Sweet Treats

[Graham]

Before you jump into the latest dating sim, watch Kathleen's handy primer.

[Snowman]

Not sure if you guys had used used this before and I just missed it but I broke down laughing for the credits to:

Boom "They took our Jobs" Boom
Two Lapel Mics

[empath]

"Two Lapel Mics and an out-of-work boom" is the name of my Beck cover band.

Said mics seemed to be set up perfectly this time, too!



Okay, first off, thank you for shining a light on a dirty little exploitive secret that's been bugging the FUCK outta me for quite some time: bullshit markup for Aussie games.



And then, dat game review! Ohhhh, Kathleen.

What's that, guys? You felt uncomfortable at that? Gee, I guess it's just time for us to JOIN THE DAMN CLUB, huh?




And the stinger?


(Oh, and I swear I wasn't AT ALL distracted by that tiny speck of fluff...honest! ;P )

[ocelotteranian]

This made me so, so happy. I couldn't stop laughing at the lower third during Kathleen's bishi ratings! Just what I needed to cheer me up after getting cat called on the way home from the library.

Also, what, I had heard Australians were being screwed with game prices, but this is unreal! If I had annnny money I would be participating in Monday's festivities. As it is, I'm gonna bug my gamer friends who aren't broke college students to participate.

[Pimpin J]

And then, dat game review! Ohhhh, Kathleen.

What's that, guys? You felt uncomfortable at that? Gee, I guess it's just time for us to JOIN THE DAMN CLUB, huh?

Honestly I wasn't uncomfortable with it at all, just thought it went on a little long and lost it humor.

As far as Australia goes we need to do more to let publishers know they shouldnt treat our gamer brothers and sisters down under that way. Besides gifting how else can we make our voice heard.

Oh and Australia I believe that it is freely acceptable for yall to buy used games, and pirate games. If the publishers are going to screw you, screw them back.

[Lurkon]

just thought it went on a little long and lost it humor.

I was surprised at how long it actually went, but I thought the whole thing was really funny.

[DewMan001]

I was a little unsettled as Kathleen went through her round of Bishi reviews.

Also, as someone living in Australia, I am in for this giftathon. Due to the whole pricing thing, and the fact that I don't have a job, I stick primarily with indie games and can only add big AAA games to my Steam Library during a Humble Bundle or Steam sale. I had never played a Saints Row game, for example, until I grabbed Saints Row The Third for $5 on the Steam Summer Sale.

When they did the inquiry, it wasn't just related to games. It was about all software. They dragged the local heads of Apple, Microsoft and Adobe down here and asked them "Why?!". They might as well have just called it Question Dodge-a-thon 2013. The ABC's podcast Download this Show did a very good episode on the inquiry.

But, yeah. I'm so in for this game gifting thing. Where do I sign?

[Lurkon]

There's a forum thread about it here: http://loadingreadyrun.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=21539

[LadyRhian]

Is it just me, or except for Mr. Inafume, did she give the highest score to the guy who looked the most like Graham?

[Graham]

Actually, the guy who was "most similar to her actual prospects" can't run without getting winded, so it seems more like I got burnt

[phlip]

My view of the video game pricing thing is it's a relic they've never had any reason to change.

When I got back into gaming in the early 2000s, the Australian dollar was pretty weak... one Australian dollar buying 55-60 US cents. At that time, a game that ran for $50 in the US would cost $90 here, and that was pretty much entirely due to the currency differences.

Then 2008 hit, and the US economy tanked (the Aus economy tanked too, but to a lesser extent), and now the dollars are much closer to parity (for a while there, an Australian dollar was worth more than a US dollar). But the prices of games never shifted... and right now a game that would cost $60 in the states runs $100-$110 here.

You see the same pattern everywhere... if a company's costs rise, they'll use that as an excuse to ramp up their prices immediately. But if a company's costs fall, they'll try to pocket the difference, and reduce their prices as little as possible. And, in this case, "as little as possible" has turned out to be "not at all".

A significant part of the reason that's possible is due to region locking. If people could import their console games from overseas, the prices would probably have to drop a fair amount (as noted in the ep, the difference in price is more than enough to cover shipping a game from the US to here).

[DuelLadyS]

Actually, the guy who was "most similar to her actual prospects" can't run without getting winded, so it seems more like I got burnt

Just for fun, since I actually bought Sweet Fuse (too insane a concept not to!)-

Grizzled journalist who got 10/10? Actually has a daughter. I imagine that affects his score?
Easily winded gamer guy? Crazy ninja prowess in those 2 minutes he's not tired.
Pink jumpsuit? Yep, bad guy. The fortune teller's working for him for half the game too.

I ended up with police chief on my 'not trying to land anyone specific' playthrough. He takes a (rubber) bullet for you. And gets electrocuted. Actually, a lot of the guys end up horribly injured for your sake in this game...

(I'll spoiler this if requested, but most of what I say here you learn an hour into the game. Plus I can't imagine anyone cares.)