Console Games (Nintendo, Sony etc.) and Arcade Games/Expert Profile

Expertise

Ever since I played "Pong" in the early 80's, I've been a video game aficionado. I can answer hardware & games questions about PSP (PlayStation Portable), all PlayStation (1,2,& 3), Wii, Wii Fit, GameCube, Nintendo DS, Nintendo (NES), Super Nintendo, Gameboy/Gameboy Advance, and antiquated systems (ColecoVision, Atari, Sega, etc). I can answer hardware questions about all systems (including PS1 - PS3, Wii, NES, SNES, PSP, DS, GBA, GB, Xbox and Xbox 360). I can also answer PC game questions, especially CounterStrike: Source, Vampire: Bloodlines, Half-Life 1&2, Portal, Team Fortress 2, and all Sims & Sims 2 questions. I am ESPECIALLY knowledgeable in Square-Enix (formerly SquareSoft) games such as ALL the Final Fantasy games (I can even tell you really obscure things about these games). If I haven't played the game yet I will research it and help you find the answer, renting the game if necessary. I can even answer questions dealing with the consoles themselves (hardware questions). I cannot answer questions about Action Replay. I cannot answer questions about football, basketball, or wrestling sports games. I also have very limited knowledge about Xbox & Xbox 360 games unless they are cross-platform. If it is an independent game that has not been widely published and/or a game only released in some countries, I may not be able to help with it either (sadly!)

Experience in the area

I currently am employed as a supervisor for a large, national video game retailer. I am also an expert here in games/roleplaying games, weddings, childbirth, and doulas. My husband is a computer programmer and one of the forefront coders for CounterStrike: Source scripts & mods. He has his own forums for coders/scripters at Mattie.Info. I have been an expert here since 2000 (under the name of Helen Chipman) and also volunteer on numerous other game-related websites and forums.

What do you like about this subject?

I love games and have always been a fan of video games in particular. If it can be played, chances are I've played it. =)

What do you still hope to achieve/learn in this field?

As each new system comes out, I strive to learn and keep abreast of this rapidly changing/growing market.

Something interesting about this subject that others may not know:

Video games are merely the computerized version of roleplaying games (regardless of genre). Roleplaying games are actually acting, which was first documented in every cultural hearth.

Something controversial or provocative about this subject

The government should NOT censor video games - PARENTS should be the ones who decide what games their children can and cannot play. I'm a mother and I realize that it is my responsibility.