Nonapod

GB seems to have s good solid community and I like their content a great deal so I subscribed a while back. But I check out Joystiq for quick headline type general VG news and I visit several other gaming and gaming related sites maybe once a week (Gamestop, IGN, 1UP, Kotaku, GamaSutra, Pennyarcade, Shacknews, and Eurogamer to name just a few) but don't participate in their forums much. I do listen to Shacknews's Weekend Confirmed podcast which (I hate to admit) I like a little better than the Bombcast since Garnet Lee seems to keep things in line a little better.

It's still hard for me to consider the SNES and N64 as old classics and realize that they're over 15 and 20 years old. I started gaming in the early 80s and I certainly have some fond memories of the game systems of that era. But for me personally for the sheer nostalgia nothing tops the original NES. I can honestly say I enjoyed far more games for that system than any other. Games like Zelda, Metroid, Super Mario Bros. 1 - 3, Megaman 1 - 3, Bionic Commando, Metal Gear, Contra. Super C, Rygar, Ikari Warriors, Gradius, Lifeforce, Guardian Legend, Dragon Warrior, Castlevania's 1 - 3, RC Pro-Am, Wizard's & Warriors, Double Dragons 1 - 3, Ninja Gaiden 1 - 3, Pro Wrestling, Ice Hockey, Punch Out!, Legacy of the Wizard, Kid Icarus, Sword of Crystalis... and on and on and on. No other system even comes close.

I'm sort of curious, once the panda bear expansion hits how much will a brand new fully up-to-date (all the expansions) account cost? And how long would it take to install on a relatively modern system?

In 2004 the entire video game industry had an estimated annual revenue of around 25 billion. Today I've seen some estimates put it's annual worldwide revenue as high as $100 billion. The industry has perhaps quadrupled in size in 8 years. It has enjoyed a period of unprecedented growth over this past generation. Granted, a lot of the more recent growth may not be in areas a lot of people around here are huge fans of, like social network gaming (Zynga), mobile gaming (Android/iPhone), and Wii shovleware, but there's more money coming in now than any other time in the history of gaming. It's true that there's been a bit of a downturn in terms of console sales and software sales recently, but that has more to do with the over extended lifespan of the current generation than with any grand impending doom.

The Wii is reaching the end of it's lifespan and the PS3 and 360 are 6 and 7 years old. There hasn't been anything particularly new or interesting in the console space in quite a while and it's starting to take it's toll. Hardware sales have been slacking since most people who have any interest in console gaming already own 1 or 2 or even 3 of the current consoles by now. Honestly at this point I believe the industry needs an infusion of new hardware to get people interested in console gaming again.

What's really scary is that one day genetic engineering will allow people to alter themselves cosmetically with real claws, fangs, and fur like that Batman Beyond episode "Splicers".

I know the exact day, December 25, 1981

I'm of the opinion that the next XBox will run a modified version of Windows 8, possibly Windows RT for ARM if indeed the new system ends up using ARM procs like a few rumors have mentioned.

60 DH 74k with SS, 69K health

I don't know what Sony is planning here, but I've said it once and I'll say it again: Full cloud gaming is not ready for prime time. On-Live's latency is abysmal, and I don't think we can expect any reasonable improvement in the near future. Perhaps in another 5 or 10 years with improvements to the infrastucture of the internet and the further spread of high speed broadband things may be different.

My favorite shmup of all