Split Focus

Yes, I am aware things are a bit out-of-date here. I am working on a new system for the back-end of the site and well as looking for new staff. Due to some hacking issues and scurity issues this site has taken the back burner for the time being.  Currently, the functional focus for the GameTechWorld Network is over on www.GamersPlatform.com . Feel free to join us over there for the time being.

The GameTechWorld Network is also proud to be host of the House Jin Rei Gaming Community. You can find the forums on www.housejinrei.gamersplatform.com if you're up for chatting.

We're All a Little Nuts!

After a very productive meeting with the new GTW team last night I can happily say that I am very, very pleased with the group that has been assembled. Mind you, by "productive" I mean enjoying one another's company and getting to know where we all want to go with our respective projects.

All in all, GTW is going to kick it into high gear now. We're always looking for more family members, so never hesitate to ask. If you're ever in the Las Vegas area you can also get to meet some of the team if you'd like. Let the good times roll!

Duties Are Duties! 

Let me first say that I have been remiss in my duties in posting new content once again. However, at least I have a few good reasons for it this time. The GTW Staff is going to be having a sit down this week to get everyone on track. With that in place things here should pick up nicely. Also, I'd be lying to you if I didn't say that Fable II, Warhammer Online, and Fallout 3 aren't eating into my waking hours. Both Fable II and Fallout 3 offer well over 40+ of gameplay and Warhammer Online...well it's an MMO so the gameplay time is whatever you make of it, so you can imagine it takes a while to get through enough to "review".

Does the Location of One's Reproductive Organs Really Affect Gaming?

I have no idea. I find this whole obsession with "girl gamers" to be a passé trend. Well, okay, that is a lie. I find it to be the wet-dream of many a gaming nerd who still lives at home with their mothers. Sorry if I sound a bit rude there but every time I hear gender specific topics in gaming it turns my stomach.

Tony Key, VP of Ubisoft Marketing has a bit to say on this subject.

"We found through research that girls are gamers; they just aren't traditional gamers," Key said. "Girls are clearly interested in playing video games. They just don't want to play the same games their brothers play."

Anita Frazier of the NPD group chimes in with:

"There's definitely been a psychological shift. There was a percentage of females that thought this is a niche thing that's for geeky guys, but we've had a couple years or so of breaking through that," said Anita Frazier, an analyst with the NPD Group. "There's not some fundamental reason why women or girls don't like to game. It's about, is there content that is interesting and engaging for them?"

Okay, so according to these thoughts, girls want to play some My Little Pony and that's why so many don't "like to play games"? I guess they've never had their asses handed to them in deathmatch games by the females I play against.

Sorry guys, I am calling a steaming pile of bulls**t on this one. I've seen absolutely no variance in the gaming preferences of at least 90% of the female gamers I know and have played with online. And yes, before you ask, they were and are females. And no, before you ask, I did not ask them for boobie pics to prove it.

Doesn't anyone understand that until we drop all these generalisations about race, creed, religion, and gender that it's just going to propagate segregation? Stop calling them "girl gamers" and start calling them "gamers".

Arrrr! Does there be plunder in them thar wreckages?

Looks like Pirates of the Burning Sea is already having troubles staying afloat. According to the team over at Flying Lab, the server crop has been cut from 11 to 4 servers to accomdate the game's small player base.

This seems to be a trend in the last few years for many MMOs. That leads one to wonder whether or not the proverbial town really is or is not big enough for the proverbial two of them. World of Warcraft is just dominating the MMO market and it seems no one or no thing can slow this juggernaught down.

Now, I personally have to wonder if it is just a matter of the player base not willing to pay to play more than one MMO at a time, interest in specific genres, or just plain and simple general quality of a large majority of MMOs out there that is causing so many issues.

We all know there are hundreds of MMOs out there and we're always being flooded by more and more. I'd even say, in my opinion, that the majority of these "new" MMOs are just cookie-cutter MMOs in hopes to make some quick cash. Are we starting to see a trend that maybe there really is only a handful of openings for MMOs to succeed at any given time? This could just be a case of too many spreading too thin.

I'll make no mention that this isn't the only MMO flying under the SOE flag that has gone through this "downsizing". Either way, it looks like the seas may not be burning too brightly for too long. Sorry, Captain Morgan, you're better left to rum than games it seems.