Curmudgeon Gamer
31 March 2009
Another week, another typo
Sony really needs someone watching what they type. This week it's Samurai Shodown Anthology. Yes, that's right "Shodown". No, I don't know why, but that's how it's spelled.
Unless you're the Sony PlayStation page showing the game:
I know it's a weird name and all, but come on!
Now we'll see if it takes a few hours and Sony magically fixes this. (As happened last time.)
Unless you're the Sony PlayStation page showing the game:
I know it's a weird name and all, but come on!Now we'll see if it takes a few hours and Sony magically fixes this. (As happened last time.)
--jvm at 16:45
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[ 2 ]
18 February 2009
Either disappointment or glorious success (Nintendo DSi)
So the Nintendo DSi is coming out on 5 April 2009 in the U.S. at a price of $170. (Announcement and demo video at Wired, among others.)
Either this is going to blow up in Nintendo's face or they'll come out looking even more invincible.
For a while now Sony's been selling the PlayStation Portable (PSP) for $170 by itself or $200 bundled. According to data provided to me by NPD, and some figuring done on my own through other sources, the average for PSP sales has been $190 or higher. Significantly fewer people buy the core system and many are willing to jump up $30 for a bundle.
All the while the Nintendo DS has been $130. Each month Nintendo DS sales are at least twice the monthly PSP sales. It's not that the PSP sells poorly -- it actually does pretty well -- but the Nintendo DS is in much higher demand. Yet, in January 2009, sales for the PSP were off significantly.
I don't want to read too much into a single data point, but I think it's possible that Americans (increasingly pessimistic about the economy and the future) are finally reaching the point where a slick $200 handheld system isn't feasible. Even worse, they may be saying a $170 handheld isn't worthwhile.
And that's where I'm worried that Nintendo's DSi won't catch on. The upgrades here are the SD card slot, downloadable software, and two cameras. (The GBA slot is gone, but my anecdotal experience leads me to believe no one will notice.) I believe (although I don't know for sure) that it will also play more nicely with modern wireless access points. (Goodbye WEP, I hope.)
But like the PS3, the DSi is making a proposition based on logic that the consumer won't buy. The PS3 is a great media center, hi-def player, and game system. It also is a decent way to browse the web in the living room. But it's also $400.
The DSi is 95% of the Nintendo DS, with added features -- cameras, downloadable software, and a card slot -- that bump the cost up to $170. To paraphrase a line from an article I once wrote: A consumer who can't afford a $170 handheld still won't be able to afford it just because it has two cameras and new software capabilities.
All that said, I'm terrible with predictions. That's essentially why I write about the sales figures after they come out instead of trying to predict them. And, it should be noted, the Nintendo DS launched at a higher price and eventually dropped to its current $130 level. That may well happen with the DSi, and at that point at least it should return to crazy-wild sales levels.
Either this is going to blow up in Nintendo's face or they'll come out looking even more invincible.
For a while now Sony's been selling the PlayStation Portable (PSP) for $170 by itself or $200 bundled. According to data provided to me by NPD, and some figuring done on my own through other sources, the average for PSP sales has been $190 or higher. Significantly fewer people buy the core system and many are willing to jump up $30 for a bundle.
All the while the Nintendo DS has been $130. Each month Nintendo DS sales are at least twice the monthly PSP sales. It's not that the PSP sells poorly -- it actually does pretty well -- but the Nintendo DS is in much higher demand. Yet, in January 2009, sales for the PSP were off significantly.
I don't want to read too much into a single data point, but I think it's possible that Americans (increasingly pessimistic about the economy and the future) are finally reaching the point where a slick $200 handheld system isn't feasible. Even worse, they may be saying a $170 handheld isn't worthwhile.
And that's where I'm worried that Nintendo's DSi won't catch on. The upgrades here are the SD card slot, downloadable software, and two cameras. (The GBA slot is gone, but my anecdotal experience leads me to believe no one will notice.) I believe (although I don't know for sure) that it will also play more nicely with modern wireless access points. (Goodbye WEP, I hope.)
But like the PS3, the DSi is making a proposition based on logic that the consumer won't buy. The PS3 is a great media center, hi-def player, and game system. It also is a decent way to browse the web in the living room. But it's also $400.
The DSi is 95% of the Nintendo DS, with added features -- cameras, downloadable software, and a card slot -- that bump the cost up to $170. To paraphrase a line from an article I once wrote: A consumer who can't afford a $170 handheld still won't be able to afford it just because it has two cameras and new software capabilities.
All that said, I'm terrible with predictions. That's essentially why I write about the sales figures after they come out instead of trying to predict them. And, it should be noted, the Nintendo DS launched at a higher price and eventually dropped to its current $130 level. That may well happen with the DSi, and at that point at least it should return to crazy-wild sales levels.
--jvm at 09:14
Comment
[ 4 ]
27 January 2009
Guess I'm not the only one...
For a long time when I'd see the game title "Nobunaga's Ambition", I'd read it in my head as "Nobunga's Ambition". Eventually I took the time to read the title more carefully.
Someone at Sony has similar reading comprehension problems:
And...it's fixed! WITNESS THE POWER OF CURMUDGEON GAMER.
Someone at Sony has similar reading comprehension problems:
And...it's fixed! WITNESS THE POWER OF CURMUDGEON GAMER.
--jvm at 09:04
Comment
[ 2 ]
23 December 2008
Review: Super Stardust Portable (PSP)
Super Stardust HD is one of the finest PlayStation 3 games ever made. Yes, it looks like pure eyecandy, but the gripping, seat-of-your-pants gameplay stands the test of time. I recently commented that Space Invaders Extreme is to the original what Tempest 2000 was to Tempest, and I'm tempted to compare SSHD to Asteroids. Honestly, that's the wrong comparison. It is a new Robotron: 2084 for the HD generation.
When I heard the Super Stardust HD developer, Housemarque, was making a PSP version I laughed out loud. How do you condense a two-joystick game with countless objects on the screen at any given moment onto a handheld with only one analog nub (not even a stick!) and far reduced RAM and CPU capabilities? "Madness!" I thought, "It will look and play terribly."
I was wrong. (Regular readers no doubt are used to that by now.) In fact, it is now one of the finest PSP games I've ever played.
The second joystick -- used for shooting -- is handled with the four right buttons, used as a directional pad, but that's just the obvious bit. The brilliant part is that tapping a direction will generate a wide spread of random shots. The gold melter, which is one of the key weapons to master, will fire out a pleasing sinusoidal wave using this tapping approach, mimicking just the way I use it in the PS3 version. And holding down all four buttons (not difficult, in my experience) will fire the melter in a swift circular pattern -- again, just as I've used it many times in the other version.
Graphically, the game gives the appearance of handling enough objects that it really doesn't matter if falls short of the PS3's billions. Everything looks beautiful, and I'd say it's one of the better demonstrations of the PSP's abilities. One important difference here is that the spherical play surface in the original has been replaced with a spherical-looking background image and a toroidal playfield. (The use of a torus to give the illusion of a sphere is a trick I last saw in Tetrisphere on the Nintendo 64.)
The only quibble, and it's not difficult once you learn to cope, is that weapon selection is on the D-pad. That's awkward, and I'd make a couple of suggestions to improve it. First, there should be a way to map the D-pad directions to a particular weapon; for example, I should be able to make up select the rock crusher, right the gold melter, and down the ice splitter. This would eliminate some of the frustration. The final direction could be used as a cycler, or (better) a means of selecting the most upgraded weapon currently available.
The pacing has been tweaked a bit to make accomodate the adjustments in the controls. The result is a game which has kept me in awe for a solid week, and shows no intention of slowing down. I've sunk over 6 hours into this version already, and that was during a busy week when I've also been playing BioShock and doing holiday chores. (For comparison, I have well over 12 hours in the PS3 game.)
I've realized, in the meantime, that Robotron: 2084 was ultimately the correct comparison. After all, one of my favorite versions of that classic arcade game is on a handheld. The Atari Lynx version of Robotron: 2084 uses just a D-pad and two firing buttons, but still has a very clever solution to the independent firing problem that impresses me to this day: the two buttons are used to rotate a constant stream of shots while the D-pad handles movement.
When I heard the Super Stardust HD developer, Housemarque, was making a PSP version I laughed out loud. How do you condense a two-joystick game with countless objects on the screen at any given moment onto a handheld with only one analog nub (not even a stick!) and far reduced RAM and CPU capabilities? "Madness!" I thought, "It will look and play terribly."
I was wrong. (Regular readers no doubt are used to that by now.) In fact, it is now one of the finest PSP games I've ever played.
The second joystick -- used for shooting -- is handled with the four right buttons, used as a directional pad, but that's just the obvious bit. The brilliant part is that tapping a direction will generate a wide spread of random shots. The gold melter, which is one of the key weapons to master, will fire out a pleasing sinusoidal wave using this tapping approach, mimicking just the way I use it in the PS3 version. And holding down all four buttons (not difficult, in my experience) will fire the melter in a swift circular pattern -- again, just as I've used it many times in the other version.
Graphically, the game gives the appearance of handling enough objects that it really doesn't matter if falls short of the PS3's billions. Everything looks beautiful, and I'd say it's one of the better demonstrations of the PSP's abilities. One important difference here is that the spherical play surface in the original has been replaced with a spherical-looking background image and a toroidal playfield. (The use of a torus to give the illusion of a sphere is a trick I last saw in Tetrisphere on the Nintendo 64.)
The only quibble, and it's not difficult once you learn to cope, is that weapon selection is on the D-pad. That's awkward, and I'd make a couple of suggestions to improve it. First, there should be a way to map the D-pad directions to a particular weapon; for example, I should be able to make up select the rock crusher, right the gold melter, and down the ice splitter. This would eliminate some of the frustration. The final direction could be used as a cycler, or (better) a means of selecting the most upgraded weapon currently available.
The pacing has been tweaked a bit to make accomodate the adjustments in the controls. The result is a game which has kept me in awe for a solid week, and shows no intention of slowing down. I've sunk over 6 hours into this version already, and that was during a busy week when I've also been playing BioShock and doing holiday chores. (For comparison, I have well over 12 hours in the PS3 game.)
I've realized, in the meantime, that Robotron: 2084 was ultimately the correct comparison. After all, one of my favorite versions of that classic arcade game is on a handheld. The Atari Lynx version of Robotron: 2084 uses just a D-pad and two firing buttons, but still has a very clever solution to the independent firing problem that impresses me to this day: the two buttons are used to rotate a constant stream of shots while the D-pad handles movement.
--jvm at 23:07
Comment
[ 0 ]
19 December 2008
A Simple Rule for PS3 Installs
If my DualShock 3 turns itself off automatically while waiting for your game to install, you have a problem. Fix it. I'm looking at you, BioShock.
While I'm on it, another rule: if the patch for your game is 4GB or larger, the game should be sold on the PSN storefront, like Burnout Paradise, just for convenience. I'm looking at you, Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds.
While I'm on it, another rule: if the patch for your game is 4GB or larger, the game should be sold on the PSN storefront, like Burnout Paradise, just for convenience. I'm looking at you, Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds.
--jvm at 21:31
Comment
[ 2 ]
11 December 2008
Home - Sony's investment in failure
Today Sony allows the general PlayStation 3-owning public to get into PlayStation Home, its virtual world.
I see two possibilities here:
I wish Sony had used its money to seed unique, exclusive games for its online service. That would have been a lot more interesting, and would have improved its image both among consumers, developers, and publishers.
I see two possibilities here:
- Apathy - Most people don't know about -- or care about -- PlayStation Home. This is the best case scenario for Sony.
- Hatred - Sony forces some popular games to incorporate Home in an essential way, and people hate it. Reviewers will comment on how the Xbox 360 version of a game doesn't include such stupid features. Players will complain about having to use it. This is the bad scenario.
I wish Sony had used its money to seed unique, exclusive games for its online service. That would have been a lot more interesting, and would have improved its image both among consumers, developers, and publishers.
Labels: online, online distribution, playstation home, ps3, psn, sony
--jvm at 11:22
Comment
[ 7 ]
09 October 2008
Space Invaders Extreme ... on XBL (not PSN)
So Space Invaders Extreme is going to be on Xbox Live Arcade. Good for Microsoft.
Sony already had this game on their PSP. It hasn't been sold online through the PS Store yet, despite being ideal for that purpose. It hasn't been announced for PS3 via PSN, and there's no indication that will happen.
Seriously, what are the people at Sony thinking? This is a little slap in the face, granted, but it shouldn't have happened this way in the first place.
There is a rumor in the latest EGM that all PSP games published in 2009 will also be sold through the online store. If Sony really does that, I'll forgive them some of the thickheaded blunders they've committed this year. To make good on their promise to make the PSN service a free, serious alternative to XBL, it's precisely the kind of thing they'll need to do.
Sony already had this game on their PSP. It hasn't been sold online through the PS Store yet, despite being ideal for that purpose. It hasn't been announced for PS3 via PSN, and there's no indication that will happen.
Seriously, what are the people at Sony thinking? This is a little slap in the face, granted, but it shouldn't have happened this way in the first place.
There is a rumor in the latest EGM that all PSP games published in 2009 will also be sold through the online store. If Sony really does that, I'll forgive them some of the thickheaded blunders they've committed this year. To make good on their promise to make the PSN service a free, serious alternative to XBL, it's precisely the kind of thing they'll need to do.
Labels: online distribution, psn, sony, taito, xbla, xbox360
--jvm at 08:59
Comment
[ 3 ]
22 September 2008
The correct answer is "Burnout Paradise" (and more DLC ramblin')
What game has the best DLC plan? For me, not Mega Man 9. Rather, the answer is Burnout Paradise.
The demo was pretty neat, although it had an inordinately long intro which I presume was intended to deter people from using the demo as a proxy for buying the full game. Despite middlin' sales in January 2008, the developers (Criterion) have regularly released updates for the game to add new features, cars, and most recently motorcycles.
Those updates have all been free. And they eventually enticed me to buy the full game. If they tell me they will support the next Burnout title the same way, and it is as fun as the current one, then I'm already primed to buy it too.
In fact, and I know this will shock folks who know me, I intend to sell my physical copy of Burnout Paradise and buy the full download version available this Thursday on the PlayStation Store. I'm comfortable enough with their system (five downloads to separate systems, if necessary, and unlimited full data backups onto my own media as desired) to take the plunge and enjoy the convenience of having the game ready to launch at any time.
In fact, I'm considering the same deal with both Warhawk and Gran Turismo 3: Prologue, both of which are available on the PS Store as full game downloads.
Truly, I play the downloaded PS3 games far more than I play the disc-based games. Super Stardust HD, The Last Guy, PixelJunk Monsters, even the PS1 games I've purchased from Sony's store -- these all get more play than my unloved PS3 disc games. They start faster, they're always 5 seconds from starting, and they are quieter (although this last point is being picky, since the Blu-Ray drive isn't that noisy).
I find myself wishing I could rip my PS3 games to the hard drive and play them there. That's how much I like the instant-access that I used to enjoy with PC games (back in the pre-CD-in-the-drive days).
Sony keeps coming up with pleasant surprises, and the Burnout Paradise package is one of them. If they'd listen to me, here's my recommendation for a November Surprise: Work out a deal with EA to put Dead Space and/or Mirror's Edge on the PS Store the week of Thanksgiving. Also offer Sony's own LittleBigPlanet available as a download through the store. Make each game $10 cheaper online until the end of the year, provided you buy the downloadable version through the online store.
I think that would work out very well for everyone involved. (Whether it would make up for the painful price gap between the Xbox 360 and PS3, I don't know, but it would be a huge self-marketing ploy that could bring some people over.)
The demo was pretty neat, although it had an inordinately long intro which I presume was intended to deter people from using the demo as a proxy for buying the full game. Despite middlin' sales in January 2008, the developers (Criterion) have regularly released updates for the game to add new features, cars, and most recently motorcycles.
Those updates have all been free. And they eventually enticed me to buy the full game. If they tell me they will support the next Burnout title the same way, and it is as fun as the current one, then I'm already primed to buy it too.
In fact, and I know this will shock folks who know me, I intend to sell my physical copy of Burnout Paradise and buy the full download version available this Thursday on the PlayStation Store. I'm comfortable enough with their system (five downloads to separate systems, if necessary, and unlimited full data backups onto my own media as desired) to take the plunge and enjoy the convenience of having the game ready to launch at any time.
In fact, I'm considering the same deal with both Warhawk and Gran Turismo 3: Prologue, both of which are available on the PS Store as full game downloads.
Truly, I play the downloaded PS3 games far more than I play the disc-based games. Super Stardust HD, The Last Guy, PixelJunk Monsters, even the PS1 games I've purchased from Sony's store -- these all get more play than my unloved PS3 disc games. They start faster, they're always 5 seconds from starting, and they are quieter (although this last point is being picky, since the Blu-Ray drive isn't that noisy).
I find myself wishing I could rip my PS3 games to the hard drive and play them there. That's how much I like the instant-access that I used to enjoy with PC games (back in the pre-CD-in-the-drive days).
Sony keeps coming up with pleasant surprises, and the Burnout Paradise package is one of them. If they'd listen to me, here's my recommendation for a November Surprise: Work out a deal with EA to put Dead Space and/or Mirror's Edge on the PS Store the week of Thanksgiving. Also offer Sony's own LittleBigPlanet available as a download through the store. Make each game $10 cheaper online until the end of the year, provided you buy the downloadable version through the online store.
I think that would work out very well for everyone involved. (Whether it would make up for the painful price gap between the Xbox 360 and PS3, I don't know, but it would be a huge self-marketing ploy that could bring some people over.)
--jvm at 20:40
Comment
[ 3 ]
22 May 2008
Oh yeah! Bioshock PS3.
About flippin' time. Of all the exclusives on the Xbox 360, this one was the most frustrating to me. Now it looks like I'll get my chance to play later this year.
The other exclusives that bug me are Pac-Man: Championship Edition (which apparently has zero chance of ever making it to another platform) and Ace Combat 6. The latter I suspect will make the jump to the PS3 later this year too, perhaps as Ace Combat 7 (a la Ridge Racer 6 and 7).
The other exclusives that bug me are Pac-Man: Championship Edition (which apparently has zero chance of ever making it to another platform) and Ace Combat 6. The latter I suspect will make the jump to the PS3 later this year too, perhaps as Ace Combat 7 (a la Ridge Racer 6 and 7).
--jvm at 10:59
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[ 0 ]
Artificial Scarcity in Online Distribution
As a consumer, I hate the idea, but I thought it made for a fun gedanken experiment. Happily Gamasutra liked the idea enough to publish it. (Finally a piece that doesn't have a single graph!)
Labels: business, microsoft, nintendo, online distribution, psn, sony, virtual console, xboxlive
--jvm at 10:21
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[ 1 ]
08 May 2008
Chains of Olympus for PS2 for Xmas '08
This isn't an announcement, but a prediction. Provided the porting of Daxter from the PSP to the PS2 is true (see here, originally seen here), then Sony has to be seriously considering porting God of War: Chains of Olympus to the PS2 as well. Keep in mind that both Daxter and God of War on the PSP share some engine code, so a port of the former would accelerate a port of the latter.
According to NPD's figures, Chains of Olympus sold well over 300,000 copies in its first month on the market. A PS2 version would easily sell a million and would complement a $99 PS2 model quite well.
Given that I completed the PSP game twice (something I almost never do for long-form action games), I'd probably end up picking up the PS2 port. So make that a million copies, plus one.
In an ideal world, Sony would also get someone to port the game to the PS3 and sell it for $15 on PSN. But this is Sony we're talking about, so it will never happen.
According to NPD's figures, Chains of Olympus sold well over 300,000 copies in its first month on the market. A PS2 version would easily sell a million and would complement a $99 PS2 model quite well.
Given that I completed the PSP game twice (something I almost never do for long-form action games), I'd probably end up picking up the PS2 port. So make that a million copies, plus one.
In an ideal world, Sony would also get someone to port the game to the PS3 and sell it for $15 on PSN. But this is Sony we're talking about, so it will never happen.
--jvm at 09:24
Comment
[ 0 ]
23 April 2008
Echochrome and the hobbled PSP
I'm getting echochrome tomorrow. Reading the Sony blog about it, I continue to be amazed at garbage like this:
Instead of insulting our intelligence, how about spend more time implementing a serious network service for the PSP? It's just embarrassing, three years after you launch a fine piece of hardware like the PSP, to still be stumbling on something so simple as this.
And for the PSP version, you can share the levels you create with other people in your area via wireless Ad Hoc. Cool, right?!?Sorry, Sony, but Game 3.0 -- your word, not mine -- was really supposed to be about sharing your work YouTube-like. No one gives a flying flip about sharing data via ad hod wireless. No one.
Instead of insulting our intelligence, how about spend more time implementing a serious network service for the PSP? It's just embarrassing, three years after you launch a fine piece of hardware like the PSP, to still be stumbling on something so simple as this.
--jvm at 20:35
Comment
[ 4 ]
11 March 2008
Patapon
Patapon is an exquisite little offering that can be snapped up for as little as twelve pounds fifty. It would be a crime not to.
The PSP always gets a rough time of things, mainly because it isn't quite the license to print money that the DS is. But how many great games have come out on the DS lately? Think about it. Not that many. I can only think of Apollo Justice and the new Advance Wars, and whilst I love the both of them they're basically sequels. Patapon feels like a fresh, vibrant excursion in a land of opportunity and bleeds a kind of effervescent vivacity all over the large, dead pixel prone screen of my chunky, fat PSP. This joy is contagious, and soon works its way into my eyes and brain, eroding away my cynicism and rendering my joyless nature inert and redundant. When Patapon is spinning happily away in the UMD drive, the PSP becomes the drab young girl in glasses who gets a makeover by the captain of the football team and everybody wants to sleep with by the end of the movie. It's like falling in love with your high school sweetheart, and then finding out she's also a millionaire.
It's got everything a crusty old relic (read: me) needs to enjoy a game. An intuitive and non-standard control system, flash art direction, army building and rhythm based gameplay. Also, it's practically doomed to an existence of never being truly appreciated in its time and becoming a cult classic. Those are the very best kind of games, because the few of us that play them can sit around and reflect on just how better we are than your average muppet.
Downsides? It's quite short and farming rare items can be pretty bothersome. Although, if you're one of the gazillions of WoW players, you'd think I was needlessly complaining.
The PSP always gets a rough time of things, mainly because it isn't quite the license to print money that the DS is. But how many great games have come out on the DS lately? Think about it. Not that many. I can only think of Apollo Justice and the new Advance Wars, and whilst I love the both of them they're basically sequels. Patapon feels like a fresh, vibrant excursion in a land of opportunity and bleeds a kind of effervescent vivacity all over the large, dead pixel prone screen of my chunky, fat PSP. This joy is contagious, and soon works its way into my eyes and brain, eroding away my cynicism and rendering my joyless nature inert and redundant. When Patapon is spinning happily away in the UMD drive, the PSP becomes the drab young girl in glasses who gets a makeover by the captain of the football team and everybody wants to sleep with by the end of the movie. It's like falling in love with your high school sweetheart, and then finding out she's also a millionaire.
It's got everything a crusty old relic (read: me) needs to enjoy a game. An intuitive and non-standard control system, flash art direction, army building and rhythm based gameplay. Also, it's practically doomed to an existence of never being truly appreciated in its time and becoming a cult classic. Those are the very best kind of games, because the few of us that play them can sit around and reflect on just how better we are than your average muppet.
Downsides? It's quite short and farming rare items can be pretty bothersome. Although, if you're one of the gazillions of WoW players, you'd think I was needlessly complaining.
--Martin at 07:32
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[ 0 ]
30 January 2008
Left Behind
Sony's just put out their firmware version 3.90 for the PSP and it's got Skype connectivity.
Actually, that's not precise enough -- they've put out v.3.90 for the PSP-2000 model, aka new hotness. For those of us with the original PSP, aka old and busted, it could be the end of the road for firmware updates.
I don't know if Sony's announced this yet, but I bet that when PSN access finally comes to the PSP, it'll be for the new model only. Ah well. Maybe I should look into firmware modding again...
Actually, that's not precise enough -- they've put out v.3.90 for the PSP-2000 model, aka new hotness. For those of us with the original PSP, aka old and busted, it could be the end of the road for firmware updates.
I don't know if Sony's announced this yet, but I bet that when PSN access finally comes to the PSP, it'll be for the new model only. Ah well. Maybe I should look into firmware modding again...
--jvm at 08:57
Comment
[ 3 ]
13 January 2008
Hacking the PS3 (or: Sony is clever, for once)
A thread came up on NeoGAF about when it might be possible to play copied PlayStation 3 games, via modchip or hacked firmware or what have you. This reply pointed to this talk on YouTube, which is terribly interesting. Watch the introduction, which takes about five minutes.
I remember when it was announced that GNU/Linux would be permitted on the PlayStation 3 out-of-the-box and how this was a move to prevent piracy. These folks, who at least give the impression of being in touch with the hardware hacking scene, believe that making the PlayStation 3 open to other operating systems has kept it safe from the pirates. In a nutshell, the "smart" hackers open a system up and the "dumb" pirates then exploit the opening. By inviting the former group to play within some boundaries (certain PS3 hardware is still off limits from within PS3 Linux distributions) the latter group doesn't have a chance.
Now, that doesn't mean that the PS3 will never be hacked. All systems are hacked, eventually, I believe. But 14 months after the launch Sony is still secure. Every other system they've launched has been hacked to pieces, and they've lost out on at least some software licensing fees as a result. (I won't try to figure out how much, given how people argue that pirates would never have bought the games in the first place, that Sony might benefit from having more people playing software on its platforms, etc. etc. Perhaps we can all agree that it's at least greater than thr-- four dollars.)
Of course, the irony is that Sony finally had the right idea on the platform whose software fewer people actually want to play, much less pirate.
I remember when it was announced that GNU/Linux would be permitted on the PlayStation 3 out-of-the-box and how this was a move to prevent piracy. These folks, who at least give the impression of being in touch with the hardware hacking scene, believe that making the PlayStation 3 open to other operating systems has kept it safe from the pirates. In a nutshell, the "smart" hackers open a system up and the "dumb" pirates then exploit the opening. By inviting the former group to play within some boundaries (certain PS3 hardware is still off limits from within PS3 Linux distributions) the latter group doesn't have a chance.
Now, that doesn't mean that the PS3 will never be hacked. All systems are hacked, eventually, I believe. But 14 months after the launch Sony is still secure. Every other system they've launched has been hacked to pieces, and they've lost out on at least some software licensing fees as a result. (I won't try to figure out how much, given how people argue that pirates would never have bought the games in the first place, that Sony might benefit from having more people playing software on its platforms, etc. etc. Perhaps we can all agree that it's at least greater than thr-- four dollars.)
Of course, the irony is that Sony finally had the right idea on the platform whose software fewer people actually want to play, much less pirate.
--jvm at 18:00
Comment
[ 4 ]
10 January 2008
Sony is Dancing on HD-DVD's Grave
If you ask me, all the furore surrounding the HD-DVD gloom and doom buzzing around the internet can only be a "good thing" for Sony. It's all just further proof that the symbiosis between games console and media accessory is irrevocably complete and the resulting abomination is the future. And I'm not even going to begin to theorise about how the PS3 might have helped Sony's Blu-Ray empire.
Sony are probably going to use the news as a metaphorical ladder to climb towards their metaphorical goal in the universe, which is to sell the PS3 as a "lifestyle" console. This serves the dual purpose of inevitably infuriating people who spend a considerable chunk of their time browsing internet forums (i.e: me) and also generating a huge swathe of attention (case in point: this post) where the ensuing knock-on effect will cause some people to put down money and actually buying one.
There's got to be some fence sitters, who both want to adopt a HD format and not buy the next Betamax. This news will surely encourage them towards a PS3. Right?
Of course, there's the bigger picture. We all want to be seen as cool and Sony are no different. By touting their universally-panned fence-sitting jack of all trades black box as some sort of arbitrary accessory to life then Sony aren't just making a games machine for teenagers they're making something you're not ashamed of having in your living room. I'm sure that's the sort of general consensus that Sony are getting at. I'll bet you my right arm that's the kind of stuff they talk/make Powerpoint graphs about in business meetingsDon't get me wrong, Sony are no worse than the competition. After all, my 360 has spent the last three weeks slapping me round the face with news about how I can download movies onto my games playing console, provided it's not too busy randomly exploding and I can buy a sound system big enough to drown out the console's turbine engine.
I bet even Nintendo would do it if their little white brick was powerful enough.
--Martin at 06:17
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[ 1 ]
20 December 2007
UT3 PS3 can't download mods directly: true
But this isn't news, despite complaints by Penny Arcade and now Kotaku:
But, hey, free fricking mods and levels, people. For all the kvetching we see over paid downloadable content, isn't free better, even if it takes a tiny bit of elbow grease? Jeepers.
And, no, that's not Free. It's free.
FileFront has the download and installation instructions, which, curiously, point out that removable storage of some sort is required for import. Whether it be compact flash, Memory Stick or simply a USB thumb drive, it seems one can't simply download to the PS3's built-in mass storage via the internet browser. What's up with that?Believe it or not, this was known almost a full month ago. I remembered reading it today after Mike sent me the Penny Arcade link. Read it:
What we do to finalize it, make sure it makes the most efficient use of memory, and runs the fastest, is we bake it down to the PS3 version, but that's just like saving a file in Word in a different format. If you save it on a PlayStation 3 format, you can stick it on the Internet, and someone can download it, put it on a memory card [USB drive, memory stick], and import it into their PlayStation 3 version of the game. That works really well.Awkward? Yes. Should it have been fixed before launch? Of course. Sony needs to fix it ASAP. I recall having trouble downloading themes directly from the PS3 browser too. And remember, this is the same outfit that hasn't gotten movie downloads online yet and can't seem to make an online PSP storefront that doesn't involve another machine (Windows PC or PS3).
But, hey, free fricking mods and levels, people. For all the kvetching we see over paid downloadable content, isn't free better, even if it takes a tiny bit of elbow grease? Jeepers.
And, no, that's not Free. It's free.
Labels: business, modding, online distribution, ps3, sony
--jvm at 23:45
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[ 6 ]
07 December 2007
PlayStation 3 Memory Cards
Everyone knows the PS1 and the PS2 used memory cards, but did you know the PS3 has memory cards too? Target thinks so:
Technically, they're right. It is a card with memory on it. You can use it with the PlayStation 3, although I'm not sure the cheaper 40GB model has a port for one. But in the sense that the term "memory card" has been used with previous PlayStation consoles, it's a bit of a misnomer.
Still, more power to them if they can get people to buy them, especially at this price. The one I'm looking at has twice the capacity for this same price. And I'm buying it for my PSP, not my PS3.
Technically, they're right. It is a card with memory on it. You can use it with the PlayStation 3, although I'm not sure the cheaper 40GB model has a port for one. But in the sense that the term "memory card" has been used with previous PlayStation consoles, it's a bit of a misnomer.Still, more power to them if they can get people to buy them, especially at this price. The one I'm looking at has twice the capacity for this same price. And I'm buying it for my PSP, not my PS3.
--jvm at 10:12
Comment
[ 2 ]
06 December 2007
Bowling issues in a brave new world of gaming
I like the new PSN game, High Velocity Bowling. Intuitive and fun, with the best SIXAXIS control scheme I've yet seen. Not bad for $10, especially if I can get the wife or maybe even my son to play along.
On the other hand, it is rather...sinister.
Three things jump right out at me:
On the other hand, it is rather...sinister.
Three things jump right out at me:
- As soon as you start the game it has a little note saying that you must have an HDMI cable and an HDTV with an HDCP compatible HDMI port to run the game in 1080p. Basically, you have to have an encrypted connection from the PS3 to the TV. Baffling. What am I going to do...steal high resolution video of myself tossing one in the gutter? Bizarre.
- The menu options right off the bat include various modes of play and...buy new characters. In-your-face microtransactions! None are available now, but if this works like the PSN game PAIN released last week, there will be little dudes you can add to the game for $0.99 very soon...
- Then at the bottom of the menu screen you can see that tapping the triangle button does something special. It displays the End User License Agreement, or EULA. Because, really, you never know when you might want to check the possibly-binding legal document you virtually signed when you booted the game the first time.
--jvm at 22:44
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[ 1 ]
03 December 2007
Horrible Sony marketing
Finishing Uncharted at the same time that I'm seeing Sony hire a new advertising agency reminds me to mention the horrible Sony presence in local GameStop stores. Sony's big first-party games for the holiday are Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, and (maybe) Heavenly Sword. These are practically invisible to shoppers.
One particular GameStop that I visit about once a week has a single copy of Uncharted on display. Recently I saw it on the shelf with only its spine showing, making sure it won't catch anyone's attention. The copy of Ratchet & Clank they have there is on the top shelf of the PS3 section, which puts it above everyone's eye level. And I'm not even sure they have a copy of Heavenly Sword.
Sony apparently is spending some huge wad of cash ($150 million?) on promoting the PS3. The TV ads someone showed me online today were pretty good. The Uncharted one certainly nails the tone of the game. But when people get to the store, if the PS3 display is as uninteresting as what I'm seeing, then all that money will be for naught.
Then they have a PS3 kiosk, but no really interesting demos. It should be locked on a Ratchet & Clank demo or something. Heck, get a Japanese account like I did and download the Japanese Gran Turismo 5 demo. It's a beautiful looking game and will get people interested.
One particular GameStop that I visit about once a week has a single copy of Uncharted on display. Recently I saw it on the shelf with only its spine showing, making sure it won't catch anyone's attention. The copy of Ratchet & Clank they have there is on the top shelf of the PS3 section, which puts it above everyone's eye level. And I'm not even sure they have a copy of Heavenly Sword.
Sony apparently is spending some huge wad of cash ($150 million?) on promoting the PS3. The TV ads someone showed me online today were pretty good. The Uncharted one certainly nails the tone of the game. But when people get to the store, if the PS3 display is as uninteresting as what I'm seeing, then all that money will be for naught.
Then they have a PS3 kiosk, but no really interesting demos. It should be locked on a Ratchet & Clank demo or something. Heck, get a Japanese account like I did and download the Japanese Gran Turismo 5 demo. It's a beautiful looking game and will get people interested.
Labels: business, game stores, ps3, sony
--jvm at 22:18
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[ 0 ]
Review: Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (PS3)
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune tells the story of Nathan Drake as he seeks the treasure his ancestor, Sir Francis Drake, left hidden on a remote tropical island. A reporter, Elena, and his best friend, Sully, tag along for the ride. Vicious competitors arrive simultaneously and the two groups race to unlock the island's secrets and locate Drake's treasure.
All of the gameplay falls into two categories: movement puzzles and combat. Most of the former is unoriginal, but the lush scenery almost makes up for it. Combat takes over as the game reaches its climax, which helps the pacing but also reveals the game's design limitation. Fortunately, the brutal pack intelligence of the enemies makes every encounter a challenge, even when replaying the same scene. While you can effectively use cover to maximize your firepower, you can also be overwhelmed from the flank if you don't subdue the enemy quickly enough.
Able-bodied and lithe, Nate parkours through the island's jungle and hidden ruins with visible effort. And while he is armed, he lacks the action game genre's armor and health packs. Except for his amazingly steady aim, he is a very human actor. Recent Tomb Raider games have humanized Lara and smoothed her movement, but future entries in that series will rate poorly if they don't match Uncharted's standards for characterization and action.
The game's biggest weakness comes at the end when the near-realism is nearly jettisoned for a fantastical action game (and movie) cliche. Fortunately, the twist doesn't play out as ham-handedly as it first appears, nearly saving itself by the end. Redemption comes in a pivotal scene which feels ripped directly from a classic action movie I'll decline to name, but then plays out satisfyingly differently.
Uncharted isn't quite the personal revelation that Tomb Raider was in 1997 or that Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time was in 2005, but it's still an awesome experience.
Technical note: While playing I experienced one hard lock that required me to reboot my PS3.
All of the gameplay falls into two categories: movement puzzles and combat. Most of the former is unoriginal, but the lush scenery almost makes up for it. Combat takes over as the game reaches its climax, which helps the pacing but also reveals the game's design limitation. Fortunately, the brutal pack intelligence of the enemies makes every encounter a challenge, even when replaying the same scene. While you can effectively use cover to maximize your firepower, you can also be overwhelmed from the flank if you don't subdue the enemy quickly enough.
Able-bodied and lithe, Nate parkours through the island's jungle and hidden ruins with visible effort. And while he is armed, he lacks the action game genre's armor and health packs. Except for his amazingly steady aim, he is a very human actor. Recent Tomb Raider games have humanized Lara and smoothed her movement, but future entries in that series will rate poorly if they don't match Uncharted's standards for characterization and action.
The game's biggest weakness comes at the end when the near-realism is nearly jettisoned for a fantastical action game (and movie) cliche. Fortunately, the twist doesn't play out as ham-handedly as it first appears, nearly saving itself by the end. Redemption comes in a pivotal scene which feels ripped directly from a classic action movie I'll decline to name, but then plays out satisfyingly differently.
Uncharted isn't quite the personal revelation that Tomb Raider was in 1997 or that Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time was in 2005, but it's still an awesome experience.
Technical note: While playing I experienced one hard lock that required me to reboot my PS3.
--jvm at 19:38
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[ 0 ]
14 November 2007
First fruits of Game 3.0?
This post that just popped up on Sony's PlayStation blog shows off a way to get users creating pieces of games. Basically, you scan in objects on a white background and they become objects in some sort of game/program. Simple, but effective.
My older son has been drawing a lot lately, and getting more sophisticated as he works at it. I would really love to be able to draw some characters with him and put them into a game we could play together. Heck, how about just letting him use a prefabricated character to play in levels that he creates and scans into the PS3?
Mostly Sony has let the whole Game 3.0 concept wither away, but if this is what they plan to do with it, count me in.
My older son has been drawing a lot lately, and getting more sophisticated as he works at it. I would really love to be able to draw some characters with him and put them into a game we could play together. Heck, how about just letting him use a prefabricated character to play in levels that he creates and scans into the PS3?
Mostly Sony has let the whole Game 3.0 concept wither away, but if this is what they plan to do with it, count me in.
--jvm at 16:28
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[ 2 ]
08 November 2007
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune demo
After upgrading my PS3 to the v2.00 firmware, I downloaded the new demo of Uncharted: Drake's Fortune and played through it on medium difficulty. Dude and gal go to find treasure on remote island, their plane is shot down, you are separated escaping. Now you're just a dude in the jungle.
After a few minutes of jungle environments you start running into bad guys with guns. From that point on, the game is mostly combat. At the end there is the tiniest bit of Tomb Raidering, and the game isn't subtle about it -- the hint icon constantly flashes even after you allow it to show you where you need to go.
Frankly, I found the combat difficult. I died a lot, and I think the grenade aiming interface is probably the worst I've ever used. That said, the use of cover was intuitive, which I hadn't expected after watching the videos.
The game looks brilliant, I think. The big waves on the water are a disappointment -- I saw a better effect in Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance years ago -- but everything looks sharp and colorful. The dude (forgot his name) moves smoothly and responds well.
Would I buy the game? Maybe. I do have a hankering to play the demo again, so I guess there's that.
After a few minutes of jungle environments you start running into bad guys with guns. From that point on, the game is mostly combat. At the end there is the tiniest bit of Tomb Raidering, and the game isn't subtle about it -- the hint icon constantly flashes even after you allow it to show you where you need to go.
Frankly, I found the combat difficult. I died a lot, and I think the grenade aiming interface is probably the worst I've ever used. That said, the use of cover was intuitive, which I hadn't expected after watching the videos.
The game looks brilliant, I think. The big waves on the water are a disappointment -- I saw a better effect in Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance years ago -- but everything looks sharp and colorful. The dude (forgot his name) moves smoothly and responds well.
Would I buy the game? Maybe. I do have a hankering to play the demo again, so I guess there's that.
--jvm at 23:23
Comment
[ 6 ]
02 November 2007
Hold on to your PS2, controllers, discs...
Last night Sony put a downloadable version of Twisted Metal 2 up on the PlayStation Store. I'd been meaning to check out one of these downloadable games, and TM2 is by far the best one they've made available. So I gave them my $6 and a few minutes later was enjoying frantic car combat in a fictional part of Los Angeles.
I liked having access to a PS1 game without having to extract it from the shelves of my library. Sony should put more games up on the store or -- my preference -- sell a downloadable software package that allows me to rip my existing PS1 games to my PS3 hard drive. Or, perhaps, charge me a small fee (say a dollar) for the service. Make me an offer, Sony, and I'll consider it. This $6-or-more-per-game racket isn't my thing, even if it is more convenient.
However, the real trouble I had with Twisted Metal 2 on the PS3 is that my preferred control scheme -- Run 'n Gun -- isn't really feasible with the SIXAXIS controller. The lower controller triggers now have a lot of analog throw, and so are not very useful as digital switches. Since PS1 games like Twisted Metal 2 don't need analog triggers, they suffer. I briefly wondered how I could hook up a PS1 or PS2 controller, and remembered that it involves some controller-to-USB dongle that I don't own (yet).
So, with rumors that a cheaper, smaller PS2 system will be out next year, this just reinforces how I think people should view playing Sony games from here on out: get two systems. Keep a PS2 around for PS2 and PS1 games and view the PS3 as purely for PS3 games and Blu-Ray movies.
I liked having access to a PS1 game without having to extract it from the shelves of my library. Sony should put more games up on the store or -- my preference -- sell a downloadable software package that allows me to rip my existing PS1 games to my PS3 hard drive. Or, perhaps, charge me a small fee (say a dollar) for the service. Make me an offer, Sony, and I'll consider it. This $6-or-more-per-game racket isn't my thing, even if it is more convenient.
However, the real trouble I had with Twisted Metal 2 on the PS3 is that my preferred control scheme -- Run 'n Gun -- isn't really feasible with the SIXAXIS controller. The lower controller triggers now have a lot of analog throw, and so are not very useful as digital switches. Since PS1 games like Twisted Metal 2 don't need analog triggers, they suffer. I briefly wondered how I could hook up a PS1 or PS2 controller, and remembered that it involves some controller-to-USB dongle that I don't own (yet).
So, with rumors that a cheaper, smaller PS2 system will be out next year, this just reinforces how I think people should view playing Sony games from here on out: get two systems. Keep a PS2 around for PS2 and PS1 games and view the PS3 as purely for PS3 games and Blu-Ray movies.
--jvm at 09:25
Comment
[ 4 ]
30 October 2007
Hope for Sony
This is apparently from a presentation by Satoru Iwata of Nintendo:
I want to highlight this one in particular:
That jump in PS3 sales in Europe is pretty amazing. The PS3 is outselling the Xbox 360 immediately following the launch of Halo 3, if I'm reading it right. I believe that's following the launch of the 40Gb PS3, and my recollection is that European countries were getting some reasonably decent bundles (like a football game or something).
If we see anything like that when Sony introduces the 40Gb PS3 here, it might be a happy holiday for Sony after all. If they're selling 2-3 times as many PS3s after the 40Gb model was introduced into Europe, that would be comparable to selling 40,000 to 60,000 PS3s per week here. That would put Sony at 160,000 - 240,000 systems per month. During the Holiday 2007, I think you can safely double that, or even triple it.
We won't know how the 40Gb $400 model is really doing February 2008, maybe even March 2008, because Holiday sales will skew the numbers higher than usual. Regardless, it sure is going to be fun to watch.
I want to highlight this one in particular:
That jump in PS3 sales in Europe is pretty amazing. The PS3 is outselling the Xbox 360 immediately following the launch of Halo 3, if I'm reading it right. I believe that's following the launch of the 40Gb PS3, and my recollection is that European countries were getting some reasonably decent bundles (like a football game or something).
If we see anything like that when Sony introduces the 40Gb PS3 here, it might be a happy holiday for Sony after all. If they're selling 2-3 times as many PS3s after the 40Gb model was introduced into Europe, that would be comparable to selling 40,000 to 60,000 PS3s per week here. That would put Sony at 160,000 - 240,000 systems per month. During the Holiday 2007, I think you can safely double that, or even triple it.
We won't know how the 40Gb $400 model is really doing February 2008, maybe even March 2008, because Holiday sales will skew the numbers higher than usual. Regardless, it sure is going to be fun to watch.
--jvm at 23:15
Comment
[ 2 ]
28 October 2007
Sony rushed the October price drop
Last week I wrote in my NPD article:
That's right -- it still shows the 80Gb PS3 at $600. If you check online or in the store, the price is actually $500.
Leaks from printed fliers were the source for rumors of the summer price drops by both Sony and Microsoft. Now we're seeing the reverse: Sony dropped its price unexpectedly and it's taking the fliers a couple of weeks to adjust.
Anecdotally, the October price drop for the 80Gb model appears to have been less well planned than its June introduction, as fliers the week after the announced drop to $500 still reflected the higher $600 price.I thought I might possibly be reading too much into the mistake, but now I think I had it right. In my local Circuit City Sunday advert:
That's right -- it still shows the 80Gb PS3 at $600. If you check online or in the store, the price is actually $500.
Leaks from printed fliers were the source for rumors of the summer price drops by both Sony and Microsoft. Now we're seeing the reverse: Sony dropped its price unexpectedly and it's taking the fliers a couple of weeks to adjust.
--jvm at 09:16
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[ 0 ]
27 October 2007
Sony fails at selling the PSP
When my God of War PSP demo finally came in, this little cardboard advertisement was packed inside the mailer. It's marketing like this that explains why the PSP isn't living up to its potential. Sony simply doesn't know how they want to sell the system:
The two main reasons this advertisement fails:
Look, Sony, the competition is outselling your PSP by at least a 2-to-1 ratio every month with its non-photo-music-video Nintendo DS. Their handheld's software actually gets in the top 10 on a regular basis, and even had the #1 spot for a while this year. Their marketing is focused on one thing: games. Wise up!
The two main reasons this advertisement fails:- Photos, Music, and Video come before Games. The PlayStation name is synonymous with games. Not photos. Not music. Not video. GAMES.
- Game shown (MLB '07 The Show) is available on other platforms, with better graphics and probably better network support. It does not sell people on the system's uniqueness.
Look, Sony, the competition is outselling your PSP by at least a 2-to-1 ratio every month with its non-photo-music-video Nintendo DS. Their handheld's software actually gets in the top 10 on a regular basis, and even had the #1 spot for a while this year. Their marketing is focused on one thing: games. Wise up!
--jvm at 15:46
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[ 2 ]
26 October 2007
Eye of Judgment ... hacking
Given that the digital camera game Eye of Judgment for the PS3 apparently isn't very discerning about the quality of the encoding on the cards, it would be neat to see someone generate all possible card combinations and see what kind of hidden things might turn up. For example, the game could contain code and graphics for cards that aren't -- or never will be -- released officially. I'm not saying that there are any, but it would be an interesting hacking exercise to root out easter eggs.
--jvm at 21:16
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[ 6 ]
Seven years ago today
I stood in line at a Best Buy at 5:00AM on 26 October 2000 and hoped I'd get an opportunity to buy a PlayStation 2. My friend Todd and I chatted with the people in line with us -- teenagers, college kids, parents picking up a special Christmas present. It was a lot of fun.
The store was due to open at 10:00AM and sometime between 8:00AM and 9:00AM the manager came out and gave out numbered tickets to the people in line. I got Ticket #55, if I recall correctly. Todd and I went to the McDonald's across the street with a few of our new acquaintances and had a nice warm breakfast. The chilly morning air had made us hungry and we stayed to talk until it was time to get back in line again.
Back at the store, the staff had set up stations to handle sales. Todd and I took our tickets to the station designated for our range of ticket numbers. Along with a PlayStation 2 I bought a copy of Ridge Racer V and a remote control kit that came with a copy of The Matrix, my first DVD.
While we all waited for our turn to check out, a guy started yelling and got escorted from the store by several Best Buy employees. I asked one of the employees later what had happened and was told that the guy had showed up with a Ticket #1. The problem was that they didn't give out a Ticket #1 -- they started the numbering with #2. He'd apparently made a facsimile of someone else's ticket and decided he might as well make himself #1 while he was at it.
I didn't get to play anything until that evening because I had to head to work. Ridge Racer V was neat, but ugly. Nowadays it's just ugly. Luckily, some friends gave me Driver soon after that and eventually I got my first good PS2 game, SSX. Still, that was a fun day, and not one I'll soon forget.
The store was due to open at 10:00AM and sometime between 8:00AM and 9:00AM the manager came out and gave out numbered tickets to the people in line. I got Ticket #55, if I recall correctly. Todd and I went to the McDonald's across the street with a few of our new acquaintances and had a nice warm breakfast. The chilly morning air had made us hungry and we stayed to talk until it was time to get back in line again.
Back at the store, the staff had set up stations to handle sales. Todd and I took our tickets to the station designated for our range of ticket numbers. Along with a PlayStation 2 I bought a copy of Ridge Racer V and a remote control kit that came with a copy of The Matrix, my first DVD.
While we all waited for our turn to check out, a guy started yelling and got escorted from the store by several Best Buy employees. I asked one of the employees later what had happened and was told that the guy had showed up with a Ticket #1. The problem was that they didn't give out a Ticket #1 -- they started the numbering with #2. He'd apparently made a facsimile of someone else's ticket and decided he might as well make himself #1 while he was at it.
I didn't get to play anything until that evening because I had to head to work. Ridge Racer V was neat, but ugly. Nowadays it's just ugly. Luckily, some friends gave me Driver soon after that and eventually I got my first good PS2 game, SSX. Still, that was a fun day, and not one I'll soon forget.
Labels: game stores, ps2, sony
--jvm at 09:44
Comment
[ 2 ]
25 October 2007
Konami hides its history too well
The new Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles should give today's PSP owners an easy means to experience some revitalized history. The game disc contains an exclusive remake of Dracula X: Rondo of Blood, an emulated original Rondo of Blood (PCE CD), and an emulated Symphony of the Night (PS1). I say it should give PSP owners this oportunity, but it doesn't, really. Konami has decided to lock the history away behind a wall of secrets.
Out of the box, only the first of those three games is available to play. How do you unlock the other two?
To play Symphony of the Night you have to get to take Richter into Stage 3', an alternate stage reached by finishing Stage 2 in a special way. Then you have to pick up an axe subweapon which is hidden in a secret room. Then you take the axe to a particular room and use it to cut down a platform held up by vines. Then you take a set of platforms several screens across and break a tombstone to reveal an icon which unlocks Symphony of the Night.
If you die on Stage 3' after you get the axe but before you unlock the secret, you lose the axe. Tough luck, buster. Yo gotta do it again.
How to unlock the original Rondo of Blood? Get to and break that same tombstone playing as Maria, not Richter. Wait, you don't have Maria as a selectable character yet? Oh my. You did pick up the special key subweapon on Stage 2 and then unlock the prison door down in the dungeon, right? Well, that's how you get Maria. Then head off to Stage 3' and get the Rondo of Blood icon in the tombstone. That's right -- an easter egg within an easter egg!
What a load of crap. Instead of making historic games accessible to players in their original forms, Konami has hidden them so well that I'd've never found them if it weren't for GameFAQs.
Out of the box, only the first of those three games is available to play. How do you unlock the other two?
To play Symphony of the Night you have to get to take Richter into Stage 3', an alternate stage reached by finishing Stage 2 in a special way. Then you have to pick up an axe subweapon which is hidden in a secret room. Then you take the axe to a particular room and use it to cut down a platform held up by vines. Then you take a set of platforms several screens across and break a tombstone to reveal an icon which unlocks Symphony of the Night.
If you die on Stage 3' after you get the axe but before you unlock the secret, you lose the axe. Tough luck, buster. Yo gotta do it again.
How to unlock the original Rondo of Blood? Get to and break that same tombstone playing as Maria, not Richter. Wait, you don't have Maria as a selectable character yet? Oh my. You did pick up the special key subweapon on Stage 2 and then unlock the prison door down in the dungeon, right? Well, that's how you get Maria. Then head off to Stage 3' and get the Rondo of Blood icon in the tombstone. That's right -- an easter egg within an easter egg!
What a load of crap. Instead of making historic games accessible to players in their original forms, Konami has hidden them so well that I'd've never found them if it weren't for GameFAQs.
Labels: castlevania, konami, psp, sony
--jvm at 21:38
Comment
[ 5 ]
Finally here! God of War PSP demo
The God of War: Chains of Olympus demo promised 9/2007 finally arrived on the 25th day of 10/2007. Way to go, Sony.
The verdict: Short. Bloody. Fun.
Now how long it will take them to finish the full thing?
The verdict: Short. Bloody. Fun.
Now how long it will take them to finish the full thing?
--jvm at 21:33
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[ 0 ]
24 October 2007
Preorder bonus? No! Preorder punishment!
I picked up Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles for the PSP over lunch. The shop only had two copies, and didn't have any preorders, so I got their little 8-bit Simon Belmont figure. Hideous, absolutely hideous.
Bad Konami!
Bad Konami!Labels: castlevania, game stores, psp, sony
--jvm at 13:48
Comment
[ 3 ]
18 October 2007
And now you've got 3 cents, Sony
Tonight Sony started offering David Jaffe's Calling All Cars games on PSN for only $4.99. I'd been considering buying it for a while, so I took the plunge. When it comes time to pay, I use my credit card to pay and...what's this? I can only put money on my account in round dollar amounts?
See, everything you can buy on PSN has a price that ends in 99 cents. Previously, when I'd purchased games, I'd been able to charge the exact cost. So last week I paid precisely $9.99 for Everyday Shooter. Perfect. Zero balance.
Now I've paid $5.00 into my PSN account and spent $4.99. That one penny is going to sit there and I won't be able to use it until I've bought 98 other items and the pennies add up. ARGH!
See, everything you can buy on PSN has a price that ends in 99 cents. Previously, when I'd purchased games, I'd been able to charge the exact cost. So last week I paid precisely $9.99 for Everyday Shooter. Perfect. Zero balance.
Now I've paid $5.00 into my PSN account and spent $4.99. That one penny is going to sit there and I won't be able to use it until I've bought 98 other items and the pennies add up. ARGH!
--jvm at 20:52
Comment
[ 6 ]
15 October 2007
Hey, Sony...it's mid-October already
Earlier this year, I registered for the free demo of God of War: Chains of Olympus for the PSP. Since then, Sony has been sending me periodic emails telling me I'm going to get a copy in September 2007. Here's a quick tour of those emails...
5 June I received this:
28 June I received this:
1 August I received this:
5 September I received this:
And 10 days ago I received this:
Tomorrow we'll be past the midpoint of October and I still won't have my copy of the demo.
After bombarding my mailbox for months with a September 2007 release date, and even telling me I should possibly already have my copy, this kind of incompetence is inexcusable.
5 June I received this:
28 June I received this:
1 August I received this:
5 September I received this:
And 10 days ago I received this:
Tomorrow we'll be past the midpoint of October and I still won't have my copy of the demo.
After bombarding my mailbox for months with a September 2007 release date, and even telling me I should possibly already have my copy, this kind of incompetence is inexcusable.
--jvm at 22:24
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08 October 2007
PS3 faring better than PS2, forget BC
I'm not talking about sales, mind you, just my experience. I spent about the first year of my PS2 ownership playing very few really impressive PS2 games. We had SSX and...right. By the time we got Metal Gear Solid 2 and Grand Theft Auto III in late 2001, many of us had spent a fairly barren year playing DVDs and PS1 games.
Here we are, coming up on 11 months into the PS3 life, and I've finally got a PS3. Despite what is literally a wall of unfinished PS2 games, I'm completely absorbed with PS3-specific games. Super Stardust HD is brilliant. The high score table is huge, but you can filter it to just show your friends. I've just squeaked by a friend's high score by a mere 20,000 points and he's vowed to get past me again. I presume this kind of feature is copied from Xbox Live, but it's just brilliant. Even if I don't get bested, I intend to increase the gap between my friend's score and my own, as soon as I find the time to play again.
On the other hand, flOw continues to engage me. I've discovered the third lifeform and will hopefully get another soon. I believe there are five. My elder son enjoys playing with the little creatures, even if he doesn't entirely understand the controls and lacks the fine motor skills to use the controller effectively sometimes.
I picked up Oblivion for a mere $30 and hope to grab both Warhawk and Resistance: Fall of Man before the end of the year.
And now Everyday Shooter is coming out this week.
So, I understand Josh's complaint about Sony completely dropping backward compatibility with PS2 software. I want it, and I'm glad I picked up a 60Gb model. On the other hand, I've found more than enough to keep me busy with just the PS3 parts of the system that I could have gotten a non-backward compatible model and really not have noticed very much.
That said, Sony really needs to get below $400 with their system. They're going to do ok this holiday, I suppose, but they better hope the 2008 software lineup doesn't get delayed any further and, most of all, delivers a compelling reason for Joe User to drop the money on a PS3.
Here we are, coming up on 11 months into the PS3 life, and I've finally got a PS3. Despite what is literally a wall of unfinished PS2 games, I'm completely absorbed with PS3-specific games. Super Stardust HD is brilliant. The high score table is huge, but you can filter it to just show your friends. I've just squeaked by a friend's high score by a mere 20,000 points and he's vowed to get past me again. I presume this kind of feature is copied from Xbox Live, but it's just brilliant. Even if I don't get bested, I intend to increase the gap between my friend's score and my own, as soon as I find the time to play again.
On the other hand, flOw continues to engage me. I've discovered the third lifeform and will hopefully get another soon. I believe there are five. My elder son enjoys playing with the little creatures, even if he doesn't entirely understand the controls and lacks the fine motor skills to use the controller effectively sometimes.
I picked up Oblivion for a mere $30 and hope to grab both Warhawk and Resistance: Fall of Man before the end of the year.
And now Everyday Shooter is coming out this week.
So, I understand Josh's complaint about Sony completely dropping backward compatibility with PS2 software. I want it, and I'm glad I picked up a 60Gb model. On the other hand, I've found more than enough to keep me busy with just the PS3 parts of the system that I could have gotten a non-backward compatible model and really not have noticed very much.
That said, Sony really needs to get below $400 with their system. They're going to do ok this holiday, I suppose, but they better hope the 2008 software lineup doesn't get delayed any further and, most of all, delivers a compelling reason for Joe User to drop the money on a PS3.
--jvm at 20:27
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[ 8 ]
Everyday Shooter
Last week I encouraged Sony to make good on its promise to deliver Everyday Shooter on PSN before the end of the year. Apparently someone at Sony is listening: it will be released this Thursday.
--jvm at 20:22
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[ 0 ]
Heavy Rain in the Valley
I spoke highly of the Heavy Rain trailer that Quantic Dreams was showing a while back. This is reportedly a video of the woman in that trailer. Here is the original Heavy Rain video. Side-by-side comparison:
Welcome to the uncanny valley.
Source: NeoGAF
Welcome to the uncanny valley.
Source: NeoGAF
--jvm at 19:30
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[ 2 ]
04 October 2007
The Simpsons Game: Awful
I just finished an unenjoyable demo of The Simpsons Game, one of the bigger holiday titles for EA this year. I don't recommend you spend your time on it.
Some aliasing and blocky curves kept the game from living up to my visual expectations. On the other hand, the cut scenes appear to be mostly 2D animation and are quite good.
The entire demo is a boss battle against an evil Lard Lad, the donut store mascot brought to life by Kang and Kodos with their Halloween ray. As Homer and Bart, you must hit doors on Lard Lad's back and then pull out some wires to damage him while he's stunned. Do this three times and you win.
This is easier said than done, not because the game puts fair challenges in your way but because the game doesn't give the kind of smooth control you need to pull it off. The key issue is getting up onto the doors, and I did not enjoy trying. For example, I'd put Bart in a convenient location, use Homer to lure Lard Lad nearby, and then switch back to Bart only to find that he'd left his location. By the time I got Bart back in position, Lard Lad had moved on.
Does it help that the game makes fun of boss battles in Kent Brockman's commentary? A little, but not nearly enough. There are some truly enjoyable lines of dialogue in the game and in the cut-scenes, but you'd be better off catching a rerun of the original series on television.
The demo can be found on the PlayStation Store (for PS3 owners) and will presumably be put on Xbox Live sometime in the near future.
Some aliasing and blocky curves kept the game from living up to my visual expectations. On the other hand, the cut scenes appear to be mostly 2D animation and are quite good.
The entire demo is a boss battle against an evil Lard Lad, the donut store mascot brought to life by Kang and Kodos with their Halloween ray. As Homer and Bart, you must hit doors on Lard Lad's back and then pull out some wires to damage him while he's stunned. Do this three times and you win.
This is easier said than done, not because the game puts fair challenges in your way but because the game doesn't give the kind of smooth control you need to pull it off. The key issue is getting up onto the doors, and I did not enjoy trying. For example, I'd put Bart in a convenient location, use Homer to lure Lard Lad nearby, and then switch back to Bart only to find that he'd left his location. By the time I got Bart back in position, Lard Lad had moved on.
Does it help that the game makes fun of boss battles in Kent Brockman's commentary? A little, but not nearly enough. There are some truly enjoyable lines of dialogue in the game and in the cut-scenes, but you'd be better off catching a rerun of the original series on television.
The demo can be found on the PlayStation Store (for PS3 owners) and will presumably be put on Xbox Live sometime in the near future.
--jvm at 23:31
Comment
[ 4 ]
30 September 2007
About Super Stardust HD
A few months back I characterized Super Stardust HD as a copy-cat game with a thick layer of eye-candy. While what I said is true -- the game does borrow heavily from earlier games and a lot of effort was spent on flashy graphics -- it does miss that the game really is quite fun. I've dropped a ton of time into it this weekend, and I'd go so far as to say that this game could help me put off my need to own a Robotron: 2084 stand-up machine for another couple of years.
My hats off to the developer, Housemarque. Fine job. These folks understand how to keep the player engaged in a frantic action game: don't stop me from quickly jumping right back into another game. I believe from game over to blasting asteroids in a new game is close to 10 seconds, which is far better than you can say for a lot of games. Instantaneous would have been nice, but that's nitpicking.
And Sony, keep dropping money on these kinds of exclusive games. I've watched the trailer for Everyday Shooter a couple of times already, and I hope you make good on your promise to bring it out before the end of the year. That plus LittleBigPlanet and I should be plenty happy.
My hats off to the developer, Housemarque. Fine job. These folks understand how to keep the player engaged in a frantic action game: don't stop me from quickly jumping right back into another game. I believe from game over to blasting asteroids in a new game is close to 10 seconds, which is far better than you can say for a lot of games. Instantaneous would have been nice, but that's nitpicking.
And Sony, keep dropping money on these kinds of exclusive games. I've watched the trailer for Everyday Shooter a couple of times already, and I hope you make good on your promise to bring it out before the end of the year. That plus LittleBigPlanet and I should be plenty happy.
Labels: fun, online distribution, ps3, psn, sony
--jvm at 21:30
Comment
[ 5 ]
25 September 2007
PS3
Writing this from the new 60Gb PS3 that arrived today. So far, a nice system.
I've downloaded and played a bit of fl0w, and it's a decent relaxing game. Blast Factor, the main Robotron-clone for PSN, is neat but I'm not upgrading from the demo just yet. I may wait until Christmas for any games on disc, but we'll see.
I've moved all my PS2 save data over, and the system worked just fine with Ace Combat 5. I've got a bunch of demos downloaded already and will get around to them eventually.
The USB keyboard driver and web browser could be a little more robust. Blame typos on that, please.
I'll probably watch Casino Royale on Blu-Ray with the wife this weekend. We'll see if she thinks there's any difference between DVD and an HD format.
When I have a vacation I'll probably look into backing up my data and installing GNU/Linux.
I've downloaded and played a bit of fl0w, and it's a decent relaxing game. Blast Factor, the main Robotron-clone for PSN, is neat but I'm not upgrading from the demo just yet. I may wait until Christmas for any games on disc, but we'll see.
I've moved all my PS2 save data over, and the system worked just fine with Ace Combat 5. I've got a bunch of demos downloaded already and will get around to them eventually.
The USB keyboard driver and web browser could be a little more robust. Blame typos on that, please.
I'll probably watch Casino Royale on Blu-Ray with the wife this weekend. We'll see if she thinks there's any difference between DVD and an HD format.
When I have a vacation I'll probably look into backing up my data and installing GNU/Linux.
Labels: linux, online distribution, ps2, ps3, sony
--jvm at 23:20
Comment
[ 3 ]
10 September 2007
Deceived
I enjoyed the time I spent with Tecmo's Deception games on the PS1. I've spent about an hour with Trapt, a sequel of sorts on the PS2. I've seen exactly three features which distinguish it from the original trilogy:- Nice 3D graphics
- Decent sounding Japanese voice work
- Attractive women dressed in trashy leather clothing
Seriously, I am fairly sure that even the first few missions are exactly the same enemies in the same rooms that I played in Deception III: Dark Delusion.
Sad, Tecmo. Really, really sad. Then again...I did buy it.
--jvm at 21:54
Comment
[ 2 ]
09 September 2007
PS3 Compatibility of My PS2 Library
To follow up on my post about how well my PS1 library will play on a PS3, here are the results with the 90 games in my PS2 library, which you can check out at MobyGames. The 60Gb wins.
The results for the software emulation of PS2 games...
Here are the graphs:
I intend to keep my old PS2 around, so most or all of these games should be available to play on that system even when they don't work on a PS3. Still, for out of the box compatibility the 60Gb really seems like the system to get. We'll see how well MonkeyKing's feelings about the software emulation pan out...
For the 60Gb:That works out to 89 out of 90, or 98.9%, being playable with minor inconvenient issues on a 60Gb PS3.
84 games work just fine (93%)
2 have video corruption (2D movies)
1 has graphics corruption (2D or 3D game graphics)
1 has some sort of audio problem (corrupted audio)
1 has a fatal hang
1 doesn't work with some sort of extra hardware
The results for the software emulation of PS2 games...
For the 80Gb:That works out to 76 out of 90, or 84%, which are documented playable with minor inconvenient issues.
50 games work just fine (57%)
7 have video corruption (2D movies)
12 have graphics corruption (2D or 3D graphics)
12 have a fatal hang
1 doesn't work with some sort of extra hardware
5 have speed problems (running slowly)
1 doesn't work online
1 is not in Sony's database
Here are the graphs:
I intend to keep my old PS2 around, so most or all of these games should be available to play on that system even when they don't work on a PS3. Still, for out of the box compatibility the 60Gb really seems like the system to get. We'll see how well MonkeyKing's feelings about the software emulation pan out...
--jvm at 00:31
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[ 8 ]
08 September 2007
PS3 Compatibility of My PS1 Library
Either model of the PS3 will probably play your PS1 games as well as the other. That's my conclusion after I checked the compatibility of the 128 PS1 games in my library, as cataloged on MobyGames. Here's the breakdown
If you'd prefer a graph, here you go:
Out of these 128 games, the 80Gb and 60Gb models have exactly the same compatibility issues. Although I've never seen it said somewhere, this leads me to believe that the PS1 compatibility is purely software, and has nothing to do with the PS2 hardware in the 60Gb PS3 model. Sony has a software PS1 emulator after all, the one used on the PSP! Moreover, when issues have been fixed with PS1 game compatibility, they're fixed by a firmware update.
So, there is no compelling reason to get either PS3 model over the other if your concern is PS1 compatibility.
Incidentally, I believeyou still can't play the downloadable PS1 games on the PlayStation Network with a PS3 at one time you couldn't play downlodable PS1 games on the PlayStation Network with a PS3. If indeed there is was a software PS1 emulator built right into the firmware, then I'm really puzzled about Sony's reluctance to make those PS1 games playable on both the PSP and the PS3. What's What was going on there?
I'm working on combing through my PS2 library. I'll have another post up when I get done.
105 work just fine (that's 82%)The number that probably really matters: 126 out of 128 will work with minor inconvenient issues. That's 98.4%.
4 have video corruption (2D movies)
8 have graphics corruption (2D or 3D game graphics)
4 have some sort of audio problem (usually just a wrong or truncated sound)
4 have a bug that can cause a hang (only a couple are truly fatal)
1 has a controller issue
2 have speed problems (usually running slowly)
If you'd prefer a graph, here you go:
Out of these 128 games, the 80Gb and 60Gb models have exactly the same compatibility issues. Although I've never seen it said somewhere, this leads me to believe that the PS1 compatibility is purely software, and has nothing to do with the PS2 hardware in the 60Gb PS3 model. Sony has a software PS1 emulator after all, the one used on the PSP! Moreover, when issues have been fixed with PS1 game compatibility, they're fixed by a firmware update.So, there is no compelling reason to get either PS3 model over the other if your concern is PS1 compatibility.
Incidentally, I believe
I'm working on combing through my PS2 library. I'll have another post up when I get done.
--jvm at 21:20
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[ 3 ]
07 September 2007
Karraker Gone
One of the better things to happen to Sony in the past year is having someone who appeared mostly sane heading up PR. Now that guy, David Karraker, is leaving to work in the "spirits industry". I suppose one might say he needed a stiff drink. In the interview he did with Next-Gen.biz today, he touts Sony's PlayStation blog as an important contribution.
He's right.
I don't keep refreshing my RSS reader waiting for a new post penned by Jack Tretton, mind you. The blog is just a glorified PR space. On the other hand, when they make an announcement on the blog before they send out a press release to the news sites, they're doing precisely what Karraker said they needed to do: take control of their own message. Sure, it's often PR garbage, but at least the public can get the PR garbage directly from that tap instead of filtered through IGN or Kotaku. Direct is better.
Of course, Sony's message, no matter how direct, hasn't always been clear. Where is Game 3.0, anyway? Why are they letting leaks set up expectations of how well PlayStation Home is progressing? They've got work to do. But, for the most part, they're right back to a healthy back-and-forth with the media and their competition.
I hope Sony gets someone as good or better than Karraker for the next PR guy. They're going to need it.
(Disclosure: I have written and continue to write for Next-Gen.biz, to whom I've linked.)
He's right.
I don't keep refreshing my RSS reader waiting for a new post penned by Jack Tretton, mind you. The blog is just a glorified PR space. On the other hand, when they make an announcement on the blog before they send out a press release to the news sites, they're doing precisely what Karraker said they needed to do: take control of their own message. Sure, it's often PR garbage, but at least the public can get the PR garbage directly from that tap instead of filtered through IGN or Kotaku. Direct is better.
Of course, Sony's message, no matter how direct, hasn't always been clear. Where is Game 3.0, anyway? Why are they letting leaks set up expectations of how well PlayStation Home is progressing? They've got work to do. But, for the most part, they're right back to a healthy back-and-forth with the media and their competition.
I hope Sony gets someone as good or better than Karraker for the next PR guy. They're going to need it.
(Disclosure: I have written and continue to write for Next-Gen.biz, to whom I've linked.)
--jvm at 16:40
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[ 0 ]
Sometimes the 80 is better than the 60
I'm considering getting a 60Gb PS3 before the only way to get one is used, so I decided to hit up the new compatibility search engine Sony's put up just recently. In comparing the two models, I turned up one case where the 80Gb model (which uses software emulation for PS2 and PS1 games) does a better job: Atari Anthology for PlayStation 2. For the hardware emulation in the 60Gb, we get this:
Description: When the "Atari founder Nolan Bushnell" FMV plays, the audio plays approximately 1 second ahead of the video.For the 80Gb (software emulation), the report is
Description: No major problems for this title.Not a killer there, but it does leave me wondering what else will crop up in my collection. On balance, I'm seeing more issues with the 80Gb than with the 60Gb, so I haven't changed my plans. Still, it would be interesting to see a graphical comparison of some sort to visually evaluate how compatible each machine really is.
--jvm at 10:37
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[ 7 ]
13 July 2007
Total moronic reversal
It's been an interesting few days watching the Sony situation. I have more than a few game news outlets in my RSS reader and I read NeoGAF every day. Previously I felt that the game press and forum denizens were very harsh on Sony, jumping on every piece of news that could cast Sony in a bad light. On the other hand, reports in the mainstream press were generally neutral or positive on Sony, letting Sony spin without penalty and taking Sony's line that the PlayStation 3 is both a movie player and a game machine (which allows Sony to mitigate poor game sales with better-than-HD-DVD movie sales).
The roles appear to have reversed.
After Sony's price strategy announcement (it's a drop to me, but not others apparently) and reasonable E3 press conference (again, my opinion), the game press has seemed mostly positive on Sony's prospects and the NeoGAF tide has definitely turned to favor Sony a good bit more. On the other hand, places like Forbes are giving Nintendo lots of kudos and slapping Sony around. Microsoft is just there.
The muddling of the 60Gb PS3 issue today -- saying it's going away and then not -- hasn't helped.
Anyway, you know my bias already, but that's my view.
Colin Campbell at Next-Gen.biz has an editorial about Sony's fortunes that you might read. He's not pro-Sony. Disclosure: I've written and continue to write occasionally for Next-Gen.biz.
The roles appear to have reversed.
After Sony's price strategy announcement (it's a drop to me, but not others apparently) and reasonable E3 press conference (again, my opinion), the game press has seemed mostly positive on Sony's prospects and the NeoGAF tide has definitely turned to favor Sony a good bit more. On the other hand, places like Forbes are giving Nintendo lots of kudos and slapping Sony around. Microsoft is just there.
The muddling of the 60Gb PS3 issue today -- saying it's going away and then not -- hasn't helped.
Anyway, you know my bias already, but that's my view.
Colin Campbell at Next-Gen.biz has an editorial about Sony's fortunes that you might read. He's not pro-Sony. Disclosure: I've written and continue to write occasionally for Next-Gen.biz.
--jvm at 22:36
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[ 1 ]
Sony's Infinite Price Drop Loop
Give Sony credit. They've hit on a way to announce a price drop every week from here until Christmas. Here's how it works:
- Sell two configurations, one at $500 and a better one at $600.
- Discontinue the $500 model, mark the $600 model down to $500.
- Create a newer model, price it at $600.
- Goto 2.
--jvm at 22:09
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[ 1 ]
12 July 2007
Game 3.0?
Maybe I missed it, but did anyone from Sony utter Game 3.0 during their press conference? I relied on press reports since I don't have hours to sit around listening to these things, and so far I've not seen it mentioned once. Google's news and blog searches are turning up no useful references to "game 3.0" in the past day or two.
Seems like a pretty big no-show, if Sony didn't say it at least once.
Seems like a pretty big no-show, if Sony didn't say it at least once.
--jvm at 00:09
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[ 2 ]
05 July 2007
When did the original PlayStation drop in price?
My friend Kyle was asking me when the original Sony PlayStation -- the PS1 or PSX as we called it back then -- dropped in price. I had looked when I did my recent piece on console price cuts, but hadn't looked in the right places. With a bit of Lexis-Nexis hunting, I came up with the following:
Sony PlayStation launches on 9 September 1995 at $300 (i.e. $299.99).
The first price drop is from $300 to $200 and it happens on Thursday 16 May 1996, according to an AP news item that day titled "With Rollout of New Systems, Upturn Begins in Video Game Industry" written by Evan Ramstad. Quote:
To my knowledge, the precise dates of these drops were not available out on the generally available internets, but there they are now.
Sony PlayStation launches on 9 September 1995 at $300 (i.e. $299.99).
The first price drop is from $300 to $200 and it happens on Thursday 16 May 1996, according to an AP news item that day titled "With Rollout of New Systems, Upturn Begins in Video Game Industry" written by Evan Ramstad. Quote:
The Nintendo machine, along with Sony's Playstation and Sega's Saturn, stand out from their predecessors in graphics, speed and game-playing features. Sony lowered the price of its system from $ 300 to $ 200 on Thursday, beating the $ 250 price level of Sega and Nintendo.The second price drop is from $200 to $150 (i.e. $149.99) on Monday 3 March 1997, according to an AP news item that same day titled "Sony slashes prices of PlayStation, Nintendo says it will not follow" written by Rachel Beck. Quote:
Sony Computer Entertainment America launched a price war in the video-game industry Monday when it slashed the cost of its PlayStation system and accompanying software by over 25 percent.If someone has the dates for later drops, let me know and I'll add them.
Sony's popular PlayStation will now have a suggested retail price of $ 149, down $ 50, and its games will sell for $ 49.99 and under from the previous price of about $ 70.
Rival video-game maker Nintendo said it would not immediately match the cuts, although analysts said the Japanese company may have to pare prices soon to compete.
To my knowledge, the precise dates of these drops were not available out on the generally available internets, but there they are now.
--jvm at 21:43
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[ 4 ]
03 July 2007
Give Tretton a Cookie
I've not been impressed with SCEA president Jack "$1200" Tretton, but if Sony's going to fight Microsoft's moneyhats with words, I thought this was decent:
We have a very different approach to exclusives than some of our competitors. We don't buy exclusivity. We don't fund development. We don't, for lack of a better term, bribe somebody to only do a game on our platform. We earn it...I'd give Jack a cookie for that one.
[shnip]
Microsoft is too dependent on the third-party community, and Nintendo is too depended [sic, dependent, I presume] on first-party. We like to feel that we got a pretty good mix.
--jvm at 15:28
Comment
[ 3 ]
14 May 2007
GameDaily: How Microsoft can win (if by win you mean lose)
I think you can rightly accuse me of being an occasional ivory tower pundit, but even I can see that this tripe from GameDaily is, well, tripe. Apparently Microsoft can take five steps to a definitive lead over Sony and Nintendo, and those steps can be summed up as "Lose money on everything."
The steps are:
They are not going to give up on making a profit -- I just don't think the company or shareholders are prepared to see another year or two of massive losses in the Xbox venture. They're not going to discount the one game that every owner -- or prospective owner -- will happily pay $60+ for this holiday season. They're not going to kill the Xbox Live goose which keeps laying those golden eggs. So far Microsoft hasn't shown the best judgment when it comes to buying studios (although Bungie turned out well), and the age of buying exclusive games has passed for now. More likely is that Microsoft should pay for exclusive bonuses for their version of a cross-platform game -- and that should be a lot cheaper than buying the whole game outright.
I understand the usual argument is that Microsoft can afford to lose money hand over fist, but does anyone really think that this reckless strategy is sound? Other than GameDaily, of course.
The steps are:
- Slash the price (i.e. lose money)
- Bundle Halo 3 for Holiday '07 (i.e. lose money)
- Make Xbox Live free (i.e. lose money)
- Acquire more studios, pay for exclusives (i.e. gamble)
- Enter the kiddie game market (i.e. go up against Nintendo on its own turf)
They are not going to give up on making a profit -- I just don't think the company or shareholders are prepared to see another year or two of massive losses in the Xbox venture. They're not going to discount the one game that every owner -- or prospective owner -- will happily pay $60+ for this holiday season. They're not going to kill the Xbox Live goose which keeps laying those golden eggs. So far Microsoft hasn't shown the best judgment when it comes to buying studios (although Bungie turned out well), and the age of buying exclusive games has passed for now. More likely is that Microsoft should pay for exclusive bonuses for their version of a cross-platform game -- and that should be a lot cheaper than buying the whole game outright.
I understand the usual argument is that Microsoft can afford to lose money hand over fist, but does anyone really think that this reckless strategy is sound? Other than GameDaily, of course.
Labels: business, microsoft, nintendo, sony, xbox360, xboxlive
--jvm at 21:27
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[ 9 ]
11 May 2007
Try not to be so obvious, Mr. Previewer
A new God of War: Chains of Olympus (PSP) preview says:
No.
End fanboy writing now.
As has become standard for the God of War series, this means players will find all kinds of ties between the story and previous God of War tales, from subtle references to out and out reveals.I can believe there were lots of connections between God of War and God of War II. It's only natural. Does does that establish a standard for storytelling in the series?
No.
End fanboy writing now.
--jvm at 21:57
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[ 5 ]
30 April 2007
PSP, the new remake dumping ground
Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Sure, there are a couple of nifty games on the PSP you won't find anywhere else. Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops is one but still consists of many ideas already refined on other platforms. Lumines started on the PSP, but has since been released on Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation 2.
Don't get me wrong: I love good remakes. It's a weakness, and one I've not worked hard to eliminate. In my mind remakes like Ridge Racer and Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee were well worth my money. Even Ruffin, who normally chides me for indulging my appetite for these things, gifted me a copy of Resident Evil: Deadly Silence which consumed me for a couple of weeks.
But the PSP isn't doing much else nowadays. As far as the eye can see, it's remakes, rehashes, and retro collections.
In the next year we'll see the following on PSP:
Where is the PSP equivalent of Elite Beat Agents? Where is its Nintendogs or Brain Age? If Nintendo can pour money into original, unique projects and keep them exclusive to the Nintendo DS, why can't Sony do the same thing?
Sure, there are a couple of nifty games on the PSP you won't find anywhere else. Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops is one but still consists of many ideas already refined on other platforms. Lumines started on the PSP, but has since been released on Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation 2.
Don't get me wrong: I love good remakes. It's a weakness, and one I've not worked hard to eliminate. In my mind remakes like Ridge Racer and Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee were well worth my money. Even Ruffin, who normally chides me for indulging my appetite for these things, gifted me a copy of Resident Evil: Deadly Silence which consumed me for a couple of weeks.
But the PSP isn't doing much else nowadays. As far as the eye can see, it's remakes, rehashes, and retro collections.
In the next year we'll see the following on PSP:
- Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles
- Parappa the Rapper
- Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars
- Final Fantasy I
- Final Fantasy II
- Taito Legends Power Up
- Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Where is the PSP equivalent of Elite Beat Agents? Where is its Nintendogs or Brain Age? If Nintendo can pour money into original, unique projects and keep them exclusive to the Nintendo DS, why can't Sony do the same thing?
--jvm at 10:35
Comment
[ 1 ]
08 April 2007
Nintendo DS vs. Sony PSP: Game pricing update
With the basic PSP dropping to $169.99, I felt it was time to see what had changed since I did some rudimentary number crunching on Nintendo DS and Sony PSP game prices five months ago. Not only has the system price dropped, but publishers have abandoned $50 PSP games. Average PSP game prices have shifted down $2.16, although it still has more high priced games than the Nintendo DS. During the same period, average DS game prices have come down about $1.68.
Here's the key result:
Some of the drop in the average PSP game price can be attributed to the disappearance of $49.99 games. In November 2006, the PSP had one such game. Removing just that one game from the November data would have dropped the average price of a PSP game by $0.16.
The only PSP game that currently lists for $49.99 is the PSP version of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, an unreleased game slated for a December 2007 launch. (As it is unreleased, it isn't figured in the numbers shown in this article.)
Other points of interest:
The disappearance of the $50 game makes things a bit harder for publishers on the PSP. Being able to charge $50 for a PSP game was one advantage that system had over the DS. It would be interesting to know if publishers have made a pricing decision based on market conditions or whether Sony has set a $40 ceiling on PSP game prices. I suspect that Nintendo generally won't let publishers charge $40 on the Nintendo DS, although an exception has clearly been made for Final Fantasy III DS.
Now that the $50 option is missing, the big name PSP titles launch at $40. Moreover, I suspect that some publishers are less likely to stay at $40 as long when there are no games in the higher $50 bracket. Notably, even Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories can command only a $30 price tag six months after it was released; by comparison, Liberty City Stories stayed at $50 for almost the entire first year after its release.
I look forward to examining sales data over the coming months to see if the hardware and software price adjustments affect PSP sales.
Feel free to download the data for yourself: OpenOffice ODS, plaintext CSV.
Here's the key result:
| Average Game Price | Mid-Nov 2006 | Mid-Apr 2007 |
| DS | $28.97 | $27.29 |
| PSP | $31.97 | $29.83 |
Some of the drop in the average PSP game price can be attributed to the disappearance of $49.99 games. In November 2006, the PSP had one such game. Removing just that one game from the November data would have dropped the average price of a PSP game by $0.16.
The only PSP game that currently lists for $49.99 is the PSP version of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, an unreleased game slated for a December 2007 launch. (As it is unreleased, it isn't figured in the numbers shown in this article.)
Other points of interest:
- EB Games lists 102 new games for the Nintendo DS and 94 new games for the PSP. This doesn't count out-of-stock and unreleased games, so the numbers could shift 2-3 games either way in a day's time.
- The median game price for each system is $29.99.
- About 33% of all PSP games retail for under $25. Around 41% of Nintendo DS games are below the $25 level.
- About 1/3 of all PSP games retail for $39.99. Only one Nintendo DS game sells for that price (Final Fantasy III DS), while about 23% of Nintendo DS games retail for over $30.
- 18 out of 22 Nintendo DS games priced at $34.99 are Nintendo-published games.
The disappearance of the $50 game makes things a bit harder for publishers on the PSP. Being able to charge $50 for a PSP game was one advantage that system had over the DS. It would be interesting to know if publishers have made a pricing decision based on market conditions or whether Sony has set a $40 ceiling on PSP game prices. I suspect that Nintendo generally won't let publishers charge $40 on the Nintendo DS, although an exception has clearly been made for Final Fantasy III DS.Now that the $50 option is missing, the big name PSP titles launch at $40. Moreover, I suspect that some publishers are less likely to stay at $40 as long when there are no games in the higher $50 bracket. Notably, even Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories can command only a $30 price tag six months after it was released; by comparison, Liberty City Stories stayed at $50 for almost the entire first year after its release.
I look forward to examining sales data over the coming months to see if the hardware and software price adjustments affect PSP sales.
Feel free to download the data for yourself: OpenOffice ODS, plaintext CSV.
--jvm at 01:36
Comment
[ 7 ]
04 April 2007
Sony the Copycat
In developing its online strategy, Sony ran a serious risk of being called a copycat since Microsoft had already covered the bases so well with Xbox Live. Given the blowback from the PlayStation 3's SIXAXIS controller -- which is motion sensing in a manner similar to the Wii remote -- they couldn't let it play out that way.
The GDC 2007 announcements of PlayStation Home and the Game 3.0 initiative successfully put Sony on the offensive. Phil Harrison and his crew pulled off what I'd considered impossible: planting the seeds of doubt in the Microsoft faithful. Maybe -- just maybe -- Sony's system would have features that they wanted, but couldn't have, in Xbox Live.
This doesn't mean that Sony isn't copying Xbox Live, of course. In fact, they should be mimicking every feature as fast as they can. As long as they keep the focus on what they (will) have that Microsoft doesn't, they can add the standard Xbox Live features with practical immunity from criticism.
Now, of course, Sony has to deliver. What some saw as pessimism in my recent column is actually my attempt to view the situation realistically. I encourage everyone, again, to go read what Sony announced for the PlayStation 2 in early 2000. They promised a boatload of features. Some of those features -- like downloadable movies -- still haven't materialized.
At least we have seen that downloadable movies can be done on Xbox Live. I'm sure Sony's busy copying that feature right now. If I'm right, then it will have a distinctive PlayStation Home twist when it arrives.
The GDC 2007 announcements of PlayStation Home and the Game 3.0 initiative successfully put Sony on the offensive. Phil Harrison and his crew pulled off what I'd considered impossible: planting the seeds of doubt in the Microsoft faithful. Maybe -- just maybe -- Sony's system would have features that they wanted, but couldn't have, in Xbox Live.
This doesn't mean that Sony isn't copying Xbox Live, of course. In fact, they should be mimicking every feature as fast as they can. As long as they keep the focus on what they (will) have that Microsoft doesn't, they can add the standard Xbox Live features with practical immunity from criticism.
Now, of course, Sony has to deliver. What some saw as pessimism in my recent column is actually my attempt to view the situation realistically. I encourage everyone, again, to go read what Sony announced for the PlayStation 2 in early 2000. They promised a boatload of features. Some of those features -- like downloadable movies -- still haven't materialized.
At least we have seen that downloadable movies can be done on Xbox Live. I'm sure Sony's busy copying that feature right now. If I'm right, then it will have a distinctive PlayStation Home twist when it arrives.
--jvm at 16:26
Comment
[ 3 ]
21 March 2007
Xbox Live compromised? (and a Sony comment)
Updated below.
The reports of hijacked Xbox Live/Windows Live accounts are somewhat ominous. At this point, they haven't been confirmed by Microsoft, so it might as well be a rumor.
Were there reports of this before the Windows Live beta launch recently? Obviously, it's a bit post hoc ergo propter hoc to say the availability of Windows Live is the source of a possible security breach, but the timing is suggestive. Apparently Microsoft has launched a probe. Hopefully Microsoft will issue a press release on the veracity of the reports.
If there was (or perhaps is) a problem, it hasn't been handled well. I'd rather Microsoft have been more forward if they knew of problems. Even if it was just cover for deficiencies in the Xbox 360's original design, extending the Xbox 360 warranties was a good PR move. In keeping with that, Microsoft perhaps should have stepped up to say there was a problem, that they'd fix it, and that they'd take care of anyone who was bitten by a security breach. If there are no problems, they should be out in front as soon as possible telling everyone as much.
This raises a possible explanation for why Sony is hesitant to give the PSP access to the PlayStation store. The PSP is a compromised platform. People can, and are, writing software for it, and Sony cannot control them. A user can run homebrew code on a lot of PSPs, including a program that will brick the system.
So the combination of hacked firmware and a networked application which handles a user's financial information raises the possibility of malware that phones home with that information.
Update: Kotaku has a response from Microsoft. The official word isn't informative: it just says they take security seriously and they're investigating all reports. A representative apparently conveyed to Crecente that they haven't found any security breaches. Why wasn't that in the official statement?
[Originally I wrote about Windows Live as if it were launched. It isn't, but is in public beta. Obviously, I made a mistake. More info here.]
The reports of hijacked Xbox Live/Windows Live accounts are somewhat ominous. At this point, they haven't been confirmed by Microsoft, so it might as well be a rumor.
Were there reports of this before the Windows Live beta launch recently? Obviously, it's a bit post hoc ergo propter hoc to say the availability of Windows Live is the source of a possible security breach, but the timing is suggestive. Apparently Microsoft has launched a probe. Hopefully Microsoft will issue a press release on the veracity of the reports.
If there was (or perhaps is) a problem, it hasn't been handled well. I'd rather Microsoft have been more forward if they knew of problems. Even if it was just cover for deficiencies in the Xbox 360's original design, extending the Xbox 360 warranties was a good PR move. In keeping with that, Microsoft perhaps should have stepped up to say there was a problem, that they'd fix it, and that they'd take care of anyone who was bitten by a security breach. If there are no problems, they should be out in front as soon as possible telling everyone as much.
This raises a possible explanation for why Sony is hesitant to give the PSP access to the PlayStation store. The PSP is a compromised platform. People can, and are, writing software for it, and Sony cannot control them. A user can run homebrew code on a lot of PSPs, including a program that will brick the system.
So the combination of hacked firmware and a networked application which handles a user's financial information raises the possibility of malware that phones home with that information.
Update: Kotaku has a response from Microsoft. The official word isn't informative: it just says they take security seriously and they're investigating all reports. A representative apparently conveyed to Crecente that they haven't found any security breaches. Why wasn't that in the official statement?
[Originally I wrote about Windows Live as if it were launched. It isn't, but is in public beta. Obviously, I made a mistake. More info here.]
--jvm at 11:28
Comment
[ 2 ]
20 March 2007
Euro PS3 compatibility list
Via The Register, I see that Sony has published a database of how various games work on the new version of the PlayStation 3. Here's an interesting snapshot showing the situation with Metal Gear Solid 3:
One square means noticeable issues when played on a PS3 and three squares means no issues. I wonder how many people will have the one-square versions of MGS3? And I wonder if newer games have been made with libraries from Sony that are designed to increase compatibility. For example, God of War 2, a game which may tax the system about as hard as anything we've ever seen, just came out and has three squares. That could be the emulator, or it could be Sony making sure newer games pass a certain spec before they're released.
Anyway, I hope to pore over the list more later, especially the PSOne listing, since I expect that by the time I buy a North American PS3 I'll be dealing with the same software emulation.
One square means noticeable issues when played on a PS3 and three squares means no issues. I wonder how many people will have the one-square versions of MGS3? And I wonder if newer games have been made with libraries from Sony that are designed to increase compatibility. For example, God of War 2, a game which may tax the system about as hard as anything we've ever seen, just came out and has three squares. That could be the emulator, or it could be Sony making sure newer games pass a certain spec before they're released.Anyway, I hope to pore over the list more later, especially the PSOne listing, since I expect that by the time I buy a North American PS3 I'll be dealing with the same software emulation.
--jvm at 10:25
Comment
[ 5 ]
15 March 2007
Sony needs dose of competence, better webmonkeys
Starting five months ago, I've periodically complained about Sony's failure to execute on distributing game demos for the PSP. About 45 days ago Sony promised improvement, and to their credit there is now a prominently featured link right on the front of their PSP site which claims to list all PSP demos. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Sony has managed to screw it up.
If you have a PSP with browser, or you use the correct user agent string in your non-PSP browser (namely "Mozilla/4.0 (PSP (PlayStation Portable); 2.00)"), you can visit the official PSP site. When you get there, you'll see this:
Prominently featured on the main page is a link to the All Demos page. It's the blue bar in the screenshot above. As of this moment there are four demos listed on the page advertised as listing all PSP demos, as shown below:
What's wrong with that? The total number of demos is six, not four! (In case you're wondering, I'm not hiding anything below the bottom of the screen in the shot above. It doesn't scroll any further, and there are no other games to show.)
You may recall that 45 days ago Sony was advertising its Killzone: Liberation demo, although not on this All Demos page. To this day that demo is not visible through Sony's official PSP browser site. Since the announcement of improved demo support Sony has also released a Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror demo, which did get listed on the demo page. (See above.) Before any of that there was a LocoRoco Holiday Demo, which also cannot be found through the official PSP browser site. That makes six demos total, only four of which are listed on the page which describes itself as "all demos".
Look, a modestly skilled monkey could do the work Sony needs done. What they really lack is competence. The demos are available elsewhere on Sony's own fricking pages, for Pete's sake. Here's the official page for the LocoRoco Holiday Demo. The download link on this page gets you the KillZone: Liberation demo.
Forget for now that there should be dozens of PSP demos available to promote the system. (I listed some I'd advocate in this earlier post.) Put aside the fact that, as an avid PSP user, I actually check every week to see if there are new demos by visiting the official PSP site through the PSP browser. Sony is getting trounced in the handheld market (the DS outsold the PSP 3-to-1 in the U.S. in the past month), yet can't manage to exploit one of its greatest strengths over the competition. What will it take for them to change? Or will they just give up and blame someone else for their self-inflicted failure?
If you have a PSP with browser, or you use the correct user agent string in your non-PSP browser (namely "Mozilla/4.0 (PSP (PlayStation Portable); 2.00)"), you can visit the official PSP site. When you get there, you'll see this:
Prominently featured on the main page is a link to the All Demos page. It's the blue bar in the screenshot above. As of this moment there are four demos listed on the page advertised as listing all PSP demos, as shown below:
What's wrong with that? The total number of demos is six, not four! (In case you're wondering, I'm not hiding anything below the bottom of the screen in the shot above. It doesn't scroll any further, and there are no other games to show.)You may recall that 45 days ago Sony was advertising its Killzone: Liberation demo, although not on this All Demos page. To this day that demo is not visible through Sony's official PSP browser site. Since the announcement of improved demo support Sony has also released a Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror demo, which did get listed on the demo page. (See above.) Before any of that there was a LocoRoco Holiday Demo, which also cannot be found through the official PSP browser site. That makes six demos total, only four of which are listed on the page which describes itself as "all demos".
Look, a modestly skilled monkey could do the work Sony needs done. What they really lack is competence. The demos are available elsewhere on Sony's own fricking pages, for Pete's sake. Here's the official page for the LocoRoco Holiday Demo. The download link on this page gets you the KillZone: Liberation demo.
Forget for now that there should be dozens of PSP demos available to promote the system. (I listed some I'd advocate in this earlier post.) Put aside the fact that, as an avid PSP user, I actually check every week to see if there are new demos by visiting the official PSP site through the PSP browser. Sony is getting trounced in the handheld market (the DS outsold the PSP 3-to-1 in the U.S. in the past month), yet can't manage to exploit one of its greatest strengths over the competition. What will it take for them to change? Or will they just give up and blame someone else for their self-inflicted failure?
--jvm at 22:59
Comment
[ 3 ]
09 March 2007
Phil Harrison confirms it: exclusivity not worth it (for now)
At GDC, we have Sony's Phil Harrison saying the following (emphasis added):
As for losing GTA IV, Harrison said that the PlayStation 3 was not suitable to be the exclusive home of Rockstar's upcoming title. "I don't think PS3 has the install base to support Rockstar's investment in GTA IV on its own," Harrison told the assembled bloggers. The first next-gen Grand Theft Auto game likely cost Rockstar considerable money and development time. That being such, it couldn't have sold enough copies on PS3 alone to make exclusivity worthwhile. In the future, as the number of PS3s in homes grows, it should become easier to nab major exclusives.I think that is awfully close to an important point I was trying to make recently: Sony expects the big-name titles to be cross-platform, primarily Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, so they can maximize the return on the huge development investment. The money saved on buying exclusives can be folded into Sony's internal studio budgets.
--jvm at 00:21
Comment
[ 3 ]
08 March 2007
Things Changing, Staying Same, Re: Kotaku
So as the blog world found out last week, Sony tried to play hardball with Kotaku to keep them from posting a rumor (which in the process became all but substantiated) that they were working on a new PS3 system feature, the "Playstation Home," to combine X-box Live's popular obsessive-compulsive Achievements feature with the Wii's Charlie Brown-creator tool. The mixture will, in the end, allow people to create a virtual, anthropomorphic personification of their PS3, which will live in a little virtual house, and collect little virtual game-related trinkets that represent your game accomplishments. Perhaps a future update will let the little guy live in the virtual basement rent-free beneath his virtual mother's home.
But let's set the Playstation Home thing aside, although there is certainly a lot of comedy there to be mined. Instead, let's talk about the attitude that prompted Sony's little do-our-bidding letter to Kotaku. For assuredly, it is far from being a exclusive to them. The assumptions that lie beneath that odd missive get to the heart of why the game journalism world in general, let us not mince words here, sucks.
The big sites, the ones who get the big news first (leaving the dozens of second-tier sites to lap up their used news and reprint in the great echo chamber of the internet) usually get that news by making a Faustian bargain. The contract reads "Our PR guys will spoon-feed you news, on the condition that you present it the way we want, and when we want it." An organization that obeys that kind of edict doesn't sound, to me, like something that can be called a press. But what can a site do but play the game, or be banished to the abyss of the second-tier?
Kotaku could buck the trend because, really, people don't go there, or to Joystiq, or Insert Credit, or Penny Arcade, or (yo homies) GameSetWatch, or here, for breaking news. They go/come (t)here for commentary. That's what blogs are best at.
Of course Kotaku isn't innocent either. One of the things that Sony requested of them in their ball-collection note is their debug PS3, something that Kotaku could not have acquired without agreeing, on an unspoken level at least, to the deal. And THIS week, they did pull information gained at GDC off the site because it had actually been "embargoed," and Kotaku had received a letter from Microsoft saying, in essence, "Who's your daddy?"
Most of the top-tier game news sites, the Gamespots and the Gamespies and the Gamewhosits, do this, but of all those that have used the Red Pen to ink their names on the contract, IGN would seem to be the ones who hide it the worst.
IGN, the guys who set up a subscription plan so that one can pay for untainted access to the PR spigots of major game companies. A recent blog post from IGN Wii editor Matt Casamassina said:
Oh sure, it can't be an easy place for a top-tier site to be in. And I understand that there are some things that the manufacturers may not want news sites to print, and that is okay. Where we differ is on how to protect that information from the hungry eyes of the public. You do it, not by co-opting the enthusiast gaming press into your circle of trust, but by not telling it to them before you want them to know.
I do not think them turning into what is essentially an advertising service for the major manufacturers is they way to go. It is not good that any press get too close to those that they report on, and who have every reason to manipulate it. Joystiq suffered enough of a creditability blow some time back when one of their writers drank too much PR Kool-Aid that they fired the guy responsible. It couldn't have happened if they took more of a detached approach to the subject. The big sites like Gamespot and IGN may never be able to ween themselves off the sour PR milk, but gaming blogs shouldn't be chasing scoops anyway.
Let the NDAs lapse, and get back to the sacred task of shamelessly posting of every unsubstantiated rumor that hits your mailbox. That's all I'm asking.
But let's set the Playstation Home thing aside, although there is certainly a lot of comedy there to be mined. Instead, let's talk about the attitude that prompted Sony's little do-our-bidding letter to Kotaku. For assuredly, it is far from being a exclusive to them. The assumptions that lie beneath that odd missive get to the heart of why the game journalism world in general, let us not mince words here, sucks.
The big sites, the ones who get the big news first (leaving the dozens of second-tier sites to lap up their used news and reprint in the great echo chamber of the internet) usually get that news by making a Faustian bargain. The contract reads "Our PR guys will spoon-feed you news, on the condition that you present it the way we want, and when we want it." An organization that obeys that kind of edict doesn't sound, to me, like something that can be called a press. But what can a site do but play the game, or be banished to the abyss of the second-tier?
Kotaku could buck the trend because, really, people don't go there, or to Joystiq, or Insert Credit, or Penny Arcade, or (yo homies) GameSetWatch, or here, for breaking news. They go/come (t)here for commentary. That's what blogs are best at.
Of course Kotaku isn't innocent either. One of the things that Sony requested of them in their ball-collection note is their debug PS3, something that Kotaku could not have acquired without agreeing, on an unspoken level at least, to the deal. And THIS week, they did pull information gained at GDC off the site because it had actually been "embargoed," and Kotaku had received a letter from Microsoft saying, in essence, "Who's your daddy?"
Most of the top-tier game news sites, the Gamespots and the Gamespies and the Gamewhosits, do this, but of all those that have used the Red Pen to ink their names on the contract, IGN would seem to be the ones who hide it the worst.
IGN, the guys who set up a subscription plan so that one can pay for untainted access to the PR spigots of major game companies. A recent blog post from IGN Wii editor Matt Casamassina said:
There are some potentially crazy-awesome games coming down the pipeline for Wii, by the way. You guys have no idea. I know that's vague -- has to be, but I've seen some stuff that you simply have no idea even exists and frankly, if you did, you'd flip out. Comments like these have a way of backfiring on me and i'm sure some people will be annoyed that I've even brought up, since I'm unable to give even a hint about the projects in question.Yes! Is it not a shame that you, member of the gaming press whose job it is to inform us unwashed readers of so much juicy information. But alas! You have bigger, important interests at heart than us poor non-insiders, us unimportant masses, us pitiful ignorants. But I am sure you will tell us when you journalistic hands are unbound, and you come down from Mt. Olympus to bestow upon us a morsel of Truth.
Oh sure, it can't be an easy place for a top-tier site to be in. And I understand that there are some things that the manufacturers may not want news sites to print, and that is okay. Where we differ is on how to protect that information from the hungry eyes of the public. You do it, not by co-opting the enthusiast gaming press into your circle of trust, but by not telling it to them before you want them to know.
I do not think them turning into what is essentially an advertising service for the major manufacturers is they way to go. It is not good that any press get too close to those that they report on, and who have every reason to manipulate it. Joystiq suffered enough of a creditability blow some time back when one of their writers drank too much PR Kool-Aid that they fired the guy responsible. It couldn't have happened if they took more of a detached approach to the subject. The big sites like Gamespot and IGN may never be able to ween themselves off the sour PR milk, but gaming blogs shouldn't be chasing scoops anyway.
Let the NDAs lapse, and get back to the sacred task of shamelessly posting of every unsubstantiated rumor that hits your mailbox. That's all I'm asking.
--JohnH at 01:39
Comment
[ 10 ]
07 March 2007
Three things PlayStation Home is *not*
Sony finally got around to announcing a grand online plan and it's called PlayStation Home. Go watch the trailer, if you haven't already. I took a quick peek around at reactions and people are definitely irrationally excited, so someone's got to be the adult around here. Sober up, people.
Addendum: MattG is skeptical of PlayStation Home for other reasons. And Ronald Diemicke at MobyGames is thinking along the same lines as my #3, calling it a "glorified marketing space, more like a big mall designed to suck up money".
- PlayStation Home is not final software - In fact, it is alpha software, so stop acting like this is what we will actually see launched in Fall 2007. Take a minute, remember your history, and go read this article from May 2000. Then ponder all the online goodness we've enjoyed on our PlayStation 2s for the past seven years:
More than just a games console, the PlayStation 2 will offer support for DVD Video, be able to function as a set-top box, Internet access device and also feature a PC-Card interface through which it can be connected to broadband networks.
Breathtaking, isn't it? Practically none of that happened. Not even close. There wasn't even a network adaptor until 2002, for crying out loud.
It is through these broadband networks that SCEI plans to deliver games, audio and video content from 2001.
History gives us no reason to believe Sony can bring its PlayStation Home dream to fruition, so just stop acting like the presentation today meant anything. It meant nothing.
Do yourself, and all of us, a favor: take a "show me" stance toward anything Sony announces. - PlayStation Home will not be simple - What I always liked about GameSpy was that I could fire it up, ping some Quake servers, and immediately jump into a game. The virtual reality interface on PlayStation Home looks like an awful way to get people together for matches or games. If I want to play a PS3 game online, the last thing I want to do is have to watch people fiddle with human-shaped cursors just to get to the "Start Game" location.
My only experience with trying to arrange virtual people was with another Sony property, Everquest Online Adventures, and I hated trying to get a party together in person to make plans for a quest. Now, I'm sure World of Warcraft people have this all figured out, but Sony's just bull-headed enough to come up with their own ridiculous solution to a previously solved problem. (See: ATRAC.) - PlayStation Home is not free - You heard me. It's only free in the sense that iTunes is free. It's actually a clever trap to bleed you dry of money.
Understand this: Sony is going to charge money for virtual property at every turn. Want a rug for your virtual house? A chair? A different color of wall paint? Then you better open your wallet, buster.
Microsoft pioneered downloadable content fees, and Sony will take it to completely new level. It will be glorious.
Addendum: MattG is skeptical of PlayStation Home for other reasons. And Ronald Diemicke at MobyGames is thinking along the same lines as my #3, calling it a "glorified marketing space, more like a big mall designed to suck up money".
--jvm at 19:53
Comment
[ 11 ]
04 March 2007
Online game servers going dark all over
Almost exactly four years ago I warned this was coming. I said that one key difference between Twisted Metal Black: Online and SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs was the existence of a LAN mode in the former and not in the latter. Now more and more online games are shutting down and some game functionality will be lost forever.
The latest casualties are:
Which makes me wonder how much thought goes into these shutdowns. In particular, companies talk of cultivating online communities of fans and the economic advantages of having such groups identifying with a game and the company behind the game. Taking these ideas at face value, it must take some serious financial advantage to disrupt those communities.
Which means the communities are tiny. Of course, I knew that. Back when I tried to play Twisted Metal Black: Online in 2003, few people playing online. And when I played Outrun 2006: Coast 2 Coast recently, there wasn't even a single other player to be found online. I suspect the same is essentially true about MGS3 and Resident Evil Outbreak, in that the true number of people who will care is small enough to ignore.
Which leads me to wish that more games were like Daytona USA: CCE for the Sega Saturn and Netlink: player-to-player online modes. I believe that Ruffin and I could still play that game right now (as we once did, long distance across state lines) as it only depends on a Saturn, a game disc, a Netlink, and a phone line. I suppose with cell phones overtaking land lines, it might soon be difficult to do even that much. Ah well, I'm committed to being perpetually in the minority.
The latest casualties are:
- Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence (PS2)
- Resident Evil Outbreak: Files #1 & #2 (PS2) [as seen on NeoGAF; note: DO NOT visit later pages in that thread, they've been hacked to take over your browser with some nasty stuff; you've been warned]
- Phantasy Star Online Episodes I & II (Xbox)
Which makes me wonder how much thought goes into these shutdowns. In particular, companies talk of cultivating online communities of fans and the economic advantages of having such groups identifying with a game and the company behind the game. Taking these ideas at face value, it must take some serious financial advantage to disrupt those communities.
Which means the communities are tiny. Of course, I knew that. Back when I tried to play Twisted Metal Black: Online in 2003, few people playing online. And when I played Outrun 2006: Coast 2 Coast recently, there wasn't even a single other player to be found online. I suspect the same is essentially true about MGS3 and Resident Evil Outbreak, in that the true number of people who will care is small enough to ignore.
Which leads me to wish that more games were like Daytona USA: CCE for the Sega Saturn and Netlink: player-to-player online modes. I believe that Ruffin and I could still play that game right now (as we once did, long distance across state lines) as it only depends on a Saturn, a game disc, a Netlink, and a phone line. I suppose with cell phones overtaking land lines, it might soon be difficult to do even that much. Ah well, I'm committed to being perpetually in the minority.
--jvm at 21:55
Comment
[ 6 ]
03 March 2007
What would make me buy a PS3?
Or, in some cases, just what I'd like to see in a console.
The way Sony acts some days, I'm not even sure they could manage the cookie.
- Ripping of my PSOne and PS2 games to the hard drive for use with the new emulation software. As a concession to avoid piracy, I'd be happy to verify my ripped copy with the original disc once out of every 25 times I attempt play from the hard drive. Or something like that.
- PlayStation Network stocked with free demos of every PS3 game.
- PSN Store stocked with dozens of PSOne games, including rare or Japanese-only titles, playable on PS3 as well as PSP.
- Start putting smaller PS2 games up for sale on the PSN Store.
- And while we're at it, how about Sony sells PSP games and an emulator on the PSN?
- Improved image quality on PS2 and PSOne games with the new emulation software.
- Sleep mode, just like I have on the PSP.
- High quality upscaling of DVDs. Reportedly coming soon, but I want to hear about quality from users first.
- Movies I actually want available on demand. Some sort of movie service reported to be announced this coming week, but no word on the selection, or which studios outside of Sony's will be included.
- A screenshot feature in future games.
- User account webpages with online storage. Storage can be used for screenshots, save games, and some sort of blogging.
- A chocolate chip cookie.
The way Sony acts some days, I'm not even sure they could manage the cookie.
--jvm at 22:49
Comment
[ 7 ]
02 March 2007
Xbox is the new PlayStation
By now most of the videogame industry has realized that the Xbox 360 is the new PlayStation 2. What many have yet to comprehend, however, is that Sony is perfectly happy to let that happen.
Seeds of this Generation
Go back to the launch of the Xbox and GameCube back in 2001. The first console generation of the 21st century had completely launched and Sony was building its commanding lead. The seeds of our current generation -- Xbox 360, Wii, and PlayStation 3 -- were sown then and are just now beginning to bear fruit.
Microsoft covets that role for its Xbox 360, and it will have it. Sony is willingly giving up. Like the PlayStation 2 before, it will offer thousands of games, from dreck to art, from cross-platform million-sellers to unique third-party exclusives. Only, there won't be as many of that last group -- the unique third-party exclusives -- much to Microsoft's dismay.
Sony's Gambit: First-Party Power
This is Sony's vision for the PlayStation 3: a powerful multi-use system headlined by huge first-party exclusives, bolstered by big-name cross-platform titles. They want their first-party games to be to their console what the Spider-man movies have been to their movie business. They want to diminish the role of the cheaper, lesser games that plagued its PSOne and PlayStation 2. They want you to think premium cable, only for videogames.
From that perspective Sony's apparent indifference to exclusivity for games like Grand Theft Auto 4, Assassin's Creed, Virtua Fighter 5 makes a lot more sense. Sony expects publishers and developers to feel obligated to make those big games for PlayStation 3, along with other platforms. Indeed, to maximize profits, publishers will need to bring those games to several platforms, and the Wii isn't even in the running. Eventually developers will tame the Cell, out of necessity, and Sony will have its sufficient software base.
As the importance of third-party exclusives diminishes, and cross-platform games become the norm, the first-party offerings will be the key to attracting consumers. And that is Sony's ace.
Phil Harrison recently explained exactly this to The Guardian: "[Developing new titles in-house is] absolutely the strategy. When we launched the PlayStation, there were no accompanying games developed by Sony. When we launched the PlayStation 2, there was one: Fantavision, which, beautiful game though it was, was no game on which to launch a platform. But the PS3 will launch with more exclusive, high-quality games from our studios than we've ever done before."
As reported by Screen Digest in late February, Sony's internal studios have more than 2.5 times the manpower of Microsoft's studios. In fact, Sony has more studio staff than Nintendo and Microsoft combined. If cross-platform exclusives are taken for granted, then Sony is in a far stronger position than Microsoft to define its platform with unique software. Killzone 2, Warhawk, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune -- these are but the beginning for Sony and their stable of developers. Microsoft had its year to set the standard for next-generation games with the likes of Gears of War, but from this point forward Sony intends to define the standard for which everyone else strives. It is the quality Sony hopes to achieve with software, the exceptional experience that they intend to offer, that justifies the high price of entry that the PlayStation 3 commands.
Incidentally, Sony isn't shutting out smaller games on the PlayStation 3 altogether. Lesser games, by developers big and small, will find room not on store shelves but on Sony's PlayStation Network as low-cost downloads. Think of it as one more step toward Phil Harrison's dream of disc-less PlayStation 4. And as can happen on Xbox Live Arcade, developers will perform an end run around the big publishers, something they all want to do.
The Stakes
In about a year's time we should have an idea of whether Sony's plans are going to pay off. Sony's initial crop of big-budget first-party games should have had a chance with reviewers and consumers. Europe's reception of the PlayStation 3 will have been assessed, and the viability of a $600 console will have been determined. This has to be the year of the PlayStation 3, or Sony will have a grim five years burning money to support a product few people wanted.
The greatest risk right now is that frustrated third parties could balk at the abstruse Cell architecture and the Blu-Ray data transfer issues and start handing exclusives to Microsoft. The added Xbox 360 momentum could create the positive feedback loop that sold more than 100 million PlayStation 2 consoles. If that happens, Sony would have handed Microsoft the keys to the kingdom on a silver platter.
Seeds of this Generation
Go back to the launch of the Xbox and GameCube back in 2001. The first console generation of the 21st century had completely launched and Sony was building its commanding lead. The seeds of our current generation -- Xbox 360, Wii, and PlayStation 3 -- were sown then and are just now beginning to bear fruit.
- The original Xbox attracted developers with its easy-to-use tools and integrated online services. Despite the change in machine architecture and continuing subscription costs for consumers, the Xbox 360 is lauded for improving on the gold standard its predecessor set for developers and online consumers.
- The GameCube played host to Nintendo's first party games, nontraditional games like Animal Crossing, and experimental controls like the Donkey Konga bongos and the Odama microphone. The Wii got a Zelda game at launch, packed in the crowd favorite Wii Sports, and would be nothing without its remarkable Wii controller.
- The PlayStation 2 puzzled developers with its non-standard architecture and primitive toolchain, leaving them to make of it what they could. The PlayStation 3 and its Cell architecture are even more unusual than the PS2, and developers are striving to understand its strengths and limitations.
Microsoft covets that role for its Xbox 360, and it will have it. Sony is willingly giving up. Like the PlayStation 2 before, it will offer thousands of games, from dreck to art, from cross-platform million-sellers to unique third-party exclusives. Only, there won't be as many of that last group -- the unique third-party exclusives -- much to Microsoft's dismay.
Sony's Gambit: First-Party Power
This is Sony's vision for the PlayStation 3: a powerful multi-use system headlined by huge first-party exclusives, bolstered by big-name cross-platform titles. They want their first-party games to be to their console what the Spider-man movies have been to their movie business. They want to diminish the role of the cheaper, lesser games that plagued its PSOne and PlayStation 2. They want you to think premium cable, only for videogames.
From that perspective Sony's apparent indifference to exclusivity for games like Grand Theft Auto 4, Assassin's Creed, Virtua Fighter 5 makes a lot more sense. Sony expects publishers and developers to feel obligated to make those big games for PlayStation 3, along with other platforms. Indeed, to maximize profits, publishers will need to bring those games to several platforms, and the Wii isn't even in the running. Eventually developers will tame the Cell, out of necessity, and Sony will have its sufficient software base.
As the importance of third-party exclusives diminishes, and cross-platform games become the norm, the first-party offerings will be the key to attracting consumers. And that is Sony's ace.
Phil Harrison recently explained exactly this to The Guardian: "[Developing new titles in-house is] absolutely the strategy. When we launched the PlayStation, there were no accompanying games developed by Sony. When we launched the PlayStation 2, there was one: Fantavision, which, beautiful game though it was, was no game on which to launch a platform. But the PS3 will launch with more exclusive, high-quality games from our studios than we've ever done before."
As reported by Screen Digest in late February, Sony's internal studios have more than 2.5 times the manpower of Microsoft's studios. In fact, Sony has more studio staff than Nintendo and Microsoft combined. If cross-platform exclusives are taken for granted, then Sony is in a far stronger position than Microsoft to define its platform with unique software. Killzone 2, Warhawk, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune -- these are but the beginning for Sony and their stable of developers. Microsoft had its year to set the standard for next-generation games with the likes of Gears of War, but from this point forward Sony intends to define the standard for which everyone else strives. It is the quality Sony hopes to achieve with software, the exceptional experience that they intend to offer, that justifies the high price of entry that the PlayStation 3 commands.
Incidentally, Sony isn't shutting out smaller games on the PlayStation 3 altogether. Lesser games, by developers big and small, will find room not on store shelves but on Sony's PlayStation Network as low-cost downloads. Think of it as one more step toward Phil Harrison's dream of disc-less PlayStation 4. And as can happen on Xbox Live Arcade, developers will perform an end run around the big publishers, something they all want to do.
The Stakes
In about a year's time we should have an idea of whether Sony's plans are going to pay off. Sony's initial crop of big-budget first-party games should have had a chance with reviewers and consumers. Europe's reception of the PlayStation 3 will have been assessed, and the viability of a $600 console will have been determined. This has to be the year of the PlayStation 3, or Sony will have a grim five years burning money to support a product few people wanted.
The greatest risk right now is that frustrated third parties could balk at the abstruse Cell architecture and the Blu-Ray data transfer issues and start handing exclusives to Microsoft. The added Xbox 360 momentum could create the positive feedback loop that sold more than 100 million PlayStation 2 consoles. If that happens, Sony would have handed Microsoft the keys to the kingdom on a silver platter.
--jvm at 05:39
Comment
[ 9 ]
26 February 2007
Response to Next-Gen editorial on PS3 BC
Colin Campbell gives a spirited defense of Sony's decision to drop the hardware in the PlayStation 3 that provided near complete backward compatibility with PSOne and PlayStation 2 software. I'm a fan of such compatibility, and I'm of course distressed that we may see compatibility diminish from what we've come to expect from the original. Campbell's editorial has a link soliciting responses and here's how I replied.
Two key points are glossed over in your piece.In defense of your position, I would add:
- True, Nintendo is not providing backward compatibility to all its previous consoles. However, this misses the important point that Nintendo is providing GameCube compatibility in the Wii. While it does not necessarily imply that Nintendo sees great value in backward compatibility, if it felt that it weren't worth the effort it would not have spent the time and money to make it polished enough for consumers to use in the finished hardware.
- Sony knows that its most important PlayStation 3 software will not arrive until later in 2007. In fact, the most important software for Sony's console business in the next six months will probably be on the PlayStation 2: Guitar Hero II and God of War 2, among others.
Consequently, it would be foolish to limit PlayStation 2 backward compatibility on the PlayStation 3. Doing so would provide one more hurdle to the consumer considering a PlayStation 3.
While I can grant that PSOne compatibility is not critical, I cannot discount the importance of PlayStation 2 software as the PlayStation 3 gets up to speed.
- A frugal shopper can get full PlayStation 2 and PSOne compatibility for under $100. It's called a PlayStation 2, and they're on store shelves now. It's a minor price to pay for hardware that plays some of the best games from the past 12 years.
- Moreover a point I thought you might have made in your defense of Sony is that no one knows the extent of the compatibility offered yet. Perhaps they're playing it safe and it'll be higher than the pessimists expect. And, at the very least, there is the potential for it to significantly improve over time.
--jvm at 11:43
Comment
[ 8 ]
23 February 2007
The first PS3 hardware revision shipping next month?
Reports this morning like this one at Next-Gen.biz and this one at Reuters indicate that something has happened to the PlayStation 3 hardware. The result is reduced PlayStation 2 compatibility. If the Reuters report is to be believed then, it looks like an internal change (my emphasis):
So the first hardware revision of the PlayStation 3 may be to remove the PS2 chips that were inside to provide compatibility? I have no idea how much that costs, but perhaps it will save some dough. Then later this year there will be the move to a 65nm chip fabrication process for the Cell which will, supposedly, cut costs for Sony even more.
If the hardware has changed, I wonder when we'll see those systems on American shelves. As I've said before, initial console hardware often has its own bugs, but also has features that get cut from later revisions. Not that is was a particularly bold prediction, but I did say at the time:
Even these cost-cutting measures may not mean a cut in price for the PlayStation 3. As indicated in this Next-Gen.biz report, Sony may look at adding cheap bits to the package to make the current prices more acceptable. That didn't work for the PSP and it won't work for the PlayStation 3 either.
I think Sony is missing the point. The $500 and $600 prices are simply too high for most people, regardless of what kind of bonus junk you pack in the box. There's a mental barrier around $300 beyond which most people will simply stop paying attention. Sony needs a basic system at $400 to be on the periphery of consumer consciousness.
Software will take over some of the functionality that was originally taken care of by dedicated chips, which means far fewer PlayStation 2 (PS2) games can be played on a European PS3 compared with the Japanese and American PS3 models which play 98 percent of old games.
So the first hardware revision of the PlayStation 3 may be to remove the PS2 chips that were inside to provide compatibility? I have no idea how much that costs, but perhaps it will save some dough. Then later this year there will be the move to a 65nm chip fabrication process for the Cell which will, supposedly, cut costs for Sony even more.
If the hardware has changed, I wonder when we'll see those systems on American shelves. As I've said before, initial console hardware often has its own bugs, but also has features that get cut from later revisions. Not that is was a particularly bold prediction, but I did say at the time:
If/when they move to a software emulator I think it highly unlikely that they'll achieve the same compatibility they can with hardware. Then again, the mighty Cell is magick, so anything's possible.Looks like that's coming true.
Even these cost-cutting measures may not mean a cut in price for the PlayStation 3. As indicated in this Next-Gen.biz report, Sony may look at adding cheap bits to the package to make the current prices more acceptable. That didn't work for the PSP and it won't work for the PlayStation 3 either.
I think Sony is missing the point. The $500 and $600 prices are simply too high for most people, regardless of what kind of bonus junk you pack in the box. There's a mental barrier around $300 beyond which most people will simply stop paying attention. Sony needs a basic system at $400 to be on the periphery of consumer consciousness.
--jvm at 08:39
Comment
[ 5 ]
21 February 2007
How not to go to Hell
Remember going to Hell? In DooM that is. I thought it was kind of cool, fun, and unique that first time. It was just like the space marine base only more twisted and difficult.
Then I played Half-life and went to Xen. Sure, it was supposed to be an alien world, but it was really like going to Hell. Like everyone else, I hated the jumping puzzles, the annoying physics, the crazy evil fetus.
In God of War on the PlayStation 2 you also go to Hell, or rather Hades. Regrettably, it is less like DooM and more like Half-life. There are annoying jumping puzzle sections. There are ridiculously frustrating climbing sections. There's even a decent bit of horrible collision detection. Add in a complete inability to change the camera angle to mitigate the problems and I nearly put the game back on the library shelf. For a game that does many things quite well, it's a disappointing finale.
There's more to complain about, but you'll just have to wait.
Then I played Half-life and went to Xen. Sure, it was supposed to be an alien world, but it was really like going to Hell. Like everyone else, I hated the jumping puzzles, the annoying physics, the crazy evil fetus.
In God of War on the PlayStation 2 you also go to Hell, or rather Hades. Regrettably, it is less like DooM and more like Half-life. There are annoying jumping puzzle sections. There are ridiculously frustrating climbing sections. There's even a decent bit of horrible collision detection. Add in a complete inability to change the camera angle to mitigate the problems and I nearly put the game back on the library shelf. For a game that does many things quite well, it's a disappointing finale.
There's more to complain about, but you'll just have to wait.
--jvm at 22:19
Comment
[ 1 ]
09 February 2007
The best selling game systems of all time
In a business whose headlines are dominated by the hardware and software sales of Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft, it helps to have a little perspective. In this case, the needed context is probably in your pocket right now.
Let's review some numbers. In the last two generations, Sony has sold over 230 million PlayStation-branded game machines. Nintendo has sold nearly 400 million from its home consoles -- NES, SNES, Nintendo 64, and GameCube -- to its long-dominant handheld systems -- Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, and Nintendo DS. While it has only had a console on shelves since 2001, Microsoft has already racked up combined sales of over 30 million of its two Xbox systems.
Yet these are not the game systems most people own. Their game systems don't say Nintendo or Microsoft or Sony. They say Nokia or Motorola or Samsung. (Ok, some of them actually do say Sony: Sony Erricsson. But they're still relatively small.) Even the cheapest phones can play some form of Tetris nowadays and many are far, far more capable.
According to Strategy Analytics, over one billion mobile phones shipped during all of 2006. In all of 2006, the leading vendor, Nokia, shipped almost 350 million phones. Those numbers are just staggering when compared to the sales of dedicated game systems. For example, if we consider all the systems shipped by Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo since 1983 and compare to just the mobile phone shipments in 2006 we get the following:
In fact, if we combine the numbers for Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo and stack that up against the mobile phone shipments, it's still not much of a contest.
According to NPD, the dedicated videogame market made an estimated $6.5 billion on software last year alone. With over a billion phones shipped in 2006, is it any surprise that analysts regularly predict that the mobile game market will eventually hit $10 billion a year in the near future?
Let's review some numbers. In the last two generations, Sony has sold over 230 million PlayStation-branded game machines. Nintendo has sold nearly 400 million from its home consoles -- NES, SNES, Nintendo 64, and GameCube -- to its long-dominant handheld systems -- Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, and Nintendo DS. While it has only had a console on shelves since 2001, Microsoft has already racked up combined sales of over 30 million of its two Xbox systems.
Yet these are not the game systems most people own. Their game systems don't say Nintendo or Microsoft or Sony. They say Nokia or Motorola or Samsung. (Ok, some of them actually do say Sony: Sony Erricsson. But they're still relatively small.) Even the cheapest phones can play some form of Tetris nowadays and many are far, far more capable.
According to Strategy Analytics, over one billion mobile phones shipped during all of 2006. In all of 2006, the leading vendor, Nokia, shipped almost 350 million phones. Those numbers are just staggering when compared to the sales of dedicated game systems. For example, if we consider all the systems shipped by Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo since 1983 and compare to just the mobile phone shipments in 2006 we get the following:
In fact, if we combine the numbers for Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo and stack that up against the mobile phone shipments, it's still not much of a contest.According to NPD, the dedicated videogame market made an estimated $6.5 billion on software last year alone. With over a billion phones shipped in 2006, is it any surprise that analysts regularly predict that the mobile game market will eventually hit $10 billion a year in the near future?
--jvm at 14:46
Comment
[ 9 ]
01 February 2007
YES!
Finally, a Castlevania for PSP and on top of it, it's a remake of Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the Night. Sony's not completely asleep at the switch, it would appear. Video here.
A year ago, the PSP scene felt like a wasteland to me. It's not saturated with games I want to play, like the PlayStation 2, but it is very respectable.
A year ago, the PSP scene felt like a wasteland to me. It's not saturated with games I want to play, like the PlayStation 2, but it is very respectable.
Labels: castlevania, psp, sony
--jvm at 21:58
Comment
[ 10 ]
30 January 2007
PSP: Now with 25% more demos!
Today Sony released firmware version 3.10 (wonder why?) and announced the availability of a Killzone: Liberation demo. This brings to five the total number of demos available directly from Sony:
- LocoRoco
- World Tour Soccer 06
- LocoRoco Halloween Demo
- LocoRoco Christmas Demo
- Killzone: Liberation
[Sony] promised that more first- and third-party demos would be released on an ongoing basis. In the coming weeks, Sony expects to offer demos for Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror and SOCOM: US Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo 2.Well, that's a start, but hardly the best the PSP has to offer. I hope Sony breaks the system wide open for third parties, especially smaller ones, to put out demos of their games. My own choices for demos would be:
- Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops
- Lumines 2
- Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee
- Field Commander
- Tekken: Dark Resurrection
- Pinball Hall of Fame: The Gottlieb Collection
- Every Extend Extra
--jvm at 20:34
Comment
[ 0 ]
29 January 2007
Sony's PSOne on PSP: punishing the faithful...again
Sony needs to fix the PSOne emulation situation on the PSP right now.
There is now a firmware downgrader for every PSP ever sold, including my own which has been upgraded to firmware version 3.03. Anyone who owns a PSP and an older copy of Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (I do) can then install a copy of the PSOne emulator that Sony has been selling through its PlayStation Store. Then you can rip your very own PSOne games and play them with the emulator.
The catch is that redistribution of the emulator is probably illegal. I'd guess that it has also been hacked in a way that allows it to use any game image, which probably violated the DMCA at some level and certainly the license agreement that came with the software. So, for reasons other than not wanting to brick my PSP, I'm going to stay away from hacked firmware and the emulator.
Sony needs to remedy the situation right now, or else risk deeply angering some of the fans of its hardware and software. (I count myself among those.) As it is, the folks willing to partake in copyright infringement (distribution of the emulator) are getting the most from their Sony hardware.
To fix this, Sony needs to:
Perhaps there is some other means by which Sony can stop slapping the fans in the face, but it needs to fix the situation and fast.
There is now a firmware downgrader for every PSP ever sold, including my own which has been upgraded to firmware version 3.03. Anyone who owns a PSP and an older copy of Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (I do) can then install a copy of the PSOne emulator that Sony has been selling through its PlayStation Store. Then you can rip your very own PSOne games and play them with the emulator.
The catch is that redistribution of the emulator is probably illegal. I'd guess that it has also been hacked in a way that allows it to use any game image, which probably violated the DMCA at some level and certainly the license agreement that came with the software. So, for reasons other than not wanting to brick my PSP, I'm going to stay away from hacked firmware and the emulator.
Sony needs to remedy the situation right now, or else risk deeply angering some of the fans of its hardware and software. (I count myself among those.) As it is, the folks willing to partake in copyright infringement (distribution of the emulator) are getting the most from their Sony hardware.
To fix this, Sony needs to:
- Make the PlayStation Store available to PSP owners.
- Sell the emulator to me at some reasonable price. Let me suggest no more than $60, although lower is better. And upgrades/improvements should be free.
- Include a game ripper with the emulator or sell it separately. I don't care.
- Sell pre-ripped images of games (guaranteed to work) for a modest fee (say $4).
Perhaps there is some other means by which Sony can stop slapping the fans in the face, but it needs to fix the situation and fast.
--jvm at 11:09
Comment
[ 11 ]
27 January 2007
Woohoo! PSP Castlevania!
Via NeoGAF I've found out that the February issue of Play magazine has this statement:
Heck, with a good year of PSP titles I might even be content enough to hold off on the PlayStation 3 until late 2007. After all it is my PS3-killer.
There's an epic PSP surprise in the offing too...can you say Dracula X meets Symphony of the NightIf true, the PSP will have moved up yet another notch in my estimation. And if it's a port, or an enhanced version of Rondo of Blood, then my question from last summer will have been answered in a way I never saw coming. Could this be evidence that Sony is finally making the moves it needs to secure the exclusive games to make its systems stand out? Probably not. Watch Rondo of Blood hit XBLA first, or something similar.
Heck, with a good year of PSP titles I might even be content enough to hold off on the PlayStation 3 until late 2007. After all it is my PS3-killer.
Labels: castlevania, psp, sony
--jvm at 19:02
Comment
[ 0 ]
Speaking of unused multiplayer
I managed a cheap copy of Outrun 2006: Coast 2 Coast for my PSP last night. It's a completely different racing experience from Ridge Racer, but it does have infrastructure network play. Nine months after release there isnt' anyone online. I tried last night for about 15 minutes waiting for someone to show up and then again today. Now, this isn't like immediately after release (as Ken Levine was discussing), but a full nine months past Outrun's April 2006 release, so it's perhaps not completely surprising, but it is disappointing. Given the sad state of PSP software sales in 2006, there are probably only a few thousand people out there with this game and of those only a fraction probably play online. If there has to be a silver lining, it's that most (perhaps all) networked PSP games don't require a central server for ad hoc gaming, so we can avoid the dead networked game syndrome.
Ah well, if someone wants to play Outrun 2006 for the PSP online, drop me an email or comment. I'm still learning to drive this thing, though, so if you've played more than an hour you'll probably be doing far better than I.
Ah well, if someone wants to play Outrun 2006 for the PSP online, drop me an email or comment. I'm still learning to drive this thing, though, so if you've played more than an hour you'll probably be doing far better than I.
Labels: multiplayer, online, psp, sony
--jvm at 12:02
Comment
[ 3 ]
17 January 2007
Again, with the nub!
From Kris Graft's piece today on the PSP games we can expect in 2007:
Positive:
As a consistent reader of Next-Gen.biz I see plenty of stuff that Kris has written, and generally I think it's well done. The slamming of the nub, however, is really off the mark. It's like the Jaguar controller crap all over again.
We know what you're thinking; shooters rarely work on PSP because of the sad analog nub.No, I wasn't thinking that. In fact, now that you mention it, I still think it's wrong. Let's look at some shooters on the PSP and review quotes about the controls:
Positive:
- Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror - "smooth, well-designed control scheme" (source)
- Killzone: Liberation - "The shooting mechanics are handled very well in Liberation." (source)
- SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo - "intuitive interface" (source)
- SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo 2 - "Whether you're sneaking or shooting, the controls are easy to grasp and they work well for the most part." (source)
- Medal of Honor Heroes - "It takes a little while to become accustomed to the default control scheme, and it does have a few shortcomings, but overall it works quite nicely." (source)
- Pursuit Force - "Control is, admittedly, slightly wonky. But thanks to a lock-on mechanism, it's easy to handle crowds of gun-toting gang members." (source)
- Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops - "complicated control scheme has a steep learning curve" (source)
- Bounty Hounds - "With a better camera and improved controls, it could have been a real contender." (source)
- Star Wars: Battlefront II - "Interface makes for somewhat awkward controls" (source)
- From Russia with Love - "the idiotic method of auto-targeting makes it a real problem" (source)
- Ghost in the Shell - "Sluggish, imprecise controls" (source)
- Armored Core: Formula Front - "manual controls are sluggish and difficult to use" (source)
As a consistent reader of Next-Gen.biz I see plenty of stuff that Kris has written, and generally I think it's well done. The slamming of the nub, however, is really off the mark. It's like the Jaguar controller crap all over again.
--jvm at 12:51
Comment
[ 1 ]
15 January 2007
The PSP nub ain't that bad
At the mention of Every Extend Extra this evening on IRC I was reminded of one of the more annoying exaggerations you're apt to hear about the PSP: the analog nub is horrible. A game that requires quick reflexes and fine control would be impossible if the PSP's nub were as bad as some writers have made it out to be. Yet, EEE is playable on the higher levels precisely because the controls are so responsive.
If a PSP game has horrible controls then I'm tempted to blame the developer, not the hardware. The hardware is more than capable.
If a PSP game has horrible controls then I'm tempted to blame the developer, not the hardware. The hardware is more than capable.
--jvm at 20:32
Comment
[ 0 ]
13 January 2007
Do you use your PSP?
I second Dustin's question: Just what are people doing with all those PSPs? I use my PSP to play games, but apparently many people don't. Or if they do, they only play really old games.
According to the NPD data for 2006, Sony has sold around 6.7 million PSPs in the U.S. since the launch but then no single game sold more than 600,000 copies in the last year. I have a hard time believing that kind of data, but there it is. Moreover, the games that are selling well are all from 2005.
I can't believe that enough people know about the homebrew/emulation possibilities for that to be the answer.
I fear that what's really happening is that people are thinking they want one, buying it, picking up one new game and a handful of cheap old games, and then packing the whole thing away and forgetting about it. That would explain the continued hardware sales, fueled mostly by the PlayStation brand and a few higher profile games, but slack software sales.
I certainly understand how that happens -- my own PSP sat idle for months during 2006. Things turned around for me -- my PSP has gotten heavy use for the past three months, almost exclusively on new games -- but one wonders if it isn't too little, too late for the public.
According to the NPD data for 2006, Sony has sold around 6.7 million PSPs in the U.S. since the launch but then no single game sold more than 600,000 copies in the last year. I have a hard time believing that kind of data, but there it is. Moreover, the games that are selling well are all from 2005.
I can't believe that enough people know about the homebrew/emulation possibilities for that to be the answer.
I fear that what's really happening is that people are thinking they want one, buying it, picking up one new game and a handful of cheap old games, and then packing the whole thing away and forgetting about it. That would explain the continued hardware sales, fueled mostly by the PlayStation brand and a few higher profile games, but slack software sales.
I certainly understand how that happens -- my own PSP sat idle for months during 2006. Things turned around for me -- my PSP has gotten heavy use for the past three months, almost exclusively on new games -- but one wonders if it isn't too little, too late for the public.
--jvm at 01:34
Comment
[ 12 ]
05 January 2007
Sony losing exclusives; what about Microsoft?
Every day for the past month someone in my RSS reader is writing about how Sony's losing the war because its PlayStation 3 exclusives from third parties are just time-limited exclusives and will also appear on the Xbox 360. Discussions branch out from there to whether third party exclusives are becoming extinct, a question I'll leave for another post. (Short answer: See how Splinter Cell was handled on Xbox, GameCube, and PlayStation 2.)
What's troubling is that we've heard precious little about how Microsoft's exclusives are getting a ride on Sony's console. As far as I know, no Dead or Alive (fighting or ogling by Tecmo) games have been announced for the PlayStation 3. And Microsoft still has a lock on Bioshock (by Irrational Games) and Lost Planet (by Capcom) and Dead Rising (also by Capcom) and Gears of War (by Epic) and Eternal Sonta (aka Trusty Bell: Chopin's Dream by Namco Bandai). At least three of those are by Japanese companies, two of which (Capcom and Namco Bandai) have benefited greatly from Sony's systems in the past. Resident Evil and Ridge Racer, anyone? Maybe a little Devil May Cry or Tekken?
If I see any one of those Xbox 360 exclusives flip, then I'll be more inclined to believe that Sony's going to benefit from this death of exclusives. Until then, count me among the skeptics.
What's troubling is that we've heard precious little about how Microsoft's exclusives are getting a ride on Sony's console. As far as I know, no Dead or Alive (fighting or ogling by Tecmo) games have been announced for the PlayStation 3. And Microsoft still has a lock on Bioshock (by Irrational Games) and Lost Planet (by Capcom) and Dead Rising (also by Capcom) and Gears of War (by Epic) and Eternal Sonta (aka Trusty Bell: Chopin's Dream by Namco Bandai). At least three of those are by Japanese companies, two of which (Capcom and Namco Bandai) have benefited greatly from Sony's systems in the past. Resident Evil and Ridge Racer, anyone? Maybe a little Devil May Cry or Tekken?
If I see any one of those Xbox 360 exclusives flip, then I'll be more inclined to believe that Sony's going to benefit from this death of exclusives. Until then, count me among the skeptics.
--jvm at 10:34
Comment
[ 18 ]
25 December 2006
Sony fails the Napster test, PSOne emulator in the wild
Today some PSP owners can play many PSOne games on their PSPs -- reportedly with perfect speed, sound, and graphics -- without Sony's blessing. A hacked firmware on certain models allows the use of Sony's own emulator to play rips of original PSOne games. And, so, Sony caps off an awful year by failing to understand that when a market for your product appears you must seize it immediately or the world will leave you behind with empty pockets.
This is a lesson the RIAA and its members had to learn the hard way via Napster, Limewire, and all the other file-sharing networks that thrived on the public's desire for digital music downloads. While they looked in vain for a perfect solution to protecting their copyrights, they forgot that people are willing to pay for music, but those same people have limited patience.
Three steps I'll suggest are often necessary for winning your market:
I have no idea what Sony does now. I guess if the games that people download on the PlayStation Network are really just rips of PSOne games running in a universal emulator, then Sony needs to get that emulator out quick or lose any chance of cashing in on this situation. If it were available for purchase right now, I'd pony up for it. I'd even pay for a nice application that would take care of ripping my existing games to a handy format so I could play them with a minimum of hassle.
If Sony is selling enhanced, improved versions of PSOne games for use in their emulator, then they still need to get that stuff out and soon. They need to explain how their versions are superior to the versions we can all buy used in our local stores. They need to justify the cost somehow. (Networked Twisted Metal 2 would be nice, while I'm wishing.)
The current state is unacceptable. They've built a user base of PSP owners, simultaneously teased and neglected them, and now the market has moved past them to provide what Sony won't. Do something Sony. Anything.
This is a lesson the RIAA and its members had to learn the hard way via Napster, Limewire, and all the other file-sharing networks that thrived on the public's desire for digital music downloads. While they looked in vain for a perfect solution to protecting their copyrights, they forgot that people are willing to pay for music, but those same people have limited patience.
Three steps I'll suggest are often necessary for winning your market:
- Get your own product out there early.
- Make it accessible.
- Price it attractively.
- It has had the PSP out for over 18 months (in the U.S.) and still hasn't addressed the demand for emulated PSOne games on the handheld -- a demand that Sony itself drove when it announced that it had such plans.
- It has yet to make the few emulated games it has released accessible to the majority existing PSP users, myself included. Instead, users have to first own a PlayStation 3, through which they can purchase the games and then transfer them to a PSP.
- It has only succeeded in making its own product reasonably priced, with games costing around $6 each.
I have no idea what Sony does now. I guess if the games that people download on the PlayStation Network are really just rips of PSOne games running in a universal emulator, then Sony needs to get that emulator out quick or lose any chance of cashing in on this situation. If it were available for purchase right now, I'd pony up for it. I'd even pay for a nice application that would take care of ripping my existing games to a handy format so I could play them with a minimum of hassle.
If Sony is selling enhanced, improved versions of PSOne games for use in their emulator, then they still need to get that stuff out and soon. They need to explain how their versions are superior to the versions we can all buy used in our local stores. They need to justify the cost somehow. (Networked Twisted Metal 2 would be nice, while I'm wishing.)
The current state is unacceptable. They've built a user base of PSP owners, simultaneously teased and neglected them, and now the market has moved past them to provide what Sony won't. Do something Sony. Anything.
--jvm at 22:28
Comment
[ 1 ]
21 December 2006
High-resolution glimpse of a dystopian future
The PlayStation 3 Go! Sudoku page has something interesting...and evil. It has a click-through agreement to download screenshots. Apparently I can't republish the screenshots once I download them. Well, I can put them on my own PSP and you guys could probably look at the screen while I had one of them displayed without running afoul of this agreement. Seriously, it mentions that I can only keep them on my PSP.
That alone is outrageous, but as you'll see below the actual conditions are the result of a bad double paste (or something) making them a bit more unintelligible than the usual dubious legal agreements.
Not only a click-through agreement for a screenshot, but one that doesn't even form a coherent set of conditions. Brilliant!
But wait, there's more! For the sake of research, I went ahead and agreed to Sony's terms. The pop-up window I get is basically a 404 error, a page which doesn't exist. (It doesn't work at all on Safari, at least when I tested it.) So not only did I agree to some crazy contract, but Sony didn't even live up to their half of the bargain and give me my 1920 x 1080 screenshot of Go! Sudoku for the PlayStation 3. There oughtta be a law...
For your entertainment, here's the click-through agreement in all its glory. Yes, the first paragraph is repeated. All typos, except the crazy double-paste are probably mine (since I can't copy and paste from a Flash applet). I've marked the place where things go bad with a boldfaced [sic].
That alone is outrageous, but as you'll see below the actual conditions are the result of a bad double paste (or something) making them a bit more unintelligible than the usual dubious legal agreements.
Not only a click-through agreement for a screenshot, but one that doesn't even form a coherent set of conditions. Brilliant!
But wait, there's more! For the sake of research, I went ahead and agreed to Sony's terms. The pop-up window I get is basically a 404 error, a page which doesn't exist. (It doesn't work at all on Safari, at least when I tested it.) So not only did I agree to some crazy contract, but Sony didn't even live up to their half of the bargain and give me my 1920 x 1080 screenshot of Go! Sudoku for the PlayStation 3. There oughtta be a law...
For your entertainment, here's the click-through agreement in all its glory. Yes, the first paragraph is repeated. All typos, except the crazy double-paste are probably mine (since I can't copy and paste from a Flash applet). I've marked the place where things go bad with a boldfaced [sic].
Please read the below Terms & Conditions
When finished reading and you agree to the terms therein, Click Agree and Download to start downloading this great PlayStation content. If you do not agree click Cancel to return to the previous window.
When finished reading and you agree to the terms therein, Click Agree and Download to start downloading this great PlayStation content. If you do not agree click Cancel to return to the previous window.
The following terms apply if you download content from this website. Content may include game-based graphics, images, film, music, sounds and software. You must follow the directions that appear on the site about how to download. Sony Computer Entertainment America ("SCEA") is not responsible for any loss of data or damage to your software or hardware or other loss or damage caused by failure to follow our directions. SCEA may retrieve information about a user's hardware or software for authentication and to identify the correct directories for deposit of the download. All intellectual property rights in the content available on this site belong to SCEA or its licensors. The content may be copied only for your personal use via your PSP system. The content may not be modified, published, performed or transferred to anyone else (unless otherwise stated on the site) nor used for any commercial purpose. Except to the extent permitted by applicable law, you must not disassemble, de-compile, reverse engineer or otherwise break or attempt to break [sic] the following terms apply if you download content from this website. Content may include game-based graphics, images, film, music, sounds and software. You must follow the directions that appear on the site about how to download. Sony Computer Entertainment America ("SCEA") is not responsible for any loss of data or damage to your software or hardware or other loss or damage caused by failure to follow our directions. SCEA may retrieve information about a user's hardware or software for authentication and to identify the correct directories for deposit of the download. All intellectual property rights in the content available on this site belong to SCEA or its licensors. The content may be copied only for your personal use via your PSP system. The content may not be modified, published, performed or transferred to anyone else (unless otherwise stated on the site) nor used for any commercial purpose. Except to the extent permitted by applicable law, you must not disassemble, de-compile, reverse engineer or otherwise break or attempt to break the law.
--jvm at 06:44
Comment
[ 3 ]
20 December 2006
Videogame gaffes and blunders of the year, director's cut
Next-gen.biz kindly asked me to reprise my curmudgeon role for an end-of-year post, and I obliged. The result has now been posted here.
To all who offered editorial comments on various topics this year -- Ruffin, John H., Michael, Dustin, and Kyle -- thanks for the help! Hopefully I remembered everyone.
Some bits ended up on the cutting room floor and I thought they'd be worth sharing. I should emphasize, perhaps, that everything past this point is mine, not Next-Gen.biz's, so if you want to yell at someone (or sue someone, if that's your thing), I'm your guy. In fact, if you just want to yell at someone, the comments are always open.
To all who offered editorial comments on various topics this year -- Ruffin, John H., Michael, Dustin, and Kyle -- thanks for the help! Hopefully I remembered everyone.
Some bits ended up on the cutting room floor and I thought they'd be worth sharing. I should emphasize, perhaps, that everything past this point is mine, not Next-Gen.biz's, so if you want to yell at someone (or sue someone, if that's your thing), I'm your guy. In fact, if you just want to yell at someone, the comments are always open.
- The name - Originally I called the list "The 2006 Nelsons" after Nelson Muntz and his immortal "ha-ha" laugh. That got nixed (as I half-expected, but I held out hope until the end). My second choice was to award #1 the prestigious 2006 Foo Cup (say it out loud) and the others could be the 9 runners up. Apparently that didn't make it either. Gaffes and blunders it is!
- Linkification - The original version had well over fifty links (all internal to next-gen.biz, incidentally) which were changed to just standard text. I'd rather hoped they'd make it, because they provide the documentation for everything I wrote, and for the sake of business didn't go off-site. Ah well.
- The text went through several revisions. This bit about Nintendo never made it into any final drafts, but is pretty high on my list of flubs this year.
Wii was region-free before it wasn't - What's worse than a region-locked console? Announcing a console is region-free and then correcting yourself to make it to region-locked. That's what Perrin Kaplan and Nintendo did to us with the Wii this year. I'm still angry about that one.
- The following was one of the entries, but got edited out. Along with this, I also considered putting in the big brouhaha over the Neverwinter Nights 2 review on 1UP and this bit by Simon Carless on how Xbox 360 sales were reported (poorly). Anyway, here's what got cut:
Blogger Ethics Panel to Convene Soon - In September the popular videogame blog, Joystiq, posted about "a scoop for some important news with one of the next-generation consoles." Leaving details to the overactive imaginations of an army of commenters and forum fanboys, post author Robert Summa assured everyone that "this announcement is something worth waiting for." Was it a secret, unannounced feature of the Nintendo Wii? Was Microsoft going to announce that Halo 3 would be on shelves this holiday season? Maybe Sony would relent, drop the price, and put the PlayStation 3 within reach of upper middle class Americans with spotless credit ratings. Not to be left out, rival blog Kotaku's Brian Crecente posted about the upcoming announcement, saying "expect to hear some kinda interesting news about a very interesting upcoming console", but similarly gave away no details.
What was that burning scoop? Here it is: "IBM announced that their Broadway chip custom-designed for Nintendo's Wii console has been shipping to Nintendo's since July."
Oh, the humanity!
Predictably, the firestorm sparked by this little stunt was ferocious. Robert Summa was summarily fired (yes, bloggers sometimes get paid) and Joystiq editor Chris Grant posted an apology. Summa shortly appeared on another site, Destructoid, and penned what amounted to a "f--k you" farewell to Joystiq, tastefully incorporating Martin Luther King Jr's famous "Free at last" speech and a picture of Mel Gibson in a battle skirt.
And they wonder why we think the videogame press is less than professional sometimes... - Hurricane Jack - When I wrote about Jack Thompson, I used the term Hurricane Jack to refer to him, since he hit the Gulf states of Louisiana and Florida. That term got nixed in the editing.
- Core Design and the Tomb Raider trailer - I wanted to include the mess surrounding the Tomb Raider PSP trailer that showed up this summer. I wrote a two long posts about: original post and the update. Unfortunately, one of the ground rules for the article was that I had to stick to facts, and unfortunately neither Core nor SCi/Eidos have provided a definitive version of just what did happen. We will probably never know exactly what it was, but you can at least read my take on it.
- Other ideas that didn't make the cut - Capcom's ongoing struggle to use larger fonts (in Dead Rising and Lost Planet), Nintendo DS absolutely destroying the PSP month after month, the coming rush of ridiculous MMOGs (Romero, Cartoon Network, James Cameron, and Dave Perry).
--jvm at 06:00
Comment
[ 8 ]
15 December 2006
Comments: Every Extend Extra (PSP)
The abstract synesthesia shooter Every Extend Extra, available on the PSP, is a beautiful piece of work with some practical failings. I don't think it's possible to review this kind of game in the traditional sense, so I'll simply offer some comments on my experience.
Writing out how the game works in detail is complicated, even though the game itself is simple. It's easiest to just watch it being played. Suffice to say you earn points by detonating yourself near enemies, are rewarded by causing chain reactions as enemies ignite each other, and if you don't earn points quickly enough then either you run out of ammunition or a timer runs out. In either case, your game ends. Each level takes a fixed amount of time before the boss appears. Further, the graphic design varies from level to level though the gameplay doesn't.
The music reacts in time to your actions. If you've seen Rez, then you've got the gist of it.
I cannot stop playing this game, and I've even found myself playing in my head as I sleep. Like many other addictive games, it presents a power to bring order to a randomly generated situation, and rewards satisfyingly when you find that sweet spot which clears the screen. With short, intense games it is precisely the kind of game that Sony needs on the PSP.
The instructions, on the other hand, are a bit of a mess. The tutorials, for those of you who don't read the manual, are buried at the bottom of the Options menu. They don't tell you everything, though, and I'm just now learning to use the R+L method of detonation. It also suffers from load times that go on too long, especially for the relatively spare graphics used in each level.
I grabbed it for $20 and that's just the right price for me. Any more and I'd've felt a bit ripped off.
If you'd like to try something similar the original game, Every Extend, is available for Windows here.
Writing out how the game works in detail is complicated, even though the game itself is simple. It's easiest to just watch it being played. Suffice to say you earn points by detonating yourself near enemies, are rewarded by causing chain reactions as enemies ignite each other, and if you don't earn points quickly enough then either you run out of ammunition or a timer runs out. In either case, your game ends. Each level takes a fixed amount of time before the boss appears. Further, the graphic design varies from level to level though the gameplay doesn't.
The music reacts in time to your actions. If you've seen Rez, then you've got the gist of it.
I cannot stop playing this game, and I've even found myself playing in my head as I sleep. Like many other addictive games, it presents a power to bring order to a randomly generated situation, and rewards satisfyingly when you find that sweet spot which clears the screen. With short, intense games it is precisely the kind of game that Sony needs on the PSP.
The instructions, on the other hand, are a bit of a mess. The tutorials, for those of you who don't read the manual, are buried at the bottom of the Options menu. They don't tell you everything, though, and I'm just now learning to use the R+L method of detonation. It also suffers from load times that go on too long, especially for the relatively spare graphics used in each level.
I grabbed it for $20 and that's just the right price for me. Any more and I'd've felt a bit ripped off.
If you'd like to try something similar the original game, Every Extend, is available for Windows here.
--jvm at 11:09
Comment
[ 0 ]
Sony stupid about PSP demos (revisited)
I've written before about my frustration with PSP demos, but the appearance this week of yet another Loco Roco demo just brought home how braindead Sony appears to be. As a North American PSP owner, I have access to five demos* directly from Sony** and three of them are variations on Loco Roco. I realize I've got a bias, because I just don't enjoy the little yellow blobs like some people apparently do, but I don't think most PSP owners are wetting themselves with glee over holiday-themed demos.
Let's compare with the other major system that's designed to grab data, like demos and movies, off the internets, the Xbox 360. You know how many games have demos on Xbox Live? FIFTY FIVE. That's right, 50 and then 5 more. There are even multiple demos for some games, for the demo-downloading completist.
I realize Sony's been a little busy screwing up its PlayStation 3 launch, but surely they can put some dedicated people on the PSP side of things and leave them there with resources to help the system live up to its potential. Right?
I will give Sony this, however: the ability to connect to your PlayStation 3 via your PSP from anywhere you have a network connection is pretty awesome. I haven't seen it in practice yet, but the idea is really quite intriguing. It is precisely the kind of feature Sony needs to one-up Xbox Live. Since Sony has the dedicated handheld platform to built upon, it is playing to a strength that Microsoft doesn't have (yet).
* I should note that I think there are five demos. I can't get my PSP online in my current location to double check. Corrections in the comments, por favor.
** Yes, I can download some unofficially and install them. Most are in Japanese.
Let's compare with the other major system that's designed to grab data, like demos and movies, off the internets, the Xbox 360. You know how many games have demos on Xbox Live? FIFTY FIVE. That's right, 50 and then 5 more. There are even multiple demos for some games, for the demo-downloading completist.
I realize Sony's been a little busy screwing up its PlayStation 3 launch, but surely they can put some dedicated people on the PSP side of things and leave them there with resources to help the system live up to its potential. Right?
I will give Sony this, however: the ability to connect to your PlayStation 3 via your PSP from anywhere you have a network connection is pretty awesome. I haven't seen it in practice yet, but the idea is really quite intriguing. It is precisely the kind of feature Sony needs to one-up Xbox Live. Since Sony has the dedicated handheld platform to built upon, it is playing to a strength that Microsoft doesn't have (yet).
* I should note that I think there are five demos. I can't get my PSP online in my current location to double check. Corrections in the comments, por favor.
** Yes, I can download some unofficially and install them. Most are in Japanese.
--jvm at 10:04
Comment
[ 2 ]
11 December 2006
Installable PSP games
The UMD drive in the Sony PSP was a huge mistake. The format is essentially dead for movies. Having a mechanical drive in the PSP eats up the battery and probably makes the whole system more prone to failure. Memory Stick PRO Duos can now be had in 4 gigabyte sizes, over twice the capacity of a UMD, for reasonable prices. And today we find out that Sony has cards in development that have eight times that capacity, or almost 18 times the size of dual-layer UMD.
I've been told that shipping games on Memory Stick would be cost prohibitive. So perhaps Sony could continue to ship games on UMD but offer an option to have the game install itself on a large enough Memory Stick. I'd gladly plunk down for the largest Memory Stick I could find if I could install several of my games on the card, get increased battery life, and faster load times.
This weekend I bought Every Extend Extra (it was on sale for $20, a deal I couldn't pass up) and the disc access is painful. The game doesn't involve tremendous amounts of data like, say, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories might but it does slow down a bit when the UMD has stopped spinning while playing a level and then has to be spun back up to speed. EEE would probably fit on a smaller Memory Stick and thereby avoid the grinding disc access that currently breaks up what is an otherwise slick presentation.
No doubt unscrupulous people would find some way to exploit the system and play games they don't legally own. I can't help that. But with a system to install games on Memory Stick, Sony might be able to pave the way to a revision of the hardware that eliminates the UMD drive and moves to fixed media altogether.
I've been told that shipping games on Memory Stick would be cost prohibitive. So perhaps Sony could continue to ship games on UMD but offer an option to have the game install itself on a large enough Memory Stick. I'd gladly plunk down for the largest Memory Stick I could find if I could install several of my games on the card, get increased battery life, and faster load times.
This weekend I bought Every Extend Extra (it was on sale for $20, a deal I couldn't pass up) and the disc access is painful. The game doesn't involve tremendous amounts of data like, say, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories might but it does slow down a bit when the UMD has stopped spinning while playing a level and then has to be spun back up to speed. EEE would probably fit on a smaller Memory Stick and thereby avoid the grinding disc access that currently breaks up what is an otherwise slick presentation.
No doubt unscrupulous people would find some way to exploit the system and play games they don't legally own. I can't help that. But with a system to install games on Memory Stick, Sony might be able to pave the way to a revision of the hardware that eliminates the UMD drive and moves to fixed media altogether.
--jvm at 19:29
Comment
[ 8 ]
20 November 2006
16% of my PSOne library buggy on PS3
I spent some time with Sony's PS3 Backward Compatibility database today checking out my PSOne library's compatibility. I have 125 or so PSOne games, and 20 of them, or 16%, have some sort of bug. They are:
It will be interesting to see how Sony improves compatibility over time.
- Air Combat - repeating startup bug, but works
- Arcade's Greatest Hits: The Atari Collection - Asteroids and Tempest with missing bullets
- Arcade's Greatest Hits: The Atari Collection 2 - music/dialogue stutter in Paperboy and Crystal Castles; lock-up Blaster if no activity on controller for first 4 seconds of new level
- Area 51 - graphics corruption on status screen between sections
- Atari Anniversary Edition Redux - Asteroids, Tempest, Asteroids Deluxe with missing bullets
- Croc: Legend of the Gobbos - stutter during FMV at boot
- Dead or Alive - graphical corruption in background during training mode
- Dino Crisis 2 - graphical corruption during FMV from idle main menu, audio bug during New Game starting audio
- Driver - missing menu graphics
- Driver 2 - slowdown during missions
- Final Fantasy Anthology - fatal bug at first save point
- Gran Turismo - controller switches to digital mode in certain type of race
- Kagero: Deception II - some graphical corruption and missing background music
- Konami Arcade Classics - graphical problem in Super Cobra
- Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver - serious slowdown and pausing during gameplay
- Loaded - memory card issues
- Medal of Honor - fatal bug in one mission
- Namco Museum Volume 2 - graphical corruption in Xevious
- Silent Hill - medium tone when shooting
- Tomb Raider - 15 seconds on title screen and game will hang
It will be interesting to see how Sony improves compatibility over time.
--jvm at 21:50
Comment
[ 3 ]
15 November 2006
Analyst analyzes analysts' analyses
Michael Pachter makes a good guest in this week's Next-gen.biz podcast. He comes across as "a man who likes talking to a man who likes to talk" and goes on at length about various aspects of the Wii, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3. In particular, I was intrigued by this bit:
I've still got 15 minutes of the podcast to listen to, but that won't happen until tomorrow morning on the way to work. Perhaps there are some more interesting bits later on. I certainly enjoyed the first 30 minutes.
One question that hadn't been asked of Pachter that I'd like an answer to: Does he play games? It's pretty apparent he's got a feel for the business of games, but does he actually play them or is he just a detached observer watching numbers and analyzing technology trends in the abstract?
Update: Answer is that Pachter does play games and even plays them at work. In addition to what sounds like playing as part of his job, he mentions a Guitar Hero party they're having at his workplace. I should get Guitar Hero at some point, since I keep hearing such good things about it.
Update 2: Interesting to note that Pachter basically doesn't mention any specific way that the Xbox 360 wins. If Blu-Ray takes off (or HD-DVD doesn't succeed, take your pick) or the Sony PlayStation brand remains strong, then the PlayStation 3 wins. And Guitar Hero is the proof that the Wii's new control mechanism will be a hit with consumers. For Microsoft to win, I'm guessing he thinks that the other two have to fail, which isn't necessarily the same as Microsoft succeeding on its own strengths.
I think that where most analysts are going to be not only proven wrong but are actually going to backtrack and change their opinions to the extreme is that the cost of the Wii at $249 is so dramatically much lower than the cost of the [Xbox] 360 or of a PS3 that many households are going to opt for a Wii first and wait for the others to come down in price before they buy a 360 or a PS3. [...]The part about choosing the Wii first is certainly plausible -- especially because of standard TV and the prices of HDTVs -- and it's a prediction I think we could easily check up on in 10-12 months. Will we be reading about Nintendo winning the war less than a year after their launch? That'd be fun, especially if you read videogame web forums. Then in two years we can see if Sony's made up ground and beating the competition, as he further predicts, making all those other analysts who declared a Nintendo victory for the generation wrong. Good times ahead, either way.
I think what's going to happen is analysts are going to see the Wii selling at a much more rapid pace mid-year next year than anybody expected and they're actually going to call Nintendo the winner of this cycle.
And in fact, what I think is going to happen is, over time, Nintendo's sales are going to slow -- over time as in 2009, 2010 -- and Sony's sales are going to pick up as the PS3 comes down in price.
So I think Sony's going to look like the clear loser this cycle, come summer. I think Nintendo's going to look like the clear winner this cycle this coming summer, and that's going to be wrong. And it will reverse in 2009, 2010 when there are 5000 Blu-Ray movies available to rent at Blockbuster and when all the households who already have a Wii get their HD monitors and PS3 sales will pick up.
I've still got 15 minutes of the podcast to listen to, but that won't happen until tomorrow morning on the way to work. Perhaps there are some more interesting bits later on. I certainly enjoyed the first 30 minutes.
One question that hadn't been asked of Pachter that I'd like an answer to: Does he play games? It's pretty apparent he's got a feel for the business of games, but does he actually play them or is he just a detached observer watching numbers and analyzing technology trends in the abstract?
Update: Answer is that Pachter does play games and even plays them at work. In addition to what sounds like playing as part of his job, he mentions a Guitar Hero party they're having at his workplace. I should get Guitar Hero at some point, since I keep hearing such good things about it.
Update 2: Interesting to note that Pachter basically doesn't mention any specific way that the Xbox 360 wins. If Blu-Ray takes off (or HD-DVD doesn't succeed, take your pick) or the Sony PlayStation brand remains strong, then the PlayStation 3 wins. And Guitar Hero is the proof that the Wii's new control mechanism will be a hit with consumers. For Microsoft to win, I'm guessing he thinks that the other two have to fail, which isn't necessarily the same as Microsoft succeeding on its own strengths.
--jvm at 20:08
Comment
[ 4 ]
Resistance - light on the story
I'd hoped for a good story from Resistance: Fall of Man. Looks like if/when I play it, I'll be playing for the action, not the plot:
You'll learn a bit about the Chimera as you fight, and there's some resolution once you finally finish the campaign after countless grueling shoot-outs. But Hale's character is never developed and he almost never speaks, and the plot has some noticeable gaps. Ultimately, this is a game whose personality mostly comes across when you're shooting something. The Chimera and their ugly spider-like features make them easy to hate straightaway.Ah well. It does appear to have the tone and combat under control.
--jvm at 19:41
Comment
[ 0 ]
Halo 3 vs. PS3 (almost called it)
I predicted that Microsoft would release a Halo 3 demo on Xbox Live in time for the PlayStation 3 launch. I was wrong on the timing, it appears. This week's announcement of a Halo 3 multiplayer test available in Spring 2007 along with a new trailer is just one more example of how Microsoft is hitting its stride in the console market: they'll suck lots of headline space away from the North American debut of the PlayStation 3 with some well-chosen bits of information. They didn't even have to put the demo itself out -- they just needed to announce the future demo. As I said back then:
Anyway, I continue to be impressed with the swiftness with which Microsoft has learned to play to the crowd. If they do come out with the higher sales this generation (and that may happen in terms of software, even if it's not true of hardware) then they'll have earned it.
See, it's one thing to get the big magazines and websites talking about Halo 3 in previews. It will be another thing altogether when over a million Xbox 360 owners download a Halo 3 demo, invite friends over to play, and set online forums afire with post after post of gushing praise. [...] What's going to be louder? A dozen well-paid articles on the coming of the PlayStation 3 or literally millions of monkeys banging away on their keyboards about the most important demo since shareware Quake?And, while Bill Gates was wrong about some of the specifics -- he had Halo 3 coming out Spring 2006 -- he did promise this would happen, in his own creepy way:
'It's perfect,' Gates says, radiant with bloodlust. 'The day Sony launches [the new PlayStation], and they walk right into Halo 3.'The image of Gates radiant with bloodlust is a bit disturbing, no?
Anyway, I continue to be impressed with the swiftness with which Microsoft has learned to play to the crowd. If they do come out with the higher sales this generation (and that may happen in terms of software, even if it's not true of hardware) then they'll have earned it.
--jvm at 15:29
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13 November 2006
Worst PS3/Wii launch coverage - NPR!
On the way to work I heard Laura Sydell's report on Morning Edition about the launch of Sony's PlayStation 3 and the Nintendo Wii. I thought it was awful.
- The whole thing has a pro-Nintendo slant, to my ear. Except for the price mistake.
- The original version of the report, the one most people actually heard, said the Wii was going for $279. The audio now has the right price, and the web page shows the correction, but this happened only after an untold number of folks heard the wrong price this morning.
This seems a particularly poor reporting mistake, since I haven't seen any report anywhere that priced the Wii at $279. - The correction refers to the prices of "the Xbox". That's needlessly ambiguous. In the audio of the story it's referred to as the "the latest generation Xbox", as if it didn't have a name yet.
- The text blurb on the website throws in this needless groin kick:
The stakes are especially high for Sony, whose PlayStation Portable was trounced by the Nintendo DS during the last round of format wars.
Say what? The last round of format wars? How is the competition between the PSP and the Nintendo DS a format war? I think you got your buzzwords mixed up.
Worse, the audio of the story never mentions the PSP nor the DS. It's actually relevant to the story's thesis -- that Sony and Nintendo aren't competing directly because they're pursuing different audiences -- but that's never actually addressed by Sydell.
--jvm at 21:30
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12 November 2006
Fifteen seconds with a PS3 controller
Target has its PlayStation 3 kiosk set up, but not running anything yet. I held the PlayStation 3 controller for about fifteen seconds as I passed by. I liked the feel of it, especially the L2 and R2 buttons. They're like real triggers now, an innovation that Sony has needlessly avoided since the Saturn 3D Controller and the N64 Z-trigger (whichever came first). The whole thing is certainly light, but I'd hope that'd be an advantage if I have to be whipping it around to use the sixaxis functionality. Early reports had had a negative slant, but my superficial first impression (not playing, regrettably) was positive.
In other news, picked up Zoo Keeper for the Nintendo DS. This is the same game that I enjoyed in Flash form back in early 2003.
In other news, picked up Zoo Keeper for the Nintendo DS. This is the same game that I enjoyed in Flash form back in early 2003.
--jvm at 20:30
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08 November 2006
Sony doing it the hard(ware) way
Via PS3 Blog, I see that Sony's putting a PlayStation 2 inside of every PlayStation 3. Is there also a miniaturized PSOne? This is the hard way to get backward compatibility, at least from a cost perspective. My guess is that a software solution, amortized over millions of system sales, would come out cheaper.
Now I want a first-generation PlayStation 3. The first versions of Sony's systems always have the neat doodads that are cut later. The original PlayStation had the serial network cables for linking consoles and non-proprietary video output connectors and that other funny port on the back. The original PlayStation 2 has the iLink port, two USB ports, and the bay for the hard drive. In each generation the smaller, sleeker version of each console had all those features cut.
If/when they move to a software emulator I think it highly unlikely that they'll achieve the same compatibility they can with hardware. Then again, the mighty Cell is magick, so anything's possible.
Now I want a first-generation PlayStation 3. The first versions of Sony's systems always have the neat doodads that are cut later. The original PlayStation had the serial network cables for linking consoles and non-proprietary video output connectors and that other funny port on the back. The original PlayStation 2 has the iLink port, two USB ports, and the bay for the hard drive. In each generation the smaller, sleeker version of each console had all those features cut.
If/when they move to a software emulator I think it highly unlikely that they'll achieve the same compatibility they can with hardware. Then again, the mighty Cell is magick, so anything's possible.
--jvm at 23:19
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07 November 2006
Decent PR from Sony, finally
The Gamasutra interview that Brandon "whoa" Sheffield did yesterday with Dave Karraker, new senior director of corporate communications for Sony, confirms some things I've said here before. For example, Karraker says (my emphasis):
Later, on page 3 of the interview, Sheffield asks why there aren't more budget titles in North America, as one can find in Europe and the UK. The answers don't entirely make sense to me. Karraker does say this:
This guy, Karraker, is still trying to spin some unspinnable points, however. Anyone who thinks that the PSP is doing "incredibly well" is just deluded. I'll permit that the PSP is improving -- it's getting more interesting games -- but it's far from what Sony (or the press) expected before its launch. Sony needs a better way to address that question when it comes up. And the dismissal of the appeal that Nintendo's Wii will have with the (so-called) hardcore gamer could well turn out to be a miscalculation. Still, I'll give the guy credit for pushing some of my buttons: he drops a hint that emulated games on the PSP will be $5 a pop (is he talking PSOne games?), that the entire Turbo-Grafx 16 library could show up on the PS3/PSP, and then finishes with "Panzer Dragoon, man, that was the game." If he's not really a gamer, he does a decent impression of one.
We were allowing media to drive the message for us, and interpret it for us. [...] Now we're very aggressively defending our turf, and attempting to right all the wrongs that have been said about us in the past, which includes misrepresentation of quotes from our executives. I think you've probably seen the difference, just in the last couple months, where if somebody goes out and says something negative about Sony, we're not going to sit back and allow that. We're going to position it properly, and provide the facts.That reminded me of what I wrote back in June, right after SCEA's publicity chief resigned:
When such [damaging] stories come up, I think it best to apply overwhelming force, through the press, and stamp [them] out immediately. If you're lucky, you'll kill it. You can't rely on the press to fix it for you on their own.Then, back in July, I proposed that Sony should start answering more questions immediately and clearly define the PlayStation 3. Then after the Tokyo Game Show, I pointed out that they hadn't managed to answer any of those questions in a serious way. Karraker addresses this pretty directly, again my emphasis added:
I think there has been a lot of negativity around Sony recently just because people have such high expectations for the system. And I think following recent events like Sony's Gamers Day, where we answered a lot of those questions - what are the games, what's coming in the box, what does the online service look like - the tide has kind of turned a little bit. We're seeing a lot less negative stories about us, unrelated to batteries, and people are starting to ask questions about Microsoft.I wondered why that didn't happen at TGS, and the answer is in Karraker's hiring date: Karraker apparently joined Sony only a week before the show. No doubt the entire TGS plan was already determined by that point. Given that Sony's only gotten better since TGS at providing useful information and making the case for the PlayStation 3 more aggressively, I cringe to think who planned what was shown at TGS.
Later, on page 3 of the interview, Sheffield asks why there aren't more budget titles in North America, as one can find in Europe and the UK. The answers don't entirely make sense to me. Karraker does say this:
Yeah, that's all based on the market. It's all based on what the market will allow.I wonder if this isn't some sort of code for "the market is filled with filthy pirates over there!" On purely anecdotal evidence (ergo a possibly ill-informed prejudgment) my impression is that Europe is host to a strong market of illegal copies, and to combat that difficulty Sony Europe is willing to flood the market with lower-quality budget titles. If Americans are less likely to pirate, then we don't get the piles of cheaply made games. With all the licensed garbage we already have on the shelves, we're better off without.
This guy, Karraker, is still trying to spin some unspinnable points, however. Anyone who thinks that the PSP is doing "incredibly well" is just deluded. I'll permit that the PSP is improving -- it's getting more interesting games -- but it's far from what Sony (or the press) expected before its launch. Sony needs a better way to address that question when it comes up. And the dismissal of the appeal that Nintendo's Wii will have with the (so-called) hardcore gamer could well turn out to be a miscalculation. Still, I'll give the guy credit for pushing some of my buttons: he drops a hint that emulated games on the PSP will be $5 a pop (is he talking PSOne games?), that the entire Turbo-Grafx 16 library could show up on the PS3/PSP, and then finishes with "Panzer Dragoon, man, that was the game." If he's not really a gamer, he does a decent impression of one.
--jvm at 08:54
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06 November 2006
PS3 reads thr-- SIX formats!
Next-Gen does a profile of Jack Tretton, the Sony executive VP in charge of the launch of the PlayStation 3. Obviously addled by the pressures of the impending launch, he utters:
Yes, I know Sony pulled all kinds of tricks to make the "standard" game CDs and DVDs difficult to copy, but the essential point is that the blue laser diode can read three types of media, not six different formats. I'd also question the "have nothing to do with each other" bit -- don't the PlayStation CDs and PlayStation 2 DVDs both essentially have ISO9660 filesystems? That'd make it, again, simply a matter of reading the medium.
As always, correct me in the comments.
"I'm like everybody else. I'm saying 'come on! Just build 'em, man! What's so complicated?' But think about what that blue laser diode has to do. It has to read audio CDs, standard DVDs, Blu-ray DVDs, PlayStation 1 games, PlayStation 2 games, and PlayStation 3 games. Six completely different formats that have nothing to do with each other and you're going to have one device that's going to read all those."Give me a break. It reads CDs, DVDs, and Blu-Ray. That's three, not six.
Yes, I know Sony pulled all kinds of tricks to make the "standard" game CDs and DVDs difficult to copy, but the essential point is that the blue laser diode can read three types of media, not six different formats. I'd also question the "have nothing to do with each other" bit -- don't the PlayStation CDs and PlayStation 2 DVDs both essentially have ISO9660 filesystems? That'd make it, again, simply a matter of reading the medium.
As always, correct me in the comments.
--jvm at 11:01
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30 October 2006
Shoot me if this happens
The PlayStation 3 hands-on articles are starting to pop up, and via Next-Gen.biz we get an abridged one by PSM. If I ever say this, or something like it, please shoot me:
Resistance is truly stunning. When you play it, you say "Now that's PS3!"Ugh.
--jvm at 11:26
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22 October 2006
Ridge Racer 2 Demo
At zakk's suggestion, I tried out the Ridge Racer 2 demo for the PSP. I can confirm that the file I downloaded has not bricked my PSP (yet), and it does work with the v. 2.80 firmware.
I can also confirm that the game plays just like Ridge Racer. The graphics might be a tiny bit smoother, but I can't see much difference. If this demo is intended to entice me to buy this second game based on something new, I don't see it. Don't get me wrong: I love Ridge Racer. But I haven't seen anything to recommend it over the original PSP game.
Maybe if it included some kicking online component, like easy matchmaking and online scoreboards. Sony and its third parties, however, have shown no interest in making the PSP a real online platform, so I'm not holding my breath.
I am impressed that they made a nice looking one-level demo out of 6Mb. Also, it's got what I believe is a reference to Xevious right in plain view. Old timers like me eat that up.
I can also confirm that the game plays just like Ridge Racer. The graphics might be a tiny bit smoother, but I can't see much difference. If this demo is intended to entice me to buy this second game based on something new, I don't see it. Don't get me wrong: I love Ridge Racer. But I haven't seen anything to recommend it over the original PSP game.
Maybe if it included some kicking online component, like easy matchmaking and online scoreboards. Sony and its third parties, however, have shown no interest in making the PSP a real online platform, so I'm not holding my breath.
I am impressed that they made a nice looking one-level demo out of 6Mb. Also, it's got what I believe is a reference to Xevious right in plain view. Old timers like me eat that up.
Labels: sony
--jvm at 18:38
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19 October 2006
Bugs on Xbox 360? Just wait for PS3...
Today I was listening to Next-Gen.biz Podcast #6 and they addressed a listener question about bugs in games, specifically Call of Duty 2, Dead Rising, and Lego Star Wars 2: The Original Trilogy on the Xbox 360. Well, just wait for the PlayStation 3. Along with all the other gnashing of teeth over low system supply, good and bad launch titles, and the varied other fanboy/hater ranting, I fully expect this to be the buggiest system launch ever.
We've all heard about the motion-sensitive controller being sprung on developers a few weeks before E3. There have been stories about how the PlayStation 3 and its set of Cell processors are difficult to program for, much as we heard stories about the PlayStation 2 before it. There were the claims (and subsequent denials) of overheating consoles at Tokyo Game Show. And, of course, the online system is still in flux, with some features ready for launch and others simply promised for the future.
With more than 20 games available at launch, I'm betting at least one of them has ashowstopper should-have-been-a-showstopper bug. It's precisely what Sony does not need, but it's going to happen.
We've all heard about the motion-sensitive controller being sprung on developers a few weeks before E3. There have been stories about how the PlayStation 3 and its set of Cell processors are difficult to program for, much as we heard stories about the PlayStation 2 before it. There were the claims (and subsequent denials) of overheating consoles at Tokyo Game Show. And, of course, the online system is still in flux, with some features ready for launch and others simply promised for the future.
With more than 20 games available at launch, I'm betting at least one of them has a
--jvm at 21:51
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18 October 2006
What I wanted to hear: TF2 on PS3
From Next-Gen.biz today, in an article about Valve's Source engine being offered as middleware on the Xbox 360:
Hey, does this mean a port of Half-life 2 to a system that is essentially GNU/Linux? Just askin'...
Although both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 will be receiving their respective versions of Source-based Half-Life 2 (bundled with Episodes 1 and 2, Portal and Team Fortress 2), Lombardi added that "We're not currently working with Sony on PS3 middleware."Would I like to see more engines running on the PS3? Yes, of course. For now, I'll be content with a (future) version of Team Fortress 2 running on my (future) PlayStation 3. Hope it plays as well as it looks.
Hey, does this mean a port of Half-life 2 to a system that is essentially GNU/Linux? Just askin'...
--jvm at 16:48
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24 September 2006
Post-TGS, revisiting Sony's troubles
With the Tokyo Game Show 2006 finally over, has Sony improved its standing? In my mind, only a very tiny bit. A couple months ago, I suggested a few things I felt Sony needed to do. Here's where we stand with those:
What Xbox 360 games am I longing for? In particular, I'll offer that BioShock has some interesting features, and certainly isn't hurting for good graphics. (Rather interesting 15 minute demonstration here on Eurogamer. Found via Cathode Tan.) And certainly Dead Rising has gotten a lot of praise from the press and general gaming public alike. Will the PlayStation 3 also get Half-life 2: Episode Two, which is currently slated for the Xbox 360? I hope so, since Valve has hinted at a complete Half-life 2 package for Sony's machine, but just when and how that will happen is far from clear.
I'd been waiting until after the TGS to comment more on this subject. As I said earlier, there are some bright spots for Sony.
However, they should have used the time in the TGS spotlight to explain why they have things under control. Perhaps the reason they didn't explain is that they couldn't -- they don't have a network strategy, they don't have backward compatibility under control, they have lost key exclusives that 5 years ago would have been unquestionably on the PlayStation, and worst of all they bet the farm on Blu-Ray and that appears now to have been a horrible choice.
- Explain the network strategy - This is still unclear. My working assumption from here on out is that they really don't have a strategy.
- Explain backward compatibility - No news on this front, from what I've read. I fear that this will end up being a feature added on to the system sometime in 2007.
- Explain game pricing - We know Activision is looking at $60 games, and I'm guessing others will follow.
- Publicize exclusives - Ok, the ones I know I'll want are Metal Gear Solid 4 and Resistance: Fall of Man. That's pretty slim, although the Xbox certainly got by on and Halo and Halo 2 plus a few others.
- Without Blu-Ray, what does PS3 do that others can't? - No news here either.
What Xbox 360 games am I longing for? In particular, I'll offer that BioShock has some interesting features, and certainly isn't hurting for good graphics. (Rather interesting 15 minute demonstration here on Eurogamer. Found via Cathode Tan.) And certainly Dead Rising has gotten a lot of praise from the press and general gaming public alike. Will the PlayStation 3 also get Half-life 2: Episode Two, which is currently slated for the Xbox 360? I hope so, since Valve has hinted at a complete Half-life 2 package for Sony's machine, but just when and how that will happen is far from clear.
I'd been waiting until after the TGS to comment more on this subject. As I said earlier, there are some bright spots for Sony.
However, they should have used the time in the TGS spotlight to explain why they have things under control. Perhaps the reason they didn't explain is that they couldn't -- they don't have a network strategy, they don't have backward compatibility under control, they have lost key exclusives that 5 years ago would have been unquestionably on the PlayStation, and worst of all they bet the farm on Blu-Ray and that appears now to have been a horrible choice.
--jvm at 23:19
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04 September 2006
New Yorker puts PlayStation 3 on cover!
My wife brought me the latest New Yorker magazine (dated Sept. 4, 2006) while I was waiting for my CT scan on Friday, and I was amused by the cover. The cartoon shows a kid walking to school and a color map of the various sections of his brain. Nestled alongside Algebra (yay, Math!) and Manga and Scarlett Johansson are PS3 (i.e. PlayStation 3) and Counter-Strike. Here is the relevant part of the image, since I couldn't find the cover online anywhere:
I hope that's within the bounds of fair use for the New Yorker folks.
Further on in the magazine (p. 74) is a cartoon featuring a Game Boy Advance (not the SP). To show it here would be to give away the joke, so you'll have to hunt down your own copy.
I hope that's within the bounds of fair use for the New Yorker folks.
Further on in the magazine (p. 74) is a cartoon featuring a Game Boy Advance (not the SP). To show it here would be to give away the joke, so you'll have to hunt down your own copy.
--jvm at 14:51
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06 August 2006
PlayStation 3 importing...for PlayStation 1 & 2?
My understanding is that Sony will make the PlayStation 3 region-free, meaning that normal folks like me can import games from Japan or Europe and play them without modifying the console. Good for Sony and good for us. Naturally, I want more.
Since it will also play PlayStation and PlayStation 2 games, will the region-free treatment extend to those games? Seems like a natural thing to do, but I haven't seen it addressed anywhere. I know I can't read everything that's been written about this, but Wikipedia didn't offer a good answer, and those guys have way more free time than I have. The article they reference is this one by IGN which says, ambiguously, "the PS3 will be region-free for gaming". They later expound upon that, saying that PlayStation 3 games will be region free, but this doesn't address my question directly.
Anyone know if I'll be able to play Japanese and European PS1 and PS2 games with a PS3?
Since it will also play PlayStation and PlayStation 2 games, will the region-free treatment extend to those games? Seems like a natural thing to do, but I haven't seen it addressed anywhere. I know I can't read everything that's been written about this, but Wikipedia didn't offer a good answer, and those guys have way more free time than I have. The article they reference is this one by IGN which says, ambiguously, "the PS3 will be region-free for gaming". They later expound upon that, saying that PlayStation 3 games will be region free, but this doesn't address my question directly.
Anyone know if I'll be able to play Japanese and European PS1 and PS2 games with a PS3?
--jvm at 01:20
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27 July 2006
What's missing from this article?
I ended up reading this Eurogamer interview with Mark Rein of Epic via Joystiq and realized something important was missing. Can you spot it?
The answer is that Epic provides middleware for Sony's PlayStation 3 developer's kit (PDF). So that's a potential conflict of interest. Rein might say things are going swell and that we can expect "great results" from not just Epic but other developers as well...because some of those developers just might be using the Unreal Engine. Or he might be perfectly sincere that Sony's doing well by developers, regardless of Epic's stake. Or it might be somewhere between.
Most folks reading that story would never guess that Epic has a stake in the PlayStation 3 developer situation. It's the reporter's responsibility to tell them.
The answer is that Epic provides middleware for Sony's PlayStation 3 developer's kit (PDF). So that's a potential conflict of interest. Rein might say things are going swell and that we can expect "great results" from not just Epic but other developers as well...because some of those developers just might be using the Unreal Engine. Or he might be perfectly sincere that Sony's doing well by developers, regardless of Epic's stake. Or it might be somewhere between.
Most folks reading that story would never guess that Epic has a stake in the PlayStation 3 developer situation. It's the reporter's responsibility to tell them.
--jvm at 11:16
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