@nereza Too true. @NitehawkFury I don't think anything I wrote suggested the response to Helper was forgivable, nor that everyone waving their e-hand should be catered to. I am trying to point out there are people who care with constructive opinions and legitimate concerns who are also those who should be listened to, but are drowned out by the loud. Part of the solution is to recognize the problem. I think we should focus more on the legitimate concerns raised, and leave the haters to hate... until we can cordon off the constructive comments from the inflammatory- wading though comments in search of good-intentions is all we have to uncover the real and felt worries of the gaming world as a whole. Telling gamers in general they haven't a right to "affect the decisions that are directly related to them" stems from a dangerous larger conviction that people shouldn't control what they do with their time... and I think that warrants elucidation.

While I agree with this as a whole, the entitlement sentiment bothered me. While many paying fan's comments are contemptuous, the idea that their behavior invalidates all as "owners" is absurd. The case with almost all gaming boards is that there are often thoughtful contributors that appear alongside the flaming trolls. I can only assume this was the case with Helper. Many of us have genuine concerns, and articulate them in well thought out posts using the only method of communication with developers we have- the same game forums the flaming trolls infest. Just because sensibility is lost to sensationalism, and reason to passion, the author still has no right to suggest paying customers are not entitled to the products they demand. We are indeed entitled to "affect decisions directly related" to us- we are the "market". The market isn't some abstraction developers seek to appease through group think and brain mining their writers like Helper. In fact, it's the industry's very reliance on modeling mass market perception that has driven it to "successes" like Modern Warfare 3. I think it is more telling to view the massively negative response to Helper's suggestion, even if incongruous and patently absurd, as a symptom of the larger contempt the market has developed in response to the industry's deaf ear and back turn to gamers in recent years, than merely a lamentable exhibition of our society's enduring barbarism (a tired platitude).

I appreciate, and can relate to, Jamyski's remarks. I have lately been assuring myself it "must just be me growing up" that is primarily responsible for my interest in games to wane- but that explanation isn't complete. The industry is largely to blame for my disillusionment. Take Call of Duty: I once felt the success that was CoD4- it was (for me) unprecedented with its visceral, modern themed take on competitive multiplayer- faster paced and more forgiving than, say, Counter-Strike. That was a leap for the series, and for shooters. I hadn't played games in awhile, and, recently returning, purchased MW3 with the foolish hope that I would get the same feeling as I did years ago. It looked almost the same, played with poor registration (P2P), felt cheap and unbalanced, had plenty of cheaters, and, after just a few months, feels like the developers abandoned it. Another, greater disappointment, is Battlefield. What was once an epic, 64 player, strategic shooter that also revolutionized shooters (BF2), has become a poorly thought-out, unmodifiable benchmarking tool for PC enthusiasts. There are rarely more than a few filled 64 player servers at the times I play, and many are the claustrophobic, Metro dedicated stat farms we all know and loathe. It's heartening to see some optimism on these boards though, with some stressing patience and time will grind away this increasingly cynical industry... I hope you guys are right.

I have been playing Second Life for about a month and a half now. I wouldn't really consider it a video game.. More like 3d social networking.. If you log in with that understood you'll be better prepared for what to expect.. Otherwise it really doesn't fit in well with the other games on this list.

i originally ran this game (beta i mean) on a (vista)amd 64 3000+, 2gb ram, and a 7950 gt, and on medium it got around 25-30 fps.. ive since upgraded to a (vista)amd 5600+, 3gb ram, and the 7950 gt from the old rig. WiC now runs at around 30-40 fps(except when a nuke goes off or theres lots of action happening where it dips to around 10-15).... with all the settings as high as dx9 will take me. oh and this is the demo im playing currently, not the full version.

very unimpressed SO FAR.. however i don't see bungie being able to pull the game together in four months, and i agree with those who say "what you see is what you get" (at least visually), as unless bungie is planning on pulling the graphics engine back to the drawing board, these are the visuals you will see when the game ships don't get me wrong though i reserved the game months ago and am hoping for the best