WRUP: Oh no some guy with a snake is screwing with made-up predictions edition

So I guess there was some to-do about how something in the astrological whatever got screwed up by Ophiuchus or something? I'm catching up late here; I seriously didn't think that astrology was something people did any more. I thought it got sort of phased out once the '90s were over, like Fruitopia beverages and the Olympics. It's not like the sign is new or something, nor has it suddenly become true that astrology has an influence on your day-to-day life.

If you've really got to read something in which a bunch of people predict the future, you might as well read WRUP. After all, that's the staff predicting what we're going to be doing over the course of the weekend, and we're generally pretty good about that. Plus, we also talk about watching things that are out of our control as we discuss whether or not livestreaming affects our game purchase patterns. So click on past the break to see what we're up to over the weekend, and let us know what you'll be doing in the comments.

Beau Hindman (@Beau_Hindman): I will be playing some more Anarchy Online and then moving on to my next Rise and Shiny game, Asheron's Call. (I'm on a big "older" game kick. They really are great games!) I will, of course, be playing my butt off in Wizard101 for the Choose My Adventure series.

Has a livestream influenced a game choice? To be honest, not really, but only because most streaming I have seen is usually made up a podcast for one specific game or simply some dude droning on about Xbox Live games. Videos will definitely influence my decisions, though. If it's something new, I will go check it out. I do not let someone's opinion, even if it is live and in video, steer me away. I love discovering new games. I do enjoy a live show if the people stay on topic and have fun, though. I just can't stand when it's nothing but three or four girls talking about something like getting drunk or anything but the subject.

Brendan Drain (@nyphur): It's my birthday today; I'm 25 and feeling a little bit old. I have just gotten broadband back in and have finally been able to download the latest EVE Online patch. The new character creator is fantastic. I have a feeling I'll be spending most of this weekend playing with it.

Brianna Royce (@nbrianna): If I am feeling up to gaming this weekend, it'll be World of Warcraft!

Livestreams have changed my opinion on several games; seeing how the game actually moves and flows sells me more than a mere screenshot. Beau's stream/video of Zentia was enough to get me to download and play the game (which I'd previously dismissed as bizarre), and though I didn't buy DC Universe Online, Larry and Krys' streams of that game took my interest from "zzz" to "hmmm!" in about five minutes.

Eliot Lefebvre: My plans for the weekend seem to keep changing every five minutes, but the plan for my weekend gaming consists of some StarCraft II and some Final Fantasy XIV, as well as the copy of Spore I got as a gift. (I know, it's a couple years old, but I still didn't actually own it.)

Livestreaming does influence my game purchases, but it's in a slow and passive sense — I rarely buy games on launch and usually wait until I decide that the game is something that would sit well with me. So usually I'll watch a livestream or something in the midst of deciding, just to see if the game is worth the purchase or not. It's never what starts the urge, but it does help me make up my mind.

Jef Reahard: I'm completely addicted to DC Universe Online, and if there's any game time left in my weekend after that, I'll be squeezing in a little Age of Conan faction grinding and a Global Agenda mission or two. I've also returned to Aion for a bit, but that's mostly AFK crafting and the occasional Dredgion run.

Livestreaming doesn't really do a whole lot for me, because I play everything that comes out anyway (well, everything but browser games). I will cop to viewing an Assassin's Creed Brotherhood playthrough to find out how to get past a particularly annoying bit of platforming, but that's about it thus far.

Justin Olivetti (@Sypster): Right now I'm rounding out my level 65 Captain's virtues in Lord of the Rings Online before I head into Enedwaith — nothing too thrilling there, but it makes me happy to have some form of alternative advancement in the game outside of levels.

As for livestreams... to be honest, I'd always rather play a game than watch someone else play it. I don't even really like watching game trailers that much.

Karen Bryan (@JayeRnH): I'll be playing EverQuest II and some Wizard101 with my kids.

As for the bonus question, I haven't necessarily been affected by Livestream, but I did pick up Minecraft after seeing some YouTube gameplay videos. I can definitely see myself using it a lot more to help check out new games.

Krystalle Voecks (@Krystalle): I'm planning on getting in some DCUO and Black Prophecy this weekend. It's time I started a villain. Beyond that, I'm heading to the Magic Kingdom at Disney World to hunt Hidden Mickeys with friends. Don't hate.

As for streaming, I can't say that it has. Generally, if I'm interested enough in a game to hunt down a livestream, I'm already interested enough to purchase the game on its own merit. I suppose it does decide when I'll purchase to a certain extent; if the game looks well-polished and fun on the livestream, I'll probably pick it up as a pre-order. If the game is incredibly beta when very close to launch, then I'll get it a few months after the game launches. I still generally wind up buying the game either way.

Larry Everett (@Shaddoe): It looks like I will be spending another weekend defending the world from Brainiac and other evil villains in DCUO. The Massively Overpowered league is a lot of fun; more people should join us.

Livestreams really weren't an influence for me until Massively started doing them. I don't know that they have ever caused me to go out to buy a game, but they have helped me appreciate some games that I previously had no interest in.

Patrick Mackey: I feel like a broken record sometimes: Champions, StarCraft II, possibly World of Tanks for me. I have quite a few goals on my main now (in Champions), most of which involve lots of grinding. I may not play a whole lot of the others, even though I really need the StarCraft practice. As for the bonus question, a livestream has never influenced me to pick up a new game, but it has influenced me to pick up games that I've already played again. I'm not sure if that counts!

At the start of every weekend, we catch up with the Massively staff members and ask them, "What are you playing this week?" (Otherwise known as: WRUP!) Join us to see what we're up to in and out of game — and catch us in the comments to let us know what you're playing, too!