darren
Latest
Hello, again
An unfamiliar face I'm not, but you'll be hearing a lot more from myself and Mr. Tim Stevens in the months to come. I've been around these parts since the summer of 2006 -- barely two years after the site launched -- when I (unknowingly) began a march to writing more professional blog posts than anyone else in the world. I have to credit Ryan Block and Peter Rojas for showing me the ropes (and Josh Topolsky for everything else), and I'm elated to admit that I've been here long enough to witness every Editor transition that Engadget has seen. To say I'm humbled to be in a position to take over the reins as Managing Editor would be a tremendous understatement; this brand is iconic not because of tricky advertising or dumb luck, but only due to the sleepless nights and incredible determination of the individuals that work here. We've got a lot of moving parts right now, but there are two things that won't ever change: our dedication to our craft, and our insistence on delivering the best in breaking news within the consumer electronics space. I'd ask that you not take my word for it, and rather look to these very pages to see that vow borne out. You should expect a lot of new and exciting things from us in the future -- things like a renewed focus on tightening the integration with our mobile applications, more frequent reader meetups, zany new Engadget Show segments from across the tech universe, and expanded live event coverage. The foundation that Engadget was built upon (and that was drilled into me at an early age) remains firmly in place, and there's a stellar senior staff here intently focused on keeping it that way. If you haven't managed to pick up on anything from my last half-decade here, you can dig into a bit of backstory with my Growing up Geek piece, raise your stalker status one higher by visiting my About.me / Tumblr pages, and complete the holy trinity of digital friendship by following me on Twitter. Let's keep in touch, cool? P.S. - That's me celebrating a meal at Taipei's Windows 7-themed restaurant, and yes, I drink from that glass daily.
Marshall Headphones joining your JCM 900 on November 15
Details are few and far betwixt right now, but a legendary name in guitar amplification is about to branch out in a big way. The cans you see above are slated to launch officially on November 15th, proudly boasting the Marshall label, a 1/4-inch input jack and soft, pillowy earcups. We get the impression that at least the initial run may be a limited time offer, so those interested in getting a head start can peek the source link for an early pre-order signup. Mum's the word on price, but given that you sunk well over a grand into the tubes behind you, there's little doubt that you'll be overlooking a modest premium.
WoW Insider on PixelatedLIVE tonight
Bummed that, unlike last week, our podcast is back on Saturday this week? Worry not -- we've got a special dose of WoW Insider podcastery goodness midweek for you. Tonight, over on PixelatedLIVE's Ustream page, they're broadcasting a special World of Warcraft-themed show, and they've asked us to appear, along with our good friends Matticus (from World of Matticus and our own Spiritual Guidance Priest column) and Medros of All Things Azeroth as well as Erin from Eringames.com and Darren of MyGameMug. Whew! It'll likely be a Warcraft extravaganza, and as a bonus (or a penalty?), they're even broadcasting video, so you'll be able to see my ugly mug on screen while I'm on. Make sure to send your young children and weak-willed women out of the room first.The show starts at 7:30 pm Pacific (use this to figure out what time that is where you are) over on Ustream. And they're having a trivia contest, too -- they're looking for people who have a Ustream account (you can get one here), Skype installed, and a good headset to come on the air with them and answer questions to win prizes.Seems like quite a party. Definitely stop by and tune in tonight (I'll probably be Twittering while I do it, so you can follow us there as well), and of course if you can't make it, our official podcast will return to our own page on Ustream this Saturday at 3:30pm Eastern.
How to beat WAR
Darren over at CSG really has one prediction for 2008: Warhammer Online is going to be the game to beat in terms of PvP. He lays out what most of the other major MMOs will have to do to confront EA and Mythic at the PvP game when it comes out. And what exactly can they do? If WAR is really as good as Mythic claims it's going to be, nothing, really-- his best advice is for Age of Conan to dodge the blow, and he says that Pirates and Tabula Rasa still have too many factors at this point to figure out how they can compete with a game that hasn't been released into beta yet.But my question is this: who says PvP matters in the first place. Look at the two MMOs this year that trumpeted their PvP: Vanguard and Fury. They're suffering, and it's not just because they couldn't provide a great PvP experience-- it's because they couldn't provide a great experience overall. PvP isn't the only thing WAR (or any other MMO trying to become top dog) will have to do right to succeed-- what it'll have to do is make sure that there's a core gameplay experience there (be it PvE or PvP) that will push people to stay with the game. Endgame PvP means nothing if no one wants to play enough to get that far.Now, Warhammer does look like it has some excellent incentive to play-- even if the core gameplay suffers, players may fight through it just to see the RvR stuff (and if the Warhammer devs are smart and talented enough to make RvR the core gameplay, all the better). But it's not just about comparing one game's PvP to another-- the way a game becomes popular is that the core gameplay itself (whatever it consists of) stands on its own.
