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Waking up today, I was reminded of the times we live in now. I made a call to Japan via Skype. Had an hour or so video conversation. Then went browsing through the internet to find music for a few Japanese CDs. Finally, I finished up my morning by downloading the new AKB48 6th Stage Live Performance. The incredible thing being that this performance was only just debuted last night. Through the miracle of modern technology, the performance was available through On-Demand Cable Providers in Japan. Fans then took the time to capture it to computer and encode it to a format suited for the internet. The file was distributed via torrents and I was able to download a 2.5 GB file in about an hour.
Some of the you young-ins may not appreciate the process as much. But I want to make clear, there was a time when none of this was possible. I've taken it for granted that I'm able to live my normal life with such luxuries. I can hardly remember how I used to get along in the before time. The time before shitty dial up. When faxes were the cool thing. When cell phones were big, literally. And when DOS prompt was needed to start a PC game.
Even now, we're benefiting with longer system life cycles via console updates. Think about it, the XBOX 360 is nothing like it was the day it came out. And we've not had to even begin planning for a new system yet. This is not something anyone has ever been exposed to before. We are always in the middle of change. The world is always moving, new things created and older things destroyed. Out of all these, positives and negatives are spawn. The real kicker being that We actually have the ability to influence it.
I've always been a fan of games, spending countless hours playing them in my room or with friends. I've always been a fan of Anime, going to conventions and browsing the iles looking for goods. But I've always also felt that it wasn't enough just to sit around enjoying the benefits from these forms of media. I always wanted to contribute in some way. In that way, it's what eventually led us to forming 4Player Podcast. But as we're now a growing blog and a community, we're also in a position to grow into a voice and a place to express opinions. And I wonder what that should be? Do we try to make changes and influence the world we grew up in. What kind of direction would a group like ours even take? How do we even go about throwing our chips in the pile?
This is assuming that contributing to change is a worthy cause in the first place. We could just as easily sit back and play our games, stopping only to bitch about DLC or PR spins. The world would still continue turning and it wouldn't stop us from our hobby and passion of video games. But as I woke up this morning and looked back on how much had changed over the last 10 years, it's obvious I'm not the same person. I'm not just someone in the middle of change experiencing it for the first time. I had changed along with the world and even though I am still growing and getting a better understanding, I am now in a position to take those lessons learned and make a difference.
David
Comments
14 years, 4 months ago
It really is something to think about. I, Myself, pondered this so many times..especially when playing games in different time periods like red dead. They didn't have emails or cars; they got around on horses and sent telegrams. It really does make you think how far we have come with all of the gadgets and technology
14 years, 4 months ago
Interesting article david.
14 years, 4 months ago
go internet! go technology! we win! yaaaaaay
14 years, 4 months ago
I think 4playerpodcast has been a voice already, and you're just now noticing it. You guys beat out "bigger" podcasts because you have such a dedicated fan base. And the thing about your fan base is that it's people who, yes, love to watch Brad freak out over Fatal Frame, but also love to hear ya'lls opinions on what the gaming industry means to you, and what you would do to change it for the better. It's amazing the power you guys have, and I think you should use it for good, not evil (lol).
14 years, 4 months ago
It's interesting to think about certain sites too. Do you remember what you did when you wanted to look up something, and there wasn't a Wikipedia? Even when Google wasn't around, people would have to look in actual encyclopedias if they had them. And then Youtube, I remember when that was new, and they were excited that people had yelled Youtube at a small concert. I still remember needing to download videos from a site directly, and if that site was getting hammered with people downloading the videos, you'd have to wait longer. Amazing how fast things have changed.
14 years, 4 months ago
The amount of change has made it far easier to store what individuals value and share them around the world before being able to encode concerts and t.v shows on the internet people had to recorded it with a VCR and copy the tapes to produce copies of t.v shows. I hope that new advance in technology will continue to share new and older ideas to everyone
14 years, 4 months ago
With so much technological progress, speeding up almost exponentially since as far back as the industrial revolution, I've been pondering lately just where and when it will all slow down and find a settling point. Twenty years ago, most households didn't even have a desktop computer, and space missions were being coordinated on computers more primitive than today's cell phones.
It's like pondering the size and scope of the universe - it's awe-inspiring and scary, all at the same time.
14 years, 4 months ago
Change will always revolve around us, whether we notice them or not. No matter how big, how small, how surreal, it'll always happen. It's crazy to think how far we've gone and the milestones we've reached to live in the times we're living in now. I mean, just look at the past few decades. We went from pixelated 8 bit video games and clunky, slow computers to life like video games and handheld supercompters. Whenever I think about things like this, I just sit there in awe, wondering how people got by their daily lives without stuff like Google or YouTube. Most people might say that these are great changes, but are they really? This dives into the roots of moral and ethics. What we perceive as good may be perceived as bad for other people. It entirely depends on their mindsets and influences. An example, video games such as WoW to deliver players a lifetime of epic adventures in the comfort and safety of their homes? Sounds awesome, right? Well, other people might take it as a life destroyer, making it hard for players to withdraw from that fantasy or if they make it as their own reality.
But I digress. I guess my question in all of this is, are these changes really for good? Or for the greater good? Maybe, or maybe not. Or maybe I'm just rambling nonsensical crap.
14 years, 4 months ago
Ya anyone remember dial up? We come a good long way from that
14 years, 4 months ago
Now if only certain people in chat would enjoy J-Pop instead of bitch and whine about it, then it would be great. But, I guess it could be entertaining to see them acting as if Japanese is a "parasite" to them. I guess things don't change...
14 years, 4 months ago
David, I'm not sure if your question is a rhetorical one or you would like an answer... while I do not have the experience nor the right to tell you what to do with the website, I can offer my opinion and some advice. I think that any ideas about expanding the site's purpose to actively shape the gaming world (on top of commenting on it) are ambitious and certainly a great way to give back to the community. I also think the site grows more over time as do your privileges and responsibilities, the PAX panel and E3 invites are examples of that. I think you guys certainly have a lot of great ideas and would really like to see some of them panned out, in your visions, in a game. However, don't expand into territory that would make you lose your passion for gaming. You guys influence plenty of people and help us to think critically for ourselves in your example. You guys do a great job, and whatever changes may come in the future, accept and adapt to make the most out of them.
14 years, 4 months ago
Only thing i remember about dial up is acting like i was from the grudge trying to mimic the sound my computer was making, while i thought it was calling the people at the house of internets, for them to flip the switch to give us internet power. I was like 5 back then :P.
Before google i wonder how people even figured out anything they didnt know about. Other then going to the store and looking for a book on the subject and then spending 30 mins looking though the pages of the book hoping to find the answer. I'm so spoiled when i think about it :P
14 years, 4 months ago
Dude, I really can't remember what it was like before the internet. I'm 23 years old so I know there were years in the beginning of my life where I didn't have a computer in my house, and at school only the teachers had them for the longest time. Then, we finally got our first computer lab and I tell you, that was one of the coolest things ever, then we got our first PC and me and my siblings beat the hell out of each other to use it.
And that damn dial up noise, I swear I still hear it in my nightmares.
14 years, 4 months ago
I remember getting those crappy AOL trial discs in the mail and just using them for Monster Rancher 2 monsters since my computer was too old to have an internet connection. Also, it was harder for some of us to play the online features of some games since wireless didn't exsist AND the hassle of adding the internet capability to the system was even worse. Lol, the Ps2 and Xbox dominated online play while the Gamecube was lucky to have a LAN connection only capable of playing someone else connected to your internet on a seperate gamecube.....lol wut? XD
14 years, 4 months ago
Ah yes, I remember the dark ages when there was no such thing as this internet. It is amazing on how technology progresses. I also remember using floppy disks and gigantic laser discs.