In case you didn’t notice it, we have a [url=http://www.snackbar-games.com/topstory/10]new contest online[/url]. Many thanks and props go to Pic and Pretzel for setting this up. Make them proud and get us some funny submissions. All submissions will be kept anonymous this time for voting reasons. I don’t want it to be a popularity contest again and I apologize for the blunder that was public voting last time.
I also want to let you know that if you downloaded the images in the last 2-3 hours you might want to get the new set. I brightened them up so they were easier to see. I look forward to your submissions.
I have spent most of the week working on upgrades to the system we use around here and I am making a ton of progress. Much of it will make things easier on other members of the staff and so I won’t go into detail about it. One major thing I am working on is the “forgot password” feature of the Gamertag. I know that is a huge thing and it will be ready soon. You will need to login to your account and select a secret question and set an answer for this to work in the future. If you need your password reset please just shoot me an email and I will get it reset for you.
I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of Hamtaro: Ham-Ham Games for my GC. I have been assured that it is a blast and you can bet that I will sound off once I have given it a thorough playing.
It is official, there will be a Neverwinter Nights II. Scheduled for a 2006 release and being developed by Obsidian (Knights of the Old Republic II) NWN II will bring to the table some good roleplay and DnD action. Many of my best gaming moments were while playing that game with our NWN community here at Snackbar. I only ask they add cloaks and hoods in the first release, give the DMs more customization while in game, better ability to limit what items ppl can bring into a mod, and a WAAA Meter (inside joke) because there is a lot of bitching when people get together to role-play. Oops that’s the DM in me talking.
Source IGN
Hello this is Dr. Jeferson, I am treating Pickle. He was brought to the hospital yesterday in a catatonic state, pale as something from a old horror movie. I have seen cases like this, its quite literally Scaredtheshitoutofitus. Its not contagious in any way, however he will need time to heal whatever scars are reside from the frightening he encountered.
And no I cannot perscribe anything you want, please don’t ask.
With the release of Doom 3 this week I have seen an increase of discussions of piracy in the gaming industry. The figures I ran across seem to imply that id and Activision will lose approximately $20 Million to piracy of this single game and I believe it. Much of that can probably be directly attributed to the thousands of people downloading the leaked version the weekend before the release of the game. I am an avid reader of HardOCP and this week they directed my attention to an article on the website 3DGPU addressing the very issue of piracy in our industry. While the author made it clear he didn’t support piracy, he approached the issue with a sort of sympathy for people that pirate because they can’t afford games. That may or may not have been his intention, but it ignited a spark inside that is caused me to address the issue so here we go.
I don’t believe that anyone can present a valid argument for stating that piracy is ok. Can people justify it to themselves? Sure, but there is no denying that it is a scourge to our industry. As I peruse the headlines over on Gamespot, companies like Atari, Konami, Vivendi, and THQ are reporting lower than expected sales and a decline of income while others like Acclaim are facing a delisting on the Nasdaq for their stock price being too low. While I know that it is not all due to piracy and in fact much of it can be attributed to companies putting out terrible games just as fast as they can, I do know that piracy hurts the industry we claim to love.
Video games are one of my fondest pastimes and to see things start to decline makes me sick. The worst part is that we as a whole are only aiding the decline. The 3DGPU article touched on the fact that games are too expensive and generally I would agree. I don’t like paying $50 for a brand new game or even $55 for some newer ones, but that is the price that the market bears. He also touched on the fact that many people that pirate often times can’t afford the games that are coming out. To that I say so what? Because you cannot afford something doesn’t mean you should be able to obtain it though other methods. I realize this is a stretch because electronic data can be reproduced without cost, but you can draw a parallel to any other retail good. I can’t afford to purchase a brand new Corvette, but that doesn’t give me the right to go take one. Unlike a Corvette, the games probably do have higher prices to compensate for the cost of piracy. I know that the cost for many pieces of software have a huge markup so that the company breaks even. So next time you whine about the price, why don’t you think twice before pirating that next great game. The bottom line is that there are a whole lot of people who put thousands of hours into developing these games and it just plain isn’t right to steal them because you can’t afford them.
There was also mention that many people like to try the games out before buying them and they like to tell themselves that they will buy the game after they decide. Yeah right. Why pay for something after you already have it for free. It doesn’t make sense. My take on this is pretty simple. Most pc games have a demo released that allows you to try the game out. If the demo is good, you buy the game and don’t enjoy it then maybe you need to be a little more reserved and less compulsive with your purchases. You are not able to return opened PC games because a select few people abused the system and took advantage of it. Face it; it isn’t the developer’s fault that you didn’t enjoy the game. They gave you a perfect chance to try it out free of charge. Even better, why not go to a local gaming cafA
