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About Me

Anything PS3, PS2, Old-school Mac (Dark Castle FTW).

My name is Mark, and I work in finance.

I am a nerdcore individual, and have done pretty much everything I've ever wanted to do in life. I've owned a comic shop, written for GamePro (one article w00t), traveled the world, played a couple CCGs professionally (and actually made money at it), owned 3 other businesses, romanced the most beautiful women and done it all with friends.

I have a blog over at http://www.gamersledge.com/wordpress where all the friends I pick up over the years like Katamari Damarcy hang out and we discuss nerdgasm things. Always looking for interesting people to join us.

There's a bit left on the old to-do list, but I'm pretty happy at my current job because I'm helping people.

I'd call myself a hardcore gamer; I started with el pong, although I was pretty young when it came out. From there I got a 'tennis' game (i don't think they actually had another name), my folks got me an Intellivision for Christmas and that was it; it was all over. I knew I could never get enough. (I get bonus points from all my friends because I still carry a He-Man intellivision keypad cover given to me by a great friend, in my wallet. The cover, not the friend.)

From there, my folks moved to the Ozarks, in the middle of BFE and Nowhere. I learned about the NES and eventually started stealing games from Wal Mart and Toys R Us, back before they had learned. Eventually I got caught stealing em at a video store, and I never did it again. But I bought a SNES from Wal-Mart my sophomore year in high school. Final Fantasy II made me an addict to RPGs. I returned my SNES to wal-mart in its original box and styrofoam my junior year of college. Because I had the receipt, original box and all styrofoam/equip, they gave me full price LOLz. I used that to buy a PSOne. It was that system that really drew me in and Final Fantasy VII and VIII and the original Persona destroyed any chance of me ever losing the RPG bug. I had a friend from Brazil while I was in college, and he was independently wealthy. Every week we would go and buy a SNES game or computer game and play it together and beat it. We were both great at fighters as well, so in my sophomore year I started doing the competitive circuit around KC, and always walked away with money. I've given up fighters mostly now; Tekken, VF, SC, SNK vs. Capcom2.. I play them for fun now; I don't have the time/energy to try to always win anymore... I won't forget the first time I walked into a Japanese arcade... I got 20-hit juggled with Cervantes. I cleaned up on SNK v. Capcom tho, and Virtua Fighter. I fared on tekken as I did on SC LOL.

Anyways, after college I started travelling for work, and was bringing in big bucks as I was gone all week/every week. I got a DC and every game/peripheral made for the system, in fours. I had a projector that I used for work, and when I was home 1-2 days a week, I'd throw parties like Mario Party as a drinking game, or Bushido Blade while drunk. It was great stuff. I picked up 5 ps2s on launch day, and let my friends buy them from me for cost. I got 2 ps3s on launch day, but 1 got cancelled, so the friend I had promised the other two let me get it. I was afraid I was going to be shot/mugged on the way out to the car with it. But it was awesome.

I am a Rhymes with Bony fanboi through and through, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate Xbox or Nintendo.

I did a 50-episode podcast on videogame news/reviews at my website http://www.gamersledge.com/rssfeed.xml

I think it was hellafun and good, but scheduling conflicts with my partner and I led to its ultimate demise.

I produced that podcast, and was putting like 4-5 hours a day into it. It was too much with work; I'm beginning to think that a roundtable format with no sfx is a much better idea LOL.

Anyways, my gamertag on the PS3 is balth feel free to add me if you want to play some warhawk or super puzzle fighter hd turbo remix alpha hyper king kamehameha spirit bomb genshiryoku shin reppu shao koken II.

The only thing that really sucks about having moved back to the 'Zarks is that there are not really any educated nerdcore type people here. I have no friends my age here, so online gaming is pretty important to me.

RPGs; Persona 3, Every Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest VIII, Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross, Elder Scrolls Oblivion, R:FOM, Warhawk, White Knight Story when it comes out.

Gamer Profile

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PSN: balth
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Following (31)

An analysis and manifesto of social gaming balth | 1:48 PM on 05.20.2008 10 comments

Tomorrow is the 21st. A day before two significant individuals' birthdays. It's also the day that SingStar arrives in retail outlets across the land. I have done a lot of soulsearching on a topic lately that is hard to talk about, even within fanboy circles: social gaming. I would absolutely label myself a hardcore gamer. I invest heavily in systems of choice, and leverage my spending to maximize my dollar-to-enjoyment ratio. Unlike some, I would call myself a fairly well-rounded individual, both in tastes and social skills. As a hardcore gamer, I have played countless hours of niche games, weekends with noone but myself and a game before me, and been quite content. But if you ask me what the highlights of my gaming career/hobby are, and quickly you'll find it's social gaming events that rise to the top. Competing in tournaments for Tekken 2, Virtua Fighter , Pinball, Mortal Kombat 2 and 3 for cash in arcades, playing and beating games like Alone in the Dark, Ultima Underworld, Chrono Trigger *with friends,* trading off the controller after dying, helping each other when we were stuck... things like these are the cornerstone of my love of video games. And now, social gaming has taken on a much larger context in our society. The games industry has surpassed the movie industry, and looks to continue climbing fiscally higher in the years yet to come. There is no fear of another industry crash; instead the industry has titles coming out that push boundaries in all directions, expanding the market further. With this came the advent of more and more casual games, alienating the 'hardcore' player. In my personal opinion, the reason why 'hardcore' gamers get angry about casual games is because to them, it's two steps backwards. It is retreaded ground. We all know how to navigate in 3-D with two analog sticks. But people like my mom, my older brother or my girlfriend; they do not. And this is where not only casual gaming, but social gaming has broken new ground. I have reveled in the recent releases of Guitar Hero and most importantly to me; Rock Band. Rock Band alone has converted people who detest video games into digital addicts. It has turned a game into a system seller. I have many friends who are professional musicians. They disdain aspects of the game, but freely admit they understand the attraction, and even enjoy doing what they normally can't with their friends in real life; jam. Is anyone really learning to play guitar? No. But they get a simulated thrill of it, without committing the years necessary to master the real deal. And it acts as a gateway to other videogames. Do you love to read? Try a RPG. Want a more social experience? Try a MMO. Watch Law and Order? You'll love Phoenix Wright. Nascar fan? Check out Gran Turismo! The point is that to me, social gaming may overlap the boundaries of casual gaming, but it is the most important tool we have in our individual arsenals to change the stigma of gaming itself. Social gaming is approaching, for the first time ever that I can think of, hardcore gaming. If you and your friends can expert Green Grass and High Tides on Rock band, how much hardcore do you need to be hardcore? I'd say that's pretty hardcore! And as new expansions and iterations of the genre come along, expect to see those non-gamers develop and grow into full-fledged gamers. And that's why I'm looking forward to tomorrow. I know, I'll have a room full of twelve people, singing a horrible rendition of 'And I Will Always Love You' by Whitney Houston, and they'll all be eating it up. It breaks people out of their shell, and creates a shared, social, emotional response that they will always remember whenever they a) hear that song b) are in that space (like my house) where it occurred or c) play again. And although my machine may not be used in the way I originally envisioned it, I suddenly find that I am enjoying these local multiplayer games more than I used to. I am suddenly looking forward to titles like Buzz! and Little Big Planet more and more. I have purchased almost all the Rock Band dlc, most of it not even for me, but instead on the off chance the people I play with might like it. Because I consider it a tool to help me recruit into our great nation of gaming. Who's with me?