Last night I received a direct Twitter message from them stating:

“We have seen your blog post and would like to apologize for the confusion. We were going by BestBuy.com’s description and NOT the SKU number. We should have checked the SKU number, and for that we apologize. Please let me know how we can rectify this situation. ”

All I could say back to them was: @nykotech Thanks for apology, sorry I sounded so angry. BluWave working well. Will review on blog. Still feel bad? Send review products :)

So you see Nyko, I forgive you! There’s really no need to rectify anything. I’m not one of those angry people that demand you send them free crap. I had my moment of rage and now it has passed.

However, if you really do feel bad about it and still want to do something to make it up, I have an idea. I would absolutely love to be sent review products (This goes not just to Nyko but to every company out there :P). It would be a win-win for both of us.

I’ll get cool stuff and put up quality reviews of the products. After all, that is what I’ve done in the past.
(I can dig out some URLs of past reviews I’ve done for Generation: Gamerz if anybody is curious.)

So Who Can We Blame?
Best Buy of course! After all, their crappy info and lack of info started this whole thing!

About a month or two ago, I was perusing BestBuy.com for some cheap accessories to add onto my purchase of a new desk chair. I wound up looking through the PS3 section and noticed a curious listing.

NYKO TECHNOLOGIES INC-PS3 REMOTE-83041

The weird part was is that there was another item labeled as being model # 83040. That item was the Nyko BluWave remote. I thought, “Hrmm, that is curious that the model number of a pre-order item is one higher than this model.” I figured maybe Nyko had an improved remote (maybe with an awesome feature of turning on the PS3?) so I took a chance and put in for the pre-order.

Then it happened, I became curious about what it was I was actually going to be buying. So I started “using the Google search engine” (as they like people to say) to find anything I could out about it.

Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zero. Zilch.

Oh, but wait, the brilliant idea came to me. I would go on Twitter.com and just straight out ASK Nyko what the hell it was that I just pre-ordered for.

Here are those tweets.

@NykoTech So what exactly is the new PS3 Remote that I just pre-ordered on BestBuy.com? Model 83041?

@snorkle256 That’s our new Core Controller for PS3. You can read some press coverage on it here: http://tinyurl.com/yzx5m56

@snorkle256 It is a wired PS3 controller with vibration support & curved trigger-like shoulder buttons, perfect for action & driving games!

@NykoTech Hrm, I was hoping it was an newer IR remote, but what they hey. I need another PS3 controller anyways!

So now I knew what the damn thing was the was going to be coming out on the 27th of February.

At least until my pre-order turned into a back-order.

So here I am finally, package in hand noting that what I received is quite thinner than a new controller.

It turns out that model 83041 IS A FUCKING NEWER IR REMOTE.

Good job lying to me Nyko!

You got my hopes up twice and shattered them twice…

Jerks…

…I’m still going to use my new IR remote and program my Harmony to control it, but seriously somebody make a cheap way to turn the damn thing on.

Oh, and BestBuy.com does list it correctly now as a BluWave Ir remote, FYI.

* Full grain leather upper for comfort and soft feel
* Rubber shell toe for classic good looks
* Textile lining for comfort
* Herringbone pattern out-sole for maximum traction
* Imported

What too me so long?  I am 25, how did I never play these before?   Ok, so I think the main pushers of p&p rpgs are the players themselves.  After all, to get a game going you need a least one person running it and at least one person playing it.  Of course, it works better when there are more people playing.

First thoughts, why do people give rpgs such a stigma?  I’d like to think that it isn’t the actual playing itself that many people laugh at, but the content.  Dungeons and Dragons’ fantasy architecture is going to draw in only a subset of people that would possibly play a role playing game.  So what did we play?  Star Wars, who doesn’t love a little sci-fi and fantasy genre mix?

Why is it so difficult to start playing?  Well, I found that there are a few things you need to know in order to start playing a rpg.  You need to know people that you can play with.  If you are comfortable with making new friends, I am sure you can find a group online.  You also need to know the content.  In order to start playing Star Wars RPG, it really helps if you know something about the movies and/or books.  If you’re willing to do research, even better!  Learning the rules and sub-systems of the core game is tricky and can take several games before you find yourself able to play with out needing help.  Hopefully if you found a good group to play with they’ll be willing to help you start out.

What is the most important part to being successful and enjoying yourself when playing?  It’s knowing how to act and story tell.  If you’ve got these down pat, not only can you create a character with an interesting back-story but you’ll be able to use the info you’ve created to respond to situations as if you were that character.
To me acting is the hardest part of being a newbie to RPGing.  However, it is also the best part of the game!  After playing a few games with my friends, I found myself being drawn into my character’s persona.  If you can become skilled at this part, it won’t matter how well you actually end up doing.  Instead everyone will remember how awesome your character was.

So just remember, they don’t call it a role-playing game without due cause.  Get involved and you can be somebody famous, somebody funny, somebody brave or even somebody evil.  It all depends on you.

Now get on out there and game!

-My car insurance should go down.
-I’ve had 5 birthdays at this job, though I haven’t worked here 5 years.
-My Facebook wall lights up with posts.
-I’ve been with my girlfriend long enough for her to be there for 2 birthdays. A first!
-People put things on their sites for me.
-I’m reminded of which sites I belong to when they send the automated Happy B-Day e-mail out.

Happy B-Day to Me!

Through the first month of Modern Warfare 2 being release, I had seen nothing but stories about glitches.  Both the Xbox 360 version and the PC version seemed to have their own problems.  At first, players found ways to escape the maps giving them an advantage over other players.  This is to be expected as many games I have played have encountered this problem before.  Some have alleviated this problem by having a pre-release beta which allows them to catch the map exits before release date.  Players used to be able to perform a glitch with the Javelin that caused them to drop a grenade when dying, which of course exploded immediately.  Lastly, a glitch had also allowed players to have unlimited care package drops as well.  Both of the last two glitches required precise and intricate combos of buttons that seemingly perform the effect.  Whether discovered accidentally or by reverse engineering the code, I think both glitches were unexpected by anyone.

Infinity Ward quickly patched the holes in their game, yet it seemed that the patch created for the console had opened up even more, new glitches.  Preceding the patch, reports were streaming that a glitch was giving everyone in the game unlimited ammo.  What seemed even worse to me were the reports that the only way to remove the glitch from your system was to reboot your 360.  Even if you were to disconnect, unless you rebooted completely you would carry this glitch on to every game you played, spreading to others like a plague.  The last glitch I heard of was one were players had been able to create a private game in which they received double XP, even from killing their own teammates.   Players reported even being sucked into these games against their own will, so perhaps some of the glitches are performed through Microsoft’s servers, not just Infinity Ward’s.

“Oh”, but you say, “My kid won’t have these problems because I got him the PC version for Christmas.”  I didn’t forget about you, PC version.  Oh PC, Steam possibly gave you the best advantage of all.  Unknown to me, players are allowed to create custom skins for the game and Steam’s anti-cheating software allows it.  Why, somebody could have simply created some unusual skins that gave themselves an unfair advantage.  Oh wait, somebody did!

It included:

Red Player Models – All players appeared as red, enhancing visibility.
Reduced Foliage – Many of the bushes that obstructed viewing were now invisible.
No HUD Blood – The blood splatter that appears in the Heads Up Display after taking damage was now invisible giving the player a clear view.

Now I am fairly sure that most of these issues have been taken care of by now.  Still the fact remains that the first month of online play was disorderly.  Questions remain in my head concerning the steps that Infinity Ward could have taken to prevent these aberrations from occurring.  Performing an open beta is something that immediately comes to mind. Whether or not it would have solved the problem is simply another question.  So when teens ripped open their package, what was really there?  Was it a work of art or a work incomplete?  One thing is for sure, the glitch stole Christmas this time around.

ODST Steve Pumpkin Pattern

Click on him to get the full size picture and print that baby off. The outside gray area is for reference only so you know where the outside lines really are, not that it matters. I suggest reading up on pumpkin carving before you start as this is not a beginner’s pattern. The inside gray is to be shaved to allow light through it, cut out the black areas. Ignore the eyes as my solution to this is to get ping pong balls with black dots either hanging or propped up somehow via the visor. Your choice on how to do that.

I still will be waiting a few weeks to make mine so that he will stick around longer and so I also have a pumpkin to carve. Feel free to send your photos of your creation to snorkle256 AT teamhackaday DOT com.

You’ll want to print this out

infamous - PS3 – Not pronounced In-Famous or the guy that works by me will chew your ear out.