This week’s comments and conversations almost followed a common theme: console hating. The cast explains why they’re not really PC gaming anymore and the frustrations with PC gaming but admits the industry is extremely important. This weeks news includes the following stories:
- Red Hot Chilli Peppers getting a guitar Hero game?
- Next Call of Duty will be Black Ops
- Bungie signs deal with Activision
- Nintendo to release Black Console
This weeks question of the week is this: Will gamer parents treat their kids differently in terms of what is acceptable in terms of video game selection, play time and other gaming related activities? Is our perspective that much different?
Now here is another interesting video game for the Atari 2600, the game Dragon Fire consisted of two game screens, one which you ran across a bridge while fireballs were shot at you, you had to duck or jump over the fireball. This screen was a side-scroller style screen (although it doesn’t actually scroll), at the other end of the bridge was a castle door which you’d enter to get to the next screen.
When you finished collecting all the treasure an exit would pop up in the corner and you had to run to it without being burned by the fireballs, that dragon would turn from left to right nearly instantly too! Then, you’d jump into the exit and be back on the bridge again, but this time it was harder. You could die up to 7 times before the game was over (just to show you how hard it is, they gave you a bunch of lives).
Black Wii? That’s been out in UK since November 2009!
Guess it took 6 months to change the power lead?
(It also came bundled with Wii Sports / Sports Resort and black Wii Motion Plus connector)
Had a bit of a thought on last week’s QotW – Tetris. The game that came with the original Game Boy, as well as various flash based websites these days. I certainly spent many an hour on that.
As for being a gamer parent, yes we will be different. I remember being 14 and getting my mum to buy me Doom 2 (18-rated due to the violence, which is nothing compared to these days), as she was clueless about gore and such. Mortal Kombat was also blood and guts galore, but it flew off shelves because of it.
Now as games have been graphically more intense and realistic, the obvious difference between real world and virtual is getting closer. Parents KNOW that we play GTA to pick up prostitutes, take them for a ride, then run them over to get our cash back.
We know that games like Left 4 Dead and Resident Evil will teach you its ok to chainsaw a zombie in half, or fire a sawn-off shot-gun at point blank range.
Yes, we have grown up with this games, and can make that distinction. It might not mean that we stop our kids playing these games, but we’re certainly AWARE OF THE CONTENT, which is what all the “video games cause violence” arguments stem from. Parents never used to take the time to assess what the kids were playing.
@Red Hot Chilli Peppers:
I think Jennifer is right, I think they use this kind of release schedule to keep interest.
COD and Halo are different stories. I mean they’re both shooters, but it’s also different universes.
And Derrick, they’re not going to eventually burn out. Try NOW instead of eventually.
@Next Call of Duty will be Black Ops:
It’ll be Vietnam, as far as I know. It’ll have plenty of shooting, so if you expect stealth, well, careful with your expectations.
@Bungie:
Bungie did Halo, but I don’t think they own the IP. As for their new franchise, we’ll see.
I personally didn’t like Halo, I found the enemies to be … dorky? I mean they didn’t inspire any fear.
So, dunno about the next Bungie game.
@black console:
“You know, I have one simple request, and that is to have a console with frickin’ laser beams attached to it”
Don, for a moment I heared the Dr. Evil inside you.
Now, why would anyone want the console market dead? I’m a PC gamer and I don’t get it.
@3.5″ floppy: I still have some of them. Used one to flash the bios of the motherboard.
I remember that in order to get various drivers from the school computer I had to copy them on several floppies, just to have some redundancy.
In 2003 I bought my first 64MB flash drive. Man, that was a giant leap forward, in terms of both size AND portability. That flash drive still works, by the way.
@Question of the week:
I’m pretty sure they’ll do fine. I already mentioned the dad and daughter that play the same computer game, and the fact that they seem to have a pretty strong connection.
I think that parents that played games will take better decisions when it comes to managing the impact games have on their kids. I mean this is something they know quite a lot about, so their decisions as parents will be good.
Microsoft owns the rights to Halo, and 343 Industries, which runs the brand, is headed by Frank O’Conner and other ex-Bungie developers. Bungie’s big IPs in the past include, aside from Marathon, the Myth series and Oni.
Activision better not be expecting another game on the level of Halo. It just isn’t happening. Halo was a shooter in the right place and the right time for the right console.
Hey Jenadonrick great cast ICC10 quote was lol.
@ GH – Sounds like if they made a game: Red Hot Chili Peppers vs Green Day, Listening to you guys (& girls) the game would be a hit!
@ Bungie – As everyone knows I’m a fan of the Bungie, so it’s really exciting to see if they have to skills to pull off a successful game other then HALO. My friends & I were joking about this. That maybe the next COD will have AC130’s shooting down needlers & a Gravity hammer in the game. Also Do you know why no other developers have mimicked halo’s forge & theatre features? because they are too features the extended the life of halo 3 so successfully.
In Regards to Don talking about Consoles being easier.
I agree with his opinion, Quite recently I decided I would take a trip to memory lane & download BF2 off steam; I had a lot of stuffing around to simply play that game. After every 30sec into a game I was getting kicked from Punk buster. I had to spend hours searching through forums, In the end it was my program MSI Afterburner which I use to monitor my FPS, Temps & alter my fan speeds/Overclocks. So after uninstalling MSI I was good to go but PC gaming can be annoying @ least I know that if I buy a game for the 360 all I have to worry about is getting up & inserting the disc. The PC gaming market is an expensive market to be in, if your want to be playing the top end graphics all the time for the newest games. You need the Bis graphics card/processor which can be anywhere around $300-1200ea Which in 6 months will be Out of date. The great thing about consoles is that you are almost guaranteed 3-4 years without upgrading.
As for the QOTW
I’m not planning on having ankle biters anytime soon but I believe in moderation games can be a good source of learning & a good bonding exercise. Parent have to take on the responsibility of regulating how much they play & monitor which games they are playing. If you have minors playing GTA it’s mainly the parents fault for rather not caring or monitoring what they are playing.
@ Chess
I have heaps of mates that I play chess with. If you don’t know how to play ur not a MAN. =p
BTW I had a spelling fail last episode. Remembering Hackers can’t spell 😉 proving I’m a hacker.
(I don’t believe this is true because isn’t it important to have correct syntax?)