Wine About It!

Dear Capcom,

I was playing Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth today, when I noticed that the passengers in Episode 2 were drinking grape juice out of wine glasses and wine bottles. Now, your game is rated T by the ESRB here in the States. Really now? Your games are chock full of murders, assaults, and kidnappings, yet you localized "wine" as "grape juice"?

Really now. Gamers are smarter than that. We're much more mature about such things than you think. Just because we see "wine" involved in a video game does not mean that we're going to want to go out and drink it (though I could go for some sparkling red grape juice about now...) after playing it. Teens are perfectly capable on making intelligent choices as well as separating fiction from reality. Give them a little credit.

Unless it's all just a jab at 4Kids, in which case, please disregard.

Lulz @ 1:30

Infinity Ward is Not Afraid of You

(Note: Mr. Carl Watkins has kindly filled me in on exactly what it is that PC gamers are all upset about. I understand now that the uproar over CoD:MW2 has to do with the loss of customizable content and server performance. The point of my post below is that in my own hunble opinion [the opinions of Teggy to not necessarily reflect those of G4, Comcast Entertainment Group, its parent company, sponsors, or affiliates], is that I feel it is unfair to judge a product as something bad or doomed to fail before one really experiences it. Please also read the comments section for some excellent elaboration from some readers.)

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I wonder about parents. I really do, especially when it comes to the behavior of their children when they grow up. The other day, the bus was running late. There was a woman at my bus stop was intermittently screaming "Bus! The Bus! The mother... fucking... BUUUUUUS!!!" because she wanted it to come. The thing was, other than the screaming, she seemed like a rather normal lady. I pondered to myself, "Didn't that lady's parents teach her that screeching to get what you want is unacceptable behavior?" Yelling for a bus at the top of her lungs didn't make it come any faster. It only annoyed the people around her.

So what does this have to do with anything?

The other day, Infinity Ward announced that they were doing away with dedicated servers for the multiplayer portion of the PC edition of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and replacing it with a new system called "IWNET."

(Now before I continue, allow me to preface the rest of this entry by stating that I have not played any Call of Duty game, let alone in a multiplayer mode.)

Instantly, the PC gaming community was in an uproar. There is already a petition with over 139,000 signatures asking Infinity Ward to reconsider its choice to ditch dedicated servers. "Remember that this Call of Duty was made popular by PC Gamers who have supported the series throughout. " Right! Of course! It's because of the PLAYERS that a game is a bestseller. It has nothing to do with the talented, hard working game designers, programmers, and staff creating a superior game. To hell with them. It's YOU, the CONSUMERS, who make games popular. Please keep in mind that consumers also made the Transformers movies popular.

So Infinity Ward is offering this new system, promising improved matchmaking, faster server finding, customizable rules, less cheating, and a few other nifty features; yet, gamers are in an tizzy over something... they... haven't... tried... yet.

*sigh*

Guys...come on. You're throwing a fit over something you haven't even experienced. There is no need to fear something because it's different. You might love it. This is Infinity Ward + Call of Duty we're talking about here. Infinity Ward doesn't make crap for the Call of Duty franchise. Clearly, they have thought this through, putting a lot of time and effort into creating a system to make your experience more enjoyable.

This outcry is like throwing a tantrum because you don't want your hair cut, even though you're seeing one of the top hairdressers in the world, because you're used to your hair and refuse to accept that it could possibly look better.

And if you think Infinity Ward is going to be intimidated by a petition, think again.

Emo? Must Be All That Gaming

Japanese psychiatrist Rika Kayama told Mainichi Daily News that her patients are experiencing more frequest feelings of loneliness because of the Nintendo DS and PSP.

"Today’s youth immerse themselves in worlds of their own right before our eyes, where they can live secluded from the rest of us. Feeding into these one person worlds, personal devices such as mobile phones and handheld game systems like the Sony PSP and Nintendo DS come on to the market one after another."

Bullshit.

Yeah, you heard me. I think this is bullshit. Yes, it is easier to separate oneself from a crowd by playing on a handheld system or playing with apps on your iphone; but that certainly doesn't mean it's the only reason for feeling disassociated from social interactions. I've felt that way since I was a child, and I don't have a phone with cool apps. I didn't even get my DS until last April.

I live in one of the largest cities in the world. At times, I have stood in the middle of a crowded bus, no phone or DS or iPod or book, and felt utterly alone. Why do I feel this way? Probably because I sometimes suffer from depression, but it also has to do with the fact that all my good friends don't live here. I've always been the type to segregate myself from crowds. It leads to social anxieties at parties.

In conclusion, Kayama-san's patients probably already have tendencies to separate themselves; but I do agree that having any kind of handheld device or even a book can facilitate the growth of social anxiety and separation. It really has to be the choice of each individual to make the effort to find healthy ways to socialize face to face.

Some of us are just wired funny.

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