Moment of Silence

Driving home I discovered some sad news the other day. The Blockbuster Video in my city is closing. The Blockbuster in neighboring cities and towns have already closed, and I was hoping the one in my city would last. I was wrong. It hurts my heart to see you go. I can't go inside the store during this time. I might just cry.

Sure I have a GameFly account to fallback on, but Blockbuster was special. Blockbuster had every game I could ever want available on the day of it's release. I've played LittleBigPlanet 2, Splinter Cell Conviction, Donkey Kong Returns, Super Mario Galaxy 2, and many more first day thanks to Blockbuster. It seems like the only way I'm going to be able to play a game on it's release date is if I buy it at retail price. $50-$60 dollars for a videogame is not in my budget these days. Looks like I'm stuck waiting on GameFly to deliver my games. Heaven forbid two games I want to play are released on the same day.

Part of me feels like I caused this. I signed up for an account at a Blockbuster 20 minutes away from my house. I decided to rent LBP 2 and there was a Blockbuster down the street from where I was driving. The next time I drive by the Blockbuster in my city I find out it's closing. I always used a joint account at the Blockbuster in my city. I feel like if I had signed up that solo account in my city it wouldn't be closing. It's hard to see you go. Yeah there's the Blockbuster 20 minutes away from my house, but how much longer does that one have? It feels like only a matter of time before I'm campaigning for a videogame version of RedBox.

Long Live Guitar Hero

I hereby nominate Guitar Hero for the Videogame Hall of Fame. I hope to see a statue of Bobby Kotick holding a guitar at the exhibit. That way I'm reminded of why it only took 6 years for Guitar Hero to end up here. The Myspace of the Music Genre, it's sad to see you fall to Rock Band. Goodbye Guitar Hero. I'll see you at the 10 year anniversary.

The Tough Crowd

Bitmob is a tough crowd. Ever since I said some unfriendly things about certain journalists it seems like I'm on everyone's hate list. My comments went from supportive to now feeling like I get judged my earlier actions on the website. I don't have to ask for permission to speak my mind. I can and will exercise my first amendment right whenever I choose.

My biggest pet peeve is people telling me what they think I should add to my posts. I don't remember asking if anything was missing. It's a condescending way of saying you wish you had thought of what I wrote. If you really think I should add something to my blog, write your own post. Expand on what I said and add a new perspective. You never know it might motivate the next person to write a blog. Instead of trying to ruin my momentum, we could work together to get more people motivated.

The problem I have is I'm not sure if you're a fan or an enemy of my work. If you're a fan why does my writing have to be graded? I just want to write about videogames, and hear different perspectives. I've come to realize I probably won't make many friends in the gaming industry. I'm cool with that. You don't have to like me, but you could at least respect me enough to not belittle my writing. Let Me Do Me.

Is a Passion for Videogames Required?

Is every journalist in the gaming industry passionate about videogames? With all of the hurdles I've encountered, I couldn't see how a person who didn't love videogames would try make it in the door. Maybe the door was wide open for these writers disguised as gaming journalists. They say it's all about who you know. I always figured the people who claim they play videogames for a living were proud of it. I'm proud to blog about videogames, and I've yet to make a penny from it. Should a passion for videogames be required to be a journalist in the gaming industry?

No

Let's face it some journalists in the gaming industry suck at writing. Reading some of their stuff makes me wonder how some of these people are even allowed to write. Spelling and grammatical errors can ruin the point of any article. These journalists who suck at writing often use their passion for videogames as an excuse to remain in the industry. They can go on and on about why Dead Space 2 is great in a Youtube clip, which makes it easier to overlook the poorly written review by the same person. Passion should not take the place of writing ability.

Just because your passionate doesn't mean you're not biased. Lets say Uncharted is your favorite series in videogames. Nothing wrong with that it's an awesome series. It is wrong if you compare every third party action adventure game to Uncharted. Deducting points from games like Grand Theft Auto & Dead Space because the characters can't climb structures, or move like Drake is unfair.

Yes

Journalists are the bridge between developers and the gamers who play their games. The majority of people who read magazine and check gaming websites are passionate about videogames. It's the responsibility of the journalist to understand that passion. If the next Grand Theft Auto isn't as good as the previous (which I doubt,) I want a journalist to be able to tell me why. If there's no passion a journalist would probably point to technical errors such as glitches and bugs, while a passionate journalists might explain how the story, atmosphere, controls, or overall gameplay isn't as good.

If a journalist has no passion for videogames whose to say their best interest is in the quality of videogames? I'm not sure about the politics inside the gaming industry, but I think it'd be easier to sway a journalists decision if they weren't passionate. I'm sure every journalist who was invited to Duke Nukem's Titty City in Las Vegas will remember that day when they write their review for Duke Nukem Forever. A journalist could easily overlook the bad in the videogame because of the fun they had at an event if they weren't passionate.

 

Regardless of whether or not you're passionate about videogames, you must realize this is a culture. If you're not invested in making the culture better for the future then why are you here? I figure my contribution to the culture is worth more important than a price, which is why I take pride in my blog. I don't read a lot of other stuff from gaming journalists, but I think you can separate the passionate journalists from the rest. It is unfortunate that so many passionate gamers are trying to make it in the industry while there are some people only in it for a paycheck, but that's reality.

Duke Nukem Forever?

Who the fuck is Duke Nukem? He's the guy that invites a bunch of nerds to Las Vegas, brings them to Titty City on an extinct gas guzzler, and gets their dicks hard in the Champagne Room. Duke Nukem GTFOH. You're a myth. All you've done was interrupt the release of the next Borderlands. If the next Borderlands sucks, I'm blaming you.

Victory

I felt as though I had something to prove. Turns out I already proved it. I brought out the bitch in a bunch of phonies and made them run scared. Now they know my name and what I'm about. Back to what made my website so awesome, the videogames. I might even do a review. You never know with me. Gotta keep them guessing.

The Final Statement

School Day

Threats from Hip Hop Gamer

"I'm a see you, you know what time it is and if you dont you gonna find out."

- HipHopGamer

I take that as a threat. I have no clue what this guy is talking about. What am I gonna find out? Is he planning something violent against me? This hardcore thug stuff is not me. Hip Hop challenged me to a boxing match and I declined. Seeing as how he doesn't want to talk about this rap battle I have a feeling he's planning something violent against me. I plan on having a good time PAX East, and I'm also hoping to win $500 dollars in a battle against Hip Hop Gamer. That is it.

I personally have no beef with Hip Hop Gamer. I don't know the guy, which is why I take the email as a threat. I don't know what this guy is capable of. He presents himself in a way that makes me think I should watch my back. If this guy would contact me we could resolve my concerns. I just want the opportunity to win $500 dollars against the Hip Hop Gamer. I'm not here to fight or do anything violent.

Black Journalists in the Gaming Industry: Torrence Davis

I know of three black journalists in the gaming industry. N'Gai Croal, Torrence Davis, and Gerard Williams aka the Hip Hop Gamer. I've yet to get in contact with N'Gai Croal because honestly I'm intimidated. He seems like that incredibly smart kid I'd want to sit next to during a test. It's kind of sad because I'm basically judging him off of his tweets, but it's true. The other two have done nothing more than try to make my life a living hell.

Let's start with my biggest detractor Torrence Davis. Editor in Chief of TheBitBag.com. This man invited me on his Warzone Podcast as a special guest to resolve some tension I had with the Hip Hop Gamer. While I was on the show Torrence remained neutral, and offered his support once Hip Hop and I agreed on a rap battle at PAX East. Torrence said his connections with SFX-360 would get us a slot at the Gamer's Gone Wild to perform the battle. That all changed after last Friday's Warzone Podcast.

I was granted the opportunity to comment on the special guest of episode 115 Blackbuster. It was a Friday night, and I had a few drinks in my system by the time I was given the floor. The conversation started off good. Hip Hop Gamer and I were trying to figure out why this guy was on the show. Then someone said the wrong thing, and I spazzed. Torrence kicked me out of the room. I returned moments later acting like a drunken idiot. Two minutes later I was banned from the show. I woke up feeling like a fool the next morning so I went to Twitter and apologized to the Bitbag and Torrence for my actions. He banned me for life from the Warzone. A bit harsh, but I accept the consequences of being drunk on a Friday night. I figured we could move on from this isolated incident. Turns out the drama was just beginning.

Torrence begins sending me insults disguised as advice because apparently he feels the need to teach me a lesson. I respect the mans loyalty to the Hip Hop Gamer. He begins tweeting about how I'm going to lose the battle and things like that. Funny how he was so neutral on the Warzone. He then goes on about how he's not going to help organize the event at Gamer's Gone Wild. I get that he's upset, but I figured the battle was going to presented by The Bit Bag. I guess not. I contact SFX-360, the group who organizes the Gamer's Gone Wild Party, via email and ask if we could make the battle happen at the party. SFX-360 responds to my email via a public Twitter response in which the deny my battle. Not only is that a little embarrassing, its unprofessional to respond to a personal email via Twitter. I kept that personal for a reason.

I mention the situation with SFX-360 because Torrence is taking credit for shutting it down. He's saying that he told Ross at SFX-360 to not host the battle, or let me into the party. Why is Torrence trying so hard to shut this battle down? Is he that bent out of shape over a drunk college kid taking up 2 minutes of his three hour podcast? He said it was up to me and Hip Hop to work out the details, so let me and Hip Hop handle business. Stop standing in the way. This angry black man act is hurting more than its helping. I'm almost sure this battle could end the tension I have with Hip Hop Gamer. If this battle doesn't happen the situation is only going to get worse. It's bad enough Hip Hop Gamer sends me threats when I try to contact him. If you don't want anything to do with it Torrence then sit down and keep your mouth shut. You're making us all look bad.

Message to The Hip Hop Gamer