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Coffee Talk #289: What Are Your Gaming Parties Like?

ave you had videogame parties in the past? What games did you play? What’s the best food and drink for videogame parties? Did you encourage drinking and videogame driving?

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 early pick for the Super Bowl, Sid Vicious/Justice getting arrested for pot, or Intelligentsia’s excellent Toarco Jaya Sulawesi Peaberry, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

RPadholic Slickyfats has been having his friends over for videogame parties and it got me wondering about all of your game gatherings. Have you had videogame parties in the past? What games did you play? What’s the best food and drink for videogame parties? Did you encourage drinking and videogame driving?

As for me, most of my videogame parties just happen. Keep in mind that most of my friends are in the videogame business. You get a bunch of us in one place and gaming will happen. Since most of us are decades-long enthusiast-gamers, we stick to casual things like Guitar Hero and Buzz! Quiz World. Playing anything “hardcore” would be like work.

Of course my dream videogame party takes place during a “Full Moon Party” in Ko Pha Ngan. *sigh* Those are so much fun…and they’d be even better with drunken gaming!

Now it’s your turn! Share your videogame party stories (please).

Coffee Talk #288: Another Crazy Videogame Dream

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, why Taco Bell is delicious even though it’s fake Mexican food, the RPad.tv American Apparel sale, or why the hell anyone feels sorry for Carmelo Anthony, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Sorry for the late start today! I had a wacky dream about game developers. You see, I was at some fancy cocktail party (accompanied by my sidekick Zoe Flower, naturally). Some of the best developers in the world were there. BioWare’s Dr. Ray Muzyka and Dr. Greg Zeschuk were hanging around, being awesome. Double Fine’s Tim Schafer and Gas Powered Games’ Chris Taylor were cracking everyone up with their sharp jokes. It was a fantastic scene…until the incident.

As Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto was chatting it up with Konami’s Hideo Kojima, a waiter accidentally spilled a drink on Miyamoto-san. He tried to laugh it off, but the waiter kept trying to dry his face. All of the sudden, a bit of skin peeled off and it was clear to everyone that Miyamoto was actually a Terminator! The waiter screamed…and screamed even louder when all the game developers in the room peeled off their faces to reveal Terminator skulls. As the Terminator game developers proceeded to kill all the humans in the room, Zoe and I ran out a service tunnel.

So yeah! This nutty dream is why I started things late today. What do you think it means?!? Have you had any funky videogame dreams lately? Any chance that Miyamoto-san is actually a Terminator?

What I Learned From American Idol Season 10 NJ Auditions

American Idol is back with new judges Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler (Aerosmith)! Gone are the awesome Simon Cowell, the useless Kara DioGuardi, and the ineffective Ellen DeGeneres. Adding continuity and stability are everyone’s favorite dog, Randy Jackson, and Ryan Seacrest, the hardest working man in Hollywood. So what did I learn from the season premiere of AI? Check it out.

– Jennifer Lopez wasn’t what I was expecting or hoping for. She’s supposed to be this raging-bitch diva…but she was the sweet one — almost Paula-like. Hopefully this will change. I need her to have a bad day so that she can take it out on the contestants and her fellow judges. That would be immensely entertaining. Sweet J.Lo is not doing it for me at all — far too normal and polite (so far).

– Steve Tyler wasn’t what I was expecting or hoping for either. I wanted him to be “the Paula” in terms of acting drugged out and making spacey comments. Instead, he came off as a stable dude that was reasonable and having fun on the show. What the hell?!?

– Randy is…Randy. Ryan is the object of lust for millions of American housewives and cougars. I wonder if that fact disturbs him….

– As for the contestants, Robbie Rosen shall henceforth be known as Crippy Boy. This kid’s sob story is that he was in a wheelchair at age five, but he appears to be fine now. After having homeless contestants and a blind guy, Crippy Boy’s sob story comes off as week. I hope America is tough on him.

– Ashley Sullivan believes that she can bring the Liza Minelli sound back to the mainstream. She deserves support just for thinking that’s a reasonable goal. I have to admit that living in a world driven by show tunes would be pretty amusing.

– There are 15-year olds now. The one that passed seems like an annoying 15-year old. Big surprise.

– The gag auditions included an 18-year old boyscout, a woman from the Ivory Coast with a thick accent that nearly overshadowed her horrid voice, and a Japanese dude that horribly sang a horrible Miley Cyrus song while busting out Michael Jackson dance moves. Personally, I would have given the Japanese cat a pass for ironically singing a song he didn’t like and performing a passable version of MJ’s signature steps.

– There were a few cute 16-year old contestants that made me feel dirty. Brielle Von Hugel was probably my favorite. She trotted out her father that battled throat cancer for her sob story. More importantly, she sounded like every girl I’ve ever met from Staten Island.

– Overall, the show was missing Simon’s snap, but the new judges did okay. I was also disappointed that the New Jersey auditions didn’t have more people the resembled Snooki or The Situation…though I suppose that’s more of a South Jersey thing.

Nintendo Announces American 3DS Pricing and Availability

At a recent press conference, Nintendo announced that its upcoming 3DS gaming console will be available on March 27, 2011 for a price of $249.99. Industry pundits expect the 3DS to be another dominant handheld gaming system from Nintendo, but the company has more and different competition than in years past. In addition the Sony PlayStation Portable 2 (expected to be announced on January 27, 2011), the 3DS will compete with the Apple iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch.

What do you think of the Nintendo 3DS’ price (vote in the poll please!)? Will you pre-order one? Or will you take a wait-and-see approach?

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Looking at the Apple iPad Through the Old Retroscope

During yesterday’s earnings call, Apple revealed that is has sold 14.79-million iPads since the tablet computer launched in April 2010. That’s a frickin’ ridiculous amount of hardware! It’s crazy that in less than a year, the iPad has become so successful that it has eclipsed Apple’s MacBook division in terms of revenue.

I was confident that the Apple iPad would be a massive success, but I didn’t think it would be this nuts. Just for kicks, let’s take a look back at some of the comments you left in the iPad-infused Coffee Talk #115:

Personally I won’t consider this device until the 2nd generation. I don’t know what I would use it for necessarily. — smartguy

I don’t think that the first generation is anything to really write home about. Maybe the second or third generation will change my mind on this, but as I see it now it really doesn’t seem revolutionary. A giant iphone is nothing different so far other than it’s bigger. — bsukenyan

It will be a fad for some and that’s about it. — N8R

I predict it will go the way of the Apple III. — Iceman

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not trying to be all, “I told you so!” Lord knows I’ve had my share of bad predictions (hello PSP!). I’m just trying to contrast your expectations with the iPad’s crazy sales.

Obviously many of you “think differently” (*snicker*) about the iPad. Now that it has been out for nearly a year, how do you feel about Apple’s tablet? Did it turn out to be much different than you originally thought? Are you surprised by its massive success? Are you considering getting one or an iPad 2?

Coffee Talk #287: Cutting the Cable Cord with Consoles

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, who should replace Regis Philbin, HP’s upcoming WebOS press event, or if Lance Armstrong is a cheater (or not), Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

“Cutting the cord” was a popular phrase among tech nerds in 2010. The practice of cancelling cable or satellite service and relying on streaming television will become even more popular in 2011. There are several reasons for this. A lot of people are still struggling financially and it’s cheaper to go with streaming. It’s fashionable among hipster douchebags to rely on modern services. And most importantly, streaming movies and TV shows has gotten really, really good.

A person can subscribe to Hulu Plus and Netflix, as well as rent movies on Vudu, for less than the cost of cable service with a premium channel. The offerings have gotten so good that many consumers are able to watch their favorite TV shows and new movies for a fantastic price. I’m super tempted to cut the cord, but that would leave me without live HBO boxing, live WWE Monday Night Raw, and original HBO shows (Entourage, Curb) when they premiere. Streaming services have gotten pretty excellent…but they’re not quite there yet for me. (To be completely honest, I might have to cut the cord whether I want to or not. Ha!)

How about you? Are any of you considering cutting the cord in 2011? Does the combination of Hulu Plus, Netflix, and Vudu provide you with enough entertainment? Why do cable companies suck so hard? Leave a comment and let me know (please)!

Rumored Chip Specs Have Me Totally Psyched for iPad 2

AppleInsider’s repot on the rumored iPad 2 chip specs have me drooling for Apple’s next “magical” tablet computer. While a CPU and GPU bump are expected from generation to generation, the iPad 2 appears to be getting a pretty massive kick in both departments. Here are some details:

Apple’s next custom System on a Chip is expected to jump from the SGX535 (which has been used since the iPhone 3GS) to the new SGX543 graphics and video core, which is said to offer around twice the processing power at the same clock speed. The new graphics core also supports OpenCL, used to offload general purpose computing tasks on the GPU for fast execution.

A source familiar with Apple’s graphics strategy says the company will not only be upgrading its video core, but also going to multiple cores, a feature that is designed into the SGX543 design. The most likely configuration of Apple’s next custom chip is reportedly the SGX543MP2, which pairs two SGX543 cores to work as one, offering around four times the capability of the previous A4 in graphics and video tasks.

Outside of graphics, Apple will reportedly be using the multiple core ARM Cortex-A9 for general purpose processing.

There have been all kinds of rumors floating around that the iPad 2 will boast a 2048 x 1536 resolution. Those that doubt the reports cite the fact that the iPad 2 would require a serious GPU update in order to support a resolution that high. Well, if the reports pan out, here it is.

The tablet computing market will explode in 2011. While Apple has a nice head start over the upcoming Google Android, HP Palm WebOS, Windows 7, and RIM BlackBerry Playbook tablets, it still needs to work in order to maintain its dominance. The (rumored) increased power of the iPad 2 and the superior offerings of the iOS ecosystem should help it do so.

What do you think of these rumored iPad specs? Do they have you drooling too?

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Coffee Talk #286: What Was the Last Game You Loved?

Confession: I did not love a game in 2010. There were loads of games I enjoyed and really liked. Heavy Rain, Final Fantasy XIII, and Pokemon SoulSilver certainly entertained me…but they didn’t made me feel “the love”. When I say love, I’m…

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 WWE Royal Rumble going from 30 to 40 Superstars, how kinky it is that Miss America is 17, or the odds of Jessica Alba getting divorced (and forming a Super Hottie club with Scarlett Johansson), Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Confession: I did not love a game in 2010. There were loads of games I enjoyed and really liked. Heavy Rain, Final Fantasy XIII, and Pokemon SoulSilver certainly entertained me…but they didn’t made me feel “the love”. When I say love, I’m talking about games that just floor you to the point where you’re just so incredibly grateful that you’re a gamer — games that make you reaffirm your love for this hobby and feel blessed that you can enjoy this remarkable form of entertainment.

I don’t think I’ve “loved” a game since Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII. How about you? What was the last game you loved?

NPD 2010 Console Sales Figures (Flame On!)

NPD Group has released its December console sales figures, giving flame warriors some nice 2010 numbers to play with. I haven’t been able to track down the PSP year-end totals yet, but I’ll add them as soon as I do. Here are the total U.S. console sales in 2010 according to NPD Group:

Nintendo DS: 8.56 million
Nintendo Wii: 7.07 million
Xbox 360: 6.76 million
PlayStation 3: 4.33 million

While most of the numbers were lower than 2009, Microsoft had a tremendous year with the Xbox 360, selling more than 40 percent more units in 2010 than 2009. The new model combined with Kinect made the Xbox 360 a huge winner in America.

What do you guys and dolls make of the 2010 console wars (in America)?

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Coffee Talk #285: App Store Walled Garden a Plus or Minus?

Verizon’s huge iPhone 4 announcement has the tech world buzzing. One of the debates that has come up — again — is whether Apple’s “curated” approach to the Apple App Store is a strength or weakness.

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, Cafecito Organico’s Nicaragua Wiwili, the NY Yankees excellent Soriano signing, or Selma Blair becoming a MILF, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Apple has always been about offering great products that offer a superior experience. The company was never about having the most programs or getting the biggest installed base. Apple’s experiences with its past products can be seen in the “controlled” and excellent App Store. Even though I believe that the Android Market will eventually eclipse the App Store in terms of the sheer amount of apps, I also believe that the App Store will always be a better experience and lack the amount of crapware found in the Android Market. Google’s open approach will give it the numbers, but Apple’s curated approach will give it a superior user experience (it also doesn’t hurt that Google has never been great with UI). At the end of the day, would you rather have more choices or better choices?

Even though I’m an avid Android user, I can admit that the App Store will always have an edge over the Android Market (as well as the Windows Phone 7 and WebOS equivalents). I’m perfectly content with my Android apps for productivity and news, but iOS will always have better entertainment choices. This is especially true for games. I don’t want to get into the technical details of the matter, but Apple’s controlled approach actually works to its advantage in terms of games, while Google’s choices with Android have made things more difficult.

Like I said, I don’t really understand the debate from a consumer perspective. However, I’m willing to listen to other perspectives. That’s where you come in! Do you think Apple’s curated approach is a strength or weakness?