Nin,

I am still trying to justify a game purchase (at least one on disc) for the PS4 launch, but Amazon is also doing a match-ish of this week's Target deal.

Wondering where all the big releases are ,
Ray Whom is obviously not a fan of the military shooter rehashing.

Yeah, but, well...uhh...WHATEVER!

I have always been a bit crazy for new systems and I worked out a deal with a friend where they ended up with my PS3 collection at a greatly discounted price. Essentially, I won't pay full price for PS4, it's cheaper than the Xbox 180, and it seems like it might be the more powerful system. And I am system crazy.

I have a Xbox 180 on preorder, too, but I'm fairly certain I am going to flip it or outright cancel it. With a robust gaming PC, there is not much to play on the consoles. I don't care about any of the 180 games and Killzone is the only thing that interests me on the PS4 (and I use that term loosely.) Sadly, it's the stupid Wii U that has the "most" exclusive games I am interested in playing with the HD Zelda and Kitty Mario! Super Mario 3D World. But buying a Wii U? I obviously have a better chance of buying a game-less PS4 first.

Overall, the announced releases for the next six to nine months seem a bit anemic as they are. I'll finally be going through my Steam backlog or, more realistically, buying even more indie games.

Needing it...just because!,
Ray

Poor, nin - I see your system in the warehouse, but they just have it sitting there.
No good games to buy, especially compared to the PC.
Getting the system, but no games ,
Ray

Jim obviously isn't for everybody, but he's generally been against DRM and the political games of the publishers. I'm not aware of any hatred of PC gamers...
Unlike many publishers.
Piracy - Trying To Kill It Makes It Stronger

Why PC Gaming Gets Away With It

Shrugging,
Ray

It's a good alternative to the Titan, for the cost, but...you can come up with cheaper Crossfire alternatives and it speaks to AMD's issue with power and heat.

I have CF 7950s and it is a real love/hate relationship. My performance is amazing, but they can literally warm an entire room, and drivers make or break my experience from game to game.

Otherwise, it's not a bad card, but the general rumors were that Nvidia skipped a whole generation because AMD's performance was so lackluster - hence, the comments about Nvidia's profit per-card. I have no reason to upgrade at the moment and I am curious to see what will be out in the middle of next year, specifically whether or not the consoles will finally push the PC users to upgrade their machines.
Or more love for monitors that push more than 1080p...
Having both consoles preordered, but seeing nothing to play,
Ray

I will have to wait and see, but I am skeptical just like many others.

The form factor and new controller design are interesting, but this will not be a direct console competitor nor does it appear to some fantastical reimagining of the PC.

On the PC front, my fear is a dumbing down of the PC's capabilities and the decrease in customization from Valve's presumed intent to consolidate everything into a handful of SKUs. At a certain point, if my "PC" system becomes less robust, the console systems keep moving towards a classic PC architecture, and resolutions/capabilities stagnate (such as Carmack's love for 1080p...,) I could see a future console, especially one that finally accepts and properly utilizes a mouse and keyboard option, might be a better option based upon price and performance.

Otherwise, Valve's OS better show amazing, profound performance differences, though past operating systems have not shown this ability. I am very, very interested in streaming my PC and/or consoles to different screens, but I don't currently see a point or feel any type of hook for the Steam systems. I already have a nice system that I can customize endlessly on a whim and I am able to do so for a relatively lean cost due to my ability to change out individual components on a whim, by having a wide range of options and being able to select the one with an exceptional price to performance ratio, and/or delaying purchase over a one or two week period and watching for brief online deals from numerous retails that may last only a day or even a few hours.

I can partially see this as Valve's attempt as an upscale console - start out with the consoles, then learn to do more or want for more customization or graphical fidelity with our mini-PC - but there already seem to be good alternatives to this. This might a good option for the rich/lazy/uninformed people that buy Alienware systems or as a response to graphics cards vendors that are trying to sell you three or four GPU system, but it doesn't initially seem price efficient nor is it appealing to me as a system builder. I would need a lot more to give up my current system and I certainly won't buy two high end systems, to say nothing of the "average" gaming consumer that is locked out by cost from buying anything more than a console.
Screw it unless the price is there and the OS numbers are insane.
Skeptical and waiting,
Ray

I've seen nothing but bad reviews for this - the original game is the one to stick with.
Nothing like screwing up a classic.
Waiting for a $2.50 Steam sale,
Ray

Currently, I have no intention of buying any portion of Valve's living room setups. Also, I think they timed this really poorly with the PS4 and Xbox 180 only two month away.

Having said that, though seemingly alien in design, I applaud Valve for trying this. PCs no longer lead the market, monitor size and resolution are stagnating, and the upcoming consoles are mini PCs.

I still prefer the PC for a collection of reasons (uprgradeability, game modability, strong indie market, multi-tasking, work functionality, graphical excellence, genre depth and maturity, etc.,) but the consoles are starting to take on some of those items.

All those items aside, one of my personally most beloved items of PC gaming is the mouse and keyboard input, though I have a 360 controller because some game types play better with it. On the console side, there is little to no appreciation for non-gamepad controllers, even if the reverse is true - the keyboard and mouse are superior to gamepads for some of the most popular game types.

From that perspective, if you're Valve and want to move the PC to the living room or move a console-only gamer towards PC gaming, you have to broach a new a shared input, either giving multiple options or coming up with a radically new style that attempts to offer benefits of both styles.

Again, I don't see myself picking this up anytime soon, but I certainly applaud them for trying to come up with the new controller style.
Meanwhile, stick to PC to TV streaming options.
Just waiting for Valve to announce the HL3 exclusive ,
Ray

It's certainly a successful funding campaign so they have no financial reason to stop. I simply worry about what people are actually getting - what, when, and for how much.

The game is still far away, but there have been a number of packages that far exceed the "standard" $60.00 price tag and then the game turns towards micro-transactions, seemingly far, far into the pay-to-win spectrum.

I want this to succeed and be as great as they are saying it will be, but I am obviously not one of the diehard. At a certain point, I want to make sure there is a great game to be played in a timely manner and then I might consider some of the additional gameplay styles, game activities, etc.
Feature creep? Funding creep?
Thinking Hobbes would be worth it ,
Ray

I'm all for this product, but I wish he would stop coming up with new preorder packages and actually work on putting out a product.

But this ship...get your insurance...buy your credits...get this extra benefit...double up...donate...get this variant of the ship you already down...sent many time the game's purchase price for items...
I'm sold. Stop trying to sell me. Don't nickel and dime me.
Wondering if Stephen will have a cameo ,
Ray

Preorder today so you can play the full game!

Because people who "only" buy the game on day one, wait until the weekend, or wait for reviews are scum!
A time challenge? Really? I hope it's better than it looks.
Hoping they can add some on-disc, day one DLC as well ,
Ray

Good riddance. Upfront, I only played through the game a single time, but what a bore it was.

Crap item after crap item and, finally, a nice drop...that my character cannot use. The game wasn't particularly fun or inventive and then the loot system seemed completely broken.

For a game that was not particularly blowing me away, spending 2-3 hours for nothing was not fun. Then, I would check the GAH and see items that were far, far better than what I was receiving in drops that I could buy for amounts gold that I could farm in, what, 15-30 minutes? 2-3 hours for crap or 30 minutes for fun? Of course I felt the need to use the AH.
I enjoyed the first two games far more than D3.
Noting the new loot system is receiving a bit of praise on the consoles,
Ray

It's obviously coming and it would be common sense to release on the console computers as well - it's just a question of how long the wait will be.

I thought about the console version, but I have other things to play on the PC in the meantime so I can wait it out.

However, all the early leaks allude to it being one hell of a game, both technically and gameplay wise. Given how little else there is to play for the rest of the year and the weak launch titles for each console, I expect this to be a must-buy for many gamers.
Sadly, my PS4 will initially be an updated Netflix device.
Going to be selling my PS3 in the next week,
Ray

I had actually written off Payday as another mindless online shooter, but Shugashack discussed the game in one of its podcasts and it sold me on the game far more than any video, preview, etc.

Weekend Confirmed: Episode 178 - starting around 6:40.
You know you're a sad gaming nerd when you listen to podcasts at work.
Wanting GTA5, but waiting for a PC release ,
Ray

It's a good start, but I really want a way to enable two separate games on the same account to be played at the same time, even if there are some special restrictions/authorizations put in place.

Good news: My wife likes gaming - I can get away with a lot gaming or we'll even game together.

Bad news: My wife likes gaming - I have to maintain two PCs and buy additional copies of games I already own.

I have about 220 or so games, but I only have 30 or so actively installed. I have no problem restricting my access to the other 190 so she (or friends, down the road...) can play them.

Or why not a demo mode? If somebody is on my friends list, they can play a game I own for 2-3 hours (while I lose access temporarily) and then they are given an option to buy it at a discounted rate.
Stupid publishers.
Drowning in indie games,
Ray

It gets better when you run two browsers windows side by side; you get the initial news text, a huge block of blue nothing where the vertical advertisement displays on the right side of the screen, and then the equally large tweet bubble.

At 1920x1080, I can just get in the end of the text and the start of the tweet on the same screen.
Even worse, it's for another military shooter...
Thinking some tweaks are needed ,
Ray

Guys? Is the site working? Can you see this? I'm not sure if the site is working right now - it's displaying a giant twitter advertisement instead of new sto...oh, wait.

I do prefer the older, more simple layout of the site, but the site could definitely use some updating and could use some new, varied posters.

I'm not against this thing, but it really should be re-colored to match the site and shrunken down. After all, isn't the point of twitter, other than narcissism, to get a point across in a minimal amount of words/space? This tweet bubble is easily four times the size of the actual news item.
Can we please just work on a Homeworld remake?
Having received another 10% Shadow Warrior coupon on Steam,
Ray

Well, people have to cut back for a few weeks to go buy The Elder Scrolls Anthology.

Meanwhile, go buy plushies!

http://www.gamingheads.com/index.php?option=com_myphp&Itemid=3&product=114

http://www.gamingheads.com/index.php?option=com_myphp&Itemid=3&product=115
Never has hell been so cute!
Working through my backlog of games,
Ray

SiN Episodes: Emergence killed the franchise and killed episodic gaming. Just saying...
Too little...too rough...too late.
I am actually interested in Shadow Warrior, but not until it hits $20 or so. I'm still picking off charred flesh from buying Rise of the Triad and I never finished Hard Reset, finding it too repetitive and uninspiring.

Waiting for Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs to unlock,
Ray

Launches = Underwhelming if you have any type of decent PC.

Xbox 180 = A new line every day, costs $100.00 more, and comes with a NSA spy camera with no gaming relevance.

Wii U = Even at $300.00 and packing in Wind Waker HD, it still doesn't do enough for me.
$250.00 with the pack in...maybe...
Thinking I may get just the PS4 for Netflix streaming ,
Ray