Are consoles going to be too online dependent?

I have a ton of reviews (some quick ones, a few longer) set to go over the next week or so, but in the meantime - I hope you all have a great weekend while I depart with these thoughts:

That title might sound odd - but keep in mind I'm not saying that consoles should not have online - I think it's a great feature and should be used.  But is it going to be taken too far in the next generation of consoles?  Based on what I've been reading, it's a possibility.

Without a doubt, one of the greatest achievements during this generation of video game consoles was the access to online community.  Some of the consoles did it better than others (We're looking at you, Nintendo Wii - here's hopes you get it right with the Wii U), while computer gamers have enjoyed this sort of connectivity for years before there was a PlayStation Network or Xbox Live.  The ability to play with friends, have conversations through voice chat, get updates to gaming content and watch player-made videos have really helped make this generation of gaming consoles the most successful to date because it appealed to a broader base of people and gave them a means of sharing these experiences.

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Magic: The Gathering - nope... not the video games

Wow - I hit 50 followers last night.  I'm pretty excited about that! :)  So, how about a slightly different post as a result?  It's still gaming related, just not VIDEO gaming related... (but seriously - I really appreciate those of you who come here, and read what I babble on about.  I'm sure my wife does too, because now I have an outlet for talking gaming that is not just her having to smile and nod at me).  Moving on...

I've always been a big fan of Magic: The Gathering.  Well, I can't say 'always'.  I wasn't a first edition player.  I came into things around 4th edition/Ice Age.  I went back and bought cards from prior sets though, once I got into it, and I played for several years quite regularly.

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Gaming Deals on 5/2/12

Just a quick post listing out a handful of the gaming deals out there as of the middle of this week.  I'll lead off with the somewhat disappointing showing by Xbox Live Gold - they have the Battlefield 3 expansion discounted.  Not a bad deal I guess in and of itself, but seeing as I have the game for PS 3 and haven't seen a Gold deal I've liked in over a month, I'm a bit disappointed by this one too.

Steam has Bastion for 60% off on its Midweek Madness, placing it at a pretty solid $5.99.  Their daily deal still has about 4 1/2 hours left on it as of writing this, called Crazy Machines Complete Pack - half off, so $24.99.  It's also worth noting that I have been hearing good things about the Warlock: Master of the Arcane demo, and that my site's been seeing a fair number of hits off from people looking that one up.  One blog I follow said it was like Civ meeting fantasy/Dungeons & Dragons.  Not a bad combination to aspire for in my opinion.  At $20, I may be looking at that one when it comes out May 8th.

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ZEN Pinball iOS tables trailer - The Avengers!

I'm a big fan of Zen Pinball - I've given it very good reviews on the PSN both for its classic tables as well as the Marvel ones I have played (there are some new ones I plan to comment on soon).  I just picked it up for my 3DS recently as well.

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Some IndieGala, God of War: Ascension and posts at Otaku Gaming

Happy May!  Welcome to a new month - and to kick off the month, I have some gaming info to share with the rest of the class! :)

First off, there's a little title called God of War: Ascension coming out in the somewhat near future.  As a big fan of the earlier titles (the only one I haven't played yet is the 2nd PSP title - I plan to get the collection eventually - mmm... trophies), I have to say I'm excited about this one.

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Vanguard Bandits - PlayStation Network Review

It is only fairly recently I came to discover MonkeyPaw Games and their dedication to bringing fun games to the gaming community - often in the form of a retro title like Arc The Lad or Alundra.  Sometimes they accomplish something more than just helping us revisit an old classic though, because they allow us to play a game like Vanguard Bandits that I would never have otherwise gotten to experience.

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