A bitter sweet story of a guy that sells his game collection to pay for his wedding

http://kotaku.com/5988493/i-sold-my-video-games-to-pay-for-my-wedding-and-said-goodbye-to-part-of-myself

Let's hope he doesn't get divorced then.

An article that I am sure Teb and DG will find interesting
http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/03/08/simcity-burning-a-warning-to-microsoft-sony-and-all-publishers-on-the-dangers-of-always-online-drm

To true

The servers crash because to many people want in, Later they start working again, not because somebody fixed it, but because a lot of people left in frustration. Now that many many people stopped playing Diablo 3 the servers are rock solid... unless they are doing their 500th update/patch/fix in 10 days

I get that it is frustrating, but it is just a symptom of our times. If you want to play the game now you just have to wait until the initial rush dies down. With HotS I am not going to get worked up about it. If I can't play the game for a few days it’s not going to crush my world.

DG mentioned in the chatbox the other day about companies closing down and the game being unplayable. I didn't really take this seriously before, but after reading this article and the example of THQ it has become more of a worry for me now. The only always online games I play are Blizzard games. If they had to go under I am sure another company would buy them up, but it is worrying to think if these sort of DRM games become the norm.

Tebulot said ...

To true

The servers crash because to many people want in, Later they start working again, not because somebody fixed it, but because a lot of people left in frustration. Now that many many people stopped playing Diablo 3 the servers are rock solid... unless they are doing their 500th update/patch/fix in 10 days

Too true. SimCity is a unique situation in that if they had marketed the game as an MMO with single player tacked on, instead of as a primarily SP game with a MP/MMO component, the server issues wouldn't have been such a big deal. MMO players are used to server issues when games launch. This is a proper study in how much your message and packaging matter.

Actually, now that I think of it, D3 could've benefited from the same spin upfront because it really was an MMO.

Corrosive said ...

I get that it is frustrating, but it is just a symptom of our times. If you want to play the game now you just have to wait until the initial rush dies down. With HotS I am not going to get worked up about it. If I can't play the game for a few days it’s not going to crush my world.

DG mentioned in the chatbox the other day about companies closing down and the game being unplayable. I didn't really take this seriously before, but after reading this article and the example of THQ it has become more of a worry for me now. The only always online games I play are Blizzard games. If they had to go under I am sure another company would buy them up, but it is worrying to think if these sort of DRM games become the norm.

Another reviewer touched on it. Once they release Simcity 2014, they will close the servers foe 2013. If you want to play the game, to bad. Buy the new one, now with advertising, micro-transactions, and random cavity searches

Had a very interesting conversation with the gaming section managers at one of the big retail stores close to us around the PS4.

The company is currently considering selling the PS4 only at selected stores and they do not expect the new PS4 to do very well in South Africa.
The reason behind this strategy is that the permanent internet connection will be a sales deterrent for casual gamers [those that buy around 2 games in six months] and families of with the children is under 12 years and not very tech savvy. Unlucky for us, the majority of people buying gaming systems fall in that group.

Secondly, the issue [or rumor] of not being to play second hand games will be a big killer.

They foresee the sales of the new WII U to skyrocket after the release of the PS4.

They also are considering not selling any more PC games that require online connection to play. He told me they ordered 50 000 units of Diablo 3 for Gauteng and they only sold around 4 500 units of which half was returned as the people count not play the game, due to the permanent internet connection required.

Till our internet connections improve and the service providers drastically reduce their costs, it will only be the hardcore games that will be found online.

Sandman said ...

Had a very interesting conversation with the gaming section managers at one of the big retail stores close to us around the PS4.

The company is currently considering selling the PS4 only at selected stores and they do not expect the new PS4 to do very well in South Africa.
The reason behind this strategy is that the permanent internet connection will be a sales deterrent for casual gamers [those that buy around 2 games in six months] and families of with the children is under 12 years and not very tech savvy. Unlucky for us, the majority of people buying gaming systems fall in that group.

Secondly, the issue [or rumor] of not being to play second hand games will be a big killer.

They foresee the sales of the new WII U to skyrocket after the release of the PS4.

They also are considering not selling any more PC games that require online connection to play. He told me they ordered 50 000 units of Diablo 3 for Gauteng and they only sold around 4 500 units of which half was returned as the people count not play the game, due to the permanent internet connection required.

Till our internet connections improve and the service providers drastically reduce their costs, it will only be the hardcore games that will be found online.

No offense but this manager needs to check his facts a bit more closely. Firstly Sony have stated categorically that the PS4 will not block used games. MS is the one rumoured to be stubborn on this point, but we will only know when they actually announce the darn thing.

Secondly, yes you need an always on connection to get the most out of the PS4 (the suspended game state, backwards compatibility for PS3 games etc) but to play your normal disc based games it should be just like the PS3.

The whole D3 returns issue is as much an indictment of Blizzard and the cost of the internet in SA as it is about the big retail chains. If you order that many copies you make damn sure that your customers know that the game requires a permanent internet connection. I have seen it myself in the stores where salesman are either completely ignorant or deliberately mislead customers games. If you experienced a high return rate for this reason, you need to look at your staff training and whether the staff actually knew and informed customers on purchase of the game requirements.

Well, I think that is part of the problem, yeah? With the gaming landscape changing so much, I find it difficult to believe big chain stores can compete with specialty stores like Awx.
They usually just order a box of titles from the big companies and are happy with it, and sometimes they get a small stash off titles that went on special somewhere, which they charge a fortune for. I have seen lonely copies of Jrpg's sitting on shelves for months.

Tebulot said ...

Well, I think that is part of the problem, yeah? With the gaming landscape changing so much, I find it difficult to believe big chain stores can compete with specialty stores like Awx.
They usually just order a box of titles from the big companies and are happy with it, and sometimes they get a small stash off titles that went on special somewhere, which they charge a fortune for. I have seen lonely copies of Jrpg's sitting on shelves for months.

That is the problem, but the solution isn't that obscure. Google the [censored], find a preview, print it and give it to your staff. Hell something as basic as a persistent Internet connection should be known to all staff, as that was all over previews months ahead of release. I find that more and more stores are using the excuse of the staff not being experts in that area and that is bollocks, they just aren't training and managing their staff.

Have you seen the people working at some of these stores? !sick
I would not ask them what color the sky was
Had to go through all that when I was trying to find a wii... Luckily most of them had pictures up that I could point at...

They need proper training, and I highly doubt that G@me or M@kro is going to send their guys on a gaming crash course.
Most application forms are to the line of "Can you breath without letting your mouth hang open most of the time?"

Did blowing into your NES cartridges have any effect?

http://mentalfloss.com/article/12589/did-blowing-nintendo-cartridges-really-help

Let's be honest. We all did it!

24-year-old Total War fan immortalised in Total War: Rome 2 shortly before losing battle with cancer

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-03-18-24-year-old-total-war-fan-immortalised-in-rome-2-shortly-before-losing-battle-with-cancer

Tebulot said ...

Did blowing into your NES cartridges have any effect?

http://mentalfloss.com/article/12589/did-blowing-nintendo-cartridges-really-help

Let's be honest. We all did it!

Interesting read!
& yes, i also did it

Omg you guys, girls also play video games?

http://kotaku.com/5991151/breaking-girls-play-video-games-local-news-discovers?post=58367375

Not only do they play, but they use their bewbs as weapons of mass distraction!
Unfair!
Do it again!

HAHA

EDIT: Just realised I have been playing games for more then 20 years, probably closer to 23 years - lol. Wouldn't have surprised me if that vid was from 1996 like they joked

Very interesting article on the problems between gamers, gaming press and developers.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2013-03-21-entitled-gamers-corrupt-press-and-greedy-publishers

For he last few months I have stopped drinking fizzy drinks except for diet ones at night. There has been a lot of evidence lately that even diet sodas are not that great for you so I stopped those this weekend (since Friday) and am just going to have water from now on unless it’s at an outing.

Yesterday I had a super craving for not just diet soda but full on sugar drinks (Cremesoda! Fanta! Mmmm !love). But why, I didn’t drink the sugar ones before? So after reading up more on it I found this interesting article that sums it…

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/03/01/diet.soda.health/index.html