Or you can just stalk me at your leisure. Creep.

@breaka666: You are right to a degree about complaining, but this isn’t a dog that doesn’t know better, it’s a large corporation that should. When sales of a franchise or in a genre dip year after year (I’m thinking of Tony Hawk and the music genre specifically here, but this is not limited to those), the proper action is not to make a game that requires yet another new peripheral (and inflated prices to match) or flood the market with crap rehashes hoping something sticks, you have to re-evaluate what you’re doing on your end to make it better. You also should not casually talk about dumping core titles because they lack “annualization” nor make jokes about increasing the prices, because that is not what consumers – recession or no – need to hear.

Sorry if that comes off as argumentative. It wasn’t my intention. I love you.

@darthgibblet: That is a method worth considering, though my problem comes down to over stuffing my plate and realizing that maybe I wasn’t as hungry as I thought… gamingly speaking, of course.

- As far as the biases, my feeling have been that there’s nothing wrong with liking one system (or game or franchise or whatever) more than another, but it becomes a problem when you expect everybody else to share in your opinion. I think that’s the difference between a fan and a fanboy/fangirl.

- That being said, there are a few franchises I’d describe myself as a fanboy of (although not in compliance with the above definition :F. I don’t care if people agree with me), mostly JRPGs of one form or another, but I also really enjoy a wide variety of genres (I consider myself pretty decent at FPSs, although I prefer Sci-Fi to WW2). Anything I can play with my friends get an instant boost, especially if it’s something that has split-screen features (unfortunately, this seems to be a dying game mode as people try to get more and more rendering power out of consoles).

- @Ginia/Erik J: I was really bad at finishing games up until recently. About 1/2 way through last year, I started keeping track of what games I was playing (purchase dates, last played dates, current progression through the story, etc) in a database and that’s helped me stay much more focused on the games I’m currently playing. Maybe some similar system would help you guys? My view’s always been, though, that the fastest way to not like a game is to force yourself to finish it. Games are supposed to be fun. If they’re not, then you’re doing it wrong :D.

yes I know about his horrible track record, yes I know hes been quoted saying “yeah, I’m aware that the games I’ve made have never been, you know…good.” but I love Romancing SaGa” Minstrel Song, Final Fantasy II, Romancing SaGa III, and SaGa II. those are the only games of his that I’ve played so he has a good history as far as my history is concerned.

I don’t really hate any group or person. I always figured getting mad at people or organizations for doing shitty things was sorta like getting mad at a dog for licking his testicles: no point in getting mad at something that’ll never change.

welcome Eric J! lieutenant of the Lusipurrian army! -salutes a soldier of higher rank-

That’s me as well. There’s something completely detatched and schizophrenic in such statements, though–as if SE believes that the audience which has been eagerly awaiting their JRPGs for decades has, to a man, uniformly rejected JRPGs and now requires patronisation in the form of faux Western-style bilge.

And each and every time they talk about making a game directed at Western audiences, I involuntarily facepalm myself.

I used to love SE but now I think, like SN, I just love the Final Fantasy series. SE’s other productions are just schlock. Nier? Last Remnant? Infinite Undiscovery? No thanks.

Part of SE’s problem is that the heart-and-soul of their development left and formed Mistwalker, which now makes the sort of classic JRPGs that I love. Unfortunately, they’ve only made two of those, and they are both for a console that I no longer (nor ever will again) own. They need a PS3 release, STAT.

I should also point out that SN’s comment about the PS3 being beloved of our staff is not without realism. Our PS3 examination pointed out the holes in the system, and it’s certainly not perfect–however at the present moment it is the least imperfect of all three systems: it’s not the shovelware platform that the Wii has become, neither is it merely a venue for a company to screw its users out of money left and right like the 360. It’s just a console, and really, that’s all I ever wanted in the first place.

I’m trying to make similar Activision purchases, which should be easy since I’m not a fan of most of their titles, and Bobby Kotick has no dick as far as I’m concerned. I’m glad to hear you say these words.

I guess I’m curious as to why you despise Square-Enix? Is it Shakespearean, your only love sprung from your only hate?!

-The PS3 is also my baby (as seems to be the case for most people who work here, and the readers too).

-I also have a healthy disdain for Activision and Bobby Kotick, and i I ever find myself buying one of their games, will endevour to get it used. I also absolutely despise Square-Enix, though I have a proportional love for the Final Fantasy series, a contradiction of sorts.

I believe in you too, just keep on pushing forward!

Also, thanks!

I can’t pick one company to love like some people might pick Square-Enix or Bioware or Namco-Bandai, but I don’t hold it against people that can and hope that it won’t be held against me either. Clearly Squeenix’s games speak to you and your likes, and that’s awesome! I’m just kind of this mish-mash of ideas of things I like, and no single company holds the key to my heart based on that description. Maybe (and this is a strong maybe) pre-2001 SEGA or pre-Wii Nintendo, but those would be broad strokes I would be using to paint this self-portrait with acute enough detail to be worth a damn.

There were a couple posts over the past two weeks where I felt strongly enough to want to comment, but not strongly enough to dedicate myself to a particular side of the discussion, so I simply commented “I like games.” That’s probably the least compelling thing I could say on any discussion on this site and kind of Chance-ish (that is a Being There reference, if that slips by anyone) all together.

I’m glad that there will be someone else about who also has difficulty finishing games. Now I do not have to be so ashamed of the fact that I haven’t completed a game since … oh geeze … 2007? You’re probably not quite as terrible as I am, though. Together we can overcome adversity and finish something, though! I believe in you!

Welcome aboard. I’ve heard quite a bit about you, so I’m looking forward to your contributions. :)