ow many copies of Crackdown can Halo 3 sell? Remember the first way to get in to the Halo 3 beta? Well, purchasing "specially marked" copies of the MS-published, Real Time Worlds' developed Crackdown in February will be the second way to get a piece of the Halo 3 beta pie. The "Specially Marked" beta program emerged via an advertisement in Gamepro.
Officially, Microsoft told 1UP "There will be more information coming soon." Will it coincide with a Bungie Weekly Update? Or will it end up surfacing next week after the holidays?
We warned of a potential software pack-in for the Halo 3 beta back when it was announced in November -- now that warning is a reality. Between the registration sweepstakes and the Crackdown pack-in, Microsoft is giving gamers two ways to get into their "public" beta -- though a fleeting beta you're paying $60 to participate in doesn't seem very public.
While the effort to lift other titles in their first-party line-up is admirable, it's easy to read the Halo 3 beta inclusion with Crackdown as the first second (remember the Brute Force Halo bonus disc?) time we've seen Microsoft play "the Halo card" -- using its biggest franchise to lift a new IP. Does that mean that Crackdown is struggling? That's the perception a move like this gives off, even though what we've played points to the opposite.
Including a demo for Metal Gear Solid 2 is a huge part of why so many gamers played Zone of the Enders, but in Microsoft's case with Halo 3, the beta is fleeting and not something that will be playable once the beta period ends.
The third company to consider in all of this is Bungie. In seems unlikely that a company who has been so focused on growing its community (they are still the only guys getting online matchmaking right) doesn't want their fans to pay to participate in the public beta -- that's incongruent with the way Bungie does things. Boosting Crackdown with the Halo IP? That sounds like something Microsoft dreamt up, not Bungie.
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Free Godfather Theme on XBLM
In all Xbox Live regions you can download a The Godfather theme from the XBLM for free. Actually, there was a mild mishap and the theme went on the marketplace for 150 MS points (a ripoff, looking at the quality of this theme), but all has been fixed and it is free once again. Silly EA, it's not even the holidays anymore, your free content wasn't free, and after looking at the theme I don't see why it is labeled as a holiday theme. But no complaining from us, it's free content.
Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection download released in Japan
Japanese Tekken fans will be pleased & somewhat surprised to have a late Xmas present appearing in their Sony stocking - Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection has now been made available to download from the official PlayStation Store.
A few weeks ago, it was announced that Tekken 5 Dark Resurrection was going to be sold exclusively through the PlayStation Store. Now launched to the Japanese market, the big 830 megabyte downloadable game costs a very reasonable 2,000 yen or $17 USD and is essentially Tekken 5 with some new characters (Jinpachi) and new modes of play running at 1080p.
The game's modes include Arcade battle, Ghost battle, versus battle and a gallery for viewing and downloading images and movies using “Tekken Money”.
It remains unknown whether this game will make its way to the North American or European PlayStation stores, but considering the popularity of the series it would we wouldn't bet against it happening soon.
-James
PS3 and 360 The FULL Report
Around the same time last year we looked at the 360's weeknesses, what has Microsoft done to impeach these highly critcised flaws? Well Here is the rundown it's a bit long but very imformative.
1. Overheating CPU/GPU
Since our article, Microsoft has extended the warranty of Xbox 360’s. Recently, my Xbox 360 had a display error related to the GPU. I called Microsoft’s tech support and since my system was one of the launch systems, Microsoft replaced my Xbox 360 free-of-charge. I went through regular customer tech support for this, and it went fairly smoothly (although the process took an hour on hold). Reports of defective Xbox 360’s have essentially disappeared with the current production methods.
2. No MSN Music
We were right to think of the Xbox 360 as a platform for online content. At the time, we were focused on MSN Music given that it was Microsoft’s established platform. In retrospect, it makes perfect sense. There was no point in bringing MSN Music to the Xbox 360 while the Zune Marketplace was in development. With the Zune out in the real-world, I’d expect to see more Zune/Xbox 360 features coming together.
We almost predicted the Xbox 360’s high-definition movie rental service. At the time, we were focused on music rather than movies not because of bandwidth or the market, but copy protection. Let me quote something from a year ago:
“...it would not have been difficult for Microsoft to release high-definition movies or TV shows using the Xbox Live infrastructure. The hardware is HD capable and the networking infrastructure is capable of handling large files -- game demos are already topping 1GB. Without HDMI or DVI/HDCP support, Microsoft may find it impossible to convince Hollywood studios to allow users to download high-def, full-length movies for playback on an analog source.”
3. No HDMI/1080p support
The fact that we have HD-DVD and HD Xbox Live Marketplace videos over analog is a real testament to the power that Microsoft wields. They have basically gotten Hollywood manufacturers to sign on. Basically, Hollywood will not allow you to upsample 480p DVDs to high-definition resolutions over analog connections... but you’ll be able to display 720p and 1080i HD source.
Microsoft has recently added 1080p VGA support to the Xbox 360. Although this is currently limited to upsampling 720p games, some of the Flash based games in the Xbox Live Arcade will potentially benefit from the 1080p support.
4. 20GB is too small
We called this, despite having many readers claim that we were simply “bashing” Microsoft. With the new HD movie rental service and TV show download service, the 20GB capacity is clearly an issue. Microsoft recognizes this and has talked about producing larger capacity hard drives although no products have formally been announced.
5. Microtransaction security
In the end, pre-paid Xbox Live Marketplace points make the most sense. Sometimes retailers will sell these below the normal price as part of promotions or special coupons.
6. No internet browser
We’re not sure what’s stopping Microsoft from putting a web browser on the Xbox 360. Both Sony and Nintendo have web browsers in their consoles... Internet Explorer 7 is also an exceptional browser. Maybe it’s an issue of porting IE7 to the PowerPC architecture that’s causing the delay. Politically, there’s no way the Xbox 360 can use any other web browser.
7. No WMV-HD
At the time, we were focused on WMV-HD as it was the only commercially available high-definition disc-based platform. Most of the movies were limited to IMAX, or documentaries like Step Into Liquid, but there was also Terminator 2. With the HD-DVD and Blu-Ray on the market now, it’s no longer an issue.
8. No MPEG4 (H.264)
Once again, we have to deal with the political scenario at Microsoft. The hardware is capable of H.264 decoding, and the HD-DVD add-on proves that. On the other hand, politically, Microsoft only wants to allow streaming from Windows Media Center Edition 2005 and Windows Vista -- both MPEG-2 based.
9. No System Wide Calibration
This is still a problem. Maybe there’s hope for the next generation of system consoles
10. Poor DVD Playback Quality
In the next year or two, this will be less and less important as people begin to move toward HD-DVD and Blu-Ray. With the merging of HD-DVD and Blu-Ray failing due to political issues, the main barrier to entry is going to be the introduction of combo drives. Once HD-DVD/Blu-Ray combo drives are available, you can expect a significant surge in consumer sales of HD playback devices along with a decrease in cost due to economies of scale. In one to two years, the fight between HD-DVD and Blu-Ray will be no different from DVD+R and DVD-R.
With Microsoft now selling HD movies on Xbox Live, they have even less incentive to upgrade the DVD features of the Xbox 360. By keeping the DVD playback poor, the benefits of high definition video will be maximized. By the way, isn’t it funny how gamers talk about how great downloaded HD video content looks, while the mainstream press keeps talking about how HD-DVD and Blu-Ray looks no better than regular DVDs? The short answer is that the HD revolution is real and it’s here. This is also the reason why you should read reviews from people who actually know what they’re talking about...
11. No Pressure Sensitive Face Buttons
I keep reading rumors about Metal Gear Solid 4 coming to the Xbox 360, but if MGS4 continues to adopt the gamepad mechanics of MGS2 and MGS3, the ultimate experience won’t be faithfully brought over the Xbox 360 (if the game even does show up on the Xbox 360).
Ego Boosting Comments
With the Xbox 360 in our hands for only one month when we came up with this list, it’s surprising to see how accurate our comments were. Let’s take a look at these 11 issues and see if Sony learned anything from Microsoft’s mistakes.
The PlayStation 3
1. System Stability
So far, the PlayStation 3 has been a fairly reliable system. Sure, you’ll see the broken system our two on YouTube, but our PS3 has been flawless, even with several firmware upgrades along the way!
2. Media Marketplace
Hindsight is 20/20 and even then, the PS3 has not launched with access to Sony Connect or downloadable media. In a way, the integrated Blu-Ray player in every PS3 minimizes the incentive Sony has behind downloadable movies. People always prefer to have something tangible, and clearly Sony would rather have you purchase a Blu-Ray movie in their current war against HD-DVD.
3. HDMI/1080p support?
Standard on the PS3. Kudos, Sony. Kudos.
4. 20GB is too small
60GB on the “high-end” PS3. But what’s even more important is that Sony has made the hard drive user replaceable. Put in any Serial ATA drive you want. Coming from a company that once forced you to use ATRAC for portable music, this is simply amazing.
5. Microtransaction security
So far, Xbox Live Marketplace is superior to the online PlayStation store. Still, we’d prefer to have separate logins for games and for commerce.
6. No internet browser
Not only does Sony include a web browser, it has Flash, and works with websites like YouTube! I wonder if the SIXAXIS controller will blend...
7. No WMV-HD
With Blu-Ray, this really isn’t an issue. Microsoft had WMV-HD discs at retail but they weren’t supporting it. Sony’s only retail HD content is Blu-Ray.
8. No MPEG4 (H.264)
The PlayStation 3 does play H.264 content. Nice.
9. No System Wide Calibration
This is still a problem. Maybe there’s hope for the next generation of system consoles.
10. Poor DVD Playback Quality
I haven’t had a chance to test the PS3’s DVD playback at all. The big difference between Holiday 2005 and Holiday 2006 is the availability of HD-DVD and Blu-Ray. Turns out, the Blu-Ray player in the PS3 is actually very good. DVD wise, most consumer players pale in comparison to the latest video technology from AMD and NVIDIA. The exception, of course, is a consumer player with a Gennum VXP or Silicon Optix Realta or ReonVX with HQV technology.
11. No Pressure Sensitive Face Buttons
For the PS3, the problem is the lack of vibration feedback. Sigh. Imagine if you had vibration feedback and controller tilt sensations! Guys like EA and Sega Sports could come up with even crazier free throw mechanics…
Comments
In the end, it’s pretty impressive to see how Sony has been able to address some of the mistakes that Microsoft made with the Xbox 360 launch. This has nothing to do with Sony’s intuition -- it’s the advantage of coming in second.
PlayStation 3 vs Xbox 360 strengths
Shortly after our 11 Mistakes of the Xbox 360, we talked about the seven things that the Xbox 360 special. Let’s see how the PlayStation 3 competes on these 7 fronts...
1. Development Environment
The Xbox 360 continues to offer one of the best development environments of any gaming platform today. A look at games like Rainbow Six: Vegas and Gears of War is enough proof of how Microsoft’s design allows them to succeed.
But this is more than just software support. It’s hardware. To understand what I’m talking about, we need to step back in time to the time when Sony launched the PlayStation 2. Although the hype of the “Emotion Engine” proved to offer little substance, the PS2’s atypical system architecture with parallel vector units and a high-fillrate fixed-function 3D pipeline helped it to produce games such as Gran Turismo 4, Final Fantasy XII, and the Metal Gear Solid series. Indeed, it is a true testament to the vision of Sony’s engineers and marketing department that the PS2 established such overwhelming market dominance.
At the time the PS2 launched, it seemed as if the PC had little chance of success in the gaming market. The PS2 technology demos were being showcased at a time when NVIDIA’s flagship graphics chip was the Riva TNT2. The PS2 completely outclassed the comparable PC of the time, and when Metal Gear Solid 2 came out, it truly was a marvel both in terms of gameplay and technology.
In the same way, the launch of the Xbox 360 represented that same scenario. The three-core PowerPC CPU in the Xbox360 and AMD-powered GPU with a unified shader architecture represented hardware capabilities beyond anything that was available for the PC at the time. Indeed, it is only recently with the release of products such as the GeForce 8800 and Intel Core 2 Duo that the PC has regained in dominance in the gaming world.
Along the same lines, the PlayStation 3 has been released to the world with a substantial promise of computational power. Once again, Sony’s insistence on “non-traditional” architecture persists, with the use of the Cell processor. However in this generation, the GPU in the PS3 is a tried-and-true GeForce 7-class GPU.
Xbox 360 CPU
The Xbox360 design architecture is about evolution not revolution. The CPU represents the next logical step in design, and with a clear gaming focus, its performance is exceptional. Though the GPU is the first to implement unified shaders, it is also taking the predicted path of evolution.
Xenon CPU
When the PS2 launched, it was one of the only consumer devices that required developers to explicitly parallelize their code for the vector units. With time, the industry has now adopted the principle of explicit parallelism and multi-core CPUs as the standard approach. The decision places added burden on the developer to formulate their algorithms in a manner that can be solved by multiple processing cores – in return, the developers gain access to what may otherwise have been impossible with existing hardware technology.
The Xenon CPU is a triple-core PowerPC. There are three fully-independent general purpose CPUs with two-way symmetric multitasking. That is, there are three 3.2GHz CPU cores, each of which are “Hyperthreaded.” Unlike a traditional desktop PC CPU, however, the Xenon CPU only does in-order execution (Pentium 1’s have had out of order execution). This means that things such as AI that requires heavy branch prediction will suffer on the Xbox 360 as compared to a high-end desktop PC.
The key point is that the Xbox360 is not intended to compete with a desktop PC. What is considered “unusual” for a desktop CPU (no out-of-order execution), actually works well for a console, where graphics still reign supreme. In addition, the Xenon’s computations have been optimized for single-precision math – perfect for games.
Basically, for the Xenon, Microsoft engineers said: “Let’s take a solid desktop CPU, strip out elements that we don’t need (i.e. high precision math) and elements that will increase the manufacturing cost (i.e. out of order execution) so that we can crank up the clockspeed and have multiple cores.
PlayStation 3 CPU
Cell
Despite the overzealous marketing of the Emotion Engine, the Cell processor is truly an impressive CPU that represents a significant step up in performance. Indeed, IBM is currently building the fastest supercomputer in the world (Road Runner) using a complimentary combination of AMD Opteron and Cell CPUs. The Opterons provide the foundation for the supercomputer while the Cell CPUs are co-processors, not unlike a GPU in a desktop PC.
Whereas the Xbox 360 took a balanced approach with its CPU (from the perspective of a game console; it’s biased toward graphics/media performance when compared to a desktop PC), the Cell CPU takes an even more ambitious approach to parallelism.
The Cell CPU starts off with a standard PowerPC core that’s not unlike one of the cores in the Xbox 360. The next step is adding 8 additional SPEs, 6 of which are accessible to the programmer. These SPEs have a limited feature set and essentially are only useful for accelerating mathematical computations.
In a way, Sony’s vision for the Cell was different. Whereas Microsoft had come to the drawing board with a vision for the best gaming CPU, Sony had come to IBM and Toshiba to try to create something different, the fastest and most powerful processor for streaming data. From an engineering standpoint, the Cell processor is impressive, but the Cell is not purpose built for games. Dollar for dollar, the Xenon CPU is going to offer better overall performance.
In short, Sony continues to be bold with its hardware design choice but Microsoft plays the superior political game. Microsoft asked the developers what they wanted, and gave them more. Sony offers more than Microsoft, but demands that developers join their religion of massive parallel programming.
Who’s right? There are strengths to both approaches. Hands down, the Microsoft approach is right for the industry. It ensures that gamers will get the great games early on in the lifecycle of a product, ensures that the developer can maximize their programming time and monetary investment. You get better games, developers take on fewer risks, and Microsoft makes money. A win-win for everyone.
With Sony, the PS3’s architecture is sure to alienate many developers. Indeed, former PS3 exclusives continue to make their way to the Xbox 360 as developers revolt. Sony is just capitalizing on their brand name and Blu-Ray to make the PS3 work early on. What will keep the PS3 alive is the Holy Trinity of PlayStation: Square-Enix, Konami, and Polyphony Digital.
PS3 Game Developers
Konami and Polyphony Digital
The most sophisticated games for the original PlayStation were Metal Gear Solid and the Gran Turismo line. The most sophisticated games for the PlayStation 2 were the Metal Gear Solid and Gran Turismo line. The most sophisticated games for the PlayStation 3 will be the Metal Gear Solid and Gran Turismo line.
You see, Konami and Polyphony Digital represent a special breed of developer. First of all, they know what makes a game fun. Sure, Gran Turismo may not be your cup of tea, but for millions of gamers across the world it is. Finding a developer who knows what feature is fun or not is hard...
What makes Konami and Polyphony Digital special is that they buy into Sony’s vision. They buy into the religion of massively multithreaded games that harness multiple parallel CPUs. Politics and economics aside, the development teams at these two studios fundamentally approach games with the same vision that Sony offers with the PS3. Metal Gear Solid 4 may eventually make its way to the Xbox 360, but it will come with compromises.
Square-Enix
The strength of the Final Fantasy series has always been its story and so it is tempting to believe that the core Final Fantasy series could be made cross-platform. Indeed, Square-Enix has already brought Final Fantasy spin-off games to non-Sony platforms. However, ever since FF7, Square has adopted a storytelling approach that combines real-time and pre-rendered CG graphics. As good as video hardware gets, pre-rendered CGI will always be better in capturing the emotion of the characters. In the HD era, the Xbox 360’s DVD format simply does not provide enough high-res video for a 60-80 hour Final Fantasy game. Blu-Ray does. Most developers have moved toward in-game cut scenes -- Square Enix continues to be more and more ambitious with its pre-rendered CGI…
Only now is it obvious
Both the PS3 and Xbox 360 are developer oriented -- it's a question of who they’re targeting. The Xbox 360 adopts a balanced approach favored by legendary programmers such as John Carmack. It’s fundamentally and academically, the right way to do things when designing a console capable of playing a wide variety of games.
On the other hand, Sony has taken an approach that’s hated by the majority of developers, but is well-liked by Polyphony Digital, Konami, and Square-Enix. It’s clearly a risky-move for Sony, but potentially one that will have significant returns.
The mainstream press says that the PlayStation 3 is doomed: too pricey and too complex. They’re missing the point. The PlayStation 3 will be the platform of choice for the next-gen MGS, Gran Turismo, and Final Fantasy (core) line up.
1. Wireless controller
A year ago, everyone thought I was being silly for writing that Microsoft’s Xbox 360 wireless controller was awesome; Nintendo and Sony were both going to feature wireless controllers. Now, in December 2006, I feel vindicated. I haven’t heard of any Xbox 360 controllers breaking any TVs...
Seriously, the Wii controller may be sophisticated, but it says something when Nintendo has to redesign the strap after-the-fact. This is something that should have been addressed in the pre-release era. Likewise, although the SIXAXIS controller is wireless, it doesn’t use standard replaceable batteries.
2. Free demos
There is no doubt that Microsoft’s embracement of free downloadable demos has been responsible for Sony’s increased
3 Always on Xbox Live
Again, everyone thought I was silly for talking about “always on” Xbox Live when it was simply broadband. It was more than that. It’s the persistent user-logon that spans across worlds – something the PS3 doesn’t have.
4. Online metadata
This was in regard to the Xbox 360’s ability to pull music data from the ‘net based off music CDs. I sent my PS3 back to JCal before I had a chance to compare Sony’s music CD and SACD playback feature set...
5. HD Media MCE
This was a feature I picked up on in 2005. With Windows Vista *finally* coming out, expect this feature to be a major component of the feature showcase.
6. HD Gaming
Overall, the Xbox 360’s 720p graphics continue to be stellar. Even when comparing games like Need for Speed: Carbon, NBA Live 07, and Call of Duty 3, the Xbox 360’s graphics performance is just as good or superior to the PS3 equivalent. Again, the Xbox 360 has been engineered as a balanced development environment. It is unequivocally the superior platform and already has some very impressive games such as Gears of War. That still doesn’t mean that it’ll be able to compete against Gran Turismo, MGS, etc.
Conclusion
Virtually every article I’ve read has called the PS3 the loser, or copped out with the “we’ll have to wait and see.” I think the future of this generation’s consoles is much easier to predict. All you need to do is to take a developer-centric perspective.
Gameplay is always number one, but this has little effect on console wars. That’s because everyone wants a game that’s fun to play, even the most corporate, mega-managed game developer. Tools like the Wii controller help developers expand their creativity in one way, however developers interested in applying novel methods of realistic videos or sophisticated visual effects to improve the game play (think Splinter Cell) will find the Wii somewhat restrictive. Developers will always be looking to make the most entertaining game within the development budget they have been given. In that regard, the development environment is critical. The more time they need to spend troubleshooting something, the less time they can ask themselves is “feature X” actually making the game more entertaining. Along the same lines though, the bigger the console user base, the bigger the budget they’ll get...
Sony will remain number one due to the momentum of the brand-name. As more and more HDTV sets are purchased, Blu-Ray playback will be a more attractive feature, and despite the PS3’s shortcomings, graphics are still “equivalent” or “almost as good” as the Xbox 360. The average consumer who may easily be swayed by graphics will see games like Gran Turismo 5, and see that games like Madden and NBA Live look pretty good too.
Sony will lose market share due to increases in popularity from Microsoft and Nintendo. As a gamer, the Xbox 360 is the clear choice. It’s easily available, relatively cheap, and offers a true next-generation experience. The balanced development environment will ensure a steady stream of releases, and Microsoft’s aggressive Japanese investments (Tecmo, Mistwalker, Capcom) will likely help establish the brand in Asia. Microsoft will always have the price advantage over the PS3, and I would expect some aggressive promotions by E3 2007.
The Wii will do better than the Gamecube but will not be able to compete as effectively as the Xbox 360 and PS3 in the enthusiast market. Yes, the Wii is great, and yes, it’s affordable, and yes, it’s completely sold out. The problem and strength with the Wii is that it’s designed to introduce “non-traditional gamers” to consoles. That’s great and all, but once you’ve gotten them excited about the Wii, these non-traditional gamers are unlikely to be as passionate about games as PS3/Xbox 360 owners will be. In the same way the DDR Revolution and Katamari Damacy eventually fizzled out, so will the Wii. It’s not that the Wii isn’t awesome... it’s that the Xbox 360 and PS3 will still be dominant.
The real wild card in this final third of the decade will be the PC. The PC has quickly reestablished its dominance in hardware superior – faster than any other console product launch cycle. As advanced as the Xenon and Cell processors are, it’s always the GPU that improves the most quickly. As fast as the GeForce 8800 GTX is today, we know that a year from now, AMD and NVIDIA will have even faster flagship products, and cards like the 7950GT will be even cheaper and more mainstream. Likewise, Microsoft will continue to push DX10 gaming in their efforts to maintain a desktop entertainment platform that’s ahead of the MacOS competition.
-James
1. Overheating CPU/GPU
Since our article, Microsoft has extended the warranty of Xbox 360’s. Recently, my Xbox 360 had a display error related to the GPU. I called Microsoft’s tech support and since my system was one of the launch systems, Microsoft replaced my Xbox 360 free-of-charge. I went through regular customer tech support for this, and it went fairly smoothly (although the process took an hour on hold). Reports of defective Xbox 360’s have essentially disappeared with the current production methods.
2. No MSN Music
We were right to think of the Xbox 360 as a platform for online content. At the time, we were focused on MSN Music given that it was Microsoft’s established platform. In retrospect, it makes perfect sense. There was no point in bringing MSN Music to the Xbox 360 while the Zune Marketplace was in development. With the Zune out in the real-world, I’d expect to see more Zune/Xbox 360 features coming together.
We almost predicted the Xbox 360’s high-definition movie rental service. At the time, we were focused on music rather than movies not because of bandwidth or the market, but copy protection. Let me quote something from a year ago:
“...it would not have been difficult for Microsoft to release high-definition movies or TV shows using the Xbox Live infrastructure. The hardware is HD capable and the networking infrastructure is capable of handling large files -- game demos are already topping 1GB. Without HDMI or DVI/HDCP support, Microsoft may find it impossible to convince Hollywood studios to allow users to download high-def, full-length movies for playback on an analog source.”
3. No HDMI/1080p support
The fact that we have HD-DVD and HD Xbox Live Marketplace videos over analog is a real testament to the power that Microsoft wields. They have basically gotten Hollywood manufacturers to sign on. Basically, Hollywood will not allow you to upsample 480p DVDs to high-definition resolutions over analog connections... but you’ll be able to display 720p and 1080i HD source.
Microsoft has recently added 1080p VGA support to the Xbox 360. Although this is currently limited to upsampling 720p games, some of the Flash based games in the Xbox Live Arcade will potentially benefit from the 1080p support.
4. 20GB is too small
We called this, despite having many readers claim that we were simply “bashing” Microsoft. With the new HD movie rental service and TV show download service, the 20GB capacity is clearly an issue. Microsoft recognizes this and has talked about producing larger capacity hard drives although no products have formally been announced.
5. Microtransaction security
In the end, pre-paid Xbox Live Marketplace points make the most sense. Sometimes retailers will sell these below the normal price as part of promotions or special coupons.
6. No internet browser
We’re not sure what’s stopping Microsoft from putting a web browser on the Xbox 360. Both Sony and Nintendo have web browsers in their consoles... Internet Explorer 7 is also an exceptional browser. Maybe it’s an issue of porting IE7 to the PowerPC architecture that’s causing the delay. Politically, there’s no way the Xbox 360 can use any other web browser.
7. No WMV-HD
At the time, we were focused on WMV-HD as it was the only commercially available high-definition disc-based platform. Most of the movies were limited to IMAX, or documentaries like Step Into Liquid, but there was also Terminator 2. With the HD-DVD and Blu-Ray on the market now, it’s no longer an issue.
8. No MPEG4 (H.264)
Once again, we have to deal with the political scenario at Microsoft. The hardware is capable of H.264 decoding, and the HD-DVD add-on proves that. On the other hand, politically, Microsoft only wants to allow streaming from Windows Media Center Edition 2005 and Windows Vista -- both MPEG-2 based.
9. No System Wide Calibration
This is still a problem. Maybe there’s hope for the next generation of system consoles
10. Poor DVD Playback Quality
In the next year or two, this will be less and less important as people begin to move toward HD-DVD and Blu-Ray. With the merging of HD-DVD and Blu-Ray failing due to political issues, the main barrier to entry is going to be the introduction of combo drives. Once HD-DVD/Blu-Ray combo drives are available, you can expect a significant surge in consumer sales of HD playback devices along with a decrease in cost due to economies of scale. In one to two years, the fight between HD-DVD and Blu-Ray will be no different from DVD+R and DVD-R.
With Microsoft now selling HD movies on Xbox Live, they have even less incentive to upgrade the DVD features of the Xbox 360. By keeping the DVD playback poor, the benefits of high definition video will be maximized. By the way, isn’t it funny how gamers talk about how great downloaded HD video content looks, while the mainstream press keeps talking about how HD-DVD and Blu-Ray looks no better than regular DVDs? The short answer is that the HD revolution is real and it’s here. This is also the reason why you should read reviews from people who actually know what they’re talking about...
11. No Pressure Sensitive Face Buttons
I keep reading rumors about Metal Gear Solid 4 coming to the Xbox 360, but if MGS4 continues to adopt the gamepad mechanics of MGS2 and MGS3, the ultimate experience won’t be faithfully brought over the Xbox 360 (if the game even does show up on the Xbox 360).
Ego Boosting Comments
With the Xbox 360 in our hands for only one month when we came up with this list, it’s surprising to see how accurate our comments were. Let’s take a look at these 11 issues and see if Sony learned anything from Microsoft’s mistakes.
The PlayStation 3
1. System Stability
So far, the PlayStation 3 has been a fairly reliable system. Sure, you’ll see the broken system our two on YouTube, but our PS3 has been flawless, even with several firmware upgrades along the way!
2. Media Marketplace
Hindsight is 20/20 and even then, the PS3 has not launched with access to Sony Connect or downloadable media. In a way, the integrated Blu-Ray player in every PS3 minimizes the incentive Sony has behind downloadable movies. People always prefer to have something tangible, and clearly Sony would rather have you purchase a Blu-Ray movie in their current war against HD-DVD.
3. HDMI/1080p support?
Standard on the PS3. Kudos, Sony. Kudos.
4. 20GB is too small
60GB on the “high-end” PS3. But what’s even more important is that Sony has made the hard drive user replaceable. Put in any Serial ATA drive you want. Coming from a company that once forced you to use ATRAC for portable music, this is simply amazing.
5. Microtransaction security
So far, Xbox Live Marketplace is superior to the online PlayStation store. Still, we’d prefer to have separate logins for games and for commerce.
6. No internet browser
Not only does Sony include a web browser, it has Flash, and works with websites like YouTube! I wonder if the SIXAXIS controller will blend...
7. No WMV-HD
With Blu-Ray, this really isn’t an issue. Microsoft had WMV-HD discs at retail but they weren’t supporting it. Sony’s only retail HD content is Blu-Ray.
8. No MPEG4 (H.264)
The PlayStation 3 does play H.264 content. Nice.
9. No System Wide Calibration
This is still a problem. Maybe there’s hope for the next generation of system consoles.
10. Poor DVD Playback Quality
I haven’t had a chance to test the PS3’s DVD playback at all. The big difference between Holiday 2005 and Holiday 2006 is the availability of HD-DVD and Blu-Ray. Turns out, the Blu-Ray player in the PS3 is actually very good. DVD wise, most consumer players pale in comparison to the latest video technology from AMD and NVIDIA. The exception, of course, is a consumer player with a Gennum VXP or Silicon Optix Realta or ReonVX with HQV technology.
11. No Pressure Sensitive Face Buttons
For the PS3, the problem is the lack of vibration feedback. Sigh. Imagine if you had vibration feedback and controller tilt sensations! Guys like EA and Sega Sports could come up with even crazier free throw mechanics…
Comments
In the end, it’s pretty impressive to see how Sony has been able to address some of the mistakes that Microsoft made with the Xbox 360 launch. This has nothing to do with Sony’s intuition -- it’s the advantage of coming in second.
PlayStation 3 vs Xbox 360 strengths
Shortly after our 11 Mistakes of the Xbox 360, we talked about the seven things that the Xbox 360 special. Let’s see how the PlayStation 3 competes on these 7 fronts...
1. Development Environment
The Xbox 360 continues to offer one of the best development environments of any gaming platform today. A look at games like Rainbow Six: Vegas and Gears of War is enough proof of how Microsoft’s design allows them to succeed.
But this is more than just software support. It’s hardware. To understand what I’m talking about, we need to step back in time to the time when Sony launched the PlayStation 2. Although the hype of the “Emotion Engine” proved to offer little substance, the PS2’s atypical system architecture with parallel vector units and a high-fillrate fixed-function 3D pipeline helped it to produce games such as Gran Turismo 4, Final Fantasy XII, and the Metal Gear Solid series. Indeed, it is a true testament to the vision of Sony’s engineers and marketing department that the PS2 established such overwhelming market dominance.
At the time the PS2 launched, it seemed as if the PC had little chance of success in the gaming market. The PS2 technology demos were being showcased at a time when NVIDIA’s flagship graphics chip was the Riva TNT2. The PS2 completely outclassed the comparable PC of the time, and when Metal Gear Solid 2 came out, it truly was a marvel both in terms of gameplay and technology.
In the same way, the launch of the Xbox 360 represented that same scenario. The three-core PowerPC CPU in the Xbox360 and AMD-powered GPU with a unified shader architecture represented hardware capabilities beyond anything that was available for the PC at the time. Indeed, it is only recently with the release of products such as the GeForce 8800 and Intel Core 2 Duo that the PC has regained in dominance in the gaming world.
Along the same lines, the PlayStation 3 has been released to the world with a substantial promise of computational power. Once again, Sony’s insistence on “non-traditional” architecture persists, with the use of the Cell processor. However in this generation, the GPU in the PS3 is a tried-and-true GeForce 7-class GPU.
Xbox 360 CPU
The Xbox360 design architecture is about evolution not revolution. The CPU represents the next logical step in design, and with a clear gaming focus, its performance is exceptional. Though the GPU is the first to implement unified shaders, it is also taking the predicted path of evolution.
Xenon CPU
When the PS2 launched, it was one of the only consumer devices that required developers to explicitly parallelize their code for the vector units. With time, the industry has now adopted the principle of explicit parallelism and multi-core CPUs as the standard approach. The decision places added burden on the developer to formulate their algorithms in a manner that can be solved by multiple processing cores – in return, the developers gain access to what may otherwise have been impossible with existing hardware technology.
The Xenon CPU is a triple-core PowerPC. There are three fully-independent general purpose CPUs with two-way symmetric multitasking. That is, there are three 3.2GHz CPU cores, each of which are “Hyperthreaded.” Unlike a traditional desktop PC CPU, however, the Xenon CPU only does in-order execution (Pentium 1’s have had out of order execution). This means that things such as AI that requires heavy branch prediction will suffer on the Xbox 360 as compared to a high-end desktop PC.
The key point is that the Xbox360 is not intended to compete with a desktop PC. What is considered “unusual” for a desktop CPU (no out-of-order execution), actually works well for a console, where graphics still reign supreme. In addition, the Xenon’s computations have been optimized for single-precision math – perfect for games.
Basically, for the Xenon, Microsoft engineers said: “Let’s take a solid desktop CPU, strip out elements that we don’t need (i.e. high precision math) and elements that will increase the manufacturing cost (i.e. out of order execution) so that we can crank up the clockspeed and have multiple cores.
PlayStation 3 CPU
Cell
Despite the overzealous marketing of the Emotion Engine, the Cell processor is truly an impressive CPU that represents a significant step up in performance. Indeed, IBM is currently building the fastest supercomputer in the world (Road Runner) using a complimentary combination of AMD Opteron and Cell CPUs. The Opterons provide the foundation for the supercomputer while the Cell CPUs are co-processors, not unlike a GPU in a desktop PC.
Whereas the Xbox 360 took a balanced approach with its CPU (from the perspective of a game console; it’s biased toward graphics/media performance when compared to a desktop PC), the Cell CPU takes an even more ambitious approach to parallelism.
The Cell CPU starts off with a standard PowerPC core that’s not unlike one of the cores in the Xbox 360. The next step is adding 8 additional SPEs, 6 of which are accessible to the programmer. These SPEs have a limited feature set and essentially are only useful for accelerating mathematical computations.
In a way, Sony’s vision for the Cell was different. Whereas Microsoft had come to the drawing board with a vision for the best gaming CPU, Sony had come to IBM and Toshiba to try to create something different, the fastest and most powerful processor for streaming data. From an engineering standpoint, the Cell processor is impressive, but the Cell is not purpose built for games. Dollar for dollar, the Xenon CPU is going to offer better overall performance.
In short, Sony continues to be bold with its hardware design choice but Microsoft plays the superior political game. Microsoft asked the developers what they wanted, and gave them more. Sony offers more than Microsoft, but demands that developers join their religion of massive parallel programming.
Who’s right? There are strengths to both approaches. Hands down, the Microsoft approach is right for the industry. It ensures that gamers will get the great games early on in the lifecycle of a product, ensures that the developer can maximize their programming time and monetary investment. You get better games, developers take on fewer risks, and Microsoft makes money. A win-win for everyone.
With Sony, the PS3’s architecture is sure to alienate many developers. Indeed, former PS3 exclusives continue to make their way to the Xbox 360 as developers revolt. Sony is just capitalizing on their brand name and Blu-Ray to make the PS3 work early on. What will keep the PS3 alive is the Holy Trinity of PlayStation: Square-Enix, Konami, and Polyphony Digital.
PS3 Game Developers
Konami and Polyphony Digital
The most sophisticated games for the original PlayStation were Metal Gear Solid and the Gran Turismo line. The most sophisticated games for the PlayStation 2 were the Metal Gear Solid and Gran Turismo line. The most sophisticated games for the PlayStation 3 will be the Metal Gear Solid and Gran Turismo line.
You see, Konami and Polyphony Digital represent a special breed of developer. First of all, they know what makes a game fun. Sure, Gran Turismo may not be your cup of tea, but for millions of gamers across the world it is. Finding a developer who knows what feature is fun or not is hard...
What makes Konami and Polyphony Digital special is that they buy into Sony’s vision. They buy into the religion of massively multithreaded games that harness multiple parallel CPUs. Politics and economics aside, the development teams at these two studios fundamentally approach games with the same vision that Sony offers with the PS3. Metal Gear Solid 4 may eventually make its way to the Xbox 360, but it will come with compromises.
Square-Enix
The strength of the Final Fantasy series has always been its story and so it is tempting to believe that the core Final Fantasy series could be made cross-platform. Indeed, Square-Enix has already brought Final Fantasy spin-off games to non-Sony platforms. However, ever since FF7, Square has adopted a storytelling approach that combines real-time and pre-rendered CG graphics. As good as video hardware gets, pre-rendered CGI will always be better in capturing the emotion of the characters. In the HD era, the Xbox 360’s DVD format simply does not provide enough high-res video for a 60-80 hour Final Fantasy game. Blu-Ray does. Most developers have moved toward in-game cut scenes -- Square Enix continues to be more and more ambitious with its pre-rendered CGI…
Only now is it obvious
Both the PS3 and Xbox 360 are developer oriented -- it's a question of who they’re targeting. The Xbox 360 adopts a balanced approach favored by legendary programmers such as John Carmack. It’s fundamentally and academically, the right way to do things when designing a console capable of playing a wide variety of games.
On the other hand, Sony has taken an approach that’s hated by the majority of developers, but is well-liked by Polyphony Digital, Konami, and Square-Enix. It’s clearly a risky-move for Sony, but potentially one that will have significant returns.
The mainstream press says that the PlayStation 3 is doomed: too pricey and too complex. They’re missing the point. The PlayStation 3 will be the platform of choice for the next-gen MGS, Gran Turismo, and Final Fantasy (core) line up.
1. Wireless controller
A year ago, everyone thought I was being silly for writing that Microsoft’s Xbox 360 wireless controller was awesome; Nintendo and Sony were both going to feature wireless controllers. Now, in December 2006, I feel vindicated. I haven’t heard of any Xbox 360 controllers breaking any TVs...
Seriously, the Wii controller may be sophisticated, but it says something when Nintendo has to redesign the strap after-the-fact. This is something that should have been addressed in the pre-release era. Likewise, although the SIXAXIS controller is wireless, it doesn’t use standard replaceable batteries.
2. Free demos
There is no doubt that Microsoft’s embracement of free downloadable demos has been responsible for Sony’s increased
3 Always on Xbox Live
Again, everyone thought I was silly for talking about “always on” Xbox Live when it was simply broadband. It was more than that. It’s the persistent user-logon that spans across worlds – something the PS3 doesn’t have.
4. Online metadata
This was in regard to the Xbox 360’s ability to pull music data from the ‘net based off music CDs. I sent my PS3 back to JCal before I had a chance to compare Sony’s music CD and SACD playback feature set...
5. HD Media MCE
This was a feature I picked up on in 2005. With Windows Vista *finally* coming out, expect this feature to be a major component of the feature showcase.
6. HD Gaming
Overall, the Xbox 360’s 720p graphics continue to be stellar. Even when comparing games like Need for Speed: Carbon, NBA Live 07, and Call of Duty 3, the Xbox 360’s graphics performance is just as good or superior to the PS3 equivalent. Again, the Xbox 360 has been engineered as a balanced development environment. It is unequivocally the superior platform and already has some very impressive games such as Gears of War. That still doesn’t mean that it’ll be able to compete against Gran Turismo, MGS, etc.
Conclusion
Virtually every article I’ve read has called the PS3 the loser, or copped out with the “we’ll have to wait and see.” I think the future of this generation’s consoles is much easier to predict. All you need to do is to take a developer-centric perspective.
Gameplay is always number one, but this has little effect on console wars. That’s because everyone wants a game that’s fun to play, even the most corporate, mega-managed game developer. Tools like the Wii controller help developers expand their creativity in one way, however developers interested in applying novel methods of realistic videos or sophisticated visual effects to improve the game play (think Splinter Cell) will find the Wii somewhat restrictive. Developers will always be looking to make the most entertaining game within the development budget they have been given. In that regard, the development environment is critical. The more time they need to spend troubleshooting something, the less time they can ask themselves is “feature X” actually making the game more entertaining. Along the same lines though, the bigger the console user base, the bigger the budget they’ll get...
Sony will remain number one due to the momentum of the brand-name. As more and more HDTV sets are purchased, Blu-Ray playback will be a more attractive feature, and despite the PS3’s shortcomings, graphics are still “equivalent” or “almost as good” as the Xbox 360. The average consumer who may easily be swayed by graphics will see games like Gran Turismo 5, and see that games like Madden and NBA Live look pretty good too.
Sony will lose market share due to increases in popularity from Microsoft and Nintendo. As a gamer, the Xbox 360 is the clear choice. It’s easily available, relatively cheap, and offers a true next-generation experience. The balanced development environment will ensure a steady stream of releases, and Microsoft’s aggressive Japanese investments (Tecmo, Mistwalker, Capcom) will likely help establish the brand in Asia. Microsoft will always have the price advantage over the PS3, and I would expect some aggressive promotions by E3 2007.
The Wii will do better than the Gamecube but will not be able to compete as effectively as the Xbox 360 and PS3 in the enthusiast market. Yes, the Wii is great, and yes, it’s affordable, and yes, it’s completely sold out. The problem and strength with the Wii is that it’s designed to introduce “non-traditional gamers” to consoles. That’s great and all, but once you’ve gotten them excited about the Wii, these non-traditional gamers are unlikely to be as passionate about games as PS3/Xbox 360 owners will be. In the same way the DDR Revolution and Katamari Damacy eventually fizzled out, so will the Wii. It’s not that the Wii isn’t awesome... it’s that the Xbox 360 and PS3 will still be dominant.
The real wild card in this final third of the decade will be the PC. The PC has quickly reestablished its dominance in hardware superior – faster than any other console product launch cycle. As advanced as the Xenon and Cell processors are, it’s always the GPU that improves the most quickly. As fast as the GeForce 8800 GTX is today, we know that a year from now, AMD and NVIDIA will have even faster flagship products, and cards like the 7950GT will be even cheaper and more mainstream. Likewise, Microsoft will continue to push DX10 gaming in their efforts to maintain a desktop entertainment platform that’s ahead of the MacOS competition.
-James
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Goldeneye Source Released
Goldeneye Source beta has been released the links are below...
Link to .EXE mirrors (intended for client):
http://vaughnsoft.com/goldeneye/?id=4
http://games.internode.on.net/filelist.php?filedetails=5035
ftp://gesource:gesource@87.84.78.3:2132/GoldeneyeSource_0.1.0_Full.exe
Link to .ZIP mirrors (intended for server):
ftp://gesource:gesource@87.84.78.3:2132/GoldeneyeSource_0.1.0_Full.zip
http://games.internode.on.net/filelist.php?filedetails=5034
http://dl.kohf.net/bond/GoldeneyeSource_0.1.0_Full.zip
http://superhero.pimpinjuice.net/ges/mirror/GoldeneyeSource_0.1.0_Full.zip
http://vaughnsoft.com/goldeneye/?id=3
Worms
Our friends at XBLArcade have informed us that Worms HD -- an Xbox Live Arcade version of the classic series -- is near completion, according to a forum post on the Team17 website (registration required). The post declares that the game is already on Partnernet (a debug and press only version of Xbox Live) and has only one more bug to be worked out. Furthermore, the game should be available "hot on the heels" of CES, which ends January 11. Worms HD will be officially announced during the show.
XBLArcade also reports that Team17 is already working on downloadable content -- free and premium -- and that the game is supposedly easier to "pick up and play" than previous iterations. We share their sentiment that this may or may not be a good thing for Worms, as one of the best parts of the series is its depth of strategy. Hopefully, this will remain intact in the Arcade release. At any rate, we can't wait to get a crack at Worms HD in all its 2D glory. With any luck, it may wash out the sour taste of the recent 3D iterations. Anyone else excited to pick this up?
The importance of Wii Bowling to Nintendo
Wii Sports, particularly Bowling, may be the most influential game of the year, at least in terms of its potential impact on the industry. Columnist David Thomas opines on yearly blockbusters like Gears of War (360), Elder Scrolls Oblivion (360/PC), and Zelda (Wii/GCN) by saying: "While each of these games remain a worthy distraction from the pressures of the real world, none of them really changes the art or science of video games the way that Wii Bowling does."
In essence, "who would have thought 'electronic bowling' -- despite its simplicity -- could be this fun?" He believes that if Nintendo (or was it Miyamoto who spearheaded the game's development?) can turn the 5,000 year-old game into something this enjoyable with mass appeal, the company may have an even brighter future on its hands. Hardcores on board or not.
In essence, "who would have thought 'electronic bowling' -- despite its simplicity -- could be this fun?" He believes that if Nintendo (or was it Miyamoto who spearheaded the game's development?) can turn the 5,000 year-old game into something this enjoyable with mass appeal, the company may have an even brighter future on its hands. Hardcores on board or not.
Yankee player forms baseball gaming league with fans
Like professional baseball players? Like video games as well (probably an emphatic "yes" since you're reading this)? Then the newly formed Professional Baseball Video Game League may be right up your alley. The Chicago Tribune has the scoop: "Yankees center fielder Johnny Damon has announced formation of the Professional Baseball Video Game League, in which some of baseball's best players will battle each other and their fans online. Damon will serve as commissioner for the league's inaugural season, which kicks off this week with the first competitions on the league's chosen game, Microsoft's Project Gotham Racing 3 for Xbox 360."
Said Damon in a statement: "The league is bringing together two of my biggest passions -- baseball and video games -- in a way that neither baseball fans nor video gamers have seen before." Here, here! Other notable baseball players/gamers this season include Corey Patterson, Rodrigo Lopez, Derek Lowe, Julian Tavarez, and Matt Holliday
Said Damon in a statement: "The league is bringing together two of my biggest passions -- baseball and video games -- in a way that neither baseball fans nor video gamers have seen before." Here, here! Other notable baseball players/gamers this season include Corey Patterson, Rodrigo Lopez, Derek Lowe, Julian Tavarez, and Matt Holliday
Rally X for XBL Arcade
Hopes for a brilliant finale have been dashed with Microsoft's last Xbox Live Arcade release of 2006. After a run of indie titles (Small Arms, RoboBlitz, Assault Heroes, and Novadrome), Microsoft is back to 80s rehashes with New Rally-X today; "New" as in the 1981 sequel to 1980's Rally-X. It's Pac-Man on wheels.
Perhaps this dull offering is merely a setup for next week's New Year surprise, but to end '06 on this low note is certainly a disappointment. Imagine if Castle Crashers or Worms had shown up this morning -- or even that original shooter from the Ikaruga team. Or how about Goldeneye? Or Symphony of the Night? Instead, it's New Rally-X. Ugh.
Perhaps this dull offering is merely a setup for next week's New Year surprise, but to end '06 on this low note is certainly a disappointment. Imagine if Castle Crashers or Worms had shown up this morning -- or even that original shooter from the Ikaruga team. Or how about Goldeneye? Or Symphony of the Night? Instead, it's New Rally-X. Ugh.
Killzone PS3 To Have 120 Developers
Guerilla Games have confirmed that Killzone PS3 will cost more to develop than the most expensive file in Dutch history, Black Book. The movie cost $21 million to develop, and Killzone director Arjan Brussee was quoted on saying, ""Our budget tops Black Book. We're working on the biggest multimedia project in Dutch history."
The high cost for the game is due to the labor invested into the graphically demanding next-gen video games. "Work that used to take someone a week now takes him a month" said Brussee. There are 120 developers working on Killzone PS3, which is three times more than the amount of people who work on the first installation for the game. Half of the development team is from outside the Netherlands. The other factor which is making the game expensive to develop is the location of it. Killzone PS3 will be available in twenty different languages. Brussee feels this will pay off in the long run, "You sell 30 to 40 percent more [units] with a translated version."
CREDIT KILLZONEPS3.NET
-James
The high cost for the game is due to the labor invested into the graphically demanding next-gen video games. "Work that used to take someone a week now takes him a month" said Brussee. There are 120 developers working on Killzone PS3, which is three times more than the amount of people who work on the first installation for the game. Half of the development team is from outside the Netherlands. The other factor which is making the game expensive to develop is the location of it. Killzone PS3 will be available in twenty different languages. Brussee feels this will pay off in the long run, "You sell 30 to 40 percent more [units] with a translated version."
CREDIT KILLZONEPS3.NET
-James
Sony Confirms PS4
Vice President of Technology for Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, Paul Holman confirmed that there will be a PlayStation 4, and that it would be released sometime after 2010 in an interview with SmartHouse.
"To say that there will be no PS4 because of a management change is a bit far fetched" he said.
Until the release of the PlayStation 4, there will be several upgrades for the PS3.
-James
"To say that there will be no PS4 because of a management change is a bit far fetched" he said.
Until the release of the PlayStation 4, there will be several upgrades for the PS3.
-James
150 developers working on GTAIV
According to analyst Mike Hickey of Janco Partners, Take-Two Interactive has about 150 developers working on the next gen Grand Theft Auto.
"Rockstar Games is fully capable of ushering in an entertainment experience categorically superior to the prior cycle’s GTA product," Hickery stated.
Although details are slim on GTAIV, we do know that both the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions plan to ship on October 16th, 2007. It will also have episodic content available on Xbox Live and PS Store.
-James
"Rockstar Games is fully capable of ushering in an entertainment experience categorically superior to the prior cycle’s GTA product," Hickery stated.
Although details are slim on GTAIV, we do know that both the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions plan to ship on October 16th, 2007. It will also have episodic content available on Xbox Live and PS Store.
-James
PS3 Firmware 1.32 Update
Apparently Sony has released another firmware update on the PS Network for users to download. This new update dubbed "v 1.32" includes all tweaks from 1.30 and 1.31 and other minor changes including the following:
Settings:
- You can now register the BD remote control in [Register Bluetooth® Device] under [Accessory Settings].
- [BD/DVD Video Output Format (HDMI)] has been added as an option under [BD/DVD Settings].
- [Backup Utility] has been added as a feature under [System Settings].
- You can now select the hard disk format method in [Format Utility] and [Restore PS3™ System] under [System Settings].
- The method of selecting output resolution has been changed in [Video Output Settings] under [Display Settings].
Game:
- New for 1.31: You can now play PlayStation®2 format software titles that must be installed on the hard disk.
Other:
- The compatibility of USB devices with PlayStation®2 format software titles has changed. For details on USB devices that can be used with system software version 1.30, select here.
- New for 1.31: Playability status with the PS3™ system has changed for some PlayStation® and PlayStation®2 format titles. To check on the latest status, visit the search site for compatible titles.
- New for 1.32: The online gaming functionality of the system software has been updated.
You can install the new update on your PS3 using either the network or by going to the official PlayStation website.
-James
Settings:
- You can now register the BD remote control in [Register Bluetooth® Device] under [Accessory Settings].
- [BD/DVD Video Output Format (HDMI)] has been added as an option under [BD/DVD Settings].
- [Backup Utility] has been added as a feature under [System Settings].
- You can now select the hard disk format method in [Format Utility] and [Restore PS3™ System] under [System Settings].
- The method of selecting output resolution has been changed in [Video Output Settings] under [Display Settings].
Game:
- New for 1.31: You can now play PlayStation®2 format software titles that must be installed on the hard disk.
Other:
- The compatibility of USB devices with PlayStation®2 format software titles has changed. For details on USB devices that can be used with system software version 1.30, select here.
- New for 1.31: Playability status with the PS3™ system has changed for some PlayStation® and PlayStation®2 format titles. To check on the latest status, visit the search site for compatible titles.
- New for 1.32: The online gaming functionality of the system software has been updated.
You can install the new update on your PS3 using either the network or by going to the official PlayStation website.
-James
Resistance: Fall of Man patched!
Resistance: Fall of Man has been patched to celebrate the holidays! This patch contains many updates, bug fixes, and goodies that will further enhance the Resistance experience. With the release of comprehensive patches such as these, Insomniac is proving that it is dedicated to keeping Resistance up to date and the multiplayer fan base happy.
Here are the official notes:
Ranked Games
Map size determined by the number of players in the game
All maps available for ranked games
Score limits for team deathmatch adjusted based on the number of players in a match
Time limits added for all game types that were missing them
General
Various bug fixes and formatting issues
Fixed a rare issue where a player would become invisible to all other players in a match
In Human vs Human or Chimera vs Chimera team games, all players on a team will show up as the same model to help distinguish between the teams.
Added a barrier on Manchester, which was previously left out, to prevent players from leaving the playable area.
Character Sheet
“Return a Flag” ribbon now displays properly. All “Return a Flag” ribbons earned prior to this patch will be restored.
“Multi Kill” ribbon will now be tracked. Unfortunately, no “Multi Kill” ribbons earned before this patch can be restored.
“Target Bomber” ribbon can now be achieved with the frag grenade as well as the hedgehog grenade
You will now receive a system message when you earn a new rank.
A player’s rank will not be sometimes misrepresented as lower than it actually is.
Wins/Losses are now displayed on the player stats.
Changed the requirements to earn some of the medals on the character sheet.
We have replaced the Skeleton skin with a new skin, the Mechanic. We've determined that the Skeleton is much smaller and more difficult to see on many levels than any of the other skins. The skins were never meant to give a gameplay advantage, but to offer you the chance to customize your character as you see fit, and we don't want people to be at a disadvantage because they didn't pick any one particular skin. Never fear, the skeleton may make a return at some later date, in some form or other.
Lobby
You can now accept a party invite if you are in a game and the party you are joining is in the same game.
The results screen will now automatically rejoin the game after 30 seconds instead of disconnecting from the game as it previously did.
There is now an option to enabled “Map Vote” for custom games. If this option is enabled, players may press triangle when they are on the results screen to vote on what map they wish to play next. This option is enabled by default.
You can now create a deathmatch game with a time limit as the only end game condition.
Fixed a bug where players joining a game in progress would sometimes be placed on the team that had more players instead of the team with less players.
Voice Chat
Voice chat is now “push-to-talk” by default in team games as well as free-for-all games. The standard button is L3 and it can be remapped. Open mic is active only for squad chat when you choose to join a named squad. In that case you still use the push-to-talk button to broadcast to your entire team. Other places where open mic is active are when observing in a limited lives game and when you are in a party
There is now an indicator in the lower right hand corner to let you know when you are transmitting on the microphone
Interface
Players in a squad will now be given an additional option to spawn near their squad in CTF, Meltdown, and Breach.
Player names that are longer than 11 characters will no longer be truncated if they have a clan tag enabled.
The flag taken message will stay on the screen longer in CTF games
Enemies are now represented as triangles on the radar and map.
Buddies on your team will show up as green dots on the map and radar (if it is enabled)
Squad members will show up as yellow dots on the map and radar (if it is enabled)
Balance and Tuning
Chimeran rage damage multiplier has been reduced.
Chimera at max heat will now only lose health until they are at 50% health instead of going all the way down to 1% health.
Humans will now spawn with 1 frag grenade as well as the M5A2 Carbine
Enemies will now show up on the Human map/radar if they are within radar range of ANYONE ON YOUR TEAM and only in the following circumstances: They are sprinting or in rage mode, they are firing/attacking, they are jumping, or they are within range of node radar (Breach)
The L11-2 Dragon will now do extra damage to Chimeran players as was originally intended
Most weapon damage values have been tweaked in the interest of balance. In general, weapons have been tweaked to deal slightly less damage.
The spawn selection algorithm has been modified to make players spawn next to enemies less often, and to spawn near teammates and squadmates more often
Moved the location of the flag in several CTF maps to help prevent stalemating
Suicide will now increase the waiting time until a player respawns by 10 seconds in team games.
-James
Here are the official notes:
Ranked Games
Map size determined by the number of players in the game
All maps available for ranked games
Score limits for team deathmatch adjusted based on the number of players in a match
Time limits added for all game types that were missing them
General
Various bug fixes and formatting issues
Fixed a rare issue where a player would become invisible to all other players in a match
In Human vs Human or Chimera vs Chimera team games, all players on a team will show up as the same model to help distinguish between the teams.
Added a barrier on Manchester, which was previously left out, to prevent players from leaving the playable area.
Character Sheet
“Return a Flag” ribbon now displays properly. All “Return a Flag” ribbons earned prior to this patch will be restored.
“Multi Kill” ribbon will now be tracked. Unfortunately, no “Multi Kill” ribbons earned before this patch can be restored.
“Target Bomber” ribbon can now be achieved with the frag grenade as well as the hedgehog grenade
You will now receive a system message when you earn a new rank.
A player’s rank will not be sometimes misrepresented as lower than it actually is.
Wins/Losses are now displayed on the player stats.
Changed the requirements to earn some of the medals on the character sheet.
We have replaced the Skeleton skin with a new skin, the Mechanic. We've determined that the Skeleton is much smaller and more difficult to see on many levels than any of the other skins. The skins were never meant to give a gameplay advantage, but to offer you the chance to customize your character as you see fit, and we don't want people to be at a disadvantage because they didn't pick any one particular skin. Never fear, the skeleton may make a return at some later date, in some form or other.
Lobby
You can now accept a party invite if you are in a game and the party you are joining is in the same game.
The results screen will now automatically rejoin the game after 30 seconds instead of disconnecting from the game as it previously did.
There is now an option to enabled “Map Vote” for custom games. If this option is enabled, players may press triangle when they are on the results screen to vote on what map they wish to play next. This option is enabled by default.
You can now create a deathmatch game with a time limit as the only end game condition.
Fixed a bug where players joining a game in progress would sometimes be placed on the team that had more players instead of the team with less players.
Voice Chat
Voice chat is now “push-to-talk” by default in team games as well as free-for-all games. The standard button is L3 and it can be remapped. Open mic is active only for squad chat when you choose to join a named squad. In that case you still use the push-to-talk button to broadcast to your entire team. Other places where open mic is active are when observing in a limited lives game and when you are in a party
There is now an indicator in the lower right hand corner to let you know when you are transmitting on the microphone
Interface
Players in a squad will now be given an additional option to spawn near their squad in CTF, Meltdown, and Breach.
Player names that are longer than 11 characters will no longer be truncated if they have a clan tag enabled.
The flag taken message will stay on the screen longer in CTF games
Enemies are now represented as triangles on the radar and map.
Buddies on your team will show up as green dots on the map and radar (if it is enabled)
Squad members will show up as yellow dots on the map and radar (if it is enabled)
Balance and Tuning
Chimeran rage damage multiplier has been reduced.
Chimera at max heat will now only lose health until they are at 50% health instead of going all the way down to 1% health.
Humans will now spawn with 1 frag grenade as well as the M5A2 Carbine
Enemies will now show up on the Human map/radar if they are within radar range of ANYONE ON YOUR TEAM and only in the following circumstances: They are sprinting or in rage mode, they are firing/attacking, they are jumping, or they are within range of node radar (Breach)
The L11-2 Dragon will now do extra damage to Chimeran players as was originally intended
Most weapon damage values have been tweaked in the interest of balance. In general, weapons have been tweaked to deal slightly less damage.
The spawn selection algorithm has been modified to make players spawn next to enemies less often, and to spawn near teammates and squadmates more often
Moved the location of the flag in several CTF maps to help prevent stalemating
Suicide will now increase the waiting time until a player respawns by 10 seconds in team games.
-James
Double Agent ready for Euro PS3 launch
Ubisoft announced today that a PlayStation 3 version of Splinter Cell: Double Agent will be ready for the March 2007 release of the PlayStation 3 in Europe.
The publisher also confirmed that support for the Sixaxis wireless contoller will be made available in both single and multiplayer modes, which means it’ll take advantage of the tilt-sensing feature.
But it doesn’t end there, Ubisoft plans on releasing some extra multiplayer maps and skins which will be exclusive to the PlayStation 3.
The game has been released on other platforms but this exclusive content should persuade PS3 fans to grab a copy.
-James
The publisher also confirmed that support for the Sixaxis wireless contoller will be made available in both single and multiplayer modes, which means it’ll take advantage of the tilt-sensing feature.
But it doesn’t end there, Ubisoft plans on releasing some extra multiplayer maps and skins which will be exclusive to the PlayStation 3.
The game has been released on other platforms but this exclusive content should persuade PS3 fans to grab a copy.
-James
Lost Planet On PS3 A Possibility?
With so many titles nowadays moving from "console exclusive" to multiplatform, it’s getting increasingly hard to say confidently which system has the better exclusives.
Compounding this issue, Jun Takeuchi a producer from Capcom has said that Lost Planet may very well make its way to the PlayStation 3.
"We will try to keep it as a 360 exclusive...But, from the company's point of view, when you think about the business, in the future it's something we might have to do," Takeuchi said.
Basically, if the Japanese want the title enough, Capcom may not be able to pass up the financial benefit of porting the title to the PS3.
-James
Ridge Racer 7
The Ridge Racer series has long been a foundation of any Sony hardware release, and the debut of the PlayStation 3 is no exception. The series made its lucky 7th appearance on store shelves on November 13th, just in time for the PlayStation 3's launch on the 17th. But did Namco Bandai's 7th iteration of its popular drift racing game live up to the expectations?
Ridge Racer 7 does a great job of accomplishing the main goal of any racing game: making driving fun. While players will be hard pressed to find much realism in the game, it detracts little from the overall experience the title provides. And while cars won't explode or show damage like that of Burnout or the upcoming racer Motorstorm, Ridge Racer 7 stays true to the calling the series has always followed; being a great arcade racer.
As the series has always implied, drifting is the most important aspect of the game. The game does a good job of easing new and even veteran players into the unorthodox style of racing. However, after that gentle hump, tracks stray far from easy. In the latter stages of the game players will find themselves drifting at mind blowing speeds from curve to curve in an effort to stay one step ahead of their relentless computer controlled opponents, who often will show little mercy in passing players toward the finish line.
Nitrous also remains a vital component for players in Ridge Racer 7. Like its predecessor Ridge Racer 6, cars are equipped with three nitrous tanks. Each tank is filled as players drift. Each tank can be used separately, or chained together for double or even triple boosts. The amount of nitrous earned per drift depends on the quality of the drift, thus players will soon discover that a slight miscalculation in a single drift can be the difference between an extra boost near the finish line, or a consolation prize in the form of second place.
Ridge Racer 7 presents players with the standard set of racing modes. Arcade mode offers new players the quickest way to start getting used to the ropes of the game. A menu comes up to pick a car and track, and that's it! Players have their choice of single or split-screen racing. Unfortunately, split screen racing has a noticeable effect on the framerate and graphics of the game.
Ridge Racer 7 also contains a mode titled Ridge State Grand Prix. Players will find they will spend the majority of their time offline in this mode. After a quick introduction movie, players are presented with a huge map filled with various icons. It can be overwhelming at first, but thankfully appearances are deceiving in this case. Players start out penniless and without a ride. Instead, we are challenged by various companies in manufacturer's trials to race a field of cars not only to get their endorsement, but the ability to buy their products.
From this point, players are challenged to earn as many credit and fame points as possible, all in order to win more endorsements and buy better products to outfit their cars with. Ridge Racer 7 offers players the ability to earn both kinds of points through Grand Prix races and UFRA single events, which challenge players to win under certain conditions, such as equipment restrictions and time limits.
A new addition to the series is a Gran Turismo style car customization scheme. Through an option called machine connector, players are able to purchase or make upgrades on their existing rides. While the mode is nowhere as deep as Gran Turismo's upgrade system, basic components are upgradeable, such as the engine tune-up, wheels, suspension, plug-in units, and the ever so vital nitrous. The visual details of each car are equally customizable. Players are given a multitude of options when it comes to the exterior of their machines, including wheels, paint, spoilers, and decals. Upgrades do count in this game, as every edge is needed to stay one step ahead of computer controlled opponents.
Ridge Racer 7 also places a large amount of emphasis on the online portion of the game. The developers did a great job of translating every aspect that shines in offline mode right into the online environment. Tracked statistics include miles driven, fame, global ranking, and OBP ranking. Each player is also given a unique ID, which not only displays many of the stats listed above, but awards such as Winning Streak and Bounty Hunter. A ticker bar sits at the bottom of the screen with up to the minute results of online races, giving players even more incentives to outsmart and outwit their human opponents.
Online mode has a few different options. Along with the standard ranked races, players are given the ability to race cooperatively. Through a rather closed text chat, players can coordinate with their partner to win races by allowing their partner to slingshot past, Talladega Nights style, around their opponents, or make essential blocks to ensure their partner glides across the finish line. Players may also compete in Global Time Attack, and UFRA Special Events, which allows players to race against each other under special conditions.
While Ridge Racer 7 may not be the most innovative of games in the racing genre, it still comes out to be a decent launch racing title. Unfortunately, the game does have a few downsides, including the fact that many of the tracks in Ridge Racer 7 are rehashes from Ridge Racer 6, and that the cooperative mode is a bit buggy. However, the new level of customization, the engaging online system, and the generally enjoyable game play all make up for these flaws, and make Ridge Racer 7 an easy pick to buy at launch with a PlayStation 3 console.
By James
Ridge Racer 7 does a great job of accomplishing the main goal of any racing game: making driving fun. While players will be hard pressed to find much realism in the game, it detracts little from the overall experience the title provides. And while cars won't explode or show damage like that of Burnout or the upcoming racer Motorstorm, Ridge Racer 7 stays true to the calling the series has always followed; being a great arcade racer.
As the series has always implied, drifting is the most important aspect of the game. The game does a good job of easing new and even veteran players into the unorthodox style of racing. However, after that gentle hump, tracks stray far from easy. In the latter stages of the game players will find themselves drifting at mind blowing speeds from curve to curve in an effort to stay one step ahead of their relentless computer controlled opponents, who often will show little mercy in passing players toward the finish line.
Nitrous also remains a vital component for players in Ridge Racer 7. Like its predecessor Ridge Racer 6, cars are equipped with three nitrous tanks. Each tank is filled as players drift. Each tank can be used separately, or chained together for double or even triple boosts. The amount of nitrous earned per drift depends on the quality of the drift, thus players will soon discover that a slight miscalculation in a single drift can be the difference between an extra boost near the finish line, or a consolation prize in the form of second place.
Ridge Racer 7 presents players with the standard set of racing modes. Arcade mode offers new players the quickest way to start getting used to the ropes of the game. A menu comes up to pick a car and track, and that's it! Players have their choice of single or split-screen racing. Unfortunately, split screen racing has a noticeable effect on the framerate and graphics of the game.
Ridge Racer 7 also contains a mode titled Ridge State Grand Prix. Players will find they will spend the majority of their time offline in this mode. After a quick introduction movie, players are presented with a huge map filled with various icons. It can be overwhelming at first, but thankfully appearances are deceiving in this case. Players start out penniless and without a ride. Instead, we are challenged by various companies in manufacturer's trials to race a field of cars not only to get their endorsement, but the ability to buy their products.
From this point, players are challenged to earn as many credit and fame points as possible, all in order to win more endorsements and buy better products to outfit their cars with. Ridge Racer 7 offers players the ability to earn both kinds of points through Grand Prix races and UFRA single events, which challenge players to win under certain conditions, such as equipment restrictions and time limits.
A new addition to the series is a Gran Turismo style car customization scheme. Through an option called machine connector, players are able to purchase or make upgrades on their existing rides. While the mode is nowhere as deep as Gran Turismo's upgrade system, basic components are upgradeable, such as the engine tune-up, wheels, suspension, plug-in units, and the ever so vital nitrous. The visual details of each car are equally customizable. Players are given a multitude of options when it comes to the exterior of their machines, including wheels, paint, spoilers, and decals. Upgrades do count in this game, as every edge is needed to stay one step ahead of computer controlled opponents.
Ridge Racer 7 also places a large amount of emphasis on the online portion of the game. The developers did a great job of translating every aspect that shines in offline mode right into the online environment. Tracked statistics include miles driven, fame, global ranking, and OBP ranking. Each player is also given a unique ID, which not only displays many of the stats listed above, but awards such as Winning Streak and Bounty Hunter. A ticker bar sits at the bottom of the screen with up to the minute results of online races, giving players even more incentives to outsmart and outwit their human opponents.
Online mode has a few different options. Along with the standard ranked races, players are given the ability to race cooperatively. Through a rather closed text chat, players can coordinate with their partner to win races by allowing their partner to slingshot past, Talladega Nights style, around their opponents, or make essential blocks to ensure their partner glides across the finish line. Players may also compete in Global Time Attack, and UFRA Special Events, which allows players to race against each other under special conditions.
While Ridge Racer 7 may not be the most innovative of games in the racing genre, it still comes out to be a decent launch racing title. Unfortunately, the game does have a few downsides, including the fact that many of the tracks in Ridge Racer 7 are rehashes from Ridge Racer 6, and that the cooperative mode is a bit buggy. However, the new level of customization, the engaging online system, and the generally enjoyable game play all make up for these flaws, and make Ridge Racer 7 an easy pick to buy at launch with a PlayStation 3 console.
By James
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
New 360 Processor Delayed...
Over the past generation, when a new console hits the market, the console manufacturer goes on to shrink the die size of the CPU. The benefits are a cheaper chip -- the smaller the die, the more that fit into a manufacturing run -- and cooler temperatures. The Xbox 360 die shrink is going to have to wait a little bit longer.
Originally slated for Q1 2007, the 65nm processors for the Xbox 360 are being delayed until mid-2007. This means gamers are going to have to wait a little bit longer to get those Xbox 360 units that aren't quite so hot; it also means prospective buyers may be waiting a bit longer to see a price drop.
Reducing the die size on the Xbox 360 CPU is a major step to a price reduction, something Microsoft needs right now. Xbox 360 sales are less than smoking and the PS3 and Wii offering up some competition, Microsoft could have used a price drop as an excellent weapon against them. Maybe Microsoft can get the 65nm chips up and running before the PS3 has a chance to entrench itself in Europe.
Originally slated for Q1 2007, the 65nm processors for the Xbox 360 are being delayed until mid-2007. This means gamers are going to have to wait a little bit longer to get those Xbox 360 units that aren't quite so hot; it also means prospective buyers may be waiting a bit longer to see a price drop.
Reducing the die size on the Xbox 360 CPU is a major step to a price reduction, something Microsoft needs right now. Xbox 360 sales are less than smoking and the PS3 and Wii offering up some competition, Microsoft could have used a price drop as an excellent weapon against them. Maybe Microsoft can get the 65nm chips up and running before the PS3 has a chance to entrench itself in Europe.
Reno 911 Meets 360
New Video Content at the XBLM. check it out
TV
* 8th and Ocean, Season 1
* Jackass Gumball Rally
* Reno 911, Season 2
* Star Trek: The Original Series, Season 2 (4 Episodes in HD)
* UFC, Five New Fights
* UFC's The Ultimate Fighter, Season 1
Movies (All SD)
* Barbarella
* Fighting Temptations
* Ghost and the Darkness
* Joe's Apartment
* Strange Brew
That's a rather... eclectic mix, to say the least.
TV
* 8th and Ocean, Season 1
* Jackass Gumball Rally
* Reno 911, Season 2
* Star Trek: The Original Series, Season 2 (4 Episodes in HD)
* UFC, Five New Fights
* UFC's The Ultimate Fighter, Season 1
Movies (All SD)
* Barbarella
* Fighting Temptations
* Ghost and the Darkness
* Joe's Apartment
* Strange Brew
That's a rather... eclectic mix, to say the least.
Extended 360 Warranty
Microsoft seems to be interested in spreading the holiday cheer this year, as they've announced today that they're doing away with their 90 day warranty in favor of providing a full year of protection for 360 owners. This is also retroactive, as those who have already paid for repairs out of warranty within a year of purchase should be getting a refund check in the mail within 10 weeks.
"Our number one priority for the Xbox 360 is customer satisfaction," said Jeff Bell, Corporate Vice President of Global Marketing for Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business. "Now, in addition to Xbox 360 offering features such as jaw-dropping high definition graphics, an amazing variety of more than 160 games, and social online and entertainment experiences found on Xbox Live(r), this warranty upgrade is an exclamation at the end of an already compelling home entertainment offering."
Perhaps the one year warranties offered with the Wii and PS3, along with defective launch units for the 360, spurred this change. Whatever actually changed Microsoft's tune, though, it's only good for the consumer.
"Our number one priority for the Xbox 360 is customer satisfaction," said Jeff Bell, Corporate Vice President of Global Marketing for Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business. "Now, in addition to Xbox 360 offering features such as jaw-dropping high definition graphics, an amazing variety of more than 160 games, and social online and entertainment experiences found on Xbox Live(r), this warranty upgrade is an exclamation at the end of an already compelling home entertainment offering."
Perhaps the one year warranties offered with the Wii and PS3, along with defective launch units for the 360, spurred this change. Whatever actually changed Microsoft's tune, though, it's only good for the consumer.
Mercenaries 2 for 360
video blogs reveal a development team working on a 360 version of their game." Or not. Regardless of what the expression should be, it's quite possible that the most recent video blog from the Pandemic development team, currently working on Mercenaries 2: World in Flames, unveiled their dark little secret.
While it had been announced that "there is a possibility of it coming to the 360," there was no substantive proof that this was really the case. However, in the holiday video blog, a few Xbox 360s are spotted, as well as a 360 debug unit. And these aren't just collecting dust. A few of the developers are using 360 controllers in the video.
Pandemic can continue to deny that there are no set plans to bring the game to the Xbox 360, but we're just a little too old for the wool to be pulled over our eyes in such a fashion Come on, Pandemic, spill the beans already. The jig is up!
Shortages Into the New Year
Though expected by most, games analyst PJ McNealy predicts both PS3 and Wii shortages into early 2007 while speaking with Reuters. But his guestimations are pinned further into the new year than maybe some expected: June for the PS3 and March for the Wii. That reality would be even more troublesome for gamers than the great 360 shortage of '05/'06.
McNealy notes the ridiculous scantiness of the PS3 reminding us of the pending European launch that is sure to keep the console scarce even longer. If that's the case, June doesn't sound too far off for supply to finally catch up with pent up demand. But Wii shortages into March?
McNealy notes the ridiculous scantiness of the PS3 reminding us of the pending European launch that is sure to keep the console scarce even longer. If that's the case, June doesn't sound too far off for supply to finally catch up with pent up demand. But Wii shortages into March?
GoW and others for $40!
Well if you have been waiting to pick up your copy of Gears of War, FFXII, THP8, or even season five of 24, then now is the time to end you wait. In an after holiday sale target is offering a number of games for $40 instead of $60. and new DVD's for as low as $14 so if you still don't have you're copy of GoW yet head over to target today and pick it up. I know I'll be there to pick up THP8!
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