Here’s what I learned from CheckPoint S3E19.

  • Oh MadKatz. How no one gives a shit about your day-late-and-dollar-short Android box with an HDMI port in it.
  • Pokemon finally discovering the third D has been a pretty hot topic in gaming lately. Not that I would know because as much as I’ve wanted to really get up to speed with the Fire Emblem series, I just can’t bring myself to buy a Nintendo platform after they released such an underpowered console with the Wii U. I hear that it’s good… but I’ll stick with replaying Pokemon Red on my Game Boy Advance SP for nostalgia’s sake, thanks.
  • $35 USD to instantly reach the endgame of Everquest 2? Sony still runs the servers for this game?
  • Angry Birds ripping off Mario Kart? Pretty lame.
  • Development parties are all cutting edge and everything, but why do you need to gimmick the hell out of one to make it cool enough to entice folks to come along? It is taking folks from Chicago to San Francisco, which is fine, I suppose, but how many folks will be flying into Chicago and flying out of San Francisco for this event? Why even bother with the train ride? Make it a cruise for crying out loud.
  • There’s nothing to add to Graham’s bit here about the Mojo. Just watch it for yourself.
  • The ticker for this segment is probably the most insightful bit of analysis wrapped in humor that’s actually true that could be said about Square Enix and their relationship with the legendarily popular Final Fantasy VII: “Does Squeenix just hate FFVII?” From all indications, the answer is yes.
  • Noooooo.
  • Kickstarter in AUS/NZ is welcome, but Kathleen’s right. What’re the odds that any offerings from those two countries won’t be completely overpriced to outside markets out of spite? I’m guessing pretty slim.

Here’s what I learned from CheckPoint S3E4.

I’m a little late with this post, as I’ve been busy trying to relearn everything I forgot about Linux server administration.

  • Graham and Kathleen are rightfully smug for the US-in-general forgetting Canada Day. Now, moving on…
  • Square Enix continues its string of out-of-touch decisions by deciding that, instead of developing a Final Fantasy VII remake with modern 3D technologies, its time would be better spent by making Cloud’s SOLDIER uniform a pre-order bonus for Lighting Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. But Graham has a point, nostalgia can make up for a lot of sales.
  • MSFT announced an algorithm for match-making that takes into account the ratings and reviews that other players leave about you using the Xbox Live match-making system. The more negative ratings you receive, the more likely you are to be paired up with players with negative ratings like yours. It sounds like a decent way to split up griefing and trolling users from those wanting to just play the game and do so without feeling the need to use racial slurs and so on. Graham’s remarks are right on; if the system works as intended, perhaps there’ll be a bit more self-reflection among the Xbox Live players.
  • Dwarf Fortress hitting version 1.0 in 2033? Half-Life 3 confirmed.
  • Ars Technica comes up with some great information about the prices of console systems at release versus prices adjusted for inflation. While the Xbox One’s launch price is roughly half a gas tank more expensive than the Xbox 360’s launch price adjusted for inflation, it’s important to note that it’s still a difference of half a gas tank. I don’t really consider myself a social being that drives errywhere all the time, but that’s still something to think about.
  • Douche AsstrickDon Mattrick left MSFT and joined Zynga. Going from being the boss of the division that believed that the Xbox 360 was the offline version of the Xbox One to being the boss of a company that preys on consumers’ wallets with pay-to-win games that are borderline addictive. But oh wait, that was Xbox news. And Kathleen got a Dwarf Fortress joke in that needles the Xbox brand again! HEYOOOOO
  • The way to get a game that glorifies drugs classified in Australia: find/replace drugs to vitamins.