CAGbag: Get your questions answered on CAGcast

Cheapy why did you decide to go for the bald head?

and Wombat so you don't feel left out umm....would you shave your head if you were balding or just transplant some of your back hair? I know cheapy has plenty in the front to donate.
 
Cheapy. Wombat. Love the show.

My question for you guys is how did you guys propose to your wives? Did you think of a romantic, elaborate plan to make sure they couldn't say no? Or did you guys do it in typical cheap ass fashion by asking through a video game? I remember a guy making a Will You Marry Me? level in Smash Bros Brawl...
 
Good afternoon gentleman,

I’ve just moved so I’m catching up a few weeks. Currently I’m listening to CAGcast #130, so I suppose this comment is a week late.

I wanted to respond to the listener’s question, and your responses, to the racism in RE5 issue.

The listener is making a common mistake. The question of racism does arrive as a result of a white player character shooting black zombies, rather it stems from the monsterization of the villagers itself.

As Cheapy mentioned, if video games want to be taken as series pieces of media, or dare I say art, then the creators must share the same freedoms as writers, sculptors, or musicians. However, by the same token they also must be aware that their creations do not exist in a vacuum and will be held in context with everything that came before it.

It seems that the creators of RE5 have either ignored, or directly played into, the long history of the monsterization of colonized people.

A reading of RE5’s first trailer could easily parallel the savagery in the non-infected military (possibly warlords?) with the savagery of infected villagers. It’s not hard to equate these to instances, and without a counter example it appears like the creators are suggesting there is nothing human in the village.

This reading is reinforced by the second trailer that begins with a voiceover stating “There is nothing human here.” This voice continues along this line reaffirming the notion that Chris, an image of a country with a long colonial history, as come to a savage land to destroy monsters, both natural and unnatural, that populate it. Again, without any example of a human presence the trailer suggests “There is nothing human here.” The trailer in this case would appear to be a game about genocide. Which I suppose isn’t by definition racist; however, it does begin to raise questions.

This reading would suggest that RE5, is just another example of a piece of fiction that, through the trope of monsterization, dehumanizes a colonized people allowing for actions that would otherwise be morally unacceptable.

[FONT=&quot]Bottom line is African monsters have a much different history then American or European monsters, and RE5 creators seem to be ignoring this fact[/FONT]
 
Hey guys,

What do you have to say about Guitar Hero director, Brian Bright's unsportsman-like comments regarding their competitors Harmonix? It seems that every time this guy speaks out in public, all he has to say is how Harmonix is doing things the wrong way, taking more about Rock Band 2 rather than their own game. He comes across as a bit of a jerk making either disrespectful or factually incorrect comments on an almost weekly basis. Comments include how Harmonix copied Guitar Hero's drum cymbals, and how Activision is innovating the most, completely ignoring how Guitar Hero looks almost exactly the same as Rock Band now.

Do you guys feel that his comments are a normal part of competition between two companies or just obnoxious and unwelcoming? In addition, does Activision have the rights and ability to shut the guy up before he does something to embarrass the company name?

Here's just one of the many idiotic comments:
http://kotaku.com/5043354/neversoft-get-bitchy-call-out-rock-bandscymbals
 
Cheapy D:

I live in Brazil and you may now or not, but we take a long time to get our games here, The supply is at best erratic and the prices soar, because of taxes (~U$140 any game). If I import any value less than US$500,00 I need not to pay the importation taxes, so it is a good way to get my games. Do you have any hint on a good site that may mail me in a secure and fast way? I don't want to pirate these games.

By the way, the recent discussion for downloadable content may be enriched by this problem. The downloadable content expands much more rapidly the market for potential buyers for these games. The market outside Japan/USA/Europe is small, but one of the main reasons (taxes) may be overcome by allowing us to directly download the content to the consoles.

Love the show
 
Hey guys,
Recently Wombat has expressed his love for Mighty Muggs both in the CAG thread about them and on his blog. Also a CAG posted a possible CheapyD MightMugg Template on his blog (will try to find). What do you guys think about the idea of CAG MM's? If you like the idea:
What would your wear? (or not wear) did someone say youtube bathtub variant edition Cheapy?
What accesroies would your character come with?
Thanks guys.


edit: the CAG was WhipSmartBanky http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/blog.php?b=2537
 
Cheapy and Wombat-- what do you think of Amazon dropping the 30 day price protection on purchases made on Amazon. And do you think CAGs will look to buy their games at other on-line stores that offer such price protection?

Wombat -- I don't recal your Dark Knight review -- are we waiting for Cheapy to see the movie? Also, from a comics question -- is Morrison going to kill Batman?
 
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Cheapy and Wombat,

Just incase this question does NOT get answered by Fable's own when the next CAGcast appears, what do both of you think about the tower trick located in the Fable 2 Pub Game? (insert background knowledge of tower trick here for CAG listeners) How do you think this tower trick will affect Fable's players; do you think there will be consequences or no, and if so, what do you think the consequence will be?

Aight,
Chrono
 
[quote name='thorbahn3']Cheapy, Do you plan to replace Wombat with a guy named Steve anytime soon?[/quote]

:rofl:


Cheapy, what did you think of Wombat's impression of you throughout the CAG Forecast....I personally think it was a little heavy on the douchiness ;) so it was more of a Cheapy caricature, you're a much nicer guy to Ship.

Wombat, what was it like being Mrs. Shipwreck for an evening?
 
[quote name='thorbahn3']Cheapy, Do you plan to replace Wombat with a guy named Steve anytime soon?[/QUOTE]

Am I missing the joke?

EDIT: Nevermind I get it now
 
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[quote name='tsg2005']good question, im interested to hear their opinions on this.[/quote]

I will third this request. Cheapy as a small business man and wombat as the regular guy might have different views on this.
 
Hey Cheapy and Wombat,

I know I asked you guys about the impact that Burnout Paradise's impending release on the PlayStation Network would have as far as day-and-date releases of games on both retail and PSN shelves, but a few weeks later NFL Head Coach 09 came out the same week as it arrived on store shelves. That has to be a bit of a surprise for you to see this digital distribution initiative progressing more quickly than you may have anticipated, right? Though it may not be the most glamorous title to kick off the third-party PSN initiative, but that still seems like a big thing to me since it seems like EA's definitely on the digital distribution bandwagon. The main issue still has to be price since NFL Head Coach 09 is $50 right now, and for a sports game, so what do you think EA will do about pricing when they start dropping the price of the retail versions of the game? The other main question I have is if you guys think Sony should be trying to sign deals with third-parties about getting their retail games on PSN, whether at release or sometime afterward?

With the big Xbox 360 price drop, it brings to mind that the 60GB Xbox 360 was launched at $350 about a month ago, so what was the point of doing that besides the good chance that many of those $350 60GB 360 owners not price-matching to get their $50 back? Couldn't they have just held the 60GB back, launched it during this price drop instead of potentially screwing people out of money, and then kept the 20GB's at their clearanced price, though I have no idea if the remaining stock of 20GB's would've lasted until then?

With the four day delay of the start of the SOCOM Confrontation beta, the SOCOM developers actually received a ton of hate mail and death threats over having to wait another four day. I even noticed comments about people taking the day or multiple days off for the start of the beta, which makes me ask what's too far in any of these aspects of the delay of a beta? Do the developers deserve seething hatred for four more days of waiting, without cutting it short or anything like that?
 
Cheapy, what's the status of the Circuit City lawsuit against CAG? I haven't heard anything about it in months. Did "The City" bow out?
 
hey cheapy and wombat, what do you guys think of the new xbox 360 controller coming out? and will you be buying it?
 
Hello chum. I was recently watching Gametrailers Bonus Round and they were talking about the future of video games. Mr. Pachter said that he doesn't think there will be a PS4 or an Xbox 720, just updated SKU's more or less every year. Cheapy la D, Wombat, what is your opinion on this topic? Do you think that Mr. Pachter is right, or do you think that the trend will continue and Microsoft and Sony will release a next-gen system soon?
 
Do you think in future generations of consoles that still have disc drives where consumers will be able to install their old console games (Like say from a generation or two or three in the past) onto the hard drive and play them without a disc like some aged PC games?
 
[quote name='Darwin23']i'll be brave...

Obama or McCain?[/quote]

Oooh...would this qualify as a celebrity endorsement? ;)

I was really impressed by Cheapy's well-articulated stand on politics and religion. I'm sure others might prefer that you stick to the videogame talk, but I think that it's talk like this that really elevates the CAGcast beyond the standard (um, average?) videogame podcast.

More, please.
 
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After being a long time listener of the Cagcast these moments are rare. And once again it happened. I found my-self agreeing with wombats random burst response to something cheapy said. The word mediocre strikes me as a much better description of the quality of the game than average.

And cheapy wtf are you talking about pressing a button to pick up a weapon? I never heard you complain about this in Gears. In gears every thing that was on the floor required a push of a button to be picked up. So the x button isn't gonna ruin Mercs 2 for u.
 
wombat is 100% right about the word average. it's simply a mathematical term. thank you so much for saying this. i don't think i've ever heard another podcaster mention this.

any reviewer who decides ahead of time that the average score is 5 or 6.5 or 7 or whatever is doing it wrong.

also, there seems to be a fair amount of wii hate out there. and they've certainly had a summer drought like usual. but they've got a pretty good line up for holidays. and for anyone who is tired of first person shooters, the variety the wii provides is essential.
 
Recently, a founding member of the Player One Podcast, Greg, has had to stop being in the podcast because the unnamed video game company who hired him doesn't want him to podcast anymore. Wombat, would you leave the Cagcast if such a situation happened to you? For example, a high paying PR gig for Rockstar, etc.
 
Hey Cheapy and Wombat. During his final 1UP Yours appearance, Jeff Green mentioned that 17 years, or a number equally high, is too long to stay with one company. So, how long will it be until Wombat jumps to IGN or exclusively signs with UGO, or Cheapy sells the site to GameStop? I just want to prepare my cynanide capsule for the proper disentigration date.
 
Hi guys. I am starting a software development job in a couple weeks and am hoping to discover some "gamers" around work. Any tips on doing this? I was thinking about starting by decking out my office with some cool gaming schwag.

I know you guys have a lot of video game memorabilia lying around the house, but how about your office environment? Wombat, do you keep a clean office at work or do you decorate it with any fun gaming-related stuff? Cheapy, even you may have some particular schwag you keep at your office at home that visitors enjoy to look at.

Remember, I'm NOT trying to make everyone at work think I'm a hardcore gamer (which I am), but just show my appreciation for gaming with some discreet gaming mementos. A Halo Wars style figurine battle in the middle of my desk or a Pokemon themed office (complete with a pokeball pencil sharpener and pokemon eraser tops) may be a bit too much.

Any ideas?
 
:whistle2:#
Hey Cheapy, Wombat

About the show, I have a couple things to comment on.

1. I wouldn't drag politics out into such a long discussion. It's supposed to be a PODcast about gaming news in general. I can understand involving some things in your daily lives, but please....it kinda follows the rule at work. No discussing politics or religion at work, at least not while on the clock. I would greatly appreciate it if such topics were at least kept to a minimum. If I want to spend time listening to people talk politics, I think we all know what web site or news channel to tune in to.

2. Now, normally I tend to agree with Wombat, but regarding the "Average", argument, I would have to stand by Cheapy. I was listening to you two guys argue it out like some old married couple, but neither of you were really listening to the other.

Yes, "Average" when we're talking numbers does refer to something entirely different mathematically, but in Cheapy's layout of the 5 steps, the word "Average" takes on a different meaning entirely, where the "majority" of the public would understand the meaning. To Wombat's argument, it does sound as though Metacritic is using the word improperly.

3. Lastly the whole discussion about used games I find incredibly silly. Will publishers be able to stop it? No they won't be able to. What would happen if they did try? Such as removing selling rights to companies such as EBgames for example.......Simply put, the public would find a way as they always do. Ebay, Craigslist, Amazon market, you name it. Those used games will exchange hands one way or another. So, in general, people will continue to sell/buy/trade used games until one of two things happen.

a. Publishers, retailers work together, (cooperatively or otherwise), to make it so hard to buy/sell/trade used games where people won't want/be able to go through the hassle. Which would be pretty hard in itself to do, since people tend to go through a lot when it comes to their hard earned cash.

OR

b. Somehow publishers, retailers make it more cost effective or so easy to purchase new games, that people won't want to go through the whole used game buy/sell/trade hassle. Which again, I doubt...."all those publishers in favor of selling us games for less, SAY I!".......*cricket* *cricket*...............

In summary though, I was a little dissapointed with this show. It sounded like you two were goin at it a little more than usual, and it seemed to you went into non-gaming related topics too much. I do look forward to future programs, and I really appreciate all you do. I have saved lots of money via your site.


Thanks
-Michael
 
Guys great show as always. Great to have you back on the iPod.

I only have an issue and a half with your discussion of McCain vs. Obama. Its your show and you can discuss what you want, however I think you unintentionally slighted Senator McCain. I agree Senator Obama has overcome a lot coming from a single parent home and it was an important formative experience, however I think you would agree Senator McCain also overcame a lot being a prisoner of war for five years.

Secondly, as someone who owned his own business, I think the correct message for the Cagcast should be, we don't care who you vote for, just make sure you go vote. Our forefathers be they democrats, republicans, or independants died for your right to vote, don't dishonor their sacrifice.
 
Cheapy and Wombat,

When you talk about the games you are currently playing both of you always seem to be playing new releases, I know that that is partially because of the CAGcast, but are there any old favorites that you go back to and play online or single player? Do you find yourselves going back to play the online modes of games like Call of Duty or Halo? If not, will the upcoming title update/new maps/new achievements that are planned for Halo make you pick that back up or do you tend to play these types of games only when they come out and then never pick them up again?
 
Why does Wombat not sign up for the blockbuster thing where u pay 21.99$ a month or 2 games for 34.99 a month and you can get as many games as you want than you could talk about every game on the show?
 
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Hey Cheapy and Wombat, long time listener, first time poster here.

Did any of you triend No more heroes (Wii)? Suda 51 new game witch did not get the attention it deserves. My wii was gatering dust and its now getting a lot of action thanks to this little gem.

Since there is not much coming up for the wii right now, i think it is a good idea to try such games. And its cheap!
 
[quote name='cfootball1']Why does Wombat not sign up for the blockbuster thing where u pay 25$ a month and you can get as many games as you want than you could talk about every game on the show?[/quote]

The pricing structure on the combo pass is 21.99 for 1 at a time. 2 at a time is 34.99. I work at blockbuster and I'm not trying to be a dick by correcting you.
 
Oh ya and as for my question this week guys is what do you think about these wannabee podcast that try to ride the success of your format?
 
[quote name='oscargrouch']Guys great show as always. Great to have you back on the iPod.

I only have an issue and a half with your discussion of McCain vs. Obama. Its your show and you can discuss what you want, however I think you unintentionally slighted Senator McCain. I agree Senator Obama has overcome a lot coming from a single parent home and it was an important formative experience, however I think you would agree Senator McCain also overcame a lot being a prisoner of war for five years.

Secondly, as someone who owned his own business, I think the correct message for the Cagcast should be, we don't care who you vote for, just make sure you go vote. Our forefathers be they democrats, republicans, or independants died for your right to vote, don't dishonor their sacrifice.[/quote]:applause:

I agree with what you said, although I am voting for somebody else. I want to add that people shouldn't just vote. People should vote fore the candidate that emphasizes your wants. And only vote if know the subject, not just because you like a party or dislike another.
 
Cheapy,

Since living in Tokyo, any interest in heading out to the Tokyo Disney parks? Or will you now just wait until Tai is old enough to go, and take him there?
 
Hey, Cheapy and Wombat! Are you guys EVER going to play COD4 with the CAGs again? We miss you guys!!!

By the way, Thursday Nights are the most CAG-Packed!
 
Cheapy and Wombat,

Please do the world a favor and quit discussing the following topics until at least one of you discovers that games can in fact be played on PCs:

1) 'Hardcore' gamers.
2) Quality graphics
3) Why the Xbox is the best current gen console
4) Why you dislike the Wii

Your ignorance has become painful to listen to, and undercuts your credibility as cheap ass gamers as well. There are only a handful of titles for the xbox that are not also available for the PC within their first year of release. The PS3 fares slightly better, but only due to MGS4 and Sony first party titles. The PC version of such titles is usually superior featuring enhanced controls, graphics, and in titles such as Jade Empire the xbox DLC is included out of the box, or available online, for free. All of this for $10 less than the cost of the console version. In addition there are whole genres, such as real time strategy, that are available to PC gamers, and not to console gamers.

On the hardware front a competent gaming PC costs little more than a PS3 these days, and it costs less than that to upgrade an existing computer for gaming. In addition there is no fear that Microsoft will gouge you $180 for a 120GB hard drive when more drive space is needed, and then not allow you to transfer all of your content. For 'graphics whores' like Wombat you might appreciate that PC games have been doing 1080p graphics for years, many new games support higher resolutions.

I cannot consider anyone a hardcore gamer if they are not interested in playing the best version of a game available, and as such have trouble considering any console exclusive gamer hardcore. In this light I find the Xbox to be the LEAST desirable of the current gen consoles, because it offers very little that I cannot experience better elsewhere. Likewise the WII becomes the most desirable of the current gen. consoles because though it may only have a few great titles, those titles give an experience that I can't get anywhere else. Curious to hear your thoughts.


Examples off the top of my head (recent quality titles only)

Available on PC and xbox/ps3, PC version better:
Orange Box
Half Life 2
Mass Effects
Bioshock
Call of Duty 4
Oblivion
Lost Planet
Gears of War
Jade Empire

Available on PC and xbox/ps3, console version better:
Guitar Hero III
[EA sport] 2k8

Console (multiplatform) only:
Rock Band
GTA IV (PC release 11/18/08)

Edit: Corrected resolution comments, I forgot 1080 refers to vertical not horizontal resolution.
 
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Cheapy and Wombat,
I was commpletely addicted to Puzzle Quest on the PSP. Do you know why it does not seem like it is going to be released on PSN or PSP? On the official website it says "PC, Xbox 360 Live Arcade and Nintendo DS".
 
Dear weiners,

I know we are in the relative infancy of the current generation, but given Microsoft's propensity to leak insider information--whether intentional or otherwise--which of the three console makers do you think will tip their hand first about the development of the next gen console? Who will have smelled it and will have therefore dealt it?

I don't really have a preference one way or another, this is just an exercise in oddsmaking.

Congrats on your baby-making prowess.
 
CheapyD and that other guy (j/k Wombat),
Long time Listener, first time caller... Love the show first off. Is Sapporo in Japan like Budweiser in the US? I've had it over here a few times and it's not bad, but it does seem a bit like budweiser, coors, or miller in that it's a cheaply made beer just good enough for the masses but not for the beer enthusiast. If Sapporo is not the best that Japan has to offer in the terms of beer, what is?

Thanks.
 
Hey Cheapy and Wombat,

Since this week marked the 9th anniversary of the Dreamcast's US launch, what if any thing do you think Sega's last home console contributed to the current console marketplace?

What Dreamcast titles do you look back on fondly?
 
Cheapy and Wombat,

In the last podcast you guys talked about retailers selling used games, piracy, etc... You seemed to think digital distribution would be a solution for publishers, but do you think data transfer caps (like the one Comcast just set) have pretty much killed any hope for digital distribution? Granted, 250GB (Comcast) is plenty right now, but people are moving to the Internet more and more for entertainment and I don't think it will be long before 250GB isn't enough.

Games are getting bigger
Movies are being streamed
Online play (who knows how much bandwidth that uses??)
Television is transitioning
General Internet Use

I think hope for digital distribution ever being a real thing is fading.

Also, just my 2 cents, but I think the only way publishers will ever make a dent against piracy is to start selling games at a $30 - $35 price point. I only wish a publisher would be brave enough to try it and see if they didn't sell enough additional copies to make up for the huge price cut.

-
eJohnny
 
Wombat, I imagine you have more to say about this. In case you haven't seen the official roster for the MK vs DCU, here it is:
Baraka
Batman
Catwoman
Darkseid
Deathstroke
Flash
Green Lantern
Jax
Joker
Kano
Kitana
Lex Luthor
Liu Kang
Raiden
Scorpion
Shang Tsung
Shao Khan
Shazam
Sonya
Sub Zero
Superman
Wonderwoman
I'm kind of disappointed with their choices. No Aquaman or Hawkman? Where's Goro and Shiva? How would you spice up this list?
 
Cheapy and Wombat, what are your thoughts on Wipeout HD? Are you gonna get it? It looks awesome.
 
Cheapy I come before you as a humble CAG of the last 4 years asking for your help. You see I am about to defect from ebay due to their latest shenanigans of increasing fees, taking away the option of paying by check or money order, and setting a "maximum" allowable rate that one can charge for shipping and handling. See here for the discussion http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=196493

Long story short- I would like to take more of my buying and selling of games away from ebay and more toward Amazon and CAG. I am tired of feeding the hungry ebay monster. The more fees you feed it (and Paypal) the hungrier it gets and the more it takes away from sellers. Ebay is supposed to be a venue- I don't remember any other venues like the swap meet or the classified ads in the newspaper setting the price that I can or cannot charge for something and telling me which methods of payment I will and won't take. I would like to use CAG more for my gaming buying and selling needs.

I am far from a Powerseller or anything like that but I do have a wife and kid and a house and they come first. Any games I want to buy I usually fund by selling other games. If I find that copy of Final Fantasy 7 in a pawn shop for $5 you can bet your ass I am going to sell it to pay for Gears of War 2. I would like to see the CAG trading thread grow and expand into a more user friendly venue.

I would like to see a textbox on an individual's trading thread that is searchable. For example I would like to do a specific search for say any CAG selling Uncharted Drake's Fortune on PS3 complete for $20 shipped or under. I would like to filter it to only show those threads with it for sale for that price or cheaper. If nobody is selling it for that cheap I would like it to say "no results found" and not pull up a bunch of threads in other forums that have the name of that game in the thread but are otherwise irrelevant to what I am looking for. Using the search command often does this and I am wasting lots of time searching through the search results only to find threads where the game is on someone's WANT list and not their SELL list or maybe they are selling the GUIDE and not the actual game. Any changes like this in the works?
 
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