Superbus

Honestly, this is just an expansion of the old expansion packs of the old days. Some were better than others. Frankly, it's up to the consumer to determine what they like. If a company does DLC in a way that truly enhances the experience (Nintendo), then buy that DLC. If you're dealing with a company that either incorporates a pay-to-win scheme (EA) or who locks away otherwise normal stuff on the disc and sells an unlock code for it (Capcom), then don't buy the DLC; if it impacts the game, then don't buy the game. It's really that simple; vote with your wallet, because if you bitch about it after buying it, you stand no chance; they have your money, and that is literally all that matters

First off, nothing - repeat, nothing - is confirmed about Microsoft's report that they'll be going with a single-use code for console games. No confirmation in the slightest. Secondly, used games are going away, but honestly, that has little to do with some diabolical plot by Microsoft, Sony and their third party publishers (let's face it: this would be used to placate Electronic Arts and Ubisoft, who are threatening their own distribution systems; Sony and Microsoft don't benefit as much due to them taking the PR hit). This has more to do with the fact that digital is starting to take over boxed retail through natural attrition. Let's not even count Steam, because Steam is PC exclusive; solely on console, Sony's Day 1 Digital push, combined with Nintendo's increasing push on both handheld and the Wii U, mean more people are getting comfortable downloading their games over the internet. It works out for them - no shipping, the customer pays transfer fees due to owning the last-mile of the connection, AND they get to charge the same price, AND there's the added benefit of DRM to boot? No wonder they're releasing more digitally. Granted, that doesn't affect granny buying a game for their children, but I guarantee they'll be trained to either get vouchers from a big box store (I think GameStop will be in trouble within three to five years; think WalMart or Target) or just gift cards, within three years. As for the EU's insistence that digital copies of games can be sold, just because they say that doesn't mean that these companies have to put in a way to make it easy to do so. (If they do, I predict there will be fixed prices, with 30% going to the owner of the distribution service and a set amount going to the publisher; this would remove incentive for people to sell their games as they wouldn't get jack for them once everyone got their blood). Yes, users are really mad that Microsoft *might* (emphasis) go with the most restrictive DRM we've seen on a console, and that Sony *COULD* do likewise. Honestly, it won't matter. Users have shown for decades that they will bitch, and scream, and moan, and at the end of the day, they will pay for what they're told to pay for. No one cares about the customer because the customer has shown they are pliable. So these companies, if they do this, will laugh all the way to the bank.

Honestly, I still fight with that. I wish the post where I "came out" as a victim was still around, but basically, it took me fifteen years to even admit it to *my mother*.Until you understand what you go through in that situation - the shame, the depression, the flippant things people say about being raped, hell, reading half the stupid shit I've read in this very thread - you can't speak to it. You just can't. It's been 21 years since I went through that, and I would die before I had to do it again. Add to it other stigmatizing factors - like being a male victim, regardless of what age I was when it happened - and you can understand that I was *fucked up* for a very long time. Hell, I still am. Simply put, none of you motherfuckers has the first clue of what you're talking about. Not. One.

I never have, with the rare exception of a Dynasty Warriors game, and I likely never will. Even in my own teenage years, I never bothered with that in Donkey Kong Country.

I HATED Live-A-Live. One of the most pointless, frustrating games I've ever played. It works as a parody of sorts, but not as a game.

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :Tate: :Tate: :Tate: :Tate:

Dragon Quest V is very good, though the truly definitive version is on the DS. FF3, if you've played a game in the series prior to X, you've seen it for the most part. It really depends on what type of RPG you're looking for. If you're looking for something more akin to Chrono Trigger, you're likely looking at something like Final Fantasy IV (better on the DS or PSP) or VI. Also consider Super Mario RPG, which is shockingly good, and either Lufia or Breath of Fire, which are good but I thought they were a bit cookie-cutter. If you want to get freaky, check out the SaGa series. For more tactical fare, you're looking at either Ogre Battle or Shadowrun. For more action-oriented fare, you're looking at Secret of Mana, Illusion of Gaia, Terranigma or even Secret of Evermore (the old SNES Ys games are also an option; Ys III was released in America). Finally, if you like self-flagellation, there's Wizardry (think Etrian Odyssey without anything modern, at all) or Dungeon Master, though I have a feeling you won't be wanting to get into those.

I've told this story over the years, but a lot of people here didn't know me from the FESS era, so I'll do it again. I was about to go underweigh for a few weeks (ex-Navy) back in 2003, and was looking for something to play on the trip. I found Fire Emblem in EB Games (EB was still around), and figured "woah, it's Advance Wars, with a medieval theme and experience points. SOLD." I learned some hard lessons those weeks. "Hey, why is Marcus not keeping up? This is getting hard! Hey, looks like I lost some units. I'll be able to revive them, right? Uh, where is the revive item? NO SERIOUSLY, WHERE THE FUCK IS THE REVIVE ITEM!?!?!" I'll have to get back on my old cartridge and see just how bad my party that I beat the game was, but I made all of the rookie errors; promoted units too early, let other good units die off, prominently used Marcus (I seriously could not have beaten this game if Marcus was a "classic" Jeigan in the "he is 100% useless" sense, like the actual Jeigan and Alan). you name it. It's almost impossible at this point to come into a major game the way I came into Fire Emblem: completely on a whim, with no knowledge of what I'm getting into. I separated late that year, and while home on vacation, decided to look for assistance with the game. I went to the old, Proboards FESS. The rest, as they say...

Awakening is the strongest positioned - by far - to make good sales inroads. * Released in February; this is not unusual for Fire Emblem, but it's an IP with a dedicated fanbase, being released in the slow cycle. That gives it time to shine without being buried. * Nintendo's actually putting a marketing push behind it. Previous games, except for Sacred Stones (which came after what was a surprise hit), haven't had much of a marketing spend, and SS was inferior to the previous game. * It's getting its own system. Furthermore, this is one of the games that is spearheading Nintendo's push into digital distribution (something I can't stand, but it's a thing). * Word of mouth is a strong thing for a series like this, and reviews are so far outstanding. * Everywhere I've looked around my area (Connecticut), GameStop had allocated all of their preorders. This means that demand, so far, outshines supply. * Most notable of all, the 3DS is largely free of piracy. Shadow Dragon was destroyed, beaten, dissected and dumped by its' fans long before the game even reached American shores. This absolutely hurt sales of the game, and I remain convinced that this is the major reason we didn't get Shin Monshou in America.

I'm an OG; been in the series since DW2 (the first game, a shitty 3D fighter, doesn't count). Anyone looking to break in might do well to purchase Warriors Orochi 3 from the PSN. There's a LOT of fun to be had with that game. Dynasty Warriors 7 is also very good, as is DW: Gundam 2 (3 is... eh). But Orochi 3 is the best the series has seen yet, for those who don't particularly care about the actual storylines behind the fiction itself (I.E.: ROTK). Also, Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage 2 comes out tomorrow. That's a heaping load of "it'll do", until DW8.

The last time I did a typing test, I did it for when I was looking for jobs. I was doing 92WPM from my desktop PC (adjusted; 93 with errors), and 89 (91) on my 15" laptop. Just did that same test for shits and giggles, on a 13" MacBook Pro. 97 WPM, knocked down from 98 for two errors.

VGChartz isn't even good for that. Their sourcing on sales data is so pathetic that it doesn't even approach the realm of accuracy. They're relying solely on numbers put out by the company in most cases, and not gathering nearly enough retail sources to make it worthwhile. And Ben Paddon, formerly of GJAIF, did a very good job of running down just how their whole operation is as untrustworthy as it gets. This isn't even taking into account the fact that they're only judging retail. Here's a news flash: *any* sales figures at this point are not accurate. If they're 100% boxed product, you're often reporting on exaggerated sales figures from the company, unless they're publicly traded and required to report those numbers. Beyond that, you're dealing with digital, and no one gives those numbers out. So how many versions of Fire Emblem were bought? Were they mostly digital, or boxed? Were those digital copies downloaded from the Nintendo Store, or did they come with the Fire Emblem bundle? And is it in Nintendo's best interests to be truthful, considering the obvious upsides of taking the entirety of their business 100% digital as soon as possible, considering the upsides of not having to ship product, not having to deal with middlemen in retail, having the cost of last-mile data transfer be paid by the customer to their ISP, and killing the second hand market in the process via Nintendo's ridiculous DRM policies? If Reggie Fils-Aime told me that FE: Awakening sold 3X more digitally than at retail, I would ask him some serious questions, figuring he was poisoning the press well. Hell, I wouldn't even dismiss out of hand a conspiracy theory that this "shipping accident" was a way for Nintendo to further drive digital sales. The *only* thing to use any sales chart for - notwithstanding the pathetic charts at VGChartz - is to compare them against each other; I.E.: game X is the best selling game of all time on VGChartz. Even then, any sales assumptions would be completely bunk now, with more games going digital, so just saying "numbers are down for game X compared to previous game Y!" and "the retail sector is down Z% from last year!" is useless; the games industry, numbers wise, is fighting a civil war.

There's some really good stuff in that bundle. The Witcher II is an amazing deal at less than $10, for anyone with the PC to run it. FTL is worth it at $5, but might be less during the Steam sale in the Winter. And the Sierra bundle is a steal at $20 for fans of those games.

I would be a lot more excited about this bundle if I didn't see the vast majority of these games in other bundles. What's the point of buying a bundle when I own 90% of what's in it?

Well, crap. there goes my dream of a Tate badge. :'(

As the person who initiated the merger, I think my story is fairly obvious.

I have started watching an older ('90) anime called Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water. It's delightful. Highly recommended, especially for Pokemon fans (the first antagonist has a striking resemblance to Jesse from Team Rocket). The dub isn't bad, either.

I will be satisfied with this season if the Jets fire Rex Ryan and his entire staff. Like, during the game. Not even halftime. Have Woody Johnson come down, burn a time out, and fire and humiliate his coach on national TV, preferably at home, with the Jumbotron showing a video of Vince McMahon screaming "YOU'RE FIIIIIIIRRRRRRED", while his wife cries in the stands. Then dump a big vat of green slime on him, like he's on Double Dare or something.

Despite SOPA being shelved, we will still protest because PIPA is still alive.Besides, I think they're going to attach the nasty bits of this bill to other legislation.

For those wondering what legislation he's talking about, read up on Japan's Bill 156

That's because it gives them greater powers to submit for deletion anything that threatens their trademark and online reputation. It's the DMCA on nuclear steroids.

It just amuses me - like a cat playing with a dead mouse - when people talk about shit like this. Most of the people who enjoy Japanese culture, and say it's a wonderful place, wouldn't last five minutes outside Shibuya. Remember something: they *hate* us there. They hate their own "otaku" (which is why the word is so negative, the crux of this debate). In fact, Japan, as a country, is fairly conservative, with strong nationalist undertones (the book "Yakuza: Japan's Criminal Underworld" is a must read on the history of how organized crime helped drag Japan into World War II). Furthermore, they are *heavily* into social normalcy. Things like expression and standing out are somewhat frowned upon over there, and if you don't fit in, it hurts in every aspect of life, where things are almost scripted for you, not literally like in a communist country, but socially, which I'd argue is worse. In short, most of the people who would love to move to Japan to enjoy the culture they love don't even love the culture. They enjoy a caricature of it. It'd be like someone moving to America because they like cowboys. And the irony is lost on most. EDIT: Oh, and did I mention a lot of places - like nightclubs, some onsen, some restaurants, etc. - are closed to outsiders? In America, you can't do that; they passed a law and everything. In Japan, you shut the fuck up and take it.

Vice President Biden, as a Senator, was one of the strongest proponents for intellectual property protection, and was a staunch advocate of the RIAA and MPAA's positions. President Obama has a poor record on civil liberties, as both a senator and as a President. If it gets to the President's desk, it will pass "with reservations", like the NDAA did.

ANYONE who uses Fair Use provisions as detailed in the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (which is its own ball of wax) and the Copyright Act of 1976 has a "dog" in this fight, every bit as much as I (the owner of Gaming Bus) do, especially given the punishments outlined. Maybe it would make more sense to say that Josh, for putting up potentially "infringing" material, could be labeled a felon. That means, he loses the right to vote, as would I. But this isn't about my own dog in this fight. This is for all Americans who care about the right of due process, and who cares about our constitutionally protected rights to free speech, which this would absolutely obliterate. To me, it's a bigger fight than just "lol Nintendo's gonna go after my streams", but now, they can send me a C+D, and I can cut the shit. With this, that cuts out the middleman, and they can have me prosecuted with no warnings. It will absolutely chill any and all activities which could REMOTELY be considered verboten. Furthermore, this will do absolutely nothing to stem the tide of piracy. Instead of going over the internet, piracy will go back underground to usenet and other services. You will not stamp out piracy. As always, it's going to be law abiding citizens that pay the price for this. But then again, as Nick Holland of Venturebeat points out, the companies pushing for this aren't interested in any of these things. In fact, I'd say that point was made more clearly by this strapping stud.