Points! 02/14/2008

February 15th, 2008 at 12:01 am

OK, here’s the latest and least-greatest from the wonderful world of Points!.

Some notes:

Since the recording of this, I received my PS2 SingStar mics and have played a little SingStar PS3. It seems fine, but the SingStore won’t seem to show until I break down and create a European PS3 account.

I was hoping to elaborate on the whole "snarkfest" thing in a more coherent and meaningful way, but didn’t. I’ll address that a little more in-depth in the future, as its something that’s been on my mind lately.

I went in intending for this to be around 30 minutes long, but didn’t want to rush it, so I didn’t really look at a clock. Thus, 70+ minutes. Those of you who have said this should just be an audio podcast are probably right, though there are no headbands when you’re listening to a podcast.

202 Responses to “Points! 02/14/2008”

  1. bigJaffaNo Gravatar Says:

    Keep th videos dude, headbands rule.

  2. Maurice MNo Gravatar Says:

    Leave it as a vlog or whatever. I need my arm flailing.

  3. LeprukNo Gravatar Says:

    I don’t mind it becoming audio only and I think around an hour is the right length for these.

    Love what you do mate.

  4. gunsandwizardsNo Gravatar Says:

    Burnout is awesome but dude how much time you spend online with that i’ve gotten through it about 60% in about 21 hours. ha if only wow would show how long i’ve been playing it scary, scary obsession. peace, love ya man

  5. Mr fjonkanNo Gravatar Says:

    Cant you use like VirtualDub or some other tool to create a mp3 file from the video and releasing a downloadable version on mp3 for ouor mp3players so that i can sit on the buss from work and listen.
    This way you can have both a video and a mp3 version.

    An other cool thing wuld be if you would invite Alex and Ryan you would make an awsum team.

    Ether way keep up the good work.

  6. BLAHNo Gravatar Says:

    Audio is an excellent idea. I can’t get through your videos. They’re too long. But I’d listen to an entire podcost.

  7. samwiseNo Gravatar Says:

    i <3 jeff

  8. neilNo Gravatar Says:

    devil may cry is seriously stingy with its points.. you could probably finish the game and only end up with like 90 odd points or something if you dont go out of your way in a horrible lego starwars-esque money-grind kind of thing

  9. Crash HappyNo Gravatar Says:

    Why not a vid? Is it because people want to download it and listen at their leisure? I guess you could strip the audio and offer that up. Nice mysterious references to travelling for work.

  10. LazarNo Gravatar Says:

    Love the vid. Keep up the good work.

  11. ZetabyteNo Gravatar Says:

    I remember having J-game envy when i was an Xbox owner. To me their characters and stories seemed so much more interesting than America’s. While swimming in a sea of FPS’s and Madden, games like Katamri Damacy, DDR, and Fanal Fantasy just seemed worlds more creative. It’s ironic that now they’re accusing Japan of not being creative.

    I think when it comes down to it, Japan doesn’t have a solid (brainless) annual franchise like Madden to buffer the risks involved with publishing original games, and so they just end up remaking Dynasty Warriors over and over until it causes too much “gamer drift”. It’s all about business.

  12. Hopp420No Gravatar Says:

    Yo man keep the vids comin, fuck the haters. Heres a question, what are the 5 games your looking forward to most in 2008.

  13. CaroNo Gravatar Says:

    I spent this entire hour-plus trying to slide blocks around to get a stupid red ball out of a hole in Prof. Layton.

    I love this game.

  14. AndersNo Gravatar Says:

    I have no problem with the length, but yeah, an audio stream would probably be more appropriate, though personally I like to see the person talking.

  15. ThaumaturgyNo Gravatar Says:

    This definately should NOT be an audio thing, that would be very boring believe me. This is perfect like it is! The lenght is also great. NOO audio stream! Friggin’ convert it if you dont like it fools!!!

  16. Nathan StevensNo Gravatar Says:

    So, Jeff, think you can part with that nice PC since you have a laptop now? I wasn’t going to ask until it seemed like you weren’t into PC games at all. My PC is six years old, I bought it after being in the service and only my video card and sound card is upgraded to decent. I’m going to school for Game Art & Design, and actually because I’ve watched you on On The Spot since Jan. of 2006, I was inspired to develop games since then. And it is funny you mentioned wanting to see a Heist game since I’ve been doing concept art for one (my game idea). In the coming semesters I’ll be in courses for 3D animation and design and I don’t think my PC can handle it. I’m getting a 3.8 GPA and I don’t want to fall behind if I can’t afford to buy a new PC for heavy software, mine is only a 2.4 Single Core and 1 Gig of Ram! Okay, this might sound like spam now just asking for a PC like that, but I just thought I would ask. Either way, I’m glad to see you still doin what you’re doin. If it helps, I would gladly share the concept idea of the heist game I’ve been working on for the past few months.

  17. WibbyNo Gravatar Says:

    Thank you Jeff!

    70+ mins of joy… and it is better being video

    You could chuck a few screen shots in next time ?

  18. HerrbasanNo Gravatar Says:

    Contemplating about the whole “should it be audio only” matter, i kinda started wondering how you manage to entertain for an hour, where others fail to even keep 10 minutes entertaining.

    Maybe you are the Adam Carolla of the Gaming-Scene. Seemingly effortless entertainment, and some wisdom along the way. Anyway, keep it up. I’m a fan of yours. Please consider making this project your business.

    Greeting from overseas (germany) And keep up the great work!

  19. Tony (XBL= HatKing)No Gravatar Says:

    Thanks for the Gravatars tip. Lets see if it works.

  20. HenryNo Gravatar Says:

    Damn you Jeff… I’m supposed to sleep. I have class in 5 hours!!

  21. JohannesNo Gravatar Says:

    Keep it video, much more fun that way. With a video stream you can chose to listen to the audio only, but as far as I know there’s no way of extracting video from audio.

  22. GUSNo Gravatar Says:

    You know what?
    I would like audio versions of the Points!

    But since my Zune is broken I don´t care very much either way.

    GUS

  23. JamesNo Gravatar Says:

    No way, everyone is doing audio - video makes you unique. I look forward to Points! partly because of the video aspect (not that I have some form of man crush on you or anything). I guess it just makes it more interesting. The length is fine too. If you were boring it would be a problem though…

    Anyway, my question is “What would you do to make Sonic ‘work’ in 3D?”

  24. GUSNo Gravatar Says:

    Oh and GRAVATAR stands for Globaly Recognized Avatar

  25. LeviNo Gravatar Says:

    do you use gametap? i enjoy pitfall

  26. SokkratezNo Gravatar Says:

    Video rules. Maybe make an audio version? That can’t be too hard, if I remember, you have a quadcore system ;)

  27. James KNo Gravatar Says:

    Oi! Another tour de force Jeff, thanks. And ta for reading out my frivolous question! When you said “James K asks…” I thought you were going to address the one about downloadable games, but whether Americans say oi and describe things as lovely is equally important. A little tease there about future work prospects for you, sounds interesting!

  28. Verge IrelandNo Gravatar Says:

    Points, always cool to see a new one posted. About an hour is a good length, and an optional audio version would be cool but I personally like the video. Any chance you could get Ryan in for a bit of chat? Or Alex again . . . just to sit in the background.

    About the PC/console thing, I’ve found I’ve shifted most of my attention to consoles. I put in a disc, it plays, I have a good time. I like the simplicity. With solid online support on the 360 and my current lack of time for MMO related stuff I’m happy. Also COD 4 on PC is a very different experience, I played a bit and it drove me nuts. The player count is insane, spawn killing is rampant and I constantly see people using aimbots . . . It was very quite too, made me nearly miss the smack talk on live . . . nearly.

    Question time: When Rockband hits Europe (some time in 2011) do you think they’ll trickle feed the DLC or just give us all the stuff you guys have in one go (imagine the mess on PSN). Also can you make a random guess as to what the heck has delayed the game so much? - My guess; it takes time to translate the extensive amount of American text in the game to English. Also in Europe the fact we only listen to punk mixed with classical music, so there having problems filling out the track list. That’s the only way I can explain it.

  29. AdamNo Gravatar Says:

    You don’t know the greatness of the Mac unless you use Classic Mac OS.

    A ridiculous amount of human interaction research went into updating the Classic Mac OS and its interface guidelines. If you read an old edition of the Macintosh Human Interface Guidelines (the 1993 edition is probably best), you will be amazed at how much philosophy, psychology and science went into explaining and justifying why software developers should do something a specific way or why something had been changed since the previous edition.

    Perfect? No. Anyone who ever used the Chooser to mount a network disk knows that new features were sometimes poorly tacked onto existing interfaces, but over all, the Classic Mac OS interface and its guidelines were well thought out, and those made it better than Windows.(Eventually the Network Browser came to end our Chooser frustrations, but it was never fully integrated into Classic Mac OS.)

    With Mac OS X, the 20 years of human interaction research that made the Mac better was thrown away. Steve Jobs, Apple CEO, sees himself as an artist. He takes pride in that the original Macintosh user interface was designed without help from human interaction engineers. What Jobs conveniently forgets is that the Classic interface was stolen from the LISA, Apple’s failed 1982 business computer, which was designed with the help of human interaction engineers.

    The Mac OS X Human Interface Guidelines exist to justify Apple’s design decisions rather the the other way around. It’s all designed to be flashy, which can come at the expense of usability.

    That’s why I’ve been using Windows as my primary computing platform for the last six years.

    And did you have to bring up Gravatar? I liked being one of the few people here with a unique icon next to my name. Now I’m not cool anymore.

  30. InfernoplyNo Gravatar Says:

    nice blog, i still feel there too long though. But thats just for me. 30-45 minutes is about right in my opinion.

  31. nailerrNo Gravatar Says:

    The video is good for waking up (Europe) and getting some good game talk with coffee. The way you tend to move around while on a topic helps emote it. So why not just strip out the audio of the final video cut to MP3 for those who would rather listen on the move? Shouldn’t be much extra work on the side.

  32. HenbobNo Gravatar Says:

    Awesome video Jeff, as I said, the longer the better.

  33. MadBlade (Netherlands)No Gravatar Says:

    Great vid again Jeff!! keep it coming =)
    let’s see if the Gravatar works.

  34. develinNo Gravatar Says:

    Hi Jeff,

    About the Japan vs. the West point. One thing everybody seems to miss is that a) Bioshock is not innovative - it’s System Shock 3 with a new graphics set and a little renaming. That’s it. The innovation and the added importance in the west is that thanks to Microsoft a lot of the PC developers moved to the consoles. As a PC gamer living in Japan I can tell you that it is twice as hard and expensive to get any PC game in Japan - with the exception of a handful of ports from japanese console games.

  35. ChadNo Gravatar Says:

    Congrats on the new MacBook Jeff. FYI it comes with the iLife 08 version of iMovie. Apple still supports iMovie HD from iLife 06. IMO it is superior.

    You can d/l it free from Apple here. http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/imovieHD6.html

    Enjoy your new MBP. Love the points report as always!
    C

  36. MKLOLNo Gravatar Says:

    GRAVATAR is cool! :d

  37. Jackal888No Gravatar Says:

    Jeff your POINTS! video was epic yet I watched the whole thing. Maybe because it is better than all the non-Jeff Hotspots rolled into one. WEll I am going to buy Burnout Paradise for PS3 and get hooked like you. A game which I am hooked on now is PixelJunk Monsters, that game has me .I tried to stay away but it has Remote Play which is kinda janky to get connected right but plays so well.
    Well I hope you put up another POINTS! next month.If this PSN HOME thing pops off I hope you do POINTS! from your HOME room with avatar styling.

  38. Death BurnoutNo Gravatar Says:

    OI! lovely points report Jeff. it was a great length, you cant have enough of…”Jeff Gerstmann”

    One thing though, treyarch can Not make shooters…CoD 3, downright awful…ok it wasnt but since i am so accustomed Infinity Wards design (especially on weapons) it just dissapointed me.

    And yes, i just wish they would let WWII shooters go and die, its about time lets face it.

  39. top_bananaNo Gravatar Says:

    Oi Jeff,
    Like your Points, mate!
    Lovely Jubbly!

  40. MegaDeathNo Gravatar Says:

    Jeff — thanks for the Points! I watched the damn thing twice through last night, then once again this morning. Needless to say, I love your videos. If people are yammering for a podcast then why not just rip the audio from the video (the vast majority of which will make sense)? You’re a whiz with computers so I know you could make it work. Can’t wait for the next Points!

  41. PokerJoeyNo Gravatar Says:

    Hey Jeff Nice one for buying a Mac, you deserve it! But heres a lil advice and i really hope you read this, now youve got the hardware you need to get this this website lookin at its best coz right now lets be honest it looks bland at best. Get dreamweaver learn the basics of html and get it sorted, this could be so cool. Also get CS3, with that you can make vectors in illustrator put em in to flash, make an animation and put into dreamweaver, or edit your photos in photoshop etc etc. You could get this site much more popular then it is now. Also you need to make it easier to find, Your URL is hard to find and your google search for jeff gerstmann isnt high enough either.

    Im not a pro, infact im just 19 but all this makes business sense and you should so take my advice. Please read this i want you to be the guy that people think when they hear Video game reviewer.

    READ THIS JEFF!

  42. PhatSeeJayNo Gravatar Says:

    Keep the videos mate!
    Podcasts are more interesting when you can see who’s talking.

    Good stuff

  43. Jackal888No Gravatar Says:

    Hey jeff here are two free WORDPRESS Plugins that the PLaystation Blog use. I think you may want them too. They are $FREE.99 I am lazy so here is the link in non link form
    http://blog.us.playstation.com/2008/02/06/scea-plugin-release/

  44. PhatSeeJayNo Gravatar Says:

    And the Gravatar thing was pretty cool, hopefully more blogs picks it up.

  45. LeBartNo Gravatar Says:

    Noooooooo don’t make it a podcast !

  46. ZmillANo Gravatar Says:

    Points! such a perfect way to start the day.

  47. PhatSeeJayNo Gravatar Says:

    I agree with some posters here, would be awesome to have more of Alex, hehe just having him sitting in the background was awesome, lovely to see more of you both.

  48. Jackel2072No Gravatar Says:

    Great Video Jeff! I still enjoy the hour long ones. also the music at the end of the credits was really cool. Now im going to go play some more DMC4.

  49. John LewisNo Gravatar Says:

    Howdy Assface, this points! report was bitchin’ n’ shit!!!!!! That headband was the shit n’ shit!!!!!

  50. JPNo Gravatar Says:

    w00t! POINTS!!!!!!!111111one11!
    Haven’t seen it yet, but I’m sure it’s awesome.

  51. OldElfinNo Gravatar Says:

    For me a podcast, or even an audio only version of the show would be nice. I don’t tend to have a lot of time to sit and watch, but do have a lot of listen time.
    I’d have more time to sit and watch but I am addicted to video games, I’m sure some of you know what that is like

  52. tehmoragNo Gravatar Says:

    Very nice Jeff

    Fully agree with you on the Tony Hawk and Call of Duty game franchises…

    ^^
    ~Scott

  53. RinkalicousNo Gravatar Says:

    Wow, never even heard of Gravatars before. Hope it catches on.

  54. BrynNo Gravatar Says:

    You forgot to mention Nintendo when speaking about Japanese games. I think if you look at sales you will see that Japanese games are still very relevant to the world.

  55. PaulNo Gravatar Says:

    Mr. Gerstmann,
    I have some internet videos that might interest you.
    http://www.vimeo.com/692424

    http://www.vimeo.com/692292

    Check theses out if you have the time.

    -Paul

    NinthValidBacon on XBox live

    http://www.greatbandnames.wordpress.com

    paulgeranium@gmail.com

  56. StriderNo Gravatar Says:

    keep the video going…its tradition dammit! Plus its good to see headbands and such. Perhaps you should purchase some American Flag Ties from Mr. Billy Mitchel, or maybe a Keyboard tie. EEEeeeeEEEeeeee!

  57. PaulNo Gravatar Says:

    Check out AppZapper, Jefferson. Great little program that will completely erase all system files associated with the app you’re deleting. Pretty handy, and it makes a cool noise.

  58. TiberiusNo Gravatar Says:

    Great show Jeff enjoyed it, and hey at least your not doing a show from your mom’s basement ;)

  59. eduardoNo Gravatar Says:

    Good to know about the Gravatar thing… totally changed my avatar now!

    I got a question for the next show: what’s your view on console life span? We all know that the PC suffers from newer hardware coming out every six months, and people try to follow that to play their games. Do you think the consoles can follow a similar path with new and more powerful machines coming in at smaller intervals?

    How about the usage of current hardware - do you think developers fully use a console’s capabilities before they move on to its next iteration? For i.e, the PS2 got most of its best games during its “last” years, like God of War 2 and Okami… do you think developers and manufacturers are too quick to move to new hardware?

    Great show as always.

    Edu

  60. eduardoNo Gravatar Says:

    Erm… avatar didn’t work. Dang.

  61. ZenworkNo Gravatar Says:

    Hi Jeff,

    Sony Marketplace checks your credit card billing address and that that should match you account address.
    I have got some doubts that is going to work.

    Regards from Italy

  62. EoinNo Gravatar Says:

    great Points! as always. keep it as a video please, i seriously wouldnt be able to pay attention to just audio (and there would be no brilliant credits at the end :p)

  63. DukeNo Gravatar Says:

    Hey Jeff, first thanks for answering my question, that made me feel really special LOL. anyway, I would like to see you talking and typing to your buddies rather than just listening to your voice for an hour, so keep the video comin!!!!

  64. JoseppieNo Gravatar Says:

    Stay the course. Keep the vids. Rock the headband.

  65. ScottG13No Gravatar Says:

    How romantic!

    Ok, not. But still a great vodcast. Doesn’t really need to be if its just your floating head. Audio is fine. Most of us are probably listening at work on headphones or while we get Points at home, anyways.

  66. Erika GrecoNo Gravatar Says:

    I would love an audio only podcast of this show. I listen to it now by opening my browser playing the video and then hiding it while I work to just listen. The problem is it uses a lot of memory to run the video in the background so a podcast would be bad ass. Sign me up!

  67. CaddyNo Gravatar Says:

    Whatever! 70+ is great. I like the videos, although I am not some kind of stalker that watches all of it, I do other things. Regardless, we don’t get to see you all the time anymore so these long video blogs are a great way to catch up, for those who don’t like to read. Reading is in the past, just like World War Two. I am totally behind you with the WW2 games. Call of Duty 4 was so amazing, why would they go back? WHAT COULD THEY DO WITH WW2 THAT HASN’T BEEN DONE!!!

    Anyways, keep it up!

  68. IndifferenceNo Gravatar Says:

    Good “show”. Can’t wait to see how things will be when you do some stuff with Ryan and Alex.

  69. IsaacNo Gravatar Says:

    Ya i was doing work while listening to the points report so i could care less if points goes into audio form. Fact (not an opinion): Mario 3D games>>>>>>>>>>>Sonic 3D games.

    PS. Not a sonic hater, as I love the first three games on the genesis and own sonic 1 on xbla

  70. InglorionNo Gravatar Says:

    Great shew, Jeffinat0r. Felt shorter than the previous one, for some odd reason.

  71. ChrisNo Gravatar Says:

    What’s wrong with the Mystic, man. Do you have something against Y&T?

    Holding it down in Santa Rosa - Chris

  72. Jason ENo Gravatar Says:

    The Gravatars are a nice idea.

  73. KevinNo Gravatar Says:

    Keep them coming =)

    I think a monthly 60 minute show is appropriate.

  74. Clay RNo Gravatar Says:

    It would be cool if you could do both. But don’t do simply audio. That would take a lot of the entertainment away from it.

  75. FoxhoundADAMNo Gravatar Says:

    An Audio verions of the points wouls be FANTASTIC.

    It would be the headband of audio podcasts.

  76. darrrenNo Gravatar Says:

    Give Sonic To Criterion! Oh Man!!!!!!!!!!!

  77. CasperNo Gravatar Says:

    Hey Jeff, I have a question for the next Points! video:¨

    Have you played Uncharted: Drakes Fortune? If so, what difficulty level did you play it on? I just played through the on Hard. I originally played it on Easy, but the harder difficulty actually made me love the game more.

  78. CasperNo Gravatar Says:

    Oh yeah, I forgot to mention something. Did you like the game? :P

  79. gotemrunninNo Gravatar Says:

    keep up the news man. digging the points video vlog.

  80. sillymikeyNo Gravatar Says:

    Nice headband! Headbands are back in baby!

  81. HarryNo Gravatar Says:

    Hey Jeff, love these videos. Keep them at this length, an hour long episode each month is awesome. And keep it as a video, audio only would take away the entertainment somehow. Keep up the great work, and good luck with whatever you’ve got lined up. Seriously, if you get something together with Ryan and Alex, best site on the web.

  82. j@PpNo Gravatar Says:

    Jeff,
    What do you think or are you able to comment ,and if its already been asked then I apologies,your former Collegues at your former employer seem to be jumping ship?

  83. duxupNo Gravatar Says:

    Re: snarkfest. I follow this blog it is because Jeff just tosses out his thoughts with no pretension, doesn’t seem to take a games personally, and respects any potential dissenting opinions. Better yet if Jeff does freak out he goes the humor route and I think that’s far more enjoyable than the overwhelming about of snarky witting about games that is out there.

  84. Josh ONo Gravatar Says:

    great show! i would love it if u would have points in both a video and audio version pretty much ripping the sound track from the vid only prab my be were to host the audio oh well nice show anyway

  85. bjornoNo Gravatar Says:

    DUDE YOU GOT DELL’d

  86. The FloodNo Gravatar Says:

    Keep up the good work homie. It’s alot better than watching half the GS leave.

  87. OtakuRayNo Gravatar Says:

    You are the best man, don’t ever leave us.

  88. mitchNo Gravatar Says:

    Gravatars are pretty cool! I love Points!, Jeff, and I don’t have a problem with the length. But I thought the part where you were IMing was a little annoying and broke up the flow. Just my two cents.

    Here’s my question for the next episode…Do you like my Gravatar? And do you think Toys For Bob will get to ever make another in this awesome series?

  89. mitchNo Gravatar Says:

    Huh, Gravatar didn’t work…lame. It was that awesome Ur-Quan art from SC2. LAUNCH FIGHTERS!!!

  90. mitchNo Gravatar Says:

    OK, I’m dumb. End transmission.

  91. hyperslugNo Gravatar Says:

    This is awsome… but long…

    audio podcast for the win!

  92. JPNo Gravatar Says:

    Keep it video man, “points” without the headband, hand gestures, and visual aids, wouldn’t be as entertaining, and not to mention the “credits”.

    p.s. I’m diggin’ the end music, makes me wish the credits were longer.

  93. LoganNo Gravatar Says:

    Glad to see you went with the Pro. I highly suggest looking around for open source apps and freeware for the mac. Lots and lots of cool stuff out there.

  94. RenegadeNo Gravatar Says:

    I love the videos. Its all about the facial expressions imo, they tell half the story.

    Also, for windows Vista, I had the same blue screen issues as you when I installed SP1 RC1. Once I uninstalled it, 90% of the blue screens went away. However, the computer still freezes up every once in a while. I just installed a bios update and hope that fixes it, but it is indeed Vista that is the problem. I’m with you on hoping the official SP1 will solve all these issues.

  95. johnnybonanzaNo Gravatar Says:

    I would really lik to play The Witcher, but problem is I that my current PC can barely run flash games. Maybe some how a new pc will suddenly fall into my lap and then I can play The Witcher.

  96. Xander51No Gravatar Says:

    Hey Jeff, loved the new video. I don’t think the length is an issue, though I admit I’d rather see shorter videos more frequently as I’m always curious about your thoughts on the game biz, even on Valentine’s Day. Keep up the awesome work!

    The only 3D Sonic game I think has done things close to right is Sonic and the Secret Rings, that Wii game. Did you have a chance to play that one?

  97. d_man46No Gravatar Says:

    sweet video man, love points and wondering if you got around to watching The King of Kong. Not a bad movie.

  98. SpiredCrescent7No Gravatar Says:

    videos are awesome.

  99. UpanishadNo Gravatar Says:

    Jeff your videos are incredible; don’t do away with them ever. If anything, I’d like to see them meet or exceed feature film length. No need for special effects, just keep commentary coming.

  100. FlytippNo Gravatar Says:

    I love watching these. It would be cool if you did these on a more regular basis and talked about the current news in gaming. also keep it in video form because its something different than just a plain podcast.

    keep up the good work cant wait for the next one

  101. zynNo Gravatar Says:

    Keep it in video format!

  102. ServantesNo Gravatar Says:

    Just seen the video. Thanks for the answer to my question at the end, I agree with you but Sonic Adventure better than Mario Sunshine in my opinion.

    About the video format, it’s perfect. Monthly 1 hour clip with a lenghty Q&A session is great.

  103. StuNo Gravatar Says:

    POINTS!

  104. KrishanNo Gravatar Says:

    Yay another points video! I can’t wait to watch this.

    Keep it as a video and not an audio podcast. And keep the length as long as required, 1 hour+ isn’t too long at all.

  105. StuNo Gravatar Says:

    Poker Smash is the best game ever, also Rez is awesome, there the only 2 games on Arcade that have made me regret not having Microsoft points.

  106. RenegadeNo Gravatar Says:

    Here is a question for you Jeff:

    What do you think about Professional Gaming? Do you think it will eber really kick off and become an event that can actually attract mainstream spectators?

  107. David SnakesNo Gravatar Says:

    Points! is awesome. I love it more than the HotSpot at this point. 70+ minutes is fine with me

  108. Tom (Ireland)No Gravatar Says:

    Great show as usual!

    I also would prefer an audio version simply for the much smaller file size and the ability to play videogames whilst listening.

  109. ChrisNo Gravatar Says:

    Sorry I’m too lazy to read all these comments but thanks for reading out my question and yes I agree that San Anderas was the best GTA game and thanks again for saying Rockstar North is in Scotland and not simply Britain (just a petty thing but it gets on my nerves when people think it’s just one country or all England)

  110. Daniel PeresNo Gravatar Says:

    hey jeff for next points video i would like to know if you already watched king of kong and your opinion about it

  111. madrunnerNo Gravatar Says:

    I prefer video to an audio podcast… Keep it real!

  112. HenryNo Gravatar Says:

    Alright, got me a GRAvatar.

  113. OtakuRayNo Gravatar Says:

    The time was not problem but you should make an audio version and also a downloadable version of Points!. You r the best Jeff. Keep up the really really good work.

  114. Jimmy NymanNo Gravatar Says:

    Alright. First of all. Thanks for another great videoblog. Kept me entertained while eating before going to work then again while eating when coming home from work. Like I´ve said before, its the perfect meal program and again, its waaay more interesting than any online show im watching at the moment.

    With that out of the way I just gotta say. Never ever turn this into audio only. Audio only stuff tends to be way less engaging. It dosent get as personal and if you´re going to listen for audio for 75 minutes you either gotta play something, read something or put it on while going to bed (or something like that) and that will just take away from the focus and leave me hearing only half of what you have to say.
    Sure you could rip the audio from the videoblog and post it as an extra for those that want to listen to an mp3 ( I can see myself doing that while at work or in a buss or something, sure). But never ever take away the face of Jeff Gerstmann from the points! reports. Ever! Do you hear(read) me?!

    Stop being negative about the lenght. As both me and others have said before, I could listen to a Lord of the Rings, extrended version - lenght videoblog from you without it ever feeling to spaced out or to long. In fact I gotta admit that the spontanious rambling is part of the thing that makes it so compelling, personal and interesting to listen to, since it really comes from the heart. Very few people can be so relaxed and spontanious in front of a camera. Most of the videoblogs you see these days are some dude looking super stiff and nervous and after 7 minutes he runs out of material and its just depressing to watch. But I guess that if you were going to do these on a regular basis it might actually get pretty challenging to have so much to talk about ever time. With more regular reports (wich is still one of my greatest desires in life) theres less stuff to ramble about each time. But hey, never underestimate the Jeff I guess.

    On a sidenote im also hyping up Aidosurf where I live at the moment. Cant wait for it to come out..hey wait, it comes out today, like right now…what am I still doing here??!?!
    Anyways. Thanks for producing the most intersting videoblog on the crazy Internet. I could go on forever about how much I agree on different topics like Japanese game development, Sonic and the negativity of the internet and stuff but It wont serve any purpose.
    Over and out!

  115. MikeNo Gravatar Says:

    Dell laptops suck i have a sony one its great

  116. OC Dawg 45No Gravatar Says:

    1000 Points on call of duty 4 mate! can’t top that can you jeff

  117. YoungBuckNo Gravatar Says:

    how can I download this and stream it to my xbox?

  118. Jacob FragaNo Gravatar Says:

    Great Video, it’s a little on the long side, but if you don’t mind talking into a camera for that long then I don’t think any of us mind. So just keep on Rockin’!!!
    *I’ve also got a few questions for your next points:*

    I was just curious as to whether or not you think the GTA4 “collectors edition” is worth the price? Because I’m considering changing my reserve I have on the game to the standard edition for reasons related to me never sporting the duffel bag in public, ever… But it’s always good to get a second opinion.

    And my other question is,

    Do you think Harmonix will move onto bigger and better things than Rock Band, such as “Marching Band” or will they continue on with a Rock Band 2, if so what do you think will change?

    Answer whichever question you think is better. Thanks.

  119. DarroNo Gravatar Says:

    Even if you think they are too long, people still watch the entire thing and you can call us crazy for that if you wish. Its just very interesting to watch or listen to you talk about a variety of different subjects because you just go into good detail at times and really enjoy that part of your Points Videos the most.

    Not sure if this question will get answered but here is a shot anyway: Do you think certain game franchises have ran their course and should be non-existent in today’s industry despite the changes made in new editions? If yes, name them.

  120. BenNo Gravatar Says:

    Jeff, I think I have the same computer as you, the Dell XPS 720? I have the same specs at least. I also have the Vista SP1 RC and I never get a blue screen. Never. So you might have some driver that’s causing it, I’d try updating all your drivers.

  121. James StansfeldNo Gravatar Says:

    Loving your work, man.

    I honestly don’t mind whether you only do audio podcasts from now on, but it’s nice seeing you every couple of weeks, so i reckon the video blog should stay.

    The length is fine as it is, the Gamespot shows used to last over an hour and that felt just right.

    I’m still annoyed they kicked you out of Gamespot, but i like what you’re doing now, so i guess it’s good all around.

    Take care, Jeff.

  122. JasonNo Gravatar Says:

    Another awesome points report!

    I have a question:

    What do you think of Microsoft packaging new achievements w/ dlc that you buy? This might work for COD 4 if they put online based achievements into their dlc.

  123. ChrisNo Gravatar Says:

    So now that you have Singstar PS3 will we be seeing new videos of you singing songs.

  124. liquidninjaNo Gravatar Says:

    I don’t know what it is but I just love how long your videos are,
    but on the other hand they can be time consuming and I do have other things to do, but that’s more of a “time management” issue.

    Also, yeah I totally agree Sonic Adventure doesn’t stand the test of time very well and yeah Mario Sunshine was just mediocre maybe even a little lower. Really, I’ve seen way better platformers even back then.

  125. WildTurkeyNo Gravatar Says:

    What the hell dude . . .

    How the hell can you talk for so long?

  126. gscottps2No Gravatar Says:

    Awesome, the JG solo show, keep it up!

  127. Nicholas PetropouleasNo Gravatar Says:

    click anywhere repeatedly on the progress bar for some cool gerstmann looping effects.

    p.s. awesome vid jeff

  128. RuisuNo Gravatar Says:

    Jeff I must ask how much on average do you pay for your electric bill?

  129. madrunnerNo Gravatar Says:

    Hey, what’s the thing with Professor Layton?? That caught me of suprise. Such high critics. Have you played it? If so, plz post something about it…

    About the video/audio/lenght issue: I prefer the video. I don’t listen to podcasts when traveling. There’s somehing called music. And that’s it. The lenght of the videos doesn’t hurt me neither. I start watching it and the time just passes by (by the way, it’s almost 4 a.m. in Portugal,Europe so I guess I’m the one with time issues), so, as long as you continue to do your excellent work, I have no lenght issues.

    Appreciate if you post something about the professor layton…cya

  130. Nicholas PetropouleasNo Gravatar Says:

    “I think Sonic CD is the best Sonic game”

    agreed.

  131. BlaceNo Gravatar Says:

    Totally loved this episode (except for the whole not talking and typing part :P). I have a question for you: I recently say some news reports citing that Miyamoto said that there will be more Zelda and Mario games coming. Do you think they will be DS or Wii games, and do you think Zelda will finally break out of its mold it has formed over the years?

  132. Matt SidesNo Gravatar Says:

    Awesome! Points videos are always awesome. Waiting for the next one already.

  133. That One ZombieNo Gravatar Says:

    How do you feel about Ice-T going from cop killing, to playing a cop on Law & Order SVU?

  134. You no get my name computerNo Gravatar Says:

    Good God just make this a downloadable podcast I’m diein here!!!!

  135. NateNo Gravatar Says:

    You now say that your now a console shooter fan, but what controller do you feel has the best feel, balance, button placement, and grip?
    from N64 to the PS3 or 360?

    Also, the points report is now my number 1 internet program. but we need a podcast form. now with the mac you can maybe dump it to itunes?

  136. OckmanNo Gravatar Says:

    I love watching your points videos. Great to see another one. It could be done like a podcast like you said, but for some reason, it’s more entertaining to watch then to just listin to me. I still can’t wait to see what you got in the works in the future.

  137. RonnieNo Gravatar Says:

    Just another “the Gravitar’s are awesome” comment. BTW, just downloaded Poker Smash based on your recommendation and my girlfriend and I are having a blast with it.

    Keep it real. (I just felt like saying that…)

  138. NateNo Gravatar Says:

    also, HEADBANDS FTW!!!!

  139. BlazehedgehogNo Gravatar Says:

    The way you are with Rez, that’s how I am with NiGHTS. Usually around Christmas I’ll go “Oh hey, Christmas NiGHTS! And while I’m at it, I’ll play the original NiGHTS!”

    And the Saturn gets hooked up and I’m frustrated that I have to buy a battery to keep my save files and I never do.

    And about an hour later after I’ve beaten both NiGHTS and Christmas NiGHTS I turn it off and it goes back in the closet for a year.

  140. Cask 23No Gravatar Says:

    Good report.

    I agree completely about the whole macbook pro thing. Gotta own one to know what the fuss is about.

  141. skonedogNo Gravatar Says:

    Nice vlog,
    Jeff.. what camera do u use? i never really noticed, but that camera is pumping out some pretty nice visuals..

    also, keep the “V” in “Vlog” please.
    its more fun to watch… funnily enough.

  142. Robot FishNo Gravatar Says:

    I sometimes need to fill 60+ mins with something to watch so i say keep it long and in video form it’s more interesting than audio.

  143. Ef_MaNNo Gravatar Says:

    Awesome episode of Points! Look forwards to see more of you like this..

  144. SimonNo Gravatar Says:

    Yes!!! Another Mac convert. Logic Pro is the way to go for writing/creating your music dude.

  145. Kyle CNo Gravatar Says:

    I’m sorry sir, but Sonic Rush is crap and Sonic 3 is the best Sonic game. But then again, Sonic 3 was my FIRST video game, so I guess my opinion is a little skewed there. Anyways, I still love these video blogs. Keep ‘em coming and don’t worry about the length.

  146. Cpt SmorterNo Gravatar Says:

    Jeff, your videos can never be too long. Not possible.

  147. A RobinsonNo Gravatar Says:

    Please Jeff, keep the videos coming.

  148. JamesNo Gravatar Says:

    I could see why people like this podcast. Because it’s awesome! Keep up the good work.

  149. GrevenNo Gravatar Says:

    Yeah, cant you make an mp3 of your point reports too?
    It would be nice to sit and listen on my way to school.
    I miss you on the hotspot.

  150. WickedCobra03No Gravatar Says:

    Yo Jeff! I just wanted to re-enforce how bad the hotspot and on the spot is without you, rich and alex. Brad and Ryan still try but its not the same…so go you guys!

    Next, SONIC IS TEH AWESOME. Well actually, NOT, Sonic PS3 sucked…not going to lie. I think the only once since the original sonic adventure on the dreamcast that comes close to the glory of the old sonic days is Sonic Heroes. It did a lot of things right, but a few things wrong that just did not make it an AAA game, but it has the speed a lot of the time until you hit an abrupt stop, cool puzzles, but they slow down gameplay. It seems like they have like 2 awesome things they did to every 1 thing that didn’t seem to work out. Thoughts?

    Next, do an audio and videopodcast of this and post that up dude! You alone are more interesting to listen to than the Hotspot now, so if I could get you on my iPod(yes, sounds dirty eh?), you prolly would replace the hotspot on a weekly basis!

    Keep up the good work, and get that new site up! Oh yeah, and get rich g back from the east coast, or all y’all move out there and get a site going!

  151. UnrestNo Gravatar Says:

    Thanks again, Jeff–I always enjoy hearing from you, in whatever form it may be.

  152. evilemperorNo Gravatar Says:

    Thanks for the information Jeff, you are still the best in the business and I will continue to support any project you do, thanks and keep up the great work!

  153. MitchNo Gravatar Says:

    Hey Jeff!

    Thanks for Points! Found your insights as enlightening as ever; I also think it’s interesting how Japan, the capital of video gaming for so long, is losing its grip on developing. However, it’s also linked to the social development of disinterest regarding ‘hardcore’ games in the Japanese public. I wonder if that will ever happen in Europe or in the US. I do find games that demand 15+ hours of my time not so appealing right now, but that’s just because I’m working on my master thesis, and that’s a whole other story.

    Concerning Sonic vs. Mario: Maybe a Sonic game would work better in 3D if they made Sonic sections of the game more like Burnout with a real sensation for speed and tricks, and less emphasis on getting rings and running through gates. Then you could have Tales sections like the ‘Riding on Pegasus’ bits of ‘God of War 2′ or just like a flying game generally (but not Lair). It just seems such a shame that franchise is ‘in the gutter’, as you’ve fittingly noted on previous occasions…

    Your remark on needing the MacBook Pro for “Travelling and writing” was very tantalizing. It certainly sounds like you have a new game plan.

    All the best!

  154. JamesNo Gravatar Says:

    Points is the best online game show ever

  155. Tufty McTavishNo Gravatar Says:

    I watched the whole Points vid this afternoon - the IM interludes towards the end had me laughing out loud, I kid you not. I’ve also signed up for Gravatar as that seems like a totally sensible idea to me.

    I find the whole Achievement watching quite fascinating, and I do like hearing about the Achievements folks are chasing and how they achieved the trickier ones. That’s an all-round good discussion in my book.

  156. TobyClay1No Gravatar Says:

    Don’t turn this into a podcast, it’s more personal and entertaining to watch this in video form. And for me it’s hard to focus on simply audio, it works better if it’s a video.

  157. NetNo Gravatar Says:

    I liked the video, good job.

  158. ghostrcNo Gravatar Says:

    Great video!

    A suggestion is to still have a video upload, but also an audio podcast.

    Many people seem to think if you have an audio podcast your going to get rid of the video blog.

  159. AbhinavNo Gravatar Says:

    Gotta love points report and thought you were great on Xplay!

  160. VigorousjammerNo Gravatar Says:

    oh, cmon’… you can’t change the points update to an audio podcast… that’;d lose the magic, and… it’d be an injustice to society! …yeah!

    some people must seem to think webcams can only be used for people masturbating to each other on some skeevy websites…
    prove those people wrong! and wear your headbands proudly… or… something…

  161. KorubiNo Gravatar Says:

    I’m loving that you got a Mac.

  162. ElkoNo Gravatar Says:

    where’s the football??

  163. UnderscoreNo Gravatar Says:

    Did you win a lawsuit or something, or how do you keep buying new stuff you rich motherfather. Looking forward to the next points report, keep it hyphy.

  164. trevNo Gravatar Says:

    I hope you keep making the video’s, just strip the audio from the video cast and use that for podcasting. Keep up the good work.
    Did you ever complete Super Mario Galaxy and did you like it?

  165. Daniel.PNo Gravatar Says:

    Once again watched the entire thing without missing a beat. Keep’em coming. I do think an audio version would be better for people with lower bandwidth but as long as you keep the video one up to (selfish aren’t we? :)).

  166. roagagoadgasdgaNo Gravatar Says: