Sunday Housekeeping

I hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween. Now let’s get to some site updates!

– After a crummy August and September (thanks to a super secret project and a Shanghai shoot), October was a nice month for the site. In fact, it was the second-best month in the site’s brief history. Thank you all for reading, commenting, and being groovy!

– Even though traffic was up, Amazon sales for July and August were slow. September was better, largely because someone bought an Xbox through my site (thanks bsukenyan!). If you’re buying games, books, electronics, music, or movies, please consider buying from Amazon through the site. Every little bit helps keep it going. As a suggestion, why don’t you check out Amazon’s fine foods and beverages? Y’all have to eat and drink, right?

– Another way to support the site and help me promote it is by picking up some RPad.tv swag. Whether you’re showing off your awesome shirt, drinking coffee, or downing some beers, your activities will be 19 percent more enjoyable with RPad.tv swag. This has been scientifically proven.

– The video content is off to a sweet start. If you haven’t checked out my BlizzCon 2010 videos, please do so. Video content is more lucrative than written content, so each view helps. The clips have a bunch of rough spots, but they’ll get better. Hopefully with some help, I’ll be able to host some clips too! Perhaps I can even convince one of my old Reset co-hosts to do some work with me….

BlizzCon 2010: Razer Booth Visit Video

I stopped by Razer’s BlizzCon 2010 booth to get the skinny on its upcoming StarCraft II mouse, keyboard, and headset, as well as the Naga Epic MMO mouse (perfect for World of Warcraft!). Razer USA president Robert “Razerguy” Krakoff gave me the 411 on these hot products. With the customary Razer quality and precision, these gaming peripherals are fantastic for RTS and MMO fans. Check out the video and let me know if you’re interested in any of these babies (please)!

Did You Know That the T-Mobile G2 is the Sequel to the G1?

According to eWeek, the T-Mobile G2 is the follow-up to the T-Mobile G1. Take a look at this fine piece of investigative journalism:

T-Mobile, meanwhile, has just launched the G2, which is clearly intended to be the next step from the highly successful G1 phone.

Really? The G2 is the “next step from” the G1?!? What gave that away? The name?!?

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LeBron James’ New Nike Commercial = More Dickishness?

LeBron’s latest Nike commercial (posted above) is a slick piece of advertising (The Don Johnson moment was particularly hilarious). However, I think it sends the wrong message. Since his ill advised “The Decision” program, James has become the most hated man in the NBA. To me, this commercial just adds to the sense that James is a prick that’s unsure of himself. He might as well sing a “Whataya Want From Me?” duet with Adam Lambert.

Perhaps I’ve taken too many swigs of Haterade. Let me know what you think of LeBron’s Nike commercial when you have a chance.

Coffee Talk #237: What’s Your Halloween Costume?

Today’s Coffee Talk is super simple. I just want to know what you, your family, and your loved ones are wearing for Halloween. Part of it is because I think it’ll be cool to compare and contrast everyone’s costumes. Part of it is…

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 coffee grinder I want, the coffee grinder of my dreams, or this one time…at band camp, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Today’s Coffee Talk is super simple. I just want to know what you, your family, and your loved ones are wearing for Halloween. Part of it is because I think it’ll be cool to compare and contrast everyone’s costumes. Part of it is that I’m still undecided on what to wear and maybe I’ll steal one of your ideas. Ha!

I suppose it’s time for a Halloween confession too. I remember seeing someone in Greenwich Village dressed as golfer Payne Stewart for Halloween ’99. He was wearing knickers and a sweater vest, just like Stewart wore on the golf course. He was also zombified and had a propeller sticking out of his chest. The costume totally cracked me up — and still does to this very day — but I felt so guilty for laughing considering that he died on October 25, 1999.

Anyway, tell me all about your Halloween costume (please)!

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

After two weekends on the road, I’m psyched to stay home and play some games! Since it’s Halloween weekend, Double Fine’s Costume Quest seems like an appropriate choice. I’m enjoying this “RPG lite” so far. The graphics are charming and the writing is excellent. In fact, the writing is almost as good as WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011, which is my other weekend game.

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

Diablo III Preview: Hands On with the Demon Hunter

I had an absolute blast playing Diablo III at BlizzCon 2010. This action-RPG offers the excitement I love about the genre and the ridiculous polish I love about Blizzard games. Diablo III is shaping up to be one of the smoothest, deepest, and smartest experiences in the genre. At BlizzCon 2010 I spent several hours (more than I should have, to be honest) playing the single-player game with the new “demon hunter” class. This is easily going to be my favorite class.

Before I give you more details on the demon hunter, let me give you an idea of the kinds of action-RPG characters I enjoy. In Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance I loved playing as the sorceress and exploiting her ridiculously powerful ball lightning attack. In Marvel action-RPGs like X-Men Legends and Marvel Ultimate Alliance, I use characters like Cyclops, Iron Man, Ms. Marvel, and Spider-Woman — characters with awesome projectile attacks. Diablo III’s demon hunter fits into my play style perfectly.

The demon hunter plays like a projectile-hurling rogue with a bit of magic thrown in. She’s armed with dual crossbows that fire all sorts of ranged attacks. The projectiles can be imbued with various magical properties, which allow for exploding shots, slow shots, and more. The demon hunter can set traps and has the ability to jump across large distances with her “vault” ability. Obviously she’s not meant to be a hand-to-hand combatant.

Mixing and matching the demon hunter’s attacks was lots of fun. Hitting enemies with slow shots to decrease their speed, setting traps, and vaulting away as the traps blew the enemies to high heaven was one of my favorite tactics. Other times it was just fun to run-and-gun through levels. Firing off spread shots and exploding shots then jumping away for some mana recovery time was a joy. The demon hunter’s style and abilities give the action a sense of chaos; sure, my goals included killing enemies and snagging loot, but controlling the chaos added a layer of gameplay that’s not necessarily there for the other characters.

I was pretty high on Diablo III before BlizzCon. It’s Blizzard. It’s Diablo. Of course the game is going to be great. That said, playing as the demon hunter took my expectations to another level. I want to play this game (NOW! ) and I want to play as the demon hunter.

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Apple Poised to Cut Carriers Out of the iPhone Experience?

Stacey Higginbotham (no relation to Michael Hickenbottom) at GigaOm snagged a fantastic scoop on Apple working with Gemalto on future iPhone SIM-card technology. The two companies are working on making the iPhone experience easier for customers while keeping carrier involvement to a minimum. Here are the details:

It’s rumored that Apple and Gemalto have created a SIM card, which is typically a chip that carries subscriber identification information for the carriers, that will be integrated into the iPhone itself. Then customers will then be able to choose their carrier at time of purchase at the Apple web site or retail store, or buy the phone and get their handset up and running through a download at the App Store as opposed to visiting a carrier store or calling the carrier. Either way, it reduces the role of the carrier in the iPhone purchase.

Before you get too excited, keep in mind that this is aimed (initially anyway) at European customers. Unlike the American market, the mobile frequencies used in most European countries are the same. Furthermore, there’s a lot more country hopping in Europe, so it would be super convenient for customers to be able to change carriers through a simple iTunes download.

The tech has all sorts of implications. Apple is very proud of the experience it offers through the Apple Store. As far as retail experiences go, it beats the crap out of an AT&T store. This technology makes carrier stores unnecessary at best and a minor nuisance at worst. Although the tech is being aimed at the European market, there are radio chips that can handle various types (GSM and CDMA) and frequencies of mobile signals, so it’s a possibility for America as well.

Lastly, the technology has the chance to help Apple succeed where Google wussed out with the Nexus One. Although Apple is making a killing through AT&T, the structure of that relationship will change as it moves to other carriers. I’m sure Apple is concerned about the various (crappy) experiences offered by the “big four’s” retail stores. This technology would eliminate their involvement or keep it to a minimum.

I really hope this technology comes to America. The carriers have way too much stroke here and disruption is overdue. The technology being worked on by Apple and Gemalto has a chance to drastically change the market and, hopefully, make it more competitive. Or perhaps I’m being wishfully naive. What do you think?

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