keris

They are not paid to play games. They are paid to relate their experiences with games. Whether it's through writing, videos, or podcasts; that's what their jobs entail. Improving their writing or speaking does more for their work than learning all the combos or remembering where all the bottomless pits are.

I've really enjoyed the Kaido Battle intros:

Here's the PC manual. It still references the XBox buttons throughout manual, though. Rest of the info should apply as well.

It's known as hornC4.wav in the TrackMania GameData files.

The answer will always be Marc Summers. But where's the love for Phil Moore and Nick Arcade?

Well, to keep it on topic: Jerry Buckner has some things to say about Ryan.

IT HAS BEGUN!

@chaser324: For what it's worth, I was super interested in seeing how Microsoft would finally solidify their digital strategy. I thought that despite its policies the Xbox One would still get a healthy base of customers. It would've been real interesting to see how the differences between PSN and XBLM would ultimately shake out. Oh well, it's all probably just delayed until next console cycle... The digital revolution can still happen, just in 5-10 years.

@chaser324:

Why is it that so many people think that with Microsoft's scrapped policies would solely usher in the "Golden Age" of digital games? The digital future is already happening. There are many fine games ready for download on the PS3 and 360. On tablets and mobile devices, all of the games are 100% digital. Steam, GOG, Desura, and Amazon all have their own digital storefronts. The digital future is now.

If anything, I think that Microsoft's decision to allow physical media is the half-step. It would have been a bold step to say that the optical drive was only there to play Blu-ray discs and nothing more. That bold move would have sent a clear message to GameStop that used games would not make any money on the Xbox. Instead, they took the timid half-step of their scrapped policy. A policy that they themselves didn't fully understand. That they couldn't explain themselves clearly illustrates how they compromised on their vision.

I find it naive to think that Microsoft's scrapped policies would help developers see more revenue. Also naive is the notion that "tacked on multiplayer, microtransactions, preorder bonuses, online passes, and unfriendly DLC practices" would disappear only if games could be released in the environment of Microsoft's scrapped policies. A lot of publishers will do everything they can to get as big a piece off the top as they can. A lot of executives will their darnedest to increase their slice of the pie as much as they can. Did you hear about the RIAA charging "breakage fees" on digital music sales? Did you hear about the ESA sending trucks to block E3 goers from seeing the Ouya demo space(presumably because they went around paying the ESA for E3 boothspace)? It's a damn certainty that if there's money to be had, publishers will find a way to get the most of it. Microsoft's policies only really ensured that they'd probably get their own cut off the top. Whatever's left may go to the developers. Having more hypothetical revenue isn't going to change that reality.

Finally, I find it ironic that your rant decries a screaming hivemind with an overwrought sense of gamer entitlement. Is it not from entitlement that your screed rails against a whiny, vocal minority about how they lost you your vision of the future of games? Do you realize that no one has lost anything with Microsoft's change in policy? You can't lose something you never had. As long as the Xbox One is not on store shelves and ultimately in the homes of gamers, all their talk of an all digital utopia is a pipe dream. That much should have been abundantly clear with Microsoft's mixed messages and vague allusions to the benefits of their scrapped policies. That Microsoft did not think through any of the implications of their scrapped policy shows that they didn't have a clear vision of their digitial utopia. Microsoft did not do their due diligence. They slapped together a plan without any thought to the effect it would have on anyone except their own bottom line. That they could reverse their DRM policies further cements the notion that they didn't fully grasp what they were trying to do with the Xbox One.