Spike's 2010 Video Game Awards

[mandru]

I caught this on TV last night and there were quite a few game names being tossed about that I recognized from threads here on OWG but as well as current games there was some "games to look forward to" premier previews.

Mass Effect 3 looked awesome, as well as Resistance 3 and Prototype 2 among a few others that I'm guessing will be all the buzz before too much longer and was that Kratos form God of War showing up in a Mortal Combat release?  System proprietary games are so evil.  *Boo! Hiss!* 

Here's a link to that page of previews:

Spoiler

http://www.spike.com/event/vga/page/world-premieres

Some of these are so over the top that they almost exceed the energy level I have to watch them let alone attempt playing them   ;)   but who knows you might see something you like heading into the next year.

[mmosu]

I caught a bit of this last night myself mandru  :-X

I generally don't have much use for the "awards" that get handed out (too much "and the winner is . . . Call of Duty: Black Ops . . . what a surprise!!!"), but seeing all of those previews is pretty cool. 

[mandru]

Yeah it was pretty weird seeing the show's MC Neil Patrick Harris get the award for Best Voice Acting for a Spiderman game I'd never heard of.  It kind of made me wonder how much a game's presence on the show was reflected by the amount paid by the different developers for product placement.

[PZ]

Yeah, I tend to have a more pessimistic attitude as I age, thinking that there is some kind of ulterior motive for just about everything I see, whether it be political or marketing - someone always wants something from you.

[fragger]

Yeah, I tend to have a more pessimistic attitude as I age, thinking that there is some kind of ulterior motive for just about everything I see, whether it be political or marketing - someone always wants something from you.

That's not pessimism, that's pragmatism :-()

[PZ]

 :-X  ^+-+

[mmosu]

 :-X fragger and PZ

I think mandru nailed it - shows like this are an advertising whore-fest by their very nature, and that one was no exception.  Previews --> good, phoney awards --> bad

[PZ]

I love your new avatar, by the way - one of my favorite holiday programs as a kid and even now is Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.  In fact that plus Charlie Brown Christmas and It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown are my three all-time favorites.

[mmosu]

Thanks, I thought the change was appropriate given the season  :-D

[PZ]

 :-X

I notice you guys are in Ohio - I spent my teenage formative years in a suburb of Dayton, Kettering.  I was accepted to, and would have attended the University of Cincinnati had I not moved to San Diego.

I've fond memories of my youth in Ohio

[mmosu]

Nice, I'm a firm believer that everyone is from Ohio, Kentucky, or West Virginia if you trace it back far enough  :-()

[PZ]

 ^+-+

[Art Blade]

you're wrong about that, mmosu.  ;D

[mmosu]

well, everyone in this hemisphere . . . except for Canadians  :-D

[PZ]

 :-()

[deadman1]

Nice, I'm a firm believer that everyone is from Ohio, Kentucky, or West Virginia if you trace it back far enough  :-()

At first my answer would have mirrored Art´s but then it hit me. Between 1860 -1930 over 1 million swedes emigrated to USA, so it´s entirely possible that I might have some long lost relatives in the states you mention  :-()

[mmosu]

Didn't know that deadman  :-X
Is there any historical significance to that period of time that produced emigration from Sweden specifically?

[deadman1]

Didn't know that deadman  :-X
Is there any historical significance to that period of time that produced emigration from Sweden specifically?

If I remember correctly (been awhile since school), in the late 1860:s the south of sweden was hit by a number of years when the crops failed. As a large part of the population were farmers there was widespread famin and economic difficulties. So selling there farms and moving was for many an alternative to starvation, and when they later wrote home describing there new life in the US, many others were persuaded to take a chance on emigrating. Of course stories about people who came back having made a fortune in the new country, fueled the interest. Oh and if your from Minnesota there´s a very good chance that you will have some scandinavian blood in you as most of the swedes who went to the US ended up there, I think there´s even an entire town there were the inhabitants has kept their swedish roots alive and kicking to the point that they still speak swedish with eachother.

[mmosu]

That's funny you mention Minnesota, it's a commonly held stereotype in the US that people from there are of Scandinavian heritage, I assume because the perception is that they are hearty people who love cold weather - the professional football team from Minnesota is even called the Vikings.  I guess this is a real life example of some stereotypes having one foot in truth  :-()

[fragger]

Very interesting stuff guys, cheers :) :-X

[Art Blade]

indeed  :-X

[JRD]

(...) I think there´s even an entire town there were the inhabitants has kept their swedish roots alive and kicking to the point that they still speak swedish with eachother.

In southern Brazil we have a bunch of towns  that claim to be pure German. They speak German and are named Klaus, Fritz, Braun... (well, Jose Braun, Antonio Frits... that is  ;D ) they even have their own Oktoberfest (takes place every September in Blumenau  :D )

The father of a friend of mine, who speaks German very well, went to the city once and couldn`t understand a single word they were saying! Decades away from their mother nation, surrounded by Brazilians (and Portuguese from Azores) pushed them into developing their own dialect...

Weird, actually... they have no real identity as they are neither Brazilians nor Germans...  ????

[mmosu]

A Portuguese/German creole? - very strange indeed

[JRD]

Indeed... Blumenau and other small towns nearby are a bit up the Itajaí river, in a valley. Those cities were founded by Germans, while down river, at the shore, Itajaí and the capital city of Santa Catarina state, Florianópolis, were colonized mostly by Portuguese from Azores.

We are a crazy mixture of people... a true melting pot!  ;)

[mmosu]

And I was completely unaware of that fact until recently when I saw an episode Anthony Bordain's No Reservations where he toured Sao Paulo and the surrounding areas.   :o
I must say, I'm a little embarassed to now know how ignorant I was of the diversity present there!