• 5Nov 09

  Fascinating Letter from Venezuelan Gamer

  If you live in the States, you're a lucky one. Hugo Chavez's government in Venezuela has passed legislation that now makes it illegal to sell, import, or produce video games with a stiffer penalty than providing firearms to minors. If you have a few minutes to read, it is well worth it:

  http://www.boingboing.net/2009/11/05/venezuela-chavez-adm.html

  I ain't here to discuss politickin, but how some of America's (referring to the broader sense of North and South America) political figures see Chavez as a saint instead of the tyrant he is confounds me.

  • Posted Nov 5, 2009 3:32 pm GMT
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• 30Oct 09

  GameFly vs. GameStop Trade-In Smack-tacular Showdown

  (Important Note: The next section must be read- wait, shouted- in the deepest, most masculine, gravely-est WWE voice you can muster)

  That's right you pre-pubescent, teeny-tiny, highly effeminate girly men (and ladies), are you ready for the ultimate battle between the ultimate cheap-gamer contenders? Of course you're not, but you're getting it anyway!

  In this corner, we have the reigning champion and king of gamer wallet friendliness, the Gamestop trade-in service! Can you feel the dollars?!

  And in the other corner, one of the few services keeping the US Postal Service from going into bankruptcy while providing mailed satisfaction, the GameFly rental service! I can taste the joyful tears of postmen!

  FIGHT!

  If only this were a wrestling match, it might be a bit more interesting. Instead, my future brother-in-law asked me to break down my GameFly experience and compare it with his Gamestop experience to help him decide if he should switch from his Trade-In approach. There are unfortunately a lot of assumptions that have to be made. For example, we determined that he traded-in about 18 games over the last year while I received about 16 from GameFly. Additionally, it's difficult to know how much he was purchasing the games for or how much trade-in cash he got for them. With those challenges in mind, here we go:

  Chris at Gamestop:
  Games played: 18
  Estimated game price: $50
  Estimated Trade-in percentage of value: 40%
  Estimated Total Cost: $540
  Estimated cost per game: $30

  Dave at GameFly:
  Games played: 16
  Monthly cost: $24.42
  Games at a time: 2
  Total Cost: $293.04
  Cost per game: $18.32

  It's easy to see that GameFly comes out way ahead and also really easy to blame my estimated numbers. In order for the prices to be comparative, you would need to get a trade-in cash back percentage of around 63%. From everything I've seen and read, it takes a miracle or a sweet deal to get that much for your trade-ins. However, each service does come with some problems, and the very first one on GameFly's list will likely disqualify the service for many people.

  GameFly Caveats:

  1. You don't mind waiting a few months to play that new game. If you miss the new game's ship date, you're likely to not be able to get it from GameFly until a few months down the road. With how quickly games are forgotten, this may not work for you. This is unquestionably GameFly's biggest problem.
  2. You don't want to keep a lot of games. Having a huge collection is nice and all, but if you never crack open Star Ocean after the disappointing purchase, what's the point? If you do want to keep a game though, you know that the 75% or more off the used Gamestop price is far better. Plus there are those enticing rewards they give you every 3 months!
  3. You don't mind not being able to make impulse purchases. There is a certain allure to buying whatever you want when you want it, but you've got those compulsive urges under control.

  Gamestop Caveats:

  1. You only play "the good stuff." Instead of taking a chance on a crappier yet also fun game like Afro Samurai or Star Ocean, you'd rather wait for the reviews to come out. You wouldn't want to risk loosing your "good taste" Gamespot emblem now would you?
  2. You don't mind being harassed to pre-order Fantasy Story 14: More Fantasy that Isn't Fantastical every time you want a new game. Those nice clerks are just doing their job, even if it is borderline criminal harassment.

  So there you have it. GameFly is the winner. And no, I don't get anything for posting this blog I promise.

  What do you think? Is my math way out in left field? Am I a super-biased jerkface that just insulted your favorite retailer? Have you found a better way to be a cheap but plugged in gamer?

  • Posted Oct 30, 2009 1:07 pm GMT
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• 16Oct 09

  raptr and the Future of Social Gaming

  For those of you who are not aware, raptr (available conveniently at raptr.com) is a mash-up of various forms of internet communication, xfire, and GiantBomb's achievement system (though not as interesting) with some web 2.0 principles attached. It combines instant messenger systems much like how Pidgin combines them into a single client. Additionally the client tracks game playing while the user's individual raptr web page mines for players achievements (unfortunately PS3 achievement mining is broken until Sony can get a better handle on scalable hardware). It can also hook up to Facebook and Twitter-like services to broadcast what the user is currently playing. It's a very interesting push into the future of social networking and gaming and as an example, here is my own raptr card:

  

  The next big coming change to social gaming is coming from the next update to Xbox Live, bringing Twitter and Facebook integration. While PS3 users will correctly argue that they already have Facebook and Twitter on their systems via the built-in web browser, it is not integrated to the core of the system as it will be in the Live update. From what I've seen, it allows you to do things like find friends who may also be hiding their secret 360 love affair as well as walk through people's profiles and pictures with a controller instead of a mouse. (Pro Tip: You can hook up a USB keyboard to your 360 for typing stuff and keep it around for the same thing on your PS3).

  In the end, I question the effectiveness of the these two to create a better online community. I haven't met a single person through raptr yet, and while the Facebook stuff on the 360 will reveal a few more people who I can hop on Live with, I strongly doubt that either will foster the same sense of community as a forum or blog site. It is the lack of commitment required to use these services that will hold them back. In either a forum or blog, you are committing at a minimum some of your time and more likely some of your personality (unless it's NeoGAF) that increases the risk/reward to keep you coming back much like actual friendship at a greatly reduced level. These same things will not be provided by either raptr or Facebook on Live.

  I don't mean to dog either of these services as they are great tools, but I do question their significance and lasting appeal. For me, the best part of raptr is that it tracks the amount of time I'm spending playing games to help with accountability, and as stated previously I'm sure I'll pick up a few extra friends on Live because of the Facebook integration. But neither tool can currently be used adequately to foster the same sense of community that a simple forum or blog site can provide.

  So where does social gaming go from here? Can there ever be an integrator of gaming or are individual games' community sites the way to go? Are "core" games already socially behind the times because of Facebook games? Is community even important or relevant to gaming? What are your thoughts?

  • Posted Oct 16, 2009 1:46 pm GMT
  • Category: Games
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