chris-grant
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This is a goodbye post
Two thousand, two hundred and thirty three days ago, I wrote my first post on Joystiq. Just days before, I was still employed as a carpenter while writing video game reviews for an alternative newsweekly in Philadelphia. My first weekend with the site was marked by the launch of the Xbox 360 and the import of the "next generation" moniker wasn't lost on me. Realizing the scale of the opportunity I had, I started working full-time as a freelancer for what was then a bustling Weblogs, Inc. Six months later, at just $5 a post, I had exhausted my savings and made a plea to become a full-time AOL employee. Option B was to return to carpentry. Finding out I would be hired as Joystiq's first salaried editor easily ranked as one of the greatest moments in my life, and still does. But I'll be leaving Joystiq, effective the end of the month. In my six plus years at the site, I've found myself surrounded by some of the most talented and dedicated writers covering an industry full of talented and creative developers. More scrappy startup than corporate outlet, Joystiq has been defined by the commitment of its team more than any other factor; this team lives at Joystiq, with equal parts wit, enthusiasm, and caffeine. It's been thrilling, humbling, and exhausting; a truly formative experience for me. But like all formative experiences, this one has come to an end. Joystiq has always evolved – the integration of the Fanboy sites (Ultrastiq) or our 2010 redesign (Futurestiq) – and it will move forward under the guidance of a veteran team led by the singularly talented Ludwig Kietzmann replacing me as editor-in-chief. Now it faces another evolutionary phase, marked by my absence, and I'm no less confident in the team's ability to address that challenge. After all, the boss always changes into a different form. I want to thank Joystiq's original editor, Vlad Cole, for offering me the position in the first place. I want to thank the original Weblogs Inc. team including Jason Calacanis, Brad Hill, Barb Dybwad, Brian Alvey, and others, along with the original Engadget team, including Ryan Block, Peter Rojas, and current Editorial Director Josh Fruhlinger. While it might not have seemed like much at the time, these people offered me an opportunity that changed my life with the kind of permanence and indelibility usually reserved for tragedy or parenthood. I couldn't be more thankful. And lastly, I'd like to thank everyone reading this site. Video game media is changing and has been changing for as long as I can remember and there's one simple reason for that: the readers. Weaned on innovation and excellence, video game players are practically bred to be the most critical, passionate, and invested audience imaginable. There is no harsher critic or stronger supporter and that investment will continue to lead to great things. And that's where I'm going. To discover the next generation again, and see what other opportunities are available. You can follow me on Twitter (@chrisgrant) to find out more but, until then, I can promise you the latest, breaking news on what I'm having for lunch.
Finally, Decide-o-tron features Joystiq editors' top picks
Ever wondered what your favorite video game journalists would classify as their favorite (semi-recent) games and, if so, which order they would be placed from one to ten? Us too! And the same evidently goes for the chaps at Penny Arcade, whose Decide-o-tron iOS app offers just such insight. The Decide-o-tron is a database app, used to catalog the games you have (Library), the games you want (Wishlist), and the games you don't know you want yet. That's where the Celebrity Lists feature comes in. You can see both Justin and I's top three games above, but where does WarioWare: Twisted land and on whose list? And what about Evidence: The Last Ritual? There's only one way to find out, and it's at that Source link just below for the fair market price of $0.
The Engadget Show - 007: Nicholas Negroponte, PlayStation Move exclusive demos, Dr. Richard Marks, Joystiq's Chris Grant, and more!
Well kids, this was one for the record books. If you didn't catch the live stream of the show (or you weren't there in person), here's your chance to get in on the action. On one of our biggest shows ever, Josh sits down with visionary technologist (and the man behind the OLPC project and MIT's Media Lab, amongst others) Nicholas Negroponte for a chat, tries to figure out why we can't get train schedules on our phones with new correspondent Rick Karr, and Paul and Chris Grant grill Dr. Richard Marks about the PlayStation Move. Oh, and it's not just talking -- we demo the Move in-person, even checking out some never-before-seen demos Sony has whipped up. All that, and music from minusbaby and visuals from notendo. Did we mention the hundreds of giveaways? No? Okay... just watch the thing! Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Paul Miller, Nilay Patel Special guests: Nicholas Negroponte, Richard Marks, Christopher Grant Produced and Directed by: Chad Mumm Executive Producer: Joshua Fruhlinger Edited by: Glenn Gapultos Music by: minusbaby Visuals by: notendo Opening titles by: Julien Nantiec Download the Show: The Engadget Show - 007 (HD) / The Engadget Show - 007 (iPod / iPhone / Zune formatted) Subscribe to the Show: [iTunes] Subscribe to the Show directly in iTunes (M4V). [Zune] Subscribe to the Show directly in the Zune Marketplace (M4V). [RSS M4V] Add the Engadget Show feed (M4V) to your RSS aggregator and have it delivered automatically.%Gallery-88680%
Engadget Show with PlayStation Move (and Chris Grant) live ... right now!
If you're not out walking around on this beautiful day, or sitting in the live taping at the Times Center in NYC, you should probably get your eyes on The Engadget Show that's happening live right now! Aside from the MIT Media Lab and OLPC Project's Nicholas Negroponte, Sony's Dr. Richard Marks will be dishing on the PlayStation Move to Engadget's Joshua Topolsky and Paul Miller, not to mention Joystiq's very own Chris Grant. Hit the break for the live stream! Update: The live stream has ended, but you can always catch The Engadget Show over on Engadget.com or on iTunes, to view at your leisure.
The Engadget Show live with Nicholas Negroponte, PlayStation Move, and Joystiq's Chris Grant
Keep your eyes tuned to this post -- because at 5:00 PM ET, we'll be starting The Engadget Show live, with Nicholas Negroponte of the MIT Media Lab and OLPC Project, Dr. Richard Marks showing off Sony's PlayStation Move, commentary from Joystiq editor Chris Grant, plus much, much, more! You seriously don't want to miss it! Update: The live show is over, but don't fret. We've got the full version coming soon (within a day) for download via iTunes, Zune Marketplace, and RSS feed, or you can watch the stream right here. Stay tuned, the post will be soon!
The Engadget Show tapes tomorrow, with Nicholas Negroponte and PlayStation Move!
Can't wait for another Engadget Show to roll around? Well you're in luck, friend. It's happening tomorrow at 5:00pm ET. We'll be doing giveaways at the show taping only, so brave the glorious sunshine and join us in person for a chance to win great prizes! Josh will be sitting down with Nicholas Negroponte of the MIT Media Lab and the OLPC project to discuss the upcoming XO PC and pontificate about the future of technology. Sony will also be on hand to demo PlayStation Move motion controller and the company's senior researcher Dr. Richard Marks will be there to give us the behind-the-scenes story. We'll have live demos of stuff never-before-seen on Move, including some hands-on audience demos! Much to our excitement, the usual crew will be joined by Joystiq's very own Christ Grant for the roundtable. You'll also be meeting our new investigative correspondent Rick Karr and we'll have plenty of amazing giveaways at the show. Also expect an out-of-this-world performance from minusbaby complete with stunning visuals from notendo, as well as some other big surprises... As you may have heard, livestreaming is back by popular demand and so is live Twitter commenting! You will now be able to tweet your comments directly to the livestream! During the show, just include the hashtag "#engadgetshow" and look for your tweet to show up on the ticker at the bottom of the stream. One thing to note, The Engadget Show is a family program, so any single instance of swearing or trolling will force us to turn off the ticker... and it won't come back on. So, keep it clean and have fun! The Engadget Show is sponsored by Sprint, and will take place at the Times Center, part of The New York Times Building in the heart of New York City at 41st St. between 7th and 8th Avenues (see map after the break). Tickets are -- as always -- free to anyone who would like to attend, but seating is limited, and tickets will be first come, first served... so get there early! Here's all the info you need: There is no admission fee -- tickets are completely free The event is all ages Ticketing will begin at the Times Center at 2:30PM on Saturday, doors will open for seating at 4:30PM, and the show begins at 5PM You cannot collect tickets for friends or family -- anyone who would like to come must be present to get a ticket Seating capacity in the Times Center is about 340, and once we're full, we're full The venue is located at 41st St. between 7th and 8th Avenues in New York City (map after the break) The show length is around an hour If you're a member of the media who wishes to attend, please contact us at: engadgetshowmedia [at] engadget [dot] com, and we'll try to accommodate you. All other non-media questions can be sent to: engadgetshow [at] engadget [dot] com. Subscribe to the Show: [iTunes] Subscribe to the Show directly in iTunes (M4V). [Zune] Subscribe to the Show directly in the Zune Marketplace (M4V). [RSS M4V] Add the Engadget Show feed (M4V) to your RSS aggregator and have it delivered automatically.
The Engadget Show - 003: Drew Bamford, Joystiq's Chris Grant, Adamo XPS, and lots of game demos
This is a big one, folks. The new installment of The Engadget Show is jam-packed with goodness. First up, Josh sits down with HTC's director of user experience Drew Bamford to discuss Android, Sense, Windows Mobile and a whole lot more. Then we've got a charming little segment where Paul and Josh go hunting around NYC for KIRFs, and Chris Grant joins the gang on stage for a dissection of the holiday gaming situation... and some demos where the gang gets to show off their totally radical moves. Seriously, Josh and Nilay have a DJ Hero battle, and Paul Miller skates (but doesn't die) in Tony Hawk: Ride. Don't miss this one -- it might just be the best yet! Full video is after the break. Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Paul Miller, Nilay Patel Special guests: Drew Bamford, Chris Grant Produced and Directed by: Chad Mumm Executive Producer: Josh Fruhlinger Edited by: Michael Slavens Music by: Glomag Visuals by: Dan Winckler Opening titles by: Julien Nantiec Special thanks to VIZIO for providing the 55 TruLED LCD HDTV! Download the Show: The Engadget Show - 003 (HD) / The Engadget Show - 003 (iPod / iPhone / Zune formatted) Subscribe to the Show: [iTunes] Subscribe to the Show directly in iTunes (M4V). [Zune] Subscribe to the Show directly in the Zune Marketplace (M4V). [RSS M4V] Add the Engadget Show feed (M4V) to your RSS aggregator and have it delivered automatically.
Reminder: Today's Engadget Show to feature Joystiq's Chris Grant!
Are you in New York City today wondering what to do at 5PM? We suggest you head to the below address in NYC's beautiful East Village where The Engadget Show is being taped, featuring not just HTC's Drew Bamford, but also Joystiq's very own head honcho Chris Grant! They'll be talking games and giving out an Xbox 360 Modern Warfare 2 bundle to one lucky attendee. Seating is limited to 450 and tickets are available ... right now at the Tishman Auditorium. We're serious! Head over this minute! Tishman Auditorium at Parsons The New School for Design 66 W. 12th Street New York, NY 10011
Group seeks to turn Illadelph into 'the Hollywood for video games'
Like the smattering of American states and, umm, international unions that have already begun financially incentivizing game development, a few Philadelphians hope to convince the city's legislature to do the same. Philadelphia's City Paper reports that the Video game Growth Initiative recently presented its case for economic growth through game development to "representatives from state government and city economic groups."Though the representatives suggested the re-packaging of "already existing business incentives," the group has bigger plans for its ideas, saying, "That's still not enough, it's not like other cities don't have these kinds of incentives." For now, the VGI is preparing a website that will enlighten tentative game studios to the "already existing" financial reasons why they should move to the City of Brotherly Love. Personally, this writer thinks the incredible food, amazing selection of beer, and Joystiq's own Chris Grant would be incentive enough. [Image credit] [Via GamePolitics]
38 Studios CEO Brett Close on the Big Huge Games acquisition and the Copernicus IP
Joystiq's fearless leader Chris Grant recently caught up with 38 Studios CEO Brett Close to discuss their recent acquisition of Big Huge Games, and what this might mean for the "Copernicus" MMO. Massively has mentioned Copernicus at a few points in the past, but unfortunately in terms more vague than we'd like. We know it's a fantasy MMO project that draws upon notables like R.A. Salvatore and Todd McFarlane, but Joystiq turned up some more info about Copernicus. Close stresses that Copernicus is an IP that will exist in several channels; there will be books, graphic novels, and of course an MMO that draws upon these elements. "Rather than drilling into details about why this is going to give people something they have never experienced before... what I will tell you is that it's simply based on that talent [R.A. Salvatore and Todd McFarlane] and based on our approach and our experience in building these products. There's nothing like it out there right now. And I don't believe there's anybody working on anything like this right now."
Top five tips we turned down this week
Every day, Joystiq receives innumerable tips from people eager to guide our way through the world of video game news and culture. Most of the time, everything goes swimmingly: an interesting link pops up, you let us know, and we write it up. Sometimes, it doesn't go so smoothly.When we reject a tip, it may be because we've already reported on the story, or because the content of the tip isn't right for Joystiq. Other times, the rejected tip is dead wrong. Usually this is the fault of the source, not the tipster. Very often, rejected tips are also ones that, for whatever reason, make us laugh. This post is dedicated to the tipsters behind the tips that we didn't use this week.
HDMI issues at GDC? Or simply no cable?
The PS3 dev kits on display at GDC apparently skipped the HDMI connection for some of their demos, casting doubt on how far along Sony's come with its hardware and digital standards compliance.During GDC, Sony brought along a few PS3 demo units to show off audio and video, which TG Daily spied from a distance. As you can see above, the PS3 graphics demo unit used a standard AV Multi-Out connector while the "two HDMI ports right below the AV Multi-Out port were unused." TGD apparently offered to lend Sony officials an HDMI cable of their own to connect to the system, but they were turned down.Of course, there's also a conflicting pic which Chris Grant took for us on Joystiq Central that seems to show that very HDMI connection being used, probably with another unit. (Scroll down to the second pic here to see it.) So what's the real story? Was Sony lacking enough updated HDMI 1.3 hardware and/or 1.3-compatible TVs to show off the HD goods, or were they simply short on cables? Maybe their budget was a bit tight for GDC (what with Phil's focused keynote and abundance of GDC sessions from Sony), so hopefully we'll see everything hooked up nice and tidy for E3.[Thanks, Michael, Racky, pheen, and DocEvil; via TechSpot and CD Freaks]
