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The Corner of Randomness: Come on Consoles

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It get slimming down consoles, but now updating them? C'mon!

I get slimming down consoles, but now updating them? C’mon!

This week the rumor mill was working overtime. All the buzz was about a new Xbox One Slim, and then a new Xbox One coming out with better hardware next year. We will know more on these rumors come E3, but this is a bit bothersome for me. Not so much the Xbox One Slim, but a new Xbox One with upgraded hardware such as GPU/CPU/RAM.

We’ve chatted before about the new PS4.5, or PS4K, or whatever name they go with. While I have no intentions of upgrading either my Xbox One or PS4 until I absolutely need to, this new way of pumping out updated hardware is very troublesome to me.

First, I buy a console because it should last me a good amount of time. When companies start upgrading them after a few short years, why would I want to re-invest in the updated console? Sure, you can tell me the updates are minor and you want devs to make games for however many version of a console you have. Yet, let’s be honest here. Developers will eventually be allowed to stop supporting the PS4 and just move on to the PS4.5K.

Secondly, if I have to buy a new console every few years, why wouldn’t I just invest more time and effort into PC gaming? Having to buy a new $400 console every few years is no different than having to buy a $400 GPU for my computer. Also, that new GPU for my PC is already stronger than what is in that updated console.

Lastly, what about all my game installs? So now ever few years I will have to back everything up to transfer it to a new console. The last time I did this on my PS4, it took almost eight hours to complete. Now I have way more games installed on my PS4 and I dread how long it will take to transfer everything to a new system.

Look, I get it. These updates are supposedly to handle 4K video and usher in the era of virtual reality on consoles. I have also read that there might not be a new PlayStation, but rather just updates along the way. Still, this takes away the appeal of consoles to me. If I’m going to be forced to sink money into something every few years, it’ll be my PC as it does a lot more, both with video games and with productivity, than consoles do. So please, Sony and Microsoft, don’t start considering your consoles disposable tech. Don’t be like Apple. Just don’t do it!

The Corner of Randomness: Summer Vacation

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Batman Goes on HolidayIt seems we just skipped right past spring and jump right into summer. At least that is what it feels like here in Iowa. We had maybe a week or two of spring, but the temps are rising and it is already feeling like summer. Not that this is a terrible thing. I mean, it’s way better than blizzards and sub-zero temperatures.

This also means busy season has arrived. Keri gets to take care of kids that are no longer in school. So her life is about to be hectic. That’s on top of her work trips to places like E3. As for me, I get to enjoy countless miles on the road. Heck, as soon as I post this article I’m off to Wisconsin to work on my truck. A week later it is off to Colorado to pick up a few friends, and then we head off to Wyoming to take photos of mountains and such. Good times.

With all this craziness, we won’t be around as much until fall comes back to great us. This also means we have some time to start looking at new ideas for content for SGR. This is where I turn to you. While we have a few ideas in the oven, mainly new video content, what would you like to see more of? What features would you like us to look at and possibly implement down the road?

I have a lot of road to cover over the next few months. Thus, I’ll have plenty of time to contemplate new ideas and how to implement them. Exciting times are ahead. Until then, I need to go pack and hit the road.

The Corner of Randomness: April Arcade Block Unboxing

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I finally got my billing snafu taken care of with Nerd Block. That means I am finally getting their little boxes of goodies again. Hooray! I’m glad I got that taken care of as the April Arcade Block is probably my favorite Arcade Block to date! I could continue to type out what all greatness was contained within my Notintendo, or you could just watch me tear into the Arcade Block.

Want a Nerd Block of your very own? Subscribe!

The Corner of Randomness: For the Love of Indie Games

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Party HardOne of my recent gaming addictions is Party Hard. This is a game that Keri clued me in on one afternoon. I watched a small bit of a stream of it and was instantly hooked when I saw the streamers use a bull to run over a bunch of people at a party. A few moments later the game was downloading to my PS4.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve noticed I am really enjoying the Indie scene when it comes to video games. Between Party Hard and Axiom Verge, I sometimes have a rough time figuring out which game I’d rather play. It’s not a bad issue to have by any stretch of the imagination. If only I could bring my lightning gun to the party!

Indie games prove that you don’t need multi-million dollar budgets or big flashy visuals to be a great game. In fact, most Indie games are far from spectacular looking. What they lack in AAA gimmicks, they more than make up for in actual game play, challenge, and enjoyment. Heck, I still go back to play The Binding of Isaac or FTL from time to time as they are just good challenging fun.

The other item I have noticed that is common among a fair amount of Indie games I play is that they are usually easy to pick up and play, but offer a great challenge that takes some serious dedication to master. It is really enjoyable to go back to a game like FTL and feel as though I never stopped playing it. I can easily play the game for a small chunk of time and walk away satisfied with what I did in that game session. Usually because I managed to get just that tiny bit further to beating it than I did my last time playing it. It’s that hook that pulls so many people in. Well, that and the usual small price point that almost all Indie games command from your wallet.

AAA titles still have their place on my plate of addictions. Between Dark Souls III, Battleborn, and (hopefully) soon Doom, I’m still loving what the bigger developers have to offer. Yet, it seems as of late that I just really dig what the Indie scene is pumping out. With that, I think it is time to go party…..really effing hard!

The Corner of Randomness: The Joy of Just Being a Gamer

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Gamer

So many ways to play video games!

Every week it seems video game fans are subjected to some sort of drama. People are constantly getting called out as XBots, PS Fanboys, Console Peasants, or PC Master Race just to name a few. While I try to steer clear of the comment section in various gaming related articles, sometimes curiosity gets to me and I venture into that unholy land. I am then quickly reminded why it is a bad idea as the hate and vile quickly hits within a few comments. It’s sad when you think about it. Don’t even get me started on the battleground that is known as social media.

When did we become so divided amongst ourselves? Why can’t we just enjoy games of all kinds? Even better, why can’t we recognize that we all have different tastes in video games, gaming platforms, and so on? It is such a waste of energy to be so angry all the time. It destroys the fun and excitement that are video games. It also makes this industry look like a bunch of whiny little brats.

I am a gamer. I am not an XBot. I am not a fanboy of this or that console. I’ll be damned if I ever label myself as a Master Race of anything. I am a gamer, and it is glorious! I experience the vast expanses of space while playing Elite: Dangerous on my PC. When I need a break from my ever growing Steam library, I jump into some Destiny on my PS4, or load up Dark Souls III when I feel I need to be punished, or whatever the new hotness on my consoles is that week…looking at you Party Hard! When I travel, I capture Pokémon or attempt to conquer my ever expanding stack of shame on the Vita. At the end of the day, I’m having fun and isn’t that what video games are all about?

It’s time we as a gaming collective realize that there are good and bad points to everything. How someone decides to dine on the buffet of virtual worlds is their choice. Instead of fighting about what makes this console inferior to that console, or running to the hills to shout how glorious it is to play games on a PC, maybe we could talk about the games themselves. You know, have a discussion about why a new Zelda game could be a good thing, or what makes some random niche JRPG an experience that a certain group of fans should consider venturing into. It doesn’t have to be all sunshine and unicorns during these discussions. Yet it seems constructive criticism often turns into anger and hate. When someone disagrees with you, they sure like to let you know with some sort of rage filled comment.

I really hope that someday, the Keyboard Crusaders will become a thing we only read about in history books. I look forward to the day that we can celebrate all things video games, and just respect one another. Maybe one day, we can all just be gamers! Trust me, this is a time when the grass is truly greener on the other side of the fence. It’s lush soft green grass. The kind you just want to play in!

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