What other video game threads would you like to see?

I've been wanting to change it up a little bit and try to post some different types of threads. You can only have so many threads about articles discussing the Xbox 360 shortages, PS3 delays, online gaming, and other things that you've seen me post. So here's a list of things I (and maybe others?) might consider trying to post more about:

Video game discussions
Not sure how else to title this, but I basically mean a thread like "What's the best FPS ever?" or "Best PS2 RPG?" or "What are the Greatest RPG Stories EVER Told and Why?" (*cough*) or something like that. You know, basic questions like that where everyone can throw in their opinion and defend it without having to know about GFLOPs, online features, sales figures, manufacturing issues, etc.

I actually thought about making some "Best Dreamcast/Gamecube/PS2/Xbox/current-gen game?" threads, but I think I might hold off until later in the year since a ton of good games haven’t been released yet (FF12, KH2, Zelda, etc.).

PSP homebrew and other PSP features
I stopped really caring about this issue a long time ago, but if a lot of people still care for it, I might try to keep up with the homebrew scene a little more. I'm not even sure if anything of importance has actually hit the scene in a while. If I did post more about this, the posts might consist of "New pong-like game for the PSP," "New screensaver for the PSP," or something like that.

This can also include some of the features that Sony actually supports, such as the Location Free TV stuff and maybe the "PSP Connect" stuff once that becomes available in March.

Deals on video games
Obviously everyone likes these, but I need some suggestions on how to go about doing it. I can't really go posting any and every deal out there, especially if it is something like "Big Mutha Truckers 2 for only $15!!!" But a deal that can get you a $50 game for $25 is definitely nice to know about. This can also include hardware and accessories, such as the Memory Sticks for the PSP.

Perhaps one single thread dedicated to these deals would work? (thoughts?)

Previews of games
I've done this a couple of times, such as with games like God of War and Shadow of the Colossus. I usually try to go all out and show off great screens/movies of the game, as well as some impressions from the various gaming sites (IGN, Gamespot, 1UP, etc.). I was thinking about doing a Fight Night 360 thread but got a little distracted (might do one on the weekend).

Still, I don't do it that often. Also, while I would like to show games that everyone would like, I do have my own preferences (RPGs mostly). Because of that, I don't really know what everyone here is in to. So if you want some previews, throw out some names so I can keep up with the news. Hehe...I found myself checking out some of the Jade Empire 2 news after I learned how much FranchiseBlade (I think it was him) liked the first one.

Hardware/software sales
I've found these to be really interesting, but I'm not sure if anyone here cares. I tried to throw in some numbers occasionally, but no one really seemed to notice.

I just like seeing how well a game might sell, such as Resident Evil 4, Shadow of the Colossus, or even games that have yet to hit NA shores but have gone on sale elsewhere (Kingdom Hearts 2 for example). I didn't pay attention to the sales back in the days where there was still a lot of competition in sports games, but I imagine those would have been interesting as well. Sometimes, seeing how well a game like GTA or Halo sells around the world can be intriguing as well.

The hardware sales are even better, especially with the "handheld wars." The DS is kicking the PSP's butt (and everything else for that matter) over in Japan (until the recent sell out), but it is a slightly different story here in the US and in parts (if not all) of Europe. I'm sure the PS3/X360/Revolution sales will be exciting (to me at least) as well given how much larger the console business is. As I've mentioned a few times, along with giving an idea of how well a platform is selling, it is interesting to see how many consoles are shipped. For example, while MS hasn't said how many Xbox 360 systems they've shipped, with the sales data, it is easy to find out approximately just how many systems there are out there.

As you can tell by the length of this section, this is probably the one thing I'd like to post more about...unfortunately, I never got the impression that anyone else cared that much.

More PC stuff
Without having a PC that can handle most of the newer games, I stopped really caring that much for the PC world outside of a few games. I'll probably try to get back into it later in the year, but I obviously prefer consoles. Might need some suggestions here too.

I can also try to post about PC gaming hardware such as graphics cards, although those usually are about $500+. Makes the news a little less exciting.

Other
Basically anything else I didn't mention above. Maybe something like threads dedicated to the use of Cell in other devices or updates on how well the Bloodrayne movie is doing () or something like that. If I knew, I'd make a section for it.



Along with voting in the poll, I would appreciate any extra info you can provide (like for game previews). Just looking for as many suggestions as I can get.

EDIT: BTW, you can pick more than one option in the poll. I'm not sure if I made that clear, but just in case I didn't, here's an edit about it.

 

Hmm...I'd rather them keep their clothes on:

 

So maybe some previews on some action and RPG type games?

Also, I apologize if this wasn't clear, but you can pick more than one option in the poll. Sorry to any of those who voted and missed that part. Still, I'm more interested in the posts than the poll votes to be honest.

 

Definitely worth a rental, if not a purchase. The series is known for being very hard, but I've heard a lot of great things about it. I imagine if you liked GoW (and could handle some of the harder difficulties), you'll love DMC3. Just to be safe, a rental might be fine to do at first in case you find it too hard, although that might be a bit of an extreme case.

I personally haven't played it (or any DMC actually), but I've been wanting to for a while. There's supposed to be a special edition coming out some time this year IIRC.

 

Good idea about the monthly previews. Maybe something like this:
http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=102705&z=1
but with a shorter list of games, and more info for each game (including screens and gameplay clips of course)? Except for maybe the big games (GTA, Halo, Final Fantasy, etc.), we can then use those threads for impressions on the games once they're out. That way, someone can give their impressions of a game they bought without worrying about making a thread about it in case it isn't very popular. Sounds good to me.

I'll take any and all help I can get. My main purpose for this thread was to come up with ideas for threads I'd post about, but I also encourage others on the board to post threads about these various topics as well, especially the more popular ones (such as game discussions). As they say, the more the merrier....and considering how the Rockets are doing, we might need something to be happy about.

The only problem I found with finding bargains on "good" games is that "good' is pretty subjective. If I just posted games that I thought were good, the list might just consist of games like RE4, God of War, DMC, Metal Gear Solid, Shadow of the Colossus, etc., and I might not mention that you can get GUN for like $20. That's why I suggested maybe a thread for these deals so that it wouldn't be as big of am issue if a deal for Big Mutha Truckers was posted (as opposed to making a separate thread for that deal, which might start clogging up the Hangout).

Oh yeah, and as for reviews, I'm a CAG, so I very rarely could give reviews on newer games like those magazines, and that's if I actually had the time to put in as many as 40+ hrs into several games. Of course, others are welcome to do that, although as I mentioned earlier, I like the monthly previews/reviews thread idea personally.

I've posted some threads when Nvidia started the 7800 series as well as when ATI announced the X1000 series, but it didn't seem like that many people cared (and I even threw in some PS3/RSX speculation in them). Maybe I was wrong.

Along those lines, should EVERY card be posted about, just the main ones (like top-of-line ones), or what? I mean, I think Nvidia just recently announced the GF 7300, which, IIRC, is basically going to be their new entry-level card (under $100). There isn't anything amazing about it from a graphics perspective, but if anyone just wants to play some HL2 and maybe even BF2 without spending hundreds of dollars on a new graphics card, that might be an option.

As for CPUs, I'm going to need some time or some help there. I only started paying some attention to graphics cards since they were similar to some of the technology going in the PS3/Xbox 360. But from what I can understand, there are a LOT of differences between PC CPUs and console CPUs, which will make it a lot harder for me to get into. Until then, all I know is that AMD is good for gaming, multicore CPUs are the future, and...um...that just about it besides a few small things. If physics processors take off, I'm not even sure how much importance you'd place on a PC CPU for gaming.


YEAH! Someone voted for hardware/software sales. That means weekly threads about the sales in Japan, and monthly sales for the US and Europe (J/K, unless more people show interest in it).

Keep up the great ideas. Lots of good suggestions so far.