Category: PC Gaming

Steve Jobs Was Pissed Off When Microsoft Bought Bungie

Former Microsoft vice president Ed Fries told Develop a fantastic story about how Apple CEO Steve Jobs was pissed off when Microsoft acquired Bungie. Apparently His Royal Worshipfulness High Master Steve phoned up Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and unleashed the wrath of Jobs. Here are the details from Fries:

As soon as we announced we bought Bungie, Steve Jobs called. He was mad at Ballmer and phoned him up and was angry because we’d just bought the premier Mac game developer and made them an Xbox developer.

So, during the day, I got an email from Steve Ballmer asking me to phone Steve Jobs and calm him down about the whole thing. Anyway, we did this deal with Apple where we’d port some PC games to the Macintosh and help Peter Tamte create this company to do it, and I had to go to a Mac developer conference and get on stage and talk about this whole new partnership. It was a pretty strange time.

Man, that conversation must have been awesome. Both Jobs and Ballmer have tempestuous personalities, so it must have taken a lot for Ballmer to back down and ask Fries to assuage Jobs. Let’s play a game and imagine what Jobs said to Ballmer. I’ll go first. In my head Steve said something like this:

Listen you bald-headed f*ck. I don’t care if you’re in charge of Microsoft now. You’ll always be Bill Gates’ b*tch to me and you better do something to make me happy. You just took away the Mac’s best game developer. Seriously. Have you ever played Marathon?!? That’s the best thing Bungie ever did and ever will do. How the f*ck do you take that away from my glorious platform and put it on your stupid-ass game-box, which — by the way — will never go anywhere. I’m going to have fun watching Nintendo and Sony rape your skull on this one.

Your turn!

Source

BlizzCon 2010 Cosplay Video

One of the coolest parts of BlizzCon 2010 was checking out all the great cosplayers. From World of Warcraft to StarCraft, the show had some of the best costumes I’ve seen at an American show. Here’s a video — along with some wise-ass commentary — featuring the excellent cosplay at BlizzCon 2010.

After you check out the vid, please let me know which cosplayer was your favorite.

(Pro tip: The resolution is pretty high, so go full screen if your PC is up for it.)

Related content:

BlizzCon 2010: World of Warcraft Cataclysm Art and Screens

With all-new zones, remade classic zones, new races, and more, World of Warcraft: Cataclysm is going to rock WoW players this December. Here are some screens and pieces of concept art from BlizzCon 2010.

With all-new zones, remade classic zones, new races, and more, World of Warcraft: Cataclysm is going to rock WoW players this December. Here are some screens and pieces of concept art from BlizzCon 2010. The deathwing, goblin, and worgen stuff is particularly cool. Check it out!

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StarCraft II Mod Screens: Aiur Chef, DOTA, Left 2 Die, Starjeweled

There were some really cool StarCraft II mods on display at BlizzCon 2010, including “Aiur Chef”, “Defense of the Ancients” (DotA), “Left 2 Die”, and “Starjeweled”. Obviously “Aiur Chef” is a spin on Iron Chef, “Left 2 Die” is a take on Left 4 Dead, and “Starjeweled” is inspired by Bejeweled. “DotA” is a really neat StarCraft take on the popular Warcraft III scenario (here we go yo). Here are a bunch of screens from all four mods. Enjoy!

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BlizzCon 2010: Diabo III Concept Art and Screens

Here are some BlizzCon 2010 screenshots and concept art for the excellent Diablo III, including a few shots of the new demon hunter class. The game had the longest lines at the show and after playing it for a few hours, I totally understand why. Diablo III is going to be the hotness!

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What Are You Playing This Weekend?

I want to play more Costume Quest, but I’m heading to Anaheim for BlizzCon 2010. Between the show, watching the Yankees in the ALCS, and doing video stuff, I’m not going to have time to play anything. I’m leaving my DS and PSP at home, so as not to be tempted by Pokemon or Final Fantasy. It’s for the best.

Instead, I will live vicariously through you! What’s on your weekend playlist?

Coffee Talk #229: What Kind of Headphones Do You Use?

Whether it’s playing games, listening to music, or watching a movie, a good pair of headphones can drastically alter your experience. Today I’m going to talk about the headphones I use and get some recommendations from you.

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, Christina Aguilera being single, your ALCS/NLCS predictions, or touchscreen phones having more bacteria than urinal handles, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Whether it’s playing games, listening to music, or watching a movie, a good pair of headphones can drastically alter your experience. Today I’m going to talk about the headphones I use and get some recommendations from you.

I’ve been using the same headphones for the last eight years and am extremely happy with my gear. At home, I use Grado’s SR125 open-ear cans; they offer incredible sound quality at an incredible price — the SR 125s sound as good or better than cans that cost two to three times as much. On the road, I opt for in-ear headsets with foam tips. The foam tips completely rule at blocking out airplane noise. My Etymotic ER-4Ps offer a perfectly balanced sound, while my Shure E4Gs offer more bass and a sound most people prefer for pop music.

What kind of headphones do you guys and dolls use?

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

I want to be playing Enslaved and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow this weekend. A bunch of my industry friends are done or nearly done with these games and their reactions are all over the place. I need to see what all the fuss is about.  The bad news is that I’m hitting the road, so no PS3 or Xbox 360 for me. Good thing I’ll have my trusty DS and Pokemon SoulSilver to keep me busy on the airplane. Plus, I want to download a new Mew and start EV training him.

How about you? What’s on your weekend playlist?

Coffee Talk #228: Game Delays That Break Your Heart

Sony has announced that Gran Turismo 5 has been delayed…again. It’s comical at this point, but I’m trying not to laugh because I have the utmost respect for Polyphony Digital. The delay got me thinking about other delays. Have you ever had your heart broken by a game delay? Was there a game that you wanted so badly that its delay crushed your soul?

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 Chilean miner saga, Gilbert Arenas faking an injury so a teammate could play, or your favorite park, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Sony has announced that Gran Turismo 5 has been delayed…again. It’s comical at this point, but I’m trying not to laugh because I have the utmost respect for Polyphony Digital. The delay got me thinking about other delays. Have you ever had your heart broken by a game delay? Was there a game that you wanted so badly that its delay crushed your soul?

Today’s Coffee Talk is another gamer therapy session. Share your sad stories and let’s try to help each other get past some painful game-delay memories.