I See What You Did There: World of Warcraft Trinket Keychain
I found this official WoW Trinket keychain pretty clever. Click through the link to see what's on the back.
[link via J!NX]
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Results tagged “World of Warcraft” from The Weekly Geek
Podcast for 06.09.08 | Pong Machinima
Join Weekly Geek editors Ross, Jinny, Qais and Chris this week as they discuss the new iPhone, how Apple may (or may not!) destroy the Nintendo DS, Republicans playing World of Warcraft, in-game ads, how the Atari movie could be an epic of our times, and the art of Adolf Hitler. The only other place you could get such a crazy mix of topics is if you were to be harassed by a meth-addled hobo! Don't let the hobo get you! Download the podcast post-haste!
Note: Due to unfortunate technical disturbances in the force, Ross' audio is at whisper-level. Instead of just scrapping this perfectly decent podcast, I opted to release it anyway for posterity. I apologize in advance for any burst eardrums caused by audio schizophrenia.
Warcraft in the Real World
I was a horrible student, both in high school and in college. I resented having to take classes that I knew had no bearing on my future interests, and ended up getting quite poor grades even though I was perfectly capable of completing the tasks and taking the tests. I just didn't show up. As my college career wore on I was able to focus more on my own interests, including art history. My 400-level art history classes in college were my absolute favorite, taught by the brilliant William Folkestad. I was fascinated by art of previous decades and how important all of it seemed. How we live in a post-post-post-post modern world and how it feels like all the good art is behind us. Performance art fascinated me the most, and the happenings of the 1970's excited me. Performance art in the States today is a bit stifled, barring the antics of groups like Improv Everywhere and the Graffiti Research Lab. But in Europe? It seems to flourish.
Artists in Europe have embraced home brew technology. They utilize it in amazing ways, and many of their techno-flavored interests are leaking into the video game realm. Take these two projects, influenced by the omnipresent World of Warcraft and Second Life, presented by a man named Aram Bartholl (seen above with the giant axe-thing). Aram is creating World of Warcraft weapons that he plans on carrying around in Berlin, most likely documenting people's reactions to something so common in the virtual world, but so foreign in the actual. Playing with context and shaking up the way you see your daily life is what art is all about, and the increase in popularity of video games is providing great inspiration for this process.
The other project that fascinated me is this one which allows two people to chat at each other using over-the-head word bubbles. Again, taking something commonly seen in a video game and transporting it into the real world. The effect is at the same time amusing and jarring.
You can view more of Aram's stuff over at We Make Money Not Art, and read more about the neat stuff that is happening over across the water.
[link via (and images taken from) WMMNA]
New World of Warcraft Advertisement
The folks over at ActiBlizz or BlizzVis or ActiZard or whatever they're calling themselves these days have released another of those strange World of Warcraft commercials. The most recent features my favorite diminutive Hollywood star, Vern Troyer.
There is something about that little man that fills my heart with a strange glee. Hit the jump for ads featuring Mister T and William Shatner, both just as excellent as Mr. Troyer's.
Shatner is a shaman?
I was just sitting here, fiddling around on the old interwebs with the TV on for no particular reason when who should I see out of the corner of my eye but wacky ol' William Shatner. He's on TV wearing a black robe thingy and talking about shooting lightning bolts from his hands. Y'know what? There really aren't any words. Just watch it.
Podcast for 11-05-07 | Ye Olde Twinkie
On this week's podcast, Chris and Grant bring you a crazy variety of geeky topics for discussion, as they harangue Star Wars nerds, praise writers on strike, discuss meat soaps, geek out over MST3K coming back (in some form), yell at people who use pre-made pancake batter, talk about the deliciousness of chicken nuggets, and discuss the greater philosophical ramifications of black/white and yellow/green. What does it mean? Find out by downloading the podcast here, or subscribe to the feed to get them delivered to your computer as they are released each week! Yay! Show notes, as always, after the jump.
I Am The Lawgiver!
How about that, a commercial featuring gamers by a large corporation that manages to be hilarious and avoid derision. Kudos to Toyota for for avoiding the easy jokes.
via Laughing Squid
Gamer Regret
Clive Thompson has a great article over at Wired today about gamer regret. No, he isn't talking about the time you bought a copy of Barbie Horse Adventure and then realized it wasn't for you after all. He is talking about regret associated with wasting all your damn time playing games.
Frequently, it's precipitated by those ghastly "time played" counters. The "played" command in World of Warcraft is the worst. I've known gamers who nearly went into shock after discovering they'd spent an entire month in-game each year. (According to Nick Yee's research, amazingly, this is the average -- 20 hours a week of play.)My gamer regret usually takes the form of drawing up a humiliating list of other, potential activities I've forgone. I could have ... volunteered at a local hospital! Learned a language! Cleaned up my rats' nest of an office! Gotten a head start on a new writing project! Hell, I could have just, you know, played the guitar or something. Wouldn't that have been a less howling waste of my precious time on Earth?
I definitely have this feeling sometimes, but not usually when I am playing a game I actually enjoy. I freely admit I have spent over 300 hours playing Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, but when I spend an hour going through menus in Blue Dragon I definitely start to feel the pangs of regret. Have you ever experienced gamer regret, oh geekateer?
Podcast for 06-04-07 | Red Rings of Shrek
Surprisingly, for all the talk of Mr. Rogers, this episode of The Weekly Geek contains massive amounts of profanity! Because both White Mage and Colette were out sick this week, you get to hear Chris and The Geek yell at people for liking Shrek, yell at people for not liking Mr. Rogers, and yell at Pirates for being so awesome. Or something. We've got movie news, a couple video game overviews, and some red rings of death sadness. Check it!
continue reading "Podcast for 06-04-07 | Red Rings of Shrek"
Podcast for 05-28-07 | Vin Kratos
Movies and Video Game commentary galore on this week's podcast featuring Chris Furniss, The Geek and White Mage (Colette couldn't make it this week because of head explosions). Listen! As The Geek and White Mage discuss their love of Pirates! Marvel! As Chris yet again alienates the "differently-abled"! Enjoy! Imagining Vin Diesel as Kratos in a God of War movie adaptation! You will not be disappointed. Download the podcast now as an mp3, subscribe to the feed or just plain play it in your web browser!
Podcast for 05-21-07 | Big in Korea
On this week's super excellent podcast, Chris Furniss, The Geek, White Mage and Colette Bennett give you BREAKING NEWS about Starcraft II. Not really breaking, since everyone and their mom knows about it now. They also lament the loss of a childhood institution, rip into Spiderman 3 (the game), gush about Batman, tolerate Transformers, gush even more about Odin Sphere and give away the secrets of the universe. That last part may be a lie. Download the show now or subscribe! Show notes after the jump.
Jhonen Vasquez Wants YOU for The Order of the Tapeworm
As we mentioned on the podcast this week, super comic book drawing awesome guy Jhonen Vasquez is recruiting for our guild, The Order of the Tapeworm. You can check out the website for recruitment information, you gotta fill out a form so we can keep the cattle out. From Eliza's Game|Life post:
The Order of the Tapeworm, as is implied, is also home to spookster comic artist Roman Dirge; original english language manga writer and colorist Rikki Simons (famed far and wide among boob-proffering fangirls as the voice of GIR from Invader Zim); cartoonist and science fiction author Rick Gauger; artist, podcast superstar and ToM cheerleader Chris Furniss (aka Frodo) from the Weekly Geek; yours truly, and a handful of other bitter intellectual types who crave gnome blood and witty banter in equal measure.All applicants are subject to a questionnaire, urine sample, timed agility/obedience trial, and credit check. No refunds.
Everyone is welcome! EVERYONE. YES, YOU.
Podcast for 01-22-07 | Internet Wars
On this week's geeky video game-ish podcast, The Geek and Frodo cover ice cream news, Star Wars nerds in science, World of Warcraft Burning Crusade, Wario Ware for the Wii and the Wii Laptop. Also, Tommy Tallarico is a douchebag.
Remember to check the forum for rules regarding our Geeky Desk setup contest!
Gamestop Midnight Burning Crusade Launch
Well, I can no longer brag about my adventures of being a Blood-Elf Paladin while everyone else plays End-Game or trys to get to 60. That's right, Burning Crusade is here and you can get your grubby little hands on it starting about a half hour ago. I went to my local Gamestop/EB Games to check out the festivities and I have to say I was impressed. Their process to purchase seemed painless... Once you got to the store, before midnight, you could walk in and pay for your copy and just hang around until midnight came. Midnight hit and everyone gathered into their smelly, nerdy, and sexually aroused lines. It wasn't as crazy as I thought it would be, but it was interesting none the less. Click the jump for 2 (yes only 2) pictures of the fun.
Burning Crusade Tonight at Midnight!
Tonight's the night kids! At midnight tonight you'll be able to go get your copy and maybe even get the collectors edition without paying double. Of course, Ebay whores are snagging up the collectors editions and selling their presells to gamers like us for our souls and some ass raping with no lube. Ok... Really they're selling for an average of about $200. Apparently, some retailers in the UK have broken the street date along with some retailers around the US who just made the mistake of not informing their workers. Gamestops around the country are having midnight launches and you can find one for you here. Happy huntings and good luck!
Burning Crusade is almost here!
Allright! Burning Crusade is almost here and I've been playing the beta for about a month now. I can't give you all the lovely news you want to hear about it, because my attention span is that of a 14 year old in the girls locker room, I just can't look at one thing at a time. I've spent my time wandering as a handsome Blood-Elf Paladin enjoying the newly established "Maine" of WoW. But, enough of my braggi... Uh, explaining. I want to know something! What are you guys looking forward to more, the new areas for your exisiting characters or starting a-new with the new races?
Video Game Podcast for October 23rd, 2006
This week on THE WEEKLY GEEK'S VIDEO GAME AND GEEK CULTURE PODCAST!!!!!! Ranting abounds! Frodo rants about stupid people and bad business while The Geek is helpless but to listen! Toy photography is discussed, Wii updates are touched upon, and actual good Sony news is revealed! Shock! Horror!
- Boys Kissing in Bully! Yay!
- Zelda Twilight Princess not in stores, Then denied
- Nielson Ratings to Track Video Games
- Lost and Battlestar Galactica Actors to Join Command and Conquer
- Lumines Live nickel and diming
- EA Charging for Downloadable Cheat Codes
- New Bubble Bobble literally Impossible to Beat
- Epic Toy Photos!
- Wii Component Cables Online Only
- Man Addicted to WoW, Whines.
- Secret KK Slider Songs!
Geek Podcast for Monday, October 16th 2006
This week, The Geek and Frodo discuss Wii preorders, Red Steel multiplayer, Clover Studios being shut down, G4 being absorbed by the gelatinous blob that is E!, Blizzard stealing money from people, video game halloween pumpkins, eventually seeing scrotum, Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, Mercury Meltdown for the PSP and more. Have some delicious show notes.
- Awesome concept art for new game Limbo
- Pre-1980 Nintendo Toys
- Wii Reservations Not As Plentiful As Thought?
- Blizzard Drains Bank Accounts
- G4 Being Merged with Another Network... Again
- Use many pennies to buy a washer or use one penny to make a washer
- Clover Studios Gets The Boot
- Google Buys YouTube - GooTube?
- Katamari Critiqued
- The Sword of A Thousand Truths Revealed
- Random Webcam Chat!
- Skeleton Soap
WoW Raiding with SRA3
I've been sick the last two weeks so Thursday was the first SRA3 raid I was able to attend in a while. It was definitely a lucky night to be back. During the course of our eight boss run, twenty-six epic items dropped. Twenty-six! I won two items! I received my Lawbringer Boots and Lawbringer Belt. Now I’m just one piece away from having my full Tier 1 Raid armor set. Can you tell from the picture which one? ;)
Starting next week, SRA3 will be adding two additional Onyxia kills per month. We will also be moving on to Blackwing Lair, where several Tier 2 Raid armor set pieces are dropped, after we have killed Ragnaros on Mondays. Upwards and onwards!
Gamers Hate In Game Advertising
A recent video game survey sponsored by Activision came to the conclusion that gamers actually liked in-game advertising, saying that it added to the immersion and made video games more realistic. Now, Ars Technica is saying that is not the case, taking a deeper look from a newer survey not sponsored by someone with a vested interest in the subject. comScore Media Metrix actually found that the majority of gamers do not agree that in-game advertising makes it more realistic, and Ars Technica does a good job of pushing past the bull and taking an objective look at how much revenue in-game advertising actually brings in.
Personally, I don't mind in-game advertising as long as it is believable. If I am meant to think that I am in a real city or something, I fully expect there to be Coca-Cola billboards and a Starbucks on the corner. That is immersion. On the other hand, it would be completely out of place in, say, World of Warcraft. While I don't think we should be forced to collect Mountain Dew cans in all snowboarding games, I think that a little bit of believable advertising is great. As long as it fits. What do you think? Have you seen some horrible advertising in games in completely innapropriate places? Post in the comments!
World of Warcraft Raiding with SRA3
Every Monday from 6-10pm I raid the 40-player dungeon Molten Core with Silvermoon Raiding Alliance 3. On Thursdays from 6-10pm we fight Onyxia, a giant dragon, and then fight some more in Molten Core. Raiding has added a whole new aspect to the game for me. When my main goal was getting my Paladin, Bekka, to level 60, I avoided grouping as much as possible because I hated relying on others in order to progress. Then, I discovered the only way I would be able to get the Lawbringer armor set was to join a raiding guild or alliance. Luckily, I heard that SRA3 was recruiting. I did a Google search to find out who they were, asked The Geek if he would mind me spending eight hours a week ignoring him, and applied. It has been a very educational and entertaining experience. In the four months since I joined, I have already received five pieces of my armor and three other items.
Book Review: The Forgotten Beasts of Eld
Sybel is the daughter of a powerful, hermit wizard. She grows up learning how to call and take care of legendary animals. When her father dies, Sybel is left with only the menagerie for company. One day, a man shows up at her door with a baby boy in his arms. He tells her the child is her cousin and she is the only one who can keep him safe. She reluctantly takes the child and raises him as her own. Sybel’s life is never again the same. She soon learns to love, to hate, and to forgive.
For the last decade The Forgotten Beasts of Eld has been one of those books that I kept meaning to read but never did. I rarely read a book with expectations, but I guess I was expecting more from this book since Patricia A. McKillip wrote one of my favorite fantasy trilogies, The Riddle-Master. The Forgotten Beasts of Eld is a nice story but it lacks a sense of depth. It comes across more as the telling of a legend or story than a novel. It would be a good book to have read to you but the solo reader might find it lacking. I did enjoy the book once I adjusted my expectations.
For those of us who play World of Warcraft, or are familiar with the Warcraft universe, I did find one interesting tidbit. The Forgotten Beasts of Eld mentions “the black marshes of Fyrbolg” on the very first page. In Warcraft the Furbolgs are a race of bear-like humanoids. I did a Google search and did not find any correlation between Fyrbolg and Furbolg but I did discover the Fir Bolg, an ancient race in Irish mythology. I feel it’s too much of a coincidence for Fyrbolg or Fir Bolg not to be the namesake of Furbolg, but I wonder which one it is. Isn’t knowledge fun?
For more information about Patricia A. McKillip and her books visit http://www.patriciamckillip.com/.
Find this book in the Weekly Geek's Amazon Store.
Podcast #2879 - Welcome To Erf
This week it's The Geek and Frodo talkin up a storm about September game releases, top ten lists, going back to Warcraft and Thomas Kinkaide. Also, Frodo gives an update on the Lost candy bars.
- Top Ten Games of 1988
- DS MP3 Player coming
- MMO Art, custom for your toon
- Dog Eat Dog: Bully Gets Name Change for EU
- SimCity Coming for the DS
- Sleazy Circuit City Ripping off Gamers
- 2 old to play comments on how little kids are jerks
If you are interested in joining The Order of the Tapeworm please email Frodo, or go to our website here.
Next week: Tycho from Penny Arcade
Video Game Podcast for July 24th, 2006
This week's podcast, The Geek, Frodo and Nevery talk about Comic Con, movie news and shameless advertising. Download it here (.mp3 37mb 54:07), or add us to your favorite podcasting program! Here are some notes:
- World of Warcraft Trading Card Game Coming
- Egg-vertising
- Star Trek Animated Series coming to dvd
- No early screenings for Snakes on a Plane
- Animal Crossing movie trailer
- Mike Nelson brings back MST3K... sorta.
- Non- SG-1 Stargate movie?
- Heath Ledger is the Joker
- New Ninja Turtles Movie!!!!!
--Frodo
Podcast for Monday, May 22nd 2006
This week Frodo and The Geek get back into the swing of things and discuss New Super Mario Bros and other non-video game related items. That's right, for the first time in MONTHS the geeks talk about Sci-Fi and nerdy things again. Phew! Have some delicious show notes.
- Nintendo Wii faq
- Google Sketchup
- Video game lets players earn real dollars
- SG-1 Hits Records
- Sony wants you to buy a Wii
- MTV launches iTunes competitor
- History of console prices (with inflation)
- Skype has free domestic outgoing calls!
- Wii Hide and Seek
- WoW Expansion Q and A
--frodo
Podcast for Monday, May 15th 2006
E3 happened and left, and Frodo, Nevery , The Geek and White Mage are left to pick up the pieces. Sony copied, Nintendo soared and Microsoft shrugged. Here are some show notes:
- Microsoft sides with Nintendo in fight vs Sony
- Paris slips up as she launches video game
- Nintendo Wii will come with Opera browser
- New WoW race announced.
- Nintendo's Wii video game console due in Q4
- New WoW race announced.
--Frodo
Podcast for Monday, April 3rd 2006
This week The Geek, White Mage, Nevery and Frodo talk about the the announcement of Zelda DS, Tetris DS, Metroid Prime Hunters, Revolution news, DS Lite and THINGS. Oh, so many things. April Fool's Jokes. Bah. Also Frodo bought a PSP and now is not in possession of a soul. Here are some show notes.
- Zelda DS Video!!!!
- Revolution to play Genesis and TurboGrafix games.
- UMD getting last rites. Durrrrp.
- WoW Patch notes.
- PSP Price reduction, still too expensive!
- DS Lite gets a June release date.
- Extra Life Comics, check it out!
- PSP Pelican Battery recall - click to see if you win!
- RDA returning to Stargate (kinda)!
- Frodo (frodo@weeklygeekshow.com)
WoW April Fool's
Yeah, so we know that the April Fool's Joke at Blizzard is that Wisps are the new Alliance race. Har dee har har. Pretty weak. C'mon guys, at least make it believable.
But anyway, we've all been hearing the rumor for quite some time that the new race for the Alliance is the Pandaren.
It turns out that the whole Pandaren thing was completely invented by Ian over at MacHall back in friggin' October.
Nice one, Ian. You totally got us.
Kudos.
--The Geek
Podcast for Monday, February 27th 2006
This week, Frodo, The Geek, White Mage and Nevery discuss fast food, give you your regular updates on Richard Dean Anderson and Reggie Fils-Aime, talk about Star Trek Online, terrorism in WoW and more!
Have some delicious show notes.
- Star Trek online development shots
- Strong Bad emails on your ipod!
- Crazy Taco Bell/KFC automated station.
- Serenity sells more with DVDs than box office.
- RDA fans applying for walk of fame.
- Great interview with Reggie Fils-Aime from Nintendo.
- Terrorist guild holds WoW server hostage?
- Turn your DS into a PDA.
- iMac puts out less energy than a light bulb
--Frodo (frodo@weeklygeekshow.com)
Podcast for Monday, February 20th 2006
This week, Frodo, The Geek and Nevery discuss viruses on the Mac, Sony's XBOX Live-like service, Hub, the new DS web browser and they surf IMDB live, on the air for your amusement.
Show notes! They are delicious!
- New video game awards show. Will it be not crappy?
- Final Fantasy Advent Children voice actors announced
- Official Nintendo DS web browser
- Free [adult swim] cartoons online!
- PS3 "Hub" service announced
- Stargate MMO Details
- Mac OSX virus information
- Play Katamari Damacy II online
- WoW board game
- PacMan Board game wooooo
- Reggie Sounds Off
--Frodo (frodo@weeklygeekshow.com)
Podcast for Monday, February 13th, 2006
This week, The Geek, Frodo, White Mage and Nevery discuss PSP porn, the original XBOX price hike, a new iPod, weird Disney characters coming back to life and boners. BONERS! Have some delicious show notes:- WoW Object Desktop for Windows
- Original XBOX price goes up after 360 launch?
- Cool Mario Sound Board
- PSP Porn advertising
- Leaked Revolution Pics?
- IBM servers to run on Cell chip
- Screens from the next Mario
--Frodo (frodo@weeklygeekshow.com)
Podcast for Monday, January 30th, 2006
Finland Finland Finland. Oh? Hello. I was pretending to not see you there. This week on The Weekly Geek, Frodo, The Geek and White Mage welcome Nevery to the cast. He, like all of us, will soon feel the cold hand of death as he ages into obscurity. This week we discuss more Pixar and Disney, the Nintendo DS lite, E3 restrictions for this coming year and old Tiger electronic lcd games. And a fun time was had by all. Here are some show notes.
- Bound Together - The Earthbound Remix Project
- Mother 3 officially announced
- Awesome videos of old game endings
- DS and DS Lite size comparison
- World of Warcraft Google Map styleeeeeee
- Sony buys Zipper
--Frodo (frodo@weeklygeekshow.com)
p.s. you can download it at the top of the page.
Podcast for Monday, January 2nd, 2006
Welcome to the new year, geeky people. Today Frodo, and The Geek bring you the first Weekly Geek of the new year, complete with the same inane chatter you have known to come and love. Hopefully. Download it here or add http://www.weeklygeekshow.com/weeklygeek.rss to your favorite podcasting software. Here are some show notes:
- The EyeBud
- 10 games that actually need a sequel
- 100 things the BBC didn't know this time last year
- Secret Wall Tattoos
- WoW Draeni debunking
- Gamefly Rental Service Denies Scratched 360 Disks
- GoldenEye Source
---Frodo (frodo@weeklygeekshow.com)
Podcast for Monday, December 18th
This week, The Geek, Frodo and White Mage discuss drinking your own pee, Child's Play Charity, Animal Crossing events, and the official Weekly Geek Casting Call. Download the show here or add http://www.weeklygeekshow.com/weeklygeek.rss to your favorite podcasting aggregator.
Show Notes:
-Inventor of the Segway drinks his own pee.
-big WoW machinima contest.
-Popular Toys throughout the ages.
-What IS WiTendoFi?.
-Metal Gear Solid Live PS3 video.
-Play SimCity Classic online for free.
-Donate to Child's Play this holiday season.
Music this week was the Super Mario World soundtrack remix by XOC. I don't know, google it.
--Frodo (frodo@weeklygeekshow.com)
Podcast for Monday, November 7th, 2005
This week, The Geek and Frodo discuss game journalists being vultures, Donkey Kong King of Swing, awesome Super Mario World remixes and pie. Okay there really isn't any pie.
Download it here or add http://www.weeklygeekshow.com/weeklygeek.rss to your favorite podcasting software!
Here are some show notes:
- Excellent Super Mario World remix. You must download this. Do it. Now.
- Sony's new software allows WoW hacks?
- Microsoft plans Xbox 360 shortage.
Special thanks to our friends at Nintendo and Charles Vestal for the music.
Podcast for Tuesday, November 1st
In today's podcast, Frodo and The Geek discuss Shadow of the Colossus, Video Games Live, Frodo's trip to Canada to meet the developers of Super Mario Strikers, and various other game related things! Oh yeah, they talk about World of Warcraft, too. But who doesn't, honestly?
Special thanks to Nintendo!
Download the show here, or add http://www.weeklygeekshow.com/weeklygeek.rss to your favorite podcasting software. (Now in new small file size! Perfect for fitting in your pocket!)
---Frodo (chrisfurniss@gmail.com)
Podcast for Monday, October 24th
In this week's show, The Geek, Frodo and White Mage discuss the GBA Micro, more Jack Thompson craziness, the iPod Video, Shadow of the Colossus and the new World of Warcraft Expansion. I apologize for the delay in recording, we are still trying to get the hang of using Skype for our podcast. Hopefully it is not too horrible on your ears. It really shouldn't be! It should literally sound amazing to you. Your ears may actually thank you later.
- World of Warcraft expansion news
Music by Charles Vestal
--Frodo
Podcast for Friday, September 23rd
Hey everybody! The show for Friday, September 23rd is online! Download the torrent here and the normal mp3 will be on its way shortly. In this show, The Geek and Frodo discuss many things, including We Love Katamari (because we certainly do), Penny Arcade in Nintendo Power, and Frodo says "Fuck" for the first time in Weekly Geek history. DON'T MISS IT.
- WoW plague
- Xbox 360 bundles sold out
- GBA SP new blacklit screen
- Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney special offer finger stylus
- Print your very own Revolution Controller
--Frodo
p.s. I apologize for the poor audio quality on The Geek's end, we are still trying to work out some technical bugs. It gets better after about 5 minutes, so don't worry.
A Gamer Scorned
I call myself a gamer. That is my label. I don't really think of myself so much as a nerd or a geek anymore, Gamer seems to fit just fine. This is why it pisses me off when I talk about mainstream gaming these days. This is something that I identify with, just like someone who enjoys attending plays calls themselves a thespian, just like how someone who enjoys gourmet cooking calls themselves a foodie. I am a gamer, I live to play video games. For people like me, our hobby has been under attack for a number of years now, at least since this last generation of consoles. Our gaming ideals have been swept aside, and our pleas for anything but another Madden game go unheeded. Hot on the heels of The Geek's last post, I am here to talk to you today about how game store managers hate you.
I went into my local EBGames the other day to pick up World of Warcraft (you may have heard this story on last week's podcast), and the instant I step into the store I get the feeling of dread. The feeling that I don't belong. The feeling of being in some sort of odd gaming graveyard. Behind the counter is the store manager, an overweight, unkempt man of about 40, who is balding yet still seems to manage to sport a ponytail of no discernable shade of brown. His polo shirt is tucked nicely over his gigantic belly and he gives me no better than a sneer as I walk through the door. The other store employee behind the counter, a tall disinterested guy in his mid 30's, is arguing with some crazy cracked-out lady about how much cash he can give her for her copy of "Pokeymans". I look over and literally she has 40 Gameboy Advance games stacked on top of each other, apparently trying to just cash them out. It looked like she broke in to some 12 year old's backpack and ran off with all his fun things in life. In the back of the store was the local uncomfortably unfortunate man, ranting about various games to himself and stinking up the place. He walks over to a stand of Everquest pre-paid game cards and yells "WHEEE!!!!". Does this sound like an environment you'd like to stay in for any period of time? This, in addition to the fact that if you want to trade in your games (which sounds like a great deal in theory), they only give you about a tenth of what they end up selling it for later. Game stores exist to rip you off. Why is this? Why can't we have a game store that exists because games are good? Why can't we just have a game store that realizes that they make enough money off of selling new games that they don't have to rip us off when we try to trade in our old ones? Why aren't game store employees fans of games and gamers and why do they keep trying to sell me the damned one-year guarantee on games? WHY WOULD I WANT TO BUY THAT?!
I walked into a Game Crazy yesterday to see if they had We <3 Katamari in on the release day. Games are released on Tuesdays, and most likely game stores should have them (even if some people say that that is just the ship date). The guy behind the counter looked at me as if he had never heard of the game, and told me that if I didn't preorder it, it wasn't there. They only recieve as many games as they have preorders for the day the game is shipped, and then it is about a week afterward when they get actual stock. No one had even preordered the game at the store I went to. What is wrong with people? The guy behind the counter was unwrapping a giant box of X-Men Legends 2, but no We <3 Katamari?
Today I went back to the first EBGames I talked about and they had three copies of We <3 Katamari. That was the extent of the stock they ordered.
It is up to the game stores to push innovation. The game stores are only interested in selling the next GTA clone or version of some shitty-ass sports title to some baggy pants wannabe asshole shithead who has too much money on his hands because mommy and daddy pay for everything. What the hell happened to my hobby? These were the people who used to pick on me because I played games, because I had Super Mario school supplies. Now because these people have gone to video games in droves, the gaming industry is no longer interested in courting me, the player who appreciates the games as an art form, the player who appreciates the games that challenge you, that innovate.
Hopefully Nintendo is going to save the gaming industry (again) with the Revolution. Say all you want naysayers, but the Revolution is going to be crazy amounts of fun no matter what. Nintendo is consistant, unlike other game companies, which is why I cannot fathom why people are saying things like "Nintendo is doomed" and "teh revolution controller sux". It is going to be amazing, and hopefully places like EBGames and Game Crazy put their full weight behind it to show people that it is beneficial to the gaming industry to try new things, and not fall back on old standards.
I just want to know, do any of you have a good game store near you that doesn't treat you like crap? Post it in the comments please, I'd love to hear your good game store stories.
--Frodo
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