I've had a few people ask why I use the screenname "Grognard" (and grognard66 on other sites). My roots are in wargaming - originally board games (Avalon Hill) and, subsequently, computer wargames (SSI/Talonsoft).

That community affectionately adopted the term "Grognard" as a tongue in cheek way of acknowledging how grumpy they could be if even the most trivial details (ballistics, etc.) were not precisely correct in a game. This is a reference to Napoleon's Old Guard troops who were widely acknowledged as the best soldiers (I know it's hard to imagine - good French fighters!), but had a reputation for constantly complaining - so "Grognard" means grumbler. Anyone who follows my comments and posts knows that I can be grumpy on occassion.

The "66" is simply my year of birth. So there you go - your history lesson for the day!

The recent flap on NeoGaf about MTV Multiplayer's Stephen Totillo not memorizing Street Fighter II moves reflects one of my pet peeves about the industry. Being knowledgeable about an industry and understanding what makes a quality game has nothing to do with a writers skills (full disclosure - this comes from a geezer gamer who plays games usually on normal and even sometimes on easy).

In fact, this situation only illustrates what's wrong with gaming websites and most gaming "journalists" today. Because gaming journalists and websites are still not considered respectable by mainstream media, most of those employed are paid very little, attracting mainly younger writers who will work for next to nothing and are often unqualified (the number of former GameStop employees in the industry is surprising). This demographic is from the Nintendo era and is skewed towards Japanese consoles and games as a result. I wonder if the same people posting on NeoGaf who are shocked Totillo didn't memorize particular SF moves would be shocked that he didn't memorize the technology charts from the original Civilization or the ballistic stats for weapons from Steel Panthers.

More mature writers (by age, if not temperament) would have a more balanced perspective and appreciate the contributions of older Western PC developers, who advanced gaming much more than their console Japanese counterparts (3D, online, etc.). It would also do away with the frustrating tendency of many of these young writers - mistaking snarkiness for investigative journalism. Finally, these sites could expand beyond their niche demographic with a more balanced writing staff. Sadly, given the state of the economy I can't see any of these sites increasing the pay for their staff anytime soon.

The obsessive compulsive side of me started maintaining a spreadsheet in 2005 of all my gaming purchases each year. In general, I managed to spend about $900 less than last year while picking up more games thanks primarily to increased use of Goozex (game trading site) and bargains I was alerted to at cheapassgamer.

Here's the breakdown:

360: 43 Retail games and 10 XLBA titles

xbox: 4 Retail games

DS: 9 Retail games

GBA: 1 Retail game

Wii: 6 Retail games and 1 VC title

PC: 18 Retail titles (2 purchased on Steam)

PS3: 14 Retail games and 3 PSN titles

PS2: 1 Retail game

PSP: 5 Retail games