Eckyman.com

This is getting out of hand.

There is a post up at GamePolitics about the bad timing of the Red Dead Stats announcement in regards to the Schwarzenegger v. EMA SCOTUS ruling. As I understand it the issue here is, there are some concerns that the recent RDR stats announcement (players have murdered over 132 million virtual characters in-game since release) may back up claims regarding violence in entertainment, which may then have knock-on effects for the Schwarzenegger v. EMA SCOTUS outcome.

Firstly, Schwarzenegger, I’ve watched you;

• Throw a steel pipe through a guys chest (Let off some steam Bennet!)
• Murder innocents without a moments pause (Sarah Connor? BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!)
• Pin a guy to a wooden pole with what appears to be a 2 foot machete (Stick around!)

In fact hasn’t most of your money come from glorifying violence in entertainment?

Yeah yeah, ok that was shooting fish in a barrel so how about this…

If the RDR stats are shocking these mouthbreathers, can someone give a ballpark figure how many virtual soldiers lives have been lost in the boardgame, Risk? Should we start making a fuss about Risk teaching our kids to invade foreign countries and become powerful wartime strategists?

I’d like to know… At what point did control pads become dangerous weapons?

I’m glad I don’t play Warcraft any more.

I’ve seen Blizzard do some questionable things over the years but this just takes the biscuit.

The first and most significant change is that in the near future, anyone posting or replying to a post on official Blizzard forums will be doing so using their Real ID — that is, their real-life first and last name

Yeah, has to be about the worst thing they could have done. As I write this, the forum thread has hit 953 pages. And it was at 942 when I started typing this post. Looks like I’m not the only one to think so.

Looking at it from Blizz’s point of view, it seems they have done this in an attempt to combat the trolls and spammers infesting the official forums. If people are forced to post under their real first/last name I guess the thinking is, they are less likely to post some racial insult or something. OK, I see the thinking, however…

Firstly, and I know this from experience, with 11 million subscribers, the portion of the playerbase that I’d describe as being “tossers” is very high. If I were still playing the game lets say, and I crush one of these “tossers” online a few times as he tries to gank me while on a mining run, or I post something reasonable on the forums but one of these nutjobs takes offense to it… under the old system the worst they could do is get my in-game name and harass me there. Under this new system players are not many steps away from having a little too much info.

Lets take a second and look to some other games for an example of the “internet tosser” in gaming. These are all examples from this year alone.

In January GamePolitics reported on a 16 year old teenager cutting his 46 year old father over a disagreement over tactics used during a game of FIFA on the PS3. When the father responded by turning off the TV/Console, the teenager went to the kitchen for a clean knife and stabbed his father in the neck.

An article posted in March details how a 17 year old Counter Strike player was stabbed in the head with a 12 inch knife in an internet cafe after being found to use ‘wall-hack’ cheats.

In June GamePolitics also reported on another Counter Strike related attack. Several months after being knifed in-game the 20 year old gamer tracked down his online enemy, who it turned out only lived a few miles away, then stabbed him in the chest to pay him back.

These are not isolated incidents either, I can sit and pull link after link up all day long on this subject.

Now, some may take these links as proof that video games cause violence, but because I’m not naive I see it for what it really means. Nutters are everywhere and need very little reason to set them off. If those guys played darts there is every chance that a loss or a disagreement over darts would set them off and cause the exact same reaction. Nutbags are everywhere.

As children we are taught not to talk to strangers, not to give personal info out to random people. We were taught caution, and for good reason. Then along comes a bunch of idiots like Facebook, Blizzard, etc, who think that those lessons of caution should be thrown to the wind and anyone who doesn’t has something to hide. The idiocy of it is jaw dropping. Even more so in a game like Warcraft which has spawned more nerd-rage outbursts than 90% of games that have ever existed.. or will ever exist. Give these mouthbreathers a first/last name combo and some of them are going to take it too far, I guarantee it.

Ironic that an attempt to unify an online community will essentially rend it in two. I never posted on the official boards (I don’t have the patience to wade through the rantings of semi-literate teenagers quite frankly), and were I still playing I know I wouldn’t even dream of going near the official boards ever again.

I recently picked up Fable 2 used for pretty cheap and I am now probably at least 3 or 4 hours into the game so far.

One thing bugs me… a LOT

So you start the game poor, destitute, and living from the gutter. When a mysterious lady implies we should buy the music box, the sister remarks;

5 Gold? We could eat for a week on that!

Fair enough.

Next, the sister and brother decide, what the hey, its a magical music box, lets buy it anyway. OK, so with no money the game asks me to complete a few ‘odd-jobs’ for NPC’s around town. Fine I think. About 10 minutes later I’m rolling 5 gold coins around my pocket ready to buy the music box.

Go back a little, remember when the sister mentioned something about eating for a week for 5 gold? And I just earned 5 gold in about 10 minutes. To be generous I’ll use in-game time, so not even close to the time it took for night to cycle to day. I can work a minimal amount, for less than a full day, and eat for a week on the proceeds? You have to wonder, perhaps if you got off your arse and did two or three days work maybe, just maybe you wouldn’t be living in the effing gutter you idiots!

If the main character is sleeping in a no walled shed with only a blanket to his name, has no food, no money, no prospects in life.. how about making it a little harder to earn a weeks food money than putting in 5 minutes work?

Kinda ruins the effect of trying to build up sympathy for your main protagonist if it turns out the only reason he is destitute is simply because he can’t be arsed doing a days work!

I kinda like the game, but man it has some serious issues. Job’s are ridiculous. Gaming distilled into it’s most basic form. Hit that button when this bar reaches here. Again. Again. AGAIN! Going back to the main point of this post, my character came from a life in the gutter yet within 30 minutes of spamming the blacksmith job I had over 10 thousand gold. I went to the smith as the shops shut, by sunrise I had 10 thousand gold.

When in-game systems contradict the storyline, something is very wrong.

As predicted, it didn’t take EA long to find a new way to gouge customers. They’ve tried several attempts at this project ten dollar bullshit and seem to have settled with the worst of a bad bunch of ideas.

In my opinion, a reasonable solution is how Battlefield Bad Company 2 was handled. All retail copies of the game came with a ‘VIP code’ that granted the owner free access to the first DLC pack. Any DLC since then, which has re-used assets on the disk, have also been free for ‘VIP’ players. Anyone buying used would have to fork out some extra cash to get access to the extra content. This at least seems half fair compared to the new system, which will see gamers buying used games forking over extra money to use the online features advertised on the back of the box.

Given that EA are one of the biggest game publishers around right now, I just don’t buy the claim they are losing money on used game sales. Not only that, but if their BS is to be believed, this is all for the benefit of the customers and to help fund upkeep of the servers.

Yes, but.. logically, the only strain on a server is caused by new retail players. Anyone who buys used is simply replacing a player that already existed and no longer uses the servers due to selling the game. Under this system, if the same game is sold and traded a couple of times, EA get paid multiple amounts towards the ‘upkeep of the servers’ yet they gain no additional players to justify it. I’m sorry but this just doesn’t wash.

If I sell my house, I don’t give a cut to the original builder because of work he did years ago – He was already paid for that work. If I were to sell a car, I wouldn’t give a cut to the manufacturer because they made it – They were already paid for the car when it was first bought.

Bullshit, all of it.

I like to rent and ‘try-before-I-buy’ on some titles I’m unsure on. Under the new system, only the first in line to rent the game get to redeem any ‘VIP’ code included in the box which means anyone else renting that game will be restricted from the online features so that’s the end of that.

The worst of it is, if I know anything about gamers it’s that they’ll continue to buy even while being shafted. Example – the majority of the ‘Boycott MW2′ steam group were all tagged as playing MW2 on the day of release. Even though Activision makes games for Satan and his minions these days, gamers continue to support Kotick and his douchebaggery.

It’s simple logic that if EA can make this work, other publishers will start to pay attention. Ubisoft, Sega, and THQ already have plans to implement similar systems as I understand it… it wont be long before others fall in line with this if we don’t start voting with the contents of our wallets.

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/06/08/sony-psp-go-experiment-revealed-love-of-physical-media/

The classics are the best.

When confronted with a failure, don’t try and recognise the fault, instead try and act as though you were doing this on purpose all along as an experiment… at the expense of your customers!

I really hope someone got shitcanned at Sony for the Go!

I mean, it’s not like anyone could have foreseen this happening is it really? Who could have known that not following through on promises to release all UMD games on PSN would end like this? Who could have imagined that releasing digital versions of games sometimes weeks (sometimes never) after the physical UMD release would irritate gamers and promote a distrust in you as a brand name?

No, no… sorry, it wasn’t those reasons the Go failed right? It’s because;

consumers like their packaged media library

…yeah, and they also appreciate that packaged games release on the date advertised, not weeks later if at all.

No thanks.

Each year control schemes on games get more complicated, and more and more combinations of buttons are being used simply because we are running out of space on the controllers as it is.

The Wii works (well, I use that term loosely) as a result of a few factors.

1. The controller still has buttons and an analogue nub
2. It has rumble
3. Nintendo has been aiming at casual motion games specifically

The inclusion of an analogue nub, and buttons help with the games not entirely suited to motion control, and add to the ones that are. The force feedback, although weak, is at least there. Fall a large distance on Monster Hunter.. Wiimote shakes. Slam a hammer into an Urugaan’s chin and you feel it.

Sony Move seems to have at least grasped the concept and adapted it to suit them. Their controller still has buttons and can attach to a nunchuck type device with… an analogue nub! I’m not sure on the details but I’d bet it has rumble too.

Then we have Natal, sorry, Kinnect (urgh! Bad name, bad name!).

Great piece of tech on paper. No buttons, no vibration, no analogue nub, not even a physical thing to hold… I see a problem here.

Firstly, at this point, anyone who actually wanted motion controls has probably gone out and bought a Wii by now. Secondly, if Natal, sorry, Kinnect (urgh! Bad name, bad name!) is going to cost the rumoured $150 as everyone suspects, you can get a Wii for that price! Just those two factors alone are a big enough problem without considering that this thing wont even apply to 90% of the games I play! How exactly will FPS games work under this? Well I’ll tell you how, on rails. Which is bullshit. How will platformers work with this? How will anything other than a clusterfuck of a party game that already exists on the Wii work with this thing?

So far, Wii Fit, Wii Sports, Wii Dance, Mario Kart Nintendogs have been shown… oh wait, sorry.. Kinnect Fit, Kinnect Sports, Just Dance, Joy Ride, and Kinnectimals. Looks/Sounds familiar right? Yeah…

When I get home from a long day at work, I like to relax on my couch with a game. I sometimes play for extended periods of time. The last thing I want is a bullshit control scheme that forces me to either be standing, or moving around to control something.

THIS is just idiocy!

Aside from the main fact that you cant tell much about the gameplay from the footage released so far (to judge it this early with so little shown is just laughable), buying Sonic 1 is still going to give SEGA money! The whole idea as it stands is lunacy. If you don’t like a product and you are going to threaten a boycott, the first rule is not to give the boycotted company any money.

Voting with your wallet will always be far more effective than starting some online petition (because they are always successful, just ask the L4D2 boycott group /sarcasm). It’s called Market Forces and it works folks. If you don’t like the way a product is going, the clearest message you can send is to simply not buy it.

These internet shit-storms never go anywhere and only serve to make a large portion of the fanbase look like dicks to everyone else.

Jim Sterling over at destructoid has a great article up on this exact subject, and why fans should shut up about everything.

I heartily agree with him. I can relate to his viewpoint when I think of the stink made over Capcom deciding to release Monster Hunter Tri on the Wii instead of the PS3 or Xbox360. A franchise that has only seen one console release in NA and EU, that only made it’s ground on the PSP and even then was pirated to hell and back… it made very little money, received poor reviews (although I could argue and provide solid evidence this was the fault of the reviewers not the game), and is most popular in Japan.

True fans should be glad the game is even getting a western release! The console it releases is on is irrelevant. If you are a fan of a franchise, you should be happy to see someone working on it and trying to push it forward.

If you cant afford a Wii to play the game I can understand that, but you should still be pleased the series is receiving attention. I wouldn’t  mind but half the people moaning that they don’t want to buy a Wii and it should have been made on the PS3 wouldn’t give a damn if it were PS3-bound and Wii owners had to buy a PS3. Someone will always get the shaft when it comes to exclusive releases no matter what and arguing which console owners should have got the shaft is pointless.

If you are a fan of a franchise but they do something in a way you don’t like, be happy they are at least doing something with it and understand that not everyone is going to look at it the same way as you… plus, the alternative could well be the death of that franchise forever and no ‘fan’ of anything should want that.

(SEE UPDATE AT END OF POST – Eckyman)

By now I’m sure most people have heard of this clown, iTz LUPO. If not, go catch up

*sigh*

Some kid mods his Xbox to cheat in MW2, admits it in game in front of a moderator, then proceeds to tell said moderator that he f*cked his grandma and various other insults only people under 15 think is cool. He gets banned and in the blink of an eye, changes personality to a regular guy, doing nothing wrong, who is being crushed by the mighty weight of corrupt Xbox moderators!

So, he then goes on to create a heavily edited video of his banning, taking great care to remove him admitting to cheating, and also removing the insults towards the moderator, making it look not only like he was banned for nothing, but as though the moderator was out of line…. and a bunch of idiots fell for it. Hook, line, and sinker.

The comments on this kids youtube channel defy logic and reason. Most posters have obviously checked their intelligence and spelling ability at the door, and instead are currently drooling on their keyboards, banging heads against monitors in outrage that someone could be banned for being an obnoxious, mouthy, little cheater.

The most common comment I have seen from his supporters regarding this.

“He paid for his Xbox, he paid for his game, he paid for Xbox live.. therefore he should be able to do what he wants with it”

Right, right… only, a lot of other people paid for their Xbox, MW2, and a Live subscription so they could play online without people glitching, cheating, and modding. See how that works?

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again.. if you want to cheat on the equipment you bought, go ahead and do it offline or in a LAN game where you don’t affect the games of people who also paid and expect a fair game. It’s really not that hard kids. You wont get banned, you wont piss anyone off, and you can muck around with cheats till your little hands cant hold a controller any more.

UPDATE:

Seems iTzLuPo has admitted to lying about everything. Deleted his Twitter account, removed his modding videos from youtubte.. all references to cheating/modding have gone.

Turns out, this has come about as a result of someone posting his personal details online.

While I will never condone cheating (if you are going to do it, take it offline where it does not bother any paying Live subscribers), posting peoples personal details online is pushing it too far.

I sincerely hope nobody takes it as far as to harass the kid or his family over this. He admitted he was in the wrong, I’d imagine he’s feeling pretty worried at the moment. Time to move on guys. Internet bullying is no solution to anything.

The Church of England has weighed in again on the subject of violent videogames…. nothing new here.

However, one quote from Tom Benyon caught my eye;

A bubbling sewer of gratuitously violent and sexual pornography in DVD games are washing all around us. Byron relied on the proposition that parents have a liability or are interested in controlling what their children do. We think, sadly, that that is optimistic and a prize hope.

The Church of England does not think parents are liable or interested in controlling what their children do? So along comes The Church of England to tell them all how to do it? Really?

Enough is enough

Every console on the market right now has parental controls that will lock them down and prevent minors playing these games. If parents took the responsibility to ensure these settings were enabled, the rest of us who can play violent games and understand it is fictional can get on with our lives.

The tools are right there. Instead of throwing bullshit like this around, how about we educate people about this stuff?

I get it, it’s easier to take pot shots at the gaming industry than it is to ask people to accept personal responsibility, I’m just tired of seeing this stuff now.

When will people see reason and finally apply some logic to this situation?

via Violent Games Assailed by Church of England | GamePolitics.

Although I’m a big fan of the Last.fm service on Xbox Live, I cant help but think MS missed the target slightly with Last.fm/Facebook/Twitter integration.

Had they gone the extra mile and allowed some form of access to the services from other areas of the console, they would have been on a winner. As it is, you cannot listen to Last.fm while playing any games, only within the Last.fm area of the dash. The same goes for Twitter. Something as simple as allowing people to tweet from the guide button mid-game is sorely lacking from the service. Even some kind of pop-up notification system showing new tweets, similar to how the system deals with displaying friend logins, would have been something.

As things stand, the extra services are good, but a little extra effort and they could have been great.