Hey guys as you know, one of the biggest games of the year is coming out on friday. That game would be Gears of War 2. Hopefully by now all coaches have received emails stating that I will be online all weekend. so I am having a contest. The prize…your very own COG tags. amount of cog tags are unknown at this time.

So here is how to enter. Oh and you dont even have to own a 360. you only need to do one of these to enter.

1. Add me to your friends list (gamertag below)and play a match with me. mention to me that you are a coach
2. Leave a comment on this blog posting by saying “i need to see your id”. and chat about what you expect out of Gears 2
3. email me at mayor@gamercoach.com

Now for the legal crap: (all times eastern)

contest begins Friday, November 7th at 12:01am. all entries must be received by 11:59pm Sunday, November 9th. Extended to Friday, November 14th 11:59pm. duplicate entries will not count. all participants must be a registered member of gamercoach. winners will be drawn at random and contacted via email. prizes should be expected between 2-6 weeks after notification.

Have fun guys

If you have any suggestion, comments or topics for any upcoming Mayor’s Office, email me at mayor@gamercoach.com or hit me up on xbox live

xbox live gamertag: MAY0R (thats m-a-y-zero-r)

Hello everyone and welcome to gamercoach.com. my name is mayor and I just wanted to introduce myself and tell everyone about who i am and why i was brought on-board. I am here to be not just your gaming coach but also your guide to help you with the ins and out, yes including tech support, of your console. Mostly I have been drafted to do xbox 360, on which i know most everything about, but will be offering service on the other consoles as well.

Most of this will be helping with getting your router settings properly set, setting up your console so you do more than play games on it, and parental settings. I will also be posting the hottest news, releases and any special heard about in regards to gaming. So go ahead and book a session with me to make your console do what YOU want it to do. Click Here for to view my profile and book a session.

This brings me to my first topic of discussion. The New Xbox Experience.

For those that do not know, on November 19, Microsoft will be releasing their new 360 dashboard (just like your computer dashboard). This is the start of console manufacturers updating their product, so it moves from the childrens room to the living room. the 360 is making huge leaps in making this happen. they want 360 users to no longer be just kids to young adults, they want the whole family using this.

Some of you are asking questions like: “but Mayor, the living room tv is the family tv and not for gaming, so how is it going to appeal to me to make it the center of my homes entertainment.”

My response would be very simple to say that, 360 has started to come out with huge party games (games played with multiple people like a party), and “big button” games (those that only require 1 button to play). Games like, “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader”, “Scene It”, “Karaoke Revolution” and “Lips” (singing games), and the list goes on for a while. These enable anyone to pick up a control and play, with know previous gaming experience. So without further ado here is a short list of what to expect from the new xbox experience(NXE).

· Play from hard drive. Copy your games from the game disc and play directly from the hard drive. Not only will the drive not spin, but load times are quicker, as well. Of course, you will still need the disc in the tray to prove you own the game.

· Access Xbox LIVE Marketplace on the Web. Browse and purchase Marketplace content whenever you want from Xbox.com and it downloads automatically to your console. Purchase that new map, television episode, the latest Xbox LIVE Arcade game or set up a movie to watch when you get home from work.

· Dashboard built into the new Xbox Guide. For everyone who loves the blades interface, it’s not going away; they are now built directly in to the new Xbox guide. Every feature and option is available right from the guide. You can even access your full games library at all times. No matter where you are (in dash or in game), immediately call up your games played list and directly launch a game.

· LIVE Party system and Netflix. Create a party of up to eight friends, and stay with them from one game to another, or watch a Netflix movie together as you stream it to your console, or share a slideshow of your personal photos. It works with all Xbox 360 titles, not just upcoming games. LIVE Party allows up to eight people to chat in the dashboard, so you can meet up before playing.

· Xbox LIVE Primetime. This whole new category of games is going to give you more reasons to get online with your friends. Games will support everything you’d expect, like Achievements and leader boards, but many of these games will include real prizes. You can invite your friends, and even set a reminder for an upcoming show. Each game is broadcast simultaneously, so everyone is answering the same questions. Many events will have a live host, calling the shots as they happen.

· Avatars. Your online identity started as a Gamertag - it then grew into a personalized Gamercard. Now, it has evolved even further into avatars. You can express your style, check out new outfits and share this with the community. Avatars will also be integrated into Xbox LIVE Arcade games, LIVE Party, as well as retail games.

· New display support. They are adding 16X10 over VGA or HDMI, and support for 1440×900 or 1680×1050.

This is only the tip of the iceberg

I will hopefully have some video walkthroughs of the new dashboard over the week.

If you have any suggestion, comments or topics for any upcoming Mayor’s Office, email me at mayor@gamercoach.com or hit me up on xbox live

xbox live gamertag: MAY0R (thats m-a-y-zero-r)

Coming soon - his or hers business card that Coaches can modify to promote themselves as professional video game instructors.

video game lessons instructor - Hers

video game lessons instructor - His

From GamingAngels.com: Welcome to GamingAngels.com. I have been upset for years at the lack of female reviewers and general presence in the Gaming Industry. Was I a rare type of female? Were there other females out there that enjoyed a good ass-kicking fighter like me? I looked through all the Gaming Magazines. Most had one female reviewer. She was their lone female voice. Typically she had two games to review to the mens’ ten or so. Also her games were usually lighter in content, possibly meant for young kids. I started thinking about the message that these Magazines were sending. Women aren’t serious about gaming. They are mostly casual gamers that enjoy light, cute games.

Last year I went to a small game conference. It was basically set up by Best Buy and a couple of the leading Gaming Magazines/Online editorials. I attended a session about Video Game Journalism. After hearing the all male panel discuss how they became journalists and what their days were like, the panel was open for discussion. I was the first to ask a question. Why do you think there are so few female reviewers and what are you doing to change that? The answer shocked me into creating this site. The answer was basic. Women don’t play video games. The editors felt that women played games like Tetris or Nintendogs but nothing else. One man on the end spoke up and stated that when his lone female reviewer posts about a game, she gets the most mail. Usually of a negative connotation that she doesn’t know what she’s talking about. As an editor he didn’t want to have to deal with that on a wider basis. Right outside where the panel was happening there was a Counterstrike source tournament. In every round there was at least one female player. How could a team of editors that have been working in the game industry for so long be so out of touch?

So, we are signing up female coaches like crazy. Does it make sense to put together a section of GamerCoach to offer video game lessons by female gamer coaches for female players? We think so. Read more about GamingAngels.com below.

More…

Video Game Coach

Original Post: HERE

Baby Boomers prided themselves for being the most educated generation in history – at least until the GenXers came along. But in the not-too-distant future, we snooty Boomers may be regarded as hold-outs of the backward-looking “literate” society in a world evolving toward a “non-literate” society.

“Non-literate,” a descriptor for those who rely heavily upon books, magazines and newspapers to absorb knowledge, is not the same as “illiterate,” a tag for those unable read those publications. Rather, “non-literate” characterizes a society that downplays the written word in favor of a society “immersed in knowledge, imagery, social networks, fiction, world events and massive amounts of sensorial stimulation … mediated by technological means.”

That comes from Donald Marinelli, executive producer of the Entertainment Technology Center at Carnegie Mellon University, in a speech delivered to the 2008 International Conference of Entertaining Computing.

Marinelli expects video games, which Boomers regard as a frivolity or amusement, to become an central element of society.

Let us recognize that videogames have become an integral part of all aspects of daily existence: from home to school to the workplace to the matrix of our real and imagined lives. And it is morphing constantly into variations and applications affecting every imaginable discipline, and many that will be created and crafted by succeeding generations of “digital natives.”

The time will come when questioning the value or veracity of videogames will be as inane as pondering whether or not Shakespeare was correct when he said our lives mirrored the roles played by actors upon a stage.

Marinelli’s world will present a difficult challenge to Baby Boomers. While we Boomers have taken to e-mail and the World Wide Web, there may be limits to which we can acclimate ourselves to an all-digital world and artificial universes. Our brains have been sculpted to think and conceptualize the world around us in verbal terms. (OK, a few mathematically literate people may view the world in terms of numbers, but most of us are stuck in a verbal world.) But technology is hurtling by. As I interpret Marinelli, new paradigms of visualizing and thinking are arising – less sequential, more three-dimensional; less verbal, more visual; less literal, more hypothetical.

Video “games” used for entertainment are morphing into tools for simulating the world and aiding decision making. They are infiltrating museums, schools, medical institutions and the military-industrial complex. As computational capability becomes ubiquitous, embedded in every device, as I understand Marinelli, so will gaming and simulation.

Boomers are accustomed to redefining society on their own terms and thinking of themselves as agents of change. But our neural pathways are largely set. This is one revolution we are unlikely to lead. Indeed, as the pace of technological change accelerates, we’ll find ourselves falling further and further behind. One day, younger generations may mock us for our primitive, “literate” ways. Video game lessons

You don’t have to be a “Pro” gamer to earn a living playing video games. You just have to be really good… Get paid up to $30 an hour to teach others to play online multi-player games. No bull.

Become a video game coach… Sign-Up

Hello and welcome to our pre-BETA site where great gamers will teach less-great players and noobs how to play the games you love, intruduce them to the concepts of online gaming and generally act as professional video game big brothers!

You can sign-up as a video game coach for EVERY Wii, Playstation 3, and Xbox title out there. (PC titles soon to follow)

Google says launching in BETA is OK…So it’s going to be good enough for us too.

Sorry for any rough edges or incomplete thoughts - but we are soon to be live and needed your feedback on our registration system and overall concept.

Please email any feedback to headcoach@videogaminglessons.com.

How can I become a professional Video Game Instructor or “Gamer Coach”? Is it like owning my own business?

Many of you will simply use this site to make a little extra dough from time to time. That’s great and we welcome you.

However, for those of you teens and 20’s facing the depressing idea of working in retail or fast food for $8 - $10 an hour while you go to school or figure out your next life moves, you may want to consider GamerCoach an opportunity to OWN YOUR OWN BUSINESS.

Our video game Coaches can earn 2 to 3 times the hourly rate paid at fast food joints - doing what they love.

Earning up to $30 an hour for helping less experienced players learn how to play the video games you love is a pretty cool .

The Deal: To be a Professional GamerCoach, you bring…

Your gaming knowledge and passion for the games you play every day
Available hours for coaching

We provide for you:

• 100% of Marketing and Promotions for you (search engines, trade mags, retail promotions, etc.)
• Billing and Payment (We take responsibility for collecting from the players who hire you. We transfer the money securely to you via your own PayPal account.)
• Web Tools (We provide you with a complete Coach Profile page (similar to MySpace) where you can communicate information about you as a coach to help persuade users to hire you.)
• Scheduling (We provide a complete, web based scheduling tool that makes accepting a training gig as easy as responding to an email alert)
• E Business Cards and E-Flyers (Promoting yourself as a professional gamer is cool and effective. We have developed an entire suite of promotional tools for you to use with the clients you work with as well as new clients you’d like to.
• Email marketing (Soon we will offer the ability for you to send email marketing newsletters to the players you train. Keeping them updated on new levels new game versions etc. Reminding them that you are there and available is key to generating more business.)

Our Fees:

There are no costs to launch your GamerCoach Coach account.

We will set you up with everything you need to provide professional video game coaching services today. We simply charge a 15% commission on your sessions.

You are paid as a contractor and we do not withhold any taxes from this amount. Earnings are not capped. You can earn as much as you’d like based on your efforts to develop new players. (With our help of course)

Hello and welcome to the first of many posts from your HeadCoach at GamerCoach.com. We are all very excited to be attending the EforAllExpo and show in Los Angeles this weekend. We will be reqruiting gamers from around the world to offer video game lessons and in-game video coaching live to gamers of all ages when we go live later this month. Some information from the show…

“E for All Expo is the event for anyone who wants to get their hands on the latest video games. It’s all about connecting great game companies with gamers, and gamers with great games.

Created for gamers of all types - E for All has something for everyone. If you want to experience and test-drive the latest (and never before seen) video games and related technologies - E for All is where you want to be this October. Video Game Lessons The show floor this year plays host to some of greatest and most exciting games and companies in the business. From product debuts, the latest games and gadgets, to tournaments and pro gamers and more - E for All has the complete interactive entertainment package.

We will post updates and images from the convention.

I’m Nick, the developer of GamerCoach, and I’d like to welcome you to our blog :-).

We’re currently accepting new video game coaches, so if you haven’t signed up then go take a look at the sign up page and start earning up to $60 per hour!