Frustraton Friday: I Still Hate Black Friday

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Well, it's Black Friday, and as I've mentioned many times before, I hate it.  I don't even need the shootings and peppery spray incidents to hate it, I've got many other reasons.  However these incidents do help crystallize many things I despite about the post-Thanksgiving chaos.

So prepare for another annual "I hate Black Friday" post, but done from my geek and geekonomic point of view.

First as I have noted before, it's a distorter of the economy and plans for the economy.  When so much of your plans revolve around Black Friday, it skews how you plan releases, advertising, and more.  I know people have to go along with it because it's a kind of tradition, but seriously.

Secondly, it puts strains on people keeping up with Black Friday.  How many smaller businesses (or saner businesses) have to deal with the Black Friday mess?  I've had opportunities to set my books up for a Black Friday sale (I didn't as I was busy), but it makes me wonder if I should – or if I have to.

Third, it's a cultural distorter.  Come on people, are we this crazed for new merch?  I mean seriously – last night I and the gang took a drive and saw lines around Best Buy.  Really, is it worth it?

Fourth, it uses mindshare.  How much time is being spent talking about this mess than, say, SOPA?  Yeah, exactly.  Even this very column is in a way  waste of time.  Which is really ironic, but I'm not stopping here, since I'm on a roll.

Fifth, it uses long-term mindshare.  It's a distorter of perspective, and it keeps us from looking at serious economic issues.

So yeah, it's Black Friday, and I'm going to be home watching some ridiculous anime and playing Skyrim.  Happily.

On the plus side, my Champagne Turkey Baste was awesome, let me know if you want the recipe.

– Steven Savage

Things I learned From Skyrim

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Yes, Skyrim.  Elder Scrolls 5.  The latest chapter of the erratically long-running, ambitious series is out, and I'm playing my first Elder Scrolls game since "Daggerfall."

I know I'm not alone.  I see it talked about constantly, hear about it constantly, and my friends and co-workers discuss it.

Know what?  It's actually a really good game.  Sure it has some flaws and bugs, but I'm pretty impressed.  It's gorgeous, adventure-filled, fun, and has a serious wide-open sandbox feel that is crammed with a lot to do.  It's really an adventure "your" way, even if your way is to run around in your underwear amassing a cabbage collection.

But as this is an impressive, epic game, the kind of game a lot of games promised to be and weren't, it's also got me thinking.  What does Skyrim "mean" for gaming – in short, what's the progeeky impact?  What can we learn if we're in gaming?

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News Of The Day 11/23/2011

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Layoffs, changes in game subscriptions, and much, much more. This holiday week is getting interesting . . .

Culture:
An interesting thought: consumers know more than salespeople and that changes shopping among other things. THat's a pretty good point and one I hadn't considered.

Mobile:
Nokia Siemens to cut 17,000 people over the next year or so. I can't say I'm surprised, but damn. Keep an eye on both of the parent companies as well as this company if you dare try and work for any of them.

Publishing:
Tablet magazine provider Ziro raises $20 million. They've got good partners in the industry. Oh, and they have $20 million dollars, so send them a resume.

Social Media:
GroupOn stock is falling and no I'm not surprised, yes I did warn you, etc. Let's see if this kills enthusiasm for other IPOs – because it may.

Technology:
Microsoft signs a non-disclosure agreement to get more info on Yahoo. In short, this is the usual examine-stuff-for-possible-bid. This will surprise no one of course, but it could result in the seismic, if not unexpected, acquisition of Yahoo by Microsoft. That'd be a hell of a game-changer (even if we overuse that word). I'd also

Video:
You Tube rolls out Disney content and starts its rentals. So it begins.

Video Games . . . and Stuff:
A game to train people in Microsoft Office that mocks the much-maligned Clippy by making him a character. I'm all for ramification, and this may give you some good ideas, but also this is seriously meta. Presented for an interesting idea.

Big Fish is trying a subscription service for iPad. That's an interesting idea and one I'm going to watch to see how it goes. Odd thought though, could this subscription idea catch on . . . and then like MMO's turn out to work better going back to free?

GameStop gets in on carrying the ASUS Transformer Prime? Apparently so – and that looks like an obvious move for Gamestop – to start selling game-worthy devices. Plus it's ASUS, which I have a geek-crush on, so I see this as a good fusion. Now what does that mean for GameStop's future evolution? Well, that's a good question . . .

Must Read: The Careers of Classic Game Developers.

QUESTION OF THE DAY:What other technology should GameStop carry?

– Steven Savage