The Rise of PC Gaming

There were advancements in computer technology that made them a real threat to console gaming. One of the fist advancements was the add-on that was the sound card. While it wasn’t the first one it was the first to be reasonable priced and high quality. Created by Sim Wong Hoo at the company Creative Labs the Sound Blaster went on to become the standard threw out the industry. So now that computer gaming had sound to match that of the television in your living room it came one step closer to console gaming. Before this the sound for computer games came out flat and raspy so it was not utilized like it was in the games developed for home consoles.

However I believe an even bigger contributor to the rise of home computer gaming was the CD-ROM. This was a new media to create games one and while there was a lot of “interactive movies” that flooded the market early there was also hit like Myst that found a home on PC using the CD-ROM. Along with Myst was two other killer applications that came along, the 7^th Guest and Doom. Doom more then any other one of the three games mention had a lasting impression on the game industry as a whole. Doom was a huge draw to gamers to move from the console to the home computer as it could only be played there. With its shareware distribution model id software had a smart and ahead of its time way to get it’s game in the hands of gamers. Offering the early game for free like a demo Doom was able to fly under the radar of the media while it spread across the internet and became a must have game. This would go on to validate shareware as a way to get gamers interested in your product.

With the improvement in computer game sound as well as the CD-ROM then found on home computers it set on par with console gaming.  However these two combined with use of shareware and games that could not be found anyway else put computer gaming in the front of the minds of gamers the world over.

-Matthew Boone

KillZone: Shadow Fall unboxing!

Check out my video of my unboxing of KillZone. Let me know what you think.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZyfUFxzzvM

Surviving a Sunday

    That day is here, the day when the weekend has ended but work and school has not yet grabbed you. Yes i'm talking about SUNDAY, the day that drags on forever do to lack of things to do. I however will not let sunday take me this time. No my friend, I am armed with a VITA and I will fight this sunday.

    I know what your think "Oh but there is nothing to play on the VITA!" Oh could you be anymore wrong? The answer is yes, but not by much. See there is this little great game that just came out, some of you may have heard of it "Guacamelee" see this little gem is just one of the games I will be playing today. The open world feel of this game is very similar to the old Castlevania. Great game play and beautiful graphics pared the $15 price tag makes Guacamelee a great way to kill a sunday.

    Next up we have a demo, yes a DEMO! The "Soul Sacrifice" demo to be exact, and i know what your thinking "Why would you spend your sunday playing a demo?" Well it's simple, cause its frickin awesome! Plus the saved data from the demo will carry over to the full game when you get it. Now if this demo is any real indicator of this game, I will make this a day one grab and this sunday will boost my standing in Soul Sacrifice dominance! ha ha church cant do that!

    So there you go fellow gamers, go forth and conquer this sunday! and every sunday for the rest of time.
    Also follow me on Twitter @matthew110491
        Plus check out my blog at NewWorldGeek.Blogspot.com

Will you miss NINTENDO at E3 2013?

    So i'm sure you have heard by now, NINTENDO will not be having a press conference at E3 this your. Now don't let that confuse you, that doesn't mean they wont be at E3 they just wont be on stage. On one side of the argument you have the NINTENDO faithful, that say "Oh they don't need a conference cause they announced Wii U last years so now it's all games." but see there is a problem with that. The problem is they are a hardware company with failing hardware. They need to make as much noise about the Wii U as possible. Even with that pushed aside you have to remember that NINTENDO is one of the big three, so why would they not act like it? The fans can say that crap about  "Its all software this year" if they want but UBISOFT will have a conference EAwill have a conference and both of them deal in software.

    Another point that warrants to be talked about is "FFG" or Far Future Games. See those are games you can come out during the conference and mention, show a logo for and move on to the next Mario game. On the floor however you cant do that, on the floor people want watchable, playable demos not cardboard cut outs of super duper Mario Bros. See thats is where NINTENDO misses out, without the full on conference they don't leave themselves room to sell us pipe dreams that they haven't even started yet.

   In conclusion.......BAD move NINTENDO, with the Wii U you need to be playing the long con, much like SONY with the VITA. Sell me on buying now cause I know the games are coming later, just give me a title for Zelda U, give me a title for Kirby U, no game play? Thats okay, I didn't expect there to be any. On the floor though, you better have some game play, a release window, and a sequel in the works.

MICROSOFT E3 2013 Predictions

So it's on the horizon! E3 is almost here (Kinda!) so I decided to lay out my predictions for the big three

NINTENDO http://www.ign.com/blogs/theycallmeenvy/2013/04/21/nintendo-e3-2013-predictions

SONY http://www.ign.com/blogs/theycallmeenvy/2013/04/20/sony-e3-2013-predictions

And now MICROSOFT!

Here are my humble predictions for MICROSOFT and there E3 presentation this year.

1. XBOX 720

I dont think MICROSOFT will reveal the 720 early like some people are saying. I think they will wait till E3 where they will have there largest audience, that makes the most sense to me..............Looks like I was wrong again!!!

2. XBOX APPs

More apps and then some more apps. Everyone knows that MICROSOFT doesn't want to give up the living room. Personally i don't care for the apps I just want games, but apparently some people are excited for this.

3. KINECT GAME

We all saw "RISE" and most aren't too excited for it, but that doesn't keep me from thinking we will see some more KINECT games. At least they will be on the KINECT 2.0 right.....RIGHT!?

4. XBOX LIVE Cross Gen

I think one of the big thing that MICROSOFT can do to get an edge on SONY is to carry over the games and friends you have on the 360. With XBOX LIVE already being way more popular then PSN I could see it carrying over to the 720 unlike PSN as it is now.

5. NEW IP

There will be a HALO 5 and a Gears 4 but not at E3 (Probably) so i think MICROSOFT will step it up with a big new IP, and chances are it will star a protagonist who loves guns.

6. COD First

The early access to CALL OF DUTY maps will continue on 720, your happy right....RIGHT!?

These are a few predictions that I think we can expect, and in my opinion this isn't too much to get excited about but I never doubt MICROSOFT. So here are a couple things they could do to really spice up there presentation.

1. HALO WARS 2

Words are not needed for this one MICROSOFT just make it (I would actually be okay with a GOW WARS if you know what i mean)

2. KINECT DEATH

How great would it be if they came out onto the stage and said....."We are done making KINECT games"

3. FABLE MMO

I love the fable world, and I believe in the team behind the fable games. With the improved XBOX LIVE I think moving that world to an MMO game could really make a great experience.

So there you have it. what do you think I'm wrong about? probably a lot, let me know in the comments and tell me what you think we will se at E3 and what you would like to se at E3.

Follow me on twitter @Matthew110491

SONY E3 2013 Predictions!

Hey guys, E3 is coming up in just a few months so i'm gonna run down a list of predictions I think are the top 10 things we are most likely to see from SONY this year. Plus, i'll let you know what long shots I don't think we will see but I hope we do!

1. PS4 box

I think this is a no brainer, they WILL show us what it looks like. Also, it will be beautiful!!!

2. PS VITA price drop

It's no secret the vita is having a hard time. I love mine, and I believe you would love one too - if it was a little cheaper. Heres to hoping SONY thinks so also. (Would be nice to see a memory card price cut also.)

3. PS VITA Games

Pared with the price cut I think SONY has no choice but to hit us hard with some games. I'm talking stand alone titles, no HD remakes and no PSN/PS3 ports.

4. PS VITA Bundle

With the VITA not doing so hot I think SONY is gonna do everything they can to get it in yours hands, especially if it is suppose to play with the PS4 so well. So i think Sony will announce some VITA bundles with perhaps the aforementioned games or the ones we already know about, we can only hope that is they do the bundle will include a large memory card.

5. PS3 support

SONY will make sure that we know they didn't forget about the PS3. Announcing games still to come blah blah blah.

6. New LBP

It doesn't feel like SONY without sack-boy, so at the very least I think we will get a name for the new entry in the series. "LittleBigPlanet 3" "LittleBigUniverse" or something else, not sure.

7. Uncharted 4

It would work so well, fresh off what is bound to be a great game: "The Last of Us." Naughty dog's other half could help ship a few PS4s by making U4 a launch title, or at least launch window.

8. New IP

We already saw "Knack" a PS4 title and new IP, but i have no doubt that SONY will bring at least one if not more new IPs with them to the party. By having the PS4 announced before E3 they leave themselves a lot of time for games. PS3 launched with some new properties (Uncharted, Resistance, and others) why not PS4?

9. Infamous Second Son game play

I'm not a huge fan of Infamous, I played the first but never had time to finish it, or to even play the second. However I have friends that swear by it, but they have one concern about the new one, FIRE! They seem a little worried about the new protagonist not using electricity. I think SONY knows this could be a problem. So I would bet a pretty penny on some game play.

10. MOVE Game

I really hope they don't, but something tells me there will be at least one. Fingers crossed for me being wrong on this!

With SONY unveiling the PS4 earlier in the year they have really put themselves in the position to focus on games and the VITA. I hope they take advantage of this opportunity and remind people of what a real E3 conference should look like. Now if they really wanted to blow our socks off they would also announce these
5 6 things. Take note that this stuff probably wont happen.

1. The Last Guardian

This little baby has been in hell, now if SONY gave us a solid release date some of us would lose it!!!!

2. Price

Now some people care not what the price is. However I do, it would be super sweet of SONY to let me know how much I need to save.

3. Two Controllers

How nice would it be to get an extra controller at no extra cost? You could jump right into a few games of "Shadow Fall" with a buddy on the couch!

4. PS4/VITA bundle

Here kid take both for $600! This would be so nice, plus it would jump start the eco system SONY is trying to create. However this would probably cost then a bit much.

5. God of War 4

I want the true sequel to GoW3 but with "Ascension" just coming out i doubt it will happen so soon. Come on SONY prove me wrong!

6. Bio Shock VITA

It was said, but nothing ever got shown. Basically it was just an idea, if even an idea maybe just some unfounded hyped shit talk. Make me happy SONY and let me know this wasn't all just a joke.

Thanks for reading guys, let me know what you think we will see from SONY or just what you want to see. Also check back to see my predictions on NINTENDO and MICROSOFT.

Ehh guess there wont be one for NINTENDO....sorry

Follow me on Twitter @Matthew110491