My latest pairing is Forza Motorsport 3 with a track by Kid Cudi, Kanye West and Common called Poke Her Face
which samples the Lady Gaga chart topper of the same name - basically.

The graphics are really special here. I think it's about time the Xbox 360 had something to respond to Gran
Turismo 5 with.

T'was a quiet, Saturday night. Dre was sitting at his computer after a botched attempt at trying to get tickets to the late show of Fast and Furious.

Long story. Anyways, so here I was. Bored, and lurking a game forum that I consider my usual watering hole of lurkery, when suddenly I came across a comment that read something along the lines of "teh casual gamerz 4 teh lozeeee lawllll". That triggered something within me and I was inspired to create a thread called Casual Gamers > Core Gamers.

I submit to you, my brain child. A product of a Vin Diesel-less Saturday night and clique rebellion.



Casual Gamers > Core Gamers

It's time core gamers start to acknowledge that fact. If you're in this forum posting now and than or even just lurking, odds are you're a core gamer. I'd define this more specifically as a person who considers video gaming a primary hobby and immerses themselves in the culture of it. Me and, like I said, probably you.

That said, the vibe across the general populace here and most other gaming enthusiast forums is to be butthurt over the recent surge in new casual gaming experiences and players. But let me pose a question to you:

The Xbox 360 has sold roughly 30 million consoles worldwide. Now, how many of those people do you think fall under our "core gamer" category? The same question can be asked of every console. However, no matter what you might think, the core gamer is not the majority, here. Fair weather gamers dominate sales charts every time.

It's something I've come to call the Inner Circle Effect, where we go on forums, we talk to our friends on Live, we read Gamespot and these EGM and what we've done is build ourselves a network. In all actuality, this network might only consist of 10 000 people, perhaps. However, not actually knowing this number, we build ourselves up as these high and mighty powers behind the video game industry. We consider ourselves important to an industry that is rising as the most popular means of entertainment.

But in all actuality, we're not important. In reality, we probably make up a small piece of the sales pie. It's casual gamers. People who don't reach out into our network and just play games now and than for fun. They've always been there and without them, this industry couldn't exist, or at the very least, would be nowhere as huge. I'd bet that anywhere between 75 - 90% of console owners would consider themselves a casual.

You, reading this blog, are undoubtedly more intelligent than the numb skulls I interact with on that forum. Your opinion is actually valued here, so I'd like to know your thoughts on the matter. Leave a comment.

Okay. I know what you're thinking. I've already done a Final Fantasy music video right? I can't help it! Square Enix makes epic cutscenes that just so happen to inspire me.

In any case, I think this one came together pretty well. I used to really love AFI, now I'm not half as addicted as I was. Davey has become a tad more flamboyant these days and that's never been my cup of tea.

Watch in HQ! :)

[[Am I late to the party? I mean, the Bungie Weekly Update came out two days ago. I searched to see if someone had made an article about it at one point yesterday and, well, nothing. I couldn't find the five minutes it takes to upload a blog about it than so without searching to see if someone's done it already I'm making one now.]]



Anyways. At the end of Bungie's latest Weekly Update it appears they have slipped in a tasty tidbit for anyone who didn't want to shell out 80 bucks for the Halo Wars: Limited Edition set just to get an early snag of Halo 3's Mythic Map Pack:

"You make sure you stay safe and Stay Tuned.

P.S. 04/09/09"

Classy. Clever. Other "C" words I can't channel at the moment. Cross your fingers just in-case but it's practically a giveaway, boys. I mean what else could it be? Let me know what you think.

P.S. 80/08/50

P.S.S See what I did there?

According to an Associated Press article Yale student, Jesse Maiman is attempting to sue the pants off of US Airways for an Xbox 360 that was apparently taken from his luggage on a trip from New Haven, Connecticut, to Cincinnati (I wasn't aware Cincinnati held idiot conventions this time of year) which apparently had a "specialized" hard drive (see: modded).

CRY MOAR

It's a funny coincidence that my English teacher was telling us that pursuing post-secondary education while, now might seem like a "mature" path to take, will not magically turn us into "mature" people - as if MTV hadn't taught us that already. Jesse Maiman, you are a stellar example for us young ones on the verge of turning a new chapter in our lives. You've taught us all that it is okay to be a pupil in one of the world's finest educational institutions and still behave like a whiny jackass.

Also: A US Airways spokeswoman said the airline was unaware of the suit but noted that the government limits liability for lost luggage to $3,300 per bag.

Owned.

Killzone 2 is better than Halo 3. Blatantly.



But in a recent article appearing on a gaming site that, I'll be honest, I've never heard of before now, Microsoft state that they are already planning bigger and better things.

"The current technology employed in certain unannounced Xbox 360 exclusives far surpasses what gamers have seen in any game so far."

Big words, Micro.

This kind of reminded me of when a certain famous Japanese developer (whose name shall not be mentioned *cough* Miyamoto *cough*) tooted his own horn in saying that he could have made Halo , he just decided not to. Why? Because he doesn't want to make games that people are obviously gonna like. He'd much rather make crappy casual games that lots of suburban American families will purchase in massive quantities. I say that with all due respect. I mean, the man wipes his ass with whatever a $100 dollar bill would look like in Japan.

In any case. Whether or not Microsoft will live up to their words remains to be seen. Could we be seeing Killzone 2 quality on 360 shortly?