After a tremendous amount of debate and discussion and writing and revising and editing, the first part of our Best of the Decade feature is up. I’m pretty happy with how this has turned out, especially given all the effort poured into it. It looks like it’s being largely ignored (probably for being too wordy), so I do hope the fine people who regularly tune into this blog will at least give it a read.
Incidentally, John Riccitiello originally made the list, and I’d even written up his entry… and then EA’s financials for last year broke and we realized that it’s too early to say, precisely, what Riccitiello’s legacy will ultimately be. But that let us add the Penny Arcade duo to the list, which reflects the increasing influence of gamers upon the medium and the industry surrounding it, so that’s pretty OK.
And now, it’s time to pester Yoshinori Kitase about Final Fantasy VIII. Oh, he thinks we’re talking about Final Fantasy XIII, but he’s mistaken.
I read it and really liked it. I’m glad that you ended up putting Gabe and Tycho on there because they really deserve it. The one person that I reallly think should have been on there though is Gabe Newell, for the huge effect Steam has had on PC gaming.
Just finished reading it. Excellent writing good sir. I really enjoyed the whole article and am glad to see Gabe and Tycho included. Those two have done a lot for the industry and gamers in general with Child’s Play and they deserve to be recognized for it.
Please include all the juicy details of when your Kitase and his translator get confused/upset when they realize that you’re not giving the shiny new game enough attention!
*of your interview when Kitase…
You know, when I realized that Penny Arcade were the taste-makers and representatives for gamer culture is when I realized that it wasn’t really “my” hobby after all. I agree that they’re tremendously influential — more’s the pity!
Penny Arcade may be the taste-makers for a large swath of gamers, sure, but that doesn’t mean that they’re the catch-all representatives for the *entire* gaming community.
If gamers are to learn one lesson from Mike and Jerry, it’s that you have the power to forge your own path in in the world, with your enthusiasm for games as a guiding light – how you forge that path is up to you. You don’t *have* to let Penny Arcade speak for you.
I hate the term “tastemakers,” because it implies people are too stupid to think for themselves.
Maybe it says something about my taste in gaming vs. the norm, but I totally would have gone with Parish & Kohler instead of Holkins & Krahulik.
Said like the tastemaker you are Mr bakespite.
“I hate the term ‘tastemakers,’ because it implies people are too stupid to think for themselves.” The sarcastic cynic in me thinks that implication is correct for the vast majority of people.
Well, to be honest, as the price of games go up, there becomes an increasing need for someone to tell me what games are worth buying so I don’t waste $50 on something really horrible. ‘Thinking for yourself’ applies much more to used games or games that have been marked down (or downloadable games).
There’s nothing wrong with looking to critics for opinions on games, but the correct approach is to contextualize those opinions with how that person’s tastes align with your own. The key there, though, is that you have your own tastes.
“I hate the term “tastemakers,” because it implies people are too stupid to think for themselves.”
Sir, have you ever even heard of fashion? The very concept of items of clothing being ‘in’ or ‘out’ implies that many people are, in fact, too stupid to think for themselves. Or at least think they’re too stupid to think for themselves in matters of taste.
The importance of Penny Arcade isn’t that their tastes are the tastes of the general gaming populace. On the contrary, a lot of the games they rave about are pretty freaking obscure and/or controversial. No, what’s important about them is that they are two grown men who are unabashedly gamers, who have created their own empire from scratch and who are never afraid to state their opinions, the opinions of others be damned. And to that that they run one of the biggest gaming conventions in the world and that they run a charity that shows people the good that games and gamers are capable of and you’ve got two pretty important guys.
And I’m pretty sure that I just plagiarized Parish’s article. As an apology I will inform everybody that Part Two is up.
@parish So your going all retronauts on Yoshinori Kitase ass?