If you haven’t already heard the news, today we announced an upcoming live chat with some of the fine folks over at Infinity Ward about their upcoming title Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.  This comes along hot on the heels of last week’s announcement of a live chat session with Naughty Dog about UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves.  Needless to say, it’s starting to sound like it’s going to be a busy month here on the forums!

My question for you though, defenders of teh internets, is what other games would you like to see showcased like this?  More FPS games?  More Action-Adventure games?  Is there a certain RTS, RPG or Simulation game you’re just dying to learn more about?  Leave a comment here and let us know!

It's certainly been a busy week here on the forums!  Last Friday we held a live chat session with some of the developers behind Riot Games' League of Legends, on Tuesday we did the same with some of the guys from Bungie about Halo 3: ODST, and just a few minutes ago we announced an up-coming chat session with the minds behing Naughty Dog's UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves.  While all these going-ons mean that there wasn't a regular entry here this week, I'm pleased to say that we have provided transcripts for the chats that have taken place so far and that we're planning serveral more chat sessions for the near future.

Want more information?  Make sure to check out the links I've provided below:

League of Legends Live Chat Transcript

http://forums.bestbuy.com/t5/Gaming/League-of-Legends-Live-Chat-Session/m-p/55548#M2237

Halo 3: ODST Live Chat Transcript

http://forums.bestbuy.com/t5/Gaming/Halo-3-ODST-Live-Chat-Session-Transcript/td-p/57614

UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves Live Chat Announcement

http://forums.bestbuy.com/t5/Gaming/Uncharted-2-Among-Thieves-Live-Chat-Session/td-p/57632

Yesterday was a big day for the world of music and video games. The entire remastered Beatles collection and The Beatles: Rock Band were released, Apple announced the next generation of iPod models, and Kathy Lee Gifford retorted to critics of her Rock Band skills by asking, “You have a problem with a couple of middle-aged women having a little fun?”

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/32756139#32756139

No, Kathy Lee, I don’t think that anyone’s opposed to you having a little fun.  In fact, it’s probably a good thing that you (or your producers) decided to play the game on the air.  Ten to fifteen years ago video games were generally considered to be a child’s past-time – they weren’t an activity that many adults willingly engaged in unless they had children of their own.  Since then, the world has become a more accepting place for those who enjoy this particular hobby.

Music games in particular seem to have capitalized on this wide-spread acceptance the most, partially due to their cross-platform, multiple-medium approach.  Players don’t necessarily need to own a computer to play them, they don’t need to own an MP3 player to appreciate the music itself, and the short nature of most songs (3-5 minutes) allows even the most casual of gamers to enjoy them.  Combine these things with the fact that companies like Apple aren’t just in the hardware market – they’re selling music and software too – and you’ve got the potential for greater media exposure than any other video game genre.

Now, while I’m in no rush to pick up a copy of The Beatles: Rock Band myself, I do know at least one person that was in line yesterday morning to buy one.  Whether this was due to the media coverage on the game for the past few months or Best Buy’s Abbey Road vacation give-away I’m not too sure, but one thing’s certain: he wouldn’t have taken a day off to buy the game if it were tied to any other band.  He’s a Beatles fan, not a gamer.

Ten years ago if you had asked me if I liked The Beatles my answer would have been an emphatic “no.”  Nearly everyone around me – my family included – seemed to rave about how they were the best thing to happen since sliced bread.  Not only did it get old fast, but I grew tired of being told why I “had to” like certain songs and albums.  In fact, I often found myself not liking certain artists because someone else I knew liked them…and because they somehow felt the need lecture me on why I should too.

The usual arguments presented to me often included “so-and-so is one of the greatest [insert instrument here] players ever” and “they inspired [insert another band name here],” but I could not have cared less.  There’s always someone out there that’s “better” than “the best” and just because one musical group influenced another that doesn’t necessarily mean that they sound anything alike.  It wasn’t until I actually made the conscious decision to ignore such “recommendations” though that my musical tastes were allowed to broaden beyond the saccharin 80’s pop that I seemed to listen to exclusively during the first couple years of high school.

So, what do I listen for?  Three things: complex harmonies, dissonance, and groups that understand that music isn’t just blaring vocals or heavy instrumentals.  Although not all the groups I listen to are capable of all three, these factors mean that there will always be a place on my iPod for Ozzy Osbourne, Parliament and Wilson Philips.

As far as The Beatles are concerned, I hadn’t really considered giving them a second chance until I first heard “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)” on the radio.  It’s not a very complex song, but it does have a hint of the dissonance I typically look for.  After all, it’s not very often that you hear a sitar and acoustic guitar playing the same melody.  Eventually I decided to invest the $15 and purchase Rubber Soul.

Now, I realize that Rubber Soul was the start of the group’s transformation from a Merseybeat sound to one that’s more pop/rock, but it still served as a springboard for me into their back catalogue.  While I tended to avoid the songs that always received radio airtime, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that perhaps there was something to my family and friends’ ramblings – many of the Beatles’ songs are kind of catchy and have singable multi-part harmonies.

I may not be die-hard Beatles’ fan (quite yet), but I can still safely say that I’m looking forward to the release of their remastered albums on 09/09/2009.  Perhaps now I’ll finally be able to find a copy of Revolver that doesn’t have the annoying “left ear instrumentals, right ear vocals” recording effect that always seems to be present in most versions of “Eleanor Rigby.”