PixlBit

I liked the 3DS version!  It was like the original...but portable!  Some of the added content, like the Master Quest, is pretty cool too.

I think Phantom Hourglass does alright as a game you can play in bits.  The dungeons are a decent size, and there's even a feature (a character, actually) that reminds you where you're supposed to go if you've put the game down for too long.  That's one of the things that makes the game feel like a Zelda "primer."

Happy (quite) belated birthday!

I have a 3DS and like it a lot.  I need to buy some more games for it, but I've got a nice collection of DS titles, plus a few I've purchased in the eShop.  It's a keen little system, isn't it?

Also, I've got my Friend Code on my page if you're interested.

I don't think these sorts of changes are necessarily bad.  Being able to download software to the console, getting unique - hitherto PC-only - kinds of games to these devices is actually pretty great (even if some offerings are better than others).  Always-online may not be smart to implement just yet, but that - and some other features - are really a natural progression of technology.

I think what should concern gamers more is how our gaming devices are marketed and for what purposes.  From what I've gathered about the XBox One reveal, much emphasis was placed on things that the system could do, but ironically gaming wasn't really one of them.  Facebook compatibility, tracking software usage, being able to buy a dang pizza from your couch--see, those are great things if you're an outside investor.  Why?  Because in that case you're paying for the potential to move more kinds products than ever before imaginable.  At that point, the hardware in question ceases to be just a gaming device; it's a whole new creature, fed and groomed in part by marketing and advertising people.

Is it going to sell well?  I don't see why it wouldn't; after all, it'll still be the best damn FPS console on the market, if only because Microsoft has that audience buy-in.  Ask the kinds of guys who switch off between Halo and Call of Duty and see if (or why) they wouldn't buy the new machine with "XBox" in the name.  It's an assured brand loyalty to an assured demographic.  And with that sort of immediate attention, it gives Microsoft, its shareholders, and outside investors some ability to think of other ways to utilize that hardware--even if it fails to interest those looking to play games.

For various reasons the PC gaming market has declined over the past ten years, but in part it's been for the "consistency" of console tech.  Generations can last a while, giving developers lots of time to really get to know the wholly proprietary hardware, which is often time comparable (or good enough) to PC specs.  Certain genres of games (especially shooters) have since found a new, more stable and readily-available home on consoles.  Piracy isn't nearly as big a problem for the consoles as it is on PCs, and DRM is usually built in to the console OS itself, saving developers and publishers lots of time and money.

With all of the bells and whistles and extra junk demonstrated to the audiences at E3 or elsewhere, I don't think it's exactly accurate to say that the consoles are on a path to being more like PCs, and to say that consoles are entering a sort of dark age is a little too "doom and gloom."  My conjectures aside, a sincere thanks for the good read!

Ah, don't worry about the language.  I'm the last one to be casting judgement on that kind of thing (in person, I tend to have a pretty foul mouth myself), and I'm not nearly so puritan.

I think it was on an episode of the Giant Bombcast not so long ago that they mentioned how the 360 and Call of Duty are almost intrinsically linked: apparently most, if not all, of the ads for the games feature gameplay footage from the 360 version, and it's become the de facto home for the franchise.  Microsoft has that consumer base pretty locked down for that series and for a lot of those kinds of games and gamers.  It's cross-platform, but the 360 is its real "home," and the fact that a new CoD was announced at the reveal demonstrates that further.  By comparison, look at Metal Gear Solid or Final Fantasy; those games have seen releases on the 360 as well, but they're linked - I'd even call it a natural "fit" - on the Playstation.

I may not agree with the sailor mouth, but at least your posts are to-the-point. :)

I've never had any version of XBox, mostly because their offerings weren't ample enough to justify paying for the systems or the online services, so I'm a bit out of the loop on their policies in general.  However, I'm vaguely aware that Microsoft hasn't exactly been friendly with indie teams for the 360.

I think looking at their strategies for the systems - how and to whom they market them - it may be disappointing, but it's hardly shocking.  Heck, the reveal presentation showed off only one game, and unsurprisingly it was a Call of Duty (BUT THIS ONE HAS DOGGIES).  The CoD and Halo series, perhaps along with annualized sport franchises, are the bread-and-butter of these consoles, and it's where Microsoft focuses their attention with the system.  It sucks to be an indie developer or even an indie fan with that system, and surely it's Microsoft's loss for not investing more into that market, but for whatever it's worth, at least those games are able to find markets on other platforms.

And maybe you're being too hard on the XBox One.  As a gamer, I think one of the most difficult parts of the hobby is that I can't watch TV.

I'm debating picking that up after finishing Phantom Hourglass.  I'd really love to play it as well, but the thing about Zelda games, I feel, is that you have to take a break in between them, or else you'll end up sick of them.

I gave Spirit Tracks about the same treatment I gave Phantom Hourglass: I played it for a bit and then shelved it for later.  But I do remember enjoying at least some parts of it over Hourglass.  If I'm not mistaken, weren't the stylus controls for Link tweaked a bit?

Plus, trains!

It's still pretty swollen, but it thankfully doesn't hurt that much.  I also forgot to mention in the post that the arm was numbed for an entire day; they had to put in a nerve block for the operation.  I couldn't move it on its own, and only then did I realize that my arm is really heavy.  And I'm not muscular, so I don't really have an excuse for that fact. .___.

While I'm not usually a fan of Kotaku, they are known to run the occasionally good article.  Ben Kuchera from Penny Arcade Report linked to this, another entry into the "holy crap games are scary and make people violent" category which is unfortunately never not scary to some folks.

Oh, and I'll proudly admit to being a pro-gun American (as in, I like shooting them and would like to have one or more) who completely hates the NRA and all of their agitprop and shenanigans.

I've read a few other blogs and articles about being "zombied out," so I know I'm not alone.  But for one, zombies sell.  For two, people like us are kind of in a minority, a pretty non-vocal one at that.