Category: Videogames

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, Verve’s Costa Rica Don Mayo, which NBA team made the best deadline trade, or throwing rocks at people waiting in line for the new iPad, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

The other day an old colleague posted a very angry tweet about Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter. I was actually surprised by his anger. My friend has worked in videogames for quite some time, with staff positions at G4 and IGN. It’s one thing for people that read videogame-enthusiast publications to get upset about Pachter, but it surprises me when people inside the business give him heat about some of the things he says.

Before I explain all that, keep in mind that I like Michael a lot. He’s cool and fun and smart. He might be the highest-paid person I know that can talk to (a scrub like) me about videogames, WWE, and gaming United Airlines frequent flyer program. I completely admit my bias and will gladly defend Pachter’s honor.

Having said that, I totally understand why readers and viewers get mad at him. Some of his predictions are flat-out wrong. Some of the things he says are outlandish. He likes to talk to the press…a lot. Sometimes I get the impression that he enjoys stirring the pot just to see the reactions he’ll get. He’s the most quoted financial analyst that covers games. If you’re judging him based off of his quotes, then yeah, I can see why you’d have heat with him.

However, if you thought about his actual job was and what he actually gets paid to do then you wouldn’t take the Michael Pachter “persona” so seriously.  Just take a peak at the Wedbush corporate site. I don’t see a section that says, “We specialize in riling up fanboys by making bold and sometimes completely wrong predictions to the press.” He’s an analyst! He crunches numbers, sifts through data, writes investor advice, and makes decisions that affect a lot of money. (Yes, I totally simplified his job for the sake of brevity.)

Personally, I find it amusing that so many readers and viewers “hate” Pachter. I’m sure he finds it funny too. When someone with my colleague’s experience has an issue with him, it’s surprising. Perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised. Maybe a lot of people inside and outside of the business think that quoted Pachter and working Pachter are the same guy. *shrug*

I’m sure you’ve read a lot of Michael Pachter quotes over the years. I know that a few of you follow him on Twitter. Out of curiosity, what do you think of him and the things he says?

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, Verve’s El Salvador Izote, the Windows 8 consumer preview, or rooting for Heejun Han, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

I’ve been reading a lot of complaints about the “Sazh: Heads or Tails” DLC for Final Fantasy XIII-2. I totally understand people not liking the story elements or not digging Sazh, but I don’t see how people can criticize it for being a poor value. For $4.99 you get some cute touchscenes, two casino games, and a character crystal that can be used for the whole game. While I enjoyed the story (not enough single-father-as-the-hero angles in gaming), being able to get Sazh as a support character was more than worth the $4.99. He’s one of the best synergists in the game!

Seeing all the whiners complain about the DLC made me think about how DLC value is measured. Obviously it’s very subjective, but the medium is so new that publishers are still learning how much digital add-ons are worth to gamers. For story-driven add-ons, how many hours of gameplay do you expect from DLC? What’s the right price for in-game outfits? What factors do you use in determining whether or not a certain batch of DLC is worth your money?

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, Ryan Braun being guilty or innocent, the American Idol top 25, or Powerfox & Ponymane, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

I’m loving Final Fantasy XIII-2. I’m going to end up playing it way longer than I expected. Part of it is because I’m anxiously awaiting next week’s DLC (Sazh is cool and Serah in a bikini is cooler), but the bigger part is that I love how monsters are handled. In many ways, it’s similar to Pokemon. I’ve played over 1,000 hours of Pokemon, so this facet of the XIII-2 is immensely appealing. I’ve spent hours catching monsters, looking for components to level up monsters, infusing monsters to increase their powers, and more. Hunting  and training monsters in XIII-2 gives me the same type of enjoyment as hunting, breeding, and EV training monsters in Pokemon.

In fact, I’ve spent roughly 65 percent of my game time focusing on monsters and only 35 percent on progressing the story. The monster system is so good that I’d be perfectly content just catching, training, and fighting monsters. (And yes, I want the DLC because the game will be 37 percent more fun playing as Serah in a bikini). While I’m definitely enjoying the game as a whole, I’m enjoying this aspect of the game more than the entire game.

Has this ever happened to you? I remember a few of you being hooked on gambling minigames. Have you enjoyed a sub-game, minigame, or ancillary aspect of a game more than the entire game?