Last week we asked you "Which company’s E3 press event are you most looking forward to?" and a large majority seemed apathetic about the whole thing. 389 votes were cast, with the majority (35 percent, or 137 votes) indicating that they were most interested in Sony's press conference. Twenty-five percent (or 96 votes) indicated that Nintendo's press conference at E3 next week was important, while 20 percent (79) said that you didn't care about any press conferences related to E3.
Last week after Microsoft's Xbox One press event we asked you "Are you excited for the Xbox One?" After 823 votes we have drawn the conclusion that the majority of our readers are not all that excited about Microsoft's next-generation console. Maybe it had to do with the fact that Microsoft had a hard time giving a straight answer about the console having to be always connected with the Internet, or its fee on used Xbox One games.
Last week we asked you "Will there be any female presenters at the unveiling of Microsoft’s new console?" The majority of you indicated that you think that the Microsoft event tomorrow morning will be a total sausage-fest, with a large number of you expecting just one fame presenter (which is apparently one more than Sony had at its PS4 event earlier in the year). Let's jump into the numbers:
A survey carried out by VoucherCodesPro of 1,442 men in the United Kingdom found that men who have been in relationships for six months or more would rather play a new video game than have sex with their partner. Forty-nine percent of men surveyed said that they would choose video games over sex, while 32 percent would rather have sex with their partner, and 19 percent indicated that their choice would depend on the game in question.
If the Marketplace Fairness Act that was enthusiastically passed in the Senate earlier this month were to somehow end up becoming the law of the land (through some sort of divine intervention in the House where it will likely stall for lack of support, in my opinion) then 44 percent would cut back on buying products online. This is according to data from a study sponsored by electronic postage software company Endicia and posted on Mashable.
One of the most pervasive criticisms that came out of the event where Sony unveiled the PS4 was the fact that none of the presenters were women.
To be honest, I didn't notice until someone pointed it out.
Oh, don't give me that look. I'll bet you didn't notice that not a single one of the presenters were red-heads. Now, I don't know if that's true or not but I bet you'd have to scan through footage of the entire presentation to confirm it one way or the other.
Sorry, I got off topic. Where was I?
Last week we asked you to guess what Microsoft might name its next console. From five choices, a clear majority of you took the "joke" option, saying that the Next Xbox console would be called "Xbox Steve." Some of you may have thought this option referred to Microsoft's Steve Ballmer, or perhaps you thought it was an homage to the Minecraft character of the same name. Whatever the reason, 40 percent of the votes (169 votes) decided that "Xbox Steve" was the best choice.
On Tuesday, May 21st, Microsoft is set to tell us all about the successor to the Xbox 360 and how utterly offended it is that anyone would think it's stupid enough to try and sell an always-on console. I wouldn't expect pricing or a solid release date but I'm sure we'll hear what it's going to be called.
Last week I asked if Nintendo should exit the hardware business. 571 of you chimed in with an opinion and 56% of you think Nintendo should keep producing consoles while 13% say Nintendo should drop the hardware business, go third-party and focus on outputting software.
Of course, 4% of you (25 people) think Nintendo should pack it in altogether. Man, a world without Nintendo. That sounds horrible but as Alfred Pennyworth said, "Some men just want to watch the world burn."
Episode 50 of the show is certainly a milestone for hosts Andrew Eisen and E. Zachary Knight (and myself) - which just happens to mark nearly a year of the podcast to boot. So, yay for us! On this week's show we discuss the prank on pirates played by the maker of Game Dev Tycoon, the Nyan Cat / Keyboard Cat- Warner Bros. lawsuit, the latest poll over at GamePolitics, and some other fun stuff. Download Episode 50 now: SuperPAC Episode 50 (1 hour, 15 minutes) 68.6 MB.
If you read gaming news with any regularity, you will often hear someone opine that Nintendo should just give up the hardware business and focus on software. No more consoles, just become a third-pary developer and put Mario on everything from Sony and Microsoft's consoles to digital distribution platforms like Steam and GOG to iOS and Android.
Last week we asked you, How long did your lengthiest gaming marathon last? The results are in and of the 416 votes casts, the majority of you said that you spent 10 hours or more playing a single game.
The year was 1989. The game was Hero's Quest from Sierra.
My friend Ricky and I started playing it in the later afternoon. It was not dark yet. We played that sucker into the night and had a blast. In fact, we actually beat it! As we congratulated each other on our amazing accomplishment, we happened to look out the window and notice it was light outside.
It was almost eight in the morning. We had just played a video game for about 15 hours straight. It was awesome.
Last week we asked you if you "have you ever stopped playing a video game on moral grounds?" The question was inspired by this story about a man who got a refund from Valve because he objected to a certain scene in the Steam version of BioShock Infinite involving a religious rite.
In Episode 48 of the Super Podcast Action Committee, Andrew and E. Zachary Knight discuss two polls this week - one about always online consoles and another about having moral objections to gameplay that is so offensive to you that it makes you stop playing. There's also a lot of discussion about the Wii U, the latest Monster Hunter game and a classic game EZK is playing because he found it for cheap used. Download Episode 48 now: SuperPAC Episode 48 (1 hour, 10 minutes) 66.2 MB.
Earlier today, we told you about a guy who successfully procured a refund for Bioshock Infinite on the grounds that an early scene in the game ran afoul of his religious beliefs. He found that he simply could not do what the game asked of him and decided to stop playing.
Has that ever happened to you? Have you ever stopped playing a video game on moral grounds?
Last week we asked readers "What will happen if Microsoft's next console requires internet connection start disc-based games?. The majority of the 821 votes cast went to it would be an "unmitigated sales disaster" for the company and its next-gen console, with second place going to "Microsoft would land in third place" in the next console cycle.
Despite almost everyone agreeing that an always-on console is a phenomenally bad idea, rumors continue to persist that Microsoft's next console will require an internet connection to start disc-based games.
Okay, fine. Let's say the big M goes in that direction. How do you think such a move will affect the sales of its new console?
Last week we asked you "Should lawmakers be penalized for passing patently unconstitutional legislation?" And here are the results of that poll. Exactly 652 votes were cast, with the majority of voters saying that the cost of bad legislation should come out of lawmakers' pockets. 15 percent of votes went to giving lawmakers jail time for passing laws found not legal under the U.S. Constitution, 14 percent said they should be fired, and 13 percent think they should be voted out of office (or that people should vote against them if they don't like the laws they pass).
Two years ago, the US Supreme Court ruled that trying to regulate the sale of video games based on violent content was an unconstitutional violation of our First Amendment rights. To add to that, each year the Federal Trade Commission does a secret shopper survey showing that the video games industry self regulates far better than any other entertainment industry it studies.
Last week we asked you how many Xbox 360 consoles have died on you? for our poll question. A lot of you were interested in weighing in on this topic, making it the most voted on poll to-date with 945 votes (thanks to everyone that voted). While 28 percent (262 votes) of the votes went to "I have never owned an Xbox 360," it was a tie between "never" (226 votes) and "only one" (228 votes). Both clocked in at 24 percent.
I don't own an Xbox 360.
It's not because I'm a raving Nintendo fanboy (I am), it's because I trust the hardware about as far as I can throw it.
Wait, I'm pretty strong. I bet I could chuck one of those suckers a fair distance.
I don't trust Microsoft's current gen console to turn on when I hit the power button.
Why?
Well, EA's been having a hell of a March, hasn't it?
After one of the single most face-palmingly disastrous product launches in the history of video games, long-time Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello has resigned from the company, accepting full responsibility for this year's projected less-than-favorable financial results.
Riccitiello will be hanging around for a few weeks. After that, former CEO and executive chairman Larry Probst will take over while a replacement CEO is found (my money's on Probst ending up with the job).
Last week we asked the poll question: "Do you prefer boxed copies or digital downloads of your console video games?" Some 446 votes were cast, with the majority of you saying that you preferred boxed retail copies of your console games over digital downloads. Around 74 percent - or 332 votes - went towards boxed copies, while only 26 percent - or 114 votes - chose digital downloads. Many wished that the poll had a third option that noted many people's preference for both digital and boxed retail copies of games.
We have the results from last week's poll "Should IP owners allow fan projects like the My Little Pony fighting game?" - if you didn't happen to catch them on this week's episode of the Super Podcast Action Committee.
This week 584 votes were cast on this subject - thanks to everyone who took the time to participate.