as far as the ratings from the E3 convention goes.

Game Informer (in my opinon) is one of the most objective, fair and trusted review sources out there for a long time. I've been reading them since I can remember. (many years ago, lol) There are just a few things I would like to go over that I wanted to talk about.

Game Informer Ratings:

Microsoft E3 Report Card: B

Playstation 3 E3 Report Card: B-

Nintendo Wii Report Card: D

Now, I want to talk about why (being a 360 fangirl) I may actually purchase a PS3 in the near future and still refuse to buy a Nintendo Wii. This will be a biased post so be prepared. I won't discuss the 360 as I am already biased towards it and just think they rule the world and all people in it (rolls eyes).

First off, the Playstation 3. I will concede one area to Sony, controllers... they have 360 beat in that area with the D-Pad alone. However, that's not a convincing reason to be the factor in deciding to purchase their system. In an interview with Shuhei Yoshida - President, Sony Worldwide Studios, Game Informer asks him many questions but the one that stood out was this:

Q: "Do you have any philosophical differences with the previous head of Sony's worldwide studios, Phil Harrison?"

A: "I don't think we have philosophical differences, but he was more pushing for that vision of, "Yeah let's go to the mass market. Let's make the games simple, easy and fun from a European standpoint." and we were more - I was head of U.S. Developement - more focused on conventional, core gamers' games."

Simple, Easy and Fun doesn't necessary equal a great game and I couldn't agree with Mr. Yoshida more. I believe that with the departure of Phil Harrison (which was a good thing for Sony) the company can get the "ball rolling again" and start making games that appeal to the core gamer market for Sony. I've never really cared for Sony and have always loved my 360 but after reading this I realized that Sony really does want to compete. Now they have a different vision and I think we will start seeing some great and epic games coming on their system.

Q: "What is your opinion on Square bringing the formerly Sony exclusive Final Fantasy XIII to the Xbox 360?"

A: "From a business standpoint, that's something that people have expected because of the effort it takes to make a big title like that. They must have pressure from stockholders to recoup as much money as possible. But I'm curious how they will do a Final Fantasy game for the 360 They might have to do a three- or four disc set. And personally, I was the account manager for SquareSoft when they started working on Final Fantasy VII, so I have some personal attachment to that franchise and that team..."

Another thing I found interesting was that Mr. Yoshida felt a personal connection to the series as well. I can agree with his point of view, Sony has had Final Fantasy for many years and this one game (FF XIII) that could have pushed them over the top and perhaps put the pressure on Microsoft went multi-platform and instead stole some of Sony's thunder. Granted, Microsoft may truly have to create FF XIII with a 3 to 4 disc set however, it will be done and people will buy it regardless. It's smart business to not restrict a title like this to one console. However, I can understand Mr. Yoshida's feelings, it's almost that of being robbed or having something taken away from you.

However, this is a mature man talking about the situation. Unfortunately "fanboyism" clouds the minds of countless gamers and they all take to the forums and yell and cry about how FF XIII was stolen from them.

To quote a line from one my favorite movies of all time: (to the fanboys) "It's not personal Sonny, it's just Business." (Godfather, Part I)

So stop your crying, you are still getting the game. I'll concede the fact that it will probably look beautiful on the PS3 but we're still getting it too so shush.

So after reading the entire Q & A section I really felt like Sony realized what they needed to do now to be a true competitor. Perhaps the greatness that Sony once was in the past will return again with this man at the helm.

Am I convinced enough to buy a PS3? Let's just say I am "seriously" thinking about it.

(Article Credit: Game Informer Magazine, Issue #185)

Part II - Nintendo's Q & A Session.

I think their conference was dismal and to me they failed their core gaming market, but oh wait. They aim for casual gamers! Leaving core gamers behind, a smart move? I think not.

Questions, I have for Nintendo

"Ok, so where do you all go from here?"

"How long do you intend to ride the wave of casual gaming and start making serious core titles, (Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Mario Galaxy not withstanding, because you can't talk to a Nintendo fanboy with out them throwing these two and only these two titles out there as a shield.) for the core gamers?"

"Honestly Nintendo, what else do you have to offer?"

Firefox 3.0 & Safari...

I'm saying HELLOOOOOOO to Opera (sings) 9.5!!!

Anyone else not really care for Firefox 3.0? I use it for Mac and have had some slowdown problems with it. I've been reading the forums and it appears it's user wide.

(Sings)

Opera 9.5'ohhhhhh

... when I had finished up a table at work last night and was picking up the check to close it out when the woman who was sitting there alone came back and left me another piece of paper with her phone number on it. The conversation went pretty much like this:

"Call me sometime."

I replied, "I'm flattered but I'm actually straight."

To which she replied to me, "So am I."

Do you remember the deer in the head lights look, O_O?

That's exactly what my face looked like as she walked off and I saw she left me a $12.00 tip on a $15.40 check. Wowzers.

So that brings me to this point, many of my friends are in that "phase" of exploring their sexuality with other women. I call it a phase because I've seen it happen to many friends of mine who happen to fit the 21-28 demographic. Several of them, ended up settling down and marriying men whom they fell in love with. Hence why I call it a phase. I've never been in that phase before and always have loved men. I've never discriminated either, the one I'm semi-dating now is about 5'10 and chubby but I love it because he is like a big teddy bear.

I've dated men who worked out constantly and have loved their bodies more than me. I've dated fellow gamers like myself but it ended up being like a buddy you could have around to play Halo with, lol. I've just never been interested in women. I mean, of course I think they are attractive for example, Scarlett Johansson is very sexy and beautiful, but that doesn't mean I want to sleep with her. Women can say things like that about other women and not be the slighest bit bi or lesbian-ish.

Men sometimes don't seem to understand that. My "boyfriend" has no problem saying, "You know that guy is actually sharp or handsome looking." I suppose because he is comfortable with his sexuality and knows that doesn't make him bi or gay I digress however, I see this phase happening more and more with women and especially the ones I know. The response I usually get is, "well women just understand women more and they are more sensual." I can agree with that to a point, however there is nothing like having my semi-boyfriend taking me into his arms and giving me a long deep kiss. Women may be more sensual, but sometimes I just want to be thrown around a bit. Ugh, that's not the word. Perhaps, taken charge of? Oh my that doesn't work either.

I'm digging myself a hole here, I'm just going to say that I'm glad there are differences between men and women. Because I like my teddy bear. I like that men don't know women, sure it makes it much more interesting.

Don't forget to leave my tip. ;)

I am responding to the comments from my blog post below, for some odd reason it would group everything into paragraphs and all the response would be run together.

So here we go:

Dante885: There is a local bowling alley here and it's filled with "asian people" nightly so there is a stereotype that all asian people bowl. Lol. I want Electroplankton bad!

Tzar3: I know, I can't even read them anymore, it's just a bunch of pointless banter now. Basically, we will all find out who is right when we're dead.

Especensor: There is a country, (perhaps Japan) where bowling is a very competitive sport. However it greatly differs from that here in the US (as far as form and lane conditions).(apparently I can't say s t y l e in a blog post)

Nestea_King: Yes, I was still on the whole "Let's kick ass" after the 9/11 issue so I gave young Georgie my vote. Yes, we lead in executions and I say keep them coming. :) Hehe. Oh and I "love" my mac... it's very sexy.

Slimdave21: Well my semi-boyfriend (nothing official yet, hence the semi) is a very good bowler and has been coaching me for the past year. I still have yet to beat him.

Xraystar: My coach (boyfriend, read above) bowled his 2nd 300 game last month also! He has a 299 and two 300's so far. He's very good, at least I think so!

Ash10692: You never would have guessed? Lol, I get that a lot believe it or not.

Thomassmash: Cute avatar of Pikachu btw, I live in Dallas/Fort Worth.

Tykain: 15% to 20% is usually the standard now. A $100 check would be about a $15 tip, which is actually fairly decent if only people followed that logic. Half Korean, Half Mexican.

Jeff16950_demon: I always thought Canadians said, "eh" a lot but I hear that is a common misconception, is that true? Sure, I don't mind if you post a blog like this. It just seemed like an easier format for me to post in. :) Just whatever came into my head I would write a sentence about it.

~desiree

I had several people tell me that I should post some more information tidbits about myself so let's start just from whatever pops into my head.

1. Abortion Issue, I am Pro-Choice.
2. Religion Issue, I am a Christian and I tend not to get involved in Religion debates in the OT forum. People who doubt the existence of God I simply reply with, "Well I guess we will all find out who is right when we're dead."
3. Politics, I voted for Gore in 2000 (who did win, IMO) Bush in 2004 (who was still riding the 9/11 wave, IMO) and voted for Hillary in our Texas Primary. (Hillary? OMG WTF. Well, it couldn't get any worse with what we have now.)
4. Political Stance, I consider myself an Independent who will write in a candidate in November.
5. I support Gun Owner Rights. (I do live in Texas after all)
6. I am proud of our state having the most executions than any other state. (scary, lol)
7. On Gay & Lesbian Marriages, (I don't necessarily agree with it) however everyone has the right to have happiness.
8. On the 2008 Olympics, I don't watch them.
9. On Computers, I am a Mac fangirl.
10. On tipping, 10% is no longer the standard. 15% to 20% is the new standard. This isn't 1951 anymore.
11. A verbal tip does not pay the bills.
12. For the third time, yes that is my picture. Is there some unsaid law that says, women who use the forums can only be ugly?
13. I like stimulating discussion on just about any topic, so if you instant message me let's talk about something, anything.
14. I am one of the most sarcastic people that I know.
15. At times, I lack tactfulness. (it's true)
16. I spend most of my time on the Nintendo DS forums. You can find me there.
17. I love it when people complain about all the arguing on "System Wars", lmao.
18. I think looks last only for a short while, however intelligence and personality are constant.
19. I am still trying to get Electroplankton for my DS Lite. (damn it!)
20. I bowl in my spare time. (fits the whole asian and bowling stereotype here in Dallas/Fort Worth, haha) I carry a 183 average and my highest game was 279.
21. I love my iPhone 3G.
22. I think I am done with this blog for the evening.
23. See you soon!

So I was looking through the technical support forums for assistance on the whole, "HTML not well formatted, tags, whatever blah blah blah." something of that nature. I couldn't find anything in the RECENT postings so I went ahead and copied the error, pasted it into a new topic only to find out it had already been posted about so I couldn't use that title.

I decided, ok I'll just do a search for this error and read the information on it since it's obviously been talked about before. Cool, I found 3 topics however two were in January and February of 08 and the other was in June of 2007 I think. So, I'll read the postings. Hmmm, seems other people are having the same trouble I am.

It would also seem that only other uses have answered the question with what they think might be wrong but no response from any GS employee with a solution on the matter (you know, since I'm still getting the error almost 8 months later). Maybe I'll just post a quick response to see if a solution was found. (This was yesterday.)

This morning:

OMG OMG, Terms of Use Violation! You bumped a 6 month old topic! (Well no **** Sherlock, why create a new topic when I can just bump an old one right? Don't abuse the new topic button right? Or else get the "THIS HAS ALREADY BEEN DISCUSSED" response.)

Too bad there was no reply button from the auto generated gamespot e-mail. My reply would not have been pleasant. Just my 2 gil. (Eat it.)

My response would have been short, probably something along the lines of, "Get bent".

I recently spoke with a moderator about discussing this topic and I am going to try my best to keep it within the TOS as possible. It may take a few edits so I can get the wording right.

So where do I begin? I recently read a Wired Blog Article and I read the comments that were posted in reference to the article and there was one particular entry from a user who identified themself as "ChangeOfFate". From what I have gathered he is a 27 year old college student who is on a tight financial budget (I can sympathize I am in the same situation) and he mentioned that he does dowload games using a flashcart because he appreciates the ability to try a game out before he decides to make the decision to purchase the game.

He defends his position by stating that he cannot afford to purchase a game title only to have it turn out to be an awful game and then have to sell it back to gamestop for "20%" of it's value (More like, 10% lol), due to his limited "fun money". He further defends his position by claiming that he feels more comfortable with an "actual physical game" itself rather than having it stored on an SD card the size of a "contact".

I then began to see his point. I have friends who are also avid DS players and use the same technology to do this so called, "try before you buy" method. I have seen their DS libraries and they actually do purchase the titles they download. I put my faith into game review websites such as GameSpot or magazines such as Game Informer (who I strongly trust) to "inform" me of what purchases are sound and which others are dubious.

I know that these people like "ChangeOfFate" are in the minority and seem to have a sense of right and wrong about them and realize that they are treading a fine line. However, there are many gamers out there unlike my subject here who don't purchase games at all. There in lies the problem and it's unfortunate that Nintendo has to come after people like him, who seem to be honest and especially the Homebrew community (I've seen some very fun homebrew games!) in order to stop the people who truly are stealing. (like silenthillish)

So here is my scenario and question for you my fellow "trackers" :)...

Let us assume that "ChangeOfFate" really is doing as he says and trying games via downloads and then purchasing them if he likes the title. Just give him the benefit of the doubt.

Is this still considered piracy? Is being a "smart consumer" as he says? What makes it different than downloading mp3s on iTunes? Granted, you are not getting the entire song for free however you still have the option to "listen before you buy". Is this a fault on Nintendo, for not providing us with some type of demo system? (other than the download stations, which I think are a joke.)

So give me your verdict:

I would personally say, according to my scenario above, that they aren't pirating.

Let's talk about it. (mods, I would like to hear your thoughts too ;)).

~des

Developer "The Game Factory" is releasing two games later this fall for the Nintendo DS. However, their target is a different kind and lesser recognized gamer... females.

Within the world of Zenses there are two editions a Rainforest and Ocean (which I'll probably get both) which both have very well designed covers. The game stresses that relaxation is necessary for peak mental and physical health, which I happen to agree with. They include mini games and puzzles with ambient music and sound effects in the background.

Just watching the trailer and listening to the music makes me relaxed, lol. I'm fairly interested in about purchasing these two games. Heaven knows I need them soon or I may throw food at the next customer that makes me mad. (kidding, maybe?)

*** trailer ***

Release dates on the GameStop website shows October 14th, 2008. The price tag was $29.99 on each edition, which I admit discouraged me but only in the slightest amount. Now if I could just get these two games and head off to a beach where I can play them and relax as the game trailer shows.

So, fellow female gamers. Thoughts? (men comments appreciated too ;) )

Let's go over a few points here...

1. Yes, I previously owned an Xbox 360.
2. Yes, I am a fangirl of the Xbox 360 (sorry, I like winners).
3. Yes, I am a definite Nintendo DS fangirl. (what can I say, small is cute. well not in all cases.)
4. No, I do not like Sony or the Playstation 3.
5. Yes, I did like the Playstation 2.
6. Yes, I think the Playstation 3 is overrated.
7. No, I've never owned one but I've broken my ex's before in a fit of anger. (long story, "hence ex".)
8. Yes, I am a woman.
9. Yes, I play video games. Is that ok?
10. Why do men get overly excited when they find out they are playing with a female? (call of duty 4, "OMG UR A GIRLZ?" I'LL PROTECT U!)
11. Yes, that is my photo.
12. Yes, we can be friends.
13. Yes, you can instant message me.
14. No, I don't bite. (well, sometimes.)
15. Yes, I like to eat.
16. No, I am not a vegetarian.
17. Yes, I love chicken.
18. Yes, I could eat chicken all day.
19. No, I'm not a smoker.
20. Yes, I drink on very special occasions.
21. Yes, I love water.
22. No, I don't like soda.
23. Did I mention I was girl gamer?
24. rawr.
25. list end. bai bai.