Better Know a Gamer: Issue #11: ScooterMcT

Nu: What’s your Gamertag, and what’s the story behind it?
Well, my gamertag is ScooterMcT, which is a shortened form of Scooter McTits (not allowed on Live for offensive language I’d imagine). A friend of mine used to call me Scooter (my name is Scott, so it’s not a big stretch). I used to want to start a band, and name it Captain McTits and the Voyage to Mangyna. I figured I deserved to be said captian, so there it is.

Nu: Where are you from?
I’m originally from Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. Though I’ve now been in Pennsylvania for almost 7 years.

Nu: How old are you, and what do you do (school, job, family, hobbies)?
I’m 25, recently graduated from Penn State, but currently on the prowl for a job/career.

Nu: How long have you been gaming in general?
My dad is/was a huge nerd, so we had a computer long before anyone else I knew. I used to play J-Bird on our Tandy 1000. Now theres a game that needs a XBLA port.
I would say I got started console gaming with the Nintendo Entertainment System, though I never owned one. A few of my neighbors had one, so I made a point to befriend them in order to play as much as possible. I didn’t manage to get a system of my own until the Sega Genesis came out.

Nu: How long have you been a 360 owner?
I was a late adopter of the 360, so I didn’t pick one up until Feb 2007. I’ve been a Halo junkie since I bought my original Xbox, so I wasn’t in a huge hurry to pick up the 360. That and I guess I was a controller snob, insisting that the “duke” controller was better. The similarities between the S and the 360 controller scared me at first.

Nu: What was one of your favorite Xbox / Xbox Live moments?
The Halo 3 Beta, hands down. The atmosphere amongst the testers was different than you see in Halo 3 now-a-days. I think we appreciated it more.

Nu: Which Xbox 360 Achievement are you most proud of?
Killing Frenzy on Halo 3. Not so much because it was difficult, but because it was my last H3 achievement. I wear my Katana with pride.

Nu: Are you currently working toward any achievements?
Not at the moment, though I do plan on picking up a few more in Dark Sector career mode.

Nu: What game(s) are you playing the most now?
Halo 3. Especially since the Legendary Maps released. The release brought back on some of my fair-weather halo fan friends, so I get to play with them again.

Nu: What’s playing now (what music do you listen to when away from your Xbox or when listening to music ON your Xbox)?
Away from the 360 I recently picked up the latest Panic At The Disco album and I like it. On the 360 I play nothing but The Prodigy. I challenge anyone to not play Halo better with The Prodigy playing in the background.

Nu: Do you try to stick with one Gamerpic, or change it frequently?
I tend to be fickle with my gamerpic, so I don’t change often. I had MisterChief from the Bungie Day pack for a while, then I actually purchased the Assassins Creed pack. I was so impressed with that game I had to show it off a bit. Now I’ve got the Retro Xbox from the April Fools Day pack. I’ll probably end up back with one of those other 2 when I get tired of it.

Nu: What is your current favorite Xbox related website to visit?
Xbox-Scene has been my homepage since I bought my original Xbox, but I don’t know if I’d call that my favorite. Probably Xbox 360 Fanboy, I find myself checking that a few times a day.

Nu: What game are you looking most forward to in 2008?
Prototype looks pretty slick. Also I really want to play Gears of War 2 and Unreal Tournament 3.

Nu: Do you have an all time favorite game, for any console or the PC?
I hate to sound like a one track record here (or should I say looping mp3 so I relate to the youngsters in the audience) but Halo: Combat Evolved. I’ve probably clocked more hours on the original Halo than done anything else. I also made a great group of friends setting up lan games of Halo in my old college dorm.

Nu: Do you have any gaming buddies you frequently play with / want to make almost as famous as you?
I guess I’d have to give a shout out to LanisND. I’ve known him since high school, and he is responsible for me getting into Halo.

Nu: Any parting words for the droves of readers?
I think Caligula summed up my usual attitude perfectly. “Oderint dum metuant.” It’s latin for “Let them hate, so long as they fear.” I look forward to meeting and stomping all of you on Live at some point.

Better Know a Gamer: Issue #10: The RhymeScheme

Nu: What’s your Gamertag, and what’s the story behind it?
My GT is The RhymeScheme, its actually a song title from my favorite band Cursive. They are a very inspiring group and the lead singer Tim Kasher has an awesome voice. I recommend them to anyone.

Nu: Where are you from?
Well I was born in Michigan but grew up in Alabama so I guess im a southern guy LOL.

Nu: How old are you, and what do you do (school, job, family, hobbies)?
I am 29 and I work for a structural steel company doing drafting and detailing work. I have two kids Adam who is 9 he is on live as Lil Rhymescheme, my little girl Bella is 5 and My awesome wife is Hope we have known each other since 4th grade lol.

Nu: How long have you been gaming in general?
I have been gaming since the NES so however long that was ago.

Nu: How long have you been a 360 owner?
I got one a few weeks or months after they dropped.

Nu: What was one of your favorite Xbox / Xbox Live moments?
Being named an Ambassador this year was cool and I won a contest that included a copy of Crackdown and a trip to Atlanta to see Gym Class Heroes. I have also won a Heroes themed Xbox from Amazon not quite as cool as your autographed one but pretty nice.

Nu: Which Xbox 360 Achievement are you most proud of?
I guess all of them I like working towards my achievements so im proud of them all.

Nu: Are you currently working toward any achievements?
Always.

Nu: What game(s) are you playing the most now?
COD4 and Rock Band.

Nu: What’s playing now (what music do you listen to when away from your Xbox or when listening to music ON your Xbox)?
Anything from Cursive , The Good Life , or Brand New.

Nu: Those are some of my favorite bands! We should hang out more. 😉 Do you try to stick with one Gamerpic, or change it frequently?
I try to support the independents but I switch them up sometimes. Usually the U360 ones.

Nu: What is your current favorite Xbox related website to visit?
Unscripted360, but there are a ton of good ones. Like yours and Konsole Kingz.

Nu: What game are you looking most forward to in 2008?
Probably GTA4 right now.

Nu: Do you have an all time favorite game, for any console or the PC?
I guess the old Mario that came with the NES the one with duck hunt on it LOL.

Nu: Do you have any gaming buddies you frequently play with / want to make almost as famous as you?
Wow really there are a lot of people all the U360 and DDB friends and my real life friends Thumpthis, buckz71 and my little bro So So Gigalo

Nu: Any parting words for the droves of readers?
Thanks to you for doing these types of things to help people know a little more about there fellow gamers. And guys and girls remember its just a game have fun leave all the drama out.

Scenta.co.uk's poor wording excites 360 Hard Drive hunters…


Readers on the quest for an Xbox 360 Hard Drive on the cheap may have gotten their hopes up this morning when UK website Centa broke the news that Iomega would be launching a new hard drive, the Media Xporter, for PS3 and 360 owners. $119.95 in the US for a 160GB hard drive – sounds great, right? Unfortunately for the headline, it’s a lie.

The pocket sized hard drive “…makes it easier than ever to use game consoles and high definition televisions and other large screen TVs to share photos, videos, and music collections with family and friends.” Just like nearly every thumb drive out there. Sorry, folks! No deal, today!

Xbox 360 vs. Apple TV: an overlooked battlefront?


Crave, C|Net’s Gadget Blog, has posted a lengthy article about the often overlooked battle (if you can call it that) between the Xbox 360 and the Apple TV. They mention the install base (around 18 million 360’s compared to less than two million AppleTV’s), but they are claiming that the Xbox Live Video Marketplace is essentially untapped.

I would disagree, as Microsoft sees respectable sales, rivaling the likes of NetFlix and other on demand services. The article goes on to say that …”most of the future Xbox 360 owners are looking for something more than gaming and Microsoft is the only company that can provide it.” Not to shine a light on the competition, but I’m pretty sure Sony has gotten a good chunk of sales with the Playstation 3 since the definitive victory of BluRay! Why the article seems to ignore the fact that, while it may not have an on demand video service (yet), the BluRay feature is a driving force behind making the PS3 quite the home-entertainment choice.

So, even I say the article is a bit spotty – but it’s a good read and brings up some valid arguments about the future for the service.

UPDATE 1: As an additional side note, for our Mac owners out there, a new piece of software called Rivet promises to stream Mac video, music, and photos to the Xbox 360. Though it does carry an $18.95 price tag, there is a trial version for everyone to check out. Let’s hope Microsoft doesn’t get touchy and decide to block it’s functionality, some way, in a future dashboard update!