If I'm couting correctly (no guarantees), this is the twelvefth expansion to Everquest, not including platinum bundles and so forth.

On the one hand, I applaud SOE for continuing to make new content for such an old cash cow game. On the other hand, those who have been playing the game from the beginning and keep buying these expansions have been playing what has to be the most expensive retail game of all time. Assuming a $50 game at launch, plus $30 per expansion, that's $410 just to buy the content in the game, to say nothing of the monthly fee.

I'm a WoW player myself, and all content so far has been free, with only one expansion currently in the pipeline. So do any of you playing EQ feel fleeced, or is it worth it?

This comment was edited on Jul 11, 16:18.

Jack Thompson has filed a federal lawsuit against the Florida Bar, alleging it is harassing him

followed by:

"I enjoy doing what I do and I think I've got a First Amendment right to annoy people"...Thompson said

So to get this straight, he has a First Amendment right to annoy people, but he's suing the Florida Bar for doing the same to him? And just why should he be immune to the same criticism he spews out? Sounds like someone can give it but can't take it.

Screw you? I'm still waiting for them to fix a driver bug since 5.5 where it makes my x850 XT think it's overheating when it's not.

Well damn....I was wondering why my x850xt kept triggering VPU recover from (apparent) overheating when it wasn't remotely hot enough to.

...and they won't allocate so many units to Japan in follow-up shipments. Japan doesn't want to buy the Xbox 360, fine - Europe & North America do, so send them to us!

....has EA bought the exclusive rights to cricket yet?

Not really when you consider this may be the only 4 hour session they get all week. I think the revised $695 is still great, but as an IT consultant these rates are in line with what we get and we're more likely to maintain work than these voice actors.

Yes, but they're getting $556 (now $695) for FOUR hours work. I don't get that much for working an entire week. If that's the only voice work they can get in a week and they still need more money they still have a good 36+ hours per week they can devote to another job.

I'm by no means saying forcing developers to support HD is the way to go, but I see no harm in giving them the option to do so. Considering the Xbox and PS2 can already output HD and they came out years ago, this really doesn't seem to be a wise choice, and I'm getting flashbacks of Nintendo saying the N64 didn't need a CD drive and that Gamecube didn't need online support because neither were important enough to gaming. Both are now standard technologies on game consoles as well as PCs.

On a side note, I've never understood why Nintendo always fights the most promising new technologies so much, all the while supporting their own wacky new technology ideas (clearly there's no interest in HD support, but the world was just dying for a handheld with two screens and touch sensitivity).

(And for the record, I don't own an HDTV at the moment, but by the time the PS3 and xbox360 hit their stride in a couple years, I expect I will. If I don't, well it still doesn't hurt me that the systems support it.)

Never having played any BF game, how exactly can you have a 16-player single player mode? Isn't that an oxymoron?

I'm somewhat dissappointed with Gamesradar on this one. As Paranoid said, the PS3 was using dual 6800s. My understanding though, is that those are what the demos were running on, so the final hardware could potentially beat what was shown. To say the demos are fake because the GPU isn't finished is jumping to a conclusion. No, they're not running on final hardware, but that doesn't mean they weren't actually running on hardware comparable to (or more likely, less than) the final hardware.

I can't speak for GS/EB stores everywhere, but the ones I've been to (including the ones currently near me) aren't exactly price competitive. They sell relatively new games at retail prices, no exceptions. New video games, $50....no sales, no deals, no discounts, no coupons....just $50. This holds true for both stores. Therefore, at least from my experiences, the two stores don't compete on price....I can go to EB and pay $50, or go to GS and pay $50. The only way I see this affecting me is if EB (which is closer) gets closed and I have to drive a bit further to get to GS.

Might I also add the screenshot is 4000x3000? Can anyone's video card run that? I think not... which means you (probably) won't be able to see all the little faults because you'll run the game in less than half the resolution (or even a third...I run at 1280x1024).

Doom: The Movie -- Now with 2 additional months of suck packed in!

"When we began our analysis of the videogame landscape, it became apparent that EA SPORTS was best positioned from a marketing and development perspective to maximize the sales opportunities for college football," said Pat Battle, CEO of The Collegiate Licensing Company.

EA offered us enough money we couldn't refuse.

You'll notice the CEO mentions nothing about making the best games, only that EA can release the same game year after year and convince people to buy it again and again market the games the best.

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 25, 2005--Electronic Arts EA Holding AB ("EA") today announced it has bought the exclusive right to sell video games for the next century. This right extends to all video game systems; past, present, and future. "We wanted to ensure gamers get the best experience when they play games. By removing the option to buy other companies' games, this deal guarantees gamers will always be playing the best games."

In a related note, EA announced it was increasing the price of all games to $79.99, effective immediately, in an effort to "maintain the same high quality standards our customers are used to."

This comment was edited on Jan 25, 12:16.

I know I can't be the only one who saw the headline and wondered what Quake had to do with atomic bombs%)

Seeing as this is the same wannabe monopoly company that bought the exclusive rights to the NFL so they wouldn't have any competition, does anyone else suspect they did this to sabotage Ubisoft? I.e. a big vote comes up, and they vote in the opposite of what's best for the company. This does give them a direct say in the operations and actions of a direct competitor, and I have no reason to think EA would act in Ubisoft's best interests over its own.

This comment was edited on Dec 20, 18:46.

Oh goody! Now EA can update the rosters in Madden 2005 and pass it off as 2006, because hey, if you want an NFL game it'll be your only choice. On the positive side, maybe we can look forward to ESPN College Football 2K6 (until EA buys the rights to all college teams, that is).

(Random thought: this has got to piss Sega/Microsoft/any-other-company-with-a-pro-football-game-in-the-works off if they've been working on new editions of their games and now have to drop all that work)

This add on interests me, probably because I'm currently going to college. I'm hoping Maxis will really go crazy with this expansion (and not take itself very seriously), and have an Animal-House type game become possible. I want drunk people passed out on stairs, random hookups, the ability to start your own frat/sorority, etc....everything that makes college life crazy.

On a side note, I should mention I've never played the second sims game, only the first.

This comment was edited on Nov 21, 13:27.

Sooo..I'm not the only one where the speakers suddenly sets themselves to 2 speakers again and again even though I keep setting it to surround?

Nope, same deal here....I figured I was doing something wrong. I can't believe they can't just make a checkbox on the speaker selection page that says "Lock the #$&#% number of speakers" that prevents any changes until it is unchecked again. The problem seems to be (or is at least partially caused by) games that feel the need to change it. You'll select "surround" in a game, and suddenly your speakers settings are 4.1 instead of 5.1 (or maybe that's just me again).

I'm assuming those of you worrying about HL2's quality either haven't read the December PC Gamer review or don't trust them after Doom 3.