CAGbag: Get your questions answered on CAGcast

Hey cheapy, I'll be traveling to tokyo pretty soon and wanted to know which places you'd recommend for a gamer to check out like stores or arcades. I'll also be checking out the toilet museum, so do you know of any other weird places i just gotta visit? And any tips or phrases that i'll need for a traveling gaijin like me is appreciated.
 
Hey CheapyD and Wombat,

I got a question for you and it is not video game related, but I think still think might be interesting. I was wondering what the process was for you, CheapyD, on getting citizenship in Japan. As someone looking to one day flee from the United States, I have been looking at the requirements and processes for entering other countries. I was hoping from hearing about your experience that I could get a better grasp of what could be in store for me. Also, been listening to the show for about a year now and always enjoy when a new show comes down the ITunes pipe.
 
Hey CheapyD and Wombat, do you believe in ghosts?

If so, what is the oddest or scariest supernatural experience you've ever had?
 
This is directed towards Wombat.

I bought Shadowrun for the 360 on the same Amazon deal as you and logged about 2 hours total before I got annoyed and put it on my shelf forever.

I noticed that you weren't even able to make it through all the training missions (according to your achievements) and wanted to know what about the game left a taste in your mouth similar to that of dried semen?

(Not that you or I know what that tastes like...)
 
What difficulty did you guys play Halo 3 on, and what do you think of the "Heroic or it's not how the game was meant to be" type statements?

Heroic was the sweet spot for me, but that's because I've played the other games through several times. It really surprised me that bungie said that in the game, because a new player starting on heroic would get eaten alive.
 
Hey Wombat,

Have you ever played Tales of Symphonia for the GameCube? I don't find myself as a big RPG fan, but this is one RPG that I love. It is an awesome pickup, especially with the sequel coming out on the Wii.
 
Cheapy,

Where do you find the great retro video game commericals? I love hearing these and would like to go listen to some more. Found memories of those early days of gaming.
 
Wombat, where's the pics of your new home that you promised? (maybe i missed it)

Cheapy, can you post a pic of that rent-a-crib that you mentioned in the show?
 
hey Cheapy,

So I was in your fair city a couple of weeks ago and I checked out the public days at the Tokyo Game show and I have to say that I must protest your characterization of the show as a sweaty, smelly nerd-fest. Certainly there were some nerds there but many of them were of the hot, sexy cosplay kind. Mostly I saw normal people and even a lot of normal looking families and kids. (Though I must say the lines were long, I didn't waste time standing in line for hours just to play games that are coming out in a few months anyway.)


Certainly compared to E3 the sweaty stink factor was negligable. Japanese people just can't compare to the fat-ass Americans you used to see in LA every year. I think in general japanese people tend to be a lot less stinky than whiteys. What do you think? I 'd also be interested to know Mrs. Cheapy's opinion on the caucasian vs. japanese smell factor.
 
hey wombat i was wondering since u are geting a new house will you also be getting some type of transportation.

PS dont get an american car there no good i would get some sort od import
 
Topic for disscussion/questions:

Console companies and development kits: balancing between being easy to work with and hand-holding

A company comes out with a new console. Obviously they need games to sell their system, which can come from multiple sources. They have first-party developers that they either own or are heavily invested in, so those teams will come up with games that will drive gameplay on the new console. Then there are other big 3rd-party developers that make lots of games for multiple consoles, like big sports games or action adventures or whatever. And there is everyone else from smaller 3-rd party developers to even really small groups that have a concept and create a game or two.

And back to the new console. Because of new hardware and new accessories and the new platform in general, developers have to become accostomed to making games for the new console. The learning curve is there, and it takes a few iterations usually to come up with the best games.

So how much does the console manufacturer help? Obviously they provide resources to allow developers a sandbox and development environment. But how much should they provide? In some part, they probably want the developers to have as much access to resources as possible so that they can succeed. They want their partner developers of all kinds to be able to produce successful work.

But they probably don't want to hold their hands too much. They are invested more (literally) in the success of their first-party developers than in the success of the other guys. But they obviously want the others to succeed, too, because it will help the console in general. But if they help too much, it canibalizes their first-party teams. And if they hold hands too much, they end up doing too much. Or maybe the developers take a minimalistic approach and put out a bunch of crap.

Basically, what do you think the best strategy is with regards to helping devlopers and providing resources for game development? What is the best balance based on historical examples and your own theories?
 
Cheapy; thoughts on fatherhood. It's a big life step, and you've been uncharacteristically quiet about how you feel. Nervous, excited, dreadful?

I've been married for about two years now, and the pressure of having offspring is getting great. I'm pretty fucking scared, though...

Do you think being a father will change the amount of time devoted to gaming habits and CAG duties?

Do do think the trend towards Lite (or Casual) gaming is hurting or helping the industry for us 'hardcore' types? Are resources being drawn away, or are new bodies being brought into the realm of videogaming, helping the industry grow?
 
CheapyD and Wombat, last week you complained about the ease of the final boss on Bioshock. In an EGM article, one of the people who worked on the game story admitted the final boss was tacked on (and apologised for even having one at all). My question is, do you feel that a game must have a final boss to be a good game?
 
hey guys, which video game developer(s) would you like to meet the most and why? examples: hideo kojima, shiggy miyamoto, will wright etc.
 
CheapyD and Wombat:
Which do you think is better? Guitar hero III or Rock Band? I was wondering becuase I only have enough money this holiday for one or the other.
Thanks.
 
What happened to the live show idea? I know that it takes a lot more preparation for live shows, but Cheapy, you said you'd be willing to keep at it for a while.

Does the fact that we haven't seen one in a long time mean that you've given up on the idea? Or does the idea of crying in the background from your new kiddo make the live show less appealing?
 
Two Questions, One Comment

Q1: Between Bioshock, Halo 3, The Orange Box, and Call of Duty 4 just a few short weeks away, do you guys think we have seen/are seeing the best 4 months for FPS shooters ever. Seriously, all these great FPS so close together, have we ever seen this type of quality FPS's released all so close together?!?!?

Q2: Do you guys think there should be another rating (one that can actually be used, unlike AO right now), or that AO should be allowed to be used by companies, etc? After playing Bioshock and Halo 3 back-to-back, I just can't believe they both are rated M. Bioshock is much more disturbing than Halo 3. I know there are "soft-R" rated movies and "harder R" rated movies, but still...


Comment - Cheapy, you are right, that Yaris game blows balls, and not in the good way, I did not even make it through a single game before I removed the game from my HD...total crap!!!
 
Cheapy, I have a question.

You frequently mention how you order from Play Asia. I've ordered from Play Asia also, and they would *only* ship to my credit card's shipping address in Canada.
In addition to the brutal shipping costs to Canada, my package got pegged at the border and I had to pay a brutal import shipping fee.

How do you get them to ship stuff to you in Japan, as I know it's difficult, if not impossible, for gaijin to get credit cards in Japan. (It's the same in Korea.)

Do you use your wife's credit card? What's the deal?
 
cheapy and wombat

do you think there should be more wii games without motion control. some of the big ds hits had virtually no touch screen or even second screen action. new super mario bros and mario kart ds come to mind.

i would like for games to only use motion if it betters the game. not all snes games needed to use the L and R buttons, not all 64 games needed to use the analog stick. i think this is beginning to be a problem with the wii.

also, it seems like the cursor is being under utilized. i thought mario kart wii would have been great if you steered with the analog stick and used the cursor for weaponry.

and lastly, i think the classic controller aught to be used more as well. beautiful katamari would have been a great port. especially since many nintendo players have never been able to enjoy the series. the classic controller would have been perfect.

what do you think?
 
Cheapy,

My thanks to you and GQD for sending me to E 4 All. I played MGS4 today and I found it very good, it wasn't too hard and it wasn't too easy. I found satisfaction in sneaking up on unsuspecting soldiers and killing them, etc. It was an awesome game, and I might just buy a PS3 just for that. But on to my question, what was so hard about MGS4 to you? I played it and had little to no difficulty executing moves and sneaking around, so it got me curious as to what you found difficult about it.

Thanks
 
Cheapy,

Congrats on your new son! :applause: Very cute!
However, please do not refer to him as CheapyD Jr as that name just sounds too long. Any future references here OR on the podcast he will be called CheapyT.
Ok? :)

Again, congrats and good luck!!
 
Cheapy, congrats on the baby! Seeing your baby with hair made me think of this question...what color is/was your hair? And also I think everyone would like to see a picture of you with a full head of hair :D
 
Cheapy,

After hearing about your suspension from Xbox Live for your motto, something weird happened to me. I logged on Saturday morning to find out that my gamertag is no longer allowed to be on Xbox Live. MS informed me that if I wanted to log back into Xbox Live I had to change my gamertag (for free of course). I had the tag Negronomety for almost 2 years now and they finally decided to kill it off. I wasn't using "negro" in a derogatory way or anything (I am black if that accounts for anything). It's not like I was going from game to game being a complete dick, but in the wake of MS trying to clean up Xbox Live I was swept under. Do you think that this is fair considering that they let me get away with it from the beginning? I just hate that I lost the name. For better of for worse, it was the BEST starter for lobby chatter.
 
Hello Cheapy and Wombat

My question is about the PS3. I have been seriously contemplating purchasing one lately. However, I have noticed on ebay that there are many PS3s being sold "As-is." I thought that the PS3, unlike the early X-box 360s, is not having any serious problems, however, if this is so, why are there so many PS3 being sold as is? Have you heard anything?

Love your pod cast guys. Its become a part of my every Friday.
 
Do you think that this holiday will be a defining point for PS3, or do you think 2008 will be the year that really makes or breaks the platform? With only a couple of "notable" exclusive titles coming up soon, I don't see a strong software lineup closing out the PS3 this year. Certainly, the current 3 SKU tier of consoles suggests that Sony is still struggling to establish it's PS3 user base, and is now biting the bullet on it's once-confident "luxury" pricing strategy. Do you think that the lower price in 2007 will sell enough units to convince more developers to sign on for PS3 exclusives in 2008 and beyond? At this point, I'm not sure Sony will be able to attract the long term third party support it needs to become a leader in the HD generation of gaming. It seems like developers are either just waiting for someone else to take the risk with PS3 software sales or are simply going where the money is already being made.

Also, do either of you have any contacts that are aware of the state of developer tools for PS3? One of the concerns of developing for PS3 is the difficulties of working with the proprietary Cell architecture and having access to a large and easy to work with library might alieviate some of the barriers to making PS3 games--it could also make porting PS3 games more successful than it currently seems to be.

Finally, if the above questions aren't to your liking, I'd be curious to know what you folks think about the current state of DLC i.e. XBLA/PSN/VC. So far, I'm coming to the realization that I'm not as interested in any of that stuff as I thought I'd be. It seems like with all the games coming out, I need to focus my limited resources on disc-based games only, with a few exceptions. Do you think these services are living up to expectations or are they simply a distraction? Which of the three major services do you prefer, XBLA, PSN, or Wii VC?
 
Howdy,
Now that Cheapy has the kid living in Japan I was wondering what language he learns. I mean, obviously you don't know that much japanese and if he's going to go to school, he can't just speak english. So how does one go about the whole language thing.
 
Has the newly annouced $29.99 MSRP for Ghost Squard on the wii and the online only CE of Mass Effect made either of you consider buying them?

P.S. after watching your youtube video of Tai I now know he's your kid 100%
 
We' ve been hearing a lot of questions/comments on Cheapy and Wombat's opinions as of late. It seems that a lot of listeners think that by you giving your opinion on something like the PS3 or the Wii or by favoring one console over the other you are performing the "unthinkable" by aligning yourself with the corporation known as Microsoft (cue scary thunderbolt sounds). This "fanboyism" as the kids these days are calling it is getting a little out of hand. Any time I go on gamefaqs.com and visit the wii message board you see topics about how gamespot is working with Microsoft and trying to make the 360 the biggest selling console of the holidays or how the reviewers of any website hate Nintendo and that's why their game got a 9.0 instead of a perfect 10. I expect this stupid shit to be at a place like gamefaqs but when I listen to my cagcast I become angry. I guess the question I have is why do you, Cheapy, tend to answer these questions as nicely as you can? Why not tell these shits exactly what you are thinking and give them a big ol' fuck YOU! (And I don't mean shaq-fu either I mean F U C K!) I mean, it is your show. Why go around being nice to the pricks when they are making your opinion seem like you are trying to argue fact? Anyways I hope this gets read because I've been a big fan of the site for a long time.
Sincerely,
A Loyal Listener.
 
As my system overheated and is in for replacement, I am now going to bite the bullet and get a 360 Elite (I never had a 360, it was my WII that overheated; google "wii artifacts" if you don't believe me). Know which store is running the best deal (i.e. get as much swag and crap thrown in as possible) since I'm looking at $800+ after getting an Elite + teh Haloz + Gears + Whatever else I impulse buy after that? I may as well get the stupid messenger bags and 2 Month Live card. I can trade in my Xbox and Gamecube (for an extra $0.50 off). My nephew will be happy to get me off his console though.
 
Hey Cheapy and Wombat (mostly Wombat since I'm sure he's played it most of the way through).

I've heard a little about Sony trying this, but, did you notice the achievement type pop-ups throughout Ratchet and Clank? They even had clever names assigned to them too. It didn't give you points, but it still popped up on the screen like 360 achievements.

I was wondering either of you (or any of our fellow CAGS in the business) knew of any games still in developement that are implementing an acheivement type system in PS3 games? There has to be a few programmer/developers that can speak up about it.

Oh yeah, congrats on the new mini-Cheapy.
 
Just wanted to throw my $0.02 in on the new Sony SKU.

Here's my abriviated story:

Well when the rumors of the rumors of this 40 GB PS3 priced at $400 it sounded like the sweet spot to me. I eneded up trading in a bunch of my older games as well as my PS2 because I thought there would be no need for it once I got my PS3. In total I got over $350 of trade in credit, then the shoe dropped, the 40 GB model wouldn't feature BC. Well imagine my surprise, here I was without a PS2 and a ton of great PS2 games and the sysytem I was looking to buy wouldn't even work. I know the 80 GB is only $100 more but the more I think about it I'm probably going to take that $350 and buy all those other great games that are coming out this holiday season and continue to wait for Sony for figure their *bleep* out.

I understand most people are in this situation but this is exaclty why removing BC totaly sucks for me.
 
Hey Cheapy and Wombat,

Have you guys ever started playing games, and have trouble getting into them, then tried changing something (like turning the lights off) to get into the experience? Or do you give up all hope and toss it in your 'do not want' pile?

The best example I can give is Metroid. I never really got into much, but after turning out the lights and playing it at night, the game really came alive and doing this has made it my all time favorite gaming franchise.
 
yo. love the show but i was just curious to know if you could chose three games that have came out or are going to come out (aka GTA 4), what games would you play until end of 2008
 
Cheapy D and Wombat,

I am fairly certain that The Orange Box is a game of the year contender, so my question is, would you judge the package as a whole, or would you award that to a certain game, like Team Fortress 2 or Portal?
 
Hey Cheapy and Wombat

So for this christmas im thinking of getting a 360 i just wanted to know what are your top 3 games on ur list for a must have??

BTW Wombat Grads on your new job!:booty:
 
Since Sony's original/exclusive IP for the holiday is thin at best, do you think it's a mistake not to push The Eye of Judgment harder? I haven't seen much of anything about the game, and I'm wondering if Sony is missing an opportunity to bolster it's "lower cost system" strategy with the lure of innovative games that aren't available anywhere else.

Granted, EOJ follows a niche genre and there's that card copy issue, but it seems like Sony needs all the help it can get, and EOJ could break the mold of TCGs/CCGs and make a bit more accessible to a different audience. I'm wondering what you guys think about this.
 
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