Blizzard Entertainment: Heroes of the Storm [MOBA]

Blizzard Entertainment is certainly priming the rumor mill today with their recent renaming of their MOBA title from “Blizzard All-Stars” to “Heroes of the Storm”.  With BlizzCON just over three weeks away as of the time of this post it stands to reason that Heroes will be one of the keynote discussion points.  Not much else has been said as of yet, but I assume tidbits of information will be leaked in the weeks to come leading up to BlizzCON on November 8th & 9th.

Blizzard grabbed the Twitter handle as well, so be sure to follow them at @BlizzHeroes and keep tabs on their website for updates as well.

Check out the video Blizzard dropped with the name change below and let me know what you think in the comments section.  Personally, I’m a huge League of Legends fan so Blizzard will need to bring something revolutionary to the table if they want to steal some of my game-time away from Riot.

Happy 11th Birthday to the Crew of Serenity

With Autumn officially beginning this weekend it brings to mind for me two things – pumpkin flavored everything anywhere you go and that it’s time to once again watch Firefly!  Every year during the Autumn months I find time to re-watch Firefly, Serenity and re-read the comics as well.  Though the timing varies from year to year, it’s been the same ever since I fell in love with the show.  This year will be no different.

Last year there was an endless supply of all things Firefly due to the 10th Anniversary of the show, but this year things seem to be a bit quieter.  Guess the 11th “Birthday” of a thing isn’t quite as special to most – but it is to me!

So Happy 11th Birthday to the Crew of Serenity!

In Memoriam: Hiroshi Yamauchi 1927 – 2013

I am very saddened to hear of Hiroshi Yamauchi’s passing today.   From what I have read he passed due to complications with pneumonia in Kyoto, Japan.  He was 85 years old.

Hiroshi Yamauchi changed not only the course of his great-grandfather’s company, but he helped to shape many of my generations childhood by the games and platforms that were produced by Nintendo during his 53 years as President of the company.  His legacy lives on in the fond memories of the times we all spent with the characters he helped bring to our homes.

My thoughts and condolences go out to his family.

Everyone Has Something To Say, But Who Listens Anymore?

It seems these days everyone has a story they want to tell.  Just hop on YouTube, Tumblr, Twitter or Facebook and you will instantly find hours upon hours of material people are just dying to shove in your eyeballs.  In an age where technology allows anyone with an Internet connection, a computer, a webcam and some editing software to become a “celebrity” (and yes, I’m using that term lightly) it doesn’t look like the flow of meaningless banter will ebb anytime soon.  Subject matter be damned, whomever gets the most ReTweets (RT’s), Likes or Subscribers wins the battle.  It’s just that simple.

But what about the stuff we should be listening and paying too?

Last week I saw a story from Not In The Kitchen Anymore where she was threatened to be raped on XBOX Live.  Though she first went about getting this addressed by going to Microsoft and logging a complaint, she wasn’t heard until she turned to the Internet and posted her story and got the word out that way.  Because of her story and the buzz it created in just a matter of hours, Microsoft finally acted and has dealt with the perpetrator.  I ask that you take the time to read her story and follow it’s progression.  She has done a wonderful job documenting her experience so that hopefully we all can learn something from her unfortunate ordeal.  You can also follow her on Twitter at @NitKA_Official.  Also, while on there you should follow Jill Pantozzi ( @JillPantozzi ) too if you aren’t already because she’s the one who got Jenny’s story in front of me to begin with.

The real question we should be asking ourselves is why did she have to go viral with her story to finally gain traction with those in a position to address it?

It’s not like someone was calling her a name because she stole a kill or need rolled on a piece of gear her class doesn’t need.  She was threatened with physical and mental harm just because this individual felt he could do so without repercussion.  Sadly, if it were anyone else whom he sent that message too he may very well have gotten away with it.

I went to my 18 year old daughter who is also an avid gamer on the XBOX and asked her the other night if she has had a similar experience like what Jenny had.  Not so shockingly, she has.  She told me that it was not uncommon at all to be called slut, whore, gay and a whole assortment of names or to get random messages sent to her with boys yelling, cussing or making threats.  When asked if she has ever logged any complaints with Microsoft and if there was ever any action taken she said no.  It wasn’t worth the time to let an immature boy whom she doesn’t know effect her, so she just “let it slide”.  My hunch is there are thousands of female gamers out there who are doing exactly the same thing and that upsets me.

She did go on to say that she is fortunate enough to have many friends XBOX Live who when they hear of another player harassing her just for being a girl that they all report the user repeatedly so that they get banned.  This, I thought, is likely why Jenny’s complaint may have gotten lost in the piles of complaints that I’m sure Microsoft receives on a daily basis.  I’m certain retaliation complaints are common and that they take time to vet out.  And no, that’s not an excuse for Microsoft to get a pass on this.  It’s no secret that their system for reporting Code of Conduct violator’s is in need of a serious over-haul.  There needs to be a system in place that gives those reporting serious infractions like rape and violence a “go to the top of the pile” ranking.  Unfortunately, even if the perfect system did exist it would be of little use until we are able to get everyone to respect that process and not use it for retaliation for minor infractions or just because you don’t like a person.

But let’s go back to my main question I referenced earlier and the need to take extreme measures before your voice can be heard.

Just today I saw an article on Mashable.com where a user was trying to report a bug he found on Facebook.  Khalil Shreateh is a developer overseas who followed Facebooks policy for reporting bugs, yet he too went unheard.  That is, of course, until he used the bug he tried repeatedly to report to hack Mark Zuckerberg’s account and posted to his wall.  You can read the article on Mashable by clicking this link and I hope you do, just for the entertainment value alone.  Anyone who knows me knows I enjoy a good story were Facebook is made to look incompetent, especially when it comes to security flaws that they either blatantly ignored or were too arrogant to take note of when it was being laid out for them in plain English.

No matter how entertaining I find the Facebook story it does serve to drive my point home yet again.  Nobody would listen or acknowledge there was a problem until drastic measures were once again taken.  I struggle to find a viable explanation as to why it is that the things we should be discussing and sharing and taking action on are the last things that get heard.  Why must it require someone to scream from the Internet mountain top “Look!  This is important!  Stop watching that video of Miley Cyrus twerking and pay attention!”  (and no, I’m not linking that video here . . . . Google it if you haven’t already – I’m trying to make a point here, okay!?)

I won’t pretend to have the end-all-be-all answer as to how we can fix our society.  I just want to start the discussion and together we can figure it out.  From gaming etiquette, to respecting other’s right to Geek out over a thing, to reporting a bug, or to politics – let’s all make a conscious effort to listen and pay attention to those who are trying to convey something important.  And you’ll know when it’s important or not.  You just have to choose to acknowledge it and then take action if you have the ability to so.  At the very least, you can help spread the word and stand up to say “No, this is wrong and it’s not okay!” like those who did for Jenny . . . . so then there’s no guilt for watching Flozell do The Cinnamon Challenge.

(What?!?  The story’s over now and you made it all the way to the end . . . of course you get some Flozelle for dessert!  I’m not a complete stick in the mud . . . )  #YoureWelcome

Playstation 4: Announced But Is A No-Show

Picture from Sony Entertainment PlayStation 4 website. 2013

It’s kind of comical that the tag line for the new PlayStation 4 that Sony Entertainment announced yesterday is “See The Future” considering they didn’t bother to bring the actual console to the much anticipated event!  I wasn’t the only one who noticed that little gem, I’m sure.  Anyone who knows me knows I’m a PC Gamer first and an XBOX guy who dabbles in Wii. (but only for the bowling . . . I swear!)  When I heard rumblings of a PS4 coming out this year I made sure to read up on the announcement to see if anything ground-breaking was coming in the gaming community as a good little gamer does.  Unfortunately my assumptions are proving to be correct which is a disappointment – but it got worse.

Not only does there appear to not be much in the way of new tech or ground-breaking  gaming play/aspects, but Sony appears to have abandoned the “backwards compatible” concept that made the PS2 so popular in the first place.  So not only do you NOT get anything new and shiny to brag about but if you choose to buy the PS4 – you’re gonna lose your game library as well.   That doesn’t make me want to go drop what I’m sure will be at least $400 on a new system and then start a whole new game library from scratch hoping they bring my favorite titles along for the ride.  Sure, they hinted at the possibility of bringing legacy games to the new console via online streaming . . . . possibly.

And while we’re on the subject of games – I haven’t seen or read anything that puts the PS4 in the lead when it comes to new games or future gaming concepts that may arise.  It pretty much looks like they are banking on the gaming world to pretty much stay status quo for the next several years.  Hey Sony, ever heard of social gaming?  It’s pretty big right now and might be why the console gaming market is taking a slight hit in recent months.  With games out there like Ingress from Google where not only is it a game played on your mobile phone but out in the real world that makes you feel like a friggin’ special ops covert spy,  I struggle to see what the hype is over the PS4 console that will be tethered to my flat screen TV.  Maybe the VP’s at Sony should take a gander at what the folks at OUYA are doing.  Here’s an exciting piece of tech, very reasonably priced, open source on Android which is the leading OS for smartphones and you can customize/hack it right out of the box.

The PlayStation 4 isn’t due out until late this year – November’ish time frame if memory serves. (but don’t quote me on that . . . it’s been a long day!)  Maybe in the months ahead they will hear the conversations around their release yesterday, take note and bring something a little more substantial to the table.  If not, I don’t see the PS4 making very many headlines in the future – at least not positive ones.

On a somewhat related note – here’s a video for your eyeballs that I’ve been wanting to post but didn’t have a story to tie it all together until now!!!  So at least the PS4 brought me that.  Leave it to Dodger to get the Nicki Minaj “I-I-I-I-I-I-I” part.  At least when Dodger does it I don’t want to throw my iPad across the room.