Tag: gaming

GameDaily is drunk on PS3 kool-aid

Post ImageTomorrow is November, and you know what that means – game console launches! Both Nintendo and Sony will be releasing their latest offerings this month, so don’t be surprised if you hear a lot about it over the next few weeks. Hopefully though, the coverage is more accurate and credible than GameDaily’s latest. Author James Brightman outlines five reasons that Sony will win the “Next Gen Console War”. Here are his reasons, with my comments underneath each one:

1. The Brand
Brightman is right, a “strong brand should not be underestimated.” However, the problem with this argument (that Sony will win because it has a strong brand) is that nothing lasts forever! Indeed, Brightman states, “in the late ’80s and early ’90s Nintendo was king, but on today’s market there is no brand more synonymous with the world of video games than PlayStation.” Too bad he couldn’t read his own sentence and realize that what happened to Nintendo could happen to Sony too.

2. Microsoft (somewhat) Squandered its Lead
Nice to the see conviction in his argument – “somewhat” hey? Microsoft’s goal is to sell 10 million consoles by the end of 2006. They are definitely behind at the moment. But let’s see how the holiday season shakes out, shall we?

3. Japan is Ripe for the Taking
Japan has never been a strong market for Microsoft. The first Xbox did horribly there, and I don’t think MS execs were expecting to do that much better with the Xbox 360. Not that it matters – Sony cannot “win” by simply selling more in Japan. Once again, Brightman neglects to read his own writing: “let’s not forget that this is a global market.”

4. Blu-ray Will Matter
If there’s one good thing about Brightman and his article, it’s that he makes tearing it apart really easy. He writes, “sure some of this is hype, and maybe we’re falling for it…” You better believe it is hype. Anything related to Blu-ray or HD-DVD at this point is hype.

“In one to two years, we think the combination of the Blu-ray medium and the Cell processor will lead to a noticeable difference between the visuals of the PS3 and the Xbox 360, as developers begin to really harness the technology in the PS3.”

Seems to me that Brightman isn’t a very technical person. Developing for the Xbox 360 in such a way that you can extract every ounce of performance is hard. It requires a shift in the way developers think and work (because of multiple cores, etc). There aren’t any 360 games that really do this yet. So, to say that in a one or two years the Cell processor and Blu-ray will lead to a noticeable difference is ridiculous. First of all, 360 games are going to get better. More importantly though, developing for the PS3 is even more complex than for the Xbox 360, so I would expect it to take much more time before we see the best possible visuals.

5. Free Online
This is the one argument I somewhat agree with. Completely free, full online access for PS3 gamers is a big deal. We all know Microsoft has deep pockets however, so if they wanted to make Xbox Live Gold free, they certainly could. I think they’ll wait though, to see what the PS3 online service is like. People will pay for quality.

A few more things
There’s a ton of other problems with this article. For one, what about Nintendo? Brightman compares Sony almost exclusively to Microsoft. The Wii might not have fancy graphics, but I’d argue it belongs in the “next gen” classification. The PS3 is going to have to beat the Wii too. For another thing, there’s no mention of the cost. The PS3 is really expensive, both in comparison to previous consoles, and to its competitors. Brand allegiance is important, but it often falls apart in the case of extremely high prices. Another thing – the Playstation doesn’t have the huge list of exclusive titles that previous versions did. Lots of games are now available for multiple consoles. I could go on.

It’s really easy to make predictions about how the consoles will fare against one another. It is much harder to make accurate predictions. That said, its pretty simple to come up with something better than this GameDaily article.

Read: GameDaily

Xbox 360 Dashboard Update

Post ImageMake sure you’ve got your 360 turned on tomorrow fellow Xboxers, because there’s a big update on the way. Here are some of the most interesting new features (via Engadget):

  • Xbox 360™ HD DVD Player support.
  • Set up automatic downloads of newly released Xbox Live Arcade trial games. (I am such an Arcade junkie…)
  • Support for upcoming release of XNA Game Studio Express. (w00t for developers!)
  • Stream music, pictures and video from a Zune device.

There’s a ton of other stuff coming too. Check out the full list of features here. The update will be available starting tomorrow morning.

Read: Xbox News

More PS3 troubles for Sony

Post ImageYet more disappointment for fans of the Sony PS3. Just think about all the bad news we’ve seen so far: critics had a field day with the early controller, pricing for the console is rumored to be really high, and then there’s the whole Blu-Ray issue. And now? Delays:

Sony will delay the European launch of its PlayStation 3 game console by about four months to March and cut its target for worldwide shipments this year by half, the company said Wednesday.

Flagging potential problems with the PS3 launch, Mitsubishi UFJ Securities last month cut by half its shipment forecast to 3 million of the new PlayStations in the current business year to March, citing Sony’s difficulties in procuring its cutting-edge parts.

Is it just me, or does an Xbox 360/Nintendo Wii combination seem more appealing than ever?

Read: CNET News.com

Soon I'll Create My Own Xbox Games!

Post ImageAh, I have been waiting for news like this ever since I got my Xbox 360 back in November. Microsoft will be releasing a set of tools that let “college students, hobbyists and others create their own games” for both Windows and the Xbox 360 console. The tools will be demonstrated for the first time at Microsoft Gamefest. A lighter weight version of the company’s XNA tools for professional developers, the hobbyist suite is dubbed XNA Game Studio Express:

“The tools we are talking about make it way easier to make games than it is today,” said Scott Henson, director for platform strategy for Microsoft’s game developer group.

In the first incarnation, games developed using the free tools will be available only to like-minded hobbyists, not the Xbox community as a whole. Those who want to develop games will have to pay a $99 fee to be part of a “Creators’ Club,” a name that is likely to change. Games developed using XNA Game Studio Express will be playable only by others who are part of the club.

The current plan is to have a completely open system three to five years down the road, where anyone can make a game, and the community decides what sucks and what rocks. This will drastically change the gaming landscape if Microsoft can pull it off. Finally regular people will be able to build things for a console!

I always figured Microsoft would eventually release developer tools like this for the Xbox 360. They are, after all, a platform company.

Read: CNET News.com

PS3 Pricing Announced

Post ImageSony announced pricing for its upcoming PlayStation 3 gaming console yesterday, and as generally expected, the console will cost more than Microsoft’s Xbox 360. Though not nearly as much as I expected! The system comes in two options, though the only difference between the two appears to be a larger hard drive:

Sony, which unveiled the specs and pricing of its PlayStation 3 at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles on Monday, will charge $499 and $599 for the consoles when they arrive in November.

Many people seem to think that it will all come down to Blu-ray. I am not so sure. I don’t exactly have a strong desire to own a Blu-ray device, though I admit the PS3 is by far the cheapest such device available. The $499 model comes with a 20 GB hard drive, making it more similar to the higher end Xbox 360 console. Who knows what kinds of controllers or other extras the PS3 will come with though.

Does anyone else think it’s stupid to charge an extra $100 for 40 GB of space? I can buy a 300 GB hard drive for just over $120 CDN for crying out loud! Unless there’s something extra, that $100 is a complete rip off.

Oh, and the sexy controller in the picture is not what the final controller looks like. Nope, the real one is much more mundane.

Read: CNET News.com

PlayStation 3 delayed a year?

Post ImageLots of PlayStation 3 news lately, and most of it is not good if you’re pulling for Sony in the gaming wars. Apparently Sony is planning a Hub service to compete with Xbox Live, but confirmations have been difficult to get, leading me to believe it may just be posturing on Sony’s part. The worst news though is about extremely high prices and potential delays:

Sony’s next-generation PlayStation 3 video game console might not appear in key markets this year and could cost the company $900 per unit to produce initially, according to Merrill Lynch analysts quoted in the Financial Times on Sunday.

Merrill Lynch analysts in San Francisco have estimated that the initial bill of materials for PS3 could approach $900, falling to $320 by three years after launch, the FT said.

Keep in mind those figures are in US dollars. I said a long time ago that the PS3 would likely cost an arm and a leg, so this story is validation. You just can’t introduce so many new components and expect the price to remain the same – the cell processor, coupled with Blu-ray drives are going to drive the cost of manufacturing quite high.

I don’t think Sony has extremely deep pockets like Microsoft, so I can’t see them taking a massive loss on each console. Hopefully we’ll find out more soon.

Read: CNET News.com

No more PC gaming?

Post ImageIt used to be that if you wanted the best gaming experience, you’d need to play your games on the computer. There were many reasons for this, including the raw power of computers, the ability to hook up to the Internet, and the ability to upgrade your hardware to play the most cutting edge games. While consoles have always had the advantage of “leveling the playing field” in terms of hardware and thus game performance, many hardcore gamers stuck to the computer.

Since the launch of the Xbox 360, the buzz around the “death of gaming PCs” has gotten much louder. First, from Sottozero:

It’s safe to say the gaming consoles are no longer just gaming consoles — they’re full-blown entertainment hubs. They’ve come of age, and they’ve got an attitude. And they threaten to kick traditional gaming PCs’ collective ass.

The gaming PC upgrade cycle is a rat race, an endless effort. With living room technology coming that’s as powerful as PS3 and Xbox 360 seem to be, it makes less and less sense to hop on the gaming PC carousel, particularly from a financial standpoint.

And second, from Paul Thurrott:

What’s interesting about this to me is that I’m a PC gamer from way back. When I moved to the PC from the Amiga in the mid-1990’s, I had to adapt to keyboard-based gaming and, later, with the advent of Quake and Duke Nukem 3D, to keyboard-and-mouse gaming. I’ve dabbled in video game systems since, but have really been more comfortable with the PC stuff. With Xbox 360 that’s changing. It’s exactly like when I switched from pure keyboard PC gaming.

The Xbox 360 (and the PS3 later next year) boasts raw power far exceeding most home computers for the foreseeable future, and it’s not unreasonable to expect that the next generation of consoles will extend the lead even farther. There’s more to gaming than just power though. Imagine trying to play Team Fortress Classic on the Xbox. I think back to my TFC days and one of the big things that sticks out in my mind is “key bindings”. You basically found a way to use every key on the keyboard – hard to do with a controller that only has a dozen or so buttons. Lots of other games wouldn’t port well to a console either, like World of Warcraft.

On the other hand, I think the fact that Internet connectivity has become so central for gaming consoles opens the door so to speak. I wouldn’t be surprised if consoles do gain the ability to play games like WOW, whether it’s from different controllers (sort of like keyboards) or just unique on-screen interfaces. The fact that Xbox Live is so deeply integrated into the console will definitely make MMO games more likely.

Truth be told, I haven’t really played computer games for a long time now. I have Age of Empires II installed, but it’s been ages since I last played. Maybe Paul is right when he says “I think we’re seeing the beginning of a big transition here.”

Xbox 360 Initial Review

Post ImageI am calling this an “initial review” because I expect that my opinions will change over time as I use the system more, learn more about it, and get some new and interesting games. So far, I am incredibly impressed with the Xbox 360, and here’s why:

Physical Design
The Xbox 360 is a very attractive device, and is definitely more than just an evolution over the original Xbox. Dickson remarked that he thought silver might have been a better color, but I actually quite like the white and silvery-grey color scheme. The 360 is also a very appropriate size, meaning it’s not big and clunky, but it’s not tiny and fragile either. The ability to stand upright or down flat is also a cool design feature, and one that I think more devices should have. Another nice feature is that the console doesn’t feel too heavy. The USB ports are nicely hidden away until you need them, as are the memory ports. The controller feels natural and comfortable in your hands, unlike the original Xbox controller.

Perhaps the only design feature that I really do not like about the 360 is the power brick. The thing is massive, as you can see here. I guess they were really worried about another problem like the original Xbox had, but seriously, the thing is massive. The console itself is smaller, lightweight and perfect for taking from place to place, but that damn power brick would seriously make any trip a lot more work.

Technology
I’m sure you’ve heard all about the three cores the Xbox 360 has, the fancy video capabilities, etc. Unfortunately I haven’t really been able to see them in action yet, so I don’t really want to comment. There’s other technology though, like the wireless controllers – easy to setup, comfortable, and you don’t notice any lag or anything. They work great! I like that there are three USB ports (two at the front, one at the back), though I wonder if I could plug in a USB hub – I’ll have to try that. Would have been nice to have wireless Internet integrated, instead of a separate purchase! I have to go to Andrew’s to try the HD features on his fancy TV, but the cable alone makes me want a better TV!

Xbox Dashboard
I really like the Xbox Dashboard (the software that acts as your interface with the device). The interface is extremely intuitive, and it also looks very attractive. Everything seems to be laid out quite well, and the different areas of the console (Xbox Live, Games, Media, System) are color coded. The only oddity is that sometimes an information screen or input panel appears on the right and sometimes on the left. There’s probably a pattern, I just haven’t used it enough to figure it out yet. (I don’t know what they call them, but think of a horizontal toast (those little MSN popups in Windows)).

Xbox Live
The integration of the console with Xbox Live is very deep, and I think it works very well. Xbox Live definitely feels like it’s an integral part of the console, one of those killer features. I only have a Silver membership right now but that will probably change as soon as I get some more games. My gamertag is MAQXBL. I definitely need to explore the Xbox Live Marketplace and some of the other features before I comment too much. So far I have noticed there’s lots of videos and demos for download (I am downloading the Kameo demo now).

Media
Much has been written about the 360 being Microsoft’s trojan horse into the living room – and my oh my were those articles ever correct. I am currently listening to music that is stored on my computer, but is being played through the Xbox 360 (which is hooked up to the big speakers). I can also view pictures that are on my computer on the TV using the 360. If I had a Media Center PC the integration would be even tighter, so I wouldn’t be surprised if the Xbox 360 spurs sales of those computers. The interface is pretty good, and everything just works which is the important thing. Well almost everything. I couldn’t get the 360 to recognize my Zen Touch or my Canon Digital Rebel, though the instructions say I need to change a setting on each of the devices to make them send stuff over the USB. Not sure how to get that working, but I’ll play with it a little more.

Games
Finally I get to the games, which is really what the console is all about right? I picked up Perfect Dark Zero yesterday, and Dickson and I played a few co-op missions last night. It’s a pretty neat game, though in some places it felt as though it was sort of rushed. There is lots more to explore in the game though, so I’m quite happy with it. The 360 also comes with Hexic HD, which is an Xbox Live Arcade game similar to Bejeweled. It’s pretty addicting, even though it’s quite simple.

When you play a game on the Xbox 360, you can press the Guide button (big Xbox button on the controller) to bring up a screen showing your Gamer Card, the music player, links to Xbox Live, and some other stuff. Very neat integration! I need to get some different games to see how it works, because I expect there will be some cool Marketplace integration too. Unfortunately the screen isn’t available when playing an old Xbox game on the 360, but that’s okay.

Other
There’s lots of little things about the Xbox 360 that are just great. Here are some of the things I noticed:

  • The ability to turn the console on using just the wireless controller is a very smart feature.
  • I like how the Xbox Live headset plugs into the base of the controller, which makes sense having a wireless controller and all! Would be neat if it supported Bluetooth though too.
  • The music player has some really intense visualizations!
  • The ethernet cable that comes with the Xbox 360 is very long – much appreciated! I hate when the cables you get are like two feet long.
  • The only impossible to open package was the second controller I bought. None of that annoying hard plastic stuff in the console box, just easy to open plastic bags. Again, much appreciated!
  • The hard-drive is removable. Genius!
  • Halo 2 works as expected.

The lineup yesterday morning at Best Buy was fine until they opened the doors and just let everyone through. It was utter chaos as people pushed and shoved their way to the accessories and games. I was very lucky to have grabbed the second controller. Just a sign that Microsoft has done a great job stirring up interest in the console. I wouldn’t be surprised if Xbox 360 sales shatter the predictions all the analysts are making.

So I’m hooked now. There’s so much to like about the Xbox 360! I can’t wait until I get some different games as well, to see how the Xbox 360 really performs.

Read: Xbox.com

Xbox 360 Shortage?

Post ImageI am lining up tonight, despite the chance that I may end up leaving empty handed. Seems that lots of stores have already sold out their initial orders simply from Internet pre-orders. I would think that the stores opening up at midnight would have kept some aside though. If it turns out that Futureshop doesn’t have any more at midnight, I’ll line up at Best Buy in the morning!

Wall Street analysts expect a shortage in the United States, with some saying Microsoft has purposely stoked demand beyond the company’s ability to meet it.

Microsoft is “trying to turn this into the Cabbage Patch Kids,” said Michael Pachter, an analyst with Wedbush Morgan Securities. He said he expected Microsoft to constantly publicize stories of stores that were sold out to inspire press coverage and water-cooler talk of when the next shipment would arrive. “It’s brilliant marketing.”

I think I was too young to remember the Cabbage Patch Kids craze, but I would guess it was similar to the Furby or Tickle-Me Elmo crazes that were more recent. I remember searching stores for both, just to sell on eBay. Of course I wasn’t quite old enough to do it myself, so it was a team effort with my Dad.

In any case, such demand would be very good for Microsoft and the Xbox 360.

Read: New York Times