Ben-DutkaWe're nearing that time when we all need to take stock and set goals for ourselves. And contrary to popular belief, gamers are not omnipotent and we can all use some self-growth. Here's a list of the improvements we'd like to see in the gaming community in 2010.
Read the text. For the love of God, read the TEXT
It's embarrassing to admit that so many gamers who supposedly like to keep up on industry news never actually see anything besides titles and review scores. Really, they're so busy, they just can't be bothered. Or, perhaps they've got virtual ESP and they already know what the article is going to say. In all actuality, it's neither of these explanations; it's simply because they're lazy as all hell . If you can't be bothered to read, don't bother to comment.
And by the way, this one really doesn't pertain to anyone who frequently visits PSXE. Our readership is aptly named .
Look! The sun!
We've come a long way in the past decade and most of the old stereotypes have died along with 2D games. But when visiting GameStop, I've often noticed that a whole lot of customers still don't seem to get out much; it's as if they either just rolled out of bed the hour before, or they're squinting like they haven't seen the sun in days. Gaming is an awesome hobby and it certainly remains my personal favorite but without moderation, the entertainment level tends to fall. Temporary immersion is one thing; life absorption is quite another. There's a book coming out in 2010 called "Unplugged," and it deals with video game addiction…let's make the future so such a book can't even exist.
Yes, that person with a differing opinion is an idiot
It's certainly true that people who are passionate about something will let that passion cloud objectivity and civility. But it seems to happen on a whole new level amongst gamers…well, amongst gamers when they come together online. Obviously, those who cause the most problems and scream at everyone else for having opposing opinions are those who wouldn't be able to look you in the eye in real life. Could we possibly infuse some semblance of maturity into online video game forums and communities? Or is that still too much to ask? Really, most of us have gotten far too old to be acting like this.
Oh, we're not doing anything you couldn't do
It's a common topic among gamers, mainly because many of them have superiority complexes the size of a small continent. The idea that reviewing any entertainment product (games, movies, music, whatever) is only based on "opinion" is a common dodge that implies that critics were merely lucky in landing their position. It also makes the gamer feel better, because he's constantly jealous and the automatic response to jealousy is petty, vindictive behavior. Roger Ebert didn't win a Pulitzer because his opinion is better than yours. I like music, but that doesn't mean I'm qualified to write for Rolling Stone. Do you get it?
We all come together to form the GGRC: Girl Gamer Recruitment Coalition
I'm taking membership applications now. Our goal for 2010 is two-fold: take the girls who were only recently introduced to gaming via the Wii or music-based titles like Rock Band and force them to graduate to the realm of real gaming. And secondly, simply find the hot chicks who have never touched a controller, and convert 'em. It's an ambitious plan. It will require patience, dedication, and oh yes, a dash of charisma and charm. But when it's over and our ranks continue to swell with the finest females on the planet, we'll just be…well, that much better off. 😉
In response to "look the sun" topic, I don't see why gaming should stop you from going out, it never really has in my life.
You're implying some sort of rationale thought in the general population.
You don't see why people can't play games AND go outside….I don't see why central pennsylvanians can't put down the 4th fausnaught…
I guess that's kinda the same.
"Read the text. For the love of God, read the TEXT"
Yes, and 95% of why comments are directed to flamebait in N4G and many other forums.
😀 brilliant article
One improvement that will make me so pleased. Is the lower number of gamers buying/renting games for trophies I can't believe anyone would rent a game like terminator: Salvation it makes me sick.
Ugggh!! For the love god its all about the GAMES not trophies IMO
FIRST!!!!!
tl;dr
I always read the articles and the comments section. PSXExtreme is an awesome site to come to. I have learned a lot of things from this great community of gamers. I also like seeing people who have had a heated debate on one topic, discuss another one politely, as if their first argument never occurred.
I like the GGRC idea. Ben should be president of it. I do my part in trying to convince females to try their hand at gaming. My sister is one tough cookie when it comes to video games though. I haven't been able to get her to check out a game for even 5 minutes.
Sometimes I use gaming in conversations to get some peace and quiet. For instance, at work Monday, someone was talking too much while I was trying to concentrate. They were going through this long spill about what they did over the weekend and were getting on my nerves. So I told them I played GOW all weekend on my second run through and silence fell across the room. It was beautiful how peaceful things got just by mentioning my favorite hobby. This is one way I improved myself as a gamer, I believe, by being a little creative and getting what I wanted. Gaming conversations can be used to get people to play games, or to get them to shut up.
Merry Christmas everyone!
Last edited by tes37 on 12/24/2009 9:13:50 AM
On lunch break I picked up the GOW Collection for a fellow worker, he bought me a $50 dollar PSN card. Gamers always give great gifts.
Merry Christmas
Oh and I LOOOVE having heated arguments on here, some of you truly make the site what it is.
Lol, Ben. I'd trust your opinion of music more than the idiots at Rolling Stone.
I've already started recruiting my sister as a gamer. She likes simple games like Wii Sports, but we recently started playing New Super Mario Bros, which is a slightly more difficult game than anything else she has played. She is pretty terrible but i always encourage her and make jokes to keep it fun. Next im trying to start her on LoZ or a simple rpg like Pokemon.
Oddly enough she loves racing games, so i got her a 360 and Forza 3 for christmas. I hope she will love racing sims enough that we can play GT5 together next year when its out.
Five really good points there. I wish I had the time to address them all but suffice to say that I really haven't noticed what kind of people are in Gamestop because the BO always makes we squint.
PS- Why DID Roger Ebert win a Pulitzer
Funny those comments about opinions, considering how often this site offers opinions as though they were statements of fact. And, no matter how much you deny it, a review always has been and always will be only the opinion of the review. There's no escaping it.
Believe what you want. Much of any review is NOT opinion. Sorry, but there are facts involved; facts that those who aren't qualified won't spot.
This reminds me of the "better" argument we had several months ago, ahh I miss those days.
Ben has stated many time that he is not afraid to put his opinion in a review/article (which i think is great, it makes everything much more personal), but he always points out when something is just his preference or opinion. There are several reviewers who cant keep their opinion out of the review, but from what i have seen Ben always keeps it professional when it comes to making down the scores.
Injecting one's opinion into an article isnt a bad thing, but giving a game better/worse scores because of it is where things go bad. I've not agreed with all of Ben's (or Arnold's) reviews, but to say its just their opinion is short-sighted and rude.
Last edited by NoSmokingBandit on 12/24/2009 3:47:23 PM
There is no set criteria for how to score a game. In diving, judges can point to technique and give certain movements different point values. Reviews of video games, however, are basically opinion.
It's not rude to say that the reviews here (and everywhere) are statements of opinion. There ARE facts that influence the opinions, but what you see on the site here is what Ben/Arnold/etc. think. We hold reviews in high esteem because usually the reviewers agree with one another.
When you communicate an idea via text on a message board you have to compress and simplify. The problem is, this takes away from the overall meaning. You can't have a good discussion over a message board, no one will change their views or ideas so it always goes nowhere because it's over so quick and the quality of communication so low. The internet is not quite the same as real life unfortunately.
Awesome article! Loving the humor hahah
Very nice, Ben. PSX has developed a nice little community here with some great commenters who maintain a level of civility — a strangely rare occurrence in the gaming field. We are definitely getting TOO OLD to bicker on gaming forums. For that reason this place has made it into heavy rotation on my gaming site visits.
Some girls — and guys, for that matter — have a bizarre hostility toward gaming. My last serious girlfriend could not BELIEVE I actually wanted to play videogames more than once a week. Unsurprisingly, we split on bad terms. Sometimes, people don't want to understand. That's their loss. But there are a lot more open-minded people out there who can be changed. I'm focusing my efforts on them.
Merry Christmas to All! I'm out of town and AWAY FROM THE INTERNET for several days. (PSP and DS will keep me warm at night 😉 I'll look forward to coming back into the fold some time next week. Later Gators.
Thanks. We work hard to keep the environment a certain way.
And I know exactly what you're talking about. Some women just refuse to face up to certain facts.
I haven't seen the sun in 3 months, but thats only because the weather has been terrible.
My fiance is getting more and more into gaming. Hell, she's the one that brought a working NES and N64 into my life. She mainly plays multiplayer games though, games like warhawk, Super Puzzle Fighter 2, Buzz… anything we can play together. I still haven't gotten her to play on her own.
The babes (even the non-babes) around me only play Xbox 360.
They never touch a PS3.
!!! BTW !!!
Oh and I was such a pimp on Christmas Eve Eve I went hanging out with my girls and they said Zelda was awesome 😉 And Crash Bandicoot (an action figure)!
The ginger/ranga one that plays piano (such a turn on) also played all the Jak – & Daxters.
They're not super hot but they're cool azzz while not being nerdy at all kkk.
Proper LOL.
That's it (:
Last edited by Banky A on 12/24/2009 3:10:42 PM
U fucem?
They'll be classified as cuties' 😉
As for the cause at PSX I will try convert the last popular female friends I have left.
I will go outside even more when I buy some new skinny jeans and get the fabled bloody Pink Stripped Puma's (First Round Repeat) sneakers.
Good one about the reading, I read everything here on this site & the forum, even for the games & things I have no interest in.
How's this for site dedication …..
My state-paid vacation lasted about 3 months, and the very first thing I did once I got back on my computer(after emails), was to come back here & go digging into the archives.
I read every single article(& comment) written from the very day I went off-line(Late July) to the day I got back home(Late Oct).
And that alone took me almost 3 full weeks of reading just to catch up on everything I missed. Then I turned my attention to the forum & read everything.
There was only 1 negative drawback about it though.
After I finally caught up, my eyeballs felt the urgent need for a 55 gallon drum of Visine.
We were all wondering why you vanished for a while.
Merry Xmas my fellow gamers =)
Well as far as the GGRC is concerned i have a very good looking girlfriend and i got the ps3 on the week of launch having had enough on the 360's RROD,i couldn't get her to even pick up the 360's controller let alone play any games on it but with the ps3 it was a different ball game (punn not intened)and when i asked her why,it all boiled down to the XMB bar on the ps3 that swayed her because she realy didn't like how the 360 was laid out on screen after boot up,would you believe it could be something that simple, well it was as she is one hell of a gamer with COD MW and MW2 being her fav's and when she plays them give her half and hour and she will come in the top 4 and then higher after a few more rounds are played 😉 if anyone doubt me on this and we can work how to set up a good few private games on either game she will show you how good a GG she is ;-)Merry christmas and a happy new year to ALL gamers out there.
This was quite the article, I must say. Honestly, a single experience of online gaming has made me never want to do it again. That experience was with Halo 3. Mind you, I am no fan of the 360, but when you're hanging out with friends that know nothing else, what do you do? They were playing said game online and both those they played against and my friends themselves have ruined online gaming for me. This realization could have come later, but something tells me it is a good thing it happened when it did. Long story short, I don't think I have ever heard so many homophobic, ignorant, nonsensical comments screamed in one place in my entire life. That being said, I have no love for online gaming and I do hope that there is light at the end of this dark, dark tunnel.