It was a big year for videogaming – the console war began to cool down, some great games were released, World of Warcraft was expanded, and Jack Thompson is facing disbarment.
Here are my picks for top gaming news stories of 2007.
Mar. 14: Games for Windows – LIVE launches
There are a few problems with Microsoft’s PC-based version of Xbox Live. For one thing, it costs money – PC gamers didn’t have to deal with that issue until now. Second, you need Windows Vista to use it – and very few people are willing to install Vista, which has a variety of problems.
The biggest gaming news story of the year: StarCraft II, the sequel to the seminal RTS and Best Game Ever Written, is announced at the Worldwide Invitational in Seoul, South Korea. Nick “Tasteless” Plott’s head explodes. Read more »
Saratoga Springs, New York dumbass Joshua Stetar was arrested Friday on felony stalking charges after harassing a 15-year-old Spokane girl over Xbox Live.
In other news, there was a girl on Xbox Live. Read more »
Nick “Tasteless” Plott, famed shoutcaster and pretty damned good StarCraft player, has made a statement on TeamLiquid.net that he’s going to Korea to work on Arirang TV as an RTS commentator. Check it:
For those of you who don’t know me I’m Nick Plott also known as “Tasteless.” I’ve been a competitive gamer on SC since the game has come out and have since then moved on to shoutcast many live tournaments such as WCG, Blizzcon and others. I do this because I love this game and e-sports in general and also have a long-term interest in helping its growth. A week ago I was informed that Arirang TV has been looking for an English RTS caster. I am very happy to tell you all I have been accepted for this position and will now be broadcasting on Korean national television.
Personally (and I think I speak for everyone) I wish him the best luck in the world to his new career in Korea. Tasteless is first in line when it comes to being a badass English StarCraft shoutcaster, but he’ll also need to learn Warcraft III to do his new job. Presumably, he will also be shoutcasting StarCraft II if it launches during his tenure there.
GGL’s resident video producer Chachi Ramirez is sounding off about his year. Find out what makes this quirky, hairy, crazy video producer tick, and see his contributions to Epileptic Gaming daily on epilepticgaming.ggl.com.
It had been three years in making…my dreams of making movies had finally come true. Although everything in this statement is true nothing about the last three years had been dreamlike. When you are from a small town in Texas, Hollywood seems like a distant and unimaginable cosmos of money, women and fame. I would sit through all my years of High School hoping to someday visit that West Coast Wonderland.
Little did I know that my future trajectory would land me right in the middle of this place we all know as Hollywood. Fast forward five years after high school…I am sitting in an apartment on Beachwood drive editing a feature film, 500 feet away from me perched on the mountain side is the Hollywood sign. I was sure I had made it!
Fast forward another three years, I had just finished producing my third HD feature film in Los Angeles. I was sitting in a bar with my roommate/BFF with thirteen dollars in my pocket and a mind full of thoughts about when my next job will come. I turn to my friend Shane (BFF) and tell him if I don’t get a full time job soon I might give up and go home. He looked at me and said he had an idea… Read more »
Daryl Hill, a father from Cooksville, Tennessee certainly had some explaining to do this Christmas.
The man had purchased three MP3 players over the holiday season from a local Wal-mart, to give as Christmas presents to his daughters.
However, one of the daughters had a … most interesting holiday when she realized that her device was preloaded with pornography and explicit songs. Apparently the device had been returned to the store, and the previous owner had loaded sex clips and songs with lyrics describing drug use. Daryl Hill reported on Thursday that within 10 minutes his daughter was crying,
“I wished I could take the thoughts and images out of her head,” he said.
The father questions why the retail giant would sell used merchandise, as new, which reportedly breaks the company’s policy. Hill plans to keep the “controversial” device until he discusses his holiday’s happenings with a lawyer.
If I were in the shoes of that lucky daughter who received the free porn, I’d thank the retail giant for giving me the opportunity to use money on other things than a subscription renewal to BangBros. Oh, wait.
Street Fighter IV has been polarizing gamers since the first screen shots were released. Many complained that the art direction was too “Americanized”. Well today game play footage was released in the form of a 20 minute documentary esque video from 1up.com.
I have always been a hardcore Street Fighter fan. To this day, if there is an argument among my roommates, it’s settled in a game of Street Fighter Alpha 3 or Street Fighter III: Third Strike. I don’t know how to feel about the new Street Fighter. I guess I’ll just have to wait to get my hands on it before I open my mouth.
Much of my youth was spent in the dying arcades of Cleveland area malls. I would drop quarter after quarter into machines hoping to get to the next boss before my mom made me come home. One particular game series that captivated me was the Metal Slug games.
Lucky for me, Metal Slug 3 will be hitting Xbox Live Arcade this Wednesday. If you have never seen the game, it is a shooter, much like Contra, except done in a more cartoony style (if such a thing is possible). There are vehicles, weapon power ups and, of course, ridiculously difficult bosses.
The chance to beat this game without dropping $30 in quarters is what has me so excited. Costing only 800 MS points ($10 for those of you who aren’t micro-transaction savvy) the game will feature updated 720p graphics and online co-op.
If you have never played it, definitely download the demo and give it a try. I know I’m going to download it as soon as possible.
If I were asked to describe the development of Defense of the Ancients within the past year, only one word comes to mind: upheaval.
2007 heralded over fifteen DotA maps released to the public, a handful of new heroes and items introduced into the title, and the emergence of a multitude of new international teams and superstars. Only this month, the German multi-gaming organization MouseSports announced the addition of the DotA squad Back to Basics. This comes on the heels of SK-Gaming’s very own announcement of a DotA sponsorship; it seems that everyone these days wants to get a piece of the pie. MouseSports and SK-Gaming increase the number of “big name” multi-gaming organizations supporting DotA to six: Meet Your Makers, SK-Gaming, eMazing Gaming, MouseSports, Virtus.pro, and Team Pandemic. Read more »
Mar. 14: Games for Windows – LIVE launches
May 18: StarCraft II announced
Nick “Tasteless” Plott, famed shoutcaster and pretty damned good StarCraft player, has made a statement on 
Daryl Hill, a father from Cooksville, Tennessee certainly had some explaining to do this Christmas.
Much of my youth was spent in the dying arcades of Cleveland area malls. I would drop quarter after quarter into machines hoping to get to the next boss before my mom made me come home. One particular game series that captivated me was the Metal Slug games.
