Commenter of the Month!

With International perspective, articulate opinions, and a sweeping knowledge of the industry, our commenter of the month is none other than South Africa’s The Extremist. This month he blogged, guest hosted our podcast, and commented his big heart out with total tact and careful critiques. Check a selection from the gamut of comments:

Gold Star for cultural perspective:
“Luckily I don't have the disposable buckazoids to be faced with the same quandary as you. I'm quite a Guitar Hero and Rock Band fan and might be persuaded into getting a PS3 for those, God of War, and its Blu-Ray player.

The problem is the recurring costs on consoles are much higher than on PCs. Down here we pay USD80+ per game. It also looks like it's going to be a trend to charge console owners for "DLC" (not 5 years ago we just called those "patches") whereas PC gamers get the patch for free.

Maybe once the PS3 slim is out (despite my better judgment) . . .”

Gold Star for a reality check:
“You answered your own question. If the company isn't delivering the perfection you demand then don't buy their game.

Also, keep in mind that $50/$60 doesn't buy a whole lot of perfection. Does that mean we excuse Valve from making good on their promises? Should we accept barely functional products (i.e. buggy-as-hell games) that might be sold at low prices? On both counts: Of course not. Whine! *****! Blog! Comment.

But this culture of entitlement is poisonous. On that point Sessler and I can agree. Is anything ever good enough anymore? There are far more constructive (and by extension mature) ways of dealing with unmet expectations and other disappointment than making demands and trying to convince the creator that you, the consumer, somehow deserve better.”

Gold Star for candor:
“I think fairly many LANners have lost their cool, whether they're playing an FPS or strategy game. I know I have (though never at a large LAN, only among friends) and it's never been pretty. A higher standard of behaviour is expected of competitors I reckon, but even when just socially gaming it can really ruin an event for everyone involved when someone flies off their rocker.”

Thanks Extremist! You make our community better! (Plus you get a copy of Plants Versus Zombies!) And thanks to all our great commenters for making this an extremely tough choice.