Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays – did you get what you wanted this year?
Let us know what you got from your loved ones.
We have a few fun reward tiers – our most hardcore fans will definitely want an MP3 of one of the crew or any of the crew recording a voice mail or answer machine outgoing message, or the entire podcast bantering for a few moments. There’s also the requisite T-shirt, which will have the awesome Gaming Podcast logo.
We purchased Rock Band 2 and the Drum Kit on the week of launch, having played on the drums for about a month we’ve already broke them. This time, however, it’s not the foot pedal, but the blue and yellow drum heads, now having smashed little holes in the center.
It’s not abuse when the object of the game is to hit the pads with sticks, right? Hopefully not, as we’re not the first to beat the pads to the breaking point using standard pressure and part-time play. In the full month we’ve had little time to really rock out with Rock Band 2 but we play when we can. It seems a bit early to already have blown out the pads.
The issue is simple: the blue and yellow pads have a dent/hole under the rubber surface, pressing down on the pad allows you to easily feel the plastic “button” which executes the hit. The middle of these two pads can be seen sunk in while the red pads center is popping up as if the rubber has let go from the surface and risen. Needless to say, the “bounce back” on the pads was gone.
While Sony and Microsoft one-up each other with fire sales on old hardware and blockbuster titles like Gears of War 2 and Resistance 2, Nintendo goes for something completely different… older people.
You’re only as old as you feel, but it’s hard to discount Nintendo’s attack on a demographic when they visit the American Association of Retired People’s Life@50+ Expo in Washington, D.C. this week. Odd move, indeed… or is it?
Retired people may have a bit more time than a busy adult with two kids and a few jobs to hold down. While young adults may want to game, they may not always have the time in their schedule, especially in the United States where people forget what “vacation” means. Retirement is a time to reflect upon your life, your deeds and enjoy the fruits of your labor with your grandchildren; it’s time to get a Wii.
The Wii is the perfect gift for retired folk who want to entertain themselves with something new and different without having to keep up with game releases. The Wii doesn’t have very many games when compared to the 360 and, although many get low review scores, retired folks aren’t scanning the Internet for weekly game reviews and news. They may not be the most in-touch with the industry but that’s okay, they’re non-gamers.
All that Nintendo has to do is sell the unit to them, it may sit on the shelf for months or only get pulled out when the grandchildren visit, but it’s a low-cost unit with games like Wii Sports and Wii Fit, what more do they need?
(Thanks, Kotaku)
I did get what I wanted, because I love money.