You guys have any burning questions? About anything? This is Ask Me Stuff, which does exactly what it says on the tin. Leave me a question in the comments below and I’ll endeavour to answer it before the day is out.
Ask Me Stuff
Comments
114 responses to “Ask Me Stuff”
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thyco1
Keeo your eyes open and update us the moment you hear any inkling of skyrim breaking its street date. My local ebgames isnt having a midnight opening because they were only allowed to have 2 this year, one for BF3 and the other for modern warfail 3
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doubleDizz
you know he probably wasn’t going to bother, but now that you’ve told him he has to he’ll probably keep an eye out.
GOOD JOB.
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thyco1
I wondering why all the past street brakes have occoured at like 2-3pm in the afternoon and not well 10am-12pm
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Mark Serrels
I’ve been keeping an eye out. Nothing yet!
Usually it’s 2-3 because that when the retailers get their stock.
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Blaghman
Cut off their manes and tails, because if Samson taught me anything, it’s that power resides in your hair.
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Blaghman
Skyrim?
Oh, and pants?
(In relation to the first point, someone on the ecogamer(I think) forums is claiming they picked up Skyrim from JB, though it seems rather unverified, not that I’d really know, so, with that in mind, do you think a Skyrim street date break is likely, or will people actually stick with the 11/11/11?)
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Blaghman
Actually, here’s a question for everyone:
This week holds two major releases, Skyrim and MW3, and both are very different games. Personally, I’m excited for Skyrim, and not at all for MW3, so, out of these two games, which excites you more? Do you care a lot about both, or just one(or, as is perfectly acceptable, neither)?
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Hugo the Hungarian Barbarian
SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM!
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Edward
SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM! SKYRIM!
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glenn
Neither… Seriously, I’m not sure why but I have zero interest in Skyrim… Might pickup Oblivion at the next Steam sale and wait for Skyrim GOTY edition to get down cheap in a few years.
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Ruen
I’m probably going to be the odd one out here. I picked up MW3 on a whim yesterday, because I was able to get it cheaper than RRP, and honestly I have no interest in Skyrim, no doubt the game is going to be great, But I’ve never been able to get into the Elder Scrolls series myself. Plus with all the games I’ve bought over the past 7 weeks I have more than enough to tide me over if I decide to pass on another AAA game.
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MrTaco
Neither. I’m more excited about my e-reader cards from eBay (hopefully) arriving in the mail.
SUPER MARIO BROS THREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
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doubleDizz
I’m here nice and early and cannot think of a single question this week! BAH!
…You played any Saints Row: The Third? Did it excite you for the release?
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Mark Serrels
I played a good part of the game — it’s not really my thing.
It’s insanely outrageous, but you probably knew that already. Every single mission is ridiculous. You have to select a zombie for your voice as well in the user created section at the start.
Whored mode is a bit bleh, and shock for the sake of shock.
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Trjn
More seriously, there was a recent controversy in the SC2 and HON communities where a Philipines based competition (PPSL/HONslaught) was screwed over by either horribly inept or (most likely) completely corrupt organisers.
A player who had won flights to Manila to compete was dragged along and then eventually denied what they had won, constant technical issues plagued the stream and delayed the competition heavily and the HON tournament was cancelled without notice, leaving people in the dark for something like 9 hours.
I know you’re a fan of competitive Halo, so with the growth of eSports that’s going on with games like Street Fighter, Starcraft, Halo, COD and the MOBA games all getting a lot of attention, how do you think these sort of kerfuffles affect eSports as a whole and the ability to generate a new audience?
You can look up details on teamliquid.net and some of the affected players were Australian, so feel free to look that up.
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Trjn
Follow up information: Apology from tournament organiser. If you read the replies, it obviously hasn’t made many people happy. There’s a lot of talk of a $12,900 debt owed that was covered by a guy he flew in to help with the production.
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Mark Serrels
Wow. Sounds like a crazy story… might be worth following up.
Tracey mentioned pro gaming in a presentation she did at University and the professor basically scoffed at her! It’s hard enough to try and take this thing mainstream without things like this happening.
Shame.
But yeah, I think MLG does a great job of presenting e-sports seriously. I’m glad they’ve moved into the Starcraft side of things as well.
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Trjn
I think Harli knows a few of the Aussies involved. If you want to do a follow up, maybe try these people: Dox (set up Aussie qualifiers for the event), YoonYJ (came third in Aussie qualifier, should have been flown to the event but was denied at the last moment) and CheekyDuck (casted the event, was in attendance). Should be able to get in touch with all of them on either TeamLiquid.net or sc2sea.com, or Twitter (although I don’t know their names there).
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Edward
How long do you see franchises like CoD and Battlefield lasting? Both (admittedly less Battlefield) seem to be general rehashes of the previous game with minor changes and upgrades/tweaks.
They’re obviously both very popular (and CoD will outsell battlefield 3) but do you see this lasting?
Also, I’ve not seen any Charlie Brooker references in a while? =(
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Mark Serrels
I think Actie will continue with COD the way it is until people stop buying them. Which I don’t see happening for a while.
As for EA, I think they’ll continue to diversify the BF brand in a different way. You’ll definitely see a Battlefield: BC 3 in the next year or so I would imagine.
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glenn
Mark, ever been to Singapore/Asia? It’s fraking hot here! I’m here on business and can’t wear shorts in the office 🙁
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Mark Serrels
I lived in Nagoya for 2 years. Humidity was intense. Used to sit in boxers all day long and take five showers a day. Hard times daddy.
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cooks
I’d also like to hear some thoughts on Saints Row: The Third
Also, have you heard anything on how Skyrim runs on the PS3 compared to X360? Given Bethesda’s history of previous releases, I’m a little worried about Skyrim being buggy on the PS3.
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Mark Serrels
Sorry haven’t heard much about the console parity. I would imagine the 360 would be your safe bet. That said, there has been a couple of high profile releases that were superior on the PS3 lately.
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Blaghman
IIRC they were all done by the US site, and I think the NPD group(who crunched all the sales numbers to get the figures) stopped doing games, or changed how they worked, or something along those lines, so it wasn’t really practical to keep doing it.
However, I’m relying on my memory for all this information, so I may be way off.
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Mark Serrels
The company that used to do it locally stopped as far as I know.
Haven’t checked up on this for a while.
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Tracey Lien
To my understanding, one of the big game retailers pulled out from having their game sales included in the stats, meaning that if they continued releasing the stats they wouldn’t be accurate anyway. So they stopped!
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Mark Serrels
It’s not my thing, but I think people have the right to like what they like!
That’s my terrible answer.
If anything COD brings more folks into games, but at the same time I hate that other publishers feel the need to imitate. But that’s always been the way.
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PrettyTones
Why doesn’t Australia have the Nintendo Selects range? I just bought Twilight Princess on Zavvi for less than $25 AUD, but that game’s still around $90-$100 here. Ridiculous.
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Mark Serrels
I was off sick yesterday, so didn’t write up this post, but Australia is getting the select range. Nintendo is being a bit weird with the way it’s all being released though. It’s staggered, and different games are involved.
Head here for more info: http://www.nintendo.com.au/
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GentlemanJ
What do you think about reports that the new xbox will be cheaper and smaller? Will it be underpowered and will we get a similar length in the console generation if so?
Also Velasquez or Dos Santos?
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Mark Serrels
I honestly have no idea. I’d guess the next xbox will be smaller in design, but beyond that I have no idea.
And if I had to put my mortgage on it, I’d go Velasquez. But very, VERY hard to choose between them.
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AlexPants
There are three games coming out on November 15 that are pretty memorable/potentially awesome: Assasin’s Creed, Saints Row 3, and Halo Anniversary. Which is at the top of your priority list?
Maybe there are more games coming out on the 15th, wouldn’t surprise me. All I know is my wallet is hurting bad right now.
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Mark Serrels
What do you know, my copy of Assassin’s Creed Revelations just fell onto my desk!
ACR is my first priority, then Halo. I don’t know if I’ll bother with Saints Row 3.
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Ruen
Probably a rehash of a question been asked a thousand times already but what the hell.
Out of all the games that have been released in the last 2 months, and the games to be released in the next month, what game had/has you most excited?
Also is there a game recently released you felt let down by (i.e. didn’t live up to the hype) or a game recently released that blew away any expectation you had?
Tracey, are you still having fun dying in Dark Souls, or have you given up yet?
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Mark Serrels
Probably Skyward Sword. I’ve gone from not caring to full blown hype in a couple of months.
I have to say though, Batman: Arkham City was a helluva game.
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Boomzzilla
People holding out for skyrim should note that the steam (pc) version won’t unlock till 00:00 11/11/11 so even if you get it today or tomorrow you cant play it till midnight thurs day our time.I remember whwn I got Empire total war on release day I couldn’t activate it till the next day because Australia’s time zone is ahead of the rest of the world.
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Edward
This is one of the reasons I’m not getting it on PC, my computer probably couldn’t run it though.
PS3 version all the way! that way i get to see Tamriel in all of its glory on my new ($300) tv!
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thyco1
We are aware of that, buts a chance that steam will bring the unlocking forward ( it has done so in the past) plus the game is out in norway apprently.
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Angered Catfish
What’s your opinion on yearly releases for sequels? Good or bad for the industry? Do franchises like Assassins Creed do it right? I can kind of understand it for multiplayer games like Call of Duty since they’re constantly tweaking it, but I’m primarily a single player gamer. I do sometimes worry that new IP’s and genres are becoming less and less common (for big budget games anyway).. I want a hardcore spy game like if Hitman and Mass Effect mated dammit!
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Boomzzilla
Assassins Creed has suffered from franchise fatigue, for me anyway, I never got around to finishing number 2, so brotherhood and revelations don’t appeal to me at all, and now I’ll probably skip number 3 as well because I’m so out of the loop.I think if they just stuck to numbered sequels every 2-3 years I for one would keep up.But 3 games staring ezizo , no thanks.
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AlexPants
I think Brotherhood would have fallen pretty flat if it hadn’t introduced multiplayer to the series. The singleplayer was fun but some of it definitely felt tacked-on or even just dull. The multiplayer, on the other hand, was fresh and exciting, at least for me, and kept me entertained over the summer until they started introducing DLC that split the player base and it became near impossible to find a good match.
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Strange
I hate it. Publishers seem to think it’s necessary for “brand awareness” or somesuch business crap, but just look at all the anticipation and hype for Skyrim, for example. People don’t need to be bombarded with a series all the time to be able to remember it and want to buy the next one.
And no, I don’t think the Assassin’s Creed series got it right. After I finished AC2 I then had to watch my husband play every night so when Brotherhood came out I was over Assassin’s Creed and particularly Ezio. Then when I finally played Brotherhood i was disappointed. It was buggy and the actual story part of it seemed rushed and bare. People think it’s an amazing game but I just think how amazing it could been given the time to be done properly.
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Shane
I agree with this. The important plot stuff that happened in Brotherhood could have been handled in AC2 with a couple of extra missions and a ten-minute cutscene.
And now Revelations… unless a superb deal comes up, I’ll be picking it up half price after Christmas.
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Mark Serrels
I think the way AC has done it is crazy, but somehow they’ve made it work in a very big way.
Same for Call of Duty. As long as people keep buying, they’ll keep doing it.
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PuppyLicks
Any ideas what it will take for a guy like me to get a start in the VG industry as a game designer? Is it a position I can get with the right material backing me up or is it one of those jobs that you have to earn by working your way up the company?
I have a few game ideas in my head that I’m fleshing out and putting into proper game design document layouts, but I know a lot more will be required to impress a potential employer than a bunch of ideas on paper.
I’m also looking at a few game design books online, I know there can be a few duds out there so have you got any suggestions on which ones may be the best?
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PuppyLicks
Also I should note I’m a bit of a jack of all trades, with skills in animation, graphic design and a little bit of programming (although thats my biggest weakness I will admit). Doubt that changes anything but hey, just getting it out there.
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Blaghman
From what I know, you can get straight into a job in design(although it’s difficult and unlikely), but it is quite a small field, and rather importantly, it’s almost a requisite to have functional examples of your work. In that regard, engines with a lot of modding options (make an extensive mod for Fallout or make something in the UDK that is functional, as examples) is one of the best ways to get a real world portfolio, but from there it’s still quite a tricky field.
It’s also helpful if you do know some basics of coding, just so that you can understand the feasibility of things you suggest, and so on and so forth.
(Odds are, if you make something impressive enough, you’ll get into a non-design role at a company, but there’s a decent chance of being fast-tracked to a design role, once you’ve shown you can work in the environment)
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PuppyLicks
Hrrrrmm yeah I figured a prototype would be the case. Well, I better get to work then 😉
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Mark Serrels
I wish I could be of more help mate, but it’s not really my area. My best advice would be to get yourself out there — create something you can show people, whether that’s a mod, or a flash game or something on iOS. I think that shows you have the ability to complete a project — that’s so important.
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Fenixius
Did you see the concept trailer for Ghost Recon: Patriots? Did you see how terrifying it would be to play that game? O_o What think ye?
Link for you/anyone who missed it the other night:
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PuppyLicks
Interesting, looks like it could benefit if they ramp up the tactical part of the gameplay.
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Aidan
What’s your opinion on spoilers?
Tempted to seek them out, or would you rather play the game blind?
(in light of the ME3 plot leak, say)
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Mark Serrels
Man, it depends on how much you are invested in the story/universe. I avoided those ME3 spoilers like the plague. There are Zelda spoilers now as well, and I’ve been doing my best to avoid them as well.
Sometimes I think I get a little too invested in this stuff…
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Sam
What are the odds of a PS3 + Skyrim bundle at somewhere like JB? My Ps3 has been having issues since batman: AC and they’ve gotten worse for Uncharted, but the $400 deals JB have are better value than buying the single system. Debating on waiting for something like that or just picking up the resistance 3 bundle.
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Mark Serrels
I’d imagine there would definitely be a bundle like this. I wouldn’t pick up the Resistance 3 bundle, just because it’s a bit of a dull game IMO. I’d def wait for a game you’re totally interested in.
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SeatSniffer
Mark, is it possable to put a text reader on posts? you have some fantastic articals but i have trouble reading the longer ones.
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Ynefel
What are the odds of me getting anything even remotely productive done this weekend, with Skyrim being released on Friday?
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Shane
GTA V.
Will they stay gritty, or will they try to claw back some of the lunacy that Saints Row have claimed for their own?
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Mark Serrels
I think they might go with a bit of mix. The Ballad of Gay Tony is probably a good indicator of where they’re going…
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truncheon
If you have a moth ball in one hand and another moth ball in the other hand, what have you got?
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James Mac
I knew there was a sex joke in there somewhere… I’m just disappointed I ddn’t spot it.
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Nick
Mark,
Has there been any updates from the Productivity Commision regarding the sale of video games via digital distribution, and the price-gouging of the Australian market? My understanding was that the final report was due at the beginning of November.
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Mark Serrels
Remember This just seemed so much more popular, and I didn’t want to fill Lunchtimewaster with garbage.
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MrTaco
You mentioned last week that you like to climb. Where do you go/what kind of level are you at? Been doing it long? My sister dragged me along early last year and I’ve been going ever since. First “sport” I’ve done since tennis lessons back around year 5 😛
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Mark Serrels
I climb regularly at The Bloc in Parramatta: http://blocclimbing.com/about/
I mostly do bouldering, climbing at about a V4 level indoor.
I’ve been climbing for about 8 months now… totally obsessed 🙂
How about you?
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MrTaco
Her boyfriend works at Climb Fit over at St Leonards, so that’s where we go. Even though it’s a 40min drive, and I’ve got the Sydney Indoor gym at Villawood only 5 minutes away. I just like the routes there better, they make sense. Also I don’t have anyone to come belay me if I go there 😛 Not sure how their system translates to the other grading systems, I usually do a 3 on bouldering (almost on 4s but just not quite), and pretty comfortable on yellows/swirlies on top rope. Can kinda do some reds, though not too many.
Haven’t heard about that one at Parra before, might have to check it out some time.
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D.C.
Don’t mind me. Every time I hear that Assassin’s Creed: Rev is set in Constantinople this song pops into my head. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOG8emH4Ab8
Seeing if others had this weird association. Just me it seems. 😀
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706
Haven’t been around for a while but I did actually have a question that maybe you could share an opinion on.
If you were a PC gamer and you had the choice between 3D gaming through Nvidia’s tech, or 3 monitors sharing the same resolution through Radeon’s tech, which would you do?
I know a lot of people come down on 3D for not adding anything and for being dumb, but honestly I think most people just say that because it’s different. Though certainly not ground breaking I do think 3D adds something, especially to gaming, but for something like say Skyrim the 3 monitors would let me have unparalleled views of vistas.
I just can’t choose.
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Mark Serrels
Hmmm. Dunno. The three monitor thing sounds better to me, but you’d need more space!
For the record, I don’t mind 3D all that much, as long as it doesn’t detract from the overall experience.
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