A New Challenger Has Emerged

Cowardice begets nothing.

Ouya is coming out and if you dont know about it it's pretty sweet sounding.  So far it has just shy of 2 million donated towards it's creation and I am sure by time you read this it'll have more. In fact every time I click refresh they have more money...amazing.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ouya/ouya-a-new-kind-of-video-game-console?ref=live

Now small timid minds who don't drink or smoke, wear seat belts, and eat their vegetables say stuff like this:

http://kotaku.com/5924983/history-is-littered-with-the-corpses-of-failed-consoles?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

If we learned anything from Trip Hawkins we can surmise that a good idea and deep pockets won't be enough.  However, this does not mean you should shelve your plans for a new console.  Nintendo is looking like they are choosing suicide by putting out yet another under powered box and even Katsuhiro Harada (Producer of the next Tekken) spilled the beans about it having trouble matching PS3 and Xbox 360 capabilities.

The stage is set PS3 is buying Gaikai and Microsoft is keeping things behind the curtain but expect no small feat from them either...someone is going to lose.  It sucks and I am sad but some stuff we learned in gaming translates into real life-dumb choices will get your ass killed.

So with Nintendo launching what more than likely will be another dud there IS room for a cheaply priced "Mr. Irrelevant".  Ouya is set to be 100 bucks...hell yeah!  For the price of a collectors edition run of the mill shooter with DLC you can get a console.  With the rise and popularity of indie and mobile gaming as well as cheap and free to play games Ouya might have something here.

 You Must Cast Out Fear

Ouya is diving right into this and based on their kickstarter page it's looking like people want this thing.  The douche from Kotaku doesnt really seem to grasp this.  Launching a console is no small potatoes no but if the Indie market has taught us anything it's that not everyone in the world needs to buy your game in order for you to carve out some success.  I have no idea how many units will be part of the first line but even if there are only 10,000 it doesn't really matter.  They already have over 20,000 backers and not all will be getting a unit.  If I have to put myself on a list to get one no problem...who here did that for a Wii raise your miserable hand.  Good thing you can't see me raising mine.  Point is it happens even in mega corporations.

The Only Enemy Is Yourself

It looks like they're gonna get a good chunk of money but in business you can never really have 'enough' especially where R&D is concerned.  But hey if they punched the numbers and a million is what they need then they should be pretty well prepared for surprises and there will be some.  So long as this project is well managed they should at least make launch.  whatever happens after that is fate but Ouya can only defeat itself right now.  XBL and PSN mess around in Indie gaming-they're not too-too serious about it at least not yet. Hundreds of thousands and millions in Indie profits is piss water to juggernauts like them and they simply dont want to be bothered by it.  How about you?  Would you manage a business worth/taking in that much?

Fun Is a Hell of a Decider

Ultimately what will make or break Ouya is whether it will be fun or not.  I for one find 90% of AAA titles clones of each other or copying other media and as such-utterly boring.  Ouya will depend solely on Indie gaming (at least at first) and that IS kinda scary.  But then again I never dreamed video games would be a billion dollar industry with most games being what I mentioned above.  So whatever, I salute you Ouya and as a developer I am pissing myself like an excited dog for that Dev kit that comes standard.

Gamer Girl Phenomenon

We've all seen stuff like this before or half naked or cosplaying women performing fellatio on a controller or laying them over their naked breasts or crotch or something.  We all have.  Has anyone aside form me stopped to wonder "Why?".  I mean yeah sure soft porn mixed with pop culture is guaranteed to ensure popularity but is that all there is to it?

Video Games are seen mostly as a man's realm.  Women who enter this realm know this and they also know that sexuality is what makes men tick for the most part.  So entering this realm will not be easy-they will be met with ridicule, disdain, and even aggression.  So some turn to the Siren's call approach which is of course what this post is about.  

Now society has deemed a few realms as "for men" and let's take a look.  Guns.  Has anyone here seen sexy chics holding guns?  check.  Cars. check,  Sports. Check.  Now more often than not your wife or girlfriend is a  hard sell on all of the above.  Most guys dont often come home to their naked girlfriend holding an uzi while wearing heels or find their wife spread eagle on the hood of their car.  I have never personally come home to my wife in a cheerleader get up (we're working on that though).  The point is that these things are not considered normal things for women to like nevermind feeling the desire to make them sexy.

Yet it happens in photos and videos everywhere.  At the end of the day we all have to admit that this behavior while appealing to the eye is a lie.  Women have forever used the Siren's Call in order to attain things-in this case it is popularity and acceptance.  It's kinda shitty when a women has to bare herself in order to feel a measure of acceptance in anything really but in the end no one makes them do it.  So the ridicule these "gamer girls" face is completely warranted.  What they do is silly, often a lie, and their choice to do both in the name of acceptance and popularity in what society deems a male dominated area.  

  

WiiU is Life Support

I'm gonna start this off how I always start off when speaking about Nintendo.  I love Nintendo I truly want to see them succeed-I think they are making lots of bad choices and now we are seeing the effect of these choices.  Nintendo is leaking money like a shot up clunker leaks oil.  Let's go down a brief list of recent developments in the past month alone.

-Iwata makes a weak comment hinting at how the WiiU is draining their bank account
-3DS games like Mario Bros 2 are cleared for DLC (first time for Nintendo and it comes now)
-Iwata is disappointed at American 3DS ownership (much lower than japan)
-Iwata says that pricing is "very crucial" to the WiiU's success (and Nintendo's ability to stay a major player)
-Iwata makes mention that some online services will cost money

All of these spell out financial troubles in Nintendo and like I said this is just the past month and there will probably be more after this post.  Now again I love Nintendo they raised me and I have them to thank for my job.  But I always called it as I saw it and this looks like garbage.

While Sony is buying up GaiKai Nintendo is trying to figure out how to manage the 3DS and launch a new console on the cheap.  Yeah ask Trip Hawkins if launching a console is cheap.  Now let's also be honest-aside from downloading your 8bit collection Nintendo didnt offer much as far as online presence goes.  But hey it's free so whatever I guess.

Here in lies a problem-it can't be 'whatever' anymore.  At least the pay service can't be whatever.  The Nintendo loyal are aware of their situation and will be buying anything they throw into the digital realm or Gamestop just in the hopes to keep them alive.  Nntendo will really need to step up their game in order to charge for online services.  Have you seen the new online presence-the Miiverse?  The Miiverse looks very stupid at least in its visuals.  As always with Nintendo I want to be proven wrong and I want them to finally give me what I want but I find my gut reaction is usually right.  I wish Nintendo would stop the crap and just go back to kicking ass again.  Ever since SNES I have felt abandoned.  The Wii was meant to hook younger players-not nurture the gamer Nintendo raised.  So all the bastard children go hang out at uncle Sony or Microsoft's house and some if not most don't want to come back.  THIS is your plan?  A console on par with Xbox 360 capabilities coming out when the technology is showing some age?

Good thing they kept the motion control gimmick crap.  I love swinging tablets around like I'm somehow trying to swat flies with a lunch try.  Maybe this is just me growling from the nursing home but this is not the Nintendo that raised me; I keep saying it-they didnt used to fuck around...On the one hand I want to see them succeed and hope they get back to kicking ass and on the other hand I am so tired of them letting down the generation that they raised that I am willing to let them go.  How are you all feeling?

Anita Break after this...

Anita Sarkeesian seems to be drawing a lot of hate and ire.  People are attacking her websites and disclosing personal information and all kinds of stuff.  For those that don't know Anita is a Feminist who is targeting video games saying that they portray women in negative ways.  Now I think she is full of it in just about everything she has to say and I am going to go into detail.  The link to her video that I am addressing is at the bottom of this post.

First off the bat she is a critic of pop culture-this is a major problem.  You can't be a feminist and give an objective criticism-you just can't.  Feminism from what I understand comes from a point of view that women are shafted (no pun intended) every which way by evil men and most feminists think that all men fall into this category.  I don't know how deep Anita's feminism runs but the fact that she thinks her gender is subjugated before she even knows what she is going to review makes her biased.

She believes that ALL female characters can be filed into 5 categories...this can be seen as more narrow minded thinking from Anita by some.  Five? Really?  Well first off categorizing anything means that you are not looking at something passed its surface.  Red Cars to the right Blue cars to the left doesnt matter if they are convertible, rear wheel drive, import, domestic etc.  Left and Right.  So we have five enormous categories Anita has made for us...nothing like letting one decide for themselves...So...Is she right?

1 Damsel in distress.  Most of us OGs conjure images of Princess peach
2 Fighting Fucktoy (as she calls it)
3 Sexy sidekick
4 Sexy Villain or "Villainess" which isnt even a real word but Anita uses it anyway
5 Women as background objects

Feminists have big problems with damsel in distress-they hate the idea that a woman might need to be rescued.  To a degree it's understandable.  How interesting would it be if Princess Peach was rescuing Mario this whole time?  In fact "This whole time" would probably mean a 2 game series.  But let's be honest most men are physically stronger, and faster than most women.  Nature selected us to be the protectors and equipped us as such.  That is a biological fact not some shit a man wants you to believe.  Forget the fact that the man must go through endless trials and tribulations and physical harm to rescue the girl HE isnt being exploited the girl waiting at the end is.  Hmm yeah.

Feminists hate the fighting fucktoy and this makes no sense.  Women are far sexier than men period.  They are graced and granted beauty that no man could ever hope for in this respect women are far superior to men.  Does Anita embrace this empowering attribute?  Well yeah-she wears make up in her videos and looks pretty nice for the camera I gotta say.  She knows the power of a woman's beauty and by virtue of looking nice in her videos she exploits it...thats fine or it would be fine if she wasnt a hypocrite about it.  She can look good for the camera but once Cammy comes out looking nice and showing some skin this is wrong only Anita can exploit beauty.  Now 99% of women's costumes in games make no sense and revolve around sexiness-yeah I agree.  But here's the thing:  Feminists overlook the sheer power of sexuality.  The fighting fucktoy...On the surface it's a woman in an outfit.  Underneath is a person who controls that sexuality and she can knock the crap out of anyone who reaches for her catsuit.  Feminists complain that they arent given power in games but Bayonetta, Cammy, and others are great examples of beautiful women you wouldn't dare mess with if they were real and they can beat the ever loving crap out of any man they encounter in their game.  Somehow Anita looks passed the power and beauty and sees only a stripper.

The sexy sidekick...uh I don't really know where this one is even coming from.  Does she mean the support role?  Like Mei Ling in MGS?  Ashley from RE4?  She was a chic in a skirt and sweatervest...yeah all the fratboys are talking about the sexiest sweatervests they've seen.   I dunno I can't think of any examples off the top of my head and you know I should be able to what with this being a full category and all...

Sexy Villain oh I mean "Villainess" we like to make up words when calling out the chauvinists.  Again I think Anita is failing to see sexuality as power.  Sex or sexiness is power when a sinister mind is in control.  It is yet another way to control or harm another if you are evil.  A sexy uh Villainess does something of this nature after all they are sinister.  I think Anita hates women being portrayed as villains more so than she hates the sexual connotations.

Women as background objects.  This is a common complaint from feminists.  A woman who stands in the background and says nothing is considered eye candy or something like that.  There are PLENTY of henchmen and minor characters in gaming that dont ever say a word and stand around all the time.  No one considers henchmen or 'extras' harmful.  Anyone care to elaborate on this one?  I sure as hell don't feel like wasting time here.

So let's look past all the things that makes these women what they are.  Heroic combat, rescue missions, self made billionaires man the list goes on.  There are some great back stories to women in gaming.  Nah screw all that positive stuff let's focus on how her blouse is low cut. That's the sign of a true review and intelligent fair mind.

Even a broken clock is right twice a day and sometimes Anita makes a point or two and then she ruins it by going completely overboard.  She mentions the lego games where if the firefighters show up they're men and if the food delivery shows up they're women.  Well first off Anita they're plastic fucking toys.  This is like painting boobs on a rock and saying it depicts women-that is schwachsinn.  Also she doesnt even put up the right graphic for a lego female when mentioning it in her video...kinda makes me think it doesn't happen the way she says/thinks it does...or that she doesn't research...or know much about games...but no it's more likely she knows what she is talking about but is stretching the truth and telling white lies that suit her needs.  The outfit this toy is wearing helps Anita...too bad it isn't a lego figure.

In all fairness Anita does talk briefly about games that don't have "harmful tropes".  Problem?  well it's stuff like portal and other games where there are no humans at all or very limited exposure for human characters.  This means she seeks out "harmful" stuff and sees it everywhere...because she wants to see it.

I think she is a joke but I don't care-let her make a fool of herself.  I mean it-please do not attack or harm her or her cause in any way.  She has every right to do this and she is no threat to gaming I promise.  If a moron like me can dismantle her argument so easily no developer will give her or any group she happens to form what she/they want.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8I0Wy58adM

Losing yourself the NIntendo way

"We're unwilling to sell a piece of game upfront and if you will, force a consumer to buy more later.  That's what they don't want to do and I agree" -quote the Regginator

"Doing such things (charging for DLC) might be good for short term profit but it will not serve our mid term and long term business developments." -quote Iwata

Guess what folks? guess.  Super Mario bros 2 on 3DS is gonna have DLC. You know the one where the first person to collect 1,000,000 gold coins get some kinda prize from Nintendo? that one.  I won't spend much time on an assumption but I assume the DLC levels have the most coins cuz if they didnt and I paid real money in the hopes to get a leg up on the competition I'd be really pissed how bout you?

I found these quotes on a video game news site and I thought about it.  Nintendo doesnt really go down the DLC path I mean hell they COULD and I wouldn't know it since I dont Wii..........ever but as I mentioned they are the king of extra crap.  The N64 saw expansion packs rumble packs controller expansion packs and bla bla bla.  The Wii has roughly 9,298 peripheral add ons to date.  So we have been buying DLC from Nintendo for a while now we just never called it DLC.  (So what you dont actually download it you are still spending extra).  But I will say Nintendo games never DLC'd you.  I can't think of a zelda or mario game that wanted or NEEDED you to spend extra money...oh wait the rumble pack on N64 for Ocarina of time if you wanted to hunt the Skulltulas....whatever.

It's no secret Iwata says it all the time-the WiiU is draining their bank account.  They need to recover the cash somehow.  This is more than likely an experiment in how much they can get out of ehem "extra" content.      Nintendo always comes off as cuddly and friendly and on the players' side.  I can completely see how this happens.  Put some friendly faces up there-they show you their Mii, everyone laughs they tell a joke and now it is much easier to convince you that they havent already sold out the mature gamer they raised.  You can't picture these nice guys being anything less than on your side.  Well the simple fact is they are business men and they will always be on Nintendo's side unless they don't like eating food.

Nintendo is the top priority of Ninetendo; not how you feel as a gamer-shit that much is obvious just by the Wii's existence alone.  I think that Nintendo is moving towards DLC and calling it such not because of greed but simply because of survival.  It's no secret that Nintendo is a bit flustered right now.  While being flustered they are trying to release a console that should have been released at least a good 5 years ago.  Nintendo has lost faith in itself.  I remember when I was a kid SNES was (is) the pinnacle of gaming.  It was so good it kicked the ass out of everything Sega tried.  Sega 16 bit-buried. Sega CD-buried.  Sega 32X-buried. Atari jaguar-buried.  Snes was so good it beat the crap out of systems with far superior graphic quality.  Nintendo took their time and when it was ready the N64 debuted with success.  After that it seems like they have been running and falling a step behind their competitors every year and if you ask me it's because they fell in love with gimmicks rather than fun and quality.

What happened to the innovation?  What happened to being ahead of your time?  I guess when you no  longer are you squeeze the stone and see if blood comes out.

Why EA and IGN should get married

Ok look...I have a mind of my own.  My modern collection of games is fairly sparse.  I don't follow trends for the most part.  A game has to be REALLY good for me to shell 60 bones for it.  I don't even have titles I SHOULD never mind over hyped under programmed slap dashed pieces of crap (that look pretty).  So when I pull out my baseball bat and go to town on folks-you KNOW you screwed up.

EA and IGN is a match made in heaven.  I know that I have no where near the fan base as IGN but I'm gonna say it-I'm gonna tear this piece of dog crap article up before your very eyes.  Please check this out I'm going to pull excerpts and if you think I am being unfair here is the whole article...NOTHING is taken out of context.   http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/06/14/why-do-people-hate-ea?utm_campaign=ign+main+twitter&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social

First and foremost this is not "News" asking why there is hate towards a company isn't news.  News is when they are announcing a new project or CEO or something.  This is coddling.

"Let's be clear EA is a corporation and its primary concern is making money."  I agree with that.  That is one hundred percent true and yes-yes I agree.  The writer goes on to say more or less "Hey if evil greedy people are in charge then 'whatever' they're gonna do bad things."  Ok sounds like you're making excuses but whatever I can let it slide even though I shouldn't.  The writer then goes on to say "EA is publicly traded"  OHHHH ok  then yes that DOES make all the poor quality and shady business practices ok.  As long as money is involved sure.  Once you have stock to worry about all is fair?  fuck you.  Facebook has gone public and has yet to openly screw over its fans/users.

Quote EA "...We employ over 9,000 people. We invest over a billion dollars a year in R&D, most of which doesn't see revenue until the following year, or in some instances, the year after that. And so you've constantly got to be making money to reinvest money to make great games.” There's one problem here...EA usually doesnt make a great game.  Sports, sports, sports, sports.  These things hit thrift stores sometimes only weeks after being released.  Is THAT where great games go?

This line is great proof that IGN took an envelope to write this article  "If EA was the only company in gaming trying to figure this stuff out (day one DLC and other buying add ons), in a way that suits its shareholders and its customers, and sometimes getting it badly wrong, then there would be an easy explanation for the hate. But it’s not. Every company is trying to figure it out, because if they don’t they’ll go broke."  Do not adjust your monitors there is nothing wrong with them.  You read that.  This frickin jakinape  thinks that if people DON'T buy the DLC and add ons EA will go broke?!   What the hell?  seriously?  What happened in the days BEFORE DLC?  You know Genesis SNES etc.  EA GREW exponentially! HOW? Not through DLC or add ons.  What-NOW if they dont get 80 bucks per game they're done for?  Shut the hell up-just shut the hell up.

"They are feeling their way through the dark and they are afraid."  yeah I'd be afraid too if I were a billion dollar corporation that in order to make money all it needed to do was make mediocre crap.  Cancel that-THIS line is proof they took an envelope...how can this guy know EA is afraid?

This writer also makes mention that the 60 dollar game is dying.  He's kinda right but I wholeheartedly doubt it is for the right reasons.  Look as I mentioned in the opening of this post I should have stuff that I don't.  I really wouldn't mind shelling out 60 if I felt I got my money's worth.  And that's what all these morons don't get.  Its not the PRICE of the game but the QUALITY!  Price has nothing to do with it.  Lamborghini isn't going under because their cars cost too much.  They must make a car worth every penny it costs in order to be around and have such a rep.  So using that logic what can we conclude what about lowering the price of games?

It gets better folks check this quote out.  "Unfortunately EA is slightly different, and this is the second reason for the hate. EA is the only company where you can buy Madden. Mass Effect, Battlefield, and Need For Speed. Those games all have competitors, but you are invested in these particular games because they have stories and characters and modes that you care about. So the ‘don’t buy it’ mantra makes way less sense. This is a phenomenon that works equally well with, say, George Lucas. If you want a different sort of Star Wars movie, you’re kind of powerless."  Right so if you don't like it just buy it anyway?  is that what you mean?  Or is it more if we didn't want it it couldn't be made?  Well ok let's see he's right they are the only Madden franchise for all those guys who are gonna care about it for a month after it comes out.  Mass Effect is over.  The story is done-with a great ending all the fans enjoyed.  Battlefield is still sort of reeling from certain issues.  Need for Speed is always need for speed...drive fast in cool cars.  Could it be that most of their franchises suck and THAT'S why EA has garnered a lot of ill will?

But back to what he said "the consumer is powerless"  How wrong you are.  How woefully wrong you are.  if EVERYONE said you know what we aren't buying anything EA puts out for two years-they'd be done for.  I'm not saying that SHOULD happen I have no personal beef with EA (only media hand jobs like this one) I am only saying that consumers DO have power.  Back to your wonderful dog analogy cuz that was beautiful. If you give a dog crappy dog food and you just expect him to eat it over and over-he's gonna get sick of it.  He may in fact piss on your carpet or run away entirely.  Customer loyalty can only be pushed so far.  During a CG scene less than 5 minutes  long EA learned that the hard way.

When speaking of Origin EA's digital game distribution site the author writes. "And its done some very stupid things, like banning accounts for no good reason or failing to invest sufficiently in customer support."  Money first customers second.  This is the fastest way to piss off costumers and yet this guy still doesn't seem to get it or is told that he is not going to get it by his boss.

"I know that I place myself in the firing line by daring to suggest that EA is flawed, imperfect, sometimes idiotic, but not hateful. I know it’s uncool to side with a corporation and say ‘well, they have good reason to behave in this way’. And I also know that EA’s phalanx of PRs will not thank me for bringing this whole subject up again." uh no they wanted this article they obviously paid for it with it being so one sided.

When I was at EA's rival I felt like I was treated like garbage.  I really did.  Then one day in walks a girl named Joy and she says she used to work for EA.  One of the things she couldn't stop saying was how much better treated that she felt here.  I was not the only one who laughed and thought she was kidding at first.  Then I thought...damn...

If you want to know how well a company is doing talk to its customers and LOW level employees.  Neither of which pay EA any praise...yet IGN and its writers do.  Please stop the nonsense-no one believes this crap  anyway.

Diablo 3 and Fandom

Diablo 3 man I remember playing 2 as a teen and not being able to get enough.  The simple yet addictive gameplay was amazing.  So obviously I was stoked to hear  that D3 would be coming out.  If you havent played it or seen it in action you wouldnt have read this far so let's get into it.

The horror of the launch cannot be understated.  When you have customers shell out 60 bones and find out they cant play the game this is the same as buying a car and needing a cab to get home from the dealership-Blizzard should be completely embarrassed about this but somehow I dont think that they are.  When you have the fat cash that they do there is no excuse as to why your customers should have a want as simple as being able to play the game.  Blizzard experienced login errors during Beta and bug testing so one of two things happened.  Blizzard said too bad the fans will have to deal with it OR they said we are not spending the money to fix this crap so our fans will have to deal with it.  Basically I am saying they expected their fans to shoulder this nonsense,,,and they did.

Many fans didnt want to sound spoiled by raising a stink about this-you people are 100% at fault for supporting bad behavior.  Game companies seem to screw their fans every chance they get and if you LET them-they will. There is nothing spoiled about being pissed about spending 60 bucks and not being allowed to play a game.  Again I metioned that if you buy a car and "It isnt ready" or whatever and you need to walk home or something.  That we can agree is completely unacceptable.  Blizzard tested for launch they knew this sort of thing would happen and rather than invest the money or whatever they needed to do they decided-actively decided to disappoint their fans.  That is a ridiculous barrel of monkey farts-what kind of business model IS that?  On release day we'll have some very pissed off folks and I'm ok with that how about you Steve? Sure as long as we get their 60 bucks up front.  If you experienced this and DIDN'T complain then shame on you.

One of the things I adored in Diablo 2 was single player offline.  This allowed me to stay away from lvl 99 Barb morons who aggroed everyone.  It also allowed me to grow a proper skill tree and learn how to develop a character properly and learn skill chains and combos and such before partying with others.  Uh I can't do that here.  I am required to be online at all times. That's fine but if I am required to be online at least have the servers ready huh?  Demanding I be online yet not providing me with the capability is like demanding a guy in a wheelchair to run a marathon-it's flat out moronic and rude.  Also experiencing lag in a single player game is really stupid.  Again if you find this acceptable please feel free to open a game studio.

Blizzard says that they designed this game this way so that it can help defend against piracy.  If you believe this then please ask me about the dinosaur bones I have for sale.  Maybe it DOES help fight piracy but it also screws paying customers right in brown town.  Blizzard is afraid of piracy? THAT'S BLIZZARD'S PROBLEM! not mine or yours.  Blizzard seems to think that it is acceptable to shift their problems onto their PAYING customers.  what a bunch of buffalo balls.  Again who came up with this business model?  I have news for Blizzard: if someone wants your game and doesnt want to pay for it-they will get it you cannot stop it.  You basically keep the people who would have paid for it anyway good and straight.  Not that any hack would want it solely for single player anyway...and remember by being quiet you let them think this is ok.

I dont have much experience with the real world money (RWM) auction house and I remember people bitching that it would screw up gameplay.  I thought these folks were over reacting.  I am starting to think differently.  Since RWM can be gained in this game the drops are ridiculous.  Basically any item in blue letters is a piece of crap-you're looking for legendary and yellow objects.  In D2 you could carry a decent blue item for a while and you'd be alright or better than alright.  Yeah not here.  As I mentioned since RWM can be made the drop rate has been lowered to nearly insane levels.  But let's think about this.  Let's say I really need a new sword to continue.  Let's say after 10 hours of playing I dont get the weapon I need...let's just say...let's just say that I am so frustrated of not being able to continue that I buy that sword for 10 bucks...I find that it gets me out there pretty nicely but I am taking too many hits...I need to find or buy some armor.  Well with the gimped drops I have one option...more money.  You're not paying Blizzard but you are still paying and paying sucks.  No monthly fee? yeah well Blizzard will pay for those servers through the percentage they shave off those auction house buys.  Brilliant really.

I will infinitely say it: Video games are a business.  It seems that most of the bigger dogs understand and exploit this fact.  It seems that most fans havent caught up to this.  They are afraid to hold developers and publishers accountable for bad consumer practices.  Gamers aren't stupid-typically we are more intelligent and creative than the next guy but majority of gamers have one fatal flaw as a consumer: Naivety.  Most have a hard time accepting that beloved developers would screw them over for extra cash or simply not give a damn about their gaming experience.  It IS a bitter pill to swallow-it is.  Most simply dont want to swallow this pill-ignorance is bliss...it also makes the next gaming experience that much shittier since devs will feel that their deplorable behavior is acceptable.  I've never been one to deny the obvious-and most of this BS is obvious if you just remove your fanboy glasses.

Businesses are SUPPOSED to make money that is their goal.  However where I draw the line is sacrificing quality or putting your customers out in order to make that money.  Games are supposed to be fun and make you feel happy not frustrate you needlessly and rob you blind.  Sadly Blizzard hasnt learned anything from this.  When Diablo 4 comes out my son will visit my grave and tell me all the horrible things that happened.  Don't think that major devs werent watching and learning from this colossal blind goat orgy.  Major devs want to know just how much bologna you will put up with.  Turns out its quite a bit.  The major releases can follow suit and know that they can be just as bad...some may even take it a step further...you may not raise a stink but I am wondering what it will take-what you open the dvd case and there is no game in there at all? is that what it might take?