plus pushing games to friends would be fun. I hate to use modern buzzwords, but it would add a “social discovery” element to gaming. What do you think? Would you use something like the borrowing/lending scheme I mentioned? Would you want something different? Do you think publishers would go for borrowing and lending?