The Digital Gaming Age

The classic games are making a big comeback and some old school gamers will be thrilled with this.  These games bring back a lot of childhood memories for some and are filled with a lot of nostalgia.  Big gaming companies are realising that their classic olden games are still worth some money and people are wanting to still play them.  This is why the gaming companies are re-releasing their games, re-modifying the games so as they fit in with modern times and also re-formatting them so as they can be played on the modern consoles and the new smart phones.  

Sony is just one of many companies who are dusting off the dated games and revamping them.  Sony's games 'God of War' and 'Twisted Metal' are being thrown into the blender and will end up creating a whole new game featuring the best aspects of each game.  Both of those games had their own respectful fans and some people would have liked them both.  Blending the two games together is an excellent idea as there is a high chance that many people would look at this new game due to the fact that it involves both 'God of War' and 'Twisted Metal'.    

Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTIS) is another of the big gaming companies to jump on the bringing the old games back bandwagon.  TTIS is re-releasing and reworking some of their games so as they can work on smart phones and tablet computers, instead of traditional gaming consoles and personal computers. The reason for this being that sales of gaming consoles is decreasing while the sales of smart phones is well on the rise.  One game that has been re-released is the popular 'Grand Theft Auto III'.  Strauss Zelnick, the chief executive of TTIS stated that: "people were skeptical there was any library value at all [to these old games]", but after research TTIS found that there is still a large market for these old school games.

Other games that have been remodelled are 'Sonic the Hedgehog', 'Streets of Rage' and 'Virtua Fighter'.  The remodelling of these games gives the games a longer life and will allow them to move into the next generation of gamers.  

The game that I would really like to see remade to be played on a smart phone or tablet is 'Pacman'.  This game is one of the few that has stood the test of time and still remains relatively popular now.  If they could make a 'Temple Run' style format for 'Pacman' it would be awesome.  Either way if  'Pacman' was updated and put on the smart phone markets then its popularity would rise and it could easily become as popular as it once was.  

With more and more people buying smart phones and tablets, using a handheld controller, television, console and game chip/CD may sadly and quickly become a thing of the past.  It is good to see that the gaming companies have realised how big the smartphone and tablet markets have become and that there is a good chance of selling their old games.  They have seen how popular previous games have been and by recycling these games they are able to bring back the joy, that was lost when the games became unpopular, and restore the game to its past glory, which is fantastic news for the old and new gamers.


Article: 

Sherr, I 2012, The iPhone Gives 'Sonic the Hedgehog' a Second Chance, The Wall Street Journal, accessed 20 June 2012, <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303665904577450613806030938.html>.

Pictures:

Parrish, P 2012, Sony Logo, Incgamers, accessed 20 June 2012, <http://www.incgamers.com/2012/06/you-could-own-sonys-new-york-hq/sony/>.

Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. Responds to Electronic Arts' Fifth Extension of Tender Offer 2012, Console Updates, accessed 20 June 2012, <http://consoleupdates.com/2008/07/22/take-two-will-not-eat-cat-poop-ea-extends-expiration-date-for-t2-buyout/>.

Deathding, 2012, Sonic the Hedgehog, Fanpop, accessed 20 June 2012, <http://www.fanpop.com/spots/sonic-the-hedgehog/images/29905892/title/sonic-1-photo>.

Wikipedia 2012, 'Pac-man', wiki article, accessed 20 June 2012, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pac-Man>.

The land of Facebook

While having nothing to do and deciding to Google random things I managed to stumble across this quote on a website of 50 interesting facts about Facebook:

This quote is based on data from 2009.

This quote is simply amazing.  There are approximately 7-billion people on the Earth all together and when you break that down into the individual countries it shows just how big Facebook is.

These are the population figures according to Google:
China has approximately 1.3 billion people,
India closely follows China with a population of 1.17 billion people,
The United States has a population 3.1 million people,
And finally Indonesia houses almost 2.4 million people.
*This data is based on figures from 2012

According to Facebook at the end of March 2012 there were approximately 901 million active users of its website.  If these figures are true then it would make Facebook the third-largest country in the world, only beaten by China and India.   


These figures show just how big Facebook has grown to be.  No one, not even Mark Zuckerberg the CEO and founder of Facebook could have possibly estimated that Facebook would become so populated and widely used.  It is truly incredible that so many different people around the world can be using the same website at the same time.

With internet connections and infrastructure improving daily it wont be long before there are even more people connected to Facebook, to 'make it the biggest country in the world'.


Quote:
50 Interesting . . . Facebook Facts 2012, Random Facts, accessed 18 June 2012, <http://facts.randomhistory.com/interesting-facebook-facts.html>.

Statistics on populations:
Population of China 2012, World Bank/Google, accessed 18 June 2012, <http://www.google.com.au/publicdata/explore?ds=d5bncppjof8f9_&met_y=sp_pop_totl&idim=country:CHN&dl=en&hl=en&q=what+is+the+population+of+china>.

Population of India 2012, World Bank/Google, accessed 18 June 2012, <http://www.google.com/publicdata/explore?ds=d5bncppjof8f9_&met_y=sp_pop_totl&idim=country:IND&dl=en&hl=en&q=population+of+india>.

Population of the United States 2012, U.S. Census Bureau/Google, accessed 18 June 2012, <http://www.google.com/publicdata/explore?ds=kf7tgg1uo9ude_&met_y=population&idim=country:US&dl=en&hl=en&q=population+of+united+states>.

Population of Indonesia 2012, World Bank/Google, accessed 18 June 2012, <http://www.google.com/publicdata/explore?ds=d5bncppjof8f9_&met_y=sp_pop_totl&idim=country:IDN&dl=en&hl=en&q=population+of+indonesia>.

Statistics of Facebook:
Key Facts n.d., Facebook Newsroom, accessed 18 June 2012, <http://newsroom.fb.com/content/default.aspx?NewsAreaId=22>.

My take on the Delta Goodrem interview

Karl Stefanovic and Delta Goodrem at the piano
where Delta first started singing

At the start of June, Karl Stefanovic from 60 Minutes conducted an interview with Delta Goodrem.  This interview really got me thinking and was one of the few interviews that I paid attention to.  It was full of stereotypes and discussed her views on her relationships, her new role on The Voice Australia and spends time reflecting on her own cancer journey, it's these topics that kept the interview interesting. 

Stefanovic states: '...what Delta's discovered is that sitting in the big chair has meant no shortage of armchair critics. Her hair, her glasses, her clothes, even her tears, have all been fair game for her detractors.'

It's this statement that makes you realise just how judgemental some people can be.  Everyone is judgemental in their own way, sometimes as a joke, sometimes to be hurtful, but some people go too far and attack others.  It's when these attacks happen that people get hurt.

Goodrem also talks about her split with former Westlife singer Brian McFadden.  They were engaged for 7 years and while they broke up for their own reasons people feel the need to say things about it.  The way I personally see it: if your not in the relationship then leave it alone.

The interview then turns towards her  relationship with American musician Nick Jonas who was, at the time, 8 years younger than Goodrem.  Stefanovic says that "...it was a tad controversial", but personally I think this is unfair towards them.  There are many double standards in the world but the one that gets to me the most is the one towards age gaps in dating.  

Why is it that a man can date a woman many years his junior and it is almost perfectly fine.  Of course there would be initial worry on if their relationship will last but that usually subsides.  He wont be called horrible names, and is even seen as an idol to some, because they are able to allure a woman who is younger. 

However, as soon as a woman dates a younger man the acceptability of the situation is gone.  Women who date older men are susceptible to names such as 'cradle snatcher' and 'cougar'.  They are also frowned upon.  While women date younger men in society Goodrem is set apart from these normal women because she lives in the spotlight. 

Goodrem comes under scrutiny for just about everything, her love life, looks and tears are only a few.  However, the one thing that people would be mad to scrutinise her for is her continuing support and visits to the chemotherapy ward at St Vincent's Hospital.  Even though Goodrem has been 'cancer-free for nine years' she still hasn't forgotten the place that treated her for Hodgkin's Lymphoma and this is an admirable quality that Goodrem has. 

So while some people will love Delta Goodrem and others will hate her, she is like any other person, she has good and bad traits and qualities.  She is after all, just a human being.  Personally her critics appear to be too harsh on her but she seems to handle herself very well. 

On a side note: 
As I am now in year 12 I am conducting a survey about compulsory organ donation as part of my Biology external assignment. 

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/B7MFBSY

If you have 5 spare minutes please answer my survey it only has 6-7 questions! 

All answers are really appreciated and you remain completely anonymous.


Thank you! 

Article:

Stefanovic, K. 4 June 2012, Delta Force, 60 Minutes, accessed 14 June 2012, <http://sixtyminutes.ninemsn.com.au/stories/8476559/delta-force>.

Picture:

Goodrem, D. 23 May 2012, Delta Interview On 60 Minuted This Sunday, Delta Goodrem, accessed 14 June 2012, <http://www.deltagoodrem.com/>.