I'm trying this game out. I've only played the first level and omg what.

Who wants to watch me get my ass kicked in BORDERLANDS2? Huh? Sounds like fun right?

Warning: Random dog barks and background roomy chatter are expected. As well as the occasional—or not so occasional—curse.

It's been a while! Steam sales invaded my wallet and after my roomie going on and on about it, I decided to pick up Reus! Seems like a great game

Warning: Random dog barks and background roomy chatter are expected. As well as the occasional--or not so occasional--curse.

Hey...hey guys. You DO realize it's the same as Steam right? If you violate Steam's TOS they can deny access to all of your games you purchased through Steam--granted people have found work arounds!

You purchased a LICENSE! You didn't buy the game like you do a cabinet or a toy. 

I just have to point out one thing: Unless they're Free Software, you don't own ANY of your PC games.

I don't like the IDEA of EULAs, let alone the insane fact that they carry actual, legal weight, but doing the 'You don't REALLY own your Steam games!' without highlighting the fact that the 'I Agree' check box/button during the install of a game off of a disk is a direct admission by the user that they don't own a game. It just speaks to the ignorant and/or the uninformed.

The license that you agree too informs you that, for any reason and, often, without notice, your legal ability to run the software(Whatever it may be) may be revoked.

They can't come to your house and take your disk, but I wouldn't doubt one bit that they could get a judge to take it away if they so felt it necessary to prevent you from using said software. Just because it's harder doesn't mean that they can't. This is the primary reason that I despise EULAs. There is no  First-sale Doctrine to protect me. They have all the rights and I have none... Except what is stipulated in the EULA.

--Sobek

Microsoft can't just "take their game back whenever they feel like it". You have to violate their ToS and if you do that it's your own damn fault! If someone reports you for cheating I would like to think they do investigations and all that bs. It's ridiculously hard to get someone's account banned on xbox live--currently--even when several people verify that a person was cheating and screaming slurs the entire time.

I hate the whole entirety of the XBone. Honestly there's a lot of other bs you can slam them with, but screaming about losing your licenses because YOU violated a TOS is not one of them. Every piece of software/webiste that has a TOS can do the same damn thing.

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse. 

Tipsy Minecraft! 

Mic is on! We will probably be talking about the E3 conference!

Warning: Random dog barks and background roomy chatter are expected.

I’ve been sick the past two days! I’ve been wanting to play this for the past week so here we go!

Warning; Random dog barks and background roomy chatter are expected. As well as the occasional—or not so occasional—curse.

I’ve been sick the past two days! I’ve been wanting to play this for the past week so here we go!

Warning; Random dog barks and background roomy chatter are expected. As well as the occasional—or not so occasional—curse.

.....AS SOON AS LIVESTREAM DECIDES I CAN FRICKIN STREAM!

It's a click site! I'm just trying it out come join!

I wish people understood this shit.

Stop charging full retail prices for a digital copy of the game.

The copy that comes with no booklet, no case, can’t be removed from the system, takes up hard drive space, and doesn’t have to be shipped.

STOP. FUCKING. DOING. THAT. YOU. GREEDY. FUCKS.

I've had a horrible day and I'm really tired, so lets play some minecraft before I crash!

Mic is on!

Warning: Random dog barks and background roomy chatter are expected.

I agree with everything BUT the backwards compatibility. Backwards compatibility is going away folks. Technology is getting better, faster, and stronger (ha) and the technology jumps are huge between each console. Try playing some of your Win95 and Win98 PC games on the newest computers. It probably won't work, and, if it does, it'll look like crap and be insanely buggy.

I'm going to copy and paste from my rant about the PS4 that deals with backwards compatibility. The Xboxes would have run into the same or very similar issues.

You’re not going to get backwards compatibility. They had issues with the PS2/PS3 backwards compatibility. The anti-aliasing sucked (really jagged edges) and it didn’t work for all games. It cost Sony a lot of money to try and get it working. Instead of investing a lot more time to get it to work—they realized that software patches weren’t working—and make the price go up, they just stopped producing it. Also backwards compatibility means bigger, bulkier, more expensive machines to process new and old games. People were upset over $600 systems, if you want a better machine, with backwards compatibility it’s going to cost more due to the time for development, parts, and upkeep.

The only, ONLY instance I can understand complaining about backwards compatibility is when it comes to the digital downloaded games. Sony should have some sort of redemption for the PS3 digital games to the PS4—IF the same digital games are available.

Alright, if you’re a consumer and you’re considering picking up the new Xbox One console, then please, take a moment to listen to me. Before we begin, no, I am not a fanboy or a hater. I have no console Bias. I have a PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, and a Gaming PC. Each has their pros and cons but now onto business. DO NOT BUY AN XBOX ONE. Why? See the reasons below: Xbox Requires an internet connection. Here’s how it works: Every 24 hours your Xbox will try to connect to Microsoft’s servers for verification. If it is unable to connect, sucks to be you. You’re blocked from playing even single player games until it can connect. Source: http://kotaku.com/xbox-one-does-require-internet-connection-cant-play-o-509164109 Do you like renting games, lending them to a friend, or even borrowing them from a friend? No longer possible. Every Xbox One game you get must be registered to your Xbox live account to be played. After that point it will only work for you. No one else can use it unless they pay a fee. Essentially it works like this. You pick up a used Xbox One game from somewhere or someone, pop it into your console. The system verifies it’s been registered to your account. Uh-oh, it isn’t! In order to play it, you have to pay Microsoft a fee, which is currently slated to be full retail price. Doesn’t matter how scratched up it is or how cheap you got it at gamestop or from a friend. You aren’t just buying the physical copies anymore. You’re paying Microsoft for a LICENSE to be allowed to play that game. It is worth mentioning Microsoft is exploring ways for you to trade in and resell your used games. This is rumored to mean that you can sell your digital license to play the game (registration) back to microsoft, likely for microsoft points. You can then trade in the game at gamespot for some cash if you like. Either way, as it currently stands, the new owner would still have to pay a fee on top of the price of actually buying the physical copy. Source: http://www.technobuffalo.com/2013/05/21/xbox-one-fee-for-buying-used-games-full-retail-price/ Is it worth mentioning that Microsoft if shafting Indie Developers as well? Where as on Playstation Network or (whatever the Wii has) Indie Developers can self publish their content easily. Playstation even encourages this. Microsoft however forces these Indie Devs to enter publishing deals with them to be allowed to market their content. You don’t go through them, you don’t get to sell what you developed. Source: http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/05/22/indie-devs-cant-self-publish-on-xbox-one I’m not quite done yet! Now, I’m sure you heard a lot about “TV TV TV TV SPORTS TV TV SPORTS SPORTS TV.” Yes, the Xbox is slated to be able to stream live tv, live sports, etc. So let me ask you this. You obviously already have something like cable or DirecTV. Do you really want to shell out hundreds of dollars more and pay a monthly subscription fee to have another television provider? Yes, I said hundreds of dollars, and I don’t mean the cost of the console. To view live TV from the Xbox you are required to purchase ANOTHER separate device for it to work. Why would you even consider shelling out more money for something you already have anyway? Even if you didn’t, DirecTV is cheaper. Or you could even subscribe you Hulu.com and watch live tv on your computer. FOR MUCH CHEAPER. You essentially have to buy another cable box if you don’t have one. And if you do… what do you need the Xbox One for? Source: http://www.vg247.com/2013/05/21/xbox-one-live-tv-available-in-us-only-at-launch-requires-separate-device/ So far we’ve discovered that the Xbox One is not really a gaming console, at least… not a consumer friendly gaming console. It’s being marketed as an all-in-one home entertainment system. Something to replace all of the other devices in your house. But there are drawbacks even to that. Put on your tin foil hats for this part folks. Take from it what you will, all I’ll say is… possibilities… The Xbox One’s features will not function unless the Kinect is plugged in and active. This is not an optional piece anymore. Source: http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/05/21/xbox-one-will-not-function-without-kinect-attached So imagine your Kinect piece breaks? Tough luck, no more Xbox for you. But you know what’s worse? Pay attention, because this is important. The Kinect is always watching. Always listening. Even when the system is off. Yes. One of the ways to turn the system on is to audibly say: “Xbox On” while the system is off. The Kinect, which is always on, hears you and turns it on. Now this might seem like a cool feature, but did you know Microsoft patented a feature that would allow the Kinect’s camera (It’s no longer just a sensor, but a camera) to spy on you for the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America?) While they may not actually do this, it is actually possible for them to do this now. It has a camera, and a microphone. The Kinect is always on. It is ALWAYS listening, ALWAYS watching. An idea has been tossed around that by using this feature, it will allows game developers and movie produces to set a limited amount of how many people can be allowed to view the entertainment. So as a hypothetical example, you and three friends are watching a movie, which is the maximum allowed. A fourth friend enters the room and the Kinect’s sensor registers the fourth individual. The movie stops and you a prompted to pay a fee so that the extra individual may also view the film. Again, that is NOT currently the case, but these are the ideas currently being tossed around with the system’s current capabilities. Source for listening: http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/21/4352596/the-xbox-one-is-always-listening Source of spying: http://www.extremetech.com/gaming/139706-microsofts-new-kinect-patent-goes-big-brother-will-spy-on-you-for-the-mpaa Now, just two more things and I’ll be done here! This isn’t really a good or bad thing, but it’s annoying. It also explains how they can prevent you from playing a used game if you didn’t pay their fee. Xbox one no longer plays games off the discs, you HAVE to install them to the hard-drive in order to play them. I believe PS3 also has you do this (on a number of games but not always it seems), except that PS3 isn’t trying to Nickle and Dime you at every corner. It also seems according to this article there is something related to the Online portion at the beginning of this post. The option is there for Developers to require the Xbox to always be online to play their particular game. Well, it seems PC gamers and console gamers have one thing in common now… DRM. (At least pirates on PC can bypass DRM easily. Not an option for Consoles.) Source: http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/21/4352314/xbox-one-hard-drive-game-installs And last but not least, another annoyance… Xbox One will not be compatible with any and all current headsets. Nope, companies will either have to make new headsets altogether specifically for the Xbox One, and they have to adhere to what Microsoft wants. Look forward to price gouging. Source: http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/05/22/xbox-one-incompatible-with-current-gaming-headsets Oh, one more thing… If you have an Xbox 360, don’t get rid of it. Why? Well if you want to keep playing your old 360 games you’ll need it. The Xbox One isn’t backwards compatible. At all. Not only that, but President of Microsoft’s Xbox Division Don Mattrick insults the very notion of backwards compatibility! He calls it: “Backwards thinking.” Source: http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/21/4350662/new-xbox-has-no-backwards-compatibilty Source of insult: http://www.polygon.com/2013/5/22/4355984/xbox-one-backward-compatibility-backwards-thinking-don-mattrick That is all I have to say currently folks, and I hope you took the time to read this far. I’ll conclude with the following… please… PLEASE do not buy this console. Paying for this supports greedy and anti-consumer business practices. Speak with your wallet, and pass up the Xbox One. No matter what games it might have that you want, even if they are exclusive. Do the right thing and make a statement. Refuse to be nickle and dimed like this. Refuse to be seen as a mindless consumer who will buy anything tossed to them. We won’t know much else until after E3, but as it stands now, the PS4 or a decent gaming PC is the best way to go. If you are willing to do so, please spread this post around. Liking is not even remotely necessary, but do please share it if you agree with and acknowledge what you’ve read here. The more people know, the fewer of them waste their money. Thank you, kindly. ~Dylan Jordan

  (Originally posted on Facebook by one of my friends. He brings up many valid points. Mind you, I haven’t been a fan of Xbox in a long time and I will most likely get a PS4. But this confirms further for me that I won’t be getting an Xbox one any time in the foreseeable future.) 

We're expecting REALLY bad storms in my area, so if I disconnect I'm REALLY sorry. I"ll try to pop back on asap. 

Mic is on!

Warning: Random dog barks and background roomy chatter are expected.

Streaming

It'll probably be short. Sorry for the inactivity.

I have a big issue with people who think that games just come out of developers butts.

 It's very meta and clever and all that, but it leaves a sour taste in my mouth. I highly doubt that the devs of this game are in debt over what they made; there are plenty of very successful, profitable games that were pirated to hell and back. 

I think the biggest problem with the gaming industry right now is the fact that developers focus far too much on profit rather than the passion and creative vision of making something.

When games have budgets in the millions of dollars I'm not shocked that they focus on profit.

See you can make money without being greedy: 

http://gamasutra.com/blogs/TommyRefenes/20130318/188683/Apathy_and_refunds_are_more_dangerous_than_piracy.php

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/02/20/anodynes-the-pirate-bay-promotion-made-them-lots/

http://www.cinemablend.com/games/McPixel-Dev-Joins-Pirate-Bay-Give-His-Game-Away-Free-46679.html

These were some of the responses to this article where the game devs made a game development simulator and chose to make it a learning experience for game pirates by having their virtual game studios fail due to pirating. Definitely read the article.

I have a big issue with people who think that games just come out of developers butts. 

The trick this studio did is not preventing people from playing the game; it is just preventing them from having a complete game experience and makes FINISHING the game impossible. They are trying to encourage people to buy the game and if doing that "leaves a bad taste in [your] mouth" then you really do not understand how bad piracy is in the industry. Developers REALLY hate using DRM. It's really aggravating and very distracting to the people actually PAYING. If there are more alternatives to anti-piracy like what Game Dev Tycoon did, then I think it can create a very interesting gaming experience. They could have done something much MUCH more horrible. 

By the way, 10% was not the pirated number. 10% was his PROFIT. That means out of all the sales, only 10% of people actually threw $8 at this game. Team Meat is a rarity in the industry, just like Minecraft, and Castle Crashers. A majority of indie companies do not see this success, and using them as successful examples is unfair to most indies who are INSANELY lucky to break into the 100K of sold games. Add pirating into that, and a general apathy of "it happens, why stop it, free publicity" and you have the case above: devs trying to curb piracy, boost sales, and not go under because making a game is more expensive than people understand. Because game design is a trade skill, worth more than minimum wage, and the cost of software, living, office space, and then marketing your game on top of legal fees and accounting fees? Yeah, it adds up and there is a reason popular games have multi-million dollar budgets and teams of 50+.

Yes, pirating can be good for getting the developer's name out there, but they need SOME profit to make more games. Keep in mind we are talking about indies who don't have MILLIONS OF DOLLARS to start up. So people that complain when game developers do tactics like what Game Dev Tycoon did or complain about being nickle and dimed in Free-to-Play or complain about ads, should probably keep in mind that devs need money to keep living, too, and need money to keep making games for people to play.

The developers who can do things like post their games for free on the Pirate Bay and take other risks like that usually have a little money to side. I'm not blaming them or saying their stupid or they shouldn't do it. I applaud them for trying things out like that to see if it does work. At the same time, however, devs asking for $1 or $10 isn't much. If you took the time to download the game and play it in the first place, you could at least toss a $1 their way. I also TOTALLY understand that it sucks not having enough money to buy a game when it comes out. I TOTALLY understand not having a spare dollar in your bank account. I also understand some games not being available in your area/country. So if these issues arise  you can either wait until the ability to purchase comes your way or...pirate. So I get it and I don't want this to come across as a complete "PIRATING IS EVIL" rant. It would just be nice if you donated or bought the game later WHEN YOU CAN.

So what does my rant boil down too? It costs money to make games. Yes, I am a game developer. Yes, I'm trying to start my own indie company with a group of friends.

We've been sitting down and trying to figure how much it costs to get everything started. It's $30,000 for JUST computers, computer upgrades (for the two that have real work machines), and necessary software required for just a team of five. That's not including legal startup fees, miscellaneous legal fees, taxes, website, convention tours (con tickets, booth rents, shwag, hotel, plane tickets/gas, renting equipment, etc), general marketing, SALARIES SO WE CAN SURVIVE WHILE WE MAKE OUR GAMES, music, sound effects, etc. We definitely plan to make cuts after we get a full scope and can better determine where we can cut. The first thing that ALWAYS gets cut from the budget is the salaries for the main developers and other insane people who are willing to work for potential royalties. Smart INDIE developers go in not expecting to make a huge amount of money, however, they have the goal of at least making what they spent back and a little extra so they can start their next game.

Most indies want to create a game that has "passion and creative vision", but lack the money to create what they need. We don't want a trip to the Bahama's. We don't want sports car. We just want to build our next game. 

Dude, I HATE PLESI. He was a down right bastard to fight. 8C

so the monster hunter demo is out on the 3ds and i was really excited until i saw who the harder boss was.

so we meet again.

I really, REALLY hate getting in sexist arguments. Like pay differences in the industry. One day, I'll learn to just let it be.

A friend of mine posted something about salary for a character artist and was appalled at the pay difference. It's based on a starting position and there was a pay difference of about 20%. Of course there's a guy that pipes in with, "So the percentage is higher". The OP posts to look at the salaries. "Yeah and how many of those are men in charge as opposed to women." I'm thinking, and how is that any less sexist?! It's a very big problem that women aren't in higher positions. Do I have to mention Deep Silver's "Zombie Bait"--one of many examples? A lot of women were enraged and if there were women hire up in the gaming industry management chain, there probably would have been at least one to say, "Is that really appropriate?" Or any of the number of sexist cases that show up in the industry time and time again. More women would be disinclined to just deal with it and instead speak up without fear of being judged as 'another one of the feminists killing our fun.' Anyway...

One of my friends corrects them and mentions that it's a starting position. So another person pipes in saying "These charts are misleading a lot of the time. These surveys only look at pay gaps, and not actual work conditions, etc. Most pay gap studies do not account for hours worked or breaks taken. Studies actually show that women just work less time then men, mostly because they have a family to tend to and therefore log less hours." If this was a GENERAL survey. I probably wouldn't have said anything. However this is the GAMING industry and there's large amounts of surveys and people you can talk to that can tell you that the gross gap is fairly accurate. I've seen the estimates vary from 10-20% depending on programming, art, etc.

Also I hate the excuse "[women] have a family to tend to." It's the stupidest and laziest excuse. I went through my various mailing lists, groups, and personal friends for ALL the women I've been in contact with that work in the entertainment industry (cartoons, movies, games, etc). The mailing lists also include women that THOSE men and women know. These mailing lists include a lot of men and women that are still in the trenches as well as company owners. It's interesting because there was a topic about a week ago asking what women in the gaming industries family lives were like. Most of the women didn't have kids and a large chunk weren't dating or married. The women that did have kids, mostly had their husbands take care of their kids. There was less than 10 that were the primary care takers, but they were either company owners or upper management and were in their mid-30s with grade school kids. As far as women I see in the real world that are in the industry, none of them have kids. Granted I know it's a personal pool and that's not a very wonderful thing to go off of, BUT from lots of articles about women in the gaming industry, it sounds sadly accurate. Also implying that MEN don't have families they have to tend to is kinda messed up. Many dads in the industry have to take time off, purchase benefits, and what not for their kids too, so I kind of find that argument inane.  So then the guy back-peddles and says that he's not arguing women are paid less, just these charts blow it out of proportion because women go for better benefits. "People look at things like this and immediately assume that something dastardly is going down." BECAUSE THERE IS?! Isn't that what started this conversation? Men getting paid a shit-ton more than women. Isn't that the whole point of the OP's post and why I put my two cents up there?

He then goes to argue that women tend to go for more benefits (I already mentioned how this is a lame excuse) and how a personal pool isn't valid. "Yours was a personal pool, who is to say a lot of females in the entertainment industry don't have families"? Because I have researched this shit because it personally effects me. Because tons of women in the industry have talked and ranted about how impossible it is for a women to have a family and work in the industry. Bosses don't care about your sick kids come crunch. You better be there if you want your to keep you job. Maternity leave? There's a very high chance you aren't going to have a job afterwards. Don't get me wrong, some women have found a way to work in the industry and have kids, but they are like those amazing mythical unicorns to the rest of us women. There have been several interviews with these unicorns, and their solutions were pretty much have an awesome husband, amazing luck, a good company, and an amazing contract to cover your ass. The key part is the "amazing luck". Not many women get to have that.

The person I was arguing ends with a very weak, "I don't think it is entirely about the sex of the employee, partly yes, and that is wrong." If sexism wasn't a primary issue and it was mostly a difference because of benefits, I could see a 5% gap. However 10% to 20% difference is a huge difference. This adds nothing to the discussion other than "Please don't think I'm a sexist ass. Also, I don't want to admit the problem is as bad as it actually is". Whatever. I'm tired of dealing with these people that think there isn't an issue or it's not an important issue.

There's also a company that used to fire off all the women and one man from each department a woman was fired 3-6 months. The only reason why the "used to" was there is because women know not to even apply any more. There was another woman that works for a big named company that told me she's getting 10% less salary than the male coworkers she manages. 

I'm tired of seeing people toss this issue a side. I'm tired of fearing for my job if I ask for an equal pay raise as my other coworkers. I'm tired of listening to other women--and other not cismale--have to fight for equal pay. It's an issue that needs addressed and needs to be fixed.

PS: I also know that I can't speak for all women, and I know not all women in the game industry have experienced what I have. I also fight more for "gender equality" than "feminism". There's a good chunk of feminism that I agree with, but a lot of major points I don't. 

Guys do your fucking research.

There's no set price for the PS4 yet. I keep hearing people COMPLAIN about this and pretty much NOTHING HAS BEEN CONFIRMED AS FAR AS A PRICE! The games that you can preorder, the retailers have no CLUE what the final cost will be for the preorder. The $100 games you're seeing, are PROBABLY COLLECTORS EDITIONS OR EXPANDED EDITIONS OR A BUFFER FOR THE COST since It's easier to refund your customers money than it is to ask them for more. As far as game pricing, Sony has said that game prices would range from $.99 to $60. With the system, the most common numbers I've heard--with sources--are $600 and lower. OH and that $900 price you are seeing, is probably the AUSTRALIAN price and even that ISN'T ACCURATE.

You're not going to get backwards compatibility. They had issues with the PS2/PS3 backwards compatibility. The anti-aliasing sucked (really jagged edges) and it didn't work for all games. It cost Sony a lot of money to try and get it working. Instead of investing a lot more time to get it to work--they realized that software patches weren't working--and make the price go up, they just stopped producing it. Also backwards compatibility means bigger, bulkier, more expensive machines to process new and old games. People were upset over $600 systems, if you want a better machine, with backwards compatibility it's going to cost more due to the time for development, parts, and upkeep.

The only, ONLY instance I can understand complaining about backwards compatibility is when it comes to the digital downloaded games. Sony should have some sort of redemption for the PS3 digital games to the PS4--IF the same digital games are available.

...OK I'm done ranting now.

PS4 games - $120

PS4 - $900

No backwards compatibility.