*Volunteer Positions* While evaluating the state of the Gaming Journalism scene, I noticed that we at Real Otaku Gamer has a unique approach when covering geek/otaku culture. As the site gets restructured and we go into our 3rd year, we are looking to create opportunities that will help the site become more robust and varied with coverage. Real Otaku Gamer has a global vision, we accept writers from all over the world.

These new job positions are going to help Real Otaku Gamer become more organized and develop a bigger community so we can grow as a brand. These positions are volunteer only as we are a small site. As we grow so will the sponsors and hopefully revenue.

IF HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE POSITIONS, Email us at feedback@realotakugamer.com

These New Positions are as follows:

1. Community Manager: You will be taking care of the daily running of the site. You will work along side the Editor in Chief and other Admins on the site with promoting the site and helping build a brand. You must have good communication skills.

2.Marketing and PR: You will be responsible for all Public Relations with companies and the community. You must have good communication skills and be able to relate to people of a number of levels. You will also run contests and giveaways.

3.Managing Editor: You will work closely with all staff to make sure the posts we produce, are up to our standards.

4.Social Media Manager: You will be in charge of growing our social networking presence. You will be working close to the senior staff.

5. Assistant to Editor in Chief: You will assist the E.I.C. in the daily running of the site.

6.Advertising and Promotion: contact us for more details.

7.Art Director: contact us for more details.

8.Podcast Producer/Editor: contact us for more details.

9.Video Producer/Editor :contact us for more details.

Now, the next few positions are for the Real Otaku Gamer Specialists. These positions are dedicated for people who want to cover a specific genre/category. This is where your inner Otaku can really shine.

1. PC

2. Mobile/Tablet

3. Tech

4. Anime

5. Manga

6. Comics

7. Nintendo

8. Sony

9. Microsoft

10. Movies/Television

11. Asian Cinema

12.Indie Games

13.Toys/models and Merchandise

14.Convention Coverage

15.Cosplay and Cosplay Culture

To apply for these positions, you must first submit a writing sample and once the sample is approved, submit an small essay telling us why we should pick you for the job you are interested in. An essay is not necessary for all positions. Deadline to have the samples submitted is May 20th, 2013. We must have all essays in my May 17th. Send the Essays and Samples to feedback@realotakugamer.com.

If you have any questions about any of the positions and their responsibilities, just email us at feedback@realotakugamer.com or go to the Twitter and Facebook pages. Thanks you for your time.

Andre Tipton

Founder/Editor in Chief

DATTEBAYO!  Uzumaki Naruto or Naruto Uzumaki has made his return again, in the next installment of Naruto’s almost annual fighting game, Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3. And just as the game before it, was big, this one is even bigger than before. The series roster has increased again in playable characters being the highest in the Ultimate Storm series to date, numbering around 80 playable characters. This game, like its previous iterations, truly evokes the emotion from the player, displaying the series on a better plateau, than the anime and manga can since the animation and drawings for the game are truly first rate from CyberConnect2. Mind you, the game isn’t without its faults, but its still truly a splendid game, and made me remember why I love the manga, and this gaming series from CyberConnect2.

The gameplay has once again received a facelift, in the form of each of the 80 characters, having an ‘Awakening’ mode like various, albeit few characters had before. With each of them, having an awakening mode, gives everybody a trump card in their back pocket during fights in story, head-to-head, or online battle. The controls of are still simple as they were before, allowing for one-button combos, modified with directions. So any veteran from games of yore will be in comfort zones, only learning a few new nuances. And anyone new, will learn the game fast and be up to speed as others, but not more experienced than the more experienced players. That goes for the online mode, is slightly a lagfest, and it either, you play a lag match and get manhandled due to the lag in-between button input, or you’ll fight a

match, as if the person is right next to you. So it’s an leave it or take it element.

As before, the game includes quick time events during certain events during the course of the single player experience. Which to the shegren to some, still are enjoyable, and allow for the over the top battles, that many have seen in the manga or anime. Also with the story gameplay, the game also allows for decisions at certain points of the game, allowing for the player to change the way the story is played out before them, giving you, the player, a different look at the battle. But the game follows more so, directly after Ultimate Ninja Storm 2, with the end of the Battle against Pain and leading all the way up to the games version of the conclusion of the Shinobi World War. This is due to the World War still ongoing in the manga, and it being completed before the World War, was even halfway done.

Another new gameplay element that was added is ‘Mob Battles.’ Think of these battles, which are more than a handful, as Dynasty Warriors, solo but with Naruto Universe abilities. The gameplay is different and allows for rather cool mechanics of fighting against more than one opponent with the help of assist characters, if they are story related. Also, if you fill up your bar, after consecutive hits and assists, you can complete a quicktime move allowing you to jump from enemy to enemy, dealing massive amount of damage, against boss characters, and killing the minions easily.

Graphically, the game hasn’t taken much of an jump from previous iteration, but it did a great job of cleaning up the lines, and making the game more crisp and fluid during various chaotic moments in the game. But as the game is made first in Japan, the lip syncing is synced to the Japanese language, and as the characters talk, with English dub, you can clearly see the lip syncing, is completely far off, and quite comical when you see lips moving after a character has made an boisterous rant. This is seriously one of my few pet peeves, since I didn’t play, Generations previously. As you travel through various areas to advance the story, the areas feel and look make sense, and look great for the game and material.

The game from the quick battles, to the over the top boss fights against Kurama the Nine Tail Fox, it’s a Naruto game, that even Naruto would enjoy, BELIEVE IT! gotta love those bad translations of Japanese material. Ultimate Ninja Storm 3, is a game that if you haven’t played, or a returning vet, is worth the pick-up. Its solid, fun and definitely a fun ride, and at one point, I’ve got a little choked up at a couple points. Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja 3 is available now on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Also, for those who pre-ordered Ultimate Ninja Storm 3, you also got a special character Naruto in the form of Goku from Dragonball Z, so its quite fun… look at him!

As the fans file into the stadium, players are warming up, the coaches talk to various players, trainers giving last minute treatment to players, and then everything settles in, and in a few moments, the umpire will yell, “PLAY BALL” and the first pitch will be thrown! I give you Sony’s exclusive Major League seasonal game, MLB 13: The Show. I’ll preface this review as; I haven’t played a baseball game since MLB All-Star on the N64 back in 99 or 2000. So I can say, without a doubt, definitely a fresh look on it. And I can say I love this game, and all its 9 innings of glory. I don’t exactly enjoy watching baseball, unless its in-person, but this game makes playing, whatever position you fancy, as simply just down right fun.

I’ll start off with what everybody wants to do, play baseball. Be it defense or swinging the lumber. The game makes each experience, be it, in the regular season for the majors in a franchise or minors with Road to the Show, or playing with a RTTS player in the majors, a fluid and seamless experience. The game just makes everything fun. For playing a team versus team game, pitching, if you haven’t played any of the previous The Show games, it takes some getting use to. But once you find the one that suits you, you’ll love it. I’ll say this, Pulse pitching, which entails, a circle around a smaller one, that pulsates, and its fun, but it can be annoying to get the mechanics down, especially with the lower rated pitchers. Fielding is easy, with various indicators for the ball while it’s in the air, and easy to use controls for getting the ball to the necessary cutoff man or base. And also, controlling multiple runners on base is simple and easy. Also, a great note you can customize the game to all the mechanics of gameplay, to fit our style and need. Going along with that, you can run an franchise controlling every aspect from bring guys up from AAA to postseason runs, the game will have you playing hours, and potentially years if you choose.

Let’s move onto the gameplay of the mainstay and titular of the game, Road to the Show. This is the bread and the butter, super fun, and amazing. You start with creating a baseball player, with all the sliders to your content. And then you can either choose, to get put onto a MLB teams AA or AAA, or allow yourself be drafted. As I said, up above, you have settings that you can change to fit your play style. As you progress in your career, you get monthly goals, experience for playing and various correspondences between you and your management. But the gameplay remains the same, as if you were playing a team versus team, but you’re locked into a single player, your player. As you play, the game allows you to fast forward through games, and only playing in plays that you can directly affect or while batting. This cuts down on the time of watching or playing 9 whole innings. The base running is simplified with an up or right to advance running, and down or left, to return to previous base. As you play, you’ll learn nuances and baseball related skills to continue to progress. Its solid, and minus a few camera problems, like when you’re running to snag a fly ball in the outfield, and its over your head, the camera naturally, get closer to your player, but sometimes, when you’re running, the camera will have a slight seizure and cause you to miss an easy out.

The presentation and the sounds of the game are simply astounding and full encompassing. Three of the best instances, when you play RTTS as a Minor League player, the stadiums aren’t full, the atmosphere isn’t all encompassing as I said before, but you get the feel of being, in the start of your career. While when you get to the “Show” it’s simply loud, you hear the crowd, and when you make a play or an amazing stand as a team, you’ll hear the roar of the crowd. And when you’re playing team game, you can hear that same in a team versus team game. The commentators:  Matt Vasgersian, Eric Karros, and Steve Lyons are great and talk about the action, either in RTTS for just you, or end of inning recap or during your full game, but they tend to get dry rather quick. But as you play, in whatever mode, you get the atmosphere of being at the park, from the sounds of the ball being hit, the glove catching the ball, the umpire making a call, and the roar of the crowd after a bad call.

The game’s graphics are great, and look amazing, minus the grass, which looks like a weird version of astro-turf for gaming. But player’s faces, those of the professionals look like they’re real counterparts. I’ll admit, if they could add in the ability to see uniforms ruffling from movement, and also, the crowd… the day I see a crowd, that actually look like people and not some weird, graphical code dump for the crowd, it’ll be the day. But the game and its graphics, to its gameplay and its fun, to climbing your way up either in a Franchise or RTTS, MLB 13: The Show is worth the price tag and just simply fun and amazing. And I’m happy I picked it up!

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is like a kung-fu action movie that is hopped up on steroids that you just don’t want to end. Developed by Platinum Games (Bayonetta; Vanquish; Madworld) and published by published by Konami this is the mutant off spring of the formally cancelled Kojima Studios game Metal Gear Rising. The game was cancelled then later picked up by Platinum and completely reworked from the ground up with the consent of Hideo Kojima.

It’s an action, hack and slash game that is high paced and features an amazing new system mechanic. The mechanic is like bullet-time with a sword, but much cooler. Once doing enough damage to an enemy you are prompted with a slow down effect where you can in turn slice away at your opponent in slow motion. Doing so causes tons of dismemberment and it is truly a sight to behold. Mind you, this game is not for the faint of heart.

The story takes place four years after the events of Metal Gear Solid 4. You play as Raiden, the awesome ninja cyborg dude who used to suck in Metal Gear Solid 2…yeah that guy. You work for a Maverick security working to save money for his family by protecting Prime Minister N’Mani of an unknown African location. Next thing you know you are ambushed and the prime minister is captured then killed. During your rescue you become injured and defeated by one of the captors working for another group affiliated with Desperado Empires, a group associated with terrorism.

Not long after you soon end up trying to seek revenge a couple weeks later after your defeat. The story then unravels to several different plot points that seem very Metal Gear-esque. Without me spoiling the very convoluted plot, let me say it is all over the place with tons of codec dialogue and moments that will make you go “huh?”

Unfortunately the story mode is very short. I personally beat the game in a little under five hours. Granted those five hours were very awesome and filled with great action that is simply indescribable. Luckily, for those not willing to play the game multiple times, which I highly recommend, there are extra VR Missions that can be unlocked through the story. These test your sneaking ability and your combat skills. Not to mention the tons of skills and other statistical things you’d want to gain and extras to collect.

The sound design is another very strong component of this title. Composed by Jamie Christopherson it features amazing rock/techno/orchestral music. It’s so good I enjoy listening to it even after I am done with the game. Not to mention the awesome sounds of explosions, decapitation and sword slashes. It’s overall just awesome.

The graphics are also a marvel. Environments feature fully cut-able things from which you can wreak your destruction upon. The action looks so good as the game runs at a very smooth 60 fps. Sadly, some of the stages are just too open and barren. Understandable though considering how much work it must take to do such feats.

Most importantly is how the game plays. Safe to say it is very intuitive and yet simplistic. The game’s simple light and heavy attack system complement each other well. Combos are easy and fluent when stringing attacks together and can make you feel very badass. The only problem is the camera, which for the majority of the time works until there are either way too many enemies or you’re in a weird spot.

Overall Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is an amazing experience that Metal Gear fans and action fans shouldn’t miss. Sure the campaign could stand to longer but, I wouldn’t be surprised if we were to see a sequel in the future.

The Sony Conference event, started off light, and on time, with an cavalcade of the history of PlayStation brand through the years; from the PlayStation to the current generation, PlayStation 3. Everything was intermingled with the Dual Shock controller, being focused at some point and other PlayStation item as well. But within the first few seconds after the MC or main presenter, Andrew House began, he announced that Sony is indeed bringing the PlayStation 4, with the release window of Fall of this year. As he continued to speak, he talked about how the developer as well as the consumer is the focal point of the PS4. He additionally wanted it to be known, that the PS4 would be an central hub for all entertainment purposes for next generation.

The specs of the PS4 have definitely come back down to earth, from the cell processors and its raw power to a more easily programmable, but still power X86 CPU and an Advanced GPU, which easily allows 1st & 3rd party developers to get the most out of it. Sony is additionally giving, what all developers wanted, 8GB of unified memory and a supercharged architecture, again, which is catering to the developers, since Sony learned from previous PS3 development, and the grips most developers, that weren’t 1st party had to deal with. And from the out of the gate, a larger internal storage, which will come in handy with what will be explained next.

Sony has completed an massive infrastructure of involving mobile devices and primarily the Vita as the on the go version of the PS4, with turning your PS4 into a server of sorts. With the mention of the Vita, the games from your PS4 with the of Gaikai Cloud computing, which was acquired by Sony last year, is allowing for your catalogue to be on the go with you, mainly with the Vita but with other devices as well. With the Vita on the go, being more integral than before, it was shown by transferring, a new game for the PS4, called Knack, to the Vita as it was played, without missing a beat or any downgrade of graphics to the Vita’s clearly smaller screen. Also, Knack, slightly reminds me of the 360 launch game called Kameo, but that may just be me.

Next, is the new PS4 controller, which is simply called Dual Shock 4, its almost the same design as before, but with a touchpad where the Sony logo and Start & Select buttons were on the Dual 3. This gives the controller, a look of being a bit heavier, but it’s one of those things, people were saying the Dual 3 was too small, and cumbersome. With the touchpad comes, the integrated share button, right on the controller. It looks to be out of the way from accidental sharing, but convenient. Also, the light on the front of the controller, is continuously sending information to an almost Kinect like device, which is a stereo camera, which will track the controller as your playing.

The Share button takes me into the complete social integration as well other steps Sony is taking to further advance the PS4, with 5 words, each explaining the functionality of the PS4. First was Simple. Allowing for developers, be it, big companies or Indies to develop more easily for the PS4, and for the consumer to simply share and gain games for their PS4, more easily than ever before. Second, was Immediate. This was explained in the way of, a second chip, specifically, for background downloads, updates while playing a game either online or offline. Also, allowing for almost immediate, see what I did there, pick up and play from a suspended state of the game, even when its turned off. Third was Social. This is the heavy integration of the Share button.

The PS4 will be partnered with Facebook and Ustream, to allow for a better PSN profile, almost Facebook like, but Sony tailored. Also, with the Ustream and Gaikai, you can stream gameplay or upload screenshots or bits of gameplay directly to Facebook and other social media, and allow for immediate access by your friends on the media site as well as, your PSN friends, all the while retaining your anonymity, if you want. With the ability to stream, you or your friends can sit in on one another, if the person allows it, to watch them play, or even “pass the controls onto them” for help if need be. Also you can leave comments while they’re playing, be it helpful or even trash talk. Fourth was Integrate, allowing for the consumer to continuously, regardless of location or device do almost anything with the PS4. Finally was Personalization. This feature, is like smart shopping where, over time collected data from your purchases, from the PlayStation Store, or actual disk, and give you games and content, already fully downloaded to your PS4, and you’ll have to do is hit the buy button.

Moving back to Gaikai, Dave Perry, mentioned that, over time, the PS4 will have the catalogues of the PS1, 2, and 3, able to play digitally on the PS4, with the use of its technology. Also, with the service, they are adding, the Free to Try ability, giving the consumer, the ability to play actual full games, not a shortened version or a downgraded version, and buy at any point and time during that trial, and all without hassle.

After the beginning, they began to show games, videos, and live demos, from both 1st party and 3rd party. First up was Guerilla Games, with live gameplay of Killzone: Shadow Fall. The game is brighter than previous versions, and looks amazing. Next was Evolution Games, game Drive Club, a team based driving game about challenging the World as a team or Club, with a heavy integration in mobile devices for the challenges. Next, was Sucker Punch, bringing us back to the world of Infamous, the game calling Infamous: Second Son, and I was giddy with joy over this announcement, and I can’t wait. After which, Braid developers, Jonathan Blow, with the next game for the PS4 at launch, with The Witness, this has 25hrs of unique puzzles, and the music amazing with a Celtic feel.

Quantic Dream, creators of amazing Heavy Rain, showcased its pushing of the PS4 with a live demo of rendering facial and eye design and emotions with amazing lighting and textures, and small nuances. Media Molecule, the creators of Little Big Planet, shows full use of the Move with an sculpting and allowing your dreams to be created. This gave way to a recorded live performance of a show featuring “puppeteers” of a musical performance. With that, House mentioned that it had full support from, almost, if not, every major 3rd party developer for the PS4.

Capcom, with Yoshinori Ono, showing a gaming engine code named Panta Rhel, built specifically for the PS4 and a game being developed in conjunction with Panta, called, Deep Down (Working Title), showing beautiful lighting, character models, and amazing action, that seemed to be what real time action will be. Square Enix, showed the tech demo running the Luminous Engine by Hashimoto Yoshihisa, and the other Hashimoto, Shinji saying a new Final Fantasy title is in opening stages of development and more information released at E3. Ubisoft Montreal, showing an live demo of Watch Dogs running on the PS4. And the game looks amazing, and can’t wait till I get my hands on it. Blizzard, with Chris Metzen, announced that Diablo 3 will be coming to both the PS3 & PS4. And finally, the last announcement was from Activision’s Eric Hershberg, bringing Bungie’s new IP Destiny, to the PS4 as well as, the PS3, with exclusive content to the Sony family. All gameplay trailers, demos and videos will be on our site as well.

Sony came out hard hitting in this press conference. Showcasing that they have learned from their previous mistakes in the current generation, and looking forward to showing why Sony’s PlayStation was always a bright star, and not a waning one, as they were saying Sony was. Sony, came out saying, contest us now Microsoft, we will see you on the field of battle come this console launch. And Sony certainly means business, this generation.

Capcom has a released an almost-five-minute video showing off the improved visuals in the upcoming HD re-release of Okami.

As a big fan of the Playstation 2 version, I am definitely excited to play Okami again on my PS3, but I’m also laughing a little at everyone getting so hype over how “exciting” the “HD visuals” are. Okami has ALWAYS been a gorgeous game and the “new” graphics look exactly the same to me as the classic! I also think it’s interesting that Capcom chose a dim and dark cave adventure to show off the updated appearance….

But this is just a YouTube video, maybe my untrained eye will be more impressed (than I already am with the original PS2 art) when I see it on my TV screen.

Regardless, I’ll still be checking Okami HD out when it releases through the Playstation Network later this year, and racking up some trophies!

First appeared on NerdyButFlirty.com

The last we heard about the Uncharted film was the news of Limitless director Neil Burger taking the reins. However, Variety reports that he is “no longer attached” to Sony’s adaptation of Naughty Dog’s famous franchise.

Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune‘s film adaptation has been described as following the journey of Nathan Drake as he looks for hte long sought after treasure of El Dorado, which is the premise of the video game, as well. Though, seeing as the film will sign on new writers, the film may go in a new direction.

The duo who wrote Disney’s National Treasure franchise, Marianne and Cormac Wibberley, will be rewriting Nathan Drake’s cinematic experience. Look for updates from Real Otaku Gamer as we follow Nathan and his treasure hunt to Hollywood.

Sony Computer Entertainment will release nasne in Japan on August 30 of this year as a networked recorder and media storage device retailing at 16,980 ¥ (about $207, includes tax). To put it simply, it’s a network where you can watch or record live television from several Sony devices and store data such as photos and music. With a 500GB hard disk drive and access to digital terrestrial and satellite television broadcast, it packs a lot of memory other devices do not have. As Sony’s president and CEO Kazuo Hirai says, it ” will give users more freedom to enjoy television in new ways by enabling them to watch programs on various Sony products through dedicated applications.” A weakness of the product is devices can only be used with the same home network as nasne, giving not much space for on-the-go entertainment. Also, one nasne device can only record one television program at once, not distinguishing it much from other DVRs. One will be able to use nasne with Sony computers, smart phones, and gaming consoles. Below are Sony devices that can be used with nasne.

PlayStation 3

PS3 users can watch and record television via a LAN cable using an upgraded version of ”torne” which will come bundled with nasne. Up to 4 nasne units can be used at once on the PS3.

Playstation Vita

PS Vita will use an application that will allow watching and recording via Wi-Fi connection. The application will be available sometime this year.

VAIO PC

“VAIO TV with nasne” will allow watching and recording live TV via Wi-Fi or LAN cable, the application will come out concurrently with nasne and be available to Windows 7 PCs via “VAIO Update,” a free update service for VAIO users. Many other things can be done via the PC. The recorded programs can be transfered to DVD or Blu-ray disc or stored in the PC’s HDD or SSD. A maximum of 8 nasne devices can be connected to VAIO PC and keywords can be used to look up television programs.

Sony Tablet/XPeria

Television can be watched via Wi-Fi. The application “G GUIDE TV OUKOKU CHAN-TORU” will allow to schedule recordings.

No word yet on whether it will be available in countries other than Japan.

From  SarahTheRebel.com

As we wait with bated breath for the announcment of the 2012 Maxim Gamer Girl (which was supposed to be Monday), I decided to share an excellent discussion I had with Raychul Moore, named one of WhatCulture!‘s ”50 Sexiest Women You’ve Probably Never Heard Of,” and Krysti Pryde, one of the final three contenders on Sony’s The Tester Season 3. Both ladies made it to the Top 5 in the first round of the Maxim Gamer Girl Contest.

About the Maxim Gamer Girl Contest

For those who don’t know about the contest, the Maxim Gamer Girl Contest was a competition in which female gamers competed by gaining votes in the first round and by creating videos in the next round. The winner gets to become the 2012 Maxim Gamer Girl, which includes  promotional all-inclusive trips to gaming events, broadcast shows, appearances on the Virgin Gaming YouTube channel and site, a Playstation 3 console and games, and, $5,000 in Virgin gaming dollars to wager in tournaments.

My Thoughts on the Competition

I heard about the Maxim Gamer Girl contest through Twitter. In fact, I heard about it because a larger-number-than-I’m-comfortable-with of guys told me I should enter the contest.  I will admit that it hurt my feelings that they didn’t pay enough attention to my feminist rants to get that this sort of contest was anathema to me.

How can I tell men that we are not sexual objects, that we are gamers just like them, while asking them to vote for me in a contest that focuses on me as a sexual object?

However, I will also admit that I was tempted, for just one second, with the though of getting paid to play video games all day while making pouty faces and nibbling my controller. But only for a second.

I did not enter the contest, and I did not vote for anyone. I felt that even voting would go against my code, although I did retweet a few of my close tweep’s tweets for votes, because they are my friends and I support them.

After a week or two, the requests for votes disappeared and I assumed the contest was over. Until one day when I noticed Raychul Moore’s tweet about how she was in the top three the entire time and was not chosen to move forward.

I went to the site to investigate, and that’s when I discovered that two of my tweeps, Raychul Moore and Krysti Pryde, were in the top five!

My first question, of course, was about why they entered. Both had reservations about entering, but came to the decision to enter by different paths. Krysti’s goal was the challenge the system.

“You know, honestly, at first I was sort of annoyed at the idea of a “Gamer Girl” contest, because I so loathe the term ‘Gamer Girl’,” said Krysti Pryde, “but after some thinking and some discussion between other men and women in the industry, and a lot of support, I decided to enter to prove a point and for my own personal gain. I wanted to post blogs and talk about the industry and community, and not Maxim, how I look, or why I’m a more superior girl gamer than any other broad. I wanted to show that an intelligent girl with legitimacy, knowledge and passion could make it into the top girls, all while her avatar is fully clothed and her profile is full of gaming substance and not braggadocios material.”

Aint no braggadocio here!

Raychul, on the other hand, entered on the belief that this contest would be more than just a publicity stunt.

“I had huge reservations at first, because we all know how these contests usually go down, it’s more of a popularity contest rather than a search for a true gamer,” said Raychul Moore.

“So I talked to them for quite a bit about my reservations. They assured me that they were looking for a true gamer; a girl who knew about the industry as a whole and not just a few key games. They wanted a girl with knowledge of the industry and had experience covering game events and talking about games while on camera. It took some convincing, but I finally decided, ‘Sure, why the hell not. This would be a dream job for me!’”

The Case of the Unimportant Vote

However, despite both ladies maintaining a position on the Top 5 during the voting portion of the contest, both were passed over by the judges to move on to the second round.

I asked them how they felt about not making it to the second round, despite having massive amounts of votes.

“I think I may of been one of the few people that went through the entirety of the Terms and Agreement and really tried to understand the rules,” said Krysti.

“So I knew while voting didn’t necessarily count, and placing in the top 5 girls basically meant nothing, other than the judges maybe get to see you first and you remained on the front page. I sort of know the nature of these competitions, and it’s all smoke and mirrors and “rules” is a loose term. I also got the vibe from reading more into it half-way into the first round of voting that the girls that attended the NYC personal casting were at the top of the list. I think the online audition page is purely so Maxim can get hits on their page and build hype for the upcoming feature in the magazine, and use the girls to bring new viewers to the page. It’s just the nature of the beast.”

Unlike Krysti, Raychul took issue with the way the judges picked the next round.

“This is where things get confusing, because I was told voting would go down a bit differently in the beginning,” said Raychul.

“I was under the impression they would be weeding out the girls who used promotional tactics and that going to the Maxim Casting Call in NYC was not a requirement and would not give some girls an advantage with the judges.”

Raychul expresses her rage

To Enter or Not to Enter

Despite not being chosen as one of the finalists, Krysti thinks these kinds of contests have some worth as a means to further her goals of showing female gamers in a more positive light.

“For the same reasons I would probably still participate in like competitions,” said Krysti. ”I met so many fantastic girls and it’s really a great feeling to met other smart, fun, passionate and FRIENDLY girls within the community. That alone was worth entering. While the competition wasn’t necessarily my cup of tea, it was certainly worth entering.”

She also had some advice for other gaming ladies.

“If it has to do with the industry I love it’s always worth it to me,” she said, “But for anyone wanting to enter any sort of contest, dont be discouraged because their is always a chance, but nothing is ever black and white. I have a pretty good understanding of competitions like this, but I’ve really learned to take it for what it is and use it to benefit yourself if anything. That’s the best advice I could give anyone as well. Contests like this sort of show that it’s a good idea to not take anything too seriously!”

Raychul, who had a different experience, says she will not enter another similar contest.

“I really wasn’t a fan of these kind of things to begin with, but felt after talking with them, that this one might be different. I am not upset I didn’t get chosen, I am more upset that I just feel like I was fooled into thinking votes counted. I feel like a jerk for spamming Twitter and YouTube asking people to sign up to vote for me, when none of it mattered. I feel bad for inconveniencing people,” said Raychul.

Her advice for fellow lady gamers?

“If a company really wants a well-rounded gamer who knows her stuff and can do on-camera work, they will go through a normal hiring process, not a contest.”

Summary

I really enjoyed getting to hear two very different perspectives on the contest. I myself toyed with the idea entering to prove a point, and yet also asked around to see if perhaps this contest would indeed result in an actual female gamer getting a promotional position with a big name consumer magazine.

On the other hand, it’s Maxim. I do have to agree with Raychul: if a company is looking for a true gamer rather than eye candy or hits, they will go through the normal hiring process.

I believe that competitions like this hurt the credibility of female gamers. Male gamers compete in contests based on their gaming and charisma. Female gamers seem to always have to rely on their looks and… well… how sexily they can bend over while holding a controller.

I would love to see the day when my fellow gamers of the lady persuasion shun or boycott these types of competitions, to show that we are not tools to help sites pander to the more immature male gamers out there (not that mature male gamers don’t admire nice bodies, but more that they seem to see these types of contests for the shameful sham they are). We have the power to change both perceptions and reality. Like Krysti, I too think that one of the main steps we need to take is to change our perception of each other as well. If lady gamers are bashing each other for their looks or as “fake” or “not really a gamer,” then why would male gamers not think that is normal behavior?

All in all, I hope this competition can become a talking point in the discussion of gender differences in gaming.

More about Krysti Pryde:

“Did you know that “Honey Badger” is a frozen yogurt flavor? I learned this today. Needless to say, I’m excited.”

To learn more Krysti, check out my feature Lady of Gaming for the Month of April

You can also visit her excellent blog, www.krystipryde.com. Make sure to follow her on Twitter @krystipryde, and  Instagram: @krystipryde.

“Thanks to everyone that voted for me every single day and left comments and made the contest a fun experience regardless! That is super important to me. Thanks a frakin’ million. <3″

More about Raychul Moore:

www.Raychul.com

Check out Raychul’s site: www.Raychul.com. You can also follow her on Twitter: @theRaychul and check her out on YouTube: www.youtube.com/RaychulMoore and Twitch: www.twitch.tv/theRaychul.

“A huge thanks to everyone who did vote! Keeping me in the Top 3 through out the whole contest was quite a surprise and, even though I didn’t make it,…I have the best group of fans/followers/subscribers a girl could ever ask for! Thanks to everyone! <3″

Relevant Rules Mentioned:

7. SELECTION OF SEMI-FINALISTS, FINALISTS, AND GRAND PRIZE WINNER: The Contest has three phases: (1) the Entry Phase during which Entries are received and public voting will select “Semi-Finalists” (as defined below), (2) a Finals Phase during which judges will select and designate “Finalists” (as defined below), and (3) a Grand Prize Phase during which public voting combined with editorial judging which will determine the Grand Prize Winner (as defined below) who will also be named the “2012 Maxim Gamer Girl”.

7-1. ENTRY PHASE – PUBLIC VOTING & SEMI-FINALISTS SELECTION: Each accepted Entry will be available for public viewing on the Site until that Entry is no longer eligible to win the Contest. Visitors who have created a profile on the Site will have the ability to cast a vote for an Entrant based on the Judging Criteria described below during the Contest Period (“Vote”). Limit: 1 Vote per IP person per day. Votes generated by script, macro or other automated means or with the intent to impair the integrity of the voting process will be void. At the conclusion of the Contest Period, the 500 eligible Entrants receiving the most Votes (the “Semi-Finalists”) will then be judged in the manner described below.

7-2. FINALS PHASE – JUDGING (TO DESIGNATE FINALISTS): Each eligible Semi-Finalist will be judged by editors of Sponsor (“Judges”) with no connection to the administration of the Contest. Entries will be judged based on originality, creativity, humor, telegenic presence, and adherence to Contest instructions (the“Judging Criteria”). Judges will select three (3) final contestants (each, a “Finalist” and together, the“Finalists”), which decisions shall be within the sole and absolute discretion of the Judges, and all such decisions shall be final.

7-3. GRAND PRIZE PHASE – JUDGING CRITERIA (TO SELECT GRAND PRIZE WINNER): Each Pilot will be available for public viewing on maxim.com from June 22, 2012 to July 13, 2012 (the “Grand Prize Voting Period”). Visitors to maxim.com will have the ability to cast a Vote for a Pilot (each a “Grand Prize Vote” and together, the “Grand Prize Votes”). Limit: 1 Vote for Finalists, per IP address, per day.Grand Prize Votes generated by script, macro or other automated means or with the intent to impair the integrity of the voting process will be void. At the conclusion of the Grand Prize Voting Period, each Pilot will then be judged by the Judges. Pilots will be judged based on the following weighted percentages: number of Grand Prize Votes received (10%), telegenic presence, originality, creativity, humor, and adherence to Contest instructions. (collectively, 90%). The selection of the winning Finalist (the “Grand Prize Winner”) shall be within the sole and absolute discretion of the Judges, and all such decisions shall be final. The Grand Prize Winner may refer to herself as the “2012 Maxim Gamer Girl” in written and descriptive materials such as a resume (without the Maxim logo and trademark and logo), but only if such uses and displays are purely non-commercial and in no event suggest or create any confusion whatsoever that AMG or Maxim Magazine is endorsing or participating in any manner related to the use of its name, makes, fonts or logos.

8. GRAND PRIZE WINNER SELECTION: On or about July 16, 2012, one (1) Grand Prize Winner will be selected by the Judges from all eligible Finalist Entries. The Grand Prize award (described below) is subject to verification and will be awarded upon winner validation and verification by Sponsor. The potential winner will be notified by electronic mail, regular postal mail or other traceable method of delivery on or about July 18, 2012. If the initially selected winner is ineligible, cannot be contacted after two (2) attempts by Sponsor, or fails to complete and return any required documents to AMG within five (5) days of receipt of the documents, the prize will be forfeited and an alternate winner will be selected by the Judges from the remaining eligible Finalists.

If you or someone you know hasn’t bought into Playstation Plus since it released two years ago, and still are not sure about buying a subscription, you should get one ASAP. Jack Trenton, Sony’s Senior Vice President at SCEA, has announced that starting tomorrow ps plus members will receive Infamous 2, Little Big Planet 2 and Saints Row 2 for the low low price of….free, along with 9 other titles that will rotated throughout the coming weeks. These were three big sequels for their respective series. Playstation Plus has made up for PSN faults in features in relation to XBLA, with games and other content. They have been offering beta’s (such as Ghost Recon: Future Solider) early demo’s, games(Trine 2,Shank 2, Awesomenauts, SFIITHDRemix) PS minis, PSone classics, and other items free of charge, or at a discounted price; as well the Ultimate deals (i.e Complete Editions for games such as Read Dead Redemption, COD Black Ops, and More).
This picture is from last month Playstation Plus release calendar.

If this doesn’t push you to get into PS plus, then nothing will. The full PlayStation Store update, launching tomorrow, will give you more details on this as well as the other deals, promotions, and releases. As well as the full list of games for this ultimate deal.
Stay tuned for more news from ROG for your E3 2012 news as well as tweet and Retweet #ROGxE3.

UPDATE
Here is the full list and all will be available TODAY