Quarters

It just comes with the territory. New system comes out, games come out for old and new. Been that way for a while now. Heck, even if you go back to the SNES/PS1, Street Fighter Alpha 2 came out on both systems. Usually, different teams work on the versions, which means that the next gen one will be the one worth getting, with the old gen version just being gimped for those that can't afford/are too stubborn to buy the new system yet, so they aren't totally gipped. Standard practice.

I can grow a heck of a beard, but I generally go clean shaven because it can get a little unruly. And itchy.

The only reason Japanese games seem more memorable is because it's the predominant region that games came from back in our youth. Therefore, our nostalgia for the glory days make them more memorable. I think games from any region can become just as memorable as any other. Like others have said, western RPGs have made far more of an impact in my life in this generation. I can't imagine my gaming life without Mass Effect for instance, which became one of my top two series(alongside a Japanese alum, Metal Gear).

@jace: Sorry, didn't quote because that quote box is getting gnarly long. I don't believe he was being hostile towards me, I merely feel that if we kept progressing down the road we were going, it would lead to a pointless argument. Face it, regardless of anything I say, you won't believe any of it, and it will only make you find me more of a fool. I'm not going to start bad blood, just in a desire to prove I'm "right". I know what I believe, and I'm confident in it. I don't want to shove others in front of the bus to stroke my ego. Not saying that you are doing that, just that's where my motivation lies in this discussion.

As much as everyone likes to state what's "fact" and what's not, that doesn't mean I believe every scientific thing I see. Whole-heartedly believing in that is just as silly to me as believing in a supposed book of fairy tales is to you. And as for holding the world back...back from what? I in no way mean this in an antagonistic sense, I genuinely want to know what the end goal is. I get the furtherance of technology, more advanced medical procedures and all that, but honestly, if scientific enlightenment forces me to start to view others as lesser because they don't strive to the same scientific lengths as me, I want no part of that. That's exactly why people loathe Christians so much, because they feel they are judgmental and ignorant, only foolishly holding on to their own beliefs. However, that goes both ways. I admit, plenty of Christians(as well as other religions) are going about it completely wrong, and there are extremists on all sides. However, I'd like to think that one day, science and faith can coexist in a manner that it has yet to do.

My goal in life is to focus on my relationships, how to make the lives better of my friends, family, and those I don't. Due to this, I never gravitated towards science/math. Always more of an English guy, really. Regardless, it's the way I chose to live my life, just as others choose to live a life based on the study of our past and our future. I'm merely asking not to completely invalidate each other in the process. It takes all kinds in the world, otherwise we would cease to function. Utopia is an unattainable dream. That's been proven time and time again. Our theories will fail, our technology will break, and our peace will falter. Instead of trying to perfect our race, we must merely learn to cope with our mistakes, and learn to work together, despite all of our differences. Take that for what you will.

Is it weird that I'm getting a post apocalyptic vibe from everything?

I'm sorry that you feel that way. However, I'm not going to sit here and argue. Your convictions are deep held, and anything I say will only fuel your fire. Though people like me have no place in your society, I only hope that we can still coexist peacefully.

The greatest irony I find in all this is just how close those who hold scientific beliefs are to those that hold religious ones. Now, I will say in full disclosure, that yes, I am a Christian. That being said, I don't think all science is evil or anything. There are some theories I don't agree with(such as macroevolution), but I think plenty of other areas of the topic are fine.

Anyway, essentially, for athiests(just the general term I'm using here, though not necessarily all who hold deep scientific beliefs should be classified as such), science is their God. One of the main, common complaints for the Bible is the fact that it was just written by a bunch of guys 2,000 years ago, therefore it's impossible to consider it as anything other than a storybook. Yet, here's the thing: the same fallible species that wrote the Bible(along with other texts), is the same species that made all of these scientific theories. It's fallible man, doing fallible tests, and creating fallible evidence. It requires just as much faith to believe that they are correct as it does to believe the Bible or anything else is correct.

This is further supported by the zealous devotion to such topics as this. The fact that when a scientific person/atheists/whatever hears something that goes against science, their first instinct is to bristle up just as a religious person would to something that goes against their beliefs. The idea that things like the belief in Creationism needs to be weeded out to further advance the species is no different than how many accuse those who try to convert others to their religions as acting. Though the atheist may use different words, different notions, they still are generally in the same ball park.

So, essentially, what I'm getting at is that there is no room for elitism and a condescending tone here, on either side of the fence. There's far more similarities between our ideas and beliefs than perhaps we would like to think, and we need to learn how to have open dialogues without trying to tear down the other side. Instead, we should try to better understand each other, even if neither side will budge from their views.

Considering that Christians have to hear things they don't believe in and view as false in a near daily basis in college, I think you can handle one mention. Everyone's going to hear stuff they don't agree with/believe is outright false. As BS as you think Christianity/Creationism is, they feel the same way about certain types of evolution and certain scientific beliefs. However, I doubt you would want someone who believes in what you view as BS to cause trouble/argue with/refute a teacher that you respect greatly, and who falls in line with everything you want out of a teacher.

Part of college is hearing different viewpoints and theories. Whether you believe those are true are not is an entirely different subject, but that doesn't change the fact that it's not something you can just force away. Same way from the other side. If you don't like what he's saying, ignore him. He's not going to rip your opinions and beliefs out of you.

Doesn't seem to fix the issue I have with GTA, which is that I violently loathe each and every character they have.

I would TOTALLY play a Kojima game starring Ryan Gosling and Norman Reedus.