What video games are you currently playing?

Now it's time to sign up for the hardware beta: Steam Machines

 

Along with (so far) 35 000 other hopefuls. For 300 spots.

Yup. I'm still signed up though.

 

Those are better odds (so far) than the average lottery. And it's not like it's costing you anything.

 

65 000 now. And no, it doesn't cost anything to sign up.

 

I suspect it's a bit premature to declare the console obsolete. I haven't looked at the numbers lately but the last time I bothered to look into such things consoles were still gaining major ground in the gaming market. Console gamers tend to prefer the simplicity that a console provides -- there's no guesswork about whether something will run (or how well). It's also cheaper, at least up front.

If anything the Steambox seems to be indicative of PC gaming moving in a more console-like direction. I'll be interested to see what effect it has on the market, ultimately -- Valve has a history of setting industry trends, at least through Steam, but whether developers will be willing to follow them into the untested waters of these Linux-based console like machines remains to be seen.

 

I guess this will be much like a Netflix of gaming, right? Much of the commentary I've read has been somewhat indifferent. Many don't think it'll have a huge impact on consoles, while others think this is mostly something that would appeal to existing PC gamers.

 

I've been playing Lord of the Rings Online again! I got it to run under Ubuntu after a catastrophic (and likely permanent) failure to get it to launch under Vista a few years ago.

I'm starting from scratch, which is fine because I hadn't gotten too far into the game initially.

I started a dwarf champion and a human hunter. The free account limits your characters to two, which is fine by me.

It's nice to unwind in Middle-earth. Bree-land is particularly charming.

 

Hmm...tempting...I wonder what the graphics look like now. I haven't tried LOTRO since the beta.

 

It's free. What do you have to lose, except a bit of time and bandwidth, right?

Although I'll admit that some of the paid content looks tempting.

 

Recently I've been toying with Papers, Please. Part of my indie fanboyism, it's a neat little game about border control. Yeah.

The premise is simple: It's 1982, and Eastern Bloc nation Arstotzka has opened it's borders again after a long and difficult war with neighbouring Kolechia. You, an Arstotzkan citizen, have been selected in the Labour Lottery to man a border crossing. Your job is to examine papers presented by would-be entrants, ensure they comply with the ever-changing list of entry requirements and, ultimately, decide whether they will be allowed entry, turned away, or detained for further questioning.

It sounds about as dull as paper. I don't know if "fun" is the word I'd use for it, but it certainly does draw you in.