Magazine Circulation Declining
August 10, 2008
Magazine circulation has been declining for several years, but it looks like this year has been the worst for the print industry. Below is a chart showing the first-half 2008 circulation figures from some of the most popular magazines. I have to wonder if online blogs have something to do with the decline. It’s quicker and easier to get your news and information from the internet these days. Another reason single copy sales are way down could have something to do with the recession as well. Check out the interesting article on the topic at WWD Media.
Rumor: Photos Of The New PSP Model (PSP-3000)
July 22, 2008
New images of the “PSP-3000″ originating from China have been all over the internet today. Many sites are claiming that this is proof that there is a new PSP model currently in production. The photos aren’t high quality enough for me to decide, so believing is up to you. If these are correct by chance, it looks like it has a built-in mic and several changes to the physical appearance of the system.
Via Exophase
Microsoft IE Team Sends Cake To Mozilla
June 19, 2008
The above picture is of the cake baked by the Internet Explorer team sent to the Mozilla team to commemorate the release of the latest version of Firefox. Perhaps if the Microsoft guys spent less time baking cakes and more time fixing IE, life would be different for them. While the cake looks good, I’m fairly certain it’s not compliant with modern cake baking rules. Hopefully the Mozilla team had the cake tested before eating it…
Via Arstechnica
10 Reasons The “Wii Fit Girl” Really Grinds My Gears
June 16, 2008
Don’t Watch The Hype
June 13, 2008
Today’s videogame internet environment realize solely on PR and advertisement to get those clicks to generate revenue. Get people’s attention and subject them to as much ads as possible so you can make a living off of owning and operating a website. How do you get those clicks? What makes people come to you?
It seems to get more and more accepted in the internet gaming environment to see and know as much as possible about a game before it gets released. What we now are trading in for that information is something very precious to any art form and its subsequent subculture; surprise and wonder. Haze tries to turn its game on its own head by introducing a twist, but fails to do so because it’s quite clear on the back of the damn box, and thus further exploring of the concept gets hallowed out.
Jade Raymond on the other hand refused to let the press know what exactly the weird DNA codes that cluttered every video and image we saw of Assassin’s Creed before we got the game in our hands. The difference between Haze and Assassin’s Creed is that Assassin’s Creed had a PR-twist, instead of a story twist, and therefore made the hype for the game that much more attractive.
Sessler’s Soapbox: Attention, Bigots!
June 11, 2008
This week, Adam Sessler discusses the racist homophobes we run across too often while playing games online. He’s right about the fact that it’s usually the young 10-year old gamers taking part in this and they are honestly ruining the fun of playing online. It’s gotten so bad in Halo 3 that I simply have it set up so the other teams are always on mute and I very rarely play with random people on my side. It’s sad that people are like this online. I have always felt like the anonymous nature of the internet brings the worst out of people. When it comes to the children acting like this, I’d like to know where the hell their parents are. When I was a kid, if I had used the language and racist terms these punks are using, I would have been beaten senseless.
Steve Jobs’s Health a Concern, iPhone takes backseat.
June 10, 2008
With the news presented of Apple’s iPhone 3G at an Apple technical conference in San Francisco on Monday, many sources noticed Steve Jobs’s health as well. “Concern over APPLE Steve Jobs’s physical appearance…” read a headline on the Drudge Report, which linked, without further comment, to photos showing the Apple CEO on stage at the Apple conference.
In response to a question about his health Tuesday, an Apple spokeswoman said Jobs was hit with a “common bug” in recent weeks but he still felt it was important to participate in the Apple conference. The spokeswoman said he’s now on the mend with the aid of antibiotics.
Jobs’s health is occasionally the topic of chatter because he was diagnosed with a rare form of pancreatic cancer four years ago, for which he underwent surgery that Apple said was successful. (Apple didn’t disclose that Jobs had been ill until after he was on the mend.) Mr. Jobs is also widely considered nearly irreplaceable at Apple, where he has been the architect of a dramatic resurgence in the company’s fortunes over the past decade. Fortunately for Apple, no replacement is needed.
Fanboys Threaten Stephen Totilo’s Life
June 7, 2008
Sarcastic Gamer posted an interesting article concerning MTV’s Stephen Totilo and how some fanboys have sent him death threats due to him assigning lower scores to games than they liked to see. While some people have found this to be shocking, it doesn’t really surprise me much. The anonymous nature of the internet tends to bring out the worst in fanboys most of the time. I actually have yet to have my life threatened because of a review, but I did receive some nasty threats from Jack Thompson last year when I was working for Ziff Davis Media.
We all certainly have our moments where we get a little out of line when responding to a review or article we disagree with, but it seems to me like things have been getting out of control lately when it comes to the opinions and threats flying out of the mouths of fanboys. You also have to give the reviewers a break sometimes. We aren’t perfect, although we try. I suppose some gamers need to grow up and learn how to communicate properly with others…
Via Sarcastic Gamer
