200 Issues, Huh?

Finally got to read my issue of Game Informer over break. This blog isn't really about articles or writing, it's about design.

I Love The New Format:

Recently Game Informer magazine underwent a makeover of the extreme variety. And I have to say, I'm loving the new look.

The new format is great. The cover is stream lined, the type face is more elegant, and most importantly, I'm addicted to the eight different covers for issue number 200.

On their web site the staff has put up a gallery of every cover they've used the last 200 issues. I can honestly say I greatly appreciate the differences that the Epic Mickey cover started.

Not only has the exterior of the mag changed, but the interior as well. Yes, it still features the same type of information, but everything is less 'busy'. Again, everything about the magazine is more streamlined and I'm loving every minute of it. Just looking at the changes this particular magazine has made makes me realize all over again just why I hope like hell magazines, gaming mags in particular, will hold on long enough for me to experience working for one.

Quote of the Day:

"Harmony seldom makes a headline."

-Silas Bent

Eco Gaming

Gaming is now green(er).

It's Not Like I Threw Out The Cases Anyway...:

A couple days ago Kotaku put up a post about 'green' gaming. And by 'green gaming' I clearly mean eco-friendly(er) game cases.

The new cases drop the weight by about 20% and use less materials.

Now, I suppose less materials means more eco-friendly which is probably a good thing. Personally though, as long as it looks the same as my older game cases, I could care less. The tree huggers would probably injure me for that statement... Manufacturers are probably happy though. The new cases wull cost less to ship.

Quote of the Day:

"The old saying tells us, "the way to a man's heart is through his stomach." Let's update that for today's world and recognize that the way to a blogger's keyboard is through their ego."

- Peter Kim

Yup, It's Interesting All Right

Hello Again. Update on the whole ECA situation.

Shush, The President Is Speaking:

New information about the ECA situation has made its way forward. Kotaku has an article up with Hal Halpin's, the ECA President, response to everything.

According to Halpin, it's all the consumers fault.

Now, I don't know about you, but I just don't know if that's the best answer. Yes, there have been situations where people have exploited some of the discounts that have been offered through the ECA. Yes, some of these people are probably part of the group complaining about this situation. But that does not mean that the 'exploiters' are the only ones having problems with the changes in policy.

Placing the blame entirely on the exploiters is not good business. At some point the organization is going to have to step up and take some responsibility for what has happened. Yes, some people exploited benefits, but by the same token their response does not appear to be very well thought out either.

Again, I'm not sure what this is all going to amount to, but I do hope that they find the means to change their policy in the somewhat near future. It'd be a shame for the ECA to get run into the ground over this, especially since they're (supposedly) doing good things for the community.

Quote of the Day:

"For a politician to complain about the press is like a ships captain to complain about the sea."

-Enoch Powell

Well This'll Be Interesting...

Outrage abound! Gamers are pissed again, this time in relation to their credit cards. Warranted? Possibly. Only time will tell.

I Gave Them My Information Too...:

Earlier today a huge story broke on NeoGAF and Cheap Ass Gamer about suspicious activity on the part of the Entertainment Consumers Association.

The story has reached the gaming masses, with tons of similar articles running on sites like the Consumerist, Kotaku, CAG and many others.

Now, what did the ECA do exactly? They changed their cancellation policy. Instead of the online de-registration link (that they say never worked) people now have to send in certified snail mail to ensure that they are no longer members of the orginization.

The real problem here is that the ECA also automatically charges a $20 yearly fee and can, and will, update your credit card information to make sure they get your money.

What really intrigues me about this situation (other than the fact that I may get charged a year or so from now) is how quickly the information spread. Everything went viral in what must have been an hour or less. The actual problem was made public yesterday, but once the information reached a more visited corner of the internet it spread ridiculously fast.

A lot of gamers are understandably angry at the possibility of having to jump through so many hoops to cancel their subscription to an organization that they now deem 'shady'. And while the organization also has my information, I am personally going to with hold judgement for at least a short while.

Yes, I am a little peeved that the ECA made this move, but before I grab a pitchfork and the torches, I, for one, am willing to give them a chance to rectify the matter. All the bad publicity is bound to cause some changes, and at the least, maybe I'll be able to un-subscribe by phone or through their website again.

Quote of the Day:

"I believe in equality for everyone, except reporters and photographers."

-Gandhi

Rechargeable Algae

Hope you all had a lovely Holiday. Now, back to the news.

Goodbye AA's?:

Was reading around the net this morning when I happened to stumble upon an interesting article. Now, the title itself is the most horrendously boring thing ever, so I suppose it's a good thing I found it through a link on another site, I would have never clicked it otherwise.

It did come with lovely pictures though, not that I particularly liked the format, but the nasty algae hand was an attention getter (unlike the title).

In any case, I can't help but wonder if the algae batteries could make it so that I'm not trapped in a plane somewhere with a dead PSP. It'd be a little awkward knowing my battery was alive though... zombie PSP?

Quote of the Day:

"The American mass media have acheived what the American political might could not: World domination."

-Akbar S. Ahmed

'Blind' Date

Interesting things on CNN today.

Sir, I'm going to need a background check and medical history:

Was lurking around CNN today when I found this interesting little article.

It talks about a couple iPhone apps that allow people to figure out just about anything about their dates. Or, who ever they happen to come across I suppose.

Now apparently these apps are pulling information from the public records, but still. Of particular note: the lead for this article amuses me. The article itself is well done, but it leaves me wondering.

Is this what we've come to? Privately stalking potential mates to figure out if they are worthy of being a potential mate?

Makes you think. What could the future hold, I mean we already know everything about everyone, will Gattaca really be the way of the future? Dun Dun Dun.

Quote of the Day:

"Advertising is legalized lying."

-H.G. Wells

Maybe you're the real problem?

Massive amounts of agitation are currently being aimed at the writer of this editorial. And not just because I completely disagree with her stance on video game violence.

Who Is Her Editor, And Why Do They Both Still Have Jobs:

The Washington Times has an article up on their site (I'm not sure if it was printed or not) that should anger people.

I'm quite honestly a little shocked that this made it past any half-sane editor. Now, I'm not arguing her stance on video game violence, I could care less about the opinions of yet another video game hating, uninformed old lady. But what I am angry about is little more than a sentence.

"Just as millions of Americans tuned into the painfully moving memorial service at Fort Hood, Texas, honoring 13 Americans whose lives were extinguished by an Islamist soldier in their midst, entertainment news carried headlines about a record-setting war game now available wherever toys are sold."

Just what the -expletive- is that supposed to mean? American soldiers aren't allowed to be Islamic? The fact that this one man happened to be Islamic means that any other Islamic soldiers 'hiding out' in the military will do the same thing?

I don't care what the buzz words are now a days. I don't care how well written the sentence might be. That sentence should not have slipped by so many eyes unnoticed and unchanged. I don't care what your opinion is, but this country is supposed to be all about religious, cultural and ethnic freedoms.

Instances of the media, the so called 'watchdog', being intolerant should not be acceptable.

Quote of the Day:

"If one morning I walked on top of the water across the Potomac River, the headline that afternoon would read: 'President Can't Swim.'"
-Lyndon B. Johnson

Wii...Fat?

Oh look at that incredibly original and unique title. Any who, more studies to be announced and then ripped apart by yours truly.

These Just Make My Job That Much Easier:

Gamasutra reported on a study about the effectiveness of Wii Fit yesterday. Apparently the American Council of Exercise (ACE) found that Wii Fit's virtual exercise routines just don't add up to the real deal.

Surprised? Me neither. However, I will reserve any real judgement until a better study is done. While this one did manage to provide a fairly well done approximation of the aerobic exercises, it completely ignores some of the other aspects of the game.

Doing lunges with or without a Wii Fit Balance Board is still doing lunges no matter how you look at it.

Quote of the Day:

"Being a reporter is as much a diagnosis as a job description."
-Anna Quindlen



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Now playing: Finger Eleven - Change The World
via FoxyTunes

A Curious Case

Interesting things have happened once again.

No, This Does Not Involve Brad Pitt:

Yesterday, Gamespot reported on a very interesting, and possibly influential, court case involving a visually impaired gamer and a couple of Sony's gaming divisions.

The original article didn't take a stance on the matter, or even bother commenting on the possible effects of the lawsuit. Kotaku's later coverage, however, did note that the rulings could have effects for not only Sony, but the entire industry.

I personally don't know how to argue either side of the issue, and I'm glad neither site attempted to. I do, however, find it interesting that the Kotaku article included commentary on the matter, and that the Gamespot article did not. Perhaps it's because of the differences between news-blogs and regular news sites? Kotaku does tend to have a more relaxed feel to its articles, maybe that's also related to the less 'professional' nature of blogs.

Quote of the Day:

"I stand by this man (George W. Bush). I stand by this man because he stands for things. Not only for things, he stands on things. Things like aircraft carriers and rubble and recently flooded city squares. And that sends a strong message, that no matter what happens to America, she will always rebound... with the most powerfully staged photo ops in the world."

- Stephen Colbert

'Expert' Opinion

Yet another update

Here We Go:

Today Cnet posted an article about social isolation and the net.

Turns out that despite popular belief, the Internet does not cause people to withdraw from society. As with last weeks post, I wish I could say I was surprised. Again, the specialists seem to be out of the loop.

The study/survey that was preformed actually found that people can in some ways expand their social interactions. Which again, is hardly unexpected. Yes, there are those few horror stories of people spending their entire lives on WoW (and in some really rare cases, dying because of it) but overall people understand the idea of 'moderation'.

Yes, sitting in front of the computer all day seems to lesson peoples interaction with other people. But at the same time, it opens up entirely new ways for people to interact with others. People are spending on social networking sites, which unsurprisingly, help people socialize with others. In addition to social networking, you've got forum chats and instant messaging. People on a whole are using the Internet in ways that help them interact with people. Not to avoid them. Just because someone frequently makes spends time on the Internet it doesn't automatically imply that they don't go out with friends on Friday night.

It's about time that the 'experts' realized this. Hopefully it'll spread around some more, and I'll get less flack from the technologically challenged. It probably won't, but I can dream.

Quote of the Day:

"Whoever controls the media, controls the mind."
- Jim Morrison

Such A Big Ego...

Oh look. An update.

Someones A Little Late To The Party:

There's a lovely article up on CNN today about online ego's. Link here.

Essentially what this article boils down to is that our fragile little human ego's can even get injured through the internet! Shock and surprise abound. But not really.

Apparently scientists are just now getting around to discovering that that people interact with the internet in the same ways they do with the real world. (well, except with less restraints on their actions) The people in the article find it startling that this occurs. I find it startling that it took them this long to figure that out.

Clearly these people just don't spend much time interacting with people through the internet. If they did, they'd have known that internet ego's are just as big (if not bigger than) real life ones. Visit any forum or chat room. Question anyone through the net and things are bound to get ugly the second an ego (or e-peen as some groups will call it) is threatened.

Quote of the Day:

"Journalism largely consists in saying 'Lord Jones is dead' to people who never knew Lord Jones was alive."
-G.K. Chesterton

Big Screen Speculations

Journalism Go Go Go!
Welcome to the first (official) entry into the Dailey Luls: Journalistic Edition. The past few days the net (well certain little corners of it) have been a buzz with rumors and speculation of a shiny new Nintendo DSi. Yes, again. Yes, already. But enough with the judging, here are the facts.

Nintendo's at it Again...:

IGN has a nice little report on the matter. Apparently Nikkei, a Japanese news site, is reporting that Nintendo intends to release a shiny new DSi with a larger 4 inch screen.

Fascinating stuff really, except IGN is truly keeping to bare bones reporting on this one. Kotaku on the other hand, well they've covered the matter much more extensively.

In addition to a basic report the news blog followed up with another short report on Nintendo's official stance. In addition to the reports Kotaku has also posted an amusing article with speculative pictures of what the larger DSi would look like. Link here.

While the actual news sources seem to be sticking to basic reporting (with the exception of the mock-ups) commenter's on both sites seem to be full of nerd-rage.

Personally? I'm inclined to agree with the commenter's. I just bought my DSi Nintendo. Quit playing with my emotions (and hardware) and make me some games already!

::UPDATE::

Turns out the rumors are true. Say hello to the DSi LL. Or whatever. Link here.

::UPDATE::

Media Quote of the Day:

"The media's the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that's power. Because they control the minds of the masses."
-Malcolm X



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Now playing: Plain White T's - You And Me
via FoxyTunes

Here There Be Updates

Welcome to the Dailey Luls: Journalistic Edition. Journalistic Edition because well, I'm forced to actually update this one. Now, don't assume that means that the Dailey Luls will actually be well, updated daily, this one's bi-weekly.
In any case this is an assignment. I'll be looking at media thinggies here. K, bai.

For the real "luls" hit up The Dailey Luls (not so journalistic edition).