A Word About Konami, Apathy, And Pachinko Machines

Konami doesn't care anymore. The only games they've produced in maybe two years are a single Bomberman game for the Switch, a Pro Evolution Soccer game, and Metal Gear Solid V. Their two most important game makers, Koji Igarashi and Hideo Kojima, abandoned ship after they were seemingly trapped only making the sequels to the same games over and over. The last money I gave Konami was when they released the remastered collection of Hideo Kojima's Zone of the Enders games. I foolishly hoped it would convince the at the time game publisher to push their most celebrated creative mind to produce a third installment to one of his most beloved franchises. Alas, we got no such goodness and instead have been met with shoddy mobile iterations of the companies beloved franchises and Castlevania themed pachinko machines.

I can't speak for anyone else as far as their opinions of video game publishers, but many of the so called AAA publishers are guilty of the "take my ball and go home" garbage Konami has done in recent years. I'm not sure who their current leadership is, but we didn't have these problems with Konami in the 80s, 90s, or even in the last decade. Was every game they released perfect, not in the slightest, but they didn't blame gamers for not buying crappy games and just stop making games altogether. When the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles console title didn't set the world on fire, they borrowed from what worked with the followup. When Castlevania titles felt stale, a creative turn was made and the best titles in the franchise, particularly on the Nintendo DS followed. After a long hiatus of sorts, Treasure was tapped to develop Gradius V. This brought a fresh feel to a tried and true shooter series.

New Konami will give you a Metal Gear zombie game. I don't get it, but it's not my company. I don't make a dime from their decisions, but a lack of quality games released from what was once one of the most heralded publishers in gaming hurts everyone who loves gaming. Konami, Capcom, and other prominent publishers from the late 80s struggle to stay afloat in the age of the also-rans that dominate store shelves. The sad thing is that it's their fault for churning out shovelware much like it's our fault for not supporting good games that get released. Everyone has a role to play in the apathy of Konami, but Konami has to carry that cross. Carry it they will. Right to the trailer for the next Castlevania themed pachinko machine.

#GamerGate: Righteous Crusade Or DudeBro Creepiness

I took some time off after a successful Summer Of 8-Bit and return to something called #GamerGate. I was under the impression that the hashtag was created under noble intentions, but later discovered that it was nothing more than a ruse created by 4Chan users, scumbags, and trolls to harass a female game developer.

They did a good job hiding their true intent, and by bringing up a long rumored act of publishers offering payola to game journalism sites for good reviews they called to arms a number of gamers who were already leery of these sites. The thing about the truth is that it always comes to light, and the persecution of Zoe Quinn started to feel a lot like the witch hunt started when Anita Sarkeesian went on a crusade to analyze and bring attention to many of the archaic tropes in gaming. The attacks on both women have been treated by some in gaming communities as if they are some sort of mythical creature, but the threats levied at their families and friends are definitely real. They are so real that Quinn has gone undercover in 4Chan forums and downloaded entire chat logs discussing how they will attack her.

In recent discussions with people on assorted social networks, I've discovered that some folks truly don't believe that the attacks on Quinn are the real problem, but they do believe that #GamerGate is all about exposing some secret conspiracy hatched by government organizations to censor the content of our beloved video games. This all comes off as typical tin foil hat territory, and even if there is some truth to it, that is no reason to completely disregard the blatantly horrible treatment of gamers who aren't straight white males. It does go to show that those who aren't affected by not being privileged don't recognize the problems that some people face simply for existing.

The #GamerGate situation is a microcosm of the problems facing society as a whole, but it is more a situation that again makes me ashamed to be a gamer in some instances. If your crusade was truly about developers and publishers paying off gaming journalism sites for positive reviews, you would point out infamous examples of said practice like former gaming stalwart Gamepro Magazine offering positive reviews in exchange for advertising space. If someone is to ever want to really have that discussion, I'm all in for it. Until then, I advise you all to not believe the hype behind #GamerGate.

#1ReasonWhy Male Gamers Continue To Fail

I stumbled across an article this morning that chronicled an interesting discussion that recently took place on Twitter. Using the hashtag #1ReasonWhy, several women attached to the video game industry in form or another explained the reasons behind an apparent dearth of women in game development. Most of the responses these women posted pointed to rampant misogyny from their male counterparts, as well as from male gamers. This saddens me, especially because I know women who love gaming, but feel incredibly in certain arenas because of members of the male gaming community. I will not speak for a woman because I'm not one, but I can sa my piece and hope that a male member of the gaming community, whether on the consumer end or creation end,  sees this post and takes heed. How can you feel anything other than regret or remorse for your actions when you grope a woman at a gaming convention, call a woman some lurid insult because she pwned you in Call Of Duty, or dismissed her while she's voicing her frustration at the behavior of other male gamers. Pretending that the disrespect women in gaming receive is a figment of their collective imaginations is a sad and callow action. We saw it during Cross Assault, we see it at conventions, we hear it on Xbox Live, and we read it online daily. Why are you so threatened by the talent and ability of women? Does the success that women celebrate in other arenas scare you so much that you dump all you energy into turning gaming into the last bastion of the "dudebro"? Some of us like having gamers of the opposite sex around, and some of us don't care what's between the legs of whoever is making our games as long as they're making good games. Bottom line is that we as male gamers are in the midst of a teachable moment, and we have an opportunity to change the conversation about the way we interact with women within this community. What should we do? It's quite simple, actually: STOP BEING A MISOGYNISTIC IDIOT!! That "this is our culture" excuse you continue to use to brush off racist, sexist, generally idiotic behavior isn't working  anymore.

Why There Hasn't Been New Content Up This Week

I'm writing this post in the spirit of annoyance and frustration. I was intending to have a post up discussing the recently released Zone of the Enders HD Collection, but because my latest frustration with AT&T, that post has been put on hold until my home internet service is restored. In my time dealing with AT&T, I have had to consistently deal with my service dropping out on it's own without any warning, therefore my time gaming online has been severely hampered. now, I am informed that I magically owe an amount that I can't currently afford to pay to restore my service, even though the payments were made from my checking account via their autopay service. you sent me a replacement modem to rectify my outages, but didn't send me a return slip or instructions regarding the old modem, then billed me for the new modem. I am about done with them and their horrible internet service and equally horrible customer service. I probably wouldn't recommend their service to my worst enemy, as it's been that bad. Hopefully, I can get my internet service back up and running so that I can continue to yell about gaming related topics with y'all.

UPDATE: I was called by multiple members of their Customer and Technical Support teams and my service has been restored.

I'm A Tired Gamer

There was a lot that I wanted to say about the SherryJenix situation from last night, but after reading Kahlief Adams' post on The Spawn Point, and the comments that followed, I was fuming. I lost the desire to write about this topic and just voiced my frustration, disdain, and all around annoyance with the gaming community in general. The following video is my current thoughts on this and the other general hate being spread around the gaming community.

Abuse In Gaming Communities...Fail