Coffee Talk #440: A New Year, New Videogame Ringtones!

As a few of you know, I’m starting off 2012 with a new computer and a new phone. To keep the whole newness thing going (and hopefully bring me some new luck), I’ve decided to use new videogame sounds on my phone. Previously, I used…

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, Jessica Biel getting engaged (*sniff*), Brock Lesnar possibly returning to pro-wrestling, or the republican caucuses, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

As a few of you know, I’m starting off 2012 with a new computer and a new phone. To keep the whole newness thing going (and hopefully bring me some new luck), I’ve decided to use new videogame sounds on my phone. Previously, my phone had a pair of sounds from Final Fantasy VII: the fanfare riff and a piano version of “Those Who Fight”. They were fantastic as a notification sound and a ringtone, respectively, but it’s time for something new!

For 2012, I’m going with sounds from The Legend of Zelda. Right now I’m juggling three different clips for notifications. The first two are from the original game: the “secret” sound and the fanfare sound. I also have an orchestral version of the fanfare sound from Skyward Sword, but I’m digging the old-school sounds a bit more. As for my ringtone, I’m using a clip of Fredde Gredde’s excellent acoustic Wind Waker medley. (He’s selling MP3s of his various videogame covers using a name-your-price system.) May the Zeldafication of my phone bring me luck in the new year!

Any of you using videogame sounds and/or music on your phone? Want to join me in changing phones sounds in 2012?

Thanks For Playing!

Thanks to everyone that played (or chatted while the rest of us played) Scrabble and Uno on Xbox Live last night. As per my 2012 gaming resolution, I want to make sure we do these RPad.tv Invitational play sessions regularly. In a few weeks I’d like to give the PS3 a go and play some poker on PlayStation Home as per RPadholic N8R’s suggestion. I also want to hear about any suggestions you have for games. Let’s try to keep things to downloadable titles so that nobody has to go to a game store to participate.

Please leave your game suggestions for future PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 RPad.tv Invitationals in the comments section!

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

I’m going to spend the weekend packing for two trips (Las Vegas and New York) and getting ready for CES 2012. I’m sure I’ll fit in a few games of Civlization Revolution for iPad, but aside from that I plan on playing…nothing! Instead, I’ll live vicariously through you. So how about it? What’s on your weekend playlist?

Coffee Talk #439: Your 2012 Most Wanted Games List

2011 was a fantastic year for gaming and 2012 looks even hotter! What are some of the games you’re looking forward to this year? Is your list full of sequels you expect annually? Perhaps it’s a franchise that’s making a long-awaited return. Or maybe it’s something…

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, Ricky Rubio’s surprisingly strong play, choosing between Luck and RG3, or your favorite kind of pasta, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

2011 was a fantastic year for gaming and 2012 looks even hotter! What are some of the games you’re looking forward to this year? Is your list full of sequels you expect annually? Perhaps it’s a franchise that’s making a long-awaited return. Or maybe it’s something brand new and exciting. I’d love to see what’s on your 2012 most-wanted list. I’ll kick things off with some of my picks.

  • Diablo III — It’s Blizzard. It’s an action-RPG. This game will own me.
  • BioShock Infinite — I completely expect an epic story with crazy-deep gameplay.
  • Any DLC for Dragon Age II — To be totally honest, I’m more excited for more DA content than Mass Effect 3. I love all BioWare games, but I’m more of a fantasy guy.
  • Sound Shapes — Easily the PlayStation Vita gaming I’m looking forward to the most.
  • The Last Guardian — It’s Fumito Ueda’s last game with Sony and I’m hoping he goes out with a bang.
  • Final Fantasy Versus XIII — The early buzz is that this game will blow XIII away.
  • Final Fantasy XIII-2 — I like moogles. Sue me.
  • Tomb Raider — I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw at E3 2011. There’s a ton of potential with this game and I’m cautiously hoping for another great Lara Croft adventure.

Of course there’s lots of stuff I’m leaving out. Loads of my friends and colleagues are psyched for Overstrike, Grand Theft Auto V, The Last of Us, Borderlands 2, Metal Gear Rising, and more. So how about it?!? What’s on you 2012 most-wanted games list?

Nintendo Boasts Four-Million 3DS Units Sold in America

Nintendo recently sent out a press release covering its 2011 sales. I know that a few of you are under the impression the 3DS performed poorly last year. With that in mind, are you surprised to learn that the company sold four-million systems in the United States alone? Remember, Nintendo sold 2.37-million DS systems in America during its first year of availability.

Oh yeah, Nintendo sold a bunch of other things too. Here’s a clip from the press release:

Nintendo sold more than 12 million total hardware units in the United States in 2011, marking the fifth year in a row that the company has accomplished that feat. This includes more than 4.5 million units of Wii, more than 4 million Nintendo 3DS systems, and more than 3.4 million units of the Nintendo DS family of systems. This brings the installed base for Wii and Nintendo DS to 39 million and more than 51 million, respectively.

Certainly Nintendo is in a valley period at the moment, with the DS and Wii at the end of their life cycles. The 3DS is less than a year old and the Wii U is a future release, so expect the down period to continue. The two takeaways here are that Nintendo has recovered nicely from its stumble out of the gate with the 3DS and that even in a down period the company moves an impressive amount of hardware.

Any of you surprised by Nintendo’s U.S. sales figures? Did you expect the 3DS would sell four-million units in 2011?

Kris Humphries: Homophobe, Idiot, or Both?

This video of Kris Humphries — the most disliked player in the NBA — has been circulating. Some people are using it to fuel their hatred, saying that it shows his homophobic behavior. Others are saying that he’s not really being homophobic; at best he’s being ignorant and at worst he’s being idiotic. Check it out and decide (please)!

I honestly don’t think that Humphries is homophobic. Knowing what I know about reality television, I’m going to guess that a lot of this was an angle “urged” by the show’s staff. At worst, his homophobia is passive, but I’m more inclined to think that it was manufactured by the show’s writers and producers. I definitely agree that he’s ignorant and idiotic.

What’s your take? Is Kris Humphries a homophobe, an idiot, or both?

Watch Chris Jericho’s Return to WWE Raw!

Here’s a video clip of Chris Jericho’s return to the WWE on last night’s episode of Raw. It was unusual and brilliant at the same time. Let’s talk about the unusual part first. Jericho, one of the best talkers the WWE has had in the last decade, didn’t say much. He soaked up the cheers, played the crowd, and smiled in an exaggerated way. Every now and then he screamed Come on baby!!!” and “Yeah!!!”, but he didn’t say anything substantive. Everyone was expecting one of his classic promos, but it never came.

His return was just genius. He completely played the live crowd and the television audience. People are going to be tuning in next week to see what he’s all about. It was a fantastic swerve that nobody could have predicted.

While I’m sure that he was genuinely excited to perform in front of a WWE crowd again, I’m going to guess that the smiling was disingenuous as far as his character is concerned. I can see him berating the crowd next week for cheering him like a returning hero. He’ll mock them for reacting to his return that way when he thinks they’re all hypocrites, parasites, sycophants, and gelatinous tapeworms.

Then again, maybe he won’t. Jericho’s return has people wondering what will happen next and his character has an awesome unpredictability that should be milked. I don’t know where he’s going with this run, but I can’t wait to find out.

What did you think of Chris Jericho’s return to WWE Monday Night Raw?

Coffee Talk #438: Videogames That Made You Cry

Famitsu (by way of Andriasang) posted a list of videogames that made its readers cry. Several of the usual suspects made list: Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, ICO, etc. With great writing and strong…

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, Apple designer Jony Ives getting knighted, closing in on one-million miles on United Airlines, or the best kind of sausage, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Famitsu (by way of Andriasang) posted a list of videogames that made its readers cry. Several of the usual suspects made the list: Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, ICO, etc. With great writing and strong characterization, it’s not unusual for players to get emotional about deaths in videogames. Today I want to know about any games that made you cry or get emotional.

As for me, it’s definitely Crisis Core. The ending was so well done. It implemented Zack’s relationship with Aerith as well as elements from FFVII. It made the Digital Mind Wave gameplay feature powerful; throughout the game it’s used for special attacks, but at the end it’s used to show Zack’s last memories. It’s one of my favorite scenes in videogames and it hits me every time I see it.

*sniff* *sniff* I’m getting misty. Please share the games that made you cry (physically or emotionally) in the comments section. I’m going to find some tissues.

Chris Jericho Returning on Tonight’s WWE Raw?

For the last couple of months WWE has been teasing the return of a “mystery” WWE Superstar. Several sources believe that Chris Jericho will be making his return to pro-wrestling in tonight’s Monday Night Raw. What do you think? Is “the best in the world at what he does” coming back? Or will it be someone else? (I’m hoping for Festus…just kidding.)

Certainly WWE would be better with Jericho. He’s an established star that’s absolute money on the microphone and strong in the ring. Jericho setting the tone for WWE in 2012 would be fantastic. That said, the next few months are sure to be dominated by John Cena vs. The Rock. If Jericho is coming back, wouldn’t it be better to have him return after WrestleMania in a (mostly) Rock-free WWE?

Anyway, please let me know if you think the mystery WWE Superstar is Chris Jericho. If you think it is, are you excited by his return? If not, who do you think is coming back?

Best of 2011 Wrap Up

In case you missed any of the “Best of 2011” stories, here are links to your fellow RPadholics’ picks for the best game, videogame graphics, videogame sound, movie, and gadget. While you’re here, feel free to leave any “Best of 2011” choices that weren’t covered last week. From your favorite comic book, Netflix rental, TV show, sports team, coffee, fast food, WWE Superstar, and more, use this post to get 2011 out of your system (please)!