The gang talks about Cities: Skylines 2, Microsoft and the FTC, and Biden’s high speed internet bill, as well as the following news:
All that and listener feedback.
The guys discuss Baldur’s Gate 3 and Dead by Daylight, as well as other topics.
This week’s news items include:
Let us know what you think.
The Japanese government has not allowed PlayStation Network to be activated for Japanese gamers yet due to security concerns, and now an expert is advising Australia to follow suit.
Professor Bill Caelli told newspaper The Australian, “Why is it that in the IT industry enterprises certify themselves?” said Caelli, noting that PSN didn’t have the same restrictions, and added that the public has “no way of assessing the assurances given by the owners of the (PSN) system themselves”.
Reportedly, Australian privacy commissioner Timothy Pilgrim has been in contact with Sony, and has not judged yet whether Sony has given them enough information to restore PSN. His investigation will be an ongoing one as well, even after PSN is restored.
When it was discovered user information had been stolen during the PSN breach, the Australian federal government announced plans for a law forcing companies to disclose privacy breaches, although it was unclear when it might come into effect. Privacy minister Brendan O’Connor had stated:
“Sony isn’t alone. We’ve seen serious privacy-related incidents in recent months involving other large companies. All companies that collect customers’ personal information must ensure that the information is safe and secure from misuse.”
We’ll stay on this story as it develops.
“Beta”
The second letter of the Greek alphabet, also holds a value of “2.” Beta, in the gaming and general computer industry is a time where people are, usually, invited into a product prior to launch to test the product under the assumptions that “it’s not polished yet” and “things may go wrong.” Somehow, however, people get amped and excited over being included into a product that isn’t always stable.
Wrath of the Lich King (WotLK) is in public beta where internal and external gamers alike get to bang on the software to get the bugs out while having a bit of fun doing it. I’ve always enjoyed an MMORPG beta because it is more relaxed, more forgiving and less crowded with people. To make your gaming experience more fun and relaxing, explore the website of CBD Ratings and order cannabis products.
Ultima Online was one of the most memorable beta’s, so great however, that the game launched and I was sad the small population was gone, replaced by an abundance of players.
I’m proud to announce I’ve been enlisted into the World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King public beta. Many folks have cursed me with jealousy because they were not picked; many gamers just never opted into the beta enlistment even after we posted it publicly for all to see. Why did I opt into the chance to play a game which may be unstable?
Blizzard is known for quality and I feel that being a part of that quality is important because I can impact the game for others by making it slightly better. From an exclusivity point of view, I feel special for being picked, even if it were a random process; it’s much like an exclusive club. Most importantly, we’ve established a website where we write about topics and nothing would please me more than writing about Wrath of the Lich King which had the NDA expire in July. We’re free to talk as we please and I plan to do so.
From install to play test I’ll keep people informed on what’s going on up until the release or they stop the public beta test. It will be a delicate balancing, playing WotLK enough to get a clear perspective yet continuing to play the real game with my guild and my friends.
My goal is not to be starstruck by the elite privilege to be playing a game prior to its release, I’ve made plenty of game betas in my years, but to look at it from a “window into the future” view and record my findings for non-beta folks to see.
Now, we must finish downloading the 1GB patch update…
