Kotaku revealed today that Peter Molyneux sent a note along with the review copy of Fable 2 that Vanity Fair received. In it he asks that Vanity Fair to “[. . .] please, please, please, please, please find somebody who doesn’t play games, watch them play it and see how their world turns out, because I think it’s only when you see those differences that the unique experiences comes through.”

I think there’s some good ideas here. As gamers, when we read reviews, we’re only getting the opinions of people that have played dozens if not hundreds of games before. While every reviewer (at least in theory) tries to be objective, to play the game with fresh eyes, without a doubt their experiences with other games will seep into their reviews, possibly coloring their opinions. This is especially true of games that are the next installment in a series, as reviewers’ previous experience with the series can (negatively or positively) color their reviews. (Although this doesn’t happen all the time: compare PC Gamer’s review score for Crysis: Warhead to it’s review score for Crysis (98%), for example).

In the end, I think Molyneux’s idea has merit. But it does also come off as a kind of plea to give the game to a non-gamer so it’ll get a higher score. I’m hoping his intentions were pure. Who knows? If everyone added a non-gamer’s opnion to their reviews, we might just see a more balanced, less biased set of opnions than we might get otherwise. We could hear opinions from everyone (or closer), and less the select few.

And who doesn’t want that?

Today’s photo is from flickr user *clarity*. The original photo can be found here and is used under Creative Commons licensing.

On a personal note, I’d like to welcome you to the Two Cent Gamer blog.  This is our first article and we hope to become your source of gaming news, or at least be up there on your preference scale.  Please enjoy. : )

Well, the news has officially dropped, and as Kotaku reported in this article, the new Nintendo DS has finally arrived.  It has some new features that may excite certain gamers, but it makes some pretty serious omissions.  Here’s a quick and dirty rundown:

• Thinner than the DS Lite
• Bigger screens (now 3.25″ of viewing pleasure)
• Audio Enhancements (I’m betting this translates into better sound.  A surprising leap of faith on my part, I know)
• A 3-Megapixel Camera
• An SD Card Slot
• No more GBA Slot
• A new downloads store called DSiWare (there will be a built-in browser for the store), where you can download software to your SD Card for free, or 200, 500, or 800 points.  It’s worth noting that 1000 free points come with the console.
• Comes in white or black
• Being released in Japan on November 1st for about $180 dollars (18900 yen)

Most of these new features sound like they’re going to absolutely fantastic.  In particular, I see the 3-megapixel camera turning this new DS into a must-have device for even more consumers and into a valuable upgrade for current DS owners, especially since the camera, at least in terms of megapixels, will be better than the vast majority of cell phone cameras.  This may be a move by Nintendo for the DS to be THE portable gaming console to own, as it begins to become an all-in-one portable entertainment device.

The SD card slot is also worthy of note.  While right now Nintendo is only saying that it will be used to store pictures and Wii games, I can see the SD cards, along with the audio enhancements mentioned, being used to give the DS portable-music player (and perhaps video) functionality further down the line.  This could continue to promote the appeal of the DS as an all-in-one portable entertainment device.  However, for now, this is all just wild (hopeful) speculation.

The removal of the GBA slot is likely to cause many players grief, however.  I know for me, at least, that the DS is the way that I want to play any of my GBA games, with its bigger screen, and its combination of the comfortable size of the original GBA and the superb backlighting of the GBA SP.  However, the DS now definitely has a healthy library of games, so I don’t think this will be a huge deal-breaker for most players.  Besides, you’ll still have your old DS around, right? =D

What do you guys think?  Are the tradeoffs worth it?  Do you like the price?  Will you be sacrificing your old DS to the gods in a pit of flame so that it’s released sooner?  Give me your thoughts in the comments.

Today’s blog post image was provided by flickr user dydcheung.  The photo was originally located here.  Also, the photo is of a DS Lite; I didn’t want to potentially violate copyright law by using Kotaku’s photos.  Sorry.