Recent content by Scopique

I see all these numbers comparing video games to movies as if movies were the "official" yardstick of "mainstream". If we wanted to continue to use movies in this capacity, let's remember that movies have been around for probably more then a century, whereas video games have only been around...

OK, media bias aside, the proper thing for ANY report from ANY site who wants to appear credible is to track the story back to the source in order to remove the filters that were applied when the story was found X degrees apart from the original. By NOT doing so, the gamer-media sites were...

"Since the advent of the home console, the average age of its players has steadily increased, which suggests that a single cohort - the first generation of kids to grow up with consoles - has largely driven the industry's growth. Game developers still cater to the tastes of this demographic...

One of the best reasons FOR multiboxing is EVE Online. Since you can only train one skill PER ACCOUNT at a time, alts are kind of pointless. I run two accounts simply because it allows me to advance two characters at a time. Some people would ***** about EVE's policy of one character training...

The take-away message of this article ISN'T specifically about families and parents, although the makeup frames the point: a "gamer" is someone who plays games. It's not someone who logs insane hours in Wow or who likes to start flame wars about console choice. People frequently badmouth...

One thing that's ignored is demographics. The majority of gamers are 18-34 (or thereabouts) according to research. The majority of this demographic actually has responsibilities (like work) that make finding time to just go to random places almost impossible. dtocs had it right: games are...

I think the take-away message here isn't necessarily that you didn't get your wife into your lifestyle, but that she now has a better understanding -- and hopefully, appreciation -- of your interests. Part of the disconnect, evident in the opening of the article, is that a lot of non-gamers...

I haven't followed Aion in depth, but I've read a little about it. Coupled with this article, I'm having a hard time seeing how this will be anything other then an Eastern WoW ripoff. From the sound of it, it still focuses upon the Eastern fascination with PvP. Action chains are nothing new...

Ah, see! The point, I believe, isn't as simple as "I should have made friends", but really IS as basic as a difference between Eastern and Western philosophies regarding MMO design. I tried Mabinogi after having seen it advertised on Penny Arcade. I usually steer clear of Koren MMOs; I've...

RP isn't a server tag; it's not a ruleset; it's a concept and a mindset. I would submit that WoW is the absolute LAST place for anyone interested in RP, due to the intense focus on the end game, but even so, RP is possible. While I agree that time-sink end game content means that more time is...

First, simplifying does not automatically equate "dumbing down". I'm sure that astronauts may get a kick out of all of the knobs and switches and gauges of the space shuttle, but I'd be willing to bet that they appreciate the simplicty of turning a key in the ignition of their car in order to...

Being one who has played many an MMO, and who has played and left WoW, I am still, to this day, flabbergasted at WoW's popularity. I have many friends who have gone from general video game consumers to WoW-only zealots (one friend has a saying: "If it's not WoW, it's meh"), and I frequently ask...

I always thought that any Cthuloid title was bound to fail because of the role that sanity played in the HPL stories. Sanity was THE meter in the Call of Cthulu, making it more important (and more fragile) then hit points are to todays RPGs. There's really no way to translate that to a computer...

I very much respect the hard work Richard has done over the years, but I have a very hard time reconciling what he's saying here with his new chosen medium. MMOs are a poor vehicle for telling a story. While all MMOs HAVE a story, the players are usually so busy squabbling over mechanics or...

It looks like the 360 has a chance to get some sales this time around, with Blue Dragon. Although it's just hit the streets in Japan, people are already saying that MS is still underperforming in Japan. Getting huge sales RIGHT NOW isn't a realistic strategy or expection, but now that MS has...