Gamer Corner: Jamie

Welcome to this week's installment of Gamer Corner, where Fangirl Review interviews a gamer and gets his thoughts on the gaming world and learn what he is enjoying at the moment.


1. Tell me a little bit about yourself? 

My name is Jamie Butterworth, I’ve been gaming since the mid 80’s thanks to my baby sitter: Atari 2600. I was a die hard Sega gamer up until they bowed out after the Dreamcast. I switched to the Gamecube after that, and I’ve owned nearly every domestically released console and handheld gaming system.

2. What rig do you currently game on? 

Currently WiiU (it’s literally on my chest right now as I write this, playing Hulu) and also the 3DS. Those are my systems of choice.

3. What game are you currently playing right now?

Wind Waker HD, Wonderful 101, Pokemon Rumble U, Animal Crossing New Leaf

4. Do you enjoy that game, why? How’s the overall game play? 

I’ll single out Wonderful 101 since I feel EVERYONE needs to talk about it, and every WiiU action fan should own it. I love the game, and I recently completed it on Normal (hard is up next!). The gameplay itself is very unique, and though the mechanic of drawing out the different weapons can be difficult at first, you eventually get so used to it that it’s second nature and it adds so much to the game.

5. Would you recommend it? 

Absolutely. Before I beat this game, Bayonetta was my favorite action game. It was about the time when I was playing punchout as a 100 foot tall robot against a 200 foot tall robot, in the middle of a volcano, that I decided Wonderful 101 should take that title.

6. Are there any games coming out that you are looking forward to? 

I’m ridiculously excited for Watch Dogs. I MUST have that game. I’m also looking forward to Sonic Lost World, and Mario 3D World.

7. What kind of gamer do you classify yourself to be? ie. PC, Console, Tabletop, LARP as well as Hardcore, RPG, etc. 

I’m definitely a console gamer, though I’ve dabbled in PC a bit, and even built my own PC (gave it to my little bro for Christmas last year). I enjoy almost any kind of game, but I don’t really like sports, RTS games, or isometric dungeon crawlers like Diablo.

8. So with the new consoles coming out, which way are you leaning One or 4? (Ignore if you are a PC gamer) 

Were I to pick one, it’d be the PS4. But I think with the introduction of Steam OS, I may just build my own living room PC in the shape of a console.

9. What are your thoughts on the gaming industry? 

So many thoughts, so little space. I think the industry needs to focus on putting out the best games possible, and not how to best monetize them. I’m looking at you, EA! Great games sell. Mediocre games don’t sell, and adding microtransactions only serves to somewhat mitigate that, and piss off the player base.

10. If you had the power, what direction would you have the gaming industry go? 

Stop trying to take the power out of gamers’ hands. We want to own the things we buy, even if digitally. Stop this multimedia nonsense. We have multiple devices to do all of that stuff, and our cellphones can do almost anything we need them to. Focus on games.

11. 10 years from now, where do you see the industry? Are you happy with that direction? 

This is going to be the final generation of consoles, at least in the traditional sense. I see everyone going mobile in some form or fashion, and Sony recently confirmed this as they stated they wanted to move Playstation from hardware to more of a service. It’s possible that Nintendo may be the only company left with dedicated gaming hardware on the market. If anyone could pull that off, it would be them. So we’re looking at Sony likely switching to a Playstation service, likely working with their Xperia phone division. I don’t know if Microsoft’s gaming division will survive the Xbox one since investors are already calling for it to be shut on.

12. Favorite Game (can include tabletop) of all time and why? 

Seriously way too many games to choose from! I’m terrible at naming favorites. So let me list a few favorites: Final Fantasy Tactics, Final Fantasy VII, Shining Force series, Phantasy Star series, Animal Crossing New Leaf, Panzer Dragoon series, and many many many more I can’t think of.

13. Additional Thoughts and Comments? 

I put it all out there on the page already! Ask me some more questions and I’ll be happy to give you more thoughts.

13A. Additional Info about Jamie 

Jamie published his first book, the work of fiction 'Superpowered' back in June. He's hard(ish) at work on the sequel, and hopes to eventually carve a career out of writing. He's also currently writing game reviews for Playeressence.com and plans to continue contributing growth for the content on that site as well.

Superpowered - Amazon 

14. Would you like to share your gamer tag and the system so others may add you? 

Sure, feel free to add me on WiiU: Kotargnskit

Thank you to Jamie for a fantastic interview. If you would to be interviewed for Gamer Corner please contact me at fangirlcontact@gmail.com