Tag: Coffee Talk

Coffee Talk #225: AT&T and Microsoft Make My Dream Come True

AT&T and Microsoft are making my console dream come true…almost. In an earlier Coffee Talk and at G4tv, I wrote about my dream of having TiVo functionality built into a console. Earlier in the year I told you about AT&T U-Verse functionality for Xbox 360 being announced at CES 2010. It looks like the team-up will kick off in November!

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 Tampa Bay Rays being punished for being rich whiners, the Minnesota Twins inability to beat the NY Yankees, or Diggable Planets, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

AT&T and Microsoft are making my console dream come true…almost. In an earlier Coffee Talk and at G4tv, I wrote about my dream of having TiVo functionality built into a console. Earlier in the year I told you about AT&T U-Verse functionality for Xbox 360 being announced at CES 2010. It looks like the team-up will kick off in November!

The annoying part is that I really want AT&T U-Verse, but the morons that made my building only wired it for crap-ass Time Warner Cable. My friends that have U-Verse say that its DVR functionality is nearly as slick TiVo’s and some of the functions are actually more advance. That makes the whole thing all the more frustrating. Grrrrr.

The good news is that this team-up sets a precedent and console companies are totally competitive. Perhaps Sony will combine its powers with TiVo (or really, just buy the frickin’ thing) and have TiVo software on the PlayStation 4? What do you think the chances are of my dream really coming true?

Coffee Talk #224: Problems with Videogame Storytelling

Today’s article is brought to you by RPadholic Iceman. Yesterday he pointed me to this IGN article on Greg Kasavin’s GDC Online talk on game writing. Kasavin, a former GameSpot editor btw, brought up some interesting points on storytelling flaws gaming. Some games are paced poorly, others rely too heavily on cutscenes, some bombard you with too much information at the beginning, and others leave too much for the end.

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 Yankees winning against the Twins (again), whether Derek Jeter is washed up, or A Tribe Called Quest, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Today’s article is brought to you by RPadholic Iceman. Yesterday he pointed me to this IGN article on Greg Kasavin’s GDC Online talk on game writing. Kasavin, a former GameSpot editor btw, brought up some interesting points on storytelling flaws gaming. Some games are paced poorly, others rely too heavily on cutscenes, some bombard you with too much information at the beginning, and others leave too much for the end.

The flawless writing in SmackDown vs. Raw 2011 aside — it’s so unfair to compare that game to others — I’d love hear about your problems with and preferences on storytelling in games. Do you like the Kojima-style cutscene-heavy way? Or do you think that’s too “wannabe movie maker”? Do you want to know as much as you can up front in case something comes along and you don’t finish the game? Or does front loading ruin things for you? Let’s talk it up on behalf Iceman and all the fantastic game writers in the business.

Coffee Talk #223: Do You Buy Complete Editions?

With Dragon Age: Origins Ultimate Editions and Grand Theft Auto IV: Complete revealed in the last week, I’ve been thinking about “collected” editions of videogames. With DLC being so new, it’s a relatively new practice to offer a disc that contains the full game and all the released online content. It’s a great value, but I don’t think I’ll ever buy one. If I’m interested in a game, I’ll snatch it up before it gets old enough to be collected. Bundling it with a bunch of DLC and other goodies isn’t enough to push me to buy a game I wasn’t sure about, no matter the value.

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 crap-ass Red Sox buying crap-ass Livepool, Intelligentsia’s Kenya Karimikui, or getting excited for an event in February 2011, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

With Dragon Age Origins: Ultimate Edition and Grand Theft Auto IV: Complete revealed in the last week, I’ve been thinking about “collected” editions of videogames. With DLC being so new, it’s a relatively new practice to offer a disc that contains the full game and all the released online content. I’m curious to see where these things go and how they’ll affect future bundles.

Complete editions are a great value, but I don’t think I’ll ever buy one. If I’m interested in a game, I’ll snatch it up before it gets old enough to be collected. Bundling games with a bunch of DLC and other goodies isn’t enough to push me to buy a game I wasn’t sure about, no matter the value. Besides, game prices almost always drop in a matter of months, so it’s not too big a deal to wait things out.

What do you think of these complete editions? Does the value appeal to you? Are there any that you plan on buying? Will this practice make you wait on buying a game?

Coffee Talk #222: Cliffy B…the Movie?!?

Lots of my friends are going nuts over The Social Network — you know, that movie about Facebook and its brilliant-but-devious co-founder Mark Zuckerberg. It’s kind of nuts that a relatively new and geeky phenomenon spawned a movie that brought together Aaron Sorkin, David Fincher, and Justin Timberlake. It’s also very cool. The next logical step, of course, is a movie about a videogame company. In the year 2015 I want to see:

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, Bryan Danielson busting out cattle mutilation last night, the Yankees blowing home-field advantage, or Shia LeBeouf vs. Frankie Muniz, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Lots of my friends are going nuts over The Social Network — you know, that movie about Facebook and its brilliant-but-devious co-founder Mark Zuckerberg. It’s kind of nuts that a relatively new and geeky phenomenon spawned a movie that brought together Aaron Sorkin, David Fincher, and Justin Timberlake. It’s also very cool. The next logical step, of course, is a movie about a videogame company. In the year 2015 I want to see:

Watching the Gears Go Round: The Cliff Bleszinski Story

I love Cliff. I think he’s a fun and fascinating man that would be a great subject for a motion picture. I also have lots of old (and possibly naughty) stories to sell the movie’s scriptwriters, which might be the only way I’ll ever make money in Los Angeles.

Seriously though, now that a Facebook movie is out, I want a frickin’ videogame-company movie! Today’s game is a two-parter. What publisher or developer would you want to see on the big screen? How about a specific game designer or publishing executive? Oh hell, let’s make this a three-parter! I’ll send out a special prize to the person that makes the most creative movie title starring Bobby Kotick!!!

Coffee Talk #221: So Psyched for Portable Gaming in 2011!!!

I’m so excited for portable gaming in 2011. The Nintendo 3DS is coming in March. Several developers are working on games for the PSP2. Apple iOS, Google Android, and Microsoft Windows Phone 7 games are going to get huge. At the very least, it’s going to be chaotic trying to cover and understand everything. At best, we will be overwhelmed by the flood of excellent portable games.

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, Intelligentsia’s Organic Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Adado, remembering to vote for WWE AJ Lee in the NXT poll, or if you’re going to see Wall Street 2, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

I’m so excited for portable gaming in 2011. The Nintendo 3DS is coming in March. Several developers are working on games for the PSP2. Apple iOS, Google Android, and Microsoft Windows Phone 7 games are going to be better than ever. At the very least, it’s going to be chaotic trying to cover and understand everything. At best, we will be overwhelmed by the flood of excellent portable games.

I realize that most of you RPadholics are home console guys, but I’d bet that most of you will do more portable gaming in 2011 than you did in 2010. There are too many capable platforms and too many potentially cool games. It’s going to be tough to ignore!

Are any of you guys and dolls as excited about the prospects of portable gaming in 2011 as I am? What platforms are you looking forward to? If you’re still not convinced handheld gaming is worth your time then I must ask you…why the hell not?!?

Coffee Talk #220: Classic Gaming Conventions That Don’t Fly in 2010

As some of you know, I’ve been playing Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light to review for another site. I’m mostly enjoying the game. It’s an old-school RPG with a job system — I love both of those things. Having said that, there are several aspects of the game that are acceptable to me as a longtime RPG player, but would probably irk the hell out of newer gamers.

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 wonderful meats at M-Grill, the excellent Lodi Vineyards Rapture Cabernet P Andy shared with me, or if you’re going to see The Social Network, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

As some of you know, I’ve been playing Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light to review for another site. I’m mostly enjoying the game. It’s an old-school RPG with a job system — I love both of those things. Having said that, there are several aspects of the game that are acceptable to me as a longtime RPG player, but would probably irk the hell out of newer gamers.

For example, there are several dungeons that are a cakewalk until the boss fight. If you don’t have the right armor and/or weapons equipped then the boss fights are super challenging at best and irritatingly impossible at worst. You can teleport back to the nearest village to get the right gear, but then you have to slog through the entire dungeon again. With all the hand holding and linearity in today’s games, I think a lot of players will find this unacceptable. Stuff like this was fine in 1993, but I don’t think it works in 2010.

Have you had any similar experiences recently? Are there any games you’ve played in the last year that use mechanics that should have been left in the ’90s? Have you played anything that’s crossed the line between classic and antiquated? Now’s the time to whine about old-school videogame conventions!

Coffee Talk #219: Will Games Get Cheaper (with Expensive DLC)?

THQ CEO Brian Farrell told CVG that games will likely be cheaper in the future, but with more downloadable content. He believes that the initial version of the game will cost between $29 to $39, but more and more features will be downloadable add-ons. He told CVG:

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, Lindsay Lohan heading to the slammer (again), United Nations delegates walking out on Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, or Katy Perry’s boobs being too saucy for Sesame Street, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

THQ CEO Brian Farrell told CVG that games will likely be cheaper in the future, but with more downloadable content. He believes that the initial version of the game will cost between $29 to $39, but more and more features will be downloadable add-ons. He told CVG:

I’m a big believer in monetising under the curve, so we capture that $29 to $39 user no matter what, and a person that wants to spend $100 on the product can do so as well. I think that’s the future of gaming — whether it’s this model or a take on the free-to-play model. It’s where our industry is going.

I’m not sure if this is where the industry is going, but I can see publishers experimenting with it in certain genres. I also see enthusiast gamers getting extremely angry about this practice…and doing nothing about it.

What do you think of this business model? Would you mind getting a stripped down version of a game for less money? Do you care that more features would have to be purchased online? Is this smart business? Or is it Kotickian?

Coffee Talk #218: The Case of the Missing Samsung Epic 4G

As some of you know, I’ve been having a devil of a time tracking down the Samsung Epic 4G that was sent to me for review. Hopefully one of you can use your Batman-like detective skills and help me figure it out. Now let’s rewind a bit. The phone arrived on August 23rd while I was in Asia. I have a FedEx door tag that says that the package was left with my building’s security desk. From there, it gets all kinds of fuzzy.

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, Powerfox & Ponymane, using a Canon Eos 60D to film developer interviews, or if there’s any video editing software for Windows that’s worth a damn, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

As some of you know, I’ve been having a devil of a time tracking down the Samsung Epic 4G that was sent to me for review. Hopefully one of you can use your Batman-like detective skills and help me figure it out. Now let’s rewind a bit. The phone arrived on August 23rd while I was in Asia. I have a FedEx door tag that says that the package was left with my building’s security desk. From there, it gets all kinds of fuzzy.

The security desk, staffed by California Protection Security Services, has the package logged in as received. The security guards keep a woefully unorganized binder that sometimes contains package information. Unfortunately, the box wasn’t in the storage room where packages are left. I checked on five different occasions and none of the security guards were able to find it.

I called and emailed FedEx for assistance. A CSR contacted the driver that delivered the package. The driver wasn’t certain, but he thought that he left the box in front of my door. Yet the FedEx door tag clearly states that the box was left with security (remember, it’s also logged as received by security). If that was the case then someone had to sign for it. For some strange reason, the tracking number says that the box was left at my front door. I asked the FedEx CSR to explain why the door tag says that the box was left with security while the tracking information says it was left at my door. She said that she would investigate further, but I haven’t heard from the company since Friday.

The management at Wilshire Vermont Station Apartments wasn’t helpful either. The first time I brought up the matter, an older lady totally brushed me off and said that they had nothing to do with packages. The second time I went, a younger lady made an effort to look for the package. After she couldn’t find it, she said that there was nothing she could do and that I should call FedEx.

I’ve yet to contact Sprint PR about this because it looks bad on my part. If Sprint tracked the package, they would see that it was left at my door (who knows if that’s what really happened). The company might think that I’m trying to pull a fast one on them. Having said that, I’m probably going to call them today and explain the situation (I wonder if the PR rep will believe me). For now, I want to know what you think happened. Please vote in the poll and explain your case in the comments section.

[poll id=”71″]

Coffee Talk #217: Who’s Your Favorite Videogame Voice Actor?

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, Intelligentsia’s El Salvador El Ausol Honeyed Pacamara, Golden Boy Promotions suing Top Rank Promotions, or how the lawsuit is horrible for (the already messed up) sport of boxing, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Today’s column was inspired by RPadholic bsukenyan’s wish for more Judi Dench in videogames. While I was terribly amused by his wish, I also wondered about your favorite videogame voice actors and actresses. At the very least, strong performances can cover up some weak scriptwriting. At best, great voice acting can truly bring a game’s story to life. As for my favorite, it’s definitely the legendary Cam Clarke.

I became a Cam Clarke fan from his work as Maximillian Sterling and (especially) Lance “Lancer” Belmont in the Robotech cartoons. As I started paying attention to acting in videogames, I noticed that his name popped up…a lot. The man has performed in more than 100 games! From Metal Gear Solid to Baldur’s Gate to God of War to World of Warcraft to Assassin’s Creed, chances are you’ve played dozens of games Clarke has acted in.

Now it’s your turn! Who are some of your favorite videogame voice actors and actresses?

Coffee Talk #216: What Was Your Favorite TGS News?

Tokyo Game Show 2010 is over and there were so many interesting happenings at the show. What was your favorite bit of TGS 2010 news? As for me, I was thrilled with Team Ico’s announcements. The new trailer for The Last Guardian is fantastic — I think I’ve watched it around 43 times already. I’m also super psyched that Ico and Shadow of the Colossus are being re-released in HD (not so interested in 3D though).

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 Miz and Bryan Danielson putting on a refreshingly old-school wrestling match last night, “Sugar” Shane Mosley’s horrific fight against Sergio Mora, or The Beatles vs. The Rolling Stones, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Tokyo Game Show 2010 is over and there were so many interesting happenings at the show. What was your favorite bit of TGS 2010 news? As for me, I was thrilled with Team Ico’s announcements. The new trailer for The Last Guardian is fantastic — I think I’ve watched it around 43 times already. I’m also super psyched that Ico and Shadow of the Colossus are being re-released in HD (not so interested in 3D though).

Now it’s your turn! Was there anything at TGS 2010 that made you especially happy, excited, or giddy (special bonus if it made you all three!)?