CAGcast #350: Sports Injury Virginity

CheapyD

CheapyD

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The crew gives thumbs down to Steam Machines, PlayStation Now, and Microsoft's Xbox One decisions, but thumbs up to unnecessary electronics, Max: The Curse of Brotherhood, RYSE, PlayStation Plus and more!

Download (91 minutes) - iTunes -
https://soundcloud.com/cheapyd/cagcast-350-sports-injury

Show Linkage/Notes:
Intro: Smash Your Head, Girl Tak - Outro: Pee Wee Herman talks Crack


bickle said:
CAG #350

2:30 CheapyD limps into the new year
10:00 Ship's Nighthawk router
14:45 Siberia Elite headphones
16:15 Watch This: Gravity 3D
19:30 Don Juan
22:00 New Releases
22:00 - Dr Luigi
23:30 Playstation Now
35:15 PS4 and XB1 sales; influence of PS+; Wombat goes on a massive rant :D
40:45 Max and the Curse of Brotherhood
42:45 Ryse
46:45 Forza 5, DLC
50:00 Peggle 2
51:00 PDP Kinect mount
53:45 Brothers Tale of Two Sons
55:15 Injustice: Ultimate
58:45 Steam Machine
1:04:30 Trigger Happy Havoc
1:08:45 Cagbag
1:08:45 - Coolest gadget
1:10:00 - Mac pros made in USA
1:10:45 - When is Cheapy moving to USA
1:11:00 - Old consoles/pc's
1:12:15 - Non AAA 2014 titles
1:13:15 - Validity of esports
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Please submit your show questions via CAGbag or Twitter.

I guess you can listen to Wombat's other podcast, Uninformed Opinions.
 
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Good show.

I agree with wombat. I'm already overloaded with PS Plus and my PS2 and PS3 are fully functional. I'm spending buttloads of time on all the free to play games like Warframe and free plus games. Don't Starve was free today with Plus and it is excellent. Also really liking KZ Shadowfall multiplayer. That said, i'm sure they'll make the service attractive in some way.

Overall I think it's going to be really niche because of the datacaps. It's funny how they can't really squeeze most people with this because the telecom companies are already squeezing us and delaying the infrastructure that make these services possible for a lot of areas. Depends on where you live. 

My thought on the Steam Machines is that it would make sense if they gave you additional deals on games if you bought one of their machines. Because you could get a better deal building a pc yourself. BUT if you have a steam machine and they gave additional discounts on the games then it would be a good deal since they already said they won't have exclusives. Looks like Razer is also attempting to make the pc more mass market with the new modular liquid cooled pcs but they are also sure to be expensive.

 
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Playstation Plus is the best deal in gaming.  Period. Steamsales are a close 2nd.  Thanks for the new show fellas!

 
If you read the back of the Lunchables package for the nutritional content, it's pretty nasty. You're better off making a ham sandwich for your children.

Speaking of sandwiches, that tiny red Steam machine one looks like the one I want to get if I wanted one. If I were to get a big sized one it would mean I would have to get rid of the computer I have. I like the computer I have right now, it's from 2008 and I haven't seen many everday programs that require the use of a newer computer, since I still do many function I did 5, 8 years ago. Maybe software has peaked...

 
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Nice Squash!  Im impressed Cheapy!

Wanna see some killer squash - Ramy Ashour (guy is amazing) 2 quick 1 min videos below

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5WbnadzK9M

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEBiJguscMY

 
You guys were way too negative about Playstation Now. Not for you guys but everyone else who likes to play games on a whim or rent games will check it out. There are many people who still buy old games to check out if they missed it. I've seen this plenty of times. Even kids like to check out older games these days. ex: FFVII still sells. 

Most people who want to move their older Playstations into storage will sign up just to be able to play PS2/PS3 games on their PS4. This is one option they can use. The main issue is the subscription price and how big their library will be.

Also, I personally think Dead Rising 3 is the best Xbox One exclusive so far. Ryse was great but DR3 is my current fave One exclusive.

 
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Cheapy was right about The Adventures of Cookies & Cream, but you don't have to wait for PlayStation Now, it's been available to buy on PSN as a PS2 Classic for a couple of months.

http://us.playstation.com/games/the-adventures-of-cookie-cream-ps3.html

ps3-game-7809-packart.jpg


My wife and I played it on the PS2 years ago, but it got really hard near the end so we never finished it.

 
Cheapy... for those moments when you feel like you are going to feint... lie on floor and put your knees up. Helps get the blood back up to your brain and it makes that feeling go away a lot faster. It's also is safer if you actually do feint

 
It's about dang time you guys did another (free) podcast!

I was losing my mind listening to other substandard Internet people's gripes in audio form.

 
Cheapy says SteamOS doesn't have many games; it has 250+, with more being released all the time (20 or so were Greenlit just yesterday). I do all my gaming on Linux these days, and my backlog is over 100 games long! How many games did the next-gen consoles launch with? I think SteamOS is starting in quite a strong position, and that's without even considering that you will be able to stream from Windows.

Valve is a billion dollar company as Wombat says, but it's one that is almost entirely dependent on another company. That's not a good position to be in, especially as that company is Microsoft. From Valve's perspective the purpose of SteamOS is clear.

As a consumer I support Valve's Linux endeavors because I support open standards and cross-platform gaming, and I dislike many of the decisions Microsoft have made over the years. Steam itself is a walled-garden store of the type Linux-users typically hate, but I feel it's an acceptable compromise (and the prices are right). Gaming on Linux has already improved infinitely thanks to Valve and the Humble Bundles.

The Steam Machines themselves are a red herring. They are just PCs, as you say, but you're not paying the Microsoft tax when you buy them with SteamOS - and presumably they come with the funky controller.

PC ≠ Windows

 
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You are dopes. There are many reasons to want PS Now or a Nintendo subscription. 

-Getting rid of stuff is a huge plus for me. Who wants a bunch of old consoles hooked up? Who wants a bunch of discs sitting around? (and I have plenty of room in my house).   You are severely overestimating people’s need to have shit lying around.  Anything disc based already has a time limit on it.

-Guaranteed good games…sometimes replaying a game is a better use of time than wasting time on a bad new one. Having a back cat subscription doesn’t mean you can’t play new games, it’s not an either or. Sure time can be a factor but its always is.

-Yeah, it’s completely possible to revisit an old game without playing through it.

-I'm a type a gamer who doesn't need to blow through the latest and greatest at all times. 

The downside is typically digital rights stuff. (ownership, transferability. Etc)

also.. Cheapy..  I hurt my calf last fall. Using a compression sock on the injured calf or Kinesio Tape worked wonders.. 

http://www.kinesiologytaping101.com/kinesiology-taping-achilles-calf.html

 
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My main concern about backwards compatibility is that there is eventually a point at which these companies stop producing old hardware and software. Once my hardware/software fails and I can't replace it with new and official offerings then I'm going to turn to alternatives.

 
I'm not entirely sure about Playstation Now, but I am interested. Being able to play PS3, PS2 and PSOne games on my PS4 is very appealing to me. We really don't know how it works, what games will be available at launch or a price, so that's partly why I'm hesitant. We also don't know what the network requirements will be. 4K Video requires 15mbps (not advertised mbps, actual mbps), which I simply don't have. Onlive only requires 1-2mbps, so I suspect that's probably the more reasonable number for PSNow. 

If PSNow allows me to put in select PS3 games into my PS4 and stream them on PSNow, that would be nice if it actually works. Still, we should know more once the beta launches later this month and have a better idea about the service once it launches in the Summer.

Edit: 

It looks like the recommended network requirements for Playstation Now is actually 5 mbps, which isn't that bad.

http://youtu.be/jX1IqCD3ZMQ

 
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I'm one of the target consumers for Playstation Now. I've never had a PS3. I have zero to little interest in getting a PS3, but I might get a PS4. And I would love to be able to play the games I missed out on like Uncharted, Infamous or Journey.

 
There's no telling how big the consumer base is that wants to play PlayStation 3 games, but didn't want to buy a PS3 for the past 7 years, but wants to buy a $400 PS4 and subscribe to a service.

I'm not saying those people don't exist or are wrong, I just think it's chasing a market that's pretty small.
 
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shipwreck said:
There's no telling how big the consumer base is that wants to play PlayStation 3 games, but didn't want to buy a PS3 for the past 7 years, but wants to buy a $400 PS4 and subscribe to a service.

I'm not saying those people don't exist or are wrong, I just think it's chasing a market that's pretty small.
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Or people who want a PS4 for next gen stuff, but also want to still experience games they didn't get around to without hooking up an old system. There's multiple markets for it, and they each may be small enough to be in total a larger market that can make it succeed.

I don't think people are going to buy a PS4 simply for this service, but it's one hell of a plus.

 
[List of announced Steam machines here.]

PC gamer here - Valve is making suckers out of every PC manufacturer that signed on the Steam Machines program. Part of it is the PC companies' fault, but most of the blame lies with Valve.

Who are Steam machines for? Console gamers who don't have a gaming PC. Getting a 360/PS3 owner to switch to a Steam machine rather than a PS4 or Xbox One is critical, since most people don't buy multiple consoles within the span of a year or two.

If Steam machines are trying to win over people who have never done PC gaming before, why is the cheapest one $499? If Microsoft stops shipping Kinect with every Xbox One and drops the price, it would leave these Steam Machines in the cold at the $500 price point. Meanwhile, the consoles that everyone has heard about will be $100 cheaper. Each will have exclusive games you can't get on Windows, let alone a PC running Linux.

People use consoles for the ease of use - they don't need to check system requirements or change graphics settings. The Steam machine program should be addressing those concerns with PC gaming. Instead it's the same old PC gaming with Big Picture mode added on top of it.

There are a lot of great benefits to PC gaming, and Steam machines capitalize on none of them, while leaving most of PC gaming's flaws clearly intact.

edit: Apparently Valve says these first-generation boxes are for PC gamers, not console gamers.

“We have 65 million users with value in Steam accounts, and they want those games – their libraries – in the living room,” claimed SteamOS and Steam Machine designer Kassidy Gerber. “I think part of the value proposition is that we’ll be able to support all those excellent titles in the living room. I think we’ve proven we’re committed to holding onto your library for you.”
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Good show. If Playstation Now lets me play games like Uncharted 4 or Infamous Second Son on my android tablet then it will be awesome but Sony still wants people to buy PS4s so there must be some sort of limitations.

BetaDemo said:
Playstation Plus is the best deal in gaming. Period. Steamsales are a close 2nd. Thanks for the new show fellas!
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Gamefly is the best deal in gaming. ~$15 a month and you can rent any retail game on any platform(expect PC) on release day. I like PS Plus for digital only games but when it comes to retail games gamefly has it beat no question especially if you own more then just playstation consoles.

 
Great show, as always.

Random thoughts:

- Every time MS has given Wombat something it has been "insulting" (the 25 cents in points) or "too little too late" (old, C tier games for free), or he disagreed with the process (Ship getting KI but not him).  But now giving a discount on LocoCycle, a game most people wouldn't play even for free, is something they should do to help him feel better about his console?  Ok....

- Steam machines not having Windows OS isn't a big deal.  No one complains they can't open a spreadsheet on their PS3.  If they can get game support AND IF it runs as smoothly as most consoles (that is, the console handles patches/driver updates etc), it will be interesting to see what impact it can have.

That being said, Steam machine is going to be this gen's NeoGeo imo.  It will fade away without making much impact, but a small percentage of people will reminisce on it fondly.

- Points to Wombat for his view on PS Now.  Playing new games is always better than playing old games. 

Even though it doesn't hold much appeal to me, I can see the service succeeding if priced and marketed correctly.  Just add some tiers to PS+ and it should do ok.  If they keep it separate from PS+ I can see it having a tougher time getting traction. 

Oh man I just realized what a 4:3 PS1 game might look like on a 1080p HDTV.  Gross.

 
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I think the market for PS Now is bigger than what you guys think. Technically, the market is anyone with a compatible device and capable internet service. If we followed Ship's logic, then why would anyone get Netflix streaming to watch a movie they have already seen when they could just by the DVD for $5 at WalMart? 

I have a PS3, and still would love to have PS Now. You are telling me I can play PS3 on multiple devices with my game progress being saved, so I can continue to play throughout the day. Fallout New Vegas on my tablet? I'm in. It just sounds like a great concept. 

I have to say, I am not sure why anyone would think this to be a bad idea from a consumer stand point. I have not hardly seen any negative response to this. It looks like with PS+ and this PS Now, Sony is providing great options and good deals for the consumers who support them. 

I would like to see MS do something similar, unless it forced me to use Windows 8 devices.

 
I always look forward to the intro song you throw into the show cheapy! 

This weeks show might be my favorite thus far.

Great work guys!

 
Here is the point of the Steam Box. It's for people who want a console experience and don't want to have to mess with a PC. All software, driver, and OS updates are curated by Valve and geared toward gaming performance. No more messing around with patches, beta drivers, and DLLs, this stuff is taken care of behind the scenes. Some also want a dedicated platform, if your PC gets a virus or you need to reinstall your OS or whatever, your Steam Box still works. This is for me.

The games will come in time. Developers who make games on Mac, PS4, and Android, will all be familiar with the way a unix-like OS with OpenGL works. Remember that Windows and Xbox are the odd ducks out using DirectX. SteamOS has to be built first for the devs to target the platform, and is still in beta, but we're 90% of the way there. The games will come. Don't forget you are free to install Windows. Valve doesn't care as long as you use the Steam store.

TLDR: I will be getting one of these and sticking to Steam OS. While I am good with computers and even run Linux on my PC, I want a plug and play solution that I don't have to worry about and this is it. I will buy a Valve made Steam Box because they have the best idea of what games need.

Don't forget, the PS4 is just a PC that doesn't run Windows either. You guys were incorrect in saying that Valve is not making their own Steam Box versions BTW.
 
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shipwreck said:
There's no telling how big the consumer base is that wants to play PlayStation 3 games, but didn't want to buy a PS3 for the past 7 years, but wants to buy a $400 PS4 and subscribe to a service.

I'm not saying those people don't exist or are wrong, I just think it's chasing a market that's pretty small.
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Or someone who has a PS4 or Bravia TV that wants to play PS3, PS2 or PSOne games. I have six, soon to be seven HDMI devices with a total of three HDMI inputs. One is dedicated to my PS4, one is dedicated to my Roku 2 XD and I have to switch out the other one depending on what I want to play.

The PS4 is just a better machine than the PS3. If I can get all of my Playstation games on one machine, that's pretty appealing to me assuming it works well.

 
100% with Wombat on Microsoft and Xbox not offering much to their customers in terms of sales or deals. As a long time xbox only gamer I recently acquired a PS3 and PS4 and it's really opened my eyes - you get almost too much to actually play. If you were a cheapskate you could easily just live off the free games each month.

Microsoft's almost pathetic "free with gold" promotion has been laughable getting games up to six years old, when on PS+ you receive games under 12 months old. Sleeping Dogs currently free is probably the newest game in terms of release date they've offered.

My gold runs out end of January and I won't be renewing, too much to play on my sony consoles now! But yeah MS really need to have a hard think and come up with something.. Some of the deals they offer sometimes are pretty good, but doesn't happen often enough.

 
Well MS has shown that they try really hard not to give anything away. The Gears of War developers had to fight with MS to give maps away, and even then, MS forced them to find a sponsor. Their games are littered with micro transactions (Halo Spartan Assault is the latest offender), and they have ads on the dashboard even though you pay to get online, and they paywall services you can access elsewhere for free, and force people to get Gold subscriptions when they just want to use the OneGuide for TV listings. They've got you paying for kinect even though the camera is useless (for now, but do you really have high hopes after Ryse and Crimson dropped it, and look at Fighter Within), it's basically a glorified WiiSpeak.

I'd be pissed too.
 
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PS+ is also getting BioShock Infinite and Brothers (I know little about it, but it's a buzzy title [edit: you guys talked about it after I posted]) for PS3 this month. Pretty sweet month for PS+.

I was against PS+ for a long time, but since getting it I've come around on it. Still think it's lame that it's required for PS4 multiplayer, but it's debatable as to whether I'll even be playing games anymore by the time I get through Skyrim, Red Dead, Dishonored, Deus Ex, Dark Souls II (I'm assuming it'll be worth playing 100+ hours) and a few others.

Additionally, I can attest to Cheapy's feelings about being thankful for being able to walk normally after an injury. Blew up my ankle while playing basketball in 2011, and it just never healed properly, leaving me unable to play basketball anymore. It's really lame being in your 20s and not being able to do something you've loved doing nearly your entire life. It's also a nice reminder of your mortality.

 
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Regarding the Xbox One Kinect TV stand controversy... I'm using my stand from my Xbox 360 Kinect. The new Kinect doesn't snap in, but it sits very stably atop my TV. I've given it a few good shakes, and it didn't move. How am I the only CAG cheap enough to think of that? Anyway, save your $20 :)

Also, to second another post here, Dead Rising 3 on Xbox One is another fantastic exclusive. I don't know why none of you have tried it. They fixed all of the annoying things about the previous DRs... few (only a reasonable amount) of timed missions, and you can save anytime. Plus it's absolutely hilarious. Too violent to play in front of the kids though.

 
Wombat you made me LOL

Willem de Kooning pronunciation is

DEE - COO - NING (like ping!)

Its all really sad when you think about it. One of the main players of Abstract Expressionism, pretty much the first trully American Art movement and you can't pronounce his name... :wall:

 
shipwreck said:
There's no telling how big the consumer base is that wants to play PlayStation 3 games, but didn't want to buy a PS3 for the past 7 years, but wants to buy a $400 PS4 and subscribe to a service.

I'm not saying those people don't exist or are wrong, I just think it's chasing a market that's pretty small.
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How about the consumer base of people who buy Bravia HTDVs over the next 7+ years? Hasn't Sony sold many many more HDTVs than PS3s since 2006? The correct move on Sony's part is to throw in 1 to 6 months of Playstation Now for free (and maybe a dualshock3) with every Bravia television purchase to promote the service--going forward.

PC gamer here - Valve is making suckers out of every PC manufacturer that signed on the Steam Machines program. Part of it is the PC companies' fault, but most of the blame lies with Valve.

Who are Steam machines for? Console gamers who don't have a gaming PC. Getting a 360/PS3 owner to switch to a Steam machine rather than a PS4 or Xbox One is critical, since most people don't buy multiple consoles within the span of a year or two.

If Steam machines are trying to win over people who have never done PC gaming before, why is the cheapest one $499? If Microsoft stops shipping Kinect with every Xbox One and drops the price, it would leave these Steam Machines in the cold at the $500 price point. Meanwhile, the consoles that everyone has heard about will be $100 cheaper. Each will have exclusive games you can't get on Windows, let alone a PC running Linux.

People use consoles for the ease of use - they don't need to check system requirements or change graphics settings. The Steam machine program should be addressing those concerns with PC gaming. Instead it's the same old PC gaming with Big Picture mode added on top of it.

There are a lot of great benefits to PC gaming, and Steam machines capitalize on none of them, while leaving most of PC gaming's flaws clearly intact.
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You write as if it isn't possible for these mythical Steam Machines to go on sale or be discounted. I'm primarily a console gamer but my price point for snagging the 'budget' $499 Steambox is when I see it on sale for $299 or less. Yes, I won't be able to play every game at bleeding edge razor sharp graphics but, no, I won't care. Heck, I bought my Xbox 360 brand new at retail for $99. Discounts come to those who wait. Steam Machines are just about to enter the market. I'm sure they'll find a sweet spot on price point and specs very soon thereafter.

Gamefly is the best deal in gaming. ~$15 a month and you can rent any retail game on any platform(expect PC) on release day. I like PS Plus for digital only games but when it comes to retail games gamefly has it beat no question especially if you own more then just playstation consoles.
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The best deals in gaming are OFFICIALLY ranked as follows: 1. PS+ 2. Steamsale 3. Gamefly. Think of it this way: $60 (The cost of one full priced game at retail) gets you a year of PS+ with $10 left over. This is like 100 games across PS platforms. The same $60 at Steamsale can net you 20 to 50 games, maybe? However, $60 at Gamefly gets you 4 months. Assuming you play one game per week; you're at ~ 16 games with 3/4 of the year to come costing you $240 in total for the whole year.

 
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CAG #350

2:30 CheapyD limps into the new year
10:00 Ship's Nighthawk router
14:45 Siberia Elite headphones
16:15 Watch This: Gravity 3D
19:30 Don Juan
22:00 New Releases
22:00 - Dr Luigi
23:30 Playstation Now
35:15 PS4 and XB1 sales; influence of PS+; Wombat goes on a massive rant :D
40:45 Max and the Curse of Brotherhood
42:45 Ryse
46:45 Forza 5, DLC
50:00 Peggle 2
51:00 PDP Kinect mount
53:45 Brothers Tale of Two Sons
55:15 Injustice: Ultimate
58:45 Steam Machine
1:04:30 Trigger Happy Havoc
1:08:45 Cagbag
1:08:45 - Coolest gadget
1:10:00 - Mac pros made in USA
1:10:45 - When is Cheapy moving to USA
1:11:00 - Old consoles/pc's
1:12:15 - Non AAA 2014 titles
1:13:15 - Validity of esports
 
shipwreck said:
I'm not saying those people don't exist or are wrong, I just think it's chasing a market that's pretty small.
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MS undoubtedly had access to a lot of data regarding how often backwards compatibility was being used and decided it wasn't an issue for the xb1. That says a lot about the size of the market. Granted it was often buggy, but it was also completely free and required no additional purchases or subscription.

Count me in as skeptical towards PS Now.
 
shipwreck said:
There's no telling how big the consumer base is that wants to play PlayStation 3 games, but didn't want to buy a PS3 for the past 7 years, but wants to buy a $400 PS4 and subscribe to a service.

I'm not saying those people don't exist or are wrong, I just think it's chasing a market that's pretty small.
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Straw man. No one is buying a PS4 only for ps3 games. It's a value-add service. (not to mention this is available for many devices beyond on the PS4).

Good old games have built an entire business on this.

If you look at the best selling games on Xbox Live 20 of the top 90 are "old games". That's not pretty small. Think about this.... Worms, Worms 2, Street Fighter II, Sonic 1 &2, Doom and Pac-Man all outsold Shadow Complex.

 
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usickenme said:
Straw man. No one is buying a PS4 only for ps3 games. It's a value-add service. (not to mention this is available for many devices beyond on the PS4).

Good old games have built an entire business on this.

If you look at the best selling games on Xbox Live 20 of the top 90 are "old games". That's not pretty small.
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There's a difference with Xbox Live Arcade games. Those were old games that were made into 360 games with Achievements, online multiplayer, graphical enhancements, 16:9 integration, etc.
 
BetaDemo said:
How about the consumer base of people who buy Bravia HTDVs over the next 7+ years? Hasn't Sony sold many many more HDTVs than PS3s since 2006? The correct move on Sony's part is to throw in 1 to 6 months of Playstation Now for free (and maybe a dualshock3) with every Bravia television purchase to promote the service--going forward.

You write as if it isn't possible for these mythical Steam Machines to go on sale or be discounted. I'm primarily a console gamer but my price point for snagging the 'budget' $499 Steambox is when I see it on sale for $299 or less. Yes, I won't be able to play every game at bleeding edge razor sharp graphics but, no, I won't care. Heck, I bought my Xbox 360 brand new at retail for $99. Discounts come to those who wait. Steam Machines are just about to enter the market. I'm sure they'll find a sweet spot on price point and specs very soon thereafter.

The best deals in gaming are OFFICIALLY ranked as follows: 1. PS+ 2. Steamsale 3. Gamefly. Think of it this way: $60 (The cost of one full priced game at retail) gets you a year of PS+ with $10 left over. This is like 100 games across PS platforms. The same $60 at Steamsale can net you 20 to 50 games, maybe? However, $60 at Gamefly gets you 4 months. Assuming you play one game per week; you're at ~ 16 games with 3/4 of the year to come costing you $240 in total for the whole year.
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The cost isn't the issue, it’s the value. I can get a N64 with 20 games for much cheaper than a PS3 with 5 games. That doesn't make the N64 a better value. The problem with Plus and Steam deals is that the selection is random so their value is subjective. I have already played Assassins Creed 3, Borderlands 2, Ico & SoTC collection, DmC, X-Com, Saints Row the third, Uncharted 2, Hitman Absolution and many of the other free PS3 Plus games so them going free on plus offers no value to me. For steam deals in particular gamers like you over exaggerate how good they are. CheapyD mentioned this not too long ago but you actually get much better deals on PC games from sites like Amazon, Green Mean Gaming, Humble Bundles, or even Ebay. I've been a Steam user for like 4 or so years now and have only bought 4 games through steam, the deals are better elsewhere. Anyway back to gamefly, you pay more for gamefly but the overall value is much greater.

 
Cheapy's story about almost making himself pass out hit close to home. A few months ago I was at work and my back has been hurting. I reached my right hand over my left shoulder and was trying to rub my back when I felt a weird lump. At first I thought it was a muscle knot but it felt squishy and moved around a bit. So I started thinking I had a tumor. I started getting nervous. Then like an idiot I started googling. I started feeling lightheaded at the thought of having to get this checked out and to have surgery. I got really dizzy and actually passed out. I woke up to about a dozen paramedics and emt's in my office. ( I work at a private ambulance company). They had started an IV on me and had me hooked up to a heart monitor. They told me they couldn't get a pulse for a while. I know I just passed out. It used to happen when I got bloody noses as a kid, not that the sight of blood freaked me out, it was probably low blood pressure or something making it happen. So anyway, they brought me by ambulance to the hospital and I was there for 3 days. They did every test known to man and wouldn't listen to me about the lump on my back that started this whole mess or believe that I simply passed out.

So freaking myself out over this thing that my doctor tells me is probably a cyst or fatty tumor which is no big deal just cost me around $5000. At least I got the ambulance ride for free.
 
I look at Playstation Now like the Nvidia Shield—a proof of concept for a small market that they hope will grow to the point where new PS4/Vita games can be streamed, too. Hard to believe that streaming isn't a sizable chunk of media's future, whether or not it works perfectly "Now."

 
shipwreck said:
There's a difference with Xbox Live Arcade games. Those were old games that were made into 360 games with Achievements, online multiplayer, graphical enhancements, 16:9 integration, etc.
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I'm not talking about the HD updates ( I didn't include them in my #) ..but I do concede they aren't exactly the same game but they are still old games. Galaga is pretty much galaga.

I would wager Nintendo does quite will with their virtual console that has none of that.

 
Lots of Playstation Now comments already, but no one has addressed the somewhat humorous stance you guys took on streaming PS1, PS2, and PS3 games vs NES games.

I understand your time constraint argument (although Shipwreck still seems to play an incredible number of games and I'm slightly envious), but you all essentially agreed that almost no one would want to pay $x per month for a library of AAA last-gen titles, while paying the same $x per month for super-old 8 bit Nintendo titles was an awesome idea and you'd gladly pay.

Popeye et al for $10? Yes!  The Last of Us for $10?  Nope!  (Yet right afterward complaining that the new Halo thing is not worth $15...)

Personally, I doubt I'll subscribe (for quite some time, if ever) because of my nice PS+ backlog.  But for people without PS+ and without even a PS3, they could essentially be in the same boat as me, just playing these games via Playstation Now instead of PS+. 

 
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If you like a game, don't get rid of it only to re-buy it later. I agree with Ship that you can just go out and get these games for cheap now anyway. Nothing beats the experience of playing on the original hardware. I made the mistake of selling off a system and games once to get new hardware and found myself trying to hunt down all the games I sold. I'll never do that again.

There's no guarantee your favorite game will even be available on the service, look how long Earthbound took to come out. There are copyright and licensing issues that can prevent collecting profits on certain games. I'm sure the Marvel games won't show up here. Sometimes games could be modified to prevent these issues, but then you won't get the original experience.

Also if forced to buy them digitally on a different platform, personally I would rather play these games Virtual Console style than OnLive style.

Good luck to Sony with their service, hopefully they can make it work somehow. At least they're trying something new and you never know.
 
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SteamOS - I like it. It's free and people will dual boot it to start off. If in 5 years time it moves people away from Windows (8, to be specific as who knows how long 7, the better OS, will be supported) the better. Steam is a huge beast in the PC market that Valve making their own OS makes sense and is viable.

Steam Controller - I don't like it. No one asked for this. It solves a problem that it doesn't need solving. I really don't think people want to play StarCraft-like games on their TV. Even if they do, nothing (still) would beat a mouse. Games like Portal 2 (and Half Life 3 one day?) work just fine with dual analog controllers. Maybe they should have focused on making a better Steam full screen app that works with a normal controller. The whole feedback pads are so foreign I'm not sure anyone would want to get used to this thing, when a controller or mouse functions better, each in their own way.

Steam Machines - I'm laughing (at them). The original pitch/idea was to have a (fairly cheap) box that competed for one of the TV HDMI slots, with no fuss, just plug in and play. Now with a minimum of 13 "brands" and more if you include what's to be added in the future and all the different HDD, RAM, CPU, and GPU options for each, there is just too many choices. When prices range from $500 (this system will be anemic, fucking core i3? hah) to $6000, you have a problem. Just imagine 13 different Xbox One systems all with different specs, that wouldn't work, so why would it work for Steam Machines? The "console market" won't buy because it still comes with all the PC downsides and confusion, and the "PC market" can build their own machine, install a free SteamOS, and hook it up to the TV themselves, for much much cheaper. I'm not seeing the convenience of these overpriced branded Steam Machines with all the non-uniform options.

PS Now - I'm intrigued/interested in what it will become. You guys forgot one thing when talking about PS Now: Trophies. Sony filed a Patent for new ways to add Trophy support to older games (like PS1 and PS2 classics) in Sept 2012 and it was made public in March 2013 (I think these dates are right). Some basic Google search links here and here.

I'm pretty sure you guys can't argue achievement/trophy hunters are a niche market. It's a huge deal with many sites, guides, and youtube videos devoted to hunting down those achievements. With PS Now you can go back and earn a few trophies for Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, for example, and have it on your gamercard. That would appeal to a lot of people. Now, does this change your minds?

 
shipwreck said:
There's a difference with Xbox Live Arcade games. Those were old games that were made into 360 games with Achievements, online multiplayer, graphical enhancements, 16:9 integration, etc.
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We really don't know the quality of emulation for the older titles. The nice thing with some emulation programs is that they can/have increased the quality of the graphics and sound of the original games. A better input can make games look smoother, which is why things like the Catbox (VGA Adapter) for the Atari Jaguar, Dreamcast VGA boxes and the Famicom Titler (only NES/Famicom with S-Video) are popular. As already mentioned, Sony has announced plans to add trophies to the older titles somehow, which I guess is nice too.

IMO, one of the nicest things that we do know is that the service will allow some kind of save-states on the cloud. So you can go from your PS3, your Vita, your TV, your PS4 or your tablet and still be able to continue your game.

Right now there are lots of unknowns about the service, but to me it does sound interesting.

 
Thanks Cheapy! Love the show, listening is helping through some tough times. Thanks Cheap/Wombat/Ship. Keep it up!
 
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