downtime58

On the one hand, I can totally see an opportunity to tap into the market of gamers who are recently bridging the gap between console and PC gaming (like myself).

On the other hand, the price points on these consoles is pretty high - far too rich for anyone who's just curious. At $500 and above, you're not likely marketing to anyone who's a casual gamer (at least not a middle class one).. And I'd suspect anyone who's already a dedicated PC gamer either has the rig they need, or has the means to build their own at a smaller price point that these pre-built machines.

Factor in what Zeik said above - that anybody who's slightly casual will bolt at the slightest hint of complexity - and I can't help but see a recipe for disaster. Having different machines, from different manufacturers, at different price points and specs - with not a hint of unified branding - screams complexity. I can't see that appealing to anyone who's intimidated by PC gaming.

Time will tell though - really curious to see where this goes.

I like me some Merle Haggard or Cash and a lot of the older stuff.

The new stuff sounds pretty much like weak top-40 rock, except with a pedal steel beneath it.

And true fact: New country music has more ridiculously gimmicky high-concept song titles/themes than even rap nowadays.

I'm was profoundly sorry to hear the news. My thoughts go out to his family and the Giant Bomb crew. What can you really say? I don't even have the words to express how terrible it is to lose Ryan.

Hitman Absolution - 4.5/5

Having played a ton of Blood Money, and seeing a lot of negative comments, I was expecting disappointment. Instead, I got one of the most enjoyable games I've played all year - I felt that it did a great job of retaining the classic feel of Hitman games while pushing the genre in some interesting new directions - lots of replay-ability in the levels and changing things up a bit so not every level is a simple assassination. The story is dumb, but it's southern-friend motif and bizarre characters kept me entertained and invested in eventually taking all of them out.

@kaosangel:

"With the recent complaining of a game about over the top violence and the ranting of a white man, it has brought the industry to it's knees."

What in the world does this even mean? The video game industry? It seems to be doing okay right now...?

"This is no way racist, sexist, or insulting considering it's a few years old and both Anita and Adam Sessler never complained once about it"

Because somebody didn't complain about something doesn't make it not sexist or racist. Last I checked, Adam Sessler wasn't the ultimate arbiter of what constitutes either.

"Why is it mainstream media stops bitching in an instant when a black guy makes something similar?"

If you're saying what I think you're saying, it's because The Boondocks is satirizing that attitude. It's the same reason that much of what South Park covers isn't treated controversially - it's meant to be taken with a grain of salt. I think you're getting confused about somebody making light of a viewpoint by playing it up, and somebody who genuinely believes said attitude.

I can't figure out what the rest of your post is implying. What will they do when a Boondocks game comes out? Probably nothing, maybe something - would their opinions of something really have any profound consequences?

Yeah...screw the company that helped make the game you like...wait, what?

Of course, he can't possibly have his own opinion. The more logical choice is always...conspiracy! Seriously though, I think you've totally misinterpreted the article - it takes a pretty balanced look at both sides of the microtransactions issue - from EA's perspective and from the consumer's perspective.

For those Canadians out there, I think the prices are slightly different - cough cough - higher for most of the games.

It was a much longer presentation than I thought we'd get - I was thinking one hour, show a couple games and done.

I get the sense that Sony has learned a lot of lessons from the last console cycle - I think a lot of hubris that carried over from dominating with the PS2 era hurt Sony, and it seems to me at least, that they're making efforts to meet game makers and game players at least halfway.

Here's my random, totally not scientific theory, but I have a feeling Sony will come into this cycle as the hard-working underdog, and it might be Microsoft that plays the role of successful company who comes in overconfident. And, of course, that's a completely unsupported theory, but it's a nagging feeling...like when my knee aches when it's about to rain or something.