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Nerds Without Pants   

Nerds Without Pants Episode 25: One Box to Rule Them All

I said a flip, flop, the flippy the flippy to the flip flip flop...

Hi, we’re Nerds Without Pants, and we would like to bring you this podcast that you can never share with anyone you know, and for the low, low price of 499.99. If you don’t like that, you can listen to the radio. Actually, never mind. Feel free to share this with anyone and everyone. We’re sorry. (In case you didn’t figure it out, this week is all about the Xbox One.)

We kick things off with the most random edition of Consumption Junction ever. Angelo joins us this week, and we have some Statham Sightings ™, discuss the size of Liam Neeson’s package, Wikipedia insecurities, The Last of Us, Project x Zone, anime love pillows, and more. Patrick has an Animal Crossing addiction, and Julian makes awkward segways.

Then, it’s all Xbox, all the time, and you don’t even have to check in every 24 hours to enjoy this podcast! We go in chronological order: from the initial reveal to all of the gaffes surrounding E3 and the flip flop heard ‘round the world. The Nerds take Microsoft’s PR campaign to task, hitting home the point that, while the Xbox One could have had some interesting and futuristic benefits to players, nothing was done to educate people on that potential. Don’t count the XBO out just yet, though. With the recent backing off of their DRM policy the winds could shift in their favor. Of course, there’s still that 499 price point to deal with…

FEATURED MUSIC:

Theme From The A-Team

Theme From Night Court

Theme From Buffy the Vampire Slayer


 

Comments

BrokenH

06/28/2013 at 01:03 PM

I believe the console will do well personally. It'll probably be like the PS3 was this gen. Aka, have a bumpy & crummy start but eventually it'll pick up its' stride and have really nice exclusives.

 Be that as it may, I think it's kind of unfair to turn angst upon gamers who are still angry about how the system was originally advertised.(Not talking about the podcast itself, mates. I'm more talking about that meme at the bottom. lol.) Let's be frank. EVERYONE was pissed off about how the X box 1 originally was and you can't blame gamers for being paranoid even after microsoft said "Oh, we're sorry! We take everything back!".

 We were also told from the start by Nelson and Mattrick that the system was designed from the ground up to support its' features yet look how easy it actually was to change it. You can't really blame gamers for not trusting these guys. They're more slippery than eels.

 I have nothing against gamers who will give microsoft another chance. We really need competition to encourage creativity and innovation within the industry. However, we shouldn't level any vitriol at gamers who are not so quick to forgive. You know the saying. Once bitten twice shy!

 

 

 

 

 

Julian Titus Senior Editor

06/29/2013 at 12:55 AM

I actually wasn't all that pissed at the DRM thing. It just wasn't for me as a collector. But the more I think about it the less it bothers me. With instruction manuals gone bye bye there really isn't anything special about owning the discs anymore, barring collector's editions. I was more concerned about the always on Kinect, to be honest.

There was someone on a podcast I listened to who said things would have been different if the XBO simply didn't have a disc drive, and I have to agree. Don't get me wrong: I'm happy that MS changed the system, but it's only prolonging the inevitable.

BrokenH

06/29/2013 at 06:30 PM

Most of us have no problem with the "Steam model". The problem is microsoft had a lot of red tape restrictions along with it. Also, we don't know how "great" the family plan could have been because MS was so obscure about it in the beginning. Now they can simply make something up to tell us how great it was just to redirect an angry lynch mob at the gamers who rebelled so hard against them in the first place.

Online sharing and online distribution are great ideas but not when there's a 24 hour check, 1 hour check when playing games at a friend's house, and a limitation put upon consumers when it comes to which retailers they can buy from. Add all this atop charging indie game developers fees to patch their own games, region locking,and the possibility ot MS being in bed with the NSA and it's easy to understand why so many people were upset.

It had nothing to do with "gamers refusing to accept the future". We simply didn't want to lose consumer rights and have our privacy violated.

Julian Titus Senior Editor

06/30/2013 at 09:35 PM

I'd just like to say that I was able to make it through 2 minutes of that guy's Angry Rant (Part 2). I have no interest in listening to people like him. If you feel the need to get that angry and yell into a camera for 25 minutes it's time to find a new hobby. It's people like him that make this past time seem immature to other people.

BrokenH

07/01/2013 at 04:10 PM

Julian "Angry Joe" is Joe's personality on youtube. lol. That and he's not always "angry" nor is Alpha Omega Sin. Honestly, I'd be more worried about anyone who never expresses any emotions and just "goes with the flow" when the status quo is wrong.

I don't think geeks should "nerd-rage" over everything but there are times we need to express our discontent otherwise we'll get trampled on.

Julian Titus Senior Editor

07/01/2013 at 04:35 PM

If you're upset about something in the industry, by all means, be upset. By all means, get on YouTube and express that. I think this whole "raging fan" thing that people do is not constructive at all. If you can't get your point across without yelling or cussing you don't really need to be out there doing so. Just because you can doesn't mean you should.I have a persona I use for NWP, but I'd like to think that I communicate my points in a level headed way.

BrokenH

07/01/2013 at 04:47 PM

Joe does get his points across in a constructive way and so does Sin. Sure, some of the vernacular used is lewd & crude but should that undermine a good point?

I mean we have politicians and reporters that sling a lot of mud, sweeping generalizations,ad hominems, and scapegoating attempts without a single cuss word said. Should I respect them more just because they use "proper english"? I recall a lot of propaganda from World War II being "very polite" despite the ugly message beneath the layers.

Julian Titus Senior Editor

07/01/2013 at 05:21 PM

I'm just at this point where I'm over it. I think it's immature, and while I love me some immaturity, it doesn't do any good when you're trying to explain to people that gaming is growing up and all the best examples of commentators are screaming into their mics and cameras. To be fair, I didn't watch the rest of the video as I said, but it's very difficult for me to differentiate between people with an actual point and people like that guy Francis. It's all just noise to me.

BrokenH

07/01/2013 at 05:30 PM

I just don't like the big turn around. Aka, anyone "angry" at ms during E3 or afterwards is somehow wrong now for sticking up for basic consumer rights.

Noone minded online distribution, online sharing, and online networking. There seems to be the huge misconception those of us who protested ms were against those things and are somehow "against the future". That wasn't it at all.

It was the red tape policies and potential invasion of privacy we were against. That and a console potentially becoming a lifeless plastic paperweight when no longer supported online.

Glad your wounds have healed Julian but it will not be the same for everyone. My trust is shaken in Microsoft and this comes from someone who is a proud owner of a 360.

Besides, who is to say they will not try slowly & gradually change their policies back to the old ways over time? THey reserve the right to do that.

However, I'm hoping common sense will prevail and they've learned a valuable lesson.

Julian Titus Senior Editor

07/01/2013 at 05:40 PM

I don't think that anyone who was angry at MS was "wrong". Their policies wouldn't have affected me besides being a collector, and if I had bought an XBO I would have done anything I could to get around the always on Kinect. MS should have gotten out in front of this and kept people from getting this angry.

I just don't see the need to scream about it. Again, it's a matter of tone, not of message for me. And I think you're mistaking my writing and this podcast as me supporting MS, or being happy at the situation. I wasn't happy about the situation, but the way I dealt with it was by pre-ordering a PS4. I have no plans on buying an XBO, and I've already pulled out of Live.

Now, if Sony decided to inact the same policies later on down the road you can expect me to get angry, because it's not something that I'm signing up for with this new machine, where at least the XBO was going to try and do it from day one. But I'll reiterate that this is going to happen at some point in the future, and when it does I'll most likely no longer follow the bleeding edge of video games.

BrokenH

07/01/2013 at 05:48 PM

I'm all for keeping it cool. But there is a time to get angry,bro. You may not like people when they're angry but it doesn't mean they don't have something important to say. Not everyone can be a calm and rational vulcan about every issue.

I'm just tired of the "Hey, let's sweep this under the rug like it never happened!" philosophy. I think we should remember it did happen so history doesn't repeat itself.

Maybe that's not what you're trying to get across either but I don't like being told how I should feel and how I should behave. Again, you're probably not even insinuating that. It could be I've just been stressed the last few days. Still, I don't feel ashamed for being angry initially. Besides, Angry Joe and Omega Sin have probably moved on too. Give those guys the benefit of the doubt.

Julian Titus Senior Editor

07/01/2013 at 05:58 PM

Yeah, I'm not telling anyone how to feel. All I'm saying is you can express those feelings in a way that people can get behind.

I have a terrible temper, and I can get as hot as the best of them. But I'm at the point where I'd much rather be like Jake "The Snake" Roberts, where the angrier I get the softer I get, to the point that everyone in the room can't help but stop and listen. Just a different way of going about things. And fear not, I won't be sweeping this under the rug, and I doubt most people will. This is the horse armor of the 8th generation. It will be brought up for years to come, especially if MS keeps disappointing, like with their "Games for Gold" offerings not being Assassin's Creed 2 and Halo 3 but some XBLA game instead.

BrokenH

07/01/2013 at 06:05 PM

I envy you then. lol. My anger tends to be more loud and Hulkish. Sorry, just after reading youtube comments like "The X box 1 would have been better the old way!" and "We lost a good plan cuz of the sony-tards!" I was at the end of my rope. That's about the time I listened to this podcast so I didn't come into it with a balanced perspective.

transmet2033

06/28/2013 at 07:24 PM

From what I understand the Sega Saturn is not the third console.  SG-1000, Master System, Genesis, Saturn.  I looked at the numbers back when the Xbox One was announced, and there was no comparison.  The Saturn is such an outlier that you cannot really count it anyways.

Julian Titus Senior Editor

06/29/2013 at 12:53 AM

I pride myself on my knowledge of video game history, and this is literally the first time I've heard of the SG-1000. Well played, sir!

transmet2033

06/29/2013 at 10:02 AM

I found out about it a couple of weeks ago in some comment feed.  Then I stumbled upon it again over at usgamer.net.  It seems to be a Japan only, so I suppose as far as NA releases are concerned the Saturn is still the third console.  It is just an interesting piece of knowledge that I thought I would pass on.

I was starting to compile the numbers for to compare the ps3, n64 and saturn.  It is really interesting looking at these consoles compared to their predecessors.

Our Take

Angelo Grant Staff Writer

07/01/2013 at 04:29 PM

OH, by the way, when my wife told me how many hours she had into Dragon Quest IX, she was guessing. She was off.

WAY off

SCARY!!!

Julian Titus Senior Editor

07/01/2013 at 04:37 PM

I'd say she has a problem, but I'm sure if you added up your total game time since she started DQ IX you'd still come out ahead.

Angelo Grant Staff Writer

07/01/2013 at 04:46 PM

Very true, I just can't believe she spent that long playing ONE GAME! That's dedication man!

Super Step Contributing Writer

07/01/2013 at 05:50 PM

I know what you guys mean about digital media being more convenient. My ... not really flip-flop towards XBO could have also happened if they had clarified that you would have a removable/upgradeable Hard Drive (I was a bit surprised to see PS4 had one, XBO didn't) and could download your games there instead of the cloud. Hell, maybe they could have said "you can copy the stuff you buy from your hard drive to a blank Blu-Ray;" best of both worlds, without the unnecessary cost on their end to distribute boxes at that point.

It didn't help that our Time Warner cable was being screwy at the same time the XBO stuff came out, but I also don't trust the cloud and having my stuff on servers. I feel at least a little differently about digital downloads to something I own that is in my house, like a Hard Drive.

Angelko's right about people that are really invested in Halo though; I'd be interested in more of what he had to say about how they actually nailed their core audience, I think he has a point: FPS fans with good broadband who are also active television viewers could very easily be their biggest demographic, it wouldn't surprise me.

Julian Titus Senior Editor

07/01/2013 at 06:31 PM

I don't want to speak for Angelo, but what I got from him saying that they nailed their core audience I think he was talking about the Xbox 360 owner that's been in the Live eco system for years and always has their console connected. They showed a lot of awesome, competitive and multiplayer games that would play to that base very well.

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