I disagree that online gaming is not valid in judging skill when compared to Donkey Kong. (agree with Jerry, not with the other podcast guy). Just because a game lacks a "high score" feature does not detract from the value of a game, but rather the exact opposite.

In arcade games, the challenge is immediate and intense, but once the game is played enough and memorized, a repeat player simply goes into cruise control and goes until a kill screen or simply sets a high score which will stay in unbeaten for a while (like "King of Kong").

In online games, and not *just* FPS types, you have the human element. No computer will ever accurately emulate one human, let alone the millions of people who play every minute. Even if you have one player's personality/game play in check, you have thousands more to understand. While you can pad your stats by powning nine-year-old noobs while on camera (and do what everyone on Youtube does), you will certainly get put against a player that is better than you.

Old games are programming only. Online multiplayer games are driven by people. Programming doesn't change. People will always change.

Another random post from the woodworks:

Math Law: Dividing by zero is undefined.

Check it!
http://mathworld.wolfram.com/DivisionbyZero.html

Just one of your things that caught my ear while listening.