- Reminder: The Game Awards airs tonight at 5:30pm PST. I'll be on Twitch and provide my reactions.
Here's the rules to the drinking game I created after the 2015 show:
1 chaser (water) - When someone says "World Premiere"
1 shot of tequilla - When someone says "Fantastic"
1 shot of rum - When someone says "Awesome"
1 hit of Everclear - When there's a burn again Konami
A pint of your drink of choice - If there are no D List Celebrities throughout the entire show
- Motherboard has an interesting op-ed from a former video game "completionist." In their series that focuses on stress, the article looks at how trying to get all of the trophies/achievements may not be the healthiest of attitudes. And I can understand his position. As someone with OCD, I understand the need to get through a game with 100% ranking. You want to collect every artifact, complete each quest, and unlock all dialogue trees. It can sometimes feel like a chore with RPG's and distract you from point of the game: to have fun. Sometimes collecting is fun! Sometimes it's not. Finding the balance between fun and getting in your fill is important. Check out the article. Well worth the read!
- The Overwatch League is in full swing with pre-season matches starting this week. If you find your mind drifting during The Game Awards, there is a match between Dallas and Houston tonight. What good are the matches? They will help determine placement during the season and provide bonuses to the players that do well. Given the 20 million buy-in for each team, any bonuses from Blizzard would be welcomed.
- Valve has announced that Steam will no longer accept Bitcoin as a method of payment. With the instability of the currency, now hovering around $13,000 USD, there is a lot of uncertainty in the future of it. Even though it continues to rise, how long will it last? Because the value of Bitcoin fluctuates so much, Valve's team can't keep up with the changes. It has also increased the cost of processing Bitcoin transactions. What use to be 20 cents per purchase is now $20 or more - think of Bitcoin like a credit card in this instance. Most credit cards require merchants to pay a fee for the card to be used in the store. Merchants will typically eat this $1-$2 processing fee. When the fee is $20, that is not a sustainable method for Valve. The company has no plans to accept alternate payments at this time.
- There's a live-action Detective Pikachu movie in the works, and apparently Ryan Reynolds has been cast to play the yellow lightning blob. Is this real? Is this fantasy? Is this a super early April Fools joke, because Reynolds is known for being a prankster? Who knows! But it's being reported everywhere and we are all scratching our heads. Sorry Danny DeVito fans. Maybe next time.
- WhatCulture has their 2017 lists rolling out this week. We'll take a look at the 10 Best Open-World Games of 2017. Even if you haven't played them, you can probably guess 3 or 4 of them off the bat: AssCreed, Zelda, NiER, Mario, Horizon. Wait. I named 5. See how easy it was! This list is not surprising, but at least it's not as terrible as last week's gem.
- Finally, Art Books! They are still a thing and have grown in popularity over the past few years. Kotaku showed off the latest from SquareEnix with Final Fantasy XV. And the prices are getting bigger. $75, $120. $150. These coffee table books are now becoming prized possession, showcasing some of the beauty of the video games that you love but without having to turn on your console to play. The original hardback of 'The Art of Metal Gear Solid' will probably run you up to $500 if you can find a copy that hasn't been used. Why do we collect these? I don't know. Maybe it's our way of showing our enjoyment of the games but in a more adult manner? Maybe they just look so freekin' cool and it's great to have a collection of art work all in one place? I have a few from SE because Final Fantasy, of course I do. But the BioWare ones are just as impressive. So...who knows! They're cool and we'll keep on collecting. As long as the prices stay within a reasonable rate.
- There's a live-action Detective Pikachu movie in the works, and apparently Ryan Reynolds has been cast to play the yellow lightning blob. Is this real? Is this fantasy? Is this a super early April Fools joke, because Reynolds is known for being a prankster? Who knows! But it's being reported everywhere and we are all scratching our heads. Sorry Danny DeVito fans. Maybe next time.
- WhatCulture has their 2017 lists rolling out this week. We'll take a look at the 10 Best Open-World Games of 2017. Even if you haven't played them, you can probably guess 3 or 4 of them off the bat: AssCreed, Zelda, NiER, Mario, Horizon. Wait. I named 5. See how easy it was! This list is not surprising, but at least it's not as terrible as last week's gem.
- Finally, Art Books! They are still a thing and have grown in popularity over the past few years. Kotaku showed off the latest from SquareEnix with Final Fantasy XV. And the prices are getting bigger. $75, $120. $150. These coffee table books are now becoming prized possession, showcasing some of the beauty of the video games that you love but without having to turn on your console to play. The original hardback of 'The Art of Metal Gear Solid' will probably run you up to $500 if you can find a copy that hasn't been used. Why do we collect these? I don't know. Maybe it's our way of showing our enjoyment of the games but in a more adult manner? Maybe they just look so freekin' cool and it's great to have a collection of art work all in one place? I have a few from SE because Final Fantasy, of course I do. But the BioWare ones are just as impressive. So...who knows! They're cool and we'll keep on collecting. As long as the prices stay within a reasonable rate.
\
