I hate “The Big Bang Theory.” Understand that I don’t use hate often to describe something, but such is the case with that particular show. As an “out and proud” nerd such as it were, every time someone tells me that I must naturally love “The Big Bang Theory,” I tend to involuntarily cringe.

For the most part, I feel the way about many popular gaming YouTube personalities for largely the same reason. I find the quality of their content to be creatively cheap, and a bad image for the culture they have become the most vocal representatives of.

Of course please understand that isn’t meant as a blanket review of all gaming YouTube personalities. For instance, John Bain (better known by the handle TotalBiscuit), is one of  my most trusted gaming critics. For the most part though, the popular path to YouTube gaming fame of yelling at games and making cheap jokes along the way (let’s call it the PewDiePie effect) just doesn’t appeal to me, and quite honestly I don’t think it is meant to.

It’s what has me somewhat conflicted about the recent YouTube content ID incident, which is threatening the livelihood, and in some cases very existence, of many of those YouTube personalities and their channels.

On one hand, I think that the literal implementation of archaic property and copyright laws that just don’t easily apply to video games is yet another in a shameful line of examples of the “world at large” not being sure exactly how to incorporate the medium properly into everyday life, business, and culture. I also do truly feel that these sanctions (many of which are completely bogus mind you) are just a taste of the world that is forming, in which the power and abilities of the individual is overshadowed almost entirely by that of the conglomerate, making it closer to impossible every day for that individual to shape their own fortune and make their own mark regardless of their current position in the world.

On the other hand, in terms of the content that we are potentially losing, I’m by and large unaffected. While there are some people hurt by this that I will miss, in the grand scheme of things from an entertainment perspective, I’m not ranking this occurrence with say the untimely cancellation of “Firefly.”

Maybe you share that opinion. Maybe you don’t. To be honest, I don’t really care. That’s not because I don’t respect your right to have an opinion on that particular subject, but rather because I feel that subject is very much worthy of debate, and of differing opinions.

However, if your stance on this topic is one of joy because you feel that the role of YouTube personality shouldn’t be considered a real job, and that these people have been just coasting along off of a broken system, then I’m here to call you out for being wrong. On that subject, I leave no room for debate.

What you have to understand is this. The people who are potentially most affected by these policies (and the ones still to come) are the people who work hardest at what they do. They are not the ones that throw on a webcam, get a cheap mic, record their game play, and hastily throw it online with some poorly chosen metal music as bookends and call it a day. They are people who have learned genuine skills and talents, and have put forth 70-80 hours a week for years of their lives to get where they are today, which is a position to do what they love for a living.

It’s true that many of them were using pre-existing content as the crux of their works, but since when was that a crime in and of itself? Many of those who are being harmed most by this had the proper permission to use the content they were featuring at the time they used it. To criticize them for doing so is not different that criticizing the “Mystery Science Theater” cast for just piggybacking off old movies, or to criticize “Siskel and Ebert” for just judging original works and making a living off of it. Hell, while you’re at it, you might as well damn every gaming website and blog who make their livings by reporting on the industry as opposed to solely creating original content.

Many people don’t do that, though. Why? What is the difference? Is it the YouTube format? Is that what makes people completely disregard the genuine hard work that went into these people getting to where they are at in life and instead dance on the grave of their dreams while its slowly being dug?

If so, that’s a real shame. Yes I admit the concept of a grown person essentially playing video games for a living doesn’t really qualify as the most practical, or certainly noble, of pursuits. However, it is what they love doing, and through a combination of ambition, luck, skill, ability, persistence, and most importantly hard work they found a way to use the very slim opening that YouTube afforded them, and turn it into a something they could not only live off of, but take pride in.

There was a time when that kind of ambition and recklessness was admired and rewarded. It wasn’t always rewarded with financial gain mind you, but spiritually it was the kind of action treated with respect and looked upon for inspiration to make more of yourself and to retain the belief that with the right combination of work and passion you too could make something better for yourself, and maybe even achieve your dreams.

And now that same effort is being mocked. Maybe by only a minute portion of the jaded and uninformed (or possibly just the usual trolls), but even then that is too many. The idea that you are not a master of your own fate, and rather a slave to some idea of how things may be is a mental poison that is corrupting this world a little more each day and can in no way be tolerated by anyone with a shred of hope and life left in them.

Call out these YouTube personalities all you want for the quality of their work. Critique them, question them, or just ignore them entirely if you choose. But never, ever, deny those that truly deserve it respect for the work they put in to get where they are and their willingness to aim for something greater regardless of whether or not it was through traditional means.

Do that, and you might as well deny all of those born without a silver spoon in their mouth the right to eat.

When I was 10, all I wanted was a Dreamcast. It was the first system launch that I was intimately aware of, having just begun to absorb myself in the industry enough to be convinced at the time that it would be, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the absolute greatest system quite possibly in the history of ever.

However, as luck and the family finances would have it, I unfortunately did not get a Dreamcast that year, or any other. Don’t feel sorry for 10 year old me though, because the following Christmas I was gifted with a PS2, which was not only the hottest item of the year, but would go on to have a long and healthy life span full of classic all time games. It was, by all logical regards, a win.

Still a question enters my mind from time to time. If I could go back and tell 10 year old me to calm down, and not freak out about not getting a Dreamcast because it wasn’t going to last long anyway, would 10 year old me have listened? There’s a part of me that hates being wrong that believes it wouldn’t have mattered and my thoughts regarding the Dreamcast wouldn’t have changed overnight, despite the recently acquired knowledge of its eventual fate.

Pragmatically, however, that wouldn’t be the case. Had I known, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the Sega Dreamcast despite being an incredible system in its own right, would only have a viable shelf-life of just over a year, I probably would have calmed down and transferred my hype to the pending PS2 release. After all, no matter what your age you never want to spend a substantial amount of money on a product that simply won’t last, and doesn’t fit your needs. As such, at the time I would have wished, and even craved, for that person to come along.

To Buy…Or Not to Buy?

Of course, the above scenario is just fantasy theorizing that’s impossible barring the acquirement of some sort of 80’s sports car time traveling device, but it is, nonetheless, representative of a very real issue facing gamers as we approach another multiple system console launch.

Specifically its in regards to the recent incident where Adam Sessler took a stance on the “Resolutiongate” fiasco that the Xbox One found itself the center of, by saying that at this time its difficult to make the resolution of games the ultimate factor in deciding which system will be best, and that in the long run it’s ultimately meaningless when weighed against the value of good game design. Though it’s a pretty modest argument, and the only people really attacked in it are Microsoft and game developers for not making this information more well known, don’t try telling that to the hordes of people who lashed out at Adam Sessler for downplaying what is in the minds of many a very important aspect in terms of making a decision of which next gen console to invest in.

In an issue that has spun out of control as quickly and amazingly as this one has, it’s extremely important when trying to analyze it, to have the ability to step away from the melee of internet discussion boards and the like, and simply view the issue in and of itself, and really attempt to dissect just what this is and why it is happening.

Do that, and the first word you’ll probably take away from the whole thing is “fanboy.” There are many out there who are writing this off as a fanboy led argument and nothing more. While it’s true that there are certainly elements of fanboyism prevalent here, as with any discussion, fanboys in the accepted sense of the word are meaningless. Fanboys, or trolls, or whatever you want to call them are horrible creatures who live to spread madness and generally speaking make the world a worse place in any way they can. They are devoid of logic, and since logic is the thing needed most to really determine what’s at the heart of this issue, we will not factor the thoughts and actions of those groups in as much as possible.

After All, Is This a Person Whose Opinions You Want to Validate?

Instead this is really just another in a long line of incidents that show the growing resentment many people have towards gaming jounalism. Many of the people upset at this are actually perfectly rational consumers and gamers, who see this as another example of gaming journalists becoming more and more out of touch with the common gamer, and more and more comfortable with the gaming industry. Citing a prior comment Sessler once made on how 1080p should be the standard in the next generation, many of those same people are saying that his most recent stance on the subject is a hypocritical cop-out and, an indication that he is unwilling or unable to make a definitive decision on the next generation at this time.

Of course the answer to that is, no shit he isn’t able or willing. Adam Sessler is not a prophet from the future who is able to tell us what the fate of either system will be, or which one we would be better off buying. People who are expecting him to be that, however, are in fact the same 10 year old boy I once was who wants a Dreamcast at launch really, really badly and are desperate for someone to come along and give them a compelling reason to either justify those feelings, or banish them from their minds.

Buy into that, and you’ll begin to see that the problem is that the majority of the people on both sides of this issue are either otherwise perfectly rational people who have momentarily turned themselves into 10 year olds again as another system draws near, or are fanboys. Those are, of course, two groups not known for their ability to participate in a reasonable discussion on any matter without things turning messy.

Again ignoring the thoughts and whims of fanboys, and turning instead to solely address those who’ve momentarily lost their grasp of sanity in this issue, I say to you what I wish I could really go back and say to a young, fanatical, Dreamcast desiring me, which is grow up, and calm the hell down. It’s highly unlikely that you are in a situation where your life depends on purchasing an Xbox One or PS4 as quickly as possible, and its even more unlikely that it depends on you selecting the “right” one.

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Sony is a company with a checkered history of controller innovation. Sure they hit a sweet spot with the basic original PS1 controller which just felt right in your hands, but the biggest tech additions to that model (analog sticks and vibration) were lifted from the successful innovations of the N64. Even then they were so unsure regarding the whole “Analog” thing, that the original model of that controller had a button that allowed you to disable it, and the first game to require the sticks didn’t come to the PS1 until 1999.

Also, as the SixAxis proved, when it comes to home brewed innovations the folks at Sony lag behind. It would seem they are really vested in changing that image with the PS4 controller, which may maintain the timeless structure of the Dual Shock model, but introduces a miniature touch area, a share button of somewhat ambiguous specific functionality, and LED lights on top similar to those on the PS Move.

While the true test of these features won’t really be applicable until developers have had a year or so to play around with it and explore their full benefits, the folks behind “Thief 4” have provided a small preview of what we can expect from this new controller, specifically as it relates to the LED bar which in the case of “Thief” will remain dark when your character is hidden, and light gradually as you become more and more exposed. They’ve also noted that the touchpad will be used for enhanced menu navigation, and the more accurate motion sensors allow them to incorporate bow aiming mechanics into it, as well as a motion controlled dash option.

They also spoke of incorporating a mechanic that would allow you to blow onto a controller to blow out candles, but that it might be removed if it is “too gimmicky.”

Granted this isn’t game changing stuff, but it does remind me of the first time I played “Tiger Woods” on the PS2, and noticed how the enhanced graphics actually allowed me to better read the course at a glance, thus improving the gameplay through a cosmetic upgrade. It’s a little touch to be sure, but its an interesting first step towards what appears to be a new day for Sony controller integration and innovation.

Valve announced today that they are developing the beta for a new feature called Steam Family Sharing that will allow you to share your Steam library with close friends, just like you are lending them a physical game.

Though the full details are still unknown, the basic way the system appears to work is that up to 10 authorized friends can request to access your Steam account and download and play, through the cloud, most games you have available, and vice versa. To prevent abusing the system, if the user whose account you are borrowing from accesses their own account while you are using it, even if they are playing a different game than you are, you will be given a prompt that you have a few minutes to buy the game, or you will be kicked out.

Further details reveal that not every game will be available for sharing, though the specific games are unknown, and that purchased in-game items will not carry over to sharing, though it appears that DLC will. Also actions that can affect reputation in a game that are done by the player borrowing said game will carry over to the lender.

Though a few concerns and questions remain (Can a lender access his account when a game is installing to the borrower? If you’ve installed the game over the cloud and choose to buy it, does it have to be re-installed?) this is a tremendous idea that has been rumored for some time, but is still a welcome and exciting addition to Steam that provides a great opportunity to try out games that don’t usually have demos, as well as revive the borrowing concept, albeit in a slightly limited fashion.

Steam is accepting early beta applications now, while the release date for the full version is unknown.

Even though I recognize the superiority of e-books, I’m still hesitant to commit to the switch from the physical format, mostly because amidst all the discarded Snickers wrappers and empty beer bottles, my bookshelf of partially read literary classics is pretty much the only part of my apartment décor that identifies me as a an adult.

I never really though about it, but I suppose you can’t say the same about my game collection, as it kind of gives off that Gamestop-y vibe that isn’t usually associated with ideal interior decorating. Though I think my game collection reeks of class, looking at it from visitor eyes it does possibly makes me lose the adult cred I gained from that book shelf.

Thankfully etsy user JamesBit came up with a solution to this conundrum that will restore balance to your living room classiness, with his custom made game covers that are designed to look like Penguin Publishing books.

Even though you are only sent a PDF of the covers to print yourself, the price of the idea is right ($6 for three, or $1.49 per for larger orders), and you get to pick your own games to receive covers for. Designs are also available for every major system, as well as PC games, Mac games, DVD’s and Blu-Rays, with new cover designs promised to be on the way soon.

So whether your looking to turn your extensive gaming collection into something that classes up the joint a bit, or you just need to disguise all of those imported Japanese “dating” sims, this is an extremely cool concept that will no doubt be welcome in the homes of sophisticated gamers everywhere.