coloradojoe

Name: coloradojoe
Joined On: Jun 23, 2007
Maintag: coloradojoe
Age: 36
Occupation: Freelance gaming journalist
Location: Colorado Springs
Currently: Offline
Last seen: 7/19/07

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07/17/07

Returning from E3

Hey everybody,

I just back from Cali last night and I'm beat. E3 might have ended Friday but I stuck around a little longer to play tourist. There's some random stuff I threw up on my blog at www.springsgamer.blogspot.com when I have the time but I'll be posting interviews with G4TV's Morgan Webb and Adam Sessler in the News section here within the next few days.

Later

Posted by coloradojoe @ 2:12 am EDT | Permalink | 0 Comments

07/06/07

Get your money back

Peter Moore recently announced that the Xbox 360 warranty coverage has been extended. No one is happier about this than my brother who just paid Microsoft $120 to fix his busted 360. The below FAQ is from xbox.com so if you're looking to get your money back, it might be worth a read.

Expanded Xbox 360 Warranty Coverage FAQ

Q: What are you rolling out that is new?
A: While we maintain our one-year console warranty (two years in some countries), Microsoft is extending the terms of its Xbox 360 warranty to three years for certain general hardware failures which are indicated by three flashing red lights on the console. This will apply to new and existing customers and we will retroactively pay back the out-of-warranty repair costs paid by customers for console problems indicated by the three flashing red lights.

Q: How does this warranty differ from your existing warranty?
A: Currently, any Xbox 360 is covered by a one year manufacturer’s warranty (two years in some parts of the world). If the console is out of warranty, there is a charge to have it repaired. It then comes with an additional one year repair warranty. With these changes, there is effectively a three year warranty with no charge for repair for general hardware failures indicated by the three flashing red lights error code which displays on the console.

Q: Is this effective worldwide?
A: Yes, these policies are global. The new policies are now being instituted in our customer service centers around the world, which may take a few days to fully implement.

Q: When does the policy change go into effect?
A: These new policies are now being instituted in our customer service centers around the world, which may take a few days to fully implement. They will apply to new and existing customers. For the latest information, customers should visit Xbox.com.

Q: Is there any health or safety issue at play here?
A: This is in no way related to any sort of product safety issue.

Q: Do I get a refund?
A: Yes, we will reimburse any customer who was out of warranty and paid for repairs due issues indicated by the three flashing red lights error message. Customer should expect to receive a check in 10-12 weeks.

Q: How does this affect my extended warranty bought from my retailer?
A: You’re still covered under your existing warranty for issues outside the scope of this specific three-year warranty.

Q: Have you identified a root cause that can lead to failure?
A: There is not a single issue that we can point to as being a problem. We test the product extensively, including accelerated life testing, but the nature of the console itself is very complex, as it’s a consumer electronic product that contains more than 1,700 different components and 500 million transistors.

There are a variety of scenarios that can cause a general hardware failure. Only the indicator (the three flashing red lights) is always the same.

Q: Who do I contact with further questions?
A: Please contact your local Xbox Customer Service (1-800-4-MY-XBOX in the US and Canada).

Posted by coloradojoe @ 8:21 pm EDT | Permalink | 2 Comments

06/28/07

GTA: IV Trailer 2

Has anyone else seen the new trailer for GTA: IV? ( http://www.rockstargames.com/IV/trailer_splash.html) It takes a long time to load but its frickin' sweet! And no, I don't work for Rockstar.

Terry "coloradojoe" Terrones

Posted by coloradojoe @ 2:08 pm EDT | Permalink | 0 Comments

06/27/07

Cyberball

Is anybody else out there a Cyberball fan? For the uninitiated Cyberball is the greatest robots playing football game of all time. It came out as an Atari arcade game in the late 80's and I was absolutely addicted to it. If you head over to my blog, www.springsgamer.blogspot.com, you can see a few youtube clips of the game. Anyway, for the longest time its been on the Xbox Live Arcade release list but it keeps getting pushed back. I can't wait to play against other gamers online and earn some cheap ass Achievement Points. If you love the game as much as I do, you can still find it on the cheap in used PS2, Xbox or Gamecube iterations of Midway Arcade Treasures Volume 2. Midway now owns the rights to the game and will more than likely be releasing the XBLA version. If there's any other Cyberball junkies out there, let me know.

Terry "coloradojoe" Terrones

Posted by coloradojoe @ 8:52 pm EDT | Permalink | 2 Comments

06/25/07

Gun for Hire

My job is listed on the left as "Freelance Gaming Journalist" and I guess that requires some explanation, so here's a little bit of information about my writing career. Three years ago I realized I was a fairly decent writer. I started out innocently enough, ragging on my buddies on our fantasy football site. It was a blast to do and after football season was over I wanted to keep on going. I had a little writing experience (I worked as a reporter and editor at my college newspaper) but no professional experience. I started out by writing a newsletter with my brother. I had a hard time trying to think of a name but settled on Colorado Joe since I was writing about topics the average Joe would talk to his pals about. It was a one page, front and back newsletter with pictures and short stories that covered everything from games to sports, politics to pop culture. I had it placed in bars, restaurants and liquor stores around Colorado Springs. Soon I started a website for it, the now defunct coloradojoe.net (are you getting the theme here). Eventually my brother couldn't keep up and I ended up doing it myself.

Emboldened by the success of the website and newsletter I decided it was time for me to reach a bigger audience. I emailed the Sports editor at the Gazette, the local newspaper in town and told him I was interested in writing for him. To my surprise he responded, had me do a few practice stories and the next thing I know I'm covering a minor league soccer game. I did that for awhile and it was fine but writing sports stories was kind of boring. They're very formulaic and don't really allow for any creativity, you just tell the 5 W's and that's it. Any moron could do that. So I went to the Entertainment editor and started talking to him about writing for his section. Being a huge gamer I managed to convince him into letting me write a video game column. Since the column was brand new, I had to do a ton of leg work. I had to contact every gaming publisher and developer so I could receive games and get the lastest news. It worked out great! Over the last two years I've made tons of great friends, acquired a number of reliable gaming contacts and have interviewed ESRB Prez Patrica Vance, GameDaily's Eli Shayotovich, PSM's Chris Slate and OXM's Fran Reyes (twice). I also earned an invite to this years E3 and I'm really looking forward to the trip.

The freelance part of my job title means I don't just write for the Gazette. There's another local paper, the Colorado Springs Independent, that I'll be working with from time to time. I'm also up for a of Contributing Writer position at a well known website and a top tier gaming mag (wish me luck). Since I like to keep frequent readers of mine up to speed, I have a gaming blog (www.springsgamer.blogspot.com) that I update about 3 times a week. I also recently started a podcast with my brother where we ramble about all sorts of stupid things.

So where do I want all this to lead to? Working for a gaming mag (OXM, Game Informer or EGM would be cool) is my ultimate goal but I think I'd also enjoy working the PR side for a gaming company. Will it ever happen? I have no idea but that's what I'm hoping for. I think the late, great Casey Kasem said it best, "Keep your feet on the ground, but keep reaching for cigars"...or something like that.

Terry "coloradojoe" Terrones

Posted by coloradojoe @ 1:29 pm EDT | Permalink | 4 Comments

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