Any guesses as to which gaming system you’ll use the most in 2010? Will new PS3 owners going to put major miles on their new consoles? Are Xbox 360 loyalists sticking with their systems? Maybe mobile is the way forward with the PSP, DS, and iPhone. Please vote when you get a chance!
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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 enormous sucktitude of the TSA, snow, or your first morning hangover (*snicker*) of 2010, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
Sorry for the lack of updates yesterday. This cold is totally kicking my ass. Between that and all the stairs at my parents’ house, I’m quite uncomfortable at the moment. Having said that, I’m so happy to be with my family and thrilled that it’s 2010! Last year sucked for a lot of people I know and it was pretty wretched for me. I’m glad it’s over and I’m looking forward to shaking things up in a new decade.
So let’s talk new year’s resolutions! A lot of people make them and most people don’t stick to them. I figure a gaming-specific resolution should be a breeze to keep. Ultimately, it’s about entertaining yourself and we all want to do that, right?
For 2010, my new year’s gaming resolution is to buy more games made by small, independent developers. Whether it’s for PS3, Wii, Xbox 360, PC, iPhone, or Android, I want to do more to support the indie scene. With any luck it will lead to some karmic goodwill with someone wanting to donate money to small, independent blogs. Ha!
Do you have any gaming resolutions for 2010? Leave a comment and let me know (please)! And happy new year to 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, what the hell happened to the Minnesota Vikings, WWE hyping Bret Hart’s return to Raw, or the best things to do with leftover turkey, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
By the time you read this, I’ll be on my way to Atlantic City with my family. I’m Asian, ergo gambling is in my blood. I actually spent the better part of 2001 earning money in blackjack and video poker. Although I don’t gamble as much as I used to (in casinos, life is another matter), I’ve always loved gambling and card-based minis in videogames.
Out of all the minigame distractions I’ve enjoyed over the years, my favorite would have to be Triple Triad in Final Fantasy VIII. It’s a fun card game that was great for a distraction from the RPG grind and actually had an impact on gameplay. Its simple and addictive nature proved to be so popular that several fans created downloadable versions of the game. While it’s not as exhilarating as going on a hot card-counting run at Binion’s Horseshoe, it doesn’t require a bankroll and you won’t lose money on a bad run.
What are some of your favorite gambling or card-based minigames? Let me know and I’ll try to reply from the road on my BlackBerry!
I was playing with a Nokia N900 at a small booth in Roosevelt Field Mall when I heard a most interesting conversation. A customer was interested in the N900, but wanted to stay with AT&T. At first I was alarmed that someone in NY actually wanted to stay with AT&T, but the Nokia sales rep’s words quickly knocked that thought out of my head. He told the customer that the N900 doesn’t support AT&T 3G, but a firmware update in Q1 will correct that.
The N900’s 3G radio supports the 900/1700/2100 WCDMA frequencies. This is great if you’re a T-Mobile customer, because the company’s 3G uses the 1700/2100 MHz bands. For AT&T customers — like the one curious about the N900 — the N900’s 3G radio is pretty useless since the company uses 850/1900 MHz for 3G. Nokia’s FCC filing for the N900 (PDF link) does not mention support for AT&T’s 3G frequencies.
Perhaps the sales rep was talking about an advanced type of firmware that physically changes the mobile radio in your phone (with magic nano-elves of course). Or maybe he was trying to be all hush-hush about it since Nokia didn’t mention support of the 850/1900 MHz bands in its FCC filing (how dastardly!).
Just for the hell of it, I called Nokia telesales to ask if the N900 would be able to support AT&T 3G through future firmware updates. The telesales rep told me that it’s not possible since it’s a hardware issue and not a software issue.
What do you guys and gals think? Was the Nokia funployee at Roosevelt Field lying to the customer for a quick sale? Or was he just stupid? And yes, that is a photo of the actual booth with the reps’ faces blurred out.
I was playing with a Nokia N900 at a small booth in Roosevelt Field Mall when I heard a most interesting conversation. A customer was interested in the N900, but wanted to stay with AT&T. At first I was alarmed that someone in NY actually wanted to stay with AT&T, but the Nokia sales rep’s words quickly knocked that thought out of my head. He told the customer that the N900 doesn’t support AT&T 3G, but a firmware update in Q1 will correct that.
The N900’s 3G radio supports the 900/1700/2100 WCDMA frequencies. This is great if you’re a T-Mobile customer, because the company’s 3G uses the 1700/2100 MHz bands. For AT&T customers — like the one curious about the N900 — the N900’s 3G radio is pretty useless since the company uses 850/1900 MHz for 3G. Nokia’s FCC filing for the N900 (PDF link) does not mention support for AT&T’s 3G frequencies.
Perhaps the sales rep was talking about an advanced type of firmware that physically changes the mobile radio in your phone (with magic nano-elves of course). Or maybe he was trying to be all hush-hush about it since Nokia didn’t mention support of the 850/1900 MHz bands in its FCC filing (how dastardly!).
Just for the hell of it, I called Nokia telesales to ask if the N900 would be able to support AT&T 3G through future firmware updates. The telesales rep told me that it’s not possible since it’s a hardware issue and not a software issue.
What do you guys and gals think? Was the Nokia funployee at Roosevelt Field lying to the customer for a quick sale? Or was he just stupid? And yes, that is a photo of the actual booth with the reps’ faces blurred out.
Those of us that are lucky enough to have some vacation time during Christmas and New Year’s have an excellent opportunity to catch up on gaming. Whether you’re locking yourself in your “man cave” with your consoles or catching up on PSP or DS titles while visiting friends and family, it’s game time!
As for me, I’m away from my consoles, but that’s cool because I wanted to catch up on Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
How about you guys and dolls? What are you playing until it’s time to go back to the grind?
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 blood testing controversy delaying the Pacquiao/Mayweather fight, digesting your holiday feast(s), or your New Year’s Eve plans, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
And we’re back! Well, I’m back anyway. Hopefully a bunch of you around to keep me company this week. I’m still in New York for the holidays, but I’ll be updating the site all week. The bad news is that most of the videogame business is on holiday, so nothing too exciting should happen. The good news is that you ladies and gents that read this site and leave comments are always more interesting than the news the gaming business generates.
For now, I wanted to check on your holiday gifts. I hope everyone got some cool stuff! Whether it’s gaming related or not, I’d love to hear about some of your favorite gifts.
My brother made me two CDs of Journey MP3s without the vocals. The music is from a Journey tribute band he’s in and he’s pushing me to lay some vocals down. I’m definitely going to do it as some point, but I rather have my trusty Shure SM58 around when I do it. It’s a pretty cool gift that takes my karaoke habit to a new level. Ha! (And yes, the video above is from one of his other bands, not the Journey tribute band.)
While I practice “Stone in Love” and “Faithfully” all day, I’d love to read about some of your favorite presents this year. Leave ’em in the comments section (please)!
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, Javier Vazquez returning to the NY Yankees, the taxation of indoor tanning salons, or your holiday plans, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
Unless you’re excessively rich, chances are that you didn’t buy every game you wanted in 2009. (If you are excessively rich see the donation button in the right sidebar.) Games are expensive. The economy blows. There were a lot of fantastic games released in 2009. Something must have slipped through the cracks. What’s the one 2009 release you wish you had?
For me, that’s easy — The Beatles: Rock Band
That’s just wishful and needless thinking though. I have plenty of excellent games to play and I have a bunch of video equipment that I’d like to get for the site. I’ll get The Beatles: Rock Band when it’s marked down — no rush.
Now for the important part. If you could have one game for a holiday gift, what would it be?
AnandTech’s Anand Lal Shimpi (who the hell names a site after himself…oh wait…never mind) was visited by Epic Games vice president Mark Rein and received a demo of Unreal Engine running for iPhone. Lal Shimpi wrote:
I got together with Mark Rein last week and he showed me an Unreal Engine 3 tech demo running on a 3rd generation iPod Touch. The same Unreal Engine 3 that powers Gears of War 2, running on an iPod Touch. The engine also works on the iPhone 3GS, and Mark tells me that we’ll see it on another mobile platform at CES (hmm…).
Obviously this is huge for the iPhone and iPod Touch platforms. Unreal Engine is the most popular in the business and Epic’s relationships — both with developers and publishers — are far reaching. Ultimately, I expect better looking games coming from numerous Unreal Engine licensees — companies that most enthusiast gamers are familiar with, as opposed to newcomers like ngmoco. Core gamers that are also iPhone and iPod Touch users (like many of you guys) are more likely to buy a game from a developer or publisher they know rather than a new company. Better looking games from the traditional players? I’m down! And I’m sure many of you will be too.
But wait, there’s more! Lal Shimpi also pointed out:
This isn’t a platform specific thing, it’s about bringing Unreal Engine 3 to the entire portable market.
Of course it is. Mobile processors like the Nvidia Tegra and Qualcomm Snapdragon are taking portable power to new heights. With great power comes great responsibility fantastic potential for mobile gaming. The next generation of mobile gaming devices will continue to push the envelope. Sony’s PlayStation Portable took portable graphics to a new level, but I don’t think it will be alone in the next generation. With Nintendo’s next handheld rumored to be Tegra powered, expect better looking mobile games on several platform.
Whether you’re talking about the next generation Nintendo handhelds and Sony PlayStation Portables or multifunction devices like the iPhone or Zune, mobile gaming is poised for a giant step. Naturally, to make great games you need great tools. This is where Unreal Engine comes in. For hundreds of developers, Unreal Engine is familiar and powerful. Having it work on mobile platforms like the iPhone is tremendous.
Then there’s Mark Rein’s involvement. The dude knows how to build relationships and sell his company’s engine. He’s so convincing that he once sold me time in a tanning salon. Okay, that’s not true, but I’m pretty sure he could do it.
The January 2010 issue of Playboy is looking completely awesome — it features the sexy Tara Reid (naked) and a bunch of female videogame characters (also naked). The (naked) gamer girls include Heavy Rain’s
Tara Reid has a special place in my heart and it all started at a videogame event. I’ve had a crush on her ever since I saw her throw a huge tantrum at a PlayStation 2 anniversary party in Los Angeles. Security wouldn’t let her into the after-party and she was cursing up a storm. She demanded that the hotel let her into the party or get her a limo. After a few minutes of swearing like a sailor, her limousine arrived. It was pretty hot.
